In Melbourne, Australia's second largest city, more than five million people have been ordered to confine themselves as of midnight Thursday after the appearance of an outbreak of Covid-19.
The acting Prime Minister of this state, James Merlino, indicated that this seven-day confinement concerned the city of Melbourne as well as the state of Victoria which surrounds it.
The number of cases linked to this cluster has doubled to 26.
"We are dealing with a highly infectious strain of the virus, a disturbing variant, which is spreading faster than anything we have ever recorded," said James Merlino.
First detected in India, the B.1.617 variant shows increased transmissibility.
Statement from the Acting Premier on statewide circuit breaker restrictions: https://t.co/Bu9dgD1OPR
- James Merlino (@JamesMerlinoMP) May 27, 2021
The objective of this containment measure is to have the effect of a “circuit breaker”.
It should also allow the health authorities to trace contact cases as effectively as possible.
For a whole week, residents will have the right to leave their homes only for urgent needs, such as an anti-Covid vaccination appointment.
Fourth containment in Melbourne
The interim Prime Minister of the State accused the conservative federal government of being in part at the origin of this containment due to a slow vaccination campaign against the Covid-19.
“If more people were vaccinated, the circumstances would be very different from those we know today.
But unfortunately, this is not the case, ”says James Merlino.
Melbourne is in confinement for the fourth time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
After cases were recorded in dozens of places, including a stadium and nightclubs, thousands of residents of the country's second largest city had already been ordered to self-confine.
With the huge island continent having succeeded in curbing the pandemic, Australians have experienced few restrictions in recent months.
Voices were nevertheless raised to denounce the slowness of the vaccination campaign which makes the country vulnerable.
The Labor opposition thus accuses the government of not having reviewed the quarantine system for travelers arriving from abroad, which has shown deficiencies.
“If we had had an alternative to hotel quarantine (…), we wouldn't be where we are today,” said James Merlino.
Of Australia's 25 million people, only 3.7 million doses have been administered.
Since the start of the pandemic, the country has recorded less than 30,000 cases of Covid-19 and less than a thousand deaths.