Coronavirus Australia live news: NSW clocks up five million jabs amid 415 new cases, four deaths; PM secures additional Pfizer from Poland; 25 new cases in Victoria
Gladys Berejiklian says half the NSW population has had a first dose as the state records 415 new cases and four deaths with extra supplies on their way.
- NSW reveals 415 cases, four deaths
- Victoria records 25 new cases
- NSW now in total lockdown
- Victoria’s lockdown to extend
- ACT outbreak linked to Sydney
Welcome to our live coverage of the latest news on the Covid-19 pandemic.
Gladys Berejiklian says eliminating the highly contagious Delta strain was now “almost impossible”. Her frank admission came as NSW recorded 415 new cases of Covid and four deaths but on brighter note the state had administered five million doses of vaccine and half of the population has had a first dose. Scott Morrison has confirmed Australia has secured an additional one million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine, the bulk of which will be sent to Sydney’s worst hit LGAs. The shipment, due to arrive tonight, comes as Victoria prepares for an extension to its current lockdown beyond Friday, with 25 new cases recorded. And WA Premier Mark McGowan says even with an 80 per cent fully vaccinated threshold, his state will still aim for zero Covid-19 cases through using lockdowns and a hard border.
Adeshola Ore11pm: Business anger as state goes it alone on borders
West Australia Premier Mark McGowan’s declaration that he reserves the right to impose border restrictions and lockdowns even when an 80 per cent vaccination rate is reached has angered business leaders.
Mr McGowan doubled down on his eradication approach at the weekend, saying his state would not tolerate any Covid-19 cases or deaths.
He also signalled he would mandate vaccinations in some sectors such as the mining and port industries.
Damon Johnston, Angelica Snowden10.15pm: Teen girl suicides reveal ‘shadow pandemic’
Eight teenage girls have committed suicide in the first seven months of this year, a marked increase in the number of young women taking their lives in a tragic toll being closely watched by the Victorian Coroners Court.
The alarming rise has been recorded by the court amid a deepening youth mental health crisis that expert professor Patrick McGorry has described as a “shadow pandemic”.
New court data reveals eight girls committed suicide to July 31, up from just one in the first seven months of last year. In the same period in 2019, Coroner’s Court statistics show three teenage girls took their own lives while the number was four in 2018 and three in 2017.
The eight deaths in seven months among teenage girls already exceeds annual suicide numbers in this cohort for three of the past four years. Five teenage girls took their lives in both 2017 and 2018, with eight in 2019 and two in 2020.
“The court has noted a potentially higher than expected number of suspected suicides among women under 18 this year,” a court spokeswoman told The Australian.
“While it is too early to determine whether this represents a trend, the court is continuing to monitor closely.”
Rachel Baxendale9.30pm:Footage of illegal engagement party
Footage has emerged of a man joking about breaching coronavirus restrictions at his illegal engagement party.
The gathering last weekend is believed to have been attended by up to 100 people, including a St Kilda East mother and her son, whose positive test results were among Sunday’s Victorian mystery cases.
The engaged couple, who The Australian has chosen not to name, are understood to be members of Melbourne’s ultra-Orthodox Jewish community.
Their actions have been widely condemned by Melbourne Jewish leaders, including Council of Orthodox Synagogues of Victoria president Mark Cohen and Rabbi James Kennard, who is principal of Australia’s largest Jewish school, Mt Scopus.
In the footage, the engaged man jokes in reference to his doctor father: “Clearly this is legal because this is a group therapy session. That’s why my father’s here.”
Rabbi Kennard condemned the behaviour on social media, saying that while it was “painful to speak out against fellow Jews in public ... at this time, the danger of staying silent is too great”.
“The law states that we must stay at home, because the experts tell us that this is the way to save lives, because of the risk of terrible Chillul Hashem (desecration of God’s name), every rabbi and leader must cry out,” Mr Kennard said.
“We must take the heartbreaking path and stop the gatherings — for prayer, for s’machot, for school. Just stop.”
It is understood some members of the ultra-Orthodox community — which represents a small minority within the wider Jewish community — have continued to meet for prayer and schooling during Victoria’s six lockdowns.
READ MORE:Palmer picks Covid fight with Liberals, Labor
Ellie Dudley 9pm: NSW exposure list grows
A number of venues in regional NSW have become potential exposure sites, as contact tracers.
Sites in Dubbo, Cooks Hill, Maitland and Mudgee have been listed as places of potential exposure, after people infected with Covid-19 visited.
Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days since they were there, regardless of the result.
Maitland: Sudania Café and Restaurant, 459 High St, Saturday, July 31, 8am to 2pm, Monday August 2, 8am to 2pm
Cooks Hill: Darby Raj, 3/115 Darby Street, Wednesday, August 4, 7.13pm to 7.15pm
Dubbo: Scout Hall, 5 Welchman Street, Sunday, August 8, 4.30pm to 5.30pm
Dubbo: Russo’s Coffee Bar, Urban Village, 33-43 Whylandra Street, Wednesday, August 11, 7.50am to 8am
Mudgee: Mudgee Bakery & Cafe, 28 Market St, Monday, August 9, 9.10am to 9.45am
Mudgee: Muffin Break, 72/78 Market St, Wednesday, August 11, 9.15am to 9.20am
Bathurst: Subway, 104 William St, Saturday, August 7, 12.50pm to 1.30pm
Orange: Village Bakehouse, 208 Peisley St, Sunday, August 8, 10.50am to 12.10pm
Orange: Byng Street Cafe, 47 Byng St, Sunday, August 8, 12.50pm to 1.10pm
Up to 574 venues have been added to the Health department’s list of places of potential transmission, largely from parts of southwest and west Sydney.
The details of these can be found on the NSW government website.
READ MORE:It’s a deal: Covid-19 camp for city centre
Ellie Dudley 8.15pm: Auctions spike despite lockdown
The number of auctions spanning Australia’s capital cities spiked over the past week, despite outbreaks of the Delta variant of Covid-19 sending many parts of the country into lockdown.
Some 1918 homes were taken to auction across the combined capital cities last week, up from 1606 the previous week, data from CoreLogic showed.
In the same period last year, which was at the peak of Melbourne’s 112-day lockdown, only 1046 auctions were held.
The number of auctions last week, however, was lower than the 2139 originally anticipated because of a large number of auctions postponed.
With Melbourne’s latest lockdown extended, only 954 of the 1131 auctions expected to be held in the city forged on.
This time last year, only 191 auctions were held.
Despite almost 16 per cent of the Victorian capital’s auctions being postponed, a substantial rise was still seen, compared with the previous week when 662 homes were auctioned.
