Breaking news: Gladys Berejiklian fires up at rule-breakers as anti-mask store starts GoFundMe

A popular organic store, which has repeatedly had run-ins with police, has raised thousands to help other anti-mask businesses fight.

A GoFundMe to help "those in need of legal support or financial compensation caused by the illegal policies that the government and the police are enforcing" has raised thousands after it was started by an anti-mask shop.

The Organic Store in Bowral, in the Southern Highlands region of NSW, has been repeatedly fined and visited by police due to it failing to comply with coronavirus restrictions.

Its owners have also been arrested and ordered to attend court later this year.

"On behalf of The Organic Store Bowral, we would like to raise funds for all NSW small businesses affected by 2021 Covid policies," the GoFundMe reads.

"The NSW Government & Police are targeting small businesses and individuals to stifle the voices of those willing to stand up for our freedom.

"Numerous small businesses across the state are being forced to close, owners and staff members are being arrested, without adherence to the law and customers are being harassed, all in the name of 'public health'."

This is where Australia's Covid-19 outbreak stands: NSW has 312 cases, Queensland has 32 cases, the Northern Territory has 10 cases, Western Australia has six cases and South Australia has six cases.

These are Monday's top Covid-19 updates:

• NSW records 35 new Covid-19 cases
• Queensland records four new Covid-19 cases
• Deputy PM Barnaby Joyce reveals real problem with Pfizer

Follow below for more virus news. You can find yesterday's blog here.

Updates

6:10 pm July 27, 2021

NSW's health minister has attacked the nation's vaccine rollout, likening it to The Hunger Games.

Brad Hazzard today said supplies of coronavirus vaccines, specifically the Pfizer and Moderna jabs that can only be produced overseas, continued to be low.

The Hunger Games is a popular series of novels, adapted into movies, that involves children from each "district" being forced to fight to the death on a televised show.
"I fear … it is almost a sense now of The Hunger Games, of people chasing vaccine," he said.
“Until we get enough vaccine (doses) and enough GPs actually at the frontline able to provide that vaccine into arms, we will continue to have effectively the Hunger Games going on here in NSW.”

Mr Hazzard was quick to say his Hunger Games reference wasn't directed at the federal government.

“It is easy to be critical in hindsight but the federal government did their best to try and get the vaccine when we didn’t know what vaccines would become available,” he said.

Federal Labor Leader Anthony Albanese agreed with Mr Hazzard's criticism.

"They are responsible for the supply of vaccines, they are responsible for rollout in aged care, responsible for the Covid-19 safe app," he told reporters in Toowoomba.

"Everything they have had responsibility for has been botched."

6:14 pm July 5, 2021 Highlight

Partying NRL players slapped with massive punishment

– Jasper Bruce

The NRL has handed down $305,000 in fines after 13 Dragons players held a party in breach of the league’s Level 4 Biosecurity Protcols on July 3.

NSW Police were alerted to the party at prop Paul Vaughan’s house after a noise complaint.

It subsequently emerged that the party had been attended by Vaughan’s teammates Blake Lawry, Corey Norman, Daniel Alvaro, Jack Bird, Josh Kerr, Josh McGuire, Kaide Ellis, Matthey Dufty, Tyrell Fuimaono, Zac Lomax, Jack de Belin and Gerard Beale.

Between them, the 13 have been issued fines totalling over $300,000, with the NRL taking past indiscretions and the players’ salaries into account.

In a statement released Monday evening, NRL CEO Andrew Abdo alleged the players jeopardised the NRL season by deliberately disregarding the league’s Covid-19 protocols.

“In our view the actions of the players were deliberate and some of the players withheld key information from the Integrity Unit,’’ he said.

“On the information we have, the players understood the protocols and deliberately chose to ignore them, they chose to risk the continuity of our competition. The sanctions handed down today puts every player in the game on notice, particularly repeat offenders – this sort of conduct will not be tolerated.

“There are many people working incredibly hard to keep the competition going – it’s a privilege to play football, not a right. We’ve made promises to the community and to state governments and we will do everything we can to honour those promises. I want to stress that there are almost 900 players and officials following strict biosecurity measures and the overwhelming number are doing the right thing, as they did last year.

“We will continue to work with all clubs and state governments to ensure compliance, the health and safety of the community, our players and officials the continuity of the competition.”

1:08 pm July 5, 2021 Highlight

South Australia's restrictions to ease immediately

South Australian officials have announced that the state's Covid-19 restrictions will ease immediately.

Premier Steven Marshall said rules would ease back to the levels imposed before the state's latest Covid-19 scare.

Lifting density limits on licensed venues and allowing standing in licensed venues and relaxing caps on indoor gatherings.

Border restrictions for Victorian travellers will also ease.

