Coronavirus live news Australia: PM announces boost to NSW Pfizer supply as state records 141 new cases, two deaths
Adriana Midori Takara, the 38-year-old Sydney woman who died from Covid-19 despite having no underlying health conditions, deteriorated rapidly after being diagnosed on Thursday.
- Vaccines ‘not a lockdown substitute’: PM
- PM reveals boost to NSW Pfizer supply
- NSW records 141 new cases, two more deaths
- Victoria records 11 new local cases
- Morrison secures an extra 85m Pfizer booster jabs
- Utter contempt: Premier’s fury at Sydney protest chaos
- Urgent virus alert for 63,000
- NSW to get an extra 50,000 Pfizer jabs
Welcome to The Weekend Australian’s live rolling coverage of the coronavirus crisis and national response.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has secured an extra 85 million Pfizer doses for delivery next year and in 2023, as the commonwealth confirms it will supply NSW with an additional 90,000 doses a week, on top of the extra 50,000 announced on Friday, as it battles the worst Delta outbreak in the country. Meanwhile, a police hunt has begun for thousands of protesters who swarmed Sydney’s CBD, some clashing violently with police — including one man photographed punching a police horse — as officials warn of a case spike in coming days.
Yoni Bashan, Tom Dusevic11pm:September target to lift Sydney lockdown
The NSW government has requested financial modelling for a lockdown of Greater Sydney that extends until mid-September due to the severity of the outbreak and an expectation that businesses and jobs won’t survive without more financial support.
The state’s crisis cabinet will convene this morning and is expected to imminently announce a significant extension of the lockdown – due to end on Friday – given rising case numbers, hospitalisations, and burgeoning infections concentrated in the city’s southwestern suburbs.
Officials were originally considering September 3 as an end date to the lockdown. However, it is now understood they are modelling multiple financial scenarios including those for a lockdown that ends on September 17.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet is expected to submit a request for the reintroduction of the JobKeeper wage subsidy scheme to the commonwealth based on the new timetable.
The federal government is already considering extending financial support measures to larger businesses, asking Treasury to consider options on lifting caps and providing payments to specific industries that may not be located inside an official hotspot.
Rhiannon Down10.15pm:Raft of new exposure sites
The Ballina Airport arrival lounge, Auburn Police Station and Moore Park Golf Club are among the latest venues to be added to Sydney’s newest list of exposure sites.
It comes just hours after NSW Health issued an alert after a positive COVID-19 case travelled on the Virgin Australia flight VA1139 from Sydney to Ballina on July 14 at 11.45am, before travelling by car to Queensland.
“Others who were inside the Ballina airport terminal between 11.45am and 12 noon on Wednesday 14 July should get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result,” NSW Health said.
Several pharmacies have also been added as exposure sites, including: Canterbury Late Night Pharmacy and Cincotta Chemist in Campsie, Blooms Chemist and Pharmacy 4 Less in Bankstown and Casula Chemist Warehouse.
Threefold Pastry in Parramatta, BreadTop and Tan Thuan Loi Butchery in Cabramatta, Smithfield Bunnings, Toongabbie Commonwealth Bank branch, Sea Sweet Patisserie in Mount Lewis and Eastern Creek Red Rooster were also added to the list.
A string of Woolworths supermarkets have been added: Toongabbie, Pemulwuy, Kingsgrove, Potts Point, Greystanes and Chester Hill.
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – VENUES OF CONCERNâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 25, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of a number of new and updated venues of concern and public transport routes associated with confirmed cases of COVID 19. pic.twitter.com/kP1sYLOzRY
Ben Wilmot, Eli Greenblat9.30pmCalls for big business relief with jobs at risk
The cinema, hotel and ski-resort company Event Hospitality & Entertainment, chaired by billionaire Alan Rydge, has called for more help for large companies as lockdowns bite into operations.
The extended lockdown in Sydney has prompted cries for relief to go beyond smaller enterprises to large companies.
It comes as leading national furniture chain Freedom Furniture has been forced to stand down more than 100 staff across its stores in NSW as the protracted lockdown there robs it of business and tremors running through the nation’s $320bn retail sector threaten an employment disaster.
Nicholas Jensen8.45pm: State hunts $90m from quarantine refuseniks
More than 50,000 returned travellers have failed to pay for their mandatory hotel quarantine stays in Sydney, with debt collectors now chasing at least 20,000 of those to recover the money.
The NSW government is battling to recover more than $90m in unpaid hotel quarantine fees, as new Revenue NSW figures reveal 20,038 Debt Recovery Orders had been issued for unpaid invoices since July 2020.
Previously reported figures from February showed 5264 DROs had been issued in unpaid hotel quarantine invoices, with one in four travellers failing to pay fees by the deadline.
New figures obtained by The Australian reveal fewer than 10 per cent of all DROs issued have been paid as at June 28, as debt collectors scramble to recover 18,210 outstanding invoices that Revenue NSW says total close to $40m.
Updated statistics show $90.6m remains unpaid in hotel quarantine fees, a figure covering 50,706 returned travellers from overseas and interstate.
While Revenue NSW confirmed $51m of that figure had yet to reach payment deadline, it was adamant it would continue to track down refuseniks who repeatedly ignored invoices, saying payment was not optional.
Mackenzie Scott 8pm: Working from home to sustain flight from the city
The big ‘what if’ that has been hanging over the Covid-sparked regional property boom has always been what happens when employers want workers back in inner-city offices.
But new data from networking and job site LinkedIn has found that employers have embraced greater work-life balance, with the number of jobs offering remote work options still rising.
Through 2020, Australian job listings on the platform offering flexible work options experienced a 14-fold hike compared to pre-pandemic figures. Despite many businesses returning to the office last financial year, ads including the choice to work from home rose nearly three times on last year over the first five months of 2021.
AFP 7.30pm:Unjabbed could face new curbs in Germany
People who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19 could face new restrictions if infections continue to rise in Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff said in a Sunday interview.
“Vaccinated people will definitely have more freedom than unvaccinated people,” Helge Braun told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.
Germans can use facilities such as restaurants, cinemas and sports venues if they are either fully vaccinated or able to provide a recent negative test.
But if infection rates continue to rise, unvaccinated people will have to reduce their contacts, Mr Braun said.
“That could mean that visiting places like restaurants, cinemas and stadiums would no longer be possible even for tested unvaccinated people because the risk is too high,” he said.
The country has a duty to protect people’s health, Mr Braun said.
“This includes a health service that does not have to postpone cancer and joint operations again in winter to treat Covid patients.”
Germany has seen low infection numbers over the northern summer compared to many of its European neighbours, but cases have been creeping up over the past two weeks, largely fuelled by the Delta variant.
