Australian state’s 50% jump in COVID-19 blamed on sport fans

By ROD McGUIRK
Associated Press

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Australia’s Victoria state has reported a jump of more than 50% in daily COVID-19 cases, which authorities largely blame on Australian Rules Football parties that breached pandemic regulations. State capital Melbourne traditionally hosts the annual grand final which the football-obsessed city celebrates with a long weekend. But because of Melbourne’s lockdown, two Melbourne teams played for the national premiership on Saturday in the west coast city of Perth. Contact tracers found a third of Victoria’s 1,438 new infections reported on Thursday had broken pandemic rules by attending social gatherings on the Friday public holiday and on game day. Health official Jeroen Weimar says time will tell whether the infection jump is “one big rogue day.”