What we learned this Monday 18 January
That is where I will leave you for today. Thanks as always for reading.
Here’s what we learned:
- Victorian premier Daniel Andrews downgraded 25 local government areas in Sydney from a “red” to “orange” zone designation. The decision means some Victorians who have been stranded in NSW for more than a fortnight can begin returning home. The “red zone” designation remains in place for 10 local government area in greater Sydney, however.
- Andrews also rejected a letter of demands sent by world No 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic over the quarantine of players currently in hotel quarantine. Some players are angry after a series of positive Covid results meant many players are unable to train in the lead-up to the tournament. “People are free to provide lists of demands, but the answer is no,” Andrews said of the requests.
- South Australian premier Steve Marshall said his state was still “some time off” from opening its borders to Sydney residents. Despite Victoria’s decision to relax its border closure, Marshall said he wouldn’t “do anything that is going to put us in jeopardy here in South Australia”.
- NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian indicated she would consider permitting venues to ban entry to people who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19.
- The head of the federal health department, Dr Brendan Murphy, said he thought it was unlikely international borders would substantially reopen this year, regardless of rates of vaccination.
- Tropical cyclone Kimi was expected to bring heavy rainfall and the potential for flooding in some parts of Queensland. The cyclone is also expected to bring destructive winds with gusts or up to 130km/h and gales with gusts of up to 120km/h predicted for communities from Innisfail and Ayr, which includes Lucinda, Palm Island and Townsville.
Updated
Authorities in Queensland have just provided an update on tropical cyclone Kimi, which is currently located off the coast of Innisfail in far north Queensland. It was upgraded to a category two system at 2pm.
Kimi is expected to move south and weaken over the next 12 hours while remaining off the coast, coming almost level with Townsville, which is 260km south of Innisfail, before looping around to head back up north.
Laura Boekel from the Bureau of Meteorology said Kimi was particularly unpredictable.
The uncertainty is high with tropical cyclone Kimi. That is because it’s a really small system and the environmental winds are quite light. So, while we have that we have the uncertainty that is high. There still remains a distinct possibility of Kimi crossing the coast as a category two system. That’s in the warning areas.
The most likely scenario is what we have on our track maps, however, we’re not ruling out a crossing of category two because there is a high degree of uncertainty with the system. So the bureau is closely monitoring the system.
Kimi intensifies to category 2 as it moves south. Cyclone Watch declared to Bowen. #CycloneKimi https://t.co/rVLE6inkt8 pic.twitter.com/cTsdWDDyKh
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) January 18, 2021
Bokel said that even if it did not make landfall, the cyclone could potentially bring heavy rainfall over the next few days with potential flash flooding, adding that the catchments in that area were “already wet and are likely to respond rapidly to any further rainfall”.
The cyclone is also expected to bring destructive winds with gusts or up to 130km/h and gales with gusts of up to 120km/h predicted for communities from Innisfail and Ayr, which includes Lucinda, Palm Island and Townsville.
Queensland’s emergency services minister, Mark Ryan, urged anyone who was in the cyclone watch zone to get their preparations underway.
He said:
Please, prepare. There are a number of things to do. People who are Queenslanders know that when cyclones are coming, you need to get ready. Prepare, be ready, plan ahead. A cyclone is on its way. Prepare as if it’s coming towards your community and be ready.
There are also severe thunderstorms with large hail, destructive winds and heavy rainfall that may lead to flash flooding forecast for Queensland’s south-east, around Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast.
WARNING UPDATE: Severe thunderstorms are progressing eastwards across #SEQld. Heavy rainfall and damaging wind gusts are likely. 53mm was recorded at Palen Creek in 1 hour to 3:15pm. Warnings at: https://t.co/GW35jfwzGL pic.twitter.com/ZMvYFjj6RP
— Bureau of Meteorology, Queensland (@BOM_Qld) January 18, 2021
Updated
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, is addressing the media about the approach of Cyclone Kimi in the state’s north.
She says she is “very comfortable with the preparations” that are in place, but warns the situation is “unpredictable”.
All of the preparations are in place. There is going to be a lot of rainfall. Of course, the key message here is if it’s flooded, forget it. If you don’t need to be on the roads tonight, don’t go on the roads tonight. And similarly, down here in the south-east, there’s also going to be storms this evening, the next couple of hours. There is going to be a lot of rainfall, anywhere between 50 to 100mm. So once again, a lot of rainfall in the south-east as well. And please, if you don’t need to be on the roads, don’t during this time.
Updated
New South Wales Health has just released a new list of venues linked to a recently confirmed case of Covid-19. The department says it is “still investigating” the source.
Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed below is asked to get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is received. If symptoms appear, please isolate and get tested again.
Auburn Village Tavern, corner of Queen Street and Harrow Road, Auburn:
Monday Tuesday 28-29 December – 6pm Monday to 4am Tuesday
Thursday Friday 7-8 January – 6pm Thursday to 4am Friday
Wednesday Thursday 13-14 January – 6pm Wednesday to 4am Thursday
Berala Hotel, 159 Woodburn Road, Berala
Wednesday 30 December – 6pm to close
Auburn Hotel, 43 Queen Street, Auburn
Tuesday 12 January – 6pm to close
NSW Health has also requested that anyone who attended the Auburn Central shopping centre or the Auburn shops along Queen St and South Terrace at any time since 1 January 2021, and has had symptoms, should get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.
Updated
Victoria police say there are no plans to drop unpaid Covid fines
Victoria police deputy commissioner Rick Nugent says there are no plans to drop the 32,000 unpaid fines for Covid-19 breaches in favour of cautions, blaming a poorly worded police document for causing confusion.
The Age reported on Monday a document given to officers late last year indicated unpaid fines from Covid-19 rule breaches would be dropped in favour of cautions, but in a press conference on Monday afternoon, Nugent said people would still be expected to pay the fines if they weren’t challenging the decision in court.
Of the 40,000 fines issued to Victorians so far during the pandemic, just around 3,000 have been paid in full, with another approximately 5,500 being paid on a payment plan.
Just 2,400 people who have been fined are challenging the fines in court, with the remaining still unpaid.
Nugent said the guidance would be rewritten and was developed due to questions around the processing of fines. He said people could take the matter to court and seek a court diversion which would mean they would not get the fine, but that was the only way people would avoid paying fines, once the fine had been initially reviewed by Operation Sentinel.
He said:
There have been a lot of questions with respect to prosecution of these matters, and the intent was to provide a consistent approach, through the process right across the state which I fully support. The problem associated with that was the way in which it was worded.
Updated
Australia used car market sees price jump amid pandemic
Good news everyone! AAP reports that the Covid-19 pandemic has been a boon for Australia’s second-hand car market, with prices jumping 35% last year.
According to AAP, Moody’s Analytics says the increase was fuelled by limited supplies of new vehicles, fewer trade-ins and increased demand.
Australian used vehicle prices experienced a year unlike any before.
This incredible jump in prices is made more improbable because it happened as the nation endured numerous lockdown orders, devastating job losses and the first recession in a generation.
The company said the pandemic’s impact on prices threw out relationships between traditional economic indicators, including unemployment.
It said fears about the virus also caused people to shun public transport while the number of vehicles available for sale was reduced with lease contracts on many vehicles pushed out as people drove less.
Updated
Scott Morrison has downplayed the significance of recent deaths of elderly people who had taken the Pfizer vaccine in Norway in terms of Australia’s vaccine rollout.
He told 2GB Radio:
These cases in Norway, they’re distressing. But in terms of the total volume of vaccinations that have been provided and those who have been provided with them who have sadly passed away – they’re very aged people, they were in the last phases of life and very frail. And this can happen with vaccinations – we know that.
And that’s why it’s important we’re very careful ... safety first, health first. Let’s make sure they’re right, all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed then we can give the tick and then people can safely get the jab.
Morrison also criticised events in the US – coming closer to direct criticism of Trump without quite getting there, due to the heroic use of the passive tense.
He said that it was:
Very disappointing that things were allowed to get to that stage ... The things that were said that encouraged people to come to the Capitol were very disappointing; and the outcomes were terrible.
Updated
And that’s all from the PM on his first day back from holidays. My colleague Paul Karp will write up a more exhaustive account of the interview which I will share here soon.
Morrison says it's not for him to be 'providing lectures to anybody' when pressed on US Capitol attack
Morrison is asked about the inauguration of US president-elect Joe Biden. The prime minister says he hasn’t spoken to Biden since immediately following the election.
Wilson then pushes him on Donald Trump, and his actions in the lead up to the march on the US Capitol a fortnight ago. He wants to know what the prime minister thinks about Trump’s behaviour.
Morrison repeats his previous comment that the actions at the Capitol were “deeply distressing” and that the “actions” have been “very disappointing”. To his credit, Wilson asks whether Morrison is referring to Trump’s actions specifically.
We get a bit more passive language – Morrison says he has “echoed the comments of other leaders” – then he says it was “very disappointing” that “things were allowed to get to that stage” including “things that were said” which “encouraged people to come to the Capitol and behave in that [manner]”.
