Australia's second-biggest city, Melbourne, already under night curfew, announced fresh restrictions on industries including retail and construction on Monday in a bid to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus as the number of global coronavirus cases topped 18 million the same day.

From Wednesday night, Melbourne, capital of Victoria state, will close retail, some manufacturing and administrative businesses as part of a six-week lockdown. The new measures are expected to double the number of jobs affected by coronavirus restrictions to around 500,000.

Having already imposed the strictest restrictions on movement, Victoria declared a "state of disaster" on Sunday, as a surge in community transmissions raised fears that the infection rate was going out of control.

"As heartbreaking as it is to close down places of employment ... that is what we have to do in order to stop the spread of this wildly infectious virus," Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews told a news conference.

The latest moves in Victoria meant production at meatworks would be cut by one-third, while construction activities and staffing at distribution centers would also be scaled back and all schools would return to remote learning.

Supermarkets will remain open along with restaurant takeaway and delivery services, but many other retail outlets will shut down.

The outbreak in Victoria, which makes up a quarter of the national economy, has scuppered hopes for a quick rebound from Australia's first recession in nearly three decades.

Andrews also announced 5,000 Australian dollars (3,570 U.S. dollars) payments for affected businesses and flagged more announcements about penalties, enforcement and education on Tuesday.

The national government also announced pandemic leave disaster payments for people who have run out of sick leave and have to self-isolate for 14 days, paying 1,500 Australian dollars to ensure those with COVID-19 symptoms stop going to work.

Restrictions announced on Sunday included a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. for six weeks, barring the city's nearly five million people from leaving their homes except for work or to receive or give care.

Victoria state reported 429 new cases on Monday, down from 671 new infections on Sunday, but 13 more deaths was the second highest daily death toll.

The World Health Organization has also warned that the effects of the crisis "will be felt for decades to come", and that the pandemic is likely to be protracted.

There has been a resurgence in many countries, including Australia, that had previously brought their situation under control and the spread of the virus is gathering pace with worldwide deaths nearing 700,000.

Authorities in the Philippines have also had to reimpose curbs after infections surged past 100,000, forcing more than 27 million people, including in the capital Manila, back into lockdown on Tuesday for two weeks.

Iran, fighting the Middle East's deadliest outbreak, reported its highest single-day infection count in nearly a month, warning that most of its provinces are facing a resurgence.

The United States has reported 4.6 million infections, with nearly 155,000 deaths, and a top White House adviser said it had entered a "new phase" of the pandemic.

Australia has fared better than many countries, with 18,318 coronavirus cases and 221 deaths from a population of 25 million, according to the data from Johns Hopkins University.

(With input from Reuters and AFP)