What happened today, Friday 6 August
We’ll leave it there for now.
Here are the main developments of the day.
- New South Wales recorded 291 infections, and one death, as case numbers continued to trend upwards. The state is further bolstering the police presence in the Canterbury-Bankstown area. The commonwealth’s chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, weighed in on Friday night, saying a “circuit-breaker” was needed to further push down case numbers.
- There were six new cases in Victoria, which is now in its sixth lockdown. Two of those cases were first reported yesterday.
- Queensland recorded 10 cases, most of which were in isolation when they were infectious, bolstering hopes the lockdown may end on Sunday.
- National cabinet declined to make additional laws to allow employers to mandate the vaccine, though the prime minister, Scott Morrison, indicated that the solicitor general’s advice was that this could be allowed in certain cases.
Hopefully you’re able to enjoy your weekend. Take care. We’ll see you tomorrow.
Updated
Vivid Sydney is a bright star on Sydney’s calendar, so the decision to cancel this year’s event has not been taken lightly. While it’s lights off for this year, we’ll shine brighter than ever in 2022, from 27 May to 18 June 2022. Stay safe, and see you soon! #vividsydney pic.twitter.com/gf466kyjUC
— Vivid Sydney (@VividSydney) August 6, 2021
A policy requiring unvaccinated West Australian police officers to wear face masks will go ahead following negotiations before an industrial tribunal, reports AAP.
The edict will come into effect from Monday, affecting any employee who has not received at least one coronavirus vaccine dose.
The police commissioner Chris Dawson was summoned before WA’s Industrial Relations Commission on Friday to face a conference hearing with WA’s Civil Service Association.
The state’s police union had earlier warned it wouldn’t accept its members being discriminated against and questioned whether the force had the legal right to demand officers produce medical certificates to prove exemptions.
Speaking after the hearing, Dawson said negotiations had been constructive and it had been agreed that the policy would go ahead.
“Staff that are not vaccinated will have to wear a mask in the workplace unless there is a legitimate reason,” he told reporters.
“I’ve got a duty to provide the best possible protection for my staff in the workplace ... I’m confident that the good relationships and the work that police and staff do, across the state, will continue.”
Dawson said individuals who refused to wear masks would be dealt with “on a case-by-case basis”.
He said 100% of officers and staff in high-risk frontline roles such as in hotel quarantine had been vaccinated but the rate fell to about 75 per cent for the entire workforce.
“Obviously I’d like to continue to see that improve,” he said.
There was also a fairly confusing exchange between reporters and both Scott Morrison and Paul Kelly about whether a person under the age of 60 needs to have a discussion with a GP or pharmacist before getting the AstraZeneca jab.
Question: If you go to a mass vaccination hub and you’re under 60 and you want AstraZeneca and you can’t get a GP consultation despite the offer, you can go to that vaccination hub and get one ASAP, just talking to the nurse who is going through it.
Morrison:
They need to go through informed consent. Informed consent is up to the individual. It is their consent that they are giving.
Question: “Is it true that ... anybody can go to the pharmacist and give them informed consent as well and get AstraZeneca regardless of their age as long as they are over 18, can you clarify that?”
Kelly:
So, if it is not clear, we can work on the messaging. My expectation is anyone who is putting a jab in an arm will be having an informed consent conversation with the person they’re jabbing, wherever that is.
Updated
Is the PM concerned about NSW easing restrictions with a vaccination rate of 50%, as Gladys Berejiklian has suggested?
Scott Morrison:
We had a discussion about this today and there has been a mixing of issues here. The national plan, 70% average, across Australia, that is when we can start moving into phase B. And for a state to move into phase B, which is when there are a different set of arrangements in place and home quarantine ... and a range of other issues including exemptions ... that’s what that number is about. When a state chooses to impose or lift lockdown, that is a matter, that is a decision for that state and it always has been.
Updated
Here’s Paul Kelly expanding on what he meant by the need for a circuit-breaker in Sydney:
I think what the key elements here are to decrease the transmission potential, so that to decrease that movement of the virus from one person to another, and that’s what the lockdown is about. I think looking at ways that they can find people more quickly; make sure the compliance with those orders to stay at home; that movement around Sydney and specifically [to] outside of Sydney is enforced. All of these things are absolutely important. How do we decrease the transmission potential, it is about people not moving around while infectious and infecting others. Households are more difficult. The extra vaccines that are provided are clearly an important component of that and they need to stay the course.
Updated
Morrison is asked about Kelly’s call for a circuit-breaker in NSW. He says it’s a question for Kelly, as a medical expert, not him.
Morrison then goes on to say the federal government has sought to support NSW as best it can. He notes it has provided additional vaccines.
Updated
Asked by Katharine Murphy about the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s decision yesterday not to consider national cabinet a subcommittee of federal cabinet for the purposes of FoI law, Morrison says:
Whether or not it is appealed or not is a matter for the commonwealth government ... but I can tell you the national cabinet is very, very sure that it wants to be able to operate in the environment it has regarding the security of the documents that it works on.
Morrison notes he holds a press conference after each national cabinet meeting in order to outline what has been discussed and agreed to, which does not happen with other cabinet meetings.
Updated
Paul Kelly says it would “need to be very carefully worked through by an employer to do rapid antigen tests” on a large scale:
They are not without their issues, they are certainly part of the solution in the future and we have set upon the task of building on the work we’ve done over the last 18 months on this.
Updated
Scott Morrison is asked if employers should ask their workers to get tested. The journalist notes the large outbreak at a KFC in Sydney.
Morrison won’t go there directly, but seems to suggest there are situations where this could be both legally and practically reasonable.
