Coronavirus Australia live news: 7 new NSW cases linked to northern beaches, CHO says source of Avalon cluster may never be found
As NSW records 7 new cases all linked to Sydney’s northern beaches, CHO Kerry Chant admits patient zero may never be found.
- NSW records 7 new COVID-19 cases
- WA Police locate quarantine runaway
- China praises itself over COVID-19
- NSW reverts to pre-Christmas rules
Welcome to live coverage of Australia’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
NSW has reported seven new locally acquired COVID-19 cases, all linked to Sydney’s northern beaches cluster. China’s ruling Communist Party leaders have congratulated themselves on their “extremely extraordinary” success in handling the COVID-19 outbreak domestically, ahead of a World Health Organisation probe into the disease’s origins. It comes as New South Wales reverts to restrictions that were in place prior to Christmas Eve, as nine new cases of the coronavirus were recorded over the past 24 hours.
It is important for everyone to understand what you can and cannot do.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 26, 2020
Decisions on New Year's Eve will be made in coming days.
For more information, visit https://t.co/AGl9czJhOu
Steve Jackson 10.15pm: Flying doc a down-to-earth true blue hero
In tiny towns and on cattle stations speckled across the vast outback, doctor Caroline West does not only have her eye on her patients’ temperatures as she helps to run pop-up COVID test clinics for some of the nation’s most isolated and vulnerable communities.
Dr West and her fellow medicos at the Royal Flying Doctors Services are forced to set up their mobile testing sites wherever practicable — and often in sweltering conditions.
The clinics can be as humble as a couple of fold-out chairs on the side of a barren stretch of highway with only the dappled shade of a eucalyptus tree to spare the physicians — kitted out in full protective gear — from the harsh summer sun as the mercury rises well above 40C.
Angelica Snowden 9.30pm: Oldest yacht race back in limelight at last
After being overshadowed by its glitzy Sydney-based rival for three quarters of a century, Australia’s oldest ocean yachtrace finally had its day in the limelight.
A crowd of about 300 well-rugged-up spectators lined Victoria’s historic timber Portsea Pier on Sunday and stood — beersin hand — on the lawns of the Portsea Hotel in blustery conditions to watch the start of the Melbourne to Devonport race,known as the Rudder Cup.
Usually the launch has been overshadowed by the thousands who gather at Nielsen Park and Sydney Heads — champagne in hand — on Boxing Day to watch a fleet of supermaxis take off in the Sydney to Hobart yacht race.
But after a last-minute cancellation due to Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak and virtual elimination of the virus in Melbourne, the Rudder Cup it the only interstateyacht race taking place this holiday season. Race director Jeremy Walton said volunteers had banded together to organisethe Melbourne to Devonport race across Bass Strait in just one month — whereas it usually takes three or four — after theOcean Racing Victoria Club had earlier thought that Victoria’s second COVID-19 wave had obliterated any hope of holding the race.
Paige Taylor 8.45pm: Dubious fugitive breaches ‘fortress’
A runaway conspiracy theorist – the aptly named Jenny D’Ubios – has embarrassed the McGowan government and put a dent in what it calls “Fortress WA”.
The 49-year-old Ms D’Ubios, who goes by the name Jennifer Gonzalez on Facebook, claims to have studied metaphysics at Byron Bay.
Among the more benign theories she has shared with her social media followers is that a $70 tuning fork dipped in water “rejuvenates the cells in your body”. She says coronavirus is not real.
Kieran Gair 8pm: Fun in the sun, no need for northern exposure
Crowds swarmed Bondi Beach at the weekend as thousands of people flocked to Sydney’s east to enjoy a post-Christmas burst of sun.
As beachgoers headed down to the water loaded with tents and towels, the Harbour City’s eastern beaches heaved with activity, albeit with more social distancing.
“The fact we’ve managed to keep the virus at bay, and in the northern beaches, is a big achievement,” said Sarah Kelly, as she played with her golden retriever on the rocks at Bronte Beach.
“It’s a totally different story where I’m from in Scotland,” she said. “COVID is out of control there.”
Partner Ross Dunne, 31, agreed. “It’s pretty much paradise,” he said, adding that he was glad the couple weren’t stuck in the northern beaches. “I’m glad we can still get to the beach on this side of the bridge.”
Kylkar Loussikian 7.30pm: New Sydney alerts
NSW Health is warning people who visited the Cibo Cafe in North Sydney on December 16 between 11.30am and 12.45pm to get tested and isolate for a fortnight regardless of the result.
Health authorities are also concerned about possible infection transmissions in Casula, in Sydney’s southwest, with new alerts for the Priceline Pharmacy, Coles and Radio Bombay restaurant.