But, he concludes: “It’s not for me to be providing lectures to anybody.”
Updated
Morrison isn’t too keen to discuss the Australian Open, and criticism that the Victorian government is hosting about 1,200 participants in hotel quarantine while some 40,000 Australians are still stranded overseas.
No one is being prevented from coming home from overseas because of the Australian Open.
On the complaints from some of the players themselves over the quarantine conditions Morrison says: “Follow the rules, do the quarantine, play tennis.”
He notes he’s sure the players will be “well paid” for participating in the tournament.
Updated
On that subject, Morrison says he “strongly supported” the Queensland government’s decision to enforce a lockdown after cases of a more contagious strain of the virus was discovered.
I strongly supported that because we were dealing with a new [strain] of the virus [and] we didn’t know how it was going to operate and how quickly it was going to move.
Updated
On his first day back from a holiday on the NSW south coast, Scott Morrison is on Sydney radio station 2GB talking about ... the cricket and his holiday body surfing, first of all.
Host Jim Wilson asks for his opinion on the border closures. Morrison says he would “like to keep things as open as possible” but says that it’s the states that are responsible for border control.
Morrison does say he wants “greater transparency” on the rationale behind closures.
Wilson asks if the closures are “knee jerk”, but Morrison doesn’t bite. “It’s an uncertain environment,” he says, noting that the states are in different environments
Updated
Scott Morrison will appear on Sydney radio station 2GB in about 10 minutes.
Updated
SA premier says state is still 'some time off' from opening borders to Sydney
South Australian premier Steve Marshall says his state is still “some time off” from opening its borders to Sydney residents.
Despite Daniel Andrews announcing changes to its border restrictions that will allow people in some parts Sydney to return to Victoria, Marshall said on Monday that his state would keep restrictions in place for people travelling from greater Sydney, the Central Coast and Wollongong.
We’ll continue to look at the results coming out of NSW.
Our transition committee is meeting tomorrow but I think opening up to (all of) NSW is still some time off.
We don’t want to do anything that is going to put us in jeopardy here in South Australia.
People from NSW are not allowed into the state unless they secure an exemption or are an essential worker.
While NSW reported no new locally acquired virus cases on Monday, it’s still to be determined if the six reported on Sunday will reset SA’s clock in terms of requiring 14 days of no community transmission.
Marshall also said SA had not yet considered whether to offer incentives or impose restrictions on people who do or don’t opt to get the coronavirus vaccine.
There are a range of issues we’re going to have to deal with.
This is one of the reasons why we’ve been keen to put in a bit of a buffer between the vaccine rollout in other countries and us here in Australia so we can learn some of those lessons.
That issue is one that different states will consider over time.
SA reported zero new Covid-19 cases on Monday, and the state’s health department said there have been no positive cases in any of the tennis players or their support staff currently quarantining in the state.
Updated
The head of Australia’s health department has said it is unlikely international borders will reopen this year, despite vaccine rollout now beginning in a number of countries including the US and UK.
Speaking on the ABC on Monday, Brendan Murphy downplayed the prospect of a widespread easing of international border restrictions.
The answer is probably no.
Even if we have a lot of the population vaccinated, we don’t know whether that will prevent transmission of the virus.
Updated
A little earlier today the Victorian premier Daniel Andrews was asked in a press conference about a list of demands sent to the Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley by world number one Novak Djokovic.
The list asked for, among other things, players in hard lockdown to be released early from hotel quarantine and for as many as possible to be moved to private houses.
Andrews response: “The answer is no.”
The premier on the list of demands reportedly made by Novak Djokovic on behalf of tennis players in strict hotel quarantine: "People are free to provide lists of demands. But the answer is no".
— Benita Kolovos 🐯 (@benitakolovos) January 17, 2021
Updated
Good afternoon.
Surf Life Saving New South Wales says a 50-year-old woman drowned while attempting to rescue her child who was caught in a rip at the remote Congo Beach on the state’s far coast yesterday.
Just before 4.30pm on Sunday emergency services were called to Congo Beach, south of Moruya, after reports a number of people were stuck in a rip.
A nearby surfer rescued the woman and a 10-year-old boy and brought them back to shore, the SLS said in a statement released just now. They were pulled from the water by witnesses who commenced CPR on the woman.
NSW Ambulance paramedics and Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Helicopter crewman also attended, and took over the attempts to save the woman. But she could not be revived, SLS said, and died a short time later. She has since been identified as a 50-year-old woman from Sydney.
The 10-year-old boy was assessed by Ambulance paramedics but was uninjured.
