SYDNEY: Police in Sydney will be given more powers to enforce lockdown orders with additional military support to contain a growing outbreak of the highly contagious Delta type coronavirus, the Australian newspaper reported on Thursday.
The newspaper reported that with the outbreak increasing day by day despite a seven-week lockdown, police would have the authority to stop residents using loopholes in restrictions to travel outside the city.
The move comes after several outbreaks in regional cities in the state of New South Wales (NSW), of which Sydney is the capital, raised fears that the virus was spreading out of control.
The state government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nearly 300 unarmed military personnel are already helping police enforce home-quarantine orders at affected homes in the worst-hit suburbs of Sydney, Australia’s most populous city.
A “significant” number of additional troops would be sent to intensify the operation, The Australian reported without giving the numbers.
Despite stay-home orders, daily infections in NSW continue to hit record highs – there were 344 reported on Wednesday – and many regional cities have also been forced into snap lockdowns.
Neighboring Victoria state on Thursday reported 21 new locally acquired cases, up from 20 a day earlier, as 5 million residents of the state capital Melbourne prepare to enter a second week of lockdown.
Of the new cases, six spent time outside while infectious, a number that officials have said should return to near zero before restrictions can be eased.
Authorities on Wednesday extended the lockdown in Melbourne for another seven days until 19 August.
Australia has largely avoided the high coronavirus numbers seen in many other countries, with only 37,400 cases and 944 deaths, and despite outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne, many states are virtually COVID-free.
But the rapid spread of the delta variant in New South Wales and a slow vaccine rollout have left the country vulnerable to a new wave of infections.
Only about 24% of people over the age of 16 are fully vaccinated, and experts see Australia going through a cycle of stop-and-start lockdowns until high vaccination coverage is reached.
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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