After Australia’s third largest city, Brisbane and other parts of Queensland entered the Covid-19 rapid lockdown late on July 31, the overall view shows the empty Brisbane city centre early on August 1, 2021. Street. (Patrick Hamilton / AFP)
- Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city, will lift its blockade on Sunday after containing the virus.
- After more than 100 cases broke out in several school communities, millions of people in the city spent eight days under a stay-at-home order.
- To date, the country has recorded approximately 36,000 Covid-19 cases and 935 related deaths in a population of 25 million.
Australia’s third largest city, Brisbane, will lift its blockade on Sunday after the virus is contained, and the epidemic that has paralyzed Sydney for several weeks continues to spread.
Millions of people in Brisbane and surrounding areas stayed at home for only eight days after more than 100 cases broke out in several school communities.
Queensland Lieutenant Governor Steven Myers said that the region appeared to have contained the epidemic and achieved “incredible achievements.”
He told reporters: “It looks like we might be able to contain the delta epidemic in just eight days of lockdown, which is 10 days after the first confirmed case.”
The restrictions on leaving the city and gatherings will last at least two weeks.
After a taxi driver was infected for 10 days in this 150,000-person community, the authorities also announced a three-day rapid lockdown of the northern city of Cairns.
Together with millions of people in Melbourne and Sydney, they will comply with the stay-at-home order, and Australia’s largest city is about to enter its seventh week of lockdown.
New South Wales recorded 262 new cases on Sunday, bringing the outbreak that began in Sydney in mid-June to more than 5,000 cases.
State Governor Gladys Berejiklian urged Sydney residents to come under fire, with supermarket and fast food restaurant staff being given priority in Sunday’s new vaccination campaign.
“This is a game. We are keen to sprint to increase the coverage of these vaccinations,” she said.
The limited supply and hesitation of vaccines have slowed down efforts to vaccinate Australians, and now only more than 20% of the population is fully vaccinated.
Health officials now expect more supplies in September, the Moderna vaccine will arrive for the first time, and Pfizer’s imports will increase.
In the past 18 months, Australia has managed to avoid the worst of the pandemic, but lockdown measures have been working to contain repeated outbreaks of highly infectious Delta variants.
To date, the country has recorded approximately 36,000 Covid-19 cases and 935 related deaths in a population of 25 million.
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