[ad_1]
FILE PHOTO: A lone man sits in a deserted Federation Square on the first day of a lockdown, as Victoria state seeks to curb the spread of an outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Melbourne, Australia, July 16, 2021. REUTERS / Sandra Sanders reuters_tickers
This content was published on September 11, 2021 – 01:24
By Colin Packham
CANBERRA (Reuters) – The Australian state of Victoria, the country’s second most populous, reported the largest one-day increase in locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Saturday in more than a year.
The state of Victoria said it has detected 450 locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the largest single-day increase since August 8, 2020.
The state of Queensland has said five new cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the past 24 hours, fueling fears that Australia’s third-largest state will be the next to be overwhelmed by new infections.
Queensland State Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state will not yet enter a lockdown, but her government is watching closely for any signs the cluster may have spread.
“If we start to see seedlings we may need to take action very quickly. But for now, it is in the family,” Palaszczuk said.
The surge in new cases comes as Australia struggles to contain the highly infectious delta variant that threatens to push the country’s economy into its second recession in as many years.
The surge in the number of cases sees Australia’s two largest states and its capital in strict closures as authorities seek to reduce infections while rushing to vaccinate as many people as possible.
(Reporting by Colin Packham, editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
Source link
