Australian officials suddenly shut down the city of Perth in Western Australia for five days after one person there tested positive for the coronavirus – a security guard at a quarantine hotel. The state of Western Australia has run for almost ten months without any sign of community transfer.
Under the new restrictions, about two million people in the city and surrounding areas can leave home until Friday night just for essential reasons such as exercise, medical needs and groceries. Restaurants, bars and gyms will be closed and wearing masks is mandatory in public. Schools, which would reopen this week, will remain closed.
“I know for many Western Australians it’s going to be a shock,” Prime Minister Mark McGowan told a news conference on Sunday. The state has previously ‘crushed’ the outbreak, he said, but ‘we can not forget how fast this virus can spread or the devastation it can cause.’
The security guard developed symptoms on Thursday after working at a hotel where travelers are placed in quarantine this week, Mr. McGowan said. One traveler there tested positive for the more contagious virus variant first spotted in Britain.
Australia has been praised for its comparative success in dealing with the pandemic, reporting a total of 28,810 cases and 909 deaths, far fewer than most other developed countries. It moved aggressively to curb new outbreaks and largely banned the citizens from leaving the country. New cases have been discovered mainly in returning travelers, who are strictly quarantined in hotels.
The city of Brisbane quickly imposed a three-day closure earlier this month after a cleaner who worked there in a quarantine hotel tested positive.
The country has reopened a travel bubble with neighboring New Zealand and is starting to allow domestic travel from state to state, although officials have not hesitated to close state borders against emerging outbreaks.