Covid-19 updates: NSW records 1262 cases, Qld avoids lockdown
A million new Moderna doses are coming from Europe and will be rolled out at pharmacies as NSW records 1262 new cases.
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Children as young as 12 will get access to Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine from Monday and the supply will be boosted by a million new doses from Europe.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has recommended the Moderna jab for people aged 12-59 and those people will be able to access the vaccine through pharmacies.
The one million extra doses were sourced from European Union member states, the Prime Minister said.
“Families will now be able to go along together to their pharmacy to get their vaccinations,” Scott Morrison said.
The Moderna jab uses the same modern science as the Pfizer product, mRNA, to prevent serious illness from the coronavirus.
The “m” in the acronym stands for messenger and RNA is ribonucleic acid, which is present in human cells.
The vaccines use the messenger’s information to teach cells how to make spike protein, which is then recognised by the body as foreign, prompting it to build an immune response.
That response then comes in handy if the vaccine recipient is infected with coronavirus because the body already knows how to protect against it.
NSW RECORDS 1262 CASES
NSW has recorded 1262 new local cases of Covid-19, as health authorities and leaders fronted up to their last daily press conference.
Seven people also died with the virus, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant revealed.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said one of the seven deaths was a man in his 20s who had “significant underlying health conditions”.
“Sadly, we have seen seven deaths of people with COVID, a man in his 20s from western Sydney (and) a woman in her 40s from southwest Sydney,” Dr Chant said.
The deaths also included a woman in her 50s from southwest Sydney who died at St George Hospital, a man in his 50s from western Sydney who died at Westmead Hospital, a man in his 70s from southwest Sydney who died at Liverpool Hospital, a man in his 80s from southwest Sydney who died at Liverpool Hospital and a woman in her 80s from southwest Sydney who died at Liverpool Hospital.
There have been 177 Covid-19 related deaths in NSW since June 16, the start of the current outbreak.
VICTORIA RECORDS 392 CASES
Victoria has recorded another 392 new cases of Covid-19 on Sunday morning, as the state’s vaccination rate climbs higher.
Just 107 have so far been linked to existing outbreaks and cases, suggesting contact tracers are struggling to keep up with the surge.
More than 36,000 vaccines were administered on Saturday, and 48,063 tests were carried out.
As of Sunday morning, 65 per cent of Victorians have had at least their first dose of vaccine.
Sunday’s numbers come as a leading epidemiologist told Nine Newspapers Victoria’s high case numbers were accelerating due to “lockdown fatigue and slow vaccine uptake”.
QUEENSLAND AVOIDS LOCKDOWN
Queenslanders have narrowly avoided a snap lockdown for another day as the state recorded no new cases of Covid-19.
A family of five set the state into a spin after they all tested positive, a cluster which authorities have now linked to NSW.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles thanked Queenslanders for doing the right thing, and said the region could “breathe a sigh of relief”.
“We’re not out of the woods yet, though,” he said.
“But this is the best result we could have hoped for at this point of the outbreak.”
One of the men has tested negative and is quarantine with his family.
The other man has returned to NSW.
Dr Young said NSW Health had advised her overnight of yet another positive truck driver who had been in Queensland and travelled through Brisbane on September 7 and 8 while infectious.
“We’ll just be checking any exposure venues from that truck driver,” she said.
Chief health officer Jeannette Young said she was certain a family of five in south Brisbane contracted the virus from one of three NSW men who entered Queensland for essential work.
“(A gentleman) crossed the border from NSW into Queensland, and then … went and stayed with this family who’ve since tested positive,” Dr Young said.
“We did get confirmation yesterday that two of those three have tested positive, so I’m now confident that’s where the virus came into Queensland to infect those five people, but those two people had minimal exposure in Queensland.
“They had not been around and about so that is good news.”
SA PREMIER TO OPEN UP TO NSW AT 80 PER CENT
The South Australian Premier has promised his residents they will be reunited with their families in Covid-locked down jurisdictions for Christmas, provided the state meets a key vaccination target.
Steven Marshall confirmed to Sky News on Sunday that his state remained committed to the national plan, and that the borders would reopen to NSW, Victoria and the ACT once SA reached 80 per cent double dose vaccination rates.
Based on its current trajectory, the state should hit the double dose “well before Christmas”.
Mr Marshall said the state could still lock out some interstate travellers, but that is likely to be based on local government areas or exposure sites.
Mr Marshall’s commitment is markedly different from the Premiers of Western Australia, Queensland and Tasmania, who refuse to be drawn on what will trigger them to reopen their borders.
Mr Marshall said the entire country will need to learn to live with Covid-19.
“ … We know that as we increase our vaccination rate, we reduce that transmission rate and hospitalisation, those people needing to go onto ventilators and those people who ultimately die from this disease,” Mr Marshall said.
“ … That’s what we’re signed up to in South Australia.
