1438 new cases, five deaths; change to Pfizer doses bring earlier end to lockdown
Big public transport disruptions loom after a Yarra Trams driver tested positive to Covid, forcing scores of staff into isolation. It comes as Dan Andrews backed his “go hard, go early” lockdown.
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Tram passengers face significant disruption on Friday after a Yarra Trams driver tested positive to Covid-19 — forcing scores of drivers and staff across the city and Essendon tram depots to test and isolate.
A Yarra Trams spokesperson said “earlier this week we recorded a positive case from a tram driver based in our Essendon Depot”.
“Contact tracing has taken place, and numerous staff are in isolation.”
“Yarra Trams will endeavour to provide as regular a service as possible across the four most impacted routes, but a high number of service cancellations are expected.”
“We apologise for any inconvenience as we work to keep our employees and passengers safe and ensure tram services continue across the network.”
Most of the staff isolating are secondary contacts and will be allowed to return to work after returning a negative test..
The affected routes are:
Route 57 (West Maribyrnong to Flinders Street Station)
Route 58 (West Coburg to Toorak)
Route 59 (Airport West to Flinders Street Station)
Route 82 (Moonee Ponds to Footscray).
ALARMING SURGE IN COVID CASES
Victoria’s Covid cases have jumped by an alarming figure, with 1438 new cases announced.
Five people have died with the virus.
The state has 11,018 active cases after more than 65,400 test results were processed on Wednesday.
A third of Thursday’s cases are linked to social gatherings and grand final parties on Friday and Saturday.
Testing commander Jeroen Weimar said it was a “significant setback”.
He said the vaccine goal targets were not far away, but Victorians couldn’t drop their guard now.
“We need to buy time to stop transmission now,” he said.
“We now have cases in every LGA, we have cases in every suburb.”
Mr Weimar has urged anyone that attended a grand final party — regardless of symptoms — to get tested immediately.
He also revealed 93 per cent of Thursday’s cases were not vaccinated.
It comes as days could be shaved off Victoria’s race to reach its vaccination targets if the state government halved the six-week interval between Pfizer vaccine doses by the end of the week.
Melbourne data specialist Anthony Macali says 70 per cent of eligible Victorians could be double dosed by October 24 if those with existing second Pfizer bookings were allowed to bring forward appointments.
HAS VICTORIA’S LOCKDOWN WORKED?
Daniel Andrews hit back at questions about why Covid-19 case numbers continue to surge, despite Victoria’s harsh lockdown rules.
“If you want to on the one hand urge that we open up and on the other hand be critical about how many cases there are, those two things don‘t work,” he said.
“We can open up tomorrow and I won’t be standing here reporting 1400 cases, I will be reporting a lot more than that.
“I wouldn’t be reporting just a few people in hospital, 400 today, there would be a lot more than that.”
Mr Andrews said his government was “completely faithful” to the national plan.
When questioned again why case numbers continued to climb, he maintained the lockdown could not be lifted at existing vaccination rates.
“If anyone is putting it to me that we should have a lockdown lift with less than 50 per cent of people double dosed, that’s not the national plan.”
SA TRUCK DRIVER TESTS POSITIVE
A truck driver who travelled between South Australia and Melbourne has tested positive to Covid.
The man in his 20s, who is currently in Victoria, is a South Australian resident and has received his first dose of Pfizer.
The state’s chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said the man had been tested every three days and could be classified as an “early positive”.
“It looks like it’s very early in the infectious period,” Prof Spurrier said.
The man’s household contacts — his wife, child and grandparents — have all since tested negative.
Ten exposure sites — mostly truck stops — have so far been identified in South Australia.
“I’m very hopeful we won’t have any community transmission as a result of this,” Prof Spurrier said.
“I’m very pleased he doesn’t have any symptoms at the moment.”
MATERNITY WARD LOCKED DOWN
A Traralgon hospital in the state’s east has locked down its maternity and paediatric ward after women and their newborns were exposed to a positive case.
The case presented to the Thomson Women’s, Children and Birthing Unit at Latrobe Regional Hospital (LRH) on Wednesday but has since been transferred to a Melbourne hospital.
