Coronavirus Australia live: 'Get tested': Alerts for Myer, Target, Big W

Sydney shoppers were unknowingly exposed over two days during peak lunch periods and at the height of the post-Christmas sales period. 

Shoppers who went to a major Sydney shopping centre over two days must now get tested and self-isolate.

New venue alerts released by NSW Health reveal shoppers were unknowingly exposed to coronavirus in south-west Sydney during peak lunch periods and at the height of the post-Christmas sales period. 

Customers who went to Bankstown Shopping Centre and to these stores on January 6 and 8 must now "get tested immediately" and self-isolate until they produce a negative result:

Wednesday January 6, 11.30pm to 2pm: Target, Myer, Smiggle, Big W, Best and Less, and Oporto in the food court.

Friday January 8, 1pm to 2.30pm: Big W, Smiggle, and Oporto in the food court.

Anyone else who attended Bankstown Shopping Centre on the same days and times but did not go into the stores listed above should monitor for symptoms and, if they occur, get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is received.

It comes as NSW recorded three new cases of community transmission overnight, with chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant saying the next two weeks would be "crucial" in identifying any underlying chains of transmission.

Read on for all the latest updates.

Updates

8:56 pm January 10, 2021 Highlight

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip get COVID-19 vaccine

The Queen and Prince Philip were given their first coronavirus jabs at breakfast on Friday.
They had their initial dose of the vaccine, made by Oxford-AstraZeneca, from a doctor at Windsor Castle.
Insiders said the Queen, 94, and Philip, 99, had been happy to wait their turn.
They then accepted an offer to receive it at the end of the week as they both met government age guidelines.
A doctor from the Royal Household visited to administer the jab midmorning after the couple sat down for breakfast.

READ MORE HERE.

8:52 pm January 10, 2021 Highlight

German records 40,000 death toll

By AFP

In overseas news the total number of deaths in Germany caused by the coronavirus crossed the 40,000 mark on Sunday.
Germany recorded 465 deaths over the past 24 hours, the Robert Koch Institute said, raising the toll since the start of the pandemic to 40,343.
More than 1.9 million people have been infected so far, with almost 17,000 new cases added since Saturday.
In her weekly video message on Saturday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the full impact of socialising over the Christmas and New Year’s period was yet to show up in the statistics.

She warned Germans that the coming weeks will be “the hardest phase of the pandemic” so far, with many doctors and medical staff working at their limits.
Germany fared better than many other European countries during the first Covid-19 wave in the spring but it has been hit hard by the second wave.
The nation of some 83 million people, the bloc’s most populous, has imposed another round of restrictions to limit social contacts and help hospitals cope with a surge in patients.
Germany has closed schools and non-essential shops, culture and leisure facilities until at least January 31 in the hopes of slowing the outbreak.
Like other EU nations, it started vaccinating citizens against Covid-19 in late December using the Pfizer/BioNTech jab.
More than half a million have received the jab so far.

8:44 pm January 10, 2021 Highlight

Gladys Berejiklian’s subtle swipe over state border

By Heath Parkes-Hupton and Darren Cartwright, NCA Newswire

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian took a subtle swipe at her interstate counterparts.

During Sunday's press conference Ms Berejiklian told reporters she would appreciate if other leaders extended the “courtesy” of consulting her before slamming their borders shut.

Ms Berejiklian said she understood the balancing act involved in making such decisions, but was frustrated at a lack of consultation and co-operation.

“I think NSW has made its position regarding borders very clear and I would simply say to other state leaders – firstly, please talk to us in NSW before you close the border because we can explain to you the situation that’s going on,” she said.

“Closing a border can affect literally, tens and hundreds of thousands of people, depending on where it is, and that’s a big call.
“And in NSW, our strategy is to try to minimise unnecessary stress on our citizens whilst obviously keeping the virus at bay.
“It‘s a difficult balance. But I just ask other state leaders to, please, talk to us before they close their border to New South Wales and give us a chance to demonstrate our capacity to get on top of the virus without adversely impacting our citizens.”

READ MORE HERE

7:00 pm January 10, 2021 Highlight

New alerts for Sydney shopping centre

Shoppers who went to a major Sydney shopping centre over two days must now get tested and self-isolate.

NSW Health has ordered customers who went to Bankstown Shopping Centre and into these stores on January 6 and 8 must now get tested and self-isolate until they produce a negative result:

Wednesday January 6, 11.30pm to 2pm: Target, Myer, Smiggle, Big W, Best and Less, and Oporto in the food court.

Friday January 8, 1pm to 2.30pm: Big W, Smiggle, and Oporto in the food court.
Anyone else who attended Bankstown Shopping Centre on the same days and times but did not go into the stores listed above should monitor for symptoms and, if they occur, get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is received.
Anyone who attended the following venues at the time listed below are also a casual contact who must get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is received:

BANKSTOWN: Service NSW, 350/351 North Terrace, Friday January 8 11.45am to 1pm.

MARRICKVILLE: Thai Hung Supermarket, 307 – 309 Illawarra Road, Marrickville, Thursday December 31 from 3.45pm to 4.45pm.

