Police have nabbed a masked man who attempted to escape a high rise commission flat at the centre of Melbourne’s lastest COVID-19 outbreak.
Officers sped into action as the man made his way out of the flats along Racecourse Road in Flemington to freedom just across the road on Monday.
He never made it past the fence.
Police stop a man who attempted to get out of a Flemington housing commission tower on Monday. He claimed he was going on a ‘coffee run’
The man emerged inside the towers shortly after where police again took hold of him before he vanished back into the tower
Police converged on the man as he approached the rear of a Flemington housing commission tower on Racecourse Road
Daily Mail Australia watched on as police swarmed on the man, who claimed he had been on a ‘coffee run’.
‘You can order coffee from inside,’ a burly officer could be heard saying as he grabbed hold of the man.
The man could be seen later arguing with police back inside one of the towers before he was physically moved out of view.
Ugly scenes have continued on Monday as police enforce a strict lockdown on nine towers in Flemington, Kensington and North Melbourne where 26 new cases have been linked.
The towers have now suffered a total of 53 coronavirus cases.
Residents inside the doomed buildings had risen to a cold and wet Melbourne morning.
But no-one was going anywhere even if they wanted to.
Outside, health officials could be seen wandering past deserted playgrounds in full hazardous material suits.
A booze bus positioned ominously out front comically needed to be jump started after officers inside ran its battery flat.
Struggling police could later be seen picking up loaves of bread which had spilled on the footpath.
They were joined by what appeared to be forensic police officers draped in masks and covered head-to-toe in protective gear.
Those not trapped inside strained their necks to look upward where residents had stuck signs up in their windows.
For some, it is now the only way they can communicate with the outside world.
One said ‘Flemington penitentiary’, while others said: ‘Treat us as humans, not caged animals, end this lockdown, effective immediately’.
At a North Melbourne housing commission tower, a woman held a sign which simply said: ‘Help’.
A man trapped within the Flemington towers signals to photographers. He appeared to be arguing with his police captors
A sign stuck to the window of a person trapped inside the housing commission flats in Flemington on Monday
People continue to stick signs on their windows with a housing commission tower in Flemington
Men dressed head-to-toe in protective gear descended on the housing commission flats in Flemington on Monday
At Flemington, motorists driving along Racecourse Road sounded their horns as they travelled past the towers.
Seated on a grassy area outside, young folk dressed in high visibility vests waited to get inside the concrete jungles.
Elderly residents inside could be seen staring outside their windows at them.
Some ducked to avoid the long lens cameras peering at them, others just sat blankly staring into the horizon.
Just after midday the testing teams went in.
Hours later, former Labour leader Bill Shorten arrived carry in crates of food to observe the scene himself.
Victoria has recorded more than 60 new cases of coronavirus a day since last Monday. Today’s new daily case count of 127 exceeds the state’s previous record of 111 on March 28.
Twelve Melbourne postcodes containing more than 300,000 residents were on Thursday forced back into lockdown and residents of nine social housing towers were on Saturday totally banned from leaving their homes.
In Flemington, a playground that ought be bustling with children enjoying their school holidays sits taped-off and empty below a tower.
Above, children trapped in their homes can only sit and ponder about when they might be able to test the flying fox again.
It is hard to imagine what families are going through inside.
At points throughout Monday morning, people – mostly women – could be heard screaming – chilling screams associated with nasty situations.
Talk back radio and social media posts paint an awful situation.
No food, stale food, bad food – or worse.
Residents at a Flemington tower talk to police outside their building. They could be seen waving at media for attention and indicating they were prisoners
Food supplies are delivered to the Flemington Towers Government Housing complex on Monday amid complaints from those trapped inside
Children gesture from a window inside a unit at the public housing tower along Racecourse Road in Melbourne on Monday
Police have converged on housing commission towers across Melbourne on Monday
Police camped outside a Flemington tower had to jump start their own booze bus after running down its battery
Angry residents were caught surprised and unprepared for the lockdown, and have issued a list of demands, saying they should be able to leave their homes for essential reasons.
On Monday, a man and a woman could be seen at the foot of one tower surrounded by police.
They were shouting at a media pack, who could only watch on from outside the cordoned-off zone.
The man waved frantically for someone to come over and appeared to be trying to communicate something.
A policeman sits outside the exit to a Flemington housing commission tower on Monday
At one point he crossed his arms together in protest – a sign that he was being detained against his wishes.
While people inside tried to get out, some on the outside could be seen trying to get in.
Women carrying bags of groceries were held up at checkpoints.
A woman who managed to get out of the quarantine zone shouted out a message to photographers who milled about outside the gates.
‘Free our people,’ she said.
Around the corner, health officials appeared to have set up several testing stations.
A gazebo provided shelter for a couple of elderly residents who may have been allowed outside to get some fresh air.
A playground outside the Flemington commission housing tower on Monday which has been placed into lockdown
People on the outside of the Flemington towers look up at those trapped within the concrete beasts
An elderly woman peers outside of her tower where on Monday she remained trapped in Flemington
If they were, they would be among the lucky ones.
Hardly anyone could be seen being allowed outside on Monday.
Those below fear the only way some may leave the towers is in body bags.
Mental health workers could be seen moving into the blocks amid fears a mental health crisis could grip those within as the days drag on.
Others fear much worse.
As the sun began to set, protesters converged at the front of the Flemington towers.
They watched on as police carried in black bags of equipment in preparation for the night ahead.
The situation has been described by some as a ‘human rights’ disaster that could get even uglier.
‘Those towers are going to burn if they don’t let them out soon,’ one man said.
A woman appears from within one tower. She was greeted by masked police outside her door
A woman attempts to get into the Flemington towers carrying bag loads of groceries on Monday
Protestors holding signs in protest gathered outside commission flats in lockdown on Monday