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The Guardian - AU
National
Luke Henriques-Gomes and Elias Visontay (earlier)

Victoria records five cases and NSW 10 as new state restrictions announced – as it happened

Acting Victorian premier Jacinta Allan addresses the media during a Covid briefing in Melbourne
Acting Victorian premier Jacinta Allan addresses the media during a Covid briefing in Melbourne. Photograph: Erik Anderson/AAP

What happened today, Thursday 31 December 2020

Well, we’ve made it to the end of 2020, at least on the Guardian Australia live blog.

Can I just say a massive thank you to everyone who has made a comment, sent us a tip, or just followed along this year. It’s been a tough one, and your support has been much appreciated.

As always, I’ll leave you with a wrap of today’s events.

  • New South Wales recorded 10 local cases of Covid-19, as the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, urged people to wear masks indoors. However, the government is resisting calls to make mask use mandatory.
  • Victoria recorded three new cases overnight, and confirmed another five had already been recorded today. In response to the outbreak, the government said only 15 visitors would be allowed in homes, and masks would be mandatory indoors.
  • Victoria also said it would close its border to all of NSW from 11.59pm 1 January.
  • It was not the only state to do so, with South Australia reintroducing a hard border with NSW and the Northern Territory closing its border to greater Sydney.
  • Western Australia closed its border to Victoria, and said anyone who had arrived from that state on or after 21 December would need to self-isolate for 14 days.
  • The former PM Tony Abbott was cleared of any wrongdoing after he was spotted in the northern zone of the northern beaches on a bike ride.

And I think that’s just about it. I hope you’re able to see in the new year in a safe and enjoyable way.

We’ll be waiting for you tomorrow, in 2021.

Updated

What happened today, Thursday 31 December

Well, we’ve made it to the end of 2020, at least on the Guardian Australia live blog.

Can I just say a massive thank you to everyone who has made a comment, sent us a tip, or just followed along this year. It’s been a tough one, and your support has been much appreciated.

As always, I’ll leave you with a wrap of today’s events.

  • New South Wales recorded 10 local cases of Covid-19, as the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, urged people to wear masks indoors. However, the government is resisting calls to make mask use mandatory.
  • Victoria recorded three new cases overnight, and confirmed another five had already been recorded today. In response to the outbreak, the government said only 15 visitors would be allowed in homes, and masks would be mandatory indoors.
  • Victoria also said it would close its border to all of NSW from 11.59pm 1 January.
  • It was not the only state to do so, with South Australia reintroducing a hard border with NSW and the Northern Territory closing its border to greater Sydney.
  • Western Australia closed its border to Victoria, and said anyone who had arrived from that state on or after 21 December would need to self-isolate for 14 days.
  • The former PM Tony Abbott was cleared of any wrongdoing after he was spotted in the northern zone of the northern beaches on a bike ride.

And I think that’s just about it. I hope you’re able to see in the new year in a safe and enjoyable way.

We’ll be waiting for you tomorrow, in 2021.

Updated

Scott Morrison has not yet responded directly to today’s significant announcements of state border closures.

While his new year message – aired on the ABC a short time ago – praised Australians for the way in which they confronted the “greatest challenge Australians have faced since the second world war”, Morrison has not commented on Victoria’s imposition of a hard border to NSW, nor the WA move to clamp down on Victorian arrivals.

Reporters have been told the prime minister is not on leave but he has not done a press conference this week.

Last night, Morrison posted a message on social media saying the news out of Sydney yesterday was “difficult” given the increase in cases and more restrictions for greater Sydney ahead of new year.

“I am in regular contact with both the NSW premier and the AHPPC medical expert panel and the federal government stands ready to help where appropriate,” Morrison wrote on Facebook last night.

But Morrison is known to be taking a much more hands-off role when it comes to border closures this time around. Earlier in the year he and his ministers were highly critical of states such as Queensland and Western Australia for keeping border restrictions in place longer than they claimed was necessary.

On 21 December, though, Morrison said he recognised border decisions were “sovereign matters” for each state and territory. While the federal government had tried to get national agreement on a hotspot definition, he said at the time he understood states wanted to maintain flexibility.

Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny in Canberra on Tuesday at the state funeral for former governor general Michael Jeffery
Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny in Canberra on Tuesday at the state funeral for former governor general Michael Jeffery. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP

Updated

In our comment pages, Malcolm Farr writes:

Gladys Berejiklian flinched from pandemic-fighting measures taken by other state leaders but whatever kudos the New South Wales premier gathered from her stand is now diminishing.

Updated

Morrison continued:

Our economic recovery plan will continue to get even more Australians back into work and restore their livelihoods, driven by a business-led recovery. Around 80% of the jobs that were lost during the pandemic have already been recovered; 450,000 businesses have graduated from jobkeeper to support themselves. That has taken more than two million Australians off taxpayer-funded income support. Those are real signs of progress. As always, though, for any government, our first responsibility is to keep Australians safe, to work hard to that objective. But to stand up also for the things we believe in as Australians and not be intimidated and always protect our sovereignty.

So, Australia, as we go into this new year, stronger, safer, together, that’s the path ahead of us in 2021. Let’s continue on, on that path, in the way we have been able to get through this past year and emerge even stronger in 2021. I wish you a very happy, a very safe and a prosperous new year, from my family to yours. God bless you, Australia, and thank you.

Updated

Some more passages from Morrison’s new year message:

Every part of our country has stepped up, and continues to step up even now. I want to thank all Australians who have sacrificed so much, served so greatly, and even now continue in their steadfast dedication to their duty at this time. From our health workers collecting test samples and tracing the contacts, tending to our elderly, counselling on our helplines and supporting our quarantine arrangements, ably assisted by our defence forces and our police and emergency service personnel, and in our community, Australians, you have patiently come forward to be tested, you’ve complied with public health orders, you are doing the right thing, pushing past disappointment, frustration and restrictions to push through as a country.

So also to the many business owners of Australia, I know you’ve been struggling with the uncertainty that a pandemic brings, but you’ve been keeping your show together and pressing on, both for your own sake and that of your employees that you care so much about. I thank you. In 2021, well, we must stay vigilant, as we continue our comeback, a comeback that is now well under way, despite the present challenges we face. A safe and effective vaccine validated, proven by our scientists, by our doctors, will be available to all Australians, and will be a key step in our recovery in 2021.

Updated

'We are a nation of overcomers,' Scott Morrison says in new year message

Scott Morrison’s new year message is being aired on the ABC.

In part, he says:

Happy new year, Australia! You know, as we embark on this new year, I have never felt more proud of my country than I am today. We have confronted the greatest challenge Australians have faced since the second world war, and we have proved that once again we are a nation of overcomers. We are a nation that prevails, and we are making our way through this crisis in a very Australian way, guided by our own enduring principles and values that have served us so well, and together we have done better than almost any other country in the world.

