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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Caitlin Cassidy and Justine Landis-Hanley (earlier)

More than 99,000 new cases nationwide on NSW’s deadliest day of pandemic – as it happened

What we learned: Sunday 9 January

With that, we will wrap up the blog for the day. Enjoy your evenings; I’m off to watch the final hour of the Ashes and crack a cold one.

Here were today’s major developments:

  • First, Covid numbers. NSW recorded a record 16 deaths and 45,098 cases yesterday from PCR tests.
  • Victoria reported 51,356 cases and four deaths, which included results from rapid antigen tests logged online over the past six days. The vast majority of new cases are the Omicron variant.
  • Tasmania recorded 1,406 new cases, the ACT recorded 1,039 new cases, South Australia recorded 4,506 new cases and the NT recorded 481 cases. WA recorded one case linked to backpackers.
  • Queensland reported 18,000 new cases and announced that students’ return to schools would be delayed by two weeks until 7 February to manage an expected Omicron peak to occur at the end of January. Year 11 and 12s will return a week prior to the rest of students, for remote learning only. Further south, NSW premier Dominic Perrottet said that kids will be returning to school on day one of term one in a safe environment for staff and students.
  • In a similar move, though, NSW will allow close contacts in food logistics and manufacturing to leave self-isolation for work, subject to conditions. Queensland will also allow essential workers in a broader range of industries to head to work if they are asymptomatic and fully vaccinated.
  • Major flooding is continuing in Queensland despite eased conditions today. In Maryborough, residents and businesses have been evacuated in some areas ahead of peaking floodwaters expected to reach 10.5 metres later this evening. It comes as, further north, a category one cyclone is developing and expected to hit the Cape York Peninsula from early Monday morning.
  • Novak Djokovic’s visa cancellation battle continues. The tennis star is detained in an immigration hotel in Melbourne while he waits on an appeal against his visa cancellation at a high-stakes federal circuit court hearing on Monday. Two individuals connected to the Australian Open have voluntarily left the country, health minister Greg Hunt confirmed today.
  • And Ash Barty has won the Adelaide International women’s singles ahead of the Australian Open.

Updated

Ash Barty wins Adelaide International women's singles

Dipping our toes into the world of sport for a moment, and Ash Barty has just defeated Elena Rybakina in straight sets to become the 2022 Adelaide International women’s singles champion. The things you can achieve when you’re vaccinated!

Updated

Flood waters are continuing to rise in Maryborough, where business owners and residents have been told to evacuate ahead of an expected peak this evening.

Updated

NSW can expect more damp, muggy days into 2022.

Unions believe the decision to wind back close contact isolation requirements in NSW is reckless and will threaten the health and safety of staff, while exacerbating supply chain disruptions, AAP reports.

The Transport Workers Union urged prime minister Scott Morrison to include unions in an urgent supply chain meeting scheduled for Sunday afternoon to properly hear their concerns.

TWU says NSW Health’s decision to wind back self-isolation requirements for close contacts who work in critical industries like food logistics means employers could prioritise operational matters over the safety of workers.

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine:

Scrapping isolation requirements for transport workers is beyond reckless – workers are being thrown to the wolves by a government that continues to ignore all the warnings. We know even if you’re asymptomatic you can still spread the virus.

NSW Health’s decision requires asymptomatic close contacts to wear masks and take daily rapid antigen tests, but the union says RATs alone don’t offer enough protection as they won’t pick up every Covid-19 case.

Kaine said the TWU wrote to the prime minister and national cabinet in September and October urging governments to provide rapid tests to road transport workers to avoid unnecessary delays and keep drivers on the road.

SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said this situation is again the result of the prime minister’s negligence and failure to plan or demonstrate genuine leadership:

The prime minister must ensure as a matter of absolute immediacy priority access to free rapid antigen tests and appropriate PPE for essential frontline retail workers in stores and distribution centres.

The authorities must act to give shoppers sufficient confidence to ensure retail workers do not become the targets of abuse and worse in the face of supply shortages of food and other essentials.

Health minister Greg Hunt insists there is a progressive increase in rapid antigen tests being made available, with the commonwealth having purchased 70m, and now over 200m when states and territories are included. There have also been very significant private acquisitions.

He said the commonwealth is looking to supply the states with 10m tests over the coming weeks, while over 5m have been supplied to aged care facilities.

But opposition leader Anthony Albanese said these issues are contrary to the statements that have been made by the NSW and federal governments.

Everything isn’t all okay in the health system in New South Wales. There are major issues with the pressure on the hospital systems. The ‘Let it rip’ approach is creating major issues in our health system, with people under such enormous pressure.

Updated

A man has died following a motorcycle crash in Longreach this morning.

Early investigations suggest the man was riding along Tonkoro Road when he lost control after striking a ditch around 7am, Queensland Police say.

The 61-year-old Longreach man died at the scene. The Forensic Crash Unit will investigate his passing.

Australia is fast approaching some grim milestones.

The nation is likely to surpass 1 million total cases since the pandemic began tomorrow. Almost 100,000 cases – one tenth of that figure – form part of today’s numbers.

There have been 2,367 deaths throughout the pandemic, while 3,323 people are in hospital across the nation.