Ms Merkel last week said she was concerned about the “clear and worrying dynamic” of rising cases, urging as many Germans as possible to get vaccinated.
As of Sunday, 60.8 per cent of Germans had received one jab, with 49.1 per cent fully vaccinated.
However, Ms Merkel has also said Germany is not planning to follow France and other countries in introducing compulsory vaccinations for parts of the population.
Health Minister Jens Spahn said in early July that people who are vaccinated will not have to go into full lockdown again and will enjoy more freedoms than unvaccinated people in case of another virus resurgence.
“As long as there are no mutations that impact the protection from vaccines... then being fully vaccinated means that restrictions of the kind we saw last winter will not be necessary, needed or legally appropriate,” he said.
READ MORE: Working from home to sustain flight from the city
Agencies7pm:Young Sydney victim identified as Brazilian student
The 38-year-old Sydney woman who died from Covid-19 despite having no underlying health conditions had deteriorated rapidly after being diagnosed on Thursday.
Adriana Midori Takara was a Brazilian national studying in her final semester of a Masters of accounting at Sydney’s Kaplan Business School, The Daily Telegraph reported on Sunday.
Marlene Coimbra, a student liaison officer who knew Ms Takara as a client of educational consultancy firm Superstudent, was quoted as saying Ms Takara “was a very good student (and) a hard working girl”.
“The virus debilitated her very, very quickly. It’s shocking,” she said, adding the young woman had been in good health before the diagnosis.
“She was healthy, happy, working, she had a boyfriend. It’s shocking.”
READ MORE: Big protests mark global anger at Covid restrictions
Stephen Lunn6.45pm: Lockdowns drive spike in mental health crisis line calls
The strain on the nation’s mental health of the latest spate of lockdowns is already showing, with calls to crisis lines spiking even beyond the current high Covid-19 baselines.
And children are front and centre of the mental health battle as the pandemic drags on well into its second year.
Beyond Blue has seen a 15 per cent increase to call volumes in NSW over the last three weeks of the state’s lockdown compared to the three weeks immediately prior, new figures reveal.
Philip Sherwell6.20pm:Junta wages war on medics as virus devours Myanmar
It was an act of appalling vengefulness, even by the standards of the junta that has inflicted terror on Myanmar since seizing power in a coup on February 1.
As the Delta coronavirus variant ripped across the country, the military regime hatched a plot to trap medics from an underground network treating desperately ill Covid-19 patients.
Three doctors were lured to an apartment in Yangon by an appeal to help a “patient” supposedly gasping for oxygen last Monday night, only to be confronted by officers who had pretended to be an ill man and his family.
Soldiers arrested the three, then raided their clandestine clinic, detaining two more doctors and seizing 32 oxygen cylinders — the most precious asset in Myanmar these days — as well as medicine, personal protective equipment and cash donations.
The next day reports emerged from Mandalay that two well-known doctors who have played prominent roles in the anti-coup civil disobedience movement had been detained and beaten.
The impact of the incidents in the country’s two largest cities was immediate and chilling, said Dr “Honey”, a doctor involved in the Yangon underground operations, who asked only to be identified by a nickname.
READ MORE:State hunts $90m from quarantine refuseniks
AFP 5.40pm: World’s top golfer out of Olympics after positive test
World number one golfer Jon Rahm withdrew from the Olympics on Sunday after testing positive for Covid-19 for the second time in two months, the Spanish Olympic Committee confirmed.
Rahm, who stormed to victory at the US Open in June, returned a positive sample after undergoing mandatory testing following his recent participation in the British Open.
It was the latest twist to what has been a tumultuous season for the 26-year-old Spaniard.
In June, he was forced to withdraw from the PGA Tour’s Memorial Tournament while defending a six-shot lead heading into the final round after returning a positive test.
Rahm later revealed he had been vaccinated shortly before contracting the disease.
He then bounced back from that setback to clinch a stunning victory at the US Open at Torrey Pines a fortnight later, taking the championship with back-to-back birdies on the final two holes.
READ MORE:‘Frustrated’ photographer denies punching police horse
Remy Varga4.55pm:Repeat protesters hauled before courts, warns top cop
Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius has warned repeat offenders will be charged and hauled before the courts after 5,000 maskless anti-lockdown protesters descended on Melbourne’s CBD.
Mr Cornelius said seven organisers had been asked not to proceed with Saturday’s rally, which saw two officers injured as protesters ignited flares and defied public health laws.
“Those people can certainly expect the full weight of the law being brought to bear against them,” he said.
Victoria Police has issued 55 fines and processed 74 people, while detectives are combing news reports and social media for more offenders.
Mr Cornelius said more protesters than expected turned out for Saturday’s rally as he spoke of the heavy toil dealing with anti-lockdown protests for more than a year had taken on police.
“Can you imagine how members feel when they go home at night and they talk to their partners and their kids... ``Is it safe for me to go home, will I be bringing it [Delta] home with me?’” he said.
“This sort of selfish dangerous behavior has to stop.”
Mr Cornelius said he’d been hesitant to speak on the protest as he hadn’t wanted to give oxygen to the anti-lockdown movement.
“This sort of behavior is not only stupid, it’s not only selfish but it costs lives and it has got to stop.”
READ MORE:‘Frustrated’ photographer denies punching police horse
Staff writers4.34pm:Snow leopard at zoo catches covid
An unvaccinated male snow leopard at the San Diego Zoo has contracted Covid-19.
Wildlife care specialists noticed that Ramil, a nine-year-old male snow leopard, had a cough and nasal discharge on Thursday. Later, two separate tests of his stool confirmed the presence of the coronavirus, the zoo said in a statement on Friday.
A male snow leopard at the San Diego Zoo is suspected to have contracted SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Wildlife care specialists noticed the snow leopard was coughing and had nasal discharge, prompting the team to test for the virus. Results are pending at this time pic.twitter.com/GWLc6mygmw
— San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance (@sandiegozoo) July 24, 2021
The leopard is not showing additional symptoms, but because he shares an enclosure with a female snow leopard and two Amur leopards, the staff assumes they have been exposed. As a result, the animals were quarantined and their exhibit was closed.
Staff writers4.15pm:WA records no new covid cases
Western Australia has reported no new cases of covid-19 overnight.
Media statement: COVID-19 update 25 July 2021 https://t.co/SS58hdYfed
— WA Health (@WAHealth) July 25, 2021
According to WA Health, there are now nine active covid cases in the state. One case is in hotel quarantine, while eight cases remain aboard the BBC California which is currently berthed at Fremantle Port.
All 10 positive covid cases from the vessel, including two that are no longer active, have been confirmed as the Delta strain.
