Daily US Times: A bushfire raging outside the Australian city of Perth has forced nearby residents to evacuate as the city remains in a Covid lockdown.
Authorities said they believed at least 30 homes have been destroyed in the fire north of the city, which has so far scorched over 7,000 hectares.
Stronger winds and a run of hot days have fuelled the fire. Perth is enduring 35C temperatures.
Western Australia’s Premier said the state was facing dual emergencies.
Mark McGowan said: “Right now WA is battling two different kinds of emergencies – a dangerous fire emergency and a Covid-19 lockdown emergency.”
He called the situation of Perth is “extremely concerning and serious”.
The state capital city of two million people is in a snap lockdown until Friday.
On Sunday, the state government enacted the aggressive public health measure after the city detected its first local infection in 10 months in a hotel quarantine guard who was also a ride-share driver.
Perth residents woke up to a blanket of smoke on Tuesday as the fire raced through the hilly, dry bush on the city’s fringes overnight.
Mr McGowan urged the city residents who are not in the immediate fire danger vicinity to remain at home to reduce the risk of the virus’ spread.
He said no new cases have been reported and state authorities had tracked down 150 close contacts of the infected person.
However residents reported that ash was falling from the sky in locations at least 50km (31 miles) away from the fire-front.
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