Australia news LIVE Port Macquarie Muswellbrook LGAs to enter lockdown as COVID-19 cases grow in NSW Victoria records 867 new cases Queensland records three new cases
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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 has reported 863 new local coronavirus cases, as vaccination rates in the state continue to rise before the state’s lockdown eases on October 11. Health Minister Brad Hazzard said 85.7 per cent of people aged 16 and over in the state had now received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 60.4 per cent were fully vaccinated. There were seven deaths, including two patients who caught their infection in public hospitals: a woman in her 90s who caught the virus at Nepean Hospital and a woman in her 70s who caught the virus at Campbelltown Hospital. Residents in the western Sydney suburbs of Auburn, Punchbowl, Greenacre, Guildford, Bankstown, Penrith, Merrylands, and Blacktown are advised to be “extra vigilant†in monitoring for virus symptoms. An outbreak at a Bondi backpacker hostel has grown to 12 cases. BreastScreenNSW will restart mammograms for women across the state after pausing due to the Delta outbreak.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard provides a COVID-19 update on Tuesday.Credit:Kate Geraghty
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley.Credit:Eddie Jim
Queensland has recorded three new local cases of COVID, including a truck driver who has been infectious in the community for one week. There are four cases in total today, but one of those - an aviation worker - was reported yesterday. Brisbane will for now avoid a lockdown, with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urging people not to “panicâ€. She said masks would be mandatory indoors, with restrictions to return for aged care facilities. The NRL grand final will shift to Townsville if the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Brisbane forces the event to be moved from Suncorp Stadium.
Currently, rapid antigen tests can only be performed under medical supervision.Credit:Kate Geraghty
Residents who live in the regional NSW areas of Port Macquarie, on the mid north coast, and Muswellbrook, in the upper Hunter, are set to enter a seven-day lockdown from 6pm tonight.
The stay-at-home orders were being introduced “due to an increased COVID-19 public health risk†in the two local government areas north of Sydney, NSW Health said in a statement on Tuesday afternoon.
“These stay-at-home orders will also apply to anyone who has been in the Port Macquarie and Muswellbrook LGAs since 17 September and 22 September respectively,†the statement said.
Port Macquarie will enter a week-long lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.Credit:Matthew Gilligan
“Everyone in these LGAs must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason, which includes shopping for food, medical care, getting vaccinated, compassionate needs, exercise and work or tertiary education if you can’t work or study at home.â€
NSW Health urged residents in both communities to come forward for testing in large numbers to help authorities determine the extent of the risk and detect any further potential COVID-19 cases in these areas.
“A strong response to testing will be a key factor in determining if these stay-at-home orders are extended beyond one week. To find your nearest clinic visit COVID-19 clinics or contact your GP.â€
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard this morning put the regional areas of Port Macquarie and Muswellbrook on notice for a potential lockdown, as well as flagging a possible extension of the current lockdown in Kempsey.
However, NSW Health this afternoon said the stay-at-home order in Kempsey would lift as scheduled at 11.59pm tonight.
“This order may be reintroduced if new information indicates an increased public health risk,†the health department said.
Kempsey residents are urged to remain vigilant and get tested at the first sign of any COVID-19 symptoms.
The Mid North Coast Local Health District listed more than 20 close or casual contact venues of concern in Port Macquarie as it confirmed two new COVID-19 cases on Sunday.
Both were close contacts of a case who visited the region last week.
One new COVID-19 case was announced in the Muswellbrook local government area on Tuesday, in addition to one case reported on Monday, the Hunter New England Local Health District said.
Lockdowns in Byron Bay and Tweed shires in northern NSW will end at midnight on Tuesday.
Tweed Heads and Byron Bay will be returned to the Queensland border bubble with NSW after stay-at-home orders for the two regions in the state’s north were lifted.
The two local government areas were booted from the cross border zone one week ago when NSW authorities announced a lockdown due to fresh cases, which came just nine days after most of the bubble was reinstated.
Residents exercising at the lighthouse during lockdown in Byron Bay.Credit:Elise Derwin
From 1am on Wednesday, Tweed and Byron shire council residents and Queenslanders travelling to those areas will be able to cross the border for several reasons, including purchasing essential food, medical care, work that cannot be done from home, school or to provide care.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the lockdowns of the Byron Bay and Tweed shires â€" triggered by a reality TV show crew member with COVID-19 last week â€" would end at midnight on Tuesday.
“Thankfully we’ve had no further cases of concern, so the public health team have advised that they can come out of lockdown,†he said.
Victoria’s daily case numbers have been higher than those in NSW for the past two days after the southern state recorded its highest figure since the start of the pandemic on Tuesday.
Victoria has recorded 867 new, locally acquired cases of COVID-19 - four more cases than the 863 new local coronavirus infections reported in NSW today.
