These people are essentially at their workplace,” Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, told reporters on Friday. By Friday, 13 people linked to the hotel had tested positive with the new, more virulent variant of the virus that first emerged in Britain. In the past 24 hours, five new cases have been identified, bringing the state’s total number of cases to 19. Describing the lockdown as a “circuit breaker,” the authorities said it was critical to stopping the spread of the variant, which is highly infectious and has outwitted contact tracers before they can contain outbreaks. Similar snap lockdowns in the city of Perth and Brisbane in recent months were successful in quashing infections.

Source: International New York Times February 12, 2021 04:22 UTC