Spike in Covid cases linked to Australia’s biggest football event of the year
![](https://morningtopnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/210930010638-australian-football-league-final-0925-super-tease-1024x576.jpg)
[ad_1]
Victoria reported 1,438 new infections Thursday, up from 948 the previous day — a surge the state’s pandemic response head said was the result of “significant numbers of social gatherings” that coincided with the Australian Football League (AFL) championship match between Melbourne Demons and the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.
“(We’ve seen) grand final parties, other social gatherings, barbeques, backyard visits — and all of this has generated significant additional caseload,” Jeroen Weimar said at a news conference. Up to a third of the new cases could be attributed directly to the gatherings, he added.
The AFL grand final is a significant event in Australia — especially in Victoria, where the sport originated and which celebrates the Friday before the game as an official public holiday.
However, with Victoria in hard lockdown since August as the state attempts to bring a local outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant under control, the final was moved to Perth, Western Australia.
Thursday’s rise in case numbers is a “significant setback,” Weimar said, as demographics of those infected indicate the virus has spread further than usual. About 55% of the new cases were reported among men, many of whom were disproportionately younger, he said.
People had “dropped their guard” over the weekend, Weimar added.
“(They) decided now it’s a grand final weekend, it’s a long weekend, we deserve a bit of a payback. And that has now translated into at least 500 additional cases,” he said.
The Melbourne Demons won the grand final, ending the club’s 57-year wait for the championship.
The Victorian government has said it will relax restrictions on people’s movement once 70% of its population has been fully vaccinated, but the state has recently seen violent demonstrations by groups opposed to the lockdown.
Speaking at the news briefing Thursday, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said the fresh wave of cases was “completely avoidable” but ruled out a link between the surge and protests last week due to a lack of evidence.
[ad_2]
Source link