Joseph Lam 7.30pm:Bosses already on track for vaccinated workers
As big business and many of Australia’s leaders debate mandating Covid-19 vaccines at work, many have failed to realise that software allowing businesses to track staff vaccinations has been in place for several months in human resources systems.
Software tracking staff vaccinations has slowly been rolled out in health clinics, disability services and dental practices as expected.
But more widely, it has quickly been picked up by construction companies and hospitality businesses across the country from CBDs to towns with populations as little as 10,000.
In Western Australia, Pretzel Australia has been using Employsure’s VaccTrak tool since April. It has now registered Covid-19 vaccines for two of its more than 200 staff members.
The software helps employers develop vaccination reports, provide Covid-19 information and resources to staff and record proof of vaccination records, says the company’s entrepreneurial owner, Brittany Garbutt.
“Realistically speaking, Vacc-Trak is going to be most effective in a potential outbreak,” she said. “But this whole situation is new and it’s moving quickly so it’s good to keep track of who might be less at risk.”
AFP6.45pm: Polish vaccines a ‘responsible policy of solidarity’
Poland has sold one million Pfizer Covid vaccine doses to Australia as part of a “responsible policy of solidarity”, the Polish health minister said on Sunday.
Health Minister Adam Niedzieslki said Poland’s vaccine purchases “allow us to meet the needs of our citizens and support others in need”.
Polish ambassador to Australia Michal Kolodziejski said: “In these tough times for our Australian friends, Poland has decided to share with Australia one million doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, with immediate delivery”.
Poland has fully vaccinated about 55 per cent of its population, but the rate of vaccinations has slowed sharply in recent months and many vaccination centres have been closed due to low demand.
Opinion polls indicate that up to a quarter of Poles are either opposed to vaccination or hesitant about getting one.
READ MORE:Bosses already on track for vaccinated workers
Rachel Baxendale6pm: Jewish leaders pan ultra-Orthodox gatherings
Key members of Melbourne’s Jewish community have publicly condemned the actions of a small group of ultra-Orthodox Jews who have been holding illegal gatherings, in contravention of coronavirus restrictions.
The comments from leaders including Council of Orthodox Synagogues of Victoria president Mark Cohen and Rabbi James Kennard, who is principal of Australia’s largest Jewish school, Mt Scopus.
They come after two of Sunday’s mystery cases were identified as a mother and son from East St Kilda, who are members of the Orthodox Jewish community.
Victorian Covid logistics chief Jeroen Weimar said the pair had co-operated with contact tracers, who are investigating links to illegal gatherings — understood to include a large engagement party held last weekend.
In behaviour which has disgusted the vast majority of the rest of Melbourne’s Jewish community, members of the tiny ultra-Orthodox community have continued to gather in numbers sufficient to constitute a minyan — which is the quorum of 10 adult Jewish men required for certain religious obligations — throughout Victoria’s lockdowns since last year.
In a statement released on Sunday, Mr Cohen said the council condemned the alleged illegal minyanim.
“The COSV has consistently conveyed the restrictions to which synagogues should be following under the guidelines stipulated to keep our community safe,” Mr Cohen said.
“While all COSV Shules abide and are compliant with the directions not to host services, these alleged private minyanim are not only illegal under these restrictions but are a disappointing act that have put the entire Melbourne Jewish Orthodox community at risk.”
Mr Cohen urged all members of the community not to congregate or visit other people’s homes, to check-in everywhere using QR codes, to wear masks, get tested and get vaccinated.
Rabbi Kennard said it was “painful to speak out against fellow Jews in public”.
“But at this time, the danger of staying silent is too great,” he said.
“Because the law states that we must stay at home, because the experts tell us that this is the way to save lives, because of the risk of terrible Chillul Hashem (desecration of God’s name), every rabbi and leader must cry out.
“We must take the heartbreaking path and stop the gatherings — for prayer, for s’machot, for school. Just stop.”
READ MORE:Huge boost for Australia’s vaccine rollout
Ellie Dudley 5.30pm:Labor demands Covid cash support for all
NSW Labor is calling for Covid-19 test and isolation payments to be made available to all residents.
The state government announced on Saturday workers aged 17 and over who live in government areas of concern, get tested for Covid-19 and isolate until a negative result is returned will be eligible for one $320 payment in a four-week period for lost wages.
But opposition leader Chris Minns has said the measure was inadequate, and the payment should be offered statewide.
“The Covid test and isolate payment needs to apply right across greater Sydney & regional NSW,” he wrote on Twitter on Sunday.
“There’s reports of people in the regions waiting 7 days for test results. Not good enough.
“No one should be disadvantaged because they’ve done the right thing and got tested.”
The test and isolate payments will commence next week.
The Covid test and isolate payment needs to apply right across greater Sydney & regional NSW.
— Chris Minns (@MinnsChris) August 15, 2021
There’s reports of people in the regions waiting 7 days for test results. Not good enough.
No one should be disadvantaged because they’ve done the right thing and got tested.#nswpol
READ MORE:New rules: what you can and can’t do in Sydney now
Rachel Baxendale 4.55pm: Victorians urged to get tested
Authorities are not seeing “enough activity” at testing centres given the number of mystery clusters in Victoria, state Covid logistics chief Jeroen Weimar says.
Mr Weimar said there were also numerous instances of cases that had arisen from breaches of restrictions, including children having sleepovers and homework clubs with other households, office workers refusing to work from home, and illegal household gatherings.
“This is not just a western suburbs issue. We’ve got positive cases living in Frankston, living in Dandenong, living across our eastern suburbs, St Kilda. Middle Park, the city of Melbourne as well as across our northern and western suburbs, so please do not think that this is something that’s impacting only other people in other communities,” Mr Weimar said.
“Those of us who are essential workers have not only an opportunity to keep working, and that is not only a privilege but it is also a responsibility, it is so important, if you’re an essential worker continuing to travel through our city at this point in time, you must be on top of your symptoms.
“As soon as you see any symptoms whatsoever, come within a hair ‘s breadth of any of these exposure sites, you must get tested at the first opportunity.
“We’re seeing children gathering, we’re seeing schoolwork clubs, we’re seeing sleepovers. If those things are happening to your children, if your children have been contacting each other or have been with other kids over the recent days, you must go and get them tested today. We’ve seen positive cases coming out of this outbreak of that kind of contact.
“If you are supposed to be working from home, because you can, and you’re choosing to work from an office, we’d like you to go and get tested, because again we are seeing people who are not abiding by the work from home directive who are picking up coronavirus spreading it into their community.