Like the generations before us, in this past year we have found that same indomitable Australian spirit. We have found the grit, we’ve found the ingenuity and the forbearance and we have been upheld most of all by our wonderful spirit of mateship. In a period of unprecedented isolation, we have once again found each other and turned to each other. As a result, we are getting through this together.

Updated

If you hadn’t noticed, things are moving quickly today.

And further to my colleague Melissa Davey’s post, here are some more details on the border rules over the next 48 hours.

If you’ve been in the ‘Green zone’

(that’s regional NSW outside greater Sydney, Wollongong, the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast)

  • Before 11.59pm on 31 December 2020, you must get tested and quarantine at home until receiving a negative test result
  • Before 11.59pm on 1 January 2021, you must get tested and quarantine at home for 14 days
  • After 11.59pm on 1 January 2021, the border is closed between NSW and Victoria, except to border bubble communities

If you’ve been in the Blue Mountains city council and Wollongong city council areas

  • Before 11.59pm on 31 December 2020, you must get tested and quarantine at home for 14 days
  • Before 11.59pm on 1 January 2021, you must not enter Victoria
  • After 11.59pm on 1 January 2021, you must not enter Victoria

If you’ve been in greater Sydney, the northern beaches or the Central Coast

  • Before 11.59pm on 31 December 2020, you must not enter Victoria
  • Before 11.59pm on 1 January 2021, you must not enter Victoria
  • After 11.59pm on 1 January 2021, you must not enter Victoria

Exemptions are rare, but they are available. More information on those is available here.

Updated

For people living in border communities in NSW and Victoria, you will be able to use your driver’s licence or ID as a permit to travel between the two states.

This will be part of a so-called ‘border bubble’, the Victorian government says.

They say there will be more details about the system announced shortly.

Updated

Roger Cook, subtly hinting at WA’s opinion on the way NSW has handled the current outbreak:

In New South Wales they are getting on top of it, but as you can see, the longer you take to ramp up these measures, the longer it takes to get on top of the disease.

Updated

Victorians arriving after 1 January must go into hotel quarantine

I have just spoken to the premier’s office in Victoria to clarify how the hard border with New South Wales will work.

Obviously, the government wants to reserve as many hotel quarantine spots as possible for returning international travellers, who are at highest risk of carrying the virus. That’s why the hard border is taking effect from 11.59pm tomorrow [Friday] – to give as many Victorians still in NSW as much time to get back as possible to avoid a hotel quarantine influx.

Victorians returning before 11.59pm tonight will be tested at the airport and told to isolate at home until a test result comes through. Victorians arriving before 11.59pm tomorrow will be tested and required to isolate at home for 14 days. Anyone who arrives after that will go into mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine.

Most airlines are expected to cancel all but one or two flights by then, with those flights usually reserved for people granted approval to travel on compassionate grounds, and for cargo.

The clear message to Victorians in NSW is get back now.

Updated

The WA police commissioner, Chris Dawson, says people will need to apply for entry into WA through the state government’s G2G app. Existing applications will no longer be valid.

Cook says authorities will also be contacting anyone who arrived in WA from 21 December onwards to tell them what is expected of them.

Updated

Anyone who has arrived in Western Australia from Victoria on or after 21 December will need to self-quarantine immediately.

“They will need to be in self-quarantine for 14 days from when they arrived in Western Australia and get a Covid-19 test at any point symptoms develop,” Roger Cook says. “They will also need to present to a Covid-19 clinic for a test on day 11.”

Updated

Cook says WA residents on holidays in Victoria will be “dealt with on a compassionate basis”, case by case.

These returning Western Australians will have to self-quarantine for 14 days when they arrive back home, and they will need to have a Day 11 Covid-19 test,” he says.

WA border closed to Victoria for all but 'exempt travellers'

Roger Cook, WA’s acting premier, has stepped up for a press conference. He says it “would appear the virus has jumped the border into Victoria”.

Cook says Victoria will become a “medium risk” state from 12.01am, 1 January. This means people will not be able to enter from Victoria unless they are an “exempt traveller”.

There will be a list of exemptions, which will be the same as are in place for NSW.

Updated

Some reaction to Victoria’s decision to close its borders to NSW.

Fyles says that three crew from the Diamantina ship are in Royal Darwin hospital being treated for Covid.

Fyles says the NT government is also watching the situation in metropolitan Melbourne “very closely”.

We won’t hesitate to declare further hotspot regions. So I urge all territorians – please strongly reconsider any travel you may have planned over the coming weeks. We have seen an outbreak in Sydney, although we’ve got two specific clusters, we’ve got a number of cases across metropolitan Sydney, and that is why the Northern Territory has declared that area as a hotspot, forcing anyone into mandatory quarantine. For Melbourne, we’ll work with those officials and we’re watching that area very closely. So now is the time to really consider any travel plans so that you don’t end up in mandatory quarantine at a cost of $2,500.

Updated

NT declares all of Sydney a hotspot

The Northern Territory health minister, Natasha Fyles, says all of greater Sydney will become a hotspot from midnight.

“This means anyone arriving from greater metropolitan Sydney into the territory after midnight tonight will go into mandatory quarantine, either at the Top End in Howard Springs or in Alice Springs,” she says.

Updated

Much of eastern Australia can expect a stormy start to 2021 as a heatwave bakes the west, reports AAP.

The Bureau of Meteorology is warning of thunderstorm activity from Friday and through the weekend, thanks to tropical moisture from the Coral Sea.

“Heading into the new year, it is looking to be a very active time over much of eastern Australia,” said senior meteorologist Jonathan Low.

“We are looking at pretty widespread storms right across the east, with a real focus around western Victoria, eastern SA and western NSW.

“We’re likely to see heavy falls and possibly large hail and damaging winds as well.”

The storm activity is not expected to clear until Monday.

But there is some good news, with little risk of the dry lightning that contributed to last summer’s devastating bushfires.

“Because there is so much moisture in the air, dry lightning is not going to be such a risk this time,” Low said.

Updated

Western Australia’s acting premier, Roger Cook, will provide an update from that state shortly. We’ll bring that to you when it happens.

Updated

That press conference has wrapped up, we’ll have more details on how the new rules will work shortly.

In the meantime, Queensland Health says traces of Covid-19 have been found in sewage at Bundamba in West Moreton and Merrimac on the Gold Coast.

The samples were collected at Bundamba on 28 December and Merrimac on 24 December, a statement said.

The Queensland chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, said the findings were concerning.

“Both of these treatment plants collect wastewater from large urban populations,” she said.

“These positive test results are concerning as they may indicate either a recovered case or undetected active cases living in or visiting the area.

