Australia news LIVE NSW records 787 new local COVID-19 cases 12 deaths as 80 per cent vaccination road map revealed Victoria records 705 new cases one death

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Good afternoon. Megan Gorrey here, I’m taking over the blog from Broede Carmody to bring you live updates throughout the afternoon.

If you’re just joining us now, here’s what you might have missed:

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has detailed the state’s full roadmap out of lockdown once 80 per cent of residents aged 16 and older are fully vaccinated. Once this target is reached in coming weeks, restrictions will ease to allow up to 10 residents to visit a home, community sport, and drinking standing up at pubs. The move to allow regional travel has been pushed back to when the 80 per cent vaccination target is reached. The full plan will allow unvaccinated people the same freedoms as the rest of society from December 1. The state will start to open up when the 70 per cent vaccination target is reached, likely from October 11. NSW has recorded 787 new local coronavirus cases, its lowest daily figure since August 24. There were 12 deaths. The state has passed the 85 per cent first dose rate, and 40 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 in the state have now received their first dose of a vaccine.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announcing her state’s 80 per cent road map.Credit:James Brickwood

Outdoor swimming pools are able to reopen across NSW today. NSW Health says they will be open to everyone regardless of whether they’ve had the jab because there is a lower risk of COVID transmission outdoors.

Victoria has recorded 705 new cases of COVID-19 and one death. More than 78 per cent of eligible people have had a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and more than 47 per cent have received their second doses. Community pharmacies and GP clinics will receive grants of up to $10,000 to help speed up the vaccine rollout in Melbourne’s COVID-hit outer suburbs. The state is on track to reach its 80 per cent first-dose vaccine milestone tomorrow. This means the 10km travel radius will increase to 15km and some outdoor activities, such as golf and open-air training for the fully vaccinated, will be allowed to resume. The state government is also looking to test vaccine passports in the coming weeks, possibly in time for the Melbourne Cup. And residents in Geelong and the Surf Coast, in regional Victoria, are out of lockdown from today.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.Credit:Wayne Taylor

The ACT government has eased some restrictions as it announced the territory’s lockdown will end on October 15, when it expects 80 per cent of residents aged 12 and over to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Canberra recorded 19 new cases of COVID-19. That’s down from yesterday’s 25 cases.

Queensland’s Deputy Premier has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of giving Australians false hope. On Sunday, the PM said he was confident states would open up in time for Christmas. But Labor’s Steven Miles says he doesn’t think Queenslanders “will want to let COVID in for Christmas if we don’t have it but NSW still does”.

More than 20 local government areas in NSW have more than 90 per cent of residents who have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, several weeks before the state starts to ease lockdown restrictions.

In Blacktown, Hornsby, the Hills, Camden and Ku-Ring-Gai council areas, more than 95 per cent of residents have received their first jab, according to the most recent vaccination data.

Other areas with first vaccination rates above 90 per cent include the Sutherland Shire, Campbelltown and the Northern Beaches in Sydney, and the regional council areas of Orange, Warren, Gilgandra and Eurobodalla.

Those figures put them above the NSW average of 85.7 per cent of residents having received their first dose of the vaccine. About 60 per cent of residents are fully vaccinated.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, 65.9 per cent of residents in the Byron Shire in northern NSW have had their first jab and 69.5 per cent of residents in the City of Sydney have received their first dose.

The state government detailed a three-stage plan for easing restrictions from October 11, shortly after 70 per cent of the population is expected to be fully vaccinated. Rules will relax further at the 80 per cent mark.

In Victoria, 77.91 per cent of residents have had their first COVID-19 jab, while 47.72 per cent are fully vaccinated.

The state administered 45,514 doses of the vaccine on Sunday, while NSW administered 40,539 doses.

Premier Daniel Andrews praised the figures on social media, saying: “Yesterday more people got vaccinated in our state than anywhere else in Australia. Great work Victoria.”

