Coronavirus Australia live news: Pfizer boosts its output by 2bn doses
Pfizer says its has produced more of its Covid vaccine than can be used ‘right now’ and plans to dramatically increase production of the vaccine over the course of the year.
- Why US tennis star was allowed to fly to Australia
- Tennis ace sparks Aus Open virus worry
- No local cases, but states wary of UK variant threat
- Ten in NSW linked to Brisbane hotel cluster
- Two new NSW quarantine cases
- Four new quarantine Qld cases; 406 cleaner contacts found
- Remote camps plan for travellers
Welcome to live coverage of Australia’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
The head of Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says its has produced more of its Covid vaccine than can be used “right now’’ and the company plans to dramatically increase production of the vaccine over the course of the year.
A woman infected with the UK strain of the virus was reportedly allowed to leave hotel quarantine in Brisbane to accompany her father to hospital, but Queensland Health says all protocols were followed.
A flurry of tweets from Tennys Sandgren has prompted concerns he has been allowed to fly to Melbourne for the Australian Open despite testing positive to COVID-19. There are no new locally-acquired cases in Queensland, New South Wales or Victoria. But authorities in all states remain wary of the UK variant of the virus. None of Qld’s four new coronavirus cases are linked to the Grand Chancellor hotel cluster as authorities test and quarantine 406 contacts of infected cleaner.
Rhiannon Down 10.31pm: France case numbers soar, lockdown threat looms
France is hedged to be on the cusp of a second lockdown, as the country battles out of control infection.
The government was expected to announce new restrictions on Thursday, including moving forward an 8pm curfew to 6pm across the country.
The earlier curfer was implemented to curb the “apero effect”, according to officials - ensuring french citizens can’t meet up for a pre-dinner aperitif.
France recorded 23,000 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, about half the number recorded in the UK on the same day.
It’s been speculated that the country could be on the cusp of another lockdown after it failed to meet its December target of 5,000 cases.
READ MORE: Positive test serves up tricky Aus Open call
Rhiannon Down 10.28pm: Infection could protect against reinfection: study
Contracting COVID-19 could provide a similar level of immunity to the virus as a vaccine, a new study has found.
A UK study based on a sample of 1,000 healthcare workers, many of whom caught the virus in the country’s spring, found contracting the virus provided about an 85 per cent protection against reinfection.
The results indicated that those who did become reinfected with the virus typically suffered milder symptoms.
“What that’s saying to us is that prior infection looks as good as the vaccine, at least at this time interval, which is very good news for the population,” said Susan Hopkins, deputy director of the national infections service at Public Health England.
“It will help alongside the vaccine to give a level of immunity and protection that will start to reduce transmission.”
READ MORE: CBDs get boost as workers return
Rhiannon Down 9.37pm: Queensland Health dismisses quarantine breach report
Queensland Health has hit back at reports it allowed a woman to leave hotel quarantine to accompany her sick father to hospital, saying it’s not true she was allowed to catch a ride share.
The woman was permitted to travel with her dad to hospital in an ambulance wearing full PPE and was returned in the same manner.
The pair were reported to have later tested positive to the highly contagious UK strain of coronavirus.
Queensland Health is aware of an article regarding an alleged COVID-19 quarantine breach. We are concerned some early reporting has misrepresented this situation and it's important people understand the facts. Read the facts here: https://t.co/M08BrKHFC0
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) January 14, 2021
Queensland Health said “all protocols were followed” in this woman’s case in allowing her to leave hotel quarantine.
“Guests were transported from and returned to the hotel by Qld Ambulance Service while in appropriate PPE,” a spokesperson said in a statement.
“The suggestion the person caught a ride-share back to the hotel is untrue. Full and proper COVID-19 PPE protocols were followed while these guests were in the hospital.”
Queensland Health added it had managed the transport of more than 100,000 returned travellers, with not a single case resulting from the movement.
Rhiannon Down 9.00pm: Adventurous pigeon to be euthanised in Australia
A homing pigeon which is believed to have travelled 13,000km from the US to Australia will be euthanised by the agriculture department due to biosecurity concerns.
The pigeon, later named Joe after the US president elect, was discovered by Melbourne resident Kevin Celli-Bird on Boxing Day - the bird’s incredible journey making headlines globally.
Markings on its leg indicate the adventurous fowl had travelled from the Oklahoma-based American Pigeon Union, most likely hitching a ride on a cargo ship.
The Department of Agriculture confirmed its only course of action was “humane destruction of the bird”, given the disease risk it posed to the $3.7 billion poultry industry as well as native birdlife.
“Adverse impacts on the disease status of production birds in Australia could immediately compromise Australia’s food security and our wild bird populations,” a spokesperson said.
The department said as its origins before it’s arrival in Australia were unknown, and it had not been “prepared for import” it would need to be eradicated.
“Regardless of its origin, any domesticated bird that has not met import health status and testing requirements is not permitted to remain in Australia,” a spokesperson said.
READ MORE: Sandgren sparks Aus Open virus storm
Natasha Robinson 8.43pm: Pfizer boosts its output by 2bn doses
The head of Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer says its has produced more of its Covid vaccine than can be used “right now’’ and the company plans to dramatically increase production of the vaccine over the course of the year.
The comments from Pfizer chairman and chief executive Albert Bourla came despite Australia’s chief health officer insisting that 10 million doses remained the maximum that the company could give the nation in the first six months of this year.
Mr Bourla said Pfizer would “dramatically increase” production of its COVID-19 vaccine, with plans to manufacture up to two billion doses this year that will be available to countries around the world.
He told US media there would be no issues with supplying large quantities of vaccines to overseas nations.
“So far I don’t think that we have an issue with offering fewer vaccines than the country, or the countries frankly, need,” Mr Bourla said. “We have much more than they can use right now. So I think the main (task) is to make sure we ramp up our operations so we can administer more vaccines.
