As it happened: NSW records 16 new local COVID-19 cases as restrictions reimposed for gatherings; Queensland border closes to Greater Sydney

Good evening and thanks for joining us on another busy day. These were the major stories:

• Several new restrictions were introduced for Greater Sydney as NSW recorded 16 new cases of COVID-19. These include a return to no more than five visitors in households, seating-only in hospitality venues, and no dancing or singing except for wedding dance floors (restricted to 20). Masks are compulsory in office spaces and people from seven local government areas cannot leave metropolitan Sydney.
• Victoria went the other direction: restrictions were eased and there were no new cases. Up to 15 people are allowed in homes, 50 people can gather outdoors, restaurants and cafes can welcome up to 300 patrons and the MCG can host 25,000 spectators.
• Australia is unlikely to use the AstraZeneca vaccine after October except by request, with the national rollout to rely on Pfizer doses to immunise the nation against the coronavirus. The national rollout plan released this afternoon reveals the locally-made AstraZeneca vaccine will be phased out after health authorities changed advice to limit its use.
• And three members of the Murugappan family who were detained on Christmas Island after being told they could not stay in their home town of Biloela have been granted three-month bridging visas, meaning the parents can work and the children attend school in Perth.

I’m Natassia Chrysanthos signing off the blog, I hope you have a lovely night.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has admitted that some Victorians may have lost enthusiasm to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“I think there’ll be some people who’ve lost some enthusiasm for AstraZeneca but also, you know, we had a huge surge, because of the new availability for Pfizer, so a lot of people have come through the bookings for that,” he told ABC 774.

“We need to open up the bookings for the tens of thousands who’ve had their first dose in the last few weeks.”

He said vaccination centres are fully booked over the next few weeks for people seeking to get their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and that he expected an influx of booking for people getting their second jab.

“There are still some people who should probably book in online or call the number to book for their second dose,” he said, noting that it was preferred people made bookings instead of walk-in appointments.

Today, Victoria became the first state where more than two million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered, about 50,000 more than NSW.

A total of 41,061 people received a vaccine dose statewide yesterday, bringing the total number of doses administered in Victoria since the start of the rollout to 2,032,703. It took 92 days for Victoria to record its one millionth dose (on May 26), but just 27 days for the second million doses to be administered:

Nationwide there have been 6,719,384 doses administered since the start of the rollout. You can see the vaccine progress of your state or territory using the interactive table below:

Rewinding a bit to chief medical officer Paul Kelly’s press conference this afternoon.

The key take-out from the new vaccine plan (which you can read below) was that Australia will likely not use the AstraZeneca vaccine after October except by request, with the national rollout soon relying on Pfizer doses to immunise the nation against COVID-19.

The second major development was that seven Sydney local government areas are now federal COVID-19 hotspots.

But we also gleaned some other information. Most of this is from the government’s COVID taskforce commander, John James “JJ” Frewen:

• Sydney will receive an extra 50,000 doses of Pfizer by Friday. That’s earlier than planned to take account of the growing outbreak.
• There are only nine aged care facilities in NSW where residents haven’t been visited with second vaccine doses. None are in the local government areas where the outbreak has happened.
• Nationally, 94 aged care homes haven’t been visited with second doses. That will happen in the next five days.
• By the week of 19 July, the government plans to have 1300 additional GP clinics delivering Pfizer vaccines. That’s 500 from the week starting 5 July, 500 from 12 July and 300 from 19 July.

NSW Health has published new exposure site details for western Sydney and the inner city this evening.

People who travelled on the following bus routes are considered close contacts who must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days:

• Parramatta to Pennant Hills on the 600 Bus on Sunday, June 20. The bus departed from O’Connell Street (outside Bankwest Stadium) at 4.40pm and arrived at Pennant Hills Station at 4.50pm.
• Parramatta to Rouse Hill on the 665 Bus on Sunday, June 20. The bus departed from Parramatta Station at 7.30pm and arrived at Rouse Hill Station at 7.56pm.
• Rouse Hill to Parramatta on the 665 Bus on Sunday, June 20. The bus departed from Rouse Hill station at 8.20pm and arrived at Parramatta Station at 8.45pm.
• Parramatta to Rouse Hill on the 665 Bus on Sunday, June 20. The bus departed from Parramatta Station at 9pm and arrived at Rouse Hill Station at 9.26pm.

