Coronavirus Australia live news: SCG Test crowd cut, 63 Sydney suburbs on alert amid fears of Covid spread
Virus fragments in sewage plants spark Covid alerts for thousands as cricket officials limit crowd to 12,000 for Thursday’s Test amid fears of spread.
- Virus alerts for 63 Sydney suburbs
- Sydney Test crowd halved amid virus fears
- Test ‘safe’, but regional fans urged to stay away
- NSW has 2 locally acquired cases
- Victoria records 3 new Covid cases
- Melbourne adds new testing sites
- Sydney wedding draws fines
- Avalon outbreak ‘inflicted $3.2bn hit’
Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of Australia’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
NSW has two new locally acquired cases, linked to the BWS Berala cluster. Victoria has recorded three new COVID-19 cases after more than 32,000 tests in the past 24 hours. There are virus alerts across 63 Sydney suburbs. Meanwhile, the crowd has been halved for the Sydney Test on Thursday, with fans from regional areas have been urged not to attend. Covid testing sites across Melbourne closed within an hour of opening yesterday, swamped by thousands of Victorians requiring tests after returning from NSW.
Patrick Commins 9.10pm: JobKeeper cuts won’t halt recovery: economists
Phasing out the JobKeeper pandemic wage stimulus payments will not be enough to derail Australia’s robust economic recovery as the nation’s housing and manufacturing sector ended the year in rude health, experts say.
From Monday, the federal wage subsidy was reduced to $1000 a fortnight for eligible full-time workers, and to $600 for part-time employees. The scheme is due to expire on March 28.
Anthony Albanese renewed his attack on the transition plan, saying it was “premature” to withdraw support while there were “millions of Australians who continue to do it tough”.
Richard Ferguson 8.25pm: Next election costs to spike by $30m
The next federal election is likely to cost Australian taxpayers nearly $30m extra due to special anti-coronavirus measures to keep voters safe, the electoral commission has revealed.
As government MPs prepare for Scott Morrison to call a poll between August and November, the Australian Electoral Commission estimates the election will cost at least $400m – up from $372m in 2019 – to bolster postal voting and hire COVID-19 wardens.
In a recent submission to the Senate’s budget estimates, the AEC said face masks, extra staff and bigger polling booths that allow more social distancing will drive up costs.
Remy Varga 7.40pm: NRL star says hotel quarantine unfair
Canberra Raiders halfback George Williams has tweeted his frustration after he was detained in hotel quarantine in Victoria, saying even criminals get an hour of fresh air each day.
The English rugby league star said on Monday he had been ordered into hotel quarantine after leaving the ACT in December to travel to Bateman’s Bay in NSW and then on to Victoria.
Williams said he checked the health advice multiple times before travelling but “the rules had now changed literally within an hour of leaving so we had to go straight into mandatory hotel quarantine for 2 weeks”.
Once getting to the hotel. The rooms are very small with a window you cannot open meaning fresh air is unavailable to us for 2 weeks. We are not even allowed to leave the room?! Sorry but criminals all get 1 hour a day fresh air or out of their cell.
— George Williams (@George7Williams) January 4, 2021
HOW IS THIS FAIR? Help! 4/4
“This is something we and other act travellers was (sic) not aware of and there are many in the same situation as on the same virgin Australia flight who can’t understand this at all, again the airline at Canberra airport that told us we was (sic) safe to travel without any restrictions,” he tweeted.
Williams said the hotel room was “very small” and he couldn’t open the window.
“We are not even allowed to leave the room?! Sorry but criminals all get 1 hour a day fresh air or out of their cell. HOW IS THIS FAIR? Help!”
READ MORE: Capitalist sellout? I’m flogging merch to stay afloat, say Billy Bragg
AFP 7pm: Beijing races to vaccinate millions
Thousands of people lined up in Beijing on Monday to receive a COVID-19 vaccine as China races to innoculate millions before the Chinese New Year mass travel season next month.
More than 73,000 people in the Chinese capital have received the first dose of the vaccine over the past couple of days, state media reported, including community workers and bus drivers.
Health authorities on New Year’s Eve granted “conditional” approval to a vaccine candidate made by Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm, which the company said had a 79 per cent efficacy rate.
People were bussed into a temporary vaccine centre at a central park, after being instructed to fill in electronic forms about their health status and any allergies at an outside gate.
Some were wearing two layers of surgical face masks.
One man surnamed Gu, a catering worker in his 30s, said his employer had booked him a vaccine appointment at the centre, and that he wanted the jab “for peace of mind”.
“I believe any adverse effects will be controllable,” he said.
Footage from state broadcaster CCTV showed queues outside local hospitals and community health centres as people waited to read consent forms and have their temperatures taken before getting the jab.
Health officials said gyms and empty factories were among centres being used for the vaccination programme.
China plans to vaccinate millions this northern winter in the run-up to Lunar New Year in mid-February.
Beijing has already administered around 4.5 million doses of largely unproven emergency vaccines this year — mostly to health workers and other state employees destined for overseas jobs, according to authorities.
But China now plans a gradual rollout for the vaccine starting with key groups considered to have a high risk of exposure to the virus, including port and food logistic workers and people planning to return to studies abroad.
China — where the coronavirus first emerged late in 2019 — has broadly stamped out the virus inside its borders, introducing swift local lockdowns and mass testing when cases emerge.
But the country has stepped up testing and movement controls after a recent spate of small local outbreaks, including a handful of cases in Beijing.
READ MORE: Beijing offers an olive branch to Biden
Oliver Moody 6.15pm: Berliners abandon lockdown chickens
Germany’s largest animal shelter says it is dealing with a glut of mistreated and abandoned chickens bought by Berliners in their ill-considered pursuit of a little rural idyll in the city.
