Coronavirus Australia live news: Victoria set to enter its sixth lockdown
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a seven-day lockdown from 8pm amid eight new cases; record 262 cases in NSW.
- 20pc now fully vaccinated
- NSW virus crisis worsens: 262 cases
- ‘Get AZ now, don’t wait for Pfizer’
- ‘Encouraging news for Queensland
Welcome to live updates on Australia’s battle with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a seven-day lockdown from 8pm tonight amid eight new cases.
Gladys Berejiklian has announced one-week lockdown in Newcastle-Hunter region as Delta spreads to the state’s regions. The NSW outbreak has worsened with 262 new cases and five deaths recorded today.
Queensland has recorded 16 new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 overnight, all linked to a cluster in Brisbane which has grown to 79.
A group of the nation’s leading health experts including Nick Coatsworth and Ian Frazer has urged Australians to get the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Patrick Commins11.30pm:‘We could hit 80pc by November’
Australia could reach 80 per cent vaccination rates and be free of the threat of lockdowns by November if it matches the world-leading pace set by Canada, economists say.
Scott Morrison this week said reaching the 70 per cent threshold by the end of the year was “absolutely achievable” if “we all turn up to the task and we have a gold medal run till Christmas”.
Jarden chief economist Carlos Cacho said that the pace of vaccination would ramp up in October with the arrival of more Pfizer doses. With the pace of the rollout no longer limited by supply from that point, Mr Cacho then looked at the experience of other advanced economies to project when Australia might reach thresholds laid out by the Doherty Institute.
Joseph Lam 10.55pm: Anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne
Hundreds of protesters descended on the Melbourne CBD as Victoria’s sixth lockdown began on Thursday night.
A sea of men and women chanting slurs against Premier Daniel Andrews and calling for his resignation are believed to have met at Flinders St before marching on to Swanston St and circling the CBD.
Protesters were met by dozens of police, some on horseback and carrying capsicum spray.
Video footage and photos from the protest circulating on social media show at least one arrest took place and that at least two flares were lit by the crowd.
Robyn Ironside10.45pm:Border closures leave tourism on its knees
Tourism operators are facing the most desperate time of the Covid crisis to date with lockdowns and border closures reducing visitors to new lows, triggering urgent calls for help.
Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief Daniel Gschwind said it was definitely the worst time of the pandemic for operators who had seen bookings evaporate in recent weeks, leaving them with no income and little hope.
Throughout the state, losses were mounting, with the Gold Coast missing out on an estimated $250m in visitor expenditure in July, the Sunshine Coast losing $45m a week, the Whitsundays $20m, and Tropical North Queensland $8.6m a day.
“It’s not just suddenly a crisis. It’s a crisis after 18 months of crises,” Mr Gschwind said. “Most businesses have zero forward bookings and for the first time I’m genuinely concerned we will have significant numbers of business failures.”
Those outside of lockdown areas were in an even worse state because they were not eligible for the commonwealth Covid-19 disaster payment.
Mr Gschwind said he had written to the Prime Minister requesting the disaster payment be extended to employees of tourism and hospitality businesses outside of lockdown areas, in the same way the allowance had been made available to airline workers.
AFP10pm:Virus cases surge in Tokyo
Tokyo has reported another large jump in virus cases, again shattering records, as the government expanded restrictions to eight more regions just days before the Olympics ends.
Tokyo is already under a virus state of emergency but is seeing an exponential growth in cases, driven by the more contagious Delta variant.
On Thursday, the city reported 5042 cases, up from 3865 a week earlier, and 1979 the week before that.
Daily case numbers have also broken records nationwide, topping 14,000 for the first time on Wednesday.
“Infections are spreading with a speed we have never experienced before,” Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said at a virus taskforce meeting on Thursday.
“With the rapid increase of cases, the number of patients in serious condition, which had been contained, is growing,” he warned.
Japan’s virus outbreak has been comparatively small overall, with around 15,000 deaths and no harsh lockdown measures, but only around a third of the population is fully vaccinated.
Six parts of the country are under a virus emergency, which bans restaurants and bars from selling alcohol and asks them to close by 8:00 pm.
Other parts of Japan are under so-called quasi-emergency measures, with the government expanding those restrictions to another eight areas on Thursday.
The measures also limit opening hours and alcohol sales, but experts have questioned whether any of the restrictions are sufficient.
“At this point in time we really need to introduce some other kind of measures in order to tackle this situation,” warned health expert Koji Wada, a professor at Japan’s International University of Health and Welfare.
The spike comes with the Olympic Games in full swing in Tokyo, taking place largely without spectators.
Organisers have reported 353 cases among Games staff, officials, teams and media since July 1.
But they insist there is no evidence of infection spreading from the Games into Japan.
Helen Trinca9.15pm: ‘No jab, no job’ open to testing
Fruit and vegetable processor SPC broke no laws when it told staff they had to be vaccinated against Covid-19, but time will tell whether the action is legal.
Ultimately, the decision on whether SPC can run a “no jab, no job” workplace rests with the Fair Work Commission – and even a positive ruling will not necessarily make it easier for other companies to follow suit.
If SPC sacks someone who is not vaccinated, it could face action from the employee, with the FWC asked to decide whether the request was “lawful and reasonable”.
Olivia Caisley 8.30pm: Shields and masks ‘the ideal combo’
Health experts are calling for people in Sydney’s Covid-19 hot spots to wear both face shields and masks while they are outside to prevent further transmission of the Delta variant.
As NSW recorded 262 new cases and five deaths on Thursday, ANU epidemiologist Darren Gray said the state should consider mandating masks and face shields to prevent the virus infecting people via their eyes.
At least 45 people were active in the NSW community for the entirety of their infectious period, which Premier Gladys Berejiklian said was “the number we are desperate to see reduced”.
AFP7.45pm: France to offer booster shots to elderly
France will offer Covid booster shots to the elderly and vulnerable from September, joining a growing list of countries offering third vaccine shots to fight new virus variants, President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday.
“Yes, we will probably need a third dose, not for everyone straight away but at any rate for the elderly and the most vulnerable,” Macron said in his latest in a series of explanatory videos on the government’s vaccination drive, adding that it would start in September.
READ MORE: Elderly to need booster as effect wears off
AFP7pm: Global cases hits 200m
More than 200 million Covid-19 cases have now been registered worldwide since the novel coronavirus emerged in China in December 2019, according to a tally from official sources compiled by news service Agence France-Presse on Thursday.
At least 200,065,905 cases have been officially recorded, but the actual number is believed to be even higher, since a large number of the less severe or asymptomatic cases remain undetected, despite intensified testing in many countries.
The number of infections is rising sharply, driven primarily by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, but the number of deaths is increasing at a slower rate, the data showed.
The global average daily number of new infections over the past seven days stands at more than 600,000, an increase of 68 per cent over the seven-day average in mid-June.
At the same time, the average number of daily deaths stands at 9350, an increase of 20 per cent compared with the beginning of July.
The gap between the number of infections and the number of deaths is most noticeable in the countries currently hardest hit by the pandemic.
In the US the number of new cases has exploded by more than 820 per cent, now standing at an average of 94,000 per day compared to 11,000 at the end of June.
But the rise in the daily number of deaths in the US is much slower, climbing 105 per cent to 430 over the same period.
