Australia suffers worst COVID day this year with millions in lockdown
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[August 07, 2021]
By Lidia Kelly
MELBOURNE (Reuters) -Australia saw a record
daily number of new coronavirus cases this year on Saturday, with the
country's most populous states of New South Wales, Victoria and
Queensland recording a total of 361 cases of the highly infectious Delta
variant.
With about 15 million people in the three states, or 60% of Australia's
population, under a strict lockdown, the country also reported five
coronavirus-related deaths, one of the highest this year.
NSW suffered its worst pandemic day, reporting 319 new locally acquired
COVID-19 cases, with Sydney and neighbouring regional centres spanning
200 km (120 miles) of coastline under a stay-at-home order for six weeks
already.
There are 345 people admitted to hospital in NSW, with 56 in intensive
care and 23 under ventilation.
NSW authorities, who had been reluctant to put Sydney into a lockdown,
said lack of observance of rules has been a problem.
"What we have happening right now is some people are not complying," NSW
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.
"Just stay at home - that is the circuit breaker. Stay at home and get
vaccinated."
Neighbouring Victoria saw the highest daily jump in cases this year,
with 29 new infections, as the state remains under a snap seven-day
lockdown imposed earlier this week, the state's sixth since the start of
the pandemic.
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Personnel from the Australian Defence Force and New South Wales
Police Force patrol a street in the Bankstown suburb during an
extended lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease
(COVID-19) in Sydney, Australia, August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Loren
Elliott
Victoria Premier Dan Andrews urged people to follow
the public health rules that allow residents to leave their house
only for essential work, shopping, care, vaccination or two hours of
outdoor exercise.
"This Delta variant spreads so fast," Andrews said. "We don't have
enough of people vaccinated, we will finish up with younger people
in the hospital, otherwise fit and healthy people. Our system will
be overrun if we don't bring this under control."
Queensland recorded 13 new cases, with all but one isolating while
infectious, bringing hopes that the eight-day lockdown in parts of
the state will be lifted as planned on Sunday afternoon.
With just over 36,000 COVID-19 cases and 937 deaths, Australia has
avoided the high caseloads of other developed countries, but its
vaccination figures are among the lowest, with only 20% of people
aged over 16 fully vaccinated.
(Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell & Simon
Cameron-Moore)
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