As it happened: Qantas to resume international travel in November; Scott Morrison to attend Glasgow climate summit; Victoria records 2179 new local COVID-19 cases, six deaths

Good evening and thank you for reading our live coverage of the day’s events. If you are just joining us now, here’s what you need to know.

• NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has departed from national cabinet’s reopening plan and announced that fully vaccinated international travellers will not have to complete hotel or home quarantine upon arrival in the state from November 1. The decision puts him on a collision course with other state and territory leaders but was welcomed by the tourism industry and the federal government. In response to the announcement, Qantas announced it would accelerate the restart of its international flights by two weeks to November 1.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, left, and Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres on Friday.Credit: James Brickwood

• While Mr Perrottet said the quarantine change would pave the way for the return of overseas tourists to Sydney and NSW, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was quick to hose down expectations that tourists and international students would return to the country from next month. He said NSW’s plan would allow vaccinated Australian citizens, residents and their families, including overseas-based parents, to enter the state without quarantine from November 1 but business travellers, skilled migrants or international students would not be permitted to return just yet. Under the new rules in NSW, there will be no caps on fully vaccinated arrivals. Hotel quarantine will remain in place for the unvaccinated, and places for them will be capped at 210 people per week.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday.Credit: James Brickwood

• Mr Perrottet said international arrivals would be required to take a COVID-19 test before boarding a flight and show proof of full vaccination. The state government said in a press release that “further advice about testing requirements for arrivals will be provided in the coming days”.
• NSW is poised to pass the 80 per cent double-dose vaccination target this weekend for people aged 16 and over, triggering a further relaxation of restrictions for the fully vaccinated. Restrictions on visitors to homes, outdoor gatherings, rules for hospitality venues and caps for weddings and funerals will all be eased from Monday for fully vaccinated people. But the Premier announced that travel between Greater Sydney and regional NSW would be put on hold until November 1. You can read more about the changes here.

The wreck of the Plutus lies in the crystal clear winter waters off Currarong on NSW South Coast. Travel between Greater Sydney and regional NSW has been pushed back until November 1.Credit: Nick Moir

• NSW recorded 399 new local cases of COVID-19 and four deaths. Today’s daily case number is down from yesterday’s 406 local cases. There are now 677 coronavirus patients in NSW hospitals, down from yesterday’s total of 711. Of the 677 people currently in hospital, 145 are in intensive care. Community transmission of the virus in some regions is continuing to rise, with 79 cases reported in the Hunter New-England area on Friday.
• The four people who died in the state were aged between their 50s and their 80s, including a fully vaccinated man in his 70s with underlying health conditions who died at Campbelltown Hospital, where he acquired his infection. This is the sixth death linked to an outbreak at the hospital. A fully vaccinated woman in her 80s who was a resident of the Allity Beechwood Aged Care Facility, where she acquired her infection, died at St George Hospital. This is eighth death linked to an outbreak at this facility. A man in his 50s, who was not vaccinated, died at St Vincent’s Hospital. A woman in her 80s who had received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine died at Liverpool Hospital.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein.Credit: Getty Images

• Southern Tasmania, including the capital city of Hobart, entered a snap three-day lockdown from 6pm today after a COVID-positive man from NSW escaped quarantine and spent time in the community.

  Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said the state was at a “crucial” point in the vaccination roll-out and could not risk a large coronavirus outbreak taking hold. He said the man who escaped hotel quarantine had not been forthcoming with information about his movements, which included visiting a Woolworths supermarket in Bridgewater.

Victoria’s health minister Martin Foley.Credit: Darrian Traynor

• Victoria has recorded 2179 new, locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and six deaths. Today’s total is down from yesterday’s national record of 2297 cases. The six people who died are as follows: three men in their 80s from the Brimbank, Darebin and Boroondara local government areas; two women in their 80s, one from Hume and one from Moreland; and a woman in her 50s from Moonee Valley. Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said there are 695 people in hospital with COVID-19 in Victoria. Of those, 157 are in intensive care, and 101 are on a ventilator.

