Coronavirus Australia live news: WA Premier defends border comments, ACT opens to parts of NSW
Mark McGowan has dismissed the furore over his latest comments on NSW’s handling of the pandemic as ‘a matter of semantics’.
- WA deputy back-pedals on McGowan’s ‘elimination’ comments
- ACT opens to NSW, but red zones barred
- GPs trained to give vaccine next week
- Zero transmission aim, not border pain: Berejiklian
- Premier’s plea amid five new local NSW cases
- Husband infectious two days before quarantine
- Victoria records 6th day of zero
Welcome to live coverage of Australia’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has dismissed the furore over his latest comments on NSW’s handling of the pandemic as “a matter of semantics”. As NSW records five new locally-acquired cases, Premier Gladys Berejiklian says closing borders only adds to pain of achieving zero community transmissions. ACT residents will be able to travel freely to regional NSW and parts of Sydney.
Rosie Lewis 10.09pm: Treasurer urged to ease eligibility rules for JobKeeper
Josh Frydenberg is being urged to immediately relax JobKeeper eligibility rules for hospitality and tourism businesses that had started to recover only to be decimated after snap lockdowns were introduced in Sydney and Brisbane over the highly lucrative Christmas holiday period.
While the Treasurer is holding firm against growing calls to extend JobKeeper beyond March, business leaders joined with hospitality and tourism groups on Tuesday to warn some businesses that did not qualify for the final three months of the scheme needed to be let back in.
In order to receive JobKeeper payments between January and March, a business must have shown its actual turnover for the December 2020 quarter declined by
Kathryn Bermingham 9.16pm: Pete Evans has channel removed from Spotify
Controversial conspiracy theorist Pete Evans has had his podcasts taken down from streaming platform Spotify.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday morning, the former My Kitchen Rules judge said his channel had been removed from the service.
“Could it have something to do with the many brave doctors and scientists that we interview, that are warning people about these poisons that’s disguised as medicine?” he wrote to his 276,000 followers.
“Or could it do with the hundreds of hours of information that helps people live a healthy lifestyle … or both?”
Natasha Robinson 8.29pm: Vaccine ‘not good enough to stop the virus’
Doctors are calling for a re-evaluation of Australia’s vaccine strategy, saying that herd immunity cannot be achieved with the lower-efficacy Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, which the Morrison government plans to administer to millions of Australians.
Medics and infectious disease experts are calling for Australia to invest in more high-efficacy vaccines, rather than relying on the AstraZeneca jab.
Australia has ordered 53.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. But trials have showed it has a much lower level of efficacy than the mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna and now being administered in Britain, France, Israel and the US.
Andrew Miller, an anaesthetist and head of the Australian Medical Association in WA, called for the government to halt its plans to begin vaccinating the population with the AstraZeneca vaccine from March.
Rhiannon Down 8.15pm: Gorillas at San Diego Zoo test positive for coronavirus
Gorillas at San Diego Zoo in California in the US have tested positive for coronavirus.
The discovery was made after two of the primates began coughing last Wednesday, with fecal samples later testing positive for coronavirus.
It’s been reported that as many as eight of the group have been infected.
San Diego Zoo Safari Park executive director Lisa Peterson said it was believed the animals contracted the virus from an asymptomatic staff member but the gorilla’s were pulling through.
“Aside from some congestion and coughing, the gorillas are doing well,” she said in a statement.
“The troop remains quarantined together and (they) are eating and drinking. We are hopeful for a full recovery.”
California has been hard hit by the pandemic, which has so far claimed the lives of 374,500 Americans.
READ MORE: Border bans ‘more worrying than Covid’
Rebecca Urban 7.37pm: Melbourne’s Grand Prix postponed until November
The Melbourne Formula One Grand Prix scheduled for March has fallen victim to the pandemic for the second year running, with organisers postponing the blue-chip event until November.
Due to take place at Melbourne’s Albert Park Lake circuit from March 18 to 21, the race will instead go ahead from November 18.
In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, organisers blamed “continuing international travel disruptions and other matters related to coronavirus’’.
“It is great news that we have already been able to agree a rescheduled date for the Australian Grand Prix in November, “Formula 1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali said.
“We know our fans will be looking forward to the return of Formula 1 after the winter break and our revised season opener in Bahrain. Obviously, the virus situation remains fluid, but we have the experience from last season with all our partners and promoters to adapt accordingly and safely in 2021.”
Victoria’s tourism, sports and major events minister Martin Pakula said postponing the event, one of the city’s biggest sporting events, was the “right decision”.
“And we thank Formula 1 management for their cooperation in setting a new schedule for the 2021 season,” Mr Pakula said.
“The Australian Grand Prix is one of the great events in the world and we’ll make sure it can be run safely and successfully in November.”
The event was subjected to a last-minute cancellation in 2020 at the onset of the pandemic after McLaren staff member tested positive to the virus.
There were 17 F1 events held in 2020 with drivers and teams competing in a “bubble’’ with no contact with the public and no quarantine requirements as long as two weeks.
Paul Garvey 7.23pm: Border comments furore ‘matter of semantics’
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has dismissed the furore over his latest comments on NSW’s handling of the pandemic as “a matter of semantics”.
