Sydney, Australia ini-lockdown dahil sa Delta COVID-19

ni Ronalyn Seminiano Reonico | June 27, 2021

Isinailalim sa dalawang linggong lockdown ang Sydney, Australia matapos maitala ang 17 bagong kaso ng COVID-19 noong Sabado.

Matatandaang maagang nagpatupad ng border closure ang Australia at mahigpit na ipinatupad ang social distancing rules nang tumama ang pandemya sa bansa kaya nakontrol nila ang pagtaas ng kaso ng COVID-19.

Matapos ang ilang buwan ay niluwagan din ang restriksiyon sa naturang bansa ngunit, ayon sa pamahalaan, muling nagkaroon ng biglaang pagtaas ng kaso ng COVID-19 o surge. Dahil dito, muling ipinatupad ang mahigpit na restriksiyon.

Saad ni New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian, "When you have a contagious variant, like the Delta virus, a three-day lockdown doesn't work — if we're going to do this we need to do it properly.

"Transmissibility is at least double what previous variants have been so we do need to brace ourselves for a potentially large number of cases in the following days.”

Aniya pa, "The situation is worsening beyond what we would have liked to have seen this morning, and the reason for that is that the new exposure sites are outside of those areas of concern we had highlighted.”

Sa ilalim ng lockdown, maaari lamang lumabas ang mga residente para sa essential goods, medical care, pagpasok sa eskuwelahan at trabaho.

Saad naman ni State Health Minister Brad Hazzard, "The Delta variant is proving to be a very formidable foe. "No matter what defensive steps we're taking at the moment, the virus seems to understand how to counter-attack." Samantala, nakapagtala ang Australia ng 30,400 kabuuang kaso ng COVID-19 at 910 bilang ng mga pumanaw.

P4 M yosi, pinalabas na hand towel, buking, exporter kinasuhan

ni Ronalyn Seminiano Reonico | June 7, 2021

Nasabat ng Bureau of Customs (BOC) ang 2,520 reams ng sigarilyo na tinatayang aabot sa halagang P4 million na idineklarang paper hand towels, sa Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Ayon sa BOC, bound for Australia ang naturang reams ng sigarilyo.

Saad pa ng BOC, “Records show that the shipment was commissioned for export by a local company based in Novaliches, Quezon City, to South Geelong Victoria, Australia.”

Napag-alaman umano na ang idineklarang paper hand towels ay mga sigarilyo sa isinagawng physical examination ng Trade Control Examiner.

Pahayag pa ng BOC, naghain na rin ng Warrant of Seizure and Detention (WSD) laban sa mga sangkot sa naturang shipment sa paglabag sa Section 1400 (Misdeclaration) at Section 1113 (Property Subject to Seizure and Forfeiture) in relation to Section 117 (Regulated Importation and Exportation) of the Customs Modernization and Tariff Act.

Japan at Australia, suportado ang ‘Pinas sa WPS

ni Ronalyn Seminiano Reonico | May 21, 2021

Napagkasunduan ng Japan at Pilipinas ang pagkakaisa sa pagpapanatili ng kapayapaan sa Asia-Pacific region at nagpahayag naman ang Australia ng suporta sa pagkapanalo ng bansa sa 2016 arbitral ruling sa West Philippine Sea (WPS).

Pahayag ng Japanese Embassy, “(Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga) expressed his opposition to the continued and strengthened unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

“(Suga) shared grave concerns about recent developments in China, including the Coast Guard Law.”

Pahayag naman ni Australian Ambassador Steven Robinson, “We are strong supporters of the arbitral award. And of course, we hold with the Philippines’ position as outlined at the UN.”

Ayon din kay Robinson, dapat sundin ng China ang United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea kung saan maaaring dumaan sa South China Sea ang mga barko ng iba’t ibang bansa para sa kalakalan.

Aniya ay 65% ng international trade ng Australia ang dumadaan sa South China Sea.

Saad pa ni Robinson, “Australia has taken a very long-standing principled position about the South China Sea. It’s really important to us that there will be unimpeded trade and freedom of navigation… There have been rules and norms and laws that have been put in place after many years subscribed to by basically all countries in the world that support a rules-based approach to the law of the sea… governing how we all use those critical waterways, not just in the South China Sea but all international waterways.”