The Tierheim Berlin, which looks after 1300 animals from cats to snakes and monkeys at a futuristic-looking 6.5ha compound on the outskirts of the capital, also said it had been inundated with requests to borrow its inhabitants during the national lockdown.
Growing numbers of urbanites have been buying or renting chickens since the start of the pandemic, apparently in the hope of enlivening their monotony with a touch of the rustic.
In many cases, however, the animals have been kept in such inhumane conditions that they had to be confiscated by Berlin’s public veterinary offices, according to Annette Rost, a spokeswoman for the Tierheim.
The shelter said it was looking after roughly three times as many chickens as it would in a normal year, and had at times run out of space for them.
Among those brought in for rehousing were six newly hatched chicks that had been dumped in a box in Weissensee, a northeastern suburb. They had been so badly neglected they had to be warmed up with a lamp and put on a special diet to fatten them up.
The authorities also seized five chickens that had been housed in cardboard boxes on the balcony of a high-rise flat in Lichtenberg, a district of east Berlin dominated by old socialist-era tower blocks.
“Their condition was catastrophic,” the Tierheim said. “Because they lived in boxes and couldn’t get out of one another’s way, they were stressed out and injured each other.”
The animal shelter has also urged Berliners who are thinking of acquiring an animal to alleviate their lockdown-induced solitude to ensure that they are prepared to keep it for life. “For many, animals have become a substitute for social contact,” Ms Rost said.
The Times
READ MORE: Clarkson reveals ‘scary’ Covid fight
Erin Lyon 5.30pm: Virus alert for 63 Sydney suburbs
Thousands of Sydney residents across 63 suburbs have been urged to monitor for symptoms after virus fragments were detected across two sewage plants.
Dozens of Sydney suburbs have been put on alert after sewage surveillance detected signs of the virus in the Liverpool and Glenfield areas.
Thousands of residents have now been urged to monitor for symptoms.
NSW Health issued an alert on Monday, highlighting that virus fragments were detected at the two treatment plants in Sydney’s southwest.
Health authorities said findings could simply indicate the presence of known cases of COVID-19 that had been diagnosed in recent weeks.
“However, NSW Health is concerned there could be other active cases in the local community in people who have not been tested and who might incorrectly assume their symptoms are just a cold,” the department said.
The alert comes as NSW diagnosed two new cases, both believed linked to the growing BWS Berala cluster.
Both cases were found after the 8pm cut off and will be reported in Tuesday’s numbers.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant urged people to be vigilant.
“It is really important that we all bring that to mind any time we’re out and about … someone could have COVID and that’s why we need those universal precautions of keeping that physical distancing and the mask wearing particularly in those indoor settings.
“There will be positive people in any setting you go in.
The Liverpool and Glenfield sewage treatment plants cover these suburbs:
Bardia, Hinchinbrook, Hoxton Park, Abbotsbury, Ingleburn, Prestons, Holsworthy, Edmondson Park, Austral, Cecil Park, Cecil Hills, Elizabeth Hills, Bonnyrigg Heights, Edensor Park, Green Valley, Pleasure Point, Casula, Hammondville, Liverpool, Moorebank, Wattle Grove, Miller, Cartwright, Lurnea, Warwick Farm, Chipping Norton, Voyager Point, Macquarie Links, Glenfield, Catherine Field, Gledswood Hills, Leppington, West Hoxton, Horningsea Park, Middleton Grange, Len Waters Estate, Carnes Hill, Denham Court, Airds, Ambarvale, Appin, Blair Athol, Blairmount, Bow Bowing, Bradbury, Campbelltown, Claymore, Eagle Vale, Englorie Park, Eschol Park, Glen Alpine, Kearns, Leumeah, Macquarie Fields, Menangle Park, Minto, Raby, Rosemeadow, Ruse, St Andrews, St Helens Park, Varroville, Woodbine.
READ MORE: How Sydney responded to $200 mask rule
Rachel Baxendale 3.40pm: Allan defends contact tracing delays in notifying businesses
Acting Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has defended the Department of Health and Human Services, following numerous reports of businesses discovering through the media that their venues have been named as coronavirus exposure sites, and then waiting hours to be contacted by contact tracers.
The Australian is aware of one business which was not contacted for 16 hours after their cafe was listed as an exposure site on the DHHS website, after a contact tracer misspelled their email address.
DHHS has also issued numerous corrections after publishing incorrect information about exposure sites, including naming a cellar door in northeast Victoria which closed down years ago, having confused it with a winery in east Gippsland 400km away.
Asked whether the tardiness in contacting business owners was good enough, Ms Allan said the government was putting information on its website “as soon as we possibly can”.
“There is a huge effort going on at the moment, to test, to trace, to provide that information to the Victorian community, and I appreciate for business owners they’re people wanting to do the right thing and they’re wanting to get the information out,” Ms Allan said.
“The information does need to go through a verification process within DHHS and business owners will then be contacted.
“There’s a monstrous team effort going on at the moment from the contact tracing team, our public health team, epidemiologists, the pathology teams, the nurses, everyone’s working really, really hard, and in terms of providing information about exposure sites, the priority has been placed on getting that information out as quickly as possible.
“It’s also I think important to note that the task has been made perhaps a little more challenging over the Christmas holiday period, because people move around much more frequently than they would normally do with the normal course of events.”
Ms Allan said contact tracers were in the process of interviewing 311 close contacts of the 24 people who have so far tested positive for coronavirus as part of the Black Rock cluster.
