As it happened: NSW records 18 new local COVID-19 cases; masks mandatory in Queensland; Daniel Andrews returns as Victorian Premier

WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced a third case of COVID-19 will send the Perth and Peel region into a four-day lockdown from midnight on Monday.

He said genomic sequencing has confirmed that it is linked to the Delta variant from Sydney.

WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced a four-day snap lockdown.

Mr McGowan said people would be required to stay home unless they were essential workers, shopping for essentials like groceries, getting medical care, or caring for the vulnerable.

Other reasons people may leave home include getting vaccinated and exercising within a 5 kilometre radius of their home.

Weddings are restricted to five people, funerals to 10 people while gyms, beauty and hair salons, casinos and nightclubs must close. Schools and daycares will stay open.

The latest case is a man in his 30s who worked and dined at Perth’s northern suburbs Indian Ocean Brewery, where the original case – a woman in her 50s from Mindarie who had visited Sydney – dined on Tuesday, June 22.

Earlier on Monday, a 32-year-old woman who attended the Mobius Health and Performance Gym in Joondalup, where a case attended, also tested positive for COVID-19.

“We’re engaging in a lockdown to kill it as soon as we can,” Mr McGowan said.

“Any new positive case is not good. What is even more concerning is this most recent infection appears to ... have involved only fleeting contact with the original case.

“We hope this will be a circuit [breaker] which will give our testers and contact tracers time to nail down a picture of how far this latest outbreak has spread.”

It’s time to wrap things up here. Thank you once again for following our coverage of the evolving situation regarding Australia’s fresh COVID-19 outbreaks, as well as other nationally and internationally significant news. If you’re just logging on or in need of a refresher, here’s a quick rundown of the day’s major events:

• Vaccinations will be mandatory for aged care workers across the country and international arrivals in hotel quarantine separated from domestic quarantine residents as the nation’s leaders work on how to slow the spread of the highly transmissible Delta variant. It’s also been revealed a new indemnity scheme will allow GPs to administer the AstraZeneca vaccine to any adult who wants it regardless of their age.
• Thousands of Sydney students have been sent into self-isolation on the first day of holidays after three of the 18 new cases in NSW on Monday were students from the eastern suburbs. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned earlier the number of infections could go up “considerably”.
• Perth and Peel have been plunged into a four-day lockdown after two new cases of community transmission emerged. The Northern Territory recorded one new COVID-19 case, forcing Darwin into an extended lockdown until Friday 1pm.
• Masks will be mandatory in much of south-east Queensland from 1am tomorrow, and South Australia has ramped up restrictions in response to the national situation despite having no new cases of its own
• Victorian Premier Dan Andrews is back on the job, having delivered his first press conference since his return from a months-long injury layoff. He addressed rumours about his fall while on holiday and criticised members of the state Opposition questioning the incident as “irrelevant”.
• A multibillion-dollar fund that splashed cash on commuter car parks and road intersections was not administered appropriately, with a scathing audit finding the federal government shut down a plan to award the money on merit.

After tonight’s announcement from WA Premier Mark McGowan, there are now three capital cities in lockdown.

Here’s a run down of what’s happening where:

Greater Sydney:

A two-week lockdown was announced on Saturday in response to the growing Bondi outbreak.

People in Greater Sydney must stay home unless they have a valid reason not to.

Perth:

A four-day snap lockdown was announced on Monday night after two cases of community transmission were uncovered on Monday. The cases are linked to a woman who contracted the virus in Sydney.

Under the lockdown to come into effect from 12.01am Tuesday, people are only allowed to leave their homes for essential work, buying essential goods, medical care, vaccinations, or exercise.

Darwin:

A 48-hour lockdown was announced in Darwin on Sunday after five new COVID-19 cases linked to the Granites gold mine were revealed.

It has since been extended by three days to Friday after another case was discovered.

Residents of Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield are only allowed to leave their homes to receive medical care, get vaccinated , buy essential goods and services, exercise, or provide care to a family member.

WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced a third case of COVID-19 will send the Perth and Peel region into a four-day lockdown from midnight on Monday.

He said genomic sequencing has confirmed that it is linked to the Delta variant from Sydney.

WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced a four-day snap lockdown.

Mr McGowan said people would be required to stay home unless they were essential workers, shopping for essentials like groceries, getting medical care, or caring for the vulnerable.

Other reasons people may leave home include getting vaccinated and exercising within a 5 kilometre radius of their home.

Weddings are restricted to five people, funerals to 10 people while gyms, beauty and hair salons, casinos and nightclubs must close. Schools and daycares will stay open.

The latest case is a man in his 30s who worked and dined at Perth’s northern suburbs Indian Ocean Brewery, where the original case – a woman in her 50s from Mindarie who had visited Sydney – dined on Tuesday, June 22.

Earlier on Monday, a 32-year-old woman who attended the Mobius Health and Performance Gym in Joondalup, where a case attended, also tested positive for COVID-19.

“We’re engaging in a lockdown to kill it as soon as we can,” Mr McGowan said.

“Any new positive case is not good. What is even more concerning is this most recent infection appears to ... have involved only fleeting contact with the original case.

“We hope this will be a circuit [breaker] which will give our testers and contact tracers time to nail down a picture of how far this latest outbreak has spread.”

