Australia's largest city, Sydney, today recorded the deadliest day of the novel coronavirus pandemic, as members of the armed forces and police set up roadblocks to restrict citizens’ movements, while Melbourne residents are subject to a nighttime curfew and another two weeks of lockdown amid a surge in cases.
Sydney, which is in its eighth week of lockdown, is at the epicenter of Australia’s third wave of COVID-19, which threatens to push Australia’s 2 trillion Australian dollar economy (approximately 1.24 trillion euros) into its second recession in as many years.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that 7 people had died from COVID-19 in Sydney in the past 24 hours, surpassing the previous record set earlier this month in the state.
Bereziklian added that New South Wales also recorded 478 new cases, the largest single-day increase since the pandemic began. “The transmission rates in our community are alarmingly high,” the New South Wales premier noted while speaking to reporters in Sydney. “Every death represents a person who had loved ones, who died under tragic circumstances, and we express our deepest condolences to all of their loved ones and their families.”.
Authorities also confirmed the death of a 15-year-old from Sydney who had pneumococcal meningitis and COVID-19.
Australia has recorded 55 deaths from COVID-19 since July 11, following more than three months without any deaths. In total, the country has recorded 966 deaths from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.
This report was released as 200 members of the armed forces were deployed to Sydney to set up roadblocks in the hardest-hit areas, amid persistent reports of people flouting lockdown rules. They were deployed in addition to the 500 soldiers who had been deployed last month.
Lockdown
Since only 26% of people over the age of 16 have been fully vaccinated in the country, Australia is vulnerable to the more contagious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus, which is spreading at a steady rate across the country.
While the cities of Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, and Darwin—where the lockdown takes effect today—are all under strict lockdown measures, cases are rising steadily. Daniel Andrews, the premier of the state of Victoria, stated that Melbourne will remain under lockdown until September 2, after 22 new cases were reported. The city’s five million residents are also subject to a nighttime curfew.
“We are at a critical juncture. Today, we simply have no choice but to further tighten this lockdown,” Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.
The surge in cases is being driven by people who are violating lockdown rules, he added. In one instance, the police imposed a fine of 5,500 Australian dollars (approximately 3,400 euros) on each of the 69 people who attended an engagement party in violation of quarantine rules.
Canberra, the country's capital, reported 19 new cases today—its largest single-day increase—as it extended the lockdown it had imposed for another two weeks. Australia’s economy has shown a strong recovery from the initial wave of the pandemic, with unemployment falling to its lowest level in more than a decade, at 4.9% in June. However, with many of its most populous cities on the east coast now under lockdown, economists expect a heavy toll.
“Unemployment may rise again to 5.5% in the coming months, driven mainly by (New South Wales),” said Shane Oliver, chief economist at AMP.
Vaccines
The surge in cases and the sluggish vaccination campaign have reignited pressure on Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who must call an election before May 2022. Morrison stated yesterday, Sunday, that Australia has purchased approximately 1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine from Poland, as it moved quickly to buy surplus stock. The Australian prime minister declined to specify the amount the country paid for these vaccines, which will be added to the 40 million doses his government has already ordered from Pfizer.
Morrison also noted that more than half of the doses from Poland will be allocated to vaccinate people aged 20–39 in Sydney’s hardest-hit suburbs.