Anyone at the Priceline Pharmacy on Thursday between 6.30pm and 7pm, at Coles between 7pm and 7.30pm and at the Radio Bombay restaurant between 7.30pm and 7.50pm should get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result, authorities said.
Anyone at the Casula Mall between 6.30pm and 8pm that day should monitor for symptoms and get tested if they emerge.
READ MORE: ‘Madman’ Johnson gets his Hollywood ending
AFP 7pm: Europe rolls out vaccine
EU nations were to begin vaccinating their most vulnerable groups on Sunday as a reputedly more contagious coronavirus variant spread internationally and the WHO warned that the current pandemic would not be the last.
First doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in EU countries including hard-hit Italy, Spain and France on Saturday, ready for distribution to retirement homes and care staff.
The approval and rollout of vaccines has boosted hopes that 2021 could bring a respite from the pandemic, which has killed more than 1.7 million since emerging in China late last year.
However, in a video message ahead of the first International Day of Epidemic Preparedness on Sunday, World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said it was time to learn the lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Staff reporters 6.05pm: State tests 4m people
More than four million people have been tested for COVID-19 in NSW, health authorities revealed on Sunday.
“Thank you NSW! We have reached a major milestone, carrying out more than four million tests since January 2020,” NSW Health tweeted, adding the state has more 300 testing sites.
Thank you NSW! We have reached a major milestone, carrying out more than four million tests since January 2020.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 27, 2020
There are over 300 testing locations across NSW. To find your nearest clinic, visit: https://t.co/LmeATIQK4Z pic.twitter.com/HpoRZB9Oh5
READ MORE: Furious police break up parties in Byron Bay
AFP 5.30pm: Fears for third lockdown in France
France has not ruled out imposing a third nationwide lockdown if coronavirus cases continue to rise, its Health Minister says, as the country braces for a possible post-Christmas spike.
“We will never exclude measures that are necessary to protect the public,” Olivier Veran told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper on Sunday.
“That is not to say we have made a decision, but that we are watching the situation hour by hour.”
France has been registering around 15,000 new infections per day, and on Friday confirmed the first case of a new coronavirus variant that recently emerged in Britain.
The new strain, which experts fear is more contagious, prompted more than 50 countries to impose travel restrictions on Britain.
Following a snap 48-hour ban on British arrivals this week, France has reopened its borders — partly to allow French citizens to return home but also to relieve the massive build-up of freight goods.
On Saturday it took delivery of the first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine it will use in its mass inoculation campaign.
READ MORE: Mutant army moving fast but vaccines a key weapon
Staff writers 4.30pm New exemption for Northern Beaches residents
Minister for Health and Medical Research Brad Hazzard has signed an exemption to the Public Health (COVID19 Northern Beaches) Order 2020 to allow Northern Beaches residents to use public outdoor playground equipment and natural swimming pools.
According to the statement, under the exemption, a natural swimming pool is a pool that contains untreated water supplied directly to the pool from the ocean or other natural water source, and that does not have a circulation system.
The exemption, which is designed to allow people to enjoy outdoor exercise, is effective immediately.
Adults from different households are reminded to maintain a social distance of 1.5m.
The change allows the Northern Beaches to join the rest of NSW in enjoying playgrounds and natural pools.
READ MORE: As bad as 2020 was, it could have been much worse
Rhiannon Down 4.00pm Mystery cases plaguing NSW
NSW health authorities are racing to find the missing pieces of the puzzle to explain the source of at least four mystery cases across Sydney.
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed there were a number of “unlinked” cases with no clear source that remain under investigation, as the state’s case number grew by seven on Sunday.
The tally included one new mystery case from a Northern Beaches firefighter who went to the Belrose Hotel, which emerged in today’s numbers.
Dr Chant said the investigation into a number of mystery cases remained open including that of a Bondi resident, which was believed to be a false positive, a CBD man, a Manly resident who commuted to the Northern Beaches and a worker at the Belrose Hotel aged in his 20s.
“All indications are that this result may be a false positive, but we are convening an expert panel to review all the information around this case to come to a definitive conclusion,” she said.
The hotel worker and the firefighter’s cases are not believed to be linked though authorities urge that anyone who attended the venue on December 11 get tested.
“Can I emphasise… the gentleman in his 20s, did not attend on that day. So we’re not looking at this - the gentleman in his 20s infecting this firefighter, what we’re looking at is for the missing link - who else was present at the Belrose?,” Dr Chant said.
