Coronavirus Australia live news: National cabinet agrees Covid plan; worst day yet for NSW with 291 cases; 10 in Qld, six in Victoria
National cabinet agrees to live with the virus once 70 per cent of the population is vaccinated, some employers ‘may mandate jabs’.
- NSW’s worst day, 291 cases
- Qld records 10 new cases
- Victoria records six new cases
- Protesters storm Melbourne’s CBD
- Scramble to find source of new clusters
- Delta’s pall draped over three states
Welcome to live updates on Australia’s battle with the Covid-19 pandemic.
NSW has recorded 291 new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 as infections continue to spread.
Queensland has recorded 10 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, boosting hope that the lockdown will lift on Sunday.
Victoria has recorded six new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Thursday.
Hundreds of protesters chanting ‘no more lockdowns’ and ‘sack Dan Andrews’ have clashed with police in wild scenes in Melbourne’s CBD last night. The protests took place as Victoria was plunged into sixth lockdown over two new Covid-19 clusters that may have been spread by an illegal party.
Joseph Lam9.30pm:New NSW exposure sites named
A burlesque lounge and a venue in Sydney’s popular Tramsheds are among the latest venues to be added to NSW Health’s list of Covid-19 exposure sites.
Those who have visited the following venues during the listed times is a close contact who must get tested and isolate for 14 days since they attended, regardless of the result.
Hamilton: Corset Bar and Supper Club, 104 Beaumont Street: Wednesday, July 28, from 7.30pm to 10pm
St Marys: Easy Script Compound Pharmacy, 38 Queen Street: Monday, August 2, All day; Tuesday, August 3, All day
Forest Lodge: Fish and Co Tramsheds, 1 Dalgal Way: Saturday, July 24, from 1.20pm to 2.00pm
Over the weekend, NSW Police will be patrolling trains, buses, ferries and light rail across the entire NSW network to ensure compliance with the Public Health Order. Anyone found to be in breach of the current Public Health Order should expect to be fined or charged accordingly.
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) August 6, 2021
Mackenzie Scott9.00pm:More pharmacies recruited for rollout
Getting the Covid-19 vaccine in southeast Queensland has been made easier, with more than 100 pharmacies granted permission to administer vaccines.
The state’s excess AstraZeneca supply has been redistributed across 113 pharmacies in a move expected to boost vaccination levels. The new sites join the 181 locations already operating in rural and regional areas across Queensland where there are gaps in the vaccine rollout.
Acting president of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia’s Queensland branch, Chris Owen, said the addition of new jab locations would be “a big shot in the arm” to the rollout. “The most important thing is that we have to have more access points with more available appointments,” Mr Owen said. “When there’s a surge in demand, if you don’t have enough access points, then they’re just gonna lead to a log jam.”
The number of pharmacies included in the Queensland rollout is expected to balloon to 800 by the end of this month.
Read the full story here.
Ewin Hannan8.45pm:Pre-strike lockouts ruled to be unlawful
Unions have successfully challenged a Fair Work Commission decision that backed the right of employers to lock out workers before they took legal industrial action.
A commission full bench majority upheld an appeal by the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union, finding a pre-emptive lockout of Tasmanian workers by frozen food giant McCain was unlawful under the Fair Work Act.
ACTU president Michele O’Neil said the outcome was “an important win for workers around the country as it makes clear that companies cannot use lockouts as a pre-emptive weapon to intimidate workers seeking a fair deal”.
McCain Foods workers at the company’s Smithton operations were locked out after the AMWU gave notice employees intended to take protected industrial action in response to an earlier two-day lockout by the company.
Read the full story here.
Ewin Hannan8.10pm:Fair Work to rule on mandatory vaccines
The Fair Work Ombudsman will soon release updated guidance about the issue of employers seeking to mandate covid vaccinations of workers..
The FWO noted that Mr Morrison said on Friday that the government’s advice was there might be situations where it was reasonable for employers to require an employee to be vaccinated.
“This advice included considering issues such as the reasonableness of any employer direction and the application of anti-discrimination laws,” the FWO said.
“The Prime Minister acknowledged that ultimately employers need to consider these issues and make their own decisions appropriate to their workplace.”
The FWO said it would be guided by applicable laws and judicial decisions, enforceable government directions such as public health orders, and advice issued by Commonwealth, state and territory agencies.
Patrick Commins7.20pm:Economy can defy Delta: RBA
The Reserve Bank is optimistic higher vaccination rates will free Sydney from its current lockdown by October and a sharp bounce back will return the economy to its pre-Delta trajectory as soon as March next year.
With more than 15 million Australians under stay-at-home orders, RBA governor Philip Lowe also told a parliamentary committee it was “quite unlikely” the country would plunge into a double-dip recession over the second half of this year.
However, he couldn’t “rule out two quarters of negative growth if the health situation deteriorates”, and forecast “further brief (and less severe) restrictions” throughout the December quarter and limited lockdowns into 2022.
“We’ve got to traverse a difficult few months … but the experience here and elsewhere is that once the health situation is brought under control the economy bounces back quickly,” Dr Lowe said.
Read the full story here.
Olivia Caisley7.10pm: ‘Older Aussies should encourage grandkids to vax’
Former governors-general are calling on Australia’s youth to get vaccinated in the fight against Covid-19 after Doherty Institute modelling showed deaths and hospitalisations would be nearly halved under a strategy to vaccinate all adults as opposed to older people first.
As NSW recorded a record 291 cases, of which at least 50 were active in the community, Peter Cosgrove said jabs were the pathway back to normality.
“There is no doubt the best way we can protect one another and get back to normal is through vaccination. So my advice is that everybody should get both vaccinations and thus protect their families, their communities and all Australians,” Sir Peter said.
“In particular, I send this plea to younger Australians: you’re our nation’s future so get vaccinated.”
Read the full story here.
Nicholas Jensen6.20pm:Deadly Delta spin-offs ‘a possibility’
As the Delta variant continues to drive a global surge in coronavirus cases, infectious disease experts are warning that potentially more transmissible and vaccine-resistant strains could emerge where inoculation levels are low.
While the World Health Organisation has identified four “variants of concern”, the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta strains, experts remain concerned about four further “variants of interest” – Lambda, Eta, Kappa and Iota – which could prove even more transmissible.
The WHO has convened urgent discussions concerning the prospect of a new, more lethal variant arising, after leaked documents from the US Centres for Disease Control urged officials to “acknowledge the war has changed”.
The documents concluded that vaccine breakthroughs and “more community spread” could become a reality if inoculations stagnated, citing unpublished research that showed the Delta variant might be able to transmit as easily among the vaccinated population as the unvaccinated.
Read the full story here.
