Fears of a new cluster of Covid-19 cases in Australia eased on Tuesday, as the city of Perth maintained a strict lockdown and no new cases were detected across the country for a second day, Health Minister Greg Hunt said.
Australia ended two weeks without any local cases of the coronavirus on Sunday when a security guard working in hotel quarantine in the Western Australian state capital tested positive for Covid-19.
The city of more than 2 million people was ordered into a five-day lockdown after the guard at a hotel used to house people returning from overseas was found to have the UK strain of the virus.
The unnamed man most likely contracted Covid-19 from a person who recently returned to the country, Western Australia state Premier Mark McGowan said on Tuesday.
"One of those recent arrivals was accommodated on the same floor as the security guard was working. We are advised that the guard did deliver medication to the door of this quarantine guest," Mr McGowan told reporters in Canberra.
Mr McGowan said 101 close contacts of the security guard had so far tested negative to Covid-19.
Another 50 people deemed close contacts were awaiting test results.
The vast, largely isolated state has been known in Australia for a hardline Covid-19 response that included keeping its border closed to the rest of the country until recently, when it reopened to some regions.
Australia has managed to largely contain its coronavirus epidemic – limiting cases to less than 29,000 and deaths to 909 – through the sort of decisive action seen in Perth and tight border controls.
Covid-19 around the world - in pictures
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School staff check the temperatures of students as they arrive on the first day of primary school, after the resumption of classes in Peshawar, Pakistan. The Pakistani government, on 01 February , reopened educational institutions to resume Pre-primary and primary classes as part of a phased reopening of schools as cases of COVID-19 infections continue to decline in the country. EPA -
Passenger from Taiwan wearing protective gear is checked in by French police officer prior to board a plane at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in Roissy, north of Paris. France says it's closing its borders to people arriving from outside the European Union starting Sunday to try to stop the growing spread of new variants of the virus and avoid a third lockdown. AP -
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson shows thumbs up to patients after they were given the vaccine as he visits a COVID-19 vaccination centre in Batley, West Yorkshire, Britain. Reuters -
A sign stating 60 minutes of exercise only is seen at Scarborough beach in Perth, Australia. West Australian Premier Mark McGowan yesterday called for a five-day lockdown for metropolitan Perth and two nearby regions after a COVID-19 hotel quarantine breach. EPA -
A man visits the Sistine Chapel on the reopening day of the Vatican museum in Vatican City, as the city-state eases its closure aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 infection, caused by the new coronavirus. AFP -
A robot by CTRL Robotics company is seen at the first floor of the Sky Hotel in Sandton, South Africa. AFP -
Brazilian judo coach, Diego Neves da Silva, 24, who suffers from the coronavirus disease receives help from his friend, Paulo Vitor da Silva, at his home in Manaus, Brazil. Reuters -
People wearing protective masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus walk along a pedestrian crossing in Tokyo. The Japanese capital confirmed more than 390 new coronavirus cases on Monday. AP -
Sri Lankan army soldiers wearing masks to prevent spreading COVID-19 attend Independence Day parade rehearsal in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka will mark their 73rd independence anniversary on Feb. 4. AP -
A Palestinian child wearing a face mask look outside a car loaded with luggage as she and her family wait to cross to the Rafah crossing border with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip. The border opened today after more than 60 days of closure. AP -
Kindergarten students wearing face shields and masks attend class at the Resurrection Catholic School amid coronavirus pandemic as the school reopens its doors for the first time and is celebrating frontline workers in Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, California, USA. Boyle Heights, part of Los Angeles County, is composed in its majority by Latinos and coronavirus deaths in the Latino community of Los Angeles County has reached unprecedented levels since November 2020, an increase of over 1000% according to L.A. County Public Health Director. EPA -
A hairdresser wearing a face mask cuts the hair of a customer in a salon in Nicosia, Cyprus. The Cyprus government has removed some restrictions to contain the spread of the ongoing coronavirus disease pandemic with some businesses allowed to re-open following strict rules for hygiene and safe distance. EPA