Updated

APL ceo Danny Townsend has released a statement on the Adelaide United v Melbourne Victory match at AAMI Park last night, saying he was “shocked and saddened” to hear reports of homophobic bullying directed towards Josh Cavallo at the game:

Our players, staff and fans have the right to feel safe on and off the pitch. There is no place for bullying, harassment or abuse in Australian football and we have zero tolerance for this harmful behaviour.

We are working with both clubs to investigate the incident and will issue sanctions to any people found to be involved. We fully support Josh Cavallo and want to ensure he can focus on his football performance, rather than on vile abuse. We will continue to concentrate our efforts on creating safe and welcoming A-Leagues for all.

Some good news for Canberrans. The ACT is opening a dedicated seven-days-a-week clinic for Covid-19 patients from tomorrow.

The clinic, located at the Surge Centre at Garran Oval, will provide health care for people who have tested positive and need treatment for other non-life threatening illnesses or injuries like cuts, strains, stings and wounds.

It will also offer in-person support and advice as patients manage their Covid symptoms.

The clinic, open 7.30am to 10pm, won’t require appointments and will be free of charge.

Still in Victoria, and A-League Mens club Melbourne Victory have just released a statement in response to homophobic comments directed towards Adelaide United player, Josh Cavallo during last night’s match at AAMI Park.

Cavallo spoke out condemning the “homophobic abuse” in an Instagram post, saying there were “no words” to express how disappointed he was and asserting “I will never apologise for living my truth”. The sportsman has previously made history as the world’s only openly gay top-tier mens footballer.

Melbourne Victory confirmed the club was working to investigate the matter:

Melbourne Victory has been made aware of homophobic comments directed towards Adelaide United player, Josh Cavallo during Saturday night’s clash with the Reds at AAMI Park.

The club is committed to celebrating diversity in football, and strongly condemns this behaviour which has no place at our Club or in our game.

Melbourne Victory sees football as a platform to unite fans no matter what background. Spectators found to have breached these standards will be banned from future matches. The club is working with the League, Stadium and Adelaide United to investigate the matter further.

Updated

Back in Victoria and in perhaps not hugely surprising news, the state government has extended its pandemic declaration to apply from 11.59pm Wednesday, 12 January for a further three months.

In making the declaration, premier Daniel Andrews was satisfied there was a “serious risk to public health throughout Victoria” due to Covid-19, including “the rapid spread of the Omicron variant leading to significant case numbers not previously experienced in Victoria”.

Omicron is now estimated to account for more than 75% of newly diagnosed cases in the state, while booster doses remain relatively low.

The acting chief health officer noted as part of his recommendation “the continuing rise in hospital and intensive care unit admissions, with no indication that Victoria has reached its peak, as well as the potential significant negative impact on essential services and supply chains”.

A pandemic declaration gives the health minister the authority to make orders considered “reasonably necessary” to protect public health. The health advice will be tabled in parliament.

Thanks as ever to Justine Landis-Hanley for guiding us through this afternoon’s news.

In the next half hour, Wide Bay Burnett District superintendent Michael Sawrey is due to provide an update on the flooding in Maryborough. We’ll aim to bring you the latest here.

Meanwhile, as weather conditions ease in Queensland (bar an incoming cyclone), parts of NSW including North West Slopes and Plains, Central West Slopes and Plains and Northern Tablelands Forecast Districts have been issued with a severe thunderstorm warning.

Updated

I’m finishing up for today, so I will once again pass the blog over to the wonderful Caitlin Cassidy, who will take you through to the evening.

Have a great rest of your weekend!

SA records 4,506 new Covid-19 infections, one death

Of these, 336 cases were confirmed via rapid antigen tests and self reported.

Premier Steven Marshall, who is currently isolating after his daughter tested positive for Covid-19, announced the numbers via a Facebook video. He said that so far he has tested negative for the virus.

A man in his 90s with Covid-19 has also tragically died.

There are now 176 in a SA hospital with coronavirus, of which 18 are in the ICU.

Updated

Victoria Health have also confirmed that they will analyse data to identify any cases where someone has reported a positive result on a rapid antigen test, and then subsequently returned a positive PCR test, to ensure there are no duplicates.

In other news, 16.4% of Victorians aged 18 and over have had three doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Updated

We have more information about Victoria’s case numbers from yesterday.

The state reported a record 51,356 Covid-19 infections yesterday.

The reason why the numbers were so high is because around half of the cases were rapid test results from the previous six days that people had logged online. The reason why they were released on Saturday was because the new online reporting system went live yesterday.

Today, Victoria Health have released more data about when those rapid tests were taken.

Of those who reported a positive rapid antigen result yesterday:

  • Approximately 40% undertook that test yesterday, 8 January.
  • Approximately 18% undertook that test on 7 January.
  • Approximately 10% undertook that test on each day of 3-6 January.
  • Approximately 2% undertook that test on 2 January.

So the vast majority of cases reported yesterday were in fact confirmed yesterday or on Friday.

Updated

Further to that last post, Queensland police have issued an exclusion zone in parts of Maryborough following continued flooding in the area.

The emergency declaration was issued under the Public Safety Preservation Act (PSPA) this afternoon, with police providing assistance with emergency evacuation of the area.

The exclusion zone covers parts of Adelaide Street, Kent Street, Lennox Street, Alice Street and Richmond Street.

Businesses and residents have been door-knocked and are being urged to leave for higher ground as soon as possible.

While weather conditions have largely eased, flooding is expected to peak at 10.5 metres later this evening.