Max Maddison5.25pm:Employers can mandate jabs for ‘at risk’ employees
Scott Morrison says employers may be able to mandate vaccinations for their staff when they’re at “great risk” of contracting the virus.
Citing advice from the Solicitor-General, the Prime Minister said while employers would still have to abide by the “rule of law”, there was scope for mandating vaccinations under occupational health and safety.
“Where an employee maybe at great risk of actually contracting the virus, the employer would be in those circumstances seeking to afford some protection for their staff and the upholding perhaps in their view their obligations regarding the occupational health and safety of their staff,” Mr Morrison said.
“For those who are working in an area where they’re taking care of very vulnerable people, what is another set of circumstances.”
He said another circumstance was where employees were in “regular contact” with the public.
Max Maddison5.17pm:Some employers ‘may mandate jabs, subject to law’
The Prime Minister has flagged some instances where employers may be able to mandate vaccinations for their staff.
“People like airline workers, where they are coming in contact with people carrying the virus,” he said.
“The second are those who may be working with people who are vulnerable, and consideration are given to aged care workers and others who are coming into close contact with those who are vulnerable and it may be that the business would take a decision in that respect, and the third tier of those who are in that position are those who may be public-facing in their day – public retail, supermarkets, essential occupations where there is a lot of contact.”
But he noted these circumstances would be subject to the law.
“Again, these are all legal decisions that have to pass a reasonable test and ultimately decided by the courts, and employers need to consider those matters very carefully if they are looking to make directions of that nature,” he said.
Anne Barrowclough5.14pm:CMO: NSW needs circuit breaker
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has defended Sydney’s lockdown saying that without the lockdown and higher uptake of vaccinations “this would have been much higher rates of illness, hospitalisation and death up to now.
However, he added Sydney needs a circuit breaker to get control of the rocketing numbers.
“There is no sense that is heading rapidly towards zero which is what remains our national approach at the moment. There is clearly a need for a circuit breaker. I’ve had many discussions with my colleague in New South Wales around that. What else could be done to increase the speed of people being diagnosed, the compliance with those public health measures and crucially, an increase in vaccination in those areas. New South Wales needs to stay the course and look for those new ways of increasing and improving that situation,” he said.
Max Maddison 5.05pm: National cabinet agrees Covid plan
The national cabinet has “fully agreed” to live with the virus once 70 per cent of the population is vaccinated, ensuring lockdowns will be limited to isolated occasions and cast aside once the country reaches 80 per cent, but refrains from allowing workplaces to mandate vaccinations for employers.
With Victoria entering its sixth lockdown on Friday, the entire eastern seaboard of the country was plunged back into draconian stay-at-home orders. But Scott Morrison said Premiers had “fully agreed” to severely curtail the use of the measure once the population had effective coverage.
“Today it was confirmed and fully agreed that the national plan, that pathway to the position where we live with this virus,” the Prime Minister told a press conference on Friday afternoon.
He said while employers could make a “reasonable directive” for employees to get vaccinated, any direction would have to be “consistent with the law”.
“But ultimately employers need to consider these matters and make their own decisions remembering we do not have a mandatory vaccination policy in this country,” he said.
Joseph Lam 4.35pm:Morrison due to give national cabinet update
The Prime Minister is due to give an update after national cabinet at around 4.40pm.
Paige Taylor4.30pm:Alerts as Covid traces found in Broome sewage
The unexpected discovery of weak traces of Covid-19 in wastewater in the remote Kimberley town of Broome has prompted health authorities to urge locals with symptoms to get tested.
There have been no known cases of coronavirus in the Kimberley since April 2020, when an outbreak among doctors and nurses in Broome and the inland town of Halls Creek caused panic. About 42 per cent of the region’s 34,000 residents are indigenous and many live in overcrowded housing. The Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Service feared that if Covid-19 got into a remote community, it would infect many vulnerable people with underlying health conditions before anyone realised.
Media statement: Symptomatic people in Broome urged to get tested following unexpected wastewater result https://t.co/gjSbY1PlSj
— WA Health (@WAHealth) August 6, 2021
“The West Australian Department of Health is calling on people in the Broome township area to get tested if they have Covid-19 symptoms after the state’s wastewater surveillance program detected weak traces of the virus in Broome township,” the WA Health Department wrote in a statement on its website on Friday afternoon.
“This unexpected finding does not necessarily indicate there is a positive case in the community. However, people (regardless of age) with even the mildest of symptoms are asked to get tested as soon as possible as a precaution.
“Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, shortness of breath, headache, and loss of smell or taste.
“Once tested, people should return home and remain there until a negative test result is received.”
The department says finding traces of the virus in wastewater samples could mean there are active cases nearby; an active case has passed through the area recently; or that a historical case has recently been in the area - people can continue to shed the virus for several weeks after they recover from Covid-19, even when they are no longer infectious.
Courtney Gold 4.10pm: 54 Aussies die from Covid abroad
New figures, obtained under Freedom of Information laws and first reported by the ABC, reveal 54 Australian citizens have died from Covid-19 while abroad as at mid-May this year.
The deaths span 27 countries, including France, India, Indonesia, the US and the UK.
Limited quarantine capacity has stymied the ability of Australians to return home since the borders were closed in March last year. In June, the number of international arrivals was halved in to reduce the pressure the system faced under the Delta strain of Covid-19.
National cabinet was forced to cut arrivals after a series of breaches from hotel quarantine saw the highly infectious variant to seep into the community. It meant only 3035 passengers would be allowed to enter Australia each week instead of 6070.
READ MORE:Virus alert 160km from Sydney
Joseph Lam 3.45pm: No new cases in WA, SA
Western Australia recorded no new Covid-19 cases over the past 24-hour period.
The state has called on those in Broome, more than 2000km north of Perth, to present for testing after the state detected Covid-19 fragments in a local wastewater system.
South Australia also recorded no new cases of Covid-19 in the same period.
Adam Creighton3.00pm:Gates lauds Australia’s ’best practice' Covid response
US tech titan Bill Gates has lauded Australia’s Covid-19 response as world’s best practice and played down the relevance of investigations into the origins of Sars-Cov2.
The Microsoft founder, speaking on US cable TV on Wednesday, said investigations into the origins of Sars-Cov2, which have become highly controversial among scientists and fuelled tension between China and the US and Australia, wouldn’t change “the need for masks and vaccines”.
“he last paper I saw showed evidence against lab leak, but yes we should investigate these things, but it’s not directly tied to particular actions to save lives,” he said.
Gates, whose personal wealth is in excess of $162 billion, also called for a “very different regimen so all countries can get on top of cases very quickly and be more like Australia than Europe or the US ended up being”.
