Huge change to state’s testing rule, Qld cases spike
South Australia has overhauled its Covid-19 border testing requirements as cases in Queensland surge.
National
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South Australia has relaxed its Covid-19 border testing requirements, making it easier for travellers from the east coast to enter.
Effective immediately, those arriving into the state from NSW, the ACT or Victoria no longer need to get tested after they’ve entered.
Previously those travellers had to be tested on arrival.
Arrivals will still need to be tested six days after entering the state.
Premier Steven Marshall announced the changes to the testing requirements on Tuesday.
He thanked everyone who went to be tested for their patience amid wait times that have exceeded nine hours for some people.
Mr Marshall apologised for the long delays.
“We are doing everything we can now to free up capacity at our testing sites across South Australia and make them available for people who have symptoms,” he said.“We‘re comforted by the fact that virtually every single person coming through the state has to have that PCR test in their own state 72 hours before departure so there is already 100 per cent screening for those people coming from interstate.
Chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said there were 154 new cases recorded on Tuesday, but only two per cent of those cases came from interstate arrivals.
QUEENSLAND CASES SPIKE
Queensland has recorded 86 new cases of Covid overnight, including 79 locally acquired, Deputy Premier Steven Miles has announced.
It’s the highest daily number for the state so far in the pandemic.
There are 269 active cases in Queensland, with 61 confirmed cases of Omicron.
Six of the new cases are linked to interstate arrivals, while Emerald has recorded its first case.
Mr Miles said fully vaccinated close contacts could quarantine for seven days from Wednesday, down from the existing 14 days.
Those in quarantine would be required to get a Covid test on day zero and day five.
Mr Miles said there were 75 Covid patients in hospital, with one in intensive care.
NSW BREAKS CASE RECORD
NSW has reported another surge in Covid-19 cases, again breaking the record for most daily infections across the country.
The state recorded 3057 new cases and two new deaths on Tuesday.
The new cases come from 136,972 tests on Monday, with 284 people now in hospital and 39 of those in intensive care.
NSW beat its previous record on Sunday of 2566 new cases.
But Premier Dominic Perrottet has called for calm, saying the ICU presentation is a “very important” indicator vaccines work against the Omicron variant.
“We have 33 people who are in ICU and 26 of those 33 are unvaccinated,” he told reporters on Monday morning.
“The evidence is clear. The numbers do not lie. Getting vaccinated protects you and your family and that has been a key success for our state in being able to open up.”
VICTORIA HAS 1245 CASES
Victoria has recorded 1245 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday as more infections linked to the Omicron variant of concern are identified.
Six more Victorians died following their diagnosis in the past 24 hours.
There are 392 people in Victorian hospital with the virus, 73 in intensive care and 43 on a ventilator.
There are 37 cases of the Omicron variant in Victoria, with health authorities saying the strain’s rapid transmission rate is concerning.
Thirteen of thosenew confirmed were identified in Victoria on Monday. Of the 37 Omicron cases, 23 people acquired their infection overseas and 14 contracted it in Australia.
Deputy chief medical officer Sonya Bennett said there was still a lot of uncertainty around the severity of the variant but it had become clear it was highly transmissible, with a doubling time of around two days.
“And if we see high numbers, that sheer number of cases is a cause for concern,” Dr Bennett said.
But Victoria’s acting premier James Merlino said the critical issue was hospitalisations and ICU beds, not case numbers.
“That’s the critical thing that we look at every single day but obviously we’ve got a new variant and it is likely to become the dominant variant across the globe,” Mr Merlino said.
“We’re seeing a big increase in NSW so it’s something that we are learning more about every day in terms of its impact and the effectiveness of vaccines.”
PM UNDER PRESSURE OVER BOOSTERS
Scott Morrison is facing a push from state leaders to mandate three jabs and shorten the waiting time for booster shots.
NSW and Victorian health ministers have written to Health Minister Greg Hunt urging him to cut the time for a booster shot to four months instead of the current five month wait.
It comes as the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation considers making three doses of a vaccine compulsory to be considered fully vaccinated rather than the present two.
The prime minister will convene a National Cabinet meeting on Wednesday amid concerns about the highly transmissible Omicron variant. The next meeting between the Prime Minister and state and territory leaders was not due to be held until 2022.
Mr Morrison described the meeting as “informal.”
“I have convened that, the purpose of it was to give everybody an update on the information we have and share the information the states and territories have,” he said.
“It’s not usual we would be meeting more regularly with the Omicron being where it is,” he said.
Mr Morrison visited a logistics business in Eagle Farm in Brisbane on Monday to unveil a new truckies apprenticeship program to help meet the growing demand for drivers due to Covid-19 prompting a spike in online shopping.
CALL FOR CALM AMID OMICRON SURGE
An infectious diseases expert has called for calm amid rising Covid-19 case numbers in Australia’s eastern states.
Associate Professor Sanjaya Senanayake said people could implement safeguards to keep themselves protected while gathering with friends and family, including mask wearing in certain settings, meeting outdoors, rapid tests and QR check-in codes.
“You can still have a Christmas with your family and friends,” he told Sky News on Monday. “Don’t panic and celebrate the high vaccination rates that we’ve all achieved and get the booster if you can.
“We have to remember vaccines are good, but they’re not perfect. Therefore, we have to think of those other measures we’ve talked about — like masks when we can’t safely socially distance, using QR codes, getting tested if you think you’ve got Covid-19 or using a rapid test before you go to a big Christmas gathering.”
