Coronavirus Australia live: Sydney police crackdown ‘heavy-handed’; Scott Morrison announces NSW disaster pay change, vaccinations
NSW Police’s targeting of selected Sydney areas, as cases spike, has come under fire from an infectious disease expert.
- Police unleashed to arrest Sydney Delta spread
- How PM will help NSW
- NSW records 38 new local cases
- Experts cane Hazzard remarks
- Young jump Pfizer queue
Welcome to rolling coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Live coverage has ended for the day, read on to see how the day’s events played out.
An infectious disease expert says the decision by NSW Police to target selected Sydney areas for Covid-19 compliance is heavy-handed.
Police will launch a major crackdown in Sydney’s southwestern suburbs from 7am on Friday targeting those not abiding by lockdown restrictions, in an effort to bring the surge in cases under control.
Scott Morrison has announced that he’ll waive the $10,000 asset test for week three of lockdown disaster payments, as well as extra vaccination doses as NSW records 38 new cases.
Large numbers of young people are using glitches in the booking system to get the Pfizer vaccine despite not being eligible.
Rhiannon Down10pm:NSW issues list of new exposure sites
NSW Health has added a string of shopping outlets across Sydney’s western suburbs to the list of exposure sites, as authorities announce a crackdown on the city’s southwest amid a spike in infections.
Auburn Fresh City Fruit & Vegetables, Sahar Market and New Star Kebabs in Auburn, Beds R Us Wetherill Park and Oregano’s Lebanese Bakery and Cafe in Smithfield, have been added to the list of close contact venues.
** Please see correction in red; Merrylands Stockland Shopping Centre is a casual contact venue not a close contact venue **
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 8, 2021
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – VENUES OF CONCERNâš ï¸
NSW Health has been notified of a number of new venues of concern visited by confirmed cases of COVID 19. pic.twitter.com/e4IeEpteBH
Sadaqat Supermarket, Aldi, Australia Post and Kmart in Merrylands have also been added with anyone who visited during the exposure times asked to get tested and isolate for 14 days.
Mehfil North Indian Cuisine in Westfield Burwood Shopping Centre and Kathmandu Burwood in Sydney’s inner west have also been added.
NSW Health has also added more venues to its list of casual contact venues, including: Country Growers and Coles Westfield in Parramatta, Wetherill Park JB HiFi Wetherill Park,
Pendle Hill Woolworths Metro, Kmart Westfield Eastgardens, Kmart Burwood, Wetherill Park Chemistworks and Carlingford Chemist Warehouse.
Hurstville King Tea, Bonnyrigg Bunnings, The Valley Pharmacy in Telopea, Carlingford Court Shopping Centre and Merrylands Stockland Shopping Centre, were also added to the list.
Shoppers at Emerald Square Burwood and Westfield Burwood have also been put on high alert with any shoppers present during the window identified asked to monitor for symptom.
Rhiannon Down8.20pm:A snapshot of the national Covid-19 battle
The nation recorded 40 local cases today, bringing the total to 513 active cases of Covid-19, after 38 cases were recorded in Sydney alone.
This daily infographic provides a quick view of the current coronavirus (#COVID19) situation in Australia. https://t.co/YcsPBOTHZDpic.twitter.com/ESx07luMfY
— Australian Government Department of Health (@healthgovau) July 8, 2021
It comes as 99,235 tests were processed in the past 24 hours bringing the total number to 21.6 million in the course of the pandemic, according to the latest snapshot of the nation’s Covid situation.
Currently 92 people are in hospital with the virus across the country, and the death toll remains at 910.
NSW authorities revealed today that there were 40 patients with Covid-19 in hospital being treated by NSW Health, with eleven of those people in ICU and three on ventilators, amid the troubling surge in cases.
This included 17 people in hospital who are under the age of 55 and 10 are under the age of 35.
Rhiannon Down7.15pm:State of emergency clouds Tokyo Olympics
Japan has declared a state of emergency that threatens to bar spectators from attending the Olympics, amid surging Covid-19 case numbers.
The measures, which will see fans capped at 5000 people or 50 percent capacity, announced just two weeks before the opening ceremony, were prompted by the alarming spread of the Delta variant in the country.
“The number of new cases continues to rise in Tokyo,” Japan’s minister in charge of the virus response Yasutoshi Nishimura said.
“As the movement of people increases, the more infectious Delta variant now accounts for around 30 percent of cases. This is expected to expand further.”
Japanese media outlets have reported that organisers were planning to bar spectators from all competition venues in Tokyo and three surrounding areas, potentially making this year’s Olympics the first ever behind closed doors, according to AFP.
The measures will also see alcohol banned at restaurants and bars, and an 8pm curfew for hospitality businesses and 9pm for concerts.
Japan recorded 2180 new covid cases in the past 24 hours and 14 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University, amid a spike in hospitalisations among people in their forties and fifties.
Rhiannon Down6.25pm:Nation’s Covid-19 jabs close in on 9 million
The nation has surpassed 8.7 million vaccines after 139,133 doses were administered in the past 24 hours, amid a surge in Covid cases in Sydney.
Some 4,951,759 jabs have been administered by the federal system, including 4,487,564 in primary care, and 3,755,040 by the states and territories, according to the latest Department of Health figures.
Covid-hit NSW, which recorded 38 cases today, administered 18,768 jabs in the past 24 hours, bringing the state’s total to just shy of a million at 982,553.
