What happened today, Wednesday, 30 June 2021
We’ll leave it there for today.
Here are the main developments of the day:
- Alice Springs has entered a “critical” 72-hour lockdown as a precautionary measure after a man who worked at a Northern Territory mine transitioned through the town’s airport before testing positive for Covid-19 in South Australia.
- New South Wales recorded 22 new locally-acquired cases as multiple hospital wards in Sydney were locked down after a student nurse tested positive on Tuesday night.
- Meanwhile, the South Australian premier, Steven Marshall, said his state would not be going into lockdown after recording five new locally-acquired cases linked to the Tanami Desert mine in the NT.
- Western Australia recorded one new locally-acquired case – a 37-year-old male who was still being interviewed by the state’s contact tracing team.
- Queensland authorities say the state’s latest coronavirus outbreak has been traced to a hospital patient who was repeatedly allowed to travel to and from Indonesia for business, prompting accusations “the prime minister’s corporate mates” have been granted exemptions to cross the closed international border. The comments prompted a fierce rebuke from home affairs minister Karen Andrews, who said the Queensland government’s claim is “a smokescreen to hide the ineffectiveness” of its state quarantine.
- Multiple state governments have directly criticised the commonwealth’s new position on the AstraZeneca vaccine, with Queensland saying that it does “not want under 40s to get AstraZeneca” and Victoria accusing Scott Morrison of creating unnecessary confusion.
- Tasmania’s newly appointed Labor opposition leader, David O’Byrne, has stood down pending the party’s investigation of allegations he sexually harassed a woman more than a decade ago.
Have a pleasant evening and new financial year, and here’s to a better 2021-22!
Updated
At the NSW Covid update earlier today, it was announced that a 24-year-old student nurse had tested positive for Covid-19, which forced hospital wards at Fairfield and Royal North Shore hospitals into lockdown.
NSW Health have just clarified further details about this case, issuing an alert that the student was infectious for a five-day period from 24-28 June while working across the two hospitals.
The healthcare worker is now in isolation, with patients in the affected wards and those who have been discharged from those wards currently being notified and tested.
Those wards – the rehabilitation wards at Fairfield Hospital and a cardiology and general abdominal surgery ward at the Royal North Shore hospital – are not admitting any new patients.
More than 100 staff and patients have been identified as close contacts to date, with investigations and contact tracing ongoing.
NSW Health is contacting patients’ families who may have visited these wards and identified close contacts of this case to advise them of any action they need to take.
The Clean Energy Council has cancelled its annual Australian Clean Energy Summit, a big event for the renewable energy industry, due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
It was scheduled to be held in Sydney on 13-14 July. The industry group said it had explored every option to still hold the event but the uncertainty over whether it could go ahead had forced it to drop it and try again in 2022.
Another Sydney-based major conference, the Australasian Emissions Reduction Summit, has been delayed until mid-August. Hosted by the Carbon Market Institute, it was originally planned for late June.
Queensland authorities say the state’s latest coronavirus outbreak has been traced to a hospital patient who was repeatedly allowed to travel to and from Indonesia for business, prompting accusations “the prime minister’s corporate mates” have been granted exemptions to cross the closed international border.
You can read more about this here, in a story from Ben Smee and Amy Remeikis.
Today the Australian Border Force released a statement appearing to address some of the numbers of non-citizen and non-permanent resident arrivals referenced by state premiers.
In the statement, the ABF said “commentary stating that half of travellers arriving into Australia are non-citizens is misleading in the context of transmitting Covid-19 and taking quarantine places away from Australian citizens”.
Data from other sources such as the Australian Bureau of Statistics showing a high number of non-citizens arriving into Australia can only report on the passport used to enter Australia. It’s important to note that permanent residents and their immediate family members who are not Australian citizens will travel on foreign passports.
As previously stated, on average over 80% of international arrivals required to quarantine within the hotel quarantine caps are Australian citizens, permanent residents (PRs) or their immediate family.
The ABF also noted that hidden within the figures of foreign citizen arrivals are travellers from New Zealand who don’t have to quarantine.
Several reports have been combining international arrivals from New Zealand with arrivals from other countries and making the comparison that this high number is contributing to spread of Covid-19 and the lack of quarantine places for Australians however this is not the case.
The statement continued:
Between 25 March 2020 and 31 May 2021,156,507 Australian citizens and permanent residents have been given exemptions to depart Australia. During this same period, 84,031 requests from Australian citizens and permanent residents to leave Australia were denied.
From 20 March 2020 to 31 May 2021, 49,017 foreign nationals have had their inbound travel exemption request approved to travel to Australia. During this same period, 104,507 foreign nationals have had their inbound travel exemption request to travel to Australia denied. More than half of these approvals were for those proving a critical skill to Australia.
The ABF also addressed claims that “there have also been claims that thousands of people are leaving Australia and returning multiple times”.
However between 20 March 2020 and 20 April 2021, 13,762 Australians and permanent residents travelled to Australia on more than one occasion, this includes people who have legitimate reasons to undertake multiple trips, many of whom don’t take quarantine places from returning Australians.
These include:
- Arrivals from New Zealand within the Safe Travel Zone
- Members of the Australian Defence Force, medevac crew, and medical or security escorts
- “Positioning air crew” and crew returning to Australia as passengers after departing as active crew members
- Travel between mainland Australia and Christmas Island
Updated
@drvyom this table is very useful pic.twitter.com/qIwt3zMUPg
— Dr Virginia Hamilton -General practitioner Melb (@vmhamilton) June 30, 2021
The ACT government says it will not be giving AstraZeneca to anyone under 60 at its mass vaccination clinic.
A spokeswoman for the health minister, Rachel Stephen-Smith, told the Guardian that Scott Morrison’s comments on Monday do not change the expert medical advice, which is that Pfizer “is preferred over Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca from the age of 16 to under 60 years”.
The ACT says those aged under 40, for whom Pfizer is unavailable, are still able to approach GPs and discuss the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The ACT also revealed that Morrison had not discussed the timing of his comments on Monday with leaders during the national cabinet meeting.
The Prime Minister notified state and territory leaders that the Commonwealth Government was looking to implement indemnity insurance for GPs to administer AstraZeneca to people under 40 years.
This decision did not require National Cabinet approval as the rollout of the vaccine through the primary care network is the responsibility of the Commonwealth.
The Prime Minister did not discuss the timing of the announcement with leaders during the meeting.”
Updated
Deep-sea mining has been given the go-ahead to commence in two years, after the tiny Pacific island nation of Nauru notified the UN body governing the nascent industry of plans to start mining.
Triggering the so-called “two-year rule”, which some have called the nuclear option, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) now has two years to finalise regulations governing the controversial industry.
If it is unable to do so, the ISA is required to allow mining contractors to begin work under whatever regulations are in place at the time.
Read more:
Updated
Law enforcement across the country are cracking down on people violating lockdowns and mask mandates.
In New South Wales, police issued 59 penalty infringement notices, 213 cautions and three “specific Covid-19 related charges” in the last 24 hours to individuals and businesses.
The charges include two women who were detected more than 200km from their homes without a reasonable excuse to travel. Police allege they were on a holiday.
NSW police minister David Elliott said:
Now is not the time to flout the public health orders by going on a holiday. The safety of the community is the main priority of the NSW government and police will ensure people are making the right decisions in the community and on our roads.
There is absolutely no excuse for this type of behaviour and it is a slap in the face to the millions of people across the state who are abiding the orders and doing the right thing.”
Meanwhile, in Western Australia, police have charged a 56-year-old woman of no fixed address for failing to wear a face mask.
On Tuesday morning, police allege the woman was sitting on a bench in Perth without a mask, and when they approached her to explain the face mask rule and offered her a free mask, she refused to do so.
She was arrested, charged and refused bail. She appeared in Perth magistrates court today, and has been remanded in custody and is next due to appear in court on 5 July.
Updated
Tasmania opposition leader stands aside
David O’Byrne has announced he’s standing aside as leader of the Tasmania Labor opposition.
In announcing his decision, O’Byrne acknowledged media reports alleging historical behaviour which is now the subject of an investigation.
The ABC today reported that the Tasmanian Labor Party secretary had received a complaint alleging O’Byrne harassed a junior union employee more than a decade ago.
O’Byrne made the following statement.
While I have not yet received a copy of the complaint I believe it necessary to publicly respond to some of the matters reported today.
I acknowledge that my behaviour did not meet the standards I would expect of myself. I also acknowledge that I have let down my wife and family.
At the time of the reported events I genuinely believed the kiss and text exchanges to be consensual.
However I now understand that this was not the case. This matter has caused me to reflect deeply on the nature of consent and I have come to appreciate why the person concerned says our interaction was not consensual.
I have written to her to offer my unreserved apology for the unwanted contact and texts.
I genuinely thank her for having the strength to bring this issue to light and I also thank other woman (sic) who have advocated and spoken about their personal experiences to inform the current national conversation about consent.
I will be standing aside as Opposition Leader today for the duration of the investigation into this matter.”
O’Byrne was elected as the party’s leader earlier this month, after Rebecca White stood down following the party’s loss at the state election in May.
Labor Leader David O’Byrne announces he’s standing down as leader while an investigation into a complaint to the party is investigated. #politas pic.twitter.com/NphDmIaUbu
— Adam Langenberg (@AdamLangenberg) June 30, 2021
Updated
Here are today’s national vaccine numbers:
This daily infographic provides the total number of vaccine doses administered in Australia as of 29 June 2021. Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccine information here: https://t.co/lsM33j9wMW pic.twitter.com/NImZZUEqKt
— Australian Government Department of Health (@healthgovau) June 30, 2021
Earlier, Queensland’s chief health officer said she doesn’t want people aged under 40 to receive the AstraZeneca vaccine because she doesn’t want an 18-year-old in the state “dying from a clotting illness”.
The state reported three new community Covid cases on Wednesday – all known contacts of existing cases – on the first day of a snap lockdown.
The “good news” of the latest case numbers was followed by a barrage of criticisms of the federal government, led by the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, and a succession of state ministers.
They said the latest coronavirus outbreak has been traced to a hospital patient who was repeatedly allowed to travel to and from Indonesia for business, prompting accusations from deputy premier Steven Miles that “the prime minister’s corporate mates” have been granted exemptions to cross closed national borders.
The health minister, Yvette D’Ath, said some vaccination clinics in Queensland were now five days from running out of supply, but that requests for additional Pfizer doses had been rejected.
Read more:
Updated
Greg Hunt says no change to medical advice on AstraZeneca
Health minister Greg Hunt has defended his government’s decision to make the AstraZeneca Covid vaccine available to Australians under 40, insisting there is no change in the medical advice.
He says the medical advice that AstraZeneca is the preferred vaccine for Australians over 60 and Pfizer for everyone under 60 “continues to be the guiding light”.
Hunt said:
Critically what we’ve done is continue to follow the medical advice. And the medical advice from Atagi ... is that AstraZeneca is preferred for over 60s, that Pfizer is preferred for under 60s. But I think it is important to actually quote Atagi and just to provide the context.
Atagi’s advice is: Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca can be used in adults aged under 60 years of age for whom Pfizer is not available. The benefits are likely to outweigh the risks for that individual. And the person has made an informed decision based on an understanding of the risks and benefits.