READ MORE:To exit Covid zero we need tough, civil national conversation
Terry McCrann4.00pm:Can the virus and vaccines live together?
Commentary: NSW’s now extended lockdown is taking the whole Australian economy back to a hard landing – yet on Friday the share market hit a new all-time high and there are no signs of any slackening in the property boom.
It might seem like a weird, weird world, and it certainly is. I could throw in the contrast with the UK, where Covid cases were running around 50,000 a day – the equivalent of 5000 a day in Victoria and over 6000 a day in NSW – and yet they were opening up as we close down with far, far fewer cases.
Now true, they are really only “sort of” opening up – you are still supposed to isolate if you are a close contact of someone who tests positive and there are still assorted restrictions.
But obviously, it’s all about the vaccine. Around 90 per cent of the UK adult population has had one shot; nearly 70 per cent have had two shots. And almost all of them, by the way, were AstraZeneca, which we have plenty of.
So, yes, cases in the UK will be high – although there are signs the numbers are starting to fall even just one week into (semi) “Covid Freedom” – but deaths and hospitalisations won’t and haven’t been.
The UK is providing us with a real-time case study of whether we can go back to a normal pre-2020 life with the virus and the vaccine. And also, precisely, what are bad consequences from the saviour – from the vaccine.
The consequences of the NSW lockdown – with or without Victoria staying in lockdown past Tuesday night – are devastating for the NSW economy, but also seriously negative for the rest of the country.
READ the full story
Staff writers3.30pm:Palaszczuk enters quarantine
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has landed in Brisbane after her successful bid for Brisbane to host the 2032 Olympics in Tokyo.
The moment we found out Queensland will host the 2032 Games.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) July 24, 2021
Queensland is the place to be. Bring on 2032! pic.twitter.com/v51lWEfHxX
Ms Palaszczuk left Brisbane last week and was joined in Tokyo by Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner, Federal Sports Minister Richard Colbeck, and Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates.
Ms Palaszczuk will now undertake two weeks of hotel quarantine.
READ MORE:Brisbane bid opens up a new era for the federation
Remy Varga3pm: Victorian cases linked to restaurant, grammar school
Four of the 11 cases Victoria recorded on Sunday are linked to Ms Frankie’s restaurant in Cremorne, including three patrons and one household contact.
Three new cases are linked to Trinity Grammar in Kew and include one student, one parent and a household contact of a staff member.
There are new cases connected to outbreaks at Bacchus Marsh Grammar, the Westgate Tunnel construction site, the Young and Jackson pub and the Wallabies rugby match at AAMI Park.
All four cases are household contacts.
Around two-thirds of the 1100 primary close contacts of Prahran Markets have tested negative, with results for the remainder pending.
Contact tracing chief Jeroen Weimar said 214 residents of the LaCrosse Building on La Trobe St in Melbourne’s CBD had undergone testing on Saturday.
More than 500,000 tests have been conducted over the course of the latest outbreak and 20,000 Victorians remain in isolation while 4,300 primary close contacts have cleared.
There are seven people in hospital, two of which are in intensive care and one is on a ventilator.
READ MORE: Woman in her 30s dies from Covid in NSW
Rhiannon Down2.20pm:63 people charged, 35 more arrested over protests
NSW Police have continued to lay charges and make arrests after more than 3500 protesters stormed Sydney’s CBD on Saturday, erupting into violence with multiple clashes with police.
Sixty-three people have been charged, 35 more arrested and 16 more people have faced court in relation to the protest on Sunday as part of Strike Force Season, which began on Saturday night to round up those responsible.
Police Minister David Elliott said the community should continue to make confidential reports to law enforcement, with record numbers overwhelming the Crime Stoppers website this morning.
“What is very pleasing from a law and order point of view is overnight 5500 people have provided evidence to the NSW Police through Crime Stoppers,” he said.
“My appeal to anyone who has information is please don’t give up, the Crime Stoppers was quite challenged yesterday, please continue to try to provide that information.
“5500 reports to Crime Stoppers essentially means that all 3500 people who were there yesterday could find themselves with a penalty notice or charges.”
READ MORE:Berejiklian’s lockdown will drag us all down
Evin Priest1.55pm:Vaccines ‘not a substitute for a lockdown’: PM
Mr Morrison said vaccines were not the key to greater Sydney coming out of lockdown.
That is despite state premiers and health officials repeatedly telling the general public that getting a Covid-19 jab would be an eventual ticket to freedom.
“There‘s not an easy way to bring the cases down and it’s the lockdown that does that work,” Mr Morrison said.
“The vaccines can provide some assistance, but they’re not what is going to end this lockdown.
Mr Morrison said he did not want it in “anyone’s mind that it replaces the principle tool, which is the lockdown”.
“It’s not a substitute for a lockdown. And you need to weigh up the effectiveness of that with the disruption to the broader vaccine program that could set other states and territories back some way in meeting their vaccination targets,“ he said.
“We need to get the whole country vaccinated. Those going through lockdowns, that‘s the principle way by which we’re able to bring the Delta variant under control in those cities.”
Evin Priest1.50pm:PM reveals boost to NSW Pfizer supply
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced a besieged New South Wales will receive an extra 90,000 doses a week of the Pfizer vaccine as greater Sydney struggles with a Covid-19 outbreak.
NSW was receiving about 150,000 doses a week but with 141 new locally acquired infections on Sunday, bringing the state’s total above 2000 since June 16, more Pfizer has been redirected to NSW.
It comes after a relief package of 50,000 Pfizer immunisations were announced for NSW on Friday.
“Allocations going forward into next week is 90,000 more Pfizer each week than it was back in the week commencing 5 July,” Prime Minister Morrison said.
“And in the weeks following, it goes up to 110,000 above what it was back in the beginning of July.
“So, that is a significant increase that we’ve seen since the early part of this month, to where we are now.
“New South Wales, both GPs and the state distribution centres, were receiving 147,720 doses of Pfizer per week.
“The week commencing next week, they will be receiving 90,000 more than that. That does not include the additional 50,000 which I extended to the Premier on Friday.”
Max Maddison1.45pm:Anti-lockdown protests ‘selfish, self-defeating’: PM
Scott Morrison has blasted anti-lockdown protestors as “selfish”, but defended his parliamentary colleagues rights to support the movement.
Thousands of people marched through Sydney on Saturday, demonstrating against prolonged public health orders. The Prime Minister criticised participants, describing the protest as a “very selfish act”.
“Of course it was selfish. It was also self-defeating. It achieves no purpose. It won’t end the lockdown sooner. It will only risk the lockdowns running further. 100,000 went and did the right thing yesterday and got tested,” Mr Morrison said.