People with disability lost trust in the federal government after the Department of Health failed to adequately communicate changes to the vaccination rollout to the community, as a damning report found the plan to vaccinate NDIS workers and participants was “seriously deficient”.

In a draft report from the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, published on Monday, the commissioners found the federal health department made no genuine attempts to consult with the sector. They also failed to appreciate the unique challenges associated with vaccinating people living in residential disability accommodation.

The disability royal commission said the government did not do enough to consult people with disabilities about access to vaccines.Credit:Chris Hopkins

The commissioners said the department’s lack of transparency, particularly around the pivot away from focusing on people with disability as the department focused on residential aged care, meant those affected could not protest or challenge the changed plan.

That communication failure was “a serious departure from the standards of transparency” to which the government should adhere, the report said, and potentially contributed to vaccine hesitancy.

“Not surprisingly, the failure to communicate the decision in a timely manner caused many people with disability to lose trust and confidence in the Australian government’s handling of the vaccine rollout,” the commissioners said.

Read the full story here.

One of the organisers behind Melbourne’s freedom rally protests has asked supporters to pay for his legal defence after he was arrested and charged with inciting others to breach public health directions.

Harrison Mclean describes himself on his website as having “helped launch the World Wide Rally for Freedom in Melbourne and around Australia to push back against the encroachments on Victorian Freedom”.

Activist Harrison Mclean. Credit:Facebook

More than 230 protesters were arrested and six police officers needed hospital treatment after the Melbourne protests on September 18.

Using an encrypted messaging platform about 1am on Sunday, Mr Mclean wrote that he was arrested at home and later released after an interview with police. He said “incitement charges have been laid against me” in relation to the protest.

Read the full story here.

Like thousands of other Australians, travel writer Michael Gebicki is getting excited about venturing beyond his local council area.

“I’m planning my travels in 2022 and the first country I’ll be visiting is Italy,” he writes.

Aerial view of Noto in Sicily, Italy.Credit:iStock

“Per million of its population, Italy has fewer case numbers than France and Germany, just slightly more than Spain but six times less than the UK. Fewer infected people means less chance of you getting sick.

“At September 21, 66 per cent of Italy’s eligible population is fully vaccinated, with 74 per cent having received one shot. That’s ahead of France, the UK and Germany although less than Spain and Portugal.”

And while he acknowledges the lure of the Colosseum in Rome, St Mark’s Square in Venice, Florence’s Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Sistine Chapel and the Cinque Terre, Gebicki writes that, “for me there’s another Italy”.

You can read his full piece here.

A popular pub, produce store and beauty salon in Geelong are among new tier-one COVID-19 exposure sites listed as the regional city south-west of Melbourne emerges from tight lockdown restrictions.

Victoria’s Health Department said on Monday a coronavirus-positive person attended TH Nails and Spa in Geelong on September 18 from 2pm to 4.30pm.

An infected person also attended the Inn Hotel on Corio Street on September 18 with an exposure time listed of between 7.30pm and 10pm.

Anyone who has visited these locations during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.

Taste Jamaica on Pakington Street, Geelong West, is listed as a tier-one exposure site on September 18 from 10pm until 11.59pm.

On September 19, an infected person attended the Bottlemart Express on Miverva Road in Herne Hill, with an exposure time of 8pm to 8.40pm, and the Bendigo Bank on the coroner of Pakington and Aberdeen streets in Geelong West on September 23 from 4.45pm to 5.20pm.

In Ballarat, the Fruit Shack on Howitt Street in Wendouree has also been listed as a tier-one site for September 21 from 4.20pm to 5.30pm.

New York: New York governor Kathy Hochul is considering employing the National Guard and out-of-state medical workers to fill hospital staffing shortages as tens of thousands of workers face possibly losing their jobs for not meeting a Monday deadline for mandated COVID-19 vaccination.

The plan, outlined in a statement from Hochul on Saturday, would allow her to declare a state of emergency to increase the supply of healthcare workers to include licensed professionals from other states and countries as well as retired nurses.

