What we learned today, Tuesday 4 January
And that brings another day and another blog to an end – join us again tomorrow. Here’s today’s news wrap:
- A new record of 47,738 Covid cases were recorded nationally. In New South Wales, there were two deaths and 23,131 new Covid cases, and 1,344 people are in hospital.
- Victoria also saw two deaths. There were 14,020 new cases, a jump of more than 5,000 cases.
- Queensland recorded 5,699 new cases, another substantial increase, as the chief medical officer warned there could be hundreds of thousands of cases within the month.
- There were 702 new cases in Tasmania, 3,246 in South Australia, 926 in the Australian Capital Territory, and 75 in the Northern Territory.
- The Australian Medical Association said it warned the federal government about the lack of rapid antigen tests in September.
- Researchers say T-cells are the body’s “back up” in fighting Omicron.
- And in better news, theatres in Sydney and Melbourne are declaring “on with the show”.
Theatres in Sydney and Melbourne start reopening after Covid closures
In case you need some good news on this diabolical afternoon, the theatres are starting to open back up in Sydney and Melbourne after at least 90 performers in major shows across both states tested positive to Covid over the Christmas and New Year period.
Opera Australia’s La Bohème is “full steam ahead” for its opening night tonight, after it was forced to cancel its traditional New Year’s Eve performance due to Covid. An OA spokeswoman said:
Incredibly, tonight’s cast and orchestra is almost entirely intact. All principals are back on deck, I think maybe one or two chorus and one musician may still be out. But that’s it. Remarkable considering where we were a week ago.
Opera Australia’s Turandot was forced to suspend rehearsals last week but resumed today and is expected to open as planned on 12 January.
The cast of Hamilton are back on stage tomorrow night in Sydney after isolating over the New Year break. Come From Away is also back after a number of cancelled performances. A Chorus Line at Riverside Theatre in Parramatta delayed its opening at the Sydney festival due to a number of positive cases in rehearsals, but is expected to go ahead on 13 January.
Also at Sydney Festival, Girl from the North Country will commence from 6 January after a delayed bump-in, due to positive cases among the house crew at the Theatre Royal.
In Melbourne, Moulin Rouge is back on stage tonight after its sudden mid-show stop last week due to a positive test result.
Jagged Little Pill will finally open at the Comedy Theatre on Thursday 13 January after delaying 12 days due to a Covid outbreak among the cast. Frozen the Musical at Her Majesty’s Theatre in Melbourne is expected to reopen tomorrow.
Updated
Queensland Health has defended an anomaly in the state’s Covid rules which forces Covid-negative international travellers into a longer quarantine than people infected with the virus in the community.
The state updated its public health directive for Covid-positive cases on Monday. The rules state that anyone in Queensland informed of a Covid diagnosis must immediately isolate for seven days. Read all about it here:
Updated
See below from the ABC’s Andrew Greene. Japan and Australia were expected to talk defence, China, and of course Aukus – and then Omicron happened. Again.
Here’s a piece from Daniel Hurst with some more context.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has just announced in a New Year’s press conference he will not visit Australia this week as planned #omicron
— Andrew Greene (@AndrewBGreene) January 4, 2022
$65! For two! I would say it’s getting silly, but obviously it’s past that now...
Uber Eats for RAT. Only $65 for a two pack! @2GB873 @9NewsAUS pic.twitter.com/qscr2kaa6i
— Chris O'Keefe (@cokeefe9) January 4, 2022
Health authorities might be watching the Covid case numbers spike, but economists have their antennae up for other data, such as what effect, if any, Omicron might be having on consumer confidence.
ANZ is among the first out of the blocks on this one, reporting today that tracked spending on dining and travel shows “that the rapid spread of Omicron may be leading to cautious behaviour”.
“The drop in spending after the key Christmas and Boxing Day trading was much sharper this year than in previous years,” it said, with NSW the most evident with visitors apparently avoiding the “premier state”.
There was 25% less spending in the week to 2 January 2021 compared with the week to 2 January 2020, the bank said.
Other states haven’t done much better, though. Victoria’s spending was off 19%, Queensland 17% and the other states off 15%.
Unpacking – or perhaps unwrapping – the figures is getting a little trickier over time, since some of the end-of-year spending drop is the result of an increase in online shopping on “Black Friday” – another US-flavoured import.
That’s the first Friday after “Thanksgiving Day”, and the result is less money being splurged on Boxing Day sales.
In other words, Omicron might not be wholly to blame for the lower spending of late.
Updated
Thanks Mick! Hm, is the coronavirus technically still novel? Seems like it’s getting pretty old by now. OK, I’m going to hunt for something to freshen up your afternoon.
That’s it for my short and sharp contribution. I’ll hand you over to Tory Shepherd while I go and get a booster shot to protect me from the novel coronavirus.
Sydney festival responds to boycott calls over Israeli embassy sponsorship
In non-Covid news, the board of the Sydney festival has released a statement about a $20,000 sponsorship from the Israeli embassy to stage a production of the Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin’s Decadance.
The sponsorship has sparked calls for a boycott of the festival from pro-Palestinian organisations and assorted artists and academics, and has led to a number of acts pulling out.
In a statement released this afternoon the festival board said it was “conscious of the calls for artists and audiences to boycott the festival” over the sponsorship but that “all funding agreements” for this year’s festival would be “honoured”.
However, it said that it would “review its practices in relation to funding from foreign governments or related parties” for future festivals.
Here’s the statement:
The Board is also conscious of the calls for artists and audiences to boycott the Festival in relation to the Israeli Embassy’s financial support of a performance by the Sydney Dance Company of a work, Decadance, by world renowned Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin.
The Sydney Festival Board wishes collectively to affirm its respect for the right of all groups to protest and raise concerns. We spent time with a number of groups who have concerns about this funding and welcomed the opportunity to engage with them. All funding agreements for the current Festival – including for Decadance – will be honoured, and the performances will proceed. At the same time, the Board has also determined it will review its practices in relation to funding from foreign governments or related parties.
We see it as the core role of the Sydney Festival to present art and to provide an inclusive platform for all artists. We aim to profile a diverse representation of work by artists and companies locally, nationally and internationally. We respect the right of any artist to withdraw from the Festival and hope that they will feel able to participate in future festivals.
We likewise respect the many artists who continue to look forward to their participation in this year’s Sydney Festival and welcome them, and audiences to view the art they will present and its myriad of perspectives.
As a Board we ask for respectful dialogue by all individuals and organisations when engaging with artists, especially for the personal decisions that artists make.
Updated
Very interesting thread here from Juliette O’Brien, a data journalist who has been doing excellent work right through the pandemic. She’s casting some doubt on a Daily Telegraph story from a few days ago which quoted the New South Wales health minister, Brad Hazzard, as saying 40% to 50% of hospitalised Covid patients were actually admitted for other reasons.
O’Brien has done her own digging and found that at two major hospitals in NSW right now a sample of patients showed the number in hospital with Covid, as opposed to for Covid, was closer to between 20% and 24%.
