Coronavirus Australia live news: National cabinet to meet as WA, SA, Darwin tighten limits; NSW has 30 new cases
WA has become the latest state to tighten its borders, joining SA and Darwin with new controls; NSW battles a case surge.
- PM seeks urgent national cabinet
- South Australia closes borders to QLD, WA, ACT
- WA tightens restrictions amid outbreak
- Darwin plunged into snap lockdown
- NSW records 30 new cases
- Two new local Queensland cases
Welcome to updates on the latest developments in the nation’s battle with the Covid-19 pandemic. Live coverage has ended for the day — catch up on the day’s events below.
Scott Morrison wants an urgent meeting of national cabinet to deal with the various Covid outbreaks across the naion. WA has become the latest state to tighten its border limits. South Australia has closed its border to Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory following an escalating outbreak of Covid-19. While a snap, two-day lockdown has been announced in Darwin, triggered by four new cases linked to an outbreak at a major central Australian goldmine. An outbreak in WA has also seen Perth and Peel subject to new restrictions, and in locked-down Sydney, 30 new cases and a fresh cluster linked to a seafood wholesaler have authorities on high alert.
Rhiannon Down10pm:Extra sites added to NSW Health list
Sydney Airport, restaurants and supermarkets have been added to NSW’s list of exposure sites late on Sunday night, after the state braces for another day of grim case numbers.
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – TRANSPORT ROUTES AND VENUESâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 27, 2021
NSW Health has been notified of new transport routes and venues of concern associated with confirmed cases of COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/g2vzfmcz6M
Travellers who transited through the food court in the domestic Terminal 2 at Sydney Airport has been asked to get tested and isolate for 14 days.
Burger and Salad Haus in Sydney Olympic Park, Crust Pizza in Belmore, 7-Eleven Croydon Park in Croydon Park and Chaco Ramen in Darlinghurst were among the numerous exposure sites from every corner of the city to be added to the list.
Woolworths in Lakemba and Tong Li Supermarket at Eastgardens were also added to the list, as were a number of Lightrail and train routes.
Rhiannon Down9.30pm:Victoria declares Perth, Brisbane orange zones
Victoria’s department of health has toughened its border stance towards travellers from Brisbane and Perth, upgrading the cities to orange zones under its traffic light system.
Under the new restrictions travellers from the capital cities, where several Covid cases have been recorded, will be required to isolate and get tested upon arrival in the state from 1am on Monday.
Greater Brisbane in Queensland, and the Perth Metropolitan Region and Peel Region in Western Australia, will be designated orange zones under Victoria’s travel permit system, effective 1:00am AEST Monday 28 June. [1/7] pic.twitter.com/SU4im6cRyB
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 27, 2021
“Greater Brisbane in Queensland, and the Perth Metropolitan Region and Peel Region in Western Australia, will be designated orange zones under Victoria’s travel permit system, effective 1:00am AEST Monday 28 June,” the department said.
“Greater Brisbane incorporates the Local Government Areas of Brisbane City, Ipswich City, Logan City, Redlands City and the Moreton Bay Region.”
Passengers who are already in the air or due to arrive before 1am will still be permitted to enter with a green zone permit though testing is advised, with all arrivals asked not to travel if they have symptoms.
It comes as many other states and territories including SA and WA beefed up their travel restrictions today amid a rise in case numbers in NSW that has spread to numerous other capital cities.
Rhiannon Down8.40pm:NSW Health plea: get tested, isolate
NSW health authorities continue to urge Sydneysiders who visited several major exposure sites including a Marrickville fish wholesaler, a Bondi cafe and the Joh Bailey hairdressers to get tested and isolate.
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – TRANSMISSION VENUES OF CONCERNâš ï¸
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 27, 2021
NSW Health is reminding the public of its advice for a number of key venues of concern across Sydney. These venues were visited by confirmed cases of COVID-19 and transmission occurred. pic.twitter.com/624m4ju0tD
Anyone who visited the Great Ocean Foods on Cadogan Street across five days from Monday June 21 to Friday June 25 has been identified as a close contact and must isolate and get tested for 14 days.
The exposure window for Lyfe Cafe Bondi Beach now includes Wednesday June 16 between 12.30pm and 2.15pm, all day Friday June 18 to Saturday June 19 and all day Tuesday June 22 to Thursday June 24.
Patrons of upmarket hair salon Joh Bailey across a week spanning Tuesday June 15 to Wednesday 23 June have also been asked to get tested and isolate.
The health orders for anyone who visited Westfield Bondi Junction between Saturday June 12 and Friday June 18 also remain in place.
Rhiannon Down7.50pm:Sydney outbreak 'not as bad as Melbourne’
ANU epidemiologist Peter Collignon says the Sydney outbreak is not the same as Melbourne’s major outbreak last year, adding that the Sydenysiders should not become “despondent”.
“Melbourne last year were having 30 or 40 cases a day but their contact tracing was not on top of it, they weren’t keeping people who were infected at home,” Professor Collingnon told Sky News.
“When the army knocked on their door a third of people weren’t at home with 100 per cent chance of infection.
“And there are a lot of things that are much better now down in Victoria as well as everywhere else, so I don’t think we should become despondent about it.
“It’s winter so the virus is transmitted more readily so we’ve got a problem for the next few months, but we’re in a better position because at least 80 per cent plus of people in a nursing home, who were the main people who died, are vaccinated.
“So we won’t see the same number of deaths as last year.”
Professor Collingnon said it was positive that so far there had been few mystery cases with the Joh Bailey hairdresser and Marrickville fish wholesaler infection sites posing the greatest concern.
“Any value of anything we do whether it’s a lockdown or any restrictions you tend not to see the effects of that for five to seven days as that’s the average incubation period,” he said.
“So we’ll be wiser in five days’ time as to whether it may have been better to have (the lockdown) earlier or better to stay with the questions.”
Richard Ferguson7.05pm:National cabinet to hold urgent meeting
Scott Morrison is seeking an urgent meeting of the national cabinet to deal with the various Covid-19 outbreaks across the nation.
Government sources say the national security committee of the federal cabinet will also meet on Monday morning to consider the outbreaks.
Top government officials - including Josh Frydenberg, new Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce. Defence Minister Peter Dutton, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Attorney General Michaelia Cash - will meet to discuss the Commonwealth’s next steps.
The Prime Minister also wants to meet with premiers and chief ministers as lockdowns, tougher restrictions and border closures pop up across the country.
Paul Garvey6.55pm:WA tightens border restrictions
Western Australia will cut itself off from most of the rest of the country as the latest Covid-19 outbreak continues to spread around Australia.
