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Sydney was cut off from the rest of Australia on Sunday after all the country’s states and territories imposed travel restrictions on their residents as a coronavirus cluster in the city grew to about 70.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) sent a stern message to Sydney, the country’s most populous city with more than five million inhabitants, warning its residents that they would be quarantined for 14 days if they arrived.
“If you are not an ACT resident and have been to Sydney. . . our message is simple: don’t travel to the ACT, ”the ACT health department said.
The states of Victoria and Queensland, and the Northern Territory, have banned people from Sydney starting Monday.
Queensland Police will reintroduce roadside checkpoints at the New South Wales (NSW) state border to help enforce Sydney’s new declaration as a Covid-19 hotspot.
The state of South Australia imposed a 14-day quarantine on arrivals in Sydney on Sunday and banned travelers from entering the affected suburbs. The island state of Tasmania took similar action on Saturday. The state of Western Australia imposed a strict border closure.
Travelers from other parts of New South Wales, where Sydney is the state capital, will need documents proving that they are not from the affected Sydney suburbs if they wish to cross state lines.
Emergency shutdown
Roughly a quarter of a million people in Sydney’s North Beach suburbs, where the outbreak occurred, have been put under a strict lockdown until Christmas Eve.
“If we can shut down here and get rid of him, great and everyone else can be free,” said Rachel Buxcon, a retired North Beaches resident. “But if it spreads, then we are all together.”
On Sunday, New South Wales State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said public gatherings in the rest of Sydney would be limited, with family gatherings limited to 10 participants and hospitality venues to 300, among other restrictions.
“We must take this action now to make sure we are aware of this outbreak,” Ms. Berejiklian said.
He also urged people in the Sydney metropolitan area to wear masks in public, although it was not required.
“If you go grocery shopping anywhere in NSW please wear a mask, if you go to a place of worship in NSW please wear a mask. . . And for the love of God, don’t get on public transportation unless you’re wearing a mask, ”he said.
Until this week, Australia had gone more than two weeks without local broadcasting and had lifted most of the restrictions before Christmas. The Sydney outbreak and border restrictions have thrown Christmas travel plans into chaos.
The annual Sydney to Hobart yacht race that begins December 26 has been canceled for the first time in its 76-year history, as crews and their families would have to self-quarantine upon arrival in Tasmania.
Hotels and vacation rentals in New South Wales have been inundated with massive Christmas cancellations and restaurants have seen customer numbers drop significantly, local media reported.
“An important reminder as we approach the holiday season is that the virus has not gone anywhere and we must be careful,” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in a video message.
Australia has avoided the worst of the pandemic due to border closures, lockdowns, widespread testing and social distancing. It has recorded around 28,100 infections, the vast majority in the state of Victoria, and 908 deaths.
New South Wales health authorities said more than 28,200 tests were carried out in the last 24 hours and urged more people to get tested. The origin of the virus is unknown in Sydney, which according to genome tests is an American strain. – Reuters
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