Delta Variant Fear Spreads in Australia... Lockdown Orders Expanded to 3 States

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suhwan] Recently, as the COVID-19 Delta variant that started in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, spread to other states, lockdown orders were issued in the neighboring states of Victoria and South Australia (SA).

According to ABC News on the 21st, the daily new confirmed cases in NSW were confirmed to be 110 on that day.

This is a significant increase from 78 cases the previous day.

Due to the spread of the Delta variant virus that began in late June, lockdown orders have been implemented since the 16th and 20th in the neighboring states of Victoria and SA, following eastern NSW.

Accordingly, outings for purposes other than essential activities such as purchasing daily necessities, medical care, work, and exercise are prohibited in these areas.

The Premier of NSW told reporters on the day, "If lockdown measures had not been implemented, the daily new confirmed cases would have been in the thousands, not the 110 confirmed today."

Since the lockdown order was implemented on the 26th of last month, the NSW government has introduced strong measures such as closing general retail stores, requiring masks in apartment common areas, and banning entry to areas with cluster infections, but the spread of the Delta variant has not subsided.

Meanwhile, in neighboring Victoria, 22 new confirmed cases were reported on the day, a sharp increase compared to 9 cases the previous day.

The Victorian government decided to extend the lockdown, originally scheduled to be lifted on the 20th, by one week until the 27th due to this surge.

In SA, with 2 new confirmed cases, a lockdown order has been in place for one week since 6 p.m. the previous day.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated, "The highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant is an enormous national challenge," emphasizing, "Only when vaccination rates increase can we reach the goals we desire."

Currently, it is known that only 11% of the Australian population has completed vaccination.

The spread of the Delta variant in Australia began on the 16th of last month when a limousine bus driver in his 60s living in eastern Sydney, NSW, was infected by a passenger who arrived from the United States.

Subsequently, as community infections surged, lockdown orders were issued for Greater Sydney and nearby areas.

However, as the virus spread could not be contained, lockdown orders were extended to neighboring Victoria and SA.

With consecutive lockdown orders, the negative impact on the Australian economy is also growing. According to data released by the government on the day, Australia's retail sales in June fell by about 1.8% compared to the previous month.

This figure is four times higher than experts had predicted.

Meanwhile, Australia's cumulative confirmed cases and deaths have been tallied at 32,129 and 915, respectively.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.