Victoria in Australia reports 190 local cases of COVID-19

MELBOURNE, Sept. 4 (Reuters) – Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state, has reported 190 new cases of locally acquired coronavirus, health officials said on Saturday, as the state works to contain a outbreak of the highly infectious delta variant.

Of the new infections, 103 were linked to existing outbreaks, the health ministry said on its Twitter account.

Australia, largely unvaccinated due to a scarcity of Pfizer vaccine supply (PFE.N) and public unease over the AstraZeneca vaccine (AZN.L), has so far been battling the worst wave of the new coronavirus.

On Friday, it recorded its largest single-day increase in COVID-19 infections, with 1,657 new cases and 13 deaths, mostly in New South Wales. Authorities have warned that the worst is yet to come, NSW is expected to report more than 1,000 cases a day for at least the next two weeks, and the Victoria outbreak is expected to grow.

Victoria, NSW and the Australian Capital Territory, which together are home to nearly 60% of Australia’s 25 million people, have been under strict lockdown for weeks, which is expected to last until 70% of the population is fully vaccinated.

So far, only about a third of people aged 16 and over have been vaccinated in Australia, although the pace of inoculation has accelerated significantly in recent times as the federal government rushes to obtain more Pfizer vaccines. . Read more

At the current rate, Australia could reach the 70% threshold in late October or early November.

A total of just over 58,200 cases and 1,032 deaths have been recorded in Australia since the start of the pandemic, far fewer than many comparable countries.

The Delta outbreak, however, has cast doubt on the wisdom of pursuing elimination strategies – used successfully by states and territories during previous waves of the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are not going to reduce this to zero,” Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said on Friday.

Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Leslie Adler and Grant McCool

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