WA premier Mark McGowan on Sunday night said arrivals from Queensland, the ACT and the Northern Territory would have to self-quarantine for 14 days upon their entry into WA. The state closed its borders to arrivals from NSW on Wednesday, while Victorian arrivals to WA were already required to isolate for 14 days.
It means arrivals from South Australia and Tasmania are the only visitors allowed to enter WA without going into quarantine.
The tightened restrictions are almost certain to complicate travel plans for many families ahead of the end of the school term this Friday.
“I know these immediate changes will cause significant disruptions for many people, especially ahead of the school holidays but we just cannot afford to take any chances,” Mr McGowan said.
“These changes to our border arrangements are a safe and sensible response to the alarming outbreak we are seeing over east. The safety of Western Australians is paramount and we must do everything we can to minimise the risk of Covid-19 spreading to our communities and damaging our health and our economy.”
WA earlier on Sunday introduced mask requirements for all adults in the Perth and Peel region for three days, after a recently returned traveller from Sydney tested positive to the virus.
Two primary schools visited by the woman while she was potentially infectious will be closed on Monday for deep cleaning.
While WA has so far resisted calling a lockdown in response to the case, Mr McGowan warned he would introduce tougher restrictions if needed.
“For now we have avoided a full lockdown in Perth and Peel, but if the situation worsens in coming days we won’t hesitate to put in place even more restrictions and a lockdown if necessary,” he said.
Rhiannon Down6.40pm:NSW exposure list tops more than 280
NSW’s list of exposure sites has ballooned to more than 280 listings including public transport routes, as the state’s health investigators race to trace the contacts of 30 locally acquired cases recorded today.
The list now includes 90 venues of concern where visitors have been identified as close contacts, after Briony’s Hair in Bondi and the Angelo Angestis Aquatic Centre in Bexley North were added to the list tonight.
Some 141 venues have been added as casual contact sites, where patrons are required to get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
An additional 19 venues have been added to the list as monitor for symptoms only and 32 public transport routes have also been listed.
Mackenzie Scott6.15pm:New Qld case linked to NT mine worker
A third case of community transmission has been identified in Queensland, linked to the mine worker in the Northern Territory.
The woman, who also works at the Granites mine site in Central Queensland, flew into Brisbane on Friday and drove home to the Sunshine Coast.
She is believed to have been infectious in the community for one day.
Queensland Health will add extra exposure sites to the current list once contact tracing is complete.
The case is on top of the two community-acquired cases identified this morning and will be included in tomorrow’s case numbers.
Rhiannon Down6pm:Bondi beachgoers copy hefty penalties
Two Bondi beach goers have been hit with $1000 fines for breaching COVID-19 health orders, NSW Police say.
A 35-year old man and a 29-year-old woman were issued with infringement notices after they ignored police orders to leave the foreshore at about 10am on Sunday.
The pair had already been moved on by police after they were found sitting in a group between Campbell Parade and Queen Elizabeth Drive before reconvening on the beach a short time later, police said.
NSW Police said officers were acting on multiple tip offs from the public that a group of people had been breaching health orders and gathering along the beachfront.
“Both were issued with Penalty Infringement Notices for fail to comply with noticed direction in relation to section 7/8/9 - COVID-19 - individual (other than face covering breaches),” a NSW Police spokesperson said.
“Police continue to appeal to the community to abide by the public health orders, and report suspected breaches of or any behaviour which may impact on the health and safety of the community.”
Remy Varga5.20pm:Victoria declares Darwin a red zone
Victoria’s Health Department has designated the greater Darwin region a red zone after the NT city went into a snap lockdown.
The Greater Darwin area will be designated a red zone under Victoria’s travel permit system, effective 8:00pm AEST Sunday 27 June. Greater Darwin incorporates the Local Government Areas of City of Darwin, City of Palmerston and Litchfield. [1/6] pic.twitter.com/rlPC6qF6iE
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 27, 2021
From 8pm tonight, anyone entering Victoria from the Darwin, Litchfield and Palmerston areas will be required to quarantine at home for 14-days. A permit is required to enter Victoria regardless of whether you have been in a green, orange or red zone.
READ MORE:Daniel Andrews: I thought I was dying
Rhiannon Down5.10pm:NSW Health bungle lists wrong hotel as exposure site
NSW Health has issued a correction after health authorities listed the wrong hotel on its list of exposure sites, in a bungle that has allowed possibly infectious patrons to circulate in the community.
A new health alert has been issued for the Crossways Hotel in Strathfield South as opposed to the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, which was originally listed as an exposure site.
The bungle comes as the state’s list of close contact exposure sites edges closer to 90 venues, stretching the capabilities of the state’s contact tracers.
PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT - VENUE OF CONCERN CORRECTION pic.twitter.com/VBsiCOcbIq
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 27, 2021
“NSW Health yesterday (Saturday 26 June) incorrectly advised that Crossroads Hotel in Casula was a venue of concern that had been visited by a confirmed case of COVID-19,” the health body said.
“NSW Health can advise that the correct venue of concern is Crossways Hotel, 482 Liverpool Rd, Strathfield South. The dates and times remain the same.”
READ MORE:How long can we keep shutting out the world?
Agencies5.00pm:Covid sees Wallabies-France Test moved from Sydney
The Wallabies’ opening Test against France was Sunday shifted from Sydney to Brisbane after the Australia’s biggest city was thrust into a two-week coronavirus lockdown.
Rugby Australia chief Andy Marinos said the decision to move the July 7 clash was to ensure the welfare of players, staff and fans.
“It’s never an easy decision to move a fixture. One thing that the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us is that we have to be able to pivot quickly,” he said.
“We will continue to work with the respective health authorities around Australia to ensure all events are safely delivered for fans, players and officials.” Sydney entered its first full day of lockdown on Sunday as it works to contain an outbreak of the highly contagious Delta variant.
âš ï¸Fixture change! Following recent developments in Sydney, the first Test of the eToro France Series will now be played at Suncorp Stadium.
— Wallabies (@wallabies) June 27, 2021
Full story, including ticketing info, here: https://t.co/vSgebxJg5bpic.twitter.com/pLGx1ByTAh
So far, there have been more than 110 cases reported since a driver for an international flight crew tested positive in mid-June.
The second Test is scheduled for Melbourne on July 13 before the third and final game in Brisbane four days later.
With Sydney missing out, Marinos announced the city would instead host the Wallabies’ Rugby Championship showdown with South Africa on September 12, a fixture that had previously been announced but without a venue.
The 42-man French squad, coached by former captain Fabien Galthie, is currently undergoing 14 days of mandatory quarantine in Sydney ahead of the series.
