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Melbourne in lockdown limbo: state locked down with no end in sight
Sydney and Melbourne will both remain in lockdown this week amid a growing number of new Covid-19 infections
Victorian state premier Daniel Andrews has announced that Covid-19 lockdown will not end tomorrow night.
Twelve million Australians are now in Covid-19 lockdown, with hundreds of new cases. In New South Wales, authorities recorded 111 new cases in the previous 24 hours, up from 97 the day before. Around 80% of these infections are from three areas in Sydney.
The state government has banned more than 600,000 people from these hotspot areas from leaving their districts, even for work. Workers in the health or emergency sector are exempt, but need to be tested every three days. These restrictions will stay in place until at least the end of the month.
It follows the New South Wales Premier, Gladys Berejiklian saying it may take up to five more days before the impact of the state’s tougher restrictions become clear.
Premier extends Melbourne lockdown
Just last weekend, Melbourne recorded its 11th-straight day of zero new Covid-19 infections. Now, the city is days into a snap lockdown, which the government planned to end tomorrow.
State Premier Daniel Andrews says ending the lockdown would “not be the right thing to do”. There will be no further advice as to when the lockdown will end until tomorrow.
Australia’s vaccination roll-out
As many Australians go into lockdown, some good news is on the horizon. Amid the lockdowns, Australia’s lacklustre vaccination rollout program will get a much needed boost. One million new Pfizer Covid vaccination doses will arrive in Australia today.
The nation’s Covid-19 Taskforce Commander hopes to see an acceleration in vaccination rates. He says every Australian who wants a jab will have one by the end of the year.
Australia now has 13 per cent of the population fully vaccinated, with 10 million doses now administered. Australia has recorded 31,632 coronavirus cases and 913 deaths since the pandemic began.