Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk softens position on hard border closure

Queensland’s border ban could end sooner than everyone thought with Annastacia Palaszczuk changing her rhetoric on vaccines.

On Sunday, the Covid numbers in NSW were grim news once again with 1485 new coronavirus cases and three deaths overnight, while Victoria recorded 185 new cases.

It was also revealed that a baby and a child aged under 10, who both have underlying conditions, are being treated for Covid in Sydney and have been placed on ventilators to breathe.

It comes as Covid cases soar in children with 2000 currently infected with the virus.

Queensland recorded just one new case as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk softened her stance on opening the state, while urging people to get vaccinated.

She had previously declared borders would remain closed until vaccines became available for children under the age of 12.

ACT recorded 15 local cases and New Zealand reported 20 new infections.

In good news for NSW, vaccination rates have now reached 40 per cent of people double jabbed.

But NSW Health has extended the deadline for authorised workers from LGA’s of concern to get vaccinated so they can work outside their area. It has now been pushed back to September 19.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has also signalled October will be the ‘home stretch’ for residents who have months in lockdown.

“October is the month where all of us will feel relief and that we are on the home stretch,” she said.

“Once we get over the peak number of cases, people will feel more positive about the next few weeks, people enjoying those things in life we have not been able to do for a long time.”

Meanwhile, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has pleaded with Victorians to go and get vaccinated now, otherwise, they may be stuck behind a queue of 12-year-olds.

It comes as new modelling found Victoria’s Covid outbreak could dwarf the state’s second wave if more people do not get vaccinated and follow restrictions.

Professor Brett Sutton said there 25,000 AstraZeneca bookings available over the next seven days.

But in what could be bad news for Christmas and family’s hoping to reunite, Employment Minister Stuart Robert has confirmed that state leaders will ultimately have the power to decide whether their states allow travellers in.

QLD Premier backs away from ‘sensational’ comments

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has started to slowly wind back her comments that she would not open her state until there are vaccines available for children under the age of 12.

On Sunday, she urged Queensland residents to get vaccinated but indicated that would occur in line with the national plan of 70 and 80 per cent double dosed.

Meanwhile, NSW has recorded 1485 new coronavirus cases and three deaths overnight. However vaccination rates have now reached 40 per cent all done in the state.

Victoria recorded 185 new cases.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. Picture: Annette Dew

PALASZCZUK WINDS BACK BORDER COMMENTS

Just days ago, the Queensland Premier was adamant that the Sunshine State would remain locked in, if not locked down, until under 12s were vaccinated.

The only problem is an approved vaccine for under 12s doesn’t exist yet.

But her rhetoric now appears to have softened somewhat.

Last week, the premier was asked by the opposition in parliament to detail her government’s plan out of lockdown.

When answering she said she wanted to see a plan for “every single Queenslander” being vaccinated before opening the state’s borders.

She added, said she wanted more research from the Doherty Institute about children being vaccinated.

“I honestly believe we need more research on what happens to the zero- to 12-year-old cohort, as they remain unvaccinated,” the Premier said.

“This is the most serious issue that our country will face.

“Unless there is an answer on how these young people are going to be vaccinated, you are putting the most vulnerable population at risk.”

The Premier suggested more than 2000 people could die each month, which was heavily criticised.

Federal Minister employment Stuart Robert said the comments were “playing politics”.

While on ABC’s Insiders this morning, journalist Lara Tingle said that while there were valid questions about how kids would fare with Covid that did not excuse Ms Palaszczuk’s comments.

“The rhetoric from Annastacia Palaszczuk this week was very disappointing, shall we say. It was very sensationalist.”

But today there was a change of tone from Ms Palaszczuk that suggested the other premiers may have won her around on Friday to the Doherty Institute modelling on opening up.

Announcing one new local case in Queensland the Premier said vaccination was the key and explicitly mentioned the national plan goals.

“This is basically our window to get this done. We have been hearing extensively about the modelling of 70 and 80 per cent.

“We need to aim for 80 per cent and above. We have this window of opportunity, Queensland, to get vaccinated. Now is a window of opportunity to get vaccinated.”

Sunday 5 September – coronavirus cases in Queensland: 

1 new locally acquired case, detected I home quarantine. The case is a close contact of the Windaroo truck driver and a parent of the 4 year old confirmed positive yesterday.

0 new overseas acquired cases.#covid19pic.twitter.com/0wPo20IGiF

— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) September 5, 2021

Vaccination deadline extended for hotspot LGAs

NSW Health has extended the deadline for authorised workers from LGA’s of concern to get vaccinated so they can work outside their area. It has now been pushed back to September 19.

