Melbourne residents have flocked to the city's pubs, restaurants and hair salons after the world's most locked-down city emerged from its latest spate of restrictions designed to combat the spread of Covid-19.

Australia's second-largest city has so far endured 262 days, or nearly nine months, of restrictions during six separate lockdowns since March 2020, representing the longest cumulative lockdown for any city in the world.

In Melbourne, people were seen cheering and clapping from their balconies, while cars honked horns continuously at 11:59pm on Thursday when lockdown restrictions in place since early August ended, Reuters reported.

Many venues, including food outlets and even haircutters, opened at the unusual hour for the occasion.