• Mildura’s lockdown has been extended by seven days. Mildura is a regional city in Victoria’s north-west and lies on the banks of the Murray River, close to NSW. Another 34 cases were recorded in the region in the past 24 hours.

Fully vaccinated international travellers arriving in Melbourne from quarantine-free Sydney will be able to enter Melbourne before regional travel is permitted within the state.Credit: Louie Douvis

• Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said the state will push ahead with building its quarantine facility in Mickleham, in Melbourne’s northern fringe, even though NSW is preparing to scrap quarantine for fully vaccinated international travellers from November 1. The change of rules in NSW raises the prospect that returned international travellers will be able to enter Melbourne from Sydney in early November, before regional travel is permitted within Victoria. From 11.59pm on Tuesday, October 19, people from NSW “red zones” will have to test negative to COVID-19 no more than 72 hours prior to them entering Victoria. Once they are in the state, they must isolate, get tested again within 72 hours, and stay isolated until they receive a negative test result. People who are not fully vaccinated in NSW red zones will still have to quarantine for 14 days.

Canberra’s lockdown ended at 11.59pm last night.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

• Queensland has recorded its 11th consecutive day of zero local cases of coronavirus. However, local health authorities reported two cases from outside the state earlier today (although they are deemed to be low risk). One case was a flight crew member who was routinely tested while transiting through Brisbane Airport and tested positive after they had left. Another was a truck driver who came up from Victoria through Goondiwindi, in southern Queensland, before driving to Ipswich. The truck driver is now at Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane’s northern suburbs.

• The ACT has recorded 35 new cases of COVID-19 and one death as Canberrans exited lockdown at 11.59pm last night. A seventh resident at the Calvary Haydon aged care facility, a woman in her 70s, has died after acquiring the virus at the home. Sixteen people are in hospital with the virus in the ACT and eight are in intensive care. While the strict lockdown has ended in the ACT, a number of restrictions are still in place. You can read more about those restrictions here. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said “some people are back at work today but it will be a gradual return with more significant changes to occur towards the end of the month”.

This is Michaela Whitbourn signing off on the blog for today. We’ll have more live coverage for you from tomorrow morning.

Health authorities have added a regional school bus route and several regional pubs to the official list of Victorian exposure sites after listing just two new exposure sites on Thursday.

Two rides on the Goulburn Valley Grammar School Bus have been listed as tier-1 exposures. One trip took place on Tuesday morning between 7.15 and 9.15 as the bus travelled from Tongala, west of Shepparton, to Goulburn Valley Grammar and then for 3pm to 5pm on the same day as the bus made the return journey.

Meanwhile, the gaming room at The Grovedale Hotel in Geelong’s south has been listed for an exposure between 10.15am and 1.30pm on Tuesday,

The North Star Hotel in Ballarat was visited by someone with COVID-19 between about 12.30pm and 2.15pm on Wednesday.

The Winchelsea Hotel in Winchelsea, 40 kilometres west of Geelong, was listed as a tier-2 site for an exposure between 1pm and 2.45pm on October 10.

Other tier-1 additions included the Dan Murphy’s in Tullamarine and a KFC in Essendon.

Anyone who has visited a tier-1 one site needs to get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days no matter the result.

Good evening and thank you for reading our live coverage of the day’s events. If you are just joining us now, here’s what you need to know.

• NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has departed from national cabinet’s reopening plan and announced that fully vaccinated international travellers will not have to complete hotel or home quarantine upon arrival in the state from November 1. The decision puts him on a collision course with other state and territory leaders but was welcomed by the tourism industry and the federal government. In response to the announcement, Qantas announced it would accelerate the restart of its international flights by two weeks to November 1.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, left, and Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres on Friday.Credit: James Brickwood

• While Mr Perrottet said the quarantine change would pave the way for the return of overseas tourists to Sydney and NSW, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was quick to hose down expectations that tourists and international students would return to the country from next month. He said NSW’s plan would allow vaccinated Australian citizens, residents and their families, including overseas-based parents, to enter the state without quarantine from November 1 but business travellers, skilled migrants or international students would not be permitted to return just yet. Under the new rules in NSW, there will be no caps on fully vaccinated arrivals. Hotel quarantine will remain in place for the unvaccinated, and places for them will be capped at 210 people per week.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday.Credit: James Brickwood

• Mr Perrottet said international arrivals would be required to take a COVID-19 test before boarding a flight and show proof of full vaccination. The state government said in a press release that “further advice about testing requirements for arrivals will be provided in the coming days”.
• NSW is poised to pass the 80 per cent double-dose vaccination target this weekend for people aged 16 and over, triggering a further relaxation of restrictions for the fully vaccinated. Restrictions on visitors to homes, outdoor gatherings, rules for hospitality venues and caps for weddings and funerals will all be eased from Monday for fully vaccinated people. But the Premier announced that travel between Greater Sydney and regional NSW would be put on hold until November 1. You can read more about the changes here.

The wreck of the Plutus lies in the crystal clear winter waters off Currarong on NSW South Coast. Travel between Greater Sydney and regional NSW has been pushed back until November 1.Credit: Nick Moir

• NSW recorded 399 new local cases of COVID-19 and four deaths. Today’s daily case number is down from yesterday’s 406 local cases. There are now 677 coronavirus patients in NSW hospitals, down from yesterday’s total of 711. Of the 677 people currently in hospital, 145 are in intensive care. Community transmission of the virus in some regions is continuing to rise, with 79 cases reported in the Hunter New-England area on Friday.
• The four people who died in the state were aged between their 50s and their 80s, including a fully vaccinated man in his 70s with underlying health conditions who died at Campbelltown Hospital, where he acquired his infection. This is the sixth death linked to an outbreak at the hospital. A fully vaccinated woman in her 80s who was a resident of the Allity Beechwood Aged Care Facility, where she acquired her infection, died at St George Hospital. This is eighth death linked to an outbreak at this facility. A man in his 50s, who was not vaccinated, died at St Vincent’s Hospital. A woman in her 80s who had received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine died at Liverpool Hospital.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein.Credit: Getty Images

• Southern Tasmania, including the capital city of Hobart, entered a snap three-day lockdown from 6pm today after a COVID-positive man from NSW escaped quarantine and spent time in the community.

  Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said the state was at a “crucial” point in the vaccination roll-out and could not risk a large coronavirus outbreak taking hold. He said the man who escaped hotel quarantine had not been forthcoming with information about his movements, which included visiting a Woolworths supermarket in Bridgewater.

Victoria’s health minister Martin Foley.Credit: Darrian Traynor

• Victoria has recorded 2179 new, locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and six deaths. Today’s total is down from yesterday’s national record of 2297 cases. The six people who died are as follows: three men in their 80s from the Brimbank, Darebin and Boroondara local government areas; two women in their 80s, one from Hume and one from Moreland; and a woman in her 50s from Moonee Valley. Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said there are 695 people in hospital with COVID-19 in Victoria. Of those, 157 are in intensive care, and 101 are on a ventilator.

• Mildura’s lockdown has been extended by seven days. Mildura is a regional city in Victoria’s north-west and lies on the banks of the Murray River, close to NSW. Another 34 cases were recorded in the region in the past 24 hours.

Fully vaccinated international travellers arriving in Melbourne from quarantine-free Sydney will be able to enter Melbourne before regional travel is permitted within the state.Credit: Louie Douvis

• Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said the state will push ahead with building its quarantine facility in Mickleham, in Melbourne’s northern fringe, even though NSW is preparing to scrap quarantine for fully vaccinated international travellers from November 1. The change of rules in NSW raises the prospect that returned international travellers will be able to enter Melbourne from Sydney in early November, before regional travel is permitted within Victoria. From 11.59pm on Tuesday, October 19, people from NSW “red zones” will have to test negative to COVID-19 no more than 72 hours prior to them entering Victoria. Once they are in the state, they must isolate, get tested again within 72 hours, and stay isolated until they receive a negative test result. People who are not fully vaccinated in NSW red zones will still have to quarantine for 14 days.

