Sydney: As the daily cases report a striking spike, the State government on Wednesday announced a four week extension of the lockdown on Greater Sydney and surrounding areas. Officials announced 177 new cases linked to the Sydney outbreak, which began mid-June.
Under the new restrictions, residents in greater Sydney and surrounding areas must limit their shopping within their Local Government Areas (LGA) and if residing outside of LGA they are permitted to move within 10 kms from home. People living in hotspots have been urged not to leave their neighbourhoods, but those living alone will be allowed to create a “singles bubble” with another person.
Constructions will resume under surveillance. College entrance exam aspirants will resume face to face learning from August 16, following a targeted vaccination program.
So far, more than 2500 individuals have been infected in a cluster that began when a limousine driver tested positive on June 16 to the contagious delta variant. The death toll of the region also reached 11 on Wednesday after Sydney hospital recorded the death of an unvaccinated woman in her 90s.
With a largely unvaccinated population, Australia has struggled to respond to the Delta Variant, repeatedly sending cities into lockdown. As per WHO, the country recorded 33,081 infections and 918 COVID-related deaths in a population of 25 million.