Coronavirus Australia live news: NSW backflips on five-day lockdown orders
In an extraordinary about-face, NSW Health has retracted a previous lockdown directive for those who arrived in NSW from Victoria since January 29.
- SA CHO announces second Melbourne airport case
- Doors slam on Victoria
- Victoria plunged into five-day lockdown
- Fast-moving UK strain ‘like no other’
- Holiday Inn cluster grows to 13
- PM wants ‘proportionate’ Vic response
- Jabs won’t inject life into travel yet
Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In an extraordinary about-face NSW Health has retracted a previous directive for those who arrived in NSW from January 29 to lockdown for five days.
A second worker at Melbourne Airport has tested positive to Covid, SA’s chief health officer says, sparking fears the outbreak which has plunged Victoria into a five-day lockdown has spread interstate.
Borders across Australia are slamming shut as Victoria deals with Melbourne’s Holiday Inn cluster that has risen to 13 cases.
AstraZeneca says it could take between six and nine months to produce COVID-19 vaccines that are effective against virus variants.
Ellie Dudley 10.30pm: Two infected workers at Melbourne airport
Chief medical officer Paul Kelly has confirmed two people have worked at the Melbourne airport while infectious, and officially declared greater Melbourne a COVID-19 hotspot.
Professor Kelly described the two workers at Tullamarine airport as “of particular concern”.
“Given the airport is a hub for travel to all jurisdictions within Australia, there is substantial risk of national spread of the virus,” he wrote in a statement released on Friday evening.
The Victorian Health department have confirmed the second worker at the airport - a cleaner - was a previously identified case that was reported earlier in the week. The first worker, announced earlier today, was at the Brunetti cafe.
The cleaner had no passenger interaction at the airport and no close contacts were identified outside his staff group, as verified by CCTV.
A total of thirteen cases are now associated with the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport.
Genome sequencing has so far confirmed eight cases to have been infected with the more infectious B117 variant of concern.
Professor Kelly has officially declared the greater Melbourne area a COVID-19 hotspot for an initial period of three days from 11.59pm Friday.
He has also asked that “anyone who has recently been in Greater Melbourne should stay alert to public health messages from state and territory health authorities.”
Ellie Dudley 10.00pm: Biggest UK economic contraction in 300 years
The United Kingdom economy has recorded its largest contraction in over 300 years in 2020, due to the coronavirus’ tight grip on the country’s economic and physical health.
The country’s gross domestic product shrank 9.9 per cent over the year as a whole, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Friday.
By comparison, France’s economy shrank by 8.3 per cent, Italy’s by 8.8 per cent and Germany contracted 5 per cent.
The decline in the UK GDP in 2020 was the largest in more than three centuries, according to Bank of England data, though the preliminary estimate is likely to be revised.
The economy recorded its biggest contraction, of 13 per cent, in 1709, during an unusually cold winter known as the Great Frost.
Despite more-infection variants of the virus continuing to spread across the country, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is hopeful the British vaccination rollout will help pry open the failing economy.
The second quarter of the year was especially difficult for the UK, as a nationwide lockdown took effect.
The closure of hospitality and entertainment venues took its toll on the economy, where a higher share of national income is spent on recreation and similar services that require face-to-face contact than in other comparable countries.
When the virus surged again in October, which scientists attribute to the introduction of a new highly-infectious variant of the virus, the country’s growth was impacted again.
However, data released on Friday showed the economy performed better than expected in the final quarter of the year, aided by government spending and business investment.
Growing 1 per cent in the final quarter of the year compared with the previous quarter, equivalent to an annualised growth rate of 4 per cent, the ONS said.
In January, the UK returned to lockdown in an attempt to gain control over the fast-spreading super strains, which is expected to cause another contraction in the first three months of the year.
More than 120,000 deaths have been linked to the virus in the UK and at least four million people infected, marking one of the more deadly outbreaks in the worl
READ MORE: Second airport worker tests positive
Ellie Dudley 8.16pm: NSW backflips on Victorian lockdown order
In an extraordinary about-face, NSW Health has retracted a previous directive for those who arrived in NSW from January 29 to lockdown for five days.
Now, anyone arriving in NSW from Victoria after 11.59pm on Friday February 12 must remain at their home or place of residence for the five-day period announced by the Victorian government.
“The date previously advised has been updated following advice from the NSW Chief Health Officer,” a statement from NSW Health reads.
A spokesman from NSW Health was unable to explain why the advice had shifted.
For NSW residents living along the Victorian border, the five-day stay-at-home requirement will only apply to people who have visited greater Melbourne after 11.59pm on Friday 12 February. It will not apply to NSW border residents who travel into regional Victoria.
People will be permitted to leave their places of residence for the same four reasons allowed under the Victorian measures.
These are shopping for essential items, medical and other care and caregiving, exercise, and essential work.
More to come...
Courtney Walsh 8.12pm: No plans to postpone AFLW season, says boss
AFLW head Nicole Livingstone said there are no plans to postpone the season at this stage despite the five-day lockdown in Victoria.
“We will continue to remain as adaptable as possible as the season progresses in a constantly changing environment and we will listen to and work closely with each stakeholder to ensure the best possible outcome for everyone in the game,” she said.
The clash between Geelong and the Western Bulldogs on Friday night at GMHBA Stadium was to proceed with fans in attendance. Matches between St Kilda and Carlton and Melbourne and North Melbourne on Saturday, along with a match between Richmond and Collingwood on Sunday will occur without crowds.
Fans are still allowed to attend matches to be played in Blacktown and at Norwood Oval in Adelaide.
READ MORE: PM says Australia ‘won’t be hostage to overseas schedules’
Rhys Blakely 7.30pm: New Oxford jab ‘ready to tackle variants soon’
A modified Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to protect against new coronavirus variants will be ready for autumn, the British drugmaker says.
Sir Mene Pangalos, head of research and development at AstraZeneca, said that work on an edited version of the vaccine began months ago with the hope to have it ready by next winter.
The project has taken on a fresh urgency after the identification of several new “variants of concern”, both overseas and in the UK, which experts fear could reduce the effectiveness of the first generation of vaccines.
Other companies, including Moderna and Pfizer, which are using an alternative mRNA technology for their vaccines, could create modified doses even more quickly than the OxfordAstraZeneca team. The crunch decision may be about what strains to guard against, which may involve trying to forecast the evolution of the virus.
READ MORE: Real-time data key to Australia’s vaccine rollout
Rachel Baxendale 6.35pm: Airport cleaner case among five identified on Thursday
A Melbourne Airport cleaner who has tested positive for coronavirus was a previously identified primary close contact of a known case from the Holiday Inn cluster, Victorian health authorities have confirmed.
The case was among five publicly identified on Thursday.
Victoria’s health department said the case had worked as a cleaner at Melbourne Airport and at a school, prior to being identified as a primary close contact.
“A small number of staff close contacts have been identified from both sites. Initial testing on this group is negative and the school has reopened,” the department said.
“The cleaner had no passenger interaction at the airport and no close contacts were identified outside his staff group – this was verified with CCTV.
“This is one of the 13 cases already identified and linked with the Holiday Inn.”
READ MORE: Federal MPs told to head to Canberra
Yoni Bashan 6.18pm: Thousands who travelled to Vic to be locked down in NSW
Thousands of people who travelled from Victoria into NSW over the past fortnight will be subjected to the same lockdown conditions about to take effect in the southern state, a directive expected to cause widespread disruption and which has been panned by some leading epidemiologists.
