More than half of Australians have been within a few weeks blockade Officials in Australia’s largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, and Canberra, the capital, are working to quell the epidemic.
New South Wales is the most populous state and the seat of Sydney, with 1,035 local acquisitions reported Coronavirus disease As the epidemic that began in mid-June continued to spread, the number of infections broke the record of 1,029 on Thursday.
Victoria has reported 64 cases, mainly in the capital Melbourne, and 26 infections in the Australian Capital Territory, including Canberra. Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Michael Kidd, said at a briefing that there is one in Queensland.
Despite a record in New South Wales, the conservative Liberal government in the state said it will relax some restrictions next week to allow five-person weddings.
The state’s management of the outbreak-with nearly 14,700 active cases-has been criticized by officials in neighboring Victoria, who have imposed stricter restrictions, believing that the outbreak there can be contained.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said of the infection in New South Wales: “I’m not sure if 1,000 cases per day are a sign of hope.”
“I’m pretty sure, if you ask how the current intensive care nurses in Sydney Hospital view this situation, it won’t be a very optimistic picture.”
Australia has been racing to vaccinate its population in recent weeks after months of delays in the supply of Pfizer vaccines and public anxiety about AstraZeneca’s vaccines. At the current rate, 80% of the vaccine can be vaccinated by mid-November.
The federal government announced a plan last month that will lockdown as the key to contain the outbreak until 70% of the population is vaccinated, and gradually reopen Australia’s borders when that number reaches 80%.
Only 33.7% of people over the age of 16 have been fully vaccinated, but with approximately 49,800 cases and 993 deaths, the number of Covid-19 in Australia has remained relatively low.
Neighboring New Zealand, which is basically virus-free this year, is also fighting the delta epidemic. On Saturday, 82 new local infections were reported, all in the epicenter of Auckland, because the country is still under strict lockdown.
