MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s second-most populous state, Victoria, entered a five-day deadlock on Saturday as authorities ran to prevent a third wave of COVID-19 cases caused by the highly dangerous variant. infectious disease in the UK.
A new locally sourced case has been confirmed in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Saturday, bringing the number of cases related to a quarantine hotel at Melbourne airport to 14 and the total number of active cases in the state to 20.
“Many people will suffer today. This is not the position the Victorians wanted, but I can’t have the situation where in two weeks we will look back and we want to make these decisions now “, said on Saturday the Prime Minister of Victoria, Daniel Andrews.
International flights to Melbourne will be stopped until Wednesday, after five trips, with about 100 passengers, landing on Saturday.
All 14 cases in the airport group are due to the highly infectious version of the new coronavirus in the UK. So far, only direct contacts of hotel workers have proved positive.
“It simply came to our notice then. There is concern in Victoria about the spread in the community, “Australian medical director Paul Kelly told reporters.
The streets of Melbourne city center, the state capital and its suburbs were almost empty on Saturday, with people ordered to stay home for all but the essential shopping, two hours of outdoor exercise, care or work that can’t be done. make from home.
Among the “essential” works, the game continued at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis event of the year which runs until February 21, but fans were banned until Wednesday. Thousands were forced to leave Friday’s matches before midnight.
The players missed the crowd.
“It was a little annoying – kind of sad. … I just tried to focus on my game “, said Elina Svitolina after winning the match in round three.
The blockade, which closed restaurants and cafes for everyone except dining, took place just as Melbourne had prepared for its biggest weekend in almost a year, with Lunar New Year celebrations, Valentine’s Day and Australian crowds. Open.
Melbourne suffered a 111-day blockade last year, one of the longest and longest in the world at the time, to stop a coronavirus outbreak that has killed more than 800 people.
“It’s the busiest weekend of the year for us. I’m sitting here making 178 heartbreaking calls to see if I can get them to book again, “said Will Baa, owner of Lover, a restaurant in Windsor’s chief district.
“Only the fingers crossed, because it only extends for a short period of five days,” he said.
More generally, Australia is considered one of the most successful countries in the world in combating the pandemic, largely due to decisive blockades and sealed borders for all but a handful of travelers. With a population of 25 million, there were about 22,200 cases in the community and 909 deaths.
New Zealand reported the death of a COVID-19 patient on Saturday. This case has not yet been included in the total of 25 deaths in COVID-19.
Reporting by Sonali Paul; Montage by Michael Perry / Peter Rutherford