Outrage as Australians told they ‘cannot leave the house to walk the dog or to exercise’

The tweet provoked uproar online

Australians in the south of the country have been told by police they are unable to walk their dogs or exercise outside. South Australia was placed under a circuit-breaker lockdown yesterday, which is intended to last for six days only. The new measures come as the state of South Australia attempts to fend off a rise in coronavirus cases. The biggest city in the state is Adelaide, which accounts for 77% of the state's population. [caption id="attachment_256603" align="alignnone" width="2048"] South Australia has been placed under a six-day circuit breaker lockdown. (Photo: Getty)[/caption] South Australia has seen an outbreak of 36 cases of Covid-19 since new infections were detected in Adelaide on Sunday. These new infections were the first seen in the state for some six months. For Australians, it appears that authorities are implementing a far more aggressive lockdown than the kind currently underway in England. One Twitter user asked South Australian police to outline the measures for her 'stupid husband', who she said was unclear on dog-walking policy. The police responded by saying: "Hi Andrea, You cannot leave the house to walk the dog or to exercise". https://twitter.com/SAPoliceNews/status/1328946386071654408 This tweet sparked uproar on social media, with many claiming the measure is draconian and excessively harsh. One user asked: "Is this communist China? What do you mean people can't go outside for exercising or walking their dog? What you are describing here is beyond a lockdown". Another said, "What kind of absolute idiocy is this?" Perhaps the most pressing question came from @ben_k_voluntary, who asked "Can the dog still go outside?" https://twitter.com/ben_k_voluntary/status/1329450436131254281?s=20 Authorities in Australia say this six-day circuit breaker is a necessary measure to stem the flow of the coronavirus throughout the state before the health service is overwhelmed. Each state in Australia is responsible for implementing its own coronavirus response. Victoria, the state that neighbours South Australia, brought in a similarly-aggressive circuit breaker lockdown. 800 people died, but authorities say it prevented a second wave of the virus. In the state of Queensland, society is more open. In fact, Brisbane played host to the most-attended sporting event since the emergence of Covid-19, when 52,000 people were jam-packed into the Suncorp Stadium for the State Of Origin rugby league fixture between Queensland and New South Wales.