Snap lockdowns in Australia and New Zealand curb virus spread
February 17, 2021, 11:44 am

Snap lockdowns in Australia and New Zealand curb virus spread

People cross a street in Melbourne on February 12, 2021, after authorities ordered a five-day state-wide lockdown starting at midnight local time to stamp out a new coronavirus outbreak. (AFP)

Major cities in Australia and New Zealand lifted stay-at-home orders for millions of residents Wednesday after successfully using snap lockdowns to quash outbreaks of virulent strains of COVID-19.

Authorities said swift action in Melbourne and Auckland helped contain flare-ups of the highly contagious UK coronavirus variant, contrasting with the less rigorous approach taken in Europe and other infection hotspots.

Announcing the end of a five-day shutdown in Melbourne, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews hailed the tactic as a “short, sharp circuit-breaker”.

“If we had been open throughout this outbreak... total case numbers would be much, much higher and it is a certainty that I would not be reporting zero cases today,” he said.

Andrews’s decision allows around six million residents to leave their homes, businesses to reopen and some spectators to return for the final days of the Australian Open tennis tournament.

In New Zealand, almost two million Aucklanders will enjoy similar freedoms after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a three-day lockdown had quelled the city’s most serious outbreak in almost six months.

“We wanted to make sure we took a cautious approach because that’s much, much better than getting it wrong and having a large-scale outbreak and a long lockdown,” she said.

Auckland is also hosting a major sporting event - the America’s Cup yachting regatta - which is expected to resume this week with crowds watching from the shoreline restricted to 100.

Both the Auckland and Melbourne outbreaks involved the more transmissible virus strain first detected in Britain.

Andrews has conceded such “hyper-infectious” variants are difficult to contain and examined tightening quarantine restrictions in Australia’s second most populous state.

A policeman patrols on a motorcycle in Melbourne on February 12, 2021, after authorities ordered a five-day state-wide lockdown starting at midnight local time to stamp out a new coronavirus outbreak. (AFP)

While Australia has largely contained the virus, Victoria state’s Melbourne remains the country’s worst affected city, enduring more than 100 days of lockdown late last year to curb an outbreak that killed about 800.

Andrews said aggressive lockdowns may be needed again to keep the virus at bay.

“I can’t stand here and be honest with people and say this will never, ever happen again,” he said.

Ardern said New Zealand’s COVID-19 response - which involves rigorous contact tracing and widespread testing when there is a community case - had again proved effective.

The New Zealand leader has been widely praised for her handling of the pandemic, with just 26 deaths in a population of five million.

But Ardern also signaled a willingness to use more lightning lockdowns if required, saying there was no room for complacency against the “tricky” threat posed by the virus.

“There is an indescribable anxiety that comes with the daily grind of managing a pandemic and I think we all feel it,” she said.

source: AFP

Image source: AFP

Levant

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has announced its sponsorship of the “Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition (GU - IST Solutions), hosted by Gulf University at its main campus.
This strategic sponsorship reflects BENEFIT’s active role in advancing technological innovation and fostering sustainable solutions to future challenges. It also seeks to empower Bahraini youth by enhancing their skills, capabilities, and competitiveness in innovation and solution development—contributing meaningfully to the broader goals of sustainable development across all sectors.
As part of BENEFIT’s active involvement in the competition, the company has announced that Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication, will serve on the competition’s supervisory committee. Her upcoming participation reflects BENEFIT’s forward-looking commitment to championing academic and professional excellence.
Commenting on the occasion, Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager of Public Relations and Communication at BENEFIT, said, “We are privileged to support this pioneering initiative, which aligns seamlessly with BENEFIT’s enduring commitment to fostering innovation and nurturing the potential of Bahrain’s youth. Our participation is rooted in a deep sense of social responsibility and a firm belief in the pivotal role of innovation in shaping a sustainable future. Through such platforms, we seek to empower the next generation with the knowledge, skills, and foresight required to develop impactful solutions that address future challenges, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.”
Dr. Aseel Al Ayash Dean of the College of Engineering in Gulf University commented, “We extend our sincere gratitude to BENEFIT for their generous sponsorship and support of the Innovation and Sustainable Technology Solutions Competition. This contribution plays an instrumental role in helping us achieve the strategic goals of this initiative, namely, cultivating a culture of innovation and sustainability, encouraging efforts that address the imperatives of sustainable development, and enhancing the practical and professional capabilities of our students and participants.”
The event will bring together a diverse spectrum of participants, including secondary school students, university undergraduates, engineers, industry professionals, entrepreneurs, academic researchers, and subject matter experts representing a wide range of disciplines.
The competition seeks to inspire participants to develop and present innovative, sustainable technologies aimed at addressing pressing environmental, social, and economic challenges. It encourages the formulation of business models that integrate advanced technological solutions with core principles of sustainability. Moreover, it serves as a platform for emerging leaders, entrepreneurs, and innovators to contribute to the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals, promote the ethos of responsible technology, and demonstrate its transformative potential across various sectors.
Attendees will have the opportunity to view a series of project presentations submitted by participants, covering diverse areas such as eco-friendly product design, smart and sustainable innovations, renewable energy technologies, water conservation and management, waste minimisation and recycling, green architectural solutions, and sustainable transportation systems. Outstanding projects will be formally recognised and awarded at the conclusion of the event.