Australia expands Covid lockdown amid surge in new virus cases
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Australia has witnessed a surge in coronavirus in the past month spreading to new areas in Sydney and Melbourne with millions put in lockdown across the country.
Australia expanded a COVID-19 lockdown as Victorian authorities described Melbourne’s northwest as an area of concern.
Victoria's COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said several new coronavirus cases were reported around the Caroline Springs Square shopping centre with half of the cases linked to the retail area.
Meanwhile, New South Wales authorities said they are looking into a case of a man who had tested positive in Byron. The state announced 357 coronavirus cases and 3 deaths with at least 60 patients in intensive care units. All three deaths were people who were in their 70s and 80s and had not been not vaccinated.
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Canterbury-Bankstown area in Sydney’s southwest continues to be a coronavirus hotspot as over five million residents have been in a lockdown after six weeks.
Health officials are investigating 97 community infection cases and isolation regulation of 157 other COVID-19 cases.
A school in Bondi Beach was closed after a student tested positive including two other schools. Amid the surge in cases, Victoria's health minister Martin Foley asked people in Melbourne not to travel to other areas.
“Look at New South Wales, look at the risks that were seen as a result of people travelling from high-risk zones where it’s out of control,” Foley said as he asserted that the government has no plans to change areas that are subject to the stage four lockdown.
Meanwhile, New South Wales police have been asked to check people entering shops amid reports of unnecessary movement of people. Health officials have targeted 4.5 million total shots with Sydney still in a lockdown
Officials in New South Wales expanded stay-at-home regulation to include two regions near the Queensland border, Byron Bay and Tamworth due to the spread of the virus as Victoria reported a marginal increase in coronavirus cases on Tuesday.
Australia has reported relatively fewer coronavirus cases compared to the US and Europe with just over 36,700 cases and 942 deaths, however, the recent surge blamed on the Delta variant has worried officials with millions across the country put under lockdown.
(With inputs from Agencies)