March 18, 2020: China reports no new local infectionsĬhina reports no new domestic infections in the country for the first time since the outbreak began. Six countries in the San Francisco area ordered to "shelter in place" for three weeks, meaning residents are required to remain at home unless they are leaving the house for an essential reason, or are exercising outdoors. “So far we’ve done incredibly well and have been very fortunate,” she says.March 17, 2020: Northern Californians ordered to 'shelter in place' But the federal government recently announced that people will be able to go overseas again once each state and territory reaches 80 per cent vaccination of people aged 16 and over.īeing shut off from the rest of the world has been inconvenient, but Webster believes it has helped keep Australia’s covid-19 death toll relatively low, at just over 1400. The nation’s international border has been closed since March 2020 to stop travellers from bringing the virus into the country, with some exceptions including for Australian citizens and permanent residents returning from elsewhere. “We’re getting very close to the level of vaccination that was enough for Sydney to turn things around,” he says.Īustralia’s other states and territories currently have no or very few covid-19 cases and will keep their borders shut to New South Wales and Victoria until they hit their own vaccination targets. The city has had six lockdowns during the pandemic – totalling more than 250 days – the most of any city in the world.Ĭase numbers are still climbing in Victoria – reaching a record 1965 on 9 October – but James Trauer at Monash University in Melbourne hopes they will start to fall soon. In the state of Victoria, Melbourne – Australia’s most populous city after Sydney – has been locked down since 5 August due to a delta outbreak. Australia is coming into summer, which may also help to suppress case numbers thanks to time spent outdoors, says Webster.Īlexandra Martiniuk at the University of Sydney is in favour of reopening, but thinks the restrictions should be eased more slowly to allow time for more people to get fully vaccinated, especially if the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is approved soon for children aged 5 to 11. “Hospitalisations didn’t get as high in New South Wales as the models predicted and have come down faster so that’s a good sign,” she says. Infections are expected to rise, but the high vaccine coverage means that most people won’t become severely ill, says Catherine Bennett at Deakin University in Melbourne. Read more: Why is New Zealand seemingly giving up on its zero-covid strategy? Restrictions on unvaccinated adults will be lifted on 1 December when the state is predicted to have reached 90 per cent vaccination. Once the state reaches 80 per cent vaccination in those aged 16 and over in about a week’s time, fully vaccinated people will be allowed to have larger social gatherings and travel outside of Sydney. Schools will start to reopen on 18 October. These venues must operate with limited capacity and compulsory mask-wearing if indoors. Fully vaccinated people in Sydney and their children can now have 10 visitors to their homes, meet in outdoor groups of 30 and visit hospitality venues and shops anywhere in Sydney. Honouring its commitment, the New South Wales government announced it would begin easing restrictions from 11 October. About 68 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 have also received one jab since becoming eligible.Īs vaccination rates have risen, infections in New South Wales have dropped to below 500 per day. To incentivise vaccination, the New South Wales government promised to release Sydney from lockdown when 70 per cent of people aged 16 and over were fully vaccinated.Ī concerted vaccination campaign has now seen 90 per cent of this group receive one dose and 74 per cent receive two doses. Read more: Covid-19 vaccines: Everything you need to know about the leading shots
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