“People understand there’s frustrations with lockdowns but that type of behaviour doesn’t help anyone. In a city under lockdown, to engage in that was reckless, and it was selfish.”
But despite his Coalition colleague, Nationals MP George Christensen, supporting lockdown movements in Queensland, Mr Morrison refrained from rebuking him.
“As for other parts of the country that aren’t in lockdown, well, there’s such a thing as free speech. And I’m not about to be imposing those sorts of restrictions on people’s free speech. In Queensland, there are no lockdowns,” he said.
Max Maddison1.20pm:PM welcomes ATAGI’s Astrazeneca advice
Scott Morrison has welcomed ATAGI’s decision to change their guidance regarding AstraZeneca, as he seeks to quash claims.
With the Greater Sydney outbreak looking down the barrel of an indefinite lockdown, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has consistently called on the federal government to provide more Pfizer vaccines to help combat stubbornly high infections.
With NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet also calling for the return of JobKeeper the Prime Minister moved to address both concerns, saying the state would be receiving 90,000 additional doses of Pfizer each week from next week, before highlighting the level of financial support being provided.
“ So that puts us in the vicinity of half a billion dollars a week from the Commonwealth government to be supporting and backing the NSW government, in both income support, and business support, to get through this crisis,” Mr Morrison told a press conference on Sunday afternoon.
“It’s been a very effective mechanism as the numbers I outlined to you demonstrate.”
He also applauded the decision by Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation to change their advice on AstraZeneca.
“I welcome that advice. There are some 1.3 million AstraZeneca vaccines that are available. They’re in the fridge, they’re ready to go, and we particularly need to see them getting into state based distribution systems in New South Wales,” he said.
Remy Varga1.10pm:Gladys’ plan to cancel GP Pfizer jabs, divert to western Sydney: Andrews
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says his NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian wanted to cancel all GP appointments for Pfizer so the vaccine could instead be distributed at state run hubs in western Sydney.
Ms Berejiklian on Friday publicly called for other states and territories to reallocate their vaccine to NSW as Sydney suffered under a worsening Delta outbreak.
But Mr Andrews on Sunday said he spoke to Ms Berejiklian prior to national cabinet and a different proposition was advanced by the NSW Premier on Friday at the national cabinet meeting.
“The national cabinet was not going to be about taking vaccine from other states to put it into Sydney,” he said.
“Instead it was going to be about cancelling all GP appointments for months across all of NSW, diverting that Pfizer to state hubs and having the state hubs vaccinate on mass, people in the west of Sydney.”
“That didn’t happen because that’s a matter for the Prime Minister and I think you all know what his answer was, so please spare discussions about pre bookings in September,” he said.
“There was a very different approach advanced by NSW on Friday that didn’t get up.”
Mr Andrews was responding to a question on whether Victoria would follow NSW and introduce a different vaccine booking system.
Agencies1.05pm:UK festival-goers revel in return of live music
Nearly 10,000 music fans savoured new-found freedoms at London’s Kaleidoscope Festival on Saturday.
“I’m really excited to be here, I haven’t done anything like this in two years”, said Leonie Louis, one of the festival-goers, who decorated with sequins and flower crowns, braved the stormy weather to invade the grounds of north London’s Alexandra Palace, a legendary music venue that has previously hosted Pink Floyd, the Rolling Stones and Jay Z.
“It’s really nice to just see everybody out and drinking and just enjoying themselves,” Louis told AFP from the comfort of a deckchair in the palace gardens.
Kaleidoscope, which featured bands including Groove Armada and The Coral along with renowned comedians and writers, is one of the largest live events to have taken place in England since the country lifted its last coronavirus restrictions on July 19.
Louis, a 24-year-old management consultant, said that it was “a great time” to open up again, adding that people have “had enough of being cooped up and going in and out of lockdown.” “Obviously, there’s never going to be a perfect time... coronavirus is never going to completely go away. We have to learn to live with it,” she said.
No masks were to be seen around the main stage, only the broad smiles of festival-goers, swaying with beers in hand and enjoying the panoramic view of London.
Families mingled with extravagantly-dressed ravers, united in anticipation for the return of music on the stage.
Joshua Brigts, 25, said he was a “little bit” anxious about the health risks, with the so-called delta variant causing a spike of infections across the country.
“But at the same time, I know everyone here has had a negative test in the last 48 hours,” he said.
“Whereas, walking through central London, there’s as many, if not more, people. So in a weird way it actually feels safer here than on my commute to work.”
AFP
READ MORE:Dilatory, complacent: How Boris Johnson got coronavirus so wrong
Evin Priest12.50pm:Infectious duo ‘active’ in Brisbane
Queensland has recorded zero new locally acquired Covid-19 cases however a man and woman infectious with coronavirus havebeen active in the Brisbane area, acting premier Steve Miles has revealed.
A NSW who allegedly entered the sunny state, allegedly illegally, has been identified as the source of infection for a Virginflight attendant who later tested positive for Covid-19.
The man flew from Sydney to Ballina on July 14, where he was picked up from Ballina airport in NSW by a Virgin flight attendant.
Queensland #COVID19 update 25/07/21 Queensland has recorded 5 new cases of COVID-19 today. All cases were acquired overseas and detected in hotel quarantine. pic.twitter.com/Spd18OpfNM
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) July 25, 2021
The woman was allowed to cross the border but the man was not allowed to enter Queensland.
The man was a close contact of another person in Sydney who had coronavirus.
The flight – Virgin VA 1139 from Sydney to Ballina arriving 11.45am – has been added to the NSW and Queensland Covid-19 exposuresites list and all passengers from that flight were considered a close contact, meaning they must isolate for 14 days regardlessof the result of a mandatory test.
“She picked up that passenger from Ballina Airport and drove him back to Queensland,” Mr Miles said on Sunday.
“So it does appear that the flight attendant, who we reported (was positive) on Friday, caught Covid from the passenger onthis flight to Ballina.
“Therefore, we would consider that the index case for this outbreak.”
He said they were “active” around Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
“Both cases, though, both these positive cases have been active in and around Brisbane and the Gold Coast,” acting premierMiles said.
“More locations were identified yesterday and they have been put on the (Queensland) Health website and we may well expectmore in coming days, but it underlines that the risk in Brisbane around the Gold Coast in particular remains very, very real.”
NSW Ministry of Health’s Dr Jeremy McAnulty said the man flew to Ballina knowing he had been exposed to Covid-19 in his workplaceand had been required to isolate for 14 days.
Dr McAnulty said the man received a false negative Covid result but that did not change the fact he was still not allowedto leave isolation.
