![]() ![]() These measures have largely led to much lower infections than in comparable countries, but epidemiologists warned for weeks that outbreaks were inevitable because of the Delta surge. Over the past year, Liberal-National and Labor Party governments alike in Australia have only instituted coronavirus safety measures when compelled to do so by health staff and other workers. This developing disaster is another indictment of the corporate profit-driven response of Australian governments, like their counterparts internationally, which have failed to implement effective lockdown, quarantine and vaccination measures, permitting new mutant strains to emerge, such as Delta, which has spread to more than 80 countries. The days of delay, in defiance of warnings by medical experts, allowed the highly infectious and dangerous Delta variant, first detected in India, to spread from a cluster in Sydney’s eastern suburbs throughout much of the city and across the continent, as well as to New Zealand. ![]() On Saturday, New Zealand vaccinated more than 2.5 percent of its people as part of a government-led mass vaccination drive.After more than a week of refusing to introduce lockdown measures in response to a worsening COVID-19 outbreak, the Liberal-National government in New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s most populous state, on Saturday imposed limited two-week “stay at home” orders covering the Sydney metropolitan area and surrounding regions. Neighbouring New Zealand, which is also learning to live with COVID-19 by accelerating inoculations, reported 51 new cases on Sunday, 47 of them in the largest city Auckland, which has been in a lockdown since mid-August. Neighbouring New South Wales, which emerged last week from a 100-day lockdown, reported 301 cases and 10 deaths.Įighty percent of the state’s people have been fully vaccinated. Victoria on Sunday recorded 1,838 new coronavirus cases and seven deaths. ![]() The government is also in discussions with Singapore about reopening travel between the two countries for the fully vaccinated.ĭespite a rise in cases in recent months, Australia’s coronavirus numbers are low compared with many other developed countries, with just over 143,000 cases and 1,530 deaths. ![]() More easing, including the reopening of many retailers, will come once 80 percent of eligible Victorians are fully vaccinated – estimated by November 5 at the latest.Īustralia’s health officials also said on Sunday that quarantine-free travel from New Zealand’s South Island, where there is no outbreak, will resume on Wednesday. There will be no travel limits within metropolitan Melbourne, the premier said, though residents of the city will not be able to travel outside the city without permission. Most outdoor venues will be open to up to 50 people, subject to density limits, while indoor venues, including cafes and restaurants will be able to open to 20 people, also subject to density limits. Gatherings outside will be limited to 15 people. In Victoria, more than 65 percent of people over the age of 16 have had a second dose of a vaccine while 89 percent have had at least one dose.Īndrews said with the lifting of the stay at home order, people will be allowed to have 10 visitors at their homes each day. “We are instead locking people out who have not got vaccinated to protect themselves and protect everybody else.”Īs of the weekend, about 68 percent of eligible Australians have been fully inoculated. “We’re not locking people down any more across the board,” said Andrews. The new strategy makes lockdowns highly unlikely once 80 percent of the population is fully vaccinated. Australia, once a champion of a COVID-zero strategy of managing the pandemic, has been moving towards living with the virus through extensive vaccinations, as the Delta variant has proven too transmissible to suppress. ![]()
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