SYDNEY, Dec 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Australia’s New Year’s Eve celebrations have been hampered by fresh COVID-19 cases in Sydney and Melbourne, with the public urged to spend the occasion at home.
Today Sydney recorded 10 additional locally acquired cases, while Melbourne broke a two-month COVID-19 free streak with three local cases the day before, and added three additional cases today, which were linked to the Sydney outbreak.
While Sydney will go ahead with a shortened fireworks display, Melbourne city officials opted to cancel its fireworks altogether, as well as, mandating the use of facemasks in public indoor areas and capping gatherings at 15 people.
The state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, endured a months-long lockdown earlier in the year, after case numbers skyrocketed, with health officials eager to avoid a repeat of the situation.
“Every Victorian deserves the right to mark what has been the most challenging year for all of us,” Acting Victorian Premier, Jacinta Allan, said. “However, unfortunately what we know with this rampant and difficult virus is, it doesn’t end at midnight tonight.”
Victorians who travelled to Sydney were advised to return to their home state, amid emphatic warnings that the situation could warrant stricter conditions.
The state of South Australia, meanwhile, announced, it would close its border to residents from the state of New South Wales, beginning Jan 1 (tomorrow).
With the number of cases linked to Sydney’s Dec outbreak of around 150, residents were urged to seek testing and isolate themselves, if they showed any symptoms whatsoever
“You do not want to contribute to super-spreading events, which lead us to have to take other further public health measures in 2021,” NSW Chief health Officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said.
Virus transmission expert, Dr Paul Harvey, from Environmental Science Solutions said, with each new round of case numbers released, it looked more likely there will be a broader outbreak in Sydney.
“The current measures appear to be slowing, but not stopping the transmission of the virus,” Harvey said.
“There is already a large number of strategies in place for NYE, but whether these will be sufficient for the NYE period remains to be seen.”– NNN-AGENCIES