READ MORE: Economists predict ‘plenty of optimism’ for the year ahead
Andrew Gregory 3.30pm ‘Disease detectives’ working to close Covid case
Borders closed, lockdowns were tightened and dire warnings of aggressive new outbreaks were issued. Scientists worried about the vulnerability of children and politicians agonised over shutting schools.
There was scant relief on the coronavirus front last week, as the discovery of an alarming pair of mutant strains played havoc with the Christmas plans – not to mention the fraying nerves – of Britons, South Africans and a rapidly growing number of other nationalities.
Yet a singular effort by a weary microbiologist in Texas offered at least a glimpse of hope that the mutant army of variant coronavirus strains will ultimately be defeated by science.
Of the many questions raised by the separate but similarly menacing Covid-19 variants first identified in southeast England and South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, the most worrying in the longer term was surely their impact on the hi-tech vaccines that are already being pumped into arms around the world.
Will the immunising effects of the medical marvels developed by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca be neutered by a malevolent shift in the virus’s angle of attack? Are we back to square one on vaccine development? How long must we endure the uncertainty of not knowing how effective and/or durable these or any other vaccines may prove?
At his Texas University laboratory in Galveston, Professor Vineet Menachery specialises in the shifting relationships between coronavirus infections and the immunity systems they confront. How does disease spread in the body, and why is the severity of symptoms so varied? What works and what does not in preventing infection and limiting its effects?
Read the full story here
Staff writers 3.05pm NSW reaches major testing milestone
NSW Health has shared a major testing milestone via their Twitter page, after having carried out four million Covid tests since January 2020.
Thank you NSW! We have reached a major milestone, carrying out more than four million tests since January 2020.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 27, 2020
There are over 300 testing locations across NSW. To find your nearest clinic, visit: https://t.co/LmeATIQK4Z pic.twitter.com/HpoRZB9Oh5
READ MORE: Frydenberg may be too nice for top job
AFP 2.45pm ‘Covid pandemic won’t be the last’: WHO chief
The coronavirus crisis will not be the last pandemic, and attempts to improve human health are “doomed” without tackling climate change and animal welfare, the World Health Organization’s chief said.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also condemned the “dangerously short-sighted” cycle of throwing cash at outbreaks but doing nothing to prepare for the next one, in a video message marking Sunday’s first International Day of Epidemic Preparedness.
The WHO director-general said it was time to learn the lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic.
“For too long, the world has operated on a cycle of panic and neglect,” he said. “We throw money at an outbreak, and when it’s over, we forget about it and do nothing to prevent the next one. This is dangerously short-sighted, and frankly difficult to understand.” The Global Preparedness Monitoring Board’s September 2019 first annual report on world readiness for health emergencies -- published a few months before the novel coronavirus broke out -- said the planet was woefully unprepared for potentially devastating pandemics.
I wish everyone a safe and restful holiday season. This year by staying apart to stay safe from #COVID19, we can all give the most important gifts of all: the gifts of life and health. #InThisTogetherpic.twitter.com/HlNobGujwg
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) December 24, 2020
“History tells us that this will not be the last pandemic, and epidemics are a fact of life,” said Tedros.
“The pandemic has highlighted the intimate links between the health of humans, animals and planet,” he added.
“Any efforts to improve human health are doomed unless they address the critical interface between humans and animals, and the existential threat of climate change that’s making our earth less habitable,” he said.
The WHO Chief’s comments came as at least 1.75 million deaths from the novel coronavirus were recorded as well as nearly 80 million cases, since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP.
“In the past 12 months, our world has been turned upside-down. The impacts of the pandemic go far beyond the disease itself, with far-reaching consequences for societies and economies,” said Tedros.
But the Ethiopian former health minister said the coronavirus crisis should not have come as a surprise, given the repeated warnings.
“We must all learn the lessons the pandemic is teaching us,” he said. Tedros said all countries should invest in preparedness capacities to prevent, detect and mitigate emergencies of all kinds, and called for stronger primary health care provision.
READ MORE: Journal of the plague year
Staff writers 2.20pm Clarification on NSW beach use
NSW Health has issued a statement clarifying the rules for outdoor gatherings.
NSW Beach Use:
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 27, 2020
Councils all along the NSW coast, including Greater Sydney and Northern Beaches, should be aware that there are no Health Orders stopping beaches being open for swimming, exercise or recreation.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: We must not repeat the mistakes of a lost year, says Tony Abbott
David Murray 1.50pm Cops break up Byron Bay parties as bans ignored
NSW police are urging visitors and locals to “celebrate responsibly” in Byron Bay after breaking up a series of parties attended by hundreds of people, in breach of a ban on mass public gatherings, at beaches and national parks.
