Australia’s Perth city to enter three-day COVID-19 lockdown from midnight
April 23, 2021, 9:10 am

Australia’s Perth city to enter three-day COVID-19 lockdown from midnight

People are seen walking their dogs while passing a graffiti in support of the NHS, as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, Perth, Scotland, Britain, April 27, 2020. (File photo: Reuters)

Western Australia’s capital of Perth and the neighboring Peel region will enter a snap three-day lockdown from midnight on Friday after a man tested positive for COVID-19 and was in the community for a number of days following hotel quarantine.

The person is likely to have contracted the virus during his two-week quarantine in a Perth hotel, health officials say, raising concerns about community transmission as more virulent virus strains emerge.

“I know this is hard to take and I wish we didn’t need to do this. But we can’t take any chances with the virus,” Premier Mark McGowan said in a televised news conference.

The man was in Perth for five days before he flew to Melbourne, where he tested positive. Health authorities in Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital city, are tracing the 257 passengers onboard flight QF778 from Perth.

“The hotel quarantine system, despite all of its improvements, has to face increasingly complex variants of concern,” Victoria state Health Minister Martin Foley said earlier in the day.

McGowan said he has requested the federal government to cut the number of international arrivals per week into Western Australia to 512 from 1,025.

Australia has already tightened its border controls by reducing the number of travelers from India and other virus hotspots.

Having closed its borders more than a year ago, Australia lets mostly citizens and permanent residents return from abroad. Returned travelers, except from New Zealand, have to undergo two weeks of mandatory hotel quarantine at their own expense.

The hotel quarantine system has helped Australia to keep its COVID-19 numbers relatively low compared with other developed countries, with just over 29,500 cases and 910 deaths.

source: Reuters

Image source: Reuters

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”