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New cases of the Indian Covid variant have been detected in the state of Victoria (Picture: Getty; EPA)Australia\u2019s Victoria state will enter a one-week lockdown affecting 7 million people after an outbreak of \u2018highly infectious\u2019 Indian Covid was detected. [ad_1] New cases of the Indian Covid variant have been detected in the state of Victoria (Picture: Getty; EPA)Australia\u2019s Victoria state will enter a one-week lockdown affecting 7 million people after an outbreak of \u2018highly infectious\u2019 Indian Covid was detected. In Melbourne, a cluster of new cases of the virus swelled to 26 on Thursday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1977,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[158,3,5,160,317],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\nIn Melbourne, a cluster of new cases of the virus swelled to 26 on Thursday after 12 infections were identified overnight. The number of virus-exposed sites has now risen to 150.
\nIt is thought the strain of the virus, first detected in India, takes just one day to infect another person, compared with the five or six-day gap required of other variants, Victoria state Acting Premier James Merlino said.
\nHe told reporters: \u2018We\u2019re dealing with a highly infectious strain of the virus, a variant of concern, which is running faster than we have ever recorded. Unless something drastic happens, this will become increasingly uncontrollable.\u2019
\nThe lockdown will take place from 11.59pm (1.59pm GMT) on Thursday and will last until June 3, with people only allowed to leave their homes for essential reasons, such as work, healthcare or to shop for food.
\nVictoria state Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said he \u2018absolutely expects\u2019 more positive cases to emerge in the coming days due to the virulent nature of the variant.
\nOfficials are said to have traced the latest cluster, the first in the state in more than three months, back to an overseas traveller who arrived with the variant. However, the virus transmission path is still unclear.
\nNew South Wales, Australia\u2019s most populous state, which also shares a border with Victoria, has urged residents not to make non-essential journeys into Melbourne.
\nGet in touch with our news team by emailing us at\u00a0webnews@metro.co.uk.
\nFor more stories like this,\u00a0check our news page.<\/p>\n[ad_2]\n
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