Driver Believed to Be Cause of Australian COVID Variant Cluster Could Face Criminal Charges

An Australian limousine driver and his employer, believed to be the cause of a coronavirus variant cluster in Sydney, may be charged with criminal offenses, Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys in New South Wales said.

It was not immediately clear what charges the driver and company would face, but they may include failure to comply with a public health order, ABC News reported. The driver, who worked with the Sydney airport, tested positive for the Delta variant last week. He was unvaccinated, did not wear a mask while working and is believed to have been already infected while driving a foreign aircrew, the Associated Press reported.

The Sydney Delta cluster reached 36 cases by Thursday, and the city imposed tougher pandemic restrictions Wednesday.

New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said this is one of the "scariest" times the state has seen. "It is a very contagious variant, but at the same time we are at this stage comfortable that the settings that are in place are the appropriate settings," she said, noting that the city is not planning to enact further restrictions.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below:

Berejiklian said she tested negative for the coronavirus after her Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall tested positive Thursday. Health Minister Brad Hazzard is self-isolating as a close contact of a suspected COVID-19 case in Parliament House.

Marshall tested positive after dining with three government colleagues on Monday at a Sydney restaurant after an infected diner.

All four lawmakers had been attending Parliament as recently as Tuesday.

Several government ministers, lawmakers and staff were told to get tested and isolate until July 6 after a positive case attended a political party dinner in Sydney on Tuesday. Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce also attended the dinner but was allowed to attend Parliament in the national capital Canberra on Thursday after taking medical advice.

Australian states have closed their borders to travelers either from parts of Sydney or from anywhere in New South Wales. And New Zealand has stopped quarantine-free travel from New South Wales for at least three days.

Victoria state said it would continue to ease pandemic restrictions in its capital Melbourne following a fourth lockdown despite a Melbourne resident testing positive after returning from Sydney on Sunday.

Australia has been relatively successful in containing coronavirus clusters, although the delta variant first detected in India is proving more challenging.

The pandemic has claimed 910 deaths in Australia, which has a population of 26 million. The only COVID-19 death since October was an 80-year-old man who became infected overseas and was diagnosed in hotel quarantine.