End-of-day summary
And with that, we come to the end of today’s live blog. Here’s what went down today:
- NSW recorded 15 new cases today, all linked to the existing northern beaches cluster. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the state government would wait until Wednesday to make a decision on Christmas restrictions.
- Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has apologised for the botched quarantine hotel program in Victoria, blaming a lack of time and oversight for its failings. It came as the final report into the program found risk assessments were not undertaken, leading to mistakes in infection control.
- Meanwhile, Victoria deployed 700 police officers to the NSW border to establish checkpoints and to enforce border restrictions.
- Police and concrete barriers returned to the Queensland border after premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state was reimposing border control with NSW.
- South Australia has mistakenly turned away 100 travellers, after a “miscommunication” led to travellers receiving the wrong information. Roughly 550 were mistakenly put into quarantine, who will now be allowed to leave.
- Finally, the new strain of the virus reported in the UK has made its way to Australia. The new strain, claimed to be more contagious, has been detected in small numbers in Australia.
I’m sure tomorrow will bring another deluge of information and updates, but in the meanwhile, if you are planning interstate travel please check out our summarised border restrictions and list of hotspots.
Updated
NSW updates venues of concern
NSW Health has issued a new public health alert with updated venues of concern.
Anyone who was at this venue on the date and time below is a close contact, and should get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days regardless of the result:
Avalon Beach Surf Club, 558A Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon Beach NSW 2107, Tuesday, 15 December, 8.30am-9am
If you were at the following venues, you should get tested immediately and self-isolate until NSW Health provides further information:
- Anytime Fitness Berowra, 25-29 Turner Road, Berowra, Wednesday, 16 December, 5.30am-6.30am AND Thursday, 17 December, 5.30am-6.30am
- Asquith Golf Course, Lord Street, Mount Colah, Tuesday, 15 December, 6.30am-10.30m
- Aura Threading and Beauty Hornsby, Westfield Hornsby, Shop 2067, L 2/236 Pacific Hwy, Hornsby Thursday, 17 December 10am-1.20pm
- Avalon Beach RSL, 1 Bowling Green Lane, Avalon Beach Sunday, 13 December, 8.30pm-9.15pm
- Avalon Bowling Club, 4 Bowling Green Lane, Avalon Beach Tuesday, 15 December 6pm-8.30pm
- Avalon Recreation Centre, 59 Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon Thursday, 17 December 11.50am-5.20pm
- Barramee Thai Massage and Spa, 4/42-44 Barenjoey Rd, Avalon Wednesday, 16 December 2pm-3.3pm
- Bayview Golf Club 1825 Pittwater Rd, Mona Vale, Monday, 7 December 11.45am-12.45pm AND Tuesday, 8 December 11.45am-12.45pm AND Friday, 11 December 11.45am-12.45pm
- Bunnings Belrose Austlink Park Niangala Cl, Belrose
Thursday, 17 December 4pm-5pm
- ChaRice Noodle Bar, 2/331-335 Barrenjoey Rd, Newport Wednesday, 16 December 1pm-2.30pm
- Coffee Brothers Mona Vale, 1/54-56 Darley St, Mona Vale Saturday, 12 December 12pm-1pm
- Coles, 381 Barrenjoey Road, Newport, Friday, 18 December 9am-10am
- Dan Murphy Mona Vale, 25-29 Park Street, Mona Vale, Thursday, 17 December, 5pm-6pm
- KFC Mona Vale, 1B Ponderosa Parade, Warriewood Friday, 18 December, 12pm-1pm
- Kirribilli Hotel Milsons Point, 35-37 Broughton St, Milsons Point, Thursday, 17 December 12.45pm-3pm
- Lovat Restaurant, 316-324 Barrenjoey Road, Newport, Friday, 11 December, 6.30pm-8.30pm
- Macquarie Shopping Centre (various) cnr Herring Rd &, Waterloo Rd, Macquarie Park Sunday, 13 December, 11am-1pm
- Mr Green & Co North Sydney 1/66 Berry Street, North Sydney, Wednesday, 16 December 1pm-2pm
- Nourished Cafe and Lounge, 17 Avalon Parade, Avalon Beach, Sunday, 13 December, 10am-11am
Anyone who attended the following venues is considered a casual contact, and should get tested as soon as possible and isolate until a negative result is received:
- Chillbar, 74 Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon Beach, Monday, 14 December, 10.30am-11.30am AND Wednesday, 16 December, 10.30am-11.30am
- Olivers Pie Avalon Beach, 1 Careel Head Rd, Avalon Beach, Monday, 14 December, 9am-9.15am
- Cortex Gym – Strength and Conditioning Class, 1 Bowden Street, Alexandria, Tuesday, 15 December
- Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre, 14 Jackson Road, Warriewood, Tuesday, 15 December, 6.30pm-9.30pm
Updated
Former Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos has said the Coate review leaves many questions unanswered.