“It is very important that anyone in the Bundamba and Merrimac catchments who has Covid-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, comes forward for testing. If there are active cases in the area, it is important that we detect them early to prevent further transmission.

“With the New South Wales cluster growing and new cases in Victoria, it’s better to be safe than sorry.”

Updated

Allan says the government believes there are possibly tens of thousands of Victorians in NSW.

However, we have been sending a very strong message for the best part of a week and a half, 10 days now, advising people to think very carefully about their travel to NSW. We moved on 20 December around following the outbreak on the northern beaches to have that designated as a red zone, following that quickly added the greater Sydney area, and in the last day have added Wollongong and the Blue Mountains.

We have been saying for some time now, encouraging people to think carefully about travelling to NSW, understanding if they did and there were further cases, that were coming out of NSW, that we would need to potentially move very quickly to close the border. Unfortunately that is where we are now.

Jacinta Allan has announced Victoria will close its border with NSW from 11.59pm on New Year’s Day
Jacinta Allan has announced Victoria will close its border with NSW from 11.59pm on New Year’s Day. Photograph: Erik Anderson/AAP

Updated

In the case of people from the ACT, you will still be able to apply for a green zone permit, which will allow you to enter Victoria without quarantining.

Anyone who returns from NSW between now and 1 January (excluding current red zones) will need to undertake a test and go into isolation for 14 days, Allan says.

Allan says the announcement will give time for Victorians visiting NSW to come home.

There are currently red zones in place for greater Sydney, and the government had already announced that from midnight Wollongong would be added to that.

That will still go ahead, and then from 11.59pm on 1 January, or New Year’s Day, the entire state of NSW will become a red zone.

Updated

Victoria to close border to NSW

Victoria will close its borders to the entire state of New South Wales from 11.59pm on 1 January.

The acting premier, Jacinta Allan, says:

This is not an easy choice, closing borders, putting in place restrictions, is never an easy choice to make, certainly not one we wanted to be making and announcing on a day that is supposed to be about celebrating.

As we have seen throughout the course of 2020, this has been a difficult year, with many difficult decisions to make, as a consequence of a virus that causes great damage to the health and wellbeing of our community.

Unfortunately the virus doesn’t expire at midnight tonight and we have to remain vigilant.

Updated

Two further Covid cases in Victoria

Jacinta Allan, Victoria’s acting premier, has stepped up.

Allan says there have been a further two confirmed cases from today. That’s five new cases for today (technically cases that will be reported tomorrow):

They are currently quarantining. The number of close contacts in isolation is now over 70, there is an extensive amount of work being undertaken by the public health team with interviews and conversations to track their movements and exposure sites.

Updated

Be careful out there, folks.

Sydney Opera House makes masks mandatory

The Sydney Opera House will be making masks mandatory for patrons aged 12 and over from this Saturday, to coincide with their next scheduled performances: the opening nights of Rent and the Merry Widow.

The venue has been one of the last major theatres in Sydney to make masks mandatory, as NSW case numbers continue to rise.

Its performance of Rent is due to open on Saturday 2 January to around 400 people, or 75% of the Drama Theatre capacity in line with restriction exemptions. Three days later, on 5 January, Opera Australia’s The Merry Widow will open at the venue’s Joan Sutherland Theatre, to an audience of up to 1,125 people.

Mask-wearing will be required inside foyers and theatres at all times, for patrons over 12.

“The Opera House continues to closely monitor NSW Health guidelines and advice, reviewing and implementing measures in line with current public health orders and our commitment to the health and safety of everyone on our site,” a venue spokesperson said in a statement.

“This includes reduced venue capacities, spaced seating between ticketed groups, mandatory check-in for all patrons via Service NSW, strict queue management measures, and the ability to take beverages into venues to facilitate physical distancing in our foyers.”

A pedestrian is seen wearing a face mask in front of the Sydney Opera House in Sydney
The Sydney Opera House will make mask-wearing compulsory in foyers and theatres from this Saturday. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

The Victorian acting premier, Jacinta Allan, and the health minister, Martin Foley, will hold a doorstop at 3.30pm.

Given they have already appeared earlier today, it will be interesting to see what this is about.

Competitors in the Nutri-Grain Ironman and Ironwoman series are in limbo with the opening rounds postponed for a second time due to uncertainty around Covid-19.

Surf Life Saving Australia announced on Thursday that the series was on ice until February due to public health concerns and border restrictions, reports AAP.

The opening rounds of the elite series were originally scheduled to take place at Kingscliff in northern NSW on 18-19 December but were postponed due to the outbreak on Sydney’s northern beaches.

They were then set down for a start at Wanda, near Cronulla, on 16-17 January, with an additional day of racing on 15 January.

However a decision has been taken to push the series opener back to February.

Just a quick note for those in Victoria, one of the Fountain Gate shops on the public health alert list was named as Lacoste. Authorities have since clarified that the store in question is called Lo Costa.

The National Golf Club at Cape Schank has also been added to the list, which is as follows:

  • Black Rock: Smile Buffalo Thai restaurant, 21 December, 7pm-9.30pm
  • Cape Schank: National Golf Club, The Cups Drive, 30 December, 11.40am-1.30pm
  • Doveton: Holy Family Parish Doveton Catholic, 26 December, 4pm-6pm
  • Narre Warren: Fountain Gate Shopping Centre; Kmart, Big W, Target, Millers, King of Gifts and Lo Costa, 26 December, 9am-11am.
  • Glen Waverley: Century City Walk, 28 December, 2.45pm showing of Wonder Woman Gold Class
  • Glen Waverley: Mocha Jo’s, 28 December, 1.30pm-1.45pm
  • Mentone: Mentone/Parkdale Beach, 27 December, 10am- 4.30pm
  • Oakleigh: Katialo restaurant, Eaton Mall, 28 December, 7pm-7.10pm

Updated

Guardian Australia asked the NSW police force whether it was aware of reports of Tony Abbott stopping at the cafe and talking with locals.

The NSW police media unit said there was no update to its earlier statement, which said officers had conducted “extensive inquiries, which included consultation with NSW Health”.

A spokesperson said police said had been called to a café at Church Point about 11am on Tuesday “following a report that a number of cyclists, who were believed to be from the southern area of the Northern Beaches, had gathered” - but when they arrived officers found “there were no cyclists, nor a large group”.

“After receiving further information, police attended a home at Forestville, where they spoke with a 63-year-old man.” Abbott is 63 years old. The spokesperson said the inquiries determined that the man “did not breach the public health orders”.

Updated

AAP has the final share market update of the year.

The Australian share market has finished one of its most volatile years with a sharp loss but still managed to end the year close to where it started.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark index closed Thursday’s abbreviated New Year’s Eve session down 95.3 points, or 1.43%, to 6587.10. The All Ordinaries ended 92.3 points, or 1.33% lower, at 6910.50.

