Rolling coverage: Queensland, South Australia reopen borders to Victoria
Coronavirus fragments have been detected in wastewater at Colac. Meanwhile, families share hugs and tears as they reunite for the first time in months.
Coronavirus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
There were smiles and tears as families were reunited at Melbourne Airport on Tuesday.
Brothers Levi, 9, and Dion, 4, were told they were picking up their Christmas elf Pretzel when they left their Burnside Heights home in the morning.
Instead they were taken to the airport by mum Carla Zammit where they were surprised by their grandparents Paul and Bruna Battistella after eleven months apart.
Mr Battisetlla spent the flight from Adelaide counting down the minutes until he could scoop his grandsons up in his arms again.
“It feels fantastic. The last time we saw them was Christmas last year. We were nervous when cases started in Adelaide but there is a God up there and now we are here,” he said.
Ms Zammit teared up when she saw her parents, and Dion ran through the COVID-19 screening queue to steal a quick cuddle with his grandparents.
“It’s so amazing to have them here. We were so scared it wasn’t going to happen,” Ms Zammit said.
“They normally come for the kids’ birthdays so it’s been really hard.
“I don’t think the kids will leave their side the next few days. It’ll be hard getting them to school and kindy.”
Jo Proctor was also over the moon to be reunited with her 19-year-old daughter Izzy, who lives in Adelaide.
“I haven’t seen her for eight months,” Ms Proctor said.
“We had booked her to come back in July to have Christmas in July but the borders stayed closed – it was a big disappointment.
“We have been waiting and waiting and didn’t think this day would come.”
Izzy Proctor gave her mum a big bear hug before venturing off to meet with her sister, Lucy, 22, who went to collect her luggage.
“It’s really nice to see family again,” she said.
Queensland and South Australia’s borders finally opened as Victoria recorded its 32nd consecutive day without a new case.
Queensland’s 250-day lockdown ended at 1am overnight, reuniting millions of Aussies with loved ones in the Sunshine State.
Around 6000 interstate travellers are expected to enter Queensland on Tuesday, with airports bustling for the first time in months as Sydneysiders and Victorians prepare to board flights.
The SA border also reopened at midnight, lifting for the first time since July 8.
As for South Australians travelling to Victoria, they will still require a permit to enter the state unless an exemption applies.
Permits can be obtained for any reason – unless someone has travelled to a site of exposure in South Australia.
WEAK POSITIVE RESULT RECORDED IN VIC
A Victorian woman in her 20s is isolating after an initial test for coronavirus returned a weak positive on Monday.
The woman’s second test was negative, but DHHS said she was isolating as an abundance of caution pending a further test and assessment by the expert review panel on Tuesday.
It comes as Colac residents are being urged to get tested after viral fragments of the virus were detected in a wastewater sample taken a week ago.
People can shed COVID-19 fragments for several weeks after their infectious period ends.
For more information on coronavirus testing sites, visit the DHHS’website.
WA BORDER WILL REOPEN TO VICTORIANS
WA’s border will reopen to travellers from Victoria and NSW next week without requiring them to quarantine, but anyone coming from South Australia will still need an exemption.
Premier Mark McGowan said Victoria had reached the 28-day milestone of no community spread of COVID-19 and NSW was expected to hit the same mark later this week.
“It has been a remarkable effort from Victoria in particular,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“It’s an outstanding achievement, unrivalled around the world.”
Pending no further outbreaks, WA will reopen to Victoria and NSW on December 8.
All airport arrivals must undergo a health screening and temperature test, and be prepared to take a COVID-19 test if necessary.
However, a surging demand for limited seats has sent prices skyrocketing for those heading west.
A one-way fare on a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Perth next Wednesday, December 9 was advertised for $1656 and would take 12 hours via Canberra.
The following Wednesday, December 16 the cheapest available ticket was a Virgin Australia direct flight from Melbourne to Perth for $375.