Updated

In Queensland, Maryborough CBD has been evacuated due to flood concerns.

According to Queensland Fire and Emergency Services, the gates underneath a recently installed levee have been damaged, and the area is set to be inundated with floodwaters.

NT records 481 new coronavirus cases

There are now 24 people in hospital, one of whom is in the ICU.

Staff at the hospital serving tourist mecca Byron Bay in northern New South Wales say the facility is under “extreme strain”, with Covid-positive patients left in bays behind curtains and one patient waiting 45 hours to be transported to the region’s designated Covid hospital.

As many as 100 people a day are arriving at the Byron Central hospital, stretching staff already depleted by Covid-forced absences. The Byron area had a double-vaccination rate of about 85% as of 20 December, one of the lowest in NSW.

Read the full story from the Guardian’s economics correspondent, Peter Hannam:

WA records one new local Covid-19 case

WA Health says the case is a known close contact of two cases from the Delta backpacker cluster. This brings the total number of cases related to the cluster to 22.

The person has been in quarantine and is not considered to have been infectious in the community.

Updated

Court refuses bid to delay Djokovic case to Wednesday

The federal circuit court has today published an order judge Anthony Kelly made in the Novak Djokovic case yesterday.

The order refuses an application the government made on Saturday to delay the hearing of the case to Wednesday, but does so while acknowledging the commonwealth has another opportunity to ask for a delay after Djokovic’s opening submissions on Monday.

The court heard on Thursday that Tennis Australia had said it would need to know whether Djokovic could compete by Tuesday for scheduling purposes.

Kelly said he would try to accommodate the parties to come to a resolution but said the court would not be rushed. “The tail won’t be wagging the dog here,” he said.

If the court sticks to its current timetable, Djokovic’s submissions will be made at 10am Monday, followed by home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, at 3pm.

Updated

As always thanks to everyone who is commenting on the blog today. For those asking where the active cases chart had gone … we are sorry! It was an oversight and we’ve added it back to the top of the page now.

We blogged today’s cases numbers as soon as they were released for most states but, like everyone, we are increasingly focusing on hospitalisations, ICU presentations and deaths, given the case numbers are so large and fairly inaccurate due to rapid test results not yet being included in the official statistics (other than Victoria).

Updated

Sam Birrell has been preselected as The Nationals candidate for the seat of Nicholls, currently held by retiring Nationals MP Damian Drum.

Drum held onto the seat at the 2019 federal election, despite a 13.4% swing against him.

Secretary of the Australian Council of Trade Unions Sally McManus also tweeted:

The Australian Council of Trade Unions has accused the prime minister of “hosting talks with industry bosses at a closed-door meeting at 2pm today to develop plans to force supply chain workers back to the front lines despite being possibly infected with the Covid virus.”

The Union claims that Morrison is excluding unions and workers from this meeting.

In a statement released this afternoon, ACTU acting secretary Liam O’Brien said:

The Australian Council of Trade Unions joins with the Transport Workers Union in urging prime minister Scott Morrison against proceeding with his reckless plan to force supply chain workers back to the frontline despite being possibly infected with the Covid virus.

Forcing potentially infected staff back to work will only exacerbate the already rampant spread of the highly infectious Omicron strain throughout workplaces and the broader community, putting the safety of all Australians at risk.

Updated

Transport workers believe the decision to wind back close contact isolation requirements in NSW is reckless and will threaten the health and safety of staff, while exacerbating supply chain disruptions, AAP reports.

The Transport Workers Union is urging prime minister Scott Morrison to include unions in an urgent supply chain meeting scheduled for Sunday afternoon to properly hear their concerns.

It says NSW Health’s decision to wind back self-isolation requirements for close contacts who work in critical industries like food logistics means employers will be able to prioritise operational matters over the safety of workers.

A Transport NSW employee is seen at Central Station, in Sydney.
Transport union says RATs alone don’t offer enough protection as they won’t pick up every Covid-19 case. Photograph: Bianca de Marchi/AAP

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said in a statement on Sunday:

Scrapping isolation requirements for transport workers is beyond reckless – workers are being thrown to the wolves by a government that continues to ignore all the warnings.

We know even if you’re asymptomatic you can still spread the virus.

He said requiring potentially sick people to go to work won’t make supply chains healthy.

Sick drivers won’t get stock onto supermarket shelves any faster but it will certainly help the virus hitch a ride across Australia.

NSW Health’s decision requires asymptomatic close contacts to wear masks and take daily rapid antigen tests, but the union says RATs alone don’t offer enough protection as they won’t pick up every Covid-19 case.

Someone who is a close contact is by definition the greatest risk of passing it on – the NSW government is effectively scrapping the last buffer we had left to protect workplaces.

To rebuild a healthy workforce we need to have isolation requirements and rapid testing working together - we can’t have one without the other.

Updated

If you are feeling confused about why we are seeing changes in Queensland and NSW to isolation requirements for close contacts in food supply industries, take a read at this reporting by the Guardian’s Ben Butler.

The Australian Fresh Produce Alliance, the industry’s peak body, warned this week that Australians might be unable to buy fresh produce at supermarkets, with fruit and vegetables are left to rot on farms due to staff shortages caused by the pandemic.