In Britain, where as many as 47,000 new cases have been recorded every day for the past few weeks — a 30-fold increase compared with May — the number of deaths has increased more than ten-fold from six to over 80.
Nevertheless, that is far below record levels seen in January, when Britain’s daily number of deaths shot to 1250.
By contrast, the average daily number of infections in hard-hit Indonesia has fallen by 19 per cent over the past week to 35,000, but the daily number of deaths is up eight percent at 1700.
The current wave in Indonesia is the worst since the outbreak of the pandemic and the country is now recording by far the most daily deaths worldwide.
The difference reflects the inequality in access to vaccines — 58 per cent of Americans and 69 per cent of Britons have received at least one jab, but only 18 percent of Indonesians.
The US health authorities estimate that people who are vaccinated are 25 times less likely to be hospitalised or die from Covid-19 than those who are not.
The novel coronavirus has killed more than 4.25 million people worldwide since the start of the pandemic, but the World Health Organisation estimates that the overall toll could be two to three times higher than official records, due to the excess mortality that is directly and indirectly linked to Covid-19.
Joseph Lam 6.20pm: Cases left in ambulance outside hospital
Two Covid-19 patients could not be admitted to Sydney’s Westmead Hospital because it was too busy, according to Nine News.
One patient reportedly waited in an ambulance outside the hospital in western Sydney for seven hours, while the other waited in an ambulance for four hours.
The hospital said both patients were treated while waiting.
Joseph Lam 5.50pm: New Pfizer goes to victims of cancelled jabs
NSW Health will begin rebooking spots for those who had Covid-19 vaccinations cancelled so Year 12 students in Sydney could be inoculated.
The move comes after the federal government announced NSW would receive an additional 183,690 Pfizer doses over the next two weeks.
“People whose bookings were recently cancelled will be rebooked to ensure they are the first to receive the new doses,” NSW Health said on Thursday.
“NSW Health has begun work on reinstating these bookings and further information will be available soon. We thank everybody for their patience and understanding.”
Remy Varga 5.15pm: Andrews warns of hundreds of cases
Victoria has entered its six lockdown on the anniversary of the peak of its second wave, when the state saw a horrifying 725 cases.
But Premier Daniel Andrews said Victoria would suffer 725 cases in a matter of days if the Delta variant was allowed to let rip in the state.
“I think that, as every Victoria would want us to, we have learnt from every case,” he said.
Remy Varga 5.05pm: Andrews requests more Pfizer
Daniel Andrews says he’s requested extra Pfizer vaccine from the commonwealth after NSW and Queensland received additional supplies.
The Victorian Premier said he was surprised to learn NSW was receiving additional Pfizer.
“We hadn’t been told about that ... that’s fine. They have got a greater need, give them a greater amount of Pfizer.”
Mr Andrews said the amount of additional Pfizer Victoria would receive was yet to be determined but said last week he had asked for an extra 7500 doses.
Remy Varga 4.55pm: New Vic case visited couple who had been in Sydney
Health authorities are investigating links between one of the latest cases and a household involving people who had recently completed hotel quarantine in NSW before returning to Victoria on a “red zone” permit, which required them to quarantine at home for a fortnight.
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said the visit, potentially in contravention of the rules, was an active line of inquiry for contact tracers but it was unclear who had the virus first.
“There are a couple of people who came back from Sydney, they were in hotel quarantine,” he said.
“It may be the case they have been visited against the rules by someone who is a positive case.
“Whether they got it from them, whether they even have it, we will have to wait and see.
Mr Andrews said a number of close contacts were public housing residents.
Matthew Denholm 4.53pm: Tasmania shuts quarantin-free border to Victoria
Tasmania has shut its border to quarantine-free arrivals from Victoria for seven days.
Recent arrivals from Victoria would need to immediately self-isolate and contact public health, said Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein.
Remy Varga4.51pm: Andrews won’t say if new case worked while infectious
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has declined to confirm if one of the new cases worked while infectious, saying it wouldn’t help to criticise the person.
Instead Mr Andrews said it was crucial Victorians got tested as soon as they began experiencing symptoms and not “waiting for four or five days”.
Mr Andrews then said that while throwing “the book at these people” was easy, it would not help drive numbers down and he couldn’t “change what they have done”.
“It might make us all feel a bit better for a short period of time if we are going after some of these people,” he said.
“I can’t change what they have done, I can only appeal to people and appeal to Victorians to make decisions that aren’t, it’s not about making decisions that are in my best
interests.”
Mr Andrews said people needed to isolate and follow rules prohibiting home visits to family and friends.
“The rules prohibit visiting family and friends in their home for good reason because as we see here, it can do nothing more than contribute to the spread of this virus and add to a lockdown,” he said.
“That is not what we want.”
Checked exposure sites lately?
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 5, 2021
The following exposure sites were recently published online at https://t.co/xojLvnrdjApic.twitter.com/4wd7XXo25y
Joseph Lam 4.45pm: 34-year-old NSW woman dies after getting AZ vaccine
A 34-year-old woman in NSW has died from blood clotting after receiving her first dose of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.
The woman, who died on Wednesday, is among three new cases of TTS recorded in the TGA’s weekly Covid-19 report between July 26 and August 1. All three cases were women; the deceased woman and another aged 51 have been confirmed as TTS meanwhile a 67-year-old woman from Victoria has been deemed as likely.
“The TGA extends its sincerest condolences to her family and loved ones. We are in close communication with NSW Health who are undertaking further investigation of this case,” the report said.
The TGA has confirmed a total of 93 cases of TTS following the AstraZeneca vaccine, 57 of which are confirmed and 36 are probable. Of these cases, 51 were women and 42 were men.
“In Australia, severe cases of TTS appear to be more common in women in younger age groups,” the report said. “Nearly half of the TTS cases in women required treatment in intensive care.”
“Cases meeting the criteria for Tier 1 were also twice as likely to occur in women compared to men.”
Five of the six deaths linked to TTS have been women aged 34, 48 (two cases), 52 and 72. A man who died of TTS was 44.
Remy Varga4.36pm:Regions included in Victoria’s snap lockdown
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says the regions will be included in the snap seven-day lockdown to prevent the virus bleeding from Melbourne.
Mr Andrews acknowledged “it was painful” for the regions to be locked down but said contact tracers needed time to prevent the Delta variant spreading across the state.
“We don’t want this taking hold in country Victoria... None of us are happy to be here but these are the realities we face,” he said.
“None of us have the luxury of ignoring them.”
Remy Varga4.33pm:Further business support for Victoria revealed tomorrow
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has flagged further business support will be announced on Friday.
Alluding to the NSW Covid-19 crisis, Mr Andrews said Victoria had no choice other than a snap lockdown.
“Just look at what is happening in other parts of the country... that will happen here,” he said.
“We don’t want that. That’s why these difficult decisions have been made.
“Nothing about this is optional. This is a lockdown, it will be enforced.”
Mr Andrews said lockdowns would be required less when more of the population had been vaccinated.
Remy Varga 4.24pm:Andrews confirms Victoria’s sixth lockdown
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed the state will enter its sixth lockdown from 8pm tonight.
The lockdown will last seven days. There will be five reasons to leave home and schools will be closed.
“We’ve been through that long lockdown, we don’t want to go back to that,” Mr Andrews said.
