CANBERRA / SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s third largest city will begin a three-day lockout late Friday as authorities want to prevent the spread of a more contagious variant of COVID-19 that was first detected in Britain.
The two million residents of Brisbane will be banned from leaving their homes for anything but essential matters after a worker in a quarantine hotel in the city tested positive for the new type of virus.
“If we do not do it now, it could eventually become a 30-day lockout,” Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said as she announced the lockout to begin at 6 p.m. local time.
People have to wear masks when they leave home for essential matters, Palaszczuk said. Funerals and weddings can continue, but with limits of 20 and 10 people respectively. Entertainment venues will close and restaurants and cafes may only provide takeaway meals.
Authorities have not detected any new cases since Thursday when they quarantined the case of a worker in a hotel that had arrived earlier from abroad, but said they could not afford to postpone the action.
“We can not put it back in the box. We have to act before we get the case, ”said Jeannette Young, head of health in Queensland.
Officials identified and isolated 79 people who are in close contact with the female worker.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted the exclusion ‘will buy the necessary time’ as the case sharpens the focus on Australia’s procedures for the return of citizens and residents from overseas.
Morrison convened a special meeting of state and territory leaders Friday to consider stricter rules for international arrivals.
Australia has closed its borders to all non-citizens and permanent residents since March. It also allowed the number of people allowed into the country each week, and returnees had to enter compulsory hotel quarantine at their own expense.
Although the system is widely recognized as preventing major outbreaks, the majority of Australia’s more than 28,500 cases can be detected in quarantine hotels.
Reporting by Renju Jose; Edited by Leslie Adler, Peter Cooney and Jane Wardell