Sentiment on the last day was affected by the enduring issue of the year – coronavirus.

NSW reported 10 cases of community transmission, with five linked to Sydney’s northern beaches cluster. The outbreak has prompted stricter New Year’s Eve restrictions for Sydney.

Another three locally-acquired coronavirus cases have been identified in Melbourne and are believed to be tied to the outbreak in Sydney.

In the local market, most sectors ended in the red, with financial, property and healthcare stocks worst affected.

The Australian dollar continued to strengthen amid weakness in the US dollar and is on track to finish 2020 at its highest level since April 2018.

It was buying 76.95 US cents at 14.15AEDT, up from 76.61 at Wednesday’s close.

Updated

Qld worried about NSW-Vic cases

Queensland is closely monitoring Covid outbreaks in NSW and Victoria after further cases of community transmission south of the border.

The Sunshine State recorded three new cases on Thursday, all of which were acquired overseas and detected in hotel quarantine, AAP reports.

The roads minister Mark Bailey said he was concerned about the recent cases in Melbourne and the chief health officer, Jeannette Young, was monitoring the situation closely.

“Queensland has never been slow to act when it comes to the threat of this virus. That’s our approach. That will continue to be our approach and we’re monitoring both those states closely,” he said.

The Queensland border is closed to anyone who has been in the Covid declared hotspots of greater Sydney and surrounding areas in the past 14 days.

Border declaration passes are also needed for travellers who have been in NSW since December 11.

Bailey said Queensland’s approach to stopping the virus had been “world leading”.

“One of the key reasons we’ve done that is because we’ve taken health advice from day one, and we’ll keep doing that to keep Queenslanders safe,” he said.

A woman who recorded Australia’s first known case of the South African variant of the virus was asymptomatic and reportedly feeling well, Queensland Health said.

She is in isolation at Sunshine Coast University Hospital after landing in Brisbane carrying the 501.V2 South African strain on 22 December.

a queue of cars and police in hi-viz
Queensland police question motorists at the Queensland/New South Wales border checkpoint in Coolangatta. Photograph: Dave Hunt/AAP

Updated

AMA: make masks mandatory

The Australian Medical Association has thrown its weight behind calls for the NSW government to make masks mandatory.

In a statement on Thursday afternoon, the AMA (NSW) president, Dr Danielle McMullen, said it was a simple measure that would reduce the risk of community transmission.

McMullen warned NSW was “teetering on the brink of an explosion of Covid-19”.

She said:

It’s encouraging to see so many NSW residents already wearing masks when they are shopping or at indoor venues. However, the best way to encourage compliance is to make masks mandatory.

Making masks mandatory sends a strong signal to the community about the importance of wearing masks to reduce the spread of the virus – particularly indoors where ventilation may be poor and respiratory aerosols, which carry the virus, are greater.

Being outdoors is safer, but there is still risk of person-to-person spread if physical distancing is not possible.

McMullen said the state needed to employ every defence to “avoid a harsh lockdown later”.

Wearing a mask does not provide 100% protection. Practising good hand hygiene, physical distancing and following the NSW government’s public health orders on limits of visitors into your home and other advice are also important measure.”

Updated

Venues in south-western Sydney and the Illawarra added to NSW public health alert list

We have some more venues added the public health alert list. NSW Health says the following:

NSW Health has been notified of a number of new venues in south-western Sydney, and one in Wollongong, which have been visited by confirmed cases of Covid-19.

Anyone who visited any of the following venues at the listed times should monitor for symptoms and if they occur get tested immediately and self-isolate until you receive a negative result:

  • Chullora: Chullora Fish Market, Shop 6A, 355-357 Waterloo Road, Wednesday 23 December, 6.40am – 7.10am
  • Liverpool: Liverpool Westfield, Macquarie Street, Wednesday 23 December, 1pm – 3pm
  • Belfield, Mancini’s Pizza @ Belfield, 21 Burwood Road, Thursday 24 December, 7pm – 7.15pm
  • Greenacre, 7 Eleven, 301-305 Hume Highway, Saturday 26 December, 4.30pm – 5pm
  • Shellharbour, Myer Stockland Shellharbour, 211 Lake Entrance Road, Sunday 27 December, noon-12.40pm
  • Figtree, Coles Figtree Grove Shopping Centre, 19 Princes Highway Monday 28 December, 4.45pm – 5.20pm

Updated

Epidemiologists have been responding to the new cases in Victoria and New South Wales, and new restrictions announced for Victoria ahead of New Year’s celebrations.

A professor of epidemiology with La Trobe University, Hassan Vally, said reforms made to Victoria’s public health system during the second wave meant a strong and effective response could be expected this time around. He said mandating masks and tightening New Year’s Eve restrictions was an appropriate response “that made sense given the potential for super-spreading events” at large gatherings.

You can see how much work the Victorian government has done even in just the last 24 hours to understand the epidemiology.

But the psychology of these restrictions might be a bit tough for Victorians, especially happening hours before the new year. It is clear the psychology and attitude of Victorians is very different after all they have been through and it’s understandable if this feels like a blow to them.

Vally said the situation in New South Wales was “incredibly concerning”.

You get the feeling that while they are holding the line, they are right on the edge.

No one would criticise New South Wales for doing more, they’re more likely to face criticism if they weren’t doing enough. They’re really just holding ground at the moment. I understand they have confidence in their system, and they should, but it’s a very fine line, the spread of cases just seems to be getting wider.

The chair of epidemiology at Deakin University, Prof Catherine Bennett, said masks indoors was wise in Victoria, and that the public health response so far was impressive, with three cases already linked to a common venue when a New South Wales returned traveller was there.

Bennett said:

“This gives us a fighting chance of closing this down quickly, especially if we all do our bit to suppress transmission risk until we know we are out of the woods.

Small restrictions now help protect against the need for much more significant measures in two weeks time.”

Updated

NSW woman arrested after allegedly speeding through Victoria checkpoint and evading police

Authorities have lashed a NSW woman for allegedly speeding through a Victorian border checkpoint at night, turning her lights off and evading police for hours until road spikes were used to stop her car.

The health minister, Martin Foley, condemned the 57-year-old, from NSW’s Central Coast, for endangering the lives of police, AAP reports.

People from the Central Coast and greater Sydney are banned from entering Victoria after a coronavirus cluster emerged on the city’s northern beaches.

Police alleged the Bateau Bay woman drove through the Chandlers Creek checkpoint in East Gippsland early on Wednesday morning “at a fast rate of speed”.

A pursuit was called off and an off-duty police officer spotted her near Nhill in western Victoria later in the afternoon.