Updated

Queensland to allow close contacts in critical industries to return to work

Palaszczuk is back. She says further changes will take effect from midday today to ensure critical workers who may be quarantining at home but haven’t tested positive can continue to go to work in “certain circumstances”:

We need to keep the lights on, we need to keep the water supply going, we need to make sure our freight is moving and our food supplies go where they need to go to.

A Covid testing site in Brisbane.
Workers in Queensland will still have to do a day six test and are only released from quarantine for the purposes of work. Photograph: Jono Searle/AAP

Health minister Yvette D’Ath says the state has to be “agile” to make sure critical services continue to operate amid rising Covid cases.

She says if you are identified as a critical essential worker in a critical industry, you will be able to return to work if you are a close contact but are asymptomatic, fully vaccinated, wear a mask at all times and travel to and from work in personal transport.

Workers will still have to do a day six test and are only released from quarantine for the purposes of work.

A comprehensive list will be released by the state government later today, but essential industries will include health, emergency services, the resource sector, agriculture, freight and logistics, teachers, public transport, essential retail and stores in remote locations and major manufacturing.

Updated

Grace is providing a further update on the delay to the school year in Queensland.

She says the two weeks will be pupil free days for teachers, who will be paid accordingly to prepare for remote learning or their yearly curriculum.

Students who need to come into school will be provided with supervision from a skeleton staff.

Asked whether the school year could be pushed back further, or remote learning could be expanded, she says:

I don’t think there’s guarantees at the moment for anything ... but we want as much certainty now as we can possibly provide.

Updated

Queensland’s education minister Grace Grace is up now.

She says the delay to the school year is a “common sense” approach in response to a peak of the Omicron virus, and will allow more time for children between five and 11 to be vaccinated – due to begin from tomorrow:

We know the year is going to be disrupted when we start schooling due to staff numbers ... breakouts in schools, we don’t want to have a situation where parents are told at the last moment they won’t be able to attend a certain school because it is shut down.

Schools will remain open to children of essential workers and vulnerable children. Definitions in relation to who fits that category will be released, Grace says.

Updated

Palaszczuk: return to school delayed to 7 February

Palaszczuk turns to the school year. She says because of the wave Queensland will be experiencing when students are due to return to school, children won’t return to classrooms on 24 January.

Instead, the school year will start on 7 February, and finish a week later on 16 December.

Year 11 and 12 students will start a little earlier on 31 January, but they will move to remote learning for the first two weeks.

We are expecting the peak of this wave during ... the end of January, early February ... this is going to be a tough time of year for a lot of people, I thank them for their patience and their understanding.

Updated

ACT records 1,039 new Covid-19 cases

This brings the total number of active cases to 5,766.

There are 27 patients in ACT hospitals, including four in intensive care and four ventilated.

Updated

Queensland records 18,000 new Covid-19 cases

Queensland has recorded 18,000 new Covid cases. Some 4,320 of the new cases are from rapid antigen tests.

It brings active cases to 80,573. The new cases come from 37,591 test results.

Turning to hospitalisations, there are 402 people in hospital, including 22 in ICU and five requiring ventilation.

Updated

Perrottet: NSW will reopen schools 'day one, term one'

Premier Dominic Perrottet says that kids will be returning to school on day one of term one in a safe environment for staff and students.

He says that it might be the case that there may be differences state to state (Queensland has warned it may delay school returns), but that he hopes that states can commit to a uniform approach.

Perrottet says that a key issue is around staffing as the state opens up schools. He acknowledges that there will be challenges and that there will be “inconveniences” that arise, but that the government is committed to this plan.

Girl crossing the road
NSW premier says kids will be returning to school on day one of term one in a safe environment for staff and students. Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is also up now, providing a combined cyclone and Covid-19 update.

She says weather conditions are expected to “ease” today but a low will transform into a tropical cyclone, expected to cross the coast at 4am Monday.

The cyclone is expected to be a category one, and will be named tropical cyclone Tiffany.

A house is seen surrounded by flood waters from the Mary River in the town of Tiaro, 198km north of Brisbane.
A house is seen surrounded by flood waters from the Mary River in the town of Tiaro, 198km north of Brisbane. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Meanwhile, some 80 homes have been impacted in Maryborough, where floods are expected to peak at 10.5 metres this evening.

Palaszczuk says there are “still concerns” for a 14-year-old girl who has been missing since yesterday. There are eight specialist police out trying to assist in the search.

We do expect weather conditions to ease, which is great news, but that unexpected rain that fell in that catchment over 24 hours was absolutely unprecedented.

We’re expecting the low will transform into a tropical cyclone expected to cross the coast at 4am on Monday ... all of our agencies are well prepared up there at the moment.

Updated

NSW minister for industry and trade Stuart Ayres, has been asked about the changes announced today that would allow asymptomatic close contacts in key food supply and manufacturing areas to leave isolation early and return to work if they return a negative rapid test. Ayres is asked whether this is putting other employees at risk.

Ayres defends the decision:

We are not putting a single person who is testing positive to Covid out into the workforce. If you have tested positive you are at home in isolation, if you are not testing positive you are asymptomatic, we want you out working in our most critical areas.

Updated

Dr Nhi Nguyen from Nepean hospital has spoken about rising Covid-19 hospitalisations.

There are almost 2,000 people in hospital with Covid-19 in NSW, 151 of which are in the ICU.

