Sydney lockdown extended for another month

Sydney, Australia, Aug 20 (EFE).- The Australian authorities on Friday again extended the lockdown of Greater Sydney for another month due to the continued increase in Covid-19 cases.

The state of New South Wales continues to record hundreds of cases a day despite the lockdown in its capital Sydney and surrounds, which began on June 26 and was due to end on Aug. 27.

On Friday, NSW registered 644 local infections and four deaths, most of them in the southwest and west of Sydney, where 12 local government areas will from Monday come under a night curfew and a one-hour limit for outdoor exercising.

The state authorities also announced the mandatory use of face masks outdoors, except for during exercise, throughout NSW, where regional areas are also confined until the end of the month.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced Friday at a press conference in Sydney that the police will have additional powers to maintain compliance with the restrictions, including ordering people to self-isolate at home.

The neighboring state of Victoria reported 55 local infections Friday, the majority in the city of Melbourne, which is in lockdown for the sixth time until Sep. 2, as is the Australian Capital Territory, which houses capital Canberra.

In the other states or territories, restriction measures have been imposed, mainly on domestic movements.

Australia, which has fully vaccinated 25 percent of its population 16 years and over, has accumulated more than 42,000 Covid-19 infections, including 975 deaths, since the start of the pandemic. EFE

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