Sydney imposes lockdown on beach suburbs as COVID cluster grows to 39
20 December, 2020
Around 25 % of a million people in Sydney's northern beach suburbs were ordered on Saturday right into a strict lockdown until midnight on Wednesday in order to contain a coronavirus cluster which authorities fear may spread over the city.
Authorities will on Sunday announce whether further restrictions will be imposed on the others of Sydney, Australia's most populous city.
"I want to make that clear, to state to greater Sydney, please, please, usually do not go out tonight or the next few days unless you need to," New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at a news conference on Saturday.
The outbreak on Sydney's northern beaches now totals 39 with two additional cases still under investigation. This up from five only two days ago, but authorities do not know the foundation of the virus, which genome testing suggests is a U.S. strain.
Australia has avoided the worst of the coronavirus because of international border closures, lockdowns, widespread testing and social distancing. It has recorded up to now a total of around 28,100 infections.
Until this week, Australia had opted more than fourteen days with no local transmission and had lifted nearly all restrictions ahead of Christmas. The Sydney outbreak prompted states and territories to reimpose border restrictions, sending holiday travel plans for thousands into chaos.
The Sydney lockdown means persons in the designated area is only going to be allowed to set off for just one of four essential reasons: food shopping, work, compassionate grounds including emergency medical treatment, or visiting an isolated relative.
Authorities have pinpointed two clubs at Avalon beach as the initial transmission sites for the cluster, but have issued more than 30 potential secondary transmission sites, as a long way away as Bondi and Cronulla beaches in the east and south of the town.
After a lot more than 12,000 tests were conducted on Friday, people queued in Sydney all night on Saturday to get tested.
"This is the community responding in the way we want them to respond," Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Paul Kelly said.
Major public facilities in the "hotspot" area, such as for example pools, beaches and playgrounds, have already been closed and visitors banned from age care facilities.
Many restaurants, cafes and 14 hotels in the region have voluntarily closed this weekend.
Source: japantoday.com