Coronavirus Australia live news: 600 health workers in isolation in Sydney
More than 600 health workers across two major Sydney hospitals have been forced into isolation after an unvaccinated student nurse worked shifts while infected with Covid-19.
- Alarm over illegal Sydney party cluster
- No guarantees on NSW lockdown end, school return
- NSW records 35 new cases
- Liberal MP flags first vaccination milestone
- Sydney aged care cluster grows by two
Welcome to coverage of Australia’s battle with the Covid-19 pandemic. Live coverage has ended for the day, read on to see how the day’s events played out.
Isolation orders have been issued for anyone who has been in the Meriton Suites in Sydney’s Waterloo after three cases were linked to party there.
NSW has recorded a surge in Covid-19 cases, with 35 new locally acquired infections detected in the past 24 hours. A further two residents of a Sydney aged care facility have tested positive, as the stalemate over Queensland’s quarantine facility nears its end. Meanwhile a majority of Australians believe people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 should be exempt from border restrictions, according to a national survey of attitudes to pandemic responses.
Rhiannon Down11.45pm:600 nurses in isolation across Sydney
More than 600 health workers across two major Sydney hospitals have been forced into isolation after an unvaccinated student nurse worked shifts while infected with Covid-19, leaving hospitals to grapple with major staffing shortages.
Royal North Shore Hospital has lost 500 staff who are currently in isolation after the 24-year-old worked at the cardiology and general abdominal surgery wards at Royal North Shore from June 24 to 28.
A further 120 staff at Fairfield Hospital have also been forced to self-isolate after the same nurse worked shifts at the hospital’s rehabilitation ward.
NSW Nurses and Midwives Association general secretary Brett Holmes said staff were already battling high levels of “exhaustion” amid widespread worker shortages.
“This is a difficult situation and probably the largest number of staff we’ve seen forced to isolate because of their close contact status in the workplace,” he said.
“It’s a massive challenge for the remaining staff at these two hospitals.
“At Royal North Shore they’ve stopped all but emergency surgery and are diverting some patients to other hospitals.”
Mr Holmes said the public health system was already struggling with workforce issues pre-pandemic and the “regular pool of casual nursing staff has been otherwise absorbed”.
Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga was also added to the list of exposure late on Monday night.
Rhiannon Down10.30pm:Kate Middleton forced to isolate
Kate Middletonhas been forced into isolation after she came into contact with a positive COVID-19 case, according to reports.
The Duchess of Cambridge was alerted about the possible exposure on Friday afternoon after spending time at the Wimbledon grand slam and has been in isolation since.
The Duchess is required to spend 10 days in isolation under the current restrictions in the UK, despite being vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Last week The Duchess of Cambridge came into contact with someone who has subsequently tested positive for Covid-19,” Kensington Palace told the UK’s Daily Mail.
“Her Royal Highness is not experiencing any symptoms, but is following all relevant government guidelines and is self-isolating at home.”
Rhiannon Down9.30pm:NSW add new locations to its exposure sites
A Sydney hospital, pharmacy and several eateries have been added to NSW’s list of exposure sites, after the state recorded 35 cases today.
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – ADDITIONAL VENUES OF CONCERNâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 5, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of new venues of concern associated with confirmed cases of #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/i4AWzySYV2
Patrons of the Bridge of Belfield Pharmacy, Frango Charcoal Chicken in Edmondson Park and Little Hong Kong in Marrickville have been asked to get tested and isolate for 14 days after the venues were listed as close contact exposure sites.
Chemist Warehouse in Hurstville, Hurricane’s Grill in Bondi Beach and Bunnings Kingsgrove have also been added to the list as casual contact sites.
Anyone who visited the Sydney Adventist Hospital in Wahroonga on Monday June 28 from 2pm to 2.15pm has been asked to monitor for symptoms and get tested if they appear.
Olivia Caisley8.30pm:Businesses shut out of jab data proposal
Michaelia Cash has rejected a proposal by one of the nation’s major industry bodies to change privacy laws to enable employers to collect the vaccine data of their staff. Read more here
Ellie Dudley7.25pm:Experts want children back at school
As teachers, students and parents anxiously await word on whether children will return for term 3, leading epidemiologists have a message for state authorities: “Send them back to school.” Read more here
Staff Reporters6.40pm:NRL hands down fines, bans for Covid breaches
The NRL has dropped the hammer on 13 Dragons players involved in a weekend house party that flouted Covid rules. Read more here
Rhiannon Down5.55pm:Queensland reveals new exposure sites
A string of shopping outlets scattered across Brisbane have been added to Queensland’s growing list of exposure sites, after the state recorded four local cases today.
Shoppers at Westfield Garden City in Upper Mount Gravatt have been put on high alert after numerous outlets were added to the list of exposure sites including: Wallace Bishop, the Optus Store, Sushi Hub, Coffee Hit, Robin’s Kitchen, Cinnabon and Woolworths.
âš ï¸ Public Health Alert âš ï¸
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) July 5, 2021
A public health alert is being issued for more contact tracing locations in Brisbane, including Forest Lake, New Farm, Kangaroo Point and Woolloongabba.
Contact tracing venues can be found at https://t.co/szwjYvf2RVpic.twitter.com/1cxUMZL77Y
The K-mart, JB Hi-Fi and Woolworths at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre have also been identified as hot spot venues during the exposure window listed by Queensland Health.
World Gym Mount Gravatt in MacGregor, Woolworths in the Forest Lake Shopping Centre, IGA New Farm, Night Owl in Kangaroo Point, Target Buranda in Woolloongabba and St Lucia Golf Links have also been added to the list.
Rhiannon Down5.11pm:Vaccine rollout surpasses 8.2 million
The nation’s vaccine rollout has surpassed 8.2 million doses after 54,106 jabs were administered in the past 24 hours.
Some 4,705,214 jabs have been administered by the federal health system, including 4,260,991 through primary care, and 3,550,259 through the states and territories, according to the latest figures from the Department of Health.
Virus plagued NSW continued to lead the pack when it comes to vaccination rates with 13,358 jabs administered in the past 24 hours, bringing its total to 921,659.
Victoria remains on top with 1,166,277 jabs in total, including 11,458 in the past 24 hours.
Only 522 jabs were administered in aged and disability care in the last day bringing the sector’s total to 444,223 jabs.