“I have also been notified of a person who is now in Queensland who had been on a flight while knowing that they were a closecontact,” Dr McAnulty said on Sunday.
“The person travelled on the 14th of July to Ballina from Sydney. From the flight manifest we‘ve received, we are contactingall passengers directly.
“We are aware of the person. He was tested on July 12 following identification of a workplace exposure.
“He was advised he was a close contact and to isolate for 14 days regardless of the test result.
“We understand he got a (negative) test result which was mistakenly provided by a private lab to inform him he was negative,but this didn‘t change the fact that he had to isolate for 14 days.”
READ MORE:Self-interest clouds Delta response
Remy Varga12.30pm:‘Punching horses’ fundamentally wrong: Dan
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says “punching horses” is fundamentally wrong after shocking images emerged of violence at rallies in Sydney and Melbourne.
Mr Andrews said he was proud of Victoria Police and how they handled the protests, which he said was illegal and unsafe.
“Punching horses doesn’t work against the coronavirus,” he said.
“It’s also fundamentally wrong.
“Throwing things at female police officers is pretty disgusting as well.”
READ MORE:Sydney ‘freedom’ protesters condemned, as police begin search for rule-breakers
Remy Varga12.15pm:Protests a ‘curveball’ in suppression strategy: covid chief
Victorian contact tracing chief Jeroen Weimar says anti-lockdown protests are a “curveball” in the state’s suppression strategy after tens of thousands of people turned out for testing over the weekend.
“A small minority having a self-indulgent tantrum is just a really frustrating thing,” he said.
Mr Andrews said he did not believe the protests would delay the state reopening but said he wished the protests hadn’t happened, acknowledging they posed a risk.
“On the trend we’ve seen unfold in recent days, we are on track,” he said.
READ MORE:Where is the country I knew?
Remy Varga12.01pm:Andrews won’t guarantee lockdown lift on time
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says it’s too early to tell whether the state’s fifth lockdown will end at midnight on Tuesday.
But Mr Andrews said the state’s strategy was working and there was hope restrictions could be eased on schedule, depending on local case numbers on Monday and Tuesday.
“At this stage things are going well,” he said.
Victoria recorded 11 new cases of community transmission in the 24 hours to Sunday, down from 12 on Saturday.
The Premier said anti-lockdown protesters should be ashamed of their actions, and being entitled to an opinion did not also entitle them to endanger others.
Mr Andrews said described the protests as an “infection control nightmare” as Victoria Police officers were forced to physically handle demonstrators.
“We can’t vaccinate against selfishness,” he said.
“These people should be ashamed, absolutely ashamed.”
Watch the Premier’s daily update live here:
More to come...
Nicholas Jensen12pm:Infected NSW man flew to Qld despite iso order
NSW Health has flagged a positive case, who travelled from Sydney to Queensland on July 14, after being notified he was a close contact.
Authorities are instructing anyone who travelled on July 14 on Virgin flight VA1139 from Sydney to Ballina to get tested and isolate.
“He was tested on July 12 following identification of a workplace exposure. He was advised he was a close contact and to isolate for 14 days regardless of the test result,” NSW Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jeremy McAnulty said.
“We understand he got a test result which was mistakenly provided by a private lab to inform him he was negative, but this didn’t change the fact that he had to isolate,” Dr McAnulty said.
On July 20, NSW Health were advised that the swab was positive and, following genome sequencing tests, the case was immediately contacted and interviewed.
READ MORE: Chris Kenny — We have all but surrendered
Christine Kellett 11.49am:South Australia records three new cases
South Australia has recorded three new cases of coronavirus overnight, with the state on track to lift lockdown resrictions on Tuesday, the Premier says.
Steven Marshall thanked South Australians for abiding by the rules and “taking this lockdown seriously”, noting the state had broken a testing record with more than 23,000 people coming forward for testing.
“Tomorrow is D-day,” Mr Marshall said.
“We don’t want to see any further numbers, especially numbers that are outside in the community. We haven’t seen that. This has been one of the reasons why we believe we were 100% right to act very decisively when this cluster first appeared. By putting very heavy restrictions in place very quickly, we put ourselves in the best position to have a short, sharp lockdown in South Australia. Then on Wednesday, get people back to school, get people back to work.”
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Nicholas Jensen11.39am:I won’t entertain an easing of lockdown: Premier
Gladys Berejiklian says she will not consider the easing of lockdown restrictions any time soon because of the low rates of vaccination across the state.
The state recorded 141 new cases in the 24 hours to Sunday, down from 163 on Saturday.
“We can’t consider those policy decisions until we have higher rates of vaccination,” the NSW Premier said.
“The point is we need to firstly keep people out of hospital which the vaccines do, and we also need to reduce the likelihood of spread, which even one dose of the vaccine does.”
Ms Berejiklian said pharmacists were “ready and willing to provide AstraZeneca” jabs in south western Sydney now.
“We have hubs in additional spots that can provide AstraZeneca, so whilst our doses of Pfizer are limited, we have sufficient AstraZeneca for people who want to get the vaccine … so I’m urging everybody to come forward,” she said.
NSW Health says it is concerned about a gathering in Pendle Hill, which saw “a grieving family who came together to support each other”.
“We know at least 50 people were at that gathering, and we’ve now got 28 cases associated with that gathering, so we have been working with community leaders in that area to make sure that people are isolated and getting tested,” said Dr McAnulty.
READ MORE:How hard is it really to get a vaccine in Sydney?
Nicholas Jensen11.20am:Police insist: protest didn’t catch us off guard
NSW Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys confirmed 510 penalty infringement notices were issued in the last 24 hours, the vast majority of whom attended Sydney’s protest on Saturday.
“(The) behaviour yesterday in and around Sydney could only be described as violent, filthy behaviour, risky behaviour, that police will continue to investigate,” said Deputy Commissioner Worboys.
“A strike force is set up right at this moment that continues to ask for people to bring forward any video files or telephone footage that they have of that sort of behaviour that was clearly not on,” he said.
Commissioner Worboys denied the size of the protest had caught police off guard yesterday.
“Not at all. I’m here as the commander today but I’m well aware that the police executive — and indeed all the intelligence around — that we have been working on that for weeks now, well over two weeks that I can recall. No, I don’t think it took the police by surprise at all.”
Responding to yesterday’s anti-lockdown protest in Sydney, Gladys Berejiklian said she was “absolutely disgusted”.
“It broke my heart,” the Premier said. “Millions and millions of people across our state are doing the right thing, and it just broke my heart that people had such a disregard for their fellow citizens. I just ask everybody to think about that. Each of those people who protested illegally, I’m sure have loved ones. They are going to go home and risk passing that virus onto the most closest people to them.”
