Asia Today: Outbreak grows in Sydney’s beach suburbs | World
A medical worker wearing protective gear takes a sample from a man at a coronavirus/COVID-19 testing site in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020.
A medical worker wearing protective gear warms her hands in the sub-zero temperatures at a coronavirus testing site in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020.
People wait at a drive through COVID-19 testing station at a beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Sydney’s northern beaches will enter a lockdown similar to the one imposed during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March as a cluster of cases in the area increased to more than 40.
A man receives a COVID-19 test at a drive through testing station at a beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Sydney’s northern beaches will enter a lockdown similar to the one imposed during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March as a cluster of cases in the area increased to more than 40.
A sign warns people at a beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Sydney’s northern beaches will enter a lockdown similar to the one imposed during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March as a cluster of cases in the area increased to more than 40.
People attend a drive through COVID-19 testing station at a beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Sydney’s northern beaches will enter a lockdown similar to the one imposed during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March as a cluster of cases in the area increased to more than 40.
People queue at a drive through COVID-19 testing station at a beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Sydney’s northern beaches will enter a lockdown similar to the one imposed during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March as a cluster of cases in the area increased to more than 40.
A woman prepares to test drivers at a drive through COVID-19 testing station at a beach in Sydney, Australia, Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. Sydney’s northern beaches will enter a lockdown similar to the one imposed during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March as a cluster of cases in the area increased to more than 40.
Health workers record migrant workers ahead of collecting nasal swab samples from them to test for COVID-19 in Samut Sakhon, south of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. Thailand on Sunday reported a few new local infections, a day after identifying more than 500 cases south of Bangkok in a country that had largely brought the pandemic under control.
A health worker in protective clothing collects nasal swab sample from a man to test for COVID-19 in Samut Sakhon, South of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. Thailand reported more than 500 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the highest daily tally in a country that had largely brought the pandemic under control.
People stand in lines to get COVID-19 tests in Samut Sakhon, South of Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 20, 2020. Thailand reported more than 500 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, the highest daily tally in a country that had largely brought the pandemic under control.
SYDNEY (AP) — The outbreak in Sydney’s northern beach suburbs has grown to 70 cases with an additional 30 in the last 24 hours, and authorities say they may never be able to trace the source.
While the numbers are rising, New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Sunday there hasn’t been evidence of massive seeding outside the northern beaches community. A new list of cases, however, shows the virus had spread to greater Sydney and other parts of the state.
The government has imposed a lockdown in the area until Wednesday. Residents will only be permitted to leave their homes for five basic reasons, including medical care, exercise, grocery shop, work or for compassionate care reasons.
State Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said that contact tracers are yet to locate patient zero, but an extensive investigation is underway.
Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region:
— Thousands of people lined up for coronavirus tests in a province near Bangkok on Sunday, as Thai authorities scrambled to contain an outbreak of the virus that has infected nearly 700 people. Triple lines of mainly migrant workers stretched for around 100 meters in one location alone, at Mahachai in Samut Sakhon province, as health officials in mobile units methodically took nasal swabs. There were three locations in total in the area. Nearby, razor wire and police guards blocked access to the Klang Koong, or Central Shrimp, seafood market — one of Thailand’s largest — and its associated housing, the epicenter of the new cluster. Thailand’s Disease Control Department said Sunday that they found 141 more cases linked to the market outbreak. On Saturday, the department reported 548 cases, Thailand’s biggest daily spike, sending shockwaves through a country that has seen only a small number of infections over the past several months due to strict border and quarantine controls.
