Coronavirus Australia live news: Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite begs Andrews to release constituents
Federal Labor’s Matt Thistlethwaite has pleaded with the Andrews government to allow his constituents to leave quarantine and return to Sydney to care for their children.
- Mandatory mask wearing, police at SCG
- NSW records 5 new cases
- Alert over MCG, Chadstone shopping centre
- 1 new locally-acquired case in Vic
- Warnings over UK super strain
- Workers give CBDs wide berth
Welcome to live coverage of Australia’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
NSW records 5 new cases, including two from the Berala cluster and a household contact in Avalon on the Northern Beaches. A Victorian who tested positive for the virus visited the MCG on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test and the Chadstone shopping centre on Boxing Day. Victoria this morning recorded three new COVID-19 cases — but just one locally-acquired, with the other two from hotel quarantine.
Even if you have mild symptoms get tested for COVID-19 immediately.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 5, 2021
There are more than 300 COVID-19 testing locations across NSW, many of which are open seven days a week.
To find your nearest clinic visit https://t.co/LmeATIQK4Z or contact your GP. pic.twitter.com/Zmb0tEyYp1
Joseph Lam 11.45pm More venues join NSW exposure list
Visitors to the following NSW south coast venues have been asked to monitor for symptoms and, if they occur, get tested immediately and self-isolate until you receive a negative result:
Kangaroo Valley Nostalgia Factor Shop, 167 Moss Vale Road, Kangaroo Island: Sunday December 27 from 11.20am to 11.30am
Huskisson Taj Indian Restaurant, 2/47 Owen Street, Huskisson: Sunday December 27 from 4.45pm to 5.20pm
Visitors who played cricket at the listed time are advised to get tested and self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:
Parramatta Ollie Webb Cricket Ground, 37A Glebe Street: Monday December 28 from 7.30am-11am
Anyone who watched the cricket from the grandstand are advised to immediately get tested and self-isolate until they receive a negative result.
Parramatta Ollie Webb Cricket Ground grandstand, 37A Glebe Street: Monday December 28 from 7.30am to 11am
Visitors to the following venue are advised to immediately get tested and self-isolate until you receive a negative result:
Parramatta Saravanaa Bhavan, 1/99 Phillip Street: Monday December 28 from 9.50am to 10.50am
Anyone who attended the following venue is urged to immediately get tested and self-isolate until receiving a negative result, and continue to monitor for symptoms and test again if any symptoms develop:
Merrylands RSL, 8/12 Miller Street:
Ariah room: Monday December 28 from 4pm to 4.55pm
Smoking and gaming area: Monday December 28 from 4.55pm to 5.15pm
Sports lounge: Monday December 28 from 5.15pm to 6pm
Anyone who attended other areas of the RSL are advised to monitor for symptoms and if they appear, isolate and get tested until receiving a negative result:
Merrylands RSL, 8/12 Miller Street: Monday December from 4pm to 6pm.
Restrictions for the New Year’s Cricket Test between Australia and India, taking place at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 6, 2021
To help prevent the spread of COVID-19 restrictions are in place under a Public Health Order. pic.twitter.com/2eOoQ5HdjB
Rachel Baxendale 10.15pm Labor MP begs Andrews to release constituents
Federal Labor assistant financial services spokesman Matt Thistlethwaite has written a strongly-worded letter to the Andrews government, pleading with them to allow his constituents Jennifer Papaconstuntinos and Clinton Hamence to leave hotel quarantine and return home to Sydney to care for their three young children.
As the couple told The Australian on Sunday, they had obtained permits and thought they were visiting Melbourne for 48 hours when they were unexpectedly detained on Friday and refused the option of flying directly home.
Ms Papaconstuntinos’s three sons, Josiah, 14, Jaydon, 11, and Jacob, 7, are with her mother, who also requires care having suffered an aneurysm.
In his letter to Health Minister Martin Foley and Police Minister Lisa Neville, Mr Thistlethwaite said he was concerned his constituents had been unable to lodge an application to return to NSW because “the relevant departments merely refer them on and will not accept an exemption application”.
“I am concerned for the welfare of their children if they are unable to return home. I am also concerned that they have been unable to even lodge an exemption application,” Mr Thistlethwaite wrote in a letter emailed to the ministers on Monday.
Late on Wednesday Ms Papaconstuntinos and Mr Hamence had still been unable to apply for an exemption.
Kylar Loussikian 9.30pm: Outcry as health workers in quarantine
Three people — including a nurse, an ambulance paramedic and an airport worker — have been forced into hotel quarantine in Perth after coming into contact with a COVID-19-infected overseas traveller while failing to properly wear personal protective equipment.
The patient, a woman in her 80s, arrived from the United Kingdom on Saturday.
Genomic testing has yet to confirm whether she has the highly contagious new British strain.
“I want to reassure people that public health acted immediately, and both people were placed into quarantine before the virus incubate or be transmitted to other people,” Western Australia’s State Health Incident Controller, Robyn Lawrence, said on Wednesday.
“The low numbers of COVID-19 in WA are no excuse for complacency and breaches could lead to community transmission if not immediately addressed.”
READ MORE: Jitters over debut and virus as SCG gates open
Kylar Loussikian 9.10pm: Morrison to reconvene national cabinet
Scott Morrison will urgently reconvene national cabinet on Friday in response to growing fears that the more infectious British coronavirus strain could spread to Australia.
The Prime Minister said he had sought advice through Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly and the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee about how to strengthen international border arrangements. Government sources have since indicated that the proposal is likely to include mandatory coronavirus tests before travellers are allowed to board flights to Australia.
“The AHPPC has continued to meet every day during this most recent outbreak, and had an initial discussion of their proposal today,” Mr Morrison said. “They will discuss the proposal further tomorrow before making a formal submission to national cabinet.”