READ MORE: Clarkson reveals ‘scary’ Covid fight
Rachel Baxendale 3pm: Farm workers can cross border: with limits
Acting Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has announced special arrangements to enable farm workers to move between New South Wales and Victoria.
Amid harvest across many sectors of the agriculture industry, many farmers were already facing significant labour shortages due to a lack of backpackers and migrant workers.
Ms Allan said on Monday that effective immediately, arrangements under the “National Agricultural Workers’ Code” had been put in place to enable workers to move between Victoria and NSW, subject to restrictions requiring them to wear masks at all times in NSW and isolate when not at work.
The workers will only be allowed to leave their accommodation while in NSW to acquire food or in case of emergency.
“There are some really strong standards around this but it’s also important to ensure we have the movement of our agricultural workforce,” Ms Allan said.
Rachel Baxendale 2.50pm: All new local Vic cases linked to Black Rock cluster
All three of Victoria’s new locally acquired coronavirus cases on Monday have been linked to the Black Rock cluster, which now numbers a total of 24 cases, Acting Premier Jacinta Allan has told a press conference.
The results come after 32,468 tests were processed in the 24 hours to Monday, with Ms Allan acknowledging the significant delays Victorians had endured to get tested, after testing centres were overwhelmed following the closure of the NSW border on Friday.
“We know that people did experience delays over the course of yesterday, but we also saw by the afternoon wait times did significantly reduce, and today, whilst we know that it will be another very busy day at our testing sites, with the extra capacity that’s been added today, over and above the capacity that was added yesterday, the extended hours, the additional sites, we are expecting the sites to be able to accommodate the demand that we expect over the course of today,” Ms Allan said.
She said close contacts of positive cases would be prioritised for testing.
READ MORE: Wuhan biological weapons lab leaked virus: US
Rhiannon Down 2.30pm: Waits for virus testing continue in Melbourne
Coronavirus test site wait times across Victoria have been stretched to more than two hours, as hundreds flock to get tested.
Monash Health, Dandenong Drive Through was at 200 minutes wait today, and the Alfred Hospital, Western Health, Springers Leisure Centre and Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital test sites at 2 hours, according to the DHHS, which offers information on its online wait times estimator.
Test sites with some of the lowest wait times of about 40 minutes include Monash Health’s Don Tatnell Leisure Centre in Parkdale.
Western Health’s Melbourne Showgrounds test site, IPC Health’s West Sunshine Community Centre and Wantirna Trash and Treasure Market were all reported to be at half-hour average wait times.
Rhiannon Down 2.15pm: Three new venues added to Sydney exposure sites
A cinema, supermarket and a beauty salon have been added to NSW’s health authorities list of COVID hotspot sites.
Anyone who was in the screening of animated film ‘The Croods: A New Age” at the Reading Cinema Auburn on Parramatta Rd on Wednesday has been urged to get tested and self-isolate for 14 days.
Patrons of the OKS Beauty and Hair salon in Lidcombe and shoppers at the nearby Woolworths have also been deemed casual contacts.
Health authorities ask anyone who attended the following venues to get tested and self-isolate for 14 days:
.@NSWHealth has been notified of new venues in western Sydney, including a cinema, which have been visited by confirmed cases of #COVID19. Read more: https://t.co/VYPJdoC8y0 pic.twitter.com/71NlCzoTEU
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 4, 2021
Reading Cinema Auburn, 100 Parramatta Rd, Auburn, Wednesday between 30 December 10.10am to 12.10pm
OKS Beauty and Hair, 52 Joseph St, Lidcombe, Thursday 31 December between 10.30am to 12pm
Woolworths Lidcombe, 92 Parramatta Rd, Lidcombe, Thursday 31 December between 12.15 to 3.45pm
READ MORE: Sham puts Victorians back in jeopardy
Rhiannon Down 2.10pm: Australia’s ‘pleasing’ total: 21 new cases in 24 hours
Australia has recorded 21 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours.
Australia’s Chief Health Officer Doctor Paul Kelly said the numbers are “pleasing” despite the recent outbreaks.
He hit back at calls for the vaccine to be rolled out sooner, saying the TGA approval process needs time to run its course, with a process of approvals and further testing.
“It will be explained later in the week, we will be making more announcements about that process, and we’re just being cautious in terms of the late March time late at this stage,” he said.
“We are hoping it may be shorter than that, but at this stage we are being upfront: that that is our plan.”
Staff reporters 1.55pm: SCG halves Test crowd amid fears of Covid spread
The Sydney Cricket Ground will have its capacity limited to 12,000 — half what was originally expected — for the third Test between Australia and India.
That number could be even lower if it rains, sources told The Australian.
Separately, Venues NSW chairman Tony Shepherd told the Financial Review that the organisation would ask for permission to return to its original plan of 50 per cent capacity if the number of coronavirus infections remains low over coming days.
The major step back from original plans for a 50 per cent capacity come as country cricket fans were urged to boycott the match to help keep the regional areas of NSW free of COVID-19.
Cricket Australia and the SCG officially confirmed on Monday that they had revised crowd restrictions for the New Year’s Showpiece based on NSW Government advice and that the match would be completely re-ticketed.
Tickets will be refunded and those who were ticket holders will be given an exclusive window to repurchase tickets via Ticketek from 5pm on January 4 through to 12pm on January 5.
Any remaining tickets will be released to the public after that point.
“In response to the public health situation in NSW, we are working closely with Venues NSW and NSW Health to put appropriate biosecurity measures in place for our staff, players, match officials, broadcasters and fans to ensure we play the third Test safely,” said CA interim chief, Nick Hockley.
READ the full story here.