Police said in a statement that with a continued influx of visitors to the area – one of the most popular destinations on the tourist map – there had been an increase in large public gatherings.
Byron Bay visitors and locals urged to celebrate the season responsiblyhttps://t.co/gL7NR89nuD
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) December 27, 2020
Despite outdoor gatherings in public places being limited to a maximum of 100 people under current pandemic restrictions, police say they were forced to disperse large crowds gathered at Apex Park on Byron’s Main Beach on both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
Officers then attended Tyagarah National Park around midnight Saturday, breaking up an “illegally organised party”. Early Sunday morning, police again attended Apex Park, ordering a large group gathered there to tip out their alcohol and move on.
“Following this, police attended Main Beach and Belongil Beach after approximately 300 people gathered at each location,” the police statement reads.
“The parties were closed down by police and the crowd was moved on. About 200 people were dispersed and music equipment seized with 73 parking infringements issued.
Read the full story here
Staff writers 1.20pm Queensland records another day of zero cases
Queensland has again recorded no new cases from local or international sources.
Sunday, 27 December – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) December 26, 2020
• 0 new cases
• 11 active cases
• 1,241 total cases
• 1,461,787 tests
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,217 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/W1pMDTTFCj
There are currently 11 active cases in Queensland with 1616 tests performed yesterday.
READ MORE: Economists predict ‘plenty of optimism’ for the year ahead
Staff writers: 1.00pm Another case from Erskineville pub
Since 8pm last night, a new case has been linked to the Rose of Australia Hotel in Erskineville and will be recorded in tomorrow’s figures.
Confirmed as a household contact of the case, Ms Berejiklian said this proved why the 14-day isolation period is so critical.
“We are seeing people come forward who develop symptoms that 10 days or so after the exposure, right up to that 14 days,” she said.
So please stay in the isolation for that 14 days. Please get a test before you leave isolation.” READ MORE: With no coronavirus vaccine yet, it’s up to us
Staff writers 12.30pm ‘Exact source may never be found’: NSW CHO
In response to questions about the fact that public health officials have not been able to
determine “patient zero” of the Avalon cluster, Chief health officer Kerry Chant admitted “We may never find the exact source and the links.”
“When people have very old infection, we sometimes are not able to isolate the virus.”
“That’s why it is equally as important for everyone across the state to be getting tested for COVID, for everyone across the state to look every day at the new list of venues and check themselves off against having been a casual or a close contact at those venues and for everyone with the most minimal of symptoms.”
Dr Chant encouraged NSW residents to continue testing so that “unrecognised chains of transmission” aren’t missed, while also stressing the importance of “COVID-safe practises.”
While speaking on the state of the existing cases, Chant also gave an update on the person who flew from Sydney to Griffith on 21 December – and was since confirmed as a positive case.
She says that all of the 28 passengers and one flight attendant have been contacted. So far 19 people have tested negative, while the remaining tests are still pending.
Chant said the person on the flight did not know he was a close contact of a case at the time he boarded the flight and did nothing wrong.
READ MORE: Covid consequences to linger as thousands skip critical health screening appointments
Staff writers 12.05pm ‘We should expect outbreaks’: Gladys
When questioned about the possibility of future outbreaks, Gladys Berejiklian shared her response. “I can’t make any assurances that this won’t happen again.”
“This is a very contagious disease. And I don’t think any Government in any place on the planet can give an assurance that outbreaks won’t occur. In fact, I think I said consistently we should expect outbreaks.”
Ms Berejiklian said “when you’re welcoming back people, Australians every week, you’re going to have to anticipate there’ll be outbreaks and, of course, I believe we have a very, very strong system in place.”
However, the Premier warned, “It only takes one person to forget or one person to have a lapse in something or unintentionally do something which then allows the disease to escape and transmit. That’s what we always have to remember. It’s extremely, extremely contagious, and it can transfer on surfaces, not just through aerosols.”
READ MORE: Queen points out pandemic’s socially distant paradox
Angelica Snowden 11.45am Melbourne man tries to escape hotel quarantine
A returned overseas traveller has been arrested after he tried to evade hotel quarantine in Victoria on Boxing Day, police have confirmed.
The 24-year-old man was arrested after he attempted to flee the hotel at Tullamarine near Melbourne’s airport north of the city.
“The man was arrested in front of the hotel after he left his room without permission around 2.45pm,” Victoria Police said in a statement.
“The 24-year-old man was returned to his room without further incident.”
Victoria Police said they would investigate the incident.
READ MORE: Crowds at shops despite CBD warning
Angelica Snowden 11.05am NSW records 7 new cases, NYE plans in balance
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed another seven cases of locally acquired COVID-19, all connected with the Northern Beaches.
