SYDNEY (ANTARA) – Two major hospitals west of Sydney, Australia on Thursday set up makeshift outdoor tents to help deal with an increase in patients as the city grapples with the worst turmoil in the Delta variant of the coronavirus wave.
Sydney, the largest city in Australia, has become the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
Sydney is struggling to stamp out an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant, with daily infection cases hitting record levels even after two months under strict lockdown.
A total of 919 cases of COVID-19 were recorded on Wednesday (25/8). It was the biggest daily rise in cases, with nearly 9,000 new cases added in the past two weeks.
A temporary unit in the emergency department for COVID-19 patients will help “stop the delay” (admission of patients), a spokesman for the Western Sydney Local Health District told Reuters on Thursday.
Westmead and Blacktown hospitals have been grappling with a steady increase in the number of COVID-19 patients, and it’s forcing officials to shift ambulances to other hospitals, the Australian Paramedical Association (APA) said.
In a video posted on Twitter late Wednesday, the APA said paramedics were given the option of waiting in vehicles with a COVID-positive patient or “waiting outside in the freezing cold” due to the increasing influx of patients.
Cases of infection with the fast-transmitting Delta variant of the coronavirus have eclipsed Australia’s initial success in fighting the virus outbreak which has kept its number of cases of coronavirus infection relatively low, with around 46,700 cases and 986 deaths.
In addition to Sydney, the country’s second-largest city — Melbourne and Australia’s capital — Canberra has also implemented a strict lockdown.
The lockdown in the two cities puts more than half of Australia’s 25 million people under strict stay-at-home orders.
COVID-19 cases in the state of Victoria, where the city of Melbourne is located, jumped to 80 cases on Thursday, up from 45 cases the day before.
Australia’s federal government pushed for plans to reopen the country after vaccination rates hit 70-80 percent.
However, several states have hinted that they may delay opening due to the rapid growth of COVID-19 cases in Sydney.
About 32 percent of people over 16 years of age have been fully vaccinated while more than 54 percent have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
Source: Reuters
Also read: Australia’s COVID-19 hits record, Sydney hospital under pressure
Also read: Sydney police crack down on anti-lockdown protest plans
Also read: Sydney hits record COVID deaths, Melbourne extends lockdown
Translator: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
Editor: Atman Ahdiat
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