“The Gippsland Region Public Health Unit and LRH have implemented protocols to manage any risk to clinical and non-clinical staff, patients and visitors to the unit,” a statement read.
“As a result of this management process, the Thomson Unit has been locked down with birthing and paediatric support to be provided by Central Gippsland Health in Sale and West Gippsland Healthcare Group in Warragul for the interim.”
Women and newborns currently in the unit are being cared for by midwives who were not on duty at the time of exposure.
The hospital said it would “continue to support women who are in an advanced state of labour”.
PFIZER DOSE GAP SLASHED
The state government has confirmed the Pfizer interval will be reduced to three weeks — commencing October 4.
This means that anyone who has received their first dose of Pfizer will be able to bring forward their second dose — if they choose to.
Changes in the vaccine booking system will be made overnight on October 3 and on October 4 people will be able to make a second dose booking from three weeks after they had their first dose.
“What that means is over the next few weeks, we will be able to have more and more people get not just one dose, but in fact, complete the vaccination process with two doses,” Mr Andrews said.
“That will help us to bring forward or at least help us to deliver, and hopefully bring forward our 70 per cent double dose target which is still on or about the 26th of October.”
There are limited appointments available in the state system due to supply but people are encouraged to check with their GP and local pharmacy.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt welcomed the move.
“It is something that we supported, encouraged and supply is obviously available,” he said.
Asked if Pfizer had confirmed supply for the final week of October, Mr Hunt said it had “never been in doubt”.
“I’ve reaffirmed that in my dealings with the Victorian minister earlier on in the weekend,” he said.
On the 88,900 Moderna doses being delivered to Victoria, Mr Hunt said the government was always looking to re-allocate additional capacity at the “earliest possible time” to ensure doses were not wasted.
Meanwhile, anyone aged over 12 years old will be able to access a mRNA vaccine from Friday.
This includes Pfizer vaccines at GPs and Moderna vaccines at pharmacies.
“For those who haven’t yet sought a vaccine and they are over 60, the opportunity is there for mRNA vaccines,” Mr Hunt said.
“We’ve worked this through with Victoria, an agreement I have reached collaboratively with Minister Foley.
“This is a really important step forward.There should be no barrier to any older Australian stepping forward to receive a vaccination.”
However, an additional 88,900 Moderna vaccines that will be delivered to Victorian state clinics will only be available to those aged 59 and under.
“They will focus on the under 60s and the GP and pharmacy networks will be available for people of all ages,” Mr Hunt said.
The state government welcomed the move but confirmed state-run facilities would not be expanding their Pfizer and Moderna eligibility.
“We welcome the Commonwealth’s announcement today that Victorians over 60 will be able to access Pfizer or Moderna through GPs and pharmacies,” a government spokeswoman said.
“Victoria’s state run hubs continue to prioritise access to Pfizer for people under 60, including teenagers who have no alternative option for vaccination. We urge all eligible Victorians who have yet to do to get vaccinated as soon as possible.”
CASE SPIKE ‘AVOIDABLE’: ANDREWS
Premier Daniel Andrews has declared many cases in Victoria’s latest Covid-19 surge were “completely avoidable”.
After an almost 50 per cent jump in infections, where Victoria posted 1438 new cases on Thursday, the Premier said it was clear Victorians were not following the rules.
“Actual interviews tell us that many hundreds of people — perhaps thousands of people — have made some choices that meant they’re not spending time in their own home but they’re spending time in someone else’s home,” he said.
“I know its difficult, we are all longing for that personal connection and to spend time with each other and get back to normal, but pretending the rules don’t apply to you and thinking I’ll be fine and I wont catch this and wont give it to others, well the data and the facts tell a different story.”
DAN BRISTLES AT WORKSAFE QUESTIONS
Daniel Andrews has refused to answer questions about WorkSafe’s attempt to prosecute the Health Department over hotel quarantine.
The state government faces fines of up to $1.64m for each of the charges — $95m all up — for dozens of alleged breaches.
But the Premier refused to comment on the matter as it was before the Magistrates’ Court.
“WorkSafe is independent. There is a court process on foot so I am not commenting on it,” Mr Andrews said.
He was then pressed about why taxpayers should foot the bill for the legal matter.
“There is a lot of legal action that occurs involving the government ... so I‘m not commenting on it,” Mr Andrews said.
