Topline
The Australian state of Victoria will enter a seven-day lockdown starting on Thursday night as local authorities scramble to contain a “highly infectious” Covid-19 outbreak in Melbourne—its capital—which began this week after a near three-month streak of no local cases.
People wearing face masks are seen crossing Bourke Street Mall in front of an LED sign in the ... [+]
Key Facts
The clusters of infections detected in Melbourne earlier this week rose to 26 cases on Thursday after 12 new cases were detected overnight, Australian broadcaster ABC News reported.
One of the detected cases—identified only as an “elderly person—is now in intensive care on a ventilator.
Contact tracing authorities have identified more than 150 virus-exposure sites—including Melbourne’s two major sports stadiums and a large shopping center.
Authorities have also identified more than 10,000 primary and secondary contacts linked to the outbreak all of whom have been asked to get tested and self-isolate.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton expects more positive cases to emerge in the coming days.
Other Australian states have tightened their borders with South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania banning travelers from Victoria, while others have imposed mandatory quarantine requirements.
Crucial Quote
“It is clear there has been a super spreading event from one of the members for the current cluster, especially in the workplace, that points to high risk at this time in terms of transmission through the community,” Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly warned. Kelly backed Victoria’s decision to implement a lockdown and noted that the outbreak can still be contained “if the numbers remain small.”
Big Number
20,563. That’s the total number of coronavirus cases that have been recorded in the state of Victoria, representing more than two-thirds of all cases recorded in Australia. Over 90% of Australia’s 910 Covid-19 fatalities have also taken place in Victoria.
Tangent
New Zealand has extended its pause on its quarantine-free travel bubble with Victoria until next Friday. Earlier this week New Zealand moved to exclude Victoria from its quarantine-free travel bubble with Australia.
Key Background
Despite being highly effective in curbing the local spread of the coronavirus inside its borders, Australia has struggled in its vaccine rollout. Experts have cautioned that Australia’s virus success story could easily be undone unless the country speeds up inoculations. The Australian government has administered around 3.9 million vaccine doses so far, which according to Bloomberg’s estimates covers only 7.4% of the country’s population. Victoria, which has a population of 6.6 million people has only administered around 400,000 vaccine doses so far. Victoria will expand its vaccine rollout to include people aged between 40-49 starting on Friday. While people over 50 are being offered the AstraZeneca vaccine, those between 40-49 will only receive the Pfizer shot. Under the Australian government’s plan, local primary care doctors were expected to dole out a majority of the shots to the general public. However, ABC News reported that the supply of vaccines to the local doctors has been unpredictable. Lawmakers from the opposition Labour and Green parties slammed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s government for the sluggish vaccine rollout noting that some residents of aged care and disability care homes have not yet received their first vaccine dose.
Further Reading
Victoria to enter a COVID-19 lockdown as cases from Melbourne outbreak grow (ABC News)
Victoria enters seven-day lockdown as outbreak worsens (9News)