Dr Nguyen:

Just as you are, all the healthcare staff wake every day to look at what the numbers are that are reported and we wait in anticipation. What we have seen over the last few weeks is that the vast majority of patients who test positive for Omicron, or for Covid, can manage well at home and we see that with those people who are positive, there is good guidance in place for them to seek advice, either from NSW Health, their GP or through the hospital.

There are really high numbers presenting to hospital and we can understand the anxiety in the community faced with positive Covid tests. But we are consistently seeing a very small percentage of those needing to be admitted.

The patients who do come, though, still present a significant strain to the hospital and the hospital staff. However, we’ve learnt a lot from the Delta outbreak and I have confidence that the systems in place will help the health system deal with all of the patients who are presenting.

Hospital staff are seen outside RPA Emergency in Sydney.
Hospital staff are seen outside RPA Emergency in Sydney. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

Updated

NSW records highest Covid-19 deaths in a single day

NSW recorded 16 Covid-related deaths today, the state’s highest daily total, according to Dr Jeremy McAnulty.

In September and early October last year, the state recorded 15 deaths on two separate days.

Updated

Perrottet says that he has received advice from Service NSW and NSW Health that, from mid this week, you will be able to register a positive rapid antigen test through the Service NSW app.

He says that this isn’t just for the purpose of case numbers, but to ensure that NSW Health “can connect people who need care”.

We’ll have further to say about that over the course of the week.

Updated

Perrottet reiterates that the NSW government has procured 50m rapid antigen tests, and that it will be procuring an additional 50m.

He says the state government will be rolling those out across the state, “particularly to areas where there are vulnerable people.”

We’re already at the moment, as of today, have been reaching out to remote Aboriginal communities with those rapid antigen tests. These tests will be crucial to ensure that we get kids back to school day one, term one. We are finalising our back-to-school plans at the moment.

He adds that state government had the first batch of tests arrive yesterday.

Customers queue outside a western Sydney chemist for rapid antigen test kits.
Customers queue outside a western Sydney chemist for rapid antigen test kits. Photograph: Jaimi Joy/Reuters

Updated

Vaccination key to keeping you safe: Perrottet

Perrottet is encouraging anyone who is unvaccinated to go and get their Covid-19 jab, adding that “if we look at ICU numbers, if we look at hospitalisation numbers, there is no doubt, no doubt, it is very clear, that vaccination is key to keeping you safe.”

He says that over 15,000 booster shots were administered in the last 24 hours, bringing the total given out to 320,000.

Updated

NSW premier Dominic Perrottet is providing a Covid-19 update.

In case you missed it, NSW public health orders will be updated next week to require people to report their positive rapid antigen test results.

NSW Health says that this will help them link those positive cases to support and advice.

We have more information about today’s case and hospitalisation numbers to come out of NSW.

To recap: NSW has reported 30,062 new Covid-19 cases today. These are just the cases that have been confirmed by a PCR test; we don’t know how many people have tested positive using a rapid antigen test.

NSW Health sadly also reported the deaths of 16 more people; eight women and eight men aged in their 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s. Seven were from south-western Sydney, two from south-eastern Sydney, two people were from western Sydney, two from Sydney’s inner west, one from the Central Coast, one from the South Coast, and one from northern Sydney.

There are 1,927 Covid-19 cases currently admitted to hospital in the state. Of these 151 people are in intensive care, 38 of whom require ventilation.

Staff at a drive-through Covid testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
Staff at a drive-through Covid testing clinic at Bondi Beach in Sydney. Photograph: Mark Baker/AP

Updated

With that, I will pass you back to the lovely Justine Landis-Hanley.

More than 80% new cases in Victoria are Omicron

Weimar says the recent sequencing done by health authorities shows more than 80% of screening is Omicron. He says Omicron is “significantly” displacing Delta in Victoria.

But health authorities are still “catching up” with testing demand:

We haven’t caught up yet. We’re not at the standard that we expect to be at. We have high expectations here in Victoria about speed and return of PCR test results and a fair bit of work still to do. But I think that the labs have made significant ground in the last four to five days and I know that there’s been challenging measures to undertake to do so. But still, like many businesses and many organisations, struggling with making sure that they’ve got sufficient staff available to work on the very important job that they do.

But also with the introduction of rapid antigen tests into our mainstream testing sites, that’s also providing a bit of a pressure relief. So with the numbers I expect to get more and more representative as we go through the coming week. I expect the turnaround times to continue to drop progressively over the coming week.

People walking across the street in Melbourne
Jeroen Weimar says Omicron is ‘significantly’ displacing Delta in Victoria. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Updated

Weimar is asked whether there may be double-ups on people who test positive on a RAT and subsequently test positive to a PCR test in terms of daily case numbers. He says each person who fills out an online form for a RAT will create a “unique record” in the system:

That is also matched around whether we have the same details on file already for someone who previously returned a PCR test. Either recently or any time in the last 18 months or so. We will cross match that data. There is always a bit of a risk if people are using different names or different dates of birth or the dates don’t match. But by and large, we will match your details against any other records in our system and I’m pretty confident that we won see a huge amount of duplication as a result.

Updated

Weimar says 9,000 of today’s probable Covid cases are from rapid antigen tests done yesterday. That means the some 13,000 remaining RATs reported as part of today’s case numbers were done in the days prior.

A reminder there were 44,155 cases reported in Victoria today – half of which were from rapid antigen tests.