It comes as Victoria recorded eight cases, including five mystery cases, on Thursday.
Mr Andrews said the decision to lockdown at 8pm, and not 11.59pm as custom, was to avoid transmission through last drinks scenarios.
Announcement of seven day lockdown to keep Victorians safe: pic.twitter.com/KhO8aLZ6OX
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) August 5, 2021
Rachel Baxendale 4.07pm:Lockdown announcement expected shortly
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Health Minister Martin Foley, Covid logistics chief Jeroen Weimar and an acting chief health officer are expected to announce a lockdown at 4.15pm.
The stay-at-home orders are expected to apply from as early as 8pm tonight, and to last for at least seven days.
Rachel Baxendale3.44pm: Details of Victoria’s sixth lockdown being confirmed
A meeting of Victoria’s crisis council of cabinet is currently underway, at which the length and timing of what will be the state’s sixth lockdown are being confirmed.
The Australian understands ministers were told a short time ago that a lockdown will be imposed.
Rachel Baxendale 3.41pm: String of new exposure sites in Melbourne’s west
A string of new coronavirus exposure sites in Melbourne’s west have been added to the Victorian health department website on Thursday afternoon.
The sites include male toilets in a shopping centre in Caroline Springs, a poultry shop in Laverton North, and a gym and Aldi supermarket in Altona North.
A listing has also been added for the Spectacle Hub optometrist in the Caroline Springs CS Square shopping centre on July 27, implying that authorities believe a case may have been infectious there as early as Tuesday last week.
Earlier the optometrist was listed for Thursday July 29, Friday July 30, Monday August 2 and Tuesday August 3.
More information is available on the health department website.
Adeshola Ore3.13pm:Minister stands by commuter carpark scheme
Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher has stood by the federal government’s commuter car parks scheme, which has come under fire following accusations of pork-barreling.
A scathing report by the Auditor-General into the $660 million scheme found almost 90 per cent of the funded projects were in targeted or Coalition-held seats, and none of the 47 car park projects were recommended by the department. Then-urban infrastructure minister Alan Tudge’s office kept a spreadsheet of the top 20 marginal electorates to track projects for the Coalition’s scheme.
Labor used question time on Thursday to attack the Morrison government for the scheme. Bur Mr Fletcher reiterated that Mr Tudge was “acting within his authority” as minister.
“The Auditor-General’s report also makes it perfectly clear, Mr Speaker, under the project, the Australian government may commit funding to an investment project at any time based on information it deems appropriate,” he said.
READ MORE: A-G urged to probe $4.8bn fund in wake of carpark scheme
Rachel Baxendale 3.07pm:Pop-up Pfizer clinic set up at Islamic school
The Andrews government has established a pilot pop-up Pfizer vaccination clinic at the Islamic school at the centre of Victoria’s latest coronavirus cases.
Education Minister James Merlino told question time in state parliament on Wednesday afternoon all staff, students and family members aged 16 and over at Al-Taqwa College would be offered Pfizer vaccinations at the same time as they are being tested for the virus at the school Melbourne’s outer southwest..
“The availability of Pfizer for the program is made possible, Speaker, following Victoria’s decision to revise the recommended Pfizer second dose interval to six weeks, and this pilot program will provide the department with data regarding pop-up vaccination coverage, which will inform future vaccine programs, once more supply becomes available,” Mr Merlino said.
One of the largest coronavirus clusters of Victoria’s second wave was linked to Al-Taqwa college, infecting 113 students, staff and family members.
About 2500 students and staff travel to the school from all over Melbourne, including from public housing towers in Melbourne’s inner north and west which were last year locked down amid Covid outbreaks.
Many households associated with the school are larger than average and many of the parents work in essential industries such as logistics and food processing.
Adeshola Ore 2.47pm: All lockdowns are hard, Morrison says
Scott Morrison says lockdowns are always “difficult decisions”, as Victorians await to hear if they will be plunged into the state’s sixth lockdown.
During question time, Labor pressed the Prime Minister on why he had previously praised NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian for resisting a lockdown earlier in the state’s Covid-19 outbreak.
“Over the course of the past 18 months the premiers across the country, chief ministers and I have worked together to ensure that in this country we have one the lowest rates of death as a result of Covid of any country in the world,” Mr Morrison said.
He said NSW had been unable to avoid going into a lockdown to attempt to contain its outbreak.
READ MORE:Australia in slow lane over rapid Covid testing
Rachel Baxendale 2.44pm:Victoria set for lockdown ‘as early as tonight’
As Victorians wait to find out whether they are headed into their sixth lockdown as early as tonight, Premier Daniel Andrews has used Question Time in state parliament to appeal to people who have “made the wrong choices” regarding coronavirus to “do the right thing”.
READ the full story here
Dennis Shanahan 2.19pm:PM comes close to criticising Berejiklian
Scott Morrison has gone as close as he ever has to criticising Gladys Berejiklian’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown and declared he won’t favour NSW over Victoria or Queensland in a state-of-origin fight for vaccines.
With NSW facing a record outbreak, five new deaths and bitter fighting between Sydney and regions over vaccination availability, the Prime Minister has rejected the NSW Premier’s emphasis on vaccinations over lockdowns.
Morrison said he will not provide running commentary and criticism of the Premier’s actions but what he did say made it clear he does not accept the NSW government’s claims about vaccine being the key to getting out of lockdown nor is he going to strip vaccines from other
states to help Berejiklian more than he’s helped Victoria and Queensland.
READ Dennis Shanahan’s full commentary here
JARED LYNCH2.07pm: Union decries ‘unrealistic’ SPC vax mandate
The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has criticised fruit and vegetable processor, SPC, over its plans to ban workers and visitors who fail to get vaccinated by November, slamming it as “unrealistic”.
The AMWU said it was not “properly” consulted over SPC plans. It is understood SPC informed the union about the mandatory vaccinations on Wednesday - the same day Sydney recorded 262 new infections and five deaths, while Melbourne sweated on a potential sixth lockdown.
AMWU national president Andrew Dettmer said SPC’s requirement for staff to have their first jab booked within six weeks was “unrealistic”, with many not yet eligible for a vaccination.
The union’s action is the first shot in what is looming to become the biggest workplace issue of the year as businesses - at the request of the government - step up to ensure at least 70 per cent of the country is vaccinated to eradicate lockdowns.
“The SPC are not showing workers that they are genuinely willing to consult with them over a planned vaccine rollout,” Mr Dettmer said.
“The issue isn’t people’s willingness to get the vaccine, it’s accessibility. The responsibility for the Morrison Government’s failing rollout shouldn’t be shifted onto the shoulders of working people.
READ the full story here
READ MORE: SPC shows brave leadership with vaccine demand
Matthew Denholm 1.40pm: Traveller from NSW brings virus to Tasmania
Tasmanian authorities have confirmed the state has recorded a positive coronavirus case.
It is a 31-year-old man who travelled from NSW.
Premier Peter Gutwein is expected to address the news media shortly.
More to come..
READ MORE: Vacancy blues hit office market as lockdowns bite
Adeshola Ore 1.17pm:Lockdown key to ending Sydney’s misery: PM
Scott Morrison has reiterated that lockdown is key to Sydney emerging from its Covid-19 outbreak, after the state reported 262 new cases of the virus.
“The primary tool to end the lockdown in Sydney is the success of the lockdown in Sydney,” he said.
