SYDNEY – Australia’s second most populous city will enter a five-day instant coronavirus blockade, officials said on Friday, banning viewers from much of Australia’s Open tennis tournament.
A new Covid-19 cluster linked to a quarantine hotel in Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria, hit 13 cases at midnight on Thursday, as authorities rushed to halt the spread of the virus. All of these infections were associated with the highly contagious UK variant.
Victoria’s premier Daniel Andrews announced the blockade to the state, starting at midnight on Friday, calling it a “short and sharp circuit breaker”, banning public meetings, home auctions, weddings and meetings religious.
“We must assume that there are more cases in the community from which we have had positive results, and that it is moving at a speed that has not been seen anywhere in our country over the past 12 months,” Andrews told reporters. observing the high transmission rate of the UK variant.
Asked about the Australian Open, which runs until February 21, the premier said the Grand Slam tournament, one of the biggest events on the country’s sporting calendar, is considered a workplace, subject to blocking restrictions.
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“There are no fans. There are no crowds. These people are essentially in their workplaces,” he said. “The minimum number of employees for it to run safely – not just because of the virus, but for other reasons – will be there.”
The event had already been limited to 50 percent of normal capacity and was chased by previous complaints from some international players, who were forced to spend critical quarantine preparation time.
The tournament will continue without crowds for the next five days, without the permission of fans at the venue, organizers said. Spectators will be able to watch the games scheduled for Friday, while those who have purchased tickets for restricted events will be refunded, they said in a statement.
Victoria suspended international passenger flights from Saturday, excluding those already in transit, until further notice.
“We will continue to assess the impact of the British strain of the virus on our program and international arrivals, and will provide more information on the length of this break soon,” the state government said in a statement.
All states and territories except New South Wales – which includes Sydney and is the country’s most populous state – closed their borders to Victoria on Friday, citing the high risk of transmission.
New South Wales, which on Friday recorded the 26th day with no community cases, said its borders with Victoria will remain open while monitoring the situation.
Victoria suffered one of the toughest and longest confinements in the world last year, after an outbreak that killed more than 800 in the state, the vast majority of the national death toll.
The head of Australia’s corporate lobbying group expressed frustration at the new blockade, calling it “bitter disappointment for the whole community”.
“This is the second block caused by the Victoria hotel’s quarantine system, it shouldn’t be as long and destructive as the previous one,” said Business Council Chief Executive Jennifer Westacott. “We need to make the hotel’s quarantine function properly.”
More broadly, Australia is among the most successful countries in the world in dealing with the pandemic, largely because of decisive roadblocks and closed borders for almost all travelers. The country recorded about 22,200 community cases and 909 deaths.
But its quarantined hotels, where all international arrivals must spend two weeks, have been a weak link in their defenses, with Melbourne’s last cluster being another example.
Prime Minister Andrews proposed to restrict Australia’s citizen repatriation program only for reasons of compassion, a measure that could gain some support from other states that have had tension in the UK.
Prior to the announcement of the blockade, Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered his government’s full support for Victoria’s decisions to contain the outbreak.