Canberra’s lockdown ended at 11.59pm last night.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

• Queensland has recorded its 11th consecutive day of zero local cases of coronavirus. However, local health authorities reported two cases from outside the state earlier today (although they are deemed to be low risk). One case was a flight crew member who was routinely tested while transiting through Brisbane Airport and tested positive after they had left. Another was a truck driver who came up from Victoria through Goondiwindi, in southern Queensland, before driving to Ipswich. The truck driver is now at Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane’s northern suburbs.

• The ACT has recorded 35 new cases of COVID-19 and one death as Canberrans exited lockdown at 11.59pm last night. A seventh resident at the Calvary Haydon aged care facility, a woman in her 70s, has died after acquiring the virus at the home. Sixteen people are in hospital with the virus in the ACT and eight are in intensive care. While the strict lockdown has ended in the ACT, a number of restrictions are still in place. You can read more about those restrictions here. ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said “some people are back at work today but it will be a gradual return with more significant changes to occur towards the end of the month”.

This is Michaela Whitbourn signing off on the blog for today. We’ll have more live coverage for you from tomorrow morning.

Local councils in Melbourne are cancelling planned Christmas carols because of uncertainty over whether major events will be able to proceed.

Bayside, Monash and Kingston have all cancelled their annual Christmas carols for this year and there is uncertainty over whether Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight at the Myer Music Bowl will go ahead with a crowd.

Melbourne’s Carols by Candlelight went ahead last year but without a live crowd.

Bayside City Council has cancelled its carols event at Dendy Park which usually attracts about 20,000 attendees as it said it was challenging to hold a major, open access event in a COVID safe manner.

“Council will instead use the funds from Carols to create a series of smaller Christmas events, with carolling and festive sound and light installations in Bayside’s open spaces and shopping precincts,” a spokesperson said in a statement.

Monash City Council has also cancelled its carols event at Jells Park which usually has 25,000 attendees.
Monash mayor Brian Little said he understood people would be disappointed.

“The well-being and safety of our community is our top priority,” Cr Little said.

“The carols event is many months in the planning and, at this point, the risks associated with holding a public event the size of Carols by Candlelight makes it impossible to proceed.”

Kingston City Council is replacing its Christmas carols this year with a “tinsel trail”.

Kingston Mayor Steve Staikos said each year Carols by Kingston attracted over 10,000 guests and required months of planning and preparation.

“The limited timeframe and uncertainty surrounding the settings for events of this scale come December made it impossible to effectively prepare an event we could be proud to present to our community,” he said.

Vision Australia is still determining whether Carols by Candlelight at the Myer Music Bowl will be able to proceed.

A spokesman said the charity expected to make an announcement on crowd attendance at the event by early November.

“We are encouraged by the recent news of crowds being able to return to select sporting and live music events under the Government’s road map and are keenly observing the trials of the Service Vic app that are currently underway,” he said.

However, City of Yarra plans to press ahead with its Christmas carols event.

“Yarra City Council is planning a live, in person, program that will feature local artists, musicians and community members,” a spokesperson for the council said.

As we reported earlier today, vaccinated Australian citizens, residents and their families – now including overseas-based parents – will be allowed to enter NSW without completing home or hotel quarantine from November 1.

But the federal government is not yet allowing business travellers, skilled migrants or international students to enter the country.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday.Credit: James Brickwood

The NSW government announced today that hotel and home quarantine would no longer be required for fully vaccinated people entering NSW from overseas from November 1 and the state will remove the cap on the number of vaccinated travellers allowed into the state.