READ MORE: Flu jabs a sticking point in vaccine rollout
Angelica Snowden 9pm: CBD delay a big worry for small business
Small businesses in Melbourne’s CBD that were hanging by a thread during the coronavirus lockdown have been left devastated by news the Victorian government is delaying the return of workers to the city.
Roger Engstrom said his cafe, Switchboard Kafeteria — Melbourne’s “tiniest” cafe — “100 per cent” relied on CBD workers who pre-pandemic bought breakfast and coffee in the morning followed by lunch after 11:30am.
“I can survive until April,” the 55-year-old said.
“I could make between $800 and $2000 a day and (during) COVID I made $35 a day so that’s the difference,” he said.
“I have got three friends who had to close down already. Also, mentally, physically and family wise … it’s been pretty hard. (I feel) exactly the same but I have to put on customer service … I just put on a smile and try to be open.”
Patrick Commins 8.15pm: Spending holds up despite outbreaks
NSW’s more measured approach to managing Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak has prevented a collapse in consumer spending, new bank data shows, as residents splurged in December on activities denied to them during the restrictions earlier in the year.
Spending by ANZ cardholders lifted by 6 per cent in December from the previous month — a similar result to the 5 per cent increase from November to December in 2018, which is the best comparison given the depressing impact of the bushfires in 2019.
ANZ economist Adelaide Timbrell said “overall, what we are not seeing is a plummet in any kind of spending like we saw in that week when South Australia went into lockdown — or in Victoria” during that height of that state’s strict second-wave restrictions.
“NSW’s targeted approach to restrictions is certainly helping to dampen any negative impact we are seeing in spending,” Ms Timbrell said.
“This is an encouraging end to 2020, especially considering the mid-December COVID-19 cluster in Sydney’s northern beaches and the subsequent uncertainty and restrictions.”
Nonetheless, the impact of the northern beaches outbreak was discernible in a much softer increase in spending in NSW of just 2 per cent, versus the 6 per cent gain experienced in the final month of 2018.
AFP 7.30pm: Impasse over WHO mission ‘not just a visa issue’: China
Delays to a long-planned mission by WHO experts to China to investigate the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic are “not just a visa issue”, Beijing said on Wednesday.
But talks were continuing over “the specific date and specific arrangement of the expert group’s visit”, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said of the highly sensitive mission.
READ MORE: Tech ‘left out’ of Covid attack plan
AFP 6.50pm: Denmark bars South African residents
Denmark said it is barring entry to residents of South Africa due to fears over the spread of a new strain of the coronavirus there.
Denmark has not recorded any cases of the new variant, which was detected by South African authorities in mid-December and has since been found in a number of other countries.
The South African strain and another which has emerged in Britain are said to be more infectious versions of the virus, and have prompted widespread concern.
Denmark’s decision came into effect on Wednesday and will last until January 17. “This means that foreigners residing in South Africa generally will be refused entry to Denmark during this period,” the justice ministry said in a statement.
The only exceptions will be for childcare, family visits and for people who are sick or dying, and on submission of a negative test for the coronavirus less than 72 hours old, and for the transport of merchandise.
Denmark, which is under a partial lockdown since mid-December, has almost 90 cases of the new British variant.
It has already barred entry to arrivals from Britain except for Danish nationals and permanent residents, who must present a negative virus test.
READ MORE: ‘Family stroll’ vaccine rollout puts Macron under the gun
Lisa Allen 6.10pm: P&O delays cruise comeback as rival sails on
The travel plans of thousands of cruise passengers were in disarray on Wednesday following P&O Australia’s decision to abandon its New Zealand cruise itineraries for at least 18 months.
The cancellation of nine cruises on P&O’s Pacific Explorer visiting ports around the Land of the Long White Cloud comes just weeks after luxury French line Ponant heralded its plans to operate seven cruises around New Zealand from early next month.
In late December Ponant said it had won conditional approval to sail with Kiwi passengers in New Zealand waters adding that its seven New Zealand voyages had almost sold out.
Jacquelin Magnay 5.20pm: ‘Family stroll’ vaccine rollout puts Macron under gun
French President Emmanuel Macron has come under renewed attacks for his country’s glacial rollout of the coronavirus vaccine.
Facing re-election for a second term, Mr Macron is staking considerable political capital on fulfilling a promise he made in a new year’s address to have a widespread and accelerated vaccine program.
But France is way behind other major European countries given access to the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at the same time.
As of Wednesday, France had inoculated just 7000 people with their first jab, a stark contrast to the 316,962 in Germany. Even with a new-found urgency to cut back on red tape, France inoculated 5000 on Tuesday, compared with Germany’s 45,000 on the same day.
“This is the biggest fiasco we’ve ever had in the medical world. A logistical and communications fiasco, ” epidemiologist Martin Blachier told French television news channel LCI.
Will Pavia 4.30pm: Health staff refusing to take vaccine
Healthcare workers reluctant to have the coronavirus vaccine may have added to delays in the nationwide effort to immunise Americans.
Those working on the front line of the battle against the virus are meant to be among the first to receive the jab.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said about 60 per cent of nursing home staff in his state had declined an initial dose of the vaccine when it was offered to them.
Similar concerns have been raised in California, where hospitals in several counties have reported staff declining the vaccine. At a health district in a northern county and in another county east of Los Angeles, about half of those offered a first dose refused it, according to the Los Angeles Times.
A nurse at a hospital in the city told the paper that she had refused the vaccine because she was pregnant. Though the Centres for Disease Control has said the vaccine is unlikely to pose a risk to pregnant women, April Lu, 31, said she was choosing between “the risk of having Covid, or the risk of the unknown of the vaccine”.
