Coronavirus Australia live news: CMO says no need for revamp of reopening plan, NSW records 830 cases; ACT records 19 cases; Victoria 65 new cases
As Delta surges to 917 cases, CMO says ‘absolutely not’ to suggestions the modelling behind national freedom plan may need a rethink.
- CMO says no revamp need for reopening modelling
- ACT records 19 cases, ANU, disability sector affected
- NSW records 830 cases
- Victoria records 65 new cases
- NRL star stopped 150km from home
- Cops use new weapon against protesters
- Regional Victoria now in lockdown
- Record 825 new cases in NSW
Welcome to live updates on Australia’s continuing battle with the Covid-19 pandemic.
Victoria Police made 218 arrests and issued 236 fines after an estimated 4000 protesters stormed Melbourne’s CBD yesterday, with police deploying levels of force not before seen during a “freedom” protest. The protests came as regional Victoria joined Melbourne in lockdown as the Shepparton cluster grew to 21 cases. In NSW, a record 825 new cases were recorded, but violent protests were suppressed in a police crackdown that saw more than 1500 officers deployed.
Paige Taylor, Greg Bearup11.30pm: Slow swab results hamper regional Covid battle
Major delays in testing have significantly hampered efforts to stop the spread of Covid-19 in the NSW west, with officials now concerned it may have reached regional Victoria and South Australia.
Confidential situation reports, written by federal health officials and obtained by The Australian, note some testing swabs were being sent to Sydney’s Westmead Hospital to help with the volume.
“This may result in delayed notifications by 24-48 hours and show artificial lull in numbers,” the document from Saturday reads.
“NSW Health are strained across the state and are conducting in excess of 150,000 tests a day, and exploiting private pathology to cover shortfall.”
Separately, Covid-19 test samples from Wilcannia had not been taken to the medical hub of Broken Hill for analysis for several days because the contractor hired by NSW Health “didn’t work weekends”.
“We don’t know if we now have 23 cases or if we have 53 or f..king 63,” a source familiar with the matter said on Sunday.
Ellie Dudley10.45pm: Grave fears for Indigenous in suburbs
Almost half of the Covid-19 cases detected in NSW’s Aboriginal population have been in southwest and western Sydney, as health experts cite grave concerns for the high-risk community.
One hundred and nine of the 226 cases diagnosed so far in the state’s Indigenous community have been detected in the Liverpool (44), Penrith (24) and Parramatta (41) local health districts.
While fears are rife for Indigenous communities in regional NSW, where case numbers have reached almost 90 during the latest outbreak, health experts are becoming increasingly concerned for Sydney’s Indigenous population.
“Covid has highlighted incredible health inequity and we see that most in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,” Western Sydney University chair of general practice Jenny Reath said.
“Often those communities have more crowded housing, often have underlying health problems, poorer access to healthcare which puts them at high risk of Covid and higher risk of much worse consequences.
“This is why it’s such a concern for us when it gets into the community.”
Professor Reath said the “connectedness” of Aboriginal Australians was a blessing and a curse when battling a pandemic.
Dennis Shanahan10pm:PM must manage to lead rather than lead to manage
Scott Morrison has finally stepped up on national leadership and is taking on the premiers threatening continued lockdowns.
The Prime Minister is turning the shield of medical advice that states have used to justify border closures and business shutdowns into a sword to fight for reopening.
Morrison is essentially saying the premiers are misinterpreting the Doherty Institute expert medical advice on lifting social and economic restrictions when vaccination rates reach 70 and 80 per cent.
This is an all-out attempt to take control of not only the national narrative on Covid-19, the Delta variant and lockdowns but also the national argument.
After months of prolix media conferences where there were too many words and not enough messages, Morrison has reacted to the threat to the national health challenge, the viability of vaccinations, the economic recovery and declining social and political state of the public mind by parochial and oppositionist state leaders.
Instead of waiting for parliament to sit or for the 53rd meeting of national cabinet, Morrison has launched a targeted campaign, based on Doherty Institute advice, to use public pressure to get the premiers to honour their collective agreement on a national phased opening of society and the economy when vaccination levels reached 70 and 80 per cent.
Remy Varga9.15pm:Hospital workers forced to stay home
The Delta variant has breached major hospitals in Melbourne, increasing pressure on the healthcare system as hundreds of potentially exposed staff are forced to stand down.
Victorian contact tracers believe a man from Shepparton, in northern Victoria, brought the virus to the Royal Melbourne Hospital when he travelled to the city to undergo surgery.
Health Department deputy secretary Kate Matson said the man then infected a woman with whom he shared a room in the cardiac ward who in turned infected a visitor.
Ms Matson said “hundreds” of staff members had been stood aside after the three positive cases emerged on Saturday, but she did not have a firm number yet, saying the man had visited the Royal Melbourne’s radiology and intensive care units.
The Royal Melbourne outbreak comes after a positive case visited the Werribee Mercy Hospital last Thursday, with a spokeswoman on Sunday confirming 83 staff members remained stood aside.
Western Health executive director of operations Natasha Toohey said 160 staff members had been stood down across various hospitals after being exposed at various sites. A medical imaging worker at Footscray Hospital tested positive on Thursday.
Richard Ferguson, Joe Kelly 8.30pm:US gives a cold shoulder on doses
The US has not given the Morrison government any vaccines throughout the course of the coronavirus pandemic, as tension points between the Biden White House and Canberra build.
Despite President Joe Biden promising to give Covid-19 vaccine doses to needy nations, the Health Department this weekend confirmed Australia had neither bought or received any shots from the US.
The vaccine confirmation comes weeks after The Australian revealed Scott Morrison’s government made as-yet-unanswered requests to the Biden administration for extra Pfizer doses, despite substantial support from US congress leaders.
The Morrison government was attacked last week by the US’s deputy envoy on climate change over its emission reductions policies, and the Prime Minister is yet to speak to Mr Biden about the Afghanistan withdrawal.
