Photos: Australia conducts record tests as new Covid-19 strain emerges

Australia on December 21 confirmed two cases of a fast-spreading new coronavirus strain. A record of over 38,000 tests were conducted between December 23 and 24. Australia’s largest state, New South Wales had imposed a lockdown on December 18 in Sydney's northern beaches area after a cluster of cases emerged, centred on two dining and entertainment venues. Australia has recorded almost 28,200 cases and 908 deaths due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

Updated on: Dec 22, 2020 11:32 AM IST

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Updated on Dec 22, 2020 11:32 AM

An electronic board displays a covid alert at a deserted Manly Beach in Sydney on December 21. Australia confirmed on December 21 that it has detected two cases of a fast-spreading new coronavirus strain. (Brendon Thorne / Bloomberg)

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Updated on Dec 22, 2020 11:32 AM

A near empty view of the domestic terminal at Sydney Airport on December 21. Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales (NSW) on December 20 reported six new cases of the novel coronavirus in people returning from overseas and in quarantine, and authorities said among them were two cases of the fast-spreading new strain, Reuters reported. (Loren Elliott / REUTERS)

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Updated on Dec 22, 2020 11:32 AM

Pedestrian wearing face masks walk past a store in the Manly suburb of Sydney on December 21. According to Reuters, New South Wales officials stressed that no people infected with the new strain were believed to be circulating in the community. (Brendon Thorne / Bloomberg)

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Updated on Dec 22, 2020 11:32 AM

A public information display board shows cancelled flights inside a mostly empty domestic terminal at Sydney Airport on December 21. “We’ve had a couple of UK returned travellers with the particular mutations,” NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant told Reuters. (Loren Elliott / REUTERS)

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Updated on Dec 22, 2020 11:32 AM

A deserted view of the Manly Beach in Sydney on December 21. NSW imposed a lockdown on December 18 in Sydney’s northern beaches area, home to more than 250,000 people, after the cluster emerged, centred on two dining and entertainment venues in the seaside suburb of Avalon. (Brendon Thorne / Bloomberg)

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Updated on Dec 22, 2020 11:32 AM

A deserted shopping precinct in the Manly suburb of Sydney on December 21. The government would provide an update by December 23 on “what Christmas and the next few days look like” in terms of containment measures, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian told Reuters. (Brendon Thorne / Bloomberg)

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Updated on Dec 22, 2020 11:32 AM

Vehicles queue at the Bondi Beach drive-through Covid-19 testing centre in Sydney on December 21. In a bid to contain the spread, NSW has opened dozens of new testing sites, some running 24-hours a day. (Loren Elliott / REUTERS)

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Updated on Dec 22, 2020 11:32 AM

A medical personnel approaches a vehicle to collect a swab sample at the Bondi Beach drive-through Covid-19 testing centre in Sydney on December 21. A record of over 38,000 tests were conducted between December 20 and 21, Reuters reported citing NSW health officials. (Loren Elliott / REUTERS)