It is heavy on youth with Les Bleus without a host of first-choice players due to the Top 14 final between Toulouse and La Rochelle.
READ MORE:’We need to win’: Wallabies won’t take French ‘C’ team easy
Rachel Baxendale4.40pm:Andrews releases video ahead of return to work
Daniel Andrews and his wife Cath say they both thought the Victorian Premier was going to die after he slipped and broke his back and ribs at a Mornington Peninsula holiday house in March.
In a video posted across his social media accounts ahead of his return to work on Monday, Mr Andrews has spoken in detail for the first time about his accident almost four months ago.
Before I come back to work tomorrow, I thought I would share what happened. In my own words. pic.twitter.com/RkJcvPTYyu
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) June 27, 2021
The video comes after opposition frontbencher Louise Staley was widely criticised for implying that police may have been involved in investigating the circumstances of the accident, amid defamatory conspiracy theories which have been circulating widely in the
Sitting side-by-side at home with his wife in the video, Mr Andrews says he, Cath and their three children had been enjoying time together as a family at a holiday house in Sorrento over the Labour Day weekend.
“It was a bit of a bit of a chance to have some time together and to make up for the fact that summer had been really busy and a holiday that had been planned hadn’t happened,” the Premier said.
He said that early on the morning of Tuesday March 9, he was making his way to the car to go to work.
“I’m not sure if it was raining at the time but it had been raining. As I put my foot onto the first step, I knew I was in trouble,” Mr Andrews said.
READ the full story
Max Maddison4.25pm:ACT imposes mask mandate
The ACT Government has imposed a mask mandate across the community in response to the deteriorating situation across the border.
Despite no cases of community transmission being recorded in over a year, Chief Minister Andrew Barr has issued an edict requiring face masks to be worn in most businesses, including supermarkets, hospitality venues and gyms.
“There are no active cases in the ACT. However, the safety of our community is paramount, so we are bringing in this requirement as a proactive measure to support the strengthened travel restrictions that we have put in place,” a statement from ACT Health said.
“This new requirement means, when people are indoors with people they don’t usually live or work with, or on public transport, they must wear a face mask.”
The mandate will be imposed from midnight on Sunday, but there will be a 48-hour transition period for businesses and the community to adapt.
READ MORE:Return of the Phantom Menace
Rhiannon Down4.04pm:Nation’s vaccine rollout surpasses 7.3 million doses
The nation’s vaccine rollout has surpassed 7.3 million doses with 68,715 jabs administered across the country in the past 24 hours, as new Covid clusters emerge in Darwin and Perth.
Some 4,277,789 doses have been administered by the federal health system and 3,048,531 by the states and territories in total, according to the latest Department of Health figures.
This daily infographic provides the total number of vaccine doses administered in Australia as of 26 June 2021. Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccine information here: https://t.co/TUKfzVuGVmpic.twitter.com/m4HnWnGfUh
— Australian Government Department of Health (@healthgovau) June 27, 2021
NSW has administered 12,881 jabs in the last 24 hours, as the state edges closer to the end of its first day in total lockdown, after 30 local cases were recorded.
Total vaccinations in the aged and disability care sector has reached 426,745 after just 146 jabs were administered in the past 24 hours.
In addition, 22,691 doses were dispensed through primary care, bringing its total to 3,851,044.
READ MORE:Johnson & Johnson Covid jab given TGA tick of approval
Rhiannon Down3.52pm:South Australia closes its border to QLD, WA, and ACT
SA Premier Steven Marshall has closed his state’s border with Queesland, WA, and the ACT citing the “significant deterioration in the situation in Australia over the last 24 to 48 hours”.
“This is in place for all but permitted travellers,” Mr Marshall said.
“People permanently relocating to SA, South Australians returning home or those people who are escaping domestic or family violence, or those people who are essential travellers and have received an exemption from our team here in SA.
“The arrangements with NSW remain as they were over the weekend, with the 100km buffer along the NSW-SA border.
“With Victoria, we continue with the arrangement where we’re asking people from greater Melbourne to be tested on arrival and to isolate before that test is taken. We now extend that to the whole of Victoria.
“No restrictions in place with Tasmania.”
Mr Marshall said though SA had the “lowest level restrictions in the country” health authorities were extremely “concerned” about the situation in NSW, with travellers from the state now sparking infection scares in the NT and WA.
“We need to be extraordinarily vigilant in SA at the moment,” he said,
“So, we’re pleading with people here in our state, if they develop any symptoms whatsoever, to go and get themselves tested.
“We want to see a very significant increase in testing effective immediately, anyone with any symptoms whatsoever must go and get themselves tested as quickly as possible.”
READ MORE:Trio arrested after allegedly flying plane from NSW into outback South Australia
Mackenzie Scott3.30pm:Queensland health release Covid exposure sites
Contract tracers have issued 26 alerts across several gyms, shopping centres and eateries in inner-city Brisbane that have been linked to the two latest cases of Covid-19 identified in Queensland overnight.
The two people - one a worker at Brisbane DFO and their partner - attended Indooroopilly Shopping Centre and Newstead Gasworks in the past week. Goodlife Gym at the Fortitude Valley Homemaker Centre and Anytime Fitness and Hamilton were each visited several times, with a casual contact also added for Goodlife Gym West End.
âš ï¸ Public Health Alert - Brisbane and Sunshine Coast âš ï¸
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) June 27, 2021
Queensland has recorded two new cases of #COVID19 in the community, with contact tracing and testing underway after two people tested positive.
For a full list of locations, please visit https://t.co/szwjYvf2RVpic.twitter.com/2ISoswmXy3
Early morning stops at a McDonalds along the Bruce Highway at Glass House Mountains were recorded on Tuesday and Wednesday last week.
State chief health officer Jeannette Young said they are believed to have been infectious since June 20 and 21 respectively.
A full list of locations can be found here.
READ MORE:24-year old woman charged with murder over cop’s hit-and-run death
Joe Kelly, Richard Ferguson3.15pm:Winners, losers in Joyce’s ministerial reshuffle
Nationals MPs Bridget McKenzie and Andrew Gee are the big winners from Barnaby Joyce’s ministerial reshuffle with both of them set to enter the federal cabinet at the expense of Darren Chester and Keith Pitt.
In a major shake-up, Mr Pitt will be demoted from cabinet but retain his portfolio responsibilities of Resources and Water. It will be the first time the resources portfolio has not had a seat at the cabinet table since 2016.
Senator McKenzie, just a year and a half after quitting cabinet over a sports grant scandal, is back as Regionalisation, Regional Education and Regional Health Minister. She will also take on responsibility for emergency management.