Rhiannon Down 1.40pm: Puffing Billy the latest Vic virus exposure site
Melbourne’s iconic Puffing Billy tourist attraction has been added to Victoria’s list of coronavirus exposure sites.
The steam train in Emerald in the Dandenong Hills has closed to visitors after an infected person visited the attraction on Thursday.
“In the interests of safety, train services on Tuesday 5 January 2021 and Wednesday 6 January 2021 have been cancelled and all Puffing Billy Railway public facilities will be closed,” Puffing Billy Railway said, in a statement.
“A deep clean of the affected areas and surfaces are currently being undertaken, in accordance with the strict infection control guidelines put in place by the Department of Health and Human Services.”
Anyone who visited the steam train on Thursday December 31 between 3 and 5pm is advised to monitor for symptoms and get tested if they develop.
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Rhiannon Down 1.15pm: Chadstone shopping centre flags virus case
Melbourne’s mega-shopping centre Chadstone in the city’s southeast has been flagged as a potential exposure site, after a worker tested positive for the virus.
Chadstone management said that the Boost Juice employee was on site last Tuesday, and the site was undergoing a deep clean, through the centre remained open.
“We are working closely with the team at Boost Juice, both kiosks at Chadstone are currently closed and a deep clean has been undertaken. We’ve also completed a deep clean of our centre, as an additional precaution,” the statement said.
The shopping destination said a regime of additional cleaning had since been introduced.
“We have an increased cleaning roster in place, with additional focus on specific areas including; balustrades, retailer door handles, vertical transport, toilets, sinks, change tables and parents’ rooms, customer entry and touch points, information screens, as well as communal furniture throughout the centre,” the statement said.
The worker was at the store on Tuesday December 29 between 6 and 11pm.
READ MORE: No word yet on when border might be open
Rhiannon Down 1pm: Speed up vaccine, extend JobKeeper: Albanese
Opposition leader Anthony Albanese has urged the government to bring the coronavirus vaccine to Australians sooner than March.
“It makes no sense for the TGA to have recommended, as it is likely to do, in January, the approval of the Pfizer vaccine but for the rollout to not occur until March,” he said.
“What we know, as Australia is not at the front of the queue, we have never been at the front of the queue and that’s why Labor argued very early on that we needed to get these deals signed, we needed to get six deals signed, which is international best practice and the fact is that other nations got to the front of the queue way back in March of last year and Australia isn’t at that point yet.”
Mr Albanese also renewed calls for the JobKeeper payment to be maintained at it’s 2020 level, after the government moved to cut the payment at the end of the year.
“The JobKeeper payment should not be reduced, that these reductions are unwise, they will hurt individuals, they will hurt families but, importantly as well, they will hurt businesses by reducing economic activity at a time when we know there is still a major handbrake on the economy,” he said.
READ MORE: 1.6 million Aussies’ payments cut
Evin Priest 12.15pm: Outrage over packed concert, overcrowded wedding in west
A packed Human Nature concert at the Rooty Hill RSL and a wedding with up to 700 guests at Fairfield have seen a venue fined, Sydneysiders outraged, and left the NSW police minister “furious”.
Footage of hundreds of music fans singing at the Human Nature concert at Rooty Hill RSL’s Sydney Coliseum at the weekend have been widely condemned, as mandatory mask laws come into effect in NSW today.
“Mate it was jam packed in the auditorium there wasn’t a spare seat in the house there was no distancing between people inside, you were touching elbows with the person next to you who you didn’t know,” audience member Ian said, on 2GB.
“I wore a mask so I felt reasonably happy about that part of it.”
Theatre operator West HQ chief executive Richard Errington defended the event saying the venue had stuck to audience limits.
READ the full story here.
Staff Reporters 12.05pm: Victoria’s new cases linked to restaurant cluster
Acting Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says the three locally acquired cases reported today are linked to the outbreak at the Thai restaurant at Black Rock, in Melbourne. That cluster now has 24 active cases linked to it.
Rhiannon Down 12pm: SCG Test will go ahead in ‘Covid-safe way’
NSW acting Premier John Barilaro says he is “confident” the state is equipped to host the test match at the SCG.
Mr Barilaro said NSW health authorities were up to the task of running the event in a COVID-safe way.
“In our state, and our venues, like the grand final, Everest or other race days, the Big Bash, we can and we have shown that we can run events in this state in a safe way that protects our citizens, protect the players, protect those that attend,” he said.
“And most importantly, doing it in a framework that is COVID-safe.”
He urged regional communities to stay away from Sydney.
“I know for regional people the New Year’s Test is something which is an annual pilgrimage,” he said.
“We love coming to Sydney for this purpose and a lot of the members are from regions. In normal times I would say that is fantastic but I would be saying to people today to consider what’s occurring in Sydney with the infections and the restrictions.
“In regional and rural NSW right now, we’re enjoying no restrictions, we got to have the summer and the Christmas we were robbed last year because of bushfires and drought, we got to have that this year,” he said.
“The risk would be that if someone from the regions comes to Sydney that they could take it back to a regional area.
“My advice to people would be — think about it, reconsider, maybe this year isn’t the year to come to Sydney to watch the test and that’s what we’ll be doing.”
“I’m not going to be enforcing people or putting in a direction for people not to come to Sydney but I think people, and I know regional people use common sense, and they will reconsider their visit.”
He said Cricket Australia and the SCG will make an announcement later today about the Test, and foreshadowed a change to ticket numbers.
“We’re also giving consideration to the numbers as ticket sales continue and I will advise today that the SCG and cricket later today will be making an announcement in relation to the Test. But we are confident – we are confident – that through the parameters set by Health, the advice that government gets from Kerry and her team, that will take that all into account,” he said.
