Sydney cases dip as Australia debates COVID-19 reopening plans
Sydney's COVID-19 cases slightly eased on Friday (Aug 27) but still hovered near record levels as the Australian federal government looks to press states to stick to a national reopening plan once the country reaches a 70 per cent to 80 per cent vaccination rate.The national cabinet, a group of federal and state leaders, will meet later in the day against a backdrop of concerns by some states given the persistently high daily infections in Sydney even after two months under lockdown.
New South Wales recorded 882 new cases, most of them in state capital Sydney, down from the record 1,029 on Thursday as officials struggle to quell the Delta outbreak. Two new deaths were reported, while 117 people are in intensive care, 103 of them unvaccinated.
Even as infections surge, state authorities revealed a staggered back-to-school plan from late October, when they expect its vaccination rate to hit 70 per cent from 32 per cent now. New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would be focusing more on vaccination rates and the number of hospitalizations rather than daily case numbers as the rollout picks up speed. "
They are the two things that will matter even when we start to live life more freely at 70 per cent and then obviously at 80 per cent ... we are starting to make that mind change in New South Wales," Berejiklian said during a televised media conference. A national reopening plan was agreed between leaders of Australia's eight states and territories and the federal government last month, when Sydney cases were much lower, but virus-free Queensl-and and Western Australia have hinted they may not follow it.