READ the full story
Scott Henry3.00pm:Massive queues at Sydney vaccine hub
The hub at Olympic Park is doing a brisk trade in vaccines on the first day of Sydney’s lockdown 2.0.
Long queues are forming outside the mass vaccination site, with appointments running more than an hour behind schedule.
Under the lockdown rules, announced yesterday, leaving home to obtain a vaccine is permitted.
Marshalls are attempting to enforce social distancing rules in the lines and are encouraging people turning up early for their appointments to go for a walk in the nearby park rather than stand in the queue.
NSW Health administered 12,881 COVID-19 vaccines in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, including 6,603 at the vaccination centre at Sydney Olympic Park.
READ MORE:‘High risk’: Covid fears for infected drivers
Paul Garvey2.45pm:WA Covid case had received one vaccine dose
The woman behind Perth’s latest Covid-19 outbreak received her first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine before she contracted the virus.
WA health minister Roger Cook on Sunday said the fact the woman, a physiotherapist in her 50s, had received one injection could help Perth avoid a wider outbreak as a result of the case.
“That suggests to us that her disease burden may be lower and as a result of that her capacity to spread the disease may be lower as well. That’s obviously an encouraging outcome,” he said.
WA has introduced three days of mask requirements for indoors and public transport in the Perth and Peel regions as a result of the latest case. Sunday’s AFL match at Optus Stadium will now be played without a crowd, and the 2 square metre rule has been reintroduced for hospitality, beauty, fitness and retail venues.
The restrictions are far less onerous than the measures taken in response to other outbreaks earlier this year, although Mr Cook said the state’s emergency management team will meet again later on Sunday to discuss whether other actions are needed.
READ MORE:Fever respond to backlash from Covid feud
Drew Hinshaw, Jeremy Page, Betsy McKay2.35pm:Key findings from Covid origins report
It is among the world’s most consequential mysteries: Where did the coronavirus that killed millions of people and shattered the global economy come from?
The Wall Street Journal has covered the global quest for answers, tracking the World Health Organisation, doctors and scientists in China and around the world, the U.S. intelligence community and the vast network of disease specialists, all struggling to piece together a puzzling set of disparate clues. Here are some of the key findings:
1. A WHO-led inquiry into the origins of the virus was stymied from the start. A Journal investigation found China resisted international pressure for an investigation it saw as an attempt to assign blame, delayed the probe for months, secured veto rights over participants and insisted its scope encompass other countries as well. The WHO-led team that travelled to China in early 2021 to investigate the origins of the virus struggled to get a clear picture of what research China was conducting beforehand, faced constraints during its monthlong visit and had little power to conduct thorough, impartial research without the blessing of China’s government. In their final report, the investigators said insufficient evidence meant they couldn’t yet resolve when, where and how the virus began spreading.
READ the full story
Rhiannon Down2.30pm:More NSW venues on urgent virus alert
NSW’s list of exposure sites has grown further, with several cafes, restaurants and shopping outlets being added this afternoon as Sydneysiders edge closer to the end of their first weekend in lockdown.
Exposure windows for Fonda Mexican restaurant in Bondi Beach, Orange Supermarket in Rhodes, and Mad Mex and Roll’d Vietnamese at Pacific Square Maroubra have been added to the list by NSW Health.
Patrons of Establishment Bar on George Street in Sydney and precinct 37 café in Annandale have also been put on high alert as close contacts.
A number of venues in Maroubra, Double Bay and Marrickville have also been added to the list for casual contacts.
PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT - VENUES OF CONCERN pic.twitter.com/ccKmBnFNPx
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 27, 2021
READ MORE:Eerie pics show Sydney’s empty streets
Angelica Snowden2.00pm:Footy fans promised refund after Covid scare
Spectators turned away from an AFL blockbuster match in Perth have been promised refunds, after a Covid-19 scare prompted the state to introduce a host of restrictions.
The West Coast Eagles versus Western Bulldogs match will go ahead this afternoon but without crowds after one new case of coronavirus was announced in the state.
AFL football operations executive Steve Hocking said the league accepted the state government’s decision to ban fans.
“The health and safety of everyone in the game and the wider community remains the priority as we continue to navigate the pandemic,” Mr Hocking said.
“The AFL thanks all supporters for their understanding as we continue to be led by the advice of governments and health officials.”
The AFL advises as per WA Government guidelines now in place, the round 15 #AFLEaglesDogs match at Optus Stadium will proceed as planned but will be closed to the general public. For supporters who have purchased tickets, Ticketmaster will issue a refund.https://t.co/wafgEvhNSo
— AFL (@AFL) June 27, 2021
The latest case is a woman in her 50s who visited Sydney - which is at the centre of a major outbreak numbering 110 cases - last week.
READ MORE:Field of Dreams mantra rugby needs to adopt
Adeshola Ore1.57pm:Greg Hunt makes urgent vaccine plea
Health Minister Greg Hunt has urged Australians eligible for the second Covid-19 vaccine dose to come forward for their shot.
Mr Hunt made an urgent plea about the importance of getting fully vaccinated, as NSW recorded 30 new cases. Parts of the Northern Territory will enter a snap two day lockdown, while a new local case in Western Australia has triggered the introduction of restrictions.
“This is the moment and this is the time where those second doses are beginning to become due. It’s an extremely important thing,” Mr Hunt has told a press conference on Sunday.
“The simple message is do not wait. If you catch Covid-19, you could die.”
More than 7.3 million vaccine doses have now been administered across the country.
“This include 28.5 per cent of eligible Australians who have had their first doses. Over 50.8 per cent of over 50-year-olds, 59.5 per cent of over 60-year-olds and 68 per cent, well over two-thirds of over 70 and above,” he said.
READ MORE: Fearful and dejected, police hand in their badges
Paul Garvey1.10pm:Perth and Peel put under stage one restrictions
A new Covid-19 outbreak in Perth’s north has prompted WA authorities to introduce mask requirements across the metropolitan region.
But the state government has stopped short of calling another lockdown as it looks to identify anyone who came in contact with the woman who contracted the virus after visiting Sydney just over a week ago.
Health Minister Roger Cook said the woman, a physiotherapist in her 50s, and her husband travelled to Sydney to visit their son and spent time in the Bondi area.
She returned to Perth on 20 June and isolated while she awaited the result of her Covid test. She tested negative on 23 June and returned to the community, but developed symptoms the next day and didn’t leave the house from 25 June. She was tested again and returned a positive result on Saturday night.
