Canberra: Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison Tuesday declared that the country will not return to lockdowns despite record Covid-19 infections. Morrison said the time for “heavy-handed” government intervention to keep case numbers down was over, reports Xinhua news agency. His remarks came ahead of an emergency meeting with state and territory leaders on Wednesday to discuss the surge in cases across Australia. New South Wales alone reported 3,057 cases, the highest daily infection number among all states during the pandemic, while Victoria recorded 1,245. South Australia, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Tasmania reported 154, 86, 16, 14 and four new cases.

Source: The Guardian December 21, 2021 11:12 UTC