He says:
The national vaccination program in Australia is not a mandatory vaccination program and that’s not the policy of the government. Where there are specific areas, where public health orders have been put in place, that’s been done consistent with policy, I should say a consistency of policy at the commonwealth and state level. But there is the law of the land ... and the law of the land does provide employers to give reasonable directions to their staff and I’ve set out the advice that we received from the solicitor general that provides the spectrum of where such directions may indeed be reasonable.
You see, in our country, everyone has choices and they have choices that are supported by the rule of law and simply making the point that those choices have to be exercised, are consistent with the rule of law.
Updated
'Circuit-breaker' needed in Sydney, Paul Kelly says
Some interesting comments from Kelly here, saying he has been speaking to the NSW government about “what else could be done”.
He says there are “still worrying signs in terms of unlinked cases, new chains of transmission, new exposure sites and geographic spread and the like”.
There is no sense that it’s heading rapidly towards zero, which is what remains our national approach at the moment. There is clearly a need for a circuit-breaker. I’ve had many discussions with my colleague in NSW around that. What else could be done to increase the speed of people being diagnosed, the compliance with those public health measures, and crucially an increase in vaccination in those areas. NSW needs to stay the course and look for those new ways of increasing and improving that situation.
Updated
The chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, says of the situation in Sydney:
We would have expected without the vaccination, and without the lockdown and without the other measures that are in place, this would have been much higher rates of illness, hospitalisation and death up to now. And that hasn’t been the case.
Updated
The national cabinet also agreed to “put together a nationally consistent reporting framework on women’s economic security measures”, says Morrison.
Morrison says the solicitor general advised it is unlikely a person could argue they were discriminated against because they were unvaccinated:
It would be unlikely that a person being vaccinated or unvaccinated would be related to whether they are of a particular gender or a particular disability or a particular race or something like that. These are the matters as indicated to us that would have to be considered in making that judgment. Not having a vaccine is not a disability.
Updated
Morrison outlines some situations where employers might make such rules for their workers mandating a vaccine:
People like airline workers, where they are coming in contact with people carrying the virus. The second are those who may be working with people who are vulnerable, and consideration are given to aged care workers and others who are coming into close contact with those who are vulnerable and it may be that the business would take a decision in that respect, and the third tier of those who are in that position are those who may be public-facing in their day – public retail, supermarkets, essential occupations where there is a lot of contact.
But he notes the courts will determine if such requirements are lawful:
Again, these are all legal decisions that have to pass a reasonable test and ultimately decided by the courts, and employers need to consider those matters very carefully if they are looking to make directions of that nature.
Updated
Morrison says on this:
The advice makes clear that there are matters regarding discrimination law and unreasonableness of any direction made to an employee and that reasonableness goes over four tiers and all of this is explained through the Fair Work advice, which is available on the Fair Work website. Ultimately employers need to consider these matters and make their own decisions, remembering we do not have a mandatory vaccination policy in this country.
Updated
Morrison says he asked the solicitor general to address national cabinet to discuss the issue of employers seeking to require employees to have vaccines:
Similarly, if a business establishment may seek to deny access to a premise or service in relation to people who are vaccinated or not vaccinated. It is not the intention of the commonwealth nor of the states and territories to create any special laws in these areas. The only area where that has occurred to date has been public health orders around quarantine workers.
Updated
Morrison says there won’t be a ramp up on the use of rapid antigen testing for now.
That is because:
While you’re in the suppression phase, knowing who has that and where they have been and who they have been with and having to follow that up and isolating close contacts is a very important part of the public health response to the outbreak.
For now, they will be continue to be used in a targeted way.
Updated
National cabinet signs off on pandemic plan
Morrison says the national cabinet has fully agreed to the plan he unveiled last week setting vaccination targets:
The premiers and chief ministers fully agreed to the national program that they announced last Friday at the Lodge after the meeting last week.
Today, we also agreed for further work to be done by the Doherty Institute, and with further follow-up work that has to be done to support the states and territories and the commonwealth as we prepare to move into phase B.
Updated
Morrison has started speaking just now.
He says there were 240,000 vaccines delivered today, a “significant landmark”.
“The national vaccination program in Australia has certainly turned a corner,” he says.
Scott Morrison will hold a post-national cabinet press conference at 4.40pm.
We’ll bring that to you live.
Updated
David Gillespie, the regional health minister, is on the ABC with Patricia Karvelas.
Asked if the decision to divert vaccines from the regions to Sydney was a mistake, he says there is “no black-and-white answer”.
Asked if he would have made a different decision, he says:
Look, I don’t want to second-guess them. I can follow their logic. I would have preferred it going the way it was going and there are pros and cons both ways but can you imagine, now that they all have a flexible system for trials and the HSC and having them at home, that is a good, additional solution. Getting more vaccines into the epidemic area, the central area in Sydney, is a good idea.
Asked if it showed a city bias, he said:
I don’t think it is a bias. It is a bias towards where the epidemic was raging, south-west Sydney.
Updated
Angelene Falk has been reappointed as Australian Information Commissioner and Privacy Commissioner for a period of three years.
The reappointment was announced just now in a statement by the attorney-general, Michaelia Cash.
Cash said:
Under Ms Falk’s leadership, the OAIC has launched its first civil penalty proceedings for an interference with privacy, implemented the Consumer Data Right privacy safeguards, increased international regulatory cooperation and provided guidance on a range of privacy issues that have emerged throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On behalf of the Australian Government, I congratulate Ms Falk on her reappointment and thank her for her tireless work in these important roles.
