A coronavirus curfew has been announced for Australia's second-biggest city of Melbourne, with residents confined to their homes overnight as authorities work to stamp out a Delta variant outbreak, reports AFP.

More than five million Melbourne residents will be unable to leave their homes between 9:00pm and 5:00am from today (Monday) evening, with essential workers requiring permits to be on the streets.

Victoria state premier Dan Andrews said the decision came after a series of street parties, pub crawls and home gatherings over the weekend, as Melbourne reached a “tipping point” in its latest outbreak.

Andrews also announced that stay-at-home restrictions would be extended to September 2, saying it was necessary for the city to avoid the fate of Sydney “where it has fundamentally got away from them”.