“And of course we always see those understandable but very dangerous household gatherings, household visits, popping over just to see to make sure they are OK. All understandable, but also dangerous, because we’re seeing the virus hitch along and move from one cluster to another.
“So please, If any of those scenarios are applying to you, if you’ve got any symptoms whatsoever, I know it’s a nice day out there, we need to get tested today. We are not, frankly, seeing enough activity in our testing centres at this point in time given the number of different strands that we are picking up every single day.”
Of Victoria’s 185 active coronavirus cases on Sunday:
● 44 are in children aged under 10;
● 39 are in people aged between 10 and 19;
● 65 are in people aged between 20 and 40;
● 31 are in people aged between 40 and 60;
● Six are in people aged over 60;
READ MORE: Fake Covid text sparks worksite chaos
Joseph Lam4.20pm:15-year-old Covid-positive Sydney boy on life support
A 15-year-old boy has been put on life support after contracting Covid-19 while battling other underlying health conditions.
It is understood the teenager was in a grave condition on Sunday after being admitted while suffering from pneumococcal meningitis.
Asked about the case on Sunday, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said she would only provide some brief information cleared by his family.
“I can confirm that there is someone admitted to hospital that is 15 and that the cause of their admission, while they are Covid positive, is related to another health condition,” she said.
“The family have agreed that we can indicate that he has pneumococcal meningitis.”
“I’ll chase up the vaccination issues with the pneumococcal vaccine.”
READ MORE: Uptake of AstraZeneca among young Victorians surges
Anthony Piovesan3.55pm:Trio’s foiled plan to flee Victoria lockdown
Three Melburnians have been caught fleeing the city’s lockdown without a valid travel permit and escaping to the Northern Territory. Two women, aged 24 and 34, and a 40-year-old man travelled separately from Melbourne to Darwin over the weekend without any exemptions.
The 24-year-old allegedly lied to authorities saying she had been in Brighton “a few weeks ago” but later confessed to being in the southeastern suburb of Melbourne last week, Northern Territory Police said.
Melbourne is deemed a coronavirus hot spot with anyone travelling from there requiring an authorised travel permit.
Melbourne has been locked down for almost a fortnight, with the possibility of the strict orders being extended due to the rising number of mystery cases in metropolitan Melbourne.
Each traveller was slapped with a fine of $5056.
Two travellers were sent home on a flight on Saturday and one passenger stayed overnight at Darwin’s quarantine facility before being sent back to Melbourne on Sunday morning.
Northern Territory Incident controller Sachin Sharma urged travellers not to travel to the NT from a declared coronavirus hot spot.
“Authorities are checking each border entry form upon arrival,” he said.
“If you are providing false information about your whereabouts, we will know. If you are expecting to be allowed into the Territory without an exemption, you will not be.
“This is a serious situation and we will continue to enforce chief health officer directions with a zero tolerance approach.”
READ MORE: Race to vaccinate on Covid’s new Indigenous frontline
Rachel Baxendale 3.15pm: Breakdown of Victoria’s 10 mystery clusters
Victoria’s number of clusters since August 4 with no identified source of acquisition is back up to 10, after two previous mystery cases were linked to other clusters and two entirely new ones emerged.
The mystery cases include:
- An Al-Taqwa College teacher in her 20s and her optometrist partner, who live in Hobson’s Bay. The partner worked at Caroline Springs Square shopping centre and played football at the Newport Football Club;
- A Maribyrnong man in his 20s who works at a warehouse in Derrimut;
- A Melton family of two parents and a child;
- A City of Melbourne father who works at the Royal Children’s Hospital, and his son who is in Grade One at St Michael’s Primary School in North Melbourne;
- A Brunswick West man who had visited sites in Flemington and Parkville;
Checked exposure sites lately? More have been published online at https://t.co/xojLvnrdjA including: pic.twitter.com/dAlh8gsJUI
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 15, 2021
- A Glenroy family linked to Glenroy West Primary School, where there are now 29 cases. This cluster now includes two previous mystery cases in a Roxburgh Park resident who works in Bundoora, and in a Glenroy family whose child attends Corpus Christi Primary School in Glenroy;
- A delivery truck driver who lives in Wyndham Vale in Melbourne’s outer southwest, and does not drive interstate;
- A person who lives in Middle Park and visited the South Melbourne Market and a string of sites in Melbourne’s inner south and southeast. This case is believed to be linked to a case in a cleaner who lives in the City of Greater Dandenong, in Melbourne’s outer southeast, and works in Fitzroy Street. The exact link is not yet clear;
- A construction worker who lives in West Footscray;
- A mother and her adult son from East St Kilda;
READ MORE: Andrews admits source of current outbreak may never be known
Melanie Evans3pm:US hospitalisations for 30-39s at record rate
Hospitalisations of Covid-19 patients in their 30s have hit a new record, US government data show, a sign of the toll that the highly contagious Delta variant is taking among the unvaccinated.
Thirty-somethings, who are in prime ages for work and parenting, had largely avoided hospital stays for Covid-19 during earlier phases of the pandemic because of their relative good health.
Yet the age group is seeing new Covid-19 hospital admissions increase during the recent Delta-driven surge, which doctors and epidemiologists attribute to the failure of large numbers of Americans to get vaccinated and their highly active lives.
The rate at which adults ages 30 to 39 are entering hospitals with Covid-19 reached about 2.5 per 100,000 people as of last Wednesday, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Department of Health and Human Services, up from the previous peak of roughly 2 per 100,000 people in early January.
“It means Delta is really bad,” said James Lawler, an infectious-disease physician and co-director of the Global Center for Health Security at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
As of August 9, national forecasts predict 9,600–33,000 new #COVID19 hospitalizations will likely be reported on September 6. More: https://t.co/Xys80ZGlxV. pic.twitter.com/jBcwLmtaIe
— CDC (@CDCgov) August 12, 2021
The strain is more transmissible, Dr. Lawler said, and studies indicate that infected people can develop more severe illness than from other strains.
New infections have climbed above 123,000 each day, using the seven-day average, which helps to smooth out irregularities in the data, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
Hospitalisations, too, have increased from low points in the spring when more Americans became immunised.
Preliminary studies indicate vaccines protect against Delta, especially against severe cases or death, but the shots appear to be less effective against the variant than they are against the earliest versions of the coronavirus.
Uneven vaccination rates across the country and age groups has left pockets of people at risk from the tenacious Delta variant.
Nationally, slightly less than half of those ages 25 to 39 are fully vaccinated, compared with 61% of all adults, CDC data show. Ages are available for 92% of those fully vaccinated.