Ms Berejiklian said the latest news came after almost 24,000 people were tested overnight.
“Six have already been confirmed as part of the Avalon cluster and of those six, five are already in isolation,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“The seventh case is under investigation, but the person did attend the Belrose Hotel,” she said. “A number of those cases were found to be positive very late on in the isolation process - day 10 or 11 which demonstrates how important it is to stay in isolation the full 14 days if you have been asked to do so.”
NSW recorded seven locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, with an additional four cases in returned travellers in hotel quarantine. pic.twitter.com/f4jDj8FQaK
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 27, 2020
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant confirmed the case under investigation was a firefighter based in Sydney’s northern beaches.
Six of the locally acquired cases are linked to the Avalon cluster. Investigations continue into the source of the Avalon cluster, which now numbers 122.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 27, 2020
There are now 122 COVID cases linked with the Avalon cluster.
As New Year’s Eve approaches, Ms Berejiklian urged NSW residents to remain patient before she could confirm whether restrictions could be eased.
“I appreciate frustration levels are increasing as we get closer to New Year’s Eve and days we stay at home increase,” she said.
“We hope to have some clear information for everybody tomorrow or the latest the day after on New Year’s Eve and (what) the next weeks will look like including those communities on the Northern Beaches.”
Residents in Greater Sydney should reduce their mobility ahead of New Year celebrations and try to stay home as much as possible, Ms Berejiklian said.
“Everybody is aware of the restrictions that are in place and as we approach New Year’s Eve can we please remind everybody that unfortunately singing, dancing, speaking loudly are all accelerants for transmitting the virus and, therefore, those activities are obviously not allowed and we ask everybody to please respect that,” she said.
READ MORE: Luxury rentals empty, tourists ditch Noosa
Staff writers 10.40am NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian update at 11am
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will hold a press conference at 11am, where she will reveal the latest on the coronavirus cases and is also expected to share the new rules around New Year’s Eve celebrations.
READ MORE: Does COVID mean end of Big Australia?
Frances Vinall 10.25am Explainer: All the restrictions returning to Sydney
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced what virus restrictions will be in place in the state following Christmas.
Speaking at a press conference on Boxing Day, Ms Berejiklian said that restrictions both in the northern beaches and Greater Sydney would revert back to what they were before December 23.
She said there was one difference compared to the stay at home rules prior to Christmas.
Those in the northern part of the northern beaches – north of the Narrabeen Bridge – are allowed to gather outdoors in numbers of up to five, but are not allowed indoor gatherings.
Those in the southern part of the northern beaches are allowed to gather outdoors in numbers of up to 10.
Over Christmas people in the northern region were allowed to have five visitors at their homes, while people in the south could have 10 guests at their homes.
But that is not allowed from midnight, as the northern beaches reverts back to the pre-Christmas rules.
Those in Greater Sydney also revert back to the rules from December 23, with no more than 10 people allowed in a household.
Ms Berejiklian said people from the northern part of the northern beaches should not go to the southern part and vice versa, “unless you absolutely have to”.
“If you’re in Greater Sydney, do not go to the northern beaches,” she said.
The restrictions will last until midnight on December 30, leaving the possibility open for restrictions to change for New Year’s Eve.
“In the next few days we’ll let people know what New Year’s looks like,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Our strategy is to nip this in the bud as soon as we can.”
The new rules come into effect from 12.01am on December 27.
The lack of restrictions in regional NSW continues, Ms Berejiklian said.
Read the full story here
Agencies 9.50am EU readies vaccine rollout as new strain spreads
Countries around Europe were on Saturday preparing to roll out their first coronavirus vaccines even as a reputedly more contagious variant spreads around the world, forcing some nations back into lockdown.
The impending inoculation campaigns have boosted hopes that 2021 could bring a respite from the pandemic, which has killed more than 1.7 million people since emerging in China late last year.
First doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine arrived in EU countries including hard-hit Italy, Spain and France early on Saturday, ready for distribution to retirement homes and care staff.
“We’ll get our freedom back, we’ll be able to embrace again,” Italian Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio said as he urged his countrymen to get the shot.
But polls show only 57 percent of Italians intend to get the jab whereas scientists estimate herd immunity can only be reached if 75 to 80 percent have it.
Vaccinations in all 27 European Union countries are set to begin on Sunday, after regulators approved the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on December 21.
But a new strain that emerged in Britain and spread rapidly has sent jitters through already overstretched health services as countries from Sweden to Japan have reported cases.
Austria began its third national lockdown on Saturday and millions also woke to tougher restrictions in Britain, where the vaccine rollout has already begun.
