3 minutesAustralian
officials planned to open pop-up parking lots and extra bicycle lanes
in Sydney and other cities as the country’s most populous state began
its first full week on Monday of loosened lockdown measures.
New
South Wales (NSW) state Premier Gladys Berejiklian is urging people to
avoid peak-hour trains and buses as they return to work to ensure that
social distancing between commuters is maintained.
Australia’s
states and territories are beginning to allow more public activity under
a three-step government plan after two months of shutdowns that
officials have credited with keeping the country’s exposure to the
pandemic relatively low.
NSW, which accounts for around half of
Australia’s 7,045 COVID-19 cases, reported just one new infection in the
previous 24 hours. The state also reported one additional death, the
first nationally in almost a week, taking the nationwide toll to 99.
“We normally
encourage people to catch public transport but given the constraints in
the peak and the fact we are exercising social distancing, we want
people to consider different ways to get to work,” Berejiklian told
reporters in Sydney.
“Places in and around the CBD, but also in
employment hubs, will be investigated and more pop-up parking stations
will be made available,” she added.
For people still catching
trains and buses, the government is ordering “intense and ongoing
cleaning” across the public transport network, she said.
Neighbouring
Victoria state, which along with NSW accounts for more than half
Australia’s 25 million population, reported six new cases of coronavirus
in the 24 hours to Monday.
Twelve McDonald’s Australia
restaurants in Victoria were closed after a delivery driver tested
positive to the illness, local media reported. McDonald’s Australia is a
separate corporate entity to McDonald’s Corp.
“It is a difficult
decision, but it is the right one to make,” McDonald’s Australia CEO
Andrew Gregory was quoted telling Nine Entertainment.
The driver
was not symptomatic and no McDonald’s diners were at risk of
contracting the illness from the driver, Gregory added, according to the
network.
The northern state of Queensland reported two new cases over the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile,
Australia is joining dozens of countries pushing for an investigation
into the origins of the new coronavirus when the World Health Assembly,
the decision-making body of the World Health Organisation, meets in
Switzerland on Monday for its first annual meeting since the COVID-19
pandemic began.
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