New Zealand and Australia, among the world’s best defensive countries, are also concerned about the spread of the delta variant, so, as has been the practice until now, serious efforts are being made to prevent outbreaks.
By the end of the year, New Zealand’s borders will almost certainly remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The infection is barely present in the country at the moment, but in order to remain so, travel restrictions must be maintained, according to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
We are not yet in a position to fully open it again. If we take action, we will be careful and thoughtful because we want to act in the safest way possible.”
Due to the convenient situation, there are almost no restrictions within New Zealand’s borders, a mask must only be worn on public transport. But in the Australian capital, Canberra, a complete seven-day lockdown was ordered from Thursday afternoon as more and more people were infected.
We do not currently know the source of the infection, but a comprehensive investigation has been going on for hours. This year, in fact, this is the most serious public health risk we have faced since the pandemic began. “That’s why we’re doing a tough lockdown in response,” said Andrew Barr, head of the metropolitan government.
Australian cities under lockdown
In the southern part of the country, austerity continued for a long time. Sydney is under two-week lockdown, with restrictions imposed by the police and 300 unarmed soldiers. The police have the right to turn back those who try to leave the city.
In the capital of the state of New South Wales (which is also the most populous city in the country), despite the quarantine, the number of recorded infections continues to rise, with many fearing an outbreak after injuries were reported from several cities in the state.
In New South Wales, the daily increase in recorded infections was again set at 344 cases on Wednesday. Of the neighboring state of Victoria, 21 infections have been reported, one increase from the day before. In the state capital, Melbourne, the lockdown has been extended until August 19.
The vaccination campaign is progressing slowly
Australia tried to curb the pandemic by quarantining and closing borders in 2020, resulting in fewer than 1,000 casualties so far (New Zealand, which has a similar policy, is even better, with authorities reporting only 26 Covid deaths). The delta variant virus is currently spreading in the country, as in many other countries of the world.
However, the vaccination campaign is only slowly progressing, in part because there are still many who do not want to be vaccinated. Only about 24 percent of those over 16 have taken two doses of the vaccine so far. At least one dose was given to 37 percent of the total population. In New Zealand, the situation is slightly worse, where 30 percent of the total population has been vaccinated at least once.
