Brisbane will become Australia’s fourth major city under lockdown. Concerned about the rapid spread of the more contagious COVID-19 Delta variant, officials told residents to stay at home for three days.

Once the latest order takes effect from Tuesday night, approximately 10 million Australians will be blocked.

“These are difficult decisions,” said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. “We have implemented blockades in major cities because overseas immigrants brought the virus here.”

“I know this is difficult for many families. I apologize for that, but I don’t want to see people end up using ventilators in our hospital. This is something that no one wants to see.”

At least two new cases have been recorded in Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, prompting the implementation of a lockdown order.

Earlier on Tuesday, residents of Perth in Western Australia underwent a four-day rapid lockdown from midnight. With the spread of the more contagious delta virus, Perth became the country’s third major city to stay at home.

Since the discovery of the outbreak, Perth has only diagnosed three positive cases, but local health officials have long been highly cautious about any coronavirus clusters.

Western Australia Governor Mark McGowan said at a press conference late on Monday night: “We know the risks posed by COVID, and we know from all over the world that the delta strain is another new beast that we cannot risk. .”

Over 2 million people live in Perth The surrounding area is under lockdown with people in Australia’s largest city Sydney and the northern city of Darwin. These regulations will take effect from midnight on Monday to Tuesday and last for at least four days.

Important note: After another local case is found in the northern suburbs of Perth, Perth and Peel will implement a breaker lockout for at least four days starting at midnight tonight. pic.twitter.com/5aR0qZ1mTF

— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) June 28, 2021

According to the order, public activities will be prohibited and residents must stay at home. However, schools and childcare centers will remain open, and masks will be required.

The Peel area south of Perth is also included in the lockdown order.

In a series of social media posts, McGowan also stated that after the discovery of new cases, the authorities have identified the area of ??the source of infection and told those who have been there to test for the virus and self-quarantine for 14 days.

Vaccine rollout is slow

Australia has achieved widespread success in controlling the virus population through effective tracking and isolation, but now At least four cities in this vast continental country are fighting emergencies.

Under pressure from the government, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that people working in nursing homes and isolated hotels will be required to be vaccinated, and those under 60 who sign the compensation form will be able to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The conservative government has been criticized for the slow introduction of vaccines and failure to improve the leaky hotel quarantine system. It also refused to release data on how many Australians have been fully vaccinated.

To date, nearly 7.4 million doses of the vaccine have been vaccinated, and less than 5% of people are reported to have received two injections.

Morrison admitted to growing frustrations.

“We have to persevere. We have no choice. The pandemic is still on us,” he said late Monday.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Australia has recorded slightly more than 30,000 cases and 910 deaths in a population of approximately 25 million.

The biggest outbreak currently occurs in Sydney. Since the driver of an international flight crew was diagnosed in mid-June, more than 100 people have tested positive for COVID-19. Residents of the city are now required to stay at home for two weeks.

At a press conference on Tuesday, New South Wales Governor Gladys Berejiklian announced that as of Monday night, 19 more cases have been reported, bringing the total number of cases since June 16 to 149 cases.

She also thanked the 67,000 people who were tested during this period and added that although the number has been stable so far, she expects to find more cases and the number will “rebound”.

After Darwin first discovered the exposed location, a small cluster related to inland gold mines also put Darwin under lockdown. The city is home to a large number of indigenous people who are worried about being more susceptible to COVID-19.