Ben Butler has this story on News Corp’s financial results.
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has swung back into profit this year after a horror loss last year driven by the plunging value of its troubled Foxtel pay TV business and falling newspaper revenue.
The WA Department of Health is urging people in Broome to get tested if they have Covid-19 symptoms after the state’s wastewater surveillance program detected weak traces of the virus in the area.
The department said it did not necessarily indicate a positive case in the community.
“However, people (regardless of age) with even the mildest of symptoms are asked to get tested as soon as possible as a precaution,” a statement read.
MPs from across the political divide want tighter controls on the federal government’s proposed hacking powers, reports AAP.
The Morrison government wants to give the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission and federal police greater reach to combat online crime.
They could conduct data disruption, intelligence gathering and account takeovers using three new warrants.
A cross-party parliamentary intelligence committee looking into the legislation has called for greater oversight of the proposed powers.
Committee chair James Paterson says the committee supports additional safeguards “to ensure the community has confidence that these powers are only used for their intended purpose”.
Among the committee’s 34 recommendations is a requirement for a supreme or federal court judge to sign off on warrants.
An exception would allow a lower-ranking judicial officer to sign off on time-sensitive account takeovers.
Privacy, financial and journalistic consequences would be among the issues requiring consideration.
The committee also wants the beefed up powers reserved for more egregious offences including child exploitation, human trafficking, money laundering, cybercrime and serious drug and weapons crime.
The powers would be reviewed by the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor after three years and the security committee after four.
A five-year sunset clause would also apply.
Groups including the Communications Alliance were pleased about the push for greater oversight.
The Human Rights Law Council urged the government to heed bipartisan recommendations for greater scrutiny.
Updated
Tasmania will tighten its border processes after the island state’s coronavirus-free run was broken by a NSW traveller who tested positive while in hotel quarantine, reports AAP.
The 31-year-old man, who arrived in Tasmania without an entry pass, returned a positive test on Thursday but had already left quarantine and flown back to NSW the day prior.
The premier, Peter Gutwein, said the state would no longer allow people to leave quarantine while they had a test pending.
It beggars belief that this individual would enter our quarantine facility, be tested and then take that opportunity to leave.
In future that will not be able to occur.
The man touched down at Launceston in Tasmania’s north on Monday after flying via Melbourne and was ordered straight into hotel quarantine.
Gutwein said the man would have been turned around but there were no direct flights to Sydney for two days.
Updated
NT questions federal government on vaccine data
The Northern Territory has disputed the federal government’s new method for calculating Covid-19 vaccination rates, reports AAP.
The new system has seen Territory vaccination rates fall by about 7% for first doses and six per cent for second doses.
It’s not fair or accurate, says police, fire and emergency services minister Nicole Manison.
Under the new system, 82,018 people or 43.04% of the eligible population aged 16 or over have been given their first jab.
And 48,979 people or 25.7% are fully vaccinated, according to the Commonwealth health department on Friday.
But the NT says the figures are wrong.
The actual number of eligible Territorians who have been given their first dose is 96,077 or 50.4% of people aged 16 or older, with 59,820 or 31.3% fully vaccinated.
“We believe the way we are reporting it is the best, most transparent and accurate way to report how vaccines are tracking,” Manison said.
The Commonwealth’s new method uses the address of each person vaccinated as identified on their Medicare card.
However the NT is counting the actual number of people jabbed as a percentage of the 190,571 eligible people the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates is in the NT.
It’s the same method the Commonwealth was using until the recent change, which is understood to have happened between July 25 and August 1.
The high proportion of transient residents who live and work in the NT but have an address in another state listed on their myGov online accounts has caused the disparity, a Commonwealth health department spokesman said.
NT Health minister Nicole Fyles said it’s unclear why the federal government introduced the new method.
Updated
Wangaratta Mayor Dean Rees says Jeroen Weimar has spoken with councils CEO and confirmed an error was made during yesterday’s press conference. COVID has not been detected in local sewage. No public correction will be made. @abcmelbourne @abcnews
— Mikaela Ortolan (@mikaelaortolann) August 6, 2021
This is a sports story but I’m going to share it here as I think it’s important.
The Adelaide Crows veteran Taylor Walker has accepted a six-game AFL ban for uttering a racist remark about a rival reserves player and apologised for his “shameful” behaviour, reports AAP.
The former Crows captain will sit out the last three games of this season, including Saturday night’s Showdown against Port Adelaide, after a meeting with AFL and North Adelaide player Robbie Young on Thursday.
The 31-year-old will not be available for selection for the first three rounds of the 2022 season either.
Walker used a racist slur about Young during a SANFL game on 17 July, saying there is no excuse for his “unacceptable” words.
Walker was a spectator at the match between Adelaide and North Adelaide when a Crows official overheard a comment and reported the incident to the club, who then referred it to the AFL.
Conciliation was held in Adelaide on Thursday involving Walker, Young, the club official and the AFL, leading to the suspension and the apology.
As well as the six-match ban, it was also decided Walker would make a $20,000 donation to an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander program in South Australia.
“There is no excuse or justification for the words I said,” Walker said.
Updated
This is a disturbing story from Calla Wahlquist:
More than 35 horses have been shot dead in outback Queensland in what police have described as a “horrific” scene.
A Victorian man has been rescued from the roof of his car after attempting to cross floodwaters in the state’s south west, reports AAP.
Mt Emu Creek, near Terang, broke its bank overnight.
A 42-year-old man was driving his car near Bend Road in Cobrico when he attempted to cross “fast-flowing floodwaters” just after 10pm on Thursday.