How many people are in NSW hospitals *with* Covid but not *for* Covid?
— Juliette O'Brien (@juliette_io) January 4, 2022
The Daily Telegraph says it's 40-50% of patients
I have data from 2 major hospitals that tell a different story
🧵 1/9#covid19aus #covid19nsw #COVID19
I asked clinicians from 4 big hospitals for an analysis of a random sample of currently admitted Covid patients
— Juliette O'Brien (@juliette_io) January 4, 2022
2 could help🙏
Both had very similar breakdowns:
~76-80% of Covid patients admitted *for* Covid illness
~20-24% admitted *with* Covid but for something else
2/9
Some more detail on the samples ...
— Juliette O'Brien (@juliette_io) January 4, 2022
Hospital A: n=21
Hospital B: n=101
Both samples were randomly selected and statistically significant given total Covid patients at each facility
3/9
Updated
NSW Labor calls on state government to make rapid antigen tests free
Good afternoon.
The New South Wales opposition leader, Chris Minns, has today called on the state government to make rapid antigen tests free, amid continuing long delays for PCR tests and following the closure of a number of private pathology test clinics.
Calling it an “urgent situation”, Minns has gone further than federal Labor by saying rapid tests “need to be free of charge”.
This is what is happening in other jurisdictions around the world. It’s happening in the UK, it’s happening in the USA, it works. The minimum the government can do for the citizens of this state, is ensure that they’re providing the services so that they can test whether they’ve got Covid or not, that’s the smallest and minimum thing the government can do on behalf of the citizens of New South Wales.
Now, at the end of the day, it’s a difficult set of circumstances and we know that we have to live with Covid. But that doesn’t mean we can’t live without a government. There is important work of the NSW government to do, most importantly, staffing and properly resourcing our public hospitals. Now we’re seeing a significant rise in hospital admissions over the last week, we’re expecting more admissions in the coming weeks ahead.
Updated
And with that, I am going to hand you over to Michael McGowan, who will take you through the rest of the evening.
Updated
Reporter: Omicron is obviously much more transmissible. Have you commissioned new modelling to inform your planning for this current strain?
Bennett:
I don’t commission modelling, so the department does, as does national cabinet. And so, as I said, there has been modelling under consideration about Omicron.
To do the modelling you really do need to understand the virus itself. And that’s only becoming more apparent more recently.
Updated
Reporter: Is there work being undertaken to make those rapid antigen tests results visible to authorities?
Bennett:
Yes, I think all of those things will be under consideration. And they are ongoing discussions with the chief medical officer and chief health officers around the country.
We learn clearly from overseas as well as learn from each other with the states and territories.
Updated
Reporter: In terms of the healthcare workforce ... are they going to be able to cope with the concurrent pressure of cases, of demand for vaccines and for testing?
Bennett:
With the vaccine program, as I said, I think certainly at the beginning of the vaccine program that fell on healthcare workers were primarily providing the vaccination, but there is a range of avenues now that people can access vaccination, which also frees up healthcare workers and hospitals to do other things.
As you say it’s been a very busy couple of years and I think we would all acknowledge the health workforce generally is very tired.
And there are plans in place to cope with surge whenever it may occur and support healthcare workers.
Updated
Bennett is asked about charities now spending tens of thousands of dollars to buy RATs:
National cabinet meets again tomorrow and I’m sure they will be considering that.
The use of all testing, both PCR and rapid antigen testing, and the range of measures are under constant review and consideration with the pandemic context.
So I would expect any new information will be out shortly. I think it’s important though to remind people the most important thing that you can do is to get vaccinated. And now have your booster.
Again, the second most important thing is if you are unwell then you do need to stay home and certainly seek – I’m not saying don’t get tested, I’m saying seek access to a test.
I just don’t want people to be anxious if they can’t get a test immediately because regardless the most important thing they can do in that situation is stay home in they are unable to find a testing centre.
Updated
Bennett is asked why the government decided to rely on the market for an essential health product. She says:
I don’t think that’s really a question for me. All I can do, as I said, from a policy point of view, of the rapid antigen tests and their use case, certainly the Communicable Diseases Network of Australia have always had a testing strategy in place and that’s been published and that included use of rapid antigen tests as policy questions.
So they don’t consider the market issues in that. So it’s probably not a question that I can answer.
Updated
In response, Bennett is asked if there was any discussion or modelling done about the possibility of a more transmissible strain of the virus and testing demand going up when the government was planning for opening up:
That’s always been on the table. Again, I would say that every country is dealing with this situation.
So you always plan for various options. You can’t act on all of those various options though because you can’t predict which pathway that will take.
So there was certainly planning done, which is part of the reason I think that governments have been able to act so incredibly quickly.
Even in countries that had testing in place in a widespread way – because they had more cases – have found it difficult to increase that availability of testing exponentially with Omicron.
Updated
Bennett is asked again about the rapid antigen tests – and if it is a failure of the federal government that it did not secure enough supplies before we all needed them?
I don’t accept that at all. I think the context in September was very different.
If you remember we were dealing with Delta variant and so there had been a lot of planning around the Delta variant. There had been modelling to indicate what sort of numbers we could expect to see at various levels of vaccinations – you know as Australia reopened and people started to live their daily lives – and so we are in a very different situation now.
Very different context with the case numbers we are seeing. And there is a lot of work. There’s a lot of people working to ensure that that supply is secured as quickly as possible and that will certainly clear in the next few weeks.
Updated
Bennett is asked where the RATs are at:
So the rapid antigen tests, they are still accessible now. Not to everybody. I acknowledge.
But they are continuing to come in and over the next week or so – and I think the government announced earlier – we should see upwards of 100m rapid antigen tests coming into the country.
So we will have plenty of tests for people to access as they need. Right now people who do need testing can get it.
There are different avenues to get that through obviously, but the most critical message I would have is if you are mildly unwell stay home.
Updated
Bennett is asked if it is even problematic that people around the country can’t get tested – especially if it is a good thing it is spreading further than we know:
“I wouldn’t be confident to say that the reason we don’t know all the cases in the community is because people can’t access a test.
I do acknowledge at the moment there are delays to testing. We are seeing queues and people might have to look around to see where they get a test.
National cabinet last week discussed testing of cases and contacts and that was revised to accommodate really testing those most at risk. The most important thing for people is if they are feeling unwell they should stay home if they are unwell.
Now, if you need a test and you area close contact you will be informed of that, either through the case or the public health authorities, and you should certainly seek to get a test if you are advised to do so. Those tests are available from what I’m hearing.
Updated
Bennett is asked what she thinks the real case numbers are at the moment:
A little bit like the data is not entirely telling us what’s happening, I think that’s fair to say. And as we said, in hospital, you know, the numbers we are seeing, people actually being hospitalised for different reasons and happen to have Covid, there is certainly many more cases of Covid in the community we are not aware of.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing because I think generally that where we are seeing Covid is in younger people, it’s very mild. Many might not know they have it, or it’s just a sniffle. So they are not overly unwell.
