Sydney residents from the Cumberland local government area will be allowed to travel into Victoria without quarantining from 6:00pm on Monday.
Follow all the latest updates in our live blog.
Live updates
By Michael Doyle
We have been given our cue to close
That's all for the blog today friend.
Plenty of news today, it was coming thick and fast.
Thank-you to everyone who was on the blog thoughout the day.
We will be back again tomorrow to do it all again.
Until next time, stay safe and be well.
By Michael Doyle
WOLRD NEWS: Ukraine in talks with other countries on receiving some of their vaccines
Ukraine, which hopes to vaccinate half of its population against coronavirus by early 2022, is in talks with other countries, including Poland, about receiving some of their coronavirus vaccines, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday.
Zelenskiy said last week that Kyiv had secured a total of 20 million doses of vaccine from India's Serum Institute and the global COVAX scheme.
Ukraine also expects to receive 5 million doses of vaccine from China's Sinovac.
Reuters
By Michael Doyle
WORLD NEWS: Russia records more than 15,000 in previous 24 hours
Russia on Monday reported 15,916 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, including 1,728 in Moscow, taking the national tally to 3,983,197.
Authorities also reported an additional 407 deaths, raising the official total to 77,068.
Reuters
By Michael Doyle
What we know about the recent Victorian hotel quarantine cases and what's being done to tackle it
Two new positive coronavirus cases among Victoria's quarantine hotel workers in five days has forced the state's health authorities to move quickly to impose new rules.
A worker at the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport tested positive on Sunday, after visiting several locations while potentially infectious on her days off.
Community-wide coronavirus precautions had already been tightened after a residential support officer at an Australian Open quarantine hotel tested positive to the more-contagious UK strain of the virus on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old man from Noble Park had already left the role and returned a negative test on his last day working at the Grand Hyatt.
ABC reporter Hilary Whiteman has taken a look at what we know about the recent cases and what's changing in hotel quarantine in response.
By Michael Doyle
NRL's plan to allow 50,000 fans a day at Brisbane's Lang Park
The NRL is hoping to host capacity crowds for this year's Magic Round in Brisbane, when all 16 teams play out of the one stadium over three days in May.
The concept was first played in 2019, then scrapped in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic.
All 272 players will travel to Brisbane to play eight matches and the league hopes 50,000 fans will be able to attend each day.
"[We will] be able to see, as we saw in 2019, more than 91,000 fans enjoy the Magic Round, I am sure we can top that this year and see more than 29,000 visitors come from interstate," said Queensland's Tourism and Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe.
"$22 million will be injected into the city's economy, which will be very welcome to Brisbane's visitor economy."
The ambitious plan comes on the heels of repeated border closures in 2020 and this year's ongoing uncertainty.
"We are back, and back with an even stronger line-up and we want blockbuster crowds," said ARL commissioner Kate Jones.
"The NRL has done a lot of work to ensure we are COVID safe and will continue to work with authorities to ensure we can have a full house for the long weekend.
"We wouldn't have been able to do this without help from the Queensland Government and local government, and this shows the NRL continues to be innovative and do what other codes can't deliver."
Reporting by Chloe Hart.
By Michael Doyle
By Michael Doyle
By Michael Doyle
Leading quarantine expert says regional quarantine 'should be on the table'
Jane Halton, who's a member of the Federal Government's COVID-19 Coordination Commission, said regional quarantine should be considered for international arrivals.
"Every option should be on the table but let's think about the practicalities and also what is going to deliver the best system," she said.
Speaking to Virginia Trioli on Mornings, Ms Halton said there were three key criteria regional facilities would need to meet.
"It needs to be close to an airport... it needs to have access to an expert workforce to manage quarantine... [and] it needs to have access to good quality acute care services."
You can listen to the full audio of this interview by clicking the link here.
By Michael Doyle
But how else would you classify it?
If both of the new cases recorded in Victoria have come from hotel quarantine why are they being called community transmission cases? As of yet there has not been any transmission in the community.
-Just wondering
I get where you are coming from.
But you cannot classify it as overseas.
It was trasmitted in Australia, to someone who is in the community.
You could create a seperate category — but for the purpose of having a clear message, just having two classifications makes it easier.
By Michael Doyle
Man arrested for allegedly threatening to spit on Perth coronavirus hotel quarantine guard
Police in Western Australia have charged a returning overseas traveller with failing to comply with a COVID-19 quarantine direction and threatening to spit on security staff.
South Australian man Dariusz Tarnowski allegedly left his quarantine hotel room last night and entered the emergency stairwell where he threatened to spit in the face of a security guard.
The 48-year-old travelled into Perth from Poland via Doha on January 28 and was ordered to quarantine in the hotel for 14 days.
WA Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said he was arrested after security allegedly saw him leave his room.