The car was then taken 80 metres downstream before stopping on a tree.
Water poured through the car’s windows, with the man forced to stand on the roof of his vehicle.
In dark and dangerous conditions, Victoria State Emergency Service volunteers used a boat to get to the man and managed to safely rescue him.
The man did not suffer from any injuries in the incident.
Updated
No new cases in the ACT
ACT COVID-19 update
— Andrew Barr MLA (@ABarrMLA) August 6, 2021
Friday 6 August
▪️ Cases today: 0
▪️ Active cases: 0
▪️ Total cases: 124
▪️ Recovered: 121
▪️ Lives lost: 3
▪️ Test results (past 24 hours): 1,043
▪️ Negative tests: 276,533
▪️ Total ACT Gov administered vaccinations: 149,709
ℹ️ https://t.co/VhB7JOuITl pic.twitter.com/UheWAP1thn
The WA police commissioner, Chris Dawson, has been summoned to face the state’s Industrial Relations Commission on Friday over his decision to require unvaccinated staff to wear face masks at all times while working, reports AAP.
The edict comes into effect from next week, affecting any employee who has not received at least one vaccine dose.
Dawson will face a conference hearing with WA’s Civil Service Association.
The state’s police union has said it won’t accept its members being discriminated against and questioned whether the force has the legal right to demand officers produce medical certificates to prove exemptions.
Dawson last week said virtually all frontline officers were vaccinated but almost a third of other employees hadn’t been jabbed.
The premier, Mark McGowan, backed Dawson, who has also played a key role in pandemic decision-making as the state emergency coordinator.
Updated
It’s Luke Henriques-Gomes here, I’ll take you through the afternoon. Thanks to Mostafa for his work this morning.
We should be hearing from the prime minister later today following national cabinet, which will meet shortly.
I’ll bring you that – and all the rest of the day’s news – as it comes to hand.
Updated
And with that, my time on the blog today has come to an end, I’m handing it over to the excellent Luke Henriques-Gomes for the rest of the day. Thanks for reading!
Need something to get your mind off the fact that much of the country’s east coast is in lockdown?
Well, the Australian beach volleyball team is in a tense gold-medal match with the American team, and you can keep up with the action at our live blog:
⚠️New information received. If you were at Charlestown Square on 29 July between 3pm - 6pm, you are a casual contact. Get tested. Isolate until negative result received
— HNE Health (@HNEHealth) August 6, 2021
If you visited the below stores at these times, you are now a close contact. Get tested. Isolate for 14 days pic.twitter.com/Adbg7N28MK
No new cases in WA
No new cases have been recorded in Western Australia overnight, which is a relief after a FIFO worker tested positive earlier this week.
The man has 1,554 casual contacts with more than 200 of them have testing negative so far. The man is still in quarantine after he recorded both a weak positive and a negative result.
Updated
We have some breathing room between press conferences right now, so I’d like to highlight another story from Naaman Zhao, this time on a report that shows the lack of diversity in state parliaments.
A 2018 report from the Australian Human Rights Commission shows that only 10% of Victorian state MPs and 9% of NSW MPs have non-European ancestry, not including Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander ancestry.
This is far lower than comparable state or sub-national parliaments in the UK or Canada, according to Osmond Chiu, a research fellow at the Per Capita thinktank.
You can read more on the story here:
Updated
We are due to hear a Tasmanian Covid update at 1pm.
Updated
One thing I’d like to highlight, looking back at the NSW Covid update, was the premier foreshadowing higher case numbers in the coming days:
I do want to foreshadow that, given this high number of cases, we’re likely to see this trend continue for the – likely to see this trend continue for the next few days. I do want people to prepare themselves for higher case numbers in the next few days, based on the trend in the last few days. I expect higher case numbers in the next few days and I want people to be prepared for that.
We are in the 43rd (I think?) day of this lockdown in NSW, with little indication things are getting better.
Updated
And just on time, we have a visualisation of the outbreak in NSW:
Victoria’s Covid-19 testing commander, Jeroen Weimar, says: “We’re fed up, we’re tired, we’ve all had enough of these lockdowns.
“But we know that it works. Please support one another and those who are doing the hard yards and making difficult decisions ... please support those around you and look out for them.”
Round three of the business costs assistance program is being announced by industry support minister Martin Pakula.
A new $400m jointly funded package from the commonwealth and Victorian governments will give Victorian small and medium businesses extra support.
Commonwealth and Victorian governments will provide automatic payments to almost 100,000 eligible businesses, including sole traders, to ensure funds are distributed quickly. Further hardship funds will be made available to eligible businesses that do not qualify for existing programs.
The new package follows the $400m commonwealth-state package announced last week.
“We’ll make a further round of support under the Alpine business support program of grants between $5,000 and $20,000 that’ll support 430 Alpine businesses, again, in recognition of the specific impact of restrictions during the short paid winter season,” Pakula said.
“And I’d finally indicate that in regards to the commonwealth disaster payments we are awaiting a hotspot declaration from the commonwealth, we believe that will apply to Greater Melbourne, and those payments will be $450 for eight to 20 hours, and $750 for over 20 hours, administered through Services Australia.
“And as before, for those payments, outside the hotspot declaration will be funded by the state. And for those within the hotspot declaration that will be funded by the commonwealth. Many many Victorian, small businesses and individuals have already applied for that payment. And that will be newly available as a consequence of this latest circuit breaker lockdown.”
Updated
OK, deep breaths, the NSW presser is now over, lots to think about.
I can still hear Berejiklian’s characteristic “please know” ringing in my ears.