READ MORE: India’s uncertainty threatens Test
Mackenzie Scott 11.45am: Queensland virus testing rates triple
Virus testing levels almost tripled yesterday in Queensland following the chief health officer’s renewed calls for returned travellers from Melbourne to get checked and isolate.
A total of 6296 tests were conducted across the state yesterday, a considerable rise on the 2742 tests processed the day prior.
No new locally transmitted cases were found overnight, with the five reported this morning found in hotel quarantine.
On Sunday, Queensland’s chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young announced additional fever clinics would be opened and times extended in order to meet the demand for testing. There are currently 76 testing sites in the state, with 18 in the southeast region.
The decision came following long queues of more than four hours at some clinics over the weekend.
Dr Young said it was important “we catch the very, very first case”.
Queensland has not had community transmission of COVID-19 for 111 days. The last time an active case was found outside of quarantine was 18 days ago, when a woman linked to the NSW Northern Beaches cluster tested positive on arrival to the state and returned home
READ MORE: Victorians back in jeopardy
Rhiannon Down 11.35am: Barilaro hits back at WA Premier’s criticism
NSW’s acting Premier has hit out at states with fewer overseas arrivals saying Sydney’s hotel quarantine program was doing the “heavy lifting” for the rest of the country.
In the latest chapter in a war of words between acting Premier John Barilaro and WA Premier Mark McGowan, Mr Barilaro defended his state’s hotel quarantine system.
“I’m sick to death of being lectured to by WA and some of the other states when we’re doing the heavy lifting,” he said on 2GB radio.
“(We’ve had) 105 thousand passengers through Sydney, 50 per cent or close to end up in other states so we’re like the dry cleaner or the care wash, we clean them and sent them back to their states clean.
“All that risk lies with NSW and our health system, when we get lectured by these others it is bloody hard to accept when we’re doing the heavy lifting.
Mr Barilaro threatened that NSW could decide to step back and let other state’s pick up the slack.
“Maybe what we should be doing is collecting them at the airport, ask them where their final destination is and keep sending them on another connection and those states can deal with them,” he said.
“I know the treasurer has sent them a bill for the costs associated and they baulked at that.”
Rhiannon Down 11.30am: Woman fined twice for trying to flee Byron Bay
A Cronulla woman who broke out of self isolation in Byron Bay is among the latest instances of Sydneysiders defying quarantine orders.
Acting Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the 27-year-old woman had received two infringement notices in just three days for failing to comply with health orders.
“That obviously puts the rest of the public and herself in significant danger,” he said.
A wedding in Fairfield in Sydney’s west was also fined over the weekend for hosting a celebration with 600 to 700 guests.
The operator has been fined $5000 for hosting double the amount of guests permitted.
READ MORE: Give this woman a Nobel prize
Rhiannon Down 11.20am: Cases linked to Sydney cluster being probed
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said the two cases of community transmission recorded today were linked to the Berala BWS, and under investigation.
“One, a gentleman in his 40s who visited the BWS Berala at – on 24 December,” she said. “And another case, a female in her 40s, who also has some association with the BWS
and the Woolworths at Berala, but those investigations are ongoing.”
Dr Chant urged Sydneysiders to commit to wearing masks to prevent community transmission after the cluster was spawned from a leak in hotel quarantine.
“The Berala cluster originated from returning overseas travellers and then there was a healthcare worker person who was involved in the transfer of those patients and then that person passed it on unknowingly to a close contact and that close contact went to the BWS,” she said.
“Can I just stress that at the time where the person entered the BWS, they had no symptoms and no reason at all to think they had COVID infection.
“And it really is important that we all bring that to mind that any time we’re out and about, someone could have COVID and that’s why we need those universal precautions of keeping that physical distancing and the mask-wearing particularly in those indoor settings.”
Rhiannon Down 11.10am: Two new NSW cases from BWS Berala cluster
Mr Barilaro said despite the welcome day of zero local cases authorities were still on high alert with two cases already identified in connection to the Berala cluster that will be in tomorrow’s tally.
NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, the first time it has done so since 15 December 2020. pic.twitter.com/8xTIVpwgbg
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 4, 2021
“There are zero locally-acquired cases in NSW today,” he said. “That is good news, but we also get data overnight and we normally wait for the next day but it’s important this morning we talk about that, we have already identified two cases overnight connected to the Berala BWS.
“So, again, my message to everybody, everyone though today we are talking about a zero day of locally-acquired cases, it is important that we keep that testing regime up and that is my message – knowing that already overnight there are two cases that will be part of tomorrow’s official announcement.”
Rhiannon Down 11.05am: NSW has 7 cases, all in hotel quarantine
NSW has recorded 7 cases in the last 24 hours today, all from overseas in hotel quarantine.
Acting Premier John Barilaro said the state had recorded zero cases of community transmission. Two positive tests came in after the 8pm cut-off.
Some 22,275 tests were processed in NSW in the past day, the acting Premier urging Sydneysiders to get tested.
He said testing is “crucial” for the state’s response, and has hopes of reaching daily testing numbers of up to 50,000.
“My plea today for those in western Sydney, please come out in numbers,” Mr Barilaro said.
Staff Reporters 11am: Acting NSW Premier ready to deliver update
John Barilaro is due to face the media now to release the latest case numbers for the state.
Staff Reporters 10.50am: No new locally acquired cases in Queensland
Monday, 4 January – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) January 3, 2021
• 0 new locally acquired cases
• 5 overseas acquired cases
• 17 active cases
• 1,260 total cases
• 1,494,611 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,232 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/KViJdFaSQm
Mackenzie Scott 10.40am: Property prices surge amid Covid turbulence
In a volatile year, all but one capital city posted an annual rise in prices, while regions saw the strongest growth in a decade. Read more here
Rhiannon Down 10.35am: Packed Sydney concert prompts outrage
Footage of hundreds of music fans singing while not wearing masks at a concert in Sydney on Saturday has sparked outrage.