This comes as Scott Morrison revealed today that 300,000 AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine doses would be allocated for western Sydney to assist the state to deal with the outbreak.
Queensland was runner up after it administered 15,704 doses in the same period, bringing its total to 658,515 jabs.
Just 2938 jabs were administered in disability and aged care, as the sector’s total stagnates below half a million jabs, at 454,195.
Rhiannon Down6.05pm:Western Sydney police crackdown under fire
UNSW infectious disease expert Mary-Louise McLaws has criticised the police operation announced this afternoon to enforce Covid compliance.
Professor McLaws said while police had an important role to play, they could also be “perceived as aggressive” by some communities.
“I think that it is fairly heavy-handed, I understand the need for messaging, but the thing about the Melbourne lockdown was that people felt there were not enough people within the community helping to lead the way,” she told the ABC.
“I think police are often seen by our migrant community as being a group that have a lot of power, and they have a lot of anxiety about being sent back to their own country, before they became Australian citizens or residents. So I think it could be better done.”
This comes as Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant warned against families hosting personal visits in contravention of health orders, especially in Sydney’s southwest.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Tony Cook, speaking earlier today, urged Sydneysiders to stay home except for essential outings, saying that the health orders will be enforced.
“Look I would say to people, just make this decision, do you really need to do this, if you don’t, do not go out,” he said.
“Do not bring the risk of the virus back into your family to infect your own loved ones.”
Rhiannon Down5.55pm:Another death linked to AstraZeneca vaccine
A woman has died from a rare bleeding disorder linked to the AstraZeneca vaccine, according to the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
The 61-year-old contracted immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a disorder that occurs when the immune system mistakenly destroys platelets which help the blood to clot, shortly after receiving the jab. Read more here
Staff Reporters5.45pm:Covid breach rocks Qld State of Origin team
Queensland’s State of Origin preparations have been thrown into chaos with star forward Jai Arrow in danger of being scrubbed from game three following an alleged breach of the NRL’s covid protocols.
Arrow is facing a probe by the NRL Integrity Unit over allegations he breached the game’s strict biosecurity protocols in Camp Maroon on the Gold Coast. Read more here
Rhiannon Down 5.00pm:New supermarket, retail and wastewater catchment alerts
Several retail outlets and supermarkets have been added to NSW’s list of exposure sites, as authorities issue a new alert for the Boronia Park catchment after the virus was detected in the wastewater.
Revesby dealership Billy’s Cars, Charlie’s Grill Chicken and Seafood in Illawong, Youies in Belmore, Aldi Menai and Fred’s One Stop Shopping in Edensor Park have been added to the list of exposure sites.
Vodafone, Coles and Fred’s One Stop Shopping all in Wetherill Park in Sydney’s west, were also added to the list.
Health authorities have issued an alert for the Boronia Park catchment, which includes Northmead, Parramatta, Ryde, Hunters Hill, Eastwood and Telopea among many other suburbs, after viral fragments were detected in the sewage.
“This is the first detection at this site and NSW Health is not aware of recently diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in this area,” NSW Health said.
“Anyone who lives or works in any of these areas is asked to be particularly vigilant for the onset of even the mildest of cold-like symptoms, and if they appear, to immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.”
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – VENUES OF CONCERN AND SEWAGE DETECTIONâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 8, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of a number of new venues of concern visited by confirmed cases of COVID 19. pic.twitter.com/0NXtnO117J
Victoria Laurie 4.50pm:WA eyes extended ban on NSW visitors
West Australian premier Mark McGowan has given a strong indication that he will not be opening the border to travellers from New South Wales for the foreseeable future, in light of that state’s Covid-19 outbreak and historically high daily infection rate.
“If you bring down the border while the virus is running wild, then you’ll bring in the virus,” he said on Thursday. The WA government does not permit entry by anyone from New South Wales, designated a “medium-risk state”, unless they have special exemption.
He said he was surprised that residents of Sydney suffering a major outbreak of community transmission appeared not to be heeding medical advice. “It’s an odd thing – I’ve seen some of the images and it’s odd that they are so flippant about it. We now see people in intensive care and on ventilators in New South Wales, and some of those people may die.
“All I would say to the people of New South Wales is follow the rules. My experience here is that people overwhelmingly follow the rules.”
READ the full story here.
Rhiannon Down 4.00pm:Police unleashed to arrest Sydney Delta spread
NSW Police will launch a major crackdown in Sydney’s southwestern suburbs from 7am tomorrow, in an effort to bring a surge in cases under control.
An additional 100 officers, including traffic patrols, police transport safety command and mounted units, will be deployed in the region to enforce compliance.
Assistant Commissioner Tony Cook said the police work being carried out would be “highly visible” and targeted towards discouraging unnecessary outings.
“Compliance is about us getting ahead of the virus,” he said.
“It is about supporting our communities, to assure those who have businesses, who have loved ones, (that they) can see them again.”
Assistant Commissioner Cook said police would be checking if members of the public had a legitimate reason for being outside.
“They need a reasonable excuse to be out there, and people need to ask themselves the question, do I need to do it, and quite often the answer can be no,” he said.
He said the operation, which will include mounted police, would build on the work the force had been doing with multicultural community groups.
He said he believed compliance with restrictions was similar across metropolitan areas.
Deputy Commissioner Mal Lanyon said the police operation was about “getting ahead of this virus”.
