“The delta strain is really putting regional New South Wales on that knife edge.”
— Australian Deputy Premier John Barilaro
“I can’t express enough my level of concern at these rising numbers of cases,” Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said in Sydney.
“I’m incredibly concerned.” Infections were also reported in towns in the west, north and central regions of the state in recent days, Deputy Premier John Barilaro said.
“The delta strain is really putting regional New South Wales on that knife edge,” Barilaro said.
Sydney has been in lockdown since June 26. The state has been locked down since August 14.
Australia’s most populous state reported a record 633 new coronavirus infections on August 18. Now concerns about the delta variant’s spread has grown much beyond Sydney.
The previous record in New South Wales, which includes Sydney, was 466 on August 14. Three people died on August 17, bringing the death toll from the outbreak first detected in Sydney in mid-June to 60.
There have been 67 infections detected since the coronavirus was first discovered in Canberra on August 12 last week
Premier Gladys Berejiklian did not agree when told that Sydney’s lockdown measures need to be tougher. He described the lockdown as “extremely harsh and extremely strict.” This he said was based on expert health advice.
The national capital Canberra, which is surrounded by New South Wales, reported 22 new infections from the cluster that originated in Sydney.
There have been 67 infections detected since the coronavirus was first discovered in Canberra on August 12 last week.
In fact, Australia expanded a Covid-19 lockdown to a rural town and the coastal region of Byron Bay on Monday.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison is under fire for a sluggish vaccine rollout, with only 22 per cent of Australians above 16 fully vaccinated.
An opinion poll by the Australian newspaper showed his public approval rating had hit its lowest since the pandemic began.
“I know they’re sick of it, I know they’re angry and I know they want it to stop and for life to get back to where they knew it,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
“But there can be no short cuts.”
Australia has reported about 36,250 cases and 939 deaths, including a woman in her 90s whose death in Sydney was reported on Monday.