SYDNEY (AP) – More and more Australian states and territories are reimposing travel restrictions to prevent the coronavirus from spreading from new outbreaks in the states of New South Wales and Victoria.
The Australian Capital Territory excluded non-residents who were on the beaches of northern Sydney, where epidemics are most concentrated, Greater Sydney and other small centers, unless they benefited from an exemption.
The island state of Tasmania has banned anyone directly related to the late Victorian-era cases from listing exhibition sites where confirmed cases are known. The move follows Tasmania’s declaration of Greater Sydney and the Wollongong region south of Sydney as medium risk areas, requiring travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, while those on beaches in the north of Sydney are prohibited entry.
Victoria reported three new cases of community transmission on Sunday, down from Saturday 10. In total, there have been 21 locally acquired Victorian cases in recent days, all linked to the New South Wales outbreak.
The Victoria border is now closed to all travelers from New South Wales.
New South Wales recorded eight new local cases on Sunday. There are 161 active cases in the state, most of them on the beaches in northern Sydney, and 13 from a liquor store that are not connected to the beaches cluster.
News that the state is battling two separate epidemics in Sydney comes on the first day of mandatory mask restrictions in Greater Sydney, with enforcement set to begin at midnight Sunday.
Masks will be mandatory in shopping malls, public transport, places of worship, hairdressing and beauty facilities, and places of entertainment such as cinemas. All reception staff are also required to wear one.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region:
– Officials tested more than 4.4 million residents in northeast China’s Shenyang city after a new cluster was discovered. So far, only one case has been confirmed by testing. Another case was reported from another city in Liaoning Province. China reported a total of eight domestically transmitted cases on Sunday, including in northeastern Heilongjiang province, an 8-month-old baby in Beijing and one in Hebei province just outside Beijing. Chinese authorities are on high alert as new cases continue to emerge. Beijing and Liaoning province have reclassified some areas as medium risk while isolating residential complexes where previous cases had been found. Two universities in Beijing said on Saturday that the winter break would start earlier than usual given the epidemic situation. Meanwhile, the city of Beijing has also started mass vaccinations for priority groups. China approved its first nationally-made COVID-19 vaccine on Friday.
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