SYDNEY: Sydney residents were warned Monday to put the brakes on partying as a new coronavirus cluster emerged at a city pub on the heels of a major outbreak in Melbourne.
Three pubs in Sydney and its surrounds were closed after being linked to outbreaks or failing to comply with social distancing requirements, while other events were under investigation with Australia on edge over a resurgence of the virus.
The new cluster emerged after Melbourne entered a six-week lockdown on Thursday, and surrounding Victoria state was sealed off from the rest of the country in an effort to contain the virus.
Authorities reported 177 new infections in and around Melbourne Monday, marking a week of triple-digit increases.
New South Wales police assistant commissioner Tony Cooke on Monday slammed the “moronic behavior of people at dance parties,” after local media published footage of large private get-togethers in Sydney’s wealthy eastern suburbs.
City residents are allowed a maximum of 20 visitors to their homes under restrictions which have been gradually eased in recent weeks as the number of infections dwindled.
At least 21 infections have now been linked to a growing cluster at Sydney’s Crossroads Hotel — a popular drinking spot on a major traffic route — raising concern the virus could be spreading in the state.
A dozen military personnel who visited the pub while poised to deploy on an anti-virus mission were on Monday in isolation at an army base in rural New South Wales.
The state’s police minister David Elliott warned that if the situation was not brought under control, pubs could be closed again.
“If we have to close hotels and clubs again, the patrons will have to take some of the ownership of that,” he told a press conference Monday.
“I will, however, work to my dying breath to make sure that that doesn’t happen.”
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Concern over new Sydney cluster as Australia coronavirus cases surge
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Concern over new Sydney cluster as Australia coronavirus cases surge
- New South Wales police assistant commissioner Tony Cooke slams ‘moronic behavior of people at dance parties’
Explosion at US embassy in Oslo, no injuries: police
OSLO, Norway: Norwegian police reported on Sunday an explosion at the US embassy in the capital Oslo, but said there were no casualties.
The explosion occurred around 1:00 am local time (0000 GMT), the Oslo police department said in a statement, adding they did not know the cause of the blast.
Public broadcaster NRK quoted police incident commander Michael Dellemyr saying the blast hit the entrance of the embassy’s consular section.
“At around 1:00 am we received several reports of an explosion. We arrived shortly afterward and confirmed that there had been an explosion that hit the US embassy,” he told NRK.
“There is minor damage,” he said.
“We are not going to comment on anything related to the type of damage, what it is that has exploded and similar details, beyond the fact that there has been an explosion” because “it is very early in the investigation,” he said.
The police statement said investigators were in contact with the embassy about the incident and there was a huge police deployment on site.
Residents near the embassy said they heard a loud blast.
A 16-year-old identified only as Edvard told TV2 that he was watching television when he heard the blast.
“My mother and I first thought it came from our house so we looked around a little, but then we saw the flashing lights outside the window and a ton of police,” he said.
“There were police dogs and drones and police with automatic weapons and helicopters in the air,” he said.
US embassies have been placed on high alert in the Middle East over American military operations in Iran and several have faced attacks as Tehran hits back at industrial and diplomatic targets.
But police gave no indication the incident near the embassy in Oslo was connected to the conflict.
The explosion occurred around 1:00 am local time (0000 GMT), the Oslo police department said in a statement, adding they did not know the cause of the blast.
Public broadcaster NRK quoted police incident commander Michael Dellemyr saying the blast hit the entrance of the embassy’s consular section.
“At around 1:00 am we received several reports of an explosion. We arrived shortly afterward and confirmed that there had been an explosion that hit the US embassy,” he told NRK.
“There is minor damage,” he said.
“We are not going to comment on anything related to the type of damage, what it is that has exploded and similar details, beyond the fact that there has been an explosion” because “it is very early in the investigation,” he said.
The police statement said investigators were in contact with the embassy about the incident and there was a huge police deployment on site.
Residents near the embassy said they heard a loud blast.
A 16-year-old identified only as Edvard told TV2 that he was watching television when he heard the blast.
“My mother and I first thought it came from our house so we looked around a little, but then we saw the flashing lights outside the window and a ton of police,” he said.
“There were police dogs and drones and police with automatic weapons and helicopters in the air,” he said.
US embassies have been placed on high alert in the Middle East over American military operations in Iran and several have faced attacks as Tehran hits back at industrial and diplomatic targets.
But police gave no indication the incident near the embassy in Oslo was connected to the conflict.
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