SLS said they believed the woman may have entered the water to assist her son who was caught in a rip but quickly got into difficulty herself.
According to Surf Life Saving duty officers who attended, surf conditions at the time of the incident were quite large, with a 1.5 metre swell and large sets of waves hitting the beach.
Updated
With that I’ll hand over to my colleague Michael McGowan. Thanks for reading.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who was speaking in Melbourne a short time ago, also had this to say about Australians stranded (either overseas or interstate):
When it comes to Australians whose are stranded, whether it’s Victorians who are wanting to get back ... to their state or whether it’s Australians abroad who are waiting for the flight to come home we, as the federal government, are working to help more Australians get back home.
Since March, when we put out the call for Australians to come back as quickly as possible, 446,000 Australians have come back. We have put in place 90 assisted flights. We provided financial assistance for Australians to help meet those costs of coming back where they were unable to do so themselves. We have announced an additional 20 flights.
When it comes [to] the Victorians, who are stranded outside the boundaries of Victoria and desperate to get home, I know of examples where families have been separated and are waiting to get approvals for their permits. And the Victorian government, no doubt, is trying to process them as quickly as possible, as they should.
Updated
Health minister Greg Hunt confirming that Australia has recorded zero cases of community transmission today.
Advice from the National Incident Centre of zero cases of community transmission Australia-wide today. At a time when the world has sadly passed 95m cases & 2m lives lost, this is a reminder of our national achievements together. Thank you to all & please keep being tested.
— Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) January 18, 2021
Updated
There are questions being asked about the Australian Open and the Victorian government’s response. Frydenberg, himself a former tennis player of some repute, had this to say:
We support the systems they have put in place and we have confidence that their health authorities will make the right decisions. But these are decisions that have been taken by the Victorian government and by their health authorities.
Frydenberg has this to say about reports from Norway about deaths possibly linked to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine.
We have seen the reports out of Norway and our experts – medical experts – are in touch with the regulators over there and obviously the information is being considered by the TGA [therapeutic goods administration] ahead of their decisions.
But, again, what it underlines is how important it is to put safety first. Not to have any short cuts.
But to pursue the vaccine which we are very positive about, in a very considered way which puts the science and the evidence front and centre.
That’s why we haven’t rushed it. That’s why we haven’t cut corners. That’s why we are waiting for the TGA to complete their own processes.
Updated
Here is some of what Frydenberg is saying about the economy and Covid-19:
We know the road ahead will still be tough. We know many Australians are doing it tough right now. We know the road ahead will be bumpy. There will be challenges.
It will be difficult as we see globally as many countries struggle with the health and the economic impacts of Covid-19.
But we also know that Australia is so well positioned for that economic recovery, and the economic data that we have seen across the country is pointing in that direction.
Updated
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is speaking at a bakery in Melbourne. Not about a dozen donuts, but about forecasts from Deloitte that the economy will bounce back fairly well from last year’s Covid-19 troubles.
Here’s a little more Australian Open content, as that’s probably the issue that is simmering along the most today. Victorian opposition leader Michael O’Brien is (a) not coming out as hard as his colleague Tim Smith MP about the tournament and (b) hasn’t spoken to Smith about his Stan Wawrinka is a flog tweet.
Opposition Leader @michaelobrienmp says he has “no beef” with any tennis player. Says he doesn’t support tennis players who want quarantine corners cut. (Hasn’t talked to his frontbencher @TimSmithMP but doesn’t think @stanwawrinka is one of them) 🎾 pic.twitter.com/97wlwn71DW
— Andrew Lund (@andrew_lund) January 18, 2021
Updated
Google has released its weekly report on trending search topics, with “impeachment” and “cyclone” coming in at one and two (impeachment for obvious reasons, cyclone because of Kimi, which was bearing down on far north Queensland).
There was also a lot of activity around searches for “vaccine”, with the 10th most searched question being: “Is the COVID vaccine good?”
Here is what has happened so far today:
- No new cases of locally acquired Covid-19 recorded in New South Wales, Victoria or Queensland.
- Victorian government downgrades red zones in most of Sydney to orange zones, allowing people within those local government areas to apply for a permit to travel.
- NSW may allow businesses to ban people who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19.
- The head of Australia’s health department does not expect international borders will open in any substantial way this year.
Updated
Australian Open tennis player in isolation says he's 'happy' to be in Melbourne
The ABC has spoken to one of the tennis players who is isolating as part of strict restrictions applied to those who travelled for the Australian Open.
