BA2493/2651: The queue of newly unemployed at the Victoria Park Centrelink office during the COVID-19 pandemic, 24 March 2020

Summary

Photographer's note: Waiting for the Victoria Park Centrelink office to open, a long queue (nearly 200 metres, with people observing social distancing) of people applying for unemployment benefits. The government announced sweeping measures to control the spread of COVID-19 on 22nd March 2020. These included the closure of restaurants, bars, and cafés (only takeaway food and non-alcoholic drinks allowed to be sold). Consequently, tens of thousands of employees and employers were temporarily out of a job until the government announces a return to normality. Centrelink Offices around the country were inundated with people applying for social security (the dole), with queues on 23rd and 24th March being particularly long. COVID-19 disease is caused by a COVID or coronavirus.