People who visited the following venues at the designated times are also considered close contacts:

• Nandos at Stockland Wetherill Park Shopping Centre, 561 – 583 Polding Street, on Sunday, June 20 between 6pm and 7pm.
• Lumiere Café at 13/425 Bourke Street, Surry Hills on Monday, June 21 between 1pm and 2pm.
• Bamboo Thai at 298 Chalmers Street, Redfern on Monday, June 21 between 6.15pm and 7.10pm.
• Woolworths at Spring Farm, 254 Richardson Road, on Sunday, June 20 between 9.30am and 11.30am (Note: this venue is previously listed but has been upgraded as a close contact site).

In case you missed it earlier, these are also new close contact sites from today:

• Christo’s Pizzeria at 224 Glenmore Road, Paddington on Monday, June 21 between 5.50pm and 8.30pm
• Joh Bailey hairdresser at 7 Knox Street, Double Bay on three days: Thursday, June 17, Friday, June 18 and Saturday, June 19 between 8am and 5pm each day
• Matteo Restaurant at 29 Bay Street, Double Bay on Friday, June 18 between 5.30pm and 7pm

And the following venues are new exposure sites, where anyone who visited at the set times is deemed to be a casual contact. This means you must get tested and isolate until a negative result:

• Woolworths Metro at 184 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach on Sunday, June 20 between 1pm and 1.30pm.
• Coles Willowdale at Denham Court, 5 Willowdale Drive, on Sunday, June 20 between 4.45pm and 5pm, and Monday, June 21 between 5pm and 5.05pm.
• Ampol service station at 321 Old South Head Road, North Bondi on Tuesday, June 22 between 8am and 8.10am.

NSW Health’s sewage surveillance program has detected virus fragments in the Cronulla and Bellambi sewage networks. “NSW Health is aware of recently confirmed COVID-19 cases who are in isolation in both the Cronulla and Bellambi catchments,” a statement said.

“However, we urge everyone in these areas to be especially vigilant for any cold-like symptoms. If they appear, please immediately be tested and isolate until a negative result is received.”

Retailers at Westfield Bondi Junction have reported a drastic drop in foot traffic and plunging sales as shoppers wary of Sydney’s growing coronavirus outbreak steer clear of the major shopping centre.

Urban affairs reporter Megan Gorrey has been on the ground in eastern Sydney today, where a queue of cars to get into the Bondi Junction COVID-19 testing clinic choked traffic in the streets around Westfield.

A smattering of shoppers in masks trickled through the largely deserted multi-storey centre and surrounding area by mid-morning. Public Espresso owner Jerry Kusnadi estimated sales at his cafe facing Bronte Road had fallen 40 per cent in recent days. A handful of customers were sitting down, surrounded by vacant tables, about 10am.

Public Espresso owner Jerry Kusnadi said sales at his cafe at Westfield Bondi Junction had plummeted in recent days.Credit: Rhett Wyman

Mr Kusnadi got tested for COVID-19 along with his staff at the weekend. He said the number of customers walking around the shopping centre had “changed drastically”. “On Friday afternoon, it was dead. The biggest difference is the parking lot - it’s empty,” he said.

Mark Mezrani, the chief executive of national kids retailer Kidstuff, said the sprawling Oxford Street retail outlet at the centre of Sydney’s COVID-19 cluster in the eastern suburbs was a “ghost town”. “You don’t need a mask in Bondi because there’s no one there,” he said. “While, technically speaking, our stores are open, they may as well be closed.”

Sales at Mr Mezrani’s store in the centre were down by 70 per cent and likely to drop lower, he said.

Seaside Fresh manager Chris Yiorgas said sales at the seafood shop near Coles had plunged 65 per cent in the past two weeks. He’s had to cut staff working hours, buy less fresh produce and throw out “quite a bit” of stock. Read the full story here.

