As officials combat new outbreaks of the exceptionally contagious Delta strain, Covid-19 has been declared a national emergency in four of Australia’s eight major cities. Perth, the city of Western Australia, began a four-day lockdown at midnight on June 29, 2021, while Brisbane, the capital of Queensland, began a three-day lockdown on the evening of June 29, 2021. They have been placed under lockdown with Sydney, the capital of New South Wales, and Darwin, the capital of the Northern Territory. The four cities have a combined population of more than 10.2 million people, according to government data. As of June 28, 2021, in the afternoon, the country had 271 active cases, the most of which were in New South Wales, according to the national health agency.

Australia was recognized for its rapid response to the pandemic and ability to quickly recover its economy. However, with that security has come complacency, particularly among the federal government, which failed to procure enough vaccine doses to prevent “circuit breaker” lockdowns, which are a set of restrictions aimed to reverse the epidemic’s tide and reduce the number of cases. Residents of Perth and the surrounding Peel region are being warned to stay at home unless absolutely necessary after officials uncovered a third case linked to the Sydney outbreak. Except for necessary jobs, health care, grocery shopping, or exercise, residents of Brisbane, the country’s third-largest city, will be forced to stay at home.