I think the medical advice, and I have complete respect for all involved here, the medical advice has been clear.
Hunt was then asked if he thought it was contradictory that Scott Morrison would make an announcement encouraging people to talk to their doctors about getting the AstraZeneca given the health advice. He said:
It’s an important part of the national armoury and the advice remains very clear that AstraZeneca is preferred for the over 60, Pfizer is preferred for the under 60s and the Atagi advice as I have set out about informed consent is exactly what has been re-affirmed but that actually has been their advice throughout and that remains unchanged.
He added:
What we’ve done is simply acknowledged that existing informed consent position.
Updated
Karen Andrews fires back at Palaszczuk over travel exemptions
Home affairs minister Karen Andrews has hit back at state leaders, specifically Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, accusing them of questioning the Morrison government’s outward travel exemption process as a distraction from internal state failures.
Andrews is fired up at accusations the government is overly relaxed with allowing repeated international travel for some workers, and that this attitude has resulted in leaks from quarantine and community outbreaks.
She said figures quoted by state leaders about how many non-citizens or permanent residents were allowed to leave the country have been a “misrepresentation of Australians Bureau of Statistics” data.
Andrews insisted Border Force data confirmed that 80% of returning travellers from overseas are either Australian citizens, permanent residents, or immediate family members.
Clearly hotel quarantine is an effective method of quarantining travellers returning to this country. Quite frankly, what premier Palaszczuk and her deputy Stephen Miles are doing is trying to create a distraction from their own quarantine failures. The reason that we are in lockdown here, particularly in South East Queensland, but also in parts of northern Queensland, is because of failures by the Palaszczuk government.
Firstly, for the mine worker that came in from Bendigo, they were a low-risk individual, domestic traveller. They were put into hotel quarantine in a room between two high-risk international travellers. And it would appear that as a result of that, that individual has contracted Covid.
There is also the failure of premier Palaszczuk and her deputy premier Stephen Miles to make sure that health workers in high risk areas are properly vaccinated. And that has led to a young worker being infected with Covid.
So clearly what Annastacia Palaszczuk is doing is making sure that she is doing as much as she possibly can to ensure that she puts up a smokescreen to hide the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of quarantine that is administered and managed by the Queensland government.
Now, it is actually interesting to note that some days premier Palaszczuk and the Queensland state Labor government choose to push to have people enter this state. Particularly those people who are involved in film and television, who are involved in sports. But when they have their own failure that they can’t manage, they are very quick to jump up and down, try to blame the commonwealth government and then demand that borders be down or that caps be reduced.
Andrews also appeared to accuse Palaszczuk of holding a double standard on the issue, given she has indicated she might travel to the Tokyo Olympics this year as part of Queensland’s Olympic bid.
She’s arguing against her own travel to Tokyo. It will be interesting to see what Palaszczuk now has to say about whether or not she’s going to travel to Tokyo.”
While Andrews didn’t mention it, it’s important to note that the premiers of Western Australia and Victoria have also expressed concerns about the number of people being granted exemptions to travel overseas in recent days.
Updated
All 18 AFL clubs to be based in Victoria as SA teams relocate
In further AFL news, Adelaide and Port Adelaide will relocate to Victoria, meaning all 18 AFL clubs will be temporarily based in the state.
Despite the SA government deciding against a lockdown, the AFL has opted to move the Crows and the Power squads, who will fly out for Melbourne later on Wednesday afternoon.
Port’s clash with Hawthorn at Marvel Stadium on Saturday will go ahead as planned, but a new venue will need to be found for Adelaide’s game, previously scheduled for the Adelaide Oval, against the Brisbane Lions.
Updated
Tasmania’s premier Peter Gutwein is announcing some new Covid-control measures, in addition to entry bans for people entering his state from hotspots and areas under lockdown in other states.
He says there have been positive discussions with Hobart airport to ramp up health screening capability at the airport.
QR code check ins will be made mandatory for retail settings, including supermarkets and shopping centres.
Gutwein also announced his government has informed the AFL that his state cannot accommodate the possibility of relocating Saturday’s Fremantle vs Carlton game to Launceston given the public health advice.
Updated
Earlier today, Queensland’s leaders and chief health officer have told residents in the state to ignore the advice of prime minister, Scott Morrison, after he announced that the AstraZeneca vaccine would now be available to Australians under 40.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk rebuked Morrison over his AstraZeneca vaccine directive.
Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said she did not understand how the prime minister made the decision, which contradicts the directions of the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation.
Here are the highlights from that bizarre press conference.
Updated
You may have missed it amid the flurry of press conferences, but my colleague Matilda has finished on the blog for the day. Thanks for bringing us this morning’s updates Matilda.
You now have Elias Visontay with you, bringing you the news for the rest of the day. If you see something you think I should be aware of, you can contact me via email at elias.visontay@theguardian.com or via Twitter at @EliasVisontay.
Buckle up for more Covid updates throughout the afternoon.
And to all those celebrating tonight, happy financial new year’s eve!
The venue for Saturday’s AFL game between the Adelaide Crows and Brisbane Lions remains unclear after ticket sales were temporarily suspended on Wednesday morning pending further updates from SA’s health department. The match was scheduled to be played at Adelaide Oval.
It comes as the AFL scrambles to finalise its fixture one day out from the opening match of the week amid the worsening health situation across Australia.
Sixteen of the 18 clubs are now in Victoria after Brisbane, Gold Coast, West Coast and Fremantle arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday night due to lockdowns in Queensland and Perth.
In the NRL, North Queensland were forced to cancel this morning’s training session and three members of the club’s bubble were put in isolation.
One had become a close contact of a case over the weekend by attending Townsville Markets, and two others travelled to Magnetic Island, where the known case also frequented.
The club said none of the trio breached biosecurity protocols as the Cowboys were under level one restrictions at the time.
Updated
Victorian health minister says PM had 'rushed conversation' on AZ vaccine
Victorian health minister, Martin Foley, has criticised Scott Morrison for the current confusion over eligibility for the AstraZeneca vaccine.
The prime minister announced this week that people under 40 would be able to get the AstraZeneca vaccine if they wanted it after discussing it with their GP.
But the states say the decision was not agreed by national cabinet, and the Queensland health officer Jeannette Young today said she does not want people under 40 having the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Foley said the confusion was an “unfortunate reflection of the rushed conversation that the prime minister kicked off late on Monday night without talking to anyone”.
The last thing we need is confusion around vaccines. What we need is certainty and consistency and confidence in the vaccination program.
Foley said state officials had now been advised by the commonwealth of a “change of policy” and they would meet with federal officials to “understand what that might mean” for the practical delivery of the vaccine.
Asked about Young’s comments, Foley said he was not a chief health officer. He advised people to speak to their GPs and said the Victorian government would have more to say after discussions with the federal government.
That’s why we’re seeking clarification from the commonwealth about exactly what it is that the commonwealth is proposing and what benefits and what risks it poses.
Asked what Victoria’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, had advised the government on the matter, Foley pointed to Sutton’s comments from yesterday.
Foley said:
He indicated that provided that we go through appropriate processes, the AstraZeneca vaccine in certain circumstances , if you’re making informed judgment, is a very good vaccine.
Updated
Stepping away from Covid-19 developments for a moment, and reaction is rolling in to the Human Rights Watch research on academic freedom in Australia.
The 102-page report documents cases of students at Australian university campuses facing harassment and intimidation for criticising the Chinese Communist party or expressing support for democracy in Hong Kong or mainland China. Academics have also reported experiencing pressure and threats.
When contacted for a response, Labor’s education spokesperson, Tanya Plibersek, said:
One of the great benefits of an Australian university education should be that we can show students from around the world that freedom of thought, robust debate, and polite disagreement is healthy. It’s important that universities protect these freedoms.
The Chinese embassy in Canberra didn’t respond to the substance of the report, including testimony from students that “the fear of fellow students reporting on them to the Chinese consulate or embassy and the potential impact on loved ones in China led to stress, anxiety, and affected their daily activities”.
(The human rights body said it it had “verified three cases of students in which the police in China visited or asked to meet with their families regarding the student’s activities in Australia”.)
We asked the embassy to respond to the report and also asked it to explain what role it and consulates played in monitoring and passing back information about students’ activities in Australia.
The Chinese embassy’s media section issued a brief response to Guardian Australia that attacked the messenger. In a brief email, it said Human Rights Watch had “decayed into a political tool for the West to attack and smear developing countries”:
It is always biased on China. The relevant rubbish report is not worth commenting at all.
You can read our full story on this issue here:
Updated
That WA presser has now ended, but just a bit more about health advice for Indigenous communities.
Earlier, during the Northern Territory Covid update, the NT chief health officer Hugh Heggie addressed Indigenous communities in Alice Springs directly, noting advice “needs to be communicated to people who may not have English as their first language or a limited understanding of English”.
He briefly spoke in Arrernte and basically told people to stay home, and specifically names the Ampilawatj, Amoonguna and Urapuntja communities.
Updated
WA premier Mark McGowan has called for an ad campaign to address vaccine hesitancy within the Indigenous community.
McGowan said:
There is hesitancy amongst remote Aboriginal communities and we need to really target getting that hesitancy removed and getting Aboriginal people vaccinated. We know Aboriginal people, as we learnt in 1919 in the Spanish influenza outbreak, they are very vulnerable.
A campaign, a program to get regional Aboriginal people vaccinated is essential. I think it would be money well spent on a very, very large advertising campaign around Australia to encourage people to get vaccinated, particularly in regional WA and particularly in Aboriginal communities.
Updated
Mark McGowan has echoed calls for a “crackdown” on the number of travel exemptions granted to Australians going overseas for work reasons during the pandemic.
McGowan specifically said some fly-in, fly-out miners repeatedly travelling overseas for shifts should instead be working at mines in Australia.
He said there had been three new cases in his state’s hotel quarantine today who had arrived from South Africa and Zimbabwe.
What is occurring is a lot ofAustralians, and this is the Queensland example as well, a lot of Australians are going overseas for various reasons. Some of them are work related. As we know, Australians have been allowed to leave for conferences, for study and for work reasons. Tens of thousands, the best part of 100,000 have left Australia over the course of the last 18 months for those sorts of reasons. Some reasons are legitimate, but the vast majority of people going overseas, in my view, shouldn’t have.
They should stay home while there is a pandemic running wild around the world, because, inevitably, they want to come back. And when they come back, some of them will be positive and then they displace others who have been waiting overseas to get back, who didn’t go overseas in the last 18 months.
There is a real problem we face here – that too many people still are going overseas for various reasons. Our economy within Australia is incredibly strong ... It strikes me as odd that lots of people are going overseas for work in the middle of a pandemic to pandemic-ridden countries while we have skills shortages here in WA.
Certainly, for anyone going overseas, at this point in time, if there is a legitimate reason, they should be vaccinated before they go. That should be a minimum. I think we should crackdown on the number of Australians going overseas, keep it to a minimum until our community is vaccinated.”
McGowan said that under the current cap arrangement, WA accepts about 530 international arrivals per week into its quarantine system.
Updated
WA premier says under 40s shouldn't get AstraZeneca jab under health advice
WA premier Mark McGowan has said people under 40 receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine “shouldn’t happen”, according to the health advice, casting further doubt on Scott Morrison’s announcement that the younger cohort could access the jab.