A technical error meant an additional 140 cases were this morning added to Victoria’s tally yesterday of 705 cases, taking the total number of positive tests to 845 on Monday.
This means the daily number of cases in Victoria exceeded those detected in NSW for the first time. NSW on Monday reported 787 new cases of COVID-19 â€" the state’s lowest daily tally in almost a month.
Across the eastern seaboard, picnics are the new dinner parties as eased COVID-19 restrictions allow small groups of people to gather outside.
In Melbourne and Sydney up to five adults can have picnics with their dependants if they are fully vaccinated.
It’s been a long, tough winter for millions of Australians subjected to extended stay-at-home rules, so as the warmer months approach we are taking full advantage of our newfound freedoms.
How can you get the most out of your picnic? And how has our love of food sustained us through the extended lockdowns of the past 18 months?
Today on Please Explain, Good Food reporter Emma Breheny joins Bianca Hall to talk about picnic season, and some of the recipes that have been most popular with readers in the past few months.
Washington: Homicides in the United States in 2020 increased nearly 30 per cent over the previous year, the largest one-year jump since the FBI began keeping records, according to new figures released by the agency.
Homicides and non-negligent manslaughters climbed an estimated 29.4 per cent to 21,570, an increase of 4901 over 2019, FBI data showed. It is the highest estimated total since the early 1990s, when homicides stayed above 23,000 a year as drug wars played out in many places in the US.
A man carries a weapon during a second amendment gun rally in Salt Lake City in February 2020.Credit:AP
Homicides continued to rise in 2021, according to a midyear report released by the nation’s largest police agencies, although the rate of increase has slowed. The 18-month increase in homicides has broadly mirrored the COVID-19 pandemic.
Violent crimes in 2020 meanwhile rose by a more moderate 5.6 per cent over the previous year while property crimes continued a nearly two-decade decline, falling 7.8 per cent. Robbery and rape dropped 9.3 per cent and 12 per cent respectively.
Read the full story here.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has warned Canberra residents will need to wait for restrictions to ease across the border in NSW before they can travel interstate, as the national capital recorded 13 new cases of COVID-19.
Eleven of the new infections were linked to known cases and two are under investigation. One person was in quarantine for their infectious period, while seven people were in quarantine for part of their infectious period.
ACT Chief Minister said there would be some “weird rules†in place in NSW regarding regional travel between October and December.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Eight people are on hospital and three of those are in intensive care requiring ventilation, two of whom are NSW residents.
Mr Barr said the ACT remained a COVID-19 hotspot and there were tight restrictions on anyone travelling to surrounding parts of NSW.
He said ACT residents wanting to travel interstate would be bound by rules in NSW as the state moved to allow fully-vaccinated residents only to travel to regional areas, likely at the end of October, before restrictions eased for unvaccinated people on December 1.
“Between now and then, there’s going to be this weird set of rules,†Mr Barr said.
Mr Barr said Canberra residents hoping to make their annual pilgrimage to the NSW South Coast for the summer holidays would “have to wait and seeâ€.
“I think things will look a lot clearer post-December 1, when NSW will cease it’s vaccinated, not-vaccinated policy approach. Decisions about where you can travel in NSW are decision for the NSW government to make.â€
He said although NSW, Victoria and the ACT had planned different paths out of lockdown, he expected the jurisdictions would move towards having similar travel arrangements in place.
“I don’t think there will be a different set of arrangements that Queensland, Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Tasmania or South Australia will apply to distinguish ACT residents from NSW residents, and possibly even Victorian residents. We are likely to be locked out of those COVID-free jurisdictions for awhile longer.â€
Mr Barr said virus patients from regional NSW continued to be cared for in Canberra’s hospitals, and estimated they could eventually account for 50 per cent of patients in ICU.
Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman said there had been an increase in people with symptoms waiting five days or longer to get tested.
“As we consider easing our restrictions for the immediate future at least, it will be more important than ever for people to be diligent around checking the daily exposure sites as well as being aware of the symptoms and presenting for testing,†Dr Coleman said.
Mr Barr said the government was negotiating with Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg about providing financial aid to businesses in coming weeks and once the territory’s lockdown lifts on October 15.
ACT Opposition leader Elizabeth Lee said it was “unacceptable†that many businesses were still waiting for financial support from the territory government seven weeks into lockdown.
Victoria’s Health Minister Martin Foley said reports of 10-minute waiting times for people calling triple zero on Monday evening and ambulances “ramping†demonstrate the system is facing unprecedented levels of demand.
Ambulances were seen lining up outside the Northern Hospital at Epping in Melbourne’s north on Monday evening.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley.Credit:Jason South
Mr Foley said ramping was happening at Austin Health as well as Northern Hospital on Monday.
