Good evening and thanks for joining us on the live blog this week. These were the biggest news stories on Friday:
- NSW recorded one new COVID-19 case: a man in his 50s who visited Myer Bondi Junction at the same time as an air crew driver who later tested positive. Masks became compulsory on Greater Sydney public transport for five days, and eastern suburbs residents are urged to limit their movements amid evidence the virus has spread through “fleeting contact”. New exposure sites were published by NSW Health this evening - you can find them below.
- Victoria also recorded one new case: a primary close contact of an existing case at the Kings Park apartment complex in Southbank, which has been locked down due to the outbreak. The Victorian couple who travelled through NSW and sparked a COVID scare after they crossed the Queensland border while positive with the virus has been fined $4000 by police. Queensland also declared Waverley in Sydney a hotspot.
- Health Minister Greg Hunt and government officials made three pleas to the Australian public: get your AstraZeneca vaccine if you’re over 60, get your second AstraZeneca dose if you’re in your 50s and have already had your first, and be patient if you’re in your 50s and booking your first Pfizer dose. National cabinet will meet on Monday, with the vaccine rollout to be top of the agenda.
- And underworld figure Bilal Hamze, 34, was killed in the middle of Sydney’s CBD by a hail of bullets in a drive-by shooting last night. Police have described it as a brutal, execution-style murder that is being treated as an escalation of gangland violence with a substantial risk of reprisals.
We’re signing off for today but will be back bright and early Monday morning. Have a lovely weekend.