In a major decision, Australian state Victoria today reportedly closed its borders with New South Wales for the first time in about a century. The move came in the wake of the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 in Victoria's capital, Melbourne.

Although the total tally of COVID-19 cases remains relatively small in the country, the health officials are concerned over the sudden outbreak in the capital of Victoria. As reported by The New York Times, 200 fresh cases surfaced in and around Melbourne in a span of 2 days.

Earlier, in a first of its kind move, Australia had reportedly begun strict home quarantining. Monitored by hundreds of police officials, the operation had started following the sudden spurt in positive cases.

As part of the exercise, officials in Victoria, a state in Australia, have locked down 9 public housing towers in Melbourne. Orders have been issued to 3000 residents not to leave their homes under any circumstances for at least five days, as reported by The New York Times.