Australia Reaches COVID-19 Vaccination Milestone, The AFL 2021 Grand Final Will Be Attended By 60 Thousand Spectators

Illustration of a queue at a COVID-19 vaccination center in Australia. (Wikimedia Commons/Kgbo)

JAKARTA - More than half of Australia's adult population has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Friday, authorities said, as they continue to ramp up vaccinations to ease restrictions.

Australia is grappling with a third wave of infections from the highly contagious Delta variant, causing lockdowns in its two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, as well as the capital, Canberra, affecting nearly half of the country's 25 million population.

This harsh lockdown and the decision to close construction sites for two weeks due to the rapid spread of the virus among workers, sparked anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, for three days in a row.

Police made several arrests in Melbourne on Friday, local media reported, as they tried to prevent more protests.

As much of Australia's southeast remains under strict stay-at-home restrictions, virus-free Western Australia prepares to host the 2021 Australian Rules Football (AFL) Grand Final for the first time, in front of 60.000 fans at Perth Stadium on Saturday.

Melbourne, which has hosted every Grand Final since 1898, was the spiritual home of the sport until the pandemic forced a move to Brisbane last year.

Meanwhile, Victoria on Friday reported one new death and 733 new infections, the second-biggest daily rise in the pandemic, down from a record high of 766 on Thursday. Most cases are detected in Melbourne.

Both New South Wales and Victorian leaders have promised residents more freedom after receiving the full COVID-19 vaccine in people over 16 reached 70 percent, which is expected to be achieved next month.

So far, 57 percent have been fully vaccinated in New South Wales, above the national average of 50.1 percent. Two million doses were administered in the country in the last seven days.

Daily cases may have stabilized in New South Wales, the epicenter of the country's worst outbreak, as it reported 1.043 new COVID-19 infections, down from 1.063 on Thursday.

"We're seeing a nice drop. Hopefully, we'll see a number of declines in the coming days and weeks," state Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said at a news conference in Sydney, cited from Reuters, September 24.

However, officials signaled any easing of restrictions in New South Wales would be carried out "with caution and moderation", when the state hits its double-dose target of 70 percent it is targeting to reach around October 6, to avoid a spike in cases that could strain the health system.

As of Friday, Australia had a total of 93.942 infections, with 1.208 deaths and 71.608 recoveries since the pandemic began, citing Worldometers.