The number of corona infections and deaths from the coronavirus has reached a new record in the Australian city of Sydney, despite a nearly six-week lockdown.
The authorities, who are finding it difficult to control the outbreak with the Delta variant of the virus, reported five corona deaths and 259 new corona infections in the city on Thursday.
Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian of New South Wales, of which Sydney is a part, told a press conference that none of the corona deaths had been fully vaccinated. She again called on residents of the region to get vaccinated and continue following the corona measures. “I cannot emphasize enough how important high vaccination coverage is to get out of this situation.”
An end to the lockdown does not seem in sight, despite the authorities’ ambition to have more than six million residents of the state vaccinated by the end of the month. Authorities are concerned that about 20 percent of the infected people have been in the community every day and have spread the virus further.
In the neighbouring state of Victoria, the fear is also reasonable, after eight new corona infections were reported on Thursday. As a result, authorities have declared a seven-day lockdown.
That will affect Thursday at 8 p.m. (local time), reports television channel ABC News. People are only allowed to go out for five reasons: for shopping, for care, to play sports, for work or education that cannot be done from home and to be vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews tells ABC News he is “disappointed” that the lockdown has returned. “With so few people in our community who have been vaccinated, let alone fully vaccinated, I have no choice but to go into lockdown.”