It comes as Council on the Ageing Chief Executive Ian Yates criticised the government for the low rates of vaccination among aged care workers, after five cases at Baulkham Hills aged care facility were linked to two unvaccinated aged care workers.
Rhiannon Down4.51pm:Staff, patrons ordered into isolation after Meriton party
Staff and patrons who have been at the Meriton Suites in Waterloo over the span of a week have been urged to get tested and isolate, after it was revealed three Covid cases had been linked to an illegal party at the hotel.
Hundreds of Sydneysiders have been affected by the order.
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT - TRANSPORT ROUTESâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 5, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of new venues of concern and transport routes associated with confirmed cases of #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/qvEMGnTuff
The gathering, which took place at 8pm on Saturday night when Sydney was in the grips of lockdown, has sparked a major infection scare with anyone who attended the hotel from June 26 to the present implicated as a contact.
“Anyone – including guests, staff and contractors – who was on any level of the Meriton Suites, 30 Danks Street, Waterloo, for any amount of time between 7pm on Saturday 26 June and 8am today (Monday 5 July) must immediately get tested and isolate until you receive further advice from NSW Health,” the health body said.
NSW Health has also added the 827 bus from Liverpool to Elizabeth Hills on Tuesday June 29 departing at 8.30am and 9.05am.
The T5 Cumberland train line from Parramatta Station to Liverpool Station has also been added between 7.23am and 7.49am for that same morning.
Several shopping outlets have also been added as exposure sites including ALDI in Rydalmere as a close contact venue and Pindi Supermarket in Auburn as a casual contact location.
Visitors at soccer stadium Club Marconi in Bossley Park in Sydney’s west have also been put on high alert after the venue’s exposure windows were expanded to include Friday June 25 from 2pm to 8.30pm and Saturday June 26 from 10am to 6pm.
Erin Lyons 4.20pm:Shock staff vaccine confession over aged care outbreak
The corporate leader of an aged care centre in Sydney’s northwest has confessed she has no idea how many of its staff have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in a bombshell admission.
Summit Care Baulkham Hills chief operating officer Michelle Sloane told the media on Monday that she simply “didn’t know”.
When asked if workers had refused the jab she said it was unclear.
“I’m unsure of (that). That I haven’t spoken to each one individually. There is quite a lot of them,” she said
Her admission comes after two more residents at an aged care home in Sydney’s northwest tested positive to Covid-19 as fury grows about why unvaccinated staff were allowed to work there.
“In regards to vaccinated staff, I want to say that up until seven days ago we were unable to insist our staff are vaccinated... the government mandated it on June 28,” she said.
“The law had prevented us until then and in fact they were not even obliged to advise us if they had had it.
“In hospitals there are unvaccinated staff, in every kind of business there are unvaccinated staff. If we said to all of our unvaccinated staff, ‘don’t come to work’ then there’d be no one to care (for the elderly).”
READ the full story here.
Victoria Laurie3.10pm:Covid-positive crew member hospitalised from ship off WA
A foreign grain ship off the coast of Geraldton in Western Australia reported last night a single case of Covid-19 among its 22 crew members, and the ship will be directed not to berth when it arrives in the southern port of Kwinana.
Premier Mark McGowan says the ship docked in Geraldton this morning to allow the crew member, who is very ill, to be transported to hospital.
The sick crew member is being transferred to a Perth hospital.
The ship has since departed for Kwinana but he said he has requested that the ship, the Singaporean-flagged MV Emerald Indah, should not be allowed to berth.
Mr McGowan said he felt confident that the Commonwealth will respond to his request. He said the same crisis faced the state government last year when eight ships carrying infected passengers or crew arrived in Australian waters.
He said the ill crew member is being treated by fully-vaccinated staff. The man will be added to tomorrow’s Covid infection figures, but no new cases were recorded in WA overnight.
Given the positive result, Mr McGowan said from midnight tonight virtually all remaining restrictions will be lifted after last week’s five day lockdown. Perth and Peel region residents will no longer have to wear a mask outdoors, but will still wear masks indoors and some restrictions on gatherings will still apply.
READ MORE:NRL players fined for breaching Covid protocols at house party
Rachel Baxendale2.10pm:Come home now: Warning to red zone Victorians
Victorian Covid-19 logistics chief Jeroen Weimar has says health authorities cannot guarantee a downgrading of red zone classifications for Sydney and Brisbane anytime soon, and Victorians holidaying in those areas should come home.
Many Victorian families have headed to NSW and Queensland for the school holidays, but as things stand they will be stuck doing a fortnight of home quarantine rather than returning to school and work next Monday.
“At this point in time we’ve seen I think four new community cases in Queensland this morning, 35 cases in Sydney,” Mr Weimar said.
“There’s nothing in those numbers at the moment that makes us think we’re going to reduce those red zones anytime soon. So if you’re a Victorian, if you’re in the red zone areas, and you need to be back for a certain time, the sooner you’re back here, you can at least start your isolation period safely back home.
“Do not presume that we’re going to flick a switch anytime in the next couple of days. We have no desire to retain these red zones any longer than we need to, but ultimately it will be determined on the public health grounds and the risks of sparking any outbreaks back here in Victoria.”
READ MORE:‘Hypocrite’: Push for Palaszczuk travel ban
Max Maddison2.05pm:Pfizer application to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds
Health Minister Greg Hunt says an application from Pfizer to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds is currently being considered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, as Australia records a record week of jabs.
Concerns have turned to when younger populations will be able to receive their vaccinations, after several children were infected by the highly contagious delta variant, and while Mr Hunt revealed an application was under consideration, he wouldn’t be drawn on when it would be approved.
“In relation to children, the TGA is currently assessing an application from Pfizer. They are very - whilst they work at the fastest possible pace, they work to the fastest possible safe pace,” Mr Hunt said.
“And so they’re doing that assessment and once they have completed all of their safety assessments, then they’ll make their decision. And so I will respectfully won’t pre-empt that.”
The country, however, recorded a record week of vaccinations, with 880,000 doses, taking Australia’s total over 8.25 million. It was a boost of 100,000 on the previous week, and Mr Hunt said it demonstrated that the “distribution system is working”.