Ms Lu added that some of her colleagues calculated that they had managed for months without contracting the virus. “I feel people think, ‘I can still make it until this ends without getting the vaccine’,” she said.
About 15 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed and more than 4.5 million doses had been administered by the start of this week according to the CDC — far short of government aspirations to vaccinate 20 million people last month.
Hesitancy among healthcare workers has surprised officials, who presumed that the take-up would be higher among hospital workers than the general public.
The spread of misinformation about the vaccine allegedly drove a pharmacist in Wisconsin to try to spoil 500 doses by removing them from refrigeration over two successive nights. Steven Brandenburg, 46, who was arrested last week, told police he had been attempting to render the vaccine inert because he believed it could alter people’s DNA, a prosecutor said.
False claims to this effect have circulated about the Pfizer-Biontech vaccine, as well as the Moderna vaccine, apparently because they use a relatively new technique.
Anthony Fauci, the top US expert on infectious diseases, predicted that despite the sluggish start the country could soon be handing out at least a million Covid vaccinations a day,
The Times
READ MORE: Young to be protected before the elderly in Indonesia
AFP 3.50pm: China moves to stamp out outbreak in city of 11 million
Travel has been restricted to a northern Chinese city of 11 million people and schools closed as authorities moved to snuff out a cluster of Covid-19 after dozens were infected.
Ten major highways leading into the city of Shijiazhuang, around 300km south of Beijing, have been closed and a bus terminus was closed in an attempt to prevent the virus spreading beyond the city in Hebei province.
There have been 117 cases in the city — including at least 63 more reported on Wednesday — 78 of which were asymptomatic, prompting mass testing across the affected area.
Unlike much of the world, China has largely brought the virus under control through strict lockdowns and travel restrictions.
But there have been a series of local outbreaks in recent weeks, prompting mass testing and targeted lockdowns.
The village of Xiaoguozhuang within the city boundary has been classified as a “high risk” district and sealed off.
Health authorities said all 40,000 residents in that district have been tested for the virus.
State TV showed villagers being tested by staff in full hazmat suits and protective wear, with roadblocks staffed by police and medical workers.
All schools in Shijiazhuang have been closed.
State broadcaster CCTV showed teams of health workers spraying disinfectant across streets and said an emergency team of medical workers had been sent to the city.
More than 400,000 residents of another nearby city, Nangong, have also been tested, authorities said.
Beijing is also racing to vaccinate millions ahead of the country’s Lunar New Year travel rush next month.
READ MORE: Tales from the crypt: how we got the pandemic dead right
Rhiannon Down 3.05pm: ‘Celebrate Orthodox Christmas with care’
NSW authorities have urged orthodox communities to celebrate Christmas in line with COVID-restrictions.
Merry Christmas to the Orthodox Communities across NSW.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 6, 2021
If you are attending a place of worship or celebrating at home with friends or family, it’s important to stay COVID safe. pic.twitter.com/mURH1Q0pyv
Acting Premier John Barilaro said he knew restrictions, especially on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, “hurt” communities and urged Sydneysiders to be COVID-safe.
“I understand tomorrow is Orthodox Christmas, the cathedral down on the peninsula will be closed,” he said.
“I know the impact it has on families, but we’re doing this to protect everyone long term, and that’s why we’ll continue with these restrictions in place.”
Rhiannon Down 2.35pm: Australian Open ‘more of a risk than open borders’
A leading epidemiologist has spoken out against the hard border between Victoria and NSW.
Australian National University Infectious Diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon said the state’s perceptions of the risks were “distorted”.
“I think having the Australian Open in Melbourne is much more of a risk than people coming from regional NSW coming to Victoria,” he said, on 3AW.
He also supported a cautious approach to rolling out the vaccine in Australia.
“With these vaccines some of them can all have unexpected rare side effects, we’ve got to make sure it works at all, and all the data is still not available from these stage three studies so I think it’s entirely appropriate,” he said.
Rhiannon Down 2.15pm: Mask wearing mandatory at SCG
Masks will be mandatory for all spectators at the Test at the SCG, while a strong police presence will ensure people from infected suburbs don't enter the grounds.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said cricket fans must wear masks in the grounds, even when seated.
“From the moment you get into the transport to get there, and get into the queue at the front door of the SCG, and go to your seat, and sit in your seat, you must wear a mask,” he said.
“The only exception to that, if you’re eating or drinking.”
Mr Hazzard also said a “very large” police presence would patrol the gates at Moore Park on Thursday when the match between Australia and India gets under way to ensure fans from a list of affected suburbs are not able to enter the ground.
Mr Hazzard announced new rules on Wednesday confirming people will face fines of $1000 if they come to the match from suburbs impacted by the Berala outbreak or if they attended day two of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
The announcement comes as authorities add two new suburbs - Wentworthville and Belmore - to the list of banned suburbs unable to attend the game on ground.
“We have added Wentworthville and Belmore on the basis of public health advice,” he said.
“If you do attend, if someone else has brought you a ticket, you may be stopped by the very large police presence, if you cannot prove you’re living outside those areas, you’ll be exposed to a $1,000 fine.”
READ MORE: Brakes hit on plan to close test sites
Rhiannon Down 2.00pm: Grim new record on dark day for US
The US recorded 3,936 fatalities in just 24 hours on Tuesday, surpassing its own record in one of the darkest days of the pandemic.
The country recorded 250,173 new cases on the same day, according to figures from Johns Hopkins university.
It brings the US to more than 21 million cases and 357,067 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The grim numbers come as health workers across the country refuse the COVID vaccine.
Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said that about 60 per cent of nursing home staff in his state had declined the jab when it was offered to them.
Similar resistance has been reported in California, one of the hardest hit states by the virus.