The Coate inquiry has failed to answer key questions. I believe Victorians deserve to know the truth about an event that has so profoundly impacted them. They do not need another masterclass in political deflection from the premier.
Mikakos also expressed disappointment that some phone records, including the premier’s calls, were redacted in the report.
She also said she was “profoundly disappointed” she was not “adequately briefed by DHHS officials on the hotel quarantine program”.
A key piece of evidence in the report was an admission from former DHHS secretary Kym Peake that she was not briefing Mikakos on key issues with the program. Peake has since resigned.
Mikakos resigned as health minister and from the Legislative Council in September over evidence that was before the inquiry.
Updated
South Australia has announced zero new locally acquired cases today.
South Australian COVID-19 update 21/12/20. For more information, go to https://t.co/e4B14m8DML or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/1tohLMwk2s
— SA Health (@SAHealth) December 21, 2020
An independent review has found the operators of two Victorian nursing homes were thoroughly unprepared for a Covid outbreak.
St Basil’s Home for the Aged and Epping Gardens Aged Care were found to have poor infection control, inadequate emergency planning and deficient leadership at the height of the second wave in Victoria, which left staff struggling to deal with the crisis.
The review was commissioned by the federal government also found the outbreak was made more difficult to manage by an “over-extended” contact tracing system, severely depleted staff levels and delayed pathology testing.
The review described many of the staff members as “young and inexperienced”:
“Most had little experience in aged care, and many spoke only basic English. With little preparation or supervision, it is not surprising that many did not stay and those who did, were quite likely traumatised.”
The review makes multiple recommendations, including having detailed and specific outbreak management plans, better communication with residents and their families, and better defined roles and responsibilities for leaders.
At St Basil’s, which is run by the Greek Orthodox church, 45 residents died after 223 people became infected. At Epping Gardens Aged Care home, in Melbourne’s north, 38 people died after 219 people caught the illness.
About 95% of Australia’s coronavirus aged care deaths happened in Victoria.
Updated
The Northern Territory government is refunding airline passengers who were surprised by a hotspot declaration midflight.
Those who were in transit on Sunday when the government declared greater Sydney a Covid hotspot were given the option to either return to Sydney on a free flight, or a cost-free stay at mandatory quarantine in the NT.
The ABC is reporting that about 60 of the 130 people who were midflight during the announcement have taken up the offer to return to Sydney.
Anyone who has arrived in the territory from greater Sydney since 11 December needs to get tested immediately and to self-isolate. If you’ve arrived from 3.30pm on Sunday, you need to enter mandatory quarantine.
Updated
I want to return to the Queensland border, this time to discuss when exactly we can expect the decision on the hard border to be reassessed.
Chief health officer Jeannette Young said earlier today the benchmark was 28 days of no unlinked cases of Covid-19.
That means the earliest possible reopening would have to be on 8 January.
Queensland will review the situation on that date, 28 days from 11 December.
Young said there were 27 close contacts of the northern beaches outbreak in Queensland. One has returned to NSW.
Updated
There are reports a plane from Sydney has landed at Uluru’s airport, 24 hours after the Northern Territory declared greater Sydney a hotspot.
Hard to believe, but...a plane from Sydney touched down at Uluru's airport just over two hours ago. This is almost an entire day after the NT declared Greater Sydney a hotspot. Now T.Os have closed Uluru-KJ National Park for 24 hrs while a team tests 200+ new arrivals from NSW. pic.twitter.com/VgVlYBQDfw
— Oliver Gordon (@olgordon) December 21, 2020
Still unsure if passengers are tourists, or people who have transitted through Sydney en route to Uluru, or a mixture of both. Either way, representatives from Mutitjulu Community Corp say an agreement that 'no planes would land from a declared hotspot' has been broken.
— Oliver Gordon (@olgordon) December 21, 2020
Updated
In addition to all the things that are happening today, Qantas and Virgin have cancelled flights.
Qantas has cancelled 38 flights today, 14 of them return services between Sydney and Melbourne, and five return services from Sydney to Brisbane.
Virgin cancelled 13 return services to and from Sydney too. Both airlines str reviewing their schedules in light of the restrictions.
