• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
Home World

Sydney to tighten COVID-19 curbs, Australian capital to enter lockdown

12 August 2021, 10:56 AM  |
Reuters Reuters |  @SABCNews
Pedestrians wearing protective face masks walk through the city centre during a lockdown to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Sydney, Australia, August 9, 2021.

Pedestrians wearing protective face masks walk through the city centre during a lockdown to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Sydney, Australia, August 9, 2021.

Image: Reuters

Pedestrians wearing protective face masks walk through the city centre during a lockdown to curb the spread of a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Sydney, Australia, August 9, 2021.

Extra Australian military personnel may be called in to ensure compliance with lockdown rules in Sydney, the New South Wales state government said on Thursday, as the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant spreads into regional areas.

The move comes as Australia’s capital city, Canberra, 260 km (160 miles) southwest of Sydney, announced a snap one-week lockdown from Thursday evening after reporting its first locally acquired case of COVID-19 in more than a year.

Australia is battling to get on top of the fast-moving Delta strain that has plunged two of its largest cities – Sydney and Melbourne – into hard lockdowns.

“We are making sure that we do not leave any stone unturned in relation to extra (military) resources,” New South Wales (NSW) state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at a media conference in Sydney, the state capital.

A spokesperson for Defence Minister Peter Dutton told Reuters the NSW government has indicated it would soon formally request additional military support.

Some 580 unarmed army personnel are already helping police enforce home-quarantine orders on affected households in the worst-affected suburbs of Sydney, Australia’s most populous city.

Several regional towns scattered across NSW have also been forced into snap lockdowns after fresh cases, raising fears the virus is spreading out of control.

Despite seven weeks of lockdown in Sydney, daily infections continue to hover near record highs. NSW on Thursday reported 345 new locally acquired cases, most of them in Sydney, up from 344 a day earlier.

Lockdown rules were tightened in three more local council areas in Sydney, limiting the movement of people to within 5 km (3 miles) of their homes.

Joe Awada, the mayor of Bayside Council, one of the areas placed under additional restrictions, questioned why more targeted curbs were not introduced.

“I mean to lockdown 200 000 residents because of three suburbs is not acceptable to me,” Awada told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Officials also reported two deaths, two men in their 90s, taking the total deaths in the latest outbreak to 36. A total of 374 cases are in hospitals, with 62 in intensive care, 29 of whom require ventilation.

In Canberra, authorities said the one-week lockdown was needed as they were unsure how the man is his 20s acquired COVID-19.

Canberra has largely escaped any COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic, and confirmation of a Delta variant saw panic buying at the supermarkets and long lines at testing sites.

Neighbouring Victoria state on Thursday reported 21 new locally acquired cases, up from 20 a day earlier, as 5 million residents of Melbourne, the state capital, prepare to enter a second week of lockdown.

Of the new cases, six spent time outdoors while infectious, a number which authorities have said must return to near zero before restrictions can be eased.

Authorities on Wednesday extended the lockdown in Melbourne for another seven days until August 19.

Australia has largely avoided the high coronavirus numbers seen in many other countries, with just over 37 700 cases and 946 deaths, and several states remain almost COVID-free despite the outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne.

But the rapid spread of the Delta variant in New South Wales and a slow vaccine rollout has left the country vulnerable to a new wave of infections.

Only around 24% of people above 16 years of age are fully vaccinated, and experts see Australia heading into a cycle of stop-and-start lockdowns until a higher vaccination coverage is reached.

Share article
Tags: AustraliaSydneyCOVID-19LockdownDelta variant
Previous Post

Madagascar president sacks ministers, saying some were poor performers

Next Post

Justin Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion lead nominees for MTV’s VMA awards

Related Posts

Rescuers carry out a person from a collapsed building after an earthquake in Adana, Turkey February 6, 2023.

Putin says Russia ready to help Syria and Turkey after major quake

6 February 2023, 12:27 PM
A man walks past by a collapsed building after an earthquake in Malatya, Turkey February 6, 2023.

Major earthquake strikes Turkey, Syria; scores dead, many trapped

6 February 2023, 7:56 AM
FILE PHOTO: People hold placards during a strike by NHS nurses and other medical workers, amid a dispute with the government over pay, in London, Britain, January 18, 2023. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

Britain faces largest ever healthcare strikes as pay disputes drag on

5 February 2023, 5:11 PM
FILE PHOTO: Pakistan's former President, Pervez Musharraf, addresses his supporters after his arrival from Dubai at Jinnah International airport in Karachi March 24, 2013

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf dies in Dubai after years in exile

5 February 2023, 11:06 AM
A balloon flies in the sky over Billings, Montana, U.S. February 1, 2023 in this picture obtained from social media.

Suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down by US military

5 February 2023, 8:16 AM
Rescuers use a crane to remove debris of a multistorey residential building damaged in recent shelling in the course of Russia-Ukraine conflict in Donetsk, Russian-controlled Ukraine, February 4, 2023. REUTERS/Pavel Klimov

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy says situation at the front getting tougher

4 February 2023, 8:54 PM
Next Post
Singer Justin Bieber poses at the premiere for the documentary television series "Justin Bieber: Seasons" in Los Angeles, California.

Justin Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion lead nominees for MTV's VMA awards

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Registration at Unisa closes on Friday, but management says no need to panic
  • Green comet to be visible from SA next week
  • VIDEO: Mabuza resigns as SA Deputy President
  • Budding Stellenbosch FC star reportedly stabbed to death
  • Shock over proposed SA sponsorship of Tottenham Hotspur
  • Parts of the Northern Cape to be exempted from rolling blackouts
  • Registration at Unisa closes on Friday, but management says no need to panic
  • VIDEO | St Benedict College’s Matric learner gets 11 distinctions
  • Limpopo matriculant from child-headed household attains diploma pass
  • Female circumcision practice thriving in Eastern Cape
  • Kellerman, Bantwini, Zikode win Grammy award
  • Tributes pour in for Stellenbosch FC player Oshwin Andries
  • Former Orlando Pirates midfielder John Moeti passes away
  • ‘If you are lazy, stay home’, Mbalula advises ANC members
  • Calls for national shutdown a ‘do or die’ situation, says EFF deputy president

LATEST

Wouter Kellerman, Zakes Bantwini and Nomcebo Zikode receive the Grammy award for Best Global Music Performance in Los Angeles California on February 6, 2023.
  • Lifestyle

Ladysmith Black Mambazo congratulates SA musicians on their Grammy wins


Patient being evacuated close to the Boss 400 wreck.
  • South Africa

NSRI cautions against visiting Bos 400 shipwreck site


Paul Mashatile is expected to replace David Mabuza as the country's deputy president.
  • Politics

Four new ANC members have been sworn in as MPs


  • South Africa

LIVE | Dr Frene Ginwala tribute


Comrades Marathon runners
  • Sport

Comrades Marathon runners happy the race is back to its traditional June date


Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe engaging with the media at the Investing in African Mining Indaba at the Cape Town International Convention Centre on February 6, 2023.
  • Business

Govt working on plan to resolve load shedding in the next 12 months: Mantashe


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • SCI-TECH
  • LIFESTYLE
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2022

Previous Madagascar president sacks ministers, saying some were poor performers
Next Justin Bieber, Megan Thee Stallion lead nominees for MTV’s VMA awards