READ MORE: Will you, won’t you return to the office?
Frances Vinall 9.25am: Fears over Hillsong crowd
Video footage appears to show a large crowd at Hillsong Church’s Christmas light display in Sydney’s northwest.
The video, aired on Channel 7 on Boxing Day, shows people at the church’s Sydney Hills campus at Bellavista.
A witness filmed the throng of people at the Christmas Light display, concerned about the apparent lack of social distancing at the gathering.
The display is not a ticketed or scheduled event but rather was open throughout December for the public to visit at times of their own choosing.
The Hillsong website advertises the display as a “drive through” attraction.
Read the full story here
Jack Paynter 8.50am: NSW adds new venues to its warning list
More cafes, gyms and pubs across Sydney have been added to the list of venues visited by confirmed cases of COVID-19.
The northern beaches cluster has grown to 116 as restrictions across Sydney reverted back to pre-Christmas provisions on Sunday morning.
The northern beaches region returned to stay-at-home orders with no indoor gatherings allowed and only four reasons residents are permitted to leave home.
People are also not allowed to enter or leave the northern and southern regions of the northern beaches, which is split at the Narrabeen Bridge and east of the Baha’i Temple.
For the rest of Sydney, the restrictions returned to 10 people allowed to visit homes, with children aged under 12 again included in the cap.
Suburbs such as North Sydney, Belrose, Balmain, Rozelle and Drummoyne are among the new venues added to the NSW Health coronavirus alerts list.
Anyone who attended the following venue at the following times is considered a close contact, and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of whether a negative result is received:
Cibo Cafe, North Sydney (71 Walker Street), Wednesday December 16 from 12pm – 12.45pm.
Anyone who attended the following venues at the following times is a casual contact who must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received:
Anytime Fitness, Belrose (Glenrose Shopping Centre), Sunday December 6 from 9.30am – 11.30am and Monday December 7 from 9.30am – 11.30am;
P’nut Street Noodles Thai Restaurant, Balmain (415 Darling Street), Wednesday December 16 from 6pm – 6.15pm;
Belrose Hotel, Belrose (5 Hews Parade), Friday December 11 from 12pm – 6pm;
Sir Reuben, Rozelle (702 Darling Street), Sunday December 20 from 11am – 11.30am;
Zeus Street Greek, Drummoyne (187-189 Lyons Street), Tuesday December 22 from 6pm – 6.15pm;
Balmain Post Office (366b Darling St), Tuesday December 22 from 3.30pm – 4pm.
— NCA Newswire
Angelica Snowden 8.10am: Victoria again reports no new cases
Victoria has recorded just one COVID-19 case overnight in a returned overseas traveller.
For the 58th straight day in a row, no known cases of locally acquired coronavirus cases have been reported.
The news came out of 5848 tests conducted in the 24 hours to midnight.
Yesterday there were 0 new local cases & 0 lives lost. 0 new cases were acquired interstate, 1 international. There are 10 active cases in quarantine or self-isolation. 5,848 test results were received. https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/6DSyJtt5Pr
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) December 26, 2020
Agencies 7.20am: Biden implores Trump to sign COVID-19 relief bill
US President-elect Joe Biden has warned of “devastating consequences” if President Donald Trump continues to delay signing a COVID-19 economic relief bill passed by Congress.
Mr Biden spoke out as millions of Americans saw their jobless benefits expire after Mr Trump threw a long-awaited pandemic aid package into doubt — demanding lawmakers more than triple the $600 direct payments to US taxpayers.
“This abdication of responsibility has devastating consequences. Today, about 10 million Americans will lose unemployment insurance benefits,” Mr Biden said in a statement.
The stimulus measure is wrapped up with a $1.4 trillion funding bill, without which the government will be forced to shut down at midnight Monday.
“In just a few days, government funding will expire, putting vital services and paychecks for military personnel at risk,” Mr Biden added.
“In less than a week, a moratorium on evictions expires, putting millions at risk of being forced from their homes over the holidays.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 23, 2020
In a video last week, Mr Trump — who is due to leave office in less than a month — called the $900 million bill “a disgrace”, despite it being passed Monday with a large bipartisan majority after months of negotiation.
The legislation was designed to throw a lifeline to businesses and people struggling to keep their heads above water. But in a pre-recorded statement made in the White House, Mr Trump said he would refuse to accept the bill without changes increasing the checks to taxpayers to $2,000. — AFP
READ MORE: ‘It’s a disgrace’ — Trump rejects COVID-10 relief bill
Daniel Sankey 6.20am: Eerily quiet to large crowds for Boxing Day sales
The early morning queues were absent in Sydney’s CBD yesterday as shoppers heeded warnings to avoid Boxing Day sales.
