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‘This is a dangerous time’ – three Australian states in lockdown
A third Australian city will go into lockdown tonight as restrictions tighten across the nation in a race to contain a growing number of Covid-19 outbreaks
South Australia in lockdown
Health authorities have confirmed South Australia’s outbreak is the Delta strain, prompting the state to tighten restrictions.
From 6:00pm, there will be just five reasons to leave your home.
It follows the state recording FIVE new infections in its latest reporting period.
Premier Steven Marshall is providing a coronavirus update, he says “we have to act decisively, we have to act quickly.”
He says “there is no need for panic buying”, and there are plenty of supplies across the state.
“This is a dangerous time,” Mr Marshall said.
“I’m 100 per cent convinced that South Australians will rise to the challenge, will make sure they can abide by these new restrictions, and make sure we get through this in as short a time as possible.”
Victoria’s lockdown extended
Melbourne will extend its COVID lockdown by seven days.
It follows the state nine new cases of COVID-19 overnight, but authorities remain concerned about the rampant spread of the Delta strain of the virus.
That’s midnight next Tuesday, July 27.
“As promising as our progress has been avoiding a New South Wales-style long, lengthy, very challenging lockdown, where you just lose control of cases, we’ve avoided that, but we need more time,” Mr Andrews said.
“There are chains of transmission that are not yet contained, that we don’t know about.”
Premier Daniel Andrews has also announced any travel to Victoria using red zone permits will be temporarily paused.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says “the signs are positive” but the state needs more time to be certain as too when it can open up again.
Sydney and the state of New South Wales also remain in lockdown today
NSW is in the midst of a 5-week lockdown.
NSW recorded 78 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8:00pm yesterday.
Cheif Health Officer Kerry Chant said authorities were seeing more hospitalisations, admissions to ICU and people on ventilators.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the spread of the virus in workplaces and households remains a concern but that it is “always pleasing when we see a drop in the [day-by-day] numbers”.
“That 78 figure would have been much higher had people not been doing the right thing and we just need everyone to stick with it and make sure you protect yourself and your family and your work colleagues in particular. ”
Where did it all begin?
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant confirmed on Thursday that the Sydney driver who tested positive for COVID-19 had the Delta variant.
According to the ABC, while the recent COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria also involved the Delta variant, that outbreak was linked to a different source of infection.
The Delta variant was first detected in India in October last year.
UK authorities have estimated the Delta variant is 40 per cent more infectious than the Alpha variant that sent Britain into lockdown at the start of the year.
Matt Grudnoff from the Australia Institute says there is a possibility of a ‘double dip recession’ due to the variant causing cities to lockdown.
Netflix Surpasses Expectations with 9.33 Million New Subscribers in Q1 2024
Netflix stunned analysts and the industry alike with its first-quarter 2024 earnings report, revealing a remarkable surge of 9.33 million paid subscribers, soaring past the anticipated 3.93 million additions and bringing its total subscriber count to an impressive 269.60 million.
This surge follows a record-breaking fourth quarter of 2023, where Netflix added 13.1 million subscribers. Despite this remarkable growth streak, Netflix announced it would cease reporting quarterly subscriber totals from 2025 onward, signalling a significant shift in industry dynamics. Notable contributors to this growth included high-profile releases like the live-action adaptation of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” and “3 Body Problem” by the show-runners behind “Game of Thrones.”
Regionally, the U.S. and Canada saw a growth of 2.53 million paid subscribers, while Europe, the Middle East, and Africa added 2.92 million, Latin America saw an increase of 1.72 million, and the Asia-Pacific market experienced a rise of 2.16 million.
Alongside surpassing subscriber expectations, Netflix exceeded financial projections, reporting a 15% increase in revenue from Q1 2023, with diluted earnings per share of $5.28 on $9.37 billion in revenue.
Looking ahead, Netflix forecasts robust financial performance for Q2, with expectations of $9.49 billion in revenue and diluted EPS of $4.68, aiming for revenue growth of 13% to 15% for the full year 2024, reflecting a bullish outlook on its operational margin.
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