Asked about the commonwealth opening access to AstraZeneca to under 40s, McGowan said the health advice had not changed.
It is a good question. What has occurred is the commonwealth have made a decision. We will allow for that, and indemnity for GPs for that. The advice is they shouldn’t.
The health advice from the chief health officer, indeed the national health advice from the Australian technical group on immunisation, otherwise known as Atagi, is that that shouldn’t happen. Clearly, we get different advice, I suppose, or have a different approach.
I can only advise what we have been advised by Atagi. They say it shouldn’t happen. There is a different approach by the commonwealth to that advice. With health advice, lots of doctors give you different advice at different points in time.
That is the advice we have and that is the national advice from the immunisation experts. Clearly, the commonwealth has taken a different approach.
Asked who was giving health advice to the prime minister, McGowan said: “I don’t know the answer to that”.
Updated
With that absolute marathon, I am passing the torch to the fantastic Elias Visontay.
See you all tomorrow. I wonder who will lock down next!
Updated
Aboriginal groups tell NT government to get rough sleepers off the streets
Aboriginal health, community and legal organisations say they are frustrated with the Northern Territory government’s “flawed” pandemic response, saying rough sleepers are still on the streets during a lockdown.
Top end Aboriginal services say they’re worried about the safety of more than a thousand rough sleepers, predominantly Aboriginal people, who are still on the streets.
The Danila Dilba Health service, Yilli Housing, Amsant (the Aboriginal medical services of the NT) and Naaja (the Aboriginal legal service) are jointly calling on the NT government to “get people off the streets today”.
The territory government has provided some accommodation for rough sleepers awaiting Covid-19 test results, but the sector says “it’s too little, too late”.
Danila Dilba Health Service CEO Olga Havnen:
Rough sleepers are aware of the threat, and have been seeking Covid-19 tests, but many of these people have nowhere to safely isolate. They’ve done the right thing by getting tested, but with nowhere to go they’re at risk of contracting and spreading Covid-19.
Amsant CEO John Paterson:
Rough sleepers are among the most vulnerable people in our community, many of them have not been vaccinated, and the NT government’s pandemic response plan has completely neglected them.
But at today’s press conference, NT chief minister Michael Gunner said bringing people into one place of accommodation would be “the worst thing we could do”.
The clinical advice is very clear about what’s the best thing we can do – to keep people safe, keep them separated and keep them static where they are.
We’ve got to be very mindful of how we handle all this, we’re having lots of meetings, lots of conversations with all the different service providers taking all the advice that we can get and then trying to work through what is the absolute best thing that we can do for everybody.
NT police commissioner Jamie Chalker said there are around 1000 – 1500 people sleeping rough in the top end at any one time.
Danila Dilba CEO Olga Havnen said police need to do more to guarantee safety than hand out masks on the street or fines for not wearing them.
Updated
We also have some good news about the miners who returned to Western Australia.
McGowan:
With regards to the Northern Territory goldmine outbreak, I confirm that 175 mineworkers tested in WA have all returned an initial negative test. They are all undertaking 14 days of quarantine.They will all be required to be tested again.
These results are very pleasing. We know this mine outbreak is currently causing significant problems in other jurisdictions around Australia.
Updated
McGowan:
About 18,255 test was conducted yesterday. A record daily number of tests for Western Australia.
That is a great number and testament to West Australia’s dedication to doing the right thing. 43,675 test have been done Sunday. We need to keep it up.
Although the source of case 1028’s infection is still unknown McGowan says he has been isolating for the entirety of his infectious period.
At this point it is too early to say exactly how he acquired the virus.
There are two possible scenarios. On Tuesday morning, 22 June, he attended the Mobius Health and Performance gym in Joondalup during the same exposure period as a case 1022.
Additionally, he also attended the same gym on Saturday 26 June during the same exposure period as case 1023. Case 1028 did the right thing and went and got tested and quarantined on Sunday 27 June.
That test returned a negative result. He subsequently developed symptoms, was retested yesterday and has now returned a positive result.
As a result of this new case, anyone who visited or worked at the Mobius Health and Performance gym in Joondalup since Tuesday 22 June until now and has not yet been tested, or contacted by WA Health, needs to do so immediately.
It is extremely important that you get tested immediately. And follow all quarantining instructions. It is important to note that case 1028 has been in quarantine and wasn’t expected to have been infectious in the community. This is encouraging.
Updated
WA records one local Covid-19 case overnight.
McGowan says there is one new locally acquired Covid-19 case overnight.
This morning I can confirm WA has recorded one new local case of Covid-19 overnight in addition to three new overseas cases in our hotel quarantine system.
To repeat, we have recorded one new local case of Covid-19 – case 1028.
Case 1028 is a 37-year-old male. Our contact tracing team is currently interviewing case 1028.
Updated
OK! And we are STRAIGHT into another press conference with the WA premier Mark McGowan.
Updated
Continued from last post.
So Queensland chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young is correct in saying AstraZeneca is more risky for an 18-year-old than getting coronavirus in the context of Australia’s situation, which is low transmission.
The epidemiologist I spoke with, who can not be named due to the sensitive nature of her work, said;
The potential benefits in terms of prevented hospitalisations are based on two doses of AZ, with Atagi assuming 80% protection (i.e. vaccine effectiveness) against severe Covid-19. However, this level of protection against hospitalisation is lower after only one dose of AZ - about 70% according to Public Health England (but rises to 92% after the second dose).
Against that – the risk of hospitalisation for Delta is higher than previous variants (about double across all age groups it seems), and this is not reflected in this chart. The risk of blood clots is highest after the first dose of AZ.
Dr Jeannette Young said it well this morning that she didn’t want an 18-year-old in Queensland to die of clots who would not have died of Covid-19. Of course you could get unlucky and get Covid even if there is a much smaller outbreak. But the chance of that happening is less than the chance of getting clots. If AZ were the only vaccine available I would get it. But if you can get Pfizer in September (or even perhaps earlier given more supplies coming through), then it’s really not clear to me the benefit outweighs the risk.
Latest vaccine forecast suggests there will be enough Pfizer for all under 60 to be offered 2 doses by end of Oct. Anyone who gets AZ today is going to have to wait until end of Sept for 2nd dose.
— Melissa Davey (@MelissaLDavey) June 30, 2021
It’s why people are being encouraged to speak to their GP. Your risk-benefit might change again if you are in your 20s, but work in hotel quarantine, or have a number of autoimmune conditions or live with extremely vulnerable people. However, young people in those circumstances would likely have already qualified for a Pfizer vaccine anyway, which is why prime minister Scott Morrison’s comments on Monday night added to the confusion.
Updated
Fact check: Covid-19 vs blood clots
Much discussion on the AstraZeneca vaccine is focused on the risk of blood clots, with some arguing this risk is unacceptably high, and some arguing that the risk is very low and therefore people should get vaccinated with AstraZeneca.
But medicines, including vaccines, are not given or withheld based on risk only. They’re given if the benefit outweighs the risk for an individual, and risk varies depending on age. Balancing benefit and risk is how Atagi came up with the recommendation that Pfizer should be offered for people under 60, and you can read more about that here.
The chart below is a screenshot from the Atagi document and it shows the balance of vaccine harms against comparable vaccine benefits for a ‘low transmission’ scenario in Australia.
— Melissa Davey (@MelissaLDavey) June 30, 2021
I asked a senior epidemiologist about how to interpret this chart and she said the low transmission scenario is similar to what we saw in the first wave in Australia during March/April 2020. It’s worth noting that Australia’s current outbreaks are still well below what we saw in the first wave, and far below the second wave in Victoria.
In this chart, they’re trying to compare like-with-like, so the vaccine harms (the clots), which require hospitalisation in 100% of cases, are compared against being hospitalised (or worse) with Covid-19.
This chart suggests, for example, that for an 18-29 year old in a low transmission context, the risk of a clot due to the AZ vaccine is higher than the risk of being hospitalised (or worse) from Covid-19.
Continued in next post.
Updated
Interesting note: SA Health have had to figure out how to care for the infected family’s pregnant dog now they have all been transferred to quarantine.
Spurrier:
We always come across hiccups. This family have a very nice dog but it’s pregnant so I have a team sorting out the dog.
There are all sorts of things we have to do in the pandemic but from our perspective, the most important thing is having the family moved in a safe way ... into Tom’s Court to make sure they are all fine. And if they have any medical problems with this disease – and certainly the husband and wife were symptomatic – we will deal with them.
A reporter then asked if the dog had Covid-19 as well.
Spurrier:
I think it is possible but in this instance, I’m not particularly worried about the dog other than the fact it’s pregnant.
Updated
The chief health officer says she can not currently tell people what takeaway food store the infected miner stopped at on his way home from the airport:
I do not have the details for that. If we feel it is a public exposure site that will go up on our website. I actually cannot tell you that, I’m afraid.
Updated
Spurrier:
He was wearing a mask is the airport. Again we have good contact at the airport and CCTV footage and what we will do is look at that potential pathway today to see if there is anybody else who needs to be tested and quarantined.
Our team have already contacted the takeaway food area and shop and so again we are doing the contact tracing in an abundance of caution in the face of possibly a false negative test.
Everyone on infected miner's flights ordered to isolate
Spurrier:
We have determined that everybody who was on that flight will be going into quarantine. And we have (assessed) the manifest this morning and contacted the 108 people and we asked them to be tested and we asked them to quarantine.
When you get a manifest not all the mobile phones are correct and there are a small number of people we have not yet been able to pick up. So I am asking you if you have been on that flight ... on Friday, it is very important that you are tested and you go into quarantine until you hear from SA Health.
Updated
Spurrier is detailing the infected miner’s movements from the airport to his home:
I just want to give you the timeframe and the reasons why we have some ongoing concerns and the reasons why we have put some further restrictions in place today and why our team has been increased in size today.
So the miner travelled on a charter flight into Alice Springs on Friday the 25th (of June). He was in Alice Springs for about six hours in the airport and our information is that he wore a mask but obviously when you are there for six hours you will need to take your mask off to eat and drink.
He then boarded a Virgin flight on Friday 25. VA 1742 – and that arrived in Adelaide at 5pm on Friday night. Now this gentleman did what you do when you are an air flight now in Australia and wore his mask.
He walked through the airport and quickly moved through the airport and his wife picked him up. I understand that he swapped over the driving and he proceeded to drive home. He stopped to get takeaway food. Then he went home.
Updated
SA chief health officer Prof Nicola Spurrier has some details about these five Covid-19 cases.
This is a very severe disease. We have had had people very sick in our intensive care unit recently with Covid-19 and those include very young people. So this is a serious problem.
We have also had extensive modelling from the AHPPC about the Delta variant and if it gets into your community it is difficult to control, even with the sorts of lockdowns that we are seeing around the country.
So we actually have 11 cases in South Australia today but six of these are overseas acquired. Two are old cases previously counted.
Focusing on the five additional cases. We have a man in his 30s, the known close contact from the Northern Territory mine case. In addition, his wife is now positive. She is in her 30s and there are three children under the age of 10.
Updated
Marshall has been asked if he believes people under 40 should receive the AstraZeneca jab, but he doesn’t seem to be taking the bait:
What they now have is an alternative.
The recommendation is really AstraZeneca for 60 and above. Some people may form the opinion after consulting the doctor and having an informed consent that they would rather take a very small risk ... but would rather have that very small risk compared to the risk associated with a further escalation of this disease.
