Sydney residents will likely feel hard done by as the Australian capital city remains under lockdown, while most other cities in the country gradually reopen.
This situation is not without reason as Sydney continues to suffer under waves of Coronavirus infections, giving the government plenty of reason to keep FECs and bars shut for the time being. 239 new infections were recently reported in New South Wales with many hot spots located in the state’s capital.
Bringing down the hammer
In an effort to enforce the lockdown in the city, the army has been deployed and will remain there until at least August 28, ensuring that the local population stick to the rules and do not leave their homes for anything other than essential exercise, shopping or caring for others. In order to comply with the lockdown residents will have to take up online gambling and shopping, and even consider taking part in the cashless pokie trial.
Sydney has already undergone five weeks of lockdown and authorities have laid the blame on a minority who keep breaking the rules and effectively sabotaging efforts to contain the disease. Significant attention has also shifted to those who refuse to get vaccinated.
NSW’s health minister, Brad Hazzard had a particularly stern message for the unvaccinated in a recent interview with The Guardian. He said,
“I would say even more than that, what a ridiculous position is that when you are going to put health staff at risk and when you get sick, you are going to expect to come into the hospital and get paid for by taxpayers. It is time for those who actually think that way to wake up, including commentators who actually don’t base their commentary on logic whatsoever.”
A tough time ahead
Modelling data released by the University of Sydney has revealed that lockdowns in the city may have to continue until as late as mid-September if the city’s vaccination rate reaches 40% by that stage. From a global perspective, Australia has done fairly well in dealing with the pandemic with its total reported infections coming in at just shy of 34 000, a mere drop in the ocean, compared to the USA which is nearing 36 million reported infections.
