Australia's 2nd largest city, Melbourne, enters 6th lockdown

CANBERRA – Australia’s second-largest city, Melbourne, went into a sixth lockdown connected Thursday, with a authorities authorities person blaming the nation’s dilatory COVID-19 vaccination rollout.

Melbourne joins Sydney and Brisbane, Australia’s astir populous and third-most populous cities respectively, successful locking down owed to the dispersed of the highly contagious delta variant.

Melbourne and surrounding Victoria authorities volition fastener down for 7 weeks aft 8 caller infections were detected successful the city, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said.

Andrews gave little than 4 hours' announcement that the authorities would fastener down from 8 p.m. He said his authorities had nary different prime due to the fact that lone 20% of Australian adults had been afloat vaccinated by Wednesday.

“To beryllium truly frank, we don’t person capable radical that person been vaccinated and, therefore, this is the lone enactment disposable to us,” Andrews said. “The clip volition travel erstwhile we person galore much options. But that isn’t now.”

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Andrews has accused neighboring New South Wales authorities of taking excessively agelong to fastener down Sydney aft a limousine operator who became infected portion transporting a U.S. aircrew from Sydney Airport tested affirmative to the delta variant connected June 16.

New South Wales connected Thursday reported its worst time since the Sydney lockdown began connected June 26 with a grounds 262 caller section infections and 5 deaths.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said 4 of the dormant had not been vaccinated. One had a azygous dose of the two-shot AstraZeneca vaccine successful precocious May.

Australian authorities person urged radical successful Sydney not to hold for the optimal 12 weeks earlier getting their 2nd AstraZeneca dose.

“No 1 who has died has had some doses of vaccine. I cannot accent capable however it’s truthful important for everybody of each ages to travel guardant and get the vaccine,” Berejiklian said.

AstraZeneca and Pfizer are the lone vaccines disposable successful Australia.

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There person been 21 COVID-19 deaths reported successful Sydney since the latest outbreak began. There person been 78 deaths confirmed successful New South Wales since the pandemic began.

The authorities reported 262 locally acquired infections successful the latest 24-hour period. Another six cases were diagnosed successful edifice quarantine and are not considered threats to the community.

When Victoria ended its 5th lockdown past week, Andrews said helium believed the authorities was the lone jurisdiction successful the satellite that had beaten a delta outbreak twice.

Melbourne was the Australian halfway of the pandemic past year, erstwhile caller infections peaked astatine 725 successful a time successful August. Of Australia’s 925 COVID-19 reported deaths since the pandemic began, 820 person occurred successful Victoria.

Authorities were gaining assurance connected Thursday that Brisbane and surrounding cities successful Queensland authorities volition extremity an eight-day lockdown arsenic planned connected Sunday.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said efforts to suppress the dispersed had surpassed expectations.

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All 16 caller locally acquired cases reported connected Thursday person been straight linked to known vulnerability sites.

But doubts are increasing that Sydney’s lockdown volition extremity arsenic planned connected Aug. 28 arsenic lawsuit numbers proceed to grow.

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