Holidays in disarray as Sydney battles pre-Christmas Covid-19 outbreak freemalaysiatoday.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from freemalaysiatoday.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Sydney’s Swelling Covid Outbreak Risks Scuppering Christmas Bloomberg 21/12/2020
(Bloomberg)
Sydney’s 5 million residents are being urged to curb activities over the next few days to avoid fanning a coronavirus outbreak that’s closed state borders and threatens to scupper Christmas festivities.
A new health order from Monday limits gatherings in homes and entertainment venues across metropolitan Sydney for at least three days, while New South Wales state health officials work to trace the source and contain a growing cluster involving 83 people.
“We’re on a precipice,” said Marylouise McLaws, professor of epidemiology, hospital infection and infectious diseases control at the University of New South Wales. A seven-day, Sydney-wide “stay at home” order may be necessary to arrest the spread of the virus, and it would be prudent for residents to curtail holiday festivities if not cancel them altogether, she said.
Flights Cancelled, Holidays In Disarray as Sydney Battles Pre-Christmas Coronavirus Outbreak
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SYDNEY: Dozens of domestic flights due to leave Sydney were cancelled on Monday and authorities issued more health alerts across the city, as Australia battled to contain a fresh COVID-19 outbreak in its largest city four days before Christmas.
More than 50 locations including cafes, gyms, casinos and supermarkets across Sydney have been infected so far and authorities urged anyone who had visited the venues to immediately get tested and self-isolate.
A new virus cluster, which was detected in Sydney’s northern coastal suburbs last week, grew to nearly 70 cases, prompting all other states and territories to close borders to Sydney’s 5 million residents, throwing their Christmas travel plans into disarray.
(Adds details, quote from NSW minister for health, adds tv and pix to the slug)
SYDNEY, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Dozens of domestic flights due to leave Sydney were cancelled on Monday, as Australia battled to contain a fresh COVID-19 outbreak in its largest city four days before Christmas.
More than 80 locations including cafes, gyms, casinos and supermarkets across Sydney were identified as having been visited by people with confirmed cases. Authorities urged anyone who attended the venues to immediately get tested and self-isolate.
The new virus cluster, which was detected in Sydney s northern coastal suburbs last week, grew to nearly 70 cases as of Sunday, prompting all other states and territories to close borders to Sydney s 5 million residents, throwing Christmas travel plans into disarray.
(Adds Qantas comment in paragraphs 5-6)
SYDNEY, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Chairman (ACCC) Rod Sims said the regulator is looking into a complaint from Rex Airlines that Qantas Airways Ltd is trying to stymie its attempts to become a third player on the country’s major inter-city routes.
Regional carrier Rex plans to begin flying on Melbourne-Sydney-Canberra routes from March, directly competing with Qantas, its low-cost arm Jetstar and rival Virgin Australia.
Rex last week lodged a complaint with the ACCC, alleging Qantas had started flying some regional routes, a strategy it said was aimed at flooding that market with excess capacity.