This will allow people to continue to work outside of the LGA they live in, provided they have booked their vaccination by September 8.

From 9 September, authorised workers will be required to carry evidence of their booking if they wish to leave their LGA for work.

The extended deadline means authorised workers from the LGAs of concern must have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine by the end of September 19.

The requirement also applies relevant care workers aged 16 and over whose place of residence or place of work is in an LGA of concern. This includes those who work in an early education and a care facility or who provide disability support services.

New Victorian exposure sites revealed

Two primary schools, an aged care ward in a major hospital, construction sites and retailers have all been announced as Tier 1 exposure sites in Victoria.

Courtenay Park Primary School in the south east has been listed, along with Pascoe Vale Primary School, in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. Staff, students and visitors are classified as close contacts and are expected to get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days.

Royal Melbourne Hospital’s AC4 ward on the Royal Park Campus in Parkville, which cares for the elderly, has also been listed as an exposure site.

Construction sites at Greenvale Secondary School and Panorama Construction Site in Box Hill have multiple days and times listed as a Covid positive person attending.

A full list of can be found on the Victorian government website.

Most vulnerable to receive funding worth $27m

The Victorian Government has announced $27 million for food, financial relief and family violence services.

Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers Luke Donnellan said: “No Victorian should have to worry about being able to put a meal on the table – that’s why we’re boosting support for Victorians in need – who will continue to be among the hardest hit.”

A $6 million fund will be set up for Victorians facing financial stress so they can continue to access healthy food, while a further $3.7 million has been allocated to the Red Cross and local partners to support thousands of families required to isolate at home.

There’s also $2.25 million headed towards specialist family violence services to help more survivors access safe accommodation and afurther $850,000 will support case work for single mothers and deliver women’s mental health projects.

To help asylum seekers $2 million has been allocated, along with a package worth $7.2 million to provide tailored local support to culturally and linguistically diverse communites, promote vaccine uptake and deliver more emergency food relief.

Another deadly day for NSW with 1485 cases

NSW has recorded 1485 new coronavirus cases and three deaths overnight but there are hopes the state is nearing the ‘home stretch’.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian extended her sympathies to the families of those who died.

“We had over 1400 cases of COVID-19 in the community and regrettably we lost three lives. We extend our deepest condolences to their families and loved ones,” she said.

NSW recorded 1,485 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/VhSj26LGWh

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 5, 2021

NSW Health confirmed all three people had the virus.

They were a woman in her 50s, another woman in her 50s and a man in his 70s. The total death toll of the virus in NSW is now 182.

It comes after four deaths were reported on Saturday.

They were a man in his 60s from western Sydney who died at his home, a woman in her 80s from southwest Sydney who died at Fairfield Hospital, a man in his 50s from western Sydney who died at Westmead Hospital, and a man in his 70s from southwest Sydney who died at Liverpool Hospital.

October signalled as ‘home stretch’

October has been outlined as the time where restrictions will ease. Premier Gladys Berejiklian made the claims on Sunday morning.

“October is the month where all of us will feel relief and that we are on the home stretch,” she said.

“Once we get over the peak number of cases, people will feel more positive about the next few weeks, people enjoying those things in life we have not been able to do for a long time.

“It has been a difficult time but also one in which we have done as well as we can to protect life, to ensure wellbeing and also to minimise what we‘re doing for the community.”

No curfew end in sight for NSW

The premier has slapped down suggestions by NSW Labor for a relaxing of lockdown restrictions.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian asked to see the health advice that informed Labor’s idea about the matter.

“The next few weeks are likely to be the most difficult and wherever we can ease the burdens of our citizens, of course, we will, and that has always been our case. The point we put forward has always been that we only ever put in restrictions when we absolutely have to do and we appreciate the enormous stress it causes families.,” she said.

“All the modelling indicates to us that the peak is likely to be here in the next week or two and the peak in hospitalisation and intensive care is likely to be with us in October.”

Premier Gladys Berejiklian gave an update on the Covid situation this morning. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Dylan Coker

High cases for Victoria with concerning forecast

Victoria has recorded 183 locally transmitted cases of Covid during its latest reporting period.

It comes after a concerning report emerged detailing how bad the outbreak could get – with hundreds of daily cases forecast unless Covid regulations are followed.

There are now 1417 active cases of Covid in Victoria. These figures follow 190 recorded on Saturday. Of these cases, 103 are linked to current outbreaks but 87 were listed as mystery cases.

Andrews urges vaccinations to end lockdowns

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has pleaded with Victorians to go and get vaccinated now, otherwise, they may be stuck behind a queue of 12-year-olds.

