Brisbane, Australia – Australia’s third-largest city has been blocked and borders are expected to tighten nationwide on Friday after a cleaning agent at a quarantine hotel Coronavirus strain from Great Britain that officials say it’s more infectious. More than two million people in the Greater Brisbane area will have to stay home for at least three days on Friday night, authorities said.
“If we are to stop the spread of this infectious strain, this British strain, we must act immediately,” Annensacia Palaszczuk, Queensland’s prime minister, told the media.
Big lines formed in stores around the city, prompting officials to urge people to stop buying panic. The restrictions received will continue to allow residents to leave home to buy essentials.
On Brisbane’s central shopping street, Queen Street Mall, people have expressed widespread support for the measures – eager to avoid the growing number of cases seen as the variant catches on in the UK.
Andy McPhee, 51, a Brisbane resident who works for an international firm, said the blockade has diminished compared to what his colleagues abroad have experienced.
“I don’t think a three-day deadlock will affect us at all. I think it’s imperative that we get rid of the virus,” McPhee told AFP. “One case becomes two and two cases become 10, so before you know it, you can get a little out of control.”
British officials said the variant, which first triggered warnings in the UK last month, appears to be 50% and 70% more infectious than other COVID-19 strains more commonly detected in Australia.
In recent weeks, several cases of variants from the UK and South Africa have been detected on trips currently under mandatory quarantine in Australia.
But the Queensland case was the first to be contracted locally and is believed to have spread to a cleaning agent from a returning traveler, isolated in a quarantine hotel in Brisbane.
New rules at national level
The blockade of the city signaled a return to unseen restrictions in March. Residents were ordered to stay home and were told to wear masks on departure only for essential reasons.
Following the announcement, authorities across the country have restricted travel to and from Brisbane and tightened already strict rules on international arrivals.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said all international travelers would now be required to take tests before flying to Australia.
The already low number of arrivals would also be temporarily reduced by 50% and a mandatory 14-day quarantine will be maintained for all travelers.
The new stems
“There are a lot of unknowns and uncertainties about the new strain, and that’s why we think this preventative approach is very sensitive,” Morrison said.
Researchers are struggling to determine how contagious the British version – known as B.1.1.7 – is. Data outside the UK is limited.
Another key question is whether existing vaccines work against the new strain, with Pfizer reporting on Friday that preliminary findings were positive and that the vaccines seemed to work.
Normal summer, interrupted
Prior to the announcement, Brisbane was one of several Australian cities enjoying a return to relative normalcy during the southern hemisphere summer.
The state of Queensland did not register any new community transmission cases on Friday.
Jono Searle / Getty
But recent outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne have forced travel across the state to be restricted again amid growing pressure on officials to speed up the vaccine.
On Thursday, Morrison announced plans to advance planned vaccine launches by a few weeks. It is set to begin in February.
Australia has more than 28,500 COVID-19 cases and 909 virus-related deaths, in a population of about 25 million.