NewsBite

Updated

Coronavirus NSW, Vic: Lyle Shelton's Queensland border brag tips off police

Anti-same sex marriage campaigner Lyle Shelton looks to be in hot water after bragging about a "sneaky" Queensland border crossing on social media.

Staff writers
less than 2 min read
January 3, 2021 - 1:47AM
NSW Chief Health Officer gives update on the BWS Berala outbreak

Anti-same sex marriage campaigner Lyle Shelton appears to be in hot water after bragging about a "sneaky" Queensland border crossing on social media.

Mr Shelton, who works for Queensland MP Mark Robinson, posted several beach shots on Twitter on Saturday, with the comment "Sneaky run across the border and back. Avoided the CCP virus police".

However, his tweet now appears to have drawn the attention of Queensland Police, who tweeted tonight: "We are aware of this tweet and making further enquiries".

Queensland has closed its border to NSW as its southern neighbour grapples with a coronavirus outbreak. 

On Sunday, new restrictions came into effect in Greater Sydney for compulsory masks indoors and on public transport.  Police will enforce the new rule from Monday with fines of $200. 

NSW reported eight new coronavirus cases on Sunday while Victoria reported three new cases. 

The list of high-risk venues continues to grow for NSW, with health authorities issuing a critical warning for the suburb of Berala in Sydney's west. There are now 13 cases linked to the Berala cluster and 148 linked to the Avalon cluster.

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant admitted on Sunday the two clusters still hadn't been linked.

"We are still concerned about a case that occurred yesterday where we still haven't managed to find links in terms of the Avalon cluster…despite intensive investigations," Dr Chant said.

"We know genomically the Wollongong, Croydon and the Avalon clusters are linked genomically, we still haven't found that missing link there. So our investigations continue."

Follow our coronavirus blog for live updates.

Updates

We have a new blog

Good morning, we are bringing this blog to close because we have a new one where you can follow the day's developments.

You can find it here.

Victoria releases list of exposure sites

Victoria has released an extensive list of places where people with the coronavirus have visited.

Anyone who has also visited these places at certain times and places is being urged to get take action, with some asked to get tested immediately and to quarantine for 14 days, while others should monitor for symptoms.

The venues include Bunnings, Kmart, Woolworths, Ikea, Coles, Aldi and Costco.

Click here for the full list.

Graph shows NSW outbreak is worst yet

A graph has emerged showing just how much worse the current NSW coronavirus outbreak is compared to the previous Crossroads cluster.

Covid19data.com.au has tracked the daily cases since the first cases of the December outbreak (centred around the Avalon and BWS clusters) and the July outbreak (centred around the Crossroads Hotel).

When placed side by side, it's obvious the current daily cases during the current outbreak are higher and rising more quickly than in the previous outbreak.

There are already 188 cases as of Day 18 of the December outbreak, compared to 155 at the same point during the July outbreak.

Lyle Shelton in hot water after border brag

Anti-same sex marriage campaigner Lyle Shelton may be in hot water after bragging about a "sneaky" border crossing on social media.

Mr Shelton, who works for Queensland MP Mark Robinson, posted several beach shots on Twitter on Saturday, with the comment "Sneaky run across the border and back. Avoided the CCP virus police".

However, his tweet now appears to have drawn the attention of Queensland Police, who tweeted tonight: "We are aware of this tweet and making further enquiries".

Queensland closed its border to NSW last week and footage has since emerged of motorists trying to use side streets to get around the closure.

Sydney anti-mask protesters slammed

A group of anti-mask protesters who marched through a popular shopping centre in Bondi Junction on Sunday have been slammed on social media.

Footage of the protest showed people holding signs that read “masks increase your risk of infection!” while marching through the Westfield shopping centre singing to the beat of man playing a large drum.
The display did not impress some locals including public relations director and socialite Roxy Jacenko who posted footage of the protesters on her Instagram Stories, writing that it was “disgraceful”.
“Sorry. But people have died,” she wrote. “Put a f**king mask on. This does not sit well with me.”

NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge also posted footage of the protesters, noting that checking out the “right wing religious fringe” who oppose mask wearing was a great way to convince people to wear masks.

Click here to read the full story.

NSW adds supermarket to alert list

NSW Health has added a supermarket in Berala to its alert list of venues and has also added a new date for the BWS store in the same shopping centre.

