The third-largest city in Australia lifted stay-at-home orders on Monday, after mass testing and tracing across Brisbane, amid concerns of a viral strain entering the population, no new cases of coronavirus were detected.
After a cleaner at a quarantined hotel contracted the UK version of COVID-19 from a returned traveler, more than two million people were called into a snap lockdown on Friday.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of Queensland said the lockout will be lifted at 6 p.m. After tens of thousands of checks, local time Monday observed zero cases of transmission.
She defended the measures as “definitely not an over-reaction”.
“We wanted to make sure we acted quickly, we acted strongly, we acted decisively and that is exactly what we did,” she said.
Wearing masks indoors and on public transport will remain compulsory until Jan. 22, although restaurants and bars will be subject to additional limits on the number of patrons.
The first case of the UK strain in the population reported in Australia has also prompted authorities to slash foreign arrival numbers and tighten quarantine arrangements.
Before the lockout, thanks to the country’s progress in combating the virus, Brisbane was among many Australian towns enjoying a return to relative normality. The UK strain is one of many new strains known to be more contagious around the world than those that have previously spread.
Australia has recorded nearly 28,600 COVID-19 cases and 909 virus-related deaths in a population of approximately 25 million.
Source: Jakarta Post