There are fears a lockdown in Western Australia is imminent with Premier Mark McGowan about to face the media for an evening press conference.

WA Premier Mark McGowan will face a press conference tonight. Credit: Peter de Kruijff

One case of community transmission was announced earlier today and there is speculation there has been further detection in the community.

Earlier, the Australian Medical Association WA president Mark Duncan-Smith called for a three-day lockdown, saying it would prevent the virus from “outrunning” contact tracers and infecting the community.

WA Today reporters Aja Styles, Peter de Kruijff and Lauren Pilat have more on this story here.

Now to the situation in Indonesia, where the drug authority has recommended children aged 12 and above be vaccinated as the south-east Asian nation confronts a frightening surge in cases, including one of the highest rates in the world of child infections.

Children play in the middle of Sabang Street, a street food center popular among locals and tourists in Jakarta.Credit: AP

The world’s fourth most populous country recorded a record number of new cases on five days last week, peaking with 21,342 on Sunday to take its total past 2.1 million. The death toll rose to 57,138.

The national COVID-19 taskforce this month reported 12.6 per cent of the national tally of infections were children, including more than 640 deaths. In Jakarta the figure has risen to as high as 16 per cent.

That includes 282 toddlers on a single day last week, while a one-day-old baby was among four children in the capital to die of the virus in the past seven days, said Indonesia Paediatric Association Jakarta head Professor Rini Sekartini.

More from Chris Barrett and Karuni Rompies

The Prime Minister was asked at tonight’s press conference if he understood the frustration of Australians who are once again facing lockdowns while the vaccine rollout continues to face hurdles.

Scott Morrison urged Australians to “hang in there” at a press conference on Monday night. Credit: Supplied

Here’s a bit of what he said in response to that:

“That is a perfectly normal response, but how should we go forward? Do we give into that? Or do we continue to show the same determination that we have shown, particularly over that first year in the pandemic and more?

“I’d be encouraging Australians to hang in there. We don’t have a choice. The pandemic is still upon us. It’s the pandemic, that’s the reason why these things are happening and happening not just in Australia but in all places around the world.

“When it comes to the issues of mandatory vaccines, this is not something any government should do lightly. Imposing on a person the requirement to have a vaccine or not be able to work in a particular sector is something that no government would do lightly.

“And as a result, we have been considering this matter for some time now based on the best possible medical advice.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed adults of any age can receive the AstraZeneca vaccine if they choose.

The new no-fault indemnity scheme announced tonight for general practitioners would provide protection for doctors administering the vaccine to people of any age.

“If they are willing to go and speak to their doctor and have access to the AstraZeneca vaccine, they can do so,” he said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaking after Monday night’s national cabinet meeting.

“The [Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation] advice talks about a preference for AstraZeneca to be made available to those ... over 60.

“The advice does not preclude a person under 60 from getting the AstraZeneca vaccine, and so if you wish to get the AstraZeneca vaccine, we would encourage you to go have [that] discussion with your GP.”

National cabinet has agreed to make it mandatory for all aged care workers to have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by September.

It’s the third time mandating vaccines for that workforce has been discussed by the meeting of the nation’s leaders.

Vaccines will be mandatory for all aged care workers.Credit: AP

Speaking at an evening press conference, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it would come with an $11 million grant to aged care facilities to provide leave for staff if needed in relation to their vaccination.

“We need to make sure there are no unintended consequences of this decision,” he said on Monday night.

Post-quarantine testing and separating international and domestic quarantine residents will also become mandatory.

“If you’ve left hotel quarantine or quarantine up at the Howard Springs facility, two to three days later, after having left that quarantine facility, get a test, we will be requiring it by the arrangements we put in place,” he said

Mr Morrison said the Delta variant was proving to be far more contagious than any other variant of the virus.

“The Delta variant is proving to be a far more difficult element of this virus, than we have seen to date,” he said.

The Commonwealth is also introducing a new no-fault vaccine injury indemnity scheme for GPs.

You can read more here. 

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is holding a virtual press conference from the Lodge, where he has been isolating, after an emergency national cabinet meeting with the country’s premiers and chief ministers earlier today.

You can watch live here:

NSW Health has just released a new list of venue alerts, most of which are in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

Anyone who attended the below cafe is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:

• Black and Gold Espresso, Roseberry on June 25 between 10.30am and 11.30am.

Anyone who attended the following venues is a casual contact and must immediately get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received.

• Westpac Marrickville, Marrickville on June 21, June 22 and June 23 between 2.30pm and 4pm.
• Bakers Delight in Pacific Square Shopping Centre, Maroubra, June 23 between 3.30pm and 3.40pm.
• Royale Poultry in Pacific Square Shopping Centre, Maroubra on June 23 between 3.30pm and 3.40pm.
• Harvey Norman, Westfield Bondi Junction on Jun 25 between 11.20am and 11.30 am.
• JB Hi-Fi, Westfield Bondi Junction on June 25 between 11.30am and 11.40am.
• Shell Coles Express, Alexandria on June 26 between 10am and 10.15am.

Anyone who attended the following store should monitor for symptoms and if they appear, isolate and get tested until a negative result is received:

• First Choice Liquor, Maroubra, anytime on June 26.