“The virus has shown very clearly that it does not discriminate and nor does NSW Police,” he said.
“That is why we are targeting the Southwest metropolitan area as of tomorrow, as we have done when other areas of concern have been identified.”
Assistant Commissioner Cook, the commander of the southwest metropolitan region, said police would be enforcing the health orders if the community was not compliant, adding that health information was available in more than 50 languages
“We have a difficulty in southwestern Sydney, this about helping our community to comply, where we do not get that compliance we will enforce, be very clear,” he said.
“We are continuing this work in a high visibility sense, we also continue it with community leaders.
“Our multicultural liaison officers have been deployed for weeks now across the community, sending the message.
“We have paraphernalia in 56 languages distributed to communities to allow them to understand, how to make sure that we all understand, to make sure that we know how to comply.”
READ MORE:As his dying mother slipped away, Qld health stayed silent
Adeshola Ore2.38pm:‘Get AstraZeneca second dose as soon as possible’
Scott Morrison says second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine should be administered as early as the nation’s medical experts advise.
Second doses of the vaccine can be given within 8-12 weeks. But the nation’s expert immunisation panel advises Australians to wait 12 weeks before getting their second dose to increase the protection given.
Mr Morrison said vulnerable Australians, and those in regions of Sydney with high rates of community transmission, should get their second doses closer to eight weeks.
The UK cut wait times for its doses to eight weeks as it battled the highly infectious Delta variant.
READ MORE: As dying mother slipped away, Queensland Health stayed silent
Adeshola Ore2.02pm: PM waives asset tests for lockdown disaster payments
Scott Morrison says the $10,000 liquid asset test for the coronavirus disaster payments will be waived for state lockdowns that enter a third week.
NSW’s lockdown has been extended to last three weeks and is due to end Friday, 16 July.
The asset test applied to payments of $325 or $500 for Australians who have been forced to miss work due to the lockdown.
The Prime Minister also revealed 300,000 AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine doses would be allocated for western Sydney to assist the state deal with the outbreak.
Mr Morrison said the NSW outbreak has national effects for other parts of Australia’s economy.
“What is happening in Sydney does not just have implications for Sydney,” he said.
The Prime Minister said the government had to “respond to the evidence” in their decision to provide economic support by waiving the liquid asset test.
READ MORE: Virus linked to erectile dysfunction
Adeshola Ore1.56pm:Comply with health orders, Morrison tells Sydneysiders
Scott Morrison has urged Sydneysiders to comply with Covid-19 restrictions in the state, saying it is an “absolutely critical time” for NSW.
NSW Health has recorded 38 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.
Eleven of these new cases were infectious whilst in the community.
“We are having issues when it comes to compliance with casual contacts between households,” the Prime Minister said.
“The virus doesn’t move by itself. It moves from person to person.”
“Whether it’s a party of footballers or just a simple family gathering coming together, it can have the same consequences.”
Remy Varga1.45pm: Health Minister ’frustrated’ if NSW gets more help than Vic
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley is backing NSW calls for financial assistance from the commonwealth but says he’d be disappointed if NSW was treated differently to Victoria.
Mr Foley said Victoria had publicly advocated for the federal government to support individuals, families and businesses during periods of lockdown.
But responding to questions, Mr Foley said he would be frustrated and disappointed if the commonwealth gave more support to NSW than it had to Victoria.
“Yes, I would find that a bit frustrating,” he said.
“There is a clear view that sometimes the commonwealth governments are a bit too Sydney centric, but what I would say is that the Sydney centric nature of what’s going on at the moment is an Australian wide issue,
“We want New South Wales to be successful in getting on top of this as quickly as possible.”
Remy Varga 1.09pm: Living with Covid ‘not national policy’
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said living with COVID-19 is not national policy after NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro said the state government will have to look at a different approach if the three-week lockdown does not suppress the virus.
Mr Foley said the national cabinet had agreed on a policy of aggressive suppression, which had been adopted by all states and territories.
“The notion of letting Covid run is not national policy,” he said.
Mr Foley said his state had hit a vaccine drought that would last for the next six to eight weeks as he urged the commonwealth to ramp up supply.
Mr Foley said the state had already distributed the additional 50,000 doses it received from the commonwealth in May.
“”We want to make sure that Victorians who literally are queuing up to get their vaccines could get them as soon as possible,” he said.
“Can I use this as an opportunity to ask the Commonwealth to again revisit their allocations to all the states, but particularly Victorians.”
READ MORE: Worrying data on vaccine hesitancy
Jess Malcolm 1.03pm: Cyber attack plunges home learning into turmoil
The NSW Department of Education has been the victim of a cybersecurity attack just days before the start of at-home learning, leaving teachers plunged offline and unable to access their emails, class materials, calendars or zoom.
A number of internal systems have been deactivated as a precaution and have been unavailable since late Wednesday, the NSW Department of Health has confirmed.
Cyber security experts are racing to ensure it is restored for Monday next week, and the issue has been referred to the NSW Police and federal agencies for further investigation.
NSW Teachers’ Federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said the issue has been causing massive headaches for teachers, unable to access the online portal since yesterday afternoon.
“With respect to what’s happening next week, the pressures that our teachers and principles have been put under in order to pivot and now create online lessons, that is putting incredible pressure and stress on our teachers and principles,” he told Sky News.
“Indeed that stress and pressure is being added to because the department’s technology system, its portal, which provides access for teachers and principles, the materials, their emails, to calendars to zoom has been down since yesterday.
