In what appears to be the world’s toughest lockdown, violators in South Australia were slapped with fines as soon as they stepped out of their homes. The one-week lockdown began on Thursday with even outdoor exercses and dog-walking restricted in an attempt to curb the cluster of recent covid-19 infections.
Earlier this week, 22 new infections related to covid-19 infection were identified which led to the imposition of the strictest lockdown in the state.
According to a dailymail.co.uk report, seven people were fined for $1080 infrinment notices after they violated the guidelines on Thursday night.
Two beach goers, who went out to seek sun as temperatures soared high to mid 30s, were also hit with the fine, the report said.
For six days, only one person per house is allowed to step out to buy essential goods. From school to universities to wedding and everything that make up for our daily activities is banned and mask wearing is mandatory.
State Premier Steven Marshall urged people to stay inside thier houses even as no new infection in the state was reported on Thursday.
“We want to go in early, we want to knock this on its head. We do not need 112 days of lockdown like they had in Victoria. This is six days and working together we can get on top of this,? Marshall said.
“It’s a real worry, especially because people who become infected are not showing the typical symptoms that we are used to,” he added.
While other countries announced the lockdown in stages, Australia was the first nation to impose a six-month long nationwide lockdown in March. Even then it was one of the world’s toughest lockdowns with strictest measures to mitigate the virus.
Thanks to hard lockdowns, Australian state Victoria, which reported over 700 infections daily in August, saw no infection on Thursday.
Meanwhile, in South Australia, there are 35 active cases as of know, including those who have been quarantined while 4,000 people are in isolation.
