Australia has achieved a `new normal` amid Covid-19 in 2020, when people can go to restaurants, nightclubs, gather in crowds at festivals or go to theaters.
The country’s robust Covid-19 defense system, thanks to border closures and mandatory quarantines, has been 99.99% effective.
Sydney, Australia’s largest and richest city, has avoided lockdowns thanks to a `gold standard` contact tracing system.
On June 25, authorities were forced to impose a blockade on Sydney.
Sydney, Darwin, Perth and Brisbane are all in lockdown.
A beach in Melbourne, Australia in February. Photo: AP.
In an emergency meeting on June 28, the state and federal governments tried to patch holes in the Covid-19 response strategy.
Epidemiologists say the Delta variant has shown to be the most infectious of any virus strain and it has successfully exploited vulnerabilities in Australia’s Covid-19 defense system.
The country’s border control and quarantine system has been increasingly challenged since the variant first emerged in late 2020. Authorities have recorded many cases among quarantined passengers, even in
Many experts have expressed concerns about ventilation systems and lack of fresh air in quarantine hotels.
The two outbreaks plaguing Australia currently both originated from quarantine hotels.
Another weak point in Australia’s Covid-19 defense system is the border.
When passengers leave the plane, they will be taken straight to the quarantine area by a group of soldiers, police and nurses wearing masks and gloves.
Case F0 in Sydney is a 60-year-old driver who was infected with the virus from a passenger.
Despite these flaws, many experts believe that the high risk of infection of the Delta variant is the cause of the strong outbreak.
`The Delta variant is extremely contagious. The risk of infection remains even for vaccinated people,` said Professor Nancy Baxter, dean of the University of Melbourne’s School of Population and Global Health.
She pointed out that before the outbreak, officials had recorded cases of infection with the Delta variant where `they couldn’t even determine how it was transmitted`.
`So I think even with perfect systems, this is still a challenge. But ineffective systems just make us sit still and wait to die,` she said.
The threat from Delta also exposed the failure of Australia’s vaccination campaign.
Australia is the last country in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to launch a vaccination program.
`You have more people vaccinated with one dose than people fully vaccinated. And even more people unvaccinated. This means the population is very vulnerable,` Professor Raina MacIntyre at New University
Australia’s slow vaccination campaign stems from supply problems, complacency due to low infection rates and concerns about the AstraZeneca vaccine’s rare risk of blood clots.
Information about the risks of the AstraZeneca vaccine is widespread in the media, making many Australians afraid.
Drivers line up for Covid-19 testing in their vehicles at Bondi Beach, Sydney on June 25.
Experts agree that current outbreaks must be contained by imposing lockdowns and other restrictive measures.
But to avoid future outbreaks caused by the Delta strain, Prime Minister Scott Morrison appeared to accept experts’ calls to speed up vaccinations.
Prime Minister Morrison also expanded the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to younger people and pledged to protect doctors in the event of an adverse reaction.
Experts also warn that the Delta strain could change life in Australia for a long time.
`Before, everything was great. You could go out to dinner and meet thousands of people,` said Baxter.