In one Los Angeles county about half of those offered a first dose refused it, according to the Los Angeles Times.
READ MORE: Trump bans 8 Chinese apps
Rhiannon Down 1.30pm: Six Sydneysiders fined over mask breaches
Six Sydneysiders were fined yesterday under mandatory mask laws.
Police have been cracking down on public transport with all of the infringements occuring at train stations.
This included a 27-year-old man who was fined $200 after he told police he didn’t have a mask because he was “in a hurry” while on the Western Line train at about 7am on Tuesday morning.
A 24-year old was fined at Sydenham Railway Station after he told police he forgot to bring it with him.
Another man, 23, was pulled up by police for riding a scooter at Sydney Railway Station at 2.40pm, where he removed his mask and questioned police powers.
The host of a Cumberland house party with 30 to 40 guests has also been fined $1,000 for breaching guest limits.
Police said the group were drumming in the backyard of the Clement Street address before officers arrived at 10.45pm.
READ MORE: Quarantine fleet split to stop infection
Rhiannon Down 1.20pm: Increased flight crew testing on cards: Chant
NSW CHO Dr Kerry Chant said authorities were looking into implementing further screening of international airline crews that arrive in the state.
“I have reached out to Qantas and Qantas have indicated they’re going to regularly test their flight crew staff,” she said.
“And we also have had advice from the airlines in regards to their testing frequency.
“A number of the airlines and the Commonwealth has helped us to collate the data, and we’ll be engaging with the airlines on flight crew testing.”
She said the state’s focus had been on hotel quarantine as a major weakness in Australia’s defences against the virus.
“Clearly we’re enhancing our testing regime around our quarantine facilities and ensuring that we have added saliva testing of security guards and then progressively other workers,” she said.
“We’ve been testing around our health hotel, in terms of the surveillance testing, for quite a while.”
READ MORE: Easy as ABC to push for harder lockdowns
Jessica Malcolm 1.00pm: Facebook ‘could be used to predict virus spread’
A new study from the University of Melbourne has found that Facebook could be used in the early stages of a COVID-19 outbreak to help predict the spread of infections from identified hotspots.
The researchers suggest mobility data from the social media platform could track where people are moving on a large scale when case numbers are low.
The tool could help contain outbreaks because infections are often spread by people who are asymptomatic and unknowingly pass on the virus.
“This can be really useful when outbreaks are in their early stages when all you know is where it started. It accurately captures large scale mobility trends,” Dr Cameron Zachreson said.
“It’s macroscopic, so it tells you where people are moving. It’s helpful in the early stages when you don’t really know where it could have spread.”
By plotting where transmission risk is the highest during the early stages of an outbreak, the data could enable health officials to send warnings or implement localised lockdown measures.
With Victoria’s second wave, the study found that even when numbers were low, there may have already been low-level community transmission taking place across metropolitan Melbourne, suggesting that an earlier implementation of lockdown could have been more effective at containing community transmission.
Victoria’s second wave was triggered by a transmission of the virus from hotel quarantine into the community through its security guards. Over 800 people died as a result and billions of dollars lost to the Victorian economy.
On June 1, the Victorian DHHS reported 71 active cases. This increased to 121 by June 21st prompting the Victorian government to introduce limits on large gatherings and ramp up testing. Just two weeks later that number had ballooned to 645 cases, triggering localised lockdowns of 12 postcodes which were extended to a whole city lockdown by July 9.
Dr Zachreson confirmed that analysis of people’s Facebook data is always anonymous, with no risk of compromising individual privacy.
“There’s no surveillance application for this tool. It’s anonymous data. There’s no risk of giving up individual privacy or compromising people’s data,” Dr Zachreson said.
READ MORE: Trained workers ‘key to roll-out’
Heath Parkes-Hupton 12.50pm: Strict new rules for SCG crowds
A “very large” police presence will patrol the gates at Moore Park on Thursday when the match between Australia and India gets under way to ensure fans from a list of affected suburbs are not able to enter the ground.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard announced new rules on Wednesday confirming people will face fines of $1000 if they come to the match from suburbs impacted by the Berala outbreak or if they attended day two of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
Mr Hazzard also revealed anyone attending the Test must also wear a mask at all times – unless eating or drinking – including in queues and when seated in the stadium.
People who do not comply could face penalties, Mr Hazzard said.
“From the moment effectively you get into the transport to get there, and get into the queue at the front door of the SCG and go to your seat, and sit in the your seat, you must wear a mask,” he said.
“The only exception to that, if you’re eating or drinking.
“Obviously, Dr (Kerry) Chant and the public health team want people to enjoy a day at the cricket, but it’s a COVID day at the cricket and that means mask on, not mask off, unless you’re eating or drinking, in which case you can have your mask off.”
READ MORE: Alerts for MCG, Chadstone shopping centre
Rhiannon Down 12pm: Infected traveller’s friends test negative for virus
Friends of a Berala man who travelled to regional NSW while infected with COVID-19 have all tested negative.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed the group was in isolation as the state recorded five new COVID cases, none of them from the regions the group visited.
Meanwhile, authorities opened a number of new testing venues in Berala as the cluster today grew to 16 cases.
This includes a new site at the Berala public school hall, a new drive-through clinic in Lidcombe and a drive-through clinic at Sydney University’s Cumberland campus.
Dr Chant reminded the western Sydney community that residents looking to get tested did not need to provide payment or produce a Medicare card.
If you live in Greater Sydney, regional or rural NSW you are encouraged to limit your mobility.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 5, 2021
If you must travel, it's important to be prepared before you head off.