“The virus doesn’t move by itself. People staying at home ensures that the virus doesn’t move.”
The commonwealth is providing an additional 180,000 Pfizer doses to NSW as it battles the highly infectious Delta strain.
Asked if companies should mandate Covid-19 jabs for employees, Mr Morrison said “businesses have to make choices.”
The Australian revealed that food and vegetable processor SPC has given staff and contractors six weeks to schedule their first vaccine dose before they are barred from coming to work.
“In a business, that business, at the end of the day, will wear costs of having to do the clean-downs of facilities and the various other things that could happen as a result of an outbreak or something like that nature in their premises,” Mr Morrison said.
READ MORE: SPC mandates Covid vaccine for all staff
TOM DUSEVIC 1.09pm:Vaccinations break through 13 million mark
The number of Covid-19 vaccinations has broken through 13 million, after 221,859 doses were administered on Wednesday.
It was the largest single day for vaccinations since the rollout began in late February and followed Tuesday’s record number of 213,947 doses administered.
The latest Health Department figures show 42.44 per cent of the Australian population aged 16 and over have received a first dose, with 20.8 per cent of eligible recipients now fully vaccinated.
In the past 24 hours, 83,620 vaccine doses were administered in NSW across state clinics and the federal primary program.
READ MORE: The Mocker – Thankfully Queensland, you’re only Young once
Remy VArga12.32pm: Victorian close contacts expected to explode to 10,000
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley says he expects the number of close contacts to explode to 10,000 in possibly hours.
Mr Foley said thousands of people had already been potentially exposed at the al-Taqwa college as well as their families and members of the student communities.
“We would imagine given our understanding of the [al-Taqwa school community] that we will very quickly pass five to ten thousand close contacts in hours if not days,” he said.
Mr Weimar said two other schools had closed as a precautionary measure due to links with al-Taqwa college.
He said none of three mystery cases had visited any of the exposure sites.
READ MORE:One in five hospitality workers stood down in NSW
Remy Varga12.16pm: Jabs our way out of jail, GP tells his community
Former Australian Medical Association president Dr Mukesh Haikerwal has urged people to come forward for testing and vaccination.
Dr Haikerwal operates a GP clinic in Altona North, which sits in the southwest region of Melbourne where cases and exposure sites are quickly multiplying.
He said vaccination was the only way to overcome the pandemic and said it was crucial people came forward for the jab.
“That is our way out of jail,” he said. “We’ve got to get vaccinated,”
Remy Varga12.12pm:Victoria adds two more cases linked to Islamic school
Victoria’s Covid-19 logistics commander Jeroen Weimar has announced two new additional cases, both linked to the positive al-Taqwa college teacher.
This brings the number of cases recorded in Victoria on Thursday to eight but the numbers will be part of Friday’s count.
Mr Weimar said around 2,500 staff and students, including 300 closely linked to the teacher, would need to isolate for 14-days.
Mr Weimar said the parents and family members of students and staff would have to isolate for 14-days.
“Not only the children that attend the school but anyone they lived in must isolate for 14 days,” he said.
Remy Varga 12.09pm: Expect more exposure sites, Victorians warned
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has warned the state to expect more exposure sites after the state recorded six new cases, including three mystery cases.
Mr Foley said there are “multiple thousands” of close contacts after positive cases visited the Elite Performance Gym in Spotswood and a football club in Newport.
Mr Foley said a testing site had been established at the Al-Taqwa Islamic school, which last year saw one of the biggest outbreaks of the second wave.
Of the three new mystery cases, one is a Maribyrnong man in his 20s who tested positive late last night. The source of acquisition remains under investigation. He works in a warehouse in Derrimut and lives with one other person.
The other two mystery cases is a teacher at the Al-Taqwa school and a household contact. The pair live in Hobsons Bay.
“We started off yesterday with no cases and now 24-hours later we have at least three unlinked cases,” Mr Foley said.
The three remaining cases are linked to a traffic controller who worked at the Moonee Valley testing site.
Rachel Baxendale12.06am:Don’t bank on restrictions easing: Andrews
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrew has told journalists at the back door of state parliament that “no one should be banking on restrictions easing next Tuesday”.
Premier Daniel Andrews says meetings continuing about the rapidly evolving situation with Covid in Melb’s West. Has no announcements right now. â¦@abcmelbourneâ© â¦@abcnewsâ© pic.twitter.com/Wie29kSWss
— Richard Willingham (@rwillingham) August 5, 2021
Mr Andrews said he had no announcements to make yet regarding a lockdown, as meetings and case interviews continue.
The Premier timed his entry to parliament ahead of question time to coincide with his Health Minister Martin Foley’s Covid press conference.
“No one should be banking on restrictions easing next Tuesday.†Meetings underway, interviews underway. No lockdown news… yet. @9NewsMelbpic.twitter.com/YGajU0vghO
— Mark Santomartino (@msanto92) August 5, 2021
Ellie Dudley11.58am: NSW health system under stress: Hazzard
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said there was “no doubt” the NSW health system was “under stress”.
A total of 21 deaths associated with the latest outbreak have been recorded in NSW.
Up to 209 people are in hospital, with 51 people in intensive care, 24 of which are requiring ventilation.
“There’s no doubt the health system is under stress because we have a massive battle. A war with the virus,” Mr Hazzard said.
“That to last night, has taken 21 lives just in this current outbreak and a quarter of those were literally in the last 24 hours.
“So, yeah, we’re - the health team are under stress.”
However, Mr Hazzard said because the health system was “very big”, hospitals are managing the extra work.
“It’s a very big system. And there are priority areas. ICUs, intensive care units, are priority areas,” he said.
“I was advised yesterday or the day before that Westmead was under pressure. But there are normally 36 beds in the intensive care unit there. The only reduction is to 32, which I thank the staff for all the work they’re doing there.”
READ MORE: Evidence grows for mix and match vaccines
Ellie Dudley11.50am: Latest NSW Covid victims all died in hospital
Following the death of a 27 year old man in his home on Wednesday, NSW chief health officer said all of Thursday’s deaths died in hospital.
The details regarding the deaths are as follows:
– A man in his 70s from Sydney’s south-west who tested positive on July 29 and was being treated at Campbelltown Hospital.
– A man in his 70s from Sydney’s inner west who tested positive on July 20 and was being treated at Concord Hospital.
– A man in his 60s from Sydney’s south-west who died at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.
– A woman in her 80s from Sydney’s south-west who died at Liverpool Hospital.
– A man in his 60s from Sydney’s west who died at Westmead Hospital.
READ MORE: Experts that every Australian should listen to – get vaccinated or risk death
Ellie Dudley11.47am:Berejiklian searching for ‘positive’ vax incentives
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the government was looking at “more positive” incentives for those who receive the Covid-19 vaccine.
Asked whether she would consider a “no jab, no work” policy for workers, Ms Berejiklian said she would rather implement incentives which were “more positive”.
“(Perhaps) to say classes of employees can go back if they’ve had the vaccination,” she said.
“We’re considering those options. I don’t want to rule anything out. Our decisions will be based on health advice and what is critical.”
Ms Berejiklian said the government would feel “more comfortable” relaxing restrictions on work on August 29 if “as many people as possible” were vaccinated.