A tyre deflation device was used to stop her.

“The woman was arrested without incident and will be assessed and interviewed at a later date by detectives for offences including conduct endangering life, failing to stop on police direction and contravening chief health officer directions,” police said.

Police said the woman had been refused entry to Victoria before the East Gippsland incident.

Foley said:

I was extraordinarily upset ... anyone who is refused entry from NSW, particularly from the red zones, is refused entry on public health grounds.

To then come back at 3am and drive at speed through a police checkpoint and then put the lights off so as to avoid detection, is a degree of poor behaviour that I’m sure every Victorian would condemn.

I condemn anyone who drives through and breaches those important border checkpoints because they are there to keep us safe.

To endanger police members in doing so is a level of poor behaviour that I think every Victorian condemns.

Updated

The Morrison government has welcomed the United Kingdom’s emergency use authorisation of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine as “an important and heartening moment for the UK, Australia and the world”.

But the government is sticking with March as Australia’s vaccine rollout commencement date, while expressing hope that domestic vaccine production and international imports may be achieved ahead of schedule. It is emphasising that outbreaks in places like the UK and US – which are accelerating vaccinations – are far more dire than the situation in Australia at present.

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the federal health minister, Greg Hunt, said it was “important to note that the emergency use authorisation is not a formal and final regulatory approval, and is in response to the emergency situation being faced in the UK”.

“This vaccine is on track and we’re hopeful we will have both domestic production and international imports ahead of schedule. And I think that’s reassuring, reaffirming, and an important point of hope. On the basis of scientific advice, the Australian government has recently secured an additional 20m doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine. This will mean a total delivery of 53.8m AstraZeneca vaccine doses in 2021, covering the whole of population requirements.”

Hunt’s spokesperson said AstraZeneca was continuing to provide documentation to the Australian regulator “and that means that we will have, subject to our regulators agreeing, a safe, effective, and plentiful vaccine”.

Asked about any changes to the timeframes for Australia’s rollout, Hunt’s spokesperson said: “Our government has set March as our commencement date. This ensures we not only have a safe and effective vaccine, but we have the strongest safety and assessment processes through the Therapeutic Goods Administration.”

For more on the vaccine rollout plans, see my colleague Melissa Davey’s story from earlier this week:

Updated

What's happened so far today

First off, let’s recap some of the main headlines.

  • NSW recorded 10 new local cases of Covid-19, as the premier, Gladys Berejiklian, pleaded with people to wear masks when indoors. However, the government is stopping short of mandating mask use.
  • Victoria recorded three cases overnight, while a further three cases have also been detected today. The latter cases will be included in tomorrow’s count.
  • In response, the Victorian government tightened rules around gatherings – only 15 visitors will now be allowed in homes – and masks will become mandatory again at indoor venues.
  • South Australia reintroduced a hard border from NSW, effective from 12.01am on New Year’s Day.
  • Police said the former prime minister, Tony Abbott, did not breach coronavirus directions when he was spotted in the northern zone of the Northern Beaches. He was interviewed after cycling in the area on 29 December.
After recording 10 new cases of Covid in NSW, Gladys Berejiklian has asked people to wear masks indoors but has stopped short of making them compulsory.
After recording 10 new cases of Covid in NSW, Gladys Berejiklian has asked people to wear masks indoors but has stopped short of making them compulsory. Photograph: David Gray/Getty Images

Updated

Hello everyone. Luke Henriques-Gomes here, thanks to Elias Visontay for his work today.

I’ll be steering you through the rest of the day.

I’ll be handing the blog over to my colleague Luke Henriques-Gomes who will take you through the next part of the afternoon.

I’ve been Elias Visontay, thanks for reading today and all of this year. Wishing you a pleasant end to it, however you’re marking it.

Let’s return to those comments from NSW police regarding Tony Abbott’s exercise in the northern zone of the northern beaches.

Abbott’s most recent declaration to parliament (before his defeat in 2019) showed he lived in Forestville, which is classed as being in the southern zone of the northern beaches.

NSW police said they had investigated the matter of the former prime minister’s travel, and “formed the view he was not in breach of the health order as it applied at that time”. Police said Abbott “was out for a lawful excuse exercising with another individual – that was checked and proven to be right”.

This has confused many people, who believed residents were not meant to travel between the southern and northern zones, based on public statements from officials. Labor senator Kristina Keneally tweeted earlier today that locals were angered to see Abbott in the northern zone on 29 December.

I’ve been looking through the public health orders to get to the bottom of the rules that were technically in place at the time.

On 19 December the NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, issued the Public Health (Covid-19 Northern Beaches) Order 2020 which said residents of the northern beaches local government area must not, without reasonable excuse, be away from the person’s place of residence.

Reasonable excuses included exercising. In the order on 19 December, Hazzard also specified that a person must not participate in an outdoor public gathering “of more than two persons” except in certain circumstances.

On 28 December, Hazzard made some changes that were to apply from 29 December, which added that gatherings of no more than five northern zone residents were allowed so long as all persons participating for northern zone residents.

But this applied to “gatherings”, and seemed to apply to when there were more than two people. Abbott is said to have exercised with one other person.

Then a public health order issued by Hazzard on 29 December, taking effect on 30 December, made changes restricting the area in which a northern beaches resident may be away from their home to buy food or undertake exercise.

That change ensured that people could not leave their area of residence, whether it be the northern zone or the southern zone, for such purposes.

But Abbott is said to have been in the northern zone on 29 December, the day before this took effect.

Updated

The New South Wales Labor leader, Jodi McKay, has called on Gladys Berejiklian to stop crowds from attending the cricket Test at the SCG, and urged her to make masks mandatory in certain settings:

Why are we now progressing with a crowd at the cricket? ... It just doesn’t make sense to me.

I’m urging the premier to make sure the cricket goes ahead ... but there is a general feeling there should not be people at the cricket.

We shouldn’t have people attending the cricket. We need to make that call now.

McKay also said she is “mystified” why masks have not been mandated in places of worship, supermarkets and on public transport, noting Victoria’s move on Thursday:

I think it’s important that if masks can reduce the risk of transmission, that we’re doing everything we can.

McKay said Berejiklian “still can’t give a proper answer” as to why she hasn’t mandated mask use in those settings.

Updated

The Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith has labelled Victoria’s new mask rules and gathering limits an “arbitrary and panicked decision”.

Updated

This alert for Melbourne:

Updated

In response to Stuart Robert’s announcement about “welfare system abuse”, an Australian Unemployed Workers’ Union spokesperson has said “the rate of the payment [of jobseeker] is the abuse”:

The government is ripping another $100 per fortnight out of people’s budgets tomorrow and this is a pathetic attempt to distract from the harm and pain they inflict on those of us who rely on welfare payments to survive.

