Melbourne Reopens, Ending One of World’s Longest Lockdowns
- City adds up mental health, economic toll of virus suppression
- Record high cases no deterrent to move to live with endemic
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A renowned coffee culture is a hallmark of life in Melbourne, known as one of the world’s most livable cities. Yet with some of the harshest pandemic restrictions, caffeine took on a new role: one of few ways to make human contact.
At Nomadi Coffee House, in the Australian city’s southeast, locals have been coming by for as many as three takeout coffees a day -- one of only a handful of permitted activities under strict under stay-home orders -- just “so they go outside,” according to head roaster David Bueno. Now, after more than 260 cumulative days under the measures, on Friday Melbourne’s five million residents can finally taste freedom, too.