Covid-19 updates: NSW records 1288 cases; Grim warning for Victoria as virus outbreak grows
NSW has recorded 1288 new locally acquired Covid cases, while Scott Morrison has issued a warning to those over 60 who have not yet got the AstraZeneca jab.
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New South Wales has recorded 1288 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian confirmed the figure on Thursday and said seven people with the virus had tragically lost their lives.
Ms Berejiklian said seven million doses of Covid-19 vaccines had now been administerd after 121,000 people rolled up their sleeves on Wednesday.
“We are the first state or territory to hit that (mark), and I can’t thank our people enough,” Ms Berejiklian said
“It’s been a difficult couple of months and the fact that people have heard the messages we’ve been giving and coming forward to get vaccinated and hitting that 70 per cent first dose is an outstanding achievement.”
Ms Berejiklian as a result of hitting the milestone, residents living in areas of concern — local government areas in western and southwestern Sydney — will now be allowed to have unlimited time to exercise 5am on Friday. However, the 9pm to 5am curfew will remain in place.
They were previously only allowed to exercise for one hour a day.
Gaps between the two doses suggest there are just weeks to go before the state can begin reopening, with modelling predicting the state will hit 70 per cent of fully vaccinated residents (over 16) on October 17.
However, Ms Berejiklian has hinted the rapid rate of vaccinations means the state could hit that figure before October 17.
Those receiving Pfizer must wait at least three weeks between doses, while the AstraZeneca vaccine has a minimum four week gap for areas with high rates of Covid transmission, and a 12-week gap as standard.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant revealed there are currently 160 people in intensive care, 64 of whom require ventilation.
Dr Chant also revealed one of the seven deaths recorded overnight was a man who was fully vaccinated, however he “did have significant underlying conditions.”
“A man in his 70s from southwest Sydney died at Liverpool Hospital; he acquired his infection at the hospital,” she said, meaning the man was admitted for other conditions.
“He had received both doses of a vaccination however he did have significant underlying health conditions.”
PM’S ASTRAZENECA VACCINE THREAT
Australians aged over 60 have been told to get vaccinated with AstraZeneca now or be put at the back of the queue when supply of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines ramp up.
Scott Morrison will next week send a letter to more than 580,000 unvaccinated Australians aged between 60 and 69 to urge them to get the AstraZeneca jab as soon as possible.
“The recent outbreaks of the new more infectious strains of the Covid-19 virus, with some tragic deaths in Sydney, make it even more important that Australians over 60 get vaccinated now,” the letter reads.
The letter contained no hope senior Australians would be offered the Pfizer of Moderna vaccine any time in the near future.
“We have expanded the number of community pharmacies who are administering the highly effective AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine around the country … This gives you, your family, and your loved ones more opportunities to get vaccinated,” it continued.
Health Minister Greg Hunt and chief medical officer Paul Kelly also signed their names to the letter, which outlined the increased risk of people within the age group have of getting severe disease with Covid-19.
“The expert health advice is very clear, people over 60 have a greatly increased risk of getting severe disease with Covid-19 and must be vaccinated as soon as possible.”
AstraZeneca is the recommended vaccine for Australians over 60 and is readily available from GPs, state-run vaccination hubs and pharmacies.
It’s estimated there are more than three million doses sitting in fridges waiting to be administered.
More than 80 per cent of people over 60 have had their first dose of the vaccine. Mr Morrison thanked those who were already vaccinated for serving as a “great example to others”.
“Thank you for keeping our country safe and for setting a great example to others. Your vaccination will not only help protect you and your loved ones from hospitalisation and death from Covid-19 but also ensure we can all move towards our return to normal sooner,” he said.
More than 35 per cent of Australians are fully vaccinated, with close to 60 per cent of Australians over 16 vaccinated with at least one dose.
The letter is set to drop in letterboxes the same week the Covid-19 jab will be made available to all Australians 12 years and over.
