CANBERRA, Sept 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) – Head of Australia’s COVID-19 task force, praised the COVID vaccine uptake, as the country continues to battle the third wave of infections.
Lieutenant General John Frewen, the National COVID-19 Taskforce Coordinator, said, Australia is setting new vaccination records “almost every day” as the rollout continues.
“As of yesterday, our first-dose nationwide vaccination rate was 71.2 percent and for second doses it was 46.2 percent. Approximately 24.3 million vaccine doses had been administered across the country,” he wrote in a column for News Corp Australia, today.
“If we can hit the 70 and 80 percent double-dose vaccination marks nationwide, and in every state and territory, we can start to open up the country with less likelihood of us having to go back into lockdowns.”
This morning, there were more than 1,600 new locally acquired cases reported across Australia.
New South Wales (NSW), Australia’s most populous state, with Sydney as the capital city, reported 1,083 new cases and 13 deaths.
“There have been 241 COVID-19 related deaths in NSW since June 16, 2021,” said the statement from NSW Health.
Victoria, the second-most populous state, with Melbourne as the capital city, reported a further 507 new local cases.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) recorded 17 new cases today, taking the number of active cases in the nation’s capital to 242.– NNN-AGENCIES