And it does mean then you get a natural boost from that in the population. And it also would indicate then if there are more cases we don’t know about, then the impact on the system is even less than we anticipate now.
Updated
Bennett says we have plenty of vaccines for boosters and kids’ vaccines:
I know everybody is aware the five- to 12-year-olds as of 10 January that vaccination program will also commence. So for parents who have already decided to get their child vaccinated, please consider making a booking as soon as they open.
Updated
'We all know somebody who has either got Covid or is isolating,' deputy chief medical officer says
Bennett says everyone knows someone with Covid:
Talking about those significant case numbers, they do continue to rise. They are large numbers that we have never before seen in Australia.
I think at this point we all know somebody who has either got Covid or we have got workers off work because they are quarantining or isolating or had events cancelled.
And other impacts in our daily lives that are occurring because of the sheer case numbers.
So it really is time for all of us to play our part in managing those numbers and helping them stabilise and come down.
And we do that through our behaviours, Covid-safe behaviours which we are all aware of, but more critically we know that the booster, whilst double dose vaccination protects against severe disease, the booster is much more effective at preventing against infection.
And so I’m really pleased today to be able to say ... another 8 million Australians became eligible for a booster, having completed their primary course four months ago.
We have already seen 2.5 million Australians have their booster, but with another 8 million eligible today that’s really exciting news.
Updated
Bennett says people are going to the hospital for other reasons and finding out they have Covid:
Some interesting evidence that a lot of people are in the hospital wards, not intensive care but hospital, have gone to hospital for another reason and tested positive for Covid.
And that’s not surprising given the sheer case numbers that we are seeing in the community.
We do know that the Omicron variant is inherently in itself a less severe virus but it’s also part of the outcome of our excellent vaccination coverage, double dose vaccination coverage here in Australia, that we are really seeing limited severe disease despite those significant case numbers.
Updated
Australia records 47,738 Covid cases across the nation
Australia’s deputy chief medical officer, Dr Sonya Bennett, says we’ve had 47,738 Covid cases across the nation:
In the last 24 hours nationally we have had 47,738 cases reported. Which is an increase from about 38,000 cases yesterday.
2,362 COVID cases are in hospital. Which is almost double the number that were in hospital last week.
184 cases are in intensive care, only slightly up from last week, which was 135, and of those 59 are ventilated – that is steady.
She says the majority of people in ICU have Delta:
We haven’t seen an increase in cases in intensive care that are ventilated. As usual, we are working collaboratively with the states and territories looking at the data particularly with respect to hospitalisations, and there is some early evidence that the majority of people in critical care have the Delta variant, particularly in jurisdictions such as Victoria.
Updated
Australia’s deputy chief medical officer, Dr Sonya Bennett, is expected to address the media soon.
Updated
ACTU demands free and accessible rapid antigen tests
The ACTU has joined a growing list of organisations calling for free rapid antigen tests, saying workers are losing shifts because they can’t find them.
The acting secretary of the ACTU, Liam O’Brien, said:
The fact the ACCC has been forced to take action to stop unscrupulous operators ripping off Australians desperate to get their hands on rapid antigen tests is a shocking indictment of Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his total failure of leadership on rapid antigen testing.
Rapid antigen tests must be free and accessible for all Australians who need them, just like they are in the UK and the USA.
Working people are losing shifts and wasting hours as they scramble to find rapid antigen tests and, if they’re lucky enough to find an outlet that still has them in stock, they are being gouged by skyrocketing prices.
Australia’s system of universal public health care, Medicare, is a source of national pride.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s undermining of Medicare with his pivot to a “user pays” pandemic is wrong, and he must immediately reverse course.
Updated
Sydney housing market hits new price high as Inner West Terrace sells for 3 RAT tests
— The Chaser (@chaser) January 4, 2022
Don't forget: there is no current record of Federal Labor demanding that rapid tests should be free. (But NSW Labor is.) This situation is the current government's failure but the opposition is equally yet to apply pressure and demand an alternative. "Affordable" is not free.
— Eliza Barr (@ElizaJBarr) January 4, 2022
Neither of the major parties are willing to follow in the footsteps of other western nations and provide a way to safely manage the risks of living with Covid without drama, rigmarole or expense. No-one is standing up for Australians here. Profoundly disappointing.
— Eliza Barr (@ElizaJBarr) January 4, 2022
Why would the government bother moving if their opponents don't pose any credible threat to their votes by offering an extremely attractive alternative? Labor has an opportunity here and it is yet to take it up. Meanwhile, Australians continue to suffer.
— Eliza Barr (@ElizaJBarr) January 4, 2022
Where did it all go wrong?
How did Australia go from being the envy of the world with our best practice public health measures, low case numbers, a prepared health system and an economy ticking along nicely to what can only be described as a shambolic mess?
The only example Australia is providing to the world now is a warning about what not to do with the Covid-19 pandemic, writes Kerryn Phelps.
Read her piece for Guardian Australia here:
Updated
Man charged over Old Parliament House fire granted bail
A Victorian man charged over last week’s fire at Old Parliament House in Canberra has been granted bail. From AAP:
A Victorian man charged with arson and damaging commonwealth property over a fire at Canberra’s Old Parliament House has been granted bail.
The 30-year-old appeared via video link on Tuesday from Canberra’s prison, where he was being held in remand.
His bail conditions include him reporting to the nearest police station to his home in Gippsland once a week, not entering the ACT unless for legal purposes and attending court in the ACT when compelled.
A suppression order has been granted to stop the man’s name from being publicised in fear of retribution for his alleged actions.
A woman purporting to be from “the sovereign nation of Terra Australis” applied to represent the man in court, but was denied.
He is being represented by Legal Aid.
The case will return to court on 25 January.
Updated
Queensland Liberal National Party Leader David Crisafulli says private provider's websites said which COVID-19 testing clinics wouldn't be open today.
— @MartySilk (@MartySilkHack) January 4, 2022
"Probably most concerning was the words that came in the minister's mouth which was that she assumed they would be open."
Mr Crisafulli said it appears no one in the minister's office or Queensland Health checked with private testing providers before listing those clinics as being open today.
— @MartySilk (@MartySilkHack) January 4, 2022
"You don't assume at any time, you certainly don't assume during the pandemic."
He said the Qld govt previously failed to plan for the PCR demand surge from interstate arrivals.
— @MartySilk (@MartySilkHack) January 4, 2022
It had done the same with today's testing clinic closures.
"People are lined up like cattle waiting at a trough for hours on end in sun because of a govt that can't plan properly."
We lost a bit of the Northern Territory Covid presser because of the ACCC announcement, so I’ve just grabbed this from AAP for those who want more info:
The Northern Territory has detected 75 new Covid-19 infections as testing requirements for travellers are further eased due to interstate chaos.
