Anticipating The Spread Of COVID-19 To Rural Areas, New South Wales Expands Lockdown

Ilustrasi Kota Tamworth di New South Wales, Australia. (Wikimedia Commons/Thirdayparadise at the English Wikipedia)

JAKARTA - The authorities of New South Wales, Australia decided to extend the COVID-19 lockdown to the rural town of Tamworth on Monday local time, due to concerns the virus may have spread from Sydney to the countryside.

The Prime Minister of the State of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian announced the lockdown of the farming town, after people known to have COVID-19 traveled from Sydney to Tamworth, about 414 km (257 miles) to the northwest, without permission.

"As a precautionary measure, health experts have recommended we lock down Tamworth for one week," Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney.

In addition, officials also urged people in the Byron Bay area to be tested after a man traveled from Sydney, the state's epicenter of the outbreak, to a tourist spot about 767km to the north.

To note, New South Wales reported 283 cases of locally acquired COVID-19 infection in the past 24 hours, up from 262 the day before.

Australia's most populous state has been struggling to contain a surge in cases of infection with the highly contagious Delta variant, with Sydney's biggest city entering its seventh week of a strict lockdown.

Meanwhile, the neighboring state of Victoria announced plans to ease restrictions, after reporting 11 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the same as the previous day.

Most new cases spend time in the community while they are contagious, but Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said Victoria's lockdown would be lifted on Monday.

However, Victoria's capital Melbourne will remain in lockdown under its sixth lockdown since the pandemic began, which is set to last until at least August 12.

Separately, the authorities of Brisbane, the state capital of Queensland, reported four new local cases on Monday, the first day after the city lifted stay-at-home restrictions for its citizens.

In the aftermath of the protracted problem of handling COVID-19 in the Kangaroo Country, public confidence in Prime Minister Scott Morrison has dropped to its lowest position, which is only 47 percent. This is the lowest after criticism earlier in the year, related to the government's response to the forest fires that occurred at that time.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has come under fire for the slow rollout of the vaccine, with only 22 per cent of Australians over the age of 16 fully vaccinated.

A poll by The Australian newspaper showed its public approval rating had reached its lowest level since the pandemic began. This is said to be caused by the slow pace of the vaccination program, as well as the lockdown which has frustrated residents.

To date, Australia has reported around 36,250 cases of COVID-19 infection and 939 deaths, including a woman in her 90s whose death in Sydney was reported on Monday.