NSW Health officials requested on Friday that anyone who travelled from Victoria on or after January 29 to remain in their home or place of residence for the next five days; they will be permitted to shop for essential items, pursue medical care, exercise and conduct essential work.
The limitations restricting their movements are identical to those that will apply to Victoria residents from midnight.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian issued a statement allaying concerns that borders would be shut, but health officials are advising against travel to or from Victoria unless it is considered essential.
“We wish the people of Victoria well during this difficult time,” Ms Berejiklian said. “NSW acted immediately to screen returning travellers from Victoria as soon as the information was provided to us. The border between NSW and Victoria will remain open.”
People who choose to travel to Victoria will be required to abide by ‘stay-at-home requirements’ upon their return, officials said. Adjustments would also be made for those arriving into NSW by road.
“People arriving in NSW from Greater Melbourne by road will also be required to complete a declaration form. This is (in) addition to persons arriving from Victoria by air or rail,” the statement said.
Ms Berejiklian declined to comment on whether international flights that were destined for Victoria, expected to be cancelled from Saturday, would be accepted by the NSW hotel quarantine system.
Professor Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University, said the measures taken in NSW appeared to be an overreaction.
“The risk for people who haven’t actually been to exposure sites is extremely low,” Prof. Bennet said.
“Testing and isolating until you receive a negative result makes more sense for people who haven’t been to an exposure site.”
Australian Medical Association President Dr Omar Khorshid said he was similarly surprised to hear of the NSW decision and its backdated application to January 29.
“NSW is being quite conservative with the outbreak in Victoria. The date they should be starting any lockdown for an arrival into NSW should be the date when the virus first left the Holiday Inn, because theoretically you wouldn’t be able to catch it before then,” he said.
“There wasn’t any community transmission picked up back then on the 29th, so maybe now they’ve taken the date minus 14 days.”
With Ellie Dudley
READ MORE: Buying limits return in Victoria
David Rodgers 5.45pm: ASX hits six-day low amid Victorian lockdown
Australia’s sharemarket dived to a six-day low as Victoria announced a five-day lockdown after another outbreak from a quarantine hotel.
The S&P/ASX 200 closed down 0.6pc at 6806.7 after falling to 6802.4.
Travel related stocks were among the worst off with Qantas down 4.8pc, Flight Centre down 2.7pc, Corporate Travel down 2.5pc and Sydney Airport down 2.1pc.
Toll road, shopping mall and gaming companies were also affected with Transurban down 1.6 per cent, Vicinity Centres down 1.9 per cent and Tabcorp down 1.8 per cent.
Rachel Baxendale 5.30pm: International flights into Victoria halted
Victoria will cease taking international arrivals from Saturday, Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed.
“As part of the circuit breaker action taken today, we have paused all international passenger flights from tomorrow — excluding those already in transit,” a spokeswoman for the Premier said.
“We know this will be difficult news for people who are overseas and want to get home but our focus right now has to be taking this short, sharp action in response to this outbreak.
“We will continue to assess the impact of the UK strain of the virus on our program and international arrivals, and will provide more information on the duration of this pause soon.”
The spokeswoman said COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria had advised that passengers from flights already in transit could be safely quarantined on arrival.
Freight flights will continue.
READ MORE: Top route back, ‘every flight full’
Rachel Baxendale 5.17pm: Airport cleaner a household contact of Holiday Inn worker
The Australian understands a Melbourne Airport cleaner who has tested positive for coronavirus is a previously disclosed household contact of a Holiday Inn worker, and not a new case.
South Australian Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said she understood the person was a cleaner at a press conference on Friday afternoon.
The Australian has contacted Health Minister Martin Foley’s office for comment.
READ MORE: Open goes ahead amid lockdown
Ellie Dudley 5.13pm: Berejiklian to keep Victorian border open
Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed NSW will keep the border to Victoria open, while the southern state endures a five-day lockdown.
In a statement released on Friday afternoon, the NSW Premier said NSW health authorities “acted immediately” to screen returning travellers from Victoria as soon as the information was provided to them.
“The border between NSW and Victoria will remain open,” she said.
“NSW Health continues to monitor the situation closely.”
READ MORE: The states that have slammed border shut
Jess Malcolm 5.10pm: Melbourne’s snap lockdown ‘serious blow for retail’
Australian Retailers Association is calling Melbourne’s five-day snap lockdown a “serious blow” for businesses in the lead up to what was set to be a bumper weekend for retail.
Chief Executive Paul Zahra said both Chinese Lunar New Year and Valentine’s Day are historically big days for shoppers, with businesses stockpiling in the lead up to these events.
“Given the year that they had last year and that we thought 2020 was behind us, but we’re back to what we would call groundhog day, so there is a lot of confusion around the lockdown and the quickness of it,” Mr Zahra said.
“It was a big weekend for everybody to celebrate but equally for retailers, of course. So you can imagine restaurants and cafes have all got inventory, they were well stocked up and most of that will have to be dumped.”
Mr Zahra said snap lockdowns created instability for the retail industry, and criticised state premiers for not learning their lessons with hotel quarantine.
“We’re following health advice but what we do say, we can’t keep jumping,” Mr Zahra said.
“We have got to learn to operate in this new COVID world, even once a vaccine has been introduced. It concerns us that we’ve got a state-by-state decision-making process, so there is no national framework here.”
“We appear to be repeating the same sort of errors and mistakes and we can’t keep forces each state by state into lockdown every time there is an alert like this.”
READ MORE: Wesfarmers boss’ call for national quarantine
Courtney Walsh 4.45pm: Sport crowds tonight, gone tomorrow
Australian Open tennis tournament director Craig Tiley says discussions are continuing with the Victorian Government regarding the potential for matches to extend beyond midnight in Melbourne on Friday.
With a strict lockdown to be enforced at 11.59pm, there is a potential fans in attendance at Melbourne Park will still be on site at that time.
Nick Kyrgios is scheduled to play Austrian star Dominic Thiem, a finalist in Melbourne last January, after 7pm on John Cain Arena.
But a marathon opening women’s match claimed by Su-Wei Hsieh over Sara Errani 6-4 2-6 7-5 in 2hr 44min is causing concerns on that court.
The Australian Open has also clamped down on the number of people who will be allowed on site. But the Open will proceed.
Meanwhile AFLW head Nicole Livingstone said there are no plans to postpone the season at this stage despite the current COVID-19 circuit breaker that has been instituted in Victoria.
“We will continue to remain as adaptable as possible as the season progresses in a constantly changing environment and we will listen to and work closely with each stakeholder to ensure the best possible outcome for everyone in the game,” she said.
The clash between Geelong and the Western Bulldogs on Friday night at GMHBA Stadium was to proceed with fans in attendance. Matches between St Kilda and Carlton and Melbourne and North Melbourne on Saturday, along with a match between Richmond and Collingwood on Sunday will occur without crowds.
Fans are still allowed to attend matches to be played in Blacktown and at Norwood Oval in Adelaide.
READ MORE: Play on: Open goes ahead amid lockdown
Ellie Dudley 4.10pm: SA CHO announces second Melbourne airport case
South Australia Chief health officer Nicola Spurrier has announced a cleaner at Tullamarine Airport in Melbourne has tested positive for the virus.
“There are a couple of cases reported and I was able to get more information about those
today,” she said.
“These are people who actually work at the Tullamarine airport, not related to each other, but they are known contacts of cases at the Holiday Inn.”
She referred to a case in a worker at Brunetti’s cafe at the airport which was announced by Dan Andrews this morning, but also announced that an airport cleaner has tested positive.