“When it comes to our ability to manufacture, we are now very confident that we will increase dramatically our production this year — by up to two billion doses — and we feel comfortable that we will be able to deliver that.”
Robyn Ironside 7.59pm: Business airfares at seven-year lows
Certain airfares have fallen to seven-year lows as airlines desperately try to fill seats on domestic flights while navigating spasmodic border closures.
The January domestic airfare index compiled by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics showed business-class fares were almost 30 per cent cheaper than the long-term average, the lowest since February 2013.
Discounted fares were at 66.5 per cent of long-term averages, the cheapest in a year, down from 78.9 per cent in December.
The data coincided with the announcement of another airfare sale by Virgin Australia, with the added sweetener of the ability to change bookings free of charge until the end of June.
Rhiannon Down 7.11pm: Woman with Covid ‘allowed to leave hotel quarantine’
A woman infected with the UK strain of the virus has reportedly been allowed to leave hotel quarantine in Brisbane to accompany her father to hospital.
The woman in her 20s left the Brisbane’s Hotel Grand Chancellor hotel on Monday night after an ambulance had to be called for her father following a medical complaint, the Courier-Mail reported.
Queensland Health said the father and daughter, who arrived from Lebanon on January 1, were among six cases of the new variant in the hotel cluster.
The woman, who later was revealed to have contracted the highly contagious UK variant of the virus according to the Courier-Mail, did not require medical attention herself.
She is believed to have come into contact with those outside the hotel bubble, the report said.
She is also believed to have not returned to the hotel by Queensland Ambulance Service transport.
Queensland Health in a statement provided to the Courier-Mail said that anyone accompanying a family member would be treated as if they had the virus and proper protocol followed.
“If a patient requires transfer to hospital, they and any travelling family members, are treated as if they are COVID-19 positive and appropriate PPE protocol and measures are in place,” the statement said.
Queensland Health could not confirm if reports of the breach were accurate or if the woman wore PPE on the trip.
Rhiannon Down 6.34pm: UK PM issues warning on ICUs
Boris Johnson has admitted that there is a “very substantial” risk the UK may run short of intensive care beds.
The country recorded 1,564 new deaths on Wednesday, pushing the mortality rate higher than even at the height of the fist wave with the second wave claiming 43,199 lives since September.
The UK banned all flights from South America today in a bid to stop the spread of a new highly contagious variant of COVID-19 detected in Brazil.
The UK’s death toll stood at 84,767 lives on Wednesday.
Finn McHugh 6.21pm: Aussies urged to watch out for Covid misinformation
Australians are being urged to be wary of online disinformation as the federal government prepares to rollout the COVID-19 vaccine next month.
The pandemic has provided a major opportunity for conspiracy theories to flourish, sparking questions over the role of government and social media giants in shutting down dangerous disinformation.
Pew Research polling from December found 40 per cent of Americans were likely to refuse the jab, with half of those “pretty certain” no information would change their mind.
Although polling suggested Australia’s anti-vax sentiment was far smaller, the statistic highlighted the threat of misinformation accelerating online.
And with Australians set to receive their first jabs next month, the government has been urged to proactively counter conspiracies.
University of Canberra Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis associate professor Michael Jensen warned Australia would “struggle to get beyond” the impacts of COVID-19 if a large number of people refused to get the jab.
“Foreign governments, which may have an interest in seeing Australia weaker and poorer, might intentionally try to stoke concerns about the vaccines in order to sabotage Australian uptake of the vaccine,” he said.
READ MORE: Doctors condemn ‘crackpot ideas’
Finn McHugh 5.20pm: Aussie vaccine production hopes dented
Australian drug manufacturer CSL has ruled out making the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine on home soil at least until after it has produced 50 million AstraZeneca doses.
The federal government requested CSL consider its ability to produce the two in Australia in a bid to boost local supply.
But the manufacturer has shot down the speculation, saying it was unable to produce two vaccines involving live viruses at the same time.
It would instead focus on completing production of its committed AstraZeneca doses, the first of which it tipped to be ready in the second quarter of 2021, pending regulatory approval.
“Following completion of the manufacture of 50 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine campaign, CSL would, if requested by the Australian Government, reassess its ability to manufacture other vaccines such as the Novavax vaccine,” it said in a statement.
READ MORE: Access to Pfizer vaccine ‘limited’
Rhiannon Down 4.50pm: WHO investigators land in Wuhan to investigate virus
World Health Organisation investigators have landed in Wuhan on a mission to find the origins of the pandemic.
Mission leader Peter Ben Embarek said the group would get started after two-weeks in hotel quarantine.
He warned it “could be a very long journey before we get a full understanding of what happened”, despite the team finally arriving in China – in the original epicentre of the virus.
“I don’t think we will have clear answers after this initial mission, but we will be on the way,” he said.
Chinese authorities have argued Wuhan might not even be the origins of the virus, only where it was first detected.
The probe begins as China battles a steadily rising case numbers, locking down millions of its citizens after it recorded its first death from the virus in months.
More than 91 million people have been infected world wide and almost 2 million are believed to have died.
READ MORE: Covid secrets and lies expose China’s threat to world
Rachel Baxendale 4.20pm: Why Victoria cleared Covid-positive tennis ace to fly
World Health Organisation investigators have landed in Wuhan on a mission to find the origins of the pandemic.
Mission leader Peter Ben Embarek said the group would get started after two-weeks in hotel quarantine.
He warned it “could be a very long journey before we get a full understanding of what happened”, despite the team finally arriving in China – in the original epicentre of the virus.
“I don’t think we will have clear answers after this initial mission, but we will be on the way,” he said.
Chinese authorities have argued Wuhan might not even be the origins of the virus, only where it was first detected.