Updated
Victoria’s health minister, Martin Foley, says a man with the virus flew from Sydney to Melbourne on the 2nd of August, and then on from Melbourne to Launceston on the same day. He did not know he was a positive case at the time.
“These flights are listed as tier one exposure sites on the Department of Health website,” he said.
“If you’re on these flights, you need to isolate for 14 days, and of course to get tested immediately. The advice is that the positive case entered Melbourne on a valid transit purpose. He was escorted to his transiting flight by the public health compliance team wearing the appropriate PPE for their protection. The staff are now having to be furloughed, and are being tested and isolating. As a precaution, my understanding is the person from Sydney was detained in Launceston and tested as part of their arrangements, sent back to Sydney and his positive case became apparent after he’d already left Tasmania, on the direct flight to Sydney.
“Adding all of this together, Victoria is in a precarious position. When it comes to where this particular series of outbreaks are at the moment it is in all of our hands to continue to work together to work with our public health teams to get on top of and ahead of this particular outbreak.
“We have many lines of inquiry actively underway as to where these new cases have been and what further exposure sites which continue to become apparent as they come to head.”
Updated
Now, we’re discussing a potential “ring of steel” (or, apparently, “wall of hope” – who’s been saying that? I have got no clue) around Sydney, to prevent further infections in the regions, but the premier is unmoved:
There are already police out there in large numbers supported by the ADF, there is an enormous compliance, we have to tighten the rules as much as we can without limiting basic services that people need to receive but let me be very clear: Delta doesn’t understand borders, doesn’t understand boundaries.
We are dealing with a different strain, and unless you have literally a police officer outside every single household in New South Wales or on every single road, a ring of steel does not prevent Delta from seeping
out.
Updated
OK, this presser is getting a little spicy. Berejiklian is just asked if the state has abandoned a “Covid zero” policy as the numbers keep rising.
The premier darted around the question, but essentially said that the focus right now is on vaccinations:
I think it is a challenge for us to live with Covid without those high vaccination rates and we do have the harshest lockdown, especially in those eight local government areas, but we have never dealt with Delta in the way we have had to deal with now. That is the one difference. We do have the harshest lockdown but you can’t compare the results to any other lockdown because that wasn’t with Delta variant.
This is very different, I would be medically incorrect if I said it was a different disease, but it is definitely a far different disease that we have seen, a different strain. It is doing things that other strains didn’t do, it is highly contagious and ways we have not seen before and therefore we have to deal with that in a different way.
Fortunately we have an additional tool we did not have a year ago and that is a vaccine. We know that it works and reduces how contagious people are. It really makes sure people are staying out of hospital, and imagine if we didn’t have the vaccine.
As tragic as every single death is, but imagine if people had not been vaccinated with at least one dose, how many more people would be in hospital or intensive care now. The numbers are always tragic but they would have been far, far worse even if we hadn’t had that level of vaccination.
Updated
My colleague Anne Davies is at the NSW presser and has just asked the premier what she thinks of employers insisting on vaccinations:
Workplaces have the right to mandate vaccination. If they decide they have a particular policy of who is allowed to work in their workplace under a pandemic during a lockdown, that is a matter for them.
Updated
The Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, is up, and says what the department of health announced on Twitter earlier: there were six new locally acquired cases from yesterday, four announced today, and zero new cases from overseas travellers.
Two of the new cases were announced yesterday.
Three cases announced today are linked to the Hobsons Bay outbreak. The other cases are linked to the City of Maribyrnong community outbreak.
“One of these is the housemate of the index case,” Foley said. “The housemate is a cleaner, and the public health team are investigating the movements of that person.
“I can confirm that he worked at the Epworth hospital in Richmond, as a cleaner in the administration area, not in the wards, and we’re working with that hospital to assess who he may have come in contact with.
“The other two related cases are close contacts that live in a different household to the index case, one of these attends the Warringa Park specialist school, a particularly important school that looks after some of our most vulnerable kids.”
This person was likely infectious while at the school, he said.
Six people remain in hospital with two in the ICU. Both of those ICU cases are on a ventilator.
There were 29,631 tests yesterday and 18,901 people vaccinated.
Updated
Twelve staff members at KFC Punchbowl have tested positive
Twelve staff members at the KFC in Sydney’s south-west have tested positive, with authorities telling anyone who has attended the venue, at 1323/1325 Canterbury Road, between Tuesday 27 July to Monday 2 August, they must get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.
Updated
Once again journalists are asking whether more restrictions should be introduced to the eight LGAs facing the toughest restrictions in the country, even though authorities and experts have said there is no evidence greater restrictions will work.
Now they are asked whether KFC and Bunnings should be closed. Chant said it was about balance:
This is about a balance of access to food and other things that people need. I think my major point would be that you minimise your exposure in those settings, minimise your shopping.
You should be out of your house for the minimal time and please don’t go out unnecessarily, and don’t use shopping as a social event in any way.
Updated
Chant is now asked a question by a journalist saying the woman who died today said she was put into a ward at Liverpool Hospital, and was unsure why Covid patients were put there.
Chant said she understood that the woman was infected by a health worker who worked across wards:
My understanding is that they won’t have Covid patients put in that ward. But can I be clear that we know, sadly, the lady was exposed by a health worker who worked across wards, the aged care ward and the ward this woman was on.
As indicated, there are a large number of people impacted by that. I extend my apologies and sympathies to the family, but we know how the transmission occurred. How the exposure happened. Again, my apologies to the family.
Updated
With nearly 300 cases a day now, Berejiklian is asked if contact tracers have reached their capacity:
Our contact tracing teams have been boosted by several hundred people, including ADF support, but the resources are there.
