The toll was announced as 200 military personnel were deployed across Sydney to set up roadblocks to enforce restrictions of movement. Australia last month deployed 500 troops to help New South Wales.

With only 26 per cent of people above 16 fully vaccinated, Australia is vulnerable to the highly infectious Delta variant that has steadily spread across the country.

While Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Darwin – which begun its curbs on Monday – are all in lockdown, cases have proved stubbornly difficult to suppress. Canberra, the national capital, on Monday recorded 19 new cases, its biggest one-day rise, as it extended its lockdown for a further two weeks.

Authorities reinstated a night curfew and extended lockdown measures in Melbourne for another two weeks to contain an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant. The current lockdown was due to end on Thursday night but will now run until September 2, Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said.

“The rules don’t kick in until midnight, but I’m asking people to observe that curfew from 9pm tonight,” Andrews said.

The state on Monday reported 22 local cases, down from 25 a day earlier.

The outbreak and sluggish vaccine roll-out has fuelled pressure on Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who must return to the polls before May 2022.

“We have an excellent relationship with the United States, but you have to focus on what is in front of you and what you need to do. That is what Sydney needed,” Morrison told Nine News on Monday.

Indigenous Australians at risk

While indigenous Australians make up about 3 per cent of the entire population, that proportion soars in outback regions that are now being exposed to the virus for the first time since the pandemic began. These rural communities are particularly vulnerable because of higher rates of underlying health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease.

Just 8 per cent of First Nations people in western parts of the state have received both vaccine jabs, and 14 per cent nationwide, according to Shadow Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney.

“With questions about the capacity of local health facilities to meet any potential outbreak, this is a tragedy waiting to happen,” Burney, the first indigenous woman elected to the nation’s lower house, said on Sunday. She called on the federal government to publish daily data on vaccination rates and on the availability of jabs.

“The prime minister needs to be held accountable on his promise to make First Nations vaccination a priority,” Burney said.

At least 66 indigenous people have been infected by the virus in New South Wales’ Delta outbreak, about 80 per cent of whom are aged under 40, The Guardian reported. The state’s health authorities do not release data breakdowns of cases by ethnicity.

“In terms of the risk areas, I am very concerned about western New South Wales,” said Kerry Chant, the state’s chief health officer, adding that the virus has been detected in sewage in other remote towns that are yet to report positive cases.

While the federal government’s bid to boost indigenous vaccination rates has been tested by the logistical problems of safely administering jabs in remote areas with sparse populations, it has enlisted famous First Nations footballer Adam Goodes to promote their use.

Singapore seeks correction on Facebook post

As of August 14, there has been no case of any child that has died from Covid-19 at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital or any other hospital in Singapore, according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.

Health Minister Ong Ye Kung instructed the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (Pofma) Office to issue a general correction direction to Facebook. The order requires the company to carry a notice stating that the post contains falsehoods to all end users in Singapore.

“The government takes a serious view of the deliberate communication of these false statements, and criminal investigations under Pofma will be conducted,” Ministry of Health said.

The health ministry issued the statement in response to a post by a user known as Eileen Loh, which also claimed that the “Delta Plus” Covid-19 variant was now present in Singapore. The “Delta Plus” variant has also not been identified in any of the country’s known Covid-19 cases, the ministry said.

New Zealand’s ‘fortress’ policy hits film industry

Amazon Studios said it will shift filming to the UK, with industry publication Deadline reporting that New Zealand’s strict border closures during the pandemic –- which requires a two-week stay in a managed isolation facility (MIQ) – kept British cast members from returning home for close to two years. The lockdown also prevented Amazon executives from visiting the sets to monitor shooting, the media outlet said.

Screen Industry Guild of Aotearoa New Zealand president Brendon Durey told New Zealand news website Stuff that the decision highlights the problems the film industry is facing with MIQ.

“Now we’re heading into what I’d call an MIQ-induced coma. There are various other productions which want to come into New Zealand but can’t navigate the MIQ system,” Durey said.

New Zealand Film Commission said the production brought in around NZ$650 million (US$457 million) and employed about 2,000 New Zealanders. Still, the commission’s CEO David Strong said the country’s international reputation would continue to attract global interest.

“Our locations are legendary, and we have competitive incentives and infrastructure,” Strong said.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern last week laid out a plan to ease some of New Zealand’s border curbs by speeding up the vaccine roll-out this year and beginning a phased reopening of the border in early 2022. She has been under pressure to present a road map out of “fortress New Zealand,” with the restrictions decimating its tourism industry and leading to shortages of migrant labour.

Mumbai resumes train services

Mumbai restarted commuter train services for fully vaccinated residents from Sunday, a move that could tackle traffic jams that are popping up as Covid-19 cases drop off – but could also risk transmitting the virus across India’s financial hub.

Services had been halted since March 2020, making it the longest shutdown for a railway system that has survived floods, bomb blasts and power outages with only a day or two of suspensions. While they had gradually reopened for essential workers, only 1.6 million used the Central Line daily, for instance, about a fourth of its passenger load before the virus struck.

Authorities had feared contagion because Mumbai’s three railway lines on a typical day ferry more than 8 million people, with coaches so crowded that latecomers hang out of doorways. The trains are the city’s main artery; they run from the teeming suburbs to the glass-and-concrete financial districts midtown, before traversing colonial-era docklands to eventually reach the old neighbourhoods housing the stock exchange and central bank.

“It’s a good thing for train travel to open up,” said Shrisha Acharya, a fixed income trader at DCB Bank who has commuted by train for most of his 12 years in Mumbai. “It will be a bit risky but still after lockdown it’s the desperation that people need to go to work and it will be helpful for them.”

Data compiled by Apple showed India witnessed the biggest gain in motor driving activity after restrictions and curfews were rolled back, and curtailed train services contributed to traffic snarls.

Indonesians help stranded pets

With more than 3.7 million confirmed cases and over 100,000 deaths, Indonesia is battling one of the worst coronavirus epidemics in Asia.

The “AD-19 programme” launched last month by rights group Animal Defender helps pets left in limbo while their owners deal with coronavirus infections. The pets picked up by Animal Defender usually get a check-up before going to an existing animal shelter. In the last month, the programme has added 40 dogs and four cats to more than 160 guests already at the shelter.

Founder Doni Herdaru Tona has been selling home-made food and clothes for cats and dogs to raise cash for the care of the unsupervised pets. His shelter costs about 120 million rupiah (US$8,340) to run each month. No donations or payments are accepted from owners.

Concerns about virus transmission from animal to human also complicated the situation and meant many pets were abandoned, Doni said.

Veterinary surgeon Magda Rumawas said people should not be overly worried and recommends Covid-19 patients in self-isolation keep pets by their side to ease anxiety.

“They can keep people entertained and they can help to reduce stress, which is good. But my advice is, do not hug and kiss the dogs,” Magda said.

The AD-19 rescue mission is tailored to the needs of pet owners, and includes bathing, feeding and the cleaning of cages. “We will do everything according to the owner’s request,” said Doni.

Usually pets are returned to their owners upon their recovery. But in some cases, owners do not return. “The scariest part is our mobile phone is mostly filled by reports of owners who had passed away, and their pets are abandoned,” said Doni.

Reporting by Reuters, Bloomberg