A woman crosses a normally busy street in Sydney, Wednesday. Sydney's two-week lockdown has been extended for another week due to the vulnerability of an Australia population largely unvaccinated against COVID-19.
Amid concern over rising Covid cases in Australia, country's largest city Melbourne has been put under 5-day strict lockdown, starting tonight.
Melbourne’s fifth lockdown of the pandemic will apply across Victoria state, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday.
On Wednesday, officials announced that Sydney will remain in lockdown for five weeks.
ALSO READ | We are now in early stages of COVID-19 third wave: WHO chief
A three-week lockdown of Sydney and surrounding communities in New South Wales state had been due to end on Friday. But it will now last until July 30 at the earliest.
Health authorities are concerned by how quickly the delta variant is spreading in a vulnerable Australian population in which fewer than 13% of adults are fully vaccinated.
ALSO READ | India logs 41,806 new COVID cases, 581 deaths in past 24 hours
(With inputs from AP)