READ MORE:GPs roll out Pfizer to 40-plus
Max Maddison1.55pm:Hunt shoots down Qld push for Toowoomba quarantine
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has shot down a push from the Queensland government for a purpose-built quarantine facility to be constructed in Toowoomba, saying the preferred option remained the Pinkenba base.
“To the first one, the answer is no. That’s not deemed a suitable facility at Toowoomba,” Mr Hunt told a press conference on Monday afternoon.
“And indeed, I have spoken with the local member Garth Hamilton, who has reaffirmed the strong overwhelming view of the local community against it. We’re working very constructively with Queensland.”
Meanwhile, Mt Hunt said all of the Baulkham Hills aged care residents who were infected are asymptomatic, with three of the cases likely to return home this week.
Five residents at the SummitCare at the Baulkham Hills aged care facility tested positive to the virus, as part of the growing Bondi cluster, and the Morrison government has attracted criticism for a perceived failure to vaccinate vulnerable populations.
But four of those residents had been vaccinated, while one remained unvaccinated, Mr Hunt said, but all had been transferred to hospital for observation and isolation, with three of those likely to return home over the coming days.
READ MORE: Mass confusion over State’s Covid-19 rule
Rachel Baxendale1.50pm:‘Red zone’ Vics caught not quarantining
Nine people who have recently returned from red zones were not at home when Victorian health authorities came knocking on Sunday.
A further six who were attempting to enter Victoria from interstate red zones were turned back at the airport.
Victorian Covid-19 logistics chief Jeroen Weimar said 2300 passengers on 34 flights from red and orange zones had been checked for permits at Melbourne Airport on Sunday.
“Six people did not have the right documentation at the airport and they were sent back to wherever they came from in the first place,” Mr Weimar said.
He said health authorities had conducted 252 home visits on Sunday, 239 of which were to red zone permit holders.
“Unfortunately nine people are under further investigation though our public health teams and Vic Pol for potential breaches of those isolation orders,” Mr Weimar said.
“But again, I’d like to focus on the positive and really, my thanks to everybody for doing the hard yards. I know it’s frustrating when you’re coming back from interstate to have to isolate and to do testing, but this is the only way we can keep you safe and keep the rest of our community safe.”
Mr Weimar said Victoria Police had conducted 1217 checks on the NSW-Victorian border on Sunday, with a total of more than 13,000 checks conducted since NSW was declared a red zone.
On Sunday, two people were fined almost $5,000 and sent back to NSW for attempting to enter Victoria without appropriate documentation. One attempt took place at Cann River, in Victoria’s far east, while the other was at Wodonga in the northeast.
READ MORE: Vaccine rollout like ‘Hunger Games’
Rachel Baxendale1.25pm:Vic sticks with bulk of NSW red zones, reprieve for some
Red zone classifications remain in place for Greater Sydney, the NSW Central Coast, Wollongong, Shellharbour and the Blue Mountains in NSW, and three local government areas stretching from Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast in Queensland.
Perth and the Peel Region in WA, Darwin and Alice Springs in the NT, the remainder of southeast Queensland, Townsville, the remainder of NSW and the ACT are classified orange.
Red zone returnees must quarantine at home for 14 days, while those returning from orange zones must get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
Acting CHO Dan O’Brien said that since Perth and the Peel Region and Townsville and much of southeast Queensland was downgraded from red to orange on Sunday morning, messages had been sent to 506 people who had returned to Victoria from the WA areas and 3679 who had returned from the Queensland areas, letting them know they were free to leave home quarantine with a negative test.
Associate Professor O’Brien said he knew Victorians who were still in or had recently returned from remaining red zones wanted to know when those classifications were likely to change.
“We have to base these decisions on the epidemiological situation at the time, and we reassess this on a daily basis,” he said.
“It’s too early for us to give that picture with confidence. The risk clearly remains and there are increased public health measures still in place within these areas.
“We will continue to recommend that people do not travel to these areas unless it is essential.”
READ MORE:SA relaxes virus restrictions
Jess Malcolm1.12pm:No new cases in SA, raft of restrictions lifted
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has announced a raft of restrictions will be eased across the state as no new locally acquired cases were recorded in the past 24 hours.
Last week, the state’s Transition Committee enforced a number of rules including limits of people allowed in pubs and restaurants, bans on dancing and public singing, caps on gathering in private homes and mask wearing.
These will all be removed effectively immediately.
Officials have also eased border restrictions with Victoria by removing the requirement for returning travellers to clear Covid-19 testing upon arrival to South Australia.
Premier Steven Marshall said there will be no change to border restrictions with West Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland yet as authorities need a few more days to assess the situation.
Mr Marshall said the transition committee will meet again this Thursday to review its border policy, but said officials are “pleased with the way the situation is moving”.
He flagged there would not be a change to the NSW border restrictions for some time, and said the case numbers associated with the outbreak were “worryingly high”.
Rachel Baxendale1.00pm:23 active cases in Victoria, bulk in hotel quarantine
Victoria currently has 23 active coronavirus cases, 18 of which are in overseas arrivals in hotel quarantine, with the remaining five locally acquired.
This includes two cases detected in international returned travellers on Sunday.
The state has now had five consecutive days with no new community-acquired cases.
Of the five active community-acquired cases, two are in workers from a dry-cleaning business in bayside Sandringham, one of whom caught the virus at a party in Sydney’s Hoxton Park.
The remaining three cases are in close contacts of Victoria’s earlier Kappa outbreak, including in a family member of a nurse who contracted the virus while treating Covid patients at the Epping Private Hospital in Melbourne’s north.
Of more than 200 primary close contacts linked to the Sandringham workplace, 67 of them, or 32 per cent, had been cleared as of Sunday.
Acting chief health officer Dan O’Brien said all close contacts linked to the Epping Private Hospital outbreak had now been cleared, with six primary close contacts linked to the Tanami mine site in the Northern Territory still isolating.
“Therefore our risk radar is still focused on inbound arrivals from interstate,” Associate Professor O’Brien said.
READ MORE:Our biggest jabs fail: managing expectations
Jess Malcolm12.45pm:No new cases in nation’s capital
The ACT has recorded no new locally acquired over overseas acquired cases in the past 24 hours.
There were 410 tests conducted yesterday, and there are currently zero active cases in the state.
The ACT has administered a total of 91,190 vaccinations.
