Melbourne, Jul 24 (AP) The premier of Australia's COVID-19 hot spot, Victoria state, says the military will be used to bolster contact-tracing efforts.

Premier Daniel Andrews said Friday that if someone who is a newly diagnosed coronavirus case does not answer after being telephoned twice, soldiers will accompany a health official to the infected person's home for a contact-tracing interview on the doorstep.

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Anyone who is not at home will likely be fined for failing to home quarantine while awaiting a negative test result. Previously, failure to contact an infected person by phone was not followed up with a house call. Mask wearing became compulsory Thursday in Victoria's capital of Melbourne, which is Australia's second-largest city. (AP)

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