Foreign policy experts are warning the Australia cannot expect the US to be the same ally it has been in previous years and must become more self-reliant.
ANU defence and strategic studies analyst Hugh White said on Sunday Mr Biden was “unsentimental” about Australia and Washington was not prepared to help Mr Morrison on vaccines over developing countries.
“The Biden administration, like the Trump administration before it, is demonstrating that it is wholly unsentimental about Australia … We think we’re their little mates, but US policy towards Australia has always been determined by how much we help their strategic interests,” Professor White said.
Olivia Caisley 7.45pm: Disability sector cluster worries ACT leaders
The ACT has identified a Covid-19 cluster within Canberra’s disability sector as the territory’s cases rose by 19 infections to 121.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr on Sunday said 14 people in the disability sector had been infected with the virus, including Canberrans living with a disability and their support workers.
“The government acknowledges the anxiety that this is causing and can advise that we have been actively supporting the affected individuals,” he said.
Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith confirmed four people with a disability were among the positive cases, as well as, seven ACT-based disability support workers and one trades person. She said five disability service providers were directly affected.
Ms Stephen-Smith said another two disability workers, who lived in neighbouring NSW, also tested positive for the virus.
She said low vaccination rates among people with disabilities in the ACT had been a constant “source of frustration” for her.
Evin Priest 7pm: Vax leave for public sector
Nurses, ambos, police and firefighters will be among the public sector employees given paid time off when getting a Covid-19 jab, the Victorian government announced on Sunday.
Health Minister Martin Foley on Sunday announced public sector employees could now access up to half a day’s paid time off to get each dose of the vaccine.
The initiative applies to full-time and part-time staff as well as long-term and regular casuals at departments and administrative offices, statutory authorities, government schools, TAFE institutes, police and emergency services, water and land management authorities and other public entities.
AFP6.15pm: Storm, not Covid, the NY party pooper
New York City shut down its star-studded concert meant to mark its “homecoming” in the wake of the pandemic’s worst devastation over the threat of severe weather as Hurricane Henri churned closer.
Barry Manilow, who was on a line-up that included Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith and Paul Simon, was cut off mid-song by a booming voice urging concert goers to proceed swiftly but calmly to the nearest exit due to approaching storm clouds.
Some 60,000 people were expected at the concert in Central Park on Saturday night, as the hurricane, packing maximum sustained winds near 120km/h per hour and heavy rain, was drawing closer to making landfall sometime on Sunday.
Peter Van Onselen5.30pm: Hunt shuns NSW plea for ADF jab hubs
Greg Hunt has ignored requests from the NSW government for defence personnel to establish special vaccination centres in Sydney’s west and southwest.
The Australian has confirmed the federal Health Minister’s NSW counterpart, Brad Hazzard, wrote to Mr Hunt in early August requesting the Australian Defence Force open several vaccination centres in Sydney and in the state’s west. The commonwealth has yet to provide a formal response.
Health authorities in NSW are scrambling to vaccinate those living in high-risk suburbs in Sydney’s west and southwest, with the state recording a daily record of 830 infections on Sunday.
But commonwealth officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, accused the NSW government of leaking the letter and “playing politics”, noting ADF-run vaccination hubs had been established in the state’s west, where access points were limited.
The officials also said NSW health authorities had dismissed the need for similar hubs in Greater Sydney – as requested in Mr Hazzard’s letter – because there was “ample access to vaccinations at GP clinics and pharmacies littered across the city”.
The Australian understands that NSW Health and NSW Police made it clear to federal officials they thought it was unnecessary to divert ADF from operations to run dedicated vaccination clinics when there are already over 2000 GPs, pharmacies and commonwealth centres doing this.
Steve Zamek4.45pm:Virus contact hit with $5,000 fine for isolation breach
A Lake Macquarie woman has been hit with a $5000 fine for flouting NSW public health directions by visiting a house half an hour away while under isolation orders.
NSW Police deputy commissioner Gary Worboys revealed the woman had been slugged with the hefty penalty as officers handed out 940 penalty infringement notices across the state on Saturday.
NSW Police officers and ADF personnel conducted over 5000 compliance checks on people who had been ordered to self-isolate either because of a positive test or because they were a contact of a confirmed case.
Officers conducted one of those spot-checks on a residence at Lake Macquarie where four people were meant to be quarantining.
However only three people came to the door when asked by officers, with a fourth woman found a short time later at a residence in Kurri Kurri, about 40kms away in the nearby Hunter Region.
“That person was directed to return back to her residence, which she did and was issued a $5000 penalty infringement notice,” deputy commissioner Worboys said.
He said that the residence would now be subject to greater scrutiny and further checks.
“People need to understand that if you are under one of these orders, you need to stay put, you need to do what is asked of you,” he said.
“In this instance where you have someone that clearly puts people at risk and goes outside of the agreement that has been reached, we will put that to the top of the list.
“In that particular residence, with those four people inside, will now be checked on a more frequent basis to make sure that compliance is achieved.”
On Saturday, NSW Police charged 47 people and fined 260 after they successfully disrupted a planned “freedom” protest in theSydney CBD.
In a major show of strength, more than 1500 officers were placed on patrol around the city, setting up road blocks and compliance checks.
Officers clashed with a small number of people but successfully snuffed out a repeat of last month’s anti-lockdown protests in the CBD.
READ MORE:Engaged couple and bride’s parents fined for Caulfield illegal party
Steve Zamek4.20pm:Panic buying hits Bunnings stores
Sydney Bunnings stores have been beset by panic buying as the hardware giant gets set to close its doors to walk-in retail shoppers on Monday.
There were reports of mammoth waits and queues as customers rushed into stores on Saturday and Sunday.
The NSW government has placed restrictions on retail stores as health authorities attempt to quell the latest Covid-19 outbreak due to the Delta variant.