ACT COVID-19 update (5 July 2021)
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) July 5, 2021
â–ªï¸ Cases today: 0
â–ªï¸ Active cases: 0
â–ªï¸ Total cases: 124
â–ªï¸ Recovered: 121
â–ªï¸ Lives lost: 3
â–ªï¸ Test results (past 24 hours): 410
â–ªï¸ Negative tests: 243,292
â–ªï¸ Total COVID-19 vaccinations: 91,190
â„¹ï¸ https://t.co/YGW9pOZhrOpic.twitter.com/xJpeEKAwfu
Max Maddison12.33pm:Pandemic road map ‘marketing spin’: Rex Patrick
Independent Senator Rex Patrick says the Morrison government’s four-stage road map looks like “marketing spin”, as he calls on them to be transparent and “lay everything on the table”.
With another string of lockdowns resulting from breaches in hotel quarantine, Senator Patrick said the federal government had managed to make a “shambles” of vaccination rollout and the hotel quarantine system, which he said was only designed to be a temporary solution.
“The big problem here is we’ve had massive secrecy associated with everything to do with things like quarantine and the vaccine rollout because the Prime Minister decided to call the intergovernmental group, where the premiers meet and national cabinet wrapped a secrecy blanket over it,” Senator Patrick told Sky News on Monday afternoon.
The South Australian Senator also took aim at Scott Morrison’s four-stage road map, saying the plan lacked any tangible targets and consequently, was “very difficult” to understand what the Prime Minister was “trying to achieve”.
“So the difficulty here again is we’ve got a four stage plan that looks like a marketing plan. The government has to open up, it has to be transparent, laying everything out on the table and it is proper to set targets.”
READ MORE: Aussie cricket star’s big Covid issue
Rachel Baxendale12.29pm:Acting chief health officer named in Victoria
Victoria has a new acting chief health officer, as Brett Sutton takes leave following the conclusion of his deputy Allen Cheng’s secondment to the state health department.
Infectious diseases physician Daniel O’Brien has been assisting the department with contact tracing as a deputy CHO since January, and is now acting CHO in Professor Sutton’s absence.
Associate Professor O’Brien has until recently been consulting privately in Geelong through the city’s University and St John of God hospitals.
He was admitted to fellowship of the Royal Australian College of Physicians in 1999, having completed his medical degree at the University of Melbourne in 1990 and undertaken infectious diseases medicine residencies at the Royal Melbourne and Royal Darwin hospitals.
Over the weekend, Professor Cheng confirmed he was returning to his role as director of infection prevention and healthcare epidemiology at Alfred Health, with a corresponding research role at Monash University.
I've been off Twitter for a few months, but just a brief note to confirm that I've completed my secondment to the Victorian Dept of Health and will be resuming my usual roles at Alfred Health and Monash Universityhttps://t.co/5jOUCi8bO7
— Allen Cheng (@peripatetical) July 3, 2021
Professor Cheng said he was leaving a department which was “much better equipped to handle what will come and will continue to improve how things are done”.
But I'm happy that I'm leaving a Department that is much better equipped to handle what will come and will continue to improve how things are done.
— Allen Cheng (@peripatetical) July 3, 2021
He paid tribute to colleagues including Professor Sutton and highly regarded obstetrician and former Safer Care Victoria CEO Euan Wallace, who was recruited as health department secretary following the resignation of Kym Peake, who was secretary when hotel quarantine leaks and contact tracing failures resulted in Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus last year.
My thanks to everyone at DH who have supported us all over the last year - not least @VictorianCHO and @euan_wallace, but also the many public health physicians and public servants who have made us all welcome.
— Allen Cheng (@peripatetical) July 3, 2021
Jess Malcolm12.09pm:Aged care operator unsure why staff weren’t vaccinated
SummitCare Chief Operating Officer Michelle Sloane says she doesn’t know why two thirds of the staff at the Baulkham Hills aged care facility were not vaccinated.
Speaking from outside the facility now at the centre of an outbreak, Ms Sloane said a lack of mandatory vaccination for aged care staff meant she could not force the staff to get it.
“I’m unsure of that,” she said. “I haven’t spoken to each one individually. There are quite a lot of them.
“I have actually gone around personally and at staff meetings once the vaccine was available and urged all of our staff to have it.
“Clearly I’m extremely disappointed. We didn’t want to be the nursing home that had Covid come in.”
Ms Sloane said apprehension about the safety of the vaccine could account for some of the staff being unvaccinated.
She also confirmed health officials do not know the source of the spread between the residents, but said they are contained to one section of the facility.
There were two new positive cases connected to the outbreak today, one of which was unvaccinated.
Ms Sloane said the woman was not vaccinated as she moved into the facility after the vaccination program had been completed.
“We had been arranging for any remaining residents to receive vaccination and that has come about in-between times,” she said.
READ MORE:Concern over new cases
Jess Malcolm11.52am:Vaccine rollout ‘the hunger games’: Hazzard
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says the nation’s vaccination rollout has become “the hunger games” as authorities race to vaccinate as many people as fast as possible.
As NSW battles a surge in cases which has now spiked to 312, Mr Hazzard said the top priority is vaccination and called on the federal government to rollout the Pfizer vaccine to more GPs.
“We will continue to have the hunger games going on here in New South Wales,” he said.
“I think the focus should be at the moment, and the federal government appears to be doing this, to try to roll out as much vaccine as they have available.
“I’d certainly like to see them now roll out and support GPs across the entire state of NSW.
“The GPs themselves indicated that they would like to have more of their numbers actually able to vaccinate and I think at some point we will have to go into a more normalised process of vaccine rollout.”
Mr Hazzard said until the commonwealth effectively ramps up the number of locations to deliver vaccines, the challenges will remain.
Gladys Berejiklian said she will welcome the announcement of federal government vaccination threshold targets guided by the Doherty Institute’s advice, saying her government has been calling for certainty “for some time”.
“It really comes down to what targets we are prepared to set and what the timelines are,” she said. “That is what our citizens want from us.”
READ MORE:Our biggest jabs fail: managing expectations
Jess Malcolm11.41pm:Alarm over illegal Sydney party cluster
Health authorities are scrambling to track and trace a number of people who attended an illegal party at the Meriton Suites over the weekend in Sydney.
