Melbourne extends its viral quarantine for the sixth time.
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Here is the latest COVID19 lockdown update.
Authorities stated Sunday that a lockdown in Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, will be extended as they battle a tenacious coronavirus Delta variant epidemic.
On Thursday, almost seven million people in Melbourne and surrounding Victoria state were supposed to be let out of a four-week lockdown, but state premier Dan Andrews announced it was no longer possible because the number of cases had risen by 92 overnight. It’s the city’s sixth pandemic lockdown, which includes a curfew, playground closures, and rigorous exercise restrictions.
Andrews stated, “We still have too many cases in the community for us to be able to open up and give back… those liberties that we enjoy and that we desperately want back.”
Andrews did not indicate how long the stay-at-home orders would be in effect, only that officials would “consider all of the possibilities.”
Meanwhile, New South Wales, which includes Sydney, Australia’s most populated city, reported 1,218 record cases on Sunday, bringing the country’s entire daily caseload to a new high.
Since the Delta variant outbreak began in mid-June, about 19,000 cases have been detected in the state of around eight million people. Residents who have grown tired of long-term restrictions have been offered some minor freedoms in New South Wales, where vaccination rates are already soaring and authorities expect that 70% of adults will be fully vaccinated by October.