“We’re going to have to live with it (the virus); it is going to be a tough period the next three to four months, what I’m hopeful of though is we can increase that vaccination rate, we can stick to the science, the evidence.”
In contrast, WA Premier Mark McGowan said last week that his state would remain closed to NSW residents for Christmas, even if they are fully vaccinated.
“Even though you might be vaccinated, you can still transmit the virus,” Mr McGowan said.
“So we’re just going to have a very strong approach to these things.
“We’ll make a decision when it’s safe to do so.”
NSW MAY EASE OUTDOOR RESTRICTIONS
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says he would support the easing of more outdoor restrictions, even before the state reaches 70 per cent full vaccination.
Mr Hazzard made his declaration after police were forced to close several beaches in Sydney’s eastern suburbs on Saturday.
“I think we need to be looking at, as the [vaccine] numbers go up, what are the freedoms, what other normality we can bring back into our lives,” Mr Hazzard said on Saturday.
“So I’m totally supportive of that, if I could just get some time to work with the team I would be doing it.”
On Saturday, Bondi Beach, Bronte Beach, Red Leaf Beach in Double Bay and Camp Cove Beach in Watsons Bay were all full of people keen to soak up the sun and take a dip as temperatures hit more than 30C.
Red Leaf Beach and Camp Cove were forced to shut after they reached capacity.
In Bondi, Bronte and Coogee, crowds were seen on the sand and paths with some minimal social distancing.
Mr Hazzard said he was less worried about the gatherings than he was about unvaccinated people, saying it was safer to be outside.
GLADYS’ SHOCK MOVE
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will ditch her daily Covid-19 update from next week as the state’s outbreak nears its peak.
Despite the worst of the outbreak approaching, Ms Berejiklian said she would no longer hold daily Covid-19 press conferences from Monday.
Instead, an update will be provided by NSW Health staff via video link.
“Myself and [Health Minister Brad Hazzard] or any other relevant Minister will present to the community on a needs basis,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Ms Berejiklian said delivering an update every day meant “I am not doing my job properly”.
“I need to make sure we have a good balance and we live with Covid, and I am accountable every day,” she said.
“So if there are any important messages, or any surge or issue we need to communicate … we
AUSTRALIA ‘FAR FROM READY’ FOR NEW COVID NORMAL
Two leading doctors have described the “false sense of security” of Australia’s former Covid zero strategy, saying the country was “far from ready” to live with the virus.
Dr Edward Cliff and Dr Brian Fernandes – who have worked in Covid-19 wards in Melbourne and Sydney – said Australia needed a “new approach” as it was unable “to quash the Delta variant with previously effective tactics”, per the New York Times.
“Vaccinations are increasing, yet hopes of a meaningful easing of restrictions may still be months away,” the pair wrote in a joint editorial.
“It’s unclear whether the draconian restrictions will continue to be effective against Delta.”
Dr Cliff and Dr Fernandes said Covid zero was “increasingly out of reach” despite restrictions.
“At some point, Australia’s political and health leaders must acknowledge that the country cannot escape Covid forever and must prepare the community to live with Covid,” they said, in the New York Times.
Dr Cliff and Dr Fernandes said vaccination incentives were needed to “add fuel to its … rollout”, and there should be immunisation “stations in accessible locations such as shopping centres”.
They supported the introduction of “vaccine passports at venues, for events and for travel; and a targeted marketing campaign to get more people vaccinated”, concluding that Australia was “far from ready to embrace the Covid normal of tomorrow”.
MORE BLOOD CLOTS LINKED TO AZ
Australia has recorded seven more blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine in the past week.
Four were ‘confirmed’ cases of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) and three were considered ‘probable’ TTS.
The confirmed cases involved a 25-year-old man from Victoria, a 48-year-old woman from NSW, a 58-year-old man from NSW and an 89-year-old man from Queensland.
The probable cases affected 44 and 50-year-old men from NSW and a 65-year-old woman from Victoria.
The figures were revealed on Thursday afternoon in the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) Covid-19 vaccine weekly safety report for August 30-September 5.
The latest cases raise the total number of TTS cases in Australia related to the AstraZeneca vaccine to 132 from about 10.2 million doses.
Most blood clots occurred nearly two weeks after vaccination with almost all after a first dose of the vaccine.
Eight deaths have been linked to TTS that occurred after the AstraZeneca vaccine and a ninth was a case of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) or low levels of the blood cells that prevent bleeding.
The overwhelming majority of deaths reported to the TGA following vaccination occurred in people aged 65 years and older.
The TGA advises people should seek immediate medical attention if they develop any of the following symptoms after vaccination:
– severe or persistent headache, blurred vision, confusion or seizures
– shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling or persistent abdominal pain
– unusual skin bruising and/or pinpoint round spots beyond the site of vaccination.
The most common time period for onset of TTS symptoms is 4–30 days after vaccination.
- with Anthony Piovesan, Courtney Gould
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Originally published as Covid-19 updates: NSW records 1262 cases, Qld avoids lockdown
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