Australian police fined party-goers $18,000 for violating strict lockdown by tracking a KFC order to a birthday party

• Police in the Australian city of Melbourne busted a birthday party that violated newly-imposed strict coronavirus lockdown laws after tracking a large order of Kentucky Fried Chicken.
• Victoria police commissioner Shane Patton said on Friday local time that 16 people in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong were fined $AU26,000 ($18,000) for holding a large house party, according to News.com.au.
• Patton called their behavior "ridiculous" and said it would be "one heck of a birthday party to recall."

Australian police busted a birthday party that violated newly-imposed strict lockdown laws after tracking a large order of Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Victoria is struggling to contain a spike in its number of coronavirus cases, as other states around Australia have largely seen their new coronavirus cases drop to single digits. On Wednesday, Victoria placed its most populous city, Melbourne, on strict lockdown for six weeks, allowing residents to leave their homes only for essential reasons like grocery shopping or receiving medical care.

Victoria police commissioner Shane Patton said on Friday local time that 16 people in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong were fined for holding a large house party, according to News.com.au.

Patton said police were tipped off to the late-night party by ambulance workers who were at the local KFC getting something to eat when two people entered the restaurant and ordered 20 meals at 1:30 a.m. local time.

"We got the registration number of the car and we followed through and went to that address in Dandenong," Patton said. "It was a townhouse. When we went in, there were two people asleep but there were 16 others hiding out the back and they just got the KFC meals at a birthday."

Patton called their behavior "ridiculous" and said it would be "one heck of a birthday party to recall."

"That is $AU26,000 ($18,000) that birthday party is costing them," he said.

Neighboring states have closed borders with Victoria in order to prevent the virus from further spreading.

As of Friday local time, Australia, which has been largely successful in curbing its coronavirus outbreak, reported 9,377 cases and 106 deaths in total. Victoria, the country's new coronavirus hotspot, recorded 288 new coronavirus cases, the largest daily increase of any single state since the beginning of the pandemic.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews recommended that people living in Melbourne wear masks in public as the state's outbreak continues to grow.

"The Chief Health Officer has now given us the clear advice that wearing facemasks makes a tangible difference when it comes to reducing the transmission of coronavirus within the community — and that is why we are issuing this new recommendation," Andrews said.