Australia confines Melbourne for a week after detecting eight cases of coronavirus

The Australian authorities ordered from tonight a seven-day confinement on some 6.7 million inhabitants of the state of Victoria, the second most populous in the country, after registering eight cases of coronavirus (covid-19).

“There are no alternatives to confinement. If you want to wait, the covid-19 will spread ”, said the head of government of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, justifying the measure, which is imposed for the sixth time on Melbourne, regional capital inhabited by about 5 million.

The authorities are investigating whether some of the cases whose origin is still unknown are linked to a possible violation of the measures established on quarantine centers for people from abroad.

Under the confinement measures, the residents of Victoria will only be able to leave for essential reasons such as caring for third parties, doing authorized work, going to the doctor or getting vaccinated, shopping or exercising within a five kilometer radius of their home.

Andrews’ decision is based on the country’s strict strategy of confining the population in a localized and generally brief manner after detecting only a handful of cases, thus avoiding a further health crisis.

TWO THIRDS OF THE POPULATION UNDER CONFINEMENT

With the isolation measure decreed on Victoria, right now around two-thirds of the 25 million inhabitants of the country remain under this order.

The confinement decreed today is added to the tax on Sydney -the most populated city- and some neighboring towns, which bring together 6 million people, since June 26 and which will remain in force until August 27.

This Thursday, the state of New South Wales, whose capital is Sydney, reported five deaths with covid-19, the highest death toll since the end of September 2020, as well as 262 new infections.

The New South Wales authorities also ordered the confinement from this afternoon and for at least a week on around half a million inhabitants of the Hunter region, which includes the city of Newcastle.

Meanwhile, in Queensland, where 3.8 million inhabitants are confined to Brisbane and ten other jurisdictions in the southeast of the state as of Sunday, 16 cases of covid-19 were registered.

Australia, which experienced its most contagious and deadly wave in mid-2020, concentrated in the city of Melbourne, accumulates more than 35,000 cases, including 930 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic.

The authorities are trying to accelerate their vaccination program, which has administered the full schedule to 20 percent of the population over 16 years of age and is expected to end by Christmas, two months later than planned.