The probe begins as China battles a steadily rising case numbers, locking down millions of its citizens after it recorded its first death from the virus in months.
More than 91 million people have been infected world wide and almost 2 million are believed to have died.
Rachel Baxendale 4.20pm: Covid-positive tennis player was cleared to travel
Victorian health authorities have confirmed they gave the all clear for American tennis star Tennys Sandgren to travel to Australia despite testing positive for coronavirus, on the basis that they do not regard him as being infectious.
Sandgren had the virus in November, with the latest positive result understood to be the product of ongoing viral shedding from his previous infection.
“Every person arriving from overseas to participate in the Australian Open is required to take a coronavirus (COVID-19) test 72 hours before departing,” a COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria spokesman said.
“For people who have previously tested positive and have since recovered, it is common to shed viral fragments for some time – which can trigger another positive result.
“Any person who returns a positive test result has their medical and case history reviewed by a team of public health experts. Only those who are determined to be recovered and no longer infectious will be allowed to travel to Australia.”
Tennys Stangren’s positive result was reviewed by health experts and determined to be viral shedding from a previous infection, so was given the all clear to fly. No one who is COVID positive for the first time - or could still be infectious - will be allowed in for the Aus Open
— Lisa Neville (@LisanevilleMP) January 14, 2021
CQV said it had reviewed Sandgren’s positive result “as per standard processes”.
“It was determined that the evidence in his case suggested he had recovered from a previous COVID-19 infection and is still shedding viral particles,” the spokesman said.
“He was cleared to travel to Australia on 14 January 2021.”
READ MORE: Sandgren sparks Australian Open COVID concern
Olivia Caisley 2.20pm: Ex-health chief backs slashing travel cap
Former health and finance department chief, Jane Halton, has backed the halving of travel caps for returned travellers as a way of giving the states and territories more time to bolster their defences against widespread infections.
Ms Halton, who conducted an inquiry into the nation’s hotel quarantine schemes on behalf of the Morrison government, told The Australian that the emergence of new, more virulent coronavirus mutations meant the states and territories needed to review their arrangements so infections don’t leak into the community.
“I think it’s right to take stock and pause the numbers until mid February,” she said. “Taking stock will allow us to see what else we need to do to make this system more secure and understand why this (the Brisbane hotel quarantine cluster) has happened.”
It comes as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Thursday said she was considering turning rural mining camps into quarantine facilities after a more infectious strain was found among returned travellers isolating at a Brisbane hotel.
Ms Halton, who backed a mix of hotel, at-home and government facilities as options for quarantining returned travellers in her report, said remote facilities may not have the same access to medical resources that city-based hotels do.
“The first question is to understand what the pathway to infection was and to make sure health authorities are addressing those issues when operating quarantine arrangements,” she said of the Brisbane hotel outbreak.
Ms Halton said the emergence of more virulent strains was further proof that hotel quarantine systems needed a second and third line of defence as she repeated calls for daily testing of anyone working in hotel quarantine.
“I support an increase in testing because there’s an advantage in antigen testing staff daily so if there is any leakage (of the virus) we can find it. You don’t want an infected person walking around in the community for five days before it is discovered.”
READ MORE: Victoria’s big change to mask rules
Angelica Snowden 2.15pm: US tennis ace sparks Aus Open virus worry
American tennis player Tennys Sandgren was allowed onto a chartered flight into Australia ahead of the Australian Open, despite recording two COVID positive test results.
Covid positive over thanksgiving
— Tennys Sandgren (@TennysSandgren) January 13, 2021
Covid positive on monday
Yet pcr tests are the “gold standard�
Atleast I get to keep my points 😂
But the player said he only tested positive because he had the virus eight weeks ago during Thanksgiving.
“Covid positive over thanksgiving,” he tweeted.
“Covid positive on Monday … Yet pcr tests are the “gold standard”?”
The Australian Open defended the move to allow Mr Sandgren into the country and said in a statement he may have returned a positive result because he was still shedding the virus.
3/3 Players and their teams are tested every day from their arrival in Australia, a much stricter process than for anyone else in hotel quarantine.
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 14, 2021
“Some people who have recovered from COVID-19 and who are non-infectious can continue to shed the virus for several months,” they tweeted,
“Victorian Government public health experts assess each case based on additional detailed medical records to ensure they are not infectious before checking in to the charter flights.”
READ MORE: Sandgren sparks Aus Open Covid worry
Paul Garvey 1.59pm: Premier’s push to use detention centres for quarantine
WA Premier Mark McGowan will push the federal government to reconsider a plan to use commonwealth detention centres for the quarantine of international arrivals, as part of an effort to contain the highly contagious British and South African coronavirus strains.
Mr McGowan flagged on Thursday morning that he would be prepared to again raise the idea of using the likes of Christmas Island for quarantine at next week’s meeting of the national cabinet. The federal government rejected a similar proposal from Mr McGowan last year.
He said the risks posed by those new strains meant alternatives to city-based hotel quarantine should be considered.
“I’m more than happy to have another conversation with the federal government about the use of remote commonwealth facilities,” he said.
“Those facilities are there and they are available and there are experienced staff that can deal with these matters.”
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Thursday flagged the use of remote mining camps as quarantine centres, after a cluster of cases amid quarantining guests at Brisbane’s Grand Chancellor Hotel. That hotel has since been evacuated.
Mr McGowan said the commonwealth facilities such as detention centres and military bases were remote and secure and would be a better option than mining camps.
“You could staff them using either commonwealth personnel or commonwealth and state personnel and people engaged from various security companies and the like,” he said.
“Clearly with the British strain that’s something we should reconsider.”
Six West Australians were among the people who were quarantined at Brisbane’s Grand Chancellor Hotel. Those six people are now quarantining at home in WA, Mr McGowan said, and their close contacts were being monitored “daily”.