#AusOpen player Artem Sitak happy to be in Melbourne for the tournament. A lot of the players have now realised it's an unfortunate situation. News of the long Victorian lockdown & of Australians unable to return home is making them feel very lucky to be in Melbourne. #Springst pic.twitter.com/EgQ9CEix9P
— David Marler (@Qldaah) January 18, 2021
Doubles player Artem Sitak, from New Zealand, was potentially exposed to Covid-19 on the flight, so is confined to his hotel room.
Of course I’m happy. As I said, I was prepared for the worst and unfortunately it happened to me, but I’m – I’m definitely happy. I’m here, I love Australian Open. I think it’s going to be any sixth or seventh Australian Open and I love playing here. There’s always a really – a really vocal huge crowd. Hopefully this time it will be – I don’t know the percentage of spectators that are allowed but there will still be a lot of people. We haven’t played in front of spectators since back in August. And this is going to be a lot of fun.
Updated
The Victorian police union is less welcoming of news that Covid-19 fines in Victoria will be waived. Here’s what Victorian Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said on radio station 3AW earlier today, according to AAP:
It’s a wee bit frustrating.
None of this was fun for our members. It was bit of a thankless job.
What you potentially do is ... you make that enforcement job of the police a little bit harder.
We don’t want to do that. The job is tough enough for them.
You need to be careful that if you say you’re going to do something, you actually do it, because the people that are harmed are the people on the front line that are then asked to enforce and hold it all together in a time of crisis.
Updated
One of Victoria’s largest youth advocacy services has welcomed news of a reprieve for the thousands of young people who received Covid-19 fines:
MEDIA STATEMENT
— Youth Support + Advocacy Service (YSAS) (@YSASVic) January 18, 2021
COVID-19 fine reprieve is welcome, but compassion must be shown for disadvantaged young people who attracted multiple infringements. #auspol #COVID19https://t.co/9ZwTtsmD8L pic.twitter.com/WLHIvyjAkI
Bit happening on the weather front. We’ve got Tropical Cyclone Kimi in far north Queensland, which is set to strengthen, and a downgraded warning for bushfires north of Perth.
Once again, we are on cyclone watch. Our emergency services are well prepared. Please listen to emergency warnings and take care. #CycloneKimi pic.twitter.com/jw6Zm6g6PD
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) January 17, 2021
Updated
We have another development in the “will the government condemn Craig Kelly MP” imbroglio. Here are some of the many good things we have written about this.
Labor condemns Craig Kelly for spreading misinformation in a pandemic. It's on all of us as leaders to call it out. Now it's your turn, PM.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) January 17, 2021
Updated
The NSW health department is worried about the quite substantial drop in testing (around 50% from Saturday to Sunday).
The drop in daily testing numbers is an increasing concern, and NSW Health renews its calls for people to get tested if they are experiencing even the mildest of symptoms.
Updated
NSW records zero locally acquired Covid cases
NSW recorded zero new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
There were eight cases recorded in returned travellers, bringing the total number of Covid-19 cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,885.
There were 8,773 tests reported to 8pm last night, compared with the previous day’s total of 12,764.
Updated
One last little point from the Victorian press conference, which was mostly about travel (restrictions easing to NSW) and tennis (all four cases recorded in hotel quarantine today were linked to the Australian Open, including one player).
Chief health officer Brett Sutton had this to say about tennis players being dissatisfied with the measures put in place by Victorian authorities. The most prominent of these has been Novak Djokovic, who reportedly issued a letter of demands to authorities on behalf of players yesterday.
Here’s what Sutton had to say:
I do reflect on the fact that Victorians have gone through a long lockdown. Tens of thousands of Victorians have had their own quarantine by virtue of being close contacts. Everyone finds quarantine tough, but Victorians have copped this as much as anyone in the world, and it’s for them [tennis players] really to reflect on some of the privileged positions that others might have with respect to how their quarantine plays out. Victorians have done it tough, and they don’t expect special rules for anyone else.
Updated
The Super Retail Group (owner of brands including Supercheap Auto, rebel and Macpac) has announced a net profit after tax of $170m.
In an announcement to the ASX, the company said the result “excludes $1.7 million received in jobkeeper wage support which will be returned to the Australian government”.
We’ve confirmed this is the full amount of jobkeeper it received and the company was eligible for the payments but decided to hand them back voluntarily in light of the result.
Anthony Heraghty, the chief executive, said the group had recorded “record online sales over the November cyber weekend and strong Christmas trading” culminating in a “record first half performance”.
Updated
Liberal and National donations from resources sector triple the amount of Labor in past two decades
A new analysis of donations data shows the Liberal and Nationals parties received triple the amount from the resources sector than Labor in the past two decades.
