Coronavirus Australia live news: WA closes border to NSW, Qld widens border restrictions, Sydney’s Northern Beaches in lockdown
WA Premier Mark McGowan says NSW is playing ‘whack a mole’ with the virus and has closed the border with NSW, while Queensland and Victoria have raised hurdles.
- Few exceptions as WA shuts out NSW
- Queensland identifies several close contacts
- Authorities may have found Sydney’s Patient Zero
- Northern Beaches cases rise by 23, lockdown announced
- Chill rules out GP vaccine jabs
Welcome to live coverage of Australia’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
A wrap of Saturday’s events is here and below: Western Australia has shut its border to almost all people from NSW and Queensland has imposed tougher border restrictions in further disruptions to the nation’s Christmas-New Year holidays after infections linked to the cluster in Sydney’s Northern Beaches region rose by 23 overnight. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian ordering a return to peak-Covid lockdown for residents of that local government area. Meanwhile the Sydney-Hobart yacht classic has been cancelled.
Brendan Rees 11pm: Victoria expands test zone to NSW Central Coast
Victoria has tightened its border with NSW, extending its ‘‘orange zone’ for COVID testing to NSW’s Central Coast region.
Anyone who enters Victoria, or has already entered, after visiting the region will be required to be tested for coronavirus and isolate until they receive a negative result.
The state’s chief health officer Brett Sutton made the announcement on Saturday evening.
“The existing Victorian border permit system will now be updated to include the NSW Central Coast in the orange zone,” Professor Sutton said.
It comes after Victoria recorded two new coronavirus cases in hotel quarantine overnight as the state marked its 50th consecutive day of zero new local cases.
However, two minors from Sydney’s northern beaches are set to spend Christmas in hotel quarantine after arriving in Melbourne in defiance of new border rules.
There are currently a total of 10 active cases in Victoria.
Sunday Herald Sun
FULL REPORT here
Agencies 10.50pm: New strain confirmed in Britain
England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty confirmed on Saturday that a new coronavirus strain which surfaced in the country could spread faster and called for greater public vigilance to reduce transmission.
Professor Whitty said London had informed the World Health Organisation of its findings. Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Monday said scientists had identified a “new variant” in the south of England that could be causing infections to spread faster.
Britain has seen rising cases and hospital admissions this month and Prime Minister Boris Johnson was set to give a press conference on the virus situation on Saturday afternoon.
The Prime Minister was reportedly to announce new travel restrictions for London and southeast England in the run-up to Christmas.
“As a result of the rapid spread of the new variant, preliminary modelling data and rapidly rising incidence rates in the South East [an expert body advising the government] now consider that the new strain can spread more quickly,” Professor Whitty said.
ALSO READ: ‘We’re being infantilised’
Staff reporters 10.40pm: NSW updates advice for testing
The NSW Health department on Saturday night issued an updated advisory on COVID testing for Sydney and the Central Coast.
There are new case locations and public transport routes in Avalon Beach, Surry Hills, Narrabeen, Turramurra, Erskineville, St Peters, Mona Vale, Palm Beach, Brookvale and Homebush in Sydney, and Forster and Raymond Terrace.
NSW Health has also revised the advice for several hundred people who attended an Avalon gym in light of further COVID-19 cases.
“Known cases of COVID-19 attended Anytime Fitness on Avalon Parade in Avalon over several days while infectious. Anyone who attended the gym on any day on or after Tuesday December 8 is considered a close contact and should get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days after they were last at the gym,’’ it says.
“Additionally, anyone who attended the gym between Monday November 23 and Monday December 7 is advised to get tested and self-isolate until they receive a negative result,’’ NSW Health says.
The latest advice on recommendations for testing is on the NSW Health website here and Facebook page here.
Previous advice here.
READ EARLIER: Hundreds told to isolate
Agencies 10.30pm: Macron ‘stable’ after virus infection
French President Emmanuel Macron, who has tested positive for the coronavirus, was in stable condition, and examinations had given reassuring results, a statement from his office said Saturday.
Mr Macron, who is working in self-isolation from an official residence outside Paris, “is still presenting the same symptoms of the COVID-19 illness (fatigue, coughing, stiffness)”, said the brief statement, signed by his doctor.
But they were not preventing him from carrying out his duties. On Friday, Mr Macron had promised to provide a daily update and, for the time, posted on social media a short video message filmed on his own phone.
Speaking of the general situation in France, where the number of deaths passed 60,000 on Friday, he warned: “We have to be vigilant as the virus is gaining in strength again.” The French authorities are concerned that the holiday period could see a new spike in infections.
The novel coronavirus has killed at least 1,675,362 people globally since the outbreak emerged in China last December, according to a tally from official sources compiled by AFP at 10pm AEDT on Saturday.
At least 75,611,670 cases have been registered. Of these, at least 48,148,100 are now considered recovered.
The tallies, using data collected by AFP from national authorities and information from the World Health Organisation, probably reflect only a fraction of the actual number of infections.
The US is the worst-affected country with 313,660 deaths from 17,465,147 cases. At least 6,298,082 people have been declared recovered. After the US, the hardest-hit countries are Brazil with 185,650 deaths from 7,162,978 cases, India with 145,136 deaths from 10,004,599 cases, Mexico with 117,249 deaths from 1,301,546 cases, and Italy with 67,894 deaths from 1,921,778 cases.
Meanwhile the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been authorised for use in Switzerland, regulators announced Saturday, with immunisation set to start within days as the country battles rising coronavirus cases and deaths. The Swissmedic regulatory authority said it had given the green light following a two-month rolling review. It is the first COVID-19 vaccine approved in the wealthy Alpine nation, with rivals being assessed.