From Monday, retailers in 12 local government areas of concern are being forced to close their stores and only offer click and collect services.
However, Bunnings has decided to close all of its stores across greater Sydney to walk-in retail customers.
All stores will still be open for tradies.
“With the new restrictions on retail spanning a large part of Sydney, Bunnings has made the decision to temporarily close all its stores across Greater Sydney to the general public,” Bunnings managing director Mike Schneider said.
“This is in support of the government and for the safety and security of team members, customers and the community.
“We know from experience that applying a consistent approach across a metropolitan area is easier for our team to manage and helps reduce travel by residents between LGAs.
Despite all customers still being able to shop via click and collect and delivery services, there were reports of massive line-ups and packed stores on Saturday and Sunday.
READ the full story
Erin Lyons4.00pm:Young Covid patient’s plea from hospital
An unvaccinated young Covid patient has described his horrific symptoms from his western Sydney hospital bed, saying he felt like something was stuck in his chest and he wakes up in sweats.
Jett Stanton, who is just 21 years of age, was a close contact of a known case and returned a positive result on Wednesday.
Mr Stanton, who was unvaccinated, is now recovering in Liverpool Hospital. His two unvaccinated housemates have also tested positive but his girlfriend, who was fully vaccinated, was negative.
His condition rapidly deteriorated and triggered severe anxiety attacks which prompted his girlfriend to call an ambulance on Thursday night.
Speaking to NCA NewsWire on the phone from his hospital bed on Sunday, Mr Stanton said he had no underlying health conditions, was active, ate well and didn’t smoke or drink.
But despite his healthy lifestyle, he said Covid made him fear for his life.
He has issued a desperate plea for people to take coronavirus seriously, even if they are young like him, and follow all the rules and isolate.
“I was super drowsy and I was losing my sense of smell,” he said.
“I remember I had the most uncomfortable cold sweats I’ve ever had in my life, and I still do.
“Over time new symptoms started to pop up like stabbing chest pain and uncontrollable coughing. I felt like something was caught in my throat and chest.”
He said symptoms came in waves, one moment he was fine and the next he felt like he’d been hit by a bus.
“I was on the phone to mum last night about 10.30pm and I felt really good but at about 10.45pm I thought I was going to pass out,” Mr Stanton said.
“And I don’t even know if this is going to be the worst day yet. Symptoms can be worse in the second week.”
His housemates who were also unvaccinated tested positive but Mr Stanton’s vaccinated girlfriend returned a negative result.
“My girlfriend was at risk of catching Covid but she’s the only one that came back negative. It just goes to show that vaccines definitely work,” he said.
“It’s fair enough everyone’s scared of the side effects but that’s just the nature of vaccines.
“Every vaccine will have side effects.”
NSW recorded 830 new infections on Sunday, breaking the record for daily case numbers and there were fears more dark dayswere ahead.
Mr Stanton, who moved to Sydney from Brisbane to pursue a skateboarding career, warned others that Covid-19 wasn’t just an old person disease.
“I’m a pretty healthy individual. I’ve never been drunk in my life, I don’t smoke and I take vitamins daily. I eat healthy and I’m an athlete but I still feel like my life was threatened by the virus,” he said.
He then issued a stern message to others, not to break the rules.
“People are obviously just too privileged to realise what they actually have,” Mr Stanton said.
“They don’t know how good they have it. So the fact they’re protesting for their freedoms is disgusting.”
There are currently 557 Covid-19 cases in hospital with 94 people in intensive care, 31 of which were on a ventilator.
READ MORE:Children as young as 12 set to receive Covid-19 jabs in Queensland
Joseph Lam3.32pm:Lockdown protesters storm Queensland-NSW border
Police have clashed with more than 2000 people who stormed the Queensland-NSW border in protest of lockdown measures on Sunday.
Protesters marched between Boundary St in Coolangatta and Cafe D’Bar and the Twin Towns Resort while shouting profanities at police.
Among those protesting pandemic measures was a man on a horse who was seen galloping past protesters and police while calling for everyone to “cross the border”.
“Everyone cross the border, they can’t hold all of us,” he was heard yelling as he rode past.
The protest follows more than 5000 gathering in Brisbane’s Botanic Gardens in the CBD on Saturday.
Queensland Deputy Premier described Saturday’s protest as a complete disregard for the health of others.
“Frankly I’m pretty disgusted,” he said. “By having a protest there they have put the safety of our police at risk, they put their own safety at risk and they put the safety of the community at risk.”
“The border is our riskiest place right now. We have to see the situation in NSW the same way we’ve seen the situation in other countries throughout this pandemic.”
READ MORE:Highest level of nonlethal force deployed at Melbourne protest; Sydney rallies suppressed
Joseph Lam3.14pm:No revamp need for Doherty reopening modelling: CMO
The Doherty Institute modelling “underpinning” Australia’s transition out of lockdown “absolutely” does not need to be revamped, says Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly.
Despite the modelling being based on fewer case numbers, Professor Kelly on Sunday said there was no question it could be tweaked.
“Does this need to go back to the drawing board, absolutely not. The assumptions of all modelling can be changed,” he said.
“And sensitivity analysis, that is the technical term for what has been done by the Doherty Institute, can be relatively and easily done.
“Let’s see and have an open mind to what our modellers can show us and I have full faith in the group.”
Professor Kelly sent a strong reminder that the modelling was universally agreed upon.
“To be very clear, there is an agreement to national cabinet ... all states are unanimous in that,” he said.
“Other states will be at 70 to 80 per cent vaccination rates and the more nuanced local elements of that will be worked out over the coming weeks with the Doherty (Institute) modelling, not the only element we would consider in relation to that.”
READ MORE:Premiers wrench control of economy off Frydenberg
Joseph Lam2.47pm:Nation records 917 cases but hospitals ready: CMO
Australia recorded its highest number of Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began on Sunday, a peak of 917 cases.