People ages 30 to 39 years accounted for about 170,852 new Covid-19 admissions of more than 2.5 million hospital stays since August last year, when the data became available. - WSJ
READ MORE: Land of the free provides a sobering lesson on vaccines
Rachel Baxendale 2.45am: Breakdown of Victoria’s latest cases
There are 185 active coronavirus cases in Victoria on Sunday, including four in people who are in hospital, one of whom is in ICU - up from three in hospital and one in ICU on Saturday.
There are now more than 500 exposure sites linked to the clusters which have emerged since August 4, and more than 13,000 primary close contacts in home isolation.
Of the 25 new community-acquired cases in Sunday’s numbers:
- 10 are in households linked to Al-Taqwa College, including a family of six, a family of three, and a single student in another household;
- Seven are linked to the Glenroy West Primary School cluster, including six students and one household member;
- Three are linked to the CS Square shopping centre in Caroline Springs, including two associated with the Jolly Miller Cafe and one with the YPA real estate agency;
- One is a social contact of the Middle Park mystery case identified on Friday;
- One is a cleaner who lives in the City of Greater Dandenong in Melbourne’s outer southeast, who has worked on Fitzroy Street in St Kilda and is believed to be linked to the Middle Park case but the exact links are yet to be established;
- One is a construction worker who lives in West Footscray, and is yet to be linked to any other known positive cases;
- Two cases are in a mother and her adult son from East St Kilda, who are yet to be linked to any other known positive cases;
Of the 25 cases, 12 are in people who were isolating throughout their infectious period, most of whom are linked to Al-Taqwa or CS Square.
READ MORE: NSW Treasurer’s younger brother rebels by opposing mandatory coronavirus vaccination
Joseph Lam2.30pm:Chant more stern than usual in Sunday’s update
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant was a little more stern than usual in Sunday’s Covid-19 update, delivering some rather matter-of-fact messages when questioned by reporters.
“We are at a fork in the road and we have to decide what path we will choose,” she said.
“The path I want is one where I see declining case numbers and increasing vaccination uptake. The vaccine will take us there but it will not be a silver bullet.”
“Vaccination is part of the solution. It helps us because if the person is vaccinated, there is less chance that they get the disease particularly if they have had two doses.
“And therefore, it means they are less likely to pass it to others. And also less likely to need hospital care and admission to intensive care.”
Asked if hospitals in the LGAs of concern were coping, Dr Chant said they were with some difficulty.
“Look, the health system is under stress ... let’s be frank,” she said. “But … it is a big health system and we have the capacity to draw on services and staff from a broad range of places so we have got a level of resilience in our health system.”
READ MORE: Kerry Chant turns to TikTok to spread Covid-19 messaging
Rachel Baxendale 2.15am: Andrews says NSW’s ‘got to vaccinate their way out of this’
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews does not oppose NSW being given half of the million extra Pfizer doses secured by Australia from Poland, because “nothing else is working” to control Sydney’s coronavirus crisis.
Victoria will receive 175,000 extra doses as a result of the deal.
“I know some Victorians will ask: ‘why are they getting more than we are?’,” Mr Andrews said.
“Nothing else they are doing is working, nothing else has worked. They’ve got to vaccinate their way out of this now.
“We don’t want to get to that point because, the flip side of that is hundreds of people in hospital, and people dying.
“We don’t want that. We’ve got a chance to do what we’ve done before, and that is drive these case numbers down.”
READ MORE: Australian government secures 1 million extra Covid-19 Pfizer doses
Rachel Baxendale 2.15am: ‘Far too many cases in Victoria’, says Andrews
Daniel Andrews has warned his state is dealing with “far too many cases” of coronavirus, urging Victorians to stay home amid reports of illegal inner city pub crawls and other gatherings.
“There are far too many cases, firstly. Then of course there are many cases that are not linked,” Mr Andrews said.
“There are a number of mystery cases, and those numbers continue to grow, and that is very challenging.
“If we were to reopen the whole economy, if we were to reopen and let people move freely right now, then we would finish up where Sydney is at: thousands of cases, not cases in the tens and 20s, but thousands of cases, and hundreds and hundreds of people in hospital, and many of them, very unwell. We would finish up with deaths.”
Mr Andrews said if there was an alternative to the current restrictions, he would take it.
“There is not. We have to continue to be vigilant. I know this is getting really hard, it is getting really frustrating, it is getting really difficult, but I just say to people: look, a sneaky illegal visit to regional Victoria is just not worth it.
“A pub crawl, impromptu or preplanned, Victorian Police are having a close look at that and I will let them update you later on today, but a pub crawl, and that is what it was in Richmond last night, is not worth it. “Nobody should be doing anything that potentially spreads at this virus, because this virus is not something anyone wants to get.
“We’re not talking about people in their 90s. That is tragic enough. We’re about people dying in their 30s and 40s and 50s.”
“I know it’s difficult, I know it’s hard, but so too is being on a machine to breathe, so too is having to nurse someone in full PPE, hour after hour, shift after shift.
“I’ve had some of the conversations with family members who’ve lost a loved one. I’ve had conversations with nurses who’ve nursed them. This is not something that you can cheat your way out of.”
Mr Andrews said the “vast majority of Victorians” were “doing the right thing”.
“But I think there are some people who think these rules don’t apply to them. I just say to them, the consequences are very significant and very serious.”
READ MORE: ‘It’s growing’ - Grim lockdown sign in Victoria
AFP1.45pm:Fiji public servants told ‘no jab, no job’
A “no jab, no job” coronavirus policy went into effect in Fiji on Sunday, with unvaccinated public servants forced to go on leave as the Pacific nation joined a number of countries in imposing similar mandates.
A stubborn outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant that started in April ended a yearlong spell of no community transmission of Covid-19, and has overwhelmed Fiji’s healthcare system with more than 40,000 cases.
The government has argued that mandatory vaccinations are necessary to raise immunisation rates and end the outbreak.
After a period of forced leave starting Sunday, Fiji’s public servants who remain unvaccinated by November will be dismissed.
In addition, employees at private firms could face fines and companies could be forced to stop operations over vaccine refusals.
A growing number of nations are making shots compulsory in critical sectors such as health and public services.
From Canada and the United States to Zimbabwe and Saudi Arabia, authorities in a growing number of countries have moved to require workers in hospitals, schools, travel and public services to get a shot or face varying levels of disciplinary action.
Despite intense political opposition in some nations such as France, governments and experts say mass vaccination is one of the most potent weapons to help end the pandemic and end the economic suffering brought by restrictions such as lockdowns.
