Restrictions will be tightened in Sydney, Australia's largest city entering its eighth week of containment, authorities said on Saturday, saying it was "the most worrying day since the start of the pandemic. ".

Long spared by the pandemic, Australia is hit by an outbreak of contaminations, carried by the Delta variant, which threatens its “zero Covid” strategy.

More than 10 million inhabitants of the country are confined, especially in the two largest cities of the country, Sydney and Melbourne as well as in the capital Canberra.

As of Monday, people who fail to comply with the draconian restrictions will face heavy fines, as measures taken have so far failed to curb the spread of the epidemic.

Containment measures have also been extended to the entire state of New South Wales for the first time this year.

They entered into force this Saturday afternoon for at least seven days.

466 cases just this Saturday

Police patrols as well as checkpoints will be reinforced while hundreds of soldiers will be responsible for ensuring strict compliance with confinement. This Saturday, a record number of coronavirus cases, 466, was recorded in the state of New South Wales, the most populous in the country. "Today is the most worrying day since the start of the pandemic," New South Wales State Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian said at a press conference on Saturday.

Calling the efforts to stem the epidemic a "war" against the "evil" variant Delta, Gladys Berejiklian said Australia faces a serious threat.

"For a while, we thought Australia was different from other parts of the world, but it's not."

Mick Fuller, the state's police chief, has announced that he has called for more powers to be given to the police to deal with those who violate the restrictions.

43 deaths since mid-June in New South Wales

The more than five million inhabitants of the country's largest city are only allowed to leave their homes to play sports, go to work if their job is deemed essential or to do their shopping.

Police will redouble their efforts to enforce the restrictions, he said.

Rules for leaving Sydney have also been tightened to prevent the outbreak from spreading to other areas.

More than 7,300 cases and 43 deaths have been recorded in the state of New South Wales since the start of this outbreak due to the Delta variant in mid-June.

Voices are rising in the country to denounce the slowness of the vaccination campaign.

Only a quarter of Australians of age to be vaccinated are fully vaccinated.

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  • Delta variant

  • Covid 19

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