That is why we ask people to be patient. If we need further resources we will make sure it happens, but there is no doubt that the more cases you have, the more the challenge.
Updated
Berejiklian has just given a long-winded answer to whether or not those HSC students in the eight LGAs will be at a disadvantage compared to the students in the rest of the state:
Education and Health have been working together to make sure that no student sitting the HSC, whether they live in New South Wales, will be disadvantaged, which is why we will be giving those students in those eight local areas the opportunity to get the vaccine from Monday next week. It is a policy we strongly support.
We hope students and families will have conversations and make sure they provide the opportunity for the student to come forward and get vaccinated.
It is important because we know it is a requirement that they have to set a public examination for HSC. We want to make sure that in those areas where we know the virus is particularly prevalent that every student has the ability to be vaccinated, to make sure by the time of the exams come around there is no question about spreading the virus. This is really important.
Not much comfort there.
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Hazzard is asked if the health system is being overwhelmed:
The health system is under stress, as you would expect, because there are a number of cases that are coming into our hospitals and our patients are being cared for, but they want to thank our nurses, our doctors, our cleaners, administrative staff who are there every day putting themselves at the frontline to keep us all safe. And I would just say again to people who might want to walk into our hospitals, if you do have Covid symptoms, cough, cold, temperature, anything that you think might be Covid, ring ahead and let them know that you are coming in so that they can keep themselves safe.
We have to keep our health staff safe so you can be safe. But certainly, anybody who thinks the health system in any country where we have a Delta variant is not under stress is kidding themselves. Of course it is under stress but our health professionals are doing a great job.
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As per usual, health minister Brad Hazzard has given his colourful daily take, today urging HSC students to “go for gold” in getting the Pfizer vaccine, and then listed off all the “stars” who have performed at the Qudos Arena, where the pop-up hub will be set up:
We’ve seen our Olympic stars go for gold, we’ve seen the most amazing stars in the Qudos Bank Arena, I think there has been Lana Del Rey, Keith Urban, Pink, Madonna, you have a chance to go to that stadium next week and get some gold by getting your first vaccination, your first Pfizer vaccination.
This is your big chance to really go for gold. You are getting an opportunity that so many others haven’t yet managed to achieve and is there to light up your future by having your safety and security looked after.
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Chant announces another death in NSW
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant has also stepped up, and announced details around another death in NSW:
A woman in her 60s from south-western Sydney died at Liverpool hospital. She tested positive for Covid on July 29 and she was not vaccinated. She acquired her infection in Liverpool hospital and that was a transmission in the hospital.
Can I personally extend my sympathies to her loved ones, it must be a very challenging time for them.
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Greater police presence in Canterbury-Bankstown area
Berejiklian has also announced that the Canterbury-Bankstown LGA (right next door to where I live) is persistently seeing case numbers grow, prompting a greater police presence to enforce compliance:
The Canterbury-Bankstown local government area is proving to be the area where cases are increasing the most, so all the suburbs and the Canterbury-Bankstown area really need to be on extra alert.
There will be more police on the ground, we are seeing too many people frequent certain shopping areas and perhaps not doing the right thing, so police will be more present in the Canterbury-Bankstown local area to ensure compliance and we have to make sure that happens, because we don’t want to see these case numbers continue to grow into the next few weeks.
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HSC students in eight LGAs to be offered Pfizer
Back to NSW, and Berejiklian has announced a “flexible” model for HSC students that will include the opportunity for students from the eight LGAs of concern to get the Pfizer vaccination:
The students who live in those eight local government areas of concern will not be able to have any face-to-face time for the foreseeable future until otherwise advised, however, in areas outside of those local government areas, there will be a flexible model for HSC students, if you need to go into the classroom for whatever reason in order to pick up material or do some face-to-face exams or whatever is required.
Trails will be done at home and at least it means that there is certainty and all students know they will qualify for the HSC but also, obviously, importantly, from Monday next week, HSC students in those eight local government areas will be invited to get the Pfizer jab, and most of those students are between the ages of 16 and 18 years of age and we do encourage your student to make sure they come forward for that opportunity.
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Just a quick aside, the Victorian Covid update is due at 11.20am.
Berejiklian has attempted to add some good news to the update, saying that on Wednesday NSW recorded 84,000 vaccinations.
NSW records 291 cases
New South Wales has recorded 291 cases to 8pm yesterday, with at least 50 cases infectious in community.
Here we go, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has stepped up to give a Covid update.
Victoria police have announced they have taken action against 31 anti-lockdown protesters from last night.
Victoria police north-west metro assistant commissioner Luke Cornelius told reporters enforcement action has been taken against people who attended the protest in Melbourne’s CBD.
Cornelius mentioned three particular incidents, including the assault of an officer who had been pushed to the ground.
“I have to say kicking a police officer while he is down is a dog act,” he said.
Police are also looking at the release of a flare and damage done to a police vehicle.
“It was certainly volatile last night,” Cornelius said. “The protestors we saw last night were similar in terms of the mix of people we saw protesting in the city the weekend before last.
“Yes, of course there were concerned mums and dads, business owners who are very concerned about how the lockout is impacting their lives, how lockdowns impacted businesses, but there is absolutely a hardcore element of people who see this as an opportunity to pick a fight with police.”
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We are once again expecting NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian to give a Covid update at 11am.
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OK, so, press conference one is out of the way. Looking forward to the next couple.
