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 The new cases in New South Wales come after neighbouring Victoria
state last week forced about 5 million people back into lockdown
after a surge of new coronavirus cases.
Australia has avoided the high COVID-19 casualty numbers of other
nations with swift and strict measures, recording fewer than 10,000
coronavirus cases in total, or about a sixth of the daily cases seen
in the United States in recent days.
However, authorities are worried about rising cases of community
transmission.
This accounted for 8 of the 14 new cases in New South Wales in the
last 24 hours, while the rest were people who have returned from
overseas and are already in hotel quarantine or have returned from
Victoria.
The bulk of these community transmission cases were people who
recently visited a pub in southwest Sydney, the Crossroads Hotel,
taking the cluster to 13 in all.
"The concern is that this hotel is used by freight drivers who are
transporting essential supplies across the country," Australia's
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd told the Australian
Broadcasting Corp.
"They are not being tested."
In a bid to curtail the spread, authorities urged anyone who
attended the pub to isolate for two weeks and get tested.
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On Monday, long lines of cars were waiting more than three hours to
attend a drive-through test clinic at the venue.
The virus, however, has already spread to at least one more high
traffic venue, with a patron at Sydney's Star casino on July 4
testing positive for COVID-19, the Star Entertainment Group Ltd <SGR.AX>
said.
In Victoria state, authorities on Monday reported 177 new
coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, the eighth consecutive day
of triple digit rises in COVID-19 cases, but down from 273 cases the
previous day.
"It may not be our peak yet," Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett
Sutton told reporters in Melbourne. "I would like to see a week of
decreasing numbers."
Australia's Minister for Health Greg Hunt said 1,000 military
personnel had been dispatched to help state officials curtail the
spread of the coronavirus.
Scientists, meanwhile, have begun trials of a potential COVID-19
vaccine developed at the University of Queensland.
Volunteers were due to receive the first vaccine dose on Monday
morning. Preliminary results of the trial are expected to be
released by the end of September, the university said.
(Reporting by Colin Packham; editing by Richard Pullin)
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