That is an individual decision and people need to make up their own mind on that after they have sought advice from a GP.
Updated
Back in Western Australia, police have charged a 28-year-old woman with breaching bail after she allegedly failed to appear in court on 25 February on a charge of failing to comply with a quarantine direction in January.
The woman was arrested at Perth in the arrivals lounge of the airport yesterday after flying in from Melbourne.
She is due to appear in court today.
Updated
Now you might be thinking to yourself, wait, how does this man potentially being infectious in the Alice Springs airport cause the whole of the NT city to go into lockdown, but that very same man coming to South Australia, testing positive and infecting four family members not cause SA to go into lockdown?
It’s a good question! A big factor will be the density of vulnerable and remote communities in Alice Springs compared to Adelaide, but also Marshall seems pretty confident that this family wasn’t out in public while infectious.
Marshall:
If we had information this person had been out and about in the broader community and had visited dozens of additional exposure sites, I don’t think there would have been any other choice, because we just know how transmissible this disease is.
In this case, there is still a risk, but in this case we are satisfied that this is the appropriate response for today.
Updated
Marshall:
I think we were very fortunate that this family has been doing the right thing, all of the miners who have returned from the Northern Territory have been doing the right things by isolating and getting tested. We have not had any other positive tests for the other 28 miners.
It is the perfect example of why following the directions from health keeps a state safe. If this family had ignored and gone to the football or the local shops it is quite possible we would have a catastrophic situation on our hands at the moment but they did the right thing and (we’re) very grateful.
Updated
The premier has also suggested that those who can work from home do.
Masks recommended across South Australia, gatherings to be reduced
People in South Australia have been asked to wear masks in public:
SA premier Steven Marshall:
We do know that this Delta variant is particularly worrying. We see further deterioration of the situation around the country again today. We must all remain extraordinarily vigilant.
The directions committee has met this morning, have decided to put some additional restrictions and recommendations in place so that we can make sure that we stay ahead of this variant.
The direction that will be coming out later today will be reducing home gatherings to 10. So for the foreseeable future we’re going ... down to 10 people.
We also give some strong recommendations. The first advice is that if you are out in public that we are recommending that you wear a mask. We think that this will help to keep us protected, so in a shopping centre where it is very difficult for the contact tracers to know who you have been adjacent to, we are asking you to wear a mask.
It is different if you are at a function, or if you are in your workplace because you generally know who you are working with and we can get those people into isolation should there be a situation. But when you’re out in public, and we do not know who you standing alongside, we are asking you at the moment to wear a mask.
Updated
Marshall:
I will start the press conference by saying South Australia will not be going into a lockdown.
I think many people will be extraordinarily relieved about that. But today we do announce five cases of Covid-19 in South Australia. We are categorising this is linked transmissions from the Northern Territory mine exposure site.
After testing negative on day one, and remaining at home since Saturday, a minor who worked at the mine returned to South Australia has retained a positive test yesterday.
His wife and three of his four children, all of whom have also been at home since Saturday, have also tested positive. We have now transferred that entire family unit to the Tom’s Court Hotel, a dedicated quarantine hotel for those people who are Covid positive. They are now in the facility.
While this is a very concerning turn of events, and having this Delta variant in South Australia, we are very relieved that this person and this family have been at home since Saturday, very significantly reducing the risk to our state.
Updated
South Australia will not lock down as five Covid cases were isolating
SA premier Steven Marshall has just stood up.
While he confirmed five people have tested positive in the stat (including that miner from the NT).
He says the family have been at home since Saturday and therefore a lockdown is not currently required.
Updated
Gunner says NT authorities are concern that the miner’s first negative Covid-19 test may be due to a false negative, rather than him simply being too early on in the infection, and therefore likely not infectious.
The reason why he tested negative, we are unclear off right now. So a false negative? A week first test, etcetera? So the grounds of the negative result was not clear.
We know this because the household contacts tested positive and he has now been retested. And so there is a lack of clarity about why that first test failed.
Concern rises for Indigenous communities around Alice Springs
This article from Katharine Murphy and Lorena Allam might provide a little bit of extra context as to why the NT government is taking the potential for Covid-19 seeding in the Alice Spring community so seriously.
The minister for Indigenous Australians, Ken Wyatt, says he is worried about low vaccination rates in remote communities...
Wyatt told the ABC on Monday there was significant vaccine hesitancy in some communities. “I don’t want to see any deaths within our communities,” he said...
The minister pointed to a remote community near the Tanami mine, where only 18 people out of 400 had been vaccinated, with residents concerned about what they were reading on social media about the AstraZeneca vaccine.
“I am worried, I am concerned,” Wyatt said. “But we must keep level heads and we must focus on the logistical arrangements of making sure that we get vaccines to communities.”
Updated
NT police commissioner Jamie Chalker is urging people in Alice Spring not to rush to flood supermarkets:
The key message, there is no need to panic. Do not rush to the supermarket right now. The supermarket will be open after one p.m you will be able to have access to stalls.
Again, our clear message is one individual from a household, please, go.
If you have an adequate store for today, do not leave home. Stay home and go tomorrow. If you assist us then I can ensure that our resources appointed where they are needed the most. To be able to work with our most vulnerable down there.
As Heggie has pointed out, nearly half of Australia’s whole population is now in lockdown.
We are still waiting for news from South Australia on how they will react to the family who had four people test positive for Covid-19.
Updated
NT chief health officer Hugh Heggie is addressing Indigenous communities in Alice Springs directly:
We’ve got multicultural groups in Alice Springs. All of this needs to be communicated to people who may not have English as their first language or a limited understanding of English or do not access a number of media outlets and channels. Specifically, I wish to reach out to the Aboriginal people in Alice Springs*.
Please, stay where you are. There will be food, there will be assistance, we’re working closely with congress and a council to make sure you’re safe, you have mask supplies, you have food.
*He was speaking in an Indigenous language here, I’ll see if I can get a proper transcription for us.
Updated
The NT chief health officer has a similarly sombre tone:
Early this morning, literally only a few hours ago, I was contacted by my colleague in South Australia about a Tanami mine worker that had travelled through Alice Springs terminal ... and had spent some time there, travelled on, had an initial swab and that one was not positive. And there’s a range of reasons why that might be the case.
But very importantly four out of five of his close contacts, as in family members, have tested positive. So, this does pose risk to the community of Alice Springs.
There’s going to be some challenges, but, please, take this seriously. The best thing you can do is stay where you are. Stay at home. Or if you’re from out of Alice Springs, find someone else that you can stay with.
Updated
Gunner sounded on the verge of tears while delivering the closing lines of his statement:
To everyone in Alice Springs, I know this is really challenging. The reason we are doing this lockdown is the size of the exposure window and vulnerability of the local population. I will take no risk with that.
To all Territorians, I woke up this morning hoping this was a day for good news and there is some good news, there is zero cases today but we are still in a dangerous period.
The territory is still under threat. So long as that threat is there, we will do whatever it takes to keep the territory and you safe.
Updated
Gunner is urging anyone who was at the Alice Spring airport between 9am and 4pm on Friday 25 June to “stay where [they] are” and not rush to go get tested until they have spoken with NT.
There seems to be a lot of concern from Gunner that the territory’s testing capacity could be overwhelmed.
Here are the rules for the Alice Springs lockdown.
Gunner:
For everyone in lockdown areas, you must stay at home and you are only permitted to leave your home for the following five reasons.
- 1, medical treatment including Covid testing or vaccination.
- 2, for essential goods and services like groceries.
- 3, for work that is considered essential.
- 4, for one hour of exercise a day with one other person or the people that you live with, no further than 5km from your home.
- 5, to provide care and support to a family member or person who cannot support themselves.
The direction on mask wearing also now applies to people in these areas. If you leave your place for one of the five reasons you must wear a mask. Just like the top end lockdown, there will be ... points to establish travel in and out of these areas
Updated
Gunner:
Alice Springs area will now enter a lockdown for the next 72 hours to Saturday. The lockdown direction applies to everyone inside the Alice Springs town council boundaries, that includes town camps.
We know that there are specific communities around Alice that rely on the town for groceries and medicine. We are now going to go through the process of declaring those areas as lockdown areas as this.
This is so you are able to travel in and out of Alice for essentials. Do not panic. You will get your food. You will get your medicine.
Updated
Five people test positive in South Australia, linked to NT mine
This Northern Territory press conference has also confirmed four new Covid-19 cases in South Australia, linked to the Tanami Mine in the Northern Territory.
Gunner is explaining the situation now:
I will now explain why we had to make this decision. I will then explain what this means for the people of Alice Springs.
This relates to a man from the Tanami mine site who spent an extended period of time at Alice Springs airport on Friday 25 June. He arrived at the airport via a charter flight on Friday morning and remained at the airport between 9:00am and 3:50pm.
He did not exit the airport. On Saturday 26 June, after returning to Adelaide, he got a Covid test. That result was not positive. However, he has since developed symptoms while isolating in Adelaide and four of his five household contacts have now tested positive.
For this reason, we believe he is positive for Covid-19 and we believe that he is highly infectious. It is unlikely that he was highly infectious during his time at Alice Springs airport. But, like all other other decisions we will not take a punt on this. We will operate on the assumption that he has Covid-19 and we will operate on the assumption that he was infectious while in the Territory.
SA premier Steven Marshall later confirmed the mine worker had tested positive for Covid-19, bringing the total to five cases.
Updated
Alice Springs to enter three day lockdown after SA cases
NT chief minister Michael Gunner says an infected miner travelling through Alice Springs airport means all of Alice Springs must enter a 72-hours lockdown from 1pm today.
There have been no new positive cases in the Territory in the past 24 hours. However, based on information we received this morning, which I will go through in a moment, we now need to enact extreme precautionary measures for Alice Springs.
Effective from 1:00pm today, Alice Springs will enter a full lockdown for 72 hours.
Updated
Oh goodness, we are straight into the Darwin presser!
Now, you may be asking, where did that student nurse in NSW get Covid-19 from anyway?
Well, it turns out, we don’t know!
Here is what Chant has to say about the matter:
The source of this patient is not clear at that stage. We do know that a household member is positive and we’re also testing another household member, and we’re doing repeat testing on that other household member.
As I have indicated before, sometimes the direction of transmission is sometimes very difficult to understand, so we do need to do a few tests around the person. And then obviously we will do what we do with everyone once we find out who perhaps was the first case.
We go back and look at the 14 days prior, who they were exposed to and what’s their source. So those investigations are happening apace. In the early hours of this morning the real focus was keeping our patients and staff safe, and so immediately staff who had contact with the student nurse were identified and ensured that they were not on duty. Testing was arranged. We ensured that discharged patients were contacted and testing set about for those.
Obviously we’ll update you, and keep you appraised should there be any different change to any public health advice arising from this infection.
Updated
Reporters are now asking chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, directly if she shares the Queensland CHO’s view that AstraZeneca is more risky for an 18-year-old than getting coronavirus*.
(*Medical editor Melissa Davey is getting back to us with a fact check on this).
Chant:
In response to that question, I think the Atagi is the group that we need to respect the advice. And just to be clear, what Atagi has said ... that over 60s can get both vaccines, but for those under 60 the Pfizer is the preferred vaccine.