“The other area of concern at the Tullamarine airport is that a worker who was a cleaner has also tested positive,” she said.
“That person has been to a larger number of areas, not just in that terminal which are potential exposure sites.
“One positive with this is that the person is considered to be of lower infectiousness and it seems that when they worked, it was early on in the disease and, so, we are not expecting, hopefully, in as much in the way of transmission from that exposure but on the basis of that, from February 7, anyone who has been to Tullamarine and come into South Australia, is required to get a private test and isolate until they have the result back, not 14 days quarantine, but to isolate until they have the test back as negative and, again, while that is occurring, family members, close household contacts need to remain home.”
Ellie Dudley 3.58pm: SA expands border closure to all of Victoria
South Australia has extended their border closure for greater Melbourne to the entirety of state while Victoria endures a five-day lockdown.
Premier Steven Marshall while the border closures may be “inconvenient” they are needed to help South Australians “stay safe.”
Chief health officer Nicola Spurrier said South Australia was in a “good position” as they closed off their borders to greater Melbourne yesterday.
“It is the UK B117 strain of COVID and so it seems to be moving very rapidly and we are seeing increasing numbers as evidence from the press conference in Victoria,” she said.
“We are in a good position in South Australia because it put borders in place early.”
South Australians who have been to Terminal 4 of Melbourne Airport, must quarantine for 14 days from the date of arrival.
Family or household contacts of these people must also quarantine until at least the first negative result has been received.
Anyone who has been at Tullamarine Airport, including staff, from February 7 will also be required to test and isolate until they get a negative result. Again, family and household contacts will need to isolate until the first negative result is received.
Eli Greenblat 3.55pm: Woolies joins Coles with Victorian buying limits
Woolworths has mirrored the buying restrictions announced by Coles on Friday in response to the Victorian five-day lockdown that starts from midnight as both leading supermarket chains attempt to head off any panic buying or depletion of key grocery supplies.
Woolworths has reinstated purchase limits on a range of essential products in Victoria both in-store and online.
The nation’s biggest supermarket chain said the precautionary move follows an increase in demand following the Victorian Government’s announcement of a five-day lockdown.
The limits will ensure Woolworths customers have fair access to essential products.
Woolworths Victoria assistant state manager, John Di Tirro said: “We understand this is an anxious time for Victorians, but we want to reassure customers we will remain open as an essential service.
“We have plenty of stock to draw on from our suppliers and distribution centres and our team will be hard at work making sure it flows into our stores in large volumes over the coming days.“
Rhiannon Down 3.45pm: ‘Cold, hard, discussion’ needed on OS travel: Andrews
Daniel Andrews has flagged Victoria may move to discontinue its hotel quarantine program or limit its intake to the hundreds or on “compassionate grounds” only, as international flights into Melbourne were suspected for the duration of the lockdown.
The Premier said there needed to be a “cold, hard discussion” about whether Australia could accommodate overseas arrivals due to the threat posed by the highly contagious UK and South African strains.
“I think there needs to be a cold, hard discussion, and I’m happy to lead it, if I have to, about whether, with this UK strain – and we haven’t even got on to South Africa yet, because it’s just as bad – should we be having the total number of people coming home?,” he said.
“Or should it be a much smaller program that’s based on compassionate grounds?
“That’s a conversation we should have.”
Mr Andrews’ remarks followed the announcement of a snap five day lockdown across Victoria starting from midnight on Friday, which was designed to reign in a cluster of 13 cases linked to The Holiday Inn. All cases linked to the outbreak were the result of the UK strain, genomic sequencing has confirmed.
Though Victoria’s rebooted hotel quarantine program now required daily testing of its workers, Mr Andrews said the speed of the new strain meant the virus could out-pace contact tracing efforts.
“You can time-sequence things much better,” he said.
“But the problem is, even that time sequence may not be fast enough for this.
“That’s why I’m making it clear to you that I’m looking at hotel quarantine and whether it can be done at an acceptable risk level.
“And I don’t think I’ll be alone in doing that.”
Ellie Dudley 3.38pm: Vic travellers in NSW must lockdown for five days
Travellers from Victoria in NSW will be required to follow the same ‘stay at home’ rules for the five-day period announced by the Victorian government earlier today.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard will issue a directive later today to ensure that anyone who has been in Victoria at any time on or after Friday January 29 remains at their home or place of residence for five days from midnight tonight.
Anyone arriving in NSW from greater Melbourne by road will also be required to complete a declaration form through the government website. This is in addition to persons arriving from Victoria by air or rail.
The Victorian restrictions become effective at midnight tonight, and under current arrangements will expire at 11.59pm on Wednesday February 17.
The NSW order will ensure that the same requirements will apply even if people have left Victoria before it comes into effect.
People now in NSW who have been in Victoria on or since 29 January will be permitted to leave their places of residence for the same four reasons allowed under the Victorian restrictions.
These are: shopping for essential items, medical and other care and caregiving, exercise, and essential work.
NSW authorities “strongly advise” against all non-essential travel to Victoria at this time, according to a statement released by NSW Health this afternoon.
People who do choose to travel will be required to follow the stay-at-home requirement on their return.
READ MORE: What you can and can’t do in Victoria
Rebecca Urban 3.35pm: Lockdown ‘frustrating’ for school students, teachers
The head of Victoria’s independent school sector has raised concerns about the potential impact of the state’s decision to close schools on the mental wellbeing of thousands of students and teachers.
“This is extremely disappointing and frustrating news for the principals and teachers and, above all, the students … even if we recognise that these restrictions are based on expert health advice,” said Independent Schools Victoria chief executive Michelle Green.
“This comes early in a new school year which began with cautious optimism that the disruption of 2020 was behind us.”
Ms Green said teachers and students, who submitted to months of remote learning in 2020 due to the state’s second wave outbreak, had shown that they were able to adapt to remote learning, the organisation remained “particularly concerned about the impact of these and previous measures on [their] mental wellbeing”.
“These mandatory measures affect close to 150,000 students, 14,000 teachers and 7500 support staff in widely diverse Independent schools with varying levels of resources across Victoria,” she said.
“We hope this brief shutdown will have the intended effect of helping halt the spread of a highly infectious variant of COVID-19.”
Schools are awaiting guidance from the education department regarding their obligations during the lockdown, uncertain if they will be required to revert to the same remote learning programs they ran last year. Premier Dan Andrews hinted that schools would have some flexibility around how they handled learning programs throughout the closure.
A spokeswoman from the Department of Education said: “We’re working through specific advice to schools now”.
Adeshola Ore 3.25pm: How snap lockdown affects Federal Parliament
ACT Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman says Victorian-based federal politicians will be eligible for essential worker exemptions to enter the territory when parliament resumes on Monday.
From midnight tonight, the ACT will impose border restrictions with Victoria, meaning non-territory residents will require a permit to enter the territory. ACT residents will be able to return home but must self-quarantine upon arrival for the duration of Victoria’s snap lockdown — until midnight on Wednesday.
“Parliamentarians and Senators are considered essential workers as we have previously advised and it will be a case-by-case consideration,” Doctor Coleman said.
Political staffers are not classed as essential workers.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said Victorian-based political staffers should remain in Victoria until Wednesday, when the state’s five-day lockdown is scheduled to end.
“Non-essential staff could possibly wait until Wednesday just to find out what happens in Victoria over the next few days,” he said.
“If an MP could survive a few days without their staffer then that’s OK. Ministers have Canberra-based staff anyway.”
