MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australian health officials said on Saturday they were on their guard after cases of highly transmissible new variants of the coronavirus, which were discovered in Britain and South Africa, entered the country.
Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, underwent a strict three-day closure period on Saturday after the discovery of a virus strain of the virus that causes COVID-19 linked to Britain. A variant that originated in South Africa was found in Sydney, Australia’s largest city, in a hotel quarantine.
Australia has been more successful than most advanced economies in managing the pandemic, with total infections at around 28,600 and 909 deaths, while each state has recorded no COVID-19 broadcasts at some point.
But given the new variants, the government on Friday reduced the number of overseas travelers, requiring them to board negative COVID-19 tests and more testing in local quarantine facilities.
“As long as people travel, the risk of the virus entering the community is already there,” New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian told a news conference.
“Everything we can do to reduce the risk is very important, especially now that we understand what these strains are doing, and all the experts advise over time that these mutated strains will become the dominant strain.”
Australia closed its borders in March but allowed a limited number of Australians to return and place them in a compulsory two-week hotel quarantine upon arrival.
New South Wales, the largest state, reported on Saturday on a new case passed by the community as a three-week lockout for about a quarter of a million people in northern Sydney after an outbreak there December would end.
Queensland, where a case of the Britain-linked variant was recorded last week, did not report any new cases. But officials said they could not rule out extending the three-day closure if more cases came to light.
“It’s because of this new variant and because it’s the first time this new variant has appeared in a community across the country,” said Jeannette Young, Queensland general secretary.
Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Edited by William Mallard