{"id":150863,"date":"2021-01-09T17:10:02","date_gmt":"2021-01-09T14:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/brisbane-locks-down-as-new-strains-put-australia-on-high-alert\/"},"modified":"2021-01-09T17:10:02","modified_gmt":"2021-01-09T14:10:02","slug":"brisbane-locks-down-as-new-strains-put-australia-on-high-alert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/brisbane-locks-down-as-new-strains-put-australia-on-high-alert\/","title":{"rendered":"#Brisbane locks down as new strains put Australia on high alert"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Brisbane locks down as new strains put Australia on high alert<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

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Australia’s third-largest city of Brisbane was in its first day of a snap lockdown on Saturday, with officials elsewhere on “high alert” over the emergence of more contagious strains of COVID-19.\n <\/p>\n

The usually bustling shopping strip<\/a> in the city centre was eerily quiet Saturday, with only a small number of masked locals venturing out for essential reasons after officials announced a three-day lockdown from Friday evening.<\/p>\n

“Quite surreal, like something from a movie set,” local man Scott told AFP, in an empty city street.<\/p>\n

“It’s necessary\u2014hopefully we will get through the next few days without any cases, that will allow us just to start to get back to normal.”<\/p>\n

Highways into the city\u2014which is usually a popular destination for Australian holidaymakers\u2014were deserted as tourists were told to stay away until the lockdown ends.<\/p>\n

The stay-at-home order for Brisbane’s more than two million residents was triggered after the UK strain of the virus spread from a returned traveller to a cleaner at a quarantine hotel\u2014Australia’s first recorded local case of the variant.<\/p>\n

The UK strain is among several emerging variants around the world believed to be more infectious than those which have spread previously.<\/p>\n

Authorities also issued a warning for passengers of a flight that arrived in Brisbane from Melbourne earlier this month, after a woman tested positive for the UK strain despite already undergoing a period of isolation.<\/p>\n

“The risk is extremely low\u2014very, very, very low\u2014because she (the traveller) is right at the end of her potential infectious period,” Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young told media<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“But because of this new variant, we’re just being ultra-cautious.”<\/p>\n

The news<\/a> comes as parts of Sydney prepared to end a weeks-long lockdown at midnight, following an outbreak which emerged last month.<\/p>\n

New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the state remained on “high alert” due to an increasing number of quarantined travellers testing positive for new variants of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

“Obviously, there was a hope we might have entered 2021 with no COVID, but it’s here to stay,” he added.<\/p>\n

Fears of a more infectious strain spreading through the community prompted Australia to announce a temporary cut to international arrivals and tighten quarantine arrangements.<\/p>\n

Until the lockdown, Brisbane had been among several Australian cities enjoying a return to relative normality due to the country’s success in suppressing the virus.<\/p>\n

Australia has recorded more than 28,500 COVID-19 cases and 909 deaths linked to the virus, in a population of about 25 million.\n <\/p>\n\n

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Follow the latest news on the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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\n \u00a9 2021 AFP<\/p>\n

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Citation<\/strong>:
\n Brisbane locks down as new strains put Australia on high alert (2021, January 9)
\n retrieved 9 January 2021
\n from https:\/\/medicalxpress.com\/news\/2021-01-brisbane-strains-australia-high.html<\/p>\n

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