COVID-19 Cases Continue To Increase, Governor Of New South Wales: The Next Few Days Will Be Very Critical

Illustration of the State of New South Wales, Australia. (Wikimedia Commons/Adam.JWC)

JAKARTA - The Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), announced on Monday that the next two days will be a critical phase in deciding whether or not to extend Sydney's two-week lockdown, which ends on 9 July, in the midst of increasing Delta variants.

With more than five million Sydney residents under strict stay-at-home orders, the total infections in the latest outbreak have topped 300. NSW reported 35 locally acquired cases on Monday, matching the largest daily rise in infections so far this year recorded two days ago.

"We expect the number of isolated cases to continue to rise," NSW Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

"What we're actually seeing is the number of people who are still infectious in the community and what the impact will be in the next few days," he said.

Of the COVID-19 infection cases reported Monday, 28 were in isolation during or part of the period of their infection. Seven cases spent time in the community while they were infectious.

"The next few days will be very critical," Berejiklian said.

Sydney, the city worst-affected in Australia's latest increase in infections, is struggling to contain the highly contagious Delta variant. Perth, Brisbane and Darwin in the north came out of quick lockdowns over the weekend, after officials there deemed the spread of the Delta variant there under control.

Berejiklian said the lockdown had so far been effective in limiting new cases to tens rather than hundreds, although he said many were violating health orders, "helping" the coronavirus to spread.

For example, some Australian rugby league team players were fined A$1,000 or around US$750 by NSW police, for violating public health protocols after throwing a party.

As of Monday, Australia has recorded a total of 30,803 cases of COVID-19 infection, with 910 deaths and 29,405 patients who have recovered from infection.

To note, less than 10 per cent of Australia's adult population of more than 20.6 million have so far received the full COVID-19 vaccine. While more than 30 percent had received at least the first dose..

The Australian Federal Government expects another 400,000 injections this month, with monthly shipments of 2.8 million COVID-19 vaccines.