Officials were alerted to a gathering at the Meriton Suites in Waterloo at 8pm on Saturday night.
Three cases have now tested positive, and officials say they are looking “intensively” at this event with more information set to be provided later today.
“What we are looking at is ascertaining and tracking down everyone who was at that event,” Dr Kerry Chant said.
“What our focus is at the moment is that we are really focused on locking any chains of transmission. Hence why it is so critical that everyone continues to come forward and get tested.”
Gladys Berejiklian said she was frustrated to see people doing the wrong thing during a difficult time.
“Unfortunately, having a party when you’re not supposed to have a party is not doing the right thing and we know, and that some of the cases today are a result of issues or result of incidents where people have done the wrong thing,” the NSW Premier said.
Extensive testing is now underway around the hotel.
Dr Kerry Chant also confirmed the Rose Bay School student who tested positive for the virus as a close contact of a previously reported case.
“The case is a close contact of another previous case and for the abundance of caution we are not exactly sure about the full infectious period but that person may have been infectious at school and hence the usual process around investigations and calling the close contacts for the child’s year group.”
READ MORE:NSW records 35 new local Covid cases
Jess Malcolm11.28am:Chant on Sydney lockdown ending, schools returning
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has refused to say whether Sydney’s two week lockdown will end this Friday, saying the unfolding situation could change rapidly.
Health authorities will continue to closely analyse the data, but Dr Chant foreshadowed the decision could change in a matter of hours.
“I’m making no comment until I’ve looked at all the data,” she said.
“Every day brings a new set of data and a new set of challenges and what we think in the morning can change in the afternoon.
“I’m really pleased to see that we’ve had some people come forward for testing over the weekend, which has allowed us to link unlinked cases and the more certainty we have that we have tracked down every single case of transmission.”
She was also unable to say whether face-to-face learning will return in NSW schools next Monday, asking people to keep an eye out for regular updates on the government website.
“Too premature to comment, it’s a matter for the government,” she said.
NSW Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said police have issued 125 personal infringement notices in the last 24 hours, but has commended Sydneysiders for the overwhelming levels of compliance.
NSW Police received over 1000 calls on Sunday from people reporting potential breaches of stay-at-home restrictions, but police are trying to “strike a balance” between allowing people to exercise whilst also enforcing public health orders.
“There are five million people out and about in Sydney over the weekend doing their recreation and their exercise, I must say that I think Sydney did particularly well in terms of complying with the public health orders,” Commissioner Worboys said.
READ MORE:Our biggest jabs fail: managing expectations
Max Maddison11.17am:Road map a ‘plan to have a plan’: Keneally
Opposition home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally says the Morrison government’s failure to procure a sufficient supply of vaccinations means the only option available is lockdown, as she calls for an accelerated rollout of fit-for-purpose quarantine facilities.
With Australia’s vaccination rate languishing at the bottom of the developed nations, pressure has come onto Scott Morrison to solve supply issues, and provide a timeline for when Australia can return to normality.
With concerns the national cabinet’s road map to normality failed to include targets or milestones, Ms Keneally said Mr Morrison had already broken a number of promises, and ignored the recommendations from the national review of hotel quarantine, undertaken by Jane Halton.
“So again we have a Prime Minister who loves an announcement, but he’s so light on the details and is never there for the follow through,” Ms Keneally told Sky News on Monday morning.
With Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk calling for hotel quarantine system to be abolished, Ms Keneally wouldn’t commit to using the infrastructure to bring home fully vaccinated Australians who were still stranded overseas, but said without more purpose-built facilities Australia would continue to suffer restrictions.
“We heard from Mr Morrison this week there was supposedly a four-stage plan. It’s not a plan, it’s a plan to have a plan,” she said.
“Under that plan, lockdown is supposed to be an option of last resort for millions of Australians today. We know the only option on the table is lockdown, and that is because Mr. Morrison has not secured enough vaccine supply.”
READ MORE:State with five-month wait for vaccine
Jess Malcolm11.03am:Virus surge: NSW records 35 new cases
NSW has recorded a surge in Covid-19 cases, with 35 new locally acquired infections detected in the past 24 hours.
Health authorities are concerned about seven cases who have spent time in the community whilst infectious.
NSW recorded 35 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 5, 2021
Of these locally acquired cases, 33 are linked to a known case or cluster – 20 are household contacts – and the source of infection for two cases remain under investigation. pic.twitter.com/EzivfeHPrP
Gladys Berejiklian said the next few days were “critical” in deciding whether the lockdown will end this Friday.
More than 58,000 came forward for testing over the past 24 hours.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has confirmed two new cases have been detected among residents in the SummitCare Baulkham Hills aged care facility which was reported earlier today.
One of the residents is a woman in her 70s who was not vaccinated, as she moved into the facility in mid-May this year.
The other new case is a 70-year-old female resident who was vaccinated.
All five residents have been transferred to Westmead Hospital for further observation, including the wife of one of the cases.
NSW health authorities confirmed 33 cases in today’s numbers are linked to known clusters, and 20 of the cases were known household contacts.
There were also 24 cases in isolation through their infectious period, and four cases in isolation for part of their infectious period.
Dr Chant said today’s numbers highlight the importance of getting to cases quickly, especially due to the high transmissibility of the Delta strain.
There are two cases still under investigation.
NSW Health is currently treating four people in ICU, none of whom are ventilated.
READ MORE:No masking feelings of euphoria as Britain opens up
Jess Malcolm 10.21am: NSW Premier to provide Covid-19 update at 11
Gladys Berejiklian will provide a Covid-19 update at 11am this morning, alongside Health Minister Brad Hazzard, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant and NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys.
Officials are expected to announce a further two positive cases associated with the Summit Care aged care home at Baulkham Hills, bringing the total number of infected residents to five.
The state recorded 16 new cases on Sunday, and 31 cases the day before. While the NSW Premier has been warning case numbers could still “bounce around”, officials say figures are trending down signifying the success of the two week lockdown.
Sydney-residents will be anxiously waiting to see if the lockdown scheduled to lift on Friday will be extended, with a decision to be made within days.
READ MORE:Flout mask laws and risk arrest
Lydia Lynch10.10am:Four new local cases in Queensland
Four new local cases were detected in Queensland overnight.