He said the base workload for the healthcare sector in 2021 had been “extraordinaryâ€.
“In fact, what we really are going to see over the next month or two â€" those levels of demand are only going to increase further,†he said.
“And the levels of stress on our healthcare system are only going to increase … which is why we have to navigate our way through those gateways of the national plans [to] reopening.
“But at the same time, do that within the guardrails of protecting the fundamentals of our healthcare system.“
Mr Foley said there were measures in place to support and supplement the healthcare workforce.
He put the 10-minute wait time on triple zero calls, too, down to increased demand, and said now was not the time for people to be calling triple zero for non-urgent matters.
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 has reported 863 new local coronavirus cases, as vaccination rates in the state continue to rise before the state’s lockdown eases on October 11. Health Minister Brad Hazzard said 85.7 per cent of people aged 16 and over in the state had now received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and 60.4 per cent were fully vaccinated. There were seven deaths, including two patients who caught their infection in public hospitals: a woman in her 90s who caught the virus at Nepean Hospital and a woman in her 70s who caught the virus at Campbelltown Hospital. Residents in the western Sydney suburbs of Auburn, Punchbowl, Greenacre, Guildford, Bankstown, Penrith, Merrylands, and Blacktown are advised to be “extra vigilant†in monitoring for virus symptoms. An outbreak at a Bondi backpacker hostel has grown to 12 cases. BreastScreenNSW will restart mammograms for women across the state after pausing due to the Delta outbreak.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard provides a COVID-19 update on Tuesday.Credit:Kate Geraghty
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley.Credit:Eddie Jim
Queensland has recorded three new local cases of COVID, including a truck driver who has been infectious in the community for one week. There are four cases in total today, but one of those - an aviation worker - was reported yesterday. Brisbane will for now avoid a lockdown, with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk urging people not to “panicâ€. She said masks would be mandatory indoors, with restrictions to return for aged care facilities. The NRL grand final will shift to Townsville if the latest COVID-19 outbreak in Brisbane forces the event to be moved from Suncorp Stadium.
Currently, rapid antigen tests can only be performed under medical supervision.Credit:Kate Geraghty
Victorian health authorities will be able to revise the gap between COVID-19 vaccine doses down from six weeks if they’re given certainty about vaccine supply through October, the state’s Health Minister says.
Martin Foley said during Tuesday’s COVID-19 update said authorities were doing “a lot of work†on revising down the gap.
Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson asked federal department why Victoria was not reducing the time between doses back to three weeks.Credit:AP
“We need to make sure that the vaccine first ring of protection [is] provided to everyone, and that means as soon as we get to that point of protection, then the scheduling of the second dose might well be able to be brought forward,†he said.
“We hope that the certainty of supply across all three platforms - GPs, pharmacies, and state clinics - over October will give us that certainty, which will then allow us to bring that dose back to less than six weeks for the MRNA, Pfizer, and Moderna vaccines.
“[That] should then bring forward [the] all-important double-dose figures of 70 and 80 per cent.â€
Mr Foley’s comments came after Victorian Liberal senator James Paterson asked federal department why Victoria was not reducing the time between doses back to three weeks.
“It seems like if there ever was a time when Victoria needed to ration and spread out the process that that’s clearly no longer the case,†Mr Paterson said.
“Victoria has the largest gap between doses - I think 42 days was the largest and some states that was low as 32 days, and that’s quite material in terms of when we’re going to hit those 70 to 80 per cent double dose targets.â€
Up to 90 per cent of people aged 16 and up could be fully vaccinated by the end of November, the county’s COVID taskforce believes, and the 70 per cent double-dose target could be reached by the end of next month.
Lieutenant-General John Frewen has told Senate estimates those dates could change depending on the number of people who continue to come forward. However, Operation COVID Shield believes that 70 per cent of the eligible Australian population over 16 could be reached towards the end of October, and an 80 per cent double vaccination rate could be reached in November.
“It’s conceivable that we could get to 90 per cent, if the public keep coming forward, by the end of November start of December, that’s a best-case [scenario],†General Frewen said.
He added that NSW is likely to reach the 70 per cent target “in about a week’s time†and 80 per cent later in October, and potentially reach 90 per cent within the first two weeks of November.
The ACT could reach 70 per cent within the next fortnight, 80 per cent in mid to late October and 90 per cent by the start of November.
The general said Victoria could reach that 70 per cent-mark by the end of October, 80 per cent shortly after and 90 per cent by the end of November.
“I’ll note that those three lockdown states are anticipated to reach those three levels potentially ahead of all other jurisdictions,†General Frewen said.
The vaccination targets of 70 and 80 per cent were set by national cabinet as part of the recovery plan to start easing public health restrictions and increasing international arrivals as more of the population is fully immunised.
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