While the lion’s share were recorded in NSW, which reported 830 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday, other jurisdictions were also seeing high numbers, said Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly.
“We are seeing an increase in the numbers of cases, particularly in NSW but also here where I am in the ACT and also Victoria, mostly in Melbourne but more recently in Shepparton,” he said.
In that same period, the nation put 196,000 jabs in arms across the country, hitting 1.4 million over a four-day period.
Professor Kelly said the government was seeing an increasing number of patients present to hospital and intensive care.
“This is something we’ve been planning for for 18 months, exactly this sort of situation,” he said. “And we know that our hospitals, particularly our intensive care (units), are ready for this - and they are.
“From what we did right at the beginning of the pandemic, was to prepare for this type of
event of severe cases of Covid (which) is the reason why we had so much work in the lockdown measures and so forth.”
READ MORE:Jabs won’t equal freedom in Queensland as state goes rogue
Agencies2.30pm:NZ queries elimination strategy as outbreak grows
New Zealand conceded its ambitious “Covid zero” elimination strategy may no longer be viable Sunday, as an outbreak of the virulent Delta variant continued to spread.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins reported a further 21 cases in a virus cluster that emerged in Auckland last week, ending a six-month run of no local cases and sparking a national lockdown.
Hipkins said Delta’s highly transmissible nature was making this outbreak more difficult to contain than others, raising “big questions” about the elimination strategy.
“The scale of infectiousness and the speed at which the virus has spread is something that, despite all the best preparations in the world, has put our system under strain,” he told TVNZ.
New Zealand’s widely praised Covid-19 response -- which has resulted in just 26 deaths in a population of five million -- centres on eliminating the virus from the community.
It has relied on strict border controls backed by hard lockdowns when any cases do slip through, but Hipkins said Delta may force a rethink.
“(Delta’s) like nothing we’ve dealt with before in this pandemic,” he said. “It does change everything, it means that all of our existing preparations begin to look less adequate and raises some pretty big questions about the future of our long-term plans.” Neighbouring Australia has also pursued a “Covid zero” strategy and been similarly frustrated as its Delta cases continue to spike.
The New Zealand outbreak has underlined the country’s slow vaccination rollout and prompted accusations the government became lax after its early success dealing with the pandemic.
Only about 20 percent of the population is fully inoculated, one of the lowest rates in the developed world.
Opposition National Party spokesman Chris Bishop said the outbreak had exposed a lack of urgency in Wellington’s vaccine plans.
“The government’s complacency and inability to ensure supply and delivery of the vaccine has made us all sitting ducks, completely vulnerable to the Delta variant when it inevitably got into the community,” he said.
Another opposition figure, ACT Party leader David Seymour, said Hipkins could not use the Delta variant as an excuse for current failures.
“We’ve known about Delta since December, what’s he been doing in the meantime?” he asked.
Hipkins said elimination remained top priority for the ongoing Delta outbreak, which now totals 71 active cases -- 65 of them in Auckland and six in Wellington.
The national lockdown is due to expire late Tuesday, although Hipkins indicated Auckland could face further restrictions even if they were lifted elsewhere.
“If I was an Aucklander, I’d certainly be preparing to be at home for a bit longer,” he said.
AFP
Yoni Bashan2.05pm:NSW Health won’t reveal illegal party details to cops
EXCLUSIVE: NSW Health is refusing to provide information to police about an allegedly illegal gathering that occurred in the Sydney suburb of Maroubra, which has resulted in at least 16 cases of Covid-19 and numerous exposure sites to emerge in the local government area.
The Australian has established that police have requested information about the August 14 event from NSW Health, including the address where it occurred and the names of the attendees.
These details have not been provided and police said in a statement they remain willing to investigate the matter once the details are forthcoming.
“When information is provided about positive cases in the community, police will be responsive and take appropriate steps to limit the spread of the virus, in line with the Public Health Order requirements,” a spokesperson said.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said on Saturday that up to 60 people attended the event and expressed anger at those who had defied health orders across the state. Mr Hazzard has been contacted for comment.
Police Minister David Elliott told The Australian: “It’s very frustrating NSW Health are not forthcoming with information given police are simply trying to enforce Health’s own public health orders.”
READ the full story
Steve Zemek1.40pm:NSW Central Coast residents on alert after Covid found in sewage
Tens of thousands of residents on NSW’s Central Coast have been warned to be on alert for Covid-19 symptoms after fragments of the virus were detected in sewage.
NSW Health testing recently detected traces of the virus at a facility in Bateau Bay.
The plant services about 39,000 residents in Bateau Bay, Blue Bay, Killarney Vale, Long Jetty, Shelly Beach, The Entrance, The Entrance North and Toowoon Bay.
NSW Health said they were concerned that it could represent an undiagnosed case of coronavirus.
“This detection is of particular concern as there are no known cases in the Bateau Bay area,” NSW Health said in a statement.
“Everyone in this area 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.”
Elsewhere in the state, fragments of the virus had also been detected at a sewage treatment facility in Parkes, which services around 11,600 local residents.
NSW Health said there had been 36 new cases in western NSW among 830 new cases statewide to 8pm on Saturday night.
The majority of the cases were in Dubbo and surrounding towns, although there have been positive cases detected in Bathurst, Wellington, Bourke, Narromine, Gulargambone and Orange.
“Our particular concern for Orange … is that while we had two reported (cases) to 8pm last night, we had overnight an additional four cases,” Deputy chief health officer Marianne Gale said.
“Making that a total of six cases in Orange. So all residents of Orange please come forward to get tested.”
NSW Health has set up two new testing facilities in Orange at the Wade Park Sports Ground and Orange Showground.
There were also two new cases in far western NSW, in Wilcannia and Broken Hill.
“For the residents of the far west, please come forward for testing,” Dr Gale said.
“We remain concerned about the risk for anyone who has spent time in Wilcannia, so please come for testing.”