READ MORE: ‘Get out now’: federal MPs told to head to Canberra
Eli Greenblat 3.05pm: Supermarket begins buying limits for Victoria
The nation’s supermarkets are expected to soon announce buying restrictions across Victoria in response to the sudden five day lockdown declared from midnight, with Coles releasing limits on a number of key grocery items.
Woolworths is believed to working on its own buying limits list which will be released soon. It brings back memories of 2020 when the emerging pandemic triggered panic shopping in the supermarkets, people fighting over products in the aisles and a run on toilet paper.
Coles said in a statement on Friday that to help customers access the food and groceries they need, it has also increased service levels for Coles Online.
To help manage demand for key staple items, limits are now in place at all Coles supermarkets, Coles Online and Coles Express stores in Victoria, including a one pack per customer limits for the following items:
• Toilet paper
• Paper towel
And a two pack per customer limits for the following items:
• Fresh white milk
• Hand sanitiser
• Chilled pasta
• Liquid soaps
• Poultry thighs
READ MORE: Buying limits return
Eli Greenblat 3pm: Retailers Association says shock lockdown ‘devastating’
The Australian Retailers Association, representing the $320 billion retail sector, has tagged the shock Victorian lockdown declared from midnight Friday as a “devastating blow” for Victorian retailers.
Chief executive of the ARA, Paul Zahra, said some of the horrors of 2020 were now returning.
“They’ve been through so much in the past year and have done their best to return to an even footing in recent months. Unfortunately, some of the horrors of 2020 continue.
We certainly hope the Victorian health authorities get on top of this quickly and that this lockdown doesn’t drag out for longer than it needs to.”
The five day lockdown will also impact Valentine’s Day, which falls on Sunday and is a key driver of sales for retail, from buying gifts and flowers to restaurants.
Matthew Denholm 2.55pm: Tasmania slams door to Vic from 6pm
Tasmania will shut its borders to Victoria, from midnight Friday.
Premier Peter Gutwein said Victorians or other non-Tasmanians travelling from Victoria would not be permitted to enter the state, unless they could prove an “essential reason”.
Tasmanians returning from Victoria would be required to self-isolate at home for 14 days.
Victorians already in Tasmania who had been to one of the places of concern linked to the Melbourne coronavirus cases should contact Public Health and be tested, he said.
Mr Gutwein said the border closure was based on advice from Public Health director Mark Veitch. “The health and safety of Tasmanians is our first priority,” he said.
Rhiannon Down 2.45pm: NSW issues fresh Melbourne airport travel warnings
NSW Health has issued an alert for travellers who were at Melbourne Airport over a number of days last week, as authorities race to reach approximately 7000 returned travellers from Victoria who visited a hot spot venue.
Health authorities have asked any household contacts of someone who visited Terminal 4 on February 9 to isolate until that person receives a positive result.
“In addition, anyone who attended any terminal at Melbourne Airport on February 7 and 8 must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is achieved,” the department said.
Adeshola Ore 2.40pm: ACT joins states in imposing Vic border restrictions
The ACT is imposing border restrictions with Victoria from midnight tonight, after the state announced a snap five-day lockdown.
Victoria will plunge into a five-day lockdown from midnight, as it deals with Melbourne’s Holiday Inn cluster that has risen to 13 cases.
ACT residents will be required to complete an online declaration form and self-quarantine at home for the same period of the Victorian lockdown – until midnight on Wednesday. The territory’s health authorities said the online declaration form would be available by 9pm tonight.
Non-residents can only travel to the ACT if they have been granted an exemption.
ACT Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman said anyone returning to the territory who had visited terminal four of the Melbourne airport, between 4.45am and 3pm on February 9, must self-quarantine for two weeks.
Terminal four is now a tier one exposure site for the Victorian outbreak.
Anyone who is a household contact who visited terminal four at these times should stay in isolation until the person who visited the airport returns a negative test result.
Additionally anyone who visited any terminal at Melbourne airport on February 7 and 8 must immediately get tested and isolate until they return a negative result.
A worker at a Melbourne Airport cafe has been revealed as the positive case responsible for the late night alert for terminal four. Brunetti cafe has been added to the COVID-19 public exposure sites list after the employee worked a shift on Tuesday
The Brunetti team member was a close contact of a previously confirmed case of a Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn quarantine worker and later developed the virus.
Paul Garvey 2.30pm: WA open to NSW from Tuesday, extends Vic lockout
Western Australia will end its mask requirements from midnight Saturday and will open up its border to NSW from Tuesday. But the state’s border with Victoria will be slammed shut for at least three days in light of the latest outbreak in Melbourne.
WA premier Mark McGowan delivered the updates at a press conference in Perth on Friday morning, detailing how the state would drop the last of the restrictions introduced after a security guard at one of the city’s quarantine hotels contracted the UK strain of the virus.
Arrivals into WA from Victoria will be barred from 6pm Friday until Tuesday after the state was reclassified as a ‘medium-risk’ jurisdiction under WA’s controlled border system.
Mr McGowan said he supported the decision by Victorian premier Dan Andrews to introduce a five-day lockdown.
“The situation in Victoria is again very concerning,” he said.
“I want to say that I fully support the measures being taken by Victoria to try and clamp down on these local cases of the virus. As we know, it is just so important to reduce the risk and prevent community transmission.”
WA instituted its own five-day lockdown of the Perth, Peel and the South West regions after the security guard returned his positive test. However, no additional cases of community transmission have been recorded in the almost two weeks since then.
Mr McGowan thanked West Australians for complying with the restrictions of the past fortnight, and the mask requirements in particular.
“I know it’s been annoying, but the response from everyone has overwhelmingly been terrific,” he said.
NSW will achieve 28 days without a case of community transmission today, meeting the milestone at which WA has previously considered dropping quarantine conditions for arrivals.
Those quarantine conditions will only be lifted from the start of Tuesday, as long as no new cases of community transmission emerge in the meantime.
Charlie Peel 2.20pm: Qld closure to Melbourne to be reviewed in fortnight
The Queensland border will be closed to residents of greater Melbourne for at least the next two weeks while authorities try to contain the latest Victorian COVID-19 cluster.
More than 1500 people who transited through terminal four of the Melbourne airport and flew to Queensland on the day an airport cafe employee worked while infected with the virus are being contacted by authorities and will be asked to self-isolate for two weeks.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the closure of the border to 36 local government areas around Melbourne will help authorities trying to keep up with the exhaustive effort to try to contact anyone why has been in close proximity to the 13 cases connected to the Victorian Holiday Inn.
The closure will come into effect from 1am Saturday.
“This is to allow us to get on top of the contact tracing,” Mr Miles said. Queenslanders who have visited greater Melbourne will be allowed to return but will be required to quarantine.
Acting chief health officer Sonya Bennett said each new case in the growing cluster in Victoria made the job of contact-tracing harder, particularly because they were infected with the highly-contagious UK strain of the virus.
“It’s very difficult to get ahead of this virus and that’s what we’re seeing now,” Dr Bennett said.
The border closure will be reviewed in 14 days, instead of the usual 28 days because the cases were all linked and had an identifiable source.
READ MORE: States slam borders shut to Victorians
Courtney Walsh 2.10pm: Andrews defends allowing tennis to continue
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews defended the decision for the Australian Open to continue, just as other sporting events including football, soccer and racing will go on.
“It will be happening, but there will be no-one there watching,” Mr Andrews said.
“If you can work from home, you must work from home, that
“You can’t be involved in AFLW from home. If it was longer than five days, that might be different, but that is not the case.
“People will make their own judgments and their own views, but I don’t have advice to cancel the event.