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So, Young is also asked about whether she thinks her advice against the use of AstraZeneca for young people has led to an increase in hesitancy:
The Atagi advice is exceptionally clear and I have always followed it. Originally, it was available for anyone down to aged 18. Then it was restricted, or the actual words that Atagi used, is that they preferred people under 50 did not get AstraZeneca, but instead got Pfizer, so I went out, I am over 50, I went out and got AstraZeneca.
Then Atagi changed their advice again because they are exceptionally good at what they do. They monitored the information from across the world every single day, so they change their advice to say anyone under the age of 60. It was preferred that they hadn’t had one dose, that they go and have Pfizer in preference to AstraZeneca.
Then, when we started seeing, in particular the outbreak in Sydney continue to escalate, Atagi reviewed their advice again and said, for those people in an outbreak area under 60 should talk to their GP and consider whether their circumstances, their own personal circumstances, meant that they should consider getting AstraZeneca.
That is what I say. I actually do firmly believe Atagi are the experts in Australia. They are very, very good at their job.
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Young has been asked if she thinks mask mandates, in some form or another, will be around until Christmas:
It is possible, yes.
Masks are just so critical with this Delta variant, they really and truly are, and it is an issue that if we want to try and avoid lockdowns, we are going to have to get used to wearing masks.
Hopefully it won’t be through till Christmas but it could be.
So the deputy premier was just asked if the Gold Coast was being “punished” because authorities are concerned people will “sneak out” of Brisbane to head there:
We spoke about it yesterday. What we have emphasised is that the Gold Coast has been included in this lockdown both because one of the originating cases of the outbreak was treated at Gold Coast University Hospital, and because there were exposure sites on the Gold Coast.
The Gold Coast is part of an area that runs from the border to the coast. It is difficult to put borders in place between the southern local government areas that are part of Brisbane, largely considered that way, and the Gold Coast. There are lots of roads between them. It would be challenging to enforce movement restrictions there so that would be a consideration.
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Queensland’s health minister, Yvette D’Ath, has welcomed news of a “surge” in vaccination rates:
It is wonderful to keep hearing news that our GPs are seeing a surge on people wanting to come forward and talk to their GPs about getting vaccinated and we strongly encourage them to do that.
Of course, great news, we will see community pharmacies in south-east Queensland starting to come online today.
I’m very pleased to say that shortly after this press conference, I will be going to one of those pharmacies to get my second dose of AstraZeneca.
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Dr Jeannette Young was just asked directly if she thinks the lockdown will lift on Sunday, and she said it “depends”:
I’d doubt it will be before Sunday. I will want to see the numbers on Sunday morning. It is just too quick. We’ve only had the lockdown for eight days. I will need every single one of those days to be able to work through when and if we should lift that lockdown on Sunday afternoon.
She says there will be restrictions post-lockdown, but is still unsure how those will look.
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Queensland CHO Dr Jeannette Young has said the state is “not there yet” but that the news was encouraging:
This is very encouraging news that we only have those 10 cases, five of them are children, five of them are adults. They were all in quarantine at the time, they were all household contacts, and just those two people had each had one day infectious in the community while the community was in lockdown so that is all very reassuring but we got to keep it up for the next few days, we are not there yet.
With Delta, we know that it is when people are breathing and interact in, and it can take only seconds for that transmission to happen, so please, just keep wearing masks, keep coming forward and getting tested, use that QR code so that if we do have any case we can very rapidly get hold of everyone and get everyone into quarantine.
It’s those things that will keep us safe and enable us, hopefully, and I’d genuinely am hopeful that we will be able to lift this on Sunday, but if we don’t do all those things that will make it really difficult to lift Sunday and then, going forward, we are going to have to be incredibly cautious.
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Ten new cases recorded in Queensland
Queensland has recorded 10 new locally acquired cases, two of which were infectious in community.
The deputy premier, Steven Miles, said all the cases are household contacts that are linked to the Indooroopilly Delta cluster.
Five cases are household contacts of Ironside state school cases, three are household contacts of Indooroopilly state high school, and two are household contacts of Brisbane boys grammar school cases.
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And the QLD presser has begun.
The Sydney Morning Herald is also reporting that the NSW government has abandoned plans for HSC students in hotspot areas to return to school.
The report says all HSC trials will be completed at home across Sydney, and that only small groups of students will be allowed in school from 16 August.
I’m sure this will come up at the press conference today, so we’ll bring you more as it comes in.
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It appears the NRL will not be mandating vaccinations, after commission chairman Peter V’landys said it would no be compulsory for NRL players.
Speaking on 2GB this morning, V’landys said the league “certainly won’t” be mandating vaccines for its players, but he would be “very happy” if they reach a coverage rate of over 99%.
Players have got freedoms and liberties and religious beliefs so it’s a bit had to have a blanket policy on everyone.
Although, last year when we had the flu vaccination, 99% of our players vaccinated voluntarily, only 1% didn’t.
The problem that players are going to have is travelling between states and into other countries if you don’t vaccinate. So that’s the concern, if I was a player that didn’t want to vaccinate.
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Hearing Year 12 will not go back in 8 “hot spot” LGA’s on August 16 as planned. Schools being asked to conduct trial exams at home. @9NewsAUS
— Chris O'Keefe (@cokeefe9) August 5, 2021
Sydney’s Downing Centre courthouse complex will be shutdown for cleaning today, after a potential Covid exposure.
The Law Society of NSW says all matters today will be adjourned to Friday 20 August, and any urgent bail applications should be redirected to Central Local Court.
And the press conference announcements have begun, with Queensland out of the gates first, their update is due at 10am:
Queensland's #COVID19 update will be at 10am today. Please tune in for the latest information.