READ MORE: Vaccine hesitancy rife among Year 12s
Ellie Dudley11.35am: Year 12 NSW students first in line for Pfizer
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said year 12 students aged over 18 in Sydney would receive the Pfizer vaccine, not AstraZeneca, because it is “easier”.
All NSW residents aged over 18 have been encouraged to get any vaccination that is available to them.
Asked why HSC students over the age of 18 are being prioritised for the Pfizer vaccine, Dr Chant said it “is much easier to use one vaccine.”
“We’re keen to get vaccines in arms as quickly as possible,” she said.
Rachel Baxendale11.32am:Andrews team debating lockdown #6 for Victoria
The Andrews government and health authorities are deliberating over whether to send Victoria into its sixth lockdown.
The discussions come after Victoria recorded six new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Wednesday, three of which are yet to be linked to known outbreaks.
The Australian understands more positive test results have since been received by the health department.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley, Covid-19 logistics chief Jeroen Weimar and former AMA president Mukesh Haikerwal are due to address the media at 11.45am.
Dr Haikerwal runs a GP practice in Altona North, in close proximity to communities affected by the latest cases.
However, any announcement about a snap lockdown is not expected until later on Thursday.
The latest cases include a teacher in her 20s who works at Al-Taqwa College in Truganina in Melbourne’s outer southwest, and her husband, who works as an optometrist in Caroline Springs in the outer west.
The couple live in the Hobson’s Bay area in the inner southwest, and the husband played AFL football for the local Newport club over the weekend while likely infectious.
More than 15 exposure sites have been listed in throughout Melbourne’s western suburbs since the teacher’s case emerged late on Wednesday.
READ MORE about Victoria’s outbreak here
Ellie Dudley11.20am:Virus detected as far away as Dubbo, Armidale
Chief health officer Kerry Chant said she was “very concerned” about the spread of Covid-19 into regional NSW after sewage detection found traces of the virus in Dubbo and Armidale.
“No-one can be complacent,” she said.
“Whilst we have allowed rural New South Wales to continue a range of activities which are not available to people in Sydney, we need to make sure that you are still vigilant about signs and symptoms, getting tested.”
Low levels of the virus have been detected in Armidale sewage tracing previously, but Dr Chant said the levels had increased.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Pfizer doses taken from the regions to vaccinate year 12 students will be replaced in mid-August.
The doses were redirected from regional NSW - including the central coast and south coast - to inoculate HSC students in high risk areas of Sydney, causing outrage in rural areas.
Ms Berejiklian said the doses would be replaced in the week beginning August 16.
“That’s because the Prime Minister informed me personally last night that he was able to provide an extra 180,000 doses to New South Wales over the next two weeks,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“I’m very grateful for that because, as you know, a key priority of our Government is to make sure every student can sit the HSC.
“It’s a legal requirement for every student to sit a public examination process.”
Ms Berejiklian spoke to objections from the NSW Teachers Federation who claim it would be “premature” to allow year 12 students back to school.
“I don’t think anybody in this state would disagree that our priority should be having Year 12 complete their HSC in as safe and as timely a way as possible,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Ellie Dudley11.07am: Hunter region goes into 7-day lockdown
The Hunter and upper Hunter regions will enter a seven day lockdown after high levels of the virus and “some cases” were found in the area, premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
“There will be a one-week lockdown in the Hunter and upper Hunter region,” she said.
“The local government areas impacted are Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Cessnock, Dungog, Singleton and Muswellbrook.
“That will commence at 5.00pm tonight and go until midnight next Thursday.”
The eight LGAs affected will live under the same restrictions currently enforced in the greater Sydney, central coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour regions.
Five people in the Hunter region have tested positive for Covid-19, the source of which health authorities are attributing to a “gathering” on Blacksmiths Beach.
“Currently Hunter New England is providing care and support to five people that were diagnosed (with the virus),” chief health officer Kerry Chant said.
“While the source of infection continues to be investigated we think the source originated from a gathering on Blacksmiths Beach on Friday night, believed to be the source of the initial cases.”
Two of the cases are students at Maitland Christian School, which has since been closed for cleaning.
Dr Chant said she believed some people from greater Sydney were present at the beach gathering which is how the virus was introduced.
Ellie Dudley 11.10am:NSW records 262 new cases, 5 deaths
NSW has recorded 262 new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 as infections in greater Sydney continue to spread.
At least 45 cases were active in the community for the entirety of their infectious period, which Premier Gladys Berejiklian said is “the number we are desperate to see reduced.”
Up to 107,000 tests were conducted in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
Five deaths associated with NSW’s latest outbreak have been recorded in the past 24 hours, Ms Berejiklian said.
“Three people in their 60s, one person in their 70s, one person in their 80s and, of course, we extend our deepest condolences to all of their loved ones at the tragic loss,” Ms BErejiklian said.
“I want to convey that unfortunately four out of those five people were not vaccinated at all and one person had one dose of AstraZeneca.”
Ms Berejiklian announced a one-week lockdown in Newcastle-Hunter region as virus spreads to state’s regions.
READ MORE: Albo’s $300 Covid cash plan mortally wounded
Rachel Baxendale 10.44am:Exposure sites alert in Melbourne’s west
Victoria’s health department has listed 15 new coronavirus exposure sites in Melbourne’s western suburbs on Thursday morning.
The new sites follow confirmation of six new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Wednesday, three of which are yet to be linked to other known cases.
They span last Thursday to Tuesday, and extend from Altona North, Spotswood and Newport in the inner southwest, to Caroline Springs in the outer west.
The sites include a medical clinic, optometrist, pharmacy, barber, gym, bank and several eateries.
More information about the venues and exposure periods is available on the Victorian health department website.
READ MORE: Ticky Fullerton – SPC show brave leadership with vaccine mandate
Charlie Peel 10.39am:Hopes boosted for Queensland lockdown to end
Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young says the results of the lockdown in the state’s southeast have surpassed her expectations, boosting hope that stay-at-home restrictions could be lifted on Sunday.
Only four of the state’s 16 new cases were infectious while in the community, down from 14 infectious community cases on Wednesday.
“There were only those four cases today that were out and about during the infectious period and between the four of them, there were only five days that they were out in the community while infectious,” Dr Young said.
“Of those five days, all happened while we were in that lockdown so that should have minimal interactions but of course we will work with them and see where they
were and will put up those exposure venues on our website.
“So this is excellent.”
Dr Young said the decreased risk of community exposure had given her hope the lockdown could end on Sunday, which she said would be the “quickest response to any cluster anywhere”.
“This is fantastic news, we did not expect to be this far in front of the virus,” she said.
“This is Queensland coming together brilliantly and working with us.
“We have still got a long way to go but we have done really, really, really well until now so let’s see how we go in the next few days.
“Let’s see if we can lift those restrictions on Sunday. That would be extremely special to be able to do that on Sunday and I am hopeful we can.”
READ MORE: Disaster payments ‘too generous’
Ellie Dudley 10.30am:Virus speads to NSW central coast
Four cases of Covid-19 have been detected on the NSW central coast.
Two of the new cases were reported this morning, in school students at Lake Munmorah Public School.
Morisset High School has also been closed for deep cleaning after a student tested positive, understood to be a sibling of the two students at Lake Munmorah, Member for Wyong David Harris said.
He understands the three students caught the virus from their father.
