Mandatory vaccinations declared for all NSW Health workers

The NSW Government has announced a decision on whether the lockdown in the Northern Rivers will end on Saturday, and what freedoms will be granted to people who are fully vaccinated.

Residents on the Northern Rivers are eager to learn if NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will announce eased lockdown restrictions today. (Photo by Jenny Evans – Pool/Getty Images)

Hot on the heels of the announcement that lockdown will not end comes news that Covid vaccinations will be mandatory for NSW Health workers.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said under the Public Health Order, health staff must have a first dose of vaccine by September 30, and be fully vaccinated by November 30, 2021, or at least have their second appointment booked to continue working.

“Many health workers in NSW are already vaccinated but if all of our staff are vaccinated it will provide greater protection for patients, visitors and other health staff,” Mr Hazzard said.

“The public and private health systems have a responsibility to implement every possible measure to provide a safe work environment for their staff and most importantly, safe circumstances for their patients.”

National Cabinet agreed in June to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for aged care workers. NSW will now ensure the same protections exist for all our health workers.

Mandatory COVID-19 vaccination will apply to all NSW Health staff, as although NSW Health employs staff across a wide range of settings and organisations, these staff work together for many reasons, particularly during a pandemic.

NSW Health has consulted with unions, peak bodies and private health providers about mandatory vaccination.

Staff will be required to provide evidence they have received their first dose to their employer by 30 September 2021 or they will be excluded from the workplace.

Those who have a medical contraindication will be exempt if a medical practitioner confirms the medical contraindication.

Meanwhile, the decision to extend lockdown on the Northern Rivers has been slammed by local leaders.

Ballina MP Tamara Smith said the decision was a “bitter blow” for people in the region.

“We have been told that ‘we are all in this together’, but for people of regional NSW, all we have is the suffering,” Ms Smith said.

She criticised the NSW government’s continued urging for people to get vaccinated while they diverted vaccines from regional NSW.

“We have seen vaccines diverted from regional NSW despite our communities being some of the most at risk and ill-equipped to deal with the impact of Covid-19,” Ms Smith said.

She also criticised the refusal to resource a border checkpoint in the Nortehrn Rivers and lack of financial support for busineeses in Northern NSW.

The Byron Shire mayor, Michael Lyon, says there is “no justifiable reason for this lockdown to be extended” because there are no known active cases on the Northern Rivers and recent sewerage monitoring has shown no fragments of the virus locally.

Clarence Nationals MP Chris Gulaptis says that while he was disappointed Northern NSW would be in lockdown for a further two weeks like the rest of the state, he was “optimistic about a positive change soon”.

“In the past few days I have discussed our local situation with Premier Gladys Berejiklian who responded that our concerns would be taken into account and she does understand that we need restrictions lifted as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Lockdown for people on the Northern Rivers has been extended to all areas of regional NSW until midnight Friday, September 10.

The NSW Premier said despite stabilisation of Covid cases across the regions, the lockdown was extended as a level of caution to prevent further outbreaks.

SNSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announnces extended lockdown in regional NSW and an easing of restrictions for people who are fully vaccinated. (Photo by Jenny Evans - Pool/Getty Images)

Premier Gladys Berejiklian also announced some restrictions would be eased from September 13 for people who are fully vaccinated.

This comes as the state recorded 1029 locally acquired cases of Covid-19.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the decision to extend the lockdown was taken to protect communities and to ease the pressure on the health system.

He said while there were no new cases in some regional areas, they remained on a “knife edge” and called the situation a “tinderbox ready to explode”.

Mr Barilaro said the lack of outbreaks in some regional areas was because of lockdown restrictions, and urged people to continue getting vaccinated.

“Keep getting vaccinated, it is the ultimate protection against getting the virus and the spread,” Mr Barilaro said.

Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said the lockdown was extended in regional NSW to stop the outbreak spreading from areas where Covid case numbers are increasing.

Dr Chant said: “We don’t want to be fight bushfires on multiple fronts,” she said.

The lockdown was due to end on Saturday August 28, but the NSW Crisis Committee met yesterday to decide on whether the lockdown needed to be extended.

Covid case numbers, vaccination rates, and sewerage surveillance were all factors in deciding when the lockdown would end.

Deputy Premier John Barilaro gave an assurance yesterday that the lockdown would not be extended for another six weeks, despite claims by Tweed MP Geoff Provest that it was likely.

The NSW Government was also expected to announce a rollout of an easing of restrictions in September for people who are fully vaccinated.

Police will step up patrols of the QLD/NSW border to ensure pedestrians are not evading checkpoints. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dan Peled

While Northern NSW remains in lockdown, strict border restrictions remain in place.

QLD Police will crack down on pedestrians jumping border barriers, avoiding checkpoints today.

An extra 25 police have been deployed to the Queensland border with NSW to patrol the checkpoints and the barriers.

It comes after The Courier-Mail’s revelations that dozens of people on foot, pushbikes and even skateboards have been breaching border barriers between Coolangatta and Tweed Heads every day.

Officers are patrolling Coolangatta backstreets including Dixon St where many people have been crossing back and forth into Tweed Heads in defiance of tough border controls and just a few hundred metres from police checkpoints.

The police presence was boosted on Wednesday by 250 personnel from the Australian Defence Force.