The premier made the comments while announcing there would be thousands of vaccination appointments available in his state this week.

“We will get to a point where everybody who can get vaccinated will have been offered the chance to do so, and we are not going to have a situation, well, at least not in Victoria, where we lock the whole place down to protect people who won‘t protect themselves,” he said.

“ I want to run that (vaccine supplies) down to zero so there are no more AstraZeneca appointments and we can keep ordering. (If you are) eligible for AstraZeneca and if you want Pfizer, you will be in the queue behind everyone else.

“That is to say you will be in the queue behind 12-year-olds because they can only get Pfizer. That‘s the position of the Australian Government and I support them in that.”

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – NewsWire Photos SEPTEMBER 03, 2021: The Premier, Daniel Andrews, arrives to peak to the media during a press conference in Melbourne, Victoria. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Daniel Pockett

Victoria could reach hundreds of cases each day

Victoria’s growing Covid outbreak could dwarf the state’s second wave if more people do not get vaccinated and follow restrictions, according to the latest modelling.

Epidemiologist Professor Adrian Esterman told Nine Newspapers his modelling showed, in a week, daily cases could climb to 450.

“The trouble at the moment is that the epidemic curve for Victoria is now much deeper than NSW was at this point in the outbreak,” he said.

“Cases are going to go very fast, unless something else happens, unfortunately.”

However, he added the modelling was wide for Victoria, ranging from 600 to 3000 cases in the September 23 scenario, and assuming there were no major changes to restrictions or vaccination rates.

States to decide borders’ fate

Employment Minister Stuart Robert has confirmed that state leaders will ultimately have the power to decide whether their states allow travellers in.

Queensland and Western Australia have repeatedly opened and closed their borders throughout the pandemic – and there is concern this could continue once higher vaccination rates are achieved.

Mr Robert told The ABC that the opening and closing of the borders demanded by the federal government.

“They are decisions for premiers, but the national plan is there to provide guidance, and if you are only locking down … Queenslanders have the right to ask the question: Why should borders be closed?” he said.

Father’s Day in 2021. Families split by the border meet at plastic barriers to celebrate. Hundreds of people lined up along the road, some have tables and chairs @[e-mail]/THtAtBy6EL

— Johnpaul Gonzo (@JohnpaulGonzo) September 4, 2021

Kids with Covid in ICU

A baby and a child aged under 10 who are both being treated for Covid have been placed on ventilators to breathe in a Sydney intensive care unit as the number of Covid infected children climbs to 2000.

The infant is believed to be one of the youngest children with Covid ever treated in an ICU in Australia.

The child is among a growing number of 173 patients now in intensive care in NSW. There are 863 Covid patients in NSW hospitals.

News.com.au has confirmed that for the first time three children are among those being cared for in NSW ICUs.

Two children under the age of 10 are understood to be on ventilators including the infant.

Exclusive: A baby and a child aged under 10 - who are both being treated for Covid - have been placed on ventilators in a NSW hospital in recent days. 3 kids overall intensive care. All have underlying conditions. ⁦@newscomauHQ⁩ https://t.co/jd5zLEXFeM

— Samantha Maiden (@samanthamaiden) September 4, 2021

Life without lockdowns

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her Victorian counterpart Daniel Andrews are beginning to lay out what life after lockdown will look like for their respective states, once the national targets of 70 per cent fully vaccinated are reached.

For weeks, Ms Berejiklian has fronted her daily updates and urged residents to look toward the future, when “we have the settings in place to live with Covid indefinitely until the virus leaves the planet” and the majority of the population is protected against the virus – and it’s a message Mr Andrews has taken up in recent days as well.

From when restrictions will end to what freedoms the fully-vaccinated will enjoy in the near future, here’s everything you need to know about Victoria and NSW’s lockdown exit plans.

Clock ticking on Queensland lockdown

Queensland’s lockdown is on a knife edge with the state’s chief health officer desperate to trace close contacts during a “really high risk” period.

Dr Jeanette Young said a future lockdown couldn’t be ruled out as contact tracers scrambled to find customers who attended a nail salon where a truck driver with the highly infectious delta strain spent 45 minutes.

“The next 24 to 48 hours is critical here,” she said on Saturday. “We need to test as many people as we can and we need to ensure that we quarantine those people.

“When we don’t have check-in data and we are waiting for people to come forward and tell us they’ve been to a place, that’s where we lose time.

“I cannot reinforce enough the importance everyone checking in. You’re putting yourself at risk by not doing so.”

There are currently 16 active cases in Queensland.