Western Australia has imposed a five-day lockdown beginning today in metropolitan Perth, the Peel region and the state’s South West. The decision comes after a hotel quarantine worker tested positive to the highly contagious UK’s COVID-19 variant. The lockdown announcement comes after the state went nine and a half months without a local case of the virus. The lockdown will affect about 80 per cent of the state’s population.
According to a notification from the WA Government, residents will be allowed to leave their homes for essential grocery shopping, medical reasons, to care for the vulnerable or exercise within their neighbourhood during the lockdown. But within a half an hour of the lockdown announcement, supermarkets were flooded with panic buyers.
As per international media reports, the security guard in his 20s was working in a hotel where international travellers are quarantined. He was working on the same floor where there are positive cases of the highly transmissible UK variant of the virus. He reported his symptoms to his employer on 28th January and did not work that day. Authorities believe he was infectious since 26th January. Contract tracing is underway.
More than 20 countries and territories across the world have confirmed the new, more contagious UK’s COVID-19 variant.
And with reports of the new COVID-19 variants in Brazil and South Africa rapidly spreading worldwide, countries around the globe are bringing back lockdowns and other restrictions to curb infections.
Sonam Pem