For more information: https://t.co/NMMuT335HJ pic.twitter.com/0HC9KIW6e3
READ MORE: Fears of another COVID-19 cluster in Melbourne
Rhiannon Down 11.30am: SCG Test attendees urged to register Opal cards
Cricket fans have been urged to register their opal cards to aid contact tracing efforts ahead of the Third Test between Australia and India at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
NSW Transport acting deputy secretary for Greater Sydney, Howard Collins, said 450 additional buses and light rail services would be in operation to take fans to the cricket.
“If you have an Opal card, please get registered. This is a very useful way of us tracing you if anything happens during your travel every day. So, if you’ve got an unregistered Opal card, please register it as well,” Mr Collins said.
The 24 hour countdown is on 👌 #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/7M1v3uagfX
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) January 5, 2021
He said the stadium’s capped capacity of 10,000 spectators had also created more parking.
“We’ve got extra parking. We’ve advised people, though it hurts me to say this, you can drive, with a designated driver, it’s important you use that method,” he said.
“Ride share, Uber, equivalent, another way of getting to the test, extra road measures in place, extra support to get you and out of that area.”
READ MORE: Peter Lalor — Everything you thought you knew about the SCG is just spin
Rhiannon Down 11.20am: Broken Hill time zone confusion
NSW CHO Dr Kerry Chant has warned diners at the Gourmet Cribtin in Broken Hill to check what time they may have visited the venue due to a time zone difference.
The venue was placed on alert after a Berala resident infected with COVID-19 dined there while on a camping trip.
“If you were at the Gourmet Cribtin at Broken Hill between 10:00am and 10:40am on Saturday 2 January, not the 12:00pm reported last night, you’re a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result,” she said.
“Broken Hill is on the central time, not eastern time.
“If you’re passing through and haven’t reset your watches, you may have been there half an hour earlier than you thought.”
READ MORE: NSW arrivals may be allowed home quarantine
Rhiannon Down 11.15am: New case dashes hopes of Northern Beaches freedom
A new case in a household contact of an Avalon resident, has dashed hopes the Northern Beaches will be released from lockdown.
Acting Premier John Barilaro said restrictions would remain in place until January 9.
“To the people on the peninsula, and especially in the northern zone of the Northern Beaches, I know you’ve been doing it tough,” he said.
“You’ve been locked down for a period of time, but that was off the back of a significant seeding event, and the transmission of COVID in that area.
“We make these decisions to protect everyone, you, your family, the state and the nation.”
READ MORE: Will PM’s luck run out?
Rhiannon Down 11.05am: NSW records 5 new cases
NSW has recorded five coronavirus tests in the past 24 hours, including two from the Berala cluster and one a household contact of the Avalon cluster on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
One of the positive test results was a returned traveller in hotel quarantine, while a fifth case is still being investigated.
NSW recorded four new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 6, 2021
An additional case was also recorded in a returned traveller, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,789. pic.twitter.com/WDcuydm48v
Rhiannon Down 10.50am: Man arrested trying to flee quarantine
A Queensland man in hotel quarantine in Sydney has been charged after he allegedly attempted to flee the Elizabeth St hotel.
Police allege the 43-year-old man, who arrived in Sydney from Los Angeles, attempted to leave his room and was forcibly escorted back by officers at about 8am on Tuesday.
The man, who began his 14 day quarantine on Wednesday December 23, had refused COVID testing during his stay, requiring him to complete 10 more days.
“Additional security officers were allocated to the floor to ensure the man complied with the quarantine order,” a NSW police spokesperson said.
He has been charged with not complying with health directives and is due to front Parramatta Local Court today.
Police have brought charges against eight other people for breaching public health orders.
READ MORE: UK strain detected across country
Rhiannon Down 10.30am: ‘Find pathway back’ for stranded Victorians
Gippsland MP Darren Chester has urged the Victorian government to create a “pathway back” for travellers stranded in NSW.
“There will still be people who have been in more remote areas in NSW maybe without mobile phone coverage and simply didn’t even hear about the closure until it was too late,” he told ABC RN Breakfast this morning.
The Federal MP, whose electorate borders NSW, said Victorians had been blindsided by the border closures and had been assured they could travel interstate at the time.
“We need to be more compassionate than this,” he said.
“We need to find a pathway back for people who haven’t done anything wrong and stop blaming people who haven’t done anything wrong and stop blaming people who travelled and suggesting they shouldn’t have travelled in the first place.”
READ MORE: Border exiles weeks from home
Rhiannon Down 10.25am: NSW Covid update at 11am
NSW Acting Premier John Barilaro, Minister for Health Brad Hazzard, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant and Transport for NSW Acting Deputy Secretary for Greater Sydney Howard Collins will address the media at 11am.
The press conference comes as the Acting Premier confirms a number of cases of community transmission have already been recorded today.
Rachel Baxendale 10.15am: MCG visitor ‘likely not infectious’ at time
The man in his 30s who attended the MCG on December 27 tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday.
New sites at the Chadstone Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s southeast have also been added to the list of potential acquisition sites, after the man attended Boxing Day sales.
Acting Premier Jacinta Allan said authorities did not believe the man had been infectious at the MCG, given he developed symptoms on December 30.
She said the man had stayed home since December 31, and authorities were investigating a possible NSW link.
MCG – Possible acquisition site
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 5, 2021
If you attended the MCG on Dec 27, seated in The Great Southern Stand, Zone 5, between 12.30pm - 3.30pm, you must get tested & self-quarantine until you get a negative result.
(1/3) pic.twitter.com/HHhM9PtKyj
The case is being treated as a “mystery case” and has not been linked to 27 active cases which are part of the Black Rock cluster.
Anyone who spent time in the MCG’s Great Southern Stand Zone 5 between 12:30pm and 3:30pm is urged to isolate and get tested as soon as possible.