Speaking to reporters in Broome on Tuesday afternoon, just a day after he criticised NSW as not following the lead of other states in working to “eliminate” the virus from the community, Mr McGowan said the strategies of elimination and suppression both shared a common goal of zero community spread of the virus.
“People here don’t want the virus,” he said.
“If NSW think it’s better to have the virus in their community, let that be their position. That is not our position.”
WA this week marked nine months without a case of community transmission of the virus, although it continues to have several cases among returning overseas arrivals in hotel quarantine.
“My view is if the virus is in the community you kill it, we get rid of it, you don’t have it. That’s the best outcome for Western Australia and the entire country.
“NSW seems to think it’s okay to have the virus ticking along in the community and you just deal with it in individual suburbs and individual venues and the like, I’d rather just get rid of it. We’ve done that now for nine months in WA, we’ve had the best record of anywhere in the world.”
He also hit back at fresh criticism of him from NSW deputy leader John Barilaro, who described Mr McGowan as a “goose”.
Mr McGowan said Mr Barilaro should “calm down”.
“All that Western Australia has done is say it’s better not to have the virus in the community. That seems to offend the NSW government. I just don’t want it here, I don’t want it in the community,” he said.
“That’s why we put up borders, that’s why we do everything to stop it coming here. Have a look at Britain, have a look at countries all over the world where you have hundreds of thousands of people getting sick and dying. I don’t want that here. We have done everything in our power to stop that occurring.”
Mackenzie Scott 6.56pm: Rents plummet in Sydney, Melbourne
A fall in demand for inner-city apartments rentals in Sydney and Melbourne caused prices to drop by up to 10 per cent last year, while investors in smaller markets benefited from tight availability as prices surged.
Limited overseas migration and the flight to suburbia last year caused rents for units to drop 10.3 per cent in Sydney and 8.7 per cent in Melbourne over the past 12 months, according to new data from SQM Research.
While house rentals fared slightly better in both cities (down 7.6 per cent and 8.7 per cent respectively), the number of properties available in the Melbourne market ballooned to a vacancy rate of 4.7 per cent, almost double the same in 2019.
AFP 6.31pm: Democrat tests positive for Covid after Capitol siege
A Democratic member of the US House of Representatives said on Tuesday AEDT she had tested positive for COVID-19 after sheltering during the violent storming of the Capitol with several other politicians who declined to wear masks.
“I received a positive test result for COVID-19, and am home resting at this time,” Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey said. “While I am experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, I remain in good spirits and will continue to work on behalf of my constituents,” the 75-year-old said.
I am home resting at this time. While I am experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms, I remain in good spirits and will continue to work on behalf of my constituents.
— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) January 11, 2021
Ms Watson Coleman’s office said she believed she was exposed during “protective isolation in the US Capitol building as a result of insurrectionist riots”.
Read the full story here.
Adrian McMurray 6.02pm: Alert issued for northern beaches hairdresser
NSW Health has issued an alert for a hairdresser in Sydney’s northern beaches.
Anyone who attended The Groomsmen Barber Shop at Warriewood Square in Warriewood last Wednesday, January 6, between 11.30am and 12pm has been asked to get tested immediately and isolate after a confirmed case visited the venue.
NSW Health has been advised of a new venue in the Northern Beaches visited by a confirmed case of COVID 19.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 12, 2021
This information will be updated on the website shortly. pic.twitter.com/uDoMEZVzCF
The state recorded five new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, all linked to existing clusters.
READ MORE: New tech that can change your life
Rebecca Le May 5.50pm: Aussies’ bad money habit returns
Australians used the turmoil of 2020 to hammer their credit card debt, but the lure of festive shopping curbed that discipline, prompting them to once again pile it on the plastic.
Reserve Bank of Australia data released on Tuesday showed credit card spending in November – a month full of sales events including Click Frenzy, Black Friday and Cyber Monday – rose by 12 per cent from the previous month.
Compared with November 2019, credit card spending was only 1 per cent higher, however.
Read the full story here.
Angus Loten 5.15pm: Working from home reboots PC market
The shift to remote work is jolting the lacklustre personal computer market, as chief information officers and other corporate information-technology leaders raced to equip stay-at-home workers during the coronavirus pandemic, analysts say.
After a slowdown early in the year, total global shipments of personal computers in 2020 surged 11 per cent from 2019, to 297 million units, according to a report by research firm Canalys.
The gains represent the sharpest full-year growth rate in a decade, and the highest volume of PC shipments since 2014, the report said.
Read the full story here.
Paul Garvey 4.30pm: WA deputy back-pedals on McGowan ‘elimination’ comments
Western Australia’s health minister and deputy premier Roger Cook has attempted to strike a more conciliatory tone towards NSW over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, just a day after his premier reignited the border wars with fresh criticism of Australia’s most populous state.
Mr Cook on Tuesday back-pedalled from Mark McGowan’s attack on NSW, telling reporters he believed NSW was “doing the best they can under the circumstances they have”.
“I speak regularly with the minister of health in NSW, I understand they are dealing with very challenging circumstances and we wish them all the best in those challenges,” he said.
“They have a very different set of circumstances to us, in WA we have been successful in achieving what we have in elimination of the disease within the community.”
Mr McGowan on Monday said NSW’s focus on suppression of the virus, rather than elimination, was at odds with the rest of the states and territories and urged NSW to follow the lead of other jurisdictions such as Victoria and Queensland.