READ the full story
Matthew Denholm 1.55pm: NSW residents ‘fleeing to Tas, leasing homes’
People from NSW are “fleeing” to Tasmania and leasing properties on the island to meet quarantine residency requirements, says Premier Peter Gutwein.
Mr Gutwein said the practice was placing pressure on the state’s quarantine capacity, with some NSW residents willing to pay the quarantine fee to escape their Covid-19 stricken state.
“We’ve actually got people who are fleeing NSW that have leased properties here in Tasmania so that they have a valid Tasmanian address,” Mr Gutwein said on Friday.
“They have work to go to in many cases. They are actually fleeing and quite happy to pay the quarantine fee. That’s what is putting pressure on our (quarantine) hotel system.”
READ MORE:Foley: NW outbreak a catastrophe
Courtney Gold 1.50pm: Loophole closed for overseas Aussies
Australians who normally live abroad will no longer be given an automatic exemption to leave the country if they return for a holiday or to visit loved ones.
Since March last year, all Australians seeking to leave Australia have had to apply for an exemption to do so. Exemptions can only be granted for employment, medical treatment not available in Australia, compassionate or compelling grounds, unavoidable personal business, or if your travel was in the national interest.
Until now, if an Australian citizen was ordinarily a resident in another country, they were automatically exempt.
But this week Health Minister Greg Hunt quietly expanded the restrictions to include Australian citizens or permanent residents. From August 11, Australians who ordinarily live in another country will also have to apply for an exemption to leave the country.
READthe full story
Ellie Dudley1.45pm:National cabinet to discuss vaccine rollout
As almost 16 million Australians remain in lockdown, National Cabinet will meet today to discuss the vaccine rollout and supply.
The meeting will commence this afternoon between leaders from Australia’s states and territories and the Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
It is expected the leaders of Victoria, NSW and Queensland will request more doses of the Pfizer vaccine to have their population inoculated as soon as possible.
The leaders are also going to discuss the next steps forward out of the pandemic, given the national target that 80 per cent of people aged over the age of 16 need to be fully immunised before the country returns to pre-pandemic freedoms.
Mr Morrison will address a press conference after the meeting.
Queensland will be represented by director-general Rachel Hunter, while premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is still in hotel quarantine and as deputy premier’s are not permitted to attend the regular meetings.
Ellie Dudley1.30pm:New alerts over Lake Macquarie shopping centre
A Lake Macquarie shopping centre has emerged as a high-risk exposure site, forcing hundreds of residents into isolation.
Charlestown Square, three hours north of Sydney, has been identified as a venue of potential exposure, with all shoppers who were at the mall on July 29 between 3pm and 6pm classed as a casual contact.
âš ï¸New information received. If you were at Charlestown Square on 29 July between 3pm - 6pm, you are a casual contact. Get tested. Isolate until negative result received
— HNE Health (@HNEHealth) August 6, 2021
If you visited the below stores at these times, you are now a close contact. Get tested. Isolate for 14 days pic.twitter.com/Adbg7N28MK
Casual contacts must be tested for the virus immediately, and isolate until a negative test result has been received.
A number of stores at the shopping village have been added to the close contact list, meaning anyone who visited them at the indicated time must immediately be tested and isolate for 14 days.
Apple Store, July 19, 3.10pm to 3.50pm
Boost Juice, July 29, 3.52pm to 3.56pm
Cotton On, July 29, 3.57pm to 3.58pm
Jay Jays, July 29, 3.58pm to 4.13pm and 4.54pm to 4.59pm
Priceline Pharmacy, July 29, 4.20pm to 4.25pm
Glassons, July 29, 4.26pm to 4.41pm
Supre, July 29, 4.43pm to 4.53pm
Factorie, July 29, 5.02pm to 5.08pm
Food Court (Guzman y Gomez and McDonalds), July 29, 5.09pm to 5.44pm
Ground Level Newsagency, July 29, 3.16pm to 3.22 pm and 4.18pm to 4.24pm
Pearl Nails, July 29, 3.28pm to 4.18pm
David Charter 1.20pm: US plans to reopen to fully vaxxed visitors
Foreign visitors to the United States may have to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The White House was considering the requirement as a condition of opening up travel again, a spokesman said. He added that vaccination would be part of a “phased approach” to easing travel restrictions for foreigners but that there was no timeline for lifting the transatlantic travel ban introduced by President Trump in March last year.
President Biden has resisted giving hints on when general travel from the UK, Ireland and continental Europe will be resumed. A discussion about reopening was held at the G7 summit in Cornwall in early June but the rise of the more infectious Delta variant has stalled plans.
Biden is also hardening his line on requiring vaccinations domestically. Lloyd Austin, the Defence Secretary, is expected to recommend as early as today (Friday) that they will be mandated for all 1.3 million US troops on active duty. About 64 per cent of US forces are fully vaccinated compared with 60.7 per cent of adult Americans.
READ the full story
Matthew Denholm1.00pm:No new cases in Tasmania
Tasmania has not recorded any new coronavirus cases, after 1640 tests in the past 24 hours.
However, Premier Peter Gutwein warned the state was still “vigilant” following a case in quarantine detected on Thursday, forcing 200 people into isolation.
Remy Varga12.45pm: Protesters ‘risk extending lockdown’
Industry Minister Martin Pakula says he finds anti-lockdown protesters “infuriating” and risks extending stay at home orders.
Mr Pakula said he wished people would get information from credible sources instead of “uninformed Facebook warriors.”
“It makes me really angry and I think it makes a lot of people really angry.... I just wish people would stop taking their information from uninformed Facebook warriors,” he said.
Remy Varga 11.55am:$400m funding package for Vic business
A new $400 million funding package for lockdown smashed Victorians businesses jointly funded by the Commonwealth and state governments has been unveiled.
More than 90,000 businesses will be eligible for automatic payments of $2,800 and further hardship funds will be made available.
New payments of between $5,000 to $20,000 will be made to nearly 9,000 hospitality venues across Australia, with the amount depending on capacity.
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the money would help cushion the impact of the latest lockdown in Victoria.
“Since the start of the pandemic the federal government has delivered more than $45 billion to Victorian families and businesses to support them in their hour of need,” he said.
Eligible workers can access the COVID-19 Disaster Payments
The funding is in addition to the $400 million in joint funding announced last week.
Victorian Industry Minister Martin Pakula said the new money would help businesses pay their bills and plan for a recovery.
“Decisive action is required to tackle this incredibly infectious strain of coronavirus, but we know it doesn’t come without a cost,” he said.
Ellie Dudley11.50am:Covid Zero ‘still NSW aspiration’ but vax the key
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian hasn’t given up on the dream of “Covid Zero”, but says vaccinations are the “key” to getting the state out of lockdown.
