CANBERRA / SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s third-largest city to go into a three-day blockade late Friday as authorities try to prevent the spread of a more contagious version of COVID-19 first detected .
Brisbane’s 2 million people will not be able to leave their homes for anything other than business, after a worker at a quarantine hotel in the city tested positive for the new strain of the virus.
“If we don’t do this now, it could be a 30-day blockade,” Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said, announcing the blockade, which will start at 18:00 local time.
People have to wear masks when they leave home for essential business, Palaszczuk said. Funerals and weddings can continue, but with limits of 20 and 10 people respectively. Entertainment venues will be closed, and restaurants and cafes will only be offered dining.
Authorities did not detect any new cases on Thursday when they reported the worker’s case at a hotel used to quarantine people who had recently arrived from abroad, but said they could not afford to delay the action.
“We can’t put it back in the box. We need to act before we get the cases, ”said Jeannette Young, Queensland’s health director.
Officials have identified and isolated 79 people who are in close contact with the worker.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison wrote on Twitter that the blockade “will gain the necessary time” as the case intensifies the focus on Australia’s procedures for returning citizens and residents from abroad.
Morrison convened a special meeting of state and territory leaders on Friday to consider tightening rules for international arrivals.
Since March, Australia has closed its borders to all citizens and permanent residents. It has also limited the number of people who are allowed to enter the country each week, and returnees must enter the mandatory hotel quarantine at their own expense.
While the system has been widely credited with preventing major outbreaks, most of Australia’s more than 28,500 cases can be traced to quarantine hotels.
Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Leslie Adler, Peter Cooney and Jane Wardell