Mr Harris said the community was “furious” Pfizer vaccines had been taken from the area to vaccinate HSC students in south-west and western Sydney, especially in light of the latest cases.
“We’ve been in lockdown, the same as greater Sydney, and when we asked it we could be let out we were told there was still a risk,” he said
“So if we are still at risk, why are our vaccines being taken?”
Mr Harris’ wife is a teacher at Lake Munmorah Public School, whose Pfizer vaccine appointment was cancelled due to the repurposed doses.
“It’s nothing against the HSC kids, but if you consider us to be part of the lockdown and part of the issue then why are you taking these resources away?” he said.
READ MORE:China must cooperate on Covid
Charlie Peel 10.17am: Sunshine State to get extra 112,000 Pfizer doses
The federal government will deliver an extra 112,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine to Queensland to help curb the state’s escalating outbreak.
The Pfizer delivery will be in addition to the extra 150,000 AstraZeneca doses expected to be delivered to Queensland pharmacists in the next week.
“Last night, the Prime Minister phoned the Premier and they have had a very productive conversation,” Deputy Premier Steven Miles said.
“The result is that the Commonwealth will bring forward the delivery of some Pfizer
vaccines allocated to Queensland for September and bringing those forward to August.
“They are not additional vaccines but they will allow for Queensland health to do more vaccinations in August so that is very good news and it is great to be able to work collaboratively with the commonwealth to be able to support Queenslanders.”
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said half of the extra Pfizer vaccines were expected to arrive next week and the rest the following week.
The Queensland government will be sending AstraZeneca vaccines to pharmacies from today.
READ MORE: Airlines bet on business travel rebound
Charlie Peel 10.07am: Queensland records 16 new cases, 3 infectious in community
Queensland has recorded 16 new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 overnight, all linked to a cluster in Brisbane which has grown to 79.
All of the new cases are linked to schools in Brisbane’s inner west but only three of the cases spent time in the community while infectious.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said it was “very encouraging” news.
“The 16 locally acquired cases are all directly linked to the Indooroopilly outbreak that we have been monitoring,” he said.
“It is encouraging the fact that of the cases reported today, only three were infectious in the community for one day and one was infectious for two days.
“Three on the 31st (of July), one on the 30th and 31st, the other 12 were in quarantine throughout the entire infectious period so the fact they are all linked and mostly were in quarantine is a positive development as well.”
READ MORE: ‘Stay home now or we’ll all be staying home longer’
Adeshola Ore 9.48am:No Indigenous Covid deaths significant: PM
Scott Morrison has said the fact that no Indigenous people had died from Covid-19 in Australia was “one of the most significant achievements Australia has had.”
“Indigenous Australians have been six times less likely to contract COVID-19 in the wider population. That shows what happens when we work in partnership but we must invest in the capabilities of such partnership,” he said.
Mr Morrison is delivering his Closing the Gap speech in parliament this morning.
The Prime Minister paid tribute to 65,000 years of “stewardship by the original custodians of this land.”
“We pay respect to the Ngunnawal people, first nations across the land and to elders past and present and emerging,” he said.
Mr Morrison also paid tribute to Pat Turner, lead convenor of the Coalition of Peaks which negotiated a a new national agreement on Closing the Gap.
Mr Morrison announced the commonwealth’s $378m redress scheme which will provide a one-off $75,000 payment to thousands of Indigenous Australians who were removed from their families as children and taken to commonwealth-run facilities.
He said it would recognise the harm inflicted on children from the Stolen Generation and give each survivor the opportunity to tell their story and receive an individual apology.
“To say formally, not just that we are deeply sorry for what happened but that we will take responsibility for it,” he said.
READ MORE: Stolen children to be given $378m redress
Ellie Dudley9.35am: Leaders from Covid-hit state set to deliver updates
State authorities from across Australia will provide Covid-19 updates this morning to inform the public of the evolving outbreaks.
Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath and chief health officer Jeannette Young will front the media at 10am, following reports of 16 new cases of Covid-19 on Wednesday.
Concerns continue to rise for the far north of the state where a reef pilot tested positive for the highly-infectious Delta variant of the virus.
The pilot is believed to have picked up the virus from a ship and is not connected to the existing outbreak in southeast Queensland.
He had been fully vaccinated and carried little amounts of the virus.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will provide an update for her state at 11am, following the detection of 233 locally acquired cases on Wednesday.
At least 47 cases were active in the community for the entirety of their infectious period.
Ms Berejiklian will speak alongside Health Minister Brad Hazzard and chief health officer Kerry Chant, as the state authorities continue to plead with NSW residents to be vaccinated as soon as possible.
Victorian authorities are also expected to speak this morning, after the state recorded six new cases of Covid-19 this morning.
READ MORE: Greg Sheridan – All the ways Covid has changed us culturally
Adeshola Ore 9.25am:Climate activists protest at Frydenberg’s office
Extinction Rebellion activists are staging a protest outside Josh Frydenberg’s electoral office in Melbourne, demanding the government drop its appeal against a landmark climate change ruling.
💥 BREAKING 💥
— Extinction Rebellion Australia (@XRebellionAus) August 4, 2021
XR Youth are disrupting @JoshFrydenberg’s Melbourne electoral office!
Supported by parents and grandparents, rebels have locked-on to the door and superglued themselves to windows because the Government is failing in its ð——ð—¨ð—§ð—¬ ð—¢ð—™ ð—–ð—”ð—¥ð—˜ to young people. pic.twitter.com/8Yg2AiYy0T
Environment Minister Sussan Ley is appealing a Federal Court ruling which said she owed children a duty of care to protect them from being harmed or killed by carbon emissions when considering the approval of a coal mine expansion. The case, launched by a group of teenagers, centred on Whitehaven Coal’s plans to extend its Vickery mine in northwestern New South Wales.
Videos posted on Twitter show the activists holding banners which read “Josh Frydenberg failing to protect us.”
LIVE UPDATE âš¡ï¸âš¡ï¸
— Extinction Rebellion Australia (@XRebellionAus) August 4, 2021
Police have turned up. Rebels are holding space with the help of Pedal Rebels.
“DO YOUR JOB, IT’S ONLY FAIR.
WE DEMAND A DUTY OF CARE.â€
cc. @JoshFrydenbergpic.twitter.com/DCeUJU1R8y
“Supported by parents and grandparents, rebels have locked-on to the door and super glued themselves to windows because the government is failing its duty of care to young people,” Extinction Rebellion Australia said on Twitter.
READ MORE: Greens in candidate hunt as Burnside quits
Rachel Baxendale9.04am:Victoria records six new local virus cases
Victoria has recorded six new locally acquired coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Wednesday.
“Of the six new locally-acquired cases, investigations are continuing into three cases (including one reported yesterday),” Victoria’s health department said.
“The remaining three cases are all linked to the current outbreaks and were in quarantine during their infectious period.”
The latest cases include that of a teacher in her 20s from Hobson’s Bay, in Melbourne’s inner southwest, who works at Al-Taqwa College, in Truganina Melbourne’s outer southwest.
The same school was at the centre of one of Melbourne’s largest coronavirus clusters of 113 cases during Victoria’s second wave last year.
About 2500 students and staff travel to the school from all over Melbourne, including from public housing towers in Melbourne’s inner north and west which were last year locked down amid Covid outbreaks.