— Yvette D'Ath MP (@YvetteDAth) August 5, 2021
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp has swung back into profit this year after a horror loss last year that was driven by the plunging value of its troubled Foxtel pay TV business and falling newspaper revenue.
The company declared a profit of US$330m for the year to the end of June, compared to a loss of US$1.26bn last year.
Chief executive Robert Thomson said content deals struck with Google and Facebook would significantly boost News’ revenue.
“These deals, which are confidential, will add revenue annually into nine figures and are a profoundly positive sign of the ongoing transformation of the news landscape,” he said.
News said revenue was up 4% for the year, fuelled by a 31% increase in revenue from real estate ads – it owns US property sites including realtor.com and a majority stake in REA Group, the operator of Australia’s realestate.com.au – and a 10% increase from higher subscriptions to streaming services including sports offering Kayo.
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And just on time, my colleagues have updated our charts on the Victorian outbreak:
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In another extraordinary story that broke overnight, Australians who live overseas will now be unable to leave the country if they return for a visit.
The federal government quietly expanded its ban on citizens leaving the country, and expanded the rule to include people who are ordinarily residents in another country.
My colleague Naaman Zhao spoke to an expert who said the change would unfairly affect Australians from multicultural backgrounds and could be constitutionally invalid.
You can read more on the story here:
A year 6 student at Heathdale Christian College in Werribee, in Melbourne, is among the positive cases in Victoria today.
Parents were informed in the early hours of the morning, via a Facebook post, that the school had closed its main campus, as well as a second campus in Melton.
“Students and teachers in years five and six and their households must continue to quarantine for 14 days even if they test negative and will be contacted by the public health unit or Department,” the school wrote on their Facebook page.
The positive case attended school from Tuesday to Thursday this week, with all students across both campuses told to isolate and wait for a negative result.
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Four new cases in Victoria
Victoria has recorded four new cases overnight on top of the two reported yesterday, all linked to previously reported cases, but were not in quarantine for their infectious period.
Reported yesterday: 6 new local cases and 0 new cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 5, 2021
- 18,901 vaccine doses were administered
- 29,631 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/Vh0YKSQESC
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A tradie has been charged for faking a positive Covid result to get out of work. Yes, this is a real story.
NSW police say he allegedly sent a text to his boss on Monday morning, claiming he couldn’t come into work in Newcastle after testing positive, sending his employers into a scramble.
His co-workers were stood down and had to self-isolate, and several locations near his employment required deep cleaning.
He allegedly sent a second text later on Monday saying he returned a negative result.
He was arrested and charged yesterday, and will face court on Tuesday. Pretty pricey sickie, that one.
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The Hunter region is waking to its first full day of lockdown today, after a host of new cases were recorded yesterday, including in five school students.
Newcastle, Singleton, Port Stephens, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock are all under restrictions for at least one week.
Long queues are expected at testing clinics today, with the hopes that the network of testing sites will be able to keep up with the demand, after traffic and queues were also reported yesterday afternoon.
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There were many stories that broke yesterday, but perhaps one of the most important was a win by independent senator Rex Patrick in the administrative appeals tribunal which means documents from national cabinet can be accessed under the freedom of information regime.
The extraordinary win comes as Patrick argued that the prime minister had no right to extend cabinet confidentiality to his national cabinet meetings with state premiers and chief ministers.
It means documents like agendas and minutes will be available under FOI laws.
Justice Richard White found that because there was only one member of the Australian parliament in the national cabinet (the PM), it did not meet the definition of a committee of cabinet.
“A group which is not ‘of’ the cabinet will not be a committee of the cabinet,” his decision read.
You can read more on the win at our story here:
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So there were a whole host of new exposure sites announced by NSW Health yesterday, including:
- Auburn Family Medical Centre, 22/1 Civic Road, Auburn, on Saturday, July 31 between 8.45am and 2.15pm; and
- KFC Punchbowl, 1323/1325 Canterbury Road, Punchbowl, for all seven days from Tuesday, July 27 to Monday, August 2.
Anyone who attended these venues is now considered close contacts and must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of result.
There have been also been some casual contact locations listed, you can check them out here.
In Victoria, health authorities listed three new venues of concern, including two Virgin flights and a terminal:
- Flight VA808 from Sydney to Melbourne on Monday, August 2 between 7am and 8.35am; and
- Flight VA1364 from Melbourne to Launceston on Monday, August 2 between 10.35am and 11.42am.
Melbourne airport’s terminal 3 is also listed as a tier-3 exposure site for Monday, August 2 between 8.35am and 11.05am.
You can check out the full list of exposure sites at the link here.
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Good morning everyone, Mostafa Rachwani with you today, and I’ll be guiding you through the news (and the inevitable press conference overlap).
We start in Melbourne, which entered a snap seven-day lockdown yesterday after recording eight new cases. This is the sixth lockdown the city has faced since the pandemic began last year.
Frustrations spilled on to the street, with hundreds of people attending an anti-lockdown protest near Flinders Street station at around 7pm last night.
Flares were lit as the crowds chanted “freedom” and “no more lockdowns.” Here’s hoping it doesn’t lead to an extension of the lockdown.
New South Wales yesterday recorded its worst day of this outbreak, with 262 new infections, a majority of which were under the age of 40, and five deaths.
Queensland continues its lockdown, which is officially due to be lifted on Sunday, although with 16 cases recorded yesterday there is a sense it will be extended.
Finally, Australia is on the verge of recording its greatest ever gold medal tally at the Olympics. We’ve currently equalled our record tally, set in Athens, and one more gold would top us up. Here’s hoping for some good news today.
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