The Premier urged anyone who recognised protesters from news reports and social media to dob them in to CrimeStoppers.
“We know that events like that can cause those super-spreading events, and please know that all of the sacrifices we’ve made over the last three or four weeks in particular have resulted in us being able to stabilise the growth in cases. We don’t want a setback, and yesterday could have been a set back. Time will tell. But I’m just so utterly disgusted, disappointed and heartbroken that people don’t consider the safety and wellbeing of their fellow citizens.
“Each of those people who illegally protested, I’m sure, have significant loved ones. How would they feel if they went home in their day-to-day life and gave the disease to their loved ones?”
More to come...
Nicholas Jensen11.02am:NSW records 141 new cases, woman in her 30s dies
NSW has recorded 141 new local cases of coronavirus and two deaths overnight, including a woman in her 30s with no pre-existing medical conditions.
The other death was a woman in her 70s from Sydney’s south west.
The daily infection number is a slight drop from 163 cases yesterday.
NSW also broke a testing record, with more than 100,000 swabs taken yesterday.
Of the 141 new cases, 38 were infectious in the community.
“If anybody think this is a disease just affecting older people, please think again,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian has told a press conference.
“Again, I want to extend my heartfelt condolences to those families, their loved ones who are grieving today, but please note that younger people without pre-existing conditions can also fall victim to this cruel disease.”
Deputy Chief Health Officer Jeremy McAnulty said the young woman who had died was aged in her late 30s and lived in the Sydney CBD area.
Dr McAnulty said 141 people remain in hospital, 43 in intensive care — 18 of whom require ventilation. Forty-two of those in ICU have not been vaccinated, and one has had a first does.
“This is a very serious disease. Of those 141, 60 are under the age of 55, and 28 under the age of 35. And of the 43 people in intensive care, one is in their teens, seven are in their 20s, three in their 30s, 14 are in their 50s, and 12 are in their 60s, and six are in their 70s.
“This virus is affecting people of all ages with a very serious disease. All but one are vaccinated.”
Premier Berejiklian said while the rate of infection was concerning she remains confident restrictions will “get us through this outbreak”.
More to come...
Max Maddison10.55am:Frydenberg shoots down fresh NSW JobKeeper appeal
Josh Frydenberg has shot down a renewed appeal from NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet to reinstate JobKeeper payments, saying the current Covid-19 disaster payments are “effective”.
Mr Perrottet said people who don’t qualify for current payments were in “danger of slipping through the cracks”, and were “instrumental in keeping the nexus” between workers and businesses.
But Mr Frydenberg again denied his state colleague, saying the current payments were sufficient to deal with the deteriorating case numbers in Greater Sydney.
“We have a set of payments now which are moving fast and they’re flexible,” Mr Frydenberg told Sky News on Sunday morning.
“He (Mr Perrottet) knows that we have entered into an agreement with the NSW Government to go 50/50 on business support … and to households, and to families and to individual workers, and those payments … are at the level JobKeeper was in the December quarter last year.”
“Right now we have effective payments which are going out to households. And more than 600,000 payments have gone out the door, and more than $300 million has been paid.”
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Staff writers10.35am:Piers Morgan reveals Covid diagnosis
UK journalist and former Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan has revealed he has Covid-19. He believes he caught the virus at Wembley during the Euro 2020 final.
56-year-old Morgan is fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
EXCLUSIVE: In tomorrow's Mail on Sunday, how I caught Covid-19, and my 11-day diary of what it was like battling the killer virus.....read it, then please get jabbed. It may save your life. https://t.co/zcMCL9AtFUpic.twitter.com/vHVbHaYQqo
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) July 24, 2021
He told the Mail On Sunday “my confidence that the event would be ‘covid safe’ had disintegrated,”
“It was turning into an unregulated free-for-all,” he said.
READ MORE: Opening its economy as Delta variant surges, the UK becomes a Covid-19 test case
Remy Varga10.12am:Top Vic cop blasts ‘selfish’ anti-lockdown protesters
One of Victoria’s top police officers has blasted anti-lockdown protesters as “selfish” as detectives investigate an assault on a policewoman after a large bollard was allegedly thrown at her head.
Six protesters were arrested after thousands defied public health orders to protest against Victoria’s fifth lockdown in Melbourne’s CBD on Saturday, with more expected to be charged in the coming days.
Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said detectives would comb through CCTV footage and photos to identify as many protesters as possible and appropriate action would be taken.
“We will not stand by while selfish people deliberately choose to put every Victorian at further risk of the spread of the highly contagious and dangerous Delta variant,” he said.
“It beggars belief that the protest today could, if mass spreading occurs, result in an extension of the very thing they are protesting for: an end to the current lockdown and a reopening of business, which is something we are all working so hard to achieve.”
A mounted police officer suffered minor head injuries after protesters allegedly threw a “large bollard” at her head.
The officer was on horseback and wearing a helmet when the assault occurred.
Police officers on Saturday charged and bailed four protesters for offences including assault on an emergency worker, possessing a drug of dependence.
Two will be charged on summons for assaulting an emergency worker and refusing to state their name and address.
Officers processed 74 people, 67 of which will be issued with penalty notices for failing to stay within 5km of their home address.
Police fined six people for failing to wear a face mask, three for traffic offences, one for failing to move on and one for breaching bail.
READ MORE:Battlers want to avoid the virus, not live with it
Max Maddison10.05am:Lockdown protests ‘stupidity writ large’: Frydenberg
Josh Frydenberg has labelled anti-lockdown protests in Sydney as “stupidity writ large”, as he welcomed the changing advice for AstraZeneca jabs.
After shocking images emerged from protests on Saturday, Mr Frydenberg moved to condemn the thousands of people who participated for putting in danger the wider community.
“Stupidity writ large. Just shocking. Really shocking images and everyone is rightly concerned about it” Mr Frydenberg told Sky News on Sunday morning.
“Those protestors should be condemned, for not just breaking the health orders, and therefore breaking the laws, but for putting in danger their fellow Australian.”
“These protests have no place in the middle of this crisis and the middle of this pandemic.”
While the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation changed advice on AstraZeneca, encouraging people to receive the jab, the Treasurer denied that the damage done to the AstraZeneca brand was already too great.
“That new advice that they have provided is extremely significant. We now have an alignment on the reality of the outbreak, the outbreak in Greater Sydney, and the medical advice,” he said.
Get vaccinated now. It’s a no brainer.
