After a new case of COVID-19 was found in Perth, the capital of the state of Western Australia, as many as 2 million Australians are undergoing a tight lockdown that began on Monday, February 1, 2021.
The lockdown, which is planned to last for five days, comes after a security guard at one of the quarantine hotels for foreign migrants was confirmed to have contracted the coronavirus.
The state government moved fast. A total of 66 people are considered close contacts.
There have not been any confirmed positive cases from those who have undergone the test.
“A total of 13 close contacts have now tested negative and of the 11 high-risk contacts have been moved to hotel quarantine as an extra precaution,” Western Australian State Prime Minister Mark McGowan told Reuters.
For your information, Australia has managed to contain the spread of COVID-19, so that positive cases have stopped at nearly 29 thousand and deaths at 909, by implementing strict border restrictions and controls.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his country’s COVID-19 vaccination will start this month. The total budget spent reached 6.3 billion Australian dollars or 4.8 billion US dollars.
Australia has pledged to spend AUD 4.4 billion to obtain a sufficient dose for its 26 million people.
“This strategy is supported by an initial allocation of around A $ 1.9 billion in new support for vaccine rollouts. This is on top of the more than USD 4.4 billion earmarked for vaccine purchases, “explained Morrison.
