Australia s second largest city could be plunged into a snap lockdown due to a growing outbreak of the Indian covid variant.
Melbourne today reinstated a number of covid restrictions as authorities reported five new cases of the highly contagious Indian strain, adding to four reported on Monday.
The city was put on high alert after a covid infected man sat among 23,000 football fans at Sunday night s Australian Football league game at Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), Victoria.
A cluster of nine cases of the Indian strain have been recorded in Melbourne s northern suburbs within the past two days, with experts fearing the outbreak may have spread further.
He was joined by his parliamentary colleague, Labor MP Josh Burns, who told the crowd, “If those rockets were flying over Melbourne or Canberra or Sydney, the Australian Defence Force would be doing the same thing as Israel. Australia would defend its people, and Israel was defending its people … Israel is a leader, it is a friend, and we gather here today standing with Israel.”
They shared the stage with state Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien, who said, “Israel has not only a right but a responsibility to defend itself and her people. We wish for long lasting peace in the Middle East and an end to the violence. Lasting peace will only be possible with the acceptance of Israel’s right to exist within secure borders.”
Australia Wants mRNA Vaccines Made Onshore
On Friday, the Australian government will commence an “approach to market” for developing the capacity to make messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines in Australia.
This comes as the government negotiates with Moderna about setting up an onshore manufacturing facility for mRNA vaccines.
In a statement, the government said onshore manufacturing would ensure a secure, long-term supply of Moderna’s mRNA-based vaccines against COVID-19, the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, including variants and potential future pandemics.
The process, which was signalled in the May 11 Federal Budget 2021-22, will be open for eight weeks from Friday.