The state recorded its highest number of daily cases since the pandemic began on Friday, dimming hopes that NSW would ever get back to a state of no cases.
“It is obviously a challenge to get down to that number but (Covid Zero) has to be our aspiration,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We have to try to get down as low as we can but what I do want to say is that the government will be looking at two things: where the case numbers are at but also our vaccination rates.”
“Even though we may not be going back to life pre-COVID or pre-this outbreak, we can have more freedom once we get those vaccination rates up and that is the key.”
Remy Varga11.45am:Vic ‘precarious’ as outbreaks flare up
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley says the state is in a “precarious” as outbreaks flare up in Melbourne.
He said a Sydney man who tested positive travelled with a valid entry permit to Melbourne before flying to Launceston on the same day.
Mr Foley said the man was detained upon arrival in Launceston and tested before he was sent back to Sydney. He then tested positive.
Ellie Dudley11.42am:Health system ‘under stress but urgent needs met’
NSW health minister Brad Hazzard has repeated claims that the state’s health system is “under stress”, but is adamant health workers “are doing a great job.”
There are currently 304 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 50 people in intensive care, 22 of whom require ventilation.
“Certainly, anybody who thinks the health system in any country where we have a Delta variant is not under stress is kidding themselves,” Mr Hazzard said.
“Of course it is under stress but our health professionals are doing a great job.”
But despite Mr Hazzard’s claims, NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said “anyone’s urgent health needs would be met by our health system.”
“We have a very large hospital system and a very integrated hospital system.,” she said.
“We certainly have increased capacity and when we cease elective surgery, that frees up that capacity.”
Remy Varga 11.40am: Three Vic cases linked to Maribyrnong cluster
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley says of the four new cases reported on Friday, three are linked to the Maribyrnong outbreak.
One, the housemate of the Derrimut factory worker, worked as a cleaner in the administration area at the Epworth Hospital in Richmond.
Another case attends the Warringah Park special school in Hoppers Crossing, which has been closed for deep cleaning.
Three of the cases are linked to the Hobson’s Bay outbreak, two of which were reported yesterday.
The remaining case lives with the Hobson Bay couple.
Ellie Dudley 11.36am: Twelve Punchbowl KFC staff test positive
Twelve staff members at a KFC in southwest Sydney have tested positive for Covid-19, NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant says.
The Punchbowl chicken shop joined NSW Health’s ever growing list of potential exposure sites, sending any customers who walked through the door during that seven day period into 14 day quarantine.
Asked whether chains like KFC should stay open, Dr Chant said: “This is about a balance of access to food and other things that people need.”
“My major point would be that you minimise your exposure in those settings, minimise your shopping,” she said.
“You should be out of your house for the minimal time and please don’t go out unnecessarily, and don’t use shopping as a social event in any way.”
Anyone who visited the KFC at 1323/1325 Canterbury Road at any time on the following days should immediately be tested and quarantine for 14 days regardless of the result.
Tuesday July 27
Wednesday July 28
Thursday July 29
Friday July 30
Saturday July 31
Sunday August 1
Monday August 2
Angelica Snowden 11.35am:Vic police: no proof of rule breaking
Victoria police say the Department of Health has not referred any instances of possible rule breaking to investigators as authorities work to uncover the source of the state’s latest outbreak.
Premier Daniel Andrews insinuated on Thursday night an illegal gathering between different households could have sparked the spread of Covid-19 again.
But Victoria Police assistant commissioner Luke Cornelius said his team had not received any requests to investigate a breach of the chief health officer’s rules as yet.
“I can say to you in relation to what might or might not have occurred or led to the current outbreak, I can say to you, we’ve had no referrals,” he said.
“On every occasion where the Department of Health has referred a matter to us for enforcement action, or for investigation we have pursued that investigation.
“In relation to any breaches that might be identified by authorised Officers ... we stand ready to take those referrals and take appropriate action.”
Mr Andrews on Thursday night said contact tracers were investigating whether a man in his 20s from Maribyrnong, in the state’s north west, had visited relatives who recently left NSW hotel quarantine.
“It may well be the case they have been visited, against the rules, by a positive case,” he said.
Ellie Dudley11.30am:Victim caught Covid from Liverpool hospital staff member
The woman who died after catching Covid in Liverpool hospital was exposed to the virus through a staff member who was carrying the virus while on the job.
CHO Kerry Chant said the infected person brought it into the hospital unknowingly. She said there were no positive Covid-19 patients in the same ward as the woman, who was reportedly in hospital for kidney problems.
Ellie Dudley 11.25am:‘Be patient’: Berejiklian defends contact tracers
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has denied claims that the state’s contact tracers are not keeping up with the current amount of cases.
Ms Berejiklian deflected an accusation that people who spent time with positive cases have not been alerted to the infection until almost 14 days after the possible infection.
“The contact tracing team has been expanded,” she said.
“But we also need to rely on people to tell us where they have been. Sometimes it takes more than one interview.
‘It is not our preference to wait. We do believe that is the exception. We do ask for patience though and we have no doubt that as the number of cases increase, that means that resources are stretched further.”
Ellie Dudley 11.25am: High risk Year 12s ‘won’t be disadvantaged’
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has assured HSC students in southwest and west Sydney will not be disadvantaged in their upcoming exams.
Year 12 students from eight LGAs will not be permitted to return to school on August 16, while the rest of their cohort across Sydney will recommence face-to-face learning.
But Ms Berejiklian said the education and health departments have been working together to make sure every HSC student has equal opportunity to succeed.
“No student setting the HSC, whether they live in New South Wales, will be disadvantaged, which is why we will be giving those students in those eight local areas the opportunity to get the vaccine from Monday next week,” she said.
“We hope students and families will have conversations and make sure they provide the opportunity for the student to come forward and get vaccinated.
“It is important because we know it is a requirement that they have to set a public examination for HSC.”
Ellie Dudley11.20am:High risk Year 12 students told ‘get vaccinated now’
NSW health minister Brad Hazzard has encouraged Year 12 students in Sydney’s eight high risk LGAs to be vaccinated at Qudos Bank Arena.
Mr Hazzard said the HSC students were being given a “golden opportunity” to be vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine ahead of their trial exams.
“You are being given a golden opportunity to attend the Qudos Bank Arena next week,” he said.
“We’ve seen the most amazing stars in the Qudos Bank Arena, I think there has been Lana Del Rey, Keith Urban, P!nk, Madonna, you have a chance to go to that stadium next week and get some gold by getting your first vaccination.”
Ellie Dudley 11.17am:Two new cases in Newcastle as lockdown starts
Two new cases of Covid-19 have been detected in the Newcastle area, as the upper Hunter region begins its first full day of a week-long lockdown.
