The city and parts of Western Australia were already under a strict five-day lockdown after a security guard at a hotel used as a quarantine facility in Perth tested positive for coronavirus Monday. This may seem like overkill for just one case, but these types of aggressive measures have kept Australia’s total deaths during the pandemic to less than 1,000.
The quarantine in Australia’s fourth-largest city was scheduled to lift Friday, but officials told residents that evacuation orders and personal safety during the fire overrode any pandemic lockdown orders from the government. The U.S. dealt with a similar situation this past year (minus the lockdown stuff) as wildfires tore across the West, forcing widespread evacuations even as the pandemic raged. Australia’s pandemic is, thankfully, more under control, but the evacuations risk upsetting the delicate balance the country has achieved.
The streets of Perth have been turned into a ghost town as 2 million residents adjust to life under a lockdown which medical chiefs warn could last more than five days.
Pictures from the city show the normally bustling Cottesloe Beach empty despite temperatures soaring to 36C on Monday, the first full day of stay-at-home orders.
Street malls and shopping centres usually full of shoppers have been left deserted, with most businesses forced to shut during the harsh five-day lockdown enforced after a security guard at a quarantine hotel contracted Covid.
Residents have seemingly answered the call put out by Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan to do your duty: stay home unless it s for one of the four approved reasons .
Authorities scrambled to meet a flight from Perth to Canberra carrying federal politicians who will have to self-isolate after a sudden lockdown in parts of Western Australia.
• Source: 1 NEWS
There were scenes of panic buying in Perth last night after Australian officials announced a hard lockdown for the next five days.
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Despite Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan urging residents to remain calm, people were seen rushing to supermarkets.
The snap lockdown was called after a security guard working at a hotel quarantine site tested positive for Covid-19, likely to be the UK variant.
People within the Perth, Peel and South West regions must stay home except for essential travel until Friday night.