CANBERRA / SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s third largest city will enter a three-day blockade starting on Friday night, as officials seek to prevent the spread of a more contagious variant of COVID-19 first detected in Britain -Brittany.
Brisbane’s 2 million residents will be banned from leaving their homes for anything other than essential business after an employee at a quarantined hotel in the city tested positive for the new strain of the virus.
“If we don’t do it now, it could end up being a 30-day block,” said state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk when announcing the block to start at 6 pm local time.
People should wear masks when they leave home for essential business, Palaszczuk said. Funerals and weddings can proceed, but with a limit of 20 and 10 people respectively. Entertainment venues will be closed and restaurants and cafes will be able to provide only take-out food.
Authorities have not detected any new cases since Thursday, when they reported the case of a hotel worker who used to quarantine people who recently arrived from abroad, but said they could not delay the action.
“We can’t put it back in the box. We need to act before we get cases, ”said Queensland’s health director, Jeannette Young.
The authorities identified and isolated 79 people who are close contacts of the worker.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted that the blockade “will gain the necessary time” as the case emphasizes Australia’s procedures for returning citizens and residents from abroad.
Morrison called for a special meeting of state and territorial leaders on Friday to consider stricter rules for international arrivals.
Australia, since March, has closed its borders to all non-citizens and permanent residents. It also limited the number of people allowed to enter the country each week, and returnees must enter the hotel’s mandatory quarantine on their own.
Although the system has been widely credited for preventing major outbreaks, most of Australia’s more than 28,500 cases can be traced to quarantined hotels.
Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Leslie Adler, Peter Cooney and Jane Wardell