Delta Variant COVID-19 Infection Surges, Australia Reduces Number Of International Arrivals

Illustration of Sydney Airport Terminal One. (Wikimedia Commons/Mw12310)

JAKARTA - Australian authorities will halve the number of international arrivals, as pressures on the hotel quarantine system.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, July 2 local time, the move was taken due to pressure from the spread of the outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus.

The new restrictions on travel come as Australia battles simultaneous outbreaks of the Delta variant in the three state capitals, meaning nearly half of all Australians are currently under strict stay-at-home orders. The latest outbreak has been traced to a leak in the hotel quarantine.

Australia closed its international borders early last year mostly to non-citizens. Australian permanent residents and returning travelers, except those leaving New Zealand, must be quarantined at the hotel for two weeks at their own expense.

PM Morrison said Australia would now only accept about 3,000 overseas travelers per week. This restriction is planned to last until July 14 next, but there are also states that could finish earlier.

Speaking after a meeting of Australia's national cabinet, PM Morrison also said a four-phase plan had been agreed to reopen Australia, following the lockdown triggered by the latest outbreak.

He explained that this would be based on achieving vaccination rates aimed at suppressing COVID-19 to a stage where it would be managed like other infectious diseases, such as the flu.

"Our mindset in managing COVID-19 has to change once you go from pre-vaccination to post-vaccination. That's a deal for Australians," Morrison told reporters in Canberra.

The four-phase approach could give fully vaccinated people more freedom, he said, including a shorter quarantine period after arriving from overseas.

New South Wales (NSW) capital Sydney, Australia's largest city and home to a fifth of the country's 25 million population, is undergoing a two-week lockdown imposed in a bid to contain the Delta variant.

On Friday, PM Morisson warned residents to prepare for an increase in COVID-19 infections over the next few days, as he reported the biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases recorded so far this year.

Thirty-one local cases were reported in NSW on Friday, by far the largest daily increase in cases during the most recent outbreak and for 2021. Total infections have risen to more than 200 since the first cases were detected more than two weeks ago.

"We anticipate there may be an increase in numbers over the next few days, so hopefully early next week we will see the impact of the lockdown really change and have a positive impact," NSW Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian told reporters.

Meanwhile, Queensland officials said lockdown rules would be relaxed in parts of Queensland from Friday, although they have been extended in the state capital Brisbane and neighboring territories for another day after three new cases were reported.

Meanwhile, the lockdown in Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory, will also be lifted on Friday. Restrictions in Perth will be reviewed at a later date.

Lockdowns, rapid contact tracing and strict social distancing rules have helped Australia contain previous outbreaks. However, the fast-moving Delta variant has alarmed authorities amid sluggish national vaccination efforts.

As of this Friday, Kangaroo Country recorded a total of 30,684 cases of infection with 910 deaths due to COVID-19, and 29,358 patients declared cured based on Worldometers data.