It prompted backlash from the NSW and federal governments, while even the Victorian and Queensland leaders distanced themselves from the remarks, denying they were pursuing a strategy of elimination.
With Mr McGowan visiting WA’s far north on Tuesday, it fell to Mr Cook to try to clarify that WA’s approach to elimination was the same as the other states’ strategy of suppression.
He said all states had agreed at a meeting of national cabinet last July to work towards a goal of zero presence of the virus in the community.
“When Mark McGowan talks about elimination, we are talking about making sure there is no presence of the disease in the community,” Mr Cook said.
“Obviously that disease will continue to be present in our quarantine facilities, we accept that, but that is our definition of elimination.”
Western Australia has now gone more than nine months without a case of community transmission of the virus. But it has always had several cases of coronavirus within its quarantine hotels since the start of the pandemic, with WA taking a similar number of returned international travellers to NSW on a per capita basis.
While Mr Cook took a more measured tone towards NSW, he did push back at comments from acting prime minister Michael McCormack that WA should be grateful to NSW for helping Australia by keeping its economy open.
WA resisted a push from Canberra early in the crisis to curtail the state’s mining industry, and Mr Cook said WA’s success was central to the national fortunes.
“Remember, and it’s an important message for Michael McCormack and all federal politicians, it’s Western Australia that’s underpinning the national economy,” he said.
“We kept the mines open and we’ve ensured that we’ve continued to see exports being undertaken and we continue to make sure that Australia continues to prosper.”
READ MORE: No-go zones bring about a nation divided
Jade Gailberger 4.15pm: Hunt’s virus plea: Listen to the experts
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has called out exaggerated coronavirus predictions as he urges people to listen to the nation’s top advisers.
Mr Hunt took a swipe at doomsday predictions from infectious disease experts.
As the government prepares to roll out a coronavirus vaccine from February, Mr Hunt is urging people to take advice from the nation’s top medical advisers.
“There are some commentators that predicted that there’d be 3000 cases in NSW on the 8th of January and I believe there was one case,” Mr Hunt said.
“There are some widely quoted commentators who may have predicted 400,000 lives lost and that is clearly incorrect … who said we would run out of ventilators in April?”
Mr Hunt said although people had different views on COVID-19, many had proven to be wrong.
“I would urge everyone to listen carefully to the advice of the Australian medical regulators and Australian government medical advisers,” Mr Hunt said.
“They are the ones, who in my view, are the best in the world.
“The most credible in the world and have helped deliver … arguably one of the best outcomes.”
Olivia Caisley 3.30pm: ACT opens borders to NSW but red zones barred
ACT residents will be able to travel freely to regional NSW and parts of Sydney after the territory’s chief health officer relaxed a border ban sparked by the Avalon cluster in the city’s Northern Beaches.
Travel restrictions will remain in place for 11 local government areas, including Western Sydney, the Northern Beaches and the Inner West with ACT residents returning from these zones still required to self-declare and quarantine on returning to the nation’s capital.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr on Tuesday warned that while some of the restrictions would be eased at 3pm on Tuesday, further outbreaks and border closures had become a “fact of life” during the pandemic and could occur at any time. He urged residents to not drop their guard.
“Restrictions are only in place for the time necessary to reduce the risk to our community and to avoid community transmission and seeding of the virus,” Mr Barr said.
The Northern Beaches, Blacktown City, Burwood, Canada Bay City, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland Fairfield City, Inner West, Liverpool City, Parramatta City and Strathfield are among the local government areas still subject to ACT border restrictions.
The rest of Sydney, the Central Coast and Wollongong will not be considered COVID-19-affected areas after 3pm today.
READ MORE: Snap lockdown better than alternative
Olivia Caisley 3.00pm: GPs trained to give vaccine from next week: Hunt
Health Minister Greg Hunt says that GPs will be offered training to administer the coronavirus vaccine from next week as he called on the states and territories to do more to improve testing rates across the country.
Mr Hunt said that while the national testing average of 476 per 1000 Australians was an “extraordinary feat” he implored jurisdictions with lower testing rates such as Western Australia to ramp up their efforts.
“We have in recent weeks tested over 326 aged care facilities with zero cases among staff or residents,” he said.
Mr Hunt said the inoculation program would be the largest in recent history and would make use of the nation’s existing immunisation network that enabled health workers to deliver 17 million flu vaccinations last year.
Mr Hunt said general practices would take carriage of rolling out the AstraZeneca vaccine that doesn’t need to be stored at as low temperatures as the Pfizer alternative, which will be administered by hospitals.
“One fundamental part is the distribution process and so we will have hospitals … (and) a very strong community rollout, (such as) Australian Government vaccination centres, state-based vaccination centres, Aboriginal community-controlled health organisations and also general practices.”
“Next week, we’ll be inviting all Australian general practices to participate if they wish. That will involve making sure that they’re able to participate in the Australian immunisation register, and record all vaccinations, to undertake the appropriate training and if they wish, if they see themselves as a vaccinator, to participate in that program,” he said.
$38 million in government funding for diabetes and cardiovascular care was also announced.
Rachel Baxendale 1.25pm: ‘Strictest quarantine in world’ for Australian Open
Victorian Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville says the hotel quarantine program Australian Open players, officials and associates will be forced to undergo when they begin arriving in Melbourne from Thursday will be the “strictest in the world”.