However, it will only allow 210 unvaccinated people to enter from overseas each week, and they will have to complete 14 days’ hotel quarantine.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the change meant “we will be allowing Australians, permanent residents and citizens and their families, to leave Australia from wherever they live in Australia and return, but obviously the capped arrangements in other states will continue because of the vaccination levels in those places and the arrangements they have in place in each of those states and territories”.

Read the full story here.

New Zealand has recorded 65 new cases of COVID-19 in the community, all of which are in Auckland.

That’s slightly lower than yesterday’s total of 71 cases, which was the largest number of new infections in six weeks.

There are now 34 people in the country’s hospitals with the virus, in Auckland and Palmerston North. Six people are in an intensive care or high dependency unit.

Residents of Auckland are under “level three” stay-at-home orders until Monday (details below).

New Zealand lockdowns explained:

• LEVEL 4: Stay home, safe recreational activity allowed in your local area; no gatherings; childcare closed but essential worker’s home bubble can be extended to allow a carer; schools closed; only supermarkets, petrol stations, pharmacies, health clinics open; green grocers, butchers, bakeries and fishmongers can sell only uncooked food online for delivery; masks obligatory when leaving the house.
• LEVEL 3: Stay home but can extend exclusive bubble to care for others; school and childcare open with limited capacity; more businesses can open but customers cannot enter (takeaway ok), public facilities still closed (eg gyms, pools, markets); masks required on public transport and shops/public venues.
• LEVEL 2: Gatherings of up to 100 people and domestic travel allowed; businesses can open with record keeping and social distancing; same for public facilities such as libraries, hairdressers, other services.
• LEVEL 1: No restriction on social gatherings; no restriction on personal movement; masks on public transport; check-ins and social distancing still required in public venues and businesses.

As NSW and Victoria start to ease coronavirus restrictions for fully vaccinated people, proving your vaccination status will be key.

We’ve prepared guides to installing the certificates on your check-in apps.

Read the full step-by-step guide for NSW here, and Victoria here.

Qantas has announced it will accelerate the restart of its international flights by two weeks to November 1.

The move came after the federal and NSW governments confirmed borders would reopen that day, and fully vaccinated overseas arrivals will not have to quarantine upon arrival in NSW.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the plan is “about Australian residents and citizens first”, not tourists.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce.Credit: Supplied

In a statement, the airline said it also welcomed the new NSW quarantine system for fully vaccinated travellers.

Qantas said it would will operate “up to five return flights a week from Sydney to London and up to four return flights a week from Sydney to Los Angeles with its Boeing 787 Dreamliners from 1 November. More flights would be added to meet demand, if needed.

Flights to London would operate via Darwin until at least April 2022.

At first only Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate families and parents would be eligible for tickets.

Flights to other destinations including Singapore, Fiji and Vancouver will still commence from December 18. But Qantas said it would look adding destinations from Sydney if possible.

Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said: “Bringing forward the reopening of Australia to the world and removing quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering New South Wales is a massive step towards life as we knew it.

“In just a little over two weeks, Australians around the world can fly into Sydney and people from around Australia can leave on trips they’ve been waiting almost two years to take. We hope other states will do the same once they reach the 80 per cent [vaccination] target [for people aged 16 and over].

“We have thousands of our pilots and cabin crew wanting to get back to work and they will be thrilled at today’s announcement. It will still be a long time before international travel returns to normal but this is a fantastic start.

“Removing quarantine for the fully vaccinated is a sensible approach and brings New South Wales into line with many other global cities.”

Under NSW’s plan, fully vaccinated overseas travellers will be required to take a COVID-19 test before boarding a flight and show proof of full vaccination.

It is not clear if a coronavirus test will be required upon arrival in NSW. The state government said in a press release that “further advice about testing requirements for arrivals will be provided in the coming days”.