Images of a packed audience at a Human Nature gig at the Rooty Hill RSL’s Sydney Coliseum have been widely condemned, as mandatory mask laws come into effect in NSW today.
No social distancing, very few masks and a predominantly older audience. https://t.co/VqrKDxErZo
— Jodi McKay (@JodiMcKayMP) January 3, 2021
“Mate, it was jam-packed in the auditorium there wasn’t a spare heat in the house there was no distancing between people inside, you were touching elbows with the person next to you who you didn’t know,” audience member Ian told 2GB radio.
“I wore a mask so I felt reasonably happy about that part of it.”
Theatre operator West HQ chief executive Richard Errington defended the event saying the venue had stuck to audience limits.
“The theatre was not full, the capacity was just under 2000 and there was just over 1200 … we’ve been approved for 75 per cent seated capacity which must be ticketed and seated,” he said.
Opposition leader Jodi McKay expressed her dismay at the images on social media. “No social distancing, very few masks and a predominantly older audience,” she said.
Rhiannon Down 10.15am: Barilaro to deliver NSW COVID-19 update
Acting Premier John Barilaro, Health Minister Brad Hazzard, NSW CHO Dr Kerry Chant and Acting Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon will provide a COVID-19 update at 11am.
Rhiannon Down 10.05am: Tourism group wants national border agreement
The peak tourism body is calling for a national border agreement, as the industry reels from sudden border closures between Victoria and NSW.
Australian Tourism Industry Council executive director Simon Westaway said the impact border uncertainty had on the billion dollar industry sector was “significant”.
“These borders are changing so quickly the arrangements and conditions are altering literally within 24 hours notice,” he said.
“And, look, I just think we’ve seen this story play out in 2020, and obviously 2021, we’re only a couple of days in, we’re already in the same situation as before.
“When we have no consistency around the way that states and territories address COVID outbreaks or small hot spots, or larger hot spots. We’ve got to get a better system.”
Victoria closed its borders to NSW at midnight on Friday, sparking a mad scramble from holiday-makers to flee the state and massive traffic jams across the borders.
READ MORE: Premiers, police and staying positive
Rhiannon Down 9.55am: AMA now wants Sydney Test cancelled
Medical experts have urged the NSW government to cancel the Sydney test or risk creating a “superspreader” event.
Australian Medical Association head Dr Omar Khorshid said having crowds at the cricket posed an “unnecessary risk” as health authorities grappled with potentially hundreds of cases linked to a west Sydney bottle shop.
“If there was going on at the Sydney Cricket Ground, whether it be at the bar, the toilet, the turn stile, you can imagine how many people would be impacted,” he said. “Whether because you have a more transmissible version, or a super spreader, spreading the virus all over the ground.”
He said the government needed to put health outcomes ahead of all else to battle the crisis.
“The safe thing to do is to say we’re in a health emergency, it’s time to make decisions on the basis of health, rather than economy and sport, and it’s just the wrong decision and we’re certainly calling on the NSW government to relook at this question,” he said.
READ MORE: India eye double dose of SCG
Rhiannon Down 9.30am: Millions of Americans get virus vaccinations
More than 4 million Americans have received initial doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna coronavirus vaccines, falling short of the predicted 20 million by the new year.
The US coronavirus death toll climbed to 350,000 cases over the weekend, a figure which President Donald Trump disputed.
The figures come as audio of the president pressuring an election official to “find” enough votes for him to win the state of Georgia came to light.
Coronavirus cases have also soared in Canada with the country surpassing 600,000 cases on Sunday.
Canada passed half a million cases just two weeks ago and has notched up 15,860 deaths.
READ MORE: Doctors demand medicine security
Rachel Baxendale 9.15am: Victoria records 3 new COVID-19 cases
Victoria has recorded three new locally acquired cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Monday, as well as one new case from and international return traveller in hotel quarantine.
There are now 36 active cases in the state.
The latest numbers come after 32,468 tests were processed in the 24 hours to Monday.
Yesterday there were 3 new local and 1 international case reported. 32,468 test results were received - thanks, #EveryTestHelps.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 3, 2021
More information coming later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco #COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/yiM8QTTA59
Rhiannon Down 8.50am: No fines yet in Sydney over mask mandate
The first fine is yet to be issued for defying mandatory mask laws that came into effect at midnight in Sydney.
NSW Police Minister David Elliott said no one in the state had yet been fined for defying mask orders and that police would use their discretion.
“(Police) don’t want to go out and fine people for the sake of fining them,” he said. “Police want to fine people to make sure their friends and social networks know that the masks are being rolled out.
“This won’t be a long-term measure. You will find once we are on top of this and the given period of grace that the chief health officer deems, I think this will be a short term measure and a short term measure until we can make sure everybody is safe.”
Mr Elliott dismissed anti-mask protesters that gathered at Bondi on Sunday as a vocal minority. “They are outliers and they are less than 1 per cent of the population,” he said.
READ MORE: India gives vaccination green light
Rhiannon Down 8.40am: Sydney wedding with 700 guests attracts fines
Police have fined a wedding party and venue operator after about 700 guests gathered in Fairfield in Sydney’s southwest on Saturday to celebrate the nuptials.
NSW Police Minister David Elliott said the 46-year-old operator had already been fined $5000 for breaching health directives.
“It is not about the fines or the punishment, this is about compliance and people need to realise the police are enforcing a law to keep them healthy,” he said.