Australia’s supply of the Pfizer vaccine is set to rise to 4.5 million in September, but doses will be prioritised for people aged 12 to 39.
2000 A DAY: GRIM WARNING AS VIC HAS 176 NEW CASES
Victorian authorities have revealed two concerning hot spots where transmission of the deadly virus is occurring during the state’s worsening Covid-19 outbreak.
The state recorded 176 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the highest spike in the state in 366 days, as the latest outbreak spirals out of control.
Of particular concern to health officials is rising case numbers at a call centre just south of the CBD and an infection at a backpackers in St Kilda.
Health Minister Martin Foley said 17 positive cases had now been linked to the Acquire call centre that was co-located with Healthcare Australia, which was assisting the federal government with the nation’s vaccine rollout.
Mr Foley said more than 400 primary close contacts had been isolated as a result of the call centre cluster.
He said all staff who worked from August 25 at the Acquire call centre had been classified as primary close contacts.
The second hot spot flagged by the Health Minister was the Base Backpackers in St Kilda where a positive case has been identified.
That case was immediately move into hotel quarantine.
“Given the nature of the complex, and the shared communal facilities, we are working with our authorised officers, and with the residents there, to establish a public health response, and ensure that the residents can be quarantined to safely,” Mr Foley said.
Deputy chief health officer Ben Cowie said there was not one corner of metropolitan Melbourne that had not been touched by the virus.
“We have been seeing and continue to see high case numbers in the suburbs to the north and the west of Melbourne.
“We are still really concerned by the number of cases, and the trends we are seeing in the suburbs of Altona, Broadmeadows, and Truganina.
“We have seen a significant increase in suburbs throughout the south and east of Melbourne as well.”
The 176 new local cases is the highest daily spike in virus cases in more than a year, since 202 infections reported on August 22, 2020 during Victoria’s deadly second wave.
The health department confirmed the new local Covid-19 cases about 8.30am, as infections spiral out of control despite the state’s sixth lockdown.
Another 97 new mystery infections were announced within the cases, with the department revealing only 83 of the new cases could be linked to existing outbreaks.
They did not say how many cases were in isolation during their infectious period.
Premier Daniel Andrews has conceded the case numbers will not go down.
“These last few days have seen a dramatic shift in the nature and the number of cases coming forward,” he said.
“We will not see these case numbers go down. They are going to go up. The question is by how many and how fast?
“What we must do is suppress case numbers sufficient to buy us time to get people vaccinated.”
Mr Andrews said some form of restrictions would need to remain in place in Victoria until the state reached the national threshold of 70 and 80 per cent of the population double dosed vaccinated.
It comes as University of Melbourne epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely warned Victorian case numbers could hit 2000 a day in October.
“The case numbers are going up at about 5 per cent per day,” Prof Blakely said.
He said if infections continue on this trajectory, Victoria “will probably have 2000 cases a day in late October or early November when the vaccine coverage catches up”
There are now 1029 active cases across the state, up from 900 on Wednesday, with more than 13,800 people in isolation across the state.
Professor Cowie said 192 of the 1029 active cases were aged nine and under, 157 were aged between 10 and 19, and 243 were aged in their 20s.
No new cases were recorded in hotel quarantine on Thursday
QLD RECORDS ONE NEW LOCAL CASE
Queensland has recorded a new locally acquired Covid-19 case who was “potentially” infectious in the community for five days.
The new case was a truck driver who lives on the Gold Coast and in addition to the truck driver from NSW who was reported on Wednesday, Annastacia Palaszczuk told parliament.
The case is currently under investigation with the beginning of the infection period potentially beginning on August 28.
Ms Palaszczuk said the driver had travelled to Sydney and was currently in NSW but was infectious on the Gold Coast in the five days to Wednesday.
Contact tracing is underway with exposure sites expected to be revealed later in the morning.
On Wednesday, exposure sites emerged at Archerfield and Goondiwindi with the first driver infectious in the community for a full day who was also under investigation.