Annastacia Palaszczuk said all cases were linked to known clusters and although Monday’s numbers seemed “big” they were not of serious concern.
“We are feeling pretty good about where we are at the moment,” she said.
“It just goes to show those short, sharp lockdowns do work.”
Ms Palaszczuk said more than 92,000 vaccines were administered by Queensland Health last week.
More than 100,000 Queenslanders are on the wait list for Pfizer. Ms Palaszczuk many of those people would need to wait until October until more supplies arrive.
READ MORE:Fury over Covid cluster
Jess Malcolm9.46am:New school student case in Sydney’s east
A student at a school in Sydney’s east has tested positive for Covid-19.
The Rose Bay Public School principal has written to members of the school community to inform them of the case, requesting all staff and students to go into isolation.
“All staff and students are asked to self-isolate until you receive further advice,” the email reads.
“NSW Health has requested anyone who has been unwell or if you develop any symptoms such as a fever, cough, sore throat, shortness of breath … to be tested at one of the Covid-19 testing clinics.”
The school has been shut down, with testing and tracing underway for all students and staff.
It is currently school holidays in NSW, but schools are set to reopen next week three days after the Sydney lockdown is scheduled to end.
Health officials said on Sunday the next few days were critical in deciding whether students could return to face-to-face learning.
READ MORE:Shock footage shows huge Melbourne breach
Jess Malcolm9.30am:‘States must honour four-step reopening plan’
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Acting CEO Jenny Lambert says state governments must honour the federal government’s four-step plan to reopen the country for businesses and the economy to recover.
Ms Lambert said the reopening of Australia could be threatened if state premiers decide not to stick with the national consensus of vaccination targets and timelines.
“We pushed really hard for a national framework last year to avoid lockdowns … but then within a week or two some states were ignoring the national hotspot definition again,” she told Sky News.
“We need to make sure we get open and stay open, we need to be mindful that businesses can’t survive forever. We can’t continually go from open to lockdown to open to lockdown.”
Ms Lambert said other public health measures must be used in conjunction with vaccination, but that setting time frames and targets was helpful for business confidence.
“We need to rely on more than just vaccination, we need to use contact tracing, masks and other restrictions as needed.”
READ MORE:Leave Gladys Berejiklian to make the call
Jess Malcolm9.09am:Police slam NRL players who breached restrictions
NSW Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys has slammed the dozen NRL players who were caught at a house party and breaching Covid-19 rules over the weekend.
Twelve Dragons players have now been given $1000 infringement notices after attending a party hosted by Paul Vaughan and his wife on the NSW South Coast.
Commissioner Worboys said officials were “very disappointed” and insisted they should have acted better as role models to the Illawarra community.
“I think we just shake our heads, really, these are people that are in privileged positions,” he told Sunrise.
“When it came out, they were polite and cooperative with police but I am sure today they would be saying ‘why did we actually go down that track?’”
Commissioner Worboys said 186 infringement notices were given over the weekend, and commended most Sydneysiders for acting responsibility.
READ MORE:Dragons players fined for breaching Covid-19 protocols
Max Maddison8.58am:We’re hostage to Pfizer supply: Labor
Opposition health spokesman Mark Butler has taken aim at the Morrison government’s Covid-19 reopening plan, saying it lacks “details, time frames and milestones”.
With national cabinet agreeing to a four stage process to resume normality, Mr Butler said vaccination numbers remained “shockingly low”, and pointed to several perceived holes in the road map, saying the nation was still “a long way from where we need to be”.
“Frankly, that was what was completely lacking from the so-called plan that he announced last week: the lack of detail, the lack of time frames and milestones means that everyone is really fumbling their way through this because the Prime Minister is not being clear with us,” Mr Butler told Sky News on Monday morning.
Despite Liberal MP Tim Wilson nominating 60 per cent as threshold for moving past the first stage, Mr Butler declined to provide a figure for reopening, instead saying he would wait to see modelling which will be undertaken by the Doherty Institute.
“Well, it all depends on supply and we’re still hostage to the fact that Scott Morrison was desperately slow in striking deals with vaccine companies last year and we’re still paying the price for that,” he said. “We’re still essentially hostage to Pfizer supply.”
READ MORE:Pfizer vaccine rollout to be ramped up
Jess Malcolm8.52am:Send excess AstraZeneca vaccines overseas: expert
Infectious diseases expert Sanjaya Senanayake says Australia should send excess AstraZeneca vaccine overseas as vaccine hesitancy towards the jab means some of the doses could be wasted.
Professor Senanayake told Sunrise changing medical advice has created some hesitancy towards the vaccine, and is worried some doses may expire before they are used.
“With AstraZeneca the messaging and the changing medical advice with the best of intentions has made it very difficult for the public to understand the risks and benefits are a problem,” he said.
“We need to vaccinate the world so it is such a shame if we are throwing out doses of AstraZeneca here, we should really make sure it gets sent to countries where people will appreciate it and take it up.”
Australia has a plentiful supply of AstraZeneca as it is manufactured domestically, but the extremely low clotting risk and upgrading medical advice for people aged 60 and over has caused some people to be fearful.
He also said 80 per cent of the population needs to be vaccinated in order to avoid lockdowns and travel restrictions, and said any vaccine hesitancy needs to be addressed as a priority for the commonwealth.
READ MORE:Hysterical reporting clouds vaccine risk debate
Max Maddison8.40am:Vaccine push needed in remote communities: Wyatt
Indigenous Australians Minister Ken Wyatt says remote Aboriginal communities have become the victim of Covid-19 conspiracy theories, complacency and clotting fears, as he calls for greater engagement to increase vaccination rates.
While there have been zero deaths so far in remote Indigenous communities, the product of strict government restrictions limiting who can travel there, Mr Wyatt said the success was also breeding a sense that vaccinations weren’t required.
Speaking to ABC Radio National, Mr Wyatt said fears of blood clotting, a notion of complacency, and conspiracy theories being spread on social media were all contributing factors to low vaccination rates, and called for governments to work with Indigenous elders to promote vaccines.
READ MORE:Return to country endangered by failure to invest
Jess Malcolm8.53am:Another zero day of local cases in Victoria
Victoria has recorded zero new locally acquired cases, and a further two cases in hotel quarantine.
There were 13,086 vaccine doses administered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number to 1,166,277.