Legal expert and former head of the Fiji Human Rights Commission Imrana Jalal said other countries had mandated compulsory vaccinations in various critical sectors, but not on the sweeping scale imposed in Fiji.
The island nation’s economy has been hammered by the pandemic-induced collapse of the tourism industry, with unemployment soaring as a result.
The government has dismissed the lockdown option because of its high economic cost and rising poverty in the nation of 930,000.
With more than 24,000 still-active cases and 358 deaths, its resources are stretched as military-style field hospitals handle the overflow of patients. — AFP
READ MORE: Fiji capital’s virus ‘superspreader’ event
Blake Antrobus1pm: Where are the areas of most concern in NSW
Multiple suburbs in western and southwestern Sydney are among the areas of “most concern” as NSW health authorities grapple with another surge in Covid-19 cases.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian revealed the suburbs of Blacktown, Mount Druitt, Marayong, Merrylands, Auburn and Guildford were showing a considerable growth in cases despite increasing rates of vaccination across other local government areas.
Cases in Dubbo and Walgett and sewage detections in Bourke have also sparked alarm.
Ms Berejiklian has urged people in those areas not to leave home “unless you absolutely have to”.
“Please know, if you are in these areas, you not only need to take extra precautions but make sure you come forward for testing,” she said.
“We can’t stress enough that we don’t want to go down the path of all these other places overseas where they have literally thousands and thousands and thousands of cases a day.
NSW recorded 415 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 15, 2021
Of these locally acquired cases 139 are linked to a known case or cluster 122 are household contacts and 17 are close contacts & the source of infection for 276 cases is under investigation pic.twitter.com/kU01v5Q9WN
“We are really begging people to take this seriously … to protect yourself and your loved ones and protect our freedom going forward.”
It comes as NSW records 415 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 on Sunday.
Tragically, four people also died during the latest reporting period.
Chief health officer Kerry Chant said coronavirus fragments were detected as sewage treatment plants at Lennox Head, Bourke, Parkes and Wallacia, which serves the areas of Warragamba, Mulgoa, Silverdale and Wallacia. She said the public health unit was still concerned about the Maitland area.
“There were some cases investigated overnight,” Dr Chant said.
“If you are a resident in the Newcastle area, please be vigilant for those local concerns notices.”
READ MORE: Queensland records zero new local Covid-19 cases
MITCHELL VAN HOMRIGH12.15pm:‘No one able to beat Delta’: Berejiklian
Gladys Berejiklian has told reporters eliminating the highly contagious Delta strain was now “almost impossible”.
“I think when you look around Australia and other states, who had lower case numbers than us, it is very to get those down. It is very stubborn and we are doing everything we can, throwing everything we can, to make sure that we achieve those outcomes in New South Wales,” she said.
“But our aim is to have case numbers as low as possible and to have vaccination rates as high as possible, and with adults are, the experience of Delta is that no other jurisdiction has been able to eliminate it.
“It’s not possible to eliminate it completely. We have to learn to live with it. But the best chance we have to live with it freely and safely is to get the case numbers down as low as possible.”
READ MORE: Anti-lockdown protesters embarrass, alienate and endanger us
EVIN PRIEST12pm:Gladys defends announcing state lockdown via Twitter
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has defended announcing the statewide lockdown of NSW via media release and social media instead of calling another press conference on Saturday.
The whole of NSW, outside greater Sydney, was plunged into a seven-day lockdown on Saturday at 5pm after recording 466 new infections and four deaths.
The order replaced all existing lockdown orders for regional NSW and Dr Kerry Chant said she gave advice for the statewide lockdown because it was “clearly needed”.
It lasts until 12.01am on August 22.
Outrage was directed at the fact it was announced at 2.30pm – only 2.5 hours before it kicked in – and that it was done via deputy premier John Barilaro’s Twitter account.
To minimise movement and protect our communities from the evolving COVID situation in Sydney, stay-at-home orders will be introduced for all of Regional NSW from 5pm tonight.
— John Barilaro MP (@JohnBarilaroMP) August 14, 2021
Many took to social media to call it a slap in the face to the bush.
“By yesterday most of the state was in lockdown already,” Ms Berejiklian said as she defended Mr Barilaro’s move. “It was just a few local government areas in rural and regional communities.”
READ MORE: McCrann: The second wave recession
Adeshola Ore11.50am:None of the ACT’s nine active cases required hospitalisation
Of the ACT two new cases announced on Sunday, Chief Minister Andrew Barr said one of the new cases is a man in his 20s, with no identified links to current infections.
The other case is linked to Fiction nightclub in Canberra city, where the man who triggered the territory’s lackdown had visited.
Mr Barr said anyone who visited the venue at the exposure times must isolate for 14 days and get tested.
Mr Barr said he welcomed the announcement from the NSW government to enact a state-wide lockdown.
“Whether you’re on the ACT or NSW side of the border, everyone is in the same situation now,” he said.
“We are aware of the challenges that the cross-border situation presents and we are working with our NSW counterparts to make it as simple as possible.”
ACT COVID-19 update (15 August 2021)
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) August 15, 2021
â–ªï¸ Cases today (since yesterday’s press conference): 2
â–ªï¸ Active cases: 9
â–ªï¸ Total cases (since March 2020): 133
â–ªï¸ Negative test results (past 24 hours): 3,292
â–ªï¸ Total negative tests: 291,342
â–ªï¸ Total COVID-19 vaccinations: 169,545 pic.twitter.com/tH7Rz1glkH
ACT Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman said none of the territory’s nine active cases required hospitalisation.
Mr Barr said he would update territorians in the coming days about what the additional Pfizer doses would mean for the ACT’s rollout.
READ MORE: China, the WHO and the power grab that fuelled a pandemic
Rachel Baxendale11.30am:Victoria adds 84,000 vaccine appointments at hubs
Victoria has added an extra 84,000 vaccine appointments at state-run hubs over the next month, in addition to an extra 200,000 already announced on Friday.
The new appointments come ahead of all 50 state-run clinics opening AstraZeneca appointments to 18-39-year-olds from Monday, up from a trial of nine clinics last week, and is in addition to any appointments that may arise out of Pfizer supplies just secured from Poland.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he was not “entirely certain” when Victoria would get its 175,000 doses as part of the Polish consignment.
“I would not advise anyone to change their plans based on that. Book with confidence, based on what we announced last Friday, based on what I am announcing today, which is another 84,000 appointments,” Mr Andrews said.