“We don’t want to go back into lockdown. That’s why we have introduced these Public Health Orders and I’m very disappointed that the Fairfield police area command has had to go through that over the last 48 hours.”
He said the 700 guests needed to self isolate and get tested.
“This isn’t one or two people coming from an area in lockdown or, you know, this isn’t a dozen people that turned up unannounced, this is twice the amount of people that were allowed to attend that wedding reception in an area not far from Berala,” he said.
“So, it is a time that western Sydney needs to be well and truly on its game when it comes to complying with public health orders.
“This just does not make sense.”
Rhiannon Down 8.30am: Victoria increases Covid testing capacity
As many as 10 new coronavirus testing sites will open across Victoria as the state grapples with a new cluster in Melbourne’s south.
The new sites are located across Melbourne and the state’s east after a number of exposure sites were reported across Gippsland including Leongatha and Lake Entrance in recent days.
Queues at testing sites overwhelmed health authorities in Victoria over the weekend as hundreds of potential close contacts lined up for testing.
The new pop-up and drive-through testing sites are located at:
Monash Health – Kingston Heath Soccer Club, Cheltenham
Eastern Health – East Ringwood Reserve (former Maroondah Club), East Ringwood
Aquadome – Lakes Entrance, Lakes Entrance
Monash Health – Don Tatnell Leisure Centre (Parkdale), Parkdale
Central Gippsland Health Service, Sale
Latrobe Regional Hospital – Drive Through, Traralgon
Wantirna Trash and Treasure Market (Wantirna), Wantirna
Knox Private Hospital, Wantirna
State Basketball Centre, Wantirna South
West Gippsland Healthcare Group, Warragul
READ MORE: Corrections galore to at-risk sites
Rhiannon Down 8.20am: Warning vaccines could be rendered useless
Australia’s deals to get access to the Pfizer, Novavax and AstraZeneca vaccines could be rendered useless if the virus mutates or if there is a drop off in effectiveness overtime.
Doherty Institute head of vaccine and immunisation research group Professor Terry Nolan said Australian researchers were in the process of developing new vaccines to counter the risk.
“It is believed that the current vaccines will likely protect,” he said.
“But the mutations which are occurring are changing all the time, and there is no guarantee that they will protect into the long-term and we need other types of vaccines that will be able to be tuned should those mutations get to a point where the vaccines don’t work.”
He said two vaccines that targeted a specific part of the coronavirus spike protein were under development at the research institute.
“We are hoping when it is completed in the next few months,” he said. “We are hoping in the second quarter of this year to start vaccinating healthy humans aged between 18 and 75, and that will involve, on current projections, depending on how the other studies progress, about 150 subjects for that trial.”
READ MORE: Suffering border closure turmoil
Rhiannon Down 8am: Bar owner ‘not told’ venue was an exposure site
A restaurateur whose bar was added to the list of coronavirus hotspot venues in Victoria has spoken out about the breakdown in communication he experienced with health authorities.
Grape & Grain Bar owner John Tei said the DHHS didn’t inform him his restaurant in Moorabbin in Melbourne’s south was an exposure site after an employee tested positive.
Mr Tei said he found out about the staff member on Sunday morning but didn’t receive a call from the DHHS until the night.
“(I feel) frustrated. Confused more than anything else. I just would love to know the direction I need to take,” he said.
“I have, of course, closed the bar and taken a lot of things on myself. All staff were tested, and they are all coming back negative, which is awesome.”
The Grape & Grain Bar was one of a string of bayside and southeastern suburbs venues to be added to health authorities list including Woodlands Golf Club – club bar in Mordialloc, Hotlocks By Rachael Hairdresser in McKinnon and the Holy Family Parish in Doveton.
READ MORE: Aged-care watchdog seeks more bite
Rhiannon Down 7.45am: Sydney warned of ‘hard’ Covid lockdown
Any future lockdown in Sydney would be “hard and local”, acting NSW Premier John Barilaro said.
Mr Barilaro said tougher restrictions could be on the cards as health authorities battle to control a new outbreak linked to a Berala bottle shop.
He said the number of potential contacts posed a concern with a thousand customers passing through the store over Christmas Eve alone.
“If you look from 22 to 26 December, they could be big numbers, and we will always consider what we can do in relation to a lockdown, further restrictions, especially where there is a hot spot,” he said.
“One of the things we said when we were lifting restrictions was that if we had to respond, it would be fast and it would be hard and local, just like we have done for the peninsular.”
Testing sites were overwhelmed in Sydney’s west as potentially thousands of close contacts flooded testing sites.
Rhiannon Down 7.30am: Fall in testing numbers alarms NSW authorities
NSW authorities have called for more people to get tested for coronavirus after test numbers dipped to 19,000 yesterday.
Even if you have mild symptoms get tested for COVID-19 immediately.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 3, 2021
There are more than 300 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW, many of which are open seven days a week.
To find your nearest clinic visit https://t.co/LmeATJ8ltz or contact your GP. pic.twitter.com/R5GZs7kV7G
Acting NSW Premier John Barilaro said numbers from overnight pointed to a shortfall in testing and called for Sydneysiders to step up.
“Today is the start of a new week, working week, and we know weekends, it does drop-off a little,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to the next 24 hours we (need to) get more people out testing because it is the testing that gives us data and the results we have seen.”
The government is expected to further announcements on the latest COVID numbers at 11am today.
READ MORE: Scientists doubt Wuhan mission
Rhiannon Down 6.45am: Anti-mask protesters swamp Bondi Junction Westfield
Sydneysiders not wearing masks will face fines of $200 from today after NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian announced mandatory mask laws on Saturday.