New arrivals are no longer required to show evidence of a negative PCR test taken 72 hours before travelling to the territory.
They will now be handed a rapid antigen test upon arrival in the NT so they can self-test and report their result within two hours.
“If you are in a queue down south trying to get a PCR test, leave and we will sort it out when you get here,” chief minister Michael Gunner told reporters on Tuesday.
Children under two years are not required to be tested.
Gunner said the policy change is a response to testing issues in other states that have seen long queues, delayed result delivery and clinics close.
“PCR supply and testing down south are getting thinner and thinner. They are buckling on some places. The shelves are empty of RAT kits,” he said.
“It is now clear we need to be in full control of our testing regime and we can’t rely on other jurisdictions.”
It comes as fears grow that the virus could have spread to another remote Indigenous community.
A Gunbalanya man tested positive after he travelled to his home in west Arnhem Land, about 300km east of Darwin.
“The man has spent time in Darwin prior to his arrival,” Gunner said.
Updated
The govt: the country is well equipped to handle this surge
— Bhakthi (@bhakthi) January 4, 2022
The country: https://t.co/938wUySIVU
Birmingham is asked about people panicking over supplies as cases skyrocket:
People shouldn’t need to engage in panic buying or any of those things.
In Australia, there are many different means of support that are available for people who may need to isolate in terms of the financial support that’s there for those who have loss of income. As well as, of course, the opportunities to be able to have your other goods delivered through usual commercial means.
But also the extent to which we’ve seen so many Australians helping out family and friends, neighbours and others to ensure that they are given the assistance they need through these times where they have to isolate.
Updated
The federal finance minister, Simon Birmingham, is talking in Adelaide now.
He says rapid antigen tests are free if you need a clear reason.
“We are working with states and territories to make rapid antigen tests freely available to those who need them in those circumstances.”
He is asked why RATs are $30 here when they are free in the UK and $4 in Thailand.
“We are making sure we have more supply coming into the country in the coming weeks. We expect to see more than 100m kits sourced for Australians to be able to use.
“We’re also working through the process of ensuring that for a concessional cardholder, there are subsidies and discounts available to support their access.
“Most importantly testing remains free for those who need it.”
Updated
Wendy Harmer posted this video of the Collaroy sea wall on Twitter earlier.
Update Collaroy sea wall… this is the “beach” on Christmas tide just now pic.twitter.com/ozIcay5APi
— Wendy Harmer (@wendy_harmer) January 3, 2022
As some of you might remember, we wrote about this last year – beachfront residents paid $300,000 each for the wall, but other locals worried it would eat the beach up.
Royce Kurmelovs had the story:
Updated
ACCC says it will 'name and shame' businesses price gouging rapid antigen tests
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has set up a team to look into the soaring price of rapid antigen tests after receiving more than 100 complaints about the issue, chair Rod Sims says.
It comes after increasing pressure on the Morrison government over RAT prices, which have surged amid an explosion in Covid cases caused by the Omicron wave and as governments restrict the availability of polymerase chain reaction tests. The government has so far rebuffed calls to make the tests free.
In a statement, Sims said the ACCC “won’t be shy to name and shame suppliers and retailers we consider to be doing the wrong thing”.
Its ability to take other direct action is limited because there is no commonwealth law regulating prices. However, the ACCC could take suppliers to court if there was evidence of collusion on price or prices were so high as to be unconscionable.
Sims said the ACCC “will take appropriate action under its existing powers” and “has not sought, and does not need, more powers to deal with the current situation”.
He said: “We are seeking information from suppliers about their costs and the current pricing of rapid antigen tests. We are also asking them about their current stock levels, and the amounts on order, and about their expectations about when additional tests may become readily available to consumers.
“We are also contacting major retailers and pharmacies seeking similar information and reminding them that they need to be able to substantiate any claims they make to consumers about the reason for higher prices.”
Updated
Rod Sims, the chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, has just been speaking in Sydney about the cost of rapid antigen tests.
Guardian Australia’s Ben Butler is about to bring you more info on it, but below is the statement form the ACCC: “Won’t be shy to name and shame.”
Statement on pricing of rapid antigen tests @acccgovau #auspol pic.twitter.com/gKbysI2pc9
— Political Alert (@political_alert) January 4, 2022
Updated
Northern Territory records 75 new Covid cases
The Northern Territory chief minister, Michael Gunner, says there are 75 new cases in the NT.
The NT is dropping its requirement to get a PCR test before interstate travellers arrive.
“If you’re trying to find a PCR test, if you’re looking for a PCR test, stop. We’ll sort it out when you get here,” Gunner said.
Updated
The Northern Territory chief minister, Michael Gunner, will provide a Covid-19 update any minute now.
Updated
Pharmacists join calls for Morrison government to make rapid antigen tests free
Professional Pharmacists Australia, which represents employee pharmacists, today joined the growing chorus of voices asking the federal government to make rapid antigen tests free and available for all Australians.
The CEO of Professional Pharmacists Australia, Jill McCabe, said “we should be protecting the health and safety of all workers and their families, not just those who can afford to buy the tests”:
We represent the vast majority of pharmacists in Australia – employee pharmacists – and we’re calling on the federal government to act urgently and provide the tests free to all given the surge in cases and the change in testing regimes.
The virus hasn’t changed just because the federal government’s definitions and approach to testing has changed.
The president of Professional Pharmacists Australia, Geoff March, said working pharmacists believe people’s access to RATs should not be dependent on how much they earn and can afford to pay:
Employee pharmacists are on the frontline of this issue, constantly running out of supply and seeing the look on people’s faces when they struggle to pay for tests.
Most Australians find the cost of testing their family prohibitive – if they’re able to find testing kits at all.
If Australians have to rely on the private sector to get Covid tests, they will be paying up to $20 each – that’s $100 for a family of five for just one test each time.
Updated
Hello everyone, this is Cait Kelly back to take you through the next few hours.
If you see anything around that could be good for the blog, tweet me @cait__kelly or email me cait.kelly@theguardian.com
Let’s get cracking into the afternoon.
Updated
I’m going to hand back to my colleague Cait Kelly now. Enjoy your afternoon!
Steven Marshall says he’s contacted the federal chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, and the prime minister, Scott Morrison, asking for AHPPC to look at how schools and childcare can return this year.
“We’d prefer to have a national approach,” he says.
Updated
Queue for rapid tests are an aisle deep at a local Geelong Coles after their availability popped up on https://t.co/lwZeOwAixw #Covid19Vic pic.twitter.com/OPVCueDEjE
— courtney gould (@heyycourtt) January 4, 2022
Marshall says 30-40% of the people in hospital are not fully vaccinated. The proportion of people in SA 12 years and over who are not fully vaccinated is about 10%. Therefore the unvaccinated are overrepresented in hospital, says Marshall.
Updated
Marshall insists testing result waiting times have not blown out. “They haven’t blown out,” he says. “They have actually been coming down for the last four days.”
