Sydney’s closure has been extended by another month as Covid cases continued to increase drastically with no end in sight.
Australia’s largest city Sydney has been under stay at home mandate since late June due to Delta variant outbreak.
Delta Variant Outbreak
More than 2500 people were infected during the outbreak in Sydney this year.
New South Wales has officially reported 177 new cases on Wednesday, the highest in a single day since March 2020.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it would not be possible for the city to move out of the lockdown on Friday as planned earlier.
The premier has announced more travel restrictions – including a 10km (6.5 miles) limit on essential purchases.
Other Cities Ending Their Restrictions
Victoria and South Australia both eased out their closure restrictions on Wednesday after they were successful in containing minor outbreaks in their respective regions.
Five million Sydney residents enjoyed a normal life this year until the delta outbreak.
In many cases, Australia has kept cases at a very low level by closing its borders and ordering hotel segregation for international arrivals.
There were more than a dozen lockdowns last year.
But experts believe now that the ongoing restructuring in Sydney could remain until September or even later.
Authorities say they will not reopen until the transfer rate goes back to almost zero.
At least one third of the cases since last week have been public transmission. Reasons include doing critical work and going shopping.
Anti-Lockdown Protests
Several thousand people staged “freedom” protests in Sydney, Melbourne and other cities over the weekend.
It also highlighted the national failure of the vaccination program which began in February.
Only 16% of Australian adults are vaccinated. This is one of the lowest rates in the entire world.
The national director recently revised his guide urging Sydney residents to get the AstraZeneca jab.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has apologized for his government’s handling of last week’s outbreak, following months of criticism.
