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 The unnamed man in his 20s, who had no underlying health issues and
was unvaccinated, died at his home in the city, authorities said. He
deteriorated rapidly after earlier complaining of just mild
symptoms, they added.
The man was ineligible for a Pfizer vaccine, as Australia limits
that type for people over 40 amid tight supplies, while Canberra has
only recently told people to take the AstraZeneca vaccine as cases
swell, having previously limited it to people over 60.
The death highlights the risk facing Australia's largest city, which
is struggling to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta
variant when fewer than 20% of Sydney's residents are vaccinated.
Last year, the neighbouring state of Victoria said an unnamed man
also in his 20s had died from COVID-19, though a coroner is still
investigating the exact cause of death.
It was unclear if the Sydney man had the Delta coronavirus variant
but most of the latest cases in New South Wales have been that type.
Early data are showing Delta is more contagious and likely causes
more severe effects than earlier coronavirus variants, though other
experts cautioned more findings are needed.
The young man was one of two COVID-19 deaths reported in New South
Wales in the past 24 hours. New South Wales also recorded 233 new
cases, near a 16-month high reported last week, and State Premier
Gladys Berejiklian said case numbers would likely grow.
"I'm not going to rule out case numbers won’t get worse, I actually
think they will get worse,” Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney,
the New South Wales capital.
"If you look at the number of people infectious in the community, it
indicates that perhaps we haven’t reached our peak."
At least 68 of the 233 new cases were not in isolation for their
entire infectious period.
INTENSE PRESSURE
Berejiklian is under intense pressure to ease the movement
restrictions that threaten to drive Australia into its second
recession in as many years. However, she has said at least 50% of
the state's population would need to be vaccinated for the curbs to
ease at the end of August.
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 Still, many remain wary of
taking the AstraZeneca vaccine, the most
plentiful of two vaccines approved in the
country, because of a rare blood clotting issue.
Additionally, government modelling released on Tuesday showed at
least 70% of the state's population would need to be inoculated to
slow the spread.
The modelling also indicated Australia should intensify vaccinations
of younger people, who tend to spread the virus more frequently but
are unable to secure a Pfizer vaccine. Authorities
have warned people not to wait for an increase in Pfizer supplies
expected next month as case numbers prove difficult to curtail and
sewage tests are indicating the coronavirus may have spread north.
New South Wales has taken aggressive countermeasures to stop the
coronavirus's spread, including sealing off high-risk suburbs and
asking the military to help police enforce lockdown rules.
A total of 17 people have died in Sydney during the current outbreak
that began on June 16. During that time, the surge has pushed the
total cases in New South Wales to more than 4,000.
Nationally, Australia has recorded 927 deaths since the pandemic's
start, with just over 35,000 cases out of about 25 million people.
Queensland on Wednesday reported 16 locally acquired cases, the same
as the day earlier, prompting authorities to declare it the state's
worst outbreak since the start of the pandemic and warn that a
lockdown in the capital Brisbane might be extended beyond Sunday.
"If we don't do something really, really, really special in
Queensland, we'll be extending the lockdown," Queensland Chief
Health Officer Jeannette Young told reporters in Brisbane.
The states of Victoria and Western Australia also reported one new
COVID-19 infection each.
(Reporting Byron Kaye, Paulina Duran and Renju Jose in Sydney and
Colin Packham in Canberra; Editing by Gerry Doyle and Christian
Schmollinger)
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