Not everyone agrees, though.
Sorry Premier, wait times in SA are up to 5 days. A constituent contacted me today saying she had her PCR test last Thursday and received her results today!
— Tom Koutsantonis MP (@TKoutsantonisMP) January 4, 2022
That’s a 5 day wait!
Here in South Australia!
On hospitalisations, Marshall says that the 102 people in hospital with Covid is “well within our capacity”.
“We have been flexing up our capacity, we’ve already done it ahead of opening the border on 23 November for the Delta strain, now of course we have been able to revise that capacity surge for Omicron, and we continue to look at it pretty much on a daily basis,” he says.
Updated
The private pathology operator that has closed four of its sites is Clinpath. Asked if their decision to shut four sites with no notice was acceptable, Marshall says:
I’m not going to make a comment on a private company because they have got to, if you like, justify their reasons. But what I can say is that Clinpath has done an outstanding job as a private laboratory in South Australia, and are continuing to do good work in critical sectors in South Australia. Obviously they have made a decision to close four of their sites in South Australia and I think some interstate as well. Other private laboratories are closing down sites interstate.
Marshall says private laboratories in South Australia do a “proportionally small amount of the overall testing in South Australia”. “SA Pathology is the workhorse,” he says.
Updated
On rapid antigen tests, Marshall says the state received a shipment of 250,000 today. The state has 10m on order and is expecting to get about 1m tests in each week.
Updated
Marshall says there is a private lab that is closing four testing sites in South Australia.
He says also that there are 128 cases in the prison population, up from 90 yesterday.
South Australia records 3,246 new Covid cases
South Australia has recorded 3,246 new cases, the premier, Steven Marshall has announced.
He says there are 102 people in hospital, 12 in ICU, one patient who is on a ventilator.
Updated
This is a very long line for a PCR test in Brisbane.
Want a PCR test? It’s 8am and this is the queue to get one at RBWH… not even counting the other part of the line on the hospital grounds 😯 @7NewsBrisbane @sunriseon7 pic.twitter.com/6bhw5Jympx
— Jordan Bissell (@jordan_bissell7) January 3, 2022
Ocean Grove is about 100km outside Melbourne, on the Bellarine Peninsula.
Half the line for RAT’s in Ocean Grove. A lot of symptomatic people here in line coughing… @abcmelbourne #springst pic.twitter.com/PIIoYOl5RF
— Bridget Rollason (@bridgerollo) January 4, 2022
The Australian share market is firmly higher in its first trading session for the year as investors looked past surging local coronavirus cases and instead focused on strong gains on Wall Street, AAP reports.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index was up 95.9 points, or 1.29%, to 7,540.5 points at 1200 AEDT on Tuesday.
The All Ordinaries index rose 97.9 points, or 1.26%, to 7,877.1 points.
The gains came after a strong cue from Wall Street overnight, with all three major US indices ending firmly in the green thanks to solid gains in shares of technology giant Apple and electric car maker Tesla.
That helped investors brush aside concerns about rising hospitalisations amid a surge in local Omicron cases across major states.
Updated
Hello everyone. It’s Luke Henriques-Gomes here. Happy new year. I’ll be with you for a bit. Thanks to Cait Kelly for her great work this morning. If you see something that we should know about, send me an email: luke.henriques-gomes@theguardian.com I’m also on Twitter: @lukegomes
Updated
I am just going to hand you over to Luke Henriques-Gomes who will take you through the next few minutes while I eat some lunch!
Updated
Peak advocacy organisation People with Disability Australia has called for free rapid antigen tests and N94 masks for people with disabilities.
The PWDA president, Samantha Connor, said at minimum free tests should be available to people with disability who are at risk of severe disease, their families and workers:
Government has a clear responsibility to keep people with disability safe by providing safe and free in-home testing, including PCR testing for those who cannot safely travel.
Free or heavily government-subsidised tests should be also readily available to the public via pharmacies, community pick-up points, education settings, workplaces and other public settings.
Connor, an advocate and disability rights activist, said Australia could look overseas for good models to follow.
In the United Kingdom, a twice weekly preventative regime is in place to ensure that people with disability who receive care services are safe from Covid.
People with disability and their caregivers are able to access rapid antigen tests in the UK, including via mail, as part of a wider preventative regime of Covid-safe strategies.
PWDA is concerned the push in national cabinet to change the national definition of close contacts for Covid testing to four hours of contact will mean that people with disability could unknowingly contract Covid from support workers, who often work shifts less than four hours.
Without a free and freely available regime of rapid antigen testing for disability support workers, families and carers, people with disability who are clinically vulnerable to Covid could die.
Updated
Tired: Lining up for five hours for a PCR test only to be turned away.
Wired: Lining up for a vaccine like a champ.
Royal Exhibition Building queue right now for vaccinations @7NewsMelbourne #Boosters #Melbourne #Omicron pic.twitter.com/QrtbZL1iCf
— Christie Cooper (@ChristieCooper7) January 3, 2022
Updated
ACCC chairman to address RAT prices
Rod Sims, the chair of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, is to face the media in Sydney at 1.30pm to talk about the pricing of rapid antigen tests.
With the tests in high demand and Scott Morrison ruling out making them free through the federal government, prices have soared, leading to accusations – denied by pharmacists – of price gouging.
As we’ve previously reported, Josh Frydenberg spoke to Sims about the issue last week, while the ACCC chair was on holidays. It’s his first day back on the job today.
Because there are no commonwealth price control laws, Sims has limited options. However, he can name and shame anyone who’s unreasonably jacking up prices. You can read more about the process here.
Updated
We are just going to jump back to Queensland quickly – the presser is over, but I thought many of you would be interested in this.
D’Ath was asked if all those pre-testing requirements were pointless in the wake of huge case numbers.
“When we opened our borders, we expected thousands of people,” she said. “But we ended up with tens of thousands of people, and now hundreds of thousands of people flooding into Queensland from interstate hot spots.
“We had to do everything we could to reduce the risk of the virus coming in quickly. You have to remember, we opened our borders at the same time as Omicron came onto the scene. It was very new, we didn’t know how fast it would spread.
“We only waited [for] just over a week of data to analyse before we changed the rules,” she said. “We were not complacent. Health has got to come first.”
Updated
Allen is asked about the agenda for tomorrow’s national cabinet:
“The agenda is still to be made available and I understand ... that will come through over the course of today.
“I think it’s fair to say [topics will include] conversations like the availability of Rapid Antigen Tests [and] making sure that we’ve got continuing confidence from the commonwealth about the supply of vaccines, both for the adult population and for kids as well.
“So those will be issues that will no doubt be discussed at national cabinet.”
Updated
Weimer says if you have symptoms, be prepared to wait at a PCR clinic.
“Don’t stop trying. What we really don’t want people to do is go, ‘OK’, and [then] carry on running around.”
Updated
Weimar said the high positivity rate means they cannot “batch our tests” in the normal way, and each one now must be tested individually – which is created the backlog.