New York governor Kathy Hochul. Credit:AP

Hochul said the state was also looking at using National Guard officers with medical training to keep hospitals and other medical facilities adequately staffed. Some 16 per cent of the state’s 450,000 hospital staff, or roughly 72,000 workers, have not been fully vaccinated, the governor’s office said.

The plan comes amid a broader battle between state and federal government leaders pushing for vaccine mandates to help counter the highly infectious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus and workers who are against inoculation requirements, some objecting on religious grounds.

Hochul attended the Sunday service at a large church in New York City to ask Christians to help promote vaccines.

Read the full story here.

The rules preventing Greater Sydney residents from travelling outside their local government area, or further than 5 kilometres from home, will be scrapped as lockdown measures across the state ease from October 11.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the 5-kilometre rule would be dumped shortly after 70 per cent of the adult population is double-dosed as she detailed plans for fully-vaccinated residents to experience greater freedoms from next month.

Sydney residents have been confined to their local area for months. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The limits on movement apply to residents of Greater Sydney (including the Central Coast), Wollongong and the Blue Mountains. People who are unvaccinated will remain under stay-at-home orders until December 1.

Regional travel is banned until shortly after 80 per cent of the population aged 16 and older has received both jabs. This will likely be a couple of weeks from October 11.

Ms Berejiklian said on Monday she hoped residents could “see the light at the end of the tunnel” after nearly 100 days in lockdown, as she outlined the state’s three-stage plan to reopen.

“It’s just this week and next week we have to get through and I’m looking forward to enjoying those things all of us missed out on,” she said.

Ms Berejiklian said that glimmer of hope was accompanied by a warning for people to take sensible precautions against COVID-19 as restrictions were scaled back.

“I do want to stress that between 70 per cent and 80 per cent double dose, which could be just a matter of weeks, we need to exercise a very high degree of caution.

“We don’t want to see our hospital system overwhelmed and we don’t want to see our fantastic front-line staff go through all that stress of having to deal with people who are going through a horrific stage of illness.”

Melbourne University has joined a growing list of universities requiring all staff, students and contractors to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

In an email to university staff and students, vice-chancellor Duncan Maskell wrote that vaccination would be required for all of those attending the university’s inner city campus from November 5.

Large universities in Sydney and Melbourne are considering making vaccination mandatory for students.Credit:Louise Kennerley

La Trobe and Monash universities have issued similar directions.

More than 150,000 students at Sydney’s major universities would face mandatory COVID-19 vaccination to return to campus under reviews being considered by the state’s higher education sector.

In the email to the Melbourne university community, Professor Maskell said plans for mandatory vaccination were based on public-health advice that would align the school with Victorian government’s reopening road map.

The plan currently states onsite learning and work can recommence for those who are fully vaccinated from November 5.

“From this date, all students, staff, contractors and visitors attending our campuses will be required to be fully vaccinated,” Professor Maskell said in the email on Monday.

“A fully vaccinated student body and workforce will reduce disease transmission rates, minimise the severity of any breakthrough infections and reduce the likelihood of severe disease requiring admission to hospital.

“It will also assist in reducing disruption to on-campus activities from future exposures.”

Professor Maskell said the nature of university communities meant there was frequent interaction as people moved between the various learning, work and recreational settings across campuses.

“We are continuing to explore other measures, such as improved ventilation and increased use of outdoor spaces, to reduce the potential for transmission, building on those already in place such as masks, QR codes, physical distancing, sanitiser stations, density limits and additional cleaning,” he wrote.

The announcement follows La Trobe’s decision to enforce compulsory vaccination by early December.

Monash University decided last week to make the jab compulsory, with all staff, students and visitors required to be fully vaccinated by November 5.

If an earthquake similar in size to the 5.9 magnitude tremor that hit Mansfield in Victoria last week was to strike directly beneath Melbourne, more than 1400 people could be killed or injured and $163 billion worth of building damage sustained.