Her comments come after two players were forced to withdraw from an Australian Open qualifying event in Doha after testing positive for COVID-19, with concerns raised about potential cross-contamination at an official hotel.
From 5pm on Thursday 15 charter flights will land in Melbourne, carrying around 1200 tennis players, support staff and tennis officials who will be accommodated at the Grand Hyatt, the View Hotel on St Kilda Road, and the Pullman Hotel at Albert Park.
“We are assuming every single tennis player that arrives, and their officials, has the potential to be (COVID-19) positive, so our program has been designed around that potential, and how do we ensure that if there is a positive case that there is no risk to the Victorian community,” Ms Neville said during a tour of training facilities at Melbourne Park.
“We have put in place the strongest, the strictest rules that apply for tennis across the world.
“I mean there are bubbles that are operating in Doha at the moment, but this is the strictest program in the world in terms of hotel quarantining for our tennis players.”
How the tennis quarantine hotels will work
Protocols will be identical to other mandatory quarantine hotels in Victoria.
Players must take a COVID-19 test before they board their flight to Melbourne, with any positive cases quarantined with their close contacts in a “health hotel”.
While at quarantine hotels, players must stay in their rooms, with floor monitors and emergency exit alarm systems in place and police and health services on site to ensure compliance.
About 1500 staff from private health provider Aspen Health, COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria and Victoria Police will operate the hotels, with Tennis Australia to foot the bill.
Players can be accompanied by one support person, who will have to stay in the hotel room for 14 days.
If players and their support people test negative on their second day of hotel quarantine, they will be permitted to attend training at designated “bubble” tennis courts at either Melbourne Park or Albert Park.
“There is no mixing between hotels, there is no mixing between players and their support person,” Ms Neville said.
“So we’ll have a bubble, so one player will hit up with one other player and they’ll each have one support person.”
“They are tested before any training commences. No training will commence before any test, and not before day two, after arrival.”
Players and support people will be tested daily, as will all staff associated with the program.
READ MORE: Alarm as player tests positive
Joseph Lam 11.45am: Zero transmission aim, but not border pain: Berejiklian
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says NSW continued to support “what the national cabinet has endorsed”: zero community transmission.
“Anyone who thinks we’re going to eliminate or eradicate this disease, unfortunately, doesn’t appreciate what the pandemic means,” she said.
“We’ve signed up to zero community transmission and that is something New South Wales strongly supports, endorses and works towards.
“Every state might have a different way of getting to zero community transmission and that’s a matter for them. I don’t believe keeping your borders closed and inflicting pain and suffering on thousands of people is the way to do that, but that’s just the New South Wales strategy. But all of us have the aim of zero community transmission.”
Ms Berejiklian has asked for New South Welshmen to show compassion to Australians stuck overseas amid the pandemic, as the number of those allowed to return each week halves.
The NSW Premier called on residents to put themselves in others’ shoes and imagine how it would feel to be separated from a loved one at this time.
“It’s easy for us to be critical of people wanting to come back home, but if it was your loved one, we have to consider compassionate issues,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Strongly support the reduction in the number of returning overseas travellers to Sydney in the next little while until we understand new strains of COVID.
— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) January 8, 2021
“We have NSW residents that arrive in Brisbane or Perth and I certainly wouldn’t want to disadvantage our citizens that arrive at different ports.
“Everybody’s circumstances are different. For some people who can’t afford a particular flight overseas, they might be a Sydney resident but the only way back to Australia is via Perth or Brisbane. We have to accept that.
“What all of us need to do as state leaders is accept this is a shared responsibility and all of us have to play our part and the month pause gives us time to do that, by halving the rates in New South Wales.”
NSW is taking in 1500 returning Australians each week down from the initial 3000-person quota in place before the highly-infectious UK strain emerged.
“At the end of the day, we’re one nation, and the way that I think we’ve dealt with the pandemic, as a nation, is something to be proud of,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“But let’s not let our citizens down by lacking that level of compassion when we’re making decisions.”
READ MORE: NSW hot spots: venue alerts
Joseph Lam 11.15am: Premier’s testing plea amid five new NSW cases
Gladys Berejiklian is pleading for New South Welshman to get tested as five new cases of COVID-19 with links to previous clusters were recorded in her state.
The NSW Premier reported five new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, two of which are linked to the northern beaches, one which is linked to the Berala cluster and two which were reported on Monday and resulted in a temporary closure of a Western Sydney hospital.
About 14,700 test were recorded in NSW in the past 24 hours, but Ms Berejiklian said that was simply not enough.
“Yesterday to 8pm we only had 14,700 tests,” she said. “14,700 is not really enough for where we’re up to in the pandemic.
“We’re still mopping up. While we’re confident that there hasn’t been another superspreading event, that’s only for today. It can happen again if we don’t stay vigilant.”
NSW recorded 16 news cases of COVID-19, five of which were locally transmitted and 11 of which were among overseas travellers.
The 11 cases among returned travellers brings the total number among returned travellers to 46 in the past seven days.
NSW recorded five new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 12, 2021
Eleven cases were also recorded in returned travellers, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,845 pic.twitter.com/Eg5fYSS5bA
Joseph Lam 10.55am: ‘No evidence incubation period different’: Young
Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young says there is no evidence the incubation period of the new UK variant of COVID-19 is any different from the original strain.