“We would expect there to be far more cases out in the community... Omicron is sweeping throughout the community now in a way we have not seen.”
He says 30-40% of the cases in Victoria are in the 20-40 aged group, and that the “sheer number” of cases we are seeing will put pressure on the health system in the coming weeks.
Updated
Vic, Qld lay blame for RAT shortages on federal government
Both Queensland and Victoria are laying blame at the feet of the federal government for not ordering/providing RATs as part of the national plan.
“Every territory or government around the country and just about every jurisdiction around the world is wanting RATS.
“The first batch are on their way and we’ve had to step up and do this in the absence of national leadership.”
Updated
Allan was asked if there are concerns people with Covid may die at home.
“There is a concern about how we continue to support the Victorian community through this period of time. And clearly, if people are quite unwell, reaching out to their GP is often everyone’s first point of call when [they’re] experiencing symptoms or unwell and we need to continue following those important steps.
“[Such as] contacting your GP, talking to NURSE-ON-CALL.”
In Victoria, that’s 1300 60 60 24.
Updated
54 testing sites to close in VIC
Weimar said 54 private testing sites would be suspended from today so they could deal with the backlog.
“They will continue to work 24-7 to process the backlog of test results,” he said.
Weimar said those clinics would reopen when they have dealt with the backlog. The next month would be difficult, he added.
“It is a challenging time for all of us.”
Updated
Allan did not rule out introducing “common sense” public health measures on top of mask-wearing.
“And we’ll continue to look at if there are any other common-sense measures that can be taken,” Allan said.
“Those are obviously matters, I should stress, for the Health Minister to make … that’s a matter for him to consider as we monitor very closely what’s going on in the Victorian community at the moment.”
Updated
Weimar said one in four tests in Victoria were now coming back positive.
He says if you return a positive RAT test and cannot get a PCR test, you need to assume you have Covid and isolate.
“You’ve got a positive result already. Again, if you can’t get hold of a PCR, then again I say treat it as a positive result.”
Updated
We’re just going to jump down to Victoria where acting premier Jacinta Allan and Covid commander Jeroen Weimar has just been talking to the media.
We’ve missed the start, but the takeaway was that the state recorded a big spike in cases overnight.
“Obviously that is a large increase and equates to a very high positivity rate of the virus in our community,” Allan said.
Allan thanked Victorians for their patience in getting tested and urged everyone to get boosted.
“If you’re eligible, please, go and get your third dose vaccination.”
Victoria will get some supplies of RATs in the next few days.
Updated
Queenslanders need to be wearing their masks more. 529 masks were handed out and five on the spot fines were issued to people just on the Gold Coast alone.
Gerrard says each person with Omicron is, on average, infecting 7–10 other people, according to some of the figures that have been quoted.
He says the testing queues and shortage of RATs is a “problem right across Australia. It is not unique to us.”
He adds that more RAT tests should become available soon, but until then, if you are a healthy young adult and you have “something that looks like the common cold or flu” you should stay at home.
“Most people are getting better within one or two days.”
Updated
D’Ath says if you are symptomatic and you can’t get a test, you need to act like you are positive.
She is asked about people travelling into Queensland.
“It was only a few days ago where we were being told that other states were overwhelmed at testing clinics for PCR, because ... people were travelling to Queensland.
“That’s what we read and we made (the changes) to RAT and we have not seen a decrease in those lines interstate.”
Updated
D’Ath says Queensland “is prepared as we can be”.
“We knew when we shifted to the RAT, we’re going to see an issue with availability. So we’re sourcing those as quickly as we can.”
She says she will be contacting the federal health minister Greg Hunt today about if RATs can be used instead for screenings in aged care so the general public can use those PCR.
“It means that we’re taking other private pathologists offline, who were running drive-thru clinics, so I’m going to have a chat with Greg Hunt about that today.”
D’Ath says the government reached out to the private pathologists about opening after Christmas. She says 17 of 200 private clinics are closed.
“We can’t force their staff to go to work if they’re positive.”
Updated
Dr John Gerrard says if you are sick and you cannot get a test you should assume you have Covid and stay at home.
“If you are experiencing the following symptoms then I suggest you seek immediate medical advice or call an ambulance.
“That is: if you are breathless, if you have significant breathlessness, chest pain, fainting or severe lightheadedness.
“And also, I would suggest that you seek medical advice if you have not had a medical diagnosis of COVID-19 and your symptoms are continuing or not improving after the third day”.
Updated
Queensland’s chief health officer Dr John Gerrard says there are now 25,920 active cases in the state.
A total of 33,312 tests were processed in the last 24 hours. He says 23% of the tests taken yesterday came back positive.
“Even though the proportion of patients requiring intensive care is substantially lower than what we have seen previously, the number of cases we are expecting to see through January, early January will be very high,” he says.
“Certainly in the hundreds of thousands if not more in Queensland.”
Updated
Five private testing clinics in Qld closed until Sunday
Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath says five private testing clinics will remain shut until January 9.
That will put some pressure on the system, she said.
“I do want to remind people, there should only be three reasons to come forward and line up for a PCR test, either through drive-throughs or walk-up testing.
“That is, that you have COVID symptoms. Secondly, that you have done a rapid antigen test and it’s come up positive, or you are a close contact and it is day six and you haven’t been able to get a RAT test.
“If you don’t have any symptoms. That’s not a reason to turn up for a PCR test.”
Updated
QLD records 5699 new cases
Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath is speaking now.
She says 11 people are in ICU, two are ventilated. There are 170 cases on top of that in hospital.
Updated
We are just waiting for Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath - who is expected to address the media shortly.
Updated
There is also testing trouble in Queensland, with one ABC reporter queuing up before 7am on the Gold Coast only to be told the site was not opening.
WTAF @qldhealth ?? Some QML testing centres aren’t opening today?? The electronic sign says it was reopening but it never did - I waited 2.5hrs for nothing 😩 pic.twitter.com/9OFALpOrJC
— Bern Young (@bernyoung) January 3, 2022
5am and SO many cars already in line for a COVID testing centre that doesn’t start until 7am! I got turned away yesterday from the only testing clinic available on the Gold Coast (honestly how ridiculous that they didn’t open at least the three public ones) pic.twitter.com/yZItZMlv7g
— Bern Young (@bernyoung) January 3, 2022
Updated
The New South Wales teachers’ union has called for an urgent meeting with health and education officials to discuss safety at the onset of the new school year amid the growing Covid-19 outbreak in the state.
The NSW Teachers Federation president, Angelo Gavrielatos, warned absentee rates could cause chaos and said “serious questions” about safety needed to be answered before students return to classrooms in early February.
“The current plan is the plan we had when schools went into the vacation period,” he told Guardian Australia on Monday. “All that’s changed. We are now living in a very different context to what we were in the weeks prior to schools going into summer recess.”
Updated
There’s been a bit of media around house prices over the past year, so it seems only right to make some note of how they fared in 2021 overall.