"There was a bit of to-and-fro for about eight minutes," he told ABC Radio Perth.
Mr Tarnowski appeared in the Northbridge Magistrates Court this morning after spending the night in police custody.
He did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody to reappear in court on Friday, when his quarantine period is due to end.
Reporting by Evelyn Manfield.
By Michael Doyle
Perfect. Now I can help
Hi there, I'm in Melbourne where it is meant to be 50% capacity in offices.
-I'd love to help, but I have no idea where on the contient you are …
To report a suspected breach of Public Health Directions or COVIDSafe Summer restrictions, contact the Police Assistance Line on 131 444.
Workers: Please contact WorkSafe on 1800 136 089 if you would like to discuss a matter specific to your place of work.
Employers: For guidance and frequently asked questions for businesses with on-site operations during the restricted activity period, visit our sector guidance page. Please contact your industry regulator or peak body if you require support specific to your industry.
— This was taken from the Victorian Government website.
By Michael Doyle
I'd love to help, but I have no idea where on the continent you are …
Who can I report my employer to if they are forcing 100% of office staff back into the office?
-Some guidance please
I need a little more information blog friend.
By Michael Doyle
Tasmania eases border restrictions with WA
The following is a statement from Tasmania's Director of Public Health, Dr Mark Veitch:
Tasmania's border restrictions on people arriving from Western Australia have been further eased from 6pm tonight (Monday, 8 February).
Border restrictions were imposed on 31 January in response to a case of COVID-19 in Perth. The person was infected with a more transmissible strain of coronavirus and had moved in the Perth community while potentially infectious, and three regions were designated as high-risk by the Tasmanian Director of Public Health.
Extensive contact tracing and testing in Perth has so far not identified further cases among contacts of the case or people at locations visited by the case.
From 6pm tonight the Perth Region and Peel Region of WA are designated as low risk.
The South West Region was redesignated as low risk on 5 February.
Anyone arriving in Tasmania who has been anywhere in WA including the Perth Region, Peel Region, or South West Region can now enter Tasmania without a requirement to quarantine.
Anyone currently in quarantine in Tasmania because they were recently in the Perth Region or Peel Region may leave quarantine.
By Michael Doyle
Will I need to quarantine if I return to Queensland from WA?
I will be flying from Brisbane to Perth on the 12/02, going back on the 19/02.
Will I need to do hotel quarantine when going back to Brisbane?
-Alessio
Good afternoon Alessio.
I cannot predict the future mate.
But if you returned today, you would be forced into two weeks hotel quarantine at your own expense.
This may change, but I have no idea if it will.
Thanks for your question.
By Michael Doyle
Northern Territory announces three Victorian hotspot suburbs
The Northern Territory Chief Health officer has declared three Victorian suburbs as COVID-19 hotspots effective immediately.
Anyone who arrives in the Northern Territory from Maidstone, Sunshine and Taylors Lakes will be forced to undertake two weeks mandatory supervised quarantine.
The 10 existing Victorian hotspots that were declared on February 4 have now been revoked.
By Michael Doyle
Cumberland LGA moves to Victoria's Green Zone
The last remaining local government area of NSW has moved from Orange to Green on Victoria's traffic light system.
By Michael Doyle
Zero cases in the ACT
How's the ACT tracking today? Or have I missed it?
-FOMO
Double doughnut my blog friend.
By Michael Doyle
By Michael Doyle
Australia will be helping out its neighbours
Why has Australia confirmed so many doses of the vaccines? With the numbers they are talking about, we can innoculate the country 3-4 times over. The numbers don't add up.
-Confused
Fair question blog friend.
The number of vaccines have also been purchased with the expectation they will be handed to our cousins around the Pacific.
The exact details of this have not been established.
By Michael Doyle
Has Queensland put restrictions on Aged Care visits for people from Melbourne?
I love be in Melbourne and I'm due to visit my mother in a couple of weeks in Brisbane who is in aged care.
Has the Queensland put any restrictions on visits to age care facilities
-Ydnew
Yes they have.
If you have been in Greater Melbourne withing the previous 14 days (dating back to January 29) cannot enter a residential aged care facility in Queensland.
The only exceptions which can be made are if you have a negative test COVID-19 test result and:
- an employee, contractor, or student of the facility
- providing goods or services necessary for the facility's operation
- providing health, medical, personal care or pharmaceutical or pathology services to a resident
- required for emergency management, law enforcement or to comply with a power or function of a government agency or entity
- a prospective resident or a support person of a prospective resident
- maintaining continuity of care for a resident that can't be delivered by non-contact means - with permission of the facility's operator
- attending for an end of life visit.
- You may be requested to provide evidence of the negative COVID-19 test when entering the facility.
The full page of information on the Queensland Government website can be found by clicking here.