Updated

Covid-19 commander Jeroen Weimar is up in Victoria. He says about half of PCR test results are being returned within 48 hours, which means, of course, that half are taking longer than two days to come back:

If you’re waiting for a PCR test result, please be assured that you will get a result, you will get a message from the lab at some point. It may not be as quick as we would like, but the times are starting to come down and you will get a swift result.

I’m also aware that yesterday, Melbourne Path ... made the decision not to process tests older than seven days in the labs. We’ve discussed that with them over the last couple of days and I think that broadly we agree, that there’s a very low utility in processing test results that old. I apologise to people, the 7,000 people who received those Melbourne Path messages that says that they will not be continuing to process their test sample. I would encourage anybody who is still symptomatic in that cohort or still concerned to please come forward and get another PCR or a rapid antigen test and work with us. It is all part of that significant challenge that we had over the Christmas and New Year period with the 300,000 or so travel tests that we had to process and all of the other challenges over that period.

People queue for a Covid PCR in Melbourne.
People queue for a Covid PCR in Melbourne. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Updated

Tasmania records 1,406 new cases

Tasmania’s daily Covid numbers are in, and there have been 1,406 new cases detected overnight. It brings active cases in the state to beyond 7,000.

Mayor of Gympie Glen Hartwig is up on ABC News discussing the floods that have hit the Queensland city.

Hartwig doesn’t have an update on the teenage girl who was reported missing yesterday, and police area dealing with the matter. He says there’s been “very significant damage” that has already been detected:

I’ve been in this area for 40 years, and we haven’t seen anything like it. It’s stopped raining here and it’s rather hot and humid. But we’re just waiting for the water to start to subside. The areas of Kilkivan and Theebine copped a torrential drenching that we probably haven’t seen before. So you know, it’s unusual times in that it was such a concentrated downpour. But like always, the great people out in this region have banded together to support one another and support the travellers who have been coming through as well.

We had the main water pipeline get fractured due to road corrosion. So that was being repaired by the crews yesterday. But there will be massive amounts of damage to road infrastructure and bridges. We’ll deal with that. We have some great staff and local contractors who know what we need to do to repair these things and we’ll be stuck into that as the water subsides.

A house is seen surrounded by floodwaters from the Mary River in the town of Tiaro, 198km north of Brisbane.
A house is seen surrounded by floodwaters from the Mary River in the town of Tiaro, 198km north of Brisbane. Photograph: Darren England/AAP

Updated

We have further details coming out of New South Wales.

Of the 16 deaths reported today, there were eight women and eight men aged in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s, spread across Sydney, Central Coast and the South Coast. Condolences to their family members and loved ones.

A series of “precautionary measures” will be put in place in anticipation of a peak to occur later this month, including the relaxation of close contact rules for critical workers in food and manufacturing. From next week, people who test positive on a rapid antigen test will be required to report their result to authorities.

We should be hearing from Victorian authorities any minute.

Big thanks to Justine Landis-Hanley.

It’s just been confirmed Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will hold a press conference at 11am AEST. We’ll bring it to you here.

I’m handing the blog over to my brilliant colleague, Caitlin Cassidy. Back soon!

Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios has come to Novak Djokovic’s defense, saying he should be allowed to play at the Australian Open.

Our friends at AAP have the story:

Nick Kyrgios once said he could not stand Novak Djokovic, describing him as “a tool”.

Yet he has now become one of his old foe’s most unlikely and sympathetic backers, declaring that Djokovic hasn’t been treated humanely and that tennis really needs its world No 1 back at the Australian Open.

Nick Kyrgios.
Nick Kyrgios. Photograph: Jeremy Ng/AFP/Getty Images

Honestly, I hope it all gets sorted as soon as possible. For the sport, we need him here, it’s that simple.

He’s one of the most influential sports people, probably of all-time. If he’s ready to play and he’s allowed to play, I think it’s in a way good for our sport with all this attention.

I’m feeling for him now. Like it’s not really humane, is it, what’s going on?

Djokovic has also found support from his old friend, another former Australian ‘enfant terrible’ Bernard Tomic who, like Kyrgios, said he wished the situation surrounding Djokovic’s visa exemption had been handled very differently.

Yet Kyrgios reckoned that his apparent enmity with Djokovic had always been blown out of proportion and he praised the Serb for how selfless he’d been when donating thousands of dollars to bushfire victims in Australia two years ago.

He’s actually helped us, like he’s reached out. He didn’t have to do that. Most athletes wouldn’t, they’re selfish. So I don’t forget that.

Updated

In case you need to get a PCR test in South Australia:

Updated

For a bit context, Australia is struggling with food supply chain issues due to rising Covid-19 cases and there have been calls from industry leaders to change the seven-day isolation requirements for close contacts working in these fields.

The Guardian’s Ben Butler has been reporting on this issue.

While there is no hard data on how many people are off work because they have Covid or are a close contact, some companies are reporting that half of their employees are unable to attend.

Trucking and logistics are particularly hard-hit, as is the meat industry.

There are empty spaces on supermarket shelves in every department of the two big supermarkets, Coles and Woolworths, as staff shortages hit every part of the supply chain from suppliers through to transport companies and the chains’ own distribution centres, which send products to individual stores.

Michael Rogers, the chief executive of the Australian Fresh Produce Alliance, even said that there was a “significant risk” that Australians will be unable to buy fresh produce at supermarkets, with fruit and vegetables left to rot on farms.

