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 Sydney, which is in its eighth week of lockdown, is the epicentre of
Australia's third COVID-19 wave https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps
that threatens to push the country's A$2 trillion ($1.5 trillion)
economy into its second recession in as many years.
New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said seven people
in Sydney had died from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, surpassing
the state's previous record daily toll from earlier this month.
Berejiklian said New South Wales had detected 478 infections, the
highest one-day rise since the pandemic began.
"Our community transmission numbers are disturbingly high,"
Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.
"Every death is a person who has loved ones, who has died in tragic
circumstances," she added.
Authorities also confirmed the death of a 15-year-old boy from
Sydney, who had pneumococcal meningitis and COVID-19.
Australia has confirmed 55 deaths since July 11, breaking a run of
more than three months without any fatalities. In total, Australia
has recorded 966 COVID-19 deaths.
The toll rose as 200 military personnel were deployed across Sydney
to set up roadblocks in the hardest-hit areas, amid persistent
reports of people flouting lockdown rules. The latest deployment
comes on top of 500 troops deployed last month.
LOCKDOWNS
With only 26% of people above 16 years of age fully vaccinated,
Australia is vulnerable to the highly infectious Delta variant that
has steadily spread across the country.
While Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Darwin - which entered into
lockdown on Monday - are all under tight restrictions, cases have
steadily risen.
Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said Melbourne's 5 million
residents would be subjected to a nightly curfew and the city would
remain in a lockdown until Sept. 2 after recording 22 new COVID-19
cases.
"We are at a tipping point. There is simply no option today but to
further strengthen this lockdown," Andrews told reporters in
Melbourne.
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 A spike in cases had been driven by people
breaking lockdown rules, he said. In one
instance, police fined 69 people A$5,500
($4,034) each for attending an engagement party
in breach of the lockdown.
National capital Canberra recorded 19 new cases
as it extended its lockdown for a further two
weeks.
Australia's economy rebounded strongly from the initial
wave of the pandemic, with unemployment hitting its lowest levels in
more than a decade at 4.9% in June.
But with its two most populated cities Sydney and Melbourne in
lockdown, economists expect a heavy toll.
"Unemployment may spike back up to 5.5% in the months ahead, mainly
driven by (New South Wales)," said Shane Oliver, Chief Economist at
AMP.
VACCINES
The outbreak and sluggish vaccine rollout has fuelled pressure on
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who must call an election before May
next year. A poll last week https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-pms-ratings-hit-pandemic-lows-amid-lockdowns-2021-08-08
showed his approval rating at its lowest level since the pandemic
began.
Morrison said on Sunday that Australia had bought about 1 million
doses https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-purchases-pfizer-vaccines-poland-covid-19-infections-spike-2021-08-14
of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Poland, but declined to specify
how much had been paid. The government has already ordered 40
million doses from Pfizer.
He said more than half of the doses from Poland would be rushed to
inoculate 20- to 39-year-olds in the worst-affected suburbs of
Sydney.
($1 = 1.3633 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Colin Packham in Canberra and Renju Jose in Sydney;
editing by Lincoln Feast and Stephen Coates)
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