Updated
Victoria will turn people away at the border from tomorrow
Jeroen Weimar, deputy Secretary at health and human services department in Victoria, has provided another update on the border situation, saying the state will not offer hotel quarantine.
This is really big from Victorian authorities. Jeroen Weimar: "Anyone, Victorian or otherwise, coming in from the Greater Sydney area or Central Coast area will not be able to enter the state. We are not offering mandatory hotel quarantine as an option." Announced at 2:30pm today
— Sophie Meixner (@sophiemeixner) December 21, 2020
That means people will be turned away at the border from tomorrow.
Updated
Qantas and Jetstar flight crews who live in Sydney’s northern beaches will no longer operate on flights from today, a spokesman for the airline has told the Guardian.
On Monday the NSW chief medical officer, Dr Kerry Chant, was asked whether airline crew who live in the cluster should be working on flights given the lockdown in the area.
Chant said she would “prefer ... that arrangements were made to keep people in the northern beaches in the northern beaches and that alternate arrangements are put in place”.
A spokesman for Qantas told Guardian Australia that from today, all aircrew who live in the area would not be used until the lockdown was lifted. Part of that decision is obviously due to the closed borders meaning that demand has dropped significantly.
But, he said, because airline staff are considered essential workers some crew from the northern beaches had been operating before today.
No word yet from Virgin Airlines on whether it has made the same decision.
Updated
The private security industry has welcomed today’s release of the Coate inquiry into the Victorian hotel quarantine program, saying it “broadly endorses what the security industry has been lobbying for over the past 20 years”.
The Australian Security Industry Association Ltd (ASIAL) said the findings highlight the shortcomings in Victoria’s regulation of the industry, as well as “inadequacies in training, supervision and safety equipment provided to security officers”.
Its chief executive, Bryan de Caires, said that the experience in other states was very different from Victoria. “In contrast to what security officers went through in Victoria, private security has been a key element in successful hotel quarantine programs in other states.
“It is encouraging that the Victorian government has already responded to the interim report, but we are hoping for more significant reform of the Victorian regulatory framework.”
Updated
Study: 40% of aged care residents suffer abuse
A new research paper shows that almost 40% of people living in aged care facilities face abuse.
AAP has the story:
Almost 40% of people living in aged care facilities experience abuse, according to research shedding light on poorly understood rates of mistreatment.
The experimental estimates by the Office of the Royal Commission into Aged Care were formed using a survey of 391 residents or their representatives conducted by the National Ageing Research Institute.
Neglect was the highest form of abuse reported with 30.8%, including concerns about help with showering and going to the toilet, managing medication and looking after wounds.
The rate of reported emotional abuse was 22.6% including being treated like a child or shouted at.
Physical abuse, such as being restrained or treated roughly by staff, was reported at 5%.
An Australian elder abuse prevalence study is under way for people living in the community, but the research paper notes a lack of knowledge about the extent to which abuse occurs in residential care.
“An opportunity to fill this gap has emerged through the survey of aged care facility residents that was recently conducted for the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety,” it states.
The survey was not designed to measure the prevalence of elder abuse but responses were used to create the estimates.
Abuse can also take the form of financial, social and sexual abuse that could not be estimated using the data available.
Estimates of elder abuse internationally vary considerably with ranges from 0.4 to 81.8% for neglect and 6.3 to 78.9% for psychological abuse.
There are no national elder abuse prevalence rates produced in Australia and it’s hoped the research paper will provide a platform for further research.
Updated
Queensland police are now turning people away at the border if they do not have a permit, and is fining people up to $4,000 for false declarations.
Queensland police deputy commissioner Steve Gollschewski said police were seeing many people at the border attempting to dodge the border restrictions.
“What people can expect, commencing immediately, is an instigation of the harder border closures across all of our road entry points with New South Wales and progressively they will be implemented and fully functional by 6am tomorrow,” he said.
“False declarations can be met with a $4,003 fine. Four people have also been caught and fined $1,330 breaching home quarantine orders ... It is disappointing we are seeing instances where we have tried to use a system where it relies on the integrity and honesty of the community coming in, and some people are not doing the right thing.”
Queensland health minister Yvette D’Ath has also warned that fines may be issued to people providing false information to contact tracing check-in forms, saying it was “not funny” for people to be doing so.
Updated
So as well as the pandemic affecting Christmas this year, it appears the weather wants to match the gloomy mood. Heavy rain is forecast for north-eastern NSW.
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued flood warnings for the Gwydir, Peel, Namoi, Hunter, Paterson and Williams river catchments as a slow-moving trough makes its way through the state.