This man was assigned as a NSW infection, not a Queensland case.
Authorities have issued close contact alerts for a BP Service Station in Archerfield and the amenities and dining section of a BP Truckstop in Goondiwindi.
ACT OUTBREAK GROWS
The ACT has recorded a further 12 new cases of Covid-19 overnight but the community has been criticised for its low testing numbers.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr said six cases were linked to current exposure sites or identified close contacts, while another six remained under investigation.
“We’re certain that four were in quarantine during their entire infectious period,” he told reporters on Thursday.
“It leaves the remaining eight who were in the community for at least part of their infectious period.”
Mr Barr said 13 people were in hospital, including four in intensive care and two requiring ventilation.
The latest person requiring ventilation is a man aged in his 20s, who has no pre-existing health conditions. He is not vaccinated.
Mr Barr also revealed only 2500 coronavirus tests were conducted on Wednesday.
“This is just not high enough. The virus is out in our community, so it is critical if you have symptoms to get tested as soon as possible,” he said.
The Chief Minister said 68 per cent of the population over the age of 16 had been administered their first dose, while 44.5 per cent were fully vaccinated.
He also revealed ACT residents aged 75 to 79 were the first group in Australia to pass the 80 per cent target of being fully-vaccinated.
But people aged 16 to 29 are facing a wait of up to three months for a vaccine.
Mr Barr said over the next few months the ACT would face a “challenging scenario” and there were “no easy choices”.
“Canberrans have worked incredibly hard to minimise the spread of the virus and to significantly reduce the risk to our community,” he said.
“Our strategy is to get our caseload down as quickly as we can.
“What that means is that new cases are able to linked and they are in quarantine for their entire infectious period.”
Mr Barr said it would be a difficult time over the next few months.
“We can only gradually ease restrictions as the vaccination rate increases,” he said.
“This means there will be inconveniences, there will be frustrations. We will try to minimise these as much as possible.”
The Chief Minister said the best way to help was to get vaccinated.
“We can and should lead the nation on vaccination. It’s a worthy goal to strive for,” he said.
STATES TURN THEIR BACKS ON PLAN OUT OF PANDEMIC
Premiers have cast doubt on whether their states will follow the national roadmap out of the pandemic.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Wednesday that her state’s border restrictions would be lifted until children have been vaccinated, The Australian reports.
“Until I can get every child vaccinated, we will stand firm and we will stand strong (on border -closures),” Ms Palaszczuk said.
It came as West Australian Premier Mark McGowan accused the commonwealth of trying to “infect the public” by pressuring states ease restrictions, as he warned borders could remain shut with NSW and Victoria for months.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Wednesday ditched his zero-case strategy and outlined a plan to ease restrictions starting on September 23, when 70 per cent of the state’s adults are expected to have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.
But tough restrictions like stay-at-home orders and curfews may now be lifted until Victoria reaches 70 or 80 per full vaccination coverage — a target it is expected to reach in November.
Mr McGowan and Ms Palaszczuk are alarmed by the growing number of virus cases in NSW and Victoria, and have cast doubt on the Doherty Institute modelling that underpins national cabinet’s pathway out of lockdown.
The modelling recommends an easing of restrictions when 70 per cent of the adult population is vaccinated, with an end to lockdowns one vaccine coverage hits 80 per cent.
Ms Palaszczuk said it had failed to take into account children, while Mr McGowan reacted furiously to a comment by Attorney-General Michaelia Cash questioning the constitutionality of state border closures as vaccination rates rose.
“Why are they on this mission to bring Covid into Western Australia to infect our public, to ensure that we shut down parts of the economy, that we lose jobs, people get sick and some people die?” Mr McGowan said.
“Haven’t they seen what’s happening in NSW.”
In response to a question on whether the border could remain shut well into 2022, Mr Andrews said: “Yep, and no one’s happy about that but again we’ll have many more options when we get to 80 per cent.”
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