Victoria announced one locally acquired infection just before 9am on Wednesday, along with one in hotel quarantine.The other states battling outbreaks – NSW, Queensland, the Northern Territory and Western Australia – are expected to announce their new figure sometime this morning.It comes after the country recorded 25 new local cases on Tuesday, with authorities scrambling to contain sudden outbreaks in multiple cities.Another seven cases were also recorded in returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, taking the total number of infections in Australia since the start of the pandemic to 30,564.NED-4106-Australia locks downThere are about 294 active cases across the nation, with 60 patients in hospital with Covid-19.Four states have introduced tough lockdown measures with millions of residents across regional areas and capital cities confined to their homes under strict rules introduced from 6pm on Tuesday.The figures show almost half of the Australian nation in lockdown, equating to 5.7 million in Sydney, 2 million in Perth, 4 million in South East Queensland, Townsville, Magnetic Island and Palm Island, plus hundreds of thousands more people in the Darwin region.States and territories have also rushed to implement border closures as outbreaks worsen to try and stop Covid-19 infections spreading across the country.Victoria Victoria has recorded one new local case of Covid-19 on Wednesday, with the Department of Health confirming the new locally acquired case was a primary close contact in isolation throughout their infectious period.One case was acquired overseas and they are in hotel quarantine.The state has just emerged from a two-week “circuit breaker” lockdown to combat a sudden rise in coronavirus infections earlier this month.Victoria also slammed its border shut to four states as multiple outbreaks trigger a wave of lockdowns across the country.After having already closed its border to parts of NSW and the Northern Territory, new changes came into effect overnight as Victoria deemed areas of Perth, and parts of Queensland, as red zones.The areas affected are the Perth metropolitan and Peel regions in WA, and Queensland local government areas in South East Queensland and Townsville.NSWNSW reported 19 new community cases of coronavirus on Tuesday and is expected to announce its new figures at 11am on Wednesday.NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said the state would implement a financial support package that would help businesses with cash injections.Greater Sydney was plunged into a two-week lockdown from escalating Covid-19 cases, beginning on Saturday evening.Health authorities have said the highly contagious Delta variant has spread across multiple Sydney and NSW regions and contact tracers would “struggle” to keep pace with it.QueenslandQueensland is expected to announce at least one new case of Covid-19 on Wednesday – the brother of the infected unvaccinated hospital worker who was confirmed as positive on Tuesday.Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and chief health officer Jeannette Young will address the media at 10am.The state recorded two new local cases and two in hotel quarantine on Tuesday, with a three-day lockdown announced for the state by Ms Palaszczuk.One case includes a miner from Ipswich, one of 170 people in home quarantine linked to the Northern Territory gold mine outbreak and is considered low risk.But authorities are concerned about the state’s second case reported on Tuesday, a 19 year-old casual receptionist from the Prince Charles Hospital, who lives at Sangate and had visited a Woolworths store and gym.Ms Palaszczuk said the woman had travelled with her family between her home in Sandgate to Magnetic Island in Townsville at the end of last week, and attended Sunday markets in Townsville, before returning a positive test result. The woman’s close friend is sick, as well as two of her family members, with all awaiting Covid results on Tuesday night.Health officials have said that the Covid Delta strain sweeping many parts of Australia is more infectious and hits young people harder.She said the woman had also been unvaccinated, despite working in the health industry.“Despite the health directives that she should have been vaccinated, she was not,” Ms Palaszczuk said.“Let me say, I am absolutely furious about this. We need to make sure that we are getting our population vaccinated, right across the State. The Premier also announced a three-day lockdown from 6pm on Tuesday for Noosa, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich, Logan, Redlands, Moreton, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Scenic Rim, Lockyer Valley, Somerset, Townsville, Magnetic Island and Palm Island“The risk is real and we need to act quickly. We need to go hard and we need to go fast,” she said.“We have got to do this for three days, there will be a lock down for three days and I don’t want it to be 30 days. “Previously multiple interstate flights were added to the state’s list of exposure sites along with female public toilets in Ban Ban Springs.ACTThe nation’s capital has no active cases but in response to the growing cases interstate people in the ACT are now required to wear a mask in indoor venues like shops, cafes, gyms and on public transport.The government also closed their border to anyone who had been in the greater Sydney area in the past week.Thousands of people are also under stay-at-home orders after being linked as close contacts despite the ACT recording no active cases.South Australia South Australia recorded two new cases in hotel quarantine on Tuesday, a woman in her 40s and a man in his 50s.Both have been in medi-hotels since their arrival back in Australia.Spooked by potential infections from other states, South Australian authorities pre-emptively closed their borders and introduced tougher restrictions despite not having a local case in 212 days.Among the new rules, caps are now in place at private gatherings and a pause on communal facilities has been implemented.Masks also need to be worn in high-risk settings like aged care centres and hospitals and are “highly recommended” for commuters using public transport and rideshare vehicles.The restrictions will be in place for one week.Northern TerritoryThe Northern Territory’s chief minister Michael Gunner announced a further two new cases for the territory on Tuesday, after Darwin’s lockdown was extended until Friday when one new case was confirmed on Monday.The new cases are the wife and daughter of the fifth positive case – a Palmerston man who was a close contact of the original case.It brings the territory’s outbreak to nine, with confirmation of a linkage to the Delta variant.Mr Gunner said the new cases had tested positive while in the Centre for National resilience, but a new list of exposure sites for the Palmerston area would be released on Tuesday on the official government website and social media pages.Mr Gunner announced a new close contact exposure site as a Zumba class in Palmerston on Tuesday, as well as casual exposure sites which include the Palmerston flea market, a public toilet and several shops at the Gateway Shopping Centre.Precious casual exposure sites included a BWS store, a Bunnings Darwin store and Darwin Airport.“We are not out of the woods yet, not by a long way,” Mr Gunner said.“The Northern Territory is now facing its biggest threat since the Covid crisis began.”Darwin Airport is listed as a low-risk exposure site as it was related to a positive case who travelled from Queensland and purchased items at the airport newsagent and cafe on Friday between 1.30pm and 3.35pm.Western AustraliaWestern Australia recorded no new cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday, the first day of a snap lockdown aimed at being a “circuit breaker” to stop the spread of the highly contagious Delta strain of the virus.Premier Mark McGowan told reporters on Tuesday the lockdown was necessary despite there being no new cases.Tourism operators are calling for federal government support, with reports the latest two-week lockdown of Greater Sydney them billions.The Perth Metropolitan and Peel regions went into lockdown from midnight after the state recorded another local case of coronavirus on Monday.Health department websites crashed overnight as residents attempted to find exposure sites.Over the next four days, residents in the affected regions will only be allowed out of their homes for four reasons: for work if an essential worker or service providers, purchasing essential goods, for exercising 1 hour a day or for medical or health care purposes.Masks are mandatory unless at home, exercising or while in a vehicle with household members.Other restrictions can be found here.TasmaniaTasmania recorded no cases of Covid-19 on Tuesday as Premier Peter Gutwein snapped the border shut with the Perth metropolitan and Peel regions.He said the Perth and Peel regions were now designated as high-risk destinations.Anyone who has visited the sites would not be allowed to enter Tasmania unless they had an exemption.
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