“They are a mix of AstraZeneca and Pfizer. If you book AstraZeneca, you’ll come along, you speak to experienced health are official to have a conversation with you about whether AstraZeneca works for you, it is safe for you, you can make informed consent.
“The chief health officer is not here today but if I can quote him, the best vaccine is the one you can get today. No one should delay on the basis that there is more coming. Yes, there is more coming, when that occurs, who knows?
“The more people who are protected faster, then the greater the benefit to all of us.”
READ MORE: Huge boost for Australia’s vaccine rollout
Evin Priest 11.05am:NSW records 415 new cases, four deaths
NSW has recorded four deaths along with 415 new local cases of Covid-19 on Sunday.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian detailed the four deaths while also announcing at least 42 cases active in the community while infectious.
But Ms Berejiklian revealed that the number of people infectious in the community was likely go up as the isolation status of 273 cases was investigated.
“Regrettably, four people lost their lives to 8pm last night,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“A female in her 50s in southwest Sydney at Campbelltown Hospital (who) wasn’t vaccinated, a female in her 70s at Royal North Shore Hospital who was only recently given her first dose, a man in his 80s at Liverpool Hospital who wasn‘t vaccinated and a female in her 80s at RPA who was vaccinated but did have underlying chronic conditions.
“Again, our heartfelt deepest sympathies and condolences to all of their loved ones.”
The whole state was locked down on Saturday after posting 466 new infections and four more deaths.
NSW recorded 415 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 15, 2021
Of these locally acquired cases 139 are linked to a known case or cluster 122 are household contacts and 17 are close contacts & the source of infection for 276 cases is under investigation pic.twitter.com/kU01v5Q9WN
On Sunday, NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant appeared devastated while delivering a stern warning to NSW.
“I personally do not want to see escalating numbers of deaths and hospitalisations, and it does require all of us to act and add here urgently, and not have any degree of complacency, even though we all feel (exhausted) after such a protracted battle against COVID,” Dr Chant said.
“I cannot stress enough the seriousness of the current situation, and my grave concerns that these case numbers will continue to escalate.
“While we have put in additional controls, everybody needs to have a great sense of responsibility to follow the rules.”
Premier Berejiklian said Blacktown, Mount Druitt, Merion, Maryland, Orban and Guildford were now areas of concern.
Of the 415 new cases, 167 from western Sydney, 98 from southwest Sydney, 42 from inner Sydney, 36 from Nepean/Blue Mountains, 31 from southeast Sydney, 21 from western NSW, nine from Hunter/New England region, six from northern Sydney and two from Central Coast.
On a positive note, the Premier said NSW has now administered five million doses of vaccine and half of the population have now received their first dose.
Dr Chant said she is “very concerned” about western NSW. “We have cases in Dubbo and we have exposures and sewage detections in a number of other areas such as Bourke (and) Walgett.
Dr Chant said she was pleased cases had settled in the Newcastle area.
READ MORE: What the NSW lockdown means
Adeshola Ore10.55am:ACT records two new Covid cases, outbreak now nine
The ACT has recorded two new cases of Covid-19, taking the total number of infections in the territory’s outbreak to nine.
The territory conducted more than 3,200 tests in the past twenty-four hour period.
ACT COVID-19 update (15 August 2021)
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) August 15, 2021
â–ªï¸ Cases today (since yesterday’s press conference): 2
â–ªï¸ Active cases: 9
â–ªï¸ Total cases (since March 2020): 133
â–ªï¸ Negative test results (past 24 hours): 3,292
â–ªï¸ Total negative tests: 291,342
â–ªï¸ Total COVID-19 vaccinations: 169,545 pic.twitter.com/tH7Rz1glkH
ANTHONY PIOVESAN 10.45am:Rapid antigen testing to be rolled out in Sydney aged care
NSW will introduce Covid-19 rapid antigen testing across aged care facilities in greater Sydney in a bid to identify cases before they escalate into outbreaks.
The commonwealth announced on Sunday it would roll out the new testing at the Uniting Bankstown Aged Care Facility on Monday, and then continue the program at other facilities that express interest.
Rapid antigen testing (RAT) – which can test for Covid-19 and deliver a result in just 15 minutes – has been the source of much debate in Australian parliament, with some politicians urging the country should have adopted the approach sooner. Rapid antigen testing has been widely used across Europe and the United States since the start of the year.
But in Victoria, the push has been totally shut down with the state’s chief health officer Brett Sutton saying PCR tests were the “gold standard” and rapid antigen testing would not “provide much additional value”.
However, federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the rapid testing in NSW aged care facilities would allow “fast Covid-19 screening” of people who were more vulnerable against coronavirus and it’s deadly variants.
It comes as Sydney’s Covid-19 outbreak worsened on Saturday when the state posted a record 466 new local cases and four more people also lost their lives to the virus.
“Given the rate at which we know the Delta variant can be spread between people, the very fast turnaround of RAT – around 15 minutes – makes these tests useful in preventing asymptomatic transmission and outbreaks as they can be used on a daily basis,” Mr Hunt said.
“Sadly, the pandemic’s toll in Australia last year was highest among aged care residents.
“That is why, along with increased infection control training and vaccinations, we are looking at further innovations such as RAT to provide an additional layer of protection for the most vulnerable Australians.”
READ the full storyhere.
Joesph Lam10.30am:No new Queensland cases but Palaszczuk tightens border
Queensland has recorded no new locally-transmitted Covid-19 cases over the past 24 hours.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said while no new cases were positive, there is concern about the NSW and Queensland border after NSW was put into a statewide lockdown on Saturday.
“We worked very hard yesterday late afternoon into the evening to get extra police presence down there (at the border),” she said.
Sunday 15 August – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) August 15, 2021
0 new locally acquired cases.
1 overseas acquired case - detected in hotel quarantine.#covid19pic.twitter.com/XpeCvy0MJd
“Now, because all of New South Wales is in a lockdown position, there should be very minimal movement over that border. And that extra police presence will ensure we do everything we can to keep Queenslanders safe.
“This is probably the tightest border controls we have put in place, they are going to be very strict, we will be checking people, and of course there is very minimal reason for that movement and we will be checking freight as well.”
READ MORE: New coronavirus lockdown rules for Greater Sydney announced: what you can and can’t do
Adeshola Ore10.15am:PM pleads with NSW residents: stay at home
Scott Morrison has pleaded with New South Wales residents to stay at home and follow lockdown restrictions.
On Saturday, the entire state of NSW was plunged into a lockdown after it recorded 466 new cases - its highest number in the outbreak.
“I need you to stay at home and you needed more vaccines from us,” Mr Morrison said.
