Covid-19: Sydney extends confinement for two weeks

The epidemic focus due to the Delta variant continues to spread in Sydney.

Despite the lockdown imposed on June 26, 97 new cases have been identified in the past 24 hours.

After a first one-week extension, confinement was scheduled until July 16, but will therefore be extended at least until July 30 for the five million inhabitants of Sydney, local authorities announced on Wednesday.

Australia has long been praised for its good initial results in managing the pandemic, mainly due to the very strict closure of the borders of the huge island-continent.

But the vaccination campaign is extremely slow, to the point that less than 10% of the population is vaccinated only, as many developed countries begin to consider the world after.

"It always hurts to say that, but we have to extend the lockdown, at least two more weeks," New South Wales Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said on Wednesday.

Unlike many countries that are trying to control the circulation of the virus, Australia has opted for a zero case strategy.

Sydney's people are currently only able to go out to buy essentials, get medical care, exercise or go to work when needed, but schools are closed and residents are encouraged to stay at home.

The Sydney outbreak presumably started from an unvaccinated driver who took care of airline crews and who tested positive in mid-June.

"Many different opinions"

The authorities refused to impose a harsher confinement while some critics of Australian health policy denounce the fact that the rules on “essential activities” allow businesses like Ikea or Louis Vuitton to remain open.

“I realize there are a lot of different opinions, but please realize that every decision we make is based on expert opinion,” Berejiklian said.

Some neighborhoods are subject to more severe restrictions, especially in the suburb of Bondi where a building was completely cordoned off after the detection of nine positive cases.

Police were guarding the entrance and back of the building on Tuesday to prevent residents from exiting.

A sign affixed to an apartment window read "Send beer".

The Prime Minister of New South Wales has not ruled out a tightening of restrictive measures in the event of soaring contaminations. Since the outbreak resumed in mid-June, Australia has recorded 864 positive cases, of which 20 are hospitalized in intensive care and two have died. This figure is significantly lower than the balance sheets of most major cities in the world. But it poses a significant challenge for Australia because of its zero-case strategy. Since the start of the pandemic, Australia, with a population of 25 million, has recorded more than 31,000 cases and 912 deaths attributed to Covid-19.