AFP
READ EARLIER: Macron admits he has been slowed down
Tanya French 10pm: Visitors to Qld from Sydney region urged to get tested
Travellers from most of NSW including Greater Sydney are being asked to get a coronavirus test on entry to Queensland and self-quarantine until they get results under tough new border measures for entering Queensland announced on Saturday.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said all travellers from the Northern Beaches LGA — the centre of a rapidly growing COVID cluster — would have to apply for an ‘‘exceptional circumstances’’ exemption to enter Queensland from 1am AEST on Sunday and, if approved, would have to go into hotel quarantine at their own expense.
Any other intending travellers from greater Sydney and the Central Coast are being encouraged to get a COVID test and self-quarantine until they get a negative result and all travellers from anywhere in NSW will need a border pass from 1am Sunday.
They were able to apply for a border pass from 8pm (AEST) Saturday night.
Here are the latest rules.
Earlier the state’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young urged intending travellers from NSW to get tested and self-isolate.
“Anyone who has travelled to Greater Sydney or the Central Coast, could they please get themselves tested and stay in quarantine wherever you are until you get a result,” Dr Young said.
“That will give us assurance that we don’t have any spread. The reason I’m asking the Central Coast people is because there is a direct ferry link between the northern tip of the northern beaches and the Central Coast and we know people move between those two areas.”
Sunday Mail (Qld)
READ EARLIER: Queensland identifies close contacts
Agencies 9.50pm: Italy under new restrictions over Christmas, New Year
Italy, one of the countries worst hit by the coronavirus, will be placed under new restrictions over the Christmas and New Year periods, according to a government decree published on Saturday.
Under the new measures, already announced by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte late on Friday local time and coming into effect from Monday until January 6, the whole of country will be classified as “red” — the highest level of restrictions.
This means people will be allowed to leave their homes only once per day to visit friends or relatives and travel between regions will be banned. And starting from December 24, bars and restaurants will also be closed.
“Our experts fear that the infection curve will increase during the Christmas period,” Mr Conte said. The Prime Minister conceded that the authorities did not have the means to ensure the measures were adhered to, but he asked Italians to respect a new limit to the number of people who meet and host only two adult guests at home.
Food shops, hairdressing salons, pharmacies, tobacconists and laundries as well as bookstores will, however, remain open. Mr Conte specified that the confinement would be relaxed on December 28, 29, 30, as well as on January 4, when shops would be able to remain open until 9pm and people would be allowed to move about freely.
Italy has 60 million inhabitants and one of the oldest populations in Europe. More than 68,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the country since the start of the pandemic.
AFP
Paige Taylor 8.40pm: Few exceptions as WA shuts out NSW from midnight
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has reintroduced a hard border with NSW, meaning only a select few who meet strict exemption criteria can enter WA from NSW and most are excluded even if they are prepared to quarantine for 14 days.
Mr McGowan said he understood the decision was heartbreaking for some families, citing West Australians who intended to go to NSW for Christmas but would now need to reconsider in case they could not get home.
He said the ruling would dramatically reduce the number of arrivals from NSW and he was trying to avoid a scenario in which COVID entered WA and he was forced to shut down Perth or a regional holiday destination such as Margaret River over Christmas.
From midnight on Saturday, nobody had permission to enter WA from NSW unless they are senior government officials, active members of the military, members of the Commonwealth parliament, or transport and freight workers or they have a special cases with compassionate grounds.
Non-excepted people cannot enter even if they agree to quarantine and they will be sent back on the next flight.
Here are the latest rules in WA. Anyone already in WA who have been to NSW since December 11 must self-quarantine and get a COVID test.
“I just say to NSW they need to get it under control,” Mr McGowan said.
“I don’t blame them but they need to get it under control.”
Mr McGowan appeared to urge the NSW government to impose wider restrictions.
“They seem to be engaging in a form of ‘whack a mole’,” he said.
“They need to kill the virus.”
From midnight on Thursday, anyone who arrived in WA from NSW was required to quarantine at their home or another suitable premises for 14 days.
Anyone who arrived in WA from NSW between December 11 and December 17 was required to immediately self-isolate and present for a COVID test at a clinic before midnight on Saturday.
Most of those people have been tested and all tests so far have been negative. Of the almost 5000 people who have arrived in WA from NSW since December 11, 68 people from the north shore of Sydney remain in WA.
This is a group the WA government was particularly concerned about but Mr McGowan said all of them had been tested and all had returned negative results.
READ EARLIER: NSW fights to contain virus
Amanda Lulham 8pm: Sydney to Hobart is dead in the water for 2020
The world-famous Sydney to Hobart yacht race is off for 2020, dead in the water after the Tasmanian government announced travellers from Greater Sydney would need to quarantine for two weeks on arrival in the wake of the growing COVID-19 cluster in the Northern Beaches region.
The quarantine rule effectively ended any hope the Sydney to Hobart could go ahead as planned at 1pm on Boxing Day as it has for the past 75 years.
The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia confirmed just after 9pm on Saturday night the 2020 race was cancelled.
NewsLocal
READ MORE: Organisers cancel 2020 Sydney to Hobart yacht race
Darren Cartwright 5.30pm: Queensland identifies several close contacts
Fears have been raised of a coronavirus outbreak in Queensland after almost a dozen close contacts of the Sydney’s Northern Beaches local-government-area cluster were discovered in the state.
The connection was made by NSW contact tracers who have alerted Queensland Health to the precarious situation.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said 11 people had been tested and asked to isolate until the results came back after Queensland recorded no new cases overnight.
“New South Wales has advised us that there are 11 people in Queensland who are close contacts with positive cases from the Northern Beaches,” Ms D’Ath said.
“These 11 people have been contacted by Queensland Health, have been asked to be tested and have also gone into self-contained (quarantine).”
The scare comes after a woman in her 50s, who had travelled from the Northern Beaches region, had tested positive to COVID-19 in Brisbane.
The woman arrived in Queensland on Virgin flight VA925 on December 16 and moved between Brisbane and the Sunshine State for two days before being tested.
The Northern Beaches region is now a hotspot and anyone from the area who arrives in Queensland must mandatory quarantine for two weeks at their own expense.