CoreLogic is one private consultancy that’s quick out of the blocks. According to them, average “housing values” rose 22.1% last year, which is either a sign of low-interest rates doing their thing or one of market insanity, given the wider economic disruptions that are obvious if you visit any shopping centre, for instance.
But we want to know details such as the fact that December “values” only rose 1% compared with 1.3% in November, or that those in the regions were still increasing at a 2.2% clip in the final month of 2021 – perhaps as city folk sought to flee future lockdowns in urban areas.
For the year, the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven regions of NSW posted a 37.7% rise in prices for the year, the fastest in the nation, according to CoreLogic. Queensland’s Sunshine Coast wasn’t far behind with a 33.7% rise.
Across the capitals, Melbourne reported its first retreat – all of 0.1% in December – since October 2020, while Brisbane reported a 2.9% “surge”, CoreLogic said. For the year, the Victorian capital’s rise was 15.1% and Brisbane’s 27.4%.
Sydney housing prices were bobbing along at 0.3% higher in December and 25.3% for the year. Hobart’s 28.1% rise was the most among the capitals for 2021.
“The slowing trend in Sydney and Melbourne can be explained by a bigger deposit hurdle caused by higher housing prices alongside low income growth, as well as a recent surge in advertised inventory levels and weak demographic trends,” CoreLogic said.
“Slower conditions across the Perth housing market [with its mere 13.1% annual rise] may be more attributable to the disruption to interstate migration caused by extended closed state borders which has had a negative impact on housing demand.”
“In Brisbane and Adelaide, housing affordability is less challenging, advertised stock levels remain remarkably low and demographic trends continue to support housing demand,” CoreLogic said.
I suppose the question is when will Covid logic catch up with the market. Probably before the first rise of official interest rates, which the RBA at least doesn’t think will happen until 2023, at the earliest.
Updated
ACT records 926 new cases
The ACT have recorded 926 new cases overnight, making for a total of 2,789 active cases.
That’s 13 in hospital, with one person in the ICU and one on ventilation.
98.5% of the 12+ population are vaccinated, with the current total of cases since August 2021 standing at 6,120.
ACT COVID-19 update (4 January 2022)
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) January 3, 2022
▪️ New cases: 926
▪️ Active cases: 2,789
▪️ Total cases: 6,120
▪️ Negative test results (past 24 hours): 3,485
▪️ In hospital: 13
▪️ In ICU: 1
▪️ Ventilated: 1
▪️ Total lives lost: 12
💉ACT COVID-19 vaccinations: 98.5% of 12+ fully vaccinated pic.twitter.com/xLa1Z1v9fD
Updated
A city that plagues together stays together:
Extraordinary pics of #Melbourne coming in this morning from the news chopper. Testing queues and vaccination queues absolutely everywhere @7NewsMelbourne #Omicron pic.twitter.com/PHG6X16n3s
— Christie Cooper (@ChristieCooper7) January 3, 2022
Anthony Albanese:
You can’t get access to a PCR test because testing queues go for six or eight hours. You get told to get a rapid antigen test but you can’t find one.
If people are lucky enough to find one, they’re not affordable. And for many people, it’s simply pricing them out of access to that important healthcare. And of course, we have no action from the federal government when it comes to price.
The Labor leader says the government had months to plan for opening up:
Greg Hunt announced in September last year, to quote him, he said, “Home testing is important to the national plan.”
The national government didn’t plan for the national plan.
Updated
Anthony Albanese is just talking on the Central Coast in NSW. He is attacking the government for the testing system being in chaos:
Today there are 28 testing sites closing today which will only exacerbate the existing problem of the queue times which are there. Australian’s are being told, ‘You’re on your own go out and get a rapid antigen test.’ But they’re not available in so many areas. You have on the front page of one of the Sydney papers today, your guide to finding RAT. That’s how bad it is.
Updated
702 new Covid cases in Tasmania
In the last 24 hours, 2,088 tests were processed, with a positive rate of 33.6%. Three people are in hospital, with one being treated specifically for Covid symptoms.
More to come.
702 new cases of COVID-19 in Tasmania #covid19tas
— Monte Bovill (@MonteBovill) January 3, 2022
Updated
Forty testing clinics in Victoria now closed
There's currently 40 testing sites in Victoria that are closed because they've reached capacity. Others are just plain old closed, and some are closing as early as 10am or 11am.https://t.co/yVOC9edcrM
— Karen Sweeney (@karenlsweeney) January 3, 2022
Updated
I’ve got some weather updates for you. Very hot in parts of Queensland, very wet in Victoria and Tasmania.
🌡️ Severe to extreme #heatwave conditions across central and northern #Qld this week. Daytime temperatures 8-10° above average, approaching January records in places. Overnight temperatures about 5° above average.
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) January 3, 2022
Learn more about heatwaves https://t.co/4UGRhajWoi pic.twitter.com/6CihvpDRt0
Get ready for a big change in the weather pattern....
— Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) January 3, 2022
Atmopsheric moisture from Ex-TC Seth will be dragged SW across #Victoria this week, resulting in humid, wet and stormy conditions
Heavy rainfall and severe thunderstorms likely Wed-Fri🌧️⚡
Forecasts: https://t.co/VoBUc3EvOw pic.twitter.com/F50NysvkwA
Gloomy easterly days with showers increasing to rain on Thursday and persisting on Friday, heavy about the north. It won't be until late Fri that we see a southerly change. https://t.co/S3IfSy6Wkw pic.twitter.com/qzgO7PAtSy
— Bureau of Meteorology, Tasmania (@BOM_Tas) January 3, 2022
Updated
When my father fell ill on New Year’s Eve, we had two choices: admit him into an understaffed hospital riven with Covid or try to keep him alive at home, an anonymous writer says.
Updated
Covid cases pass 500,000 as infections surge
From AAP:
Australia has passed the grim milestone of more than 500,000 Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began. The mark was passed this morning after both NSW and Victoria registered record daily case numbers.
NSW had 23,131 new cases, with a further two deaths. The state has 1,344 patients in hospital, up by 139 from the day before, with 105 in intensive care, up by 10.
There were 14,020 cases in Victoria, the first time the state has recorded a one-day total of above 10,000. There were another two deaths in the state, with 516 patients in hospital – a rise of 25 – while there are four more patients in intensive care, taking the total to 108.
The rise in cases comes as Scott Morrison comes under increasing pressure to make rapid antigen tests free, as widespread shortages continue. As people struggle to get a rapid test, leading to long queues at PCR testing sites, medical experts have slammed government inaction to secure enough tests to meet demand.
Updated
Covid-positive nurses are being recalled to work in hospitals across New South Wales – in breach of state health protocols – as hospital managers resort to desperate measures to staff facilities buckling under the Omicron outbreak.
Guardian Australia has been contacted by multiple nurses working across several hospitals in the state who are alarmed at finding themselves working alongside Covid-positive colleagues, as 2,500 health workers are in isolation across NSW.