READ MORE:How to stop Delta: jab all teenagers
Remy Varga1.10pm:Shepparton patient brought Covid to Melbourne Hospital
Contact tracers believe the outbreak at the Royal Melbourne Hospital was sparked after a man travelled from Shepparton to Melbourne for surgery.
Health Department deputy secretary Kate Matson said the Shepparton man is believed to have infected a woman with whom he was sharing a room after his procedure.
She in turn is believed to have infected a woman visiting her in hospital.
Ms Matson said “hundreds” of Royal Melbourne workers would need to be stood down and said the man had been tested after his surgery and not before.
“At that point in time there wasn’t a known risk in Shepparton so at that point in time there was no reason to necessarily test that gentleman prior to his surgery,” she said.
“We are now working with our health system to reintroduce preoperative testing, given the community transmission.”
READ MORE:Regional Victoria to enter lockdown from Saturday afternoon
Paige Taylor1.05pm:Sydney workers fanning western NSW outbreak
Western New South Wales residents have brought more Covid-19 to the region by employing infected people from Sydney to do work in their homes and in their businesses, according to assistant police commissioner Jeff McKenzie.
There were 36 new confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday, bringing the total number of active cases of the virus in western NSW health district to 253. Of those new cases, a third were infectious while in the community. Of those 36 new cases, 23 were in Dubbo.
The figures announced at a press conference at noon in Dubbo did not include four additional cases confirmed on Sunday morning in Orange, which has recorded a total of six new cases since Friday night. Also not included were 19 cases of Covid-19 in the outback town of Wilcannia, where cases are counted separately because the tiny Aboriginal community is in a separate health district from Dubbo.
Mr McKenzie said tracing proved that residents ignoring lockdown rules had spread the virus to some of the most inaccessible parts of the state.
However, the arrival of infected workers from Sydney was also spreading Covid-19, he said.
He said his officers continued to encounter people who were “telling lies, being dishonest and infecting our communities”.
“If you are hiring people, if you’re engaging people to do work from Sydney, you really need to have a think about it - have a plan and make sure they are following the rules?” he said.
“Some are not and they are bringing Covid into our towns.
“Think of what you are doing when you are accepting someone from that area into your workplace, into your home
... it is not on at the moment and you need to be so careful.”
Mr McKenzie said the Australian Defence Force would begin arriving in some of the most remote locations in NSW in coming days to vaccinate residents. The ADF would move around administering Covid-19 vaccinations for the next 10 weeks. The aim was to vaccinate as many people as possible twice.
READ MORE:Contact tracers in hunt for Wilcannia funeral mourners
Robyn Ironside1pm:Jabs won’t equal freedom in Queensland
The Queensland government has stepped away from easing border restrictions when national vaccination rates reach 80 per cent, saying that figure was agreed to prior to the New South Wales Covid outbreak.
As Queensland recorded another day with zero cases in contrast to New South Wales’ 830 infections, Deputy Premier Steven Miles said reopening borders would depend on much more than vaccination rates.
Backed by deputy chief health officer James Smith, Mr Miles said case loads, hospitalisations and the situation in other states all needed to be taken into consideration.
“We’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. We look to what’s happening in New South Wales every day and adjust our posture accordingly,” said Mr Miles.
“It’s why we’ve got this new strictest ever border in place right now and why we’re racing to get as many people vaccinated as we can because we want to achieve those thresholds. We’re signed up and committed to the plan that national cabinet endorsed but that was a plan that was endorsed before the New South Wales outbreak.”
Read the full story here.
Christine Kellett11.58am:ACT records 19 new cases, one linked to ANU
The ACT has recorded 19 new local cases of Covid, six of them in the community during their infectious period.
Seventeen of the new cases are linked to a known outbreak, while two have a mystery origin.
One of the cases is linked to the Australian National University and is under investigation. Health authorities are also dealing with a cluster of about a dozen cases in the disability sector.
“Unfortunately we have a small cluster of cases in our disability community,” ACT Cheif Minister Andrew Barr has told a press conference.
“This includes people living with disability and disability support workers. The overnment acknowledges the anxiety that this is causing and can advise that we have been actively supporting the affected individuals and the broader community and the Minister will talk further to this.”
More to come...
Christine Kellett11.47am:NSW ‘weeks away from more normality’, focus on jabs
Despite infection rates closing in on 1000 per day in NSW, Health Minister Brad Hazzard says the state is just “weeks away from normality” as the focus remains on vaccinations.
Mr Hazzard said the state was approaching 31 per cent fully vaccinated, with jab rates increasing at about six per cent per day. He said 58 per cent had received a first dose.
He said he was not worried about the health system being over-run with Covid patients, thanks to intensive care capacity added at the beginning of the pandemic. Five hundred and fifty people are now in hospital with Covid, including 94 in ICU and more than 30 requiring ventilation.
NSW Health administered 44,908 COVID-19 vaccines in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, including 10,307 at the vaccination centre at Sydney Olympic Park.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 22, 2021
“I’m confident as we move forward, towards 80 per cent we will have a lot more normality in our lives and we are only weeks away now,” Mr Hazzard told a press conference on Sunday.
“So if our community keeps getting their vaccines the way they are, New South Wales will look pretty good by October, November. I’m really encouraged by the positivity in the community in getting vaccinated.”
Earlier, Prime Minister Scott Morrison also doubled down on the plan to begin reopening at 70 per cent, saying a return to Covid zero was now “highly unlikely”.
Christine Kellett11.26am:60 of new NSW cases infectious in the community
Authorities say about 60 people were in the community during their infectious period.
Minister Hazzard acknowledged the “major dilemma” NSW was in at the moment, he said nearly 58 per cent of eligible people had now recieved a first dose, with three-quarters of a million doses administered in just seven days in the state.