Besides the Northern Beaches being declared a hot spot, Ms D’Ath also announced NSW residents will need a border pass to enter Queensland from Sunday morning.
Ms D’Ath said police had processed 3600 people coming from New South Wales at airports over the past 48 hours to check whether they had visited the Northern Beaches region hot spot.
“Of those, 174 were given directions to get tested and self-quarantine … one person has gone into hotel quarantine and four people have returned to NSW.”
Ms D’Ath also urged residents from north Cairns, Gold Coast, Cleveland and Townsville to get tested for COVID-19 after the virus was detected in sewage samples in those areas.
Earlier, state Education Minister Grace Grace said Queensland Health would be examining the latest NSW cases to determine if more suburbs need to be locked out of the sunshine state.
“I know that Sydney is very concerned and they’re a bit anxious about it and that makes Queensland concerned and anxious,” Ms Grace told reporters.
“I think at the moment the hot spots obviously will remain the hot spots, and closed as they were yesterday.
“Whether that needs to be extended, I think depends on where those new cases have come from.”
NCA NewsWire
ALSO READ: Border passes required for travel into Queensland
Steve Zemek 5.15pm: Hundreds told to isolate after gyms scare
Hundreds of people on Sydney’s northern beaches have been told to undergo COVID-19 testing and self-isolate after a positive case visited an Avalon gym.
NSW Health on Saturday issued a health alert after the person visited Anytime Fitness at Avalon over several days last week.
Anyone who visited the Avalon Parade gym on December 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12 has been asked get tested and isolate immediately.
The gym has closed for cleaning until further notice.
It was one two gyms NSW Health named as venues of concern because of the northern beaches region outbreak after Fitness First, Mona Vale was added to the list on Saturday.
Anyone who visited the Fitness First centre on December 13, 14 and 16 has been asked to get tested immediately and isolate.
Other new venues of concern are 4 Pines, Newport (December 15), Sunset Diner, Avalon Beach (December 11) and Café Relish, Avalon Beach (December 17).
NSW Health said that due to the large length of the exposure, there were hundreds of people who were potential contacts.
“Can I acknowledge the great cooperation of that gym owner in providing data last night for us,” NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said.
READ EARLIER: Call to NSW gym patrons
Joseph Lam 5pm: Travellers to Tasmania now required to quarantine
Travellers arriving into Tasmania who don’t have appropriate accommodation to self-quarantine will be required to go into government accommodation at their own cost.
“It is unfortunate but I make no apology,” said Premier Peter Gutwein, addressing Sydney’s growing Avalon cluster on Saturday.
The Premier declared residents of high-risk areas in NSW could only enter Tasmania with an exemption. Tasmanians who have visited those locations are exempt from the rule.
The Premier said “couple hundred residents” from Sydney’s northern beaches had arrived in Tasmania in recent days.
The new rule comes a week out from the 76th annual Sydney to Hobart Yacht race. Mr Gutwein said the race — which is still on at this stage — would be left to the discretion of event organisers, but quarantine rules must still be adhered to.
“Regardless of if you arrive in Tasmania on a plane, a boat or a yacht, the rules will apply,” he said.
Premier Gutwein said transit through hotspot areas was allowed.
READ MORE: Infected woman could close border to Sydney
Agencies 4.47pm: President under fire over vaccine bungles
Brazil prides itself on its world-leading immunisation experts, medical institutions and vaccine research, but President Jair Bolsonaro’s government has been accused of having a chaotic plan to inoculate against COVID-19.
Bolsonaro finally launched a mass immunisation campaign on Wednesday that aims to vaccinate 70 per cent of the population within 16 months, but the president has been accused of repeatedly sabotaging his own program.
On Thursday he released 20 billion reais ($US3.9 billion) to buy vaccine doses in a country that has already lost more than 184,000 people to the coronavirus — the second highest national total in the world.
Later that day, the government announced that daily deaths had risen above 1,000 for the first time since September.
Analysts say the country took too long to formulate an immunisation plan, lacked a precise start date and has no clear vaccine purchase and distribution strategy.
Bolsonaro, who caught the virus in July and once described it as “a little cold,” announced he would not be getting an injection himself.
READ EARLIER: US Veep has a vaccination
Joseph Lam 4.10pm: Where to get tested in Sydney Northern Beaches
Coronavirus testing clinics in Sydney’s northern beaches have extended their opening hours as authorities race to trace the Avalon cluster.
Some testing clinics are now operating more than 14 hours a day, seven days a week.
Here is where to get tested on the northern beaches:
Clinics open from 8am to 10pm daily:
– Avalon pop-up, Avalone recreation centre, 59 old Barrenjoey Road, Avalon
– Avalon Laverty drive-through pathology, Avalon Bowling Club Car Park, Avalon Parade, Avalon Beach
– Palm Beach Laverty drive-through pathology, Governor phillip park Car Park, Entry off Beach Road, Palm Beach
– New pop-up, Newport Community Centre, 11-13 The Boulevard, Newport
– Warringah Aquatic Centre Drive-through, 1 Aquatic Drive, Frenchs Forest
– Mona Vale Hospital walk-in-clinic, 1416 Pittwater Road, Narrabeen’
– Brookvale Community Health Centre, 612-614 Pittwater Road, Brookvale
– Northern Beaches Hospital, 105 Frenchs Forest Road (West), Frenchs Forest
– Warriewood Histopath Drive through, Rat Park, 1472
– (9am) Manly Histopath Drive through, Old Manly Hospital, 150 Darley Road, Manly
Clinics open Monday to Friday 10am-2pm
– North Narrabeen Clinical Labs Pathology drive-through clinic. 1416 Pittwater Road, Narrabeen
– Results are usually released within 24 to 72 hours after the test.
NSW residents seeking further information on testing can visit here.
READ MORE: The cultural truth about Australia
Christine Kellett 3.30pm: WA not closing the border to NSW — yet
WA health authorities say they are awaiting the test result of 42 travellers from Sydney’s northern beaches who have entered the state since December 11. WA will not close the border but the government is monitoring the situation closely.
