Australia’s Sydney and Darwin start COVID-19 lockdown | Coronavirus pandemic news

Due to the surge in cases related to the Delta variant, the authorities imposed a two-week lockdown in Sydney and a two-day strict stay-at-home order in Darwin.

Australia’s largest city, Sydney, began a two-week lockdown on Sunday as a group of highly contagious coronavirus Delta variants rose to 110 cases, and the outbreak in the northern city of Darwin prompted people to stay at home hard to order for two days.

South Wales Governor Gladys Berejiklian said at a news conference in Sydney: “Given how contagious this strain is, we do expect that in the next few days, The number of cases may exceed the number we see today.”

Through rapid border closures, social distancing rules, and a high degree of compliance, Australia has been more successful in controlling the pandemic than many other advanced economies, reporting more than 30,450 cases and 910 deaths from COVID-19.

But the country has faced an increasing number of small-scale outbreaks in recent months. So far, these problems have been controlled through rapid contact tracing, isolation of thousands of people at a time, or emergency lockdown.

The 30 new infections reported in Sydney on Sunday brought the number of Delta variants associated with a cluster in the Bondi community to 110. Two other cases are under investigation.

The rapid increase in cases and locations of exposure has forced the state government to reluctantly implement a lockdown. In this case, people can only leave their homes for basic shopping, work, education, exercise and medical care.

After it was discovered that a flight attendant on multiple flights across the country was infected in Sydney, contact tracing officers were racing to get in touch with airline passengers.

The Northern Territory is home to some of Australia’s most famous ancient indigenous cultures and a strong mining industry. The first coronavirus case in months appeared on Saturday, and four local infections were reported, not related to the Sydney epidemic.

The Delta variant infection started with a worker in a gold mine owned by Newmont, which is currently in lockdown.

Since the authorities were unable to trace all close contacts of the miner, Darwin and some surrounding areas were immediately imposed a strict 48-hour blockade.

Chief Minister Michael Gunner said at a press conference: “I would rather regret that we were too early and tough, rather than being too relaxed and taking all risks.”

Neighboring Queensland reported two locally infected COVID-19 cases on Sunday. Authorities said both of these infections were Alpha variants and were first detected in the United Kingdom in September 2020.

A community case has been reported in Western Australia, and state authorities suspect it is a delta variant.