Australia Hit By New Lockdown as Slow Vaccine Rollout Criticized
- Alice Springs outbreak raises fears for indigenous population
- State leaders also call for changes to quarantine system
A sign promoting the vaccination program inside the Queen Victoria Building during a lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus in Sydney on June 29.
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The remote Outback town of Alice Springs has become the latest Australian region to enter a lockdown as the delta variant spreads across the continent, sparking criticism of the government’s tardy vaccine rollout.
The outbreak in the town of about 25,000 people in the center of Australia, believed to have emerged from a mining site, is raising fears that the nation’s vulnerable indigenous population is now facing its greatest threat from the pandemic.