You can read more about the issue here:

Updated

On that note, NSW premier Dominic Perrottet will address the media at midday today to give a Covid-19 update.

He will be joined by minister for western Sydney Stuart Ayres, NSW Health deputy chief health officer Dr Jeremy McAnulty and Nepean hospital’s ICU specialist Dr Nhi Nguyen.

Updated

NSW: close contacts in food logistics and manufacturing will be allowed to leave self-isolation for work

NSW Health has announced that critical workers in the food logistics and manufacturing sectors who are deemed close contacts will be allowed to leave self-isolation to attend work if they have no symptoms of Covid-19, as the state struggles with supply chain issues.

Supermarket employee
Workers must wear a mask and comply with risk-management strategies put in place by their employer, including daily rapid antigen tests Photograph: Xinhua/REX/Shutterstock

In a media statement released this morning, NSW Health said that workers will only be eligible to leave self-isolation if their employer determines that their absence from the workplace poses a high risk of disruption to the delivery of critical services or activities, and they are unable to work from home.

Workers must wear a mask and comply with risk-management strategies put in place by their employer, including daily rapid antigen tests. If they test positive or develop symptoms, they will need to self-isolate.

This rule change extends to workers in:

  • Agriculture (biosecurity and food safety personnel undertaking critical duties).
  • Manufacturing (production and manufacturing of food, beverages, groceries, cleaning and sanitary products).
  • Transport, postal and warehousing (food logistics, delivery and grocery fulfilment).

Updated

Guardian Australia has confirmed that the two people connected to the Australian Open who voluntarily left Australia after their visas were cancelled were Czech doubles specialist Renata Voracova and one official.

Hunt noted in passing that any individual who has had their visa cancelled can elect to leave Australia – even if there is a court case on foot challenging the decision – which is a bit of shade directed at Novak Djokovic.

Updated

Finally, Greg Hunt was asked whether he thinks Queensland voters will punish the Liberal National coalition at the federal election this year, with north Queensland businesses and tourism operators seeing their trade decimated by rising Covid-19 cases.

Hunt responded by focusing on the fact that cases have increased worldwide.

He also said that, by comparison, Australia has “one of the highest vaccination rates, one of the lower rates of loss of life, and we have one of the strongest economic recoveries and we have provided as a government enormous support to businesses, to health and to the community.”

He also shifted blame to the Queensland state Labor government’s decision to keep international borders closed during stage one and stage two of the country’s reopening.

There are differing approaches across some of the state and we will let them speak to that.

Updated

Anyone who has been to a supermarket lately knows Omicron is interrupting the flow of goods around the country.

The country’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Michael Kidd, has been asked about disruption to supply chains caused by people in isolation due to Covid-19.

Kidd revealed that chief medical officers from the states and territories are “meeting as we speak right now ... looking at this issue and looking at what might be modified with the requirements and restrictions in order to ensure supply chain and supply lines continue”.

Hunt said the national coordination mechanism, the part of the federal public service responsible for supply chains, is also considering the question.

Hunt noted that Omicron has already prompted a change in the definition of contact, “significantly reducing” the number of people who would have to isolate.

Empty shelves of meat products are seen at a supermarket in Sydney.
Empty shelves of meat products are seen at a supermarket in Sydney. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP

Updated

Just to recap, we already knew that Czech doubles specialist Renata Voracova had left the country voluntarily after having her visa cancelled by the Australian Border Force last week.

She was also detained in the Park Hotel in Melbourne – where Djokovic is awaiting his court hearing – despite initially having been waved through the border and already having played a pre-tournament match. In an interview with Czech media, she has accused Tennis Australia of misleading players.

Apparently the Australian Tennis Association has misled us, which is annoying. I wanted to focus on tennis, not visas, quarantine. It’s really weird that I spent a week here, played a match ... And then they came for me.

Renata Voracova leaving the Park Hotel in Melbourne where she was detained after her visa was cancelled by Australian Border Force.
Renata Voracova leaving the Park Hotel in Melbourne where she was detained after her visa was cancelled by Australian Border Force. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Hunt: two individuals connected to the Australian Open have voluntarily left the country

The health minister, Greg Hunt, has been asked about Novak Djokovic’s court case.

Hunt declined to comment, citing the fact the matter is before the court but did reveal that two other people connected with the Australian Open tournament have left Australia after their visas were cancelled.

Hunt said:

In relation to Novak Djokovic, as this is now a matter before the courts, I will respectfully leave any commentary until after it has been heard by the court and my understanding is that there is a hearing tomorrow.

My other advice from border force is that their assessment of any visas relating to the Australian Open has now been completed and two other individuals have now voluntarily left the country – as is the case with an individual who has their visa cancelled is entitled to leave the country at any time, even while they are going through a court proceeding but that is a matter for them. Beyond that, the advice is that there is an ongoing court case so we respectfully are not making any additional comment.

Supporters of Novak Djokovic outside the Park Hotel in Melbourne where the tennis star is being detained.
Supporters of Novak Djokovic outside the Park Hotel in Melbourne where the tennis star is being detained. Photograph: William West/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Hunt is asked whether all eligible aged care residents received that booster yet, and whether residents have been left vulnerable with waning immunity?

Hunt says that over 1,500 aged care facilities have received their boosters, adding that those numbers will be updated over the coming days.

Updated

Hunt is speaking about the fact that children aged five to 11 will become eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine tomorrow.