“It’s really quiet … I bring the kids every year and we came early at 6am to avoid the crowds, and once we do what we need we’ll head home,” shopper Natasha Birt told The Daily Telegraph yesterday morning.
“I think still getting that experience of everyone coming in, as long as you stay safe, sanitise, and keep your masks on it’s okay.”
Yesterday morning, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the number of CBD shoppers was “substantially reduced and we’re deeply grateful”.
However, the eerie quiet soon transformed into a bustling hubbub as shoppers made their way into Sydney’s Pitt Street Mall in the afternoon.
The Daily Telegraph reported that suburban venues were also extremely busy, with large crowds at Westfield Parramatta and DFO Homebush.
“It’s vital as we are in this critical phase of the response that people limit non-essential movements, avoid crowded spaces, and if they do need to go shopping and out and about indoors, please wear a mask at all times,” NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.
Paige Taylor 5.20am: WA police locate hotel quarantine runaway
A hotel quarantine runaway who refused a coronavirus test after arriving in Perth from Spain has been located, reportedly in hospital.
Police search teams were dispatched on Saturday after the 49-year-old woman slipped out of her hotel quarantine at the Pan Pacific in Perth partway through her mandatory 14 days of isolation. She was seen walking along Adelaide Terrace in the centre of the city’s business district at 10.20am on Saturday. Police were desperate to find her before she came into contact with other people.
The woman is believed to be among close to 400,000 Australian citizens and permanent residents who have come home since the COVID-19 pandemic began. They are entitled to return but must agree to 14 days of quarantine and other rules, including coronavirus tests.
This is our WA COVID-19 update for Saturday, 26 December 2020.
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) December 26, 2020
For official information regarding COVID-19 in Western Australia, please visit https://t.co/rf5avD4RYphttps://t.co/0SUybFrDDY pic.twitter.com/oFIbqoAYjv
On Facebook, the woman posted videos from quarantine documenting her difficulties, her allergies and conspiracy theories. In a confused nine-minute monologue she said the virus was not real but also caused by the 5G network. She urged people to stop working for the police or as nurses.
“My body is like the most powerful healing tool not some drug made by (a) pharmaceutical company,” she said.
Police found her on Saturday night. It was not clear If she had been taken to a police watch house, back to hotel quarantine or to a hospital.
In Perth, the conditions of hotel quarantine for returning Australians have at times been the subject of bitter complaint. Perth sends returned travellers to city hotels mostly with windows that do not open. No Perth quarantine hotels have balconies. Perth has no “health hotels” for people who suffer mental illness, anxiety or other conditions that would make it difficult to spend two weeks in a room with no opportunity to walk outside even on short breaks.
WA’s strict quarantine rules however have helped the state eradicate coronavirus. The only cases in WA are in hotel quarantine. On Saturday, it had been 260 days with no known cases of community transmission.
Breaches of WA’s quarantine lawyers have repeatedly landed people in jail. Richmond Tiger player Sydney Stack, 20, spent Christmas in a Perth prison after police accused him of breaching the terms of his agreed self-isolation in the wheatbelt town of Northam. He had returned from Adelaide on December 10 while people who had been in South Australia were still effectively blocked from coming to WA. Stack met the criteria for an exemption because his grandfather, who lived in WA, had died. After police said they caught him in the nightclub district of Northbridge in Perth while he was supposed to be in home quarantine, a magistrate denied him bail.
Agencies 5am: China hails its ‘extraordinary’ COVID-19 success
China’s ruling Communist Party leaders have congratulated themselves on their “extremely extraordinary” success in handling the COVID-19 outbreak domestically, ahead of a World Health Organisation probe into the disease’s origins, AFP reports.
China faced a barrage of criticism at home and abroad over its initial handling of the virus, which emerged in the central city of Wuhan last December.
China’s Politburo, the top decision-making body of the Communist Party, said late Friday that the party leadership “played a decisive role in leading … China in prevailing over the rare risks and challenges this year.”
“At the critical moment … the Party Central Committee took a long-term view … achieving an extremely extraordinary glory in this extremely unusual year,” state news agency Xinhua reported, citing a statement issued after the two-day meeting.
China has largely curbed the spread of the virus, and was one of the only major economies to report growth this year.
But it has been accused of covering up the initial outbreak, and so contributing to the virus’ spread internationally.
At home, Beijing has attempted to stifle criticism by punishing at least eight whistleblowers.
A Chinese citizen journalist who reported on Wuhan’s outbreak, Zhang Zhan, has been detained since May and is expected to go on trial on Monday.