WA has now gone more than nine months without a case of community transmission of the virus.
READ MORE: State grappling with ‘14 cases of concern’
Joseph Lam 1.52pm: Push for app downloads ahead of ‘Dine and Discover’ rollout
About 50 per cent of adults in NSW are using the government’s Service NSW app for COVID-19 check-ins, but more will have to join in order to access dining vouchers.
As the NSW government prepares for the launch of the new “Dine and Discover” program designed to stimulate the economy, Customer Service Minister Victor Dominello encouraged more people to download the app.
Under the program each NSW resident over the age of 18 will receive four dining vouchers valued at $25 each, two to be used in restaurants, bars, clubs and pubs from Monday to Thursday and two to be used at cultural institutions, live music, art venues and entertainment venues.
Mr Dominello said over 3 million people had registered with the Service NSW app and about 32 million check-ins have been made.
“When you think we’ve got a population of 8 million, 6 million adults, and say, five million of those that are – shall we say, engaged – three million is a pretty good milestone, given that we only made this mandatory as of 1 January,” he said.
Mr Dominello said of 486 inspections on venues using QR code check-ins, about 71 per cent were using the Service NSW app.
READ MORE: Dine and discover delayed
Patrick Commins 1.30pm: Frydenberg says China relies on us, too
Josh Frydenberg has said China has relied on Australian commodity exports to “underpin” its economic growth, suggesting our biggest trading partner’s aggressive trade practices in recent months — including the ban on “high quality” Australian thermal coal — will hurt both nations.
Speaking this morning, the Treasurer said that the government has made “representations” in regards to the ships full of coal sitting outside Chinese ports, and that it was a “challenging” time in the bilateral relationship.
“Australia has been a very reliable, trusted, long term partner for China when it comes to coal exports,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“If that coal is not being able to access the Chinese market, obviously that has an impact more broadly on price, and also China’s ability to access high quality Australian coal.
“Our trade relationship continues strongly in a number of areas. It’s an important relationship both to China and to Australia. Our iron ore from Australia has helped underpin China’s economic growth and we have been a very reliable supplier of not just iron ore but a range of commodities, products and services.”
The Treasurer was also questioned on his recent decision to knock back the $300m Chinese bid for Australian-based construction firm, Probuild. China seized on the reports to accuse the Australian government of politicising and “weaponising” the foreign investment process.
Mr Frydenberg again refused to go into specifics on the Probuild decision, but said “over the last six months around 20 per cent of approved foreign investment applications have at least one Chinese party”.
“So that means more than 250 Chinese related foreign investment applications have been approved. Less than a handful have not received it.”
READ MORE: Chinese fury as key construction deal blocked
Anton Nilsson 1.20pm: Regional quarantine not on in NSW: Hazzard
The NSW government has ruled out moving coronavirus quarantine hotels to regional areas, the state’s health minister says.
The comments from Brad Hazzard came after the Queensland Premier revealed her government was considering turning rural mining camps into quarantine facilities.
Annastacia Palaszczuk said such a plan would be a “rational option” given a new, more contagious strain of coronavirus had entered Australia and spread in the Brisbane community.
But NSW authorities would not follow suit, Mr Hazzard said.
“This has been looked at very closely by the NSW public health team over the full duration of this particular pandemic,” he said.
READ the full story here.
James Hall 1pm: Covid not a threat to ambulance
Queensland’s chief health officer played down the coronavirus threat to ambulance staff called on to evacuate the Hotel Grand Chancellor.
An unknown paramedic reportedly expressed concerns her colleagues were inadequately trained to handle the highly contagious UK strain of the deadly virus traced to the Brisbane hotel.
But Dr Jeannette Young said she had complete faith in the dozens of ambulance staff trusted to safely transport 129 guests quarantining at the hotel to another site despite the strain being about 70 per cent more infectious and the cause of destructive spikes in cases across the world.
We have always trained our QAS officers to the maximum level,” she told reporters on Thursday morning. “That is their expertise. They move infectious people every single day. That’s what they do.
READ MORE: ‘That’s what they do’: Ambo fears rejected
Remy Varga 12.40pm: Victoria looks to reducing Sydney ‘red zone’
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the public health team was working towards reducing the Sydney red zone to cover only areas of a high concern.
“If conditions in Sydney are suitably favourable for us to be able to reduce our focus down to a smaller geographical footprint and therefore a smaller number of people, then we will absolutely do that,” he said.
More than 50,000 entry permits into Victoria had been issued as of Tuesday afternoon after thousands were stranded in NSW by the sudden border closure.
Mr Andrews acknowledged the holiday season had been disrupted for many Victorians but said increasing numbers of COVID-19 in Sydney had offered the state government no choice.
“I appreciate and understand it is not an easy time for those people [stranded Victorians] but at the same time we have to safeguard the precious thing that all Victorians have built and that all Victorians can be very, very proud of,” he said.
Debbie Schipp 11.50am: Zero local cases, but states wary of UK virus threat
As the round of morning press conferences ends, the eastern seaboard has recorded no new cases of community transmission of the virus.
There are no new locally-acquired cases in Queensland, New South Wales or Victoria.
But authorities in all states remain wary of the UK variant of the virus and its threat after its escape from Brisbane’s Grand Chancellor hotel, which was evacuated on Wednesday.
Ten people in NSW have been contacted after they quarantined at the hotel.
Victoria has found 18 people who stayed there.
Queensland had four new hotel quarantine cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours — none linked to the Grand Chancellor hotel cluster.
About 406 contacts of the cleaner who was infectious for a five-day period from January 2 to January 7 have been contacted, tested and are in quarantine. No guests have tested positive so far.