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) July 25, 2021
ATAGI is recommending all adults in greater Sydney should strongly consider the benefits of AstraZeneca rather than waiting for alternative vaccines. pic.twitter.com/4B90tH1IxQ
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Max Maddison9.44am:‘Sick of vax Hunger Games’, redirect jabs to NSW: Shorten
Opposition spokesman for NDIS Bill Shorten has lamented that the country has become the “United Nations of Australia” squabbling over vaccines, as he calls on extra jabs to be given to NSW.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews shot down requests from his NSW counterpart for additional vaccines to be given amid a worsening outbreak across Greater Sydney. But Mr Shorten said consideration should be given from other states to supply additional vaccines.
“I’m sick of the fact that we have eight mini countries. I think in Victoria and the rest of Australia, if there are unscheduled vaccines, Sydney is where the trouble is,” Mr Shorten told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday morning.
“We are Australians first when we are cheering our team on in Tokyo, but here we are in the Hunger Games, and I think people are over the squabbling.”
"We are cheering our team on in Tokyo, but here in Australia we are in the Hunger Games"
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) July 24, 2021
WATCH: @billshortenmp on whether other states should send Pfizer vaccines to NSW #Insiders#auspolpic.twitter.com/AdFs4hMyUX
He also said he welcomed the change of advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation which asked people to strongly consider receiving AstraZeneca jabs.
“The truth of the matter is we make AZ in Australia, and there has been so much mixed messaging over AZ, now I think it has got back on track in my opinion, we should use AZ,” he said.
“If the Feds had done their day job, we wouldn’t be having this Balkanisation of the federation of Australia.”
READ MORE:AstraZeneca appointments available in Sydney’s outbreak LGAs
Anton Nilsson9.30am:Virus fears for Virgin Australia flight
NSW Health has listed a Virgin flight from Sydney to Ballina as a close contact venue after discovering a person who later tested positive to coronavirus was on the aircraft.
The flight is among dozens of new exposure sites, on a growing list that includes grocery stores, pharmacies, trains and buses as well.
A full list of exposure sites can be found on the NSW Health website here.
Apart from the close and casual contact venues, there were also two locations where people who were present at any time in the past two weeks should be watching out for Covid-19 symptoms, due to the “high number of exposure sites associated with them”:
Campsie Centre, 14-28 Amy Street, Campsie
Haldon Street in Lakemba
Anybody who was at the following venues at the relevant times will be considered a close contact, meaning they have to immediately get tested for Covid-19 and then self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:
Virgin Flight VA 1139 on 14 July – Sydney to Ballina, arriving 11.45am
READ MORE:If lockdowns become permanent, call the doctor
Christine Kellett9am:Two men charged with hitting police horses
Two men have been charged with animal cruelty offences after allegedly hitting police horses during yesterday’s Sydney CBD protest.
Shocking images emerged on social media of a man appearing to strike a police horse called Tobruk during wild scenes involving clashes with police on Saturday afternoon.
“As a result of inquiries, investigators from Strike Force Seasoned attended a unit on Marlborough Street, Surry Hills, about 11.20pm and arrested a 33-year-old man,” NSW Police said in a statement.
“He was taken to Kings Cross Police Station and charged with affray, join or continue in unlawful assembly, commit an act of cruelty upon an animal, and not comply with noticed direction re 7/8/9 – COVID-19.”
Another man, aged 36, was arrested at a house in Kalang Road in Edensor Park.
“He was taken to Fairfield Police Station and charged with assault officer in execution of duty, commit an act of cruelty upon an animal, not comply with noticed direction re 7/8/9 – COVID-19.”
Both men were refused bail and will appear at Parramatta Local Court later today.
Detectives attached to a newly formed strike force worked throughought the night to examine news and social media footage to identify an estimated 3500 protesters who joined the anti-lockdown rally in Sydney and more arrests are expected to be made.
READ MORE:Protest had been brewing since last week, but no one expected this
Christine Kellett 8.30am:Victoria records 11 new cases as lockdown on track to lift
Daily Covid cases in Victoria continue to fall, with 11 new local infections recorded in the 24 hours to Sunday.
Lockdown restrictions in the state are due to lift on Tuesday, and Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton yesterday said he was confident it would happen if the infection rate continued its downward trend and contact tracers stayed on top of the current outbreak.
All 11 new infections — from more than 39,000 tests — are linked to known cases.
A further case was detected in hotel quarantine.
Reported yesterday: 11 new local cases and 1 new case acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) July 24, 2021
- 17,370 vaccine doses were administered
- 32,385 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/315WCs4PlI
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Christine Kellett 7.50am: Vaccinating under 12s the next big debate
The Australian Medical Association is considering its position on the vaccination of under 12s, as the Delta strain proves more infectious among children.
Overnight, Jordan joined the United States, Canada, Paraguay and the European Union to authorise the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for 12-year-olds.
“The AMA is really looking at this whole issue of the priority of vaccination of children because it is a really emotive issue,” AMA Vice President Dr Chris Moys told ABC News on Sunday.
“Previously, we’ve thought ‘Oh, children are fine and they don’t get very sick with Covid.’. But unfortunately with Delta, it does appear that more of them get infected and more of them get sick.”
“And question now is … to consider the risk of the vaccine — which is tiny — versus the risk of Covid and the effects of Covid, including long Covid, and balance that up with other issues such as: are we vaccinating just to protect the children? Or are we vaccinating to get to herd immunity which is protecting us?”
Dr Moys was hopeful the upgraded ATAGI advice for all people over 18 in western Sydney to get AstraZeneca would help boost vaccination rates sooner.
“Sydney are in a really tricky position now where lockdown is not managing to control and squash the Delta outbreak.
“People are forgetting that AstraZeneca is a really good vaccine and really should be strongly considered by everybody.”
READ MORE: If lockdowns continue, call the doctor
Agencies7.15am:Anti-lockdown, vaccine pass protests sweep the West
Chaotic scenes here in Australia have been replicated in cities across Europe overnight as a wave of pandemic protests sweep the West.
In France, Greece and Italy protests have also erupted against lockdowns, compulsory vaccination plans and efforts to prod reluctant citizens into getting jabs through sanctions against the unvaccinated.
Thousands of people have protested in cities across Italy against the government’s introduction of restrictions on unvaccinated people as Rome tries to slow an upturn in Covid-19 infections.
“Freedom!” and “Down with the dictatorship!” chanted Italian flag-waving demonstrators from Naples in the south to Turin in the north, while rain-soaked protesters in Milan shouted “No Green Pass!”. The vast majority were not wearing masks.
The Green Pass, which is an extension of the EU’s digital Covid certificate, will be required from August 6 to enter cinemas, museums, indoor swimming pools or sports stadiums, or eat indoors at restaurants.
It will serve as proof bearers have either been vaccinated, undergone a recent negative Covid-19 test, or recovered from a coronavirus infection.
