Almost 200 bus drivers have walked off the job at a depot servicing the centre of Sydney's Delta outbreak over a failure to implement rapid antigen testing.
It comes after a positive Covid-19 case was detected at the Smithfield depot, which covers suburbs like Liverpool, Fairfield, Merrylands and Parramatta.
The Transport Workers Union said the indefinite strike was launched over the failure to protect drivers from Covid exposure.
"This is as clear a demonstration as you’ll ever get of the need for rapid antigen testing in bus depots," TWU NSW Secretary Richard Olsen said.
"Just this Monday, drivers at four depots – including Smithfield – walked off the job over this health and safety concern. The NSW Government ignored their calls, and now unfortunately the drivers have been proven right.”
"They’ve already got rapid antigen testing at the NSW Parliament, and so the question that Gladys Berejiklian needs to answer is simple – why does she deserve a safe workplace while our bus drivers don’t?”
Labor's Transport spokeswoman Jo Haylen said rapid antigen testing should have been rolled out at bus depots "weeks ago".
"If they had done so our bus network would now be protected. Instead passengers in Western Sydney can’t access vital services and drivers are forced to take action to protect themselves, their colleagues, and passengers," she said.
Transport Minister Andrew Constance has been contacted for comment.
NSW Covid Updates: 1405 cases, five deaths as regional lockdown lifted
Australia has reached the milestone of 40 per cent of the eligible population being fully vaccinated, while NSW has recorded 1405 new Covid cases and five deaths and is easing some regional restrictions from Saturday. Follow our live blog.
NSW has recorded 1405 new Covid cases and five deaths as a raft of freedoms for double vaccinated people is unveiled and regional lockdowns are lifted.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she wouldn't put a date on when restrictions would ease but the freedoms would come on the Monday after NSW reaches 70 per cent double vaccinated.
Parts of regional NSW that had had zero cases for at least two weeks will be lifted out of locked on September 11 but restrictions will remain in place.
Eligible areas will be able to have limited visitors in the home and gather outside while hospitality, retail and gyms will also be allowed to open in those regions under strict rules on capacity.
Schools in “low-risk” towns will also reopen but with Covid safe measures in place.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro while some regional areas will come out of lockdown, many including Bathurst, Central Coast, Far West and the Hunter will still remain under stay at home orders.
The latest deaths reported on Thursday include two men in their 80s, two women in their 70s and a woman in her 40s.
Follow below for live updates.
NSW recorded 1,405 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 9, 2021
Two new cases were acquired overseas in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, and 23 previously reported cases have been excluded following further investigation. pic.twitter.com/kztOigGRBW
Updates
Bus drivers walk off the job
Australia at 'half way mark' to full reopening: PM
Australia’s vaccine rollout has passed the half-way mark to reopening the entire country.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Thursday Australia had surpassed 40 per cent of adults aged over 16 fully vaccinated with two doses.
Under the national plan, restrictions are expected to be dramatically eased when 80 per cent of adults have been vaccinated.
Mr Morrison said there would be enough vaccine on Australia’s shores to cover everyone over the age of 12 by next month.
“By mid-October we will have had sufficient supplies delivered to Australia that would have enabled first and second doses (for the entire eligible) Australian population,” he said.
“It really is up to all of us … to be able to get out there and get those vaccinations.”
ACT to hit halfway on double dose
Fifty per cent of the ACT's population will be fully vaccinated in the next 24 hours, according to the Chief Minister.
Andrew Barr announced the territory was on track to meet the halfway point.
"Over 50 per cent of 30- to 39-year-olds have now had a first dose of a vaccine. Over 40 per cent of 16- to 29-year-olds have now had a first dose," he said.
"This is a really encouraging start to the vaccination program for under 40s. But as these figures bear out, there are still people who have not yet had access to a vaccine, not yet had access to the level of protection that a vaccine provides."
Mr Barr also revealed Canberra's check-in app would now send alerts to people who checked in at exposure sites.
"Checking in remains one of the areas that we are focused on. It’s an important part of our public health response," he said.
He also ruled out any changes to public health rules until vaccination rates were higher.
ACT records 15 new cases
The nation's capital has recorded 15 new Covid cases.
There are now 227 active cases of the virus in the territory, according to Chief Minister Andrew Barr.
At least eight spent part of their infectious period in the community.