You could equally say, ‘Why did you leave kinder open? Or why did you leave childcare open?’
“That is the nature of these things. We have to do what the advice tells us to do and is as proportional as possible.”
READ MORE: Play on: Open goes ahead amid lockdown
Rhiannon Down 2.08pm: Early panic-buying begins ahead of lockdown
Early reports of panic buying have already surfaced in Victoria, just an hour after Daniel Andrews announced a snap lockdown.
Footage of shoppers filling trolleys and joining snaking lines at check-outs has surfaced online, as Victorians prepare for their third lockdown.
“Panic buying in full force at Gladstone Park Woolworths,” one shopper said online.
“Morons as far as the eye can see.”
Woolworths - shoppers have already launched into a buying frenzy @TheMelbCityNews @theheraldsun pic.twitter.com/1DqNiSwc1w
— Grace McKinnon (@GraceMcKinnonL) February 12, 2021
Rhiannon Down 2.05pm: ‘I won’t take a crack at a bloke in ICU’: Andrews on nebuliser
Daniel Andrews says though the nebuliser believed to be the cause of The Holiday Inn cluster wasn’t permitted, he won’t “take a crack” at the person responsible.
The Victorian Premier responded to what he called “unfair and inaccurate criticism” of him, after the incident proved the undoing of the state’s hotel quarantine program.
“Those machines are not allowed,” he said.
“That was clearly communicated. But if you’re really inviting me to have a crack at a
bloke who is on a machine to breathe at the moment in an ICU, I’m just not doing that.”
James Hall 2pm: Queensland slams the door on Victorian visitors
The Queensland border will close to Melbourne from 1am Saturday in response to the growing hotel cluster in Victoria. Read more here
Courtney Walsh 1.55pm: Australian Open set to continue amid lockdown
A clause will enable the Australian Open to continue in Melbourne over the next five days, though without crowds.
Under the “Circuit Breaker Action”, professional athletes have been defined as essential workers, and venues hosting professional events can remain open.
Effectively this will enable the major to continue while Victoria is in lockdown.
It will also apply to other sporting events being held in Victoria this weekend including AFLW matches.
Tennis Australia is yet to comment on the situation.
READ MORE: Australian Open live coverage
Rhiannon Down 1.45pm: ‘Appropriate’ that entire state go into lockdown
Daniel Andrews says it is “appropriate” that the lockdown should apply to the whole of the state, despite there being no cases in regional Victoria.
The Premier confirmed that the snap five day shut down would also apply to areas outside Melbourne, despite there being no cases outside the city.
“I don’t want this thing to go from Melbourne to regional Victoria,” Mr Andrews said.
“If we have rules that are softer, that are easier in regional Victoria, and barely enough time to set up a ring of steel – once you had it up, you’d almost be dismantling it at the same time.
“It’s five days, it’s not weeks. It’s not a long-term thing. Therefore, it’s appropriate to have the same rules apply across the whole state.”
Mr Andrews said he had made this “painful” decisions because of the highly contagious nature of the UK strain.
Rhiannon Down 1.35pm: Sutton: we need decisive action now
Victorian authorities are implementing a strict five day lockdown to prevent the spread of the highly virulent, fast-moving UK strain.
CHO Brett Sutton said decisive action was needed to contain the alarming new variant that started with one case in the UK but was now becoming the “predominant strain across Europe” and potentially “globally”.
“That’s because it is significantly more infectious than any other virus that we’ve seen previously,” Professor Sutton said.
“And we’re seeing this play out in the cases that we’ve had in this cluster of cases in Victoria.
“As the Premier said, there are individuals who are becoming symptomatic, testing positive, who have already infected their close contacts.”
The outbreak is believed to have originated from a family of three returned travellers which quickly spread to hotel workers.
Rhiannon Down 1.30pm: ‘Fastest-moving, most infectious strain we’ve seen’
Hairdressing and beauty services, real estate auctions and inspections and non-essential retail, are among the sectors that will be shut down by Victoria’s snap lockdown.
Daniel Andrews said the list of venue types that would be closed from midnight tonight to next Wednesday would also include indoor sporting venues and community facilities.
“Creative studios, entertainment venues, non-essential retail (will also be closed), and hospitality moves to takeaway only,” the Premier said.
“These restrictions are all about making sure that we respond appropriately to the fastest-moving, most infectious strain of coronavirus that we have seen.”
Mr Andrews said the lockdown would be in line with snap closures in Perth and Brisbane that were successful in bringing infection rates under control.
Rhiannon Down 1.20pm: Andrews outlines state’s new restrictions
Victorians will not be permitted to leave their homes except to shop for essentials, provide care or exercise.
Mandatory mask orders in all settings have also been reintroduced as has the 5km radius rule.
Daniel Andrews said the snap five day lockdown would act as a “circuit breaker” that would bring The Holiday Inn outbreak under control.
“Higher education is closed,” the Victorian Premier said.
“In terms of special events, places of worship are closed other than for broadcasting of services.
“Religious gatherings and ceremonies are not permitted. Funerals can involve no more than 10 people. And that applies indoor or outdoor. Weddings are not permitted unless on compassionate grounds.”
The measures will be in place until Wednesday at midnight next week.
Rhiannon Down 1.15pm: Premier announces return to Victoria lockdown
Victoria will enter a five day of “stage four” lockdown starting from midnight, as the state grapples to control an outbreak linked to the Holiday Inn that ballooned to 13 cases.
Daniel Andrews said it had been a tough choice to make but authorities had to assume “that there are further cases in the community than we have positive results for”, including possible cases of the UK variants.
“By the time we find that case as positive, they’ve already infected their close contacts,” the Victorian Premier said.
“Their family. People they live with, people they’ve spent time with. That makes it incredibly difficult, incredibly difficult.”
The announcement followed a marathon crisis cabinet meeting where emergency chiefs weighed up how to respond to the outbreak.
This lockdown will be Victoria’s third, after the state was plunged into a second hard-lockdown in July to suppress a deadly wave of case numbers.
Rachel Baxendale 12.30pm: Premier Andrews set to announce five-day lockdown
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to address the media at 1pm, amid predictions the state is about to be thrown into a snap five-day lockdown from as soon as Friday evening.
The press conference will take place in Treasury theatre – the site of more than 100 daily coronavirus press conferences during Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus and associated 111-day lockdown.
Adeshola Ore 12.20pm: Morrison shrugs off the ‘Pete Evans effect’
Scott Morrison says he is not worried that COVID conspiracist Pete Evan running for the Senate could undermine the public’s confidence in Australia’s vaccine rollout.
The controversial celebrity chef, and known anti-vaxxer, has announced he will join politics and run for the Senate with former One Nation senator Rod Culleton’s The Great Australian Party.
Asked if he was concerned about an anti-vaxxer running for the Senate, the Prime Minister replied “that all depends how much publicity you choose to give him.”
“I’m not going to give him any, so I don’t propose you do that,” he told reporters in Melbourne.
READ MORE: Pete Evans to run for Senate
Rachel Baxendale 11.55am: Victoria’s federal MPs warned to fly out
Victorian federal MPs have been warned to fly to Canberra as soon as possible on Friday ahead of next week’s sitting, ahead of a possible snap lockdown in Melbourne.
An email sent to senators on Friday morning warned: “Based on the evolving situation in Melbourne from the Holiday Inn COVID-19 outbreak, it is highly recommended that any senators who are in the Greater Melbourne area bring forward their travel plans to arrive in Canberra today, Friday 12 Feb.” Read more here
Rhiannon Down 11.50am: AMA chief says lockdowns can wait
Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid says it’s too soon to order a snap lockdown.
