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Australian lockdown hell continues: Millions of Queenslanders are ordered to stay home as new cases erupt at state school – with Sydney facing five more weeks of tough restrictions

  Australia has tightened the screw on its strict Covid lockdowns - ordering millions in Queensland to stay at home until at least the end o...

 Australia has tightened the screw on its strict Covid lockdowns - ordering millions in Queensland to stay at home until at least the end of the week as the country struggles to control outbreaks of the highly-infectious Delta variant. 

Brisbane, the country's third most-populous city, and surrounding areas will now be under stay-at-home orders until at least Sunday after just 13 cases linked to the state's school system were uncovered. The lockdown had been due to end Tuesday.

Meanwhile those in Sydney, already five weeks into lockdown, have been warned they likely have another five to go with New South Wales state premier now linking the end of restrictions to the success of the vaccine roll-out.


Gladys Berejiklian said on Monday that 70 per cent of adults in the state could be vaccinated by mid-September which would 'trigger more freedoms', in the clearest sign yet that the country is considering abandoning its harsh 'zero Covid' approach.

Officially, Sydney's lockdown is due to last until August 28 - but even with four weeks to go, experts have warned it will almost certainly have to be extended again for there to be enough time for Covid cases to fall back to zero.

New South Wales reported 239 cases on Monday.  

Australia has imposed strict Covid lockdowns on millions of people as it struggles to bring outbreaks of the highly infectious Delta variant of the virus under control (pictured, a police officer enforces the rules on Sydney's Bondi Beach)

Australia has imposed strict Covid lockdowns on millions of people as it struggles to bring outbreaks of the highly infectious Delta variant of the virus under control (pictured, a police officer enforces the rules on Sydney's Bondi Beach)

Millions of people in Brisbane and the surrounding areas have been told to stay at home until at least Sunday after just 13 new cases of Covid were found (pictured)

Millions of people in Brisbane and the surrounding areas have been told to stay at home until at least Sunday after just 13 new cases of Covid were found (pictured) 

'Once you get to 50 per cent vaccination, 60 per cent, 70 per cent, that triggers more freedoms, Ms Berejiklian said. 'We can turn this around in four weeks.'

Meanwhile in Queensland, Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young warned millions they are facing the toughest lockdown of the pandemic so far in an attempt to snuff out cases before they can spread further.

'We need to lock down really, really hard, the hardest we have ever locked down,' she said before accusing people of flouting the rules. 

'If you are in an office today, why aren't you at home? There are far too many cars out on the road when I drove in this morning.'

Ten of the cases uncovered Sunday were among children younger than nine, most linked to a school in the Brisbane sunburbs.

Seven were among students at the school and their family contacts, while another was linked to a karate class that took place at the school.

Brisbane's outbreak began when two travellers caught a flight from Singapore to Australia last week before testing positive for the virus - one had originally come from the UK while the other had come from Indonesia.

Despite being placed in Covid quarantine hotels, the virus somehow escaped and began circulating within Brisbane - with Dr Young admitting that authorities still have no idea how that happened.

Contact tracing has revealed some of the chain of infection but is lagging far behind the rapid spread of the virus, with one person having been infectious for six days before being identified and isolated.

Dr Young has warned there will be 'a lot' of exposure sites identified, and urged people to keep checking government websites to see whether they could have been exposed - meaning they will have to test and isolate.  

Australia has pursued a policy of 'zero Covid', meaning repeated snap lockdowns to snuff out cases within its borders - but is struggling to eradicate the Delta variant (pictured, a police officer enforces the rules in Bondi)

Australia has pursued a policy of 'zero Covid', meaning repeated snap lockdowns to snuff out cases within its borders - but is struggling to eradicate the Delta variant (pictured, a police officer enforces the rules in Bondi)


Those living in Sydney have been under lockdown for five weeks and have been warned it could last at least another five before it is safe to unlock (pictured, police on Bondi beach)

Those living in Sydney have been under lockdown for five weeks and have been warned it could last at least another five before it is safe to unlock (pictured, police on Bondi beach)

Australia has so-far pursued a policy of 'zero Covid' throughout the pandemic - keeping cases out of the country using tough border restrictions and smothering outbreaks within its borders using snap lockdowns.

That has meant the country has recorded just 34,000 infections and 924 deaths so far, while keeping life relatively normal between the lockdowns.  

But the highly-transmissible Delta variant has show-up the shortcomings in its approach, as the virus repeatedly escapes border controls - plunging cities and states into repeated, jarring lockdowns.

Meanwhile the country's vaccine roll-out has been widely criticised as shambolic and slow, with just 15 per cent of the population fully protected against the virus despite jabs being widely available.

With low case numbers and warnings about vaccines causing blood clots, people have so-far been reluctant to come forward for their doses.

But with lockdowns dragging on and cases spreading, that now appears to be changing - with New South Wales administering 120,000 jabs at the weekend.

That has raised hopes that the state could hit 650,000 jabs per week this month, paving the way for restrictions to ease in mid-September.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Scott Morrison - whose popularity has been slumping amid the lockdowns - has said he hopes the country can reach 70 per cent vaccination by the end of the year.

That would pave the way for the country's 'zero Covid' policy to be dropped in favour of more-relaxed measures, Mr Morrison hinted last week.  

Mr Morrison's government in the early stages of the pandemic had relied on the AstraZeneca jab for the bulk of its inoculation campaign. 

But those plans were thrown into disarray almost immediately in April when the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation advised that only over 50s should receive the shot due to the extremely remote risk of developing blood clots.

Shortly after the age cut off was increased to 60 but now with the highly contagious Indian Delta variant sweeping through Sydney, ATAGI advises that those aged over 18 speak to their GP.

Australian politicians are increasingly linking the end of lockdowns to the country's vaccine drive as they move away from the 'zero Covid' policy (pictured, police in Brisbane)

Australian politicians are increasingly linking the end of lockdowns to the country's vaccine drive as they move away from the 'zero Covid' policy (pictured, police in Brisbane)

Queensland records 13 new Covid cases of community transmission
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While Australia has been lacking a viable alternative jab after the federal government failed to secure enough Pfizer doses, those problems will soon be solved.

There are 4.5 million shots of Pfizer which were scheduled to arrive in September, fast-tracked to land in Australia during August which is expected to see the nation's vaccination numbers increase from between 300,000 and 350,000 a week to over a million. 

Ms Berejiklian inferred that vaccination rates could be answer to lifting the dreaded lockdown on Sunday. 

'There is no place in the world that has been able to live with the Delta virus and not have higher rates of vaccination. We have to be very clear about that,' she said.    

'We want this to be the last lockdown we have and we can make that happen if we get vaccinated.

'Our strategy for NSW is to get vaccination rates to 60, 70, 80 per cent. That means we can live with the Delta variant and we won't have to go in and out of ­lockdown.'

She made a plea for Sydneysiders to get vaccinated amid the worrying case numbers. 

'Today is August 1 and I am calling upon the people of greater Sydney, and NSW, to come forward and get vaccinated,' she said.

'To get to the 70 per cent target we need 9.2 million jabs. To get the 80 per cent target we need 10 million jabs. We have been talking about this in NSW for some time.'

The 80 per cent target has been set by the federal government as the key to reopening the border and scrapping state lockdowns.

Australia recorded 475 new cases on Saturday. 

Police in Brisbane patrol the city centre after all residents and those in surrounding neighbourhoods were told to stay at home unless for essential activities

Police in Brisbane patrol the city centre after all residents and those in surrounding neighbourhoods were told to stay at home unless for essential activities

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