There Are Still Reports Of COVID-19 Infection Cases, Lockdown In Melbourne Extended

Illustration of the COVID-19 lockdown in Australia. (Wikimedia Commons/Kgbo)

JAKARTA - Australia's second-largest city, Melbourne, will remain in lockdown for a second week, after reporting 20 new cases of COVID-19 amid efforts to eradicate the highly contagious Delta variant.

Melbourne was due to come out of lockdown on Thursday, the sixth for its five million people in a battle against the coronavirus that has also been seen elsewhere across the country has stoked frustration and strife.

While in Sydney, police stepped up enforcement of the lockdown, while some workers were allowed to return to construction sites if vaccinated.

Victoria State Prime Minister Dan Andrews confirmed the stay-at-home order for Melbourne would remain in place until at least August 19, after authorities were unable to track how some of the 20 people were confirmed when a new case on Wednesday contracted COVID-19.

"If we open up, then we'll see cases similar to what's happening, tragically, in Sydney right now", Andrews told reporters in Melbourne, citing Reuters Wednesday, August 11.

Separately, New South Wales State Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said Sydney's lockdown, which has grown to cover some areas north of the city, would also be extended to include Dubbo, a small town about 400 kilometers (248 miles) northwest of Sydney.

"We have seen a spike in the number of cases and (it) is expected to continue", New South Wales state prime minister Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney, reporting another 344 new infections in the last 24 hours, close to the only city. day notes.

Australia has fared far better so far than many other developed countries in the world during the pandemic, with just under 37,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 infection, with the death toll standing at 944.

However, only about 25 percent of the total population of the Kangaroo Country has received a full COVID-19 vaccination.

To note, the Australian Government and states have committed to ending the lockdown, when 70 percent of its nearly 26 million population have been fully vaccinated.