After 262 days, Australia’s second-most populous city is emerging from stringent Covid restrictions – battered but hopeful

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Before the pandemic hit, Melbourne had topped the world’s most liveable city list seven consecutive times and was the fastest-growing urban centre in Australia.

But as major cities shrugged off lockdown restrictions with the arrival of the vaccine, Melbourne’s shops remained shuttered, residents were under a 9pm curfew, and the usually buzzing city earned a new title: the world’s longest lockdown.

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Source: The Guardian