All guests in quarantine at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in the Brisbane CBD were moved before midnight after authorities found six guests on the seventh floor had contacted the highly infectious UK COVID-19 variant. All guests will have their quarantine extended a further 14 days.
READ MORE: Mining camps on cards for returned travellers
Joseph Lam 11.40am ‘Wear the damn mask’: Hazzard
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has a strong message for those who think they are exempt from COVID-19 restrictions: “wear the damn mask is the message.”
The Health Minister on Thursday called for more testing and more compliance with public health orders.
“If someone is asked to wear a mask when they’re entering premises, they should comply,” he said.
“People who don’t will have the full weight of the law thrown at them. We’re all in this together.
“For heaven’s sake, individuals who think they cannot wear a mask are kidding themselves.”
Remy Varga 11.25am Victoria finds 18 people who quarantined in Brisbane hotel
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said contact tracers worked overnight to contact 18 people who returned to the state from a hotel quarantine site in Brisbane that saw an outbreak of the UK super strain of COVID-19.
Mr Andrews said he’d spent Wednesday night texting his Queensland counterpart Annastacia Palaszczuk about the Hotel Grand Chancellor cluster.
He said two people who completed quarantine at the hotel had since travelled to South Australia from Victoria.
Mr Andrews said the Grand Chancellor outbreak demonstrated why Victoria’s permit system, which requires anyone entering the state to apply for a permit, was necessary.
“It is a reminder on why the permit system is a good way to go,” he said.
“We’re in contact with those 18 people, they will get bespoke tailored advice on their circumstances and their exposure.”
Remy Varga 11.20am Victoria relaxes mask rules to pre-Christmas settings
Mask rules in Victoria will relax from Monday and return to their pre-Christmas settings, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced.
From January 18, masks will only be mandatory on domestic flights, in airports, on public transport and in taxis and Uber, in supermarkets and large indoor retails locations such as shopping centres.
Currently, masks must be worn when indoors.
Remy Varga 11.17am Back to workplace for Victoria from Monday
Victorian private sector workplaces will be able to have 50 per cent of their employees onsite from Monday, while the public sector will be permitted 25 per cent of their workers onsite.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he understood some employers would have preferred more notice but said the final decision was made on Thursday morning.
He said delaying the staged return to the workforce by a week had been the right decision given the resurgence in COVID-19 numbers.
Joseph Lam 11.15am Ten in NSW linked to Brisbane hotel cluster
NSW is in contact with 10 people linked to a Brisbane hotel where six people have tested positive for the highly-infectious UK variant of COVID-19.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard confirmed that NSW Health had contacted all 10 people who are connected and that anyone who had been in contact with the Hotel Grand Chancellor in the Brisbane CBD since December 29 to get tested and isolate immediately.
NSW recorded two new cases of COVID-19 in the state, both linked to overseas returned travellers.
Minister Hazzard said 20,437 tests were carried out in NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. While he was happy with hitting the 20,000 daily benchmark, he asked for more people to get tested.
“It is absolutely critical that if you have any symptoms whatsoever of a flu or cold-like illness, you come forward and get tested,” he said.
“That’s the weapon that we all have.”
Two cases were recorded in returned travellers, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,854.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 14, 2021
There were 20,437 tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with the previous day’s total of 20,664.
Joseph Lam 11.05am Two new NSW quarantine cases
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has announced there were no new cases of COVID-19 community transmission the latest 24-hour reporting period.
There are no new locally-transmitted cases.
“To 8pm last night we had zero cases of local community transmission. We had two cases who are in international hotel quarantine,” he said.
NSW Health is treating 119 COVID-19 cases, one of whom is in intensive care. This patient requires a ventilator. Most cases (98 per cent) are being treated in non-acute, out-of-hospital care, including returned travellers in the Special Health Accommodation.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 14, 2021
Rachel Baxendale 10.50am Victoria expected to announce eased restrictions
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng are due to address the media at 11am.
The Premier is expected to announce an easing of restrictions enabling more Victorians to return to work.
Rules had been due to relax on Monday, increasing the number of private sector workers allowed in offices from 25 per cent to 50 per cent, and enabling 25 per cent of public servants to return to the office, but the Andrews government indefinitely hit pause on the measures amid the Black Rock cluster in late December.
It is expected that the Premier will announce on Thursday that the relaxation can proceed from Monday.
It is not yet clear whether masks rules, which currently make face coverings mandatory in all indoor settings in Victoria, will be relaxed to only require masks to be worn in crowded indoor locations such as supermarkets and vulnerable settings such as hospitals and aged care facilities.
Private gathering limits, which were reduced from 30 to 15 on New Year’s Eve, may also be increased.
The Premier’s press conference comes as thousands of Victorians remain stranded interstate, and after the Department of Health and Human Services revealed on Wednesday night that of 11,095 exemption applications submitted since January 1 from people needing to travel to Victoria from NSW and Queensland “red zones”, only 1320 had been granted, four rejected, and 1200 closed off as a result of regional NSW being reclassified to an “amber” zone, enabling them to travel.
READ MORE: ‘We just want to be allowed to go home’
Joseph Lam 10.45am I don’t know how it spread in hotel: Young
Dr Jeanette Young says guests of the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane were moved as Queensland did not know how the highly infectious UK variant of COVID-19 had spread.
“I am very confident that we have found the close contacts of both the cleaner and her partner and because we had those three days that people weren’t leaving their home and people followed those instructions brilliantly, then I have very little concern that that spread in the community, so we’re testing all of those people,” said the chief health officer.
“So those people do need to stay in isolation for the full 14 days from when they potentially had contact with someone with the virus.
Today’s new cases were all overseas acquired and detected in hotel quarantine.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) January 13, 2021
“My concern was that I did not know how it spread in the hotel. So I didn’t want the virus to potentially spread to more people in the hotel. So that’s why I wanted them all out of there.”
