Sydney Tightens Virus Restrictions to Contain Delta Infections

(Bloomberg) --

Lockdown measures across Sydney are being tightened as authorities struggle to contain the delta variant of the coronavirus, with tougher rules applied to retail trading and some emerging local hotspots now subject to extra movement restrictions.

The government ordered non-critical retail outlets to shutter from midnight, while construction work must cease until July 30, when the current lockdown order is due to end. The state recorded 111 new cases on Saturday, including 29 that were infectious in the community despite being told to stay at home, bringing the total cases in the current outbreak to well over 1,000. Supermarkets, pharmacists and banks are allowed to remain open.

“We don’t underestimate the impact this has on our businesses,” New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters on Saturday. “This is our chance to quash this virus and make sure that families and businesses can bounce back as quickly as possible.”

Adding to the wider clampdown, people living in three local government areas have been barred from leaving those locations except under exceptional circumstances in an attempt to ring-fence the virus that has become increasingly concentrated in those communities, Berejiklian said.

About-Turn

The new curbs are an about-face for Berejiklian’s pro-business government, which had steadfastly refused to define what is considered essential work during the city’s lockdown that’s entering its fourth week, instead relying on employers and their workers to interpret complex orders.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison had earlier praised the New South Wales state government for not snapping into an immediate lockdown following the incident that sparked the latest outbreak a month ago, when an un-vaccinated chauffeur infected with the delta variant spread it on while transporting airline crew.

Now, as case numbers in Sydney remain stubbornly high, it raises the prospect that the lockdown deadline -- currently scheduled for July 30 -- could be extended for a third time, after Berejiklian last week indicated that local case numbers would need to be near zero for the order to end.

Melbourne Too

Sydney’s outbreak has spread to Melbourne, the nation’s second-largest city, which shuttered for two weeks in late May to halt the spread of the delta strain and last year endured one of the world’s longest and strictest lockdowns. Nineteen new infections were detected in Victoria state in the past 24 hours, up from 10 Friday as Melbourne was again plunged into a snap five-day lockdown.

Read More: With No Plan B, Australia’s Covid Zero Strategy Hits Limit

Australia’s tardy vaccine roll-out -- one of the slowest among the 38 OECD nations -- has made the country particularly vulnerable to the delta variant, which has increasingly leaked out of the quarantine system for overseas arrivals. While economies such as the U.K. and U.S. are opening up, Australia’s international borders remain largely closed, and fairly small clusters make even domestic travel difficult as states and territories pull up the drawbridge.

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