“That’s putting incredible pressure on teachers to prepare themselves.’’
NSW Education Secretary Georgina Harrison said the department is working to resolve the issue, but will place information to support home learning onto its public website in the meantime.
“The timing of this creates considerable challenges for staff as we prepare for the start of Term 3,” Ms Harrisson said.
“Thankfully, our teams have been able to isolate the issues and we are working to reactivate services as soon as possible.”
“Whilst we are confident all systems will be back online before Day 1, Term 3, we are making information to support home learning available on our public website so that preparations for the start of term can continue.”
READ MORE: New term, old woes for homeschool kids
Remy Varga 12.45pm:Foley won't rule out hard border with NSW
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley is urging the state’s residents to not travel to NSW as the state battles to containing an escalating Covid-19 outbreak in Sydney.
Mr Foley said Victoria’s success depended on NSW defeating the virus and health authorities were ready to help their interstate colleagues.
“We have to deal with the reality NSW is facing,” he said.
Mr Foley said he couldn’t rule out introducing a harder border with NSW.
Responding to questions on whether Victoria would follow WA and introduce a hard border with NSW, Mr Foley said Victoria’s traffic light system was working.
But he said he couldn’t rule out stronger restrictions if the situation in NSW continued to deteriorate.
“I wouldn’t rule it out,” he said.
Mr Foley said breaching the traffic light system, which designates red, green or orange zones to LGAs, carried significant penalties and was being enforced by the ADF and Victoria Police.
READ MORE: NSW no longer the Covid poster child
Jess Malcolm 11.54am: Fears stay home orders are not working
Health authorities are worried that the current stay-at-home orders are not working, revealing they would have expected the case numbers to be lower by this point in the lockdown.
As the three-week lockdown reaches its halfway point, the state today recorded its highest daily case number since the Bondi outbreak began.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said she decided to extend the lockdown in the hopes the number of cases spending time while infectious in the community would decrease.
“I would have preferred to see, after I recommended an extension to the lockdown, that we would have expected the case numbers to decline, and a higher proportion of people in isolation while infectious.”
“The fact that we still have a number of people infectious in the community means we haven’t effectively stopped those chains of transmission.”
Health Minister Brad Hazzard also backflipped on his earlier comments which implied the government was going to move towards accepting the virus to live in the community.
In today’s press conference, Mr Hazzard said the number one goal right now is to stop the transmission through the community.
“We are asking people to think about how do you keep your family, friends and community safe,” he said.
“You don’t really need to leave your house, then don’t do that. Don’t do it. We will see how we go over the next week and a half.”
Jess Malcolm 11.30am:PM open to more support for NSW, Berejiklian says
Gladys Berejiklian has revealed that the Prime Minister is open to providing more support for NSW residents struggling under harsh Covid restrictions.
Ms Berejiklian said leaders had met to discuss the potential for an economic package, and flagged an announcement in the coming days.
“We also do rely on the commonwealth and the state working together to get us through this very difficult challenge, and I want to thank the Prime Minister for acknowledging that and for being open to listening to the case we put forward.”
“I do want to thank the Prime Minister for giving me his time and listening to the New South Wales position, and the four of us, both myself and the New South Wales Treasurer, the Prime Minister and the Treasurer had a very constructive discussion yesterday, followed up with discussions with the Prime Minister and myself today, and that will continue throughout
the day, but please know that all options are on the table as far as we’re concerned and I have to say as far as the commonwealth is concerned as well.’’
Ms Berejiklian called the Delta variant “a game changer” and has hinted that the Delta variant might be uncontrollable without reaching a certain level of vaccination.
The NSW Premier said the ability to come out of lockdown by next Friday was dependent on everyone sticking to the rules, but said it was a “big ask” to contain the unfolding outbreak.
“We know how important it is to fight the Delta variant in part by higher vaccination rates,” she said.
“But it would also be unrealistic to suggest that we are different from anywhere
else in the world.
“You can’t live reasonably with the Delta variant unless you have a certain proportion of the population vaccinated.”
Only 62 per cent of the population of NSW would need to be vaccinated to reach a point where restrictions would not be necessary, the NSW Premier has confirmed.
Ms Berejiklian outlined that her aim was to have 10 million vaccines administered, or all of the adult population.
“I want to be clear that we have put the target outlined there to say we want 10 million jabs so we can get back to normal,” she said.
“I want to stress there is not a single jurisdiction on the planet that has managed to live with this without having a significant proportion vaccinated,” she said.
While the vaccine rollout is still constrained by supply issues, Ms Berejiklian assured the residents of NSW that the aim to get out of lockdown by next Friday was still achievable.
“That is still our aim, experts have told us it is achievable. That’s assuming everybody does the right thing and we work together.”
READ MORE: Berejiklian’s warning as 11 put Sydney at risk
Jess Malcolm 11.19am:‘Use extreme caution when leaving the house’
Residents of Sydney are being asked to be extremely careful about leaving their house amid concern there could be widespread transmission of the Delta variant in the community.
People must apply “common sense” but are asked to be quick while shopping for essential goods and not to linger or browse.
Health officials have also asked people to rethink what their family group means, and limit it to only people in your household.
“What we are asking people to do is to redefine the sense of family,” Dr Chant said.
“The family unit is the household. The people you live with.”
