COVID-19 escalates in East Australia
Sydney records 239 new infections on Sunday despite being under strict lockdown for five weeks
east coast states of New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland faced an escalating battle against the COVID-19 Delta variant on Sunday, with millions under strict lockdown and authorities urging more testing and vaccinations to rein in the outbreaks.
Sydney and its surroundings, under a stay-at-home order for five weeks already, reported 239 new locally acquired cases of the highly infectious Delta strain, matching the record daily number in the current outbreak that was reported on Thursday.
The city’s 5 million residents and those in neighboring regional centers spanning 200 kilometers of coastline are to stay home until Aug. 28 at least.
The total number of cases in the outbreak, which began in mid-June, has reached 3,427.
“I think what is important to know is that there is no roadmap for the Delta variant,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
“The challenge for us is getting as many people vaccinated in August as possible so by the time 28 of August comes around, we have options as to how we can ease restrictions.”
Australia’s vaccination drive has been sluggish, with only 18 percent of adults fully vaccinated so far. Brad Hazzard, NSW health minister, said that 70 percent of the state’s population could be fully vaccinated in about four months.
Biggest spike
In neighboring Queensland, there were nine new locally acquired cases of COVID-19, the biggest daily spike in almost a year.
In Australia’s third largest city of Brisbane and other parts of Queensland, more than 3 million residents were put into a three-day snap lockdown on Saturday to contain an emerging outbreak of the Delta variant.
“The only way to beat the Delta strain is to move quickly, to be fast and to be strong,” state Deputy Premier Steven Miles said.
Six new cases were reported on Saturday in a cluster of the Delta variant initially linked to a school student, resulting in pupils and teachers at two schools being placed into isolation.
Unclear
Genome sequencing had connected the cluster to returned overseas travelers in hotel quarantine but the exact source of transmission remained unclear, Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said.
“It is vital (to get tested), anyone with any symptoms at all, it doesn’t matter where you are, because I don’t know where this virus is at the moment,” Young said.
In the “strictest lockdown” the city has enforced, residents will only be allowed to leave their homes for essential reasons, including buying groceries and exercising.
Australia has managed to keep its epidemic largely under control with a total of just over 34,000 cases and 924 deaths. But the slow vaccination drive means that it could be months before the country’s borders reopen.
Over in Thailand‚ authorities extended tighter containment measures in the capital and high-risk provinces probably until the end of August in a bid to slow the spread of the disease.
Bangkok reported 18,027 infections and 133 deaths on Sunday, bringing the cumulative total to 615‚314 cases and 4‚900 fatalities‚ mostly from an outbreak since April.