Covid-19 Australia latest: NSW, Victorian outbreaks grow; Qld’s introduces new restrictions
NSW has recorded 941 new Covid cases, while Victoria has notched a new daily infections record amid fears the outbreak has not yet reached its peak.
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New South Wales has recorded 941 new Covid-19 cases after the Premier hinted at potential changes to the reopening roadmap.
The state is creeping closer to its 70 per cent double dose target which is expected to be met next week.
Once 70 per cent of the state’s eligible population has had two jabs, a number of restrictions will ease for those who are fully vaccinated.
The current percentage of people who have had at least one dose is 86.7, and for second doses the percentage is 62.9.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she wanted to “foreshadow” there could be some changes to the reopening roadmap, although she didn’t say what those changes would be.
She indicated some changes scheduled for December 1 could happen earlier, once the state fully vaccinates 80 per cent of its eligible population.
“I want to foreshadow, while we won't announce anything today, that the government is considering bringing some things forward to 80 per cent double dose,” she said.
“They won’t be major things but there will be tweaks. We’ll announce that at 70 per cent double dose.
“There are a number of people in the community who have asked us to consider certain things and (NSW) Health is considering those things and if it’s safe to do so we’ll be able to resume some of those activities at 80 per cent as opposed to December 1.”
Ms Berejiklian also said that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were now available for anyone over the age of 12.
“Anybody in NSW over the age of 12 is now able to receive a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine from their GP, pharmacist or a NSW health hub,” she said.
Ms Berejiklian also said the government was going ahead with plans to open schools back up a week early, so that classroom education would return once a milestone of 80 per cent full vaccination had been reached.
She said there would be a future announcement about what would happen if there was a coronavirus outbreak at a school.
“We want to avoid disruption as much as possible but when all the teachers are vaccinated, a larger proportion of 12 to 15-year-olds are vaccinated, (the outbreak protocols) will change, the way in which we deal with cases at school and there'll be further advice in relation to that,” she said.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet also announced the NSW government would continue to contribute towards payments for businesses affected by coronavirus restrictions until November 30, the day before a range of restrictions will be eased, including for the unvaccinated.
VICTORIA RECORDS 1438 CASES
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has blamed people breaking the rules for a staggering spike in coronavirus cases on Thursday.
Victoria recorded 1438 locally acquired Covid-19 infections as health authorities warned the state has not yet reached the peak of the outbreak.
The state has notched up another daily cases record, comfortably surpassing Wednesday’s 950 infections.
Five new deaths were also announced by the health department on Thursday morning.
It takes the death toll of the outbreak to 41 and the number of Victorians who have lost their lives to Covid-19 to 861.
Mr Andrews said the record day was due to Victorians not abiding by the chief health officer’s restrictions.
The Premier said many of the cases were “completely avoidable”.
“Actual interviews tell us that many hundreds of people, perhaps thousands of people, have made some choices that meant they’re spending time, not in their own home but in someone else’s home.
“And that’s how we know this virus spreads, that’s how this virus gets across the community.
“I’m not trying to blame anyone, I’m simply trying to explain because a lot of people were scratching their head so they how could it have gone up by so much so fast.
“We can’t change what’s gone on in the last week or so. We can all of us try and make the best choices possible for ourselves, for our loved ones, and indeed for nurses who are they’re caring for patients.”
Despite the alarming increase, acting chief health officer Ben Cowie warned Victorians on Wednesday that daily case figures would continue to rise and had not yet peaked.
In the past 10 days alone, the state has risen from 5614 active cases to 11,018 on Thursday, an average increase of 540 active cases a day.
“We know from both modelling and experience in NSW our case numbers will continue to climb,” he said.
“But it is absolutely with in our power to slow the spread and to prevent thousands of cases and hundreds of people from becoming seriously ill and some people losing their lives.
“We can do that by following the public health directions, social distancing and getting vaccinated. Vaccinations remain our best weapon to fight back against this deadly virus.”
Chief health officer Brett Sutton had also previously warned that daily infections would climb above 1000.
“We haven’t peaked unfortunately, the risk of it getting to 1000 is real,” Professor Sutton said last week.
The outbreak continues to hit younger Victorians the hardest with 83 per cent of all active cases aged under 50, while almost a quarter of cases are people in their 20s.
No new cases were recorded in hotel quarantine on Thursday. More than 27,000 primary close contacts remain in isolation in Victoria.
There are now 11,018 active cases in the state.
QUEENSLAND: SIX NEW CASES AND NEW RESTRICTIONS
Annastacia Palaszczuk will impose a number of new restrictions on Thursday after recording six new locally acquired Covid-19 cases.
The state is grappling to contain a number of clusters that have popped up in the state’s southeast this week while a new infection also emerged in far north in Townsville.
Four of the new cases were linked to an aviation instructor reported earlier in the week who lives in Brisbane’s north, with chief health officer Jeannette Young confident the exposure was connected to an event on September 20.