READ MORE: Thousands in iso as cluster threatens regions
Rhiannon Down 9.55am: MCG, Chadstone shopping centre on Victoria alert list
The Melbourne Cricket Ground has been listed as a potential exposure site after a Victorian who tested positive for the virus visited the sporting ground on Day 2 of the Boxing Day Test.
The person attended Chadstone on Boxing Day and then the MCG on December 27 in zone 5 of the southern stand. He attended the MCG between 12.30pm and 3.30pm.
The warning comes as the state records three new coronavirus cases, with two of them in hotel quarantine.
Victoria has processed 37,509 tests since yesterday, reaching four million tests overall.
Rhiannon Down 9.40am: Test clinics that charge to be named, shamed
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has threatened to name and shame testing sites that charge for the COVID swab.
“It should be free either way to the person who is helpfully coming forward to be tested,” he said on 2GB.
He said Auburn MP Lynda Voltz had shown him receipts with proof some clinics were charging residents.
“I must say I am so angry about that that if they don’t get it fixed I will be naming the particular laboratory.”
READ MORE: Experts cast doubt on WHO mission
Rhiannon Down 9.23am: Flight Centre chief backs airlines on July travel
Flight Centre chief executive Graham Turner has backed airlines for slating the return of international travel for July.
Mr Turner said it wasn’t surprising the industry had taken the lead with the Australian government remaining noncommittal on when travel would resume.
“It’s been one of the problems for all businesses in Australia and overseas is there’s just no certainty and you have businesses who have to plan,” he said.
“They have to do their own thing because we are just not getting good messages generally from governments, particularly in Australia where the states are all doing their own thing, they’re opening and shutting borders at a whim, without what appears to be any logic or science.”
He said vaccination efforts in the UK were strong and indicated international travel could be back on the cards within a matter of months.
“If the UK can do a couple of million people a week, in vaccination, it should only be three or four months before we can have a lot of people vaccinated and probably people travelling will need to be vaccinated as well,” he said.
READ MORE: Border exiles weeks from home
Rachel Baxendale 9.10am: Vic Health Minister to address media 9.45am
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley is due to address the media alongside the state’s public health team at 9:45am.
The press conference comes as thousands of Victorians are stranded in NSW due to the state border closure and after one locally acquired coronavirus case was reported in the 24 hours to Wednesday.
Rhiannon Down 8.55am: ‘Vaccinate border workers’: epidemiologist
A leading epidemiologist has called for airport workers to become early recipients of the coronavirus vaccine in a bid to strengthen hotel quarantine.
Melbourne University epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely said border closures should be on the cards for authorities, unless the troubled quarantine program can be boosted to defend against new highly virulent strains of the virus.
“We’ve got a variant in the UK, where if it gets on the ground in Australia, that will spread far more easily,” he said.
“New South Wales can’t use the slow and steady contact tracing, they need to use lockdowns as well to bring it under control. That’s the threat.”
“What can we do? We can close the border, that’s quite radical, but it’s on the table as a possibility, not an easy decision, or we strengthen the border.”
He said the border would not stand up to the more transmittable strain as it was.
“The extra measure I’m advocating now is urgently vaccinating the border. That’s all customs, quarantine, airline, airport transport staff,” he said.
READ MORE: Round the clock jabs now: UK Labour
Rhiannon Down 8.45am: MP dispels rumour virus test costs recipients
Auburn MP Lynda Voltz has urged residents in her west Sydney electorate, which includes Berala, to get tested.
Ms Voltz moved to dispel misinformation being circulated — particularly in communities in which English as a second language was prevalent — that the coronavirus test cost money.
“Go out and get tested, it’s free to get tested, you don’t need your Medicare card to go,” she told Sky News.
She also welcomed the opening of a testing centre in Berala itself, where the BWS and Woolworths have been at the centre of the outbreak.
Good to see @NSWHealth has responded to my request yesterday to @BradHazzard to set up COVID testing clinic in Berala- just crazy there wasn’t one locally
— Lynda Voltz MP (@LyndaVoltzMP) January 5, 2021
Rhiannon Down 8.30am: Orange mayor urges citizens to follow health directives
Orange mayor Reg Kidd has urged the “resilient” regional NSW community to get tested and follow health directives.
Residents of the Central Tablelands town overwhelmed testing sites on Tuesday, with queues reported to have already started to build this morning.
Cr Kidd said the community would survive the crisis as long as everyone heeded the authorities’ advice.
“I think people listen to the health authorities, we will get to this,” he said.
“I have no doubt. But the most important thing is to listen to the health authorities and do what they say to do.”
READ MORE: Hundreds may have been exposed to case
Rachel Baxendale 8.15am: One new locally-acquired case recorded in Victoria
Victoria has recorded one new locally-acquired case of coronavirus and two new cases in international travellers in hotel quarantine.
The new cases bring Victoria’s number of locally acquired active cases to 28, following the discovery last Wednesday of the Black Rock cluster, while there are 12 active cases in hotel quarantine.
The numbers come after 37,509 tests were processed in the 24 hours to Wednesday.
There were 3 cases notified to the department in the past 24 hours. This includes 1 locally acquired and 2 in hotel quarantine. 37,509 test results were received. Thanks - #EveryTestHelps.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 5, 2021
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/HEwucHt1rL
Rhiannon Down 8am: New cases as Berala cluster continues to grow
NSW’s coronavirus tally will today include at least one new case of community transmission linked to the Berala cluster.
Acting Premier John Barilaro confirmed that “one or two” cases had emerged overnight from the western Sydney suburb which was placed on high alert yesterday.
“Even though we are seeing each day a couple of cases and overnight I can confirm there are, again, one or two connected to that particular Berala outbreak,” he told Channel 9’s Today Show this morning.