Both have been linked to existing cases.
“There have been two new cases of Covid-19 in the Newcastle area,” NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said.
“The two new cases in the Newcastle area means that there have now been seven cases in the region.”
One of the cases is a woman in her 60s who has been linked to a known case on the central coast.
The second is a woman in her 20s who is a household contact of the case in Newcastle announced on Thursday.
No new cases were detected on the central coast.
Ellie Dudley 11.14am:Unvaccinated NSW woman in 60s dies
NSW has recorded one new death associated with the latest outbreak in a woman in her 60s.
The woman was unvaccinated and caught the virus at Liverpool hospital. She is the second person to die after contracting the virus from the outbreak at the hospital in southwest Sydney.
“Can I personally extend my sympathies to her loved ones, it must be a very challenging time for them,” NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant said.
Her death marks the 22nd for the state, not including the 28 year old man who contracted Covid-19 before dying, but whose death is under investigation.
Ellie Dudley 11.10am: High risk LGA Year 12s won’t return to school
NSW premier Gladys Berejikilian confirmed year 12 students in the eight-high risk LGAs in southwest and west Sydney would not return for school on August 16 as planned.
Ms Berejiklian said schools in the areas would not return to face-to-face learning “for the foreseeable future” until later advised.
“It won’t be normal classes but certainly it will be a level of presence to ensure that no students are disadvantaged in terms of acquiring their qualifications,” she said.
“Trials will be done at home and at least it means that there is certainty and all students know they will qualify for the HSC.”
“Importantly, from Monday next week, Qudos Bank Arena, HSC students in those eight local government areas will be invited to get the Pfizer jab.”
However, students outside the high risk areas will commit to a “flexible model” for their HSC.
Ellie Dudley 11.06am: Cases increased most in Canterbury-Bankstown
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has flagged the Canterbury-Bankstown area as “the area where cases are increased the most.”
“All the suburbs and the Canterbury-Bankstown Mayor area really need to be on extra alert,” she said.
Ms Berejiklian said there would be “more police on the ground” due to people not complying with the health orders.
“We are seeing too many people frequent certain shopping areas and perhaps not doing the right thing, so police will be more present in the Canterbury-Bankstown local government area to ensure compliance and we have to make sure that happens,” she said.
Of these locally acquired cases, 120 are linked to a known case or cluster – 95 are household contacts and 25 are close contacts – and the source of infection for 171 cases is under investigation.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 6, 2021
Ellie Dudley 11.03am:Worst day yet with 291 cases in NSW
NSW has recorded 291 new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 as infections in greater Sydney continue to spread.
At least 50 cases were active in the community for the entirety of their infectious period, which Premier Gladys Berejiklian said indicated “high case numbers” would continue for the “next few days.
Around 110,000 tests were conducted in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
NSW recorded 291 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/pSkPsT1PNx
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 6, 2021
Rachel Baxendale10.50am: Wangaratta mayor: Just one positive case in sewage
The mayor of Wangaratta says his understanding of Covid-19 detections in the town’s sewage differs from what Premier Daniel Andrews told Victorians on Thursday.
In justifying a statewide lockdown rather than a greater Melbourne one, Mr Andrews highlighted the recent detection of coronavirus fragments at a wastewater treatment facility in the town, 240km northeast of Melbourne, just off the Hume Highway.
“We have a sewerage test that has detected Covid-19 in the northeast, Wangaratta, a sewerage test has pinged, firstly positive, then it went negative, now it’s gone positive again,” Mr Andrews said on Thursday.
“We have some reason to believe there is COVID-19 in that community or has been in that community.”
On Friday, Wangaratta mayor Dean Rees told The Australian he understood there had been just one positive detection, followed by two negatives.
“The situation from our health authorities here out of North East Health is that we had a positive, then two negatives after that,” Mr Rees said.
“There seems to be a disconnection between what the Premier’s saying and what we’re being told at a local government level by our local authorities.”
Asked on Thursday how he could justify locking down communities as far from Wangaratta and Melbourne as Mildura and Mallacoota, Mr Andrews said Victoria had “tried limited lockdowns last year”.
“It didn’t work. I will leave you to judge whether targeted lockdowns in other parts of the country at the moment are working,” the Victorian Premier said in a veiled reference to NSW.
“You can make those judgments. I am following the advice of our experts, that is it is all in for seven days and if we all work really hard, we can get out of it.”
Anglica Snowden10.35am:15 arrested over Melbourne anti-lockdown protests
At least 15 people were arrested after wild anti-lockdown protests took place in the Melbourne CBD on Thursday night, Victoria police say.
Assistant commissioner Luke Cornelius slammed the behaviour of hundreds of people who set off flares and allegedly assaulted a police officer after the state was plunged into a sixth lockdown.
“(A police officer) was pushed over by protesters, and then allegedly kicked while he was on the ground,” assistant commissioner Cornelius said.
“Thankfully that member suffered only minor cuts and abrasions and he didn’t require medical attention,” he said.
“I have to say though, kicking a police officer while he is down is a dog act.”
A contingent of violent protesters have consistently hijacked the illegal gatherings to pursue their own “strange” agendas against police, assistant commissioner Cornelius said.
“The protestors we saw last night were similar in terms of the mix of people protesting the city weekend before last. There were concerned mums and dads and business owners who are very concerned about how the lockdowns are impacting their lives,” he said.
“But there is absolutely a hardcore element of people who see this as an opportunity to pick a fight with police.
“Our very particular beef is with his hardcore element of violent criminals who kick a police officer while he’s down, who assaulted police officers, who attack members of the mounted mounted branch behind their back.”
Victoria police are not aware of planned protests this weekend, but are prepared to deploy officers into the city again should they need to.
Ellie Dudley 10.30am:Western Sydney teen ‘took virus to Lake Macquarie’
An infected teenager who illegally travelled from western Sydney to Lake Macquarie allegedly spread the virus in the community.
As contact tracers continue to chase positive infections in the upper Hunter region, health officials identified a party at Blacksmiths Beach last Friday evening as the source of the northern outbreak.
It is understood the teenager attended the party and spread the virus to another person at the event who then travelled to school.
NSW’s chief health officer Kerry Chant on Thursday said the virus had been traced from the Lake Macquarie party back to western Sydney.
“We now think that the source extended from a gathering on Blacksmiths beach on Friday night,” Dr Chant said.
“We believe that there may have been people there from Greater Sydney and that’s how it was introduced. We believe there are linkages back to western Sydney.”
READ MORE:Virus alert for KFC
Charlie Peel 10.20am: Half of Queensland’s new cases are children
Half of Queensland’s new Covid-19 cases reported on Friday morning were children, increasing pressure on the state government to consider whether masks will become mandatory for school students.
