A person walks past a KFC point of sale in Melbourne’s central business district on July 15, 2020
Melbourne:
Pokemon GO enthusiasts and KFC guests have been sentenced to hundreds of fines since Melbourne began a second COVID-19 lock, police said on Wednesday.
About five million people in and around Australia’s second city have received home stay orders since last week after an increase in coronavirus infections.
In a crackdown on rule breakers, Victoria state police imposed more than 500 fines in six days, totaling A $ 902,000 ($ 631,000).
Among them were two men caught playing Pokemon GO in their parked car, a group claiming to “charge their phones” at a friend’s house, and a man who sat down with his meal at a KFC outlet and refused to leave.
It only happened a few days after a group was fined A $ 26,000 when their house party was exposed by an unusually large order from KFC.
“We are particularly concerned about the ongoing celebrations and rallies,” said Acting Assistant Police Commissioner Rick Nugent.
Residents of Melbourne are only allowed to leave their homes for work, study, medical care or exercise, or to buy essential items.
About 1,500 cases have been recorded since the onset of isolation while the city is experiencing a surge in community transmission, with clusters emerging in public housing estates, nursing homes and a school.
Despite the rest of Australia closing the borders with Victoria, a group of 34 cases have broken out in Sydney, in the neighboring state of New South Wales, linked to a popular pub.
Health officials in New South Wales said on Wednesday that the most likely source of the growing epidemic was a man visiting Melbourne.
“We have established these links with in-depth interviews in several public health units,” emergency health officer Jennie Musto told reporters.
Police were called to force social distancing on Monday after the American snack chain Krispy Kreme offered free donuts to people who celebrated their birthday while in solitary confinement, drawing large crowds to its stores in Sydney.
New South Wales Acting Deputy Police Commissioner Tony Cooke called the promotion “absurd”.
Australia has recorded just over 10,000 cases of coronavirus and 111 deaths. Most states and regions have returned to normal in recent weeks, after reporting little or no new daily infections.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
