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On Friday, Melbourne is usually a hive of activity. On Friday, July 3, Federation Square was empty. Picture: Ian Currie
On Friday, Melbourne is usually a hive of activity. On Friday, July 3, Federation Square was empty. Picture: Ian Currie

Photos of life in coronavirus Melbourne

Staff writers
1 min read·July 08, 2020 - 11:48AM
Herald Sun

There has been never been a year like 2020 in Victoria.

First, bushfires ravaged East Gippsland. As our state started to rebuild, the virus crisis spread around the globe and arrived in Melbourne, sending the city and state into a crippling lockdown.

The Herald Sun’s photographers and news services have documented the COVID-19 pandemic, from lockdowns in Melbourne’s public housing towers to crowd-free AFL games.

It has been a hard few months but even more troubled times lie ahead.

A heavy police presence was soon on scene after nine public housing towers in Melbourne’s inner north and west were forced into lockdown. Picture: Ian Currie
A heavy police presence was soon on scene after nine public housing towers in Melbourne’s inner north and west were forced into lockdown. Picture: Ian Currie
Workers deliver food to one of the locked-down towers in North Melbourne on Tuesday, July 7. Picture: David Crosling
Workers deliver food to one of the locked-down towers in North Melbourne on Tuesday, July 7. Picture: David Crosling
Medical staff wearing personal protective equipment walk into the Flemington public housing flats on Sunday, July 5. Picture: Getty
Medical staff wearing personal protective equipment walk into the Flemington public housing flats on Sunday, July 5. Picture: Getty
A resident of a North Melbourne public housing tower gets a message out. Picture: Tim Carrafa
A resident of a North Melbourne public housing tower gets a message out. Picture: Tim Carrafa
A man gets a COVID-19 test at a pop-up testing site in Melbourne’s west on July 2. The testing sites were set up across several suburbs as lockdowns were announced for 10 postcodes across Melbourne. Picture: Getty
A man gets a COVID-19 test at a pop-up testing site in Melbourne’s west on July 2. The testing sites were set up across several suburbs as lockdowns were announced for 10 postcodes across Melbourne. Picture: Getty
Shopping centre car parks across the city — like Northland in Preston — became makeshift virus testing stations. Picture: Josie Hayden
Shopping centre car parks across the city — like Northland in Preston — became makeshift virus testing stations. Picture: Josie Hayden
NSW shut its border to Victoria on July 7 — the first time in 100 years the border between the two states has been closed. Picture: Getty
NSW shut its border to Victoria on July 7 — the first time in 100 years the border between the two states has been closed. Picture: Getty
Police enforcing the closure of St Kilda beach on March 27. Picture: Wayne Taylor
Police enforcing the closure of St Kilda beach on March 27. Picture: Wayne Taylor
Sorry, but you can’t be here. Picture: Wayne Taylor
Sorry, but you can’t be here. Picture: Wayne Taylor
Qantas and Jetstar jets grounded at Avalon Airport. Flights from Melbourne have been severely affected by the crisis, leading to massive job cuts at Australia’s biggest airline. Picture: Aaron Francis
Qantas and Jetstar jets grounded at Avalon Airport. Flights from Melbourne have been severely affected by the crisis, leading to massive job cuts at Australia’s biggest airline. Picture: Aaron Francis
Footy like never before. Collingwood and Richmond players are used to a bigger roar at the end of a match. Picture: Michael Klein
Footy like never before. Collingwood and Richmond players are used to a bigger roar at the end of a match. Picture: Michael Klein
Families around Melbourne did what they could to cope with lockdown. Alannah and Hugh of Langwarrin write messages of hope and draw pictures in coloured chalk on the footpath outside their house with their mum Kendal and Ty, her partner. Picture: Nicki Connolly
Families around Melbourne did what they could to cope with lockdown. Alannah and Hugh of Langwarrin write messages of hope and draw pictures in coloured chalk on the footpath outside their house with their mum Kendal and Ty, her partner. Picture: Nicki Connolly