Dr Young on Tuesday said experts are watching developments of the strain to see how it may be different and how best to treat it.
“There’s no evidence the incubation period for this new strain is any different,” she said.
“I think we need to reset, we have now got a new variant that’s 70% more infectious so that has changed things.
“I do think we need to rethink where we were and that is what we have been doing at AHPPC and we did provide advice to the national cabinet who accepted that advice to change a lot of the processes. It has changed since we had the agreement.
“We just have to wait and we need to maintain all of the systems and processes we have all got in place as individuals to protect ourselves if this were to spread.”
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said authorities were using the state’s 10-day lockdown as a chance to monitor incubation.
“We will observe the incubation period for the additional 10 days, we have been very clear,” she said.
Tuesday, 12 January – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) January 11, 2021
• 1 new locally acquired case
• 2 overseas acquired cases
• 28 active cases
• 1,281 total cases
• 1,621,595 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,243 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/NaB4JNpy4O
Patrick Commins 10.40am: Frydenberg rejects Chinese bid for Aussie-based company
Josh Frydenberg has rejected another Chinese company’s takeover bid for an Australian-based firm on national security concerns – a decision sure to further inflame tensions with our most important trading partner.
China State Construction Engineering Corporation has pulled its nearly $300bn bid for the South African-owned Probuild after getting word from the Treasurer before Christmas that the acquisition would be turned down after FIRB spent eight months assessing the deal.
The Chinese company’s links to that country’s defence industry was the key reason behind the rejection, the AFR reported.
Probuild was also involved in the construction of two sensitive buildings – the Victorian police headquarters and CSL’s Melbourne HQ, which is producing COVID-19 vaccines.
The rejection will rub further salt into the wounded Australia-China relationship.
Chinese authorities have cited last April’s rejection of China Mengniu Dairy Co’s planned $600 million purchase of Lion Dairy & Drinks among a list of grievances that have sparked retaliatory trade action against a range of Aussie exports.
READ the full story here.
Joseph Lam 10.20am: Cleaner’s husband infectious two days before he quarantined
The husband of a cleaner in Brisbane who tested positive with a highly-infectious strain of COVID-19 from the UK was infectious for two days before entering quarantine.
Queensland Health found the husband, who has since tested positive with the virus, was infectious for a two-day period before he and his wife entered lockdown on January 7. He went to work for two days and visited a Bunnings and a bottle shop about 8km southwest of the Brisbane CBD.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced her state recorded three news cases of COVID-19 over the past 24 hours, one of which was the husband of the cleaner who worked at Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane on January 2. The other two cases had travelled from Lebanon and are in hotel quarantine.
Queensland Health has urged anyone who visited the exposure sites of the cleaner’s husband to get tested immediately and isolate regardless of the result.
• Acacia Ridge Bunnings Warehouse, 441 Bradman St, Acacia Ridge QLD 4110: Tuesday January 5 from 2pm to 2.40pm; and
• Sunnybank Hills Cellars, Corner Calam Road And, Compton Rd, Sunnybank Hills QLD 4109: Wednesday January 6 from 2:05pm to 2:15pm
Mackenzie Scott 10.20am: Queensland records three new Covid cases
Queensland has reported one new case overnight, the partner of the cleaner who initially contracted the UK strain of the virus.
The case was first reported yesterday.
Two cases were also identified in hotel quarantine.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the result was “good news” and reaffirmed the need for masks in indoor and crowded areas.
Courtney Walsh 9.58am: Alarm as player tests positive while serving for match
A COVID-19 scare has ensnared two players in the Australian Open qualifying event being held in Doha with concerns raised about potential cross-contamination at an official hotel.
Denis Kudla was on the verge of winning his opening match when informed he had tested positive to coronavirus, but was able to close out the victory.
The American is the second player forced to withdraw from the event due to a positive test, with Kudla now joining Francisco Cerundolo in hotel quarantine for the next 10 days.
The concern is that Kudla, who reached the last 16 at Wimbledon in 2015, was able to play in the event that will finalise the field for the Australian Open before the results of his coronavirus test were available.
READ the full story here.
Joseph Lam 9.45am: Quarantining ‘a matter for states’: acting PM
Michael McCormack says bringing back Australians from overseas during the pandemic is a matter for states, not the federal government.
Speaking to Sky News in Townsville this morning the acting Prime Minister said quarantining was not a federal matter but one for states and jurisdictions.
Australia has brought home over 443,000 Australians since the beginning of the pandemic, 71,000 have come since September, he said.
“We can’t bring all Australians home when they want to come home all at once,” he said.
While applauding NSW for “carrying the burden of returning Australians”, he said not all Australians wanting to return are playing fair.
“We’ve had a lot of cases whether Australians have had a ticket and not presented at the airport.”
Joseph Lam 9.25am: Biden receives second vaccination dose
Joe Biden received his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.
The US President-elect received the jab in Newark, Delaware, from Ric Cuming, Christiana Hospital’s chief nurse executive.
“My number one priority is getting vaccines in people’s arms, like we just did today, as rapidly as we can,” he told reporters.