There were 20,690 tests conducted yesterday.
Reported yesterday: 0 new local cases and 2 new cases acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) July 4, 2021
- 13,086 vaccine doses were administered
- 20,690 test results were received.
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/V1zvTXlfqq
Max Maddison8.30am:Liberal MP nominates first vaccination milestone
Federal Liberal MP Tim Wilson has identified a vaccination rate of 60 per cent as the threshold to clear the Morrison government’s first stage of the road map on the return to normality.
After national cabinet agreed to formulate a pathway consisting of four stages, the federal government has come under pressure to specify what level of vaccination coverage would be required to enable the country to ease restrictions and limit the use of lockdowns.
And while NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian had identified 80 per cent as being sufficient to reopen international borders, the Goldstein MP said the target to clear the first stage would be considerably lower.
“Frankly, if we’re going to move past the first stage, it’s going to be somewhere around 60 per cent,” Mr Wilson told Sky News.
“From there the objective should clearly be that people have a responsibility for themselves, a responsibility to their fellow citizens, and as they meet that threshold then the cost ratio moves in favour of getting vaccinated for those who are more aware.”
READ MORE: Gladys will manage ‘safe’ lockdown exit
Jess Malcolm8.12am:Council on the Ageing’s fury at low vaccination rate
Council on the Ageing Chief Executive Ian Yates is furious at the low rates of vaccination of aged care workers, calling on the commonwealth government to ensure Pfizer supply is made available to ensure vulnerable residents are protected.
The news comes after a Covid-19 outbreak at a Baulkham Hills aged care facility was sparked by two unvaccinated aged care workers.
Mr Yates said he was angry and concerned, particularly for the infected elderly and their families.
“I do not understand for one minute why anybody working in aged care doesn’t want to be vaccinated,” he told Today.
“If you want to work with the most vulnerable people in this context, the best way to protect them is for you to be vaccinated as well as them to be vaccinated.
“The rollout has been too slow and it needs to be sped up as the greatest priority. We know that aged care residents are vulnerable people in a vulnerable situation and the vast majority, three quarters of the people who have died in Australia from Covid are residents.”
National cabinet last week agreed to mandatory vaccination for aged care workers, including $11 million in grants to allow workers to take time off work for the appointment.
It also set a target of mid-September for all workers to be vaccinated.
READ MORE:Covid alert for Qld tourist hot spot
Jess Malcolm7.55am:Pfizer rollout expands as over 500 GPs come online
Over 500 GPs across the country will join the nation’s vaccination rollout and start administering the Pfizer vaccine for people aged 40 to 59 today.
Pfizer was previously restricted to state-run clinics and mass vaccination hubs, but the federal government is hoping to ramp up its vaccination rollout by increasing the locations available to give the jab.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd confirmed on Sunday a further 800 locations are expected to come online later this month, some of which in remote areas to increase the rollout in vulnerable communities.
There is still no exact timeline for when under 40s will be able to receive the Pfizer vaccine but supply is expected to ramp up over the next few months.
READ MORE:The long goodbye to Covid-19
Jess Malcolm7.36am:Sydney aged care cluster grows by two
A further two residents of the Baulkham Hills aged care facility in Sydney have tested positive to Covid-19 overnight, bringing the total number of the cluster up to five.
In a letter sent to its residents overnight, the operator SummitCare confirmed the residents will be transferred to Westmead Hospital as a precaution. Both the cases are not displaying any symptoms and are stable.
The outbreak was sparked after two nurses worked at the facility while infectious, with two thirds of staff not vaccinated.
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro says officials are “very concerned” about the vulnerable people in the facility, and took aim at the federal government for its vaccination rollout.
“It’s something that is alarming and yes the federal government set a timeline
of the middle of September for workers to be vaccinated,” he told Sunrise.
“I think that what we have seen overnight and yesterday, it’s a reminder that this class of work, these frontline workers, must have priority and I would encourage those aged care facilities to get out and get vaccinations up before September.”
The aged care home has been shut down for deep cleaning, and mandatory regular testing is underway for all residents and staff.
READ MORE:Daughter erupts over failure to ensure jabs for carers
Jess Malcolm7.24am:Plan for 1000-room Brisbane facility as stalemate nears end
The Queensland government has drafted the specifications for a quarantine facility at Pinkenba, in the first major step towards getting a purpose-built facility near Brisbane off the ground.
The facility would be built at Damascus Barracks and be able to house 1450 people across 1000 rooms.
It is the preferred site of the federal government, who offered to help pay for the facility last week amid multiple outbreaks across the country.
The state government said it would be able to house 800 people per fortnight as a starting point, which is roughly two Australian government charter flights per week.
The site is roughly an eight minute drive from the Brisbane airport, close to the CBD and close to hospitals.
The news comes as Queensland officials are concerned their hotel quarantine system is “stretched”, and have been calling for a reduction in the number of international arrivals into the country. The cap has now been halved which will come into effect from July 14.
READ MORE:Auctions subdued as sales delayed
Jess Malcolm7.05am:Joyce looks to future beyond lockdowns
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says the Covid-19 vaccine should be used to prevent death or serious illness, as even with 90 per cent of people vaccinated Covid-19 will still be circulating in the community.
The Prime Minister outlined a four-step plan to reopen the country after a national cabinet meeting on Friday, where Covid-19 could be treated like other infectious diseases.
Mr Joyce told Sunrise the federal government’s new vaccination target is to get to a state where lockdowns will be avoided and the country can learn to “live with the virus”.
“We have to create a society where we live with the virus like we do with the flu on measles and mumps, we don’t want them but we don’t close down the economy because of them,” he said.
“That’s precisely what we’re doing and I think the states are now coming on board with that idea. That set a nation up in a much stronger place.”
READ MORE:New phase of policy making in new phase of politics
Jess Malcolm6.46am:NZ travel bubble resumes today for some states
Australians will now be able to enjoy quarantine free travel to New Zealand as the bubble resumes today for residents of some states.
Travellers from South Australia, the ACT, Tasmania and Victoria will be eligible to travel across the Tasman quarantine free.
âºQFT pause to lift for some states and ACT from midnight
— Unite against COVID-19 (@covid19nz) July 4, 2021
The travel pause for South Australia, ACT, Tasmania and Victoria will lift at 11.59pm tonight.
