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 Another hotspot, in inner-city Sydney, forced a senior adviser to
Prime Minister Scott Morrison into self-isolation, but the prime
minister has been cleared to continue working.
Queensland state barred entry to anyone from Sydney and locked down
suburbs south of its capital, Brisbane, after two women tested
positive for COVID-19 having returned from a trip to Melbourne
without quarantining.
Australia has reported far fewer coronavirus cases than many other
countries, with nearly 15,600 confirmed infections and 176 deaths as
of Wednesday.
But a spike in community transmission in the most populous
southeastern states of Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) has
alarmed health officials just as the economy was reopening.
Victoria reported 295 new cases on Wednesday, taking the state's
total to 9,304 cases. There were nine deaths, including seven in
aged care.
While the number of new infections was down from a record 532 on
Monday, Victoria's chief health officer, Brett Sutton, said it was
too early to say new cases had peaked.
Aged care homes are at the centre of Victoria's outbreak, with 804
active COVID-19 cases linked to the homes, including workers, state
Premier Daniel Andrews said.
"The most tragic part of this outbreak is there have been 49 deaths
in aged care. That is a terrible tragedy and there will be more,"
Australia's health secretary, Brendan Murphy, told reporters.
The government has sent 1,400 military personnel and five emergency
teams to Melbourne to help deal with the aged care issues, including
contact tracing.
Australian Health Minister Greg Hunt said while infections in aged
care made up only 7% of new cases in Victoria since July 1, all
efforts were focused on reining in those outbreaks as the elderly
are the "most vulnerable".
At one facility, several residents were transferred to hospital by
helicopter on Tuesday and army medics were sent to cover staff who
are self-isolating.
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NSW reported 19 new cases, including two in hotel quarantine, raising the
state's total cases to 3,529. The state capital Sydney is grappling with several
clusters that have sprung up at pubs, restaurants and schools.
Morrison called the situation in 13 Victorian aged care facilities "very
distressing". The outbreaks have largely been due to transmission from workers
at the homes, many of whom might not have been aware they were carrying the
virus.
"When it rains, everyone gets wet. And that is what we're seeing with
broad-based community transmission in Victoria," Morrison said.
Melbourne, the country's second-most-populous city, is in the midst of reimposed
lockdown that has stalled the reopening of businesses, forced other states to
shut borders and delayed a proposed reopening of travel between Australia and
New Zealand.
"There is a significant Victorian wave, but that Victorian wave is impacting the
national economy more broadly," Morrison said in a televised media conference.
Australia has entered its first recession since the early 1990s, with the budget
set to plunge to its biggest deficit since World War Two, as the government has
rolled out hundreds of billions of dollars in spending to boost the economy.
"It's in the national interest, from a health perspective and economic
perspective, that we ensure that Victoria wins here," Morrison said.
(Reporting by Renju Jose and Sonali Paul; Editing by Michael Perry and Stephen
Coates)
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