NSW reports from Australia increase COVID-19 cases; vaccinations are accelerating

SYDNEY, Sept. 8 (Reuters) – Three-quarters of people over the age of 16 in New South Wales (NSW) have now had at least the first dose of vaccination, the state said on Wednesday, along with the first increase in new infections in three days.

Australia has closed Sydney and Melbourne, its largest cities, after outbreaks of the highly infectious variant of the Delta in June ended months of little or no community transmission.

The country now aims to coexist with the virus, rather than eliminate it, once it achieves broad vaccine coverage of approximately 70% of the adult population of 20.6 million, a goal that is expected to be achieved in early November at current rates.

New South Wales reported 1,480 cases acquired locally, up from 1,220 a day earlier, while cases in neighboring Victoria fell to 221 of the 246.

Nine deaths were recorded, but rising vaccination levels among the most vulnerable mean the current outbreak mortality rate is 0.41%, according to data, below previous outbreaks.

Australia has largely avoided the high number of coronaviruses observed in many other developed countries through border blockades and restrictions, with only 66,300 cases and 1,061 deaths recorded during the pandemic.

As it prepares to exit the closures in its two largest cities, the government is considering using vaccination certificates for international travel from October, the Sydney Morning Herald said in a report without citing any sources.

Australians are prohibited from leaving the country unless they have exemptions, while returning travelers must spend a two-week hotel quarantine at their expense.

The latest Burnet Institute pandemic modeling showed that without blockages or rapid vaccinations it would have been estimated that there would be 590,000 more cases and 5,800 deaths in the twelve western suburbs of Sydney during the six months to December.

So far, 139 deaths and nearly 30,500 cases have been reported since the first case of the current outbreak was detected on June 16 in the state.

Reports of Renju Jose; Edited by Stephen Coates and Lincoln Feast.

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