Mask mandate in Sydney extended as COVID cases continue to increase

Ten new locally acquired cases were reported in NSW today, as officials fight to contain a latest cluster of the highly infectious Delta virus variant. Eight of the 10 are household contacts of previous cases in isolation. — AFP pic

New South Wales (NSW), Australia's most populous state today, has seen its largest surge in newly acquired Covid-19 instances within the close to a week, pushing officials to prolong the Mask Mandate for one week in Sydney.

Today, ten new instances of highly virulent Delta virus strain were revealed in NSW as officials are struggling to contain a most recent cluster. Eight out of ten are household contacts in isolation from previous cases.

"With the further instances, there is no question an increasing degree of anxiety, but... given that the virus is very infectious, we anticipated household contacts are already isolated, and that this virus may be caused," said Premier Gladys Berejiklian of the NSW, Sydney reporter.

Indoor masks will be mandatory for another week from Thursday morning in Sydney, Australia's largest city, however, officials stopped noticing further curbs as the cluster grew to 21, in six days.

"We believe that at this moment our reaction is proportionately risk-based," said Berejiklian, but she anticipates home contacts to have more cases.

The variant Delta, classed as one of the Covid-19 variants, was the latest severe epidemic in India by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The data for Tuesdays comprise seven cases that will be included in the Wednesday numbers after the 8 p.m. cut-off date.

The recent breakthrough, the first in the state in almost a month, was reported by authorities as being linked with a driver transporting members of the international flight staff and later visited many sites, among them a shopping center in Bondi, a popular tourism destination.

Speedy tracing procedures, robust social separation restrictions, and compliance with high-profit standards have kept the Covid-19 figures of Australia reasonably small with just over 30 350 cases and 910 deaths.

Publish : 2021-06-22 12:14:00

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