The sixth case was a Brisbane woman who travelled to a hotspot in NSW recently.
“That’s totally unrelated to that outbreak and the woman who lives in Camp Hill who went down to Kyogle came into contact with a known case down there, returned home to Camp Hill and has been infectious in the community from the 25th through to 28 September,” the top doctor told reporters.
“I already have her whole genome sequence result back and I just before the conference. She has the Delta variant, not clustering with any other case in Queensland.”
BREAKING: From 4pm today, restrictions will be tightened in the Local Government Areas of Brisbane, Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Logan, Townsville and Palm Island. #covid19pic.twitter.com/CiXEr0wsNQ
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) September 30, 2021
From Thursday 4pm, new restrictions will be introduced to Brisbane, Gold Coast, Moreton Bay, Logan, Townsville and Palm Island.
Public and private gatherings will be limited to 30 people, cafes and restaurants returned to one person per 4 square metres inside, stadiums decreased to 75 per cent capacity, while funerals and weddings restricted to 100 people with a maximum of 20 dancing at weddings.
The new restrictions will mean the NRL grand final to be played in Brisbane on Sunday will have its crowd sliced by 25 per cent.
Health authorities were scrambling to contain a number of clusters threatening the state as residents were urged to come forward for testing.
The list of exposure sites across the state’s southeast continues to soar, including a Virgin Australia flight, as well as shopping centres in Carindale, Cannon Hill and Brisbane’s CBD.
The list of exposure sites across the state’s southeast continues to soar, including a Virgin Australia flight, as well as shopping centres in Carindale, Cannon Hill and Brisbane’s CBD.
Passengers on the Monday afternoon flight from Melbourne to Brisbane have been issued an urgent warning after the plane was exposed to Covid-19.
The Virgin VA333 flight, between 2.59pm – 4.55pm, as a close contact exposure site, meaning anyone who was on board needs to immediately get tested and quarantine for 14 days.
The flight was among more than two dozen exposure venues identified on Wednesday in Brisbane and on the Gold Coast, as authorities scramble to contain emerging Covid clusters in southeast Queensland.
Multiple stores at a Westfield Shopping Centre have also been named close contact exposure sites after an infectious person visited them on Sunday.
The state recorded four new locally acquired infections on Tuesday and one on Wednesday
The cases are linked to a truck driver who was infectious in central Brisbane for eight days and a man in his 30s who works at an aviation training centre and lives in the city’s north.
The other infection, which was listed as a Queensland case, was a man in his 50s who lives on the Gold Coast but was linked to the worker from the aviation training centre.
A Woolworths Metro in South Brisbane was listed as a casual contact site for both Friday and Saturday, while a number of close contact alerts were added with the greatest concern focused on a hostel.
NSW SCHOOLS TO RETURN EARLIER
NSW students forced to learn from home because of the Covid-19 outbreak will get back to school sooner than expected.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian hinted at the earlier return on Wednesday, saying the option was being “carefully considered” by authorities.
Hours later, the NSW crisis cabinet signed off on an updated reopening plan.
Kindergarten, Year 1 and Year 12 students are set to return on October 18, a week earlier than anticipated.
Year 2, Year 6 and Year 11 students will return on October 25, followed by all other year levels on November 1.
Only fully vaccinated teachers are expected to be allowed back into the classroom.
All schools across Sydney are expected to reopen at the same time, marking a departure from earlier plans to close those in areas of high Covid-19 transmission.
Schools were initially due to begin on October 25, based on earlier predictions about community vaccination rates.
The 70 per cent vaccination target is now expected to be met sooner – sometime in the first week of October.
NSW RECORDS 863 CASES
New South Wales has recorded 863 new local coronavirus cases as an important vaccination milestone approaches.
There were also 15 deaths, marking the state’s deadliest day.
There are currently 1,082 Covid-19 cases in hospital, with 212 people in intensive care – 108 of whom need ventilators.
Of the deaths, two people were in their 40s, two were in their 50s, four people were in their 60s, three people were in their 70s, one in their 80s, and three people were in their 90s.
The state is also just shy of having 62 per cent of all eligible people fully vaccinated, while just over 86 per cent have had at least one dose.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was confident the state would hit 90 per cent first doses next week.
“New South Wales has hit the 86.2 per cent first dose and 61.7 per cent second dose,” she said.
“We are inching closer to that 70 per cent double dose figure, and 12 to 15-year-olds, 44.5 per cent of them have already had a first dose, which is outstanding given the vaccine was only made available a few weeks ago.”
The state is projected to reach 70 per cent of people being fully vaccinated on October 6.
Ms Berejiklian also announced aged care restrictions would soon ease in NSW
Fully vaccinated people will be able to visit residents in aged care facilities from Monday, October 11. Two fully vaccinated people will be able to visit friends or relatives in aged care once a day.
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