Joseph Lam 9.15am: Palaszczuk defends Gabba go ahead
Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended the green lighting of a test match in Brisbane this weekend after the state was subject to a three-day lockdown the weekend before.
Despite pleas from international tourism operators, the Queensland Premier has stood firm on her decision which will see more than 23,000 attend the test at the Gabba stadium in Brisbane this weekend.
Ms Palaszczuk said there was a “reissuing of the tickets to make sure people are spread out as well” at the cricket.
“Hopefully everything will go well there and it’s really no different to what’s going in other states.”
“Everybody is in the world pandemic. There is no international tourism. There will not be tourism until the considerable future.”
Ms Palaszczuk said her state had adopted a suppression strategy toward managing the virus.
READ MORE: How to keep SCG drunks at bay
Joseph Lam 9.05am: Brisbane lockdown successful: Palaszczuk
Annastacia Palaszczuk says Brisbane’s three-day lockdown was a “quick, decisive action” which gave health authorities enough time to assess and manage the detection of a highly contagious UK variant of COVID-19.
The Queensland Premier imposed the lockdown of her state’s capital city on Friday after a hotel cleaner, in her 20s, was shown to have been infectious with the UK variant of the virus for a five-day period while working at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane.
The partner of the quarantine hotel cleaner who tested positive to the UK variant of COVID-19 on 7 January 2021, has also tested positive to COVID-19. More info here: https://t.co/6SNA0b7Qen
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) January 11, 2021
“It gave the contact tracers all the time they needed to track down all of the contacts of that cleaner,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
The lockdown, which was endorsed by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, was “a very clear signal about how we can all co-operate together,” Ms Palaszczuk.
Greater Brisbane is in its second day of a 10-day period of restrictions, including mandatory mask use in multiple outdoor settings, which matches the virus’ incubation period.
On Monday, the husband of the cleaner also tested positive of the highly infectious strain.
The pair have been in quarantine together since January 7.
READ MORE: Hospitality SOS: Help or we close
Ellie Dudley 8.50am: Where can you travel in Australia?
With interstate borders snapping shut and easing gradually and sporadically, it’s hard to know where your next travel destination is – or when it will happen.
Based on the latest travel advice, here is where you should be booking a flight and an Airbnb.
Joseph Lam 8.35am: NSW has done magnificent job: McCormack
Michael McCormack has applauded NSW’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying that he believes the state has “done more than its fair share” of carrying the burden of quarantine.
The acting Prime Minister said he would “caution anyone criticising NSW” as the majority of returning passengers had come through Sydney which, he said, has set the standard on quarantine measures.
“NSW has done a magnificent job,” he said, appearing on Sky News on Tuesday from Townsville, in north Queensland.
“I say to other states you can look to NSW to be a benchmark,” he said.
While applauding efforts in Sydney, Mr McCormack said capital cities must be cautious of the decisions they make and how they affect surrounding areas.
“Hasty decisions made at speed do have such an impact, especially on regional towns,” he said.
“Regional cities are often impacted by decisions made in capital cities.”
READ MORE: Border bans ‘more worrying than Covid’
Rachel Baxendale 8.20am: Victoria records sixth straight day of zero cases
Victoria has recorded its sixth successive day with zero new locally-acquired coronavirus cases since the emergence of the Black Rock cluster, although testing numbers (18,139) were down on recent days in the 24 hours to Tuesday.
There were no new cases in international return travellers in hotel quarantine.
There are currently 38 known active cases of COVID-19 in Victoria, including those in the Black Rock cluster, a mystery case in a man in his 30s who visited the Chadstone shopping centre and the MCG, and cases in international return travellers in hotel quarantine.
Yesterday there were 0 new locally acquired cases reported, and 0 new cases in hotel quarantine. Thanks to all who were tested, 18,139 test results were received. #EveryTestHelps More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/xaWL80D4BS
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 11, 2021
READ MORE: Editorial — Andrews, McGowan intensify border chaos
Joseph Lam 8am: Vaccine ‘doesn’t mean Australia’s off the hook’
Health experts are still learning whether COVID-19 vaccines will stop those infected with coronavirus from spreading the virus.
Appearing on Sky News this morning, infectious diseases expert Associate Professor Sanjaya Senanayake said while the vaccine rollout set to begin next month is positive, Australia isn’t off the hook yet.
“Even though the vaccine (drive) starts next month, it won’t finish until October,” he said.
“We’re still trying to learn whether these vaccines stop people from infecting other people with Covid.”
Associate Professor Senanayake also congratulated Queensland on its bold decision to impose a 72-hour lockdown.
“I think it was very reasonable to move,” he said.
But he said that should be the go-to model for other states and territories.
“Each outbreak we see in Australia has to be tailored according to the nature of that outbreak,” he said.
READ MORE: Vaccine should stop COVID-19 variants, expert says
Joseph Lam 7.30am: Another positive case connected to hospital
The wife of a man whose positive coronavirus test led to a temporary shutdown of an emergency ward in Western Sydney has tested positive for the virus.
Contact tracers are urgently searching for contacts of the man, in his 40s, and his wife.
Mount Druitt Hospital Emergency Department, about 40km from the Sydney CBD, closed its emergency department on Sunday after a man who presented to the hospital on Saturday tested positive for COVID-19. The man was transferred to Westmead Hospital for treatment.