Authorities are now looking to identify anyone who came into contact with the woman between June 22 and 24, when she saw clients and visited sites including a primary school, a shopping centre, a brewery and a gym.
“We are going to have a significant number of casual contacts as a result of this outbreak,” Mr Cook said.
Masks will be required to be worn indoors or when travelling on public transport in the Perth and Peel regions.
Mr Cook also announced that there would now be no crowd at today’s AFL clash between West Coast and the Western Bulldogs.
The stage one restrictions mean that masks must be worn indoors and outdoors where physical distancing is not possible. There is a 30-person limit in homes, a 150-patron limit at venues, gyms and places of worship.
Spectators will be banned from the upcoming West Coast Eagles v Western Bulldogs AFL match at Optus Stadium.
More to come …
Angelica Snowden12.45pm:Darwin to enter snap lockdown amid four cases
Darwin will enter a snap, two-day lockdown after four coronavirus cases were detected.
The lockdown, covering the Greater Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield regions, will take effect for 48 hours from 1pm, local time.
The four cases have all been linked to the Granites gold mine in the Tanami Desert, which has potentially exposed up to 900 workers.
NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner described the situation as the biggest Covid threat the Territory had faced.
“I cannot rule out the lockdown being longer,” he said.
“I cannot rule out expanding the boundaries of the lockdown. If it needs to be longer, if it needs to be wider, it will be.”
Territorians are not allowed to travel — including interstate — except for essential work, an hour of exercise within a 5km radius of home, to provide care, seek medical attention and shop for essential goods. People from interstate are allowed to leave.
More to come …
Remy Varga12.45pm:Three miners exposed to Covid declare themselves
Three miners exposed to Covid at the Granites gold mine in the Tanami Desert have declared themselves to Victorian health authorities.
Victorian testing commander Jeroen Weimar said the three workers had identified themselves after reports emerged of a fly in fly out worker who had worked at the isolated Northern Territory mine tested positive.
“We expect that number to grow as we work with other jurisdictions to identify where those other 900 mine workers have travelled to,” he said.
“We understand they may have travelled fairly widely across Australia.”
News of the positive case sent about 900 FIFO workers into isolation.
Mr Weimar urged any other workers in Victoria to isolate, get tested and report to health authorities.
More to come …
Remy Varga12.03pm:Victoria identifies 128 passengers linked to Virgin Covid flight
Victorian health authorities have identified 128 passengers potentially exposed to Covid on a Virgin flight from Brisbane to Melbourne on which an infected flight attendant worked.
Contact tracing commander Jeroen Weimar said contact tracers were contacting all passengers on Virgin flight VA334 that landed in Melbourne at 5.20pm on June 25 from Brisbane.
The flight has been classified as a Tier 1 exposure site.
READ MORE: Some may die but borders must open, says Virgin chief
Ellie Dudley11.53am: Man tests positive at after NT mine exposure
A man in his 30s, who was exposed to Covid at the Granites gold mine in the Northern Territory, has tested positive for the virus upon returning to his home in the Northern Tablelands in NSW.
The case is not linked to the Bondi cluster, but thought to be traced back to a worker in the mine who contracted the virus in Brisbane.
The man has remained in isolation since his return home, and “there is no current risk of infection to the local community”, a statement from the Hunter New England Local Health District said.
“I urge everyone to adhere to the restrictions put in place yesterday by the NSW Government,” David Durheim, the Public Health Controller for the area, said.
“We need to wear our masks, practice hygiene measures and maintain our distance to keep this virus at bay.”
READ MORE:Rio Tinto accused over dumping artefacts
Christine Kellett11.37am:Premier grilled over lockdown call
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has defended her decision to plunge Sydney and the regions
into a two-week lockdown, saying she was left with no alternative given the rapid spread of the Delta variant and the emergence of another cluster centred around a seafood wholesaler.
“I have never cared about what people think about me but I care about keeping people safe and not putting burdens on them unless we absolutely have to,” Ms Berejiklian has told a press conference.
“Yesterday we had no other alternative that is a decision we take to keep our community safe but also during the course of the next few days and weeks, make sure we provide as much information as possible and as much certainty as possible.
“We know when people are thinking about jobs, work, personal circumstances, they want as much certainty as possible and that is what we intend to provide.”
“Can I say very, very confidently and strongly that any success NSW has had to date is because our government has to the letter followed the health advice. You do not have to take my word for it, you can ask the health experts.”
More to come …
Ellie Dudley 11.06am: NSW records 30 new local cases
NSW has recorded 30 new cases of COVID-19, 11 of which were already in isolation, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced.
The remaining 19 cases have been linked to existing cases.
However, Ms Berejiklian raised concerns that a number of the new cases were in the community during their infectious period.
“We ask everybody to keep monitoring the NSW website for the latest information on venues and to respond accordingly,” she said.
Ten of the new COVID-19 cases in Sydney have been linked to the Great Ocean Foods seafood wholesaler in Marrickville, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said.
The total number of cases associated with the particular outbreak is now 11, not including the original case.
“I ask that any person and household contacts who attended or directly received a delivery from Great Ocean Foods from Monday 21 June to Friday must immediately call NSW Health … get tested and isolate until NSW Health provides further advice,” Dr Chant said.
Dr Chant also said new cases had been reported in association to the West Hoxton birthday party.
More than 52,000 people turned out for testing in the 24 hours to midnight Saturday.
“I want to thank everybody for accepting the government’s decision for a two-week lockdown. The anecdotal evidence we have today is that people have been complying and we are
deeply grateful for that,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“I’m convinced if we pull together, we will start seeing the results we want to achieve over the next two weeks.”
More to come …
Finn McHugh10.40am:Gladys’ words come back to haunt her
John Barilaro insists Gladys Berejiklian has always understood the “gravity” of Covid-19, as the NSW Premier faces criticism for being too slow to impose lockdowns across the state.
Ms Berejiklian confirmed on Saturday Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, Wollongong and the Blue Mountains would be plunged into a 14-day lockdown as the state faced a rapidly-spreading Covid-19 outbreak.
The Premier on Friday avoided using the term altogether, having previously been reticent to close businesses and publicly criticised states for jumping to lockdowns.
Just a month ago, she insisted NSW would avoid a repeat of its previous lockdown having focused on improving its contact tracing systems.
“We made sure that we had the systems in place to be able to weather whatever came our way, so that we wouldn’t ever go into lockdown again,” she told the Liberal Party’s Federal Council in May.
Ms Berejiklian also reportedly told a party-room meeting on Tuesday she held a Covid-19 press conference to “clear the air” before the state budget.
