The Lockdown That Felt Like It Might Last Forever Has Finally Ended

MELBOURNE, Australia — As if from hibernation, Australia’s second-largest city emerged from one of the world’s longest and most severe lockdowns Wednesday, feeling both traumatized and euphoric after weeks of shared sacrifice that brought a deadly second wave of the coronavirus to heel.

It took 111 days, but Melbourne and the surrounding state of Victoria recorded no new infections Monday, and Wednesday thousands of stores, cafes, restaurants and beauty salons opened their doors for the first time in months.

“That is an achievement that every single Victorian should be proud of,” said the state’s top official, Daniel Andrews.

The collective exit for a city of 5 million came suddenly and none too soon — Andrews had insisted on a very low threshold of cases before lifting the lockdown. It ended a dizzying and lonely experience that many in Melbourne described as an emotional roller coaster with effects on the economy, education and mental health that will linger.

The turnaround since July has been dramatic: Infections at the time were threatening to spiral out of control, hitting a peak of more than 700 a day. Schools, businesses and houses of worship closed. People could not travel more than 3 miles from home without a permit. They could go outside for only an hour (then two), and for weeks, they faced a nightly curfew.

Now, Victoria has subdued the virus while European countries that had similar caseloads a few months ago — and that ended their lockdowns after overcoming initial waves of infections — are struggling with an explosion of new cases. The hard-won success has allowed people in Melbourne to reenter their city, Australia’s capital of coffee and culture.

“Is there enormous relief? Absolutely, enormous celebration, yes,” said Dr. Stephen Duckett, the health program director for the Grattan Institute, a policy think tank based in Melbourne. “But none of us want to go through this again, so we also know we have to be cautious.”

“I think it’s hard to think of another community anywhere else — I think internationally as well — that’s been so stoically accepting of the very strict restrictions they faced,” said Paul Strangio, a professor of politics at Monash University in Melbourne. “They’ve made a decision, Victorians, that health had to be put first.”