[ad_1]
An epidemiologist warned that if the lockdown is lifted before the state reaches a critical number, New South Wales may see another increase in Covid-19 cases.
New South Wales confirmed 35 new cases on Monday, of which only 7 were in the community during the infection.
Although the number of people spending the infection period in the community is declining, Professor Tony Blakely, an epidemiologist at the University of Melbourne, said that this number needs to be zero before the Greater Sydney area is safely out of lockdown.
He told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation: “For the lockdown to succeed, we really need to see the number of reported cases in the community drop to zero.”
The two-week lockdown in Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour will end at 11.59pm on Friday, July 9.
However, Professor Blakely said that lifting the blockade while there are still contagious cases in the community may make the epidemic “take off” again.
He said: “If we open up restrictions at that time, they will take off again…this is the manifestation of the virus.” He added that this poses a risk not only to New South Wales, but also to other parts of Australia.
He said that if he took the position of Chief Health Officer Dr. Kerry Chant, he would be “a little worried” that the number did not drop.
On Monday, Gov. Gladys Berejiklian said that the next few days will be critical to deciding whether the blockade will end on time and urge everyone to comply with the restrictions.
[ad_2]
Source link
