The Australian capital city of Canberra will enter one-week circuit breaker after recording its first Covid-19 infection in more than a year of controlled efforts.
The restrictions will be said to be in effect at 17:00 local time on Thursday (07:00 GMT).
How Did The COVID Case Reach Canberra?
The restrictions apply to the entire Australia Capital Territory. The lockdown will affect the capital city day to day businesses. Canberra is home to about 400,000 people but now they will be asked to stay-at-home if they do not have any essential work outside.
This step was taken because authorities did not know how the person with the virus had contracted it.
Residents will be able to leave homes only for important reasons.
Deadly Delta Variant
The queues began forming up at supermarkets as the lockdown was about to be imposed.
Australia is struggling to contain a deadly and fast spreading version of the Delta variant of coronavirus, which has led to its two largest cities – Sydney and Melbourne – imposing tough restrictions.
Large parts of New South Wales are also closed, and in Victoria there are similar restrictions in Melbourne for at least another week or two.
Military reinforcements could be invited to ensure compliance with the closure rules in Sydney, the New South Wales government announced.
‘No Stone Unturned’
“We are making sure that we do not leave any stone unturned in relation to extra (military) resources,” state Premier Gladys Berejiklian told a media conference.
580 unarmed military personnel are already present in various regions that are locked down to assist the police in enforcing the orders in Sydney.
Despite seven weeks of closure in Sydney, disease remains very close. A total of 345 new cases were discovered in New South Wales on Thursday, and two 90-year-old men died.
Less than a quarter of Australian people are vaccinated. In addition to avoiding the catastrophic pandemic, frustration over border restrictions and lockdowns has led to massive anti-lock protests.