Dr Kerry Chant outlined her concern for case numbers in Bossley Park, Smithfield, Fairfield, Glenfield, West Hoxton Park, Greenacres, St Johns Park, Bonnyrigg, Bankstown and Roselands.
But everyone in greater Sydney needs to be on high alert, and Dr Chant said it was “critical” everyone sees themselves as a risk.
NSW Health is now treating 40 patients with Covid-19 in hospital, with eleven of those people in ICU and three who are ventilated.
There are now 17 people in hospital who are under the age of 55 and 10 are under the age of 35.
Jess Malcolm 11.01am:NSW records 38 new local virus cases
NSW Health has recorded 38 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours.
Eleven of these new cases were infectious whilst in the community.
There were nearly 40,000 tests conducted in the past 24 hours.
NSW recorded 38 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/LipFvnmVTG
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 8, 2021
Gladys Berejiklian says the huge spike in cases has occurred because people have been breaking stay-at-home orders and visiting friends and family.
Officials are furious at the number of people gathering in families, as the case numbers overnight show people are passing it on to their grandparents, extended family members and friends from outside their immediate household.
“Please stop,” she said.
“Do not visit your friends and family.”
“We need to be stern about this.”
Of the new cases, 26 new cases were linked to known clusters, 13 are close contacts and 13 were household contacts of previously known cases.
Of today’s 38 new locally acquired cases, 17 were in isolation throughout their infectious periods and nine cases were in isolation for part of their infectious period. Eleven cases were infectious in the community. One case remains under investigation.
There was also another aged care worker linked to the SummitCare Baulkham Hills aged care cluster. Health authorities confirmed the case had received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, and was already in isolation.
Jess Malcolm 10.54am: SA lifts border restrictions to WA, NT and Queensland
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has announced an easing of a raft of border restrictions after several outbreaks across the nation are now under control.
The border with Western Australian and Northern Territory will be downgraded to level three, requiring returning travellers to get tested on day 1, day 5 and day 13. This is expected to be removed on Sunday.
Queenslanders will now be able to enter South Australia, but there are restrictions still in place for some areas.
People from Townsville and Birdsville will now be able to travel to South Australia with testing required on day one, day five and day 13.
Residents of Brisbane, Moreton Bay Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Gold Coast, Logan, Redland, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim, and Somerset will not yet be able to enter.
“I am sure this will be absolutely a huge relief to many people and will stop many South Australians who might be in Queensland at the moment, in Far North Queensland, they will be able to return with no restrictions whatsoever,” Mr Marshall said.
NSW and the ACT remain closed.
“We are obviously concerned about the Delta variant and in particular the current wave in New South Wales. Yesterday there were 27 new cases and the premier there has said that she thinks the numbers today will be higher,” Mr Marshall said.
Adeshola Ore 10.48am:Lack of vaccine ‘hitting disability workers’
Anthony Albanese says a lack of vaccine supplies will prevent workers in the disability sector from receiving a Covid-19 vaccine.
National cabinet will debate whether disability support workers should be required to have a mandated jab, after it was recommended by a panel of health experts.
“Disability workers want to be vaccinated. They want to be vaccinated. The vaccines aren’t available,” the Opposition Leader said.
“This is a really simple issue when it comes to vaccinations. Which is one of supply. It is a supply. That is the problem here. There aren’t enough deals done.”
READ MORE: Halton on board for too many roles
Adeshola Ore 10.27am: Hunt hints more Pfizer doses than expected are on way
Health Minister Greg Hunt has flagged that Australia could see more Pfizer doses than expected arriving next month, allowing the country to ramp up its vaccine rollout from August.
The federal government has predicted the number of Pfizer doses will rise rapidly from between 650,000 and 750,000 in July to between 1.7 million and 2.3 million in October.
“I’m increasingly confident we will have additional supplies arriving onshore in August and we’ll have confirmation in the coming days,’ Mr Hunt told Channel 9.
“We’re quietly working behind the scenes every single day to ensure that and that’s beginning to bear fruit.”
READ MORE: Freight transport slump hits exporters
Lydia Lynch 10.06am:‘No concerns’ over two Queensland cases
Two local cases were detected in Queensland on Thursday.
Annastacia Palaszczuk said both were linked to another case and tested positive from home quarantine.
“Absolutely no concerns about these two,” she said.
One other person tested positive in hotel quarantine.
READ MORE: NSW is no longer the Covid-19 poster child
Jess Malcolm 9.51am: NSW Premier to speak, concern over case surge
Gladys Berejiklian will address the media at 11am this morning alongside Health Minister Brad Hazzard, Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant and Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys.
Health officials are expected to announce a surge in cases amid concern for widespread community transmission in southwestern Sydney.
Residents of the three local governments areas of Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield and Liverpool are also bracing for further restrictions after the NSW Premier said she had not ruled it out.
READ MORE: Covid crossroads as NSW cabinet splits on lockdown
Adeshola Ore 9.46am:‘Spillover’ doses will be sent to countries in need
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham says Covid-19 vaccine “spillover” doses will be sent to countries most in need, amid a political stoush on vaccine supplies.
The US government last month announced it would export Pfizer and Moderna doses to Canada and Mexico. Josh Frydenberg said on Wednesday that vaccine supplies were coming “in very significant quantities” over the coming week, with Australia set to receive 2.8 million doses of Pfizer this month.
Senator Birmingham said the US and Australia were “as close as two nations could be”, but stressed it had an obligation to assist countries with higher risk profiles.