Nine people are in hospital, two are in ICU and one is on a ventilator.
ACT COVID-19 update (9 September 2021)
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) September 9, 2021
◼️New cases today: 15
◼️Active cases: 227
◼️Total recovered cases: 212
◼️Total cases: 439
◼️Negative test results (past 24 hours): 3,324
◼️In hospital: 9
COVID-19 vaccinations in the ACT: 73.3% received first dose, 49.4% received second dose pic.twitter.com/ZtjyZJUdvs
Case in VIC aged care
Covid has entered Victoria's aged care system, according to the Premier.
Daniel Andrews said at VIC's Covid update today a case had been found at a facility in Gladstone Park, but 100 per cent of staff were fully vaccinate,d including the positive case.
"It's really excellent to see that what works when that high coverage is in place," Mr Andrews said.
"We've still got to run those tests down, but we all know only too well from 2020 what the impact of coronavirus can be in our aged care settings."
It comes as VIC's case numbers jumped by more than 100 overnight, but the premier said he wasn't shocked.
“We are going to see cases go up because this virus is highly, highly contagious,” he said.
Officials said there were ongoing concerns about household transmission, with entire families testing positive after unknown infection.
"It makes it harder for everybody to track down, which is why we are seeing the escalation of numbers," Covid commander Jeroen Weimar said.
For more on VIC's Covid latest, click here.
VIC's Covid numbers breakdown
Of Victoria's 324 new cases:
- 102 cases in Melbourne’s western suburbs, including at Werribee, Tarneit and Altona North
- 195 cases in the northern suburbs at Craigieburn, Glenroy, Roxburgh Park and Broadmeadows
- Five cases in the eastern suburbs
- 20 cases in the southeastern suburbs, at Keysborough, Narre Warren and Hampton Park
- Two cases in regional Victoria, in Shepparton and the Mitchell Shire
There are now 2,166 active cases, with 87 per cent under the age of 50, according to Premier Daniel Andrews.
There are 111 people in hospital, 32 of those are in ICU and 19 are on ventilators.
There were also 54,242 COVID-19 tests returned yesterday.
'New world order' for contact tracing
There will be changes to contact tracing once the 70 per cent double dose roadmap takes effect, according to Dr Kerry Chant.
" Yes, it will be pubs and clubs and other things if we have a
positive case there, but our response may be different if we know that people are fully vaccinated," Dr Chant said.
" But we will have to reflect and learn. This is not gonna be a set-and-forget. The learnings we've acquired now will play into the way we write policies and practice in relation to close contacts and casual contacts."
Dr Chant added: "We are going to have to work on a number of those things and redesign what our test, trace and isolate policies are into the future."
'Don't take risks' in next four weeks
Dr Kerry Chant has issued a plea for people to keep following the rules and to get vaccinated ahead of October's proposed freedoms.
"I'm really very excited by the way that the community is
embracing immunisation… all of that gives me a degree of confidence," Dr Chant said.
"But the community has to also do these next hard yards… you're starting to see the sun shine and those rays of hope, but please do not take risks while we're in this period."
She added: "We do not need any superspreading events. We do not need any seeding in the regions. We just do not need anything else as we work to drive the case numbers down and leverage our response off the back of the vaccine uptake that we've seen."
School back in country NSW
Bush kids will be back in classrooms by next week in areas freed from lockdown.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro confirmed kids would go back, even just for one week as class wraps up for Term Three next Friday.
"Yes, schools will return, and they return at a Level 3 COVID plan within schools, which means no extracurricular activities, no assemblies, there's a range of mask-wearing provisions," Mr Barilaro said.
"Schools will return, even if it's just for one week. We know the benefit of kids returning to school."
He called on people living in the liberated areas not to travel unless it was unavoidable.
"Limit travel, limit mobility. We still have risk. There's no plan that has no risk," he said.
Regional areas staying in lockdown would have to reach 14 days with zero cases to escape restrictions, Mr Barilaro said.
'In everyone's hands' how quickly we reach targets
It's up to the community to help NSW reach its vaccination targets now, according to Dr Kerry Chant.
"I'm hoping to see is that we have higher uptake. And I would actually be confident that probably by Monday or Tuesday we'll get to 80 per cent (single dose)," Dr Chant said.
"What I'm challenging New South Wales residents to be is one of the most vaccinated in the world… the solution is in everyone's hands."
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