Originally posted by the Voice of America.
Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America,
a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in
the public domain.


More Australian Police to Enforce Sydney's COVID-19 Lockdown

Phil Mercer

   SYDNEY - More police are being sent to Sydney's COVID-19 hotspots
   asdelta variant cases continue to surge in Australia's biggest
   city.State health authorities in New South Wales have said a lack of
   compliancewith lockdown rulesindistrictswith large migrant
   populationshasbeenfuelingthe outbreak.

   Extra police are being sent to Sydney's worst-hit suburbs as
   authorities urge people to be vaccinated.With Australia's two biggest
   cities--Sydney and Melbourne--in lockdown,PrimeMinister Scott Morrison
   says the situation is dire.

   "We are in a tough, tough fight with this delta strain,"Morrison said.

   A senior state government minister in New South Wales, Australia's most
   populous state, has said a lack of compliance in some migrant-heavy
   neighborhoods has made the outbreak worse.

   About three-quarters of New South Wales state's nearly 5,000 active
   cases come from nine Sydney local government districts in the city's
   west, where there are many migrants live.

   OnWednesday,officialsreported 344 new COVID-19 cases and two more
   deaths, including a man in his 30s.

   Brad Hazzard, the New South Wales health minister, says someareasof
   Sydneywith large immigrant populationscontinue to ignore the
   regulations.

   "There are other communities, other people from other backgrounds who
   do not seem tothink thatit is necessary to comply with the law andwho
   really don't give great consideration to what theydo interms of its
   impact on the rest of the community,"Hazzard said.

   However, community leaders, including local politicians in migrant
   areas and asylum-seekerorganizations, believethat proper lockdown
   guidelines have been lacking for many non-English speaking migrants.

   They want more help to promote public health messages and to encourage
   more people to be vaccinated.

   Only 23% of Australians are fully inoculated.Authorities say that
   figure needs to be 80% before life can start to return to normal, but
   that might not happen until mid-November.

   New South WalesPremier Gladys Berejiklian says some restrictions could
   be eased if vaccination targets are met.

   "With six-million jabs by the end of August, if we achieve that,there
   will be opportunities forus insome parts of the community where case
   numbers are low and vaccination rates are high to allow people to
   domore thanwhat they do today,"Berejiklian said.

   Research by the University of Melbourne has shown that lockdowns in the
   states of New South Wales and Victoria havesharply reduced the rate of
   vaccine hesitancy across Australia from 33% in May to 21.5% in July.

   Stay-at-home orders weresetto be lifted in Melbourne on Thursday, but
   because of more COVID-19 infections,the restrictions havebeen extended
   by a week.

   Sydney's lockdown began onJune 26 andis in place until at least August
   28.

   Australia has recorded 37,000 coronavirus infections and 941 deaths
   since the pandemic began, according to the health department.

.