“To say that we should get some sort of queue jump or charitable place ahead of places where lives are being lost would be really to put an unfair expectation on what we expect from the alliance,” he told Sky News.
“We’d all love for it to be done vicariously faster than is the case.”
READ MORE: Young exploit booking glitches to jump Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine queue
Jess Malcolm 9.06am: Victoria again records zero local virus cases
Victoria has recorded no new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, marking its eighth day free from community transmission.
Reported yesterday: 0 new local cases and no new cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) July 7, 2021
- 15,875 vaccine doses were administered
- 27,420 test results were received.
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/UVKMA2xPaR
There were also no cases recorded in hotel quarantine.
There were 27,420 test results received yesterday, and 15,875 vaccines administered.
The state has just 21 active cases in the state.
READ MORE: World-beating housing boom
Jess Malcolm 9.04am: Business seeks indemnity for administering vaccines
Australian Industry Group Chief Executive Innes Willox says business groups are looking to secure an indemnity similar to what was offered to GPs in order to have protection while administering vaccines.
The federal government met with business leaders on Wednesday to lay out a plan for how they could assist in accelerating the nation’s vaccine rollout.
Mr Willox told the ABC business could help distribute the vaccine just like they do the flu vaccine every year, but would need indemnity for the “one in a million” chance something goes wrong.
“We’re going to see a lot of vaccines coming in mid-September and business needs time to gear up to contribute to the vaccine rollout,” he said.
“When people at work come and get their flu vaccine, the provision of it would be the same from a Covid vaccine perspective,” he said.
“But also what we’re looking to do is broaden it out to staff members’ families, customers, and then the rural and remote communities, the broader community as well.”
READ MORE: Food for fraught, after year from hell
Adeshola Ore 8.41am: Nation united in Covid fight: Hunt
Health Minister Greg Hunt says the country is united in its approach to Covid-19 despite NSW’s Deputy Premier saying the state should learn to live with the virus.
The Australian has also revealed NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet vehemently opposed the lockdown extension signed off at the state’s crisis cabinet meeting on Tuesday, arguing it was time the state adjusted its thinking to Covid-19 and learned to live with infections in the community.
Mr Hunt said Australia’s goal had always been to “ensure we have as few cases as possible.”
“NSW has been a global stand out, not just an Australian standout, and we are confident in their testing and tracing – that tracing is a global gold standard,” he told Channel 7.
“We will work through it together.”
READ MORE: Australia wins OECD praise for jobs recovery
Jess Malcolm 8.22am:Delta ‘could spread across country to India levels’
A leading epidemiologist has warned case numbers could spike across the whole country to levels seen in India if NSW health authorities decide to let the virus live in the community.
Professor Catherine Bennett said the lack of immunity in the community means Australia would be susceptible for a high number of people to become infected with Covid-19.
“If we let it spread in Sydney, it would impact the whole country and we could end up with a situation like we saw in India in March and April,” she told ABC News Breakfast.
“We can’t afford to relax until we’ve got the vaccination rates high. We’ve only got about three months to wait before this vaccine supplies become adequate, and it would be really risky to throw it all away without waiting those three months and doing everything that we can to crush this outbreak.”
Professor Bennett also said it is too late for a localised lockdown in southwest Sydney as the virus had already spread across the city.
“I think it’s probably too late to be looking at targeted geographic measures. If you’re going to go harder, it has to be across the metropolitan area.”
READ MORE: Sheridan – We’re infected by contradictions
Jess Malcolm 8.09am:Barilaro backs Hazzard over ‘new approach’ to virus
Deputy Premier John Barilaro says the government will have to look at a different approach if the three-week lockdown does not suppress the virus, calling it “very possible” the government could move to an approach to live with the virus.
It follows comments from Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Wednesday who warned suppression of the virus might be impossible and threatened that authorities might need to “accept” some virus running free in the community.
Mr Barilaro told Sunrise Mr Hazzard meant what he said, which has sparked criticism from health experts considering the health risk.
“It is a true comment,’’ he said. “The Minister has been involved in this for 18 or 19 months, dealing with Covid-19, and he does not mince his words,” he said.
“He has said that, it is clear that in a week’s time, we still may have community transmission and we may have to attack this differently, remembering that the Delta strain is very different from the first strain, there is no rule book to work through.”
“These decisions have not been made, the minister of health has expressed his views, and we will give it consideration next week.”
Mr Barilaro also said officials were “absolutely” considering tougher lockdown rules for Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool where cases have spiked.
READ MORE: NSW no longer the poster child
Jess Malcolm 7.44am: Plea to parents: keep kids away from school
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell says no student will be turned away next week, but has asked parents who are able to work from home to not send their children to school.
She said the decision to close schools for the first week of term was to limit the spread of the virus, and flagged some strict Covid restrictions will remain when they reopen the following week.
“We’ve got hundreds of thousands of students going to school every day in greater Sydney, our teachers, our parents doing drop off,” she said.
“The next week is really about limiting that movement around greater Sydney, but we have very clear health advice that we can go back the following week, but there will be strict Covid restrictions.”
Ms Mitchell also pushed for teachers to be prioritised in the vaccine rollout, saying only 51 per cent of teachers are currently able to get the vaccine in NSW.
“I really think it is a question of supply. I agree with the teachers in NSW calling on the federal government to make them eligible for the vaccine. I think it makes sense and I think they should be eligible.”