“But, again, numbers look okay. Contact tracing is in place.”
Mr Barilaro defended the decision not to impose a Northern Beaches style lockdown Sydney’s west as the Berala cluster grew by four cases on Tuesday.
Mr Barilaro said the threat posed by the Northern Beaches outbreak was greater due to its timing just before the Christmas period.
“What we were seeing during that Christmas holiday period brought great risk,” he said.
“Mobility, people moving during the Christmas period, we know would have been significant.”
He said the prospect of lifting restrictions still in place on the Northern Beaches would be reviewed at this morning’s emergency committee meeting.
READ MORE: Panic as virus risk exposed 1000km from Sydney
Rhiannon Down 7.35am: Regional areas can tackle outbreak, Barilaro says
Coronavirus testing sites have been established across the NSW regional towns visited by a Berala man infected with COVID-19.
Acting Premier John Barilaro said even in the bush, authorities had the infrastructure to tackle the outbreak and test sites had been set up in Broken Hill, Orange and Nyngan.
“We are equipped. We have always had in place the infrastructure like in Sydney, the clinics right across the board to make sure when there is an outbreak we can manage it,” he told Channel 9’s Today.
“Obviously, we can manage it at a local area. The community centre at Broken Hill, the show ground in Orange to start with and Nyngan — where the Big Bogan statue is — we have drive-through clinics, and we are one health system so whatever happens in the bush backed up by Sydney and our contact tracers.”
READ MORE: Infected teen’s list of stops across the state
Rhiannon Down 7.30am: Tasmania adds Victorian venues to hot spot list
Tasmania has added 18 Victorian venues to its list of high-risk coronavirus hot spot locations.
The list includes the Smile Buffalo Thai restaurant in Black Rock, Royal Brighton Yacht Club and Stomping Ground Brewing Company in Collingwood among other venues known to have been visited by an active case.
“Anyone who was at any of these high-risk premises at the specified dates and times will not be allowed to enter Tasmania for at least 14 days after their last time at the premises, unless approved by the Deputy State Controller,” the Tasmanian government said in a statement.
“It should be noted that these people are already subject to mandatory quarantine in Victoria.”
Tasmanians in NSW who have visited any of the listed exposure sites has been urged to contact the Tasmanian Public health Hotline on 1800 671 738 for further advice before returning to the state.
Greater Sydney and Wollongong are medium-risk locations, according to the government.
“This means that persons who were in these locations in the 14 days before arriving in Tasmania are required to enter quarantine, usually at home or a suitable premises,” the government said.
READ MORE: Who ordered a nightmare?
Staff Writers 7.20am: Australia’s coronavirus vaccine rollout schedule revealed
The federal government aims to have Australia’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout underway by late March, Health Minister Greg Hunt says.
In an exclusive interview with The Daily Telegraph, Mr Hunt said priority would be given to the elderly in residential aged care, as well as those in hotel quarantine and border workers.
The Pfizer vaccine will be the first to be rolled out, with up to 80,000 doses to arrive in Australia each week from later this month.
It means the government is now forecasting the vaccination program to be completed in October this year.
Read the full story at The Daily Telegraph.
Rhiannon Down 7.10am: New venues added to Victorian hotspot list
A shoe store in South Melbourne is one of a number of new venues added to Victoria’s list of COVID-19 exposure sites as the virus threatens to spread outside the city’s southeast.
The Nike Company in South Melbourne, Culture Kings in Melbourne CBD and the Nandos on Elizabeth St were yesterday listed as venues of concern, along with a string of other outlets.
Sri Lankan restaurant Tamarind 8 in Narre Warren and the Lakeside Paddle Boats hire in Emerald in Melbourne’s Dandenong Hills were also added to the list late on Tuesday.
EXPOSURE SITE UPDATE:
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 5, 2021
The following exposure sites have been added
- The Nike Company, South Melbourne
- Culture Kings Melbourne, Melbourne
- Tamarind 8, Narre Warren
For full details and advice on testing and isolation/quarantine, visit: https://t.co/tkawOvqIid#COVID19VIC pic.twitter.com/CkooNeIw82
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has urged anyone who attended the following venues to self-isolate and get tested:
■ The Nike Company, 134 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne — December 30, 12pm to 12.45pm;
■ Nandos, 27 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne — January 1, 2am to 2.30am;
■ Sikh Temple Keysborough, 198-206 Perry Road, Keysborough — January 1, 3pm to 5pm;
■ Lakeside Paddle Boats, Emerald Lake Park — December 31, 3.30pm to 5.30pm;
■ Tamarind 8, 7b/420 Princes Highway, Narre Warren — December 30, 6.30pm-7pm;
Anyone who visited Culture Kings on Russell St in Melbourne on December 30 from 1pm to 1.30pm has been asked to monitor for symptoms and get tested if they experience any.
READ MORE: Victorian ‘border exiles’ weeks away from home
Rhiannon Down 6.40am: Regional communities at risk as virus spreads
A Berala man’s camping trip has health authorities on high alert, with a number of destinations across central NSW added to the state’s list of COVID-19 hot spots.
People who have visited the following venues at Orange, Broken Hill and Nyngan have been urged to self isolate and be tested:
■ Broken Hill: Gourmet Cribtin, 305 Argent St, Saturday, January 2, 10.40am to 11.20am;
■ Orange: Birdie Noshery and Drinking est. 120-122 Summer Street, Sunday, January 3, 12.30pm to 2pm;
■ Nyngan: Nyngan Riverside Tourist Park, Barrier Hwy and Mitchell Hwy, Saturday, January 2 to Sunday, January 3;
■ Broken Hill: Broken Hill Shell, 164 Williams St, Saturday, January 2, 10.52am to 10.55am; and
■ Nyngan: Nyngan BP, 180 Mitchell Hwy Nyngan on Sunday, January 3, 9.10am to 9.13am.