The total number of vaccines administered in NSW is now 5,868,974 with 2,116,804 doses administered by NSW Health to 8pm last night and 3,752,170 administered by the GP network and other providers to 11.59pm on Friday 20 August.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 22, 2021
“Each week, the total number of citizens who are getting one dose is increasing by about 6 per cent,” Mr Hazzard has told a press conference.
I” am advised that in fact, New South Wales is now amongst the highest, if not the highest, in the world in terms of vaccination rates.”
More to come...
Remy Varga11.14am:Breakdown of Victoria’s cases
Of Victoria’s 66 cases reported on Sunday, 21 cases are linked to the Shepparton outbreak and eight are linked to Al-Taqwa College in Truganina.
Another eight are linked to the Hobson’s Bay cluster and five are linked to the MyCentre in Broadmeadows.
There are 13 cases linked to various suburbs including St Kilda, Brunswick and North Melbourne.
There are now three cases linked to the Royal Melbourne Hospital while the positive case in Mansfield presented to the emergency department at the local hospital, seeing a significant number of staff members stood down.
There are 259 active cases under the age of 30.
More to come...
Remy Varga11.06am:$146 million support package for regional Vic businesses
Industry Minister Martin Pakula has announced a $146 million package to support 20,000 businesses in regional Victoria.
As well, businesses in Victoria’s alpine region will receive an additional funding round in recognition of disruptions to the small earning season each year.
Christine Kellett11.05am:NSW records 830 new local cases, 3 deaths
NSW has recorded 830 new Covid cases and three more deaths overnight.
NSW recorded 830 new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/oLeEPFlo0j
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 22, 2021
Nearly 100 people are in intensive care in NSW hospitals, Health Minister Brad Hazzard has told a press conference.
A man in his 60s and a man and woman in their 80s are the latest Covid-related fatalities, taking the state’s second-wave death toll to 71.
More to come
Remy Varga11.00am: Victorian aged and disability care vaccine blitz
The Victorian government has announced another vaccine blitz for aged and disability sector workers and they will be able to access more than 50 state run hubs from Monday until Sunday.
“All private and residential aged care workers are required to receive their first vaccine by Sep 17th as a condition of their employment,” Health Minister Martin Foley said.
He said over 81 per cent of public staff had received at least one jab.
Remy Varga10.57am:Paid vaccine leave for Victorian public service workers
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said the state’s public service will be offered half a day’s paid time off for each dose of vaccine they receive.
He said the Victorian government had been liaising with large employers in the private sector who had put in place similar agreements.
The new arrangements will apply to full time, parttime and casual workers.
Remy Varga10.53am:Vic Health Minister confirms additional regional case
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has confirmed an additional Covid-10 case in the regional Victorian town of Mansfield, around 190km northwest of Victoria, that is linked to the Shepparton outbreak.
This brings the total recorded on Sunday to 66, including 16 PCR tests reported on Saturday, with 44 infectious in the community and 11 mystery.
The number of cases in hospital has also jumped to 27, with 12 in intensive care and 5 using a ventilator.
Remy Varga10.19am:Victoria Covid update at 10.45am AEST
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley, Industry Minister Martin Pakula and deputy secretary Kate Matson will provide an update on the state’s Covid-19 situation at 10.45am.
Remy Varga10.18am:Victoria Police defend use of pepper bullets
Nine police officers were hospitalised after an anti-lockdown demonstration in Melbourne, in what Victoria Police say is one of the most violent protests seen in 20-years.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the “vast majority” came prepared for violence against police, with thousands turning out armed with flares, beer bottles, marbles and ceramic insulators.
“One police officer was assaulted, pushed against a wall and when they went to the ground were repeatedly punched and possibly kicked,” he said.
Mr Patton said one officer remained in hospital and may have to undergo surgery on his leg while a couple had potentially suffered broken noses.
He said 250 people had been processed, more than a million dollars worth of fines issued two people had been remanded and 19 would be subject to court proceedings.
He said early intelligence suggested the majority of the around 5,000 protesters were angry men aged between 25-40 who were “intent on mayhem”.
Mr Patton defended the use of pepper bullets by Victoria Police, saying they needed to de escalate the situation as protesters threw projectiles at officers on the scene.
“The risk that those people have now posed to the rest of the community by the conduct yesterday is disgraceful and it’s selfish,” he said.
“Those who confronted police and were involved in it, their conduct was disgraceful.
“My police officers that I said acted appropriately. They defended themselves. They took the necessary action they had to.”
READ MORE:Bloodshed in Brisbane’s suburbs
Richard Ferguson9.42am:Government finalising plan to vaccinate children
Scott Morrison says he understands growing concerns among parents about the spread of Covid-19 among the nation’s children, as he awaits advice on vaccinations.
The Prime Minister on Sunday said he still hoped to have most children vaccinated by the end of the year, with incoming advice due from vaccine experts on shots for kids under the age of 12.
“Those younger children who are impacted by the virus — that’s a terrible distress to any parent. As a parent, I understand that. Every parent understands that. Every Australian understands that,” he told ABC News.
“We will be looking to finalise our plans when it comes to the vaccination of children. We discussed it last Friday to ensure we want to do it as early as possible and certainly by the end of the terms, and before we get into the holiday period at the end of the year and we would hope a lot sooner than that.”
READ MORE:Rage and violence — a tale of two cities
Richard Ferguson9.31am:Morrison doubles down on 70 per cent push to reopen
Scott Morrison has warned Australians achieving zero Covid-19 cases is now “highly unlikely” with the Delta strain spreading, as he continues to push his reopening plan.
Premiers have been divided over whether the achievement of 70 per cent and 80 per cent vaccination rates will see the end of lockdowns and state border closures.
The Prime Minister on Sunday said while Covid-19 cases were unlikely to go to zero again, the country still needed to suppress the virus at this point.
“That’s highly unlikely, but that’s really not the point. The point is that we need to suppress the virus as best as we can in phase A of the national plan,” Mr Morrison told ABC News.