READ MORE: Retreat signalled on maths overhaul
Jess Malcolm 7.24am: NSW needs more federal support: Lambie
Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie says the federal government should increase its financial support to NSW residents who are suffering under a three week lockdown, amid a lack of confidence they will deliver vaccines as promised.
Ms Lambie also said the NSW government should bring in tougher restrictions for some areas in south-wester Sydney, threatening the whole city could be “locked out” from the rest of the country if they don’t.
“So either go in hard and fast, or try your immunity if you want to try your immunity, be my guest,” she told Today
“Quite frankly all you’re going to do is lock yourself out from the rest of the country if this variant continues to spread in that state and that is the truth of the matter. But we need a package put out there for the states.”
“You have to lockdown those areas right now. You have to contain it wherever you possibly can because if you start getting that massive leak across NSW, I can tell you now you’re going to be locked out of every other state, you will not be able to move.”
READ MORE: Credlin – Remember leadership? We need it now
Jess Malcolm 7.04am:‘Make lockdown harder and get it over with’
Infectious diseases expert Tony Blakely says NSW health experts should be looking to achieve zero cases in the community for at least a couple of days before opening the city back up.
Professor Blakely told ABC Radio National that officials could consider tightening the lockdown rules if case numbers don’t start to decrease.
“If they let it go before that, you’d want to be backing your contact tracing because you’d be putting all your eggs in that basket,” he said.
“It’s pretty concerning what’s happening in NSW at the moment.”
“The harder the lockdown is, the quicker it is, as a general rule. If it could be harder, make it harder and get the damn thing over and done with.”
He also said the announcement of seven people in ICU, with one of those cases under 30, was a “real reminder this is not the normal flu”.
The comments come as health minister Brad Hazzard said on Wednesday the state may need to change its public health response if the current settings were not effective.
“I think at some stage, if the individuals don’t hear (NSW chief health officer) Dr (Kerry) Chant’s message and don’t respond, then at some point we’re going to move to a stage where we are going to have to accept that the virus has a life which will continue in the community,” Mr Hazzard said.
READ MORE: 18,000 jobs on line as closed borders sink cruises
Jess Malcolm 6.45am: Herd immunity ‘soon after Melbourne Cup day’
Australia could achieve herd immunity soon after Melbourne Cup day, which will be the beginning of the race towards “freedom day” where people can travel, socialise in groups and avoid strict lockdowns.
According to the Herald Sun, there will be enough vaccines by November 2 to immunise 80 per cent of the population.
Data analyst Kenneth Tsang, who founded the COVID-19 Near Me website that helps people track nearby exposure sites, analysed the data provided by the federal government’s vaccine supply Horizons document.
By November, he found more than half of those aged 60 have had at least one jab, as have 70 per cent of those over 70.
There are about 15 million Australians between 16 and 59 years old who need the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine and each person needs two doses.
This means in order for 80 per cent of this population to be fully vaccinated we will need 24 million doses, he said.
“Accounting for the 4 million doses already administered to this age group, 20 million doses are required to vaccinate 80 per cent of the 16-59 population,” he told the Herald Sun.
“From the Horizons document, we can estimate that 20 million doses will arrive the week commencing 1st November 2021.”
READ MORE: New term, old woes for homeschool kids
Jess Malcolm 6.30am: NSW braces for surge as cases spread west
NSW residents are bracing for a surge in cases after Gladys Berejiklian warned numbers will be much higher today than the 27 new infections recorded on Wednesday.
Several new exposure sites were added overnight, including retail outlets, supermarkets and a bank branch, which are among the latest locations to be added to the growing list.
Myhealth in Burwood, Canterbury Aldi, Burwood Commonwealth Bank ATMs, Billy’s Cars in Revesby and MeatFish Burwood have been added to the list of exposure sites as close contact venues.
Casula Costco, Charing Cross Pizza in Waverley, Little General Espresso Bar in Riverwood and Bonnyrigg Woolworths as well as Aldi, Coles and Freshworld Fruit Market all in Maroubra, have also been added as casual contact locations.
NSW Health also identified Evergreen Fresh World in Burwood, Pagewood Shell Coles Express, Woolworths, Cha Point and Bakers Delight in Revesby and Condell Park Metro Petroleum as venues of concern.
The NSW government is worried about a spike in community transmission of Canterbury-Bankstown, Fairfield and Liverpool and has flagged it could tighten restrictions in these areas. The NSW government is considering further economic packages to help people struggling in the extended lockdown which is now set to end next Friday.
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – VENUES OF CONCERNâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 7, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of a number of venues of concern visited by confirmed cases of COVID 19 and transmission occurred. pic.twitter.com/mAVwXSMRp6
Ten Queensland health staff are in isolation after breaking infection protocol and risking infection when a Covid-19 positive patient at the Sunshine Coast University Hospital went into anaphylactic shock. The staff did not have time to put on PPE as the patient was suffering from a life-threatening allergic reaction, triggering the Chief Health Officer to praise them for their selfless actions. There was just one new case of community transmission yesterday.
Queensland #COVID19 update 7/07/21
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) July 7, 2021
Queensland has recorded 1 new case of COVID-19 today. This case was locally acquired and is a known close contact.
