Coronavirus Surge in cases
Sydney sees deadliest day while Melbourne faces curfew
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Workers putting up fencing outside Qudos Arena near the Sydney Olympic Park Vaccination Centre on Sunday, as virus cases surge in the Australian city.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
CANBERRA • Australia's biggest city of Sydney recorded its deadliest day of the Covid-19 pandemic yesterday as troops and police set up roadblocks to limit the movement of people, while Melbourne faced a nightly curfew and a further two weeks of lockdown.
Sydney, which is in its eighth week of lockdown, is the epicentre of Australia's third Covid-19 wave that threatens to push the country's A$2 trillion (S$1.99 trillion) economy into its second recession in as many years.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian yesterday said seven people in the state capital Sydney had died from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, surpassing the previous record daily toll from earlier this month. She also said the state had detected 478 infections, the highest one-day rise since the pandemic began.
"Our community transmission numbers are disturbingly high," Ms Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney. "Every death is a person who has loved ones, who has died in tragic circumstances."
The authorities also confirmed the death of a 15-year-old boy from Sydney, who had pneumococcal meningitis and Covid-19.
Australia has confirmed 55 deaths since July 11, breaking a run of more than three months without any fatalities. In total, Australia has recorded 966 Covid-19 deaths.
The toll rose as 200 military personnel were deployed across Sydney to set up roadblocks in the hardest-hit areas, amid persistent reports of people flouting lockdown rules. The latest deployment comes on top of 500 troops deployed last month.
With only 26 per cent of people above 16 years of age fully vaccinated, Australia is vulnerable to the highly infectious Delta variant that has steadily spread across the country. Despite Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Darwin - which entered into lockdown yesterday - being under tight restrictions, cases have steadily risen.
Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews said five million residents in the state capital Melbourne would be under a nightly curfew and the city would remain in a lockdown until Sept 2, after recording 22 new Covid-19 cases. "We are at a tipping point. There is simply no option but to further strengthen this lockdown," Mr Andrews told reporters in Melbourne yesterday.
The national capital Canberra recorded 19 new cases as it extended its lockdown for a further two weeks.
REUTERS
