Sydney – Australian officials extended lockdown and social distancing measures to more of the nation on Wednesday, with 4 major cities already under a tough lockdown in a race to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant.
Around one in two Australians are under stay-at-home orders, with millions of others subjected to movement curbs and mandatory mask-wearing amid COVID-19 flare-ups in several locations.
With more than 5 million residents of greater Sydney under a two-week lockdown till July 9, New South Wales state reported 22 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, all linked to prior infections.
That was up slightly from the previous two days, however still below the peak of the current outbreak of 30 new cases reported on Sunday.
“New South Wales is demonstrating a steady rate of cases at this stage … but to date, our fears about huge escalation haven’t materialized and we certainly want to keep it that way,” state Premier Gladys Berejiklian informed reporters in Sydney.
With a total of around 170 new locally transmitted cases since the first infection was detected two weeks ago in a limousine driver who transported overseas airline crew, NSW is the worst-affected state or territory within the current outbreak.
Residents of Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, and Darwin were joined in lockdown on Wednesday by those of the outback town of Alice Springs, the gateway to UNESCO World Heritage-listed Uluru. Officials issued stay-at-home orders for the town after a potentially infected traveler used the airport.
South Australia, meanwhile, reported its first locally transmitted cases for 2021, however stopped short of imposing a full lockdown, saying it believed the threat was contained.
Officials instead limited home gathering and urged individuals to wear masks in public after they reported 5 new cases – a miner who had returned home from a Northern Territory mine and his wife and children who had been in self-isolation.
Elsewhere within the nation, Queensland reported three new locally acquired cases, Western Australia logged one and the Northern Territory recorded none.
Singapore on Wednesday mentioned travelers from Australia will have to bear home quarantine for a week from Friday.
