Melbourne was yesterday ordered to remain in lockdown for another week, as Australian authorities try to stamp out a quick-spreading coronavirus strain they described as an “absolute beast.”
Five million city residents were hoping to exit a seven-day lockdown just before midnight today, but those plans have been thwarted by the spread of the “Kappa” variant, which originated in India.
“We’ve got to run this thing to ground, otherwise people will die,” Acting Victoria Premier James Merlino said, describing the strain of the virus as “quicker and more contagious than we have ever seen before.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Australia is battling to stop a cluster of 60 cases from growing in its second-biggest city, and to remain one of the few countries without endemic transmission.
The border remains closed to most travelers — with the exception of New Zealand — and authorities are quick to impose restrictions when COVID-19 cases are detected.
However, outbreaks in Taiwan and Japan have underscored how initial success in containing the virus can quickly be eroded without widespread vaccination, and only about 2 percent of Australians have been fully jabbed to date.
Merlino said stay-at-home orders would likely be lifted for Victorians living outside Melbourne today, although a swathe of restrictions would remain, including caps on wedding guests and mourners at funerals.
Melbourne residents would largely be stopped from traveling outside the city, but senior school students would return to classrooms and some outdoor workers can return to their jobs, he added.
Victoria Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the Kappa variant was an “absolute beast” and said the extended lockdown would limit each person’s contacts from about 100 others to just a handful.
“There are a dozen countries that had no community transmission going into 2021 that have now lost control, that have community transmission and will probably not bring it back to a point where they’ve got no community transmission again,” he said.
It is believed to be the 17th time in six months that the virus has leaked out of Australia’s makeshift hotel quarantine facilities, which are now facing tough scrutiny.
Merlino urged the federal government to pay for a proposed purpose-built quarantine facility in Victoria, and offer financial support for workers and businesses affected by the state’s fourth lockdown.
“Victorian businesses are absolutely devastated by this lockdown, as are our families and communities,” he said.
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