Modelling for the Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre forecasts a magnitude 6 quake striking under the city would shut down much of the transport network, with train and tram tracks bending and bridges collapsing.

A damaged building on Chapel Street.Credit:Eddie Jim

Most of the city would lose power for days. Water and sewer pipes might be damaged, leading to potential water contamination.

Bricks crashed onto Chapel Street when the parapet above Betty’s Burgers collapsed about 9.15am on Wednesday when a magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck near Mansfield, about 130 kilometres north-east of Melbourne.

Dr Brendan Duffy, senior geologist with professional services company GHD, warned the city’s ornate parapets above ageing Melbourne streets could become “shrapnel” in an earthquake and put lives at risk if they were not reinforced before another serious tremor shakes the east coast.

Read the full story here.

Business groups have welcomed the Berejiklian government’s plan for NSW to emerge from its long lockdown as a positive step that will provide more certainty for employers and hope for residents.

But tourism providers have expressed disappointment the date for regional travel to resume has been delayed.

Restrictions on venues and retail stores in NSW will ease from next month. Credit:Steven Siewert

Fully-vaccinated residents can start to attend venues such as pubs, retail stores and hairdressers from October 11, with further restrictions to ease a few weeks later when 80 per cent of the population is double-vaccinated.

Regional travel will also restart at that time, rather than at the 70 per cent vaccination milestone as previously planned.

Business NSW chief executive Daniel Hunter said the plan was a relief for business owners, who had experienced “lots of confusion” about which businesses would be able to open, when, and under what rules.

“The release of the public health orders in coming days will reconfirm that the onus will be on individuals to do the right thing and abide by the rules,” Mr Hunter said.

“Business owners can’t be expected to also act as security guards, so long as they have a COVID-safe plan and appropriate registration in place at their entry, they can get on with the business of being in business.”

Australian Hotels Association NSW director John Green said the full guide for reopening was “very pleasing” and would “absolutely” provide a boost to venues and tourism operators.

“Once people can get out of Greater Sydney and start to move around regional NSW, we’ll see that regional tourism will go off the chart.

“[I’m] a bit disappointed that it’s no longer going to be October 11 at the 70 per cent [double-dose vaccination] mark that was originally predicted. It has been moved back today. As has the imposition of a 20-person booking cap that regional NSW will also have to comply with.”

He hoped the state could reach the 80 per cent vaccination target as soon as October 18.

Property groups want workers to return to Sydney’s CBD.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Property Council NSW executive director Luke Achterstraat said the further freedoms would be a vital reboot for the economy. He said the next step was to revive Sydney’s central business district.

“Our CBDs cannot be reactivated until workers are going back to offices to breathe life into our cities.

“With Sydney’s most recent office occupancy data detailing just four percent of workers are in our offices in August, we need a concerted effort from business, people and government to come together to ensure our public spaces and central districts can bounce back.”

Australian Retail Association chief executive Paul Zahra said the plans provided clarity for businesses, but urged authorities in Victoria and the ACT to allow their retail sector to reopen sooner.

“ACT and Victorian retailers â€" particularly small businesses - are currently disadvantaged by the delayed reopening which jeopardises a significant number of sales.

“We would like the ACT and Victoria to reopen earlier to allow retailers to comfortably stagger demand in the build-up to the intense Christmas shopping period, where many discretionary retailers make up to two-thirds of their profits.”

Committee for Sydney chief executive Gabriel Metcalf said the plan provided “a light at the end of the tunnel” for Sydney residents and business operators.

“We can see the path to reopening, and it looks good.”

Mr Metcalf said the business lobby group particularly welcomed the decision to open up community sport, places of worship and regional travel at the 80 per cent vaccination mark.

“It makes all the sense in the world to continue to treat vaccinated and unvaccinated people differently. We support vaccine passports for the foreseeable future, so people who refuse to get vaccinated don’t harm others.”

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