Many households associated with the school are larger than average and many of the parents work in essential industries such as logistics and food processing.
Two other Islamic schools, namely Ilim College and Australian International Academy, both in Melbourne’s north, have also closed as a precaution, although neither have yet confirmed cases.
The teacher was tested on Tuesday and returned a positive result on Wednesday.
Authorities believe she may have been infectious as early as the previous Wednesday.
She worked Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week, attending a Coles supermarket in Yarraville in Melbourne’s inner southwest on Thursday, but staying home from work due to symptoms from Monday.
The teacher’s husband is also understood to have tested positive, and to have played AFL football for the local Newport club over the weekend.
Donut day celebrations short-lived
Thursday’s six cases, including three mysteries, follow short-lived celebrations after Victoria reached zero cases on Wednesday, for the first time since the state’s fifth lockdown.
Earlier, Victoria had four locally-acquired cases on Tuesday, two on Monday, four on Sunday, two on Saturday, three on Friday, and an outbreak peak of 26 on Thursday July 22.
Only one of the 15 cases over the six days to Wednesday had not been in quarantine for the duration of their infectious period.
Victoria’s total number of community acquired cases since two incursions from NSW emerged almost four weeks ago is now 226.
There are currently 80 active cases, including up to four active cases acquired overseas.
At least 142 of those infected during the current outbreaks have recovered, and more are expected to do so in coming days.
As of Wednesday, there were nine people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus, including two in intensive care on ventilators.
The latest cases come after 27,279 tests were processed on Wednesday, down from on Tuesday but up from 22,217 on Monday, 21,417 on Sunday and 25,779 on Saturday.
However, the latest testing numbers are well down on last Friday’s 32,760 tests, last Thursday’s 43,542 and Victoria’s testing record is 59,355 tests on July 20.
Adeshola Ore 8.55am:‘Anyone in food industry should be getting jabbed’
Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie has commended SPC for becoming the first Australian company outside of healthcare to mandate Covid-19 jabs for all staff and visitors.
The Australian revealed that the food and vegetable processor has given staff and contractors six weeks to schedule their first vaccine dose before they are barred from coming to work.
Senator Lambie said other companies should follow in SPC’s footsteps, in a bid to stamp out lockdowns by boosting vaccination rates.
“There’ll be some people out there that can’t because of medical reasons, but anyone in that food industry should be having vaccines,” she told Sky News.
“I applaud SPC for having the courage and the guts to be the first ones to make a move on this.”
READ MORE:Plan B to target vaccine hesitatants
Ellie Dudley8.48am:ACT opens Pfizer vaccinations to under 40s
The ACT has opened up Pfizer vaccinations for those under the age of 40, causing a rush of eager residents to book in their jabs.
The territory has started offering the general public in the 30-39 age group the vaccine, with 20,000 people booked in on the first day they became eligible.
“It was the equivalent for booking for a Taylor Swift concert, I was told,” ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr told ABC Radio National.
“It shows that if you’ve got the vaccine supply, young people are very keen to get vaccinated,” he said.
He said the territory’s program had been “very, very efficient” due to the “incredibly” strong uptake of the AstraZeneca vaccine among the older population.
At least 93 per cent of 70-79 year olds in the ACT have “essentially” received the AstraZeneca jab, he said.
READ MORE: Online fee shock for shoppers in lockdown
Jared Lynch8.32am:SPC first company to mandate Covid vax for all staff
Fruit and vegetable processor SPC has become the first company in the country to mandate Covid-19 vaccines for all onsite staff and visitors.
All 450 onsite workers of the Shepparton-based cannery must be fully vaccinated by November, in what is thought to be a legal test-case for Australia.
“We believe that the only way that we can get out and protect our employees and our customers, and the communities in which we work is to go to the vaccine,” SPC chair Hussein Rifai told ABC News Breakfast .
Staff will be provided paid vaccination leave and up to two days of special leave to recover if they become unwell after receiving the shot.
They have six weeks to book their first vaccination or risk being barred from working onsite.
SPC’s move comes as Westpac and CBA commence trials of vaccinating staff in eight Sydney hotspot LGAs.
Vaccination mandates have also already been introduced in some healthcare settings.
READ the full story about SPC’s staff vaccination mandate here
Ellie Dudley7.53am: Queensland lockdown will extend beyond Sunday
Australian Medical Association Queensland President Chris Perry says the state’s lockdown will not end as scheduled on Sunday.
Queensland recorded 16 new cases of the virus on Wednesday, growing the state’s cluster to the largest since the first wave.
While Dr Perry said he hoped the curve was flattening, the state would not end the already-extended lockdown on Sunday as planned.
“We won’t open up on Sunday but we could open halfway through next week or another week’s time,” he said.
“We will just have to see the numbers.”
Dr Perry said vaccines were the key to opening up because the virus would likely “come up from NSW” even if the current outbreak stops.
READ MORE:Queensland pharmacies await state’s excess AstraZeneca
Ellie Dudley 7.37am: 185,000 extra Pfizer doses to help Sydney
The head of Australia’s Covid-19 task force has said the 185,000 new doses of Pfizer being sent to Sydney would assist the state government in having high-risk areas inoculated sooner.
Lieutenant General John Frewen said the “intent” of 185,000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine shipped to Sydney would be to support south-west and west Sydney.
“We are talking with NSW authorities all the time and I know they have been given priority to those areas, and we have also been working with GPs and pharmacists,” Lieutenant Frewen told Sunrise.
Lieutenant General Frewen also threw his support behind vaccination passports, claiming they were “the future going forward.”
“Ultimately achieving those high levels of vaccination allows us to get back to some of those freedoms that we want to enjoy,” he said.
“Already, other countries are putting in place vaccine passport, international travel is already not possible into some countries without these passports.”
READ MORE: Vaccine hesitancy rife among Year 12s
Ellie Dudley7am:Supermarkets must enforce health orders: police
NSW Police are demanding supermarkets better enforce public health orders, amid Sydney’s growing outbreak of the highly-infectious Delta variant.
NSW Police Minister David Elliott said it was the “obligation” of supermarkets to make sure the public are signing in on QR codes, despite objections staff members may experience from disgruntled customers.
“If you believe your staff would be at risk, then spend the extra money and get security personnel put on the door,” Ms Elliott told Channel 9’s Today. “We’re not doing it to dish out penalties, we are not doing it to scare people.
“This is an action that the public health orders have said will allow us to contact anybody that has been in a supermarket when it’s been exposed.”
Mr Elliott’s comments come as 30 new supermarkets join NSW Health’s growing list of potential exposure sites overnight.
READ MORE: Inside a Howard Springs homecoming
Ellie Dudley6.30am:28 Sydney supermarkets added to casual contact list
Almost 30 supermarkets in Sydney’s south west and western suburbs have been added to NSW Health’s list of potential exposure sites in the past 24 hours, as concerns of community spread continue to grow.
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant on Wednesday said less trips to the shops were going to be key in reducing locally acquired case numbers across greater Sydney.
“From a public health perspective, I can’t be clearer, please do not go out and about,” she said. “Please minimise. If you can go shopping every three days, if you are able to do that, please do.”
