Melbourne enters first day out of its sixth lockdown despite raging local transmission
October 22, 2021, 2:20 am

Melbourne enters first day out of its sixth lockdown despite raging local transmission

Australia-Melbourne-Intersection/Pixabay

The Xinhua reported, Australia's second-largest city of Melbourne entered the first day out of its sixth lockdown on Friday despite the local transmission of coronavirus remains severe.

It said that Melbourne residents, who have experienced 262 days in lockdown, are excited to brace "freedom" as its sixth lockdown was lifted from 11:59 pm Thursday local time.

Local media reported, thousands of excited residents flocked to local pubs, the beaches and even on their balconies to ring in the first seconds out of lockdown.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he expected to announce the removal of more restrictions when the state hit the next major vaccination milestone. The state, with 70.5 percent of residents aged 16 and over fully vaccinated, is expected to reach 80 percent full vaccination by next weekend.

Andrews also announced to scrap hotel quarantine for fully vaccinated international travelers returning back to Melbourne or coming to Melbourne from Nov. 1.

He said: "They'll be able to go home if they are double-vaccinated and if they have tested before the flight and if they get a test within 24 hours of arriving home. This means that we will reduce our hotel quarantine program down to just a handful of hotels."

At the same time, the state recorded 2,189 new locally acquired cases and 16 deaths on Friday, another day in this week with over 2,000 daily cases and the deadliest day in the current wave of outbreak.

There are 23,230 active cases in the state with 784 in hospitals, among them 145 are in intensive care units (ICUs) and 94 are ventilated.

Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton warned that the state may see increasing local transmission after opening up, and urged residents to keep alert to the virus.

He said: "As we start to reopen, there will be more COVID-19 (cases) in the community really than at any other point in time, so we have to bear in mind those other really important protections. Checking in, wearing a mask will be really important, and on days like today, opening every door and window in sight to let that fresh air through."

Source: xinhua

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Upon arriving to participate in the summit of the European Political Community, which includes around forty heads of state in Budapest, he said, "I look forward to sitting with the elected U.S. president and seeing how we will collectively ensure we meet challenges, including the threats from Russia and North Korea." He also noted that the strengthening of ties between Russia and North Korea poses a threat to the United States as well, according to reports from Agence France-Presse.

Before Trump's victory, Rutte expressed confidence that a united Washington would remain part of the defensive alliance, even if Trump became the 47th president of the United States. In an interview with German public broadcaster ZDF last Monday night, he stated that both Republicans and Democrats understand that NATO serves not only the security of Europe but also that of America. He added that both candidates are aware that the security of the United States is closely tied to NATO.

On Wednesday, NATO congratulated Trump on his victory but did not address the Ukrainian issue.

It is noteworthy that the relationship between the elected U.S. president and the defense alliance was not the best during his first term in the White House. Trump criticized NATO member states multiple times and even hinted at withdrawing from the alliance unless they increased their financial contributions.

Additionally, the issue of the Russian-Ukrainian war is one of the matters that complicate relations between the two sides, especially since Trump has repeatedly stated that he can end this ongoing conflict, which began in 2022, quickly. He implied that he had a peace plan between Kyiv and Moscow, while his vice president, JD Vance, revealed aspects of that plan, which stipulated Ukraine's commitment not to join NATO, thereby sending reassuring signals to the Russians.

Furthermore, many NATO member states in Europe fear that Trump might halt military aid to Ukraine after he previously criticized the U.S. for pouring funds into supporting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.