About half of the 89 cases in the cluster linked to schools in Brisbane’s inner-west have been among children. The government is considering mandating masks for high school students and children in the older primary school grades.
Chief health officer Jeannette Young said masks had proved to be an effective measure in preventing the spread of the delta variant of the virus.
“These have made an enormous difference, they really and truly have,” Dr Young said.
“With Delta, we know that it is when people are breathing and interact in, and it can take only seconds for that transmission to happen.”
Dr Young said masks, testing, contact tracing and lockdowns had been key to the Queensland response to the outbreak.
“It’s those things that will keep us safe and enable us, hopefully, and I’d genuinely am hopeful that we will be able to lift this on Sunday, but if we don’t do all those things that will make it really difficult to lift Sunday,” she said.
Only two of the 10 new locally-acquired cases of Covid had spent any time in the community while infectious, but that was during the lockdown.
“That is all very reassuring but we’ve got to keep it up for the next few days, we are not there yet,” Dr Young said.
Charlie Peel 10.05am: Hopes of lockdown release as Qld records 10 new cases
Queensland has recorded 10 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, boosting hope that the lockdown of 11 local government areas in the state will be lifted on Sunday.
All of the new cases were locally acquired and among household contacts linked to the cluster spreading through schools in Brisbane’s inner-west.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the result was “encouraging” but it was too early to know whether the lockdown would be lifted on schedule.
“We did 48,028 test samples in the last 24 hour period, which is also a very, very good result,” Mr Miles said.
“So across the metrics that we are monitoring most closely, the number of cases, the fact that they are linked, the number of infectious days in the community and testing levels, this is a very, very encouraging set of results for the 24-hour period.”
Rebecca Urban9.55am: Back to classrooms for some Sydney Year 12s from Aug 16
Year 12 students in parts of Greater Sydney will be able to return to school campuses from August 16 under a new Covid-safe plan unvielled by the state government on Friday.
However, students living or learning in the eight local government areas of concern, including Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool and Parramatta, will be required to continue to learn remotely, with a return deemed too risky.
A flexible operating model for schools, announced by Education Minister Sarah Mitchell, will provide an the opportunity for HSC students to access their schools safely for essential classes, wellbeing support and check-ins during their final year.
School assessments and trial exams will be completed at home.
The plan, which comes amid fierce opposition from both the NSW Teachers Federation and the Independent Education Union, will enable individual schools to leverage their physical spaces and timetables to minimise mixing between students and support physical distancing and will only involve small groups of students at any one time.
Ms Mitchell said the government would continue to follow health advice while prioritising HSC students to access their schools for essential education and wellbeing support where this cannot be delivered online. “Education is essential, and we must provide our HSC students the opportunity to receive the curriculum and wellbeing support they need during the last few months of their schooling,” Ms Mitchell said.
“A comprehensive and flexible model will allow schools to provide HSC students essential lessons and check-ins with teachers sensibly and safely.”
The government also plans to pursue its plans to vaccinate Year 12 students.
Schools in the areas of concern will be asked to prepare for HSC students’ return in the coming weeks, allowing time for their vaccinations to be given and take effect.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said vaccines were essential to our recovery.
“The vaccination hub for HSC students living or learning in the eight LGAs opens on Monday, and we strongly encourage every eligible student to take up the opportunity to protect themselves and their loved ones,” Mr Hazzard said.
Qudos Bank Arena will be available from 9 August as a vaccination hub for Year 12 students in the eight local government areas of concern.
The NSW Teachers Federation is meeting on Friday to discuss the plan and has not ruled out strike action.
Ellie Dudley 9.40am:Qld update 10am, NSW 11am
State health authorities across Australia will front the media this morning to provide updates on their respective Covid-19 outbreaks.
Queensland’s deputy premier Steven Miles will hold a press conference at 10am alongside the state’s health minister Yvetter D’Ath and chief health officer Jeannette Young.
Queensland recorded 16 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday, all of which had been linked to schools in Brisbane’s inner west, and only three of the cases spent time in the community while infectious.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will provide an update at 11am, after the state recorded the worst day since the latest outbreak began.
The state recorded 262 new cases and five deaths on Thursday, in the worst day the state has seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Hunter and upper Hunter regions northwest of Sydney were also put into a seven day lockdown from 5pm Thursday after high levels of the virus and five cases were found in the area.
Victorian authorities are expected to provide their state’s update this morning, but are yet to set a time.
The southern state entered its sixth lockdown since the beginning of the pandemic on Thursday after eight new cases were detected in the community.
READ MORE:Map shows how crisis escalated
Ellie Dudley9.21am:NRL won’t mandate Covid-19 vaccine for players
NRL players will not be subject to compulsory vaccinations, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys says.
Asked whether he would mandate the vaccine for players, following the lead of fruit and vegetable processor SPC, Mr V’landys said the sport “certainly won’t be doing that.”
“Players have got freedoms and liberties and religious beliefs so it’s a bit had to have a blanket policy on everyone,” he told 2GB radio on Friday morning.
“Although, last year when we had the flu vaccination, 99 per cent of our players vaccinated voluntarily, only one per cent didn’t.
“The problem that players are going to have is travelling between states and into other countries if you don’t vaccinate. So that’s the concern, if I was a player that didn’t want to vaccinate.”
Rachel Baxendale8.50am:Infected cleaner worked three days at medical centre
One of Victoria’s latest coronavirus cases is in a cleaner who worked for three days while likely infectious at the Epworth Medical Centre, adjacent to the Epworth Hospital in Richmond in Melbourne’s inner east.
The medical centre has confirmed the cleaner worked in consulting rooms on levels six and eight of the building after hours on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights.
In a statement they said they had prepared for the possibility and had enacted their Covid plan.
READ MORE:Map shows how Covid crisis has escalated
Ellie Dudley8.31am:Fraud charge after tradie fakes positive Covid test
A tradesman from the south coast of NSW has been charged with fraud after allegedly texting his boss to say he could not work in Newcastle because he had Covid-19.
The 23-year-old messaged his employer at 4.15am on Monday, and his co-workers were told to immediately get tested and isolate, police say.
Several venues near his place of employment were deep cleaned.
The man allegedly sent another message to his boss later that day to say his second test had returned a negative result.
Wollongong Police District Commander, Acting Superintendent Brad Ainsworth, said NSW Health had called the man to press for more information.
“As the term goes, they put the acid on him straight away to say their records don’t add up,” he told 2GB radio on Friday morning.
The man was arrested at Wollongong Police Station around 1pm yesterday and was charged with conveying false information that a person or property is in danger.