The Centre for Public Integrity on Monday released an analysis of publicly-available donations data, finding the Liberals and Nationals received $15.2m from the resources industry between 1999 and 2019, compared to $4.9m to Labor.
The analysis, first reported by the Channel Nine newspapers this morning, shows Clive Palmer’s companies Mineralogy and Queensland Nickel had an overwhelming influence.
Mineralogy donated $98.5m and Queensland Nickel donated $21m, according to the analysis. Woodside and Santos, both major oil and gas corporates, donated $1.96m and $1.54m respectively.
Flaws with Australia’s donation disclosure rules mean the analysis does not include so-called “dark money”, a term describing donations that fall below the disclosure threshold, currently at $14,300.
The amount of dark money being injected into the political system is thought to be huge. Separate research has estimated that at least $100m was donated, but not publicly disclosed, in 2018-19 alone.
The Centre for Public Integrity study is largely in line with previous analysis. Last year, the Australian Conservation Foundation found the amount the fossil fuel industry gave to the major parties had doubled in four years, increasing from $894,336 it gave in 2015-16 to $1.9m in 2018-19.
That analysis excluded the massive donations made by Clive Palmer’s companies.
Updated
As the press conference of premier Dan Andrews continues, we again descend into a little state v state parochialism.
Here’s what Andrews had to say about questions relating to his relationship with other states.
I’m not going to get the permission of other political leaders in other states to keep Victoria safe.
Nor will I rely on their settings, such as they are, to keep our state safe. I’m just not going to do that. That’s not what I’m elected to do. It’s not what I’m accountable and responsible for doing.
Again, we apologise and we express our absolute regret that this virus and the outbreaks out of hotel quarantine in New South Wales and in Queensland has disrupted the summer of many, Victorians.
But the alternative ... would be me ignoring the advice of the chief health officer and I don’t think that that would be a good thing to do.
Updated
Premier Dan Andrews says he tried to call his NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian to let her know about the relaxation to travel restrictions, but she was busy so he sent a text and she responded in a fashion which indicated that she was “very pleased”.
Sutton says that it is important those players and officials travelling to Australia for the tennis grand slam continue to be tested prior to departing, even though cases were still emerging once they arrived.
He said the rate of positive tests was similar to what they were finding on other international flights, and the situation was a window into the rate of transmission in the northern hemisphere.
That’s why the rules are extremely strict for these tennis players and their entourage, as much as for any other international arrival.
I should make the point – no one has been displaced as an international arrival by virtue of this tournament going ahead.
No one has been set aside coming from other jurisdictions into Victoria by virtue of the Australian Open going ahead. They are separate decisions that are made upon their own merits.
Updated
Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton confirms that one of the four positive Covid-19 cases in hotel quarantine is believed to be a player who travelled for the Australian Open. All four are linked to the tennis.
People in most of Sydney free to apply for travel to Victoria, as Andrews government eases restrictions
Victorian premier Dan Andrews has confirmed that people in most of Sydney can now apply for a permit to travel to the state.
Red zones have been changed to orange zones for 25 councils. Those in red zones cannot travel to Victoria.
These local government areas are still considered red: Blacktown city, Burwood, Canada Bay city, Canterbury Bankstown, Cumberland, Inner West, Liverpool city, Fairfield West, Parramatta city and Strathfield.
Updated
Victoria's four new Covid cases in quarantine all linked to Australian Open
Andrews confirms that all four of the new cases in hotel quarantine are linked to the Australian Open.
All four are associated with the tennis, and they’re all tucked away safely in hotel quarantine.
And I know that there’s been a bit of chatter from a number of players about the rules. Well, the rules apply to them as they apply to everybody else, and they were all briefed on that before they came. And that was the condition on which they came.
There’s no special treatment here. Because the virus doesn’t treat you specially. So neither do we.
Updated
Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton says he is grateful the state’s new contact tracing process appears to have stamped out the Black Rock cluster without widespread transmission across the state.
He does not expect any more cases from that cluster, but if there are more cases they will be in quarantine.
Obviously, that doesn’t mean that we formally close the Black Rock cluster and the other unknown case that we had at the same time. But 12 is fantastic – a dozen donuts. It means that we’re quite confident that we’re on top of this.
The secret – it’s no secret, really, but the essence of why we’ve gotten on top of the Black Rock cluster is the close contacts. The primary close contacts are quarantined. Their contacts – so the contacts of contacts – are quarantined as well.