But her Deputy Premier John Barilaro denied Ms Berejiklian had become complacent over the virus, insisting she had always been “steadfast” in making decisions “regardless of politics”.
“We’ve got a Premier that has got the gravity of the pandemic more than probably any other person in the country, and I support her,” he told Sky News on Sunday.
“Today, no one’s talking budget, everyone’s talking about lockdown. So it’s irrelevant.”
Mr Barilaro insisted the NSW government was “proud” of its reputation for keeping businesses open, denying the reversion to lockdown was a “knee jerk reaction”.
“You’re better off going into a sharp, two-week lockdown than having this slow death by a thousand cuts of restriction after restriction,” he said.
“On the data that we’ve seen, we’ve made a decision to do this. I know a lot of industry leaders that we’ve been in touch with would rather a two-week lockdown.”
Federal Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen said he supported the lockdown, which Sydneysiders accepted was necessary, but said it was only necessary because of Australia’s “pathetic” vaccine rollout.
“I think all premiers deserve our support at the federal level, regardless of what party they’re from, in the tough decisions they’re making,” he told Insiders.
WATCH: @Bowenchris on whether federal Labor agrees with NSW's handling of the current outbreak #Insiders#auspolpic.twitter.com/fHJyGMfFJs
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) June 26, 2021
But Former Labor frontbencher Craig Emerson said a two-week lockdown to help businesses was “false economy”, saying the NSW government had been too slow to act.
“Of course we have empathy for the small businesses,” he told the ABC.
“But if you wait, and wait, and wait, and then instead of locking down for three days, you’re locked down for a fortnight with the prospect of even extended lockdowns, I don’t see how that benefits small business.”
Mr Barilaro flatly rejected suggestions the federal government had placed pressure on NSW to impose the lockdown, saying the state was “careful and calm” as it ramped up its response.
“I can tell you hand on heart there’s been not a single word uttered in relation to the prime minister or the federal government being involved in any of these conversations,” he said.
READ MORE:Sydney lockdown by any other name just as tedious
Ellie Dudley10.06am:Queensland records two new local cases
Queensland has recorded two new cases of locally-acquired COVID-19.
The cases had been active in the community, but did not present with any symptoms they were “out and about in the community”, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
Sunday 27 June – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) June 27, 2021
Two new locally acquired cases recorded overnight.
One new overseas acquired case recorded, detected in hotel quarantine.#covid19pic.twitter.com/Pw73W4YBQd
“We’re going to urge people if you have any symptoms, to go and get tested,” she told reporters.
The cases have presented with the Alpha strain, not the more highly-infectious Delta strain currently circulating in NSW.
An additional case was recorded in hotel quarantine.
READ MORE:Queensland dealt a blow as Ronaldo Mulitalo ruled out
Ellie Dudley9.52am:NSW Premier to provide Covid update at 11am
Gladys Berejiklian will provide a COVID-19 update at 11am, alongside Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant and NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys.
The conference comes after 29 new cases of COVID-19 were announced on Saturday, forcing Greater Sydney into a 14-day lockdown.
READ MORE:Berejiklian urges infected delivery drivers to get tested as state battles outbreak
Max Maddison9.50am:Net zero to include agriculture, Joyce ‘out of touch’: Bowen
Opposition climate change spokesman Chris Bowen says a Labor government will include the agricultural sector in net-zero by 2050 targets, as he claims new Nationals deputy leader Barnaby Joyce as “out of touch” with his communities.
Speaking on ABC Insiders on Sunday morning, Mr Bowen said Labor would “work with farmers” but rejected calls to exempt the sector from emission targets, saying farmers were already seeing incomes fall because of climate change, and were on board with moves to mitigate global warming.
"An economy-wide carbon price isn't part of our policy development"
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) June 26, 2021
WATCH: @Bowenchris on Labor's roadmap to net zero emissions by 2050 #Insiders#auspolpic.twitter.com/sZMy9XL6sN
“They want to be part of the solution, that’s why the National Farmers’ Federation supports net zero. That’s why the meat and cattle industry supports net zero,” Mr Bowen said.
“That’s why it’s important for agriculture to be included. That’s why Barnaby Joyce is out of touch with his communities.”
Mr Bowen also said coal workers would be at the “absolute centre” of Labor’s climate change policy development, claiming mining regions had “more to gain” by transitioning to net-zero.
“They have more to lose if we don’t commit to net zero. They are Queensland jobs, hundreds of thousands of jobs at stake,” he said.
READ MORE:Barnaby Joyce’s return puts focus on realities of emission targets
Max Maddison9.35am:Home quarantine a ‘lot more dangerous’: Bowen
Opposition climate change spokesman Chris Bowen says Australia needs to “think very carefully” about allowing fully vaccinated citizens to quarantine in their homes, saying it is a “lot more dangerous” than the hotel quarantine system.
WATCH: @Bowenchris gives Labor's position on the possibility of home quarantine for vaccinated Australians returning home #Insiders#auspolpic.twitter.com/LnC8E9TC9s
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) June 26, 2021
Several Coalition MPs joined the call to implement a system which would allow Australians to avoid paying for hotel quarantine, instead spending two weeks in their home, but Mr Bowen was hesitant about the idea.
“We should always be guided by the health advice here. I don’t think we need political commentary on that sort of thing,” Mr Bowen told ABC Insiders on Sunday morning.
“In-home quarantine is a lot more dangerous, a lot harder to police people coming in and out, so I think we need to be very careful about that.”
READ MORE:Lockdown rules explained: what you can and can’t do
Agencies9.25am:Delta fuels worldwide fears pandemic is far from over
Australia’s largest city Sydney entered a two-week lockdown Saturday to contain a sudden coronavirus surge and Russia’s Saint Petersburg announced a record death toll, as several European nations lifted restrictions despite the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.
While vaccination drives have brought down infections in wealthy countries, the Delta strain, which first emerged in India, has fuelled fears that the pandemic may be far from over, having already claimed nearly four million lives.
Bangladesh announced that it would impose a new national lockdown from Monday over the variant, with offices shut for a week and only medical-related transport allowed.
Sydney’s normally bustling harbourside centre was nearly deserted after people were ordered to stay home except for essential trips to contain on outbreak of the variant.
And New Zealand, citing “multiple outbreaks” in Australia, announced a three-day suspension of its quarantine-free travel arrangement with its larger neighbour.
The Sydney lockdown, affecting more than five million people in the city and nearby towns, was met with dismay after months of very few cases.
“Today just feels like another kick while you’re slowly getting up,” said Chris Kriketos, 32, who works at a bakery in central Sydney.
