Another Aussie state plunges into lockdown while Sydney’s cases continue to increase

SYDNEY: AUGUST 2 – As Australia’s most populous city of Sydney continues to battle its spiralling outbreak of COVID-19 triggered by the Delta variant, the neighbouring state of Queensland is struggling to reign in its own outbreak caused by the same variant.

The Queensland government announced on Monday that the current three-day snap lockdown on 11 areas in the state’s southeast, including Brisbane City and Gold Coast, will be extended until 4 p.m. local time this Sunday.

The decision came after the state saw rising daily case numbers.

On Monday, Queensland recorded 13 new locally acquired cases from some 21,806 tests in the past 24 hours, a rise from the nine locally acquired cases recorded on Sunday and six on Saturday.

“It’s starting to become clear that the initial lockdown will be insufficient for the outbreak,” said Queensland’s Deputy Premier Steven Miles.

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young warned Queenslanders that the outbreak is escalating. She called for greater testing and urged people to stay home as much as possible.

“We need to lock down really, really hard, the hardest we have ever locked down,” said Young.

To support businesses, Queensland announced a COVID-19 Business Support Program, providing 5,000-Australian dollars (about 3,600 U.S. dollars) grants to Queensland businesses.

Meanwhile, Sydney remains the epicentre of the latest wave. Authorities have pushed citizens to get vaccinated as the state of New South Wales (NSW) recorded 207 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to 8:00 p.m. local time Sunday night from some 117, 009 tests.

The state also recorded another death, a man in his 90s who received a dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. This is the 15th COVID-related death during the current outbreak.

As case numbers show no sign of abating, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the probability of exiting lockdown by the end of the month will hinge on the month’s vaccination turnouts.

“Can I stress that August is the month where we all should come forward and get vaccinated? It will be a combination of seeing where the case numbers are in a month’s time as well as the rate of vaccination that determines what August 29 looks like,” said Berejiklian.

Over the last week to Sunday, August 1, NSW Health administered a record 164,059 vaccine doses.

-XINHUA