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© Reuters. On July 6, 2021, Sydney, Australia, in order to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, a lone woman wearing a protective mask pulled a suitcase through the city center during the lockdown. REUTERS/Loren Elliott
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By Renju Jose
Sydney (Reuters)-The state leader of New South Wales (NSW) in Australia on Wednesday ordered the extension of the COVID-19 lockdown period in Sydney by one week and warned that as the country’s largest city responds to the highly contagious delta virus, the new The number of cases will definitely increase.
Sydney is home to one-fifth of Australia’s 25 million population. On June 26, the delta virus outbreak forced officials to tighten restrictions in a country where vaccination was slow and Sydney was blocked. The strict stay-at-home order was originally scheduled to end on Friday, but it now runs until July 16.
New South Wales Governor Gladys Berekiklian told reporters in Sydney: “This Delta strain is a game-changer. It is extremely contagious and more infectious than any other form of virus we have seen. Contagious.”
Sydney is fighting the worst epidemic so far this year. Since the first case was found in the suburb of Bondi Beach three weeks ago, the total number of infections has exceeded 350 when a limousine driver drove an overseas crew member. car.
On Wednesday, New South Wales reported a total of 27 new cases of locally infected COVID-19, up from 18 a day ago. Of the new cases, 20 were in isolation during the entire or part of the infection period, while 7 cases spent the infection period in the community.
The lockdown, rapid contact tracing, and the community’s high compliance with social distancing rules have helped Australia contain past outbreaks and kept its COVID-19 numbers at a relatively low level, with just over 30,800 cases and 910 deaths . The current lockdown is the second time Sydney has been locked down since the pandemic began.
With the news of the home extension, Australian travel-related stocks such as Qantas fell in early trading.Grocery chain Woolworths Group Ltd and Coles Group (OTC:) Ltd-Investors are expected to benefit from higher sales during the lock-in period-transaction prices rose by about 1%, exceeding the slightly higher increase in the overall market.
‘Please stay home’
Berejiklian and health officials in New South Wales warned Sydney residents that they expected an increase in cases in the next 24 hours and urged residents of the three western areas of the city-Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool to avoid Go out. Their homes and visiting indoor areas.
Kerry Chant, Chief Health Officer of New South Wales, said: “Please stay at home…Don’t visit your loved ones, try to interact digitally.”
At the same time, after the southern hemisphere winter vacation ends on Friday, Sydney schools will switch to distance learning from next week to eliminate the congestion when parents pick up their children.
Unlike many other states, New South Wales refused to order the entire city to be locked down at the beginning of the outbreak, but the highly spread delta virus forced people to rethink.
Despite the support of the federal government, New South Wales had to accept criticism of its blockade strategy from other states.
Health authorities have also come under fire for inadvertently vaccinating several high school students at the end of the vaccination queue, but New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard criticized the media for highlighting this error.
“Do you know? The school’s intentions are good. There was a mistake, so what? It has happened, in a million vaccinations. Keep going!” Hazzard said.
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