7 new COVID cases; new mask rules; NSW pair now in self-isolation after leaving airport
A NSW couple who sparked a manhunt after leaving Melbourne Airport without going into quarantine claim they “got caught up with the confusion” of changing rules. This comes as masks will be mandatory on public transport and other indoor settings as NSW records seven local cases.
A NSW couple who sparked a manhunt after leaving Melbourne Airport without going into mandatory quarantine have apologised for “the mess” it caused.
But Terry and Debbie Elford, aged 26 and 24, have disputed the suggestion they fled the airport deliberately.
The husband and wife, who live in southern NSW, flew into Melbourne Airport from Canberra on Friday afternoon.
According to authorities, the couple were told they had to quarantine for 14 days while they were in Victoria as they had been in NSW.
The couple then left and got into a car outside the airport, sparking a frantic search to track them down.
But Mr and Mrs Elford tell a different story.
In a statement this afternoon, Mr Elford said when they arrived at the airport, Department of Health and Human Services officers couldn’t tell them whether they had to quarantine or not.
“Like hundreds of others on 1 January 2021, we got caught up with the confusion when the rules about entering Victoria changed,” the statement read.
“We had a permit, live in a green zone in NSW, were flying from Canberra airport which is allowed, and after we arrived in Tullamarine, we were stopped by DHS officers who were not able to tell us whether or not we needed to quarantine.
“So after about an hour or so we walked away.”
Mr Elford said he and his wife then attended an outdoor family BBQ before boarding a return flight back to Canberra on Friday afternoon so Mrs Elford could make an obstetric appointment.
“This was all in line with the plans we had outlined to DHS officers,” Mr Elford wrote.
“We were really shocked when we woke this morning to this media story, and following that have proactively contacted our local police in Goulburn to sort this out.
“We also have proactively gone to get a COVID-19 test this morning and will be self-isolating.”
At 10am on Saturday, the couple turned up to Goulburn Police Station, where officers told them to go into self-isolation immediately.
“They have been directed to self-isolate at their home in southern NSW while NSW Police seeks urgent advice from NSW Health,” a police spokeswoman said.
Meanwhile in Victoria, the Health Minister Martin Foley was forecasting the huge fines coming their way.
“Upon the advice of the public health team, those people have breached numerous orders of the state of emergency in Victoria and they will be fined at least $19,000 for their breaching of those arrangements,” he said.
“This is a very serious matter.”
While Victoria’s hard border closure with NSW came into affect at 11.59pm on January 1, different rules applied for anyone entering from regional NSW – the green zone.
Anyone who crossed into Victoria from regional NSW (except Wollongong, Blue Mountains and the Central Coast) before midnight Friday was required to self-isolate at home for 14 days.
MASKS TO BE MANDATORY
Those caught without masks on public transport and other indoor settings face $200 fines from midnight as the state recorded seven new COVID cases.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the mandatory mask rules applied to Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains.
From midnight all adults and children over 12 will have to wear masks in supermarkets and shopping centres, any public transport, indoor entertainment including theatres and cinemas, places of worship and hair and beauty salons.
Staff in hospitality venues and casinos will also have to wear masks.
“Uncontrolled” outdoor events like protests and performances will be capped to 500 people, and seated, ticketed events will be capped at 2000.
“We have learned during the pandemic that we have had to actually make stricter restrictions earlier on in the pandemic,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We do not want to go back to that situation. We want people in NSW to be able to go about their business as much as possible but we need to reduce or mitigate the risks in certain settings where we know there are challenges.”
The Premier defended the decision to go ahead with crowds at the SCG for the upcoming test match.
“In relation to the SCG and the cricket test I want to confirm today that our Health officials, police and event organisers will be doing a walk-through to go through the COVID safe plan,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Police are aware clearly compliance is an issue, on paper the plan is fantastic but we need to make sure they work.”
Five of the seven cases recorded today are or south-western and western Sydney linked to the emerging Berala cluster.
One is a household contact of the previously reported transport worker while another case in inner south-west Sydney is under investigation.
NSW Health is concerned about transmission at the BWS Berala on Woodburn Rd, with a previous case now linked to the venue.
Premier Berejiklian also announced the southern zone of the Northern Beaches will now be officially part of greater Sydney, meaning residents will no longer have to stay at home.