“More vaccines are on their way. They will be there this week. And so I need Sydneysdiers to stay home so we can beat this thing.”
Adeshola Ore10.05am:One million Pfizer doses from Poland arrive tonight
Scott Morrison has confirmed Australia has secured an additional one million doses of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
The extra one million dose, sent from Poland, will land in Australia tonight. The nation has already secured 40 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
The Prime Minister described the extra supplies as “one million doses of hope” for Australians and particularly in New South Wales.
Mr Morrison also said by next week 50 per cent of eligible Australians will have received their first Covid-19 vaccine dose.
#Breaking: Prime Minister Scott Morrison announces a deal with Poland to secure one million doses of Pfizer. #auspolpic.twitter.com/qZygNp26rj
— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) August 15, 2021
The extra one million doses will be given to younger Australians aged 20-39, which were identified by the Doherty Institute as peak transmitters of the virus. They will begin being administered this week.
More than half of the doses, 530,000, will be prioritised for 12 local government areas in NSW that have the highest rates of the virus.
Mr Morrison said the additional Pfizer doses would “greatly assist” NSW to vaccinate its younger population in hotspots.
“Many of them have to go to work because they are essential workers that keep the country moving,” he said.
“This will give everyone aged 20-39 in the 12 LGAs the opportunity to be vaccinated.”
The remaining doses will be provided to other states and territories on a per capita basis.
Mr Morrison said the allocation on doses was based “directly” on health advice from Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly.
READ MORE: Race to vaccinate on Covid’s new Indigenous frontline
Adeshola Ore9.45am:Staff vaccines should only be imposed with a health order: Labor
Labor frontbencher Tony Burke says any decision on whether employers should be able to mandate Covid-19 vaccines for staff should only be imposed when there is a health order.
Speaking after national cabinet on Friday, Scott Morrison said state and territory governments would use workplace laws to shield businesses from legal exposure if they did not impose mandatory vaccines for employees.
Should employers require their staff to be vaccinated?
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) August 14, 2021
"Wherever there is a health order to that effect, support it absolutely," @Tony_Burke says.#Insiders#auspolpic.twitter.com/TsUQBlUrY3
The opposition’s industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke told the ABC any decision on vaccine mandates should be based on health advice.
“What I support is for mandating to be determined by health orders. I just can’t be clearer than that,” he said.
Under current arrangements endorsed by the national cabinet, aged-care and quarantine workers are the only people in the country who must be vaccinated.
READ MORE: Earth to the premiers: your futile Covid zero war is over
Adeshola Ore9am:WA to pursue Covid zero even after 80% vaccine threshold
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan says even with an 80 per cent fully vaccinated threshold, his state will still aim for zero Covid-19 cases through using lockdowns and a hard border.
Modelling by the Doherty Institute revealed at 80 per cent lockdowns would not be needed for entire states and extended areas, though localised, targeted lockdowns could still be needed.
But Mr McGowan said elimination of the virus was still Western Australia’s goal, noting “our preferred option is zero Covid obviously”.
“That’s what we’ll achieve to do. We don’t want to have deaths,” he told Sky News.
“When you get to 80 per cent it makes it far more easy to ease restrictions but national cabinet has agreed that states have a right to put in place borders.”
His comments are at odds with Scott Morrison’s who on Friday predicted state border closures should no longer be necessary once Australia reached a double dose vaccination rate of 80 per cent.
Mr McGowan also predicted that his state would have border restrictions with NSW until the end of the year.
READ MORE: Tognini: Trust ripped apart by unacceptable double standards
Rachel Baxendale8.20am:Victoria records 25 new community-acquired cases
Victoria has recorded 25 new community-acquired cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Saturday night.
Of the 25, 21 have been linked to known outbreaks, while the source of the remaining four is under investigation.
While 12 of the cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period, 13 have spent time in the community while infectious.
Reported yesterday: 25 new local cases and 0 new cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 14, 2021
- 23,076 vaccine doses were administered
- 32,286 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/cPMA8FfJpq
Sunday’s 25 cases follow 21 on Saturday, 15 on Friday, 21 locally acquired and two interstate acquired cases on Thursday, 20 on each of Wednesday and Tuesday, and 11 on each of last Monday and Sunday.
The outbreak peak so far was 29 on August 7, just three days after short-lived celebrations of zero on August 4.
There have now been 182 cases linked to outbreaks which have emerged since August 4, ahead of the state’s sixth lockdown being announced the following day.
No source of acquisition has yet been confirmed for either of the Victorian community outbreaks which prompted the sixth lockdown, nor for seven of eight further mystery clusters which emerged on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
Of the 25 locally-acquired cases, 21 are linked to known outbreaks and 12 have been in isolation throughout their infectious period. [1/2]
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 14, 2021
The first cases to appear on August 4 and 5 were a teacher in her 20s from Hobsons Bay who works at Al-Taqwa College and a Maribyrnong man who works at a warehouse in Derrimut – all in Melbourne’s west.
Wednesday’s new mystery cases related to two parents and a child who live in the City of Melton in Melbourne’s outer northwest, and a father who works at the Melbourne Children’s Eye Clinic at the Royal Children’s Hospital, and his Year 1 son who attends St Michael’s Primary School in North Melbourne.
Thursday’s mysteries include a Brunswick West man, and three people spread across two households in Glenroy, in Melbourne’s north, with no interactions so far identified between the two households.
Of Saturday’s 21 new cases, 15 were linked to one of the Glenroy clusters, centred on Glenroy West Primary School – with 22 cases now spread across eight households linked to the cluster and/or suburb.
Mystery cases identified on Friday included a delivery truck driver who lives in Wyndham Vale in Melbourne’s outer southwest, but does not drive interstate, a person who lives in bayside Middle Park in Melbourne’s inner south, and a person who lives in Roxburgh Park in Melbourne’s outer north, and works in Bundoora.
The Roxburgh Park case has since been linked to the Glenroy West Primary School cluster but the others remain unlinked.
Of 182 cases linked to Victorian outbreaks which have emerged since early August, a total of 66, or 36 per cent, have been in quarantine for the duration of their infectious period.
There are currently 185 active cases, including up to two active cases acquired overseas.
As of Saturday, there were three people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus, one of whom was in intensive care.
The latest cases come after 32,286 tests were processed on Saturday, compared with 33,675 on Friday, 40,737 on Thursday, 45,408 on Wednesday, 41,571 on Tuesday, 34,892 on Monday, 38,987 on Sunday and 38,179 last Saturday.
Victoria’s testing record is 59,355 tests on July 20.