“The national plan then transfers our focus from case numbers to issues of hospitalisation, serious illness, ICU and things of that nature, and that is where the national plan takes us to.
“You can’t live with lockdowns forever and at some point you need to make that gear change, and that is done at 70 per cent because that’s where we are advised from the medical science that you can make that gear change.”
READ MORE:Terry McCrann — Premiers wrench control of economy off Frydenberg
Remy Varga9.15am:Victoria records 65 new local cases
Victoria has recorded 65 new local cases on Sunday. Further information on the cases, including infectiousness in the community and whether they are linked to known outbreaks, is not yet available.
It is understood the 65 new cases include 16 positive PCR tests recorded in Shepparton on Saturday morning. By the afternoon it was announced the figure had grown to 21.
The news comes as residents wake to their first full day of a statewide lockdown after stay-at-home orders were expanded to regional Victoria at 1pm Saturday.
Reported yesterday: 65 new local cases and 1 new case acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 21, 2021
- 26,149 vaccine doses were administered
- 44,147 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/Ss16hh465Q
More to come...
Richard Ferguson8.45am:Zero Covid ‘very difficult to maintain’ says Doherty expert
The primary author of Australia’s post-pandemic reopening plan has warned “Zero Covid” policies will be very difficult to maintain after 80 per cent of adult Australians are vaccinated.
West Australian Premier Mark McGowan last week declared he would continue to pursue zero Covid-19 cases past the 80 per cent threshold and still consider using lockdowns and border closures, fracturing the national cabinet’s agreement to reopen.
Doherty Institute researcher Jodie McVernon, who was deeply involved in the creation of the vaccine thresholds for reopening, said even the best public health response would struggle to contain the delta strain.
“I think that will be a very challenging strategy to pursue into the future.We have seen how contagious these viruses are and we’ve seen how difficult it is to keep out,” she told Sky News.
“In jurisdictions that have had highly effective public health responses and contained outbreaks, you know, it has been getting away.”
READ MORE:Fury over superspreader party
John Ferguson8.19am:Covid border skirmish strands students
Six country school children aged as young as 14 are stranded in rural NSW due to Covid-19 border closures, sparking an examination by the Victorian Ombudsman and concerns from parents about the students’ welfare.
Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson has warned the refusal by the Victorian government to allow the boarders from a regional NSW agricultural college to return directly to their families could constitute a breach of the state’s charter of human rights.
The children, aged 14 to 17, have been force to stay in rural NSW after the closure due to the pandemic of the Yanco Agricultural High School, which is next to Leeton in the Riverina.
Parents of six of the children have asked the Victorian government to allow the students to isolate on their Victorian properties, with daily police checks and the required testing.
Instead, the children have been told informally they must be drive by bus or flown to Melbourne to attend hotel quarantine for a fortnight.
Senator Henderson said a better approach was needed, particularly given that the children have been effectively isolating on farms.
Read the full story here.
Dow Jones7.25am:Delta’s major shift from poor to affluent
The centre of the Covid-19 pandemic in America’s second-largest city has shifted from poor, crowded neighbourhoods to affluent ones with younger populations.
Across Los Angeles County, cities and neighborhoods including West Hollywood, Venice and Santa Monica now report some of the most infections, even though their vaccination rates are higher than in poorer areas such as East Los Angeles, where Covid-19 raced through families and neighbourhoods during earlier surges, county health data shows.
The shift is a consequence of the Delta variant, which spreads more easily among people who gather indoors in such places as bars, clubs and restaurants and can affect people who are vaccinated, according to doctors.
Los Angeles shows how the Delta variant is prompting a surge that is different from what occurred earlier. Some other cities across the country, facing signs of increases, are taking steps such as mandating masks or requiring proof of vaccination for indoor dining instead of measures including the lockdowns carried out early in the pandemic.
The newest surge of infections has public-health officials renewing calls for caution, regardless of vaccination status, as more people return to pre-pandemic activities. Though the fully vaccinated are far less likely to suffer serious illness or be hospitalized, according to hospitalization data from around the country, health officials in Los Angeles are now directing everyone to wear masks indoors and return to other precautions, including social distancing when possible.
READ MORE: How to stop the spread of Delta — jab all teenagers
Agencies6.54am:Anti-vaccine demos in France for sixth weekend
Tens of thousands of people have demonstrated in the streets of France again against the government’s Covid-19 vaccination policies amid concern from rights groups about anti-Semitic sentiment in the protest movement.
Saturday’s marches were called for the sixth weekend in a row to denounce a “health pass” system announced by President Emmanuel Macron that they say unfairly restricts the rights of the unvaccinated.
The Ministry of the Interior put the number of people turning out at around 175,000 at 220 demonstrations nationwide, including 14,700 in Paris..
Under the new pass system, introduced progressively since mid-July, anyone wishing to enter a restaurant, theatre, cinema, long-distance train, or large shopping centre must show proof of vaccination or a negative test.
The protest movement has brought together conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, former members of the “Yellow Vest” anti-government movement, as well as people concerned that the system unfairly creates a two-tier society.
Around 200,000 people have marched in previous weekends, according to interior ministry figures. Organisers claim the real number on previous weekends was double the figures estimated by police.
AFP
READ MORE:Airlines want vaccine passports but don’t want to pay for them
Christine Kellett6.15am:NRL star caught ‘breaching Covid rules’ twice in an hour
Cronulla Sharks player Josh Dugan has denied breaching health orders, despite being stopped 150km from home.
Dugan was stopped by police at 11.30pm on Friday at the intersection of Main Street and the Great Western Highway in Lithgow.
Police said they spoke to Dugan, who lives in the Sutherland Shire, and a 30-year-old male passenger in a Jeep Cherokee who allegedly were not wearing masks, the Daily Telegraph reports.
“The driver allegedly told police they were moving to the area and were going to feed animals, however (we will allege he) later admitted they were heading to a friend’s house for the weekend,” a police spokesman said.