In terms of AstraZeneca, it is important that Atagi has said that people can make personal choices but they need to be informed. And the view I have is that in a mass vaccination clinic the detailed risk discussions cannot take place, and they are the best discussions to have with your general practitioner. Transparently, expressing the risks and benefits.
There may be unique circumstances that a person is concerned about and individuals have the right to make those decisions but they must be fully informed. And that is why we are providing AstraZeneca to over 60s where the risk benefit ratio is much clearer in favour of AstraZeneca because of the impact of Covid.
But for younger people we really encourage you to go to your GP and just discuss your particular circumstances and have that discussion.
Updated
Victorian restrictions will not ease for at least seven days
Victoria’s health minister says the state won’t be easing any restrictions for the next seven days because the national situation is “extremely delicately poised”.
It means a delay to slated plans to increase capacity for major theatres and outdoor sporting stadiums from 1 July.
Martin Foley told reporters:
Twelve million of our fellow Australians are under a form of severe lockdown. So based on the assessment from our public health officials, the arrangements that we currently have in place will continue to be in place across the board, our settings will functionally be exactly the same over the next seven days.
We are not increasing restrictions as other states around the Australian mainland are. But what we are doing is holding them where they are to make sure that we keep Victorians safe.
Foley also confirmed the state’s new locally acquired Covid-19 case was in quarantine while infectious.
The person was a primary close contact – a family member – of an existing case linked to the Epping Private Hospital.
Foley said the news was “relatively positive”, noting that because the woman was in quarantine during were no new exposure sites.
The person has the Kappa variant.
Updated
Okay, let’s talk about the international border:
Reporter:
Of the Delta variant, there have been calls for our international border to close. What’s your view on that?
Berejiklian:
The issue of international borders and how many Australians come back is a matter for the federal government but what I have said is New South Wales will always do our fair share as we have done.
We do it without complaint – 50% of people that are coming through Sydney airport belong to other states, and I’m interested that other premiers are complaining about what they have to do, but it’s far less to what New South Wales is doing.
But as you know international borders and how many people come, this is a matter for the federal government. All I’ve been saying from day one is depending on what that policy is New South Wales will always do our fair share because that’s the right thing to do.
Because not (only) are we members of the state of New South Wales or citizens of the state of New South Wales, we are also Australians. So we will always do our fair share .
Updated
Oh by the way apparently there are also plans to create a mass vaccination hub in Wollongong.
Berejiklian:
We will have imminent details about that.
Please know that as I’ve been calling upon the commonwealth is that we need to start doing the work now to make sure we have enough access points to give the vaccine out when the supply arrives.
So we don’t have the supply we want now, but we’re told it’s coming, so we need to be ready for that, and that’s why obviously we are keen to get as many more.
Updated
Berejiklian is avoiding directly answering questions on if she believes under-40s should get the AZ vaccine.
But she doesn’t seem that jazzed about the idea.
The important thing is to follow health advice and the advice in New South Wales says if you’re over 60 get the AstraZeneca vaccine. If you are under 40, we welcome you to get the Pfizer vaccine which is mainly delivered through the New South Wales hubs but we are looking forward to more GPs having access to the Pfizer vaccine as well.
Beyond that, you need to go to your GP. That is the advice of the federal regulators. If you are outside those age groups, you should have a conversation with your GP, because your GP will need to ask you about underlying health conditions and everything else.
It is not important my opinion on what the age is. What is important is for all of us to follow the health advice.
Updated
Berejiklian says NSW isn’t running out of Pfizer at the moment, despite the Queensland government suggesting there is a Pfizer drought on the horizon.
Reporter:
Queensland claims they are running out of Pfizer as soon as Monday. How are the supplies here in New South Wales?
Berejiklian:
We are given a four to five-week period, so we know roughly what we’re getting in the next four to five weeks. I’ve heard no interruption. Obviously the more vaccines we get, the more we can distribute, but I’ve not heard that from the experts.
NSW health services will not administer AZ to under 40s
And finally, we have got to the crux of it – NSW state-run vaccine clinics and hubs will not be administering the AstraZeneca vaccine to under 40s.
Berejiklian:
The New South Wales health system will continue to welcome people over 60 that want the AstraZeneca, will continue to welcome people who are having their second shot of AstraZeneca.
Beyond that, you must go to your GP and get their advice.
What we need to do as a state government is follow the federal regulatory health advice which is that AstraZeneca is offered for over-60s, and obviously second doses are strongly, strongly advised.
As Dr Chant and I have been saying for days, since we had this most recent outbreak, it is so important to get your second dose of AstraZeneca if you’ve had your first one, and of course, if you’re over 60, you don’t have a GP, you are welcome to come to any of our New South Wales health websites, but anyone under 60 who wants AstraZeneca needs to have a conversation with their GP.
Updated
The NSW premier also does seem a bit annoyed at the whole “GPs not being consulted or informed about the changes to AZ” of it all.
Berejiklian:
I am so deeply grateful to the GP network in New South Wales.
They have tried their hardest under very difficult circumstances.
Minister Hazzard and myself, and our health team, stay close to the GP network in New South Wales and I share their frustration.
We need to make sure that they are aware of everything going on so that they can provide that advice to their patients.
Updated
Hmmm, Berejiklian hasn’t gone the Queensland route, demanding under 40s don’t get the vaccine, but she certainly doesn’t sound that enthused by the federal government’s announcement either.
Reporter:
Premier, we’ve had a pretty explosive press conference in Queensland.
Berejiklian:
I hope we don’t have that here.
She was then asked what was agreed to in national cabinet:
Can I just make the point that the New South Wales government always follows the health advice and the health advice from the federal regulatory bodies is that those over 60 should be getting AstraZeneca.
If you’ve had your first dose of AstraZeneca, you should be getting your second dose and that is certainly what New South Wales health clinics will be doing. We will accept anybody over 60 who wants AstraZeneca and accept anybody getting their second shot but, beyond that, you should talk to your GP.
The federal advice is there and beyond that point you should talk to your GP.
Updated
Chant:
Could we please just ensure that relatives are not concerned at this stage?
We will communicate with you, but obviously due to the interest in this, that’s why we are discussing it, but as you know, our preference is always to tell people directly when these matters happen. So we will be following up with additional information.
Multiple NSW hospital wards lock down after student nurse tests positive
NSW Health are urgently testing and contact tracing after a student nurse tested positive to Covid-19.
She is believed to have worked at the rehabilitation wards at Fairfield Hospital and a cardiology and general abdominal surgery ward at the Royal North Shore hospital while infectious.
I also just want to discuss one other case that came in overnight. Just for clarity, we only update on the numbers to 8pm, but obviously we release venues of concern or highlight particular issues today ahead of the numbers being announced.
Last night, one of the cases that occurred very, very late last night came in around 10pm to 11pm last night, was a 24-year-old female who is a student nurse.
We know that the student nurse worked whilst infectious on a number of days, and obviously immediately our health team swung into action.
So the wards that that staff member worked at have been locked down, so that’s not taking any additional patients.
We have also followed up any patients that have been discharged from those wards. We are also arranging testing for any staff that may have come in contact.
I’m pleased to say that to date the tests have been negative, but it’s much too early to tell whether we will have any transmission and we have taken a very broad, infectious period because of our concern about the vulnerability of healthcare settings.
It was the Fairfield hospital and also the Royal North Shore hospital. There will be communication to patients. I will indicate the wards just so that there is no concern. It is a rehabilitation ward at Fairfield, and I will have to give you the exact details of the ward, but there was a cardiology ward and a general abdominal surgery ward.
Updated
Chant:
There is also three new cases linked to Christo’s pizzeria in Paddington, bringing the number of cases linked to this venue to four.
I want to highlight some of my areas of concern. I want people to pay particular attention but I want people to go to the website for updated information. Paddington Christo Pizzeria at 224 Glenn more Road on Wednesday 25th June from 5.55 to 8.30pm; Kensington Doncaster Hotel on Wednesday 23 June. 5.45pm to 8pm.
We have seen additional cases arise from that venue and cases in staff and that means that those staff are more likely to infect other staff and there is potential exposure at that premise which has gone on for longer over that duration. We will be keeping a close eye on the Doncaster Hotel.
In terms of other venues, a new venue, the Auburn Central on the 28th – if you have been there at any time at that Auburn Central, I want you to immediately stop and stay whilst we assess that venue. So that means please immediately go into isolation, get a test and await further advice.
And also the Marconi Club at Bossley Park on 26 June between 3pm and 6pm. You are deemed a close contact if you have been in the gaming room and all others please get tested and isolate until you have a negative test.
Updated
NSW Crossways Hotel patrons told to isolate
Chant says health advice for the Crossways Hotel has been upgraded, and now all patrons who dined there between 23 and 27 June must isolate for a full 14 days.
Chant:
In terms of the new cases, one new case was linked to Great Ocean Foods, four were linked to the West Hoxton birthday party. Four new cases were linked to the Crossways Hotel.
In relation to the Crossways Hotel, our public health advice has been updated. All patrons and staff who were at this venue from 23 June to the 27th inclusive is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days regardless of the result...
The reason for that iswe believe that there has beeninfection that has passed onto staff at that venue, all infectious people there on multiple days.
Okay, chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant is up to bring us the hard facts.
In the 24 hours to 8pm last night, all of these 22 new cases were linked to previously confirmed cases. Six new cases were acquired overseas.
As the premier already indicated, what a magnificent turnout for testing, that 68,220 tests performed. We are going to need to sustain those levels of testing if we are going to assure ourselves that we are not missing unrecognised chains of transmission.
Updated
OK, then there is like five minutes of waffle. I’ll bring you some quotes once the NSW leaders start actually saying something.
Updated
After that explosion of a Queensland presser, the NSW premier is attempting to set the tone that she is above the fray. I’m getting real “calm mum” energy from her today. (Usually, it’s disappointed dad vibes from Morrison or Andrews.)
Gladys Berejiklian:
I know that there is a lot of commentary on a lot of states across Australia are facing some level of lockdown or some level of restriction, and I appreciate every state leader has a particular direction for their state. So I just ask New South Wales citizens to please keep following the advice that Dr Chant has given all of us, that Dr Chant provides to me and the government, because that is our assured way of seeing this lockdown end when we would like it to end, and also our assured way of dealing with this very infectious strain of the Covid-19.
Updated
Berejiklian:
What we want to see moving forward in terms of positive trend is a higher proportion of people in isolation for the full time of their infectiousness. That is something our health experts will be looking at. Dr Chant advised us that that is one of the key things that Health looks at when talking about the success of a lockdown.
Updated
NSW records 22 local cases overnight – 11 infectious in the community
Berejiklian:
Overnight, New South Wales had 22 cases of new transmission, so NSW is demonstrating a steady rate of cases at this stage. To date, our fears about huge escalation haven’t materialised and we certainly want to keep it that way.
One other pleasing thing I do want to report on is half of those 22 cases were already completely in isolation, so 11 of those cases were in isolation. Five of them were in isolation for part of the time they were infectious, but six of those were still infectious in the community for a number of days.
Updated
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is speaking now.
Summary of the three new local case in Queensland
With Queensland (metaphorically) declaring war on the federal government, I didn’t even get to tell you about these three new local cases.
Let rewind and see what the chief health officer Jeannette Young had to say about it.