A total of 92 people from the northern beaches were identified in WA. Sixty-eight are currently in isolation and 26 of those have returned negative results.
Twenty-four people returned to NSW and a further 42 are still awaiting the results of testing.
“The assessment of this group from the northern beaches in WA is well and truly under control,” WA Health Minister Roger Cook has told a press conference.
“Based on the current health advice, we are not making further changes at this point. People arriving from New South Wales will need to self isolate for 14 days and be tested at the airport and day 11. I must stress that this situation could change and it could change at any time. There will be another meeting of the chief health officers this afternoon and will take further advice after this meeting.
“I know this makes it difficult for people but we need to be extremely cautious. The situation in Sydney is very fluid and potentially wide across greater Sydney and beyond. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and we will do whatever is needed to keep Western Australia safe.”
READ MORE: This has been a year like no other for CEOs
Christine Kellett 3.06pm: Border passes required for travel into Queensland
Queensland has reinstated its former border pass program for travellers entering the state from NSW, with declaration passes coming into effect from 1am on Sunday.
The state recorded zero new coronavirus cases overnight but has 174 people in hotel quarantine who have identified as coming from the northern beaches as well as 11 others who have identified as close contacts.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the state was moving away from closing borders to entire states and moving toward “a hotspot model”. Electric signage will be placed at the NSW and Queensland border.
“Again, this is an honesty policy, as it has been from day one. We also need to remember that we have the same honesty policy on our international borders for everyday travel, even before COVID,” Ms D’Ath said.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has called on airline crew members to be tested every seven days and said changes will be made to the way foreign international air crew members enter the state.
“We are asking all foreign international crew that they will be quarantining in a government hotel rather than in an aircrew hotel,” she said. A move Doctor Young said will make managing international aircrew easier.
Border pass declarations can be applied for from 8pm tonight.
Queenslanders are being urged to rethink their travel plans into NSW over Christmas, with a risk they will not be allowed back without going into hotel quarantine, Ms D’Ath said.
ALSO READ: Victoria issuing 250 permits a minute
Rosie Lewis 2.55pm: Travel agents plead for uniform rule
Travel agents have warned they will be hit by the states’ ad hoc responses to Sydney’s northern beaches coronavirus cluster, as they unite with the broader tourism sector to demand a national approach to outbreaks.
Just a week after the opening of borders triggered a 20 per cent increase in bookings, Australian Federation of Travel Agents chair Tom Manwaring said he expected a rush of cancellations. AFTA, the Australian Tourism Industry Council and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry appealed to premiers to adopt a national approach to coronavirus clusters as Western Australia imposed restrictions on anyone from NSW while other states targeted Sydney or the northern beaches local government area.
“Has business been affected by this last outbreak? Undoubtedly, because it undermines the confidence that has returned,” he said. “People don’t know whether to go or not to go, so they’ll hold off or be looking to cancel. I’d suggest some will wait for the weekend to make a call on Christmas.
“At best travel agents are currently doing 5 per cent of the business they were doing last year. Our Christmas wish is for a unified national program that has clear boundaries to allow the travel bubbles to begin, whether it’s inter-cities or inter-countries. It is critical for the confidence of the whole country.”
Read the full story here.
Kieran Gair 2.25pm: Sydney outbreak spreads to retirement village
The COVID-19 outbreak unfolding across Sydney has spread to a retirement village in Bayview, with two residents and a staff member testing positive on Saturday.
The retirement village in Sydney’s northern beaches, operated by Japara Healthcare, has a 73-bed “dementia-friendly” aged care facility beside it.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly told reporters on Saturday that officials would conduct urgent testing at the facility as they try to determine if the virus is spreading among residents.
“We are putting in our private testing arrangements for that particular facility so we can make sure there is no spread there,” he said, adding that arrangements were also being made around PPE.
In 2019, an audit of the facility by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission found that it met all of the expected accreditation standards.
Japara Healthcare has been contacted for comment.
READ MORE: Covid outbreak batters markets
Joseph Lam 2pm: Victoria issuing 250 travel permits per minute
NSW residents attempting to enter Victoria without a permit face fines of up to $9,000 under a new traffic-light travel system enforced overnight.
As the northern beaches cluster grows, Victoria has ramped up its handling of NSW travellers as well as its own residents looking to cross the border into Sydney.
More than 52,000 travel permits have been issued since restrictions were put in place at midnight — a rate of 250 permits per minute — Victorian Chief Health officer Martin Foley has said.
The northern beaches areas has been declared a red zone, greater Sydney is orange and regional NSW is green. Northern beaches residents are not permitted to enter Victoria, greater Sydney residents must get tested and isolate upon arrival while awaiting results and regional NSW residents are free to travel the state.
About 11,000 NSW residents who arrived in Victoria between December 11 and December 17 have been contacted by text message and a further 11,000 are expected to be contacted today.
While the new cluster has put health authorities on the backfoot, Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton has expressed confidence in the efforts of NSW Health.
“The reality is, greater Sydney went through months and months of low level transmission, including up to 10-15 cases averaged per day without significant seeding into regional New South Wales, so that’s worth reflecting on,” Professor Sutton said.
Asked whether there are concerns NSW’s cluster will spread widely to Victoria, Mr Sutton said it was unlikely Victorians have continued to wear face masks, which have become mandatory in Victorian airports as of midnight.
“There’s one case per 10,000 in the northern beaches, a population of a quarter of a million people. Many thousands are stepping up for testing in that area now.
“They will go into mandatory quarantine if they arrive here from the northern beaches or hotspot areas, but also there are penalties that can apply, fines up to $1600, penalties up to $9,000-plus.
“So those are available for people coming in on flights or crossing a land border without a permit.”
READ MORE: Our year of living dangerously
Christine Kellett 1.33pm: Victoria threatens to shut border on all of NSW
The Victorian government says it will not hesitate to shut the border on NSW and stop travel between the states if evidence emerges of virus seeding in greater Sydney — outside of the northern beaches cluster.