Updated

Stuart Robert said the federal government still intended to reduce the rates of the jobkeeper and jobseeker payments from the start of 2021, but hinted that “the government will have more to add to that in the new year”.

The coronavirus supplement – which topped up a range of welfare payments including jobseeker – is due to be cut by $100 a fortnight from tomorrow. As it stands the supplement is due to wind down at the end of March.

Robert, the government services minister, would not comment on whether he personally believed the base rate of jobseeker payment needed to be permanently increased from its pre-pandemic level of $40 a day, or whether he was concerned about people not being able to afford food or healthcare needs.

He said only: “The government will make further announcements in the new year.”

Robert said the government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic had shown its preparedness to make the necessary decisions in a fast-moving situation.

“We’ll make the right decisions at the right time as needed in a situation that is evolving and changing quite quickly.”

Updated

While the states have been providing Covid updates, Stuart Robert, the minister for government services, has been addressing reporters on the issue of welfare fraud.

He has conceded that the vast majority of welfare recipients are doing the right thing, and has left the door open to further decisions in the new year about a higher long-term rate of the jobseeker payment.

Robert called a media conference in the NSW city of Cessnock to announce that more than $13m in welfare payments had been recovered and about 650 matters referred to the commonwealth director of public prosecutions over the past 18 months.

These referrals are based on the work of a joint taskforce between Services Australia and the Australian federal police that detects and disrupts criminal activity within the welfare system.

According to Robert’s office, Taskforce Integrity “focuses on criminal networks and individuals that steal identities to hijack customer payments and also identifies welfare recipients with large amounts of unexplained wealth”.

One person was arrested after allegedly using stolen identities “to create several fraudulent myGov accounts and redirected $18,000 in welfare payments into bank accounts he controlled”, Robert’s office said.

Minister for government services Stuart Robert with Scott Morrison
Minister for government services Stuart Robert with Scott Morrison. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Robert was pressed on whether the $13m recovered was a drop in the ocean compared with this year’s $1.2bn settlement to victims of the government’s botched robodebt scheme. He repeated his defence of the longstanding use of income averaging to determine potential debts:

The government is now ensuring any debt raised is done so sufficiently.

Asked whether he would concede welfare fraud is not a widespread issue, Robert said:

I think it’s important we understand that the vast majority of Australians do right thing – and I mean the vast majority. The vast majority of Australians are decent, hardworking, love their families and do the right thing.

The vast majority of Australians understand that money paid to them in terms of welfare support comes from their neighbours, it comes from the lady across the street, they come from the taxes paid by hard-working Australians.

Robert said the government would “continue to crack down on that small amount of fraud to preserve the integrity of our welfare system”:

When it comes to fraud we’re only talking about a very small percentage of Australians who do the wrong thing. And I’ll say to that very tiny percentage of Australians: If you do the wrong thing, you will be caught.

It’s not worth it. I say to the criminal syndicates who think that defrauding the commonwealth is an easy way to raise money, you will be caught.

Updated

South Australia shuts border to NSW

South Australia’s premier, Steven Marshall, also held a press conference this morning, announcing a reintroduction of his state’s hard border with New South Wales.

From 12.01am tomorrow morning (1 January) the hard border with “very few exceptions” will come into effect. Marshall said:

As of one minute past midnight tonight, we will be putting a hard border back in place with New South Wales.

Only South Australians returning, people relocating permanently or essential workers will be exempt from this arrangement and they will still need to – for the South Australians returning or those people relocating – need to do 14 days of mandatory self-isolation.

The other exemption from this situation is with regard to the cross-border communities and we will be putting a buffer zone in of 100km. I know this will be of great relief to people who are living in Broken Hill, but we will be putting in a buffer arrangement so that will have the effect of both Wentworth and Broken Hill being exempt from these new tougher border restrictions.

Cross-border applications can be made on the South Australian government’s online form.

At this stage, the changes only affect NSW but authorities have said they will monitor the situation in Victoria.

Updated

Kerry Chant is asked what her new year resolution is.

She said she hasn’t thought of one yet but that “most people can imagine what it will be”:

I think we rapidly bring this cluster under control. We achieve no community transmission, but we need to remember we’re always continually under threat and so we are never going to go back to normal.

We might get a little bit more normalcy once we have all the population vaccinated, but Covid potentially will change our lives at all times and it may be something like the flu where we have to learn how to manage it in – with the tool of having a vaccine. For literally years to come, and years.”

The press conference has ended.

Updated

Gladys Berejiklian is standing by her push for the Sydney Cricket Ground to host its cricket Test, with the Covid-safe plan for 50% crowd attendance:

If we need to re-evaluate some of our settings, update the compliance, the compliance measures and the safety plan, we won’t hesitate to do that.

But if there is an opportunity for us to hold events we should ... because at the end of the day what’s on the line, yes, community safety always comes first ... but we also have to keep jobs going – we don’t want to see more people out of their job, out of their livelihood.

If there’s an opportunity for us to also protect jobs and to improve the morale of our citizens and keep mental health high and to try to have a sense of normality, why shouldn’t we strive for that?

Updated

Gladys Berejiklian is asked why her approach to containing coronavirus clusters is different to other states, after Victoria mandated masks indoors after recording six cases in two days:

It’s been evident during the course of the pandemic, that every state leader, every territory leader has had their own policies in place. Every state and territory is different, every government is different.

Here in New South Wales, we always try and strike the right balance. This is a very unpredictable, contagious disease, but we also appreciate that we don’t want to put more burdens on our citizens than we need to. It’s a very fine line.

At this stage of our response to the current outbreak, you will see a lot of volatility, numbers will continue to bounce around as those close contacts in all likelihood start to develop the disease and if they’re in isolation, that’s no cause for concern, but if like the Croydon cluster, we can’t identify the source of the infection, that is enormous cause for concern.

Our approach in New South Wales is cautious and we believe proportionate to the risk that’s there.

She said she was prepared to change restrictions “suddenly and immediately” if health advice recommended it.

Updated

Tony Abbott did not breach northern beaches lockdown, police say

NSW police investigated reports that the former prime minister Tony Abbott breached the northern beaches lockdown.

They formed the opinion he travelled out of the southern zone to the northern zone for a lawful reason – he was exercising.

The NSW police assistant commissioner Mick Willing said:

Police responded to that, spoke to the former prime minister and formed the view he was not in breach of the health order as it applied at that time. But, you need to apply some common sense here. Stay at home where you can.

He was out for a lawful excuse, exercising with another individual. That was checked and proven to be right.

Updated

Kerry Chant has echoed Gladys Berejiklian’s plea for people in Sydney to wear masks:

We can’t be strong enough. If you’re going into indoor venues, when you’re anywhere that you can’t social distance, wear a mask.