[1] One is the brother of that case, the receptionist at the Prince Charles Hospital. So they became infectious on 26 June. They were up in Magnetic Island. They then returned down to Brisbane and they did attend a school holiday tennis camp, the shore park tennis centre at Wooloowin at 28 June. So we’ll be contact tracing there. We’ll work through what those risks from that particular individual.
[2] Then we also have a coflight crew member of that Virgin crew member who was on those five flights while infectious. So they were in quarantine and we’re just working through whether they were out and about before they went into quarantine during their infectious period. So we’ll be looking at that.
[3 ] And then we had another case related to that Portuguese restaurant cluster and they were, because they were a close contact, they were in hotel quarantine during their entirety of their infectious period. So that’s not a concern.
Updated
And here is the crux of it.
Reporter:
Has your department failed?
D’Ath:
I believe that someone has failed here, yes, and there will be an investigation because this person should have not been working without a vaccination.
Updated
More from the D’Ath questioning:
Reporter:
The premier [says she] is furious, but they are not angry at you? They are angry at somebody else?
D’Ath:
I think the public understand that this is a highly infectious disease that we are doing everything possible to contain.
Hotels were not built to contain this*. Even some of our most expert specialists in infectious control in Queensland have said to me, when they’ve managed Ebola in other countries, no matter how much you try to control this, you can have the entire outfit from head to toe on, these viruses find a way.
We are doing our absolutely best and our health workforce are doing their absolute best.
Updated
The Queensland health minister, Yvette D’Ath, is facing a grilling during this press conference, over her role in potentially failing to ensure health services were complying with vaccination health orders (it’s still up in the air if they technically have.)
Reporter:
Given we’re in a lockdown ... do you owe Queenslanders an apology?
D’Ath
Well, we have to remember that we have been trying to contain an invisible, highly infectious virus for 18 months now.
There is no country in the world that has been able to ensure that there has been no transmission in their community – not one. What I can say is Australia and Queensland has been one of the best in the world. There has been over 3.8 million deaths now globally.
There are still thousands of people dying every single day around the world. We have maintained and managed to get only seven deaths. Tragically, seven deaths have occurred but seven deaths in Queensland. So I’m proud of what we have done.
Updated
By the way, we are expecting the Victorian Covid-19 update at 11am, in about 10 minutes.
Updated
The ABC is now also reporting that a family in South Australia have contracted Covid and health officials are poised to lock the state down. This is not yet confirmed.
We are expecting a press conference soon.
Young:
You look across the country, active case numbers are in the hundreds. We are not as Indonesia is. I mean, if I was the chief health officer in Indonesia, I might be giving different advice, but I’m here in Queensland.
And I need this lockdown for the next three days, so that we can contact trace everyone, get everyone into quarantine, so that when we open up again that the people who are most likely to be spreading the virus are safely in their homes in quarantine. That’s what I need to do to then manage our outbreaks.
I don’t need to go and ask young, fit, healthy people, because if you weren’t young, fit, healthy, you’re able to get Pfizer. Remember that. You can get vaccinated if you’ve got underlying severe disease. So we are not in a position that I need to ask young, fit, healthy people to put their health on the line getting a vaccine that could potentially significantly harm them.
Updated
Queensland chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, says she “genuinely [doesn’t] understand” Scott Morrison’s thinking when it comes to the change of AstraZeneca advice.
Well, I haven’t been able to talk to him and to understand his thought processes.
The premier announced in national cabinet that there wasn’t a discussion, so I genuinely don’t understand his processes. I know an urgent meeting has been called by the commonwealth today with chief health officers to talk this through, so I’m sure I will find out more.
She says this is a view shared by other state health ministers:
We are all following the Atagi advice. Atagi initially came out on preliminary data that people under the age of 50 should preferentially be given the Pfizer vaccine, and then once we started getting Australian data – because sometimes it is a bit hard to get data from overseas and untangle and understand it – Atagi came out with amended advice and made that aged 60.
Updated
Young was just asked if she thinks under 40s should get the AstraZeneca vaccine:
No. I’m sorry if I haven’t made that clear. No, I do not want under 40s to get AstraZeneca.
They are at increased risk of getting – it is rare, but they are at increased risk of getting the rare clotting syndrome.
We’ve seen up to 49 deaths in the UK from that syndrome. I don’t want an 18-year-old in Queensland dying from a clotting illness who, if they got Covid, probably wouldn’t die.
We’ve had very few deaths due to Covid-19 in Australia in people under the age of 50, and wouldn’t it be terrible that our first 18-year-old in Queensland who dies related to this pandemic died because of the vaccine?
Updated
YIKES! There is some very strident discussion around AstraZeneca going on in the press conference.
Palaszczuk:
I do not think this is the time to risk the safety of our young Australians when the BBC – when the BBC will not even allow their under 40s to get the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Updated
Palaszczuk says “someone will be held responsible” for a 19-year-old casual secretary working outside a Covid ward not being vaccinated, but then obviously pivoted quickly to hotel quarantine (you know, the bit that’s not the federal government’s mistake.)
There was a direction in place and the direction wasn’t followed. It wasn’t a guideline, it wasn’t a principle, it was a direction. So there will be a full investigation into that.
As you heard the deputy premier say, the person who brought the virus into Queensland was a regular traveller, not a vulnerable Australian returning home, a regular traveller who was unvaccinated and I honestly think we need a serious discussion about ensuring that people are vaccinated coming into this country.
We have got to minimise the risk. We are at a pressure cooker moment at the moment. Right across Australia, it’s like a pressure cooker. We got to relieve that pressure.
Like yeah, we 100% should have purpose-built facilities, but heaven forbid we spend a second taking accountability for the role the state government played in all of this.
Updated
'Don't take to the advice of Scott Morrison': QLD deputy premier
Now the deputy premier, Steven Miles, has stepped in to deliver another blow, literally telling young Queenslanders not to listen to the advice of Scott Morrison, and confirming state-run hubs will not provide AZ to under 40s.
This is full-on.
The Queensland government will only provide to people the vaccine that is medically recommended for them. We will not ignore the health advice.
For the prime minister to attempt to overrule the medical advice and provide a vaccine that is not recommended for people under 60 puts Queenslanders at risk.
There are some discussion that the commonwealth may even provide their own vaccination hubs so they can get AstraZeneca vaccine out to younger people despite that vaccine not being recommended and that would be very risky.
I note the Australian Medical Association has come out and said that people shouldn’t follow the prime minister’s advice, they should follow the otherwise consensus health advice.
I’m concerned about reports that GPs were inundated yesterday with requests from younger people asking to get a vaccine that is not recommended for them and that their general practitioners are unlikely to provide to them.
I would say to Queenslanders throughout this pandemic, the advice of our chief health officer has served Queenslanders incredibly well, and they should take her advice about which vaccine is medically appropriate, not the advice of Scott Morrison.
Updated
QLD health minister suggests federal Pfizer supplies have run dry
Queensland health minister Yvette D’ath has suggested the prime minister only made the decision to allow under 40s to get the AZ jab because there will be no more Pfizer until October. (It’s worth keeping in mind that this is speculation, not confirmed.)
Now, maybe this is why the prime minister’s come out and suggested that under 40s get AZ.
But we have to act on the TGA and Atagi’s advice in relation to that. It can’t simply be because we have a lot of stock of one vaccine, and not enough of the other, to start recommending that people get a particular vaccine. That advice should always be based on clinical advice.
So, I am disappointed that we have been denied any extra vaccines, despite the reasons we’ve been given, despite the fact we’re going to start running out of vaccines. And I would welcome the commonwealth telling us exactly how much vaccines they currently have on stock.
Updated
Queensland only has eight days of Pfizer left: health minister
OK, Queensland really isn’t holding back any fire today! This is an all-out war against the federal government.
D’ath says Queensland is running out of Pfizer and their request for more have been denied:
So, the director general of health wrote to the lieutenant general ... yesterday and asked if we could get an extra 130 trays.
The reason we gave is that we are at a critical level and that at some of our sites we are projected to run out of Pfizer by as soon as week 20. That’s 5 July. Next Monday. At some of our sites we are due to run out. And one of those sites being Sunshine Coast University Hospital.
Our reason also is we said additional vaccine supply is critical to avoiding cancellations of already committed appointments. And to ensure that we can continue to prioritise areas of high risk.
Now, we sent that letter yesterday. We got a response this morning. From the lieutenant general. We’ve been advised that we will not be provided additional vaccines of Pfizer.
Now, about three weeks ago, when Victoria went into lockdown, and asked for additional supply, they got an extra 100,000 vaccines. We weren’t offered less than what we asked for, we have been denied any extra vaccines.
We are only getting 64,500 a week in July, each week. We got 45,000 vaccines delivered yesterday. And on that delivery, and on our calculations, we have eight days’ stock left for Pfizer. So we are getting to that point that we’ll have to start prioritising only second doses if the Commonwealth do not have any vaccine left. And they need to tell us. It’s what they gave Victoria the end of it?
Have we only got what is allocate and no contingency stock left until that big delivery in October? Because we all need to know.
Updated
Palaszczuk tells under 40s not to get AZ jab; fires shots at prime minister
Palaszczuk has started the press conference with some extreme fighting words towards the federal government.
She says national cabinet has nothing to do with the decision to allow under 40s to get the AstraZeneca vaccine and has told younger Queenslanders to follow Atagi advice and not get the AZ jab.
We want Queenslanders to get vaccinated. But there is some clear guidelines that have been put in place by the chief health officer, Atagi and the AMA.
And there has been no national cabinet decision about providing AstraZeneca to the under 40s. Let me say that again – there’s been no national cabinet decision about providing AstraZeneca to the under 40s. National cabinet said that there was an indemnity for doctors. So, that is a very clear that national cabinet did not make that decision.
I like to ask the prime minister, did his cabinet make that decision?
Now, in Queensland, we always follow the advice of the chief health officer. So, I urge Queenslanders to listen to Dr Young, and follow the advice of our chief health officer. Also, we follow the medical advice. And the medical advice is very clear.
Also, I draw people’s attention to recent reports from the BBC over in the UK. Where it says under 40s to be offered alternatives to AstraZeneca vaccine. It says here, most adults under the age of 40 will be given an alternative to the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine due to a link with rare blood clots.
So my message to Queenslanders today is please listen to Dr Young and listen to the health experts when it comes to the vaccine. At the moment, the advice is for people aged 40 to 59 to get Pfizer, and people 60 and over to get AstraZeneca. There has been no national cabinet decision about AstraZeneca being given to under 40s.
Updated
Unconfirmed reports that SA may lock down
I can not stress this enough: this has not been independently confirmed by Guardian Australia, however SBS is reporting that South Australia will call a media conference shortly to announce a lockdown in the state.
This is reportedly due to a family of five testing positive to Covid-19.
I’ll try to firm this up and bring you more as soon as I can.
Hearing South Australia is going to go into lockdown today, a family of 5 are Covid positive. Media conference will be called shortly. @SBSNews
— Shuba Krishnan (@ShubaSKrishnan) June 29, 2021
Updated
The Queensland premier is doing a bit of damage control this morning after she was accused of trying to block vulnerable Australians from coming home:
First of all, as I said yesterday, about the overseas arrivals, I maintain we need to reduce our caps of people coming in.
