Tougher COVID-19 Lockdown Measures Imposed on Australia’s Biggest City

SYDNEY - Australia’s biggest city, Sydney, has ordered a shutdown of building sites and most shops, and is banning workers from leaving several Covid-19 hotspots.  The city of 5 million people has been under lockdown since June 26 as authorities race to contain the spread of the delta variant.  The state of Victoria is also in lockdown.

Twelve million Australians - or about half of the population - are in COVID-19 lockdown.   In New South Wales, the most populous state, authorities recorded 111 new cases in the previous 24 hours, up from 97 the day before.  Health officials have said that around 80% of the infections are from three areas in Sydney.  In response, the government has imposed some of Australia’s toughest lockdown regulations.