The Delta variant has also been fuelling rising case numbers in Russia, where Saint Petersburg on Saturday reported the country’s highest daily Covid-19 death toll for a city since the start of the pandemic.
Russia’s second city, which has hosted six Euro 2020 matches and is due to host a quarter-final next Friday, recorded 107 virus deaths over the last 24 hours.
Globally the pandemic is still slowing down, with the World Health Organisation reporting the lowest number of new cases worldwide since February and decreasing deaths attributed to Covid-19.
But there is rising concern over the Delta variant, which has now spread to at least 85 countries and is the most contagious of any Covid-19 strain identified, according to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
In Britain, Portugal and South Africa, the authorities have said the Delta variant has become the dominant coronavirus strain on their territory.
The Delta variant is so contagious that experts say more than 80 per cent of a population would need to be jabbed in order to contain it — a challenge even for nations with significant vaccination programmes.
The variant is also fuelling an alarming rise in infections in several countries across Africa, where cases as a whole jumped 25 per cent over the past week, forcing authorities to consider tighter restrictions.
AFP
READ MORE:Hancock falls on sword after steamy clinch with aide
Ellie Dudley9.05am:Victoria records zero new cases
Victoria has recorded no new locally-acquired cases of COVID-19, and three in hotel quarantine.
Some 20,698 tests were conducted in the 24 hours to midnight Saturday, while 14,982 doses of the vaccine were administered.
Reported yesterday: 0 new local cases and 3 new cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 26, 2021
- 14,982 vaccine doses were administered
- 20,698 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco
#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/f8OXi4IsaM
The state has 44 active cases of the virus.
READ MORE:Trio flee NSW in private plane
Max Maddison8.55am:Covid-19 vaccination no panacea: Sharma
Covid-19 vaccination won’t be a panacea, Liberal MP Dave Sharma has warned, flagging ongoing restrictions even after the majority of the population has received the jab.
With the outbreak across Sydney amplifying concerns about the federal government’s sluggish rollout of the vaccine program, the Wentworth MP other countries with a higher vaccination rate — like Singapore — were in a “more severe lockdown” than Australia.
“Vaccination itself is not a cure; they’re going to need to be other measures that we keep in place as this disease also varies and changes and evolves,” Mr Sharma told Sky News.
“I wouldn’t want people to think that just once we get to a level of vaccination — yes, we’ll be closer to normal — but there is still going to need to be public health restrictions, movement restrictions and a few other things, because that’s what the overseas experience demonstrates to us.”
Despite noise from The Nationals new leader Barnay Joyce that he would try to detonate the Coalition’s push towards net-zero emissions by 2050, Mr Sharma said there was a “high degree of inevitably” the Coalition would move towards the target.
“I don’t think the trajectory of our pathway to a net-zero future and a lower emission trajectory is in any doubt,” he said.
READ MORE:Paul Kelly — Barnaby turns up the heat on PM
Max Maddison8.30am:Barilaro hints at Sunday’s NSW infection numbers
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro says the numbers of infection will remain similar today, and is confident the state’s two week lockdown will be enough to suppress the virus.
The Berejiklian government plunged Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Central Coast into lockdown for a fortnight from Friday, after 29 new cases were recorded in the 24 hours to Saturday.
Mr Barilaro said he had originally resisted the lockdown plan, but was now “quite strong” on a stay-at-home order after cases began appearing across Sydney.
“My sense was it is really similar to what it was yesterday and the day before. What the key issue is that the numbers are … coming from other parts of the city, and that’s why it’s important now that we lock down,” Mr Barilaro told Sky News on Sunday.
The NSW Nationals leader said he was “absolutely” certain the measures would be sufficient to stem the spread of the virus in the state.
“You’re better off going into a sharp, two-week lockdown than having a slow death by a thousand cuts of restriction after restriction,” he said.
“I’m confident that over 14 days it could be eliminated in a way. If things improve dramatically over the next several days, of course there’s an opportunity to revisit it.”
READ MORE:Greens’ shared policy with Labor could be fatal
Anthony Piovesan7.52am:Trio caught fleeing NSW in private plane
Police have arrested three people after they allegedly flew a private plane from virus-stricken NSW into rural South Australia, in a clear breach of Covid-19 travel directions.
South Australian police said the trio were arrested in the outback town of Coober Pedy, 846km north of Adelaide, in the early hours of Saturday.
Police alleged their plane left Griffith, in the NSW Riverina, and landed in Coober Pedy on Thursday, which the force said was “against cross-border directions.
The trio, flying a Cessna plane, then tried to land in the Northern Territory on Friday but were denied entry because they were from NSW, police said.
They were returned to the outback opal mining town and found by police at a local karaoke bar just after midnight.
Due to a worsening outbreak in NSW health authorities have ordered residents not to travel interstate, unless they have an exemption.
Read the full story here.
Rhiannon Tuffield7.30am:NT in grip of virus scare, 900 FIFOs at risk
A mine worker in the Northern Territory has tested positive to coronavirus, sparking the state’s first virus scare in months and placing at risk 900 fellow fly-in-fly-out workers.
NT health authorities confirmed on Saturday the man, who has been working at the isolated Granites gold mine in the Tanami Desert, tested positive to the virus overnight.
Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the man caught the virus at a quarantine hotel in Brisbane and was potentially infectious between June 18 and 24.
“We are assuming it is the Delta variant, the worst-case scenario, and it is better to over-prepare than underestimate the risk,” Mr Gunner said.
More than 900 people have left the mine site and travelled to Perth, Brisbane, Alice Springs and Darwin airports during the risk period.
Authorities said the man travelled from Bendigo, in Victoria, on June 17 via Queensland and was directed to quarantine in a Brisbane hotel.
He then travelled to the Northern Territory to work on the mine site, about 540 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs, before receiving a message on June 24 the hotel was an exposure site. He was told to isolate immediately and get tested.
Mr Gunner said the mine site had gone into isolation and contact tracing had begun. There are 754 people in isolation.
READ MORE:Steve Waterson — We must find a path out of this crazy, destructive, repetitive hysteria
David Ross7am:Insurers’ High Court blow over Covid payouts
Insurers are bracing for potentially billions of dollars in claims from businesses hurt by Covid-19 shutdowns, after the High Court knocked back an appeal from the industry attempting to close the door on pandemic-linked payouts.
The High Court on Friday rejected arguments put forward by the insurance industry looking to overturn a decision in the NSW Court of Appeal over claims for business interruption insurance arising from the pandemic lockdowns.
While payouts directly linked to this case are minor the decision could influence several larger and more complicated basket of legal tests currently before the courts.
