Australia recorded more than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases for the first time since the global pandemic began on Thursday, as hospitals in Sydney set up emergency outdoor tents to cope with a rise in patients.
Sydney, which is at the epicentre of the current outbreak, is struggling to stamp out a surge in the fast-spreading Delta variant, with daily infections hitting record levels even after two months under lockdown.
New South Wales state, where Sydney is the capital, reported 1,029 new locally acquired cases, exceeding the previous record of 919 a day earlier. Of the new cases, 969 were detected in greater Sydney, up from 838.
The rapid rise in COVID-19 patients has forced Sydney’s Westmead and Blacktown hospitals, which service the city’s sprawling western suburbs, to erect tents to screen and swab patients to help manage capacity.
The makeshift unit in the emergency department for Covid-19 patients will help “to offload delays”, a Western Sydney Local Health District spokesperson told Reuters.
Despite the rising cases, NSW’s political leader announced she will ease pandemic restrictions for vaccinated adults next month.
State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the slight easing of restrictions is coming because the state reached six million vaccine doses in a population of 8.2 million.
Beginning on September 13, families in the highest-risk parts of Sydney will be allowed to leave their homes for an hour of recreation as long as any adults are fully vaccinated.
The recreation hour is in addition to the hour people are already allowed out to exercise.
Elsewhere in the state, groups of five will be allowed to congregate as long as all adults are fully vaccinated.
The country’s second-largest city, Melbourne, and capital, Canberra, are also in hard lockdowns, putting more than half of the country’s 25 million population under strict stay-at-home orders.
Cases in Victoria, home to Melbourne, surged to 80 on Thursday, up from 45 a day earlier.
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