Australia's Sydney to go into 2-week lockdown

Sydney and some surrounding areas will enter a difficult two-week COVID-19 lockdown on Saturday as authorities battle to control a fast-spreading outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant which has grown to 80 cases. More than a million persons in downtown Sydney and eastern suburbs of Australia's biggest city were already under lockdown as a result of outbreak, but health authorities said they had a need to expand the curbs after more infections were recorded, with exposure sites increasing beyond the original areas of concern. "Even though we don't want to impose burdens unless we absolutely have to, unfortunately this is a predicament where we have to," said New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

Australia has been more lucrative in managing the pandemic than many other advanced economies through swift border closures, social distancing rules and high compliance, reporting just over 30,400 cases and 910 COVID-19 deaths.But the country has struggled with its vaccination rollout, and states have been plagued lately by small outbreaks. These have already been contained through speedy contact tracing, isolation of thousands of men and women at a time or snap hard lockdowns.

Saturday's lockdown in New South Wales will also include the regions of Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong, which surround Sydney.Under the rules set up through July 9, persons can set off for essential work, medical care, education or shopping. All of those other state will have limits on public gatherings and masks will be obligatory indoors.