Melbourne to ease more COVID curbs as 80% vaccination rate nears

FILE PHOTO: A woman wearing a protective face mask walks along a deserted city bridge during a lockdown as the state of Victoria looks to curb the spread of a COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne, Australia, July 16, 2021. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders//File Photo/File Photo

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Melbourne, the world's most locked-down city that emerged from its latest spate of COVID-19 restrictions on Friday, will see more curbs eased next week when Victoria state reaches an 80% full vaccination rate, officials said on Sunday.

Home to about five million people, Melbourne endured 262 days, or nearly nine months, of stay-at-home restrictions during six lockdowns since March 2020, longer than the 234-day continuous lockdown in Buenos Aires.