In the early morning of October 22, local time, Victoria, Australia, lifted the ban after a long period of epidemic lockdown, allowing residents who completed vaccination to move at will.
Victoria is Australia's second largest state and the third region to "live with the virus" after 70 per cent adult vaccination rates, after New South Wales and the Capital Territory (both over 80 per cent vaccination rates).
Together, these three regions have a population of more than 15 million, accounting for more than half of Australia's national population (26 million).
CNN said on the 22nd that the Delta mutation virus is still raging throughout Australia, and relaxing the epidemic restrictions will put Australia into an embarrassing situation: half of the areas with antibodies have "no fear"; the other half of the areas with low vaccination rates are still trying to prevent and control the epidemic through lockdown.
CNN's move to shift half of Australia from a "zero" policy to "coexistence with the virus" is similar to Singapore's, arguing that this "split in two" model would form a "two-speed road" out of the epidemic, which has frustrated the Australian government's efforts to reopen to the outside world for the first time in two years. A few weeks ago, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that states with 80 percent vaccination rates could reopen to international travelers without consulting with states.
According to the statistics of Johns Hopkins University in the United States, the daily increase in Australia is still maintained at thousands of cases, of which 2189 cases were added in Victoria on the 21st. To date, more than 150,000 people in the country have been infected with the new crown virus, of which more than 1,600 have died of illness. At the same time, more than 15 million people across Australia have been vaccinated.
Daily line chart of new confirmed cases in Australia, CNN mapping
Half lockdown, half "coexistence with the virus"
Victoria's 6.7 million people have experienced the world's longest lockdown.
In Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, many people have been locked up in their homes for more than 260 days. After ending the lengthy lockdown last July-October, the Delta mutation virus struck again this year, and local residents had to stay at home from August to October, and were not allowed to leave the house unless necessary (such as buying necessities, seeking medical care, being allowed to work and study outside, exercising or socializing 4 hours a day, etc.).
Victoria's COVID-19 vaccine adult vaccination rate has now exceeded 70%, and even as new cases continue to surge, the local government has decided to announce the lifting of the ban on 22 October. Now, local residents can go out and go out at will and have access to public places after being fully vaccinated.
Victorian Governor Daniel Andrews praised the 70% comprehensive vaccination rate completed locally on the 22nd. He said: "To be fair, Victorians have done a really remarkable thing, so many people have gone so quickly to get vaccinated... [So] we'll have more options, more ways to get back to normal. ”
The Governor of Victoria celebrates reopening and vaccination rates reach 70%, Twitter screenshot
Victoria is australia's second largest state and the third region to move to "coexistence with the virus" after adult vaccination rates reach 70 per cent, after NSW and the Capital Territory (both over 80 per cent vaccination rates).
The population of the three regions together exceeds 15 million. This means that more than half of Australia's 26 million people are beginning to "coexist with the virus".
In this regard, CNN said on the 22nd that the Delta mutation virus is still raging throughout Australia, and relaxing the epidemic restrictions will make Australia fall into an embarrassing situation: half of the areas with antibodies are "fearless"; but the other half of the areas with low infection rates and low vaccination rates are still trying to prevent the spread of the epidemic through blockade.
CNN: Divided Australia
CNN: "Two-speed road" thwarts vision of reopening
On the 22nd, the Australian Prime Minister made a speech on victoria's announcement of the lifting of the ban, saying that Australia needs to act at a pace that the people are comfortable with, hoping to prove that the open border is safe. He then stressed the importance of continuing to increase vaccination rates.
But can residents living in two "different Australias" live easily together? After all, some areas with low infection rates are not in a hurry to get vaccinated.
The data shows that as of now, vaccination rates are low in the country's low-prevalence areas compared to the southeastern states hardest hit by the pandemic, such as Victoria and New South Wales. Among them, the vaccination rate in Western Australia is only 57%, far below the Australian government's target of 80%.
In addition, after the Prime Minister announced that vaccinated citizens and permanent residents could leave the country from November 1, the southeastern states followed suit. Victorian Governor Andrews said on the 22nd that Victoria is ready to open its doors to customers, announcing that international passengers who have completed vaccination and carried negative test reports from November 1 do not need to be quarantined.
Daily new confirmed cases in Victoria (top) and New South Wales (histogram) from The Australian
At the same time, low-infection rate areas remain vigilant in attempts to prevent the spread of the epidemic through lockdowns. This week, Queensland announced that it would open its borders after December 17, while Western Australia plans to reopen after Christmas.
But it's better to be defensive. On 19 October, Queensland had its first positive case in weeks. The Queensland governor described the infection as a "wake-up call" and warned residents that time to get vaccinated was running out.
Some Australian health experts have warned that the health system is not ready to deal with the surge in coronavirus infections after reopening. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) quoted local health department data on the 22nd that the state added 2189 confirmed cases and 16 deaths on the same day compared with the previous day.
In response, Victorian Andrews said that while the number of cases had become "less and less important" due to high vaccination rates, the shift to "coexistence with the virus" was "very challenging". He admits that a surge in infections does put a lot of pressure on the health care system.
CNN's move to shift half of Australia from a "zero" policy to "coexistence with the virus" is similar to Singapore's, arguing that this "split in two" model would form a "two-speed road" out of the epidemic, which has frustrated the Australian government's efforts to reopen to the outside world for the first time in two years.
A few weeks ago, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that states with 80 percent vaccination rates could reopen to international travelers without consulting with states.
Governor of Victoria: The shift to coexistence with the virus is 'very challenging', video screenshot
In June this year, Singapore, which was hailed as an "excellent student against the epidemic", announced that it would abandon the "zero" strategy of the new crown and instead "coexist with the virus".
But since the relaxation of epidemic prevention measures began in August, the country's COVID-19 epidemic has rebounded sharply. Within two months, the number of confirmed cases in Singapore surged by nearly 90,000, exceeding 3,000 new cases in a single day for six consecutive days, including 3,994 cases on October 19, breaking the historical record.
Under the severe epidemic, the Singapore government began to "sit-ups" and tightened epidemic prevention measures twice: from September 27 to October 24, the number of people including social gatherings and restaurant dine-in was adjusted from 5 to 2 people; on October 21, it announced that it would extend the stable epidemic phase by one month to November 21.
Singapore's Minister of Health Wang Yikang said on the 21st that Singapore is currently facing a huge risk that the medical system is overwhelmed, so it is necessary to continue to take measures to stabilize the epidemic.
This article is an exclusive manuscript of the Observer Network and may not be reproduced without authorization.