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – NEW VENUES OF CONCERNâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 4, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of a number of new venues of concern associated with confirmed cases of COVID 19. pic.twitter.com/wEdaYxV8cx
But later that day, 28 new supermarkets were put on the “casual contact” list issued by the health department, meaning anyone who attended the venue at the time stipulated must urgently be tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
They include: Woolworths Auburn; Woolworths Bankstown; Woolworths Bass Hill; Aldi Bass Hill; Coles Blacktown; Aldi Campbelltown Mall; Woolworths Campbelltown; Woolworths Campbelltown Market Fair; Woolworths Campsie; Woolworths Canterbury; Coles Willowdale; Coles Earlwood; Aldi Erskine Park; Woolworths Fairfield Heights; Coles Green Valley; Woolworths Green Valley; Woolworths Gregory Hills; Aldi Lakemba; Aldi Lidcombe; Woolworths Lidcombe; Woolworths Macquarie Fields; Aldi Merrylands; Aldi Mount Annan; Coles Parramatta; Coles Nepean Village; Woolworths South Penrith; Coles Wetherill Park; Woolworths Wetherill Park.
The full list of 66 new venues and times is available on the health department website.
Two locations were also added to the list of venues that are at high risk of exposure.
Anyone who attended either of the following sites at the time listed should be tested immediately and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
Strathfield South: Polytrade Recycling Centre, 40 Madeline Street, Monday July 26 5.30am to 2.20pm, Tuesday 27 July 8.45am to 2.20pm
Penrith: High Street Family Doctors, 243 High Street, Tuesday July 27 2.00pm to 3.10pm.
READ MORE: All the ways Covid has changed us culturally
Ellie Dudley6am:Two NSW Central Coast school students test positive
Hundreds of staff and students from a school on the NSW Central Coast have been forced into self-isolation after two students tested positive for Covid-19.
Lake Munmorah Public School was advised of the cases on Wednesday night, forcing principal Narelle Baldwin to issue an urgent warning on the school’s Facebook page.
“Our school will be non-operational effective immediately for the on-site attendance of staff and visitors to allow time for contact tracing and cleaning,” she wrote.
“All staff and students are asked to self-isolate until you receive further advice.”
Anyone who has been in contact with people from the school and is unwell or develops any symptoms of Covid-19 must be tested immediately.
“While we recognise this will be disruptive and inconvenient for families, it is important that we follow NSW Health advice and take all necessary precautions to minimise the risk of further transmission to support our community,” Ms Baldwin wrote.
Students on the Central Coast have been learning online, unless their parent is an essential worker who does not have the capacity to home school them.
READ MORE: Pharmacies await supplies of Queensland’s excess AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccines
Geoff Chambers5am:‘Get AstraZeneca now, don’t wait for Pfizer’
A group of the nation’s leading medical professionals have urged Australians not to wait for Pfizer and to get jabbed with AstraZeneca, as new Treasury modelling found that a lower vaccine take-up rate would wipe nearly $7bn off growth every three months.
The economic necessity of imposing short, sharp lockdowns and achieving higher inoculation rates was revealed in Treasury analysis that showed Australians would be forced into five lockdowns every quarter if vaccination coverage flatlined at 50 per cent.
In addition, Treasury found the cost of governments failing to act quickly to rein in outbreaks would rise to an even more brutal $35bn a quarter under the Delta strain.
The warning came as an alliance of prominent medical and health specialists penned an open letter debunking myths about the AstraZeneca vaccine and pleaded for all people to urgently get jabbed.
The letter, published in The Australian, reveals a growing number of doctors, professors and medical researchers are pushing back against the undermining of AstraZeneca, which they say provides similar protections against the Delta variant as Pfizer.
“Our strong recommendation to all Australians in an outbreak setting is to get a first dose of AstraZeneca or Pfizer vaccine as soon as possible … This is consistent with the latest Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation advice,” the health professionals wrote.
“Do not wait for the Pfizer vaccine if the AstraZeneca vaccine is available to you. AstraZeneca is an excellent vaccine that has already saved millions of lives and will save many more. Covid kills, and by the time you or someone you love is infected, hospitalised or in ICU it is too late.”
Read the full story, by Geoff Chambers and Patrick Commins, here.
READ THE LETTER HERE by
Bruce Robinson, endocrinologist, Royal North Shore Hospital
Nick Coatsworth, infectious disease and respiratory physician, Canberra Hospital
Mark Hertzberg, haematologist, Prince of Wales Hospital
Tony Cunningham, virologist, Westmead Institute for Medical Research
Michael Grigg, vascular surgeon, Box Hill Hospital
Vijay Roach, obstetrician and gynaecologist, Royal North Shore Hospital
Tania Sorrell, infectious disease physician, University of Sydney
Bernie Hudson, infectious disease physician, Royal North Shore Hospital
Steve Hambleton, general practitioner, Brisbane
Gemma Figtree, cardiologist, Royal North Shore Hospital
Danny Hsu, haematologist, Liverpool Hospital
Ian Frazer, clinical immunologist, University of Queensland
Lyn Gilbert, senior researcher, Marie Bashir Institute for Infectious Diseases and Biosecurity
Anthony Holley, intensive care specialist, Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital
Charlie Peel4.45am:Queensland braced for extension to lockdown
Queensland faces a further extension of its lockdown beyond Sunday if the state’s Covid-19 outbreak continues to grow at its current rate.
Only two of 16 new cases reported on Wednesday did not spend time in the community while infectious, increasing the likelihood the outbreak could multiply exponentially.
There are now 63 cases linked to the cluster around Indooroopilly in Brisbane’s inner west, mostly spreading through school students and their families.
Among those in quarantine are more than 400 Queensland Health staff, putting the state’s health system under increased pressure.
All the new cases have been linked to an infection source, although there is still a missing link between a family of five, who tested positive last week, and two people who arrived from overseas earlier in July.
Chief health officer Jeannette Young said the lockdown of 11 government areas in the southeast, which was supposed to end on Tuesday, was unlikely to be lifted until there were no new cases detected outside of quarantine or isolation.
Read the full story here.
Yoni Bashan4.30am:Delays, long waits hinder NSW vaccine rollout
NSW vaccination rates have recorded only a modest uptick since Gladys Berejiklian called for an increase over the month of August, with progress being stifled by lengthy waiting periods at some clinics and access points, confusing residents and causing them to delay getting a jab.
The state recorded more than 84,000 vaccinations on Tuesday, according to figures released by the federal government, only slightly higher than the 82,000 doses reported on Sunday – with the increases reported mostly at GP clinics and primary care sites managed by the commonwealth.
At state-run vaccination hubs, daily inoculation rates have remained relatively unchanged in recent days, hovering between 24,000 and 26,000 doses, as they have since late July.
According to numerous accounts provided to The Australian, people seeking vaccinations through a GP or medical centre have experienced lengthy delays across the city, with bookings for AstraZeneca requiring six to eight weeks of waiting in some regions.
Read the full story here.
‘More like-minded MPs are needed to overturn abortion’
In a direct challenge to leader David Crisafulli’s vow there would be ‘no change’ to abortion laws, Scenic Rim MP Jon Krause has pledged his support to overturn or make ‘significant amendments’ to the legislation.
Muslim anger may hand poll defeat to Labor
Labor is growing concerned it is heading toward election defeat next year, as angry Muslim electoral movements warn of a long-term political shift away from the ALP due to the Palestine issue.