BRISBANE, Australia (AP) – Australia is almost halving the number of passengers allowed to arrive by air in an effort to prevent the spread of a highly contagious variant of the coronavirus that was first identified in Britain.
A cleaner at a Brisbane quarantine hotel diagnosed with COVID-19 on Wednesday is the first person to be infected with the variant found in the Australian community. Other cases have been discovered among travelers quarantined from hotels, where there is little risk of spread by the community.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said state leaders had agreed that international arrivals at the state airports of New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia would be halved by February 15. Arrivals in Victoria were already relatively low and would remain unchanged.
Quarantined workers would be tested for the virus daily.
Brisbane authorities shut down Australia’s third most populous city for three days starting Friday evening to stem the spread.
Australian Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly said anyone who had been in Brisbane since January 2 should also isolate.
“Our main problem is keeping Australians safe and really making sure this particular species is not the one circulating in Australia,” Kelly said. “The reason is that it will be much more difficult to control.”
Masks will also become mandatory for the first time in Brisbane and some surrounding municipalities, Queensland’s state government said.
Jeannette Young, the state’s chief health officer, noted that the more contagious nature of the variant had made the outbreak in the UK more difficult to control. ‘So we have to act very, very quickly. We now have to find every single case, ”added Young.
The woman’s diagnosis ends with no locally acquired infections in Queensland for nearly four months.
In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region:
– The state of emergency went into effect in and around Tokyo on Friday when the number of coronavirus cases soared. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga issued the statement on Thursday. It lasts until February 7th asking restaurants and bars to close at 8pm and people to stay at home and not mingle in the crowds. There are no sanctions on the statement. But it acts like a strong request as Japan juggles to keep its economy going. Shopping centers and schools will remain open. Cinemas, museums and other events will be asked to reduce attendance. Places that defy the request are published on a list, while places that comply are eligible for support, according to officials. Suga also pledged more help for hospitals treating COVID-19 patients. The Japanese military is standing by to help and efforts are underway to get a vaccine approved and delivered, he added.