But these travellers must now provide a negative Covid-19 test before they fly, and must not have been in NSW since June 22 or Queensland, the Northern Territory or Western Australia since June 26.
The bubble was temporarily paused in response to the growing number of cases reported in several states across Australia.
A travel pause remains for WA, NT, NSW and Queensland, which will be reviewed by officials tomorrow.
READ MORE:Stubborn states hold the keys to Covid freedom
Jess Malcolm6.35am:Where the nation’s at with Covid outbreak
A Sydney aged care home has been shutdown after two positive cases of Covid-19 worked whilst infectious. Three aged care residents of Baulkham Hills Summit Care facility have now tested positive to the virus, with a further 13 positive cases recorded in Sunday’s numbers. At least 96 per cent of residents had been vaccinated, but two thirds of the staff were not.
Of the new cases in NSW on Sunday, 14 were linked to known sources and 13 were already in isolation. NSW Health authorities said the next few days were critical to make a decision about whether to lift the citywide lockdown scheduled to end this Friday. Several new exposure sites were added by NSW Health overnight, including multiple supermarkets, cafes, liquor stores and busy bus and train routes.
NSW Health has also reissued an alert for a Virgin flight that left the Gold Coast on June 24 at 1.26pm after multiple people tested positive for the virus. Anyone who was on that flight must isolate for the full 14 days regardless of the result.
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – VENUES OF CONCERN AND TRANSPORT ROUTESâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 4, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of new venues of concern and transport routes associated with confirmed cases of #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/xdmpQzelah
Queensland Health authorities are confident their latest outbreaks are now under control, with the state recording two locally acquired cases linked to the Portuguese restaurant cluster. Health authorities listed three new exposure sites overnight in Eumundi, Noosaville and Noosa Heads.
âš ï¸ Public Health Alert âš ï¸
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) July 4, 2021
A public health alert is being issued for more contact tracing locations in Eumundi Noosaville and Noosa Heads.
Contact tracing venues and flights can be found at https://t.co/rujm8F3qL4pic.twitter.com/qp9w8POoHW
West Australian authorities are optimistic restrictions will be able to be eased further on Tuesday, after the state recorded one new Covid case on Sunday. The new case was the partner of an already announced case, and mandatory mask wearing and limits on large gatherings are on track to be lifted pending zero new cases recorded in the community.
Media statement: COVID-19 update 4 July 2021 https://t.co/WLttpTM4CM
— WA Health (@WAHealth) July 4, 2021
Restrictions in the Northern Territory are also on track to ease this Friday after the state recorded no new cases on Sunday. Health authorities are satisfied there are no mystery cases circulating in the community, with waste water testing in Alice Springs and Greater Darwin showing no traces of the virus. NT Police have issued a $5,000 fine to the mine worker who broke stay-at-home orders and visited a local supermarket.
READ MORE:Gladys will manage ‘safe’ lockdown exit
Stephen Rice5.52am:Daughter erupts over failure to ensure jabs for carers
Kathie Melocco is furious.
Her 88-year-old father has just tested positive for Covid-19 after being infected in a Sydney aged-care home staffed by workers who still have not been vaccinated.
Her anger is palpable: “What we’re observing is that every damn system we’ve got is breaking down. Where the hell is Scott Morrison?”
Allan Patrick and his wife Long, 87, share a room at the SummitCare aged-care centre in Baulkham Hills. Like most of the other 149 residents, both had been vaccinated with two doses of Pfizer and thought they were safe.
But at least two-thirds of the staff had not been vaccinated – and last week two of them were working at the facility while infectious.
On Saturday, Ms Melocco received a phone call saying her father was one of three residents of the facility who had tested positive, and though not showing any symptoms, was about to be transferred to Westmead Hospital.
“They got as far as the ambulance,” Ms Melocco says. “My sister and I refused to let them take him.”
Stephen Rice5.44am:Flout mask laws and risk arrest
The NSW government is quietly confident that Sydney’s lockdown can end later this week as planned, but has warned that it will come down hard on “wacko” anti-vax campaigners who flout face mask rules.
NSW recorded 16 new locally acquired cases on Sunday, with 13 of those in isolation while infectious, a result Premier Gladys Berejiklian said was evidence the lockdown – due to end on Friday – was working.
The figures were a significant drop from the 35 cases announced the previous day, with Ms Berejiklian expressing optimism that “we are seeing numbers go the right way”.
“But I do say cautiously that could still bounce around,” she warned. “And we’ve seen in the last few days how easy it is for people to unintentionally do the wrong thing, or intentionally do the wrong thing, and that can result in more cases.”
Evidence of that was plentiful in Sydney at the weekend, with beaches, parks and shops packed with people not observing mask and social distancing rules.
Paige Taylor5.35am:Support grows for vaccination freedoms
A majority of Australians believe people who are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 should be exempt from border restrictions, according to a national survey of attitudes to pandemic responses.
The survey of 3881 Australians from all states and a range of income brackets found 53.4 per cent want border restrictions to end for those who have been vaccinated. The strongest support was in Victoria, where 60.3 per cent of respondents agreed.
The survey categorised respondents by age and found those who agreed most strongly with exemptions for vaccinated Australians were aged 60 and above – 60.1 per cent were in favour.
The survey by CoreData was commissioned by the West Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
It found nearly twice as many Australians believe that interstate travel restrictions should come to an end once vulnerable people – including all Australians over 70, Indigenous people aged 55 and over and aged-care residents and workers – have had the opportunity to get vaccinated.
The survey asked Australians to respond to the statement: “Once everyone in phase 1A and 1B has had the opportunity to be vaccinated, all interstate borders should be lifted”. The survey found 46.8 per cent agreed while 25.5 per cent were opposed.
The WA Chamber of Commerce said the responses were a strong indication that Australians did not want to be held back by those who opted not to get vaccinations.
Sisters Ashley and Holly Creak, who each graduated from study and entered the workforce during the pandemic, are optimistic Australia is finding a path out.
Holly, 23, hopes vaccination will be her ticket to travel more in her 20s. “I would say that with the vaccine things are looking more hopeful,” she said.
“And I think we’re understanding better ways to handle outbreaks – we’re getting on top of them more quickly and managing them better.”
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