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The use of masks, although recommended, remains optional in Sydney, as daily community cases in Australia have remained low or zero for months.
SYDNEY (AP) – Australian authorities on Friday declared Sydney’s northern beaches a hotspot for the coronavirus, as a cluster of cases rose to 28, prompting the return of national travel restrictions.
The outbreak follows a period of relative normalcy in the city after it proved successful in keeping the virus at bay in recent months.
But on Friday hundreds of thousands of residents were urged to stay home as long as possible for three days and long lines formed outside Covid-19 clinics as health officials ran to contain the infection.
“If we get through this in the next two or three days, we can all have a much better Christmas,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian, head of the state of New South Wales in Sydney, told the media.
“But if we don’t control it in the next few days, it could mean more restrictions in the future.”
Even though most of the cases are linked to a location in the suburb of Avalon on the city’s northeast peninsula, Berejiklian said all of Sydney’s more than five million residents should be on “high alert.”
Wearing masks, while recommended, remains optional in Sydney as daily community cases in Australia have remained low or zero for months.
Success in containing the virus has allowed for a continued rollback of restrictions before Christmas, and domestic travel has largely returned to normal before the latest outbreak.
The loosening of sidewalks has sparked fears that the new outbreak has already spread across the country.
A cluster-related case was detected in neighboring Queensland, prompting state and territory officials to announce restrictions on Sydney travelers, forcing many to isolate themselves.
Some of the toughest restrictions come from Western Australia, and state leader Mark McGowan announced a 14-day self-quarantine for all arrivals from New South Wales.
“There is no question that New South Wales is on the brink of a serious outbreak, and we must do whatever it takes to stay safe,” McGowan said.
Health officials said genomic tests had found that the virus strain likely came from the United States, but it was unclear how it spread to Sydney.
Arrivals from abroad to Australia are strictly controlled and must be quarantined.
A bus driver transporting the aircrew from the city’s airport also tested positive for a strain of the virus abroad earlier this week, but is not linked to the northern beach group, authorities said.
Australia has recorded more than 28,000 coronavirus cases and 908 deaths in a population of 25 million.
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