Sydney cases fall as Australia debates COVID-19 reopening plans

SYDNEY, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Sydney’s COVID-19 cases fell slightly on Friday, but were still hovering around record levels as the Australian federal government wants to pressure states to adhere to a reopening plan national once the country achieves a vaccination rate of 70% to 80%.

The national cabinet, a group of state and federal leaders, will meet later in the day in a context of concerns from some states given the persistent high daily infections in Sydney, even after two months of closure.

New South Wales registered 882 new cases, most in the state capital, Sydney, below the 1,029 recorded on Thursday as officials struggle to quell the Delta outbreak.

Two new deaths were reported, while 117 people are in intensive care, 103 of them unvaccinated.

Although infections are on the rise, state authorities revealed a staggered return-to-school plan in late October, when they expect their vaccination rate to reach 70% from the current 32%.

New South Wales Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said she would focus more on vaccination rates and the number of hospitalizations rather than daily case figures as deployment increases.

“These are the two things that will matter even when we start living 70% more freely and obviously 80% … we start making that change of mind in New South Wales,” Berejiklian said during a televised conference media.

CASES OF THE MYSTERY OF VICTORY

A national reopening plan was agreed last month between the leaders of Australia’s eight states and territories and the federal government, when Sydney’s cases were much smaller, but virus-free Queensland and Western Australia have hinted that they may not follow suit. . Read more

More than half of all Australians are subject to strict home stay orders, as Sydney and Melbourne, their largest cities, and the capital Canberra, battle outbreaks of the highly contagious variant of the Delta.

The blockades affect economic activity and some economists predict that the Australian $ 2 trillion ($ 1.45 trillion) economy is on the verge of a second recession in as many years as Friday’s data showed a decline of July retail sales. Read more

In the state of Victoria, officials detected 79 new local cases, up from 80 on Thursday. Of the new cases, 26 are mysterious cases – those that do not know their source – that increase the prospects of an extension of the closure beyond September 2.

With about 48,600 cases and 991 deaths, Australia has kept its coronavirus figures relatively low. Officials expect fewer deaths from the latest outbreak compared to last year as vaccination rates rise.

So far, 32% of people over the age of 16 have been fully vaccinated and, according to current rates, Australia is expected to reach 80% by mid-November. On Friday, the Australian Vaccination Expert Group approved the use of vaccines for children aged 12-15.

(1 $ = 1.3822 Australian dollars)

Reports of Renju Jose; Lincoln Feast Edition.

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