6:35 pm January 10, 2021 Highlight

Police probe mutant strain leak

Queensland Police have joined an investigation into how a hotel quarantine cleaner came to be infected with the UK's new strain of the disease.

The cleaner's infection with the strain, said to be 70 per cent more infectious, saw Brisbane plunged into a snap lockdown on Friday night.

As well as helping health authorities with contact tracing police are also reviewing CCTV footage as well as what PPE and cleaning policies were in place, the Courier Mail reports.

While the state is yet to record any further cases of the UK strain Queensland's Chief Medical Officer Dr Jeannette Young has pleaded with people who took two train services on January 2 to come forward.

Dr Young said that anyone who caught the Altandi to Roma St Station train at 7am and Central to Altandi train at 4pm on that day needed to go get tested.

“It is still absolutely critical, please immediately come forward and get tested,” Dr Young said.
“We need to test you.”

3:50 pm January 10, 2021 Highlight

SA reports zero new cases

Sharing today's daily figures, South Australia has recorded no new cases of COVID-19 out of 4983 tests.

Currently the state has 15 active cases with no patients requiring hospital care.

South Australian COVID-19 update 10/1/21. For more information, go to https://t.co/mYnZsGpayo or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/wSrEI1SK5a

— SA Health (@SAHealth) January 10, 2021

2:08 pm January 10, 2021 Highlight

COVID measures to stay even after vaccine

Australia's top medical expert has said many COVID safety measures will likely remain in place even after the coronavirus vaccine has been administered to the public.

Chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said containment measures will continue for "some time" after the vaccine is distributed to provide the most protection for the community.

Picture: Martin Ollman/NCA NewsWire

"There will be a time sometime this year where we will have reached a certain amount of vaccination in the community where we might be able to adjust some of those settings, but at least for the next few months, all of those things we've been saying about good hand hygiene, wash your hands, make sure you cough or sneeze safely, if you are sick stay at home, if you are sick get a test, the 1.5m distancing. All of those restrictions, unfortunately, in the way we go about our daily lives, will have to continue for some time," he said.

"The border measures, will have to continue for some time. But as we get more vaccinations into the community, that will improve."

Professor Kelly said priority groups such as those working in settings that put them at a higher risk of exposure will be the first to get the vaccine.

"And then the other group, the other important priority group, are those that are more likely to get severe infections, so that is the older people in our community and particularly those in residential aged care," he said.

1:32 pm January 10, 2021 Highlight

Premier tight-lipped about lockdown end

Despite Queensland once again recording no new COVID-19 cases, the premier has refused to confirm whether the lockdown will end tomorrow as planned.

Greater Brisbane, including Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands, were placed into a snap three-day lockdown after a cleaner at a quarantine hotel contracted a mutant strain of coronavirus.

The lockdown is set to end at 6pm on Monday but Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has refused to rule out that the restrictions could be extended.

She told reporters she was "very anxious" to hear today's case numbers and "very relieved" at the positive result.

But, despite the promising numbers, she said residents would have to wait until tomorrow to know whether the lockdown will end.

“We will be updating you again tomorrow at 9am,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

Similarly, chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said authorities would have to wait for tomorrow's results before a decision could be made regarding restrictions.

"Can I see tomorrow's case numbers before I respond please?" she said.

"It is really a short period that we have locked down. Let's see what tomorrow tells us."

1:18 pm January 10, 2021 Highlight

Flight crew member tests positive

An international flight crew member has tested positive to coronavirus as Victoria recorded six new cases on Sunday, albeit all in hotel quarantine.

Victoria’s COVID-19 testing commander Jeroen Weimar said it was only two days ago that crew members had to be pulled from a flight that was about to be boarded because of returned positive tests.

He said the flight was cancelled and it was fortunate no passengers had been exposed to the crew member.

“I think a couple of days ago it was pretty last minute. The passengers hadn‘t boarded a jet but the crew were on the plane flicking switches and doing what they do, when we put the halt on,” he said.

“We escorted the crew member off the flight, put his colleagues into isolation and ensured that he was safely back at the crew hotel.”

– Darren Cartwright/NCA NewsWire

READ MORE

12:38 pm January 10, 2021 Highlight

Victorians praised for 'stepping up'

Victorians have been praised for "stepping up" to get the state's recent cases under control after they seeded from the NSW outbreak.

"The New South Wales outbreak began on 16 December and now totals 180 cases. All Victorians have stepped up over the period of time since then and as we have seen today, just a handful of further cases, community cases, in Sydney which is an important achievement but we will continue to monitor the New South Wales and Sydney situation very closely," Health Minister Martin Foley said.

"Whether it is coming home quickly, whether it is putting in place the hard border that we did upon public health advice or whether it has been the measures of continuing to wear masks, extending the circumstances where mask wearing is required, reducing the number of people for private gatherings, maintaining social distance, maintaining good health etiquette, all of these measures have been a substantial contribution to Victoria's response to the BlackRock cluster which, as we know, was seeded from New South Wales."