That meant that at the peak of it, there were over 4,500 people in quarantine. But it also means that we were always ahead of those contacts. They were always quarantined.
Updated
Twenty-five Sydney local government areas downgraded to orange zones
Here’s what Victorian premier Dan Andrews had to say about the change to red zones in NSW:
So just in summary: all but 10 of those 35 local government areas go from red to orange.
Those people will be able to get a permit and automatically return home from 6pm tonight.
They must isolate at home and get tested within 72 hours. If it’s a negative test and they’re free and clear.
Updated
Andrews is also announcing changes to 16 local government areas on the NSW side of the border from orange zones to green zones. This won’t change life for those who live on the border, he says, but will make it easier for tourists in the area.
He is now giving an update on the red zones, which continue to apply to some parts of Sydney, but no longer to Brisbane. Those in red zones cannot travel to Victoria.
But Andrews says that the majority of local government areas of Sydney that were red zones are now being declared orange.
These local government areas are still considered red: Blacktown city, Burwood, Canada Bay city, Canterbury Bankstown, Cumberland, Inner West, Liverpool city, Fairfield West, Parramatta city and Strathfield.
Updated
Premier Dan Andrews is speaking in Victoria. Once again thanking people for the high test rate (almost 14,000 yesterday).
Victoria records no locally acquired Covid cases for 12th day
No new local cases in Victoria, but four new cases in hotel quarantine. That is a dozen donuts thanks.
Yesterday there were 0 new locally acquired cases reported and 4 new cases in hotel quarantine. Thanks to all who were tested – 13,973 results were received.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 17, 2021
More information will be provided later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#EveryTestHelps #StaySafeStayOpen #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/mrreCUjbL7
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We are expecting the Victorian premier Dan Andrews to provide an update on the Covid-19 situation in the state, and the latest on the Australian Open issues, in the next 10 minutes or so.
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That new case in Queensland was acquired overseas, and is not linked to the other problems the state has had with hotel quarantine, Palaszczuk said.
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Queensland records one new Covid case in quarantine
One new case of Covid-19 in hotel quarantine in Queensland recorded today, the premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has confirmed.
Monday 18 January – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) January 17, 2021
• 0 new locally acquired cases
• 1 overseas acquired case
• 25 active cases
• 1,294 total cases
• 1,686,594 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,254 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/WPz4LiEaMd
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The Victorian economy, hammered by a second wave of Covid-19, has been forecast to grow faster than any other state’s this year.
Treasurer Tim Pallas welcomed the Deloitte Access Economics forecast, which estimated the state’s economy would grow 5.4%, ahead of Queensland (4.7%), New South Wales (4.2%), Western Australia (3.5%), South Australia (3.4%) and Tasmania (3.4 %).
Pallas said in a statement:
The early positive results of the hard work of all Victorians in contributing to our economic recovery are encouraging – and shows our strategy is working.
It shows how important our strategy of driving case numbers down and opening up has been to getting our economy going again.
Jobs will remain front and centre in our recovery plans as we continue to invest in employment support across Victoria, together with our record pipeline of infrastructure projects.
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Brendan Murphy says international borders unlikely to reopen this year
Dr Brendan Murphy, the head of Australia’s health department and former chief medical officer, thinks it is unlikely international borders will substantially reopen this year, regardless of rates of vaccination.
He made the comments during an interview this morning with the ABC, according to a recent AAP report, part of which is below:
The head of Australia’s health department believes it is unlikely international borders will substantially reopen this year, even if most people are vaccinated against coronavirus.
Brendan Murphy downplayed the prospect of a widespread easing of border restrictions, meaning dreams of international travel this year remain on hold.
“I think the answer is probably no,” Prof Murphy told the ABC on Monday.
“Even if we have a lot of the population vaccinated, we don’t know whether that will prevent transmission of the virus.”
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Melbourne’s fairly ghostly CBD is expected to spring back to life today after the Victorian government changed back to work and mask restrictions (and people also trickle back from summer leave).
Lord mayor Sally Capp said she hoped the staged return to offices would allow city businesses to bounce back.
“Our message to workers returning to the city is that we’ve missed you, welcome back,” Capp said in a statement.
“We want Melbourne businesses to thrive again because they are a vital part of what makes our city great.
“Our research shows that while many people have embraced greater flexibility and convenience working from home, they don’t want to live at work. More than 90% of people were willing to return to the office.”
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The Victorian emergency services minister Lisa Neville has confirmed that two hotel quarantine staff who returned weak positive Covid-19 results are actually negative, after further testing.