BARNABY’S CHRISTMAS MIRACLE
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce will be home in time for Christmas, two weeks after he tested positive to Covid-19 while overseas.
Mr Joyce – who is fully vaccinated – was in the United Kingdom when he contracted the highly contagious Omicron strain, but didn’t test positive until he arrived in Washington DC.
He was ordered into 10 days of quarantine, being forced to cancel high-level meetings with Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn, and other high ranking US officials.
Mr Joyce has been given the all clear to leave his hotel room, and is now finalising plans to get home in time for Christmas.
“To sum up the trip, it could have been better,” he told Sunrise on Monday morning.
“Obviously arriving here and being locked up in a hotel is not the ideal venue for trying to meet people.
“All in all, about three out of 10.”
Mr Joyce, who contracted Omicron, said his symptoms had been “pretty mild”.
“It was a couple of days and then the rest of the time I had the virus, they could find the virus on me, but I didn’t feel sick and that’s one of the frustrations,” he said.
He sought to appeal to Australians with growing concern about Omicron, saying that despite the 75,000 new daily cases in the US, people were “getting on with their lives”.
“I don’t think you can just keep shutting the place down,” he said.
“Australia is vastly more prepared than the United States … Let’s make sure people get vaccinated and then let’s get on with our lives because that’s the only alternative.
“Otherwise the economy cannot just keep shutting things down, you will go broke.”
BYRON SCHOOLIES TEST POSITIVE
Approximately 500 schoolies a have been flown back to Sydney after four revellers at a Byron Bay caravan park tested positive for Covid-19.
Health officials gave rapid antigen tests to guests at Discovery Park before they were sent packing.
The Northern NSW Local Health District said that any holiday-goers who returned a positive test result would be required to remain at the park until they were given further advice.
“On arrival in Sydney, guests must travel by private transport to their place of residence and must get a PCR test on arrival and isolate until a negative result is received,” the health body said.
“Any positive cases detected in Northern NSW will be supported to isolate effectively, and this may involve accommodation in special health accommodation where required.”
‘DISGRACEFUL’: DELTA FUMES AT NSW HEALTH
When your name happens to match a particularly virulent strain of a deadly global virus, you’re bound to cop a ribbing.
But while Delta Goodrem has taken most jokes about the Delta variant in her stride, the Australian singer was unable ignore a ‘disturbing’ ad posted by NSW Health on Friday.
Goodrem lashed the state’s health department on Instagram after it shared a story featuring a photo of her head being jabbed by cartoon needles.
The ad has been deleted from NSW Health’s Instagram stories, which were part of its Fact Check Friday series.
“I have a HUGE problem with this @newsouthwaleshealth are you serious????????” Goodrem wrote over the original post.
“Needles pointing at a picture of my head in an attempt to get your point across is disturbing!!!!!!”
Goodrem’s fans have also rallied behind the singer, slamming NSW Health for using her image in the “disgraceful” ad.
‘CAN’T GO BACK’
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia “can’t go back to lockdowns” amid record case numbers in NSW and the increasing threat of Omicron.
Mr Morrison shot down any suggestion of lockdowns and restrictions after NSW recorded 2213 cases on Friday, the highest number since the pandemic began.
“We can’t go back to lockdowns, we all know that. Right from the start of this pandemic, we have always sought to balance saving lives and saving livelihoods,” he said, in a strong message to state premiers,” he said in Sydney.
“We must continue to listen carefully to the medical advice and we are doing that every day, but we are in a different phase of the pandemic.”
He said case numbers were no longer a metric or indicator and instead serious illness or hospitalisation should be the deciding factor.
“More information will become clear about the severity of illness relating to Omicron, but so far, there is nothing to suggest it is certainly worse,” he said.
Mr Morrison also used a new slogan while spruiking the mid-year budget update’s forecast that there would be one million jobs created over the next four years.
“Jabs and jobs. That’s what our government is delivering. Yesterday, again, we had another record day on the booster shots for Omicron,” he said.
He said states and territories were being encouraged to keep their vaccination hubs open to help with the booster shot program.
“It’s something we discussed last meeting between Premiers and chief ministers and I,” he said.
“They were keen to get that advice and we’ve given that advice that we need to keep as much of this open and rolling.
“We are now almost up to 200,000 doses administered a day, again, because of the strong interest and response from the Australian public to the booster program.”
COVID SCARE AT FEDERAL PARLIAMENT
A fully vaccinated staff member on Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor’s team has tested positive to Covid.
The staff member is upbeat about spending Christmas Day in isolation.
Minister Taylor and members of his Canberra ministerial office have undertaken Covid tests. Minister Taylor has returned a negative result.
Parliament House has been notified and ACT Health guidelines are being adhered to.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Energy Minister Angus Taylor confirmed a staff member tested positive.
“A fully vaccinated staff member on Minister for Industry, Energy and Emissions Reduction Angus Taylor’s team has tested positive to COVID,” they said.
“The staff member is upbeat about spending Christmas Day in isolation.
“Minister Taylor and members of his Canberra ministerial office have undertaken Covid tests. Minister Taylor has returned a negative result.
“Parliament House has been notified and ACT Health guidelines are being adhered to.”
Ministerial staffers have been asked to work at home if possible.
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