Jakarta, CNN Indonesia —
Australia threatened to enter a national emergency status due to a spike in cases Covid-19 of Sydney. The official in the state capital of New South Wales also asked the central government to act immediately.
Sydney’s chief medical officer, Kerry Chant, said the surge in Covid-19 cases in the city was so concerning that the government should declare a national emergency.
“I informed the government today that this situation is a national emergency and further action is needed to reduce cases [Covid-19],” said Chant, as quoted by Reuters, Friday (23/7).
If the government really declares a national emergency status, they can immediately open the faucets for assistance, be it funding or other needed personnel.
Officials in Sydney made this request after the city’s Covid-19 cases reached alarming levels, triggering the addition of 1,900 infections overall in Australia since mid-June.
The local government stated that Covid-19 in the city spread quickly due to the emergence of the Delta variant of the corona virus.
This spike in cases has forced local governments around Sydney, such as Victoria and South Australia, to implement a strict lockdown to prevent the transmission of Covid-19 to their regions.
Sydney’s leader, Gladys Berejiklian, said the stay-at-home order, which was supposed to expire on July 30, would likely be extended.
“There is no doubt that the number of [kasus Covid-19] It’s not moving in the direction we’re hoping for at the moment,” Berejiklian said.
New South Wales officials then asked the central government to prioritize the flow of vaccines to their states.
However, other regional governments began to voice their rejection of the proposal. The leaders stated that their area also needed a vaccine.
To discuss the issue of vaccine flow, the Australian government is scheduled to hold a meeting this Friday.
Currently, Australia is experiencing problems distributing vaccines. Prime Minister Scott Morrison even apologized for the slow vaccination program in Australia.
“I’m sorry that we didn’t reach the target we hoped for earlier this year,” Morrison told reporters in Canberra, as quoted by Reuters on Thursday (22/7).
According to reports, the number of people who have been fully vaccinated is only around 11.5 percent or 2.9 million people.
Thus, Australia’s vaccination program is less than 150,000 injections per day. The number is far less than other developed countries.
Morrison promised to work towards meeting his vaccination target by the end of 2021. He stated that millions of doses of the vaccine from Pfizer and Moderna would arrive in the coming weeks.
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