New lockdown ratchets up economic pain in Australian city

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — A bright side for plant nurseries of Melbourne’s first pandemic stay-at-home order was that many householders took the time to garden. But the latest lockdown in Australia’s second-largest city is far tougher.

More than 250,000 people were thrown out of work on Thursday. Those whose jobs are deemed essential need government-issued permits to travel the near-empty streets of a virtual ghost town to get to their jobs.

The rolling restrictions have created confusion and uncertainly in a population navigating Australia’s toughest-ever lockdown that makes mask-wearing compulsory and imposes an 8 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew.

Melbourne nursery owner Simon Collings said the nursery and hardware industries became the surprise winners of Melbourne’s original lockdown in March when home improvement became a popular pastime.

“The first time, everybody went: ‘Oh my god!’ and then everything turned out to be fine,” Collings said.

“Gardening was one of the few things you could do at home, so nurseries did well for three or four months ... but it has a totally different feel this time,” he added.

Customers can order deliveries or buy online and collect but cannot enter a range of businesses including nurseries.

John van der Horst, who also owns a Melbourne nursery, said the new shopping restrictions had “changed things dramatically.” The real economic pain to nurseries is expected to come in September with the Southern Hemisphere spring.

“Right at the moment (business) is slow and might be confusing, but I think that will take a day or so to sort out and things will move on, but clearly the business is not going to be the same through this lockdown,” van der Horst.

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