Travellers must also complete a G2G Pass declaring they have no coronavirus symptoms and outlining which jurisdictions they have had contact with in the past two weeks.
“Fourteen days of self-quarantine will no longer be required,” the Premier said.
But Mr McGowan warned the hard border would return if it was needed.
WA recorded three new cases of coronavirus overnight but they are all in hotel quarantine.
It brings the state’s total number of infections to 821.
WA has gone 233 days without community transmission.
Qantas and Jetstar on Tuesday announced more flights would be added between Melbourne and Perth, starting December 8.
By December 14, Qantas said it would operate five flights per day from Melbourne-Perth.
That was up from about five flights per week at the moment.
Virgin Australia said it would progressively increase services between Perth-Sydney and Perth-Melbourne from December 8.
By January, the airline will operate 16 services per week between Perth-Melbourne and 14 between Perth-Sydney
A Virgin spokesman said its flights to and from Perth had been in high demand.
“We are working to add additional services over the coming weeks and look forward to reuniting travellers with loved ones, friends and family soon,” the spokesman said.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said New South Wales and Victoria had done a great job getting the virus under control.
“It makes complete sense for Western Australia to open the borders to Sydney and Melbourne,” he said.
“This is news that many families and tourism operators have been waiting so long to hear, but they don’t want borders shutting again when there is a temporary spike in one state or another.”
Mr Joyce called for more certainty about state borders staying open.
Moderna vies for COVID-19 vaccine by Christmas
Hopes for a first wave of vaccinations before the end of 2020 received a boost with US firm Moderna saying it was filing Monday local time for emergency authorisation of its COVID-19 vaccine in the United States and Europe.
After top US scientists warned Americans to brace for a “surge superimposed on the surge,” Moderna reported full results had confirmed a high efficacy estimated at 94.1 percent.
It was set to join American pharmaceutical maker Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech, which applied for similar approvals last week, and have predicted their vaccine could be greenlit in the US shortly after December 10.
If the US Food and Drug Administration agrees Moderna’s product is safe and effective, the first of the drug’s two doses could be injected into the arms of millions of Americans by the middle of December.
“We believe that our vaccine will provide a new and powerful tool that may change the course of this pandemic,” said Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel.
Health Secretary Alex Azar told CBS News: “We could be seeing both of these vaccines out and getting into people’s arms before Christmas.”
Co-developed with the US National Institutes of Health, the jabs were generally well tolerated, with the most common side effects including injection site pain, fatigue, muscle pain, joint pain and headache.
Moderna expects to have approximately 20 million doses of the vaccine, called mRNA-1273, available in the US by the end of the year, and between 500 million to a billion doses globally in 2021.
VICTORIA GOT ON THE BEERS IN ISOLATION
Thirsty Victorians still managed to “get on the beers” during the gruelling coronavirus lockdowns.
Monash University researchers found take-home beer sales were rock solid during first and second waves, even though having visitors was banned.
Brian Vandenberg, who analysed nationwide data from the Australian Taxation Office as part of the study, said off-premise beer sales were in-line with previous years.
“Despite not being able to go to the pub, people have kept drinking the same level of beer at home,’’ Dr Vandenberg said.
“But they haven’t replaced the amount they drank at the pub with their home drinking.
“They kept drinking on average the same amount at home as before.”
Beer sales at licensed premises flatlined nationwide during the first wave of restrictions, with taps only flowing at pubs filling beer growlers.
The study was published in the International Journal Addiction. Beer accounts for almost two-fifths of all alcohol sales in Australia.
Join the conversation
Health boss who played key role in Victoria’s Covid response stands down
The Department of Health secretary who became a public figure making tough and controversial decisions during the pandemic will depart amid a leadership reshuffle.
Read more
Sutton dragged into legal fight on cancelled Robbie Williams gig
A war of words has broken out about former Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton’s involvement in the decision to pull the pin on Robbie Williams’ Grand Prix concert.
Read more