GEIS-新闻详情

Australian PM Morrison defends lockdown strategy as daily Covid-19 cases hit record

2021-08-22 00:00:00.0 海峡时报-亚洲原网页

MELBOURNE (REUTERS) - Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday (Aug 22) defended Australia's lockdown strategy for tackling the coronavirus, saying it would stay until at least 70 per cent of the population is fully vaccinated, as daily infections break records.

Sunday's 914 cases of the highly infectious Delta variant surpassed the previous high of 894 a day earlier.

"You can't live with lockdowns forever and at some point, you need to make that gear change and that is done at 70 per cent," Mr Morrison said in a television interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Lockdowns are a key element of the federal government's strategy to rein in outbreaks until the 70 per cent level is reached, with borders being reopened gradually when the figure climbs to 80 per cent.

But they are taxing the patience of many.

Police arrested hundreds of people on Saturday during anti-lockdown demonstrations in Sydney and Melbourne, the capitals of the two most populous states, New South Wales and Victoria, which are under a strict lockdown.

Victoria, in its sixth lockdown since the start of the pandemic, recorded 65 locally acquired cases on Sunday, taking the tally in its current outbreak to 440 active cases.

"We are throwing everything at this," said Mr Martin Foley, the health minister of the south-eastern state.

New South Wales saw 830 new infections on Sunday, despite stepped-up efforts, and the Australian Capital Territory, home to the capital, Canberra, had 19. Nationwide, the tally of active cases stands at nearly 12,000.

Just about 30 per cent of Australians older than 16 have been fully vaccinated, data from the Health Ministry showed on Saturday. This is mainly because the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is in short supply and the AstraZeneca vaccine provokes public unease due to reports of blood clots.

The pace has picked up recently, as vaccine supplies increase and the Delta variant spreads. A Newspoll this month for The Australian newspaper showed that 11 per cent of respondents would flatly refuse vaccination.

In New South Wales, at least 57 per cent of those eligible have received one dose, while 30 per cent are fully vaccinated.

"If our community keeps getting their vaccines the way they are, New South Wales will look pretty good by October, November," said state Health Minister Brad Hazzard.

Despite a third wave of infections from the Delta variant, Australia's Covid-19 numbers are relatively low, with just under 44,000 cases and 981 deaths.