It’s people coming in from overseas or leaving Australia and coming back for a whole range of purposes.
I have never said that vulnerable Australians should not be allowed to return home. I absolutely believe that. Vulnerable Australians, should be going through the federal government, and very a purpose dedicated facility called Howard Springs to deal with our vulnerable Australians.
But there’s a large number of people travelling overseas for business, for a whole range of reasons, and there’s questions that need to be answered about why they are not vaccinated leaving, and also if people are coming to Australia, why are they not getting their vaccinations. It’s overseas arrivals bringing this Delta virus into our state.
Palaszczuk:
We had 18447 tests in the past 24 hours.
And that progressive testing of people on Magnetic Island is happening as we speak. So that’s excellent news.
Then also we’ve had 16,963 vaccines delivered yesterday. So I think this is another record. Yes, so that’s fantastic as well.
Updated
Queensland records three local Covid-19 cases
Annastacia Palaszczcuk says there have been three local cases overnight.
Today I can report some good news. So, we have four new cases, one person from overseas hotel quarantine.
There are three locally acquired and close contacts of existing cases. So, we are considering these low risk. So this is very good news. But it does give our health officials the time they need to do the contact tracing which is wonderful news...
So the first one is the brother of the Prince Charles case, that is casual worker...
One is a close contact of the Portuguese restaurant cluster who was already in quarantine. And the third one is a close contact of the Virgin crew member.
And is also in quarantine. So, that is also very good news.
We standing by now to get an update from Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, which should start any moment.
Hunt:
The best way to get people vaccinated is to continue to encourage them together, yourself and myself and everybody, to come forward particularly the over 60s.
We have now passed 60% of over 60s. We have now passed 60% of over 60s, the over 70s we are almost at 70%.
These are the most vulnerable groups. If you refer to the US, we are referring to a country with over 625,000 lives lost and was still thousands of cases in any one day.
We have a different risk tolerance in Australia. We are always aiming for zero community transmission in any one day. Other health ministers or secretaries around the world have said that they desperately wish they were in Australia’s position.
Just ducking back to the federal health minister’s media rounds this morning.
He was asked on Sunrise about the now infamous graph that shows Australia right at the bottom of developed countries when it comes to the percentage of the population who have been fully vaccinated.
Greg Hunt has placed most of the blame for this on the long wait time required between AstraZeneca vaccine doses:
With great respect, in terms of the first vaccination, we are at over 29% of the population, and that is increasing rapidly.
Secondly, as with some other countries, the backbone of our system in Australia has been AstraZeneca vaccine, that is a 12 week second dose, I think the gap between first and second doses in the UK is about 20%, very similar to what is in Australia. So, every day is a 12 week period is reached, people are coming forward now, and that has only just commenced.
What we are doing is making sure that we are vaccinating Australians and you are right, there are other countries, and these lists can be cut in many different ways, there are other countries with massively higher losses of life than Australia. We lost 910 lives. If we had the average of underdeveloped world nations, we would have had 30,000 deaths. If we have the UK or US, it would have been closer to 40,000.
Even now, the UK, from the figures I saw overnight, more than 200 people on ventilation for covert, we have none. We have one in ICU, but our circumstances are unimaginably different from so much of the rest of the world.
Updated
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Health Minister Brad Hazzard, Minister for Digital and Customer Service Victor Dominello, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant and NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys will provide a COVID-19 update at 11:00am #nswpol #COVID19Aus
— Political Alert (@political_alert) June 29, 2021
The federal member for Townville, Liberal Phillip Thompson, has written to the Queensland premier urgently requesting extra Covid-19 testing capacity, stating “violence” has broken out in the long queues.
I’ve received countless emails and messages of people having to wait more than eight hours.
Further, there have been reports of violence as tensions escalate due to long wait times, as well as people getting out of their cars to mix with others who are waiting, without masks or social distancing.
COVID CHAOS: Over the past 24 hours, I’ve been inundated by locals contacting me about the lengthy wait times to get a COVID test. I’ve written to the Premier @AnnastaciaMP this morning calling for urgent action. pic.twitter.com/2jX9bYd9Mm
— Phillip Thompson OAM MP (@P_Thompson88) June 29, 2021
Updated
Social housing struggling to keep pace
There are some 436,000 social housing dwellings in Australia, accommodating more than 800,000 people. But the nation’s social stock is not keeping pace with growth in the rest of the housing sector, a new report released on Wednesday by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare showed.
The institute’s report on housing assistance showed the proportion of social housing decreased from 4.7% of all dwellings in 2010 to 4.2% last year, reports AAP.
Social housing is defined as public housing, community housing, state-owned and managed Indigenous housing, and Indigenous community housing.
There were about 802,000 occupants in Australia’s social housing network in 2019/20, up from 797,100 the previous year.
Across all social housing, 62% of occupants were women, and 49% were aged 40 years or older.
Demand for Commonwealth rental assistance climbed sharply last year as Covid-19 took a toll on the national economy.
Families receiving Commonwealth Rent Assistance rose from 1.29 million in 2019 to 1.7 million in late June last year, the institute found. That figure had been 1.31 million in 2018 and the previous peak was 1.35 million in 2016.
The report comes as the Victorian government announced residents are starting to move into new social and affordable housing.
More than 240 homes are available under the state government’s $5.3 billion Big Housing Build, announced in last November’s Victorian budget.
The program aims to construct more than 12,000 homes for social housing across the state over the next four years.
Updated
Testing efforts have ramped up massively across Queensland.
This is the queue for drive-thru testing at Bridgeman Downs.
— Reece D'Alessandro (@R_DAlessandro9) June 29, 2021
Some have symptoms, others say they have been to Chermside Shopping Centre. @TheTodayShow @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/ptw9KP8cal
Updated
So just a heads up we are expecting the Queensland update in about 30 minutes when the premier will stand up for a press conference, and we will likely hear from NSW at around 11.
Likely we will get an update from the NT and WA today as well, but no times have been confirmed as of yet.
AMA president Dr Omar Khorshid has tweeted, urging the federal government to “fix hotel quarantine” by establishing purpose-built quarantine facilities.
Important decisions on mandatory vaccination for quarantine and aged care workers from national cabinet.
— AMA President (@amapresident) June 29, 2021
Next challenge: Fix hotel quarantine.
Rather than limiting arrivals can all states guarantee that their hotel quarantine is gold standard?
Until then we are all at risk.
(Side note: Bold choice to make your Twitter name “AMA President”)
Updated
Infected Covid-ward worker offered vaccine, QLD health minister says.
Queensland’s health minister, Yvette D’Ath, has told ABC radio she “wouldn’t be surprised” if family members of a known Delta case of Covid-19 have tested positive overnight.
A 19-year-old Sandgate woman who was a clerical worker at Brisbane’s Prince Charles hospital has confirmed to have the highly contagious Delta variant of Covid-19, with her brother, a high school student, already testing positive.
So, you know, we have concerns about them being positive, and we won’t be surprised if, you know, a number of those do come up positive.
And that’s why this lockdown so important, what we do over the next three days can make all the difference of what we do over the next 30 days.
D’Ath said the woman had been offered a vaccine, but hadn’t had any doses.
Look, I’m not aware that she’s refused it, I think she just didn’t take the option up.
Everyone in health has been offered to go and get vaccinated.
The minister said the woman shouldn’t have been posted outside the Covid-19 ward without being vaccinated and the government was investigating who was responsible.
I’m asking that question: who made the decision to put someone who was unvaccinated into that position in that hospital?
Updated
The chair of one of Australia’s largest aged care providers has welcomed the belated decision to make coronavirus vaccines mandatory for all workers, reports Daniel McCulloch from AAP.
Nursing home staff will need to have their first shot by mid-September if they want to keep working in aged care.
Unions are concerned the government is not offering enough support to workers, while aged care providers are worried about how their staff will get access to the vaccine.
Peter Shergold, who runs Opal Aged Care, is relieved by the national cabinet decision to mandate vaccines for all staff.
Shergold acknowledged it raised questions around whether the requirement would deter people from working in aged care, as well as respecting the rights of individuals to make their own decisions.
But Shergold told ABC radio on Wednesday frail, elderly people in aged care settings were the most vulnerable in Australia.
Protecting them has got to be our number one, two and three priorities.
In this crisis we do need to say ‘sorry, if you want to work in an aged care home, we require you to be vaccinated’.
Shergold said the vast majority of frontline aged care staff wanted to get vaccinated, having put themselves at significant risk throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
He said workers had shown resilience, dedication and courage throughout the 18-month ordeal.
What we need to do is to make it easy and convenient for them to do so.
Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus also believes it is too difficult for aged care workers to get vaccinated. She wants teams of vaccinators deployed to aged care homes to give out jabs to staff.
Shergold supports the idea and also wants roving virus clinics to be rolled out across the country.
Updated
It is a weather forecast that may make those who travelled north for the school holidays – only to be plunged into lockdown – feel a little better: soaking rain is set to hit most of Queensland and northern New South Wales, lasting into the weekend.
The Bureau of Meteorology expected that a high over the Tasman Sea and an upper trough and surface trough that would move over the east coast in coming days could result in heavy isolated falls and thunderstorms, particularly in south-east and central Queensland, and north-east NSW.
☔ Showers are increasing for much of #Qld and northern #NSW over the coming days. Heavy isolated falls are possible with #thunderstorms, particularly in southeast and central Qld, and northeast NSW later on Friday and on Saturday.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Australia (@BOM_au) June 29, 2021
Latest forecasts: https://t.co/oAuv5Wkcbo pic.twitter.com/WgZysEgXiv
Parts of NSW had already received a soaking, with weather stations in the Hunter and Central Coast regions copping more than 30mm of rain in the 24 hours to Tuesday night.
You can read the full report below:
For all the ACT readers among us this morning!
(1/6) Are you getting a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine at the new Canberra Airport precinct COVID-19 mass vaccination clinic? Our friends from @Transport_CBR are running a free shuttle bus from the Airport Terminal bus stop to the new clinic at 30 Nomad Drive, Pialligo. pic.twitter.com/4oyYRGEhPJ
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) June 29, 2021
Regional communities will still be able to do most of their banking at Australia Post branches across the country after the agency penned new 10-year agreements with two of the major banks, reports AAP.
But while Commonwealth Bank of Australia and National Australia Bank customers now have certainty, Westpac customers are only guaranteed service for another year.
Australian Post said in a statement on Wednesday:
Westpac and Austalia Post have commenced negotiations around a possible new longer agreement.
The government-owned enterprise’s Bank@Post service is available at more than 3500 local post offices and is valued by regional communities and small businesses that don’t have easy access to traditional bank branches.
Australia Post said the CBA and NAB deals would also support thousands of licensed post offices and their owners, many of whom are small businesses and families servicing local communities.
Community and consumer general manager Nicole Sheffield said:
Our post offices also play a critical role during natural disasters, emergencies and more recently through the COVID-19 pandemic, with access to products and services through lockdowns and travel restrictions.
Labor MPs have criticised the Coalition’s $660m commuter car park fund, which allowed Liberal MPs and candidates to select and announce projects in their electorates, some of which were never and could never be built.
On Monday the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) released a scathing report finding the infrastructure department selected none of the 47 car park sites, which were instead selected by the government using a “non-competitive, non-application based process” that “was not demonstrably merit-based”.