Zhang is a former lawyer who travelled to the city in February to report on the chaotic initial stages of the outbreak, through livestreams and critical essays widely shared on social media platforms banned in China.
Apart from the CIC detainees, let’s not forget another hunger striker, the civil journalist #ZhangZhan. She was arrested doe to her report on #Wuhanvirus. She has been imposed forced feed, foot chained and 24-hrs movement restraint. Her only crime is seeking the truth in China. https://t.co/7oLTTcom5L
— mOnkmOnki (@monkmonkii) December 26, 2020
The two-day Politburo meeting comes shortly before an international team of WHO experts is expected to arrive in China to investigate the animal origins of COVID-19, during which trip they will visit Wuhan.
An expert from the team told AFP this week that the investigation was “not about finding a guilty country or a guilty authority”, but about “about understanding what happened to avoid that in the future”.
Beijing has recently attempted to cast doubts on the origins of the virus — the state-run People’s Daily newspaper said in a Facebook post in early November that “all available evidence suggests that the coronavirus did not start in central China’s Wuhan”.
China has also tried to enhance its soft power push during the pandemic — promising to share its vaccines with developing countries, and engaging in “mask diplomacy” — donating personal protective gear to countries in need. — AFP
Five close contacts of two #COVID19 cases confirmed Friday in Beijing tested positive in nucleic acid test, Beijing CDC official Pang Xinghuo said at press conference Saturday. pic.twitter.com/0r6HKx3T26
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) December 26, 2020
Ellie Dudley 4.45am: NSW faces a return to tight restrictions
New South Wales will revert back to restrictions that were in place prior to Christmas Eve, as nine new cases of the coronavirus were recorded over the past 24 hours.
39,133 tests were conducted on Christmas Day.
Eight of the nine cases reported were all directly linked to the northern beaches Avalon cluster. Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the ninth case could potentially be a false positive.
The restrictions for the northern beaches, the Greater Sydney region, the Central Coast, Wollongong and the Nepean Blue Mountains will be as follows from midnight tonight until 11.59pm December 30.
The northern region of the northern beaches (north of Narrabeen Bridge and east of the Baha’i temple):
This area will return to “stay-at-home” restrictions in place prior to December 24, with no indoor gatherings allowed. Up to five people, including children, will be able to gather outdoors for exercise or recreational activity. People may not enter or leave this zone.
For the southern region of the northern beaches:
This area will return to “stay-at-home” restrictions in place prior to December 24, with no indoor gatherings allowed. Up to 10 people, including children, will be able to gather outdoors for exercise or recreational activity. People may not enter or leave this zone.
#PUBLICHEALTHALERT NEW VENUES AND UPDATED
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 26, 2020
TRANSPORT ROUTES
NSW Health has been notified of a number of new and updated transport routes attended by confirmed cases of #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/2tlsLBJc8t
Residents of the Northern Beaches are able to leave for four permitted reasons:
Shopping for food or other goods and services, travel for work or education purposes if unable to work from home, exercise, medical or caring reasons.
A northern beaches resident now located elsewhere in NSW is exempt from these restrictions provided it has been at least 14 days since they have been in this local government area.
If it is less than 14 days, they need to follow the relevant restrictions for their area of residence, regardless of their current location, until the 14 days has elapsed.
For these people, outdoor gatherings continue to be restricted to two people.
For the Greater Sydney region, Central Coast, Wollongong and Nepean Blue Mountains: Restrictions will remain unchanged in these regions. Gatherings in the home are restricted to 10 people in total (including children). People who work in the CBD are urged to work from home where practical.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian also announced Sydney’s New Year’s Eve fireworks will most likely be watched from home this year, as NSW health authorities prepare to review restrictions over the next few days.
“We’ll be taking health advice in the next few days as to what New Year’s Eve looks like, but there are some basic things I can communicate very strongly,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Everybody should assume they are watching the fireworks from home this year. In relation to hospitality venues, everybody should assume the four square metre rule as opposed to the two square metre rule.”
“We will await health advice.”
Staff Reporters 4.30am: Melbourne man faces fine over quarantine ‘escape’
A man has been arrested outside a Tullamarine quarantine hotel after escaping from his room on Boxing Day, the Herald Sun reports.
The 24 year-old man was returned to his accommodation “without further incident” after he left his room without permission around 2.45pm, Leading Senior Constable Rohan Imms said.
“Victoria Police is working with COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria to investigate the incident,” he said.
John-Lee Berridge’s family said he was the Victorian man who tried to flee quarantine at the Holiday Inn and is now facing more than $19,000 in fines.
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