Longer, tighter, harder: Battle against virus sparks harsh new clamps on movement
The inexorable spread of the Delta strain of coronavirus has pushed desperate state and territory governments across Australia to force even harsher new restrictions on an already weary population.
Queensland appears to be the only eastern state that has gotten ahead of the spread of the virus, with NSW, Victoria, the ACT and the Northern Territory recording big jumps in cases.
One after another on Monday, state and territory leaders announced some of the toughest stay-at-home orders seen since the beginning of the pandemic, with a night time curfew slapped on Melbournians , extension of lockdown rules in that state and the ACT and a snap lockdown imposed in the Northern Territory.
An angry Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said the state had no choice given the number of mystery cases, illegal gatherings at the weekend and the number of children spreading the virus.
âWeâve seen lots of different people flouting these rules, not doing as they should, making really poor choices,â he said.
In particular, Andrews said an engagement party last week of 69 people was particularly egregious.
âThere has been transmission at that event,â he said.
âBut what makes me really angry about that event is that each of those 69 people will have to be interviewed. Their close contact also have to be spoken to, tested.â
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The announcements came as Prime Minister Scott Morrison was adamant there had never been a national goal to achieve zero cases amid multiple Delta strain outbreaks.
NSW reported a record 478 new local cases and seven deaths on Monday, while a 15-year-old boy with coronavirus died from meningitis. The entire state is in lockdown.
Melbourne recorded 22 new locally acquired infections, prompting Premier Dan Andrews to extend the lockdown in that state by two weeks and introduce a curfew similar to the one imposed last year during its three-month lockdown.
Canberraâs lockdown will be extended until at least September 2 after 19 new local cases were detected in the ACT.
Darwin and Katherine will be locked down for three days after a man who spent four days in the community while infectious tested positive.
The prime minister said the nation remained in a suppression phase of the fight against the disease while vaccination rates increase.
âThe idea that you can have zero COVID in any country has never been Australiaâs plan,â Morrison told the ABC on Monday.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has conceded her state will not eradicate the virus, while Andrews agrees.
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Western Australiaâs leader Mark McGowan is signalling he will continue to pursue a zero-case goal even after reaching 80 per cent vaccination coverage.
Federal, state and territory governments have backed targets of 70 and 80 per cent to reduce the possibility of lockdowns and reopen the country.
Morrison said Doherty Institute and Treasury modelling underpinning the national cabinet agreement was clear about the targetsâ importance.
âOnce you hit those levels, it is neither in our health or economic interests to go down that path,â he said.
The instituteâs epidemiology director Jodie McVernon cast doubt on whether the WA goal was achievable.
âMy personal view is, thatâs a very difficult promise to keep,â she told ABC radio.
The prime minister said all governments agreed to the reopening strategy three times.
âThatâs the deal that all premiers and chief ministers have signed up to and made that commitment to their own citizens,â Morrison said.
âWeâve got to hold to that.â
McGowan said the national cabinet agreement left the door open to targeted lockdowns when 80 per cent vaccination coverage was reached.
âWe will keep that as one of our weapons in the situation weâre in,â he told reporters.
More than half of the one million Pfizer doses Australia will receive from Poland arrived overnight, with the balance to touch down on Tuesday.
About 530,000 will be rushed to 12 Sydney hot spots for people aged 20 to 39, while the rest will be shared across the country based on population.
Australia has vaccinated 26 per cent of its population aged 16 and above, while 47.7 per cent have had a single jab.
-AAP
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