“He’ll have to front up and face the music,” Acting Superintendent Ainsworth said. “I believe, quite amazingly, his boss is quite understanding and potentially forgiving of him.”
The offence carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, if found guilty.
He was granted bail and will face Wollongong Local Court on September 14.
READ the full story here.
Rachel Baxendale8.29am:Six new cases in Victoria, all in community
Victoria has recorded six new coronavirus cases in the 24 hours to midnight on Thursday.
This includes two cases mentioned by authorities yesterday, bringing the total number of cases since new unlinked cases emerged on Wednesday to 12.
Reported yesterday: 6 new local cases and 0 new cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 5, 2021
- 18,901 vaccine doses were administered
- 29,631 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/Vh0YKSQESC
While all six new cases have been linked to previously reported cases, none were in quarantine while infectious.
Thursday’s cases included three cases who were in quarantine during their infectious period and linked to a traffic controller at the Moonee Valley racecourse testing centre who tested positive for the virus last week.
A further two cases on Thursday related to a teacher in her 20s who lives in Hobsons Bay in Melbourne’s inner southwest at works at Al-Taqwa College in Truganina in the outer west, and her partner who works as an optometrist in Caroline Springs and plays for Newport in the local AFL competition.
The two cases confirmed later on Thursday and included in Friday’s numbers relate to a household linked to the Hobson’s Bay couple, who live nearby in Altona North
Thursday’s final case — as yet unlinked to any others — is in a man who lives in Maribyrnong in Melbourne’s inner west, and works in a warehouse further out in Derrimut.
Details of Friday’s further four cases are expected to be confirmed at a press conference on Friday morning.
The latest outbreak follows short-lived celebrations on Wednesday after Victoria recorded zero locally-acquired infections for the first time since the state’s fifth lockdown last month.
Victoria had four locally-acquired cases on Tuesday, two on Monday, four on Sunday, two on Saturday, and an outbreak peak of 26 on Thursday July 22.
Victoria’s total number of community acquired cases since two incursions from NSW emerged almost four weeks ago is now 232.
There are currently 75 active cases, including up to three active cases acquired overseas.
At least 154 of those infected during the current outbreaks have recovered, and more are expected to do so in coming days.
As of Thursday, there were seven people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus, including two in intensive care on ventilators.
The latest cases come after 29,631 tests were processed on Thursday, up slightly from 27,279 on Wednesday, but down from 30,117 on Tuesday.
There were 22,217 tests processed on Monday, 21,417 on Sunday, 25,779 on Saturday and 32,760 last Friday.
Victoria’s testing record is 59,355 tests on July 20.
Max Maddison8.14am:‘Compelling reason to leave’ needed: expat loophole closes
The Morrison government has barred expatriate Australian citizens from returning to the countries they call home without the need for permission, after a rule enabling people to leave the country without an exemption was quietly closed.
Until yesterday, Australians who were residents overseas had an automatic exemption to leave as they pleased, if they could provide documentation proving they lived abroad when the country’s international borders slammed shut.
But the federal government has moved to close the “loophole” on Thursday, meaning that a person now needs to demonstrate to the Australian Border Force Commissioner a “compelling reason for needing to leave Australian territory”.
An amendment to the Biosecurity Determination said the measures were designed to “reduce pressure on Australia’s quarantine capacity, reduce the risks posed to the Australian population from Covid-19, and assist in returning vulnerable Australians back home”.
“Since the commencement of the Overseas Travel Ban Determination in March 2020, those persons who fall into this category have had substantial time in which to take action under the exemption. The exemption was not intended to enable frequent travel between countries,” the explanatory statement said.
READ MORE:Border closures leave tourism on its knees
Rachel Baxendale8.12am:Year 6 student tests positive at second Melbourne school
A coronavirus case has been detected at a second school in Melbourne’s southwest.
Heathdale Christian College has notified the school community overnight that a positive case has been confirmed in a Year Six student at its Werribee campus.
The case comes after a teacher at Al-Taqwa College in Truganina tested positive on Wednesday.
Both Heathdale campuses have closed until further notice, with classes cancelled on Friday.
“Due to cross-campus contact, anyone who was on either campus on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday this week must self-isolate and get tested for Covid-19,” the school said in a statement issued overnight.
“Students and teachers in Years Five and Six AND their households must continue to quarantine for 14 days even if they test negative and will be contacted by the public health unit or department.
“Further information will be emailed today.”
Ellie Dudley7.46am:Passenger virus alerts over two Virgin flights to Melbourne
Passengers on two Virgin flights have been deemed close contacts by the Victorian health department as concerns over the state’s new clusters continue to grow.
Anyone on board the following two flights has been classified as a close contact and must be tested immediately and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
Virgin Flight VA808 Sydney to Melbourne, August 2, 7.00am – 8.35am
Virgin Flight VA1364 Melbourne to Launceston, August 2, 10.35am – 11.42am
Melbourne Airport Terminal 3 has also been listed as an exposure site.
People who were at the terminal on August 2 from 8.35am – 11.05am must monitor for symptoms and be tested if they arise.
READ MORE: Sage advice as pandemic worsens
Ellie Dudley7.30am:Mayor blasts Gladys for taking vaccines from regions
Lake Macquarie Mayor Kate Fraser has blasted the NSW government for taking Pfizer doses away from the area to distribute to HSC students in Sydney.
The Lake Macquarie region has been plunged into a seven-day lockdown, along with seven other areas, after detections of the virus and new cases were located in neighbouring LGAs.
Ms Fraser said there was “a lot of frustration” when the vaccines were taken away from locals for year 12 students in southwest and west Sydney, which has been exacerbated by the latest restrictions.
“There was a lot of anger because I think we can’t afford to have people spend too much time trying to get an appointment for a vaccine and be told it has been cancelled at the last minute,” she told Channel 9’s Today.
“We lost 5500 vaccines and we need them now and we can see this morning that there are long queues for testing at our testing centres, so that is another issue we have up here as well.”
The other local government areas also under the same stay-at-home orders that apply to greater Sydney include Newcastle, Maitland, Port Stephens, Cessnock, Dungog, Singleton and Muswellbrook.
READ MORE: One in five hospitality, arts and recreation employees stood down in NSW
Ellie Dudley7am:Why lock down entire state: Dutton asks Andrews
Defence Minister Peter Dutton has slammed the Victorian government for choosing to lock down the entire state over eight cases, saying premier Daniel Andrews should have left unaffected areas out of the new restrictions.
Mr Andrews announced Victoria’s lockdown would commence from 8pm last night, as contact tracers scramble to identify the source of two unlinked coronavirus clusters.
Regional Victoria and unaffected LGAs in Melbourne are included in the stay-at-home orders.