READ MORE: Questions raised over extended quarantine costs
Joseph Lam 10.40am Cleaner ‘has done nothing wrong’: call for compassion
Dr Jeanette Young has called on Queenslanders to show some compassion and remember that the cleaner who tested positive for the highly infectious UK variant of COVID-19 in Brisbane is also suffering from the illness associated with the virus.
The Queensland chief health officer on Thursday said the cleaner, in hers 20s, had been very helpful to authorities.
“Remember she’s infected with it, so she is unwell, so she is providing us all of that assistance while she’ll also be concerned,” she said.
“This is a virus, a very, very contagious virus and I absolutely want to thank the cleaner for all the help she’s provided and she’s continuing to provide.”
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said authorities had a good grasp of the new variant.
“All close contacts of the cleaner and the partner have all been contacted, all tested, and all in quarantine which means that we are – have a really good grasp of having this contained at this point, but, of course, we’ll keep checking on those results as people get tested while they’re in quarantine and we want Queenslanders to keep coming in and getting tested,” she said.
Queensland COVID-19 Update for Thursday 14 January
— Yvette D'Ath MP (@YvetteDAth) January 13, 2021
Stay safe and get tested if you display any symptoms.
Latest @qldhealthnews info: https://t.co/JOfF91OAlk#COVID19 #COVID19Aus #COVID19QLD pic.twitter.com/2TnpXVbQrG
Joseph Lam 10.29am Qld has four new virus cases: none from hotel cluster
Queensland has recorded four new coronavirus cases, none linked to the Grand Chancellor hotel cluster sparked after a cleaner became infected with the UK variant of the virus.
It came as authorities scrambled on Wednesday to move 129 quarantine guests from a hotel with six positive cases linked to the highly infectious UK variant of COVID-19.
All guests in quarantine at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in the Brisbane CBD were moved before midnight after authorities found six guests on the seventh floor had contacted the highly infectious UK COVID-19 variant. All guests will have their quarantine extended a further 14 days.
About 406 contacts of the cleaner who was infectious for a five-day period from January 2 to January 7 have been contacted, tested and are in quarantine. No guests have tested positive so far.
There are 27 active cases in Queensland, including four new cases among overseas travellers. The new cases include two men from the US and two from South Africa.
About 3333 are in quarantine across Queensland including guests and staff from the Hotel Grand Chancellor. That figure includes 129 guests who were moved from the hotel and 226 staff who have been contacted, tested and are now isolating
Joseph Lam 9.40am: 2021 will be a recovery: Deloitte
Deloitte chief economist Chris Richardson is confident Australia is on its way to a recovery in 2021, saying that the nation has started the year on a good note.
“Australia starts 2021 with low-Covid numbers, that’s a great position to be in,” he said in an interview with Sky News on Thursday.
Mr Richardson that low COVID-19 numbers and a vaccine around the corner was a good incentive for Australians.
“It’s a combination which is encouraging Australia. It’s still a dangerous phase for the Australian economy but it’s just not as dangerous as it was some months ago.” he said.
“You’re looking at the difference before and after vaccines. Vaccines aren’t perfect but they will help a lot.
“Confidence is what gives people incentive to spend.”
He noted that while many Australians had suffered greatly, national income as a whole was ahead.
He also said it will be an interesting year for Australia’s relationship with China.
“It’s hard for China having gone this far to back down even if it realises these policies will cause it a lot of harm.”
READ MORE: Economy set for a ‘beautiful recovery’
Rosie Lewis 9.20am: Bosses want clarity on staff jab rules
EXCLUSIVE
Business leaders want national cabinet to urgently advise employers whether they can direct staff to get a COVID-19 vaccine, amid fears there will be increased legal disputes if there are no guidelines.
With the first Australians expected to receive vaccinations from mid to late-February, concerns are mounting that employers will face unfair dismissal claims from workers sacked for refusing to get vaccinated.
The Council of Small Business Organisations Australia said the federal and state governments must work with the Fair Work Ombudsman, Human Rights Commission and other work, health and safety authorities to develop advice for businesses before the vaccine rollout begins.
“The vaccine creates serious issues for employers and employees due to the ethical requirements of society and the legal demands of workplace relations and occupational health and safety regulations,” COSBOA chief executive Peter Strong writes in Thursday’s The Australian.
Rachel Baxendale 8.27am: No local cases in Victoria for eight days
Victoria has recorded its eighth straight day with no new locally acquired coronavirus cases since the Black Rock cluster emerged in late December
There were also no new cases detected in international return travellers in hotel quarantine in the 24 hours to Thursday.
Yesterday there were 0 new locally acquired cases reported and 0 new cases in hotel quarantine. Thanks to all who were tested – 16,533 results were received. #EveryTestHelps. More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/zOan8txQEo
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 13, 2021
There are currently 29 active coronavirus cases in Victoria, including some linked to the Black Rock cluster and those in international travellers in hotel quarantine.
The latest numbers come after 16,533 tests were processed in the 24 hours to Thursday.
READ MORE: Surely it’s time PM stepped in over borders?
Joseph Lam 8.07am: We need perspective on UK variant: expert
Infectious diseases epidemiologist Peter Collignon says Australia needs to take a step back over fears surrounding the new UK variant of COVID-19.
“We need to keep it in perspective,” said Professor Collignon. “So far it hasn’t been as bad.”
Professor Collignon said while there’s “always a risk”, he is confident in Australian contact tracers to effectively manage and assess the spread of a new virus variant and compared an outbreak to other clusters.
Why would we use a vaccine that mightn't prevent transmission? Should we use one particular vaccine, or roll out the vaccines we have as broadly and quickly as possible?
