More than 2 million people in Brisbane were yesterday ordered into a three-day lockdown after a cluster of COVID-19 cases was detected in Australia’s third-biggest city.
It is the second snap lockdown of the greater Brisbane area this year and it came after seven people tested positive for COVID-19 — the first significant community outbreak in Australia in weeks.
“This is the UK strain. It is highly infectious. We need to do this now to avoid a longer lockdown,” Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
“We’ve seen what’s happened in other countries. I don’t want to see that happen to Queensland, I don’t want to see that happen to Australia,” she said.
Australia has been relatively successful in curbing the spread of COVID-19, with 29,278 cases and 909 deaths during the pandemic to date.
However, the nation’s vaccine rollout has been sluggish, with just over 500,000 shots administered so far in a nation of 25 million — falling far short of a government target to vaccinate 4 million by the end of this month.
Palaszczuk said that lockdowns would “be part of the Australian way of life until everyone is vaccinated.”
Unlike the US and the UK, Australia did not grant emergency approval for any vaccines and waited until late last month to begin inoculations. Progress was hampered further by delivery issues, including Italy’s landmark decision to block the export of 250,000 vaccine doses.
Before the announcement, Brisbane was among several Australian cities enjoying relaxed restrictions, with residents able to freely attend events including concerts and sports fixtures.
The lockdown comes just ahead of the Easter weekend, which begins on Friday, throwing school holiday plans into chaos as South Australia closed its border to Brisbane and other states were expected to follow.
Brisbane schools, restaurants and bars were to close from 5pm yesterday, but people are allowed to leave home for essential work, to buy food, and for exercise and medical care.
Social media images showed long lines forming at supermarkets, as some shoppers stocked up ahead of the lockdown, despite authorities urging against panic buying.
Wearing masks in public is also becoming mandatory across Queensland, after one infectious person traveled to the regional town of Gladstone.
The number of international flight arrivals in the state is to be halved to ease pressure on hospitals, which are also dealing with a surge in COVID-19 cases in neighboring Papua New Guinea.
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