As southern Tasmania including the state’s capital city, Hobart, prepares to enter a three-day lockdown from 6pm tonight, its vaccination rollout is gathering pace.

Almost 83 per cent (82.43 per cent) of Tasmanians aged 16 and over have received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine and 67.6 per cent of Tasmanians have received both doses.

You can read more about southern Tasmania’s lockdown here.

Based on the table below, NSW is leading the vaccination rollout, followed by Victoria and Tasmania. But we also know that the ACT is surging ahead in vaccinating Canberrans, and the territory includes everybody aged 12 and over in its figures.

Ninety-nine per cent of Canberrans aged 12 and up have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 76 per cent are fully vaccinated.

Southern Tasmania, including the capital city of Hobart, will enter a snap three-day lockdown from 6pm today after a COVID-positive man from NSW escaped quarantine and spent time in the community.

As we reported previously, health authorities in Tasmania yesterday identified 38 primary close contacts of a NSW man in Hobart who has tested positive to COVID-19.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

The man, a traveller arriving in Tasmania from NSW via Melbourne, was sent to Hobart’s hotel quarantine system upon arrival in the state on Monday. He was found not to be in his room after a welfare check early on Tuesday and located at an address in Bridgewater in Hobart’s northern suburbs.

He subsequently tested positive to COVID-19.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said the state was at a “crucial” point in the vaccination roll-out and could not risk a large coronavirus outbreak taking hold.

He said the man who escaped hotel quarantine had not been forthcoming with information about his movements, which included visiting a Woolworths supermarket in Bridgewater.

“Unfortunately, it took two days to verify that he was at Woolworths and there is growing concern now that he has been to several touch points in the community,” Mr Gutwein said.

“Unfortunately, it took two days to verify that he was at Woolworths and there is growing concern now that he has been to several touch points in the community,” Mr Gutwein said.

A close contact of the man also broke home quarantine, and has since been arrested and fined.

Those in the state’s south will only be able to travel up to 5km from their homes, with face masks required to be worn indoors and outdoors.

“With a plan to be open before Christmas and to hit those vaccination rates, we need to ensure that we can continue with that,” Mr Gutwein said.

“We have a circumstance now where we have a positive delta case in the south of the state with contacts, we have contact tracking and tracing, but unfortunately, the information that we have around those people has been difficult to gauge.

“One of the things that we do not want to be in this state is either Sydney or Melbourne who acted too late in both instances when dealing with [the] Delta [strain of COVID-19].

“Other areas of the state at this stage are not in lockdown: regardless, I would say please remain vigilant and get tested if you have any cold or flu symptoms, no matter how small.”

Indoor and outdoor gatherings are not allowed in the state, with no weddings except those given an exemption for compassionate reasons. Funerals will be able to have a maximum of 10 visitors.

The local government areas going into lockdown in Tasmania from 6pm on Friday include Brighton Council, Central Highlands Council, Clarence City Council, Derwent Valley Council, Glamorgan-Spring Bay Council, Glenorchy City Council, Hobart City Council, Huon Valley Council, Kingborough Council, Sorrel Council, Southern Midlands Council and the Tasman Council.

Tasmanians who are currently in NSW, ACT and Victoria will not be able to travel to Southern Tasmania during the lockdown, and those travelling to Tasmania from other states must follow lockdown rules.

“To non-Tasmanians that wish to travel to the state, if you’re not a resident, we encourage you to reconsider your travel to southern Tasmania, whilst the lockdown is on,” Mr Gutwein said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has just confirmed he will attend the United Nations climate conference in Glasgow in November.

Mr Morrison said he was looking forward to attending the important event.

“The government will be finalising its position to take to the summit. We’re working through those issues with our and colleagues and I look forward to those discussions over the next couple of weeks,” he said.

The Prime Minister described net zero by 2050 as an important environmental goal and says the discussions he’s having with his colleagues - notably the Nationals - is about a policy to ensure that Australia’s regions are strong and regional jobs are protected.