Australia Sets Record For Highest COVID-19 Infection Cases Since The Pandemic, Hospitals Are Forced To Set Up Emergency Tents

Lustrus COVID-19. (Wikimedia Commons / Fars News Agency / Mohsen Atayi)

JAKARTA - Sad news comes from Australia as the country posted its highest daily infection case record since the COVID-19 pandemic, forcing two major hospitals in Sydney to set up makeshift tents to help treat patients.

Sydney, the country's largest city and the current epicenter of the outbreak, is struggling to cope with a spike in the fast-spreading Delta variant, with daily infections hitting record levels even after two months of lockdown.

The state of New South Wales (NSW), of which Sydney is the capital, reported 1,029 new locally acquired cases, exceeding the previous record of 919 the day before. Of the new cases, 969 of them were detected in Sydney, higher than the original 838 cases of infection.

The rapid rise in COVID-19 patients has forced Westmead and Blacktown Sydney hospitals, two major hospitals serving the city's sprawling western suburbs, to set up tents to screen and wipe patients to help manage capacity.

"Emergency units in the emergency department for COVID-19 patients will help stop the delay," a spokesman for the Western Sydney Local Health District told Reuters.

Meanwhile, State Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said authorities had doubled the state's number of intensive care ventilators to 2,000 at the start of last year. Even though the system is under stress, it can survive the current crisis once the vaccination rate increases.

"It may be different to the help you got earlier because of the situation, but know that the system is working," Berejiklian said at a televised media conference.

Meanwhile, of the 116 people in intensive care in New South Wales, 102 of whom have not received the COVID-19 vaccine. Three new deaths were reported, including a man in his 30s who died at home, bringing the deaths from the latest outbreak to 79, although the death rate has slowed since last year.

In a video posted on Twitter late Wednesday, the Australian Paramedic Association said paramedics were given the option of waiting in their vehicles with an infected person or waiting outside in the freezing rain due to the increase in patients.

The fast-moving Delta variant has eclipsed Australia's initial success against the virus which has kept its coronavirus toll relatively low, with around 47,700 cases and 989 deaths. About 32% of people over 16 years of age have been fully vaccinated while more than 54% have had at least one dose.

In addition to Sydney, the country's second-largest city, Melbourne, and the capital, Canberra, are also under strict lockdown, placing more than half of the country's 25 million residents under strict stay-at-home orders. Cases in Victoria, home to Melbourne, jumped to 80 on Thursday, up from 45 the day before.

Prime Minister Berejiklian said New South Wales could reach 70 percent full vaccination by mid-October, and airline Qantas said it was preparing international travel to resume in December.