Commonwealth Bank experienced its second widespread outage within a week earlier, as its merchant terminals and online banking failed at around 1.30pm this afternoon, leaving businesses unable to process payments and consumers unable to access funds.

As of 3pm a spokesperson for the bank said its merchant terminals were beginning to come back online and process payments, but it was still looking into the interruption to its web- and app-based banking systems.

CBA confirmed an outage to its online services this afternoon. Credit: Josh Robenstone

“We are aware some customers may be experiencing some difficulties logging on to NetBank and the CommBank app right now. We are urgently investigating this and we’re sorry for any inconvenience caused,” the spokesperson said.

The problems follow a broader outage of many major banks on Thursday, which was caused by an issue at cloud services company Akamai. However the most recent interruption appears to be specific to Commonwealth Bank.

The outgoing boss of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Frances Adamson, has used her last speech in the role to lay out the role of diplomacy in keeping the country safe in a changing world.

Ms Adamson, who has been appointed governor of South Australia, is well-regarded across the political spectrum. Here is a taste of her speech today at the National Press Club, which we will have a full story on soon:

“The West’s advantage in economic, military and technological power is ebbing. Unilateral advantage and zero-sum diplomacy militate against the task of managing the challenges of both strategic competition and economic interdependence.

“Diplomacy is and must remain our first response to a rapidly changing world”

“The international order is being remade, and there are big agendas ahead for Australia. How the world, and more specifically our near region, recovers from COVID-19. How we and others respond to China’s growing power and ambitions. How we deal with climate change, including via the dramatic energy transition underway. How international rules, standards, and institutions evolve and on what basis.

“What matters in the face of this is Australia’s ability to determine and exercise choice, and to exert influence built on strong domestic foundations: a vibrant economy and a cohesive, open, and confident society.

“You would expect a DFAT Secretary to observe that diplomacy must be at the forefront. But how? It’s not just about responding smartly to events or crises. It’s also about defining feasible objectives and shaping outcomes. Diplomacy is and must remain our first response to a rapidly changing world.

“It is the primary route to the Prime Minister’s objective of a regional balance that favours freedom.”

There have been three new COVID-19 exposure sites listed in Sydney’s eastern suburbs today but we are expecting more to come through later this evening.

Lumiere Cafe in Surry Hills, on Bourke Street, is not on the current list of exposure sites but it has closed for a deep clean.

Cafe Lumiere in Surry Hills was closed on Wednesday due to COVID-19 exposure, but is yet to be listed as a site of concern by NSW Health.Credit: Nick Moir

According to a note posted on its front door, a case attended the cafe on Monday between 1.10pm and 1.50pm.

The note said the cafe was due to reopen tomorrow after the deep clean is finished.

We’ll bring you further details of exposure site locations when they land (usually after 5pm).

Another attempt to set up a parliamentary inquiry into the government’s handling of a historical rape allegation against Industry and Science Minister Christian Porter has failed.

The Greens have tried repeatedly to set up an inquiry into his fitness to be a minister, but were blocked from moving the motion by the government.

Now another more general motion by independent Senator Jacqui Lambie has failed this afternoon, blocked by the government and One Nation senators Pauline Hanson and Malcolm Roberts.

Mr Porter has denied the allegation against him, and sued the ABC for defamation over the claims before settling the matter.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has declared seven local government areas in Sydney as COVID-19 hotspots.

That unlocks federal funding for people who cannot work, if the areas go into a lockdown for more than seven days. It applies to the following: Waverley, City of Sydney, Woollahra, Bayside, Canada Bay, Inner West and Randwick local government areas.

Professor Kelly said the number of cases in the area had met the definition for a federal hotspot, which will come into effect today and last until June 30.

It will also come with medical supplies from the national stockpile and support to let aged care workers remain at only one work site.

Asked what has change has underpinned his decision to list much of Sydney as a coronavirus hotspot, Professor Kelly said there had previously been strong links between cases. “That has changed in the last 24 hours,” Professor Kelly said.

He cites the super spreading events at a birthday party, as well as a case on a plane and at a school as potential issues.

But he says he has great faith in the NSW contact tracing team. “It’s no doubt they’re the best in Australia,” he says.