Dozens of anti-mask protesters marched through a Bondi shopping centre on Sunday in defiance of the new health orders making mask-wearing compulsory at indoor venues in a bid to control rising coronavirus cases.
The protesters swarmed Westfield Bondi Junction wearing no masks, some holding placards asserting their freedom.
One protester was reported to have held a placard which claimed “masks increase the risk of infection” contrary to medical advice.
The decision comes as NSW health authorities race to control an outbreak linked to a Berala BWS.
READ MORE: Thousands at risk from Berala BWS bottle-o cluster in Sydney’s west
Rhiannon Down 6am: Case numbers balloon in the UK
Coronavirus case numbers in the UK have ballooned, with the country recording 57,725 new cases — it’s highest total of the pandemic.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that tougher restrictions to combat the rising coronavirus cases could be on the way.
“It may be that we need to do things in the next few weeks that will be tougher in many parts of the country,” Johnson told the BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show. “I’m fully, fully reconciled to that.”
A row over whether schools should reopen has intensified over the weekend, as the country battles with the crisis.
Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer urged the prime minister to immediately impose national lockdown measures.
“It’s no good the prime minister hinting that further restrictions are coming into place in a week or two or three,” he told British media, adding the virus was “clearly out of control”.
READ MORE: Britannia to brave waves in search for partners after Brexit
Tessa Akerman 4.55am: Swamped testing sites turn away thousands
COVID-19 testing sites across Melbourne closed within an hour of opening yesterday, swamped by thousands of Victorians requiring tests after returning from NSW and further stressed by health staff taking holiday leave.
Despite the temporary closures and lack of staff, Victorian health authorities processed more tests than their NSW colleagues on Saturday — 22,477 samples compared to 18,923 — although that remains far short of the more than 40,000 daily tests undertaken at the height of the second coronavirus wave.
By 9.30am on Sunday, the Department of Health and Human Services listed drive-through sites in Darebin, Keysborough and West Footscray as “over capacity, no further accepted”. Cars were also turned away from the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre in Albert Park, which was listed as a three-hour wait, and sites in Chadstone, St Albans and Broadmeadows had waiting times of more than two hours.
But Jeroen Weimar, who is co-ordinating Victoria’s COVID-19 response, defended the long waiting times for testing.
Read the full story here.
Rachel Baxendale 4.45am: DHHS makes corrections galore, without apologies
Victorian health authorities have been forced to amend a list of potential coronavirus exposure sites after incorrectly listing locations, including one hours away from where it originally said it was.
The Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday published an alert for the Wonga Estate winery in Strathbogie, in Victoria’s northeast.
Later that day, that alert was replaced with one for the same time period but for the Wyanga winery in Lakes Entrance, a five-hour drive on the other side of the Great Dividing Range.
Health authorities also listed on Saturday possible coronavirus spread at the European Bier Cafe in Melbourne’s CBD for December 21, prompting panic from Melburnians, given the early date of the potential exposure period.
However, that alert was later updated to show the exposure period a week later — on December 28.
Hours after the listing was posted, European Bier Cafe owner Paul Watson posted on Twitter that he had yet to be contacted by DHHS and had been unable to reach them.
Read the full story here.
Patrick Commins 4.30am: Avalon outbreak ‘inflicted $3.2bn hit’
The northern beaches COVID- 19 outbreak and lockdown cost the economy $3.2bn in lost working hours in December, according to modelling conducted by KPMG.
A preliminary analysis shows that even NSW’s more measured approach to suppressing the latest outbreak will come at a significant cost in terms of lost activity, with 34m fewer hours worked in December as a result of the localised lockdowns. It will slow but not stop the economic rebound that began in the September quarter.
KPMG chief economist Brendan Rynne said on Sunday: “I think the NSW government is doing a very, very good job in applying pressure quickly to contain the spread of the virus.”
“Unfortunately, that pressure brings with it an economic cost as it directly and quickly hits the supply side, and the longer it goes on, it then transfers to demand via confidence,” Dr Rynne said, adding that this depressing effect would extend into the new year.
The KPMG analysis looked at how changes in government restrictions — as measured by the Oxford Government Response Stringency Index — affect hours worked and through that GDP.
Dr Rynne estimated that the increase in restrictions, including social distancing and reimposed border controls, would translate to 34 million fewer hours worked in December than would have been the case were it not for the Avalon outbreak before Christmas.
Based on the historical relationship between economic output and hours worked, the drop in working hours pointed towards a $3.2bn hit to real GDP, he said.
Read the full story here.
Agencies 4.15am: India green lights enormous vaccination drive
India has authorised the emergency use of two coronavirus vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University and by local pharmaceutical firm Bharat Biotech, the country’s drug regulator said on Sunday.
“The … vaccines of Serum Institute (AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine) and Bharat Biotech are being approved for restricted use in emergency situations,” the Drugs Controller-General of India, V.G. Somani, said in New Delhi.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted the fast-track approvals were “a decisive turning point to strengthen a spirited fight” that “accelerates the road to a healthier and COVID-free nation”.
India is the world’s second-most-infected nation with more than 10.3 million cases and almost 150,000 deaths, although its rate of infection has come down from a mid-September peak of more than 90,000 cases daily.
The approval is expected to kick off one of the world’s biggest vaccination drives in the country of 1.3 billion. The government has already been holding nationwide drills ahead of the mass inoculation drive and 96,000 health workers have been trained to administer the shots.
It would make every Indian proud that the two vaccines that have been given emergency use approval are made in India! This shows the eagerness of our scientific community to fulfil the dream of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat, at the root of which is care and compassion.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 3, 2021
Read the full story here.
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