— Allen Cheng (@peripatetical) January 12, 2021
“You will get leaks but so far Australia has been very good at controlling this with contract tracing and testing,” he said.
“Since early December there’s a circulating virus from that Avalon cluster which is likely from overseas yet there hasn’t been any transmission into regional NSW.”
Professor Collignon echoed the sentiment of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying that Australia could learn from other countries’ handling of the new COVID-19 variant.
“A lot of these questions will be answered for us in India, Europe and America.”
Professor Collignon also called for “more vaccine options on the table”.
READ MORE: CMO responds to AZ vaccine concerns
Joseph Lam 7.55am: Australia’s ‘portfolio approach’ to vaccines
Josh Frydenberg has backed chief medical officer Paul Kelly on the AstraZeneca vaccine, urging Australians to be confident in the locally-manufactured jab.
The federal treasurer said Australia had adopted a “portfolio approach” when choosing a vaccine based on expert advice.
Australia’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly says the AstraZeneca vaccine which the nation is relying on to protect most of the population against COVID-19 is highly effective in preventing severe disease and will “save livesâ€. https://t.co/gNKr6SOCEe
— The Australian (@australian) January 13, 2021
“What we know with AstraZeneca is it’s safe, available and it’s manufactured here,” he said.
Mr Frydenberg echoed the advice of Dr Kelly on Wednesday saying it was a professional choice.
“What we have done is adopted a portfolio approach based on the best advice available to us,” said Mr Frydenberg.
READ MORE: Access to Pfizer vaccine ‘limited’
Joseph Lam 7.49am: History shows Aussies spend after a crisis: Treasurer
Josh Frydenberg is confident consumer spending will rise and Australians will reinvest the $200 billion in savings amassed during the pandemic back into the economy
The federal treasurer said on Thursday that Australians had followed a similar pattern in the past.
The Morrison Govt's tax cuts have put $7 billion into the pockets of hard-working Australians over the last 6 months, rewarding effort and encouraging aspiration.
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) January 11, 2021
COVID-19 has resulted in the biggest economic shock since the Great Depression, but the recovery is underway. pic.twitter.com/DRFKVCUtFa
“History shows us as confidence comes back into the economy after a crisis, after an economic downturn Australians will spend,” he said.
“There is $200 billion-plus that was not there this time last year.”
Mr Frydenberg called the new savings a sign that Australia’s economic assistance had worked.
“The money is there to help fuel the economic recovery,” he said.
READ MORE: $200bn in savings to boost recovery
Joseph Lam 7.38am: Time to be ‘real’ about variant: Premier
Gladys Berejiklian says now is the time to “real about” the emerging variant of COVID-19 from the UK and accept that more cases of the virus may enter NSW.
As the highly-infectious UK variant of COVID-19 enters multiple countries around the world, the NSW Premier said the new cap on the number of Australians entering the country provides time to assess the situation and learn from other states and countries handling of the UK variant.
It’s critical we keep testing rates high as we mop up the latest outbreak. Please, please come forward for testing even if you have the mildest of symptoms. Keep on top of latest health advice via https://t.co/n6rpMk1GPy pic.twitter.com/mmOCjOndHO
— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) January 13, 2021
“What we have to be real about is that we’re not going to be able to keep it out so long as we’re welcoming Aussies back to Australia. We have to be honest and upfront about that,” she said.
“We need to take the pause to see if we have to tighten anything in our new system.”
Ms Berejiklian was not able to confirm how many NSW residents had stayed at the Brisbane hotel at the centre of the outbreak of the variant in Australia.
On the more infectious nature of the disease, Ms Berejiklian said “there are a couple of cases in NSW we suspect were transmitted through surfaces”.
READ MORE: WHO in probe of Wuhan virus lab
Joseph Lam 7.36am: ‘NSW can learn from other states on variant’
Gladys Berejiklian has called on NSW to take a pause as the highly infectious UK variant of COVID-19 enters multiple countries around the world.
The NSW Premier said now is the time to learn from other states on their handling of the emerging variant.
“We can’t prevent the so-called UK strain from coming to Australia. It exists now in 30 countries and is likely to become the dominant strain,” she said.
Symptoms for COVID-19 include fever, cough, sore/scratchy throat, shortness of breath, runny nose and loss of smell.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 11, 2021
There are more than 350 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW. To find your nearest clinic visit https://t.co/LmeATJ8ltz pic.twitter.com/68E7lHoMwg
Ms Berejiklian confirmed “there are a couple of (people) in NSW” who are linked to the Brisbane hotel where six people have tested positive for the new variant and that NSW Health are working with Queensland authorities to manage possible outbreaks.
“We can learn from what Queensland is going through. We know there were NSW residents who stayed there,” she said.
READ MORE: ‘We just want to be allowed to go home’
Joseph Lam 7.34am: Questions raised over extended quarantine costs
Questions have been raised over the cost of extended quarantine amid fears new outbreaks could extend the mandatory 14-day period.
On Wednesday Queensland Health announced those in quarantine at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, on the edge of the CBD and nearby Spring Hill, in Brisbane had their quarantine extended a further 14 days.
While Queensland Health confirmed they would not charge those who had their stay extended for their time at the Hotel Grand Chancellor, anxious residents have started to question the costs of a prolonged stay elsewhere.
The Australian was told by Queensland Health media on Wednesday that it is not yet clear if those forced to extend their quarantine for reasons other than illness would be charged. NSW Health echoed that answer.
Quarantine costs vary in different states and jurisdictions across Australia with NSW, Victoria and Queensland each charging a set rate for quarantine.
In Queensland, the price for a single adult begins at $2800, rising to $3710 for two adults and $4620 for two adults and two children.
NSW and Victoria charge $3000 per adult, $1000 per additional adult, $500 for children between the ages of three and 18 (free for under three), $5,000 for two adults and two children and $6,000 for a family of two adults and four children.