But Mr Dutton took issue with the decision to lock down the entire state, instead praising Queensland’s approach.
“I don’t agree with the whole of Victoria being locked down,” he told Channel 9’s Today.
“In Queensland they have taken the decision to go for a defined number of Local Government areas and that has worked effectively.
“That seems to be the approach as it’s refined over the course of the last 18 months to be a very good one.”
READ MORE: Unions slam SPC over mandatory Covid vaccines
Ellie Dudley6.30am:National wrap – millions of Aussies wake up in lockdown
Fifteen million Australians will wake up in lockdown on Friday, as the highly infectious Delta variant of Covid-19 continues to spread across the nation.
News came late Thursday that Victoria would enter its sixth lockdown since the beginning of the pandemic in order to get on top of a new outbreak in
The announcement came as Victoria recorded eight cases on Thursday as contact tracers scramble to identify the source of two unlinked coronavirus clusters.
The lockdown will last seven days and includes regional Victoria.
The regular five reasons to leave home will apply — getting the food and the supplies you need, exercising for up to two hours, care or caregiving, authorised work or education if you can’t do it from home, to get vaccinated at the nearest possible location.
Schools will be closed for face-to-face learning.
NSW recorded 262 new cases and five deaths on Thursday, in the worst day the state has seen since the beginning of the pandemic.
The Hunter and upper Hunter regions northwest of Sydney entered a seven day lockdown from 5pm Thursday after high levels of the virus and five cases were found in the area.
Two of the cases were students at Maitland Christian School which has since been closed for cleaning.
Meanwhile, Queensland recorded 16 new cases of Covid-19 on Thursday which had all been linked to the Indooroopilly cluster.
There were no new cases linked to the reef pilot who tested positive in Cairns earlier in the week.
Queensland’s chief health officer Jeannette Young says the results of the lockdown in the state’s southeast have surpassed her expectations, boosting hope that stay-at-home restrictions could be lifted on Sunday.
Only four of the state’s 16 new cases were infectious while in the community, down from 14 infectious community cases on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Deaths, lockdowns in worst day of Covid-19 outbreak for NSW
Ellie Dudley6am:Sydney KFC listed as exposure site for an entire week
A KFC in southwest Sydney has been listed as an exposure site for an entire week, sending any customers who walked through the door during that seven day period into 14 day quarantine.
The Punchbowl chicken shop is the latest exposure site to join NSW Health’s every growing list of venues where infection may have occurred.
Anyone who visited the following sites at the indicated time is classified as a close contact must be tested immediately and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – NEW VENUES OF CONCERNâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 5, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of a number of new venues of concern associated with confirmed cases of COVID 19. pic.twitter.com/5V4bty8oVA
Auburn: Family Medical Centre Auburn, 22/1 Civic Road, Saturday July 31 8.45am to 2.15pm; Punchbowl: KFC, 1323/1325 Canterbury Road, Tuesday July 27 All day; Wednesday July 28 All day; Thursday July 29 All day; Friday July 30 All day; Saturday July 31 All day; Sunday August 1 All day; Monday August 2 All day.
A total of 77 new sites have been added to the list as a “casual contact” venue over the past 24 hours.
MORE: The full list can be seen on the NSW Health website.
Daniel Sankey5.10am:‘Free Victoria’: Protesters storm Melbourne’s CBD
Hundreds of protesters chanting ‘no more lockdowns’ and ‘sack Dan Andrews’ have clashed with police in wild scenes in Melbourne’s CBD last night.
The protesters, many maskless, converged on Flinders Street station at 7pm, just an hour before the state went into its sixth lockdown over two new Covid-19 clusters.
They marched into Swanston Street and circled the CBD, some lighting flares as they walked.
A heavy police presence was called in to move on the protesters, with at least one arrest made.
One protester told The Herald Sun he was angered by Victoria’s sixth lockdown.
“We can’t keep going through this, we are losing our livelihoods,” the man from Melbourne’s southeast said.
Business owner James from Melbourne’s north said he had lost his livelihood.
“How can any business survive through this, I’ve lost everything.”
READ MORE: Melbourne’s CBD ‘sent back to square one’
Rachel Baxendale5am:Scramble to identify source of latest clusters
Victorian health authorities are investigating allegations of illegal gatherings and possible links to NSW hotel quarantine as they try to identify the source of two unlinked coronavirus clusters that have sparked the state’s sixth lockdown.
Six new Covid-19 cases were recorded in Victoria’s official numbers for Thursday, with another two confirmed during the course of the day.
Three of the cases were in quarantine during their infectious period and linked to a traffic controller at the Moonee Valley racecourse testing centre who tested positive for the virus last week.
Another two are related to a teacher in her 20s who lives in Hobsons Bay in Melbourne’s inner southwest and works at Al-Taqwa College in Truganina in the outer west, and her partner who works as an optometrist in Caroline Springs and plays for Newport in the local Australian football competition. The two cases confirmed later on Thursday relate to a household linked to the Hobson’s Bay couple.
The final case – so far unlinked to others – is a man who lives in inner west Maribyrnong and works in a warehouse further out in Derrimut.
Asked whether the Hobsons Bay couple had caught the virus at an illegal party attended by the traffic controller, Premier Daniel Andrews said: “We are not certain of that.”
Covid logistics chief Jeroen Weimar said authorities were aware of a “story going around about allegations of illegal parties”.
Read the full story here.
Geoff Chambers4.45am:Delta variant’s pall draped over three states
Australia has suffered its worst day in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic in a year, with NSW recording the nation’s highest number of deaths since last October, Victoria and Queensland gripped by mystery cases and the highly contagious Delta variant leaking across state borders.
More than 15 million people are under lockdown after Victoria joined NSW and Queensland by announcing a week of stay-at-home orders to suppress the expanding Delta outbreak.
The Victorian and Tasmanian governments held crisis meetings on Thursday after new Covid-19 cases emerged in the states, while NSW reported a record 262 daily infections and five deaths. Gladys Berejiklian extended Sydney’s lockdown to the Hunter and Upper Hunter regions to suppress transmissions.
Federal and state health officials are bracing for the situation to worsen in coming weeks.
With more than 20 per cent of eligible Australians fully vaccinated, the federal government will send additional Pfizer vaccines to NSW and bring forward jabs for Queensland in response to the Brisbane outbreak.
Tasmanian authorities were scrambling to “track and trace” the state’s first Covid-19 case in nine months, after an alleged law-breaking NSW resident brought the virus to Launceston.
The Tasmanian government cancelled Sunday’s Collingwood-Hawthorn AFL game, due to be held in Launceston, and shut its border to quarantine-free arrivals from Victoria for seven days. Further public health measures could be applied in coming days.
Read the full story here.
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