Dr Khorshid said though “thankfully” it wasn’t his call to make he wasn’t convinced there was “a significant risk of an outbreak”.
“At the moment, we have only got those household contacts,” he said.
“And I think if they really work hard, and they have done this successfully with Victoria in the last few episodes that have happened, if they can get those rings of control around the sites where the virus is known to have been, if people do the right thing, get themselves tested and isolate while they’re waiting for results, then I think we can get on top of this.”
He said a national guideline was required to protect staff who had been exposed to the virus.
“Unfortunately, we are seeing our state governments react after the problem has occurred,” he said.
“After (what happened) in Western Australia, we are understanding some changes in Victoria after the outbreak has occurred.
“We want to get ahead of this virus, it keeps getting ahead of us, it keeps mutating, changing, and I think aerosol spread is a known way that this virus is transmitted. It is not the most common way, but when you are protecting, it is the normal method of spread, protecting against aerosol spread, then it is the only way it is likely to spread within the hotel quarantine.
“And I was we have seen again and again, we get this wrong, the impact is actually felt by all Australians.”
READ MORE: Pandemic strategy defended
Rachel Baxendale 11.40am: Five-day lockdown being considered for Victoria
The Australian understands the snap lockdown being considered could last for five days from late on Friday and would be similar to Victoria’s second wave lockdown, with limits on leaving home, closure of non-essential services and gathering restrictions.
A government source said: “A cabinet meeting is taking place to consider a snap lockdown given the wildly infectious nature of this virus means we cannot sit still.”
Adeshola Ore 11.35am: PM downplays need for emergency vaccine move
Scott Morrison has refuted the suggestion that Australia needs an emergency authorisation of COVID vaccines, as health authorities in Melbourne scramble to contain the latest outbreak.
The number of cases linked to The Holiday Inn cluster has risen to 13.
Mr Morrison said the federal government had received no advice that early authorisation of COVID jabs was necessary.
“We haven’t gone through emergency procedures here in Australia because we’ve been able to prevent emergencies here in Australia,” he said.
The federal government has flagged that the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s approval of the imported and locally-made AstraZeneca vaccine is imminent.
Rhiannon Down 11.20am: Zero new Covid cases recorded in NSW
NSW has recorded zero new cases of local transmission in the last day, as authorities renew calls for returned travellers from Victoria to be aware of hot spot venues.
“NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night,” health authorities said in a statement.
NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) February 12, 2021
Two new cases were acquired overseas, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,945. There were 14,518 tests reported to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/pVhndjREHZ
“Two new cases were acquired overseas, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 4945. There were 14,518 tests reported to 8pm last night.”
The announcement comes as Victoria records 5 new cases on Thursday all linked to The Holiday Inn, with authorities asking anyone who has visited the state to review their movements.
“Anyone who has returned from Victoria since 27 Jan is urged to check the (DHHS) website regularly, as public exposure sites are being regularly updated,” NSW health said.
READ MORE: Infected cafe worker sparks fears of interstate spread
Rachel Baxendale 11.15am: Crisis talks to take place in Melbourne
Victoria’s crisis council of cabinet is due to meet at 11:45 to consider whether to impose a snap lockdown on the state.
Premier Daniel Andrews is expected to address the media after the meeting.
A meeting of Victorian emergency chiefs is also underway to discuss the implementation of any potential lockdown.
Adeshola Ore 11.05am: PM repeats hopes of ‘proportionate’ Vic response
Scott Morrison says a “proportionate” response to Victoria’s COVID outbreak will allow contact tracers to contain the cluster.
The number of cases linked to The Holiday Inn cluster has now risen to 13.
The Prime Minister said a “proportionate” response would enable Victorian health authorities to be successful in containing the cluster as other states had done.
“We have dealt with them in the last few weeks in Sydney and Brisbane and Perth,” he said.
Adeshola Ore 11am: Morrison thanks employees at vaccine manufacturer
Scott Morrison has praised employees at CSL in Melbourne, declaring the local manufacturing of the AstraZeneca has changed Australia for the better.
The Prime Minister toured the Parkville facility on Friday to see the first local AstraZeneca doses put into vials, labelled and packaged ahead of extensive quality checks throughout March.
“That final phase of that production process starts here Monday. Of course they will be working 24/7,” he said.
“That’s a big production effort. And that is going to change the country for the better.”
The EU granted clearance on Wednesday for the export of two shipments of Australia’s first Pfizer vaccines.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said employees at CSL were dedicated to the “noble” cause of protecting Australians.
“They are doing it because they believe in their work, they believe in the value of what they are doing to bring vaccines to all Australians,” he said.
Mr Hunt said Australia was on track for the imported AstraZeneca vaccine to be rolled out from early March, subject to the Therapeutic Goods Administration approval. The locally-made AstraZeneca jab is expected to commence rollout in late March.
Rachel Baxendale 10.50am: What we know about the Holiday Inn cluster
The Melbourne quarantine hotel cluster now totals 13 cases. Here’s how it grew from a single case in a returned traveller:
February 3, 4: Overseas return traveller uses a nebuliser to vaporise medicine in their room at the Holiday Inn. This resident and two accompanying family members are removed to a “health hotel” on the 4th, having tested positive for coronavirus. The nebuliser user is later hospitalised in an intensive care ward.
February 7: A female authorised officer in her 50s who worked on the same floor as the family tests positive. Genomic testing later shows the worker has an identical UK strain of the virus to the nebuliser user’s family.
February 9: A female food and beverage attendant who worked on the same floor, and a former Holiday Inn resident who was in a room across the corridor, test positive.
February 10: Another female food and beverage attendant and former resident test positive.
February 11: The male spouses of both food and beverage attendants test positive, as does a female Holiday Inn assistant manager. Very late on Thursday night the health department confirms two more close contacts of Holiday Inn staff have tested positive, including one who worked an eight hour shift at the Brunetti patisserie at Melbourne Airport on Tuesday.
The cluster of 13 includes the family of three; the authorised officer; two recently departed hotel guests; two food and beverage attendants; the assistant manager; the two spouses; and the two latest close contacts of staff.
READ MORE: Concern as Holiday Inn cluster grows
Rhiannon Down 10.30am: Victoria police brace for lockdown call
Victoria police is bracing for a lockdown ahead of a pivotal meeting at 11am today to discuss what restrictions may be on the table.
Deputy commissioner Rick Nugent said the force was considering what “role” it could play in a snap lockdown, if one was announced.
“I was chatting with the chief commissioner 15 minutes or so ago,” he said on 3AW.
“(We’ve been) doing a bit of thinking through what it might look like and what our role might be in that. We’ve got a meeting at 11 o’clock today to discuss more.”
Daniel Andrews is not expected to front the media until midday, as Victorians hold their breath waiting for answers.
READ MORE: Melbourne’s exposure site list grows
Rhiannon Down 10am: Experts say there’s good news amid latest cluster
Disease experts say it’s promising that no cases with an unknown source have emerged in Victoria, as authorities battle to contain a cluster linked to The Holiday Inn.
Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness chair Jane Halton said a lack of confirmed mystery cases was a strong indication authorities would be able to reign in a third wave.
“Certainly what we have seen so far is a worrying number of cases, but what we’ve also seen is huge numbers of people in Melbourne come out to be tested and at the moment we are not seeing reports of any cases that have an unidentified source,” she said on Nine’s Today.
