Melbourne, "world's most locked-down city," to lift stay-at-home orders

• Melbourne's latest COVID-19 lockdown, which has lasted for 73 days, includes a 9pm-5am stay-at-home curfew. The city of more than 5 million spent 139 days under a similar lockdown last year.
• Earlier this month, it surpassed the previous lockdown record total of 234 days set by Buenos Aires last year to become the "world's most locked-down city," several Australian news outlets noted.

The big picture: Victoria is still battling an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant.

• State Premier Daniel Andrews told a news conference that restrictions would ease from Friday because Victoria was on track this week to reach its goal of fully vaccinating 70% of residents against the coronavirus.
• Victoria was set to reach 90% of first doses by Monday or Tuesday, Andrews said.

What they're saying: "As of 11.59pm Thursday, there will be no lockdown, no restrictions on leaving home and no curfew," Andrews said.

By the numbers: Victoria reported 1,838 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of active cases to 23,376.

• The state confirmed seven more deaths from the virus.

What's next: Businesses, including hospitality venues and hair salons, will be allowed to reopen at a reduced capacity in Melbourne when restrictions ease.

• More businesses, including retailers, are set to reopen once 80% of eligible Victorians are fully vaccinated, expected in the next 10 days.
• The rest of Victoria, which has been under less-severe restrictions, will also see pandemic measures eased. Students outside Melbourne will return to full-time onsite school classes from Friday. Melbourne students will return to classrooms at least part-time.

Editor's note: This article has been updated with the latest COVID-19 figures.