Snap lockdowns in Australia and New Zealand curb virus spread
February 17, 2021, 11:44 am

Snap lockdowns in Australia and New Zealand curb virus spread

People cross a street in Melbourne on February 12, 2021, after authorities ordered a five-day state-wide lockdown starting at midnight local time to stamp out a new coronavirus outbreak. (AFP)

Major cities in Australia and New Zealand lifted stay-at-home orders for millions of residents Wednesday after successfully using snap lockdowns to quash outbreaks of virulent strains of COVID-19.

Authorities said swift action in Melbourne and Auckland helped contain flare-ups of the highly contagious UK coronavirus variant, contrasting with the less rigorous approach taken in Europe and other infection hotspots.

Announcing the end of a five-day shutdown in Melbourne, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews hailed the tactic as a “short, sharp circuit-breaker”.

“If we had been open throughout this outbreak... total case numbers would be much, much higher and it is a certainty that I would not be reporting zero cases today,” he said.

Andrews’s decision allows around six million residents to leave their homes, businesses to reopen and some spectators to return for the final days of the Australian Open tennis tournament.

In New Zealand, almost two million Aucklanders will enjoy similar freedoms after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said a three-day lockdown had quelled the city’s most serious outbreak in almost six months.

“We wanted to make sure we took a cautious approach because that’s much, much better than getting it wrong and having a large-scale outbreak and a long lockdown,” she said.

Auckland is also hosting a major sporting event - the America’s Cup yachting regatta - which is expected to resume this week with crowds watching from the shoreline restricted to 100.

Both the Auckland and Melbourne outbreaks involved the more transmissible virus strain first detected in Britain.

Andrews has conceded such “hyper-infectious” variants are difficult to contain and examined tightening quarantine restrictions in Australia’s second most populous state.

A policeman patrols on a motorcycle in Melbourne on February 12, 2021, after authorities ordered a five-day state-wide lockdown starting at midnight local time to stamp out a new coronavirus outbreak. (AFP)

While Australia has largely contained the virus, Victoria state’s Melbourne remains the country’s worst affected city, enduring more than 100 days of lockdown late last year to curb an outbreak that killed about 800.

Andrews said aggressive lockdowns may be needed again to keep the virus at bay.

“I can’t stand here and be honest with people and say this will never, ever happen again,” he said.

Ardern said New Zealand’s COVID-19 response - which involves rigorous contact tracing and widespread testing when there is a community case - had again proved effective.

The New Zealand leader has been widely praised for her handling of the pandemic, with just 26 deaths in a population of five million.

But Ardern also signaled a willingness to use more lightning lockdowns if required, saying there was no room for complacency against the “tricky” threat posed by the virus.

“There is an indescribable anxiety that comes with the daily grind of managing a pandemic and I think we all feel it,” she said.

source: AFP

Image source: AFP

Levant

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”