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Victoria’s Delta outbreak is being fuelled by people under 40 who have been unable to secure a vaccination and are infecting others before contact tracers reach them.
The state’s lockdown is threatening to extend beyond five days, with 19 new local cases recorded on Saturday, taking the total number of infected people in the latest outbreak to 43.
More than 10,000 close contacts are isolating across Victoria.
A closed Myer store in the deserted Bourke Street Mall on Saturday.
Credit:Justin McManus
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton warned Victorians on Saturday to be ready for what could emerge over the next few days. “We just need to brace ourselves for any possibility,” he said.
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NSW has been forced to seek urgent help from other states to boost its contact tracing capability, in a sign its COVID-19 tracking system is struggling to keep pace with the growing outbreak.
The state made an “open request” for assistance during a meeting of Australia’s federal and state chief medical officers on Friday, with the Commonwealth, South Australian and Western Australian governments all agreeing to help. Victoria knocked back the request, as it works to trace its own outbreak.
Gladys Berejiklian has toughened lockdown rules after a surge in new cases and exposure sites.
Credit:Rhett Wyman
NSW Records 105 Cases, Elderly Deaths as Lockdown Tightens
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said 27 of the new cases had been infectious while in the community.
“That’s the number that worries us the most,” she said on Sunday.
The state is yet to see a significant drop in case numbers following lockdown conditions in the capital for three weeks.
Berejiklian said she expected a lag of between five or six days until case numbers began to drop as a result of the latest restrictions.
“We still want the community to be more vigilant than ever before,” she said.
Residents are barred from leaving three council areas while all but critical retailers across Sydney are closed as the city doubles down in its most serious battle yet with COVID-19.
Victoria records 16 local cases with residents told to brace for longer lockdown sbs.com.au - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sbs.com.au Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says it is too early to tell whether there will be an extension of the state s five-day COVID-19 lockdown.
The premier said on Sunday the state was not seeing any new chains of transmission opening up and the outbreak was unfolding as the government hoped it would . This lockdown won t be on any longer than it needs to be, Mr Andrews said.
Victoria recorded 16 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Saturday but authorities advised there had been an extra case added in the hour before Sunday s press conference.