“So I think the authorities are doing everything that they can rightly and the great thing is that
the citizens of Melbourne are also coming out to do the right thing.
Ms Halton said it was vital Victorians get tested and follow health advice to avoid the virus making further inroads to the community.
“So I really hope we don’t need to lock down,” she said.
“But everybody right now needs to read that list of what the hot spots are, think about where they have been, get themselves tested, if they actually have any symptoms, so no a lockdown will not be necessary.”
READ MORE: Food deliveries cushion Uber blow
Rhiannon Down 9.40am: Victoria’s new cases all reported on Thursday
Victorian health authorities have confirmed the five cases included in today’s tally includes no new cases since those reported on Thursday.
Yesterday there were 5 new locally acquired cases reported. There are currently 19 active cases. 24,209 test results were received. Got symptoms? Get tested, #EveryTestHelps.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) February 11, 2021
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/Tb6O9AqA6F
The figure includes a woman who worked as an assistant manager at The Holiday Inn, two spouses of workers who had previously tested positive and two close contact cases.
“The 5 cases listed are the cases confirmed publicly yesterday by (DHHS),” a statement read.
“The Holiday Inn outbreak total remains at 13.”
Two returned travellers that had been released, two food and beverage attendants at the hotel and an authorised officer tested positive earlier in the week.
A family of three that is believed to be the source of the cluster brings the total number of cases to 13.
READ MORE: Concern high over Covid cluster
Adeshola Ore 9.30am: Morrison defends hotel quarantine system
Scott Morrison has defended Australia’s quarantine systems amid Victoria’s latest outbreak linked to a COVID hotel, declaring it will never be “100 per cent fail safe.”
The number of cases linked to The Holiday Inn cluster has now risen to 13.
“Hotel quarantine is never 100 per cent fail safe and to suggest it ever will be is just not realistic,” the Prime Minister told 3AW radio.
“The issue is how you deal with it when it occurs.”
Asked if he was satisfied with Victoria’s hotel quarantine, Mr Morrison said he wanted it to be “constantly improving.”
Mr Morrison also refuted the idea that hotel quarantine should be moved out of cities and into regional Australia. He said he had spoken to former public servant Jane Halton, who conducted a review into hotel quarantine last year, and her view was the current system should remain in place.
“It isn’t just the function of a room and a bed. It’s the medical support and other systems you put around this that create the place and the consistency around this,” he said.
Ms Halton’s review into Australia’s hotel quarantine recommended the expanded capacity of the Howard Springs quarantine facility in Darwin.
READ MORE: Confidence grows in government’s handling of pandemic
Rhiannon Down 9.20am: AstraZeneca vaccine nears final stage of production
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine will enter the final stage of production next week, as the end of February start date for the rollout looms.
CSL’s Seqirus facility general manager Stephen Marlow said he was confident the TGA will grant the vaccine full approval, and the process will begin on schedule.
“It’s not my job to pre-empt what the experts say but I can tell you, here at Seqirus facility, we are ready to go,” he said on Sunrise.
“We have had good preparation, our planners have two million doses available before the end of March and one million doses thereafter.
“So we are ready to go but we will lead the experts to make the final approvals and once we get the tick of approval from the TGA, we are ready to go.”
Mr Marlow said the production process had involved a round the clock effort from hundreds of specially trained workers.
“So on Monday next week, we take that vaccine concentrate, the concentrated form, and we precisely delete that to make it into the exact form for individual vaccination,” he said.
“And then we put it into vials and that final stage of filtration … final distribution will start next week. So we are all pretty excited, it has been a long road, no doubt, but we are right on the verge of the final stage of production so we are excited down here.”
READ MORE: Waiting on vaccine rollout is right call
Adeshola Ore 9am: PM backs Victoria to take ‘proportionate’ response
Scott Morrison says he’s confident Victorian health authorities can contain The Holiday Inn COVID outbreak.
As talks continue around the state’s next step, Mr Morrison said the response by the Victorian government should be “proportionate”.
“They should be able to get on top of this as other states have and that would avoid anything like you saw last year,” he told 3AW.
Mr Morrison said he had not been briefed by Victorian health authorities about a potential lockdown in response to the outbreak.
“Our Chief Medical Officer is working with theirs but there’s a lot going on,” he said.
READ MORE: Uber freezer hot to trot
Rachel Baxendale 8.55am: Talks continue as Andrews weighs up lockdown
High-level meetings are underway between the Andrews government and Victorian health authorities this morning, with no decision yet made on whether to implement a snap lockdown after five new coronavirus cases linked to the Holiday Inn cluster were recorded in the 24 hours to Thursday night.
The Australian understands Premier Daniel Andrews will hold a press conference later on Friday, but not before mid morning at the earliest.
READ MORE: Why Melbourne Anzac Day march was cancelled
Rhiannon Down 8.45am: Victoria now dealing with 19 active cases
Victoria has recorded five new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the state’s total to 19 active cases.
Two close contacts of confirmed cases linked to The Holiday Inn were recorded late last night, bringing the cluster to 13 cases.
Yesterday there were 5 new locally acquired cases reported. There are currently 19 active cases. 24,209 test results were received. Got symptoms? Get tested, #EveryTestHelps.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) February 11, 2021
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/Tb6O9AqA6F
“One of these cases was formally reported after midnight but has been included in yesterday’s numbers as public health actions began yesterday, including the case interview,” the DHHS said in a statement.
READ MORE: Jab won’t inject life into air travel
Rhiannon Down 8.30am: Restrictions in NSW ease on road to ‘normality’
Patron limits for hospitality venues were eased in NSW overnight, as the state takes a further step towards “normality”.
Hospitality venues including restaurants, pubs and cafes across Greater Sydney can now seat one customer per 2 sqm, though gyms will remain at the 4 sqm rule, Gladys Berejiklian said.
“Whilst the situation is … fragile and volatile, we are pleased with the way NSW is going on,” the NSW Premier said on Sunrise.
“I heard today people feel that extra level of normality when they attend hospitality venues, when they wear masks and public transport is the only place we are making masks compulsory.
“However, if you are a vulnerable person or in an indoor setting where you can’t guarantee social distancing, we do recommend people wear a mask as that fourth line of defence.”
The limit for household guests remains at 30 in private homes and 50 outdoors.
Weddings remain limited to 300 guests, with singing remains off limits and dance floors limited to 20 people.
Masks remain mandatory on public transport, with any at risk people advised to wear a mask in situations where social distancing is not possible.
READ MORE: Free training for 2000 security staff
Rhiannon Down 8.10am: NSW won’t close its border to Victoria
Gladys Berejiklian says NSW is not considering closing its borders to Victoria, as the state battles to contain a COVID outbreak.
The NSW Premier said confirmed border closures weren’t on the table, after Queensland and SA stepped up their controls this week.
NSW Health is calling on anyone who entered NSW from Victoria since 27 January to check whether they have been to a venue of concern in Melbourne.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) February 11, 2021
A full list of venues of concern is available at the @VicGovDH website https://t.co/Pb8Tvn0smL and is updated regularly. pic.twitter.com/FoRgMFBXLa
“We think shutting borders and locking down communities should be the last option, not the first option,” she said on Sunrise.
“We are hopeful that the Victorian government, and the health experts, will get on top of this as soon as possible and we don’t feel at this stage there is any need to close the border.”
Ms Berejiklian said though the situation was “fragile and volatile” she believed her southern neighbour would bring the cluster under control.
“The quarantine systems, anywhere in the world are not perfect and ours are no different here,” she said.
