MELBOURNE - In the Australian city of Melbourne, police have been seen patrolling the deserted streets after a night-time curfew was imposed to stem the spread of Covid-19.

As we reported earlier, Victoria, where Melbourne is based, has declared a state of disaster after lockdown measures introduced in July failed to curtail coronavirus cases.

Now even stricter restrictions have been implemented by Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews, who said he was not prepared to see more residents “choked to death by an invisible enemy”.

Under the curfew, which came into effect on Sunday, Melbourne residents are not allowed outside from 20:00 to 05:00.

Pictures of empty streets from Melbourne suggest many residents have complied by the new rules, which police have new powers to enforce.

Other images showed people waiting in line for the supermarket, hours before the curfew was due to start.(FA)