READ MORE: New digs for quarantine travellers
Joseph Lam 6.55am: NSW alert over Queensland quarantine hotel outbreak
NSW Health is calling on anyone who has worked at or quarantined in Brisbane’s Grand Chancellor Hotel to be tested and isolate immediately for 14 days from their last contact with the hotel.
In addition to a hotel cleaner and her husband, six people who stayed on the seventh floor of the Grand Chancellor hotel, on the edge of the Brisbane CBD and nearby Spring Hill, have now been infected with the UK variant of COVID-19.
On Wednesday, Queensland authorities scrambled to test and quarantine 605 people with links to the hotel, with 129 guests also moved from the Grand Chancellor to other premises.
NSW Health is calling on anyone who has been at the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane since 30 December, either as a returned traveler or as a staff member, to immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days after they were last at the hotel regardless of their test result. pic.twitter.com/kh766sisuI
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 13, 2021
Grand Chancellor guests will not be charged for their time at the hotel.
A further 250 guests who have previously quarantined at the Grand Chancellor hotel will get tested and go into quarantine, in addition to 226 staff.
“The Queensland Government has notified NSW Health there were NSW people staying at the hotel who have since returned to NSW,” a NSW Health statement said.
NSW Health has called on anyone linked to the hotel to telephone 1300 066 055 for further advice.
READ MORE: Police probe mystery UK variant spread
Joseph Lam 6.30am: Avalon, Berala cluster fallout ‘to be felt for weeks’
Dr Kerry Chant says the fallout from the Avalon and Berala clusters could last between three to four weeks in NSW.
NSW’s chief medical officer said there were “multiple factors to be taken into account” when assessing the life and impact of these outbreaks.
“As an epidemiologist we like to see at least two incubations before we make an assessment,” she said.
In the wake of just one local transmission of COVID-19 in NSW yesterday, in addition to six among returned overseas travellers, Dr Chant urged citizens to keep getting testing and be vigilant.
“Please do not become complacent with our lower numbers.”
Of the seven new cases reported to 8pm last night:
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 13, 2021
- One locally acquired case is linked to the Berala cluster and is a close contact of previously reported cases. There are now 28 cases associated with the Berala cluster.
- Six are returned travellers.
READ MORE: Chant does the hard yards to keep citizens safe
Joseph Lam 6.15am: Alert as virus fragments found in Sydney sewage
Sydney’s upper north shore is on alert after authorities found COVID-19 fragments at a sewage treatment plant.
Residents in West Hornsby, about 25km from the CBD, have been urged to get tested after fragments of the virus were found in a sewage treatment plant as part of routine testing.
West Hornsby is one of several areas in the state where authorities have found positive tests for the virus.
NSW Health called on anyone experiencing even the mildest of symptoms to be tested and isolate until a negative result was received.
West Hornsby residents are being asked to continue getting tested if they have even the mildest COVID-19 symptoms, after the state’s ongoing sewage surveillance program has detected fragments of the virus that causes COVID-19 at the treatment plant in West Hornsby. pic.twitter.com/0C6H8T6XdY
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 13, 2021
READ MORE: 63 Sydney suburbs on alert after sewage tests
Michael McKenna 5.15am: Remote camp for Covid travellers as cluster grows
International travellers arriving in Queensland will be sent to remote workers camps under a plan state authorities are considering after an outbreak of the UK variant of COVID-19 in a Brisbane quarantine hotel.
Queensland Health, police and managers of the proposed facilities, some set up to accommodate workers during the development of the state’s liquefied natural gas industry last decade, are meeting Thursday to discuss logistics of the move, which could be rolled out nationally.
Police backed the shift to the camps mid-last year when it was initially proposed — leading to preliminary negotiations with facility owners — but the proposal was abandoned with the fall-off in community transmissions.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Wednesday called for an overhaul of how international arrivals are quarantined after six people tested positive for the highly infectious COVID-19 variant that has exploded across Europe in the past month.
Read the full story here.
Charlie Peel 4.45am: Police probe mystery spread of coronavirus UK variant
Queensland police and health authorities are leading a renewed investigation into how the highly contagious UK variant of COVID-19 was spread from a returned traveller in hotel quarantine to a cleaner, her partner and two other hotel guests.
They will probe whether the hotel’s airconditioner or an inadvertent lapse in the use of personal protective equipment led to transmission of the virus. Genome sequencing conducted by health officers on six people involved in Brisbane’s Hotel Grand Chancellor cluster confirmed they shared the same strain of the virus, which is between 30 and 70 per cent more infectious.
They are a man and his partner, both in their 30s, who arrived from the UK on December 30, a hotel cleaner in her 20s and her partner, and, most recently, a man in his 40s and his daughter, in her 20s, who arrived from Lebanon on January 1.
There is a common link between all six cases: the seventh floor of the Spring Hill hotel.
Read the full story, by Charlie Peel and Mackenzie Scott, here.
Natasha Robinson 4.30am: Australian access to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine ‘limited’
Australia is unable to secure more doses of the highly effective Pfizer vaccine but reliance on the alternative AstraZeneca jab does not mean the nation’s vaccine strategy is flawed, health chiefs say.
The commonwealth’s top health advisers have defended their vaccine strategy, which involves widely administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to protect Australians from coronavirus disease, saying the jabs would be highly effective in preventing illness and would “save lives”.
Yet doctors continued to question why other administrations had been able to secure more doses of the Pfizer vaccine while Australia had not. Pfizer’s vaccine has reported an efficacy rate of 94 per cent in clinical trials, compared with an average efficacy of 70 per cent for the AstraZeneca vaccine. The EU managed to double its order of Pfizer vaccines in a deal struck in early January.
Read the full story here.
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