Adelaide becomes the last Australian city to close

Adelaide will become the last of a series of Australian cities to be blocked on Tuesday as the largely unvaccinated nation struggles to contain a rapidly spreading coronavirus outbreak.

The state of South Australia, of which Adelaide is the capital, said it would join Sydney and Melbourne to blockade after detecting five local cases.

The decision means more than 14 million Australians are now ordered to stay home.

“As of 6pm tonight, South Australia is settling in confinement, ”said State Prime Minister Steven Marshall from Adelaide, indicating the measures would be in place for at least seven days.

“We hate to put those restrictions in place, but we think we only have one chance: a chance to get it right.”

Currently, only 11 per cent of Australia’s 25 million people are vaccinated. But so far a widespread community transmission had been maintained.

Over the past month, authorities have been struggling to undo a rapidly spreading Delta variant outbreak, which began after an overseas flight crew infected a Sydney driver.

Since then, the virus has jumped across state borders and generated about 100 new cases every day across the vast island nation.

A blockade in Sydney, reaching its fourth week, has slowed the spread of the virus there, but has failed to eliminate new infections.

The Sydney outbreak it has now grown to 1,418 cases, with 78 new infections reported on Tuesday.

Residents can only leave home to exercise, buy food, or for a handful of other well-defined reasons.

At the same time, Melbourne authorities said on Tuesday that a five-day fast closure would be closed, which was due to end, at least seven more days.

In Queensland, authorities are also on high alert after a woman who visited several tourist sites tested positive in the test. virus.

© 2021 AFP