DAN WON’T RULE OUT ROADMAP CHANGES
Daniel Andrews has hinted at tweaking Victoria’s roadmap out of lockdown following a massive surge in Covid-19 cases.
The Victorian Premier maintained he had “never ruled at” revising the roadmap, and issued a stern warning if the upward trend of transmission continued.
“We are not having to revise any of our roadmap targets at this stage, I do want to do that,” he said.
“But if we continue to see this sort of behaviour, we will continue to see these numbers increase.
“These numbers are not about one day. If you get this surge every day for a week, all of a sudden you are putting avoidable pressure on all sorts of different systems … most notably, the public hospital system.
“And it is not just about ICU, every Covid-19 patient that is on a bed or in hospital or a pathway where we manage people at home, they are not easy patients to nurse.”
POTENTIAL SUPERMARKET RULE CHANGE
The Premier has hinted at new rules for supermarket workers exposed to Covid.
Mr Andrews conceded having to furlough staff was putting pressure on supermarket chains.
He said that was part of the reason supermarket staff were prioritised for jabs.
“I personally had a number of meetings with all those big supermarket players around getting staff through the first and second jab,” Mr Andrews said.
“That’s been our focus - to keep them safe and protect them.”
The Premier hinted at tweaking the rules for their isolation periods.
“It may well be that a different isolation protocol is possible,” he said.
Mr Andrews urged shoppers not to panic, despite the growing number of shops and staff exposed to the virus.
“I encourage anyone to not panic buy — There is no need to do that.”
ANOTHER DEADLY DAY IN NORTHERN SUBURBS
Five Victorians who died from coronavirus in the past 24 hours were all residents in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said a woman in her 70s and a man in his 80s – both from the local government area of Whittlesea, in the city’s north – died overnight.
A man in his 70s from Moreland, as well as a man in his 60s and another man in his 90s from Hume, also died.
SHORTER PFIZER GAP WILL KEEP ROADMAP ON TRACK
Victoria’s road map predicts that 70 per cent of people will be fully vaccinated by October 26.
Eighty per cent of eligible Victorians could also be fully jabbed by November 3 – two days earlier than planned – if the interval between doses was halved, according to Mr Macali.
As of Tuesday, 79.4 per cent of eligible Victorians have received a single dose, while 49.1 per cent are fully vaccinated.
The government is under increasing pressure to reduce the interval between doses from six weeks to three to bring an earlier end to the lockdown.
Mr Macali, who founded the Covid Live website, used modelling that combined the number of people who had booked their second Pfizer doses at state-run hubs over the past three weeks and those who had their appointments booked over the next week to reveal the early target predictions.
Health Minister Martin Foley said Victoria had to wait until Friday – when he says the federal government is expected to finalise its Pfizer supply allocation – before officially halving the interval at state-run hubs.
That’s despite the Herald Sun revealing almost 530,000 Pfizer doses would be provided to Victorian state hubs by the federal government over the last two weeks of October.
Mr Foley said he was still yet to receive official confirmation from his federal counterparts that the supply had been locked in for the final week of October.
“I’ve seen all sorts of interesting reports to the contrary,” he said.
“The direct advice from the most senior sources in the commonwealth government is that we will have that advice by the end of the week.
“If that advice comes in and we can lock in those changes, we will lock them in the minute we possibly can.
“This is very much a race, and we are more than keen to deliver those second doses in the shortest possible approved time, but we have got to do so once we know we have got the doses.
“We will reduce the six weeks down to three weeks the moment we are confident we have the supply to achieve that.”
Mr Macali said the Andrews government needed to act by the end of the week if shortening the interval period was to help Victoria reach the jab targets early.
“Changing the interval will impact everyone, which might be too late if the government makes the announcement next week,” he said.
“One quarter of people with existing Pfizer bookings would need to come in earlier, which is between 100,000 and 130,000 people per week.
“It could bring forward about 200,000 to 300,000 doses quicker than normal.”
Children’s vaccination rates also reached a milestone on Wednesday night.
“Since becoming eligible earlier this month, 40 per cent of 12 to 15-year-olds have come forward to get their first vaccination,” Premier Dan Andrews said. “That’s over 123,000 doses in just 17 days.”
