South Australia closes its border to Waverley Council area after super infectious Delta strain spreads
South Australia has closed its borders to part of Sydney, including the Bondi beach area, after more cases were linked to a highly-infectious cluster.
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South Australia has closed its borders to part of Sydney, including the Bondi beach area, as the Sydney Delta cluster grows to nine.
The direction affects the Waverley Council area and was announced just before 8pm on Saturday night, taking effect immediately.
It’s an escalation of border controls, which had previously only excluded people who had visited declared Covid-19 hotspots.
Under the direction, anyone from the council area, or who has visited, in the 14 days prior to their arrival will not be allowed to enter. The rule does not apply to those who visited before June 11.
Those who have visited the area and already arrived in the state, or who are genuinely relocating, must quarantine immediately and notify SA Health.
There are now nine cases of the highly infectious Delta strain in Sydney, after two new local cases were recorded in the city’s eastern suburbs overnight.
The strain is so infectious that authorities believe it has been passed on within seconds from people walking by.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Saturday described the virus as “a near and present danger” as authorities worked to contain the spread.
No further border changes for Sydney or Brisbane were invoked on Sunday night but senior SA Health and SA Police officials will meet on Monday to review the latest Covid updates.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who is in quarantine after his European trip, has also called an urgent meeting of the national cabinet meeting on Monday following the alteration of vaccine medical advice.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation last week raised the recommended age for the AstraZeneca vaccine from 50 to 60.
The country’s emergency medical panel, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, will also meet.
Meanwhile, Queenslanders have also been put on high alert after Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Sunday morning a case had been detected in the community.
The woman, aged in her 30s, was a member of a flight crew and had just finished 14 days of hotel quarantine when she tested positive to the virus.
Ms Palaszczuk said there was no cause for alarm at this stage because the woman had only been in the community for a short time.
SA Health reported no new cases on Sunday but there are five active, or infectious, patients in the CBD Tom’s Court facility.
A man, aged in his 40s, is in a stable condition in the Royal Adelaide Hospital’s Covid clinic, where he has been recovering for the past four days.
SA Health data shows that, of last week’s 13 positive cases, almost a third (5) travelled from Liberia, in western Africa.
The other travellers arrived from China (3), Afghanistan (2), India, Pakistan and Iraq (all 1).
A woman, aged in her 30s, and her toddler son, 2, from Liberia caused a scare at the Peppers medi-hotel earlier this month.
Western Australian premier Mark McGowan on Sunday announced hospitality venues would return to full capacity from Wednesday.
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