READ MORE: Chris Kenny — Earth to premiers: your futile Covid zero war is over
Daniel Sankey6.20am:New exposure sites declared in Dubbo
NSW Health has declared another five Covid-19 exposure sites in Dubbo while confirming more virus trace detections in regional sewage.
Traces of Covid-19 were found at sewage treatment plants in Parkes and Dubbo yesterday. The Parkes plant serves more than 11,000 citizens, while the Brooklyn plant covering 1200 people across Brooklyn, Dangar Island, Cowan, Mooney Mooney and Cheerio Point.
“These are of particular concern, as there are no known cases in these areas,” NSW Health said in a statement.
“Everyone in these areas is urged to monitor for the onset of symptoms, and if they appear, to immediately be tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
Anyone who attended the following venues in Dubbo is considered a close contact and must be tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.
DUBBO EXPOSURE SITES
■ Saint Laurence O’Toole Church, cnr Fitzroy and Tamworth Street — Sunday, August 8 from 6.50am to 8.35am;
■ Blend Sixty-Six Cafe, 83 Tamworth Street — Sunday, August 8 from 8.20am to 8.35am;
■ Relish Cafe, 37-39 Bultje Street — Tuesday, August 10 from 11.55am to 12.30pm;
■ Storm Riders, Shop 1/184 Macquarie Street — Tuesday, August 10 from 1.30pm to 1.35pm; and
■ Priceline pharmacy, 86 Macquarie Street — Tuesday, August 10 from 1.55pm to 3.55pm.
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – NEW VENUES OF CONCERNâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 14, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of new venues of concern associated with confirmed cases of COVID 19, as well as sewage detections. pic.twitter.com/Je3rD6VA7y
READ MORE: Revealed — where most Covid-19 cases are spreading in NSW
Daniel Sankey5am:NSW in total lockdown as Delta spread worsens
The entire state of NSW has been placed under strict stay-at-home restrictions, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian abandoning an incremental lockdown approach following the spread of the Delta variant into regional areas.
Despite ruling out a statewide lockdown earlier in the week, Ms Berejiklian said on Saturday afternoon that health advice concerning multiple regional areas had forced her hand. For seven days from 5pm yesterday, all people in regional NSW must to stay at home unless they have a reasonable excuse to leave.
All schooling will be done at home and travelling for exercise and shopping is only permitted within a person’s LGA or within a radius of 5km (formerly 10km).
The news came just hours after NSW recorded 466 new locally-acquired Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Friday – with no known source for 345 of those cases – plus four deaths.
Traces of Covid-19 had been found in sewage in Ballina and Broken Hill, two regional towns almost 1500km apart. In addition, 26 new cases had been recorded in western NSW, with another 16 in the Hunter/New England region. There were also 30 cases in Dubbo alone and another four in Walgett.
“The nature of Delta is something we haven’t seen before and it is spreading in a way we haven’t seen before,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“If we want to stop the spread, we need to get vaccinated. Vaccination is key. Don‘t wait.”
Following the press conference today, I received health advice concerning multiple regional NSW areas. As such, from 5pm tonight, all of regional NSW will go into a seven-day lockdown. This means the whole state is in strict lockdown. pic.twitter.com/urND0bYfkT
— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) August 14, 2021
The Sunday Telegraph has reported that Prime Minister Scott Morrison “privately raised the issue of a statewide lockdown’’ with Ms Berejiklian in a phone conversation last week, and it was supported by Mr Morrison’s National Security Committee of cabinet.
Ms Berejiklian decided against it at the time with Health Minister Brad Hazzard also publicly ruling it out, the Sunday Telegraph says, but a change of mind occurred after Covid-19 fragments were found in more than 10 sewage treatment plants across rural and regional NSW.
The detection resulted in Nationals leader and Deputy Premier John Barilaro and the Premier agreeing that a statewide – rather than individual local government area – lockdown should occur.
Mr Barilaro said on Sky News the LGA by LGA approach had proved “death by a thousand cuts”.
Extra police were staffing Queensland’s border with NSW from Saturday night to stop anyone trying to breach the lockdown.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is today expected to ban all NSW residents, except freight drivers and health and emergency service workers, from entering the state.
READ MORE: What NSW shutdown means
Daniel Sankey4.45am:Victoria prepares for another lockdown extension
Rising Victorian Covid-19 cases, combined with fears over the spread of the Delta variant in NSW, are expected to see the state’s lockdown extended past Friday.
Yesterday, 21 new cases were reported in Victoria, with 11 of those in quarantine. Dozens of new exposure sites were also declared, including a Richmond apartment block over an 11-day period.
Burnet Institute epidemiologist Professor Michael Toole warned Victoria would need to be “prepared for more lockdowns … particularly with what’s happening in New South Wales”.
“We are getting to the end of the incubation period for those people who got infected seven to 10 days ago,” he said.
“So we should see a decline in the next couple of days – but it surprises you sometimes. Those 40 to 60 people who were infected before the lockdown haven’t been out spreading it all over the place.
“I think this will work, but I think in the next three months, until we can get the vaccination right up to the target at 70 or 80 per cent, we need to be prepared for more lockdowns.”
There was great concern yesterday over eight cases which still had no identified source of acquisition. However, Victoria’s coronavirus response deputy secretary Kate Mason said a Roxburgh Park case had been linked to an outbreak at Glenroy West Primary School.
Ms Mason said Glenroy remained a “big focus” for health authorities, with 345 close contacts from that outbreak alone.
The state’s engagement program also carried out a record 1277 home visits on Saturday.
READ MORE: Concern over Victorian mystery cases
Courtney Gould4.30am:Canberra’s Covid-19 outbreak linked to Sydney
Canberra has recorded one new local case of Covid-19 as health authorities confirm the capital’s outbreak is linked to Sydney.
The new case is a close contact of a previously reported case. It brings the territory’s first cluster in more than in a year to seven active cases.
Health authorities confirmed the outbreak, which was sparked after a 27-year-old Gungahlin resident tested positive to the virus on Thursday, had genomic links to cases in Greater Sydney – though it is not yet known exactly how it crossed the border.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr thanked Canberrans for coming out in large numbers to get tested. More than 4,500 tests were administered on Friday.
“To put some perspective on this, the total population of the ACT is a little over 430,000. So 4,500 tests in one day is more than 1 per cent of the population. That is a very big sample for surveillance,” he said.
Many ACT residents on Friday continued to experience severe delays at testing sites across Canberra. Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the government was working to ramp up operating hours but were conscious of the workload for the workforce.
Read the full story here.
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