Almost half – 49.1 per cent – of Victorian aged 16 and over were fully vaccinated by Tuesday, with 79.4 per cent having received a single dose.
Meanwhile, vaccine rollout chief Lieutenant General John Frewen said on Thursday morning that Pfizer had provided indicative numbers for the rest of the year, with nine million doses expected to be delivered to Australia next month — enough to fully vaccinate everyone by the end of October.
But he said that while Pfizer had fully confirmed its deliveries for the first three weeks of October, authorities were waiting to lock in the exact numbers for the final week.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has maintained this week that the six-week interval between Pfizer doses administered in state-run hubs would not be shortened until that delivery schedule was completely locked in.
PRESSURE MOUNTS ON HOSPITALS
Fears are growing our health system is facing immense pressure after a hospital in Melbourne’s north saw a record number of admissions.
Emergency services workers are being called in to help drive ambulances as demand surges, with non-urgent Covid calls adding to delays.
Northern Hospital in Epping – the epicentre of the state’s Covid outbreak – admitted 362 patients through its emergency department on Tuesday.
It comes just a day after footage of ambulances lined up outside the hospital was shared widely on social media when more than 400 patients were admitted – a record number.
“The hospital is very busy as a streaming hospital – with three Covid wards plus our ICU.
Currently, we have 65 Covid patients in the hospital,” a Northern Health spokesman said.
We need to carefully screen patients for COVID-19, which means it is taking longer for us to receive patients into the emergency department. These are unprecedented times.”
Ambulance Victoria estimates the service has carried more than 150 Covid-positive patients a day.
But a big share of these are people who do not need urgent care and more Victorians are being urged to call their doctors, nurses or drive themselves to hospitals instead.
Victorian Ambulance Union general secretary Danny Hill said paramedics were already working in an “overwhelmed system”.
“The rubber band is pulled as far back as it can possibly go and if there’s to be a Covid peak, it’s going to just double that pressure again,” he said.
“That’s why the public … buying in and following the chief health officer’s directions is so important.”
CFMEU BOSSES HIT BY COVID
Key CFMEU figures have been ordered into isolation after a Covid-19 outbreak emerged at the construction union’s Melbourne office one week after violent protests took place at the site.
CFMEU Victoria and Tasmania president Robert Graauwmans is one of four people understood to have tested positive, with other members – including secretary John Setka – forced to quarantine for two weeks.
It comes as Victoria recorded 950 new cases – its highest daily number throughout the whole pandemic.
There were also another seven deaths – all from Melbourne’s Covid-hit northern suburbs. They included two women in their 80s, a man in his 80s, a woman in her 70s and a woman in her 50s – all from Hume. Two other women – in their 80s and 90s – were from Whittlesea.
It brings the total number of active cases across the state to 9890, with 371 in hospital, including 81 in ICU and 55 on a ventilator.
Up to 19 households across Traralgon, Moe and Morwell have so far been linked to an illegal gathering that forced the entire Latrobe Valley – which has 21 active cases – into a seven-day lockdown.
Health Minister Martin Foley said he didn’t know what the event was or how many people attended but suggested it may have been an AFL grand final party.
Of Wednesday’s cases, 240 were centred around Hume and 102 in Whittlesea in the northern suburbs, while 63 were detected in Brimbank and 54 in Wyndham in the west.
In the southeast, 50 cases were in Casey, 14 in Cardinia and 16 in Greater Dandenong, while 31 were recorded in Melbourne’s CBD.
Acting chief health officer Ben Cowie refused to say whether the CFMEU outbreak was caused by an infectious person inside the building or if it was from a protester. The outside of the CFMEU office has been deemed a tier 2 exposure site for September 20 between 8am and 6.30pm. Some individuals will be deemed as tier 1 contacts.
Mr Setka blamed the mob for putting people at risk of the virus.
“This outbreak – caused by the disgusting behaviour of selfish and reckless people with no regard to the wellbeing of the thousands of construction workers or their families – will not deter our commitment to getting construction back open and all our members back to work,” he said.
“The union has worked tirelessly over the past 18 months to keep construction open and members working safely while so many other industries were shut and thousands out of work, many for well over a year.”
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