What it’s like inside Melbourne’s ’ghost town’ CBD after curfew
On a typical Thursday before the pandemic, Melbourne’s CBD was a bustling hub brimming with people keen to experience the city’s best. Now, in the depths of stage four restrictions and with curfew in place — it’s a ghost town. Take a look.
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Navigating the dark and deserted streets of Melbourne under curfew requires one of two items.
It appears the must-have accessories after 8pm are high-vis clothing or a large square backpack full of takeaway food.
Or both, in the case of some safety-conscious delivery riders with fluoro yellow vests that match their yellow bikes.
The Herald Sun spent a night this week venturing through the CBD, with permission, to observe the impact of the newly imposed curfew.
Apart from a couple of people smoking cigarettes out the front of apartment buildings, the footpaths were people-free and usually busy roads were reduced to virtually no traffic.
A handful of workers had the city to themselves.
High-vis uniforms were a sign of business carrying on for those in emergency services, construction, rubbish collection and other around-the-clock roles.
The high number of delivery drivers and riders milling outside restaurants showed the strong demand for that service.
Given the inconvenience of the curfew, it is likely many of us are turning to that convenient dinner option, with deliveries still available after 8pm.
The bright lights of convenience stores were another notable feature on otherwise empty city blocks.
One 7-Eleven staff member said he was glad to stay open post-curfew but was unsure if it was worth it because they don’t do deliveries and the small number of customers were almost all shift workers buying $1 coffees.
It’s an impossible trading environment.
But the fact large groups weren’t breaking curfew to get supplies at 7-Eleven should be an encouraging sign for the rest of us.
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