“They were directed to return home. About 40 minutes later, officers detected the same vehicle (allegedly) travelling away from Sydney towards Yetholme.
“The men were stopped and again directed to return to their homes.”
Both men are facing $10,000 in fines and possible charges.
Dugan was fined $25,000 by the NRL after being caught in June at a Potts Point restaurant in breach of the code’s strict biosecurity protocols.
He apologised for that incident, but plans to defend the most recent allegations and said he had all the necessary paperwork to prove “I didn’t breach bubble or government directions”.
Dugan’s $800,000-a-year Sharks contract reportedly expires in two months.
READ MORE:Dugan open to rugby switch but Sharks remain preference
Rhiannon Down5.30am:Police use new weapon in violent Melbourne protests
Victoria Police made 218 arrests and issued 236 fines after an estimated 4000 protesters stormed Melbourne’s CBD yesterday, with police deploying levels of force not before seen during a “freedom” protest.
Police were forced to deploy the most powerful nonlethal force available to dispel protesters, with officers firing pepper ball rounds into crowds. The pepper balls, described as the “leader in nonlethal solutions”, are filled with a chemical that irritates the eyes much like pepper spray and can be fired by a munition launcher that looks like a pistol. Police also used oleoresin capsicum (OC) foam to clear crowds out of the city.
Seven officers sustained injuries including two with suspected broken noses, one with a broken thumb and others with concussions, with six requiring hospitalisation.
Three of the arrested were charged with assaulting a police officer.
“While there were some peaceful protesters in attendance, the majority of those who attended came with violence in mind,” a police spokesperson said.
“The behaviour seen by police was so hostile and aggressive that they were left with no choice but to use all tactics available to them.”
Police said investigations will continue into who was responsible for several flares being ignited on city streets.
Each protester issued with an infringement notice will be fined $5452 for breaching health directions.
In Sydney, NSW Police say they stopped about 250 people from protesting in Sydney’s CBD, laying scores of charges and fining more than 260 people.
NSW Police Minister David Elliot said the crackdown on the planned anti-lockdown “freedom” rally had “worked to perfection”.
About 1400 officers set up checkpoints and stopped 38,000 vehicles in the city and surrounds from 9am.
“This is not about stopping freedom of speech, it’s about a temporary stop to the freedom of movement,” Mr Elliot said.
“We saw the community backlash after the last protest and that was a genuine reflection of how they saw the actions of a small minority.
“That small minority has again chosen to blatantly ignore the very clear, repeated warnings of NSW Police, which is disappointing, frustrating and – frankly – disgraceful.
“The actions they have taken are likely to prolong the very lockdown they were protesting about.
Forty-seven people will be charged.
READ MORE: Rage and violence — tales of two cities’ protests
Rhiannon Down5.15am:Shepparton cluster now 21, regional Victoria in lockdown
Health authorities say that the number of cases linked to the Shepparton outbreak has now grown to include 21 cases.
Goulburn Valley Health chief executive Matt Sharp said that several more cases had been detected, bringing the tally higher than the 17 reported yesterday morning.
“Today we’ve had a further small number of people test positive in the early hours of this morning,” he said, addressing local reporters yesterday.
“At the moment in the outbreak here in Shepparton we’ve had a total of 21 active cases which are being closely monitored and contacted by our contact tracing team.”
The discovery that the virus had reached Shepparton has plunged the entirety of regional Victoria into lockdown from 1pm yesterday.
Covid-19 Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar confirmed this morning that 16 additional cases had been recorded this morning and would be recorded in tomorrow’s case numbers. It remains unclear if the four cases recorded in Shepparton are part of 16 cases.
More than 60 new cases were recorded in Victoria yesterday.
Checked exposure sites lately? More have been published online at https://t.co/xojLvnrdjA including: pic.twitter.com/buuvfd5COU
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 21, 2021
READ MORE: Victoria’s new lockdown rules explained
Joseph Lam5am:Covid zero an impossible task, Berejiklian says
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned zero cases in the community is an “impossible task”, as the state records its worst ever day of the pandemic, with 825 new cases today.
Just 149 of the new cases were linked to known clusters, with the origin of 676 infections under investigation.
There are currently 516 people in hospital with the virus, including 85 in intensive care and 29 on ventilators.
The three deaths announced on Saturday include a man in his 80s, a woman in her 90s, and a man in his 90s, who was fully vaccinated but had a number of pre-existing health conditions.
Ms Berejiklian said she had noticed a “change of attitude” in her conversations with other state premiers and in the community at large.
“We accept that Delta is here. We accept that heading to zero across the nation — especially once you open up and live freely — will be an impossible task,” she said.
“No matter how hard we work, no matter if 99 per cent of people are doing the right thing, there is an element of Delta that nobody can control.”
In Sydney, a violent protest was suppressed by a major NSW Police crack down which saw 47 people charged and 260 fined in the CBD on Saturday.
More than 1500 officers were deployed across Sydney to patrol major roads in bid to prevent protesters from gathering in the city centre, pulling over 38,000 vehicles and issuing about 130 fines.
Police clashed with protesters near Victoria Park at about midday where the group of anti-lockdown “freedom” protesters attempted to gather in a repeat of an illegal protest held at the end of last month, making several arrests.
Earlier this week, self-confessed protest organiser Anthony Khallouf, who runs conspiracy site Australians vs The Agenda, was arrested by police after The Australian revealed he had snuck into Sydney from Queensland.
In tears, Khallouf faced court on Friday and was sentenced to eight months in jail for multiple breaches of public health orders and other offences.
A man who shouted, “is this democracy?†as a protester was arrested has been arrested @australian#VictoriaParkpic.twitter.com/jPJr6V1iG8
— Joseph Lam (@editorialjoe) August 21, 2021
READ MORE: Fury over Sydney superspreader party
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