Health Minister Martin Foley said the northern beaches LGA was currently classified as a ‘red zone’, meaning anyone travelling from the region would be barred entry to Victoria. Greater Sydney remains an ‘amber zone’, meaning travellers from need a permit, requiring them to undergo Covid testing and quarantine until the test results cleared them.
“The advice if it is made by the public health teams to treat greater Sydney as a red zone, then we will act and that will mean that anyone coming from greater Sydney will be spending their Christmas in Melbourne or in Victoria in hotel quarantining. That is not a Christmas that anyone wants,” Minister Foley said.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the risk of transmission from the northern beaches cluster to Victoria was low.
“We need to have a consideration about what the actual risk is across the border in New South Wales and regional New South Wales is not anything more than a negligible risk
at the moment,” Professor Sutton said.
“We do have to consider protecting the status of as COVID-free in terms of community transmission and we will be appropriately anxious about that, because we don’t want seeding into Victoria. Of course we have in mind everything we’ve been through over months.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian earlier today said there was no evidence to support widespread seeding of the virus in greater Sydney, as she ordered the northern beaches region into a five-day lockdown.
Joseph Lam 1.30pm: Victoria issues 52,000 permits to NSW residents
Victoria has imposed a permit-based traffic-light travel system on NSW residents, effectively restricting residents from Sydney’s Northern Beaches from entering the state.
More than 52,000 permits have been issued since restrictions were put in place at midnight at a rate of 250 permits per minute, Victorian Chief Health officer Martin Foley has said.
Sydney residents from the Northern Beaches have marked as red, greater Sydney as orange and regional NSW as green.
Northern beaches residents are not permitted to enter the state, greater Sydney residents must get tested and isolate on arrival and regional NSW residents
11,000 NSW residents who arrived in Victoria between December 11 and December 17 have been messaged by the state and a further 11,000 are expected to be contacted today.
READ MORE: Nikki Gemmell — The good things Covid has given us
Joseph Lam 1pm: Authorities may have found Sydney’s Patient Zero
Patient Zero in Sydney’s Avalon coronavirus outbreak, is believed to be an overseas traveller who arrived from the US on December 1, the nation’s acting chief medical officer Paul Kelly has revealed.
“The molecular genomic testing of the virus suggests that is where it probably started,” Professor Kelly has told a press conference on Saturday. No further details about the person were given.
PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT - ANYTIME FITNESS
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 18, 2020
NSW Health is calling on several hundred people who attended an Avalon gym to take urgent action, get tested and isolate immediately until further advice is provided by NSW Health
As health authorities investigate the spread of the virus on the northern beaches, Professor Kelly said there was a clue that a confirmed case who visited Anytime Fitness Avalon several times over the past two weeks became ill on December 10.
He rejected the notion that NSW’s public health order, which will impose stay-at-home conditions on the northern beaches from 5pm Saturday to midnight on Wednesday, arrived too late.
“They haven’t needed the public health order up to now,” he said.
“As the Premier explained, and I have spoken in some detail about this with [NSW Chief Health Officer] Kerry Chant, earlier this morning and last night, this is to reinforce, in effect, what is already happening … so I think the timing is right”
Professor Kelly said testing revealed almost all of the 39 cases linked to the Sydney outbreak had been traced to the Avalon RSL and the Avalon Bowlo from the 10th and the 11th of December.
READ MORE: The Covid vaccine: will you or won’t you?
Christine Kellett 1240pm: ‘Secondary infections the next worry for NSW’
It may be another week before the full extent of Sydney’s coronavirus outbreak becomes apparent, as secondary infections from the initial northern beaches cluster emerge.
Infectious diseases expert Marylouise McLaws, a professor at UNSW, said the good news was that all current cases linked to the Avalon outbreak appeared to be from a single source.
These people were now at risk of infecting family members at home, but second generation infections could be prevented by mask-wearing at home.
“I know it doesn’t sound very nice but if you are concerned and you haven’t had a test result yet, wear your mask at home if you are sharing with an elderly family member,” Professor McLaws told ABC News.
“Your children are probably less likely to get it, but please try and keep windows open to ventilate because [second-generation infection] is what will happen in the next seven days.”
Professor McLaws said she believed mask wearing needed to be made mandatory for the duration of the pandemic.
“We are at a tipping edge and we can only hope that it remains focused in the northern beaches, but if it goes across all of Australia then we go to more tightening, borders staying up, people being in lockdown.
“The requirements [on the northern beaches] for the next five days is a minimum incubation period. It buys them enough time. The worry is they will be a second generation of cases.”
READ MORE: Albanese ‘sleepwalking into poll defeat’
Joseph Lam 12:10pm: Mystery surrounds two cases from unknown source
While NSW Health authorities are confident the northern beaches outbreak has been contained to the region so far, two cases are under investigation over their unknown source.
chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said that two of the 23 new cases recorded overnight were not specifically linked to the Avalon RSL and the Avalon Bowlo — two venues at the centre of the cluster.
“Both live in Avalon and it may turn out that there are subsequent links to people that have been at the RSL, as you can imagine, we are dealing with large numbers and we need to cross-reference it,” Dr Chant said.
Another case may be linked to the Anytime Fitness gym at Avalon, where an infected person visited on five occasions from December 6.
“I think it is really important that people understand that this is a moving feast and we need to reassess continually.”
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said outbreaks were always a risk when restrictions eased.
“Our ports are a risk, we need to have crews coming in, we need to have people coming back from overseas, Aussies, but creates risks and it is managing the risk,” he said.
READ MORE: Why we accept the temporary insanity of Christmas
Joseph Lam 11.33am: Northern Beaches residents return to lockdown
Residents of Sydney’s northern beaches will return to peak-Covid restrictions from 5pm today, ordered to stay home except for work, exercise, essential shopping and compassionate reasons. The restrictions will remain in place until midnight on Wednesday.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged residents to “please limit your activity” in order to give Sydney its best chance at “a good Christmas”.