Acting NSW Premier John Barilaro yesterday urged Sydneysiders to stay in the city, saying the virus posed a “greater risk” to the regions.
“This is a reminder of what can occur for people who are moving out of Sydney,” he said.
“We said clearly in the past, if you have any symptoms, if you are concerned, you should limit your mobility. You should limit travel to regional and rural NSW.”
READ MORE: Thousands in isolation as Sydney cluster threatens regions
Rhiannon Down 6.25am: New venues added to NSW virus hotspot list
An RSL, a cricket ground and a temple have been added to NSW’s list of COVID-19 hotspot venues.
NSW Health has urged any diners at the Merrylands RSL, Paramatta’s Saravanaa Bhavan Indian restaurant and the Sydney Marina Dine In & Take Away in Pendle Hill to immediately get tested and self-isolate, as a string of new venues in western Sydney were placed on high alert.
The Ollie Webb Cricket Ground in Parramatta and the Sydney Murugan Temple in Mays Hill were also added to the list.
.@NSWHealth wishes to advise of a number of new venues in Sydney’s west visited by confirmed cases of COVID-19, as well as revisions to potential exposure times at two previously announced venues in the state’s west and far west. pic.twitter.com/ZIS58pRVLM
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 5, 2021
Anyone who attended the following venues has been urged to self isolate and get tested:
■ Merrylands RSL, 8/12 Miller St, Merrylands, Monday December 28, 4pm to 4.45pm;
Saravanaa Bhavan Indian restaurant, 1/99 Phillip St, Paramatta, Monday December 28,
10.20am to 10.50am;
■ Ollie Webb Cricket Ground (social cricket match), 37A Glebe St, Parramatta, Monday December 28, 7.30am to 11am;
■ Sydney Murugan Temple, 217 Great Western Highway, Mays Hill, Friday January 1, 12.40pm to 1.30pm; and
■ Sydney Marina Dine In & Take Away, 126 Pendle Way, Pendle Hill, Sunday January 3, 12.30pm to 12.50pm.
READ MORE: COVID-19 obstacle? Director builds a bridge
Agencies 6.10am: UK variant may be a ‘pandemic within a pandemic’
The new coronavirus variant discovered in Britain could become a pandemic within a pandemic, Switzerland’s infection control chief said overnight (AEDT).
Britain toughened its coronavirus restrictions yesterday, with England and Scotland going into another full lockdown as a new COVID-19 variant spreads.
Surging numbers of positive cases — and fears the a new variant of the virus is running out of control — prompted tougher action, which included shutting schools and a ban on leaving home except for essential shopping, medical reasons or exercise.
A total of 58,784 people tested positive in the UK on Monday, with cases in the last seven days up 50 per cent on the previous week.
Overall, Britain has been among the worst hit in the world by the outbreak, with some 2.7 million cases and more than 75,000 deaths.
Speaking after confirmation the new variant had been found in seven of 26 Swiss cantons, including Zurich, Geneva and Bern, Switzerland’s head of the health ministry’s infection control department Virginie Masserey warned the new variant could “spread exponentially and, indeed, add a new wave to the existing wave”.
“This new variant could behave like a new pandemic within the pandemic,” she said.
“That’s why it is very important to really respect the measures that are recommended, to really reduce the number of infections.” — AFP
READ MORE: Fears for children as UK variant hits Perth
Stephen Rice 5.10am: ‘Quarantine may not contain UK super strain’
Health authorities are alarmed at the arrival in Australia of the highly infectious UK super COVID-19 strain that has shut down Britain, with warnings that current quarantine procedures may not be strong enough to contain the threat.
The new super strain has been detected in at least two returned travellers in Sydney, three in Perth, four in Victoria and another in South Australia.
The UK variant is believed to be up to 70 per cent more infectious, and has prompted a national lockdown in England and Scotland unlikely to lifted until at least mid-February.
Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid told The Australian he was concerned that the UK virus or another super strain could enter Australia and escape hotel quarantine.
“We’ve already seen our quarantine systems fail significantly with the virus escaping from quarantine in Victoria, NSW and South Australia; we’ve also seen breaches of quarantine in other places like WA although with no transmission occurring,” Dr Khorshid said.
“But with this highly transmissible variant of COVID, either the UK or South African one, there’s going to be more potential for that spread to occur from an infected traveller to a quarantine worker.”
Read the full story here.
Jess Malcolm 5am: Workers give Melbourne, Sydney CBDs wide berth
Renewed COVID-19 outbreaks in Sydney and Melbourne threaten to delay the return to the office of tens of thousands of workers in the nation’s two biggest central business districts, with warnings from business leaders of further damage to the economy.
The Sydney Business Chamber estimates only 20 per cent of city workers will return to the office on Monday despite the end of the Christmas shutdown as companies continue to urge employees to work from home and commuters avoid public transport.
The Victorian government on Tuesday announced a review of a scheduled relaxation in COVID-19 workplace restrictions which would have allowed more people to work from the office.
Read the full story here.
Richard Ferguson 4.30am: Trained workers ‘key to COVID-19 vaccine rollout’
Scott Morrison will need to focus on getting a large enough workforce to deliver a coronavirus vaccine to millions of Australians before winter hits, top health experts warn.
As the Prime Minister sticks to his late March deadline for beginning the rollout, CSIRO director of health Rob Grenfell and infectious diseases expert Peter Collignon say training and recruiting a vaccine workforce will be key to getting enough Australians jabbed before any winter fourth wave.
Further regulatory checks and vaccine batch checks — including measures to ensure vaccines are kept at the right temperature — will come after the expected TGA approval in January.
Read the full story here.
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