Staff were seen wearing full COVID-19 personal protective equipment and paramedics were transporting patients away from the hospital in ambulances.
NSW Health has been urgently investigating possible connections to the positive case which led to the confirmed case of the man’s wife.
Support staff from the Western Sydney Local Health District have been called in to assist.
After undergoing deep cleaning on Monday, the hospital reopened as resumed services.
NSW Health has faced criticism over low testing rates in outer Sydney suburbs, with some suggesting it has failed to get COVID-19 related messages to migrants and suburban communities in Western Sydney.
One new case of COVID-19 was diagnosed at Mount Druitt Hospital last night. Today we’ve opened a new clinic at Blacktown International Sportspark to help with convenient testing in the local area. Thank you @blacktowncc! Find your nearest clinic here: https://t.co/b6uiVyG250 pic.twitter.com/ibCmvZxWfv
— West Sydney Health (@WestSydHealth) January 11, 2021
READ MORE: Not steaming, drowning on empty Murray
Joseph Lam 7.20am: New Queensland venues added to hot spot list
Queensland Health has advised that visitors of the following venues must get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
■ Woolworths Calamvale North, 678 Compton Rd, Calamvale QLD 4116: Sunday January 3 from 11am to 12pm;
■ Coles Sunnybank Hills Shoppingtown, Compton Road &, Calam Rd, Sunnybank Hills QLD 4109: Tuesday January 5 from 7.30am to 8am; and
■ Nextra Sunnybank Hills newsagent, Shop 18 Sunnybank Hills Shoppingtown, 661 Compton Rd, Sunnybank Hills QLD 4109: Tuesday January 5 from 8am to 8.15am.
Anyone who visited the following venues is considered a casual contact and should get tested immediately and isolate until a negative result is received.
■ Acacia Ridge Bunnings Warehouse, 441 Bradman St, Acacia Ridge QLD 4110: Tuesday January 5 from 2pm to 2.40pm; and
■ Sunnybank Hills Cellars, Corner Calam Road And, Compton Rd, Sunnybank Hills QLD 4109: Wednesday January 6 from 2.05pm to 2.15pm.
The partner of the quarantine hotel cleaner who tested positive to the UK variant of COVID-19 on 7 January 2021, has also tested positive to COVID-19. More info here: https://t.co/6SNA0b7Qen
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) January 11, 2021
Anyone who visited the following venues is considered low risk but should monitor for symptoms and get tested and isolate immediately should they occur.
■ Train: Altandi station to Roma Street station, Sunnybank: Saturday January 2 from 7am;
■ Train: Central station to Altandi station, Brisbane City: Saturday January 2 from 4pm;
■ Cappriccios Italian Pizza Restaurant, Riverside Centre, 7/4 Maple St, Maleny QLD 4552: Wednesday January 6 from 6.30pm to 7pm;
■ Purple Palate Cellars, 1/12 Bicentenary Ln, Maleny QLD 4552: Thursday January 7 from 4.15pm to 4.25pm;
■ Woolworths Maleny, 2 Bunya St, Maleny QLD 4552: Thursday January 7 from 4.30pm to 4.50pm; and
■ Jetstar flight JQ570, from Melbourne to Brisbane: Tuesday January 5 from 11pm
Greater Brisbane’s roadmap for easing restrictions. Here’s what you need to know when lockdown ends at 6pm 👇 pic.twitter.com/1Qq5Ptv5Ob
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) January 11, 2021
READ MORE: Repeat mask shunner labels COVID-19 ‘hoax’
Agencies 7am: Herd immunity ‘won’t be achieved this year’
Despite vaccines against COVID-19 being rolled out in a number of countries, the World Health Organisation has warned that herd immunity would not be achieved this year.
Countries across the globe are looking forward to vaccines finally allowing a return to normality in the months ahead.
But the WHO’s chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan warned that it would take time to produce and administer enough doses to halt the spread of the virus.
“We are not going to achieve any levels of population immunity or herd immunity in 2021,” she told a virtual press briefing from WHO’s headquarters in Geneva, stressing the need to continue measures like physical distancing, hand washing and mask wearing to rein in the pandemic.
She hailed the “incredible progress” made by scientists who managed the unthinkable of developing not one but several safe and effective vaccines against a brand new virus in under a year.
But, she stressed, the rollout “does take time.” “It takes time to scale the production of doses, not just in the millions, but here we are talking about in the billions,” she pointed out, calling on people to “be a little bit patient.” — AFP
"I want to thank all GOARN partners & the countries supporting this mission. This includes Australia, Denmark, Germany, Kenya, Japan, Netherlands, Qatar, Russia, Sudan, the United Kingdom, the United States of America & Vietnam, & our colleagues from China"-@DrTedros #COVID19
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) January 11, 2021
READ MORE: Britain races to vaccine target
Joseph Lam 6.45am: Qld contract tracers into action over new positive
Contact tracers in Brisbane are desperately searching for links to a second person who has tested positive to the UK variant of COVID-19.
The man, whose wife — a hotel quarantine cleaner who tested positive for the virus last week — returned a positive test on Monday as Brisbane emerged from its 72-hour lockdown.
Queensland Health believe his wife, in her 20s, had been infectious for a five-day period while working at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane on January 2.
The man has been in quarantine with his wife since January 7.