“Don’t panic, buy please. It’s okay to go out and do work,” she said.
On quarantine restrictions currently being imposed by other states, Ms Berejiklian said she understood the reasons other premiers believed they were necessary.
“I would have done the same had I been in their shoes in terms of declaring the northern beaches a hot spot — it is a hot spot”.
NSW recorded 23 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 19, 2020
Seven cases were reported in overseas travellers. This brings the total number of cases in NSW since the start of the pandemic to 4,523. pic.twitter.com/5UmARm4aZq
READ MORE: Nation now banking on Frydenberg
Christine Kellett 11.26am: Sydney outbreak ‘still very localised’
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has reassured NSW residents that on the evidence, the northern beaches cluster appears to be confined to the peninsula.
“Every case seems to have some connection, some more tenuous than others, but some very direct, to the Avalon RSL and the Avalon Bowlo,” Mr Hazzard has told a press conference.
NSW Chief Medical Officer Kerry Chant said 12,374 tests results were recorded by 8pm last night, and the positive cases were predominantly linked to the Avalon Bowlo and the RSL.
Despite that, the NSW government is urging all Sydney residents to restrict their movements over the next few days.
We recommend wearing a face mask while travelling on public transport. In line with @NSWHealth advice: carry a clean face mask and wear it during your trip, sit or stand on a green dot and avoid non-essential travel to, from and around the Northern Beaches area. pic.twitter.com/gZRCFuV2jr
— Trains Info (@TrainsInfo) December 18, 2020
“I was going to be heading off on Christmas morning but I am not doing that now. Events have been cancelled. We are going through this together,” Mr Hazzard said.
Stay-at-home orders were being drafted at the time of the press conference, he said, but he praised the northern beaches community for already voluntarily staying home.
Christine Kellett 11am: NSW records 23 new cases linked to beaches cluster
NSW has reported 23 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of active cases to 39.
In response, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has issued stay-at-home orders for the Northern Beaches Local Government Area from 5pm today until midnight on Wednesday, in line with restrictions put in place back in March.
“We’re hoping that will give us sufficient time to get on top of the virus before Christmas,” Ms Berejiklian has told a press conference.
For the rest of Sydney, residents have been asked to refrain from non-essential activity.
“Stay at home tonight and for the next few nights so we make sure the virus doesn’t spread,” she said.
The Premier has also flagged a possible return to some restrictions in Sydney and will make a further announcements tomorrow.
Ms Berejiklian said there was no evidence of widespread seeding of the virus in Greater Sydney, but health authorities were anticipating more positive cases today.
Joseph Lam 11am: Urgent testing call for Avalon Anytime Fitness goers
Hundreds of Sydney residents who visited Anytime Fitness Avalon have been urged to get tested and isolate after a gym member tested positive for the virus, NSW Health says.
The member visited the fitness location on at least five occasions since December 6 while infectious.
Dates the confirmed case reportedly visited the on Avalon Parade include December 6, 7, 8, 11 and 12th.
Anytime Fitness has at least 30 venues across Sydney which make up its more than 3200 venues worldwide. The Australian understands members can train a multiple venues with a single membership.
Earlier on Saturday Anytime fitness Avalon wrote on social media it would reopen on Monday if NSW Health advised it do so.
“We will reopen on Monday if NSW health advises us to do so, thanks to all our amazing members.”
Later it confirmed it will be closed until further recommendation from NSW Health.
READ MORE: Plus Fitness false positive ‘left to pick up the pieces’
Steve Zemek 10.40am: Venues closing amid fears virus has escaped
Restaurants and bars on Sydney’s coronavirus-gripped northern beaches have begun voluntarily closing their doors as authorities attempt to stem a rapidly growing cluster.
Less than a week out from Christmas, restrictions and lockdowns loom after the Avalon cluster on Friday ballooned by 10 to a total of 28 cases.
NSW Health has issued alerts for venues right across Sydney and Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned that unless the rise in new cases can be stemmed, further restrictions could be implemented.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard, whose Wakehurst electorate takes in part of the northern beaches, took to social media on Friday night to thank local businesses for closing to help stop the outbreak.
“14 of 17 pubs on Northern Beaches are closed or will close 4 the weekend VOLUNTARILY,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Most churches/ houses of Worship have advised @NSWHealth they will close this weekend.”
Mr Hazzard went on to say that some cafes and restaurants had also made the tough decision to close their doors.
The Merivale Group, which operates an empire of over 60 venues across Sydney, said it was closing its northern beaches venues The Newport, Bert’s, The Collaroy and Queen Chow Manly.
All of NSW is on high alert following the swell in new cases, with residents from all of Sydney told to get tested if they display even minor symptoms.
A total of 21 Sydney beaches have been closed on the city’s northern beaches, with residents from the region advised to stay indoors.
READ MORE: Steve Waterson — Totally eradicating risk from our lives is not healthy
Agencies 10.15am: US struggles over new Covid relief deal
US lawmakers were hammering out final details overnight on a major coronavirus relief package and an attached federal funding bill but sticking points could push them past a midnight deadline, threatening a government shutdown amid swelling health and fiscal crises.
Republicans and Democrats braced for possibly working through the weekend to conclude a $US900 billion deal aimed at providing emergency relief for millions of struggling families and businesses amid signs of a worsening economy and as the country sees record high death tolls from the coronavirus pandemic.
But with the holidays approaching, a midnight Friday deadline loomed. If an extension of government funding is needed it will take agreement from all 100 senators to do so, and that is far from guaranteed.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the round-the-clock talks between congressional leaders “remain productive” and he anticipated a deal would be reached, but he acknowledged the timing was up in the air.
“I’m even more optimistic now than I was last night that a bipartisan bicameral framework for a major rescue package is very close at hand,” top Republican McConnell said in a floor speech.