We really [are] just urging the community to redouble your efforts. Please wear a mask.

The chief medical officer also says if the state’s coronavirus situation evolves “and we’re more concerned about community transmission” then health authorities will update their advice about the safety of crowds attending the cricket Test at the SCG.

Updated

Kerry Chant foreshadows new restrictions if testing rates remain low and more cases with unknown sources are detected:

Until we got the Croydon cluster, we were on a more pleasing trajectory.

If we start seeing cases where we don’t know the source of them, and particularly in the presence of low rates of community testing, that really elevates our risk threshold and it means that we will be having to take even more precautionary action.

Updated

Kerry Chant said most people diagnosed with Covid-19 had been “very forthcoming” in giving contact tracers information about their whereabouts.

But she said there had been “a small number of cases where we have had to use additional powers that we have under the Public Health Act to require them to provide certain documentation and that could include things like bank statements or various records”.

Chant said authorities cross-verified information with venues if there was ever reason to question the veracity of information provided to contact tracers.

She said genomic sequencing on the Croydon cluster’s first cases has not yet been analysed but she hopes by later this afternoon authorities will know if it is the same strain of the virus as the northern beaches cluster.

The three new members of the Croydon cluster cases all live in households where previous patients live.

Dr Kerry Chant at this morning’s press conference
Dr Kerry Chant at this morning’s press conference. Photograph: Dean Lewins/AAP

Updated

The NSW chief health officer, Kerry Chant, has warned that cases linked to the Croydon cluster “have been out and about” across greater Sydney:

There are new venues from that cluster, the Croydon cluster. There were a number of those cases that have been out and about in broader Sydney.

She said Sydneysiders needed to check the NSW Health venue updates frequently, because “sometimes people forget they have been in certain venues but then later remember”:

Please keep checking that continually throughout the day and we’ll be issuing alerts as new information comes to hand.

Updated

The NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, is pleading with citizens to wear masks.

But she has not announced any measures to make mask use mandatory.

Earlier, Victoria – which recorded three new Covid-19 cases today – announced masks would become mandatory again from 5pm, before New Year’s Eve celebrations. Berejiklian said:

Can I stress again if you’re an indoor place, if you’re going grocery shopping, if you’re in a place of worship, you have to wear a mask, you should be wearing a mask.

But obviously in outdoor settings, if you can’t guarantee social distancing, if you can’t guarantee all the other factors which make it Covid-safe, you should also make sure you’re wearing a mask.

You shouldn’t be catching public transport really at this stage if you’re not wearing a mask, and we want to strongly continue to encourage that.

The last thing we want is to welcome in 2021 with a super-spreading event.

Gladys Berejiklian departs a press conference on Tuesday
Gladys Berejiklian departs a press conference on Tuesday. Photograph: Dan Himbrechts/AAP

Updated

NSW records 10 new local Covid-19 cases

There have been 10 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases detected from 27,894 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday.

Of the 10 new local cases:

  • Three locally acquired cases are linked to the Croydon cluster, the source of which is still under investigation. These cases were close contacts of cases reported yesterday and there are now nine cases in this cluster.
  • One locally acquired case is a close contact of one of the two patient transport drivers reported previously.
  • One further case, from western Sydney, is under investigation.

Updated

Foley also confirms that the 5pm restrictions, which mandate mask use indoors and limit in home gatherings to 15 people, apply to all of Victoria.

Updated

Victoria’s health minister, Martin Foley, has flagged further tightening his state’s border with New South Wales.

Foley said Victoria needs to “stay ahead” of the growing cases in NSW, and that “if that means the public health advice is to move further on border restrictions, that is what we will do”.

Victorian health minister Martin Foley addresses the media as acting premier Jacinta Allan looks on
Victorian health minister Martin Foley addresses the media as acting premier Jacinta Allan looks on. Photograph: Erik Anderson/AAP

He said his “message to any Victorian in New South Wales, including in the current green zones, is come back”:

This is a very serious situation that Victorians are facing, having sacrificed so much over the course of this year. Victorians know how wildly infectious this virus can be.

Do not go to New South Wales, if you are in Victoria. And if you are a Victorian in New South Wales, well beyond Wollongong and the Blue Mountains, come back.

You do not want to be caught on the wrong side of a rapidly evolving situation. Victorians who have sacrificed so much are not going to go back to a situation where we faced what we did in the past winter.

Updated

There will also be limits on visitors to aged care in Victoria.

There will be screening of people who are required to enter aged care facilities and authorities are checking on their stocks of PPE and their plans.

Jeroen Weimar, Victoria’s coronavirus chief, said authorities had identified a potential link between the state’s new cases to a returning traveller from New South Wales.

He also said 52 close contacts of confirmed cases had been contacted since yesterday, including contacts “across a wide area of Melbourne, and they include people in Barwon Heads”.

Updated

Victoria makes masks mandatory indoors as restrictions tightened

The acting premier, Jacinta Allan has announced tightened restrictions in the lead-up to New Year’s Eve celebrations tonight.

From 5pm today, number of people allowed to gather in private homes will be reduced from 30 to 15. Allan said:

We do apologise to people who have put plans in place, who was looking forward to having events in their home, or in other people’s homes, but this is a necessary step.

Masks will also be made mandatory indoors from 5pm on Thursday:

If you are planning to leave your home at the moment, we ask people to carry their masks with them, we are now asking them to wear a mask if they are indoors in any location which is not their private home.

Updated

Victoria records three new local coronavirus cases

The acting premier, Jacinta Allan, said three more coronavirus cases have been recorded after three were announced on Wednesday.

She said there are now 10 active cases in the state, with four further cases in hotel quarantine.

Contact tracers investigating the three cases announced yesterday have learned that all three dined at the Smile Buffalo Thai restaurant in Black Rock on 21 December.

Anyone who was at the restaurant is being urged to get tested as soon as possible and contact authorities.

Acting Victorian premier Jacinta Allan addresses the media this morning
Acting Victorian premier Jacinta Allan addresses the media this morning. Photograph: Erik Anderson/AAP

Updated

The Victorian press conference we were expecting at 10.15am will now happen at 10.30am.

The acting premier, Jacinta Allan, and health minister, Martin Foley, will provide a coronavirus update after the state recorded three new locally acquired Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

Updated

Victorians are being warned of a surge in Covid-19 cases amid concerns NSW cases have spread to Melbourne.

The second surge in cases could come between 5 and 14 January after three people tested positive in city’s east.

My colleague Melissa Davey has this report:

Updated

South Australia is expected to impose tighter Covid-19 restrictions on NSW amid concerns over the spread of virus cases in Sydney, AAP reports.

The state’s transition committee is expected to consider the “volatile and changing” situation again on Thursday.