Two venues have since been added to the state’s exposure list.
■ Acacia Ridge Bunnings Warehouse, 441 Bradman St, Acacia Ridge QLD 4110: Tuesday January 5 from 2pm to 2.40pm; and
■ Sunnybank Hills Cellars, Corner Calam Road And, Compton Rd, Sunnybank Hills QLD 4109: Wednesday January 6 from 2:05pm to 2:15pm
âš ï¸ Public Health Alert: Brisbane âš ï¸
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) January 11, 2021
Confirmed case linked to hotel cleaner.
For more details visit: https://t.co/xrF1h6fRFy pic.twitter.com/eDz35z48XO
READ MORE: ‘Most ridiculous’ COVID-19 rule canned
Joseph Lam 6.15am: NSW lists new COVID-19 venues of concern
NSW Health urges those who visited the following venue for more than an hour during the exposure time to get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:
■ Arndell Park Blacktown Workers Sports Club Grange Buffet, 170 Reservoir Rd, Arndell Park: Sunday January 3 11.40am to 1.30pm.
NSW Health has been advised of new venues in Sydney’s west, inner west and Northern Beaches visited by confirmed cases of COVID 19.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 11, 2021
This information will be updated on the website shortly. pic.twitter.com/GkDdpV9hbg
Anyone who visited the following venues is advised to get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is received. Test again if symptoms appear:
■ Warriewood Square Coles, 12 Jacksons Rd, Warriewood: Thursday December 31 from 2pm to 2.10pm; Tuesday January 5 from 12.45pm to 1pm;
■ Warriewood Square Woolworths, 12 Jacksons Rd, Warriewood: Monday January 4 from
12.15pm to 12.45pm; Wednesday January 6 12pm from 12.15pm;
■ Warriewood Square Aldi, 12 Jacksons Rd, Warriewood: Tuesday January 5 from
12.10pm to 12.40pm; Friday January 8 12pm to 12.25pm; and
■ Warriewood Square Rebel, 12 Jacksons Rd, Wednesday January 6 12.15pm to 12.30pm.
Authorities advise anyone who visited the following venues to monitor for symptoms and, if they occur, get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is received:
■ Arndell Park Blacktown Workers Sports Club Grange Buffet, 170 Reservoir Rd, Arndell Park: Sunday January 3 from 11.40am to 1.30pm;
■ Ashfield, 260 A Liverpool Rd, Ashfield: Wednesday January 6 from 4pm to 5pm;
■ Pool and Spa Warehouse, 20 Chard Road, Brookvale: Friday January 8 from
11.05am to 11.15am; and
■ Warriewood Square Pharmacy Less, 12 Jacksons Rd, Warriewood: Friday January 8 from 12.25pm to 12.35pm.
READ MORE: Coles, Aldi among Sydney virus alert sites
Patrick Commins 5am: No-go zones bring about a nation divided
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has reignited the nation’s border wars, declaring NSW’s approach to managing the COVID-19 pandemic was out of step with other states and an elimination approach to “crush and kill the virus” was better.
In a statement that drew immediate rebukes from business groups, criticism from leading economists and denials from other state leaders, Mr McGowan said there were “five states and two territories doing one thing, and one state doing something different”.
Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack defended NSW’s handling of the pandemic, telling The Australian that WA should recognise the state’s role in quarantining many of the west’s residents when they returned from overseas.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Monday further inflamed tensions with business groups as he implemented a traffic-light system for those seeking to enter his state.
He also disavowed the elimination strategy, despite implementing one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world last year.
All Australians will need a permit to enter the southern state, with different zones experiencing different testing and quarantine requirements based on exposure to community transmission.
Read the full story, by Patrick Commins and Richard Ferguson, here.
Mackenzie Scott 4.45am: Brisbane cleaner’s partner positive for UK variant
The partner of a quarantine hotel cleaner diagnosed with the UK variant of COVID-19 has contracted the highly contagious virus.
After the man initially tested negative when he entered quarantine with his partner on January 7, further tests on Monday confirmed he had the virus. The finding came just hours after Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the lifting of lockdown for the Greater Brisbane region.
The easing of the restrictions will go ahead despite state health authorities raising concerns about undetected infections, after the woman moved through the community for five days before testing positive. Masks are mandated in all public indoor spaces for the next 10 days to minimise transmission risk if the virus is still circulating.
Queensland Health said extra contact tracing was under way and testing of other close contacts of both the man and woman would take place this week.
Read the full story here.
Stephen Rice 4.30am: Open and shut case to shelve Australian Open
With a contingent of more than 1200 players and support staff arriving in Melbourne this week for the Australian Open, fears are growing that the much-vaunted “tennis bubble” could leak, leading to another COVID-19 outbreak.
The discovery of several cases of the highly infectious UK and South African variants among passengers entering Australia in the past week has prompted fresh calls for the event to be postponed or played without spectators.
UNSW adjunct professor and infectious diseases expert Bill Bowtell wants national cabinet to reconvene to delay the Open, due to start on February 8, with warm-up events scheduled from January 31.
“They shouldn’t allow people in for the Australian Open, that should go to history like the Grand Prix did,” Professor Bowtell said. “I really think they have to explain now why they’re not stopping flights from the UK and having — as in Hong Kong — three week quarantines.”
Read the full story here.
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