Sydney: Leader of Australia’s New South Wales (NSW) The state on Wednesday ordered a week extension of Sydney COVID-19 Lockdown, warnings New cases bound to rise as country’s largest city grapples with highly contagious delta version.
Sydney, home to a fifth of Australia’s 25 million people, fell into lockdown on 26 June delta The differing outbreak persuaded officials to tighten restrictions in a country that has been slow to vaccinate. The strict stay-at-home orders were due to expire on Friday, but will now remain in force till July 16.
“This Delta strain is a game-changer, it is extremely contagious and more contagious than any other form of the virus,” NSW State Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
With Sydney fighting its worst outbreak so far, total infections have topped 350 since the first case was reported three weeks ago, in a limousine driver in its Bondi beach suburb, which carried foreign airline crew. was delivered.
A total of 27 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 were reported in NSW on Wednesday, up from 18 the day before. Of the new cases, 20 were either completely or in isolation during their infectious period, while seven cases spent time in the community when they were infectious.
Lockdowns, rapid contact tracing and a high community compliance with social distancing rules have helped Australia suppress past outbreaks and keep its COVID-19 numbers relatively low, with just over 30,800 cases and 910 deaths. with. The current lockdown is Sydney’s second since the pandemic began.
As news of the stay-at-home extension broke, Australian travel-related stocks, such as Qantas Airways Limited, fell in the morning business. grocery chain Woolworths Group Limited and Coles Group Ltd – expecting gains from higher selling by investors during the lockdown – were trading around 1% higher, slightly higher than the overall market.
‘Please stay home’
NSW’s Berejiklian and health officials warned Sydney residents that they expect cases to rise over the next 24 hours and urged residents in three areas to the west of the city – Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool, to report all cases Seeing a spike in – visiting their homes and indoor areas to avoid venturing out.
“Please stay at home… don’t visit your loved ones, try and connect via digital means,” said NSW state chief health officer Kerry Chant.
Meanwhile, schools in Sydney will move to distance learning from next week after the Southern Hemisphere winter break ends on Friday, so that parents can eliminate crowds when they drop off and pick up children.
Unlike many other states, NSW resisted ordering entire cities into lockdown in early-stage outbreaks, but highly permeable delta tensions forced a rethink.
NSW faced criticism from some other states over their lockdown strategies, although it had the support of the federal government.
Health officials have also been criticized for inadvertently vaccinating many high school students, who are at the end of the vaccination queue, but NSW Health Minister Brad Hazardo Criticized the media for exposing the error.
“You know what? The school intended it well. There was a mistake and so what? It’s happened, out of a million vaccinations. Move on!,” Hazard said.
Sydney, home to a fifth of Australia’s 25 million people, fell into lockdown on 26 June delta The differing outbreak persuaded officials to tighten restrictions in a country that has been slow to vaccinate. The strict stay-at-home orders were due to expire on Friday, but will now remain in force till July 16.
“This Delta strain is a game-changer, it is extremely contagious and more contagious than any other form of the virus,” NSW State Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
With Sydney fighting its worst outbreak so far, total infections have topped 350 since the first case was reported three weeks ago, in a limousine driver in its Bondi beach suburb, which carried foreign airline crew. was delivered.
A total of 27 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 were reported in NSW on Wednesday, up from 18 the day before. Of the new cases, 20 were either completely or in isolation during their infectious period, while seven cases spent time in the community when they were infectious.
Lockdowns, rapid contact tracing and a high community compliance with social distancing rules have helped Australia suppress past outbreaks and keep its COVID-19 numbers relatively low, with just over 30,800 cases and 910 deaths. with. The current lockdown is Sydney’s second since the pandemic began.
As news of the stay-at-home extension broke, Australian travel-related stocks, such as Qantas Airways Limited, fell in the morning business. grocery chain Woolworths Group Limited and Coles Group Ltd – expecting gains from higher selling by investors during the lockdown – were trading around 1% higher, slightly higher than the overall market.
‘Please stay home’
NSW’s Berejiklian and health officials warned Sydney residents that they expect cases to rise over the next 24 hours and urged residents in three areas to the west of the city – Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool, to report all cases Seeing a spike in – visiting their homes and indoor areas to avoid venturing out.
“Please stay at home… don’t visit your loved ones, try and connect via digital means,” said NSW state chief health officer Kerry Chant.
Meanwhile, schools in Sydney will move to distance learning from next week after the Southern Hemisphere winter break ends on Friday, so that parents can eliminate crowds when they drop off and pick up children.
Unlike many other states, NSW resisted ordering entire cities into lockdown in early-stage outbreaks, but highly permeable delta tensions forced a rethink.
NSW faced criticism from some other states over their lockdown strategies, although it had the support of the federal government.
Health officials have also been criticized for inadvertently vaccinating many high school students, who are at the end of the vaccination queue, but NSW Health Minister Brad Hazardo Criticized the media for exposing the error.
“You know what? The school intended it well. There was a mistake and so what? It’s happened, out of a million vaccinations. Move on!,” Hazard said.
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