A city in lockdown: Melbourne's streets are eerily deserted as residents are ordered to stay at home in a desperate bid to slow the spread of coronavirus
- Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire are under stage three lockdown restrictions for six weeks to stop COVID-19
- Community transmissions of coronavirus have skyrocketed in recent weeks and lead to reimposed sanctions
- Eerie pictures captured Melbourne's streets completely deserted as residents stay home to stop the spread
- Victoria recorded 278 new coronavirus cases on Sunday and more than 1,000 new cases in the past week
Incredible pictures have captured Melbourne's deserted streets as the city endures a second lockdown in a bid to stem the spread of coronavirus.
The whole of Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire are under stage three restrictions for six weeks after community transmissions of COVID-19 in Victoria have skyrocketed in recent weeks.
The reimposed lockdown measures mean people can only leave their homes for four essential purposes - groceries, daily exercise, to give or receive care and to go to school or work.
Strict sanctions have left normally bustling CBD streets eerily deserted as residents heeded Premier Daniel Andrews advice and stayed at home while the second wave of the pandemic grows across the state.
Melbourne's iconic Hosier Lane, Bourke Street shopping district and Flinders Street Station were all devoid of human activity on Sunday morning.
A lone pedestrian crosses the road on Bourke Street in Melbourne CBD on Sunday during stage three lockdown measures
Bourke Street has been reduced from a once bustling urban environment to a deserted landscape as Melbourne residents stayed home to stop the spread of coronavirus
People can only leave their homes for four essential purposes - groceries, daily exercise, to give or receive care and to go to school or work. Pictured: a lone man wearing a face mask crosses Bourke Street with shopping bags on Sunday
Flinders Street Station in Melbourne is completely devoid of any human activity on Sunday as Victoria recorded 278 new coronavirus cases
Street art on Hosier Lane saw no foot traffic on Sunday as locals heeded Premier Daniel Andrews advice and stayed at home
Victoria recorded 278 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday - a seventh consecutive day of triple digit rises, with the national death toll rising to 108 after a man in his 70s passed away.
By contrast, Queensland - which only last Friday reopened its borders after more than three months - reported another day of no new cases on Sunday. Three people are currently battling COVID-19.
NSW, the largest state in Australia, recorded five new cases to 8pm on Saturday, but authorities are concerned about community transmission, especially a cluster from a Sydney pub.
