The Perth metropolitan area and the Australian state’s Peel and South West regions are now under “total blockage,” Prime Minister Mark McGowan announced on Sunday, with residents only able to leave their homes for essential shopping, medical needs, exercise and jobs. that cannot be done at home or remotely.
Schools, most businesses, entertainment venues and places of worship are all closed and restaurants are restricted to travel only.
“This is a very serious situation and each of us has to do everything we can to help prevent it from spreading in the community,” said McGowan.
The Perth metropolitan area and the Peel and South West regions have a combined population of more than 2 million people, with the vast majority living in the state’s capital, Perth.
The drastic measures come after a man in his twenties who worked as a security guard at the Sheraton Four Points, a hotel quarantine facility, tested positive for coronavirus. Of the four cases that were active at the hotel while the man was on duty, two were carriers of the UK strain and one of the South African strain of the virus, which is believed to be more contagious than other variants.
“We were told that the guard was working on the same floor, as a positive variant in the UK,” said McGowan. As the man worked two 12-hour shifts on 26 and 27 January, it is possible that he contracted the strain from the UK, added the prime minister, although he said that “exactly how the infection was acquired remains under investigation”.
The authorities are calling on all people who visited a specific list of locations on a given date to take the test. All contacts close to the man should be quarantined for 14 days.
“Western Australians have been doing really well for so long, but this week it is absolutely crucial that we stay home, maintain physical distance and personal hygiene and get tested if you have symptoms,” said McGowan.
Australia recorded a total of 28,811 cases, with 909 deaths, most of which occurred in the southeastern states of Victoria and New South Wales. The country has demonstrated success in the control of the coronavirus through rigid blocks and rigid border controls, with all international visitors being tested and quarantined.
But while the broader measures have been effective, state officials have faced criticism for a “hard block” applied to nine public housing towers in Melbourne. About 3,000 residents of the towers were not notified in advance of the blockade, which prevented them from leaving their homes for any reason for more than five days.
CNN’s Jessie Yeung and James Griffiths contributed reporting.