The public hospitals span three local health districts in NSW and include major Sydney hospitals and smaller regional facilities.
Updated
With NSW and Victoria figures now in, Australia has now passed 500,000 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began
— Andrew Brown (@AndrewBrownAU) January 3, 2022
A key figure in South Australia’s response to Covid has tested positive to the virus this morning.
Police commissioner Grant Stevens is the state’s emergency coordinator during the pandemic. After waking up yesterday with a sore throat he is now isolating at home.
State opposition leader Peter Malinauskas also tested positive to Covid yesterday.
Updated
Victoria records 14,020 new Covid cases and two deaths
Victoria has recorded a steep increase in cases, recording 14,020 new overnight. It’s an increase of more than 5,000 cases on 8,577 recorded on 3 January.
In Victoria, 516 people are in hospital and of those, 56 are in ICU.
Three of the state’s major hospitals in the western suburbs have asked people to only go to the emergency department if it was “absolutely necessary”.
In eight days the number of hospitalisations has increased by 148.
On 27 December there were 368 people being treated for Covid, and as of today, there are 516.
Find a vaccination centre at https://t.co/rrlztsOjb5
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) January 3, 2022
We thank everyone who got vaccinated and tested yesterday.
Our thoughts are with those in hospital, and the families of people who have lost their lives.
More data soon: https://t.co/OCCFTAtS1P#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/QVkEH9yAxc
Updated
NSW records 23,131 new Covid cases and two deaths
From Australian Associated Press:
There are 1,344 people in the state’s hospitals, 78 more than the previous record set on 21 September when NSW was in the grips of the Delta variant.
Tuesday’s hospitalisation figure marks a rise by 140 on the previous day’s figure.
Two more deaths were reported on Tuesday.
The new cases were from 83,376 tests processed in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday, with the positivity rate at a record 27.7%.
While ICU numbers are rising – 105 at the latest count – they are well short of the peak of 244 in September. Intensive care admissions continue to be driven largely by the more severe Delta variant.
NSW COVID-19 update – Tuesday 4 January 2022
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 3, 2022
In the 24-hour reporting period to 8pm last night:
- 95% of people aged 16+ have had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine
- 93.6% of people aged 16+ have had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine pic.twitter.com/S8tECEJ7Zi
Updated
Human bodies have a second line of defence against Covid that offers hope in the global fight against the Omicron variant, Australian researchers say.
University of Melbourne research, done in conjunction with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, has found that T-cells should be able to tackle the virus.
Omicron has a higher number of mutations than other variants, which means it can sometimes slip past the antibodies produced by vaccination or infection. But if it does enter the body, the T-cells – white blood cells that originate in the marrow – will attack.
Updated
Brett Holmes is the general secretary at NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association.
He writes in the Sydney Morning Herald this morning talking about the situation in NSW hospitals:
Over the weekend, an ICU nurse at an outer-metropolitan hospital declared, “We are falling like flies.” In the state’s north, an ICU nurse said, “We’ve had two years to prepare for this and it’s still shit everywhere”; another reflected, “There’s nothing left in the tank.” “Staffing has become so bad that many ICUs are working without team leaders or the nurses they need in addition to bedside nurses to keep the units working seamlessly.”
He says nurses have been told not to remove their masks or glasses when they’re together – even if socially distanced. “If pulled from home isolation, they can only travel to and from work, with strictly no stops. They are not provided with rapid antigen kits for home use, having to do these tests at work under supervision.
“Some have been waiting three days or more for their PCR test results, even for testing that has been fast-tracked for health workers.”
Updated
Guardian Australia political reporter Amy Remeikis is on RN right now and this is what she had to say about the election:
We look back at the election cycle at this point last time, and most people had made up their mind about Bill Shorten. Many had decided who he was and whether or not they liked him and he was an unpopular leader. This time around with Anthony Albanese, some people like him, some people don’t but there’s still a big chunk of voters who are undecided and Labor sees that as a lot easier to overcome.
She was also asked which seats the election will be fought and won in:
New South Wales, and western Sydney in particular. I think that’s going to be the most important jurisdiction of the election, and you can see that from how much time both leaders are already spending there.
Updated
Twenty-eight Sydney testing clinics closed
Australian Clinical Labs has shut 28 PCR testing clinics around Sydney “until further notice” because of the backlog in tests.
The closures mean the company is now only operating its Bella Vista clinic for paid international travel tests, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.
The 28 sites include both drive-through and walk-in clinics.
The company said:
These closures have been necessary due to the significant increase in testing volumes across the State.
Updated
Labor MP Linda Burney has been on the ABC this morning calling for the federal government to make RATs affordable:
If people need the test and they are required to have it, then they should be able to have it at an affordable price and they should be able to have access to it. I have never seen such a bungled policy stuff-up in my life.
Updated
AMA says it raised questions about RATs in September
AMA vice-president Chris Moy was on RN Breakfast this morning. He said the AMA had told the federal government about the shortage months ago:
"I, the AMA and other groups asked the government about the testing strategy several months ago...it was put to us that the government would not intervene when the private market could take over" - Dr Chris Moy, @ama_vice
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) January 3, 2022
"The problem is relying on the private market during a health crisis and there is a market failure... we have...inability to supply [RATs] at a critical moment, lack of equity of access... and also there is poor communication about when people should be using them" - @ama_vice
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) January 3, 2022
"The problem at the moment is that the lack of [rapid antigen tests] is completely hampering personal responsibility and it is a frustration that is a glaring hole in the current management of COVID" - Dr Chris Moy, @ama_vice
— RN Breakfast (@RNBreakfast) January 3, 2022
Updated
Good morning
Good morning. This is Cait Kelly and I will be taking you through today’s news.
Here are the big stories so far:
Millions more Aussies are now eligible for their booster shot with the time frame between second and third doses reducing to four months from today.
About 7.5 million Australians are now eligible, up from around 4.1 million at the end of 2021.
Boosters will be brought forward to four months after the second dose, down from five months. From 31 January, people can get boosters after three months.
NSW is likely soon to set a new record for Covid-19 hospitalisations as it nears the figure reached at the height of the Delta outbreak in September.
There were 1,204 people in the state’s hospitals with Covid on Monday, 62 shy of the record set on 21 September when NSW was in the grip of the Delta wave.
And Victorians are being warned to expect surging cases numbers and hospitalisations. Victoria’s Covid-19 response commander, Jeroen Weimar, has warned that the number of people hospitalised with the virus, now at 491, is expected to increase “quite rapidly” in coming days.
The fight about free rapid tests also continues, with the tests being difficult to buy despite forming the backbone of Australia’s new testing regime.
Scott Morrison has so far resisted calls to make the tests free, despite some states moving to do so.
“We’re now at a stage of the pandemic where you can’t just make everything free,” the prime minister said, while the AMA has revealed it warned the federal government about a shortage of RATs last September.
With that – let’s get into it.
Updated