12:58 pm July 5, 2021 Highlight

People who will ‘keep NSW in lockdown

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says “entitled” people breaking the rules and throwing parties may “keep us in lockdown”.

Speaking at Monday’s Covid-19 update, NSW leaders repeatedly refused to reassure millions of residents of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong the two-week lockdown would end on Friday as scheduled.

At least three of the 35 new cases were linked to a rule-breaking party, officials said.

Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

“When you hear of parties going on in the middle of a lockdown you have got to say, what is the thinking of some of these people?” Mr Hazzard said.

“I would say that those people who are thinking that the rules are somehow not for them, that they are more entitled than the rest of us not to listen, you actually have to listen because you may be the people who spread this and keep us in lockdown for a lot longer than the rest of the community would like.”

12:04 pm July 5, 2021 Highlight

Why new aged care case wasn't vaccinated

SummitCare Baulkham Hills COO Michelle Sloane has revealed why one of todays new aged care resident cases weren't vaccinated.

Ms Sloane said the resident hadn't refused the vaccine but had come to the facility after the federal vaccine program had ended.

"It was the fact that she was admitted into our home once the vaccine program had been completed," she said.

"We had been arranging for any remaining residents to receive vaccination and that has come about in-between times.

"Now the public health are looking after those residents and they will be vaccinated. The vaccine program that you ran for the residents, at that time would those vaccines – were staff able to get vaccinated at the same time."

12:00 pm July 5, 2021 Highlight

Still unclear why aged care staff weren't vaccinated

Michelle Sloane, theCOO of SummitCare aged care facility in Baulkham Hills, said she doesn't know why two-thirds of staff at the facility haven't been vaccinated against Covid-19.

"I’m unsure of that. I haven’t spoken to each one individually. There is quite a lot of them," she said.

Picture: Jenny Evans/Getty Images

Ms Sloane said she had gone around personally at staff meetings and urged everyone to get the vaccine when it became available.

When asked if she thought there wasn't a great uptake because it wasn't mandatory, Ms Sloane said that could be "one aspect" but the main reason is likely "apprehension" around a new vaccine.

"But the second aspect is it is a new vaccine and like everybody in the community there was apprehension about having it. I think that’s probably the main reason," she said.

11:48 am July 5, 2021 Highlight

Aged care vaccination a 'Commonwealth responsibility'

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said aged care vaccination is the responsibility of the Federal government, after being asked if NSW could have done more to ensure all staff at these facilities were vaccinated.

"That was the responsibility of the Commonwealth and we have already offered our assistance in that regard. National Cabinet has made directions in that regard as well," she said.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard has echoed these comments, saying the Federal government engaged with "a number of private companies to go and vaccinate aged care residents".

"In the course of that the Federal Government didn’t prioritise at that point the staff in the aged care facilities. So what New South Wales Health did was to reach out through our 15 local health districts to each of the aged care facilities," he said.

"This was months and months ago. We made very clear in that process that any aged care staff, albeit that they were federal responsibilities, could come forward and we would actually vaccinate them.

"So the only limitation on that has been the supply of vaccine. I have to say that’s been the single biggest constraint."

11:40 am July 5, 2021 Highlight

'Don't underestimate the guilt': Gladys

Premier Gladys Berekjiklian has issued a grim warning to people, telling them not to underestimate the guilt they will feel if they find out they may have infected other people.

"I have insights most citizens don't have and the biggest feeling people have went they are identified as COVID positive is guilt they may have passed it on to others," she said.

"Don't under estimate the guilt anyone will feel if you unintentionally, or intentionally even worse, have symptoms and pass that on to those closest to you."

11:34 am July 5, 2021 Highlight

125 fines in the past 24 hours

NSW Police have issued 125 fines in the past 24 hours to people breaking Covid-19 rules.

"Some of those were for people in shopping centres. We spoke about this over the last couple of days that they were a place where people should be particularly concerned about wearing a mask and there were many people who chose not to do that and they were reported and infringed by police," Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said.

11:29 am July 5, 2021 Highlight

'No comment' on lifting lockdown

Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant has refused to reveal whether she thinks Greater Sydney will be able to exit lockdown at the end of the week.

"I'm making no comment until I've looked at all the data. Every day brings a new set of data and a new set of challenges and what we think in the morning can change in the afternoon," she said.

Picture: Gaye Gerard/NCA NewsWire

"I'm really pleased to see that we've had some people come forward for testing over the weekend, which has allowed us to link unlinked cases and the more certainty we have that we have tracked down every single case of transmission, that really does provide us with a lot more confidence in advising Government.

"So we need to make those links that have happened over the weekend, reassess and reanalyse the data and that will be our focus today but as I said, the situation can change."