The Premier also said she expects the northern zone of the Northern Beaches to have eased restrictions by the 9th of January.
Gym classes will be reduced down to 30 people, and weddings, funerals and places of worship will be capped at 100.
LOCKDOWN LOOPHOLE LETS THOUSANDS ROAM FREE
Thousands of people are allowed to leave the northern beaches each day to work across the city, leaving a yawning gap in the COVID cluster lockdown big enough to steer a Manly ferry through.
Northern beaches residents can work in greater Sydney to serve drinks, wait on tables, prepare food, work in retail, and then return home to the hot spot, according to state government rules.
A NSW Health spokeswoman confirmed residents could leave the northern beaches if they could not work from home.
The revelation has prompted the NSW Opposition to call for short-term targeted financial relief so people in lockdown suburbs can afford to stay home during an outbreak.
Arthur Rorris, the south coast Labour Council secretary who took on the state government over the Ruby Princess debacle, said the regulation could have “dire effects” on COVID control.
“Over 40 per cent of the workers in the northern beaches work outside of the area, and thousands of those work in restaurants, cafes and pubs and many thousands more in sales positions. That renders the lockdown almost pointless,” Mr Rorris said.
“There are no occupations that the government has not allowed to continue with their work outside of that region.
“At best this is a serious mistake, at worse it’s a calculated risk to save money that has gone very, very wrong.”
Northern Beaches Council data shows 56,208 people, or 43.4 per cent of its working residents, travel outside of the area to work.
Major industries of employment are hospitals, cafes and restaurants, banking, and primary education, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Mr Rorris said the government should have restricted people from going to work and compensated them for the lockdown. However, he said: “That would have amounted to a substantial amount of money.
“If you allow thousands to travel anywhere in the state that their work takes them, then it’s logical to assume that you run the risk of that becoming a virus-spreading event.”
He said lessons should have been learnt from the Ruby Princess debacle, where all 2700 passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney in March without adequate screening. More than 100 of them felt unwell. At least 900 people later tested positive and 28 died.
NSW Opposition Health spokesman Ryan Park urged the government to look at “short-term targeted financial assistance to those who need it most to avoid travel when we have isolated lockdowns”.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the state's chief health officer Kerry Chant has said people could leave for work if they had to.
“Most people are complying with that,” Mr Hazzard said.
A spokesman for federal Government Services Minister for Stuart Robert said a range of payments were available for residents directed to self-isolate or quarantine by NSW Health.
BEACHES RELIEVED BUT WEST A WORRY
Restrictions in parts of the northern beaches are expected to be eased on Saturday, after the number of new COVID-19 infections dropped, but a new mystery cluster in Sydney’s western suburbs has authorities on edge.
Health officials remain poised to enforce a full lockdown should numbers spike, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian warning the government will take drastic action should the situation worsen.
“We are at a stage in the pandemic where we do need to be on high alert, we want to make sure we’ve captured all those strains of transmission,” she said on Friday.
“Dealing with this pandemic is an evolving situation and every day things can change, every day the government will consider new settings if we need to, every day the government will make decisions and move swiftly if we feel we need to.”
Just three new cases were recorded from 32,000 tests yesterday — two men from the same household and a male close contact — but they are a concern to officials because they are not linked to the Avalon cluster.
Ms Berejiklian urged residents of Greystanes, Berala, Auburn and Lidcombe to be tested as health officials continue to investigate the origin of the mystery cases.
There was some much needed good news for those on the northern beaches with the Premier saying she will announce the easing of some restrictions on Saturday.
“Tomorrow we will be adjusting the settings … especially the southern side of the northern beaches will feel some relief tomorrow,” she said yesterday.
Genomic sequencing has confirmed both Wollongong and Croydon clusters are linked to the Avalon cluster.
Residents on the far south coast are also on alert after two Victorians tested positive after crossing the border and visiting the Great Southern Hotel in Eden on December 30 and Bermi’s Beachside Cafe on New Year’s Eve.
The couple, who were on a holiday road trip, got tested in NSW after learning a Thai restaurant where they had dined in the Melbourne suburb of Black Rock had become the centre of a new cluster. They have since returned to Victoria.
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