“We worked really hard to prevent anything from happening but we also appreciate that it doesn’t take much, it can just be a very slight oversight within a few seconds, they can cause an outbreak.”
READ MORE: Quarantine rules queried as subs boss sails through
Rhiannon Down 7.45am: Melbourne Airport cafe added to exposure site list
A popular cafe at Melbourne airport has been linked to The Holiday Inn cluster, after a confirmed case spent more than eight hours at the venue.
Brunetti at Terminal four was added to the DHHS’s list of exposure hot spots on Thursday night, with authorities urging anyone who visited the cafe between 4.45am to 1.15pm on February 9 to get tested and isolate.
A new location has been added to our list of Tier 1 exposure sites following further investigation by our public health team.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) February 11, 2021
Tuesday 9th February 2021
Brunetti: Terminal 4, Melbourne Airport – 04:45am – 1:15pm
“A new location has been added to our list of Tier 1 exposure sites following further investigation by our public health team,” the DHHS said in a statement online.
“Anyone who visited this location must isolate, test and remain isolated for 14 days.”
Victoria’s list of Tier one exposure sites has grown to include dozens of cases, creating hundreds of possible close contacts.
READ MORE: Full list of exposure sites
Rhiannon Down 7.25am: Lockdown talks place Aus Open under cloud
Reports that Victorian authorities are considering a snap lockdown to combat a growing COVID cluster have placed the Australian Open under a cloud.
Questions whether the grand slam could be at risk, if the government moves to institute a snap lockdown, remain unanswered, according to the Herald Sun.
The lockdown — which was reportedly under “heated” discussion late into last night as authorities drew up a framework — could potentially close schools, gyms and cinemas and outlaw indoor dining.
Emergency Management Victoria were reportedly fearful that contact tracing efforts had so far failed to match up to sewage testing to confirmed cases and their close contacts.
The body was said to be in “pandemonium” as the state grapples with the outbreak and braces for a possible third wave. The Herald Sun reports that the national medical expert panel and Premier Daniel Andrews were involved in the emergency talks on Thursday night.
READ MORE: Rafael Nadal cruises to easy win after spectator ejected
Rhiannon Down 7.10am: Health experts back quick lockdown in Victoria
Health experts are backing the proposition of a snap lockdown in Victoria to avoid a “super spreading event”, after The Holiday Inn cluster grew by two more cases last night.
Melbourne University epidemiologist Nancy Baxter said it may not be possible to ascertain how far the virus had spread in the community at this stage.
“What I am concerned about is as the (lists of) at risk sites grow and grow there is the potential there has been some kind of spread outside of that group of close contacts that is already in quarantine that could be a week or more before we know it,” she said.
“And so then there is that opportunity for spread throughout the community, under our very noses. I think if there is a time to really get this under control the time probably is now.
“So it is a very tough decision and, you know, if there is not any further community spread it always looks like this was out of proportion, but I must say you can’t prove prevention.’’
Professor Baxter said a lockdown should be something the government “needs to be thinking about very hard today” to prevent a third wave.
“I think that when you have one breach of quarantine, so one worker that is positive, you know there is a chance that it has spread to the community,” she said.
“But when you multiply that by four, or six really then you have a substantial (risk) because you have the two people released from quarantine that were also positive, you just increase the chance that one of those super spreading events has happened.”
READ MORE: COVID-19 vaccine jabs won’t inject life into air travel just yet
Rhiannon Down 6.30am: High-level talks consider snap Melbourne lockdown
Victoria is on a knife’s edge after The Holiday Inn cluster rose to 13 cases, sparking fears of another lockdown with high-level discussions under way on Thursday night over the introduction of a snap lockdown.
Health officials were reportedly drawing up a framework for a snap-lockdown as authorities anticipate an explosion of cases, according to the Herald Sun.
State government advisers were on Thursday instructed to draw up a framework for another lockdown, which could be introduced as early as Friday night, or possibly within days.
The reports come as contact tracers race to contain the outbreak that grew to include two primary household contacts of an existing case on Thursday, and testing sites brace for an onslaught.
Two further individuals linked to the Holiday Inn outbreak have tested positive to coronavirus (COVID-19). Both are household primary close contacts of previously announced cases. This brings the number of cases linked to this outbreak to 13.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) February 11, 2021
A source close to Emergency Management Victoria told the Herald Sun authorities feared they had lost control of the outbreak.
Wait times at testing sites in Melbourne’s western suburbs are expected to grow again today, as thousands of people are implicated as possible close contacts.
READ MORE: Concern high as Melbourne’s Holiday Inn cluster grows
Robyn Ironside 6.00am: Jabs won’t inject life into travel yet
The majority of Australians should be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of October but that will not be enough for the country to reopen its borders.
As international airlines race to get their crews vaccinated in the hope of restoring confidence in travel, acting chief medical officer Michael Kidd said there were still many unknowns about the vaccine.
Speaking to the CAPA Centre for Aviation, Professor Kidd said it was known the Pfizer vaccine prevented the development of a serious disease from COVID or death, but not much more.
“We don’t know if you’ve been vaccinated whether you can still be infected with COVID-19, be asymptomatic but still at risk of transmitting COVID to other people,” he said.
“We don’t know how long the immunity which you get from being vaccinated will last.”
He said it would be very much a “wait and see” scenario as vaccinations were rolled out, with everyone over 16 expected to be vaccinated by late October.
“There are still many countries, especially low and middle-income countries, where vaccination has not commenced and where there may still be very large numbers of people who have not been vaccinated come October,” he said. “We don’t know how quickly it’s going to take before we see the situation with transmission of COVID-19 start to improve around the world.”
READ the full story
Ellie Dudley 5.45am: Months for AstraZeneca vaccines for new variants
Vaccine supplier AstraZeneca has said it could take between six and nine months to produce COVID-19 vaccines that are effective against emerging mutant variants of the virus.
In an announcement of its financial results for 2020 on Thursday, AstraZeneca said: “In collaboration with the University of Oxford, AstraZeneca is focused on adapting C19VAZ to new disease strains if required and hopes to reduce the time needed to reach production at scale to between six to nine months, by using existing clinical data and optimising its established supply chain.”
While the company’s vaccine, developed in conjunction with the University of Oxford, remains effective against the UK variant of the coronavirus, initial findings in a small trial prompted South Africa to pause the AstraZeneca roll out while the efficacy is addressed.
The AstraZeneca vaccine currently has around a 70 per cent efficacy rate.
However, the efficacy of the vaccine in South Africa dropped to 20 per cent when it failed in 1700 of the 2000 young people in the trial.
For those who had the South African variant, it dropped to 10 per cent.
David Ross 5.30am: Free training for 2000 hotel security guards
The NSW government is offering free training for thousands of new security guards as it struggles to meet the demands of its hotel quarantine scheme, with its weekly cap on international arrivals increasing to 3000 from Monday.
The creation of 2000 new places for certificate 2 courses in security operations comes after NSW Police approached the state government seeking to boost the workforce behind the scheme.
Promotional material for the free training scheme promised “immediate employment” in the hotel quarantine program.
Documents obtained by The Australian late last year revealed NSW hotel quarantine was struggling to meet demands for guards.
“Key learnings and operational indicators suggest that the current security guard force is limited and extending beyond 820 deployment per day is unreliable,” the operational update and meeting minutes dated October 30 read.
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Funders of teals top list of donors
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This PM doesn’t want to talk anti-Semitism, or an early election
All that Albanese is saying points to a long campaign to leverage the prospect of better economic conditions, remove the distraction of domestic terror and regather momentum after a hard January.