He said that there are approximately 2.3 million children in this age group who will become eligible, and that there are 3m doses of the vaccine available to them over January.

A Cohealth pop-up vaccination clinic at the State Library Victoria in Melbourne.
A Cohealth pop-up vaccination clinic at the State Library Victoria in Melbourne. Photograph: Con Chronis/AAP

Hunt then turned to boosters. He says that 141,000 boosters were administered yesterday, which forms part of 164,000 vaccine doses given out in total. Hunt says this is Australia’s “highest Saturday since October”.

He added that around 1.25m vaccines were delivered this last week, and thanked the “incredible work by our GPs, our pharmacists, and the state clinics are no coming back online ... as well as our Indigenous medical clinics”.

At a national level, we have surpassed 94.7% first doses. We are within sight of 95% which has always been seen as the full vaccination level, but we want to keep pushing. Our over 50 population are almost 99%, and we have passed the 92% figure for second doses.

He said that, despite the significant number of cases, it is “very heartening that there are only 76 patents on ventilation for Covid around the country”.

Updated

Federal health minister Greg Hunt is speaking live from Canberra.

Parts of Queensland are experiencing major flooding, with the aftermath of ex-tropical cyclone Seth causing “unexpected” prolonged heavy rain and storms that have claimed the life of a man trapped in a submerged vehicle north of Brisbane.

Up to 15 others, including a teenage girl, are missing.

AAP have the full story:

Police and emergency rescue teams were called after reports of a utility being swept into floodwaters on Cherry Tree Road near the Bruce Highway, at Kanigan, about 7.30pm on Friday.

An extensive response involving swift water crews ended when the body of the driver, a 22-year-old Sunshine Coast resident, was found inside the ute on Saturday morning.

A 40-year-old man was rescued after a car was swept away in the early hours of Saturday at Booubyjan near Gympie in the state’s southeast.

Floodwaters caused by ex-Cyclone Seth in Gympie, Queensland.
Floodwaters caused by ex-Cyclone Seth in Gympie, Queensland. Photograph: Woolooga Trader/AAP

It’s believed he and a 14-year-old girl managed to get out of the car before it was swept away in floodwaters near the Burnett Highway and Murgon Gayndah Road.

Police said the man was found clinging to a tree but the girl remains missing.

More than 650mm of rain fell across the area overnight. State Emergency Service officials received more than 700 calls for help, while 31 swift water rescues were launched.

Meanwhile a tropical cyclone may be brewing further north in the wake of Seth.

The Bureau of Meteorology is keeping an eye on a monsoon trough in the Coral Sea that is threatening to develop into a tropical cyclone by Monday.

Updated

Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid has called for efforts to help flatten the curve to “give hospitals a chance”, warning that the number of Omicron cases won’t peak for weeks.

NSW, Queensland, Victoria have suspended non-urgent elective surgery due to rising Covid-19 hospitalisations.

Khorshid went on to tweet that “the system is leaning on individuals (esp HCW) without providing the necessary support. Surely it’s worth a try to flatten the curve (many people doing right thing anyway) to give hospitals a chance and get boosters into arms.”

He also called for greater support to GPs and private doctors.

Updated

One of Victoria’s largest public hospitals, the Alfred, predicts as many as 15% of its staff may be unavailable because of Covid with the Omicron wave expected to last for up to another eight weeks.

Staff at the hospital, which includes Australia’s largest intensive care unit, were told in an email on Friday from the chief executive, Andrew Way, to prepare for rising demand just as the available workforce was decreasing. The Alfred now has more than 50 patients in ICU, or about twice the next largest hospital in Victoria.

Read the full story from Guardian Australia’s economics correspondent Peter Hannam here:

Victoria records 44,155 new Covid-19 cases, four deaths

Of these, 22,051 were reported from rapid antigen tests.

Updated

NSW records 30,062 new Covid-19 cases, 16 deaths

This figure is just cases confirmed by PCR tests, not including rapid antigen tests.

There are now 1,927 people in hospital with the virus, 151 of whom are in the ICU.

Updated

Good morning

It’s Justine Landis-Hanley here, back on the blog for 2022. Let’s dive straight in.

Novak Djokovic’s visa cancellation battle continues. The tennis star is detained in an immigration hotel in Melbourne while he waits to appeal his visa cancellation at a high-stakes federal circuit court hearing on Monday.

In a court submission, Djokovic’s lawyers claimed that he had been advised by home affairs his travel declaration met the requirements for “quarantine-free arrival”. They claimed that Tennis Australia granted him a medical exemption to play at the Australian Open despite not being vaccinated against Covid-19, on the grounds that he tested positive for the virus in mid-December.

The federal government is expected to file its response to Djokovic’s submission today.

But the tennis star is now facing fresh criticism after pictures on social media showed he appeared at public events after his positive Covid test.

Meanwhile, parts of Queensland’s south-east are experiencing major flooding following heavy rain. A 14-year-old girl is missing near Gympie and a 22-year-old Sunshine Coast man was found dead yesterday.

Covid-19 cases are also continuing to rise across the country.

NSW recorded 45,098 cases yesterday from PCR tests, acknowledging that the real number was likely much larger. Victoria reported 51,356 cases, which included results from rapid antigen tests logged online over the past six days.

Queensland reported 11,174 cases and announced the suspension of non-urgent elective surgery for eight weeks.

Updated

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