Australia’s third largest city dealing with a 3-day coronavirus lockout

CANBERRA / SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s third largest city will enter a three-day lockdown late on Friday as authorities try to prevent the spread of a more contagious variant of COVID-19 first discovered in Greater London. Britain.

Brisbane’s 2 million residents are not allowed to leave their homes for anything but essentials after an employee in a city quarantine hotel tests positive for the new strain of the virus.

“If we don’t do this now, it could turn into a 30-day lockdown,” Prime Minister Annastacia Palaszczuk said as she announced that the lockdown would start at 6pm local time.

People should wear masks when they leave home for essentials, Palaszczuk said. Funerals and weddings can continue, but with a limit of 20 and 10 people, respectively. Nightlife venues will close and restaurants and cafes may only offer take-out.

Authorities have not uncovered any new cases since Thursday when they reported the case of the employee at a hotel used to quarantine people who had recently arrived from abroad, but said they could not afford to take action to slow down.

“We can’t put it back in the box. We have to act before we get the business, ”said Jeannette Young, Queensland Chief Health Officer.

Officials have identified and isolated 79 people who have close contact with the female worker.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison tweeted that the lockdown will “bring much-needed time” as the case sharpened focus on Australia’s procedures for returning citizens and residents from abroad.

Morrison convened a special gathering of state and territory leaders on Friday to consider tightening rules for international arrivals.

Australia has closed its borders to all non-citizens and permanent residents since March. It has also limited the number of people allowed to enter the country each week, and returnees must enter mandatory hotel quarantine at their own expense.

While the system is widely regarded as preventing major outbreaks, the majority of the more than 28,500 cases in Australia can be traced back to quarantine hotels.