A guest’s luggage is taken to a waiting taxi from one of Melbourne’s coronavirus quarantine hotels, the Stamford. A probe has been ordered after revelations security guards contracted to guard the hotels contributed to outbreaks across the city. Picture: Getty
A guest’s luggage is taken to a waiting taxi from one of Melbourne’s coronavirus quarantine hotels, the Stamford. A probe has been ordered after revelations security guards contracted to guard the hotels contributed to outbreaks across the city. Picture: Getty
Members of the Ferrari team pack up after the Formula One Australian Grand Prix was cancelled in Melbourne because of coronavirus on March 13. Picture: AFP
Members of the Ferrari team pack up after the Formula One Australian Grand Prix was cancelled in Melbourne because of coronavirus on March 13. Picture: AFP
A normally bustling Chadstone Shopping Centre lies empty. Picture: Tony Gough
A normally bustling Chadstone Shopping Centre lies empty. Picture: Tony Gough
On Friday, Melbourne is usually a hive of activity. On Friday, July 3, Federation Square was empty. Picture: Ian Currie
On Friday, Melbourne is usually a hive of activity. On Friday, July 3, Federation Square was empty. Picture: Ian Currie
Cafes lie empty in the city. Picture: Josie Hayden
Cafes lie empty in the city. Picture: Josie Hayden
The Saints run out on March 22 to an empty Marvel Stadium. Picture: Getty
The Saints run out on March 22 to an empty Marvel Stadium. Picture: Getty
Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin fetches a footy among cardboard cut outs of Collingwood fans. Picture: Michael Klein
Richmond skipper Trent Cotchin fetches a footy among cardboard cut outs of Collingwood fans. Picture: Michael Klein
A member of a cleaning team wipes down the tram stop on Swanston St outside Flinders St Station. Picture: AAP
A member of a cleaning team wipes down the tram stop on Swanston St outside Flinders St Station. Picture: AAP
Goodbye Melbourne. Dustin Martin and Richmond players get on a flight out of the city on Monday, July 6, to join one of the AFL’s interstate hubs. Picture: Getty
Goodbye Melbourne. Dustin Martin and Richmond players get on a flight out of the city on Monday, July 6, to join one of the AFL’s interstate hubs. Picture: Getty
More than 37 million people travel through Melbourne Airport a year. But Qantas domestic was almost empty on July 6 as Melbourne was virtually cut off from the rest of Australia. Picture: Getty
More than 37 million people travel through Melbourne Airport a year. But Qantas domestic was almost empty on July 6 as Melbourne was virtually cut off from the rest of Australia. Picture: Getty
Pellegrinis is normally packed on a Friday night with theatre-goers and revellers tucking into a plate of pasta. Like many businesses in the city, on July 4 it was closed. Picture: Ian Currie
Pellegrinis is normally packed on a Friday night with theatre-goers and revellers tucking into a plate of pasta. Like many businesses in the city, on July 4 it was closed. Picture: Ian Currie
The first person in line for COVID testing at A.G. Gillen Oval in Brunswick West, one of 12 new testing sites set up on July 1. Picture: Getty
The first person in line for COVID testing at A.G. Gillen Oval in Brunswick West, one of 12 new testing sites set up on July 1. Picture: Getty
Police speak to a resident outside one of nine public housing estates locked down in Melbourne on July 4. Picture: AFP
Police speak to a resident outside one of nine public housing estates locked down in Melbourne on July 4. Picture: AFP
Bourke Street Mall, normally the bustling heart of Melbourne. Picture: Ian Currie
Bourke Street Mall, normally the bustling heart of Melbourne. Picture: Ian Currie
Residents at the housing commission flats bunker down for another night in isolation. Picture: Getty
Residents at the housing commission flats bunker down for another night in isolation. Picture: Getty

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Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/photos-of-life-in-coronavirus-melbourne/news-story/119c3f0a42e5b79fac2996a282e76fda