Business owners are expected to enforce the rules or face stiff fines under the measure adopted by the cabinet this week as it attempts to protect the slowly recovering economy and prevent further lockdowns.
Thousands also turned out to march in Paris and other cities in protest against President Macron’s vaccine drive amid signs of an emerging “resistance” movement akin to the yellow vest revolt.
Riot police have been deployed to monitor dozens of demonstrations, including three in the Invalides, the Trocadero and the Place de la Bastille in Paris, after the authorities were taken by surprise by the scale of protests last weekend over compulsory vaccination for health workers and “health passes” for many daily activities.
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Sharri Markson, Jess Malcolm6.45am:PM secures an extra 85m Pfizer booster doses
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has secured an extra 85 million Pfizer doses for delivery next year and some for 2023.
The estimated cost is understood to be around $2 billion. The deal with Pfizer was signed late Saturday afternoon after approval on Friday morning.
The extra doses will be booster shots.
BREAKING: PM Scott Morrison has secured an extra 85 million Pfizer doses for delivery next year and some for 2023.
— Sharri Markson (@SharriMarkson) July 24, 2021
Estimated cost is understood to be around $2 billion. The deal with Pfizer was signed late this afternoon after approval at NSC on Friday morning.
Sixty million doses will be delivered in 2022 and the rest in 2023, Nine newspapers report. This is in addition to the 40 million Pfizer doses due to arrive in Australia this year.
The news comes after Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd on Saturday confirmed that NSW would get an additional 50,000 Pfizer doses from the national stockpile.
“The Commonwealth will increase the emergency allocation to New South Wales of additional doses of Pfizer from 150,000 to 200,000 doses this week,” he said.
“As the supply of vaccines increases, the Commonwealth stands ready to continue to work with the states and territories to support the rollout of vaccines.
“The Commonwealth will constantly assess requests against any reserves held by the Commonwealth. In New South Wales, the Commonwealth will be providing a sustained weekly increase of an additional 20,000 doses to general practices and an additional 20,000 doses to New South Wales government clinics on an ongoing basis.”
“This increase is consistent with increases for all states and territories on a per capita basis.”
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) yesterday upgraded its advice for all Australians over the age of 18 in greater Sydney to “strongly consider getting vaccinated with any available vaccine including COVID-19 vaccine AstraZeneca”.
“This is on the basis of the increasing risk of COVID-19 and ongoing constraints of Comirnaty (Pfizer) supplies. In addition, people in areas where outbreaks are occurring can receive the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine 4 to 8 weeks after the first dose, rather than the usual 12 weeks.”
READ MORE: We can’t live like this any longer
Christine Kellett6.15am:Utter contempt: Premier’s fury at protest crowd
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has slammed the “utter contempt” shown by thousands of protesters who took to the streets of Sydney today in breach of strict lockdown orders.
Dozens were arrested and several police officer injured — some of them seriously — after clashes in the CBD.
“I am utterly disgusted by the illegal protesters in the city today whose selfish actions have compromised the safety of all of us,” Ms Berejiklian said of the anti-lockdown demonstration.
“The protesters have shown utter contempt for their fellow citizens who are currently doing it tough.
A man wearing a "Free Speech" shirt is grabbed by police at the protest in Sydney today. Video: NSW Police#sydneyprotest#nswcovid19#SydneyLockdownpic.twitter.com/Wrwo1zBQC0
— Andrew Backhouse (@Andytwit123) July 24, 2021
“I want to thank the brave police officers who put their own safety on the line to ensure the protest action ceased.
“This type of activity during lockdown will not be tolerated and the full force of the law will be brought against anyone who engages in this type of illegal activity.”
Later, Police Minister David Elliott announced a new police operation to investigate the organisers and ensure they were punished.
He said 22 detectives had now been deployed as part of Strike Force Seasoned and called for anyone with footage or information to come forward.
“What we saw today was 3500 very selfish boofheads,” he said on Saturday.
“This selfish inappropriate behaviour is what is going to continue this lockdown.”
“There is no doubt in my mind that some will pay a high price for this.”
Mr Elliott said it was “statistically impossible” for none of the thousands-strong crowd to be Covid-infected, triggering a potentially super-spreading event.
He warned the illegal protest would cause a spike in cases and appealed to all people who attended to get tested. The state recorded 163 cases on Saturday before the protest began.
NSW Police have so far issued 90 infringement notices, with 57 people charged with multiple offences.
Protesters spilled onto City Road near Victoria Park where police finally pounced making multiple arrests. The protesters ran riot across Sydney’s CBD for more than three hours today, finally dispersing when police had them surrounded. â¦@australianâ© pic.twitter.com/ETdXONZ4EM
— Rhiannon Down (@rhi_down) July 24, 2021
Deputy Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon revealed several police officers suffered injuries, some of them serious.
“Our work starts now,” he said. “Anyone who thinks they can get away with this will be chased by the law to the full extent.”
Tik Tok comedian Jon-Bernard Kairouz, known for correctly predicting the NSW case numbers, was among the crowd.
Standing on the Town Hall steps and speaking to a sea of people through a megaphone he said: “Ladies and gentlemen it’s a pleasure to be here as the people’s Premier.”
“I will say I’ve crunched the numbers. I don’t think the cases are going to be going up tomorrow but from what I’ve calculated there’s over 50,000 people here today.”
“For everyone that’s here, small businesses that are doing it tough, all we want is freedom.”
READ MORE:Urgent alert for four Melbourne suburbs
Lane Sainty6am:Urgent virus alert for 63,000 people
More than 60,000 people have been placed on high alert after the coronavirus was detected in sewage at Warriewood treatment plant, which covers Sydney’s northern beaches.
With no known cases currently in the area, NSW Health has asked residents to be ultra vigilant and get tested if the mildest of symptoms emerge
The plant processes sewage from about 62,700 people living in suburbs including Narrabeen, Oxford Falls, Frenchs Forest, Warriewood, Mona Vale, North Narrabeen, Church Point, Clareville, Newport, Elanora Heights, Bayview, Ku-ring-gai Chase, Terrey Hills, Belrose, Ingleside, Bilgola Plateau, Bilgola Beach, Avalon Beach, Palm Beach, Whale Beach and Pittwater.
After being at the epicentre of an outbreak over Christmas, the northern beaches area has so far been largely spared from Sydney’s current Covid crisis, which hit an alarming high of 163 cases on Saturday.
On Friday, 9000 people in the Southern Highlands were similarly warned to watch for symptoms after virus fragments were detected at Moss Vale treatment plant.
The virus has also been detected in the West Lindfield sewage network covering Sydney’s north shore, the Minto network covering Campbelltown and surrounds, and at the Byron Bay sewage treatment plant.
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