It has also added a number of transport routes, including buses, trains and light rail, on which confirmed COVID-19 cases have travelled.
Anyone who attended BWS and/or Woolworths in the Berala shopping centre on ​Sunday, December 20, between 12:30pm – 2pm is advised to get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is received.

Anyone who went to the ​Coffee Club in Stockland Shellharbour for more than an hour on Sunday, December 27, between 11:30am – 12:45pm is considered a close contact and should get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.

Anyone who attended Trovatino Cafe in Wareemba on Thursday, December 24, 3:10pm – 4:10pm, should get tested immediately and self-isolate until they receive a negative result. They should continue to monitor for symptoms and, if any symptoms occur, get tested again.

Anyone who attended the following venues should monitor for symptoms and if symptoms occur, get tested and self-isolate until you receive a negative result:

– Australian Motor Traders in Haberfield: ​Tuesday, December 29, 4:30pm – 5pm

– The Swallowed Anchor, Wollongong: Sunday, December 27, 11:30am – 12:45pm

Bus routes impacted include 724 on December 30, 400 on December 30 and January 1 and 420 on January 1.

Train routes include ​T1 Western Line on December 30, T9 Northern Line on December 30 and T8 Airport and South Line on December 30 and January 1.
There is also an alert for the rail line from ​Mascot to Macquarie Fields on January 1.

Full details of times are available on the NSW Health website.

Zero new cases for Queensland

Despite the massive testing lines, Queensland has continued with its streak of zero coronavirus cases.

South Australians urged to reconsider travel to Victoria

South Australia again recorded zero new cases of coronavirus today – and is doing everything it can to keep that elusive figure.

Chief health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier today asked all South Australians to reconsider their need to travel to Victoria, in light of the state's growing virus cluster.

"Every South Australian, and particularly people who have travelled back from Victoria or Victorians that are in our state, need to be keeping track of the Victorian website where all of the new exposure sites are being listed in real-time," she said.

"I'm very hopeful that these situations in Victoria will come to an end and obviously we will be looking at the border, but that's not necessarily at the moment. But I do think South Australians should reconsider any travel arrangements that they have to Victoria and just have some flexibility about those arrangements over the next coming days."

Thousands of Sydneysiders asked to isolate

NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant has admitted tens of thousands of Sydneysiders – all secondary contacts of the BWS Berala outbreak – have been asked to isolate.

There are now 13 cases linked to the Berala cluster with thousands of BWS customers urged to get tested and isolate until they receive a negative test result.

"What we're asking them to do is if you're in this situation, for the secondary close contacts, to isolate until the (primary) person has got a negative test.

"So you should be immediately self-separating, but the priority at the moment is really getting the tests on people who are directly exposed and obviously anyone else with symptoms. That will help us track down and suppress this transmission."

BWS Berala served more than a thousand customers on Christmas Eve, with potential exposure spreading from December 22 to December 31.

Dr Chant said health authorities were "asking people to act prudently" and thanked the NSW community for isolating.

Berala cluster linked to patient transport workers

The genomic sequencing has been completed on the Berala cluster, linking it to patient transport workers, not the Avalon cluster.

"To recap – we have been dealing with two different strains that have been causing clusters," chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said.

"We had a family group who had returned from overseas and were transported to a health facility. Unfortunately one of the patient transport workers acquired infection, passed it on to a colleague, that colleague had been at the Berala BWS for a very fleeting amount of time, but what we now know is that transmission occurred."

Dr Chant said the Berala cluster had occurred from "very minimal exposure" and encouraged BWS customers to get tested.

"We are asking members of the community who did purchase alcohol or enter that premises for that period to be very vigilant and take the public health action of isolating for 14 days if you were there at those times," she said.

"This assists us greatly because it means that we have a clear line of the transmission and it really does mean that we have less missing links.

"We are still concerned about a case that occurred yesterday where we still haven't managed to find links in terms of the Avalon cluster…despite intensive investigations.

"We know genomically the Wollongong, Croydon and the Avalon clusters are linked genomically, we still haven't found that missing link there. So our investigations continue."

Read related topics:BrisbaneMelbourneSydney
More related stories

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/coronavirus-nsw-vic-numbers-restrictions-venue-alerts-cluster-developments-as-border-shuts/live-coverage/15f4f1b52857cc08f0993990cd4a735d