“The Senate will be right here until an agreement is passed — whenever that may be.” A relief package to aid struggling businesses and jobless workers is seen as critical to getting the world’s largest economy back on its feet
READ MORE: For the cancelled, 2020 is a year without mend
Joseph Lam 9.45am: Panicked Sydney residents vent over testing
Frustrated northern beaches residents have taken to Twitter to vent their frustration over long queues for testing.
“I’m not waiting any more than half an hour for a test. Ramp up the staff at testing sites or miss a lot of people like me. It’s not rocket science,” read one response from one Twitter user.
Another user wrote, “@NSWHealth so disappointing to see the Warringah Aquactic (sic) Centre turn away hundreds of cars with no communication tonight. Waited for 4hrs only to be told “come back tomorrow” poorly managed, frustrated and unacceptable. How do you expect residents to get tested like this?”
As testing queues continue to grow, NSW health authorities are urging the use of face masks in public areas. Shopping centres and supermarkets, public transport, healthcare facilities, aged-care facilities and workplaces are all areas the government has advised their use.
NSW Health can advise there are now 28 cases associated with the Avalon cluster, with 25 are linked to either the Avalon RSL, the Avalon Bowlo, or both. pic.twitter.com/jkKMmqS9uG
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 18, 2020
READ MORE: Great Escape before premiers ruin Christmas
Christine Kellett 9.30am: Sydney outbreak ‘shows the danger of complacency’
The outbreak of coronavirus on Sydney’s northern beaches has been a sharp reminder of the danger of complacency and why Australians must remain vigilant in the months ahead, Labor Senator Tim Ayres says.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is due to provide an update on the northern beaches cluster about 11am.
Senator Ayres said the response from locals on the peninsula had been commendable.
Photos circulating overnight showed empty shopping centres and Manly’s usually-packed entertainment district all but deserted following advice from NSW health authorities to stay home.
“I have been encouraged by what is apparent on the northern beaches where you see that people are voluntarily, quickly complying with the public health recommendations for them,” Senator Ayres told the ABC.
“Masks inside, masks on public transport, staying at home, getting tested if you’re unwell, making sure you don’t circulate in the community if you have been tested and haven’t received a result. I am very confident that Australians are going to follow the public health directions. It is a stressful time for families at Christmas. We appreciate very much how difficult it is for families but I am confident in the capacity of Australians to be honest and upfront and to work together to deal with this pandemic.”
READ MORE: PM hands China test to former diplomat
Christine Kellett 9am: Increased testing options on northern beaches
As frustration grows at long queues for testing on Sydney’s northern beaches, NSW Health says it has increased testing options in the area.
The following locations are performing Covid swabs:
As of 18 December, NSW Health has increased COVID-19 testing options for the Northern Beaches community.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) December 18, 2020
It is absolutely vital everyone immediately comes forward for testing if they have even the slightest of COVID-19 symptoms. pic.twitter.com/c9wIfyl1OO
There are more than 300 testing locations across NSW.
READ MORE: Plot to rein in uni salaries
Agencies 8.35am: Macron admits he’s been ‘slowed down’ by Covid
US President Donald Trump has spoken with French President Emmanuel Macron to wish him a quick recovery from the coronavirus, the White House said Friday.
In the conversation, which the White House said took place Thursday, Trump “wished President Macron a speedy recovery and quick return to his full duties,” spokesman Judd Deere said.
“President Trump also extended his best wishes for a Merry Christmas to President Macron, his family, and the People of France,” the statement said.
Earlier, Macron said in a video message that he was experiencing several Covid symptoms including “tiredness, headaches, dry cough,” and that his activity was “slowed down.” Along with Macron, Trump is among a group of several world leaders to have been infected with the novel coronavirus. In his case, he required three days of hospitalisation and supplemental oxygen to breathe at the start of October.
“I am doing well. I have the same symptoms as yesterday: tiredness, headaches, dry cough. Like hundreds of thousands of others of you,” Macron said in a video message posted on his Twitter account that he appeared to have recorded himself with a phone.
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) December 18, 2020
READ MORE: Ian Thorpe reveals dark truth about retiring too early
Christine Kellett 8am: VP Mike Pence gets Covid vaccine on live TV
US Vice President Mike Pence has received the Covid vaccine on live television in a bid to reassure the American public that it’s safe.
Mr Pence, who received the vaccine alongside his wife Karen, joked he “didn’t feel a thing” after the jab, which he called a “medical miracle”.
“Building confidence in the vaccine is what brings us here this morning,” he said.
“While we cut red tape, we cut no corners.
“The American people can be confident: we have one and, perhaps within hours, two safe vaccines.”
US surgeon-general Jerome Adams also received the vaccine in the live TV event.
US President-elect Joe Biden is expected to receive his first dose next week.
READ MORE: Cameron Stewart — As Trump seethes, Biden steps up
Staff writers 7.15am: Sydney cluster cases ‘set to rise’ from current 28
The Saturday Telegraph is reporting that the number of COVID-19 cases in Sydney “is set to rise worryingly” from the 28 recorded by yesterday.
However, it’s understood all positive new cases are linked to the northern beaches cluster that’s centred around Avalon.
NSW Health’s COVID-19 alert venue list now stretches as far as Cronulla, Kirribilli, Lane Cove, Turramurra and Woolloomooloo, with all Sydney residents urged to don a mask as they go about their business.
Residents of Sydney’s northern beaches, however, face the prospect of a full lockdown as health authorities struggle to stop the virus’s spread.
Read the full story at The Saturday Telegraph.
Staff writers 6.30am: Victoria considering total border closure to NSW
The Victorian government is considering a total closure of the border with NSW in a desperate bid to avoid a third wave, The Herald-Sun reports today.
The announcement of new cases in NSW today will determine Victoria’s next steps, with people disembarking planes from Sydney last night forced to immediately take COVID-19 tests.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday urged citizens to scrap any plans to travel to NSW, with a permit system for NSW residents travelling to Victorian coming into effect at midnight last night.
People who have been to the northern beaches of Sydney since December 11 must serve a mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine period if they travel to Victoria.
