Delta Variation Australia and New Zealand | Community

The delta variant of the corona virus, by far the most contagious, has put Australia and New Zealand at risk of a “zero infection” strategy, which has so far been achieved by isolation from abroad and severe imprisonment.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison met with heads of state this Friday to discuss the reopening of the country despite an increase in infections, which is actually dropping the option of eliminating Govt-19.

The goal is to achieve 70-80% of vaccinations by the end of the year to ease travel restrictions and lockdowns, which now affect almost half the country, including Sydney and Melbourne.

However, “The Australian Financial Review” states that states such as Queensland and Western Australia are opposed to land clearing and closing borders between states or abandoning the strategy of zero infection.

With more than 47,000 cases and 989 concentrated deaths, Australia has been less affected by the epidemic than any other country in Europe or the United States, but the delta variant has spurred on new cases to more than 1,000 as of Thursday.

Strategy change

Morrison has been emphasizing for days that increasing the rate of vaccinations and reducing hospital admissions is now a priority, as he considers it “extremely unlikely” that infections will be reduced to zero.

In an interview with the ABC chain last Sunday, he stressed that prisons are no longer a “standard way to fight the virus.”

So far more than 6.8 million Australians, or 33% of those over the age of 16 in the country, have received the full course of the Govt-19 vaccine.

The Prime Minister announced today that those between the ages of 12 and 15 can register for vaccination from September 13.

The government’s panel of experts, the Australian Technical Advisory Council on Immunization (ATAGI), has decided that the Pfizer vaccine is “safe and effective” for that age group, and therefore recommended that it be included in the campaign.

Relaxation in operations in New Zealand

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacintha Artern announced this Friday that severe imprisonment will be eased due to the Covit-19 that the country has been facing since September 1, last week.

Artern explained at a news conference that the national alert level would be reduced from 4 to 3, meaning that some businesses would be able to operate without personal contact, while meetings such as weddings and funerals would be allowed on a limited basis. 10 persons.

The move would apply to the whole of New Zealand, with the exception of the most populous city and the epicenter of the eruption in the country and the border area of ​​Northland, which could maintain a total of two weeks’ total imprisonment, Artern explained.

Following the first local outbreak of COVID-19 in six months, the New Zealand government ordered a nationwide lockout early last week.

Authorities registered 70 new local Govt-19 cases in Auckland on Friday, bringing the total number of cases to 347 since the recent eruption.

Slow vaccination rate

Although he acknowledged that unlike Australia, the Delta variant should deal with the epidemic differently, the Prime Minister reiterated the day before that eliminating Covit-19 was still the “best strategy”.

New Zealand, one of the developed countries with the slowest vaccination rate, is globally recognized for its effective management of epidemics, including closing its borders and difficult and early imprisonment.

About 20 percent of its five million people have been vaccinated with the full schedule so far, while 3,227 Govt-19 cases, including 26 deaths since the outbreak began, have accumulated. (Photo)