Two CQV staff have been cleared of COVID after returning initial weak positive results. Saliva swab was retested and nasal PCR test taken - both came back negative. Contact tracing was undertaken and staff isolated as a precaution until the result was confirmed.
— Lisa Neville (@LisanevilleMP) January 17, 2021
NSW could allow venues to ban people who don't get vaccinated against Covid-19
The NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has reportedly told Sydney radio she will consider permitting venues to ban entry to people who have not been vaccinated against Covid-19. This is an interesting development to a story my colleague Paul Karp wrote on Friday about the circumstances under which the vaccine would be mandatory.
The below is from a story AAP have just filed about Berejiklian’s comments this morning:
The NSW premier says her government will consider permitting venues to ban entry to those who decline to take the Covid-19 vaccine.
NSW reported six new local cases of Covid-19 on Sunday, five of which were household contacts of a previously confirmed case in western Sydney.
NSW Health believes that case was linked to the Berala cluster.
The sixth case is a Concord Repatriation General Hospital staff member who worked in the cardiology and radiology wards and may have been infectious on January 12, 13, and 14 but had minimal patient contact.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian has flagged the possibility of easing restrictions on greater Sydney this week, dependent upon high testing rates.
She also broached on Monday the possibility of barring those who refuse to take the Covid-19 vaccine from government-run buildings, as well as permitting private venues to take similar measures.
As the planned February rollout of the vaccine nears, the NSW government is considering a data-sharing partnership with the federal government that would help residents prove they have been immunised.
Berejiklian last week said the Service NSW smartphone app could show a tick when a person is vaccinated, enabling venue entry.
“The more people that are vaccinated, the greater likelihood we can have a return to normality as we know it,” Berejiklian told 2GB Radio.
“Already airlines have indicated that if you’re not vaccinated you can’t travel overseas and I think that’ll be incentive to a lot of people.
“But we’ll also consider whether we allow venues ... make up their own rules if they have a business or run a workplace about what they feel is Covid safe.”
Berejiklian also said Victorian counterpart Daniel Andrews had not made contact about the state’s hard border arrangements.
She reiterated her misgivings about the controversial move, which continues to lock greater Sydney residents out of Victoria.
Victoria has gone 11 straight days without a new local coronavirus infection and residents stuck in Brisbane are now free to travel back to the state.
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This is an interesting piece about people of colour moving to regional areas during the pandemic:
The Australian Open starts next month, and there’s already a fair bit of concern about how many players and officials travelling to Melbourne have tested positive to Covid-19. But Victorian opposition MP Tim Smith, attempting an overhead smash against the Andrews government, has only found the net. He called Stan Wawrinka, a much-loved player who posted a tweet about happily adhering to quarantine restrictions, a “flog”.
For every Victorian currently in Sydney that is banned from returning home by Daniel Andrews, this obscene double standard, where this flog of a tennis player is allowed in, and our own people aren’t, must make so many Victorian families incandescent... https://t.co/rNdGhi3mVb
— Tim Smith MP (@TimSmithMP) January 17, 2021
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Here is our summary of the main Covid-19 news in Australia yesterday, if you’re catching up:
Good morning and welcome to the Australia liveblog on Monday 18 January. This is Nino Bucci with you for the next few hours.
The Australian government is looking into potentially adverse effects from the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine in Norway, while positive Covid-19 cases have sent preparations for the Australian Open into chaos.
Three Australian Open charter flights have now been sent into hard quarantine due to five positive coronavirus test results among passengers on board (and counting), with around 72 players now unable to train for 14 days. The restrictions have divided players. Those who arrived without any positive tests on their flights are allowed five hours of training and fitness each day. Some players say they were not aware that sharing a plane with an infected person would be classed as close contact. One player has been warned for breaching strict isolation rules by “opening his door” to talk to his friends. Still, the tournament is at this stage going ahead. Meanwhile, NSW recorded six new local Covid cases yesterday, including a healthcare worker at a Sydney hospital.
Australian authorities will examine reports of potentially adverse reactions to the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in Norway, but health minister Greg Hunt said yesterday it was not yet clear whether several reported deaths were related to old age rather than the jabs. He said there was no change to the government’s vaccine rollout plans and “safety is Australia’s number one priority”. Three in four Australians meanwhile agree that Scott Morrison should publicly rebuke Craig Kelly for spreading misinformation during the pandemic, according to new polling commissioned by the Australia Institute.
Meanwhile, in Victoria, the Age is reporting that police plan to drop most of the fines handed out for breaches of Covid-19 restrictions. It has previously been found that Sudanese and Aboriginal people were overrepresented in fines handed out during the first lockdown.
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