We're also strongly advising Victorians not to travel to Sydney. The situation up there is expected to get worse over the coming days and the red zone is likely to grow.
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) December 18, 2020
That means we cannot guarantee you'll be able to come back.
Read the full story here.
Editorial 5.50am: NSW contact tracers to be tested to their limits
The next two days of managing Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak will be crucial, The Australian says in its Editorial today.
“With NSW health authorities warning the cluster is likely to have spread farther afield — as far as Lane Cove on the north shore and to Woolloomooloo, Cronulla and Bondi Junction on the other side of Sydney Harbour. The new warnings suggest the cluster may have reached Sydney’s far south, as well as several inner-city suburbs and parts of the highly populated inner east. One case has spread to the NSW central coast.
“If the potential crisis is to be contained to no more than a bad scare, the state’s respected testing and contact tracing system will be severely tested this weekend. To date, the system has served the state well. As epidemiologist Adrian Esterman says, authorities in NSW are backing their contact tracers to get on top of the outbreak without having to resort to strict lockdown measures. With 300 contact tracers, the task of chasing up about 3000 people as a result of the 29 infections was manageable, he said. It would be harder if the daily caseload exceeded 50.
“Much is at stake, including as many as 155,000 jobs in industries most exposed to a possible round of renewed restrictions, Patrick Commins reports. Market researcher IBISWorld has identified 17,600 enterprises across 19 industries in NSW that would have a ‘very high’ exposure to the reimposition of restrictions. Livelihoods in interstate tourist industries, especially Queensland, are also at stake.”
We now have 28 community-acquired cases in NSW, although 10 of these won't be recorded until tomorrow. Let's hope they have this under control quickly.
— Professor Adrian Esterman FACE (@profesterman) December 18, 2020
Read the full story here.
Yoni Bashan 5.10am: NSW fights to contain spread of virus outbreak
NSW is fighting to contain the apparent spread of the northern beaches coronavirus outbreak across Sydney as premiers of other states eye tougher travel restrictions that could further disrupt Christmas travel plans.
Thousands of people are facing Christmas in isolation after states reimposed travel restrictions on Sydneysiders — with Western Australia enforcing a mandatory fortnight quarantine — to prevent the cluster spreading further.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that the government would reimpose restrictions on parts of Sydney should containment efforts fail.
Infections linked to the cluster on the city’s northern beaches stood at 29 on Friday and were expected to rise on the weekend.
There was at least one case on the state’s central coast diagnosed late on Friday.
Travellers from Sydney’s northern beaches have also been barred from entering Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania. Anyone who has visited the area since December 11 and has already arrived in the latter two states will be forced to quarantine for 14 days.
WA Premier Mark McGowan said the outbreak “may well mean that the hard border with NSW needs to return in the near future”. Travellers from the state are now required to isolate for 14 days regardless of whether they returned a negative coronavirus test result.
The Victorian government was understood to be considering the possible total closure of the state’s border with NSW — including rolling out police checkpoints
Read the full story here.
Natasha Robinson 5am: Deep chill to rule out vaccine jabs at GP clinics
Most GP clinics will be not be able to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine that is due to be approved in Australia in late January, according to the Australian Medical Association.
Only very large GP clinics will be able to gather enough patients to administer the jabs due to the way they are packaged and stored in ultra-low-temperature shipping boxes.
The Pfizer vaccine will be transported to Australia in “dry shippers” that contain about 975 vaccine doses packed in dry ice. Hospitals will be able to store the vaccine, which needs to be refrigerated to least minus 70C, in ultra-cold freezers, but GP clinics generally do not have such equipment.
Sarah Elks 4.45am: Infected woman could close border to Sydney
Queensland health authorities are scrambling to trace the contacts of a woman in her 50s from Sydney’s northern beaches who flew to Brisbane before testing positive for COVID-19.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has closed the state’s border to the northern beaches region and said it was possible the rest of greater Sydney could be locked out before Christmas if the cluster spread rapidly.
âš ï¸ Public Health Alert âš ï¸
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) December 18, 2020
Following further contact tracing work today, Queensland Health has expanded its list of venues where a confirmed #COVID19 case has visited.
For an extensive list of locations, times and dates, please visit: https://t.co/aKbJJ39RhG pic.twitter.com/nmyFlBpDzL
Anyone who arrives in Queensland from Saturday and has been in the northern beaches will be forced to pay to enter mandatory hotel quarantine for two weeks.
“This is a rapidly evolving situation in the northern beaches and could well expand through other parts of Sydney,” Dr Young said. “But while (the new cases) are linked and there isn’t community spread in those (other Sydney) localities, then they won’t be declared hotspots.”
Kieran Gair 4.30am: Sydney’s Northern Beaches LGA turns into ghost town
It’s eerily silent in the usually busy Westfield Warringah Mall, a large shopping centre in the middle of Sydney’s northern beaches — the peninsula now in the grip of a coronavirus panic amid rising infections.
There’s only one queue. It’s across the road at the Brookvale COVID-19 testing facility.
The homewares store hasn’t had a customer in hours, staff tell The Weekend Australian. In a nearby coffee shop, the barista now expects Christmas to be “very grim”.
Further up the coast, closer to the cluster’s epicentre, Newport fashion retailer Jenny Blake anxiously taps her vivid pin nails against a glass counter.
“It’s terrifying,” she says. “Every shopping strip from Narrabeen to Palm Beach has basically shut down.”
It’s the Friday before Christmas, and the northern beaches, typically bustling with tourists, is like a ghost town.
The only busy stores are supermarkets, where the toilet paper has again been stripped from shelves.
More Coverage
Pro-Gazan pianist and MSO open to mediation
Jayson Gillham is suing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the Federal Court, with a trial likely to be scheduled in March next year if mediation fails.
RBA leaves all options on the table in inflation fight
Despite keeping interest rates on hold at its September meeting, the RBA left the door open for additional tightening in its efforts to tame inflation, minutes show.