SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA — Conspiracy theorists suspect that much of the COVID panic in the world is created by media outlets for political reasons, but the reality is unfortunately that a lot of people are coming down with this dangerous virus, and are being forced to get hospital treatment for life-threatening breathing problems. This forces governments to act forcefully to avoid the spectacle of too many people needing hospital capacity at the same time, with thousands potentially dying from a lack of such capacity.
It also seems certain now that a much more contagious variant of the virus is spreading around the world, and the city of Sydney has recently become the epicenter of this so-called Delta variant's entrance into Australia.
Here are the details: Reuters reports that much of Sydney went into a one-week lockdown on Saturday 26 June, as authorities struggle to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 in the city.
The Australian Medical Association said the move was not enough and called for a complete city lockdown.
Only 65 cases had been reported by Saturday but doctors say they want to make sure the spike does not get out of hand and swamp hospitals.
The new panic started on 15 June when a saliva test showed that an airport limo driver had contracted the highly contagious variant.
He then passed the variant to others, and in two of these cases, the moment of transmission was caught on CCTV.
Footage shows a man in his 50s caught the virus by merely passing through the airspace of the infected driver in a Bondi clothing store.
A woman in her 70s also caught the variant by simply sitting outside a coffee shop when the driver was inside the coffee shop.
Experts say the Delta variant seems to linger in the air for a period of time, and can infect people who merely breathe in the same air.
This faster-spreading Delta variant is a top concern in many countries, including in China.
Fears over the rapid spread of the variant prompted the Shenzhen Bao-an International Airport to cancel hundreds of flights and tighten entry controls on Saturday 19 June, after a single restaurant employee tested positive.