Labor MP Josh Burns said the Coalition announced a $15m commitment for a car park at Balaclava station, in his Melbourne electorate of Macnamara despite the fact the land was already set aside for public housing.
“A call to Port Phillip council or the Victorian government would’ve told them … there was no chance the land was ever going to be used for car parks,” Burns told Guardian Australia.
You can read the full report on the program Labor has dubbed “Sports rorts on steroids”, below:
Updated
Oh no, New Zealand!
Don’t do it! Don’t make the same mistakes as us!
The vaccine rollout is a race!
It is!
#LISTEN Chris Hipkins: 'No major downside' to slow vaccine rollouthttps://t.co/7YgYb5bWtG pic.twitter.com/m2icd6Eea9
— Newstalk ZB (@NewstalkZB) June 29, 2021
NSW has tightened the rules for people travelling into the state if they have visited other regions under new Covid-19 restrictions.
(I think the official clinical term for this is “the pot calling the kettle black”.)
NSW Health says people from areas in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia now subject to stay-at-home rules should not travel to the state unless permitted to do so.
From Wednesday, anyone coming to NSW who has been in those areas in the previous 14 days must complete a declaration form. This is the same requirement already in place for people who have been in Victoria in the previous 14 days.
From 12.01 Wednesday 30 June, those travelling to NSW who have been in the Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria or Western Australia in the previous 14 days, must complete a NSW entry declaration form. To complete a declaration form, visit: https://t.co/FH99waRIvT pic.twitter.com/9U7yTXOt8h
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 29, 2021
Updated
Victoria records one locally acquired Covid-19 case overnight
Victoria has broken its three-day Covid-free streak, recording one locally acquired case overnight.
Reported yesterday: 1 new local case and 1 new case acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 29, 2021
- 20,067 vaccine doses were administered
- 29,949 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/6WelyFkxLY
But the good news is the case was primary close contact “in isolation throughout their infectious period” so it’s unlikely to prompt any renewed Covid-19 crisis.
Updated
A heartwarming lockdown post from Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, with only subtle overtones of a dystopian future. (Both from the empty roads and the 1984-style government video surveillance vibes.)
The roads are quiet in the South East and up North.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) June 29, 2021
Thanks for staying home 👏#StayHome pic.twitter.com/hyjwxNji4u
Updated
AMA president Dr Omar Khorshid says he is disappointed with the confused messaging concerning vaccines from the federal government.
One of the criticisms that the AMA does agree with of the government’s rollout of the vaccine is that the messaging has really been mixed and I think Australians don’t know which way is up when it comes to the vaccine program.
We would really like to see some money being put into positive advertising program, to change the general feeling around our vaccine program.
This is not something that we just do for ourselves, it is actually something we do for others in the community, for the vulnerable.
If we can turn this thing into a national priority, where everyone is jumping on board, it is effectively like a war, so let’s take that war footing and encourage everyone to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, but also, I think, talking more to the medical profession before new announcements would certainly be helpful, because we can help the government avoid some of these pitfalls.
Updated
Khorshid:
Doctors make decisions in conjunction with their patients and there have been some GPs refusing to offer the AZ vaccine over the last few weeks to people who have asked for it who don’t fit in the recommended age groups because they didn’t feel able to do so.
By really making clear that doctors are covered and by making the vaccine formally available to all Australians, I think GPs will now understand that it is possible, but they will have to have that conversation with a patient and ensure that they understand. Will it mean every GP will offer AZ to under-60s, or under-40s? Probably not. I think some GPs will say, “Look, I’m not willing to do something that is against the expert advice.” But many GPs are already willing to offer it and they will feel more comfortable to do so since the PM’s announcement.
Khorshid appears to be a bit more positive about under 40s being vaccinated with AstraZeneca than he was yesterday.
There have been a lot of people in the community saying that they want any vaccine that they can get.
A lot of younger people are saying that they can’t understand why our older Australians are so reluctant and they are wanting to do their bit to add to support the vaccine program and Australia’s target of being vaccinated by the end of the year.
That’s the good thing and, as long as they understand the risks associated, it is within their right to be vaccinated, and the PM has made that available, but the Atagi advice is the key bit of information here.
For those under the age of 60, they have done the risk analysis for us. They have said in Australia’s context, in the size of outbreaks we are likely to get, the preferred vaccine in the Pfizer vaccine due to the very tiny but significant risk of [blood clotting].
Updated
AMA president Dr Omar Khorshid has told ABC News Breakfast GPs were not warned about the rapid changes to who can receive the AstraZeneca vaccine.
I think I need to be a little clearer here. We don’t have a problem removing restrictions that the prime minister has done. The issue is with GPs not being notified.
The AMA is not suggesting that Atagi is wrong. The experts are recommending that people under 60 have the Pfizer vaccine. The PM simply removed restrictions on AZ and that means that people who believe that they would like to, on balancing those risks, can have AZ as it is still available as it has been for health care workers aged under 60 and the priority groups right first since the AtagiI decision.
Updated
Correction: I’ve been informed Greg Hunt is doing the media rounds, just doesn’t want to talk to ABC TV ... which is actually kinda worse somehow.
Updated
Ooft, seems we won’t be hearing from Greg Hunt on the media rounds this morning.
And we should point out we asked Health Minister @GregHuntMP to come on to talk about the changes to the vaccine rollout.
— Michael Rowland (@mjrowland68) June 29, 2021
He was unavailable.#auspol https://t.co/ET0t14Zln5
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Vaccine hub queue moving through very quickly now @TheTodayShow pic.twitter.com/xkMT2m5y6p
— Lara Vella (@vella_lara) June 29, 2021
Oh, we are also expecting to hear from Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid in about 15 minutes.
The AMA has been highly critical of the federal government’s surprising decision to encourage those under 40 to speak to thier GP about getting the AstraZeneca vaccine, despite health advice suggesting they receive (the much less readily available) Pfizer.
If you want to read up on what Khorshid has to say, can I suggest this report from medical editor Melissa Davey?
Some exposure sites have been added to the Queensland Health website overnight
NEW QLD LOCATIONS:
— Reece D'Alessandro (@R_DAlessandro9) June 29, 2021
4 retail stores at Chermside Shopping Centre have been added to the list of exposure sites.
Some of those getting tested here at Bridgeman Downs have been to the shopping centre.@TheTodayShow @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/4RT1endWeS
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Early risers turning up at the Homebush vaccine hub to get inoculated, including one 28yo who says he doesn’t care which vaccine he gets @TheTodayShow pic.twitter.com/cUn0Yfq35m
— Lara Vella (@vella_lara) June 29, 2021
Miles has defended the state’s decision to place large areas into a snap lockdown:
The concern here is about four separate outbreaks. Fifteen cases of community transmission now including that brother.
We’ve seen some states go past that level of risk and the situation has escalated, they’ve had the lockdown further.
Other states have locked down sooner. We think that this was the time that we needed to.
So we really hope that the three-day lockdown will allow us to deal with all four and then get back to normal as quickly as possible. The last thing we wanted was to wait a day or two too long*.
*In case you missed it, this is a not-too-subtle jab at NSW.
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Miles has conceded it was the responsibility of the Queensland government to ensure the 19-year-old casual secretary, working just outside a Covid-19 ward, was vaccinated, despite the state government’s sharp criticism of the federal government during yesterday’s press conference.
To be fair, the premier was very clear that this should not happen.
While the direction requires that health staff who are interacting with potentially Covid positive patients all need to be vaccinated, this receptionist was just outside the area and while the direction might not have applied, common sense should have, and the health service should have made sure they were vaccinated.
Miles also admitted that it “wasn’t good enough” that only two-thirds of Queensland Health’s workforce had been confirmed to be vaccinated, with an unknown number of others receiving the jab from their GPs.
We need to do better.
The whole vaccination rollout hasn’t been as smooth as anyone would have liked.
I think that two-thirds figure applies to all hospital staff so including admin, clerical, managerial staff.
We’ve practically completed phase one ... But we need to do better. We need to get more of our hospital staff vaccinated, that’s what this case underlines.
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High school student tests positive in Queensland
The deputy Queensland premier, Steven Miles, says the brother of a 19-year-old secretary working just outside a Covid-19 ward in Prince Charles hospital has now tested positive.
The state has been plunged into a three-day snap lockdown after this worker travelled through the community for ten days while potentially infectious.
Miles has told ABC radio her brother is a student a Queensland high school:
Obviously it’s concerning and adds to the number of risks associated with the number of contacts associated with this particular case.
It’s probably not too surprising though. This whole household had been travelling together in the days that the receptionist was contagious infectious, and so it’s probably not too surprising that the brothers come back positive and understand there’s another household member who’s also sick.
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Wu Lebao, 38, has recounted receiving a string of insulting messages and calls from a fellow student calling him stupid and a traitor to China.
The alleged harassment experienced by Wu – who is studying mathematics at the Australian National University in Canberra – recently took a disturbing turn.
“He also said he would come to my door at night,” Wu, who lives in student accommodation, tells Guardian Australia. “It worried me a little bit.”
Wu, a Chinese dissident who was granted refuge by Australia and now has Australian citizenship, says he has reported the matter to university security guards and to the Australian federal police in the ACT – but he questions whether it is being taken seriously.
His experiences are in line with new research that reveals students at Australian university campuses have faced harassment and intimidation for criticising the Chinese Communist party or expressing support for democracy in Hong Kong or mainland China.
You can read the full report below:
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If you are keen for a 1.32-minute summary of all the Covid-19 lockdown currently going on in Australia, can I suggest this TikTok, created by ... *checks notes* ... oh, me.
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Good morning, and welcome back to this extremely strange week we are all having.
I’m Matilda Boseley and let’s jump right into the day.
Much of Queensland has been plunged into snap three-day lockdown after it was discovered a 19-year-old Covid-19 ward receptionist at the Prince Charles Hospital in Brisbane travelled to the state’s north and was infectious in the community for 10 days.
The ABC is reporting the woman’s brother has also tested positive to Covid-19. This hasn’t been independently confirmed by Guardian Australia as of yet, but it would fit with what the health authorities told us yesterday about her family member falling ill and awaiting test results.
The woman travelled to Townsville and Magnetic Island while potentially infectious, prompting the Queensland government to urge all 2,000 residents of the island to get tested at a new Covid-19 pop-up clinic.
Further south NSW is still waiting nervously after health officials warned case numbers could still boom before the full positive effects of the lockdown are felt.
The number of new cases yesterday was just one higher than Monday, despite health officials’ fears of a surge in cases. Gladys Berejiklian noted that “that could very well happen in the next few days”.
The premier once again expressed her frustration at the sluggish pace of the vaccine rollout, stating that given the lack of herd immunity in the population and the transmissibility of the Delta variant, some restrictions will have to stay, even after the current cluster is eradicated and Sydney ends its lockdown.
She said NSW must get 80% of its adult population vaccinated before having a conversation about what “Covid-normal” looks like. That’s 5 million people receiving 10 million jabs. More than two million doses have been administered in NSW so far.
The premier foreshadowed she would soon be announcing a plan to “step it up” and help the federal government distribute vaccines.
With that, why don’t we jump into the day.
If there is something you reckon I’ve missed or think should be in the blog but isn’t, shoot me a message on Twitter @MatildaBoseley or email me at matilda.boseley@theguardian.com.
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