The industry had taken its fight to the High Court after a 5-0 loss in the NSW Court of Appeal in November last year, which found that because of faulty wording, some businesses were not excluded from making claims.
Industry figures suggest as many as 60 per cent of business interruption policies sold prior to the Covid-19 pandemic referenced the defunct Quarantine Act which was abolished by parliament in 2015.
The insurance industry had long argued policies were never priced to cover pandemics, bringing forward the first test case to determine whether businesses could make claims for interruption to their operations arising from the pandemic.
Read the full story here.
Jacquelin Magnay6.30am:UK health secretary resigns after clinch with aide
Britain’s health secretary Matt Hancock has resigned after a steamy video emerged of him passionately kissing an aide – at the very time he was banning hugs between family members.
In the end, hypocrisy rather than ineptitude was Mr Hancock’s downfall, even though prime minister Boris Johnson had sent a text during the height of last year’s pandemic calling Mr Hancock “totally f…g hopeless”.
For many months, Mr Hancock had been ridiculed for the failure of the country’s test and trace system and the lack of personal protective equipment. He had also been blamed for high numbers of nursing home deaths early in the pandemic after elderly people were transferred out of hospital into care homes without any Covid-19 testing.
Mr Hancock appeared to have survived in the job because of his intense loyalty in the Cabinet room to Mr Johnson and the huge success of the country’s vaccine rollout.
But over the weekend, humiliating footage taken on May 6 of Mr Hancock kissing his aide Gina Coladangelo – both of whom are married with children – not only led to personal upheaval, but became the butt of both the nation’s jokes and anger from the public.
Read the full story here.
Daniel Sankey5.10am:Flight attendant on five flights linked to case
Alerts have been issued in three states after a Virgin Australia flight attendant was linked to a confirmed Covid-19 case in Sydney.
The flight attendant, who worked on five Virgin flights while potentially infectious, is a confirmed close contact of a positive Covid-19 case from a known Sydney cluster.
“Virgin Australia understands the crew member was not aware they were a close contact of a positive case until after they completed their last flight,” Virgin Australia said in a statement last night.
“The crew member is now in isolation, and Virgin Australia is rapidly contacting all team members who are close contacts.
“Virgin Australia is requiring those crew members to cease flying, get tested and isolate.”
Except for a flight between Brisbane and Melbourne on Friday afternoon, Virgin said border restrictions had left the flights with fewer passengers than would otherwise have been the case.
Statement: Virgin Australia can confirm that a Sydney-based cabin crew member has tested positive to COVID-19. Health authorities are contacting any guest who has been in close contact with the crew member.
— Virgin Australia (@VirginAustralia) June 26, 2021
All information and impacted flight numbers: https://t.co/ojSobJ9DJj
The affected flights are:
■ VA939: June 25, leaving Sydney at 11.51am and arriving in Brisbane at 1.25pm;
■ VA334: June 25, leaving Brisbane at 2.59pm and arriving in Melbourne at 5.16pm;
■ VA827: June 26, leaving Brisbane at 9am and arriving in Sydney at 10.14am;
■ VA517: June 26, leaving Sydney at 11.14am and arriving in the Gold Coast at 12.40pm; and
■ VA524: June 26, leaving the Gold Coast at 1.26pm and arriving in Sydney at 2.47pm.
Passengers in NSW are required to immediately call NSW Health on 1800 943 553, get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result. Passengers in other states have been asked to check local health advice.
The news comes as three people were arrested at an outback karaoke bar after they allegedly flew a private plane from virus-stricken NSW into rural South Australia.
READ MORE: More cases expected in Queensland
Nicholas Jensen5am:Sydney in two-week lockdown as cases surge
All of Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong have been plunged into a two-week lockdown, effective immediately, as NSW health authorities scramble to bring an outbreak of coronavirus under control.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she was left with no choice to impose the lockdown given the fast spread of the Delta variant after 29 new cases of local transmission were recorded in 24 hours.
“From 6pm today, all of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong will go into a lockdown with stay-at-home orders in place until midnight Friday July 9,” the Premier said yesterday.
“So essentially, a fortnight from midnight yesterday, all of Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong will go into lockdown with stay at home provisions. It means all of us have to stay home unless for the four following reasons. Unless we have to work outside the home or get educated outside of the home, and given school holidays, that obviously doesn’t apply.
Chief health officer Kerry Chant said it was important that “we do not seed our regional communities”, urging anyone who had been in Sydney and the Greater Sydney area from June 21 to stay at home for 14 days since you left that area.
âš ï¸PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT – FLIGHTS AND NEW VENUESâš ï¸NSW Health has been notified of flights between east-coast cities and venues of concern across Sydney associated with confirmed cases of COVID-19. https://t.co/yeO2xfqjmGpic.twitter.com/tIKT2xr1rR
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 26, 2021
READ MORE: Exodus from Sydney CBD as virus strikes
Ally Foster4.45am:Customers rush supermarkets as crackdown widens
Pleas from NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian not to panic-buy have been ignored by some shoppers rushing to supermarkets.
Residents in Greater Sydney, the Blue Mountains, the Central Coast and Wollongong were placed into a two-week lockdown on Saturday after NSW’s Covid-19 outbreak grew.
Shortly after the lockdown was announced, some supermarkets across the lockdown areas were reported flooded with more shoppers than usual, despite shopping for essentials being one of the four reasons to leave home under the new restrictions.
(Not my photos) but this was at Coles The Entrance.
— ð•¾ð–™ð–Šð–•ð–ð–Šð–“ ðŸ´â€â˜ ï¸ (@SJOBrien8906) June 26, 2021
Bruh.. pic.twitter.com/kPygfS3y0v
Shoppers reportedly cleared shelves at some stores, with toilet paper once again becoming a hot commodity. Other staples such as bread, meat, rice and pasta were also in short supply.
Coles introduced temporary restrictions on toilet paper for the City of Sydney, Randwick, Waverley and Woollahra local government areas on Friday.
This is what it looks like to walk through a Woolworths in Sydney right now following Gladys telling everyone "not to panic buy" in her 2pm presser... Looks like panic buying to me. Does the virus just know not to go near grocery shops? #covidsydney#COVID19nsw#covidnsw#COVID19pic.twitter.com/SzAwzh4lLm
— The Right Side of Life Podcast 🇦🇺 (@RSOLpod) June 26, 2021
The move came after the first set of lockdown restrictions for those areas were announced, with limits of two packs of toilet paper per customer.
The supermarket chain is yet to announce if those limits will be extended to include the new lockdown areas.
Woolworths is yet to announce any new product limits for NSW.
READ MORE: Chris Kenny — Panic response would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic
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