Full details here: https://t.co/kapyXpSIAPpic.twitter.com/JkEzct6ISX
Victoria reached a milestone on Wednesday with a week with no locally acquired cases, enabling health authorities to ease restrictions further. From midnight tonight, density limits in hospitality venues will increase, as will gyms, places of worship and crowd numbers for football games. Masks will also no longer be mandatory for offices, schools and factory workers.
READ MORE: Covid crossroads as NSW cabinets splits on Covid
Yoni Bashan 6.20am: Cabinet split over go-slow Gladys
Gladys Berejiklian has flagged tighter restrictions across swathes of Sydney in a bid to halt the spread of Covid-19, despite facing growing pressure from senior members of her government over the state’s lockdown strategy.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet, one of the NSW Premier’s closest cabinet colleagues, vehemently opposed an extension of Sydney’s two-week lockdown during a crisis meeting on Tuesday, telling officials the community needed to coexist with the virus.
Mr Perrottet, who argued a persisting lockdown would compound business hardship because they did not have access to the federal government’s JobKeeper wage subsidy, is expected to announce an expansion of the state’s existing financial rescue package.
The NSW Treasury expects the cost of the current support package – which provides grants to businesses of up to $10,000 – could cost up to $1.4bn by the end of the three week lockdown on July 16.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Wednesday said the state may need to adjust its approach to the outbreak if the current settings were not effective. The state recorded 27 Covid-19 cases on Wednesday, with seven of those active in the community while infectious.
Nine of the new cases identified had no known source.
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Greg Brown 6.00am: Vaccine campaign to call on star power
A celebrity advertising campaign will be used to promote take-up of the Covid-19 vaccine and the nation’s leading employers will write to 7 million workers asking them to get inoculated as the government and business work together to help pilot the pandemic recovery.
Leading business figures attending a roundtable meeting with Josh Frydenberg on Wednesday were informed by the co-ordinator of Australia’s vaccine program, Lieutenant General John Frewen, that a high-powered advertising campaign featuring a prominent celebrity was likely to commence when vaccine supply increased, probably by September.
The Treasurer and General Frewen on Wednesday chaired a meeting on how the corporate sector could help promote and partake in the vaccination rollout along with some of the country’s most senior corporate figures, including the chief executives from all four major banks, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Telstra, Optus, Wesfarmers and Woolworths.
The meeting also included the leaders from the country’s major peak bodies.
While an agreement was not struck on how vaccinations could be rolled out in workplaces, business leaders used the meeting to say they needed legal protection if they were to begin administering vaccines to their staff.
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Rhiannon Down 5.45am: Experts cane Hazzard over ‘virus running free’ remarks
UNSW Adjunct Professor and Strategic Health Consultant Bill Bowtell has criticised NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard for threatening to reach a stage where authorities “accept” some virus running free in the community.
Professor Bowtell said it would be a mistake to let Covid-19 run riot in the population, citing the current situation in NSW which recorded 27 cases today.
“What on earth would possess the Minister for Health to say such a thing, or give him the right to determine that, for the people of NSW,” he told Channel 10’s The Project.
“There are 30 or 40 people in hospital and some of those are in ICU and on ventilators. “That’s what living with Covid does. That’s what taking your time to lock down does.
“Is that the future, really, that we’re being threatened with?”
Professor Bowtell said both the state and federal governments needed to take responsibility for the Covid situation across the country.
“(The NSW government is) very good at pointing the finger at everybody but themselves,” he said.
“Now, the responsibilities are clear. NSW ran a very lax quarantine system at Sydney Airport.
“And, of course, the other responsibility has to be (directed) to the Australian government, who declined a year ago to order the vaccines that, if we had them at the beginning of this year, we would be 70 per cent or 80 per cent fully vaccinated by now, and then we’d be dealing with a very different situation in Sydney.”
Jess Malcolm 5.30am: Young exploit glitches to jump Pfizer queue
Large numbers of young people are using glitches in the booking system to get the Pfizer vaccine despite not being eligible, sparking concern health officials are failing to ensure priority for vulnerable people.
A NSW government link has been widely circulating among Sydney residents allowing young people to book in and receive the Pfizer jab even though the protein-based vaccine has only been rolled out to people 40 and over.
The link – seen by The Australian – requests applications to create an account, providing their name, personal details, address and Medicare number. Young applicants can book into the 16-49 age range without claiming to be in a priority group such as those with an underlying medical condition or living with a frontline health worker. Some are fronting up to get the vaccine just three weeks after booking.
The Australian understands a number of applicants have successfully booked and received the Pfizer jab at several local health district clinics including St Vincent’s, Randwick Campus CoVax Clinic and Liverpool.
The revelation follows news that over 160 Year 12 students at St Joseph’s College on Sydney’s north shore received the Pfizer vaccine in breach of the rules.
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said on Wednesday the bungle was the only example officials were aware of involving students and insisted the vaccine rollout must prioritise vulnerable groups.
“Clearly, there was an error and I can understand the concern and sympathise with the anger in the community … because as we know, and I’ve said repeatedly, the vaccine needs to be administered to those most at risk and that’s the elderly … aged-care workers and healthcare workers,” she said.
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Crisafulli government accused of inflating state debt projections
Rating agency S & P Global has accused the Queensland government of exaggerating the state’s debt position for political point scoring.
‘Pressure from above’: ABC executive pushed by Buttrose
Christopher Oliver-Taylor was under pressure to sack Antoinette Lattouf after Ita Buttrose made clear she was ‘deeply unhappy’ with action taken on the stand-in radio host, the Federal Court has heard.