Australia tightens restrictions to contain fresh coronavirus outbreak

Australian states on Tuesday tightened restrictions on movement as authorities struggle to contain a fresh outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in the southeast that has pushed the national tally of cases beyond 10,000.

South Australia canceled plans to reopen its border to New South Wales on July 20. Queensland introduced a mandatory two-week quarantine for people who have visited two areas in Sydney’s western suburbs. New South Wales, which has seen several dozen cases linked to the outbreak in Victoria, said pubs will now be limited to no more than 300 people.

The changes come as scores of new cases were uncovered in Victoria, despite a return to lockdown last week in state capital Melbourne.

Active cases in the state rose to nearly 2,000 after another 270 infections were detected in the past 24 hours, and the country’s death toll hit 110 on Tuesday, Reuters reported.