Sydney hospitals set up outdoor tents as Covid cases hit new high
Australia's new daily Covid-19 cases pass 1,000 for the first time
SYDNEY : Australia's new daily cases of Covid-19 topped 1,000 yesterday for the first time since the pandemic began, as two major hospitals in Sydney set up emergency outdoor tents to help deal with a rise in patients.
Sydney, epicentre of the current outbreak, is struggling to stamp out a surge in the fast-spreading Delta variant, with daily infections hitting record levels even after two months under lockdown.
New South Wales state, where Sydney is the capital, reported 1,029 new local cases, exceeding the previous record of 919 a day earlier. Of the new cases, 969 were detected in greater Sydney, up from 838.
The rapid rise in virus patients has forced Sydney's Westmead and Blacktown hospitals, which service the city's western suburbs, to erect tents to screen and swab patients to help manage capacity.
The makeshift unit in the emergency department will help "to offload delays", a Western Sydney Local Health District spokesman told Reuters.
State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the authorities had quadrupled the number of the state's intensive care ventilators to 2,000 early last year.
Although the system is "under pressure", it can withstand the current crisis once vaccination rates rise, she said.
"It might be different to the help you got before because of the situation, but please know the system is kicking in," Ms Berejiklian said.
She said the state may reach 70 per cent full vaccination by mid-October.
Of the 116 people in intensive care in the state, 102 are not vaccinated.
Three new deaths were reported, taking deaths from the latest outbreak to 79.
Besides Sydney, the country's second largest city Melbourne and capital Canberra are also in lockdown, putting more than half of the country's 25 million population under strict stay-home orders.
Cases in Victoria state, home to Melbourne, surged to 80 yesterday, up from 45 a day earlier. - REUTERS
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