But police commissioner Grant Stevens has already urged anyone considering travelling from SA to NSW in coming days to “very seriously consider whether that travel is essential.”

He says South Australians on holiday or travelling in NSW should also consider returning home as soon as possible.

“The continued spread of cases in New South Wales is of particular concern,” a police statement said.

At present, only people from Sydney’s northern beaches are banned from entering SA.

Those from greater Sydney, the Central Coast and the Wollongong region can come but must quarantine for 14 days.

People from other areas of NSW must submit to a Covid-19 test.

The travel warnings came after NSW reported 18 new cases of community transmission on Wednesday, including six linked to a new cluster in Sydney’s inner-west.

We’re expecting a few press conferences this morning.

First up will be Victoria’s health minister, Martin Foley, at 10.15am.

At 10.30am, the federal government services minister, Stuart Robert, will speak about how “the Morrison Government is stamping out welfare payment abuse”.

The New South Wales premier, Gladys Berejiklian, will provide her daily coronavirus update at 11am.

I’ll bring you updates from all of those here in this blog.

Updated

Victoria reports three locally transmitted cases of Covid-19

These are the cases reported yesterday:

Updated

Growing calls for Sydney mask mandate

Brad Hazzard’s comments this morning backing his government’s position not to mandate mask-wearing across Sydney have come amid a chorus of infectious disease experts calling for such a mandate.

Prof Catherine Bennett, Deakin University epidemiology chair, has noted that a third of Sydney’s Covid outbreak is outside the northern beaches.

If you can’t link all cases back to a known case, or at least a venue where an exposure event is known to have occurred, it’s a warning sign that you have unidentified cases out there in the community.

“It’s time to mandate masks,” she wrote in Guardian Australia.

A pedestrian wears a mask on George Street in Sydney
A pedestrian wears a mask on George Street in Sydney’s CBD. Mask-wearing is not mandatory in Sydney on public transport. In some parts of the city, it is rare to see anyone wearing a mask on buses. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/EPA

Prof Raina MacIntyre, an epidemiologist at the University of NSW and head of the biosecurity research program at the Kirby Institute, told Guardian Australia on Wednesday she could not understand why masks were not mandatory in Sydney:

There’s a reluctance to lock down because it’s going to hurt the economy, that I understand, but a mask mandate isn’t going to hurt the economy, and if anything it’s going to save the economy.

Between 30% to 50% of infections were asymptomatic, she said, adding to a risk cases might be missed and cause spread without widespread use of masks. MacIntyre said it was “quite feasible” NSW might start recording up to 50 cases a day.

On Thursday morning, Prof Mike Toole, a Burnet Institute epidemiologist, noted that mask use was required on public transport and at supermarkets in Melbourne but not in Sydney.

“I think that needs to happen in Sydney, particularly in this coming very dangerous period of 10 days,” Toole told Channel 7.

Updated

NSW health minister stands by mask advice

New South Wales health minister Brad Hazzard is standing by his government’s decision not to mandate masks as authorities try to contain two clusters with unknown sources.

Appearing on ABC TV this morning, Hazzard said “at this stage there’s no plan to change our direction on that front” when asked about keeping the directive to wear masks as advice, rather than as a public health order.

However he acknowledged some health experts believe mandating masks would help to contain NSW’s clusters.

“There are a range of expert views on this ... you take advice from a range of experts. And our experts are saying it’s not yet required,” Hazard said.

Hazzard also defended his government’s approach to restrictions and rules to contain coronavirus spread, compared with responses in Victoria and South Australia.

We’re taking the health advice, and the health advice is what we relied on all the way through this pandemic. And there’s a balancing act here, when you consider health, as the health that obviously relates directly to the virus, there’s also mental health issues.

Mental health issues are very much dependent upon people being able to see other people to some degree, but also to have jobs, know that they’ve got money coming in. It’s a balancing act, and I think New South Wales, of all states and territories, has led the way during this year in that regard.

As the health advice changes, we’ll share that. I think every moment that we get health advice, we go straight into our 11am press conference and convey that to the community.”

Updated

Contact tracers have not yet figured out the source transmission behind the Croydon cluster, the NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, has said.

Authorities first mentioned the cluster on Wednesday, when revealing six cases in an extended family associated with the outbreak.

Hazard told ABC TV on Thursday morning:

We’re still waiting on genomic sequencing, which gives us the tracking capacity to know where it might have come from. Obviously, the suspicion is that it may have been the northern beaches, but who knows? ... Until we get the actual scientific evidence, we don’t know.

Hazzard also reiterated strict gathering restrictions and advice ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations on Thursday night:

We’ve said this a thousand times, any symptoms, don’t visit your family or friends, because you may be the one who carries it into that household. And anybody who is having friends around, make sure that no more than five people come to your home.

It’s obvious that when we have someone come into our home, they tend to be close to us, and therefore we take chances in terms of kissing and cuddling and so on. Don’t do it. Don’t do it for the moment.

Brad Hazzard
NSW health minister Brad Hazzard continues to refuse to mandate mask-wearing, despite urgent calls from epidemiologists to do so. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Victorian authorities have alerted visitors of several venues about the risk of coronavirus transmission after three infected people told contact tracers they visited the businesses.

Updated

Since yesterday’s announcement of new cases, including the Croydon cluster, New South Wales health authorities have updated a list of venues that Covid-positive people have visited while infectious.

Here is our up-to-date list of all of the alerts:

Updated

Good morning, and welcome to the Australia news live blog for 31 December. I’m Elias Visontay. Here’s what’s making news this morning.

  • Sydneysiders will welcome 2021 while complying with strict coronavirus restrictions. Homes are limited to five visitors, mass gatherings around Sydney Harbour are banned, outdoor gatherings are limited to 30 people, and the traditional fireworks display will be limited to seven minutes.
  • Health authorities in NSW are scrambling to understand how a new coronavirus cluster emerged in Sydney’s inner west. Of the 18 new local cases announced on Wednesday, nine were linked to the northern beaches cluster, while six are part of the new Croydon cluster.
  • Contact tracers in Victoria worked overnight after the state’s 61-day streak of no new coronavirus cases has been broken after three cases were detected on Wednesday, believed to be linked to Sydney.
  • Uni fee rises and welfare cuts: One of the enduring traditions is the Australian government setting 1 January as the start date for a range of changes to fees, regulations and benefits. Here are six changes to look out for.
  • 31 December 2019 is a date forever etched in the collective memory of the NSW south coast. Guardian Australia visited six communities still scarred by the New Year’s Eve bushfires. People spoke of loss and suffering, of compassion and support, of recovery and reconstruction. Here are their stories.

If you want to get in touch, please send me an email to elias.visontay@theguardian.com or get in touch via Twitter @eliasvisontay.

Updated

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