State Emergency Servicer chief superintendent Steve Patterson said minor to moderate flooding is expected in the Goulburn, Hunter, Wollombi Brook, Paterson and Williams rivers.
The drenching is forecast to begin near Walgett, Coonamble, Coonabarabran and Narrabri before moving south-east towards Tamworth, Armidale and parts of the Hunter region.
The bureau has said conditions should ease on Tuesday but that residents should be ready for rain and clouds on Christmas Day.
“We’re not expecting anything much in the gauges, but it’s not going to be a fine sunny day east of the ranges,” meteorologist Helen Reid said.
Updated
Health minister Greg Hunt has released the federal government’s response to the Therapeutic Goods Administration’s final decision on banning personal importation and possession of liquid nicotine without a prescription.
The government has decided it will not move forward with a previously proposed customs (prohibited imports) regulation on the matter because it would overlap with the TGA’s decision.
The government will also introduce a telehealth smoking sessation program that will be available six months before the TGA’s decision is implemented. It has also pledged $1m for smoking education campaigns.
Updated
Police and concrete barriers guard Queensland border
Concrete barriers and a heavy police presence have returned to the Gold Coast border checkpoints.
The premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the state was reimposing previously seen measures to ensure the border is kept secure.
What we are seeing is that people are now reaching and being turned around, so there will be a hard border closure which will be going into place; people started to see barricades going in again this afternoon, and by 6am tomorrow it will be back to the strong border measures that we have seen in Queensland.
This is important. We want people to do the right thing. People will.
Greater Sydney was declared a Covid hotspot by Queensland from 1am Tuesday, with Queenslanders scrambling to get through the border before then.
Residents will still need to have a border pass, and will need to get tested and wait their results at their residence upon arrival.
Queensland’s Health Minister Yvette D’Ath confirmed the hard border would likely remain until January 8.
A “re-evaluation of the situation” will then take place, she said.
Updated
The Morrison government has released the findings of a report into the coronavirus outbreaks at St Basil’s Home for the Aged, where 45 residents died, and the Heritage Care’s Epping Gardens, where 38 residents died.
The report, by Lyn Gilbert and Alan Lilly, found:
- “Emergency planning and preparedness was inadequate” including “poor planning” and use of external resources that were often already depleted
- Infection prevention and control capacity and capability were “suboptimal” including “inadequate administrative and environmental controls and staff training”
- Leadership “faltered” at both centres, with staff facing “situations they had never experienced before or for which they were (and/or felt) inadequately prepared”
- Surge workforce planning at each of the facilities was inadequate to manage the scale of the outbreak
- Pathology testing was delayed at both facilities.
And it’s not just the centres that copped blame – workforce issues, contact tracing, testing and hospital capacity were too:”Managing Covid-19 outbreaks in these two [residential facilities] during the early stages of Victoria’s second wave was often complicated by delayed results from overextended contact tracing and laboratory testing services. Finding staff to replace experienced aged care staff, furloughed because of Covid-19 infection or close contact, was extremely challenging. In the context of rapidly increasing hospital admissions for Covid-19 and depleted staff numbers, acute care hospitals’ capacity to accept transfers from residential aged care facilities, were necessarily limited to definite medical indications.”
Health minister Greg Hunt, who gained responsibility for aged care in Friday’s reshuffle from Richard Colbeck, said:
“In extending our sincere condolences to the families of those who died, this investigation serves as a platform for understanding and action. I would like to acknowledge the role of residents and families in the preparation of the report during what clearly has been a very difficult time. The health and wellbeing of senior Australians – and the workers who care for them – is of the utmost importance to the Australian government. We continue to work day and night to safeguard the most vulnerable in our community.”
The ministerial release noted both centres are the subject of “notices to agree” issued by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission, which it describes as a “serious enforcement measure”.
Updated
I just want to return for a moment to the NSW Health press conference earlier today, where health minister Brad Hazzard urged people to stop using fake names in their QR check-ins.
What we are finding is that some of the visitors to various venues still think that it is funny to be caught putting in there that you’re Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse or a false phone number. That must stop.
This is a worldwide Covid pandemic. And thinking it’s smart to call yourself Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse is about as stupid as it gets.
Updated
Let’s talk traffic at the many border checkpoints around NSW. These are from Albury, on the way to Victoria:
Traffic at Wodonga Place this arvo from checkpoint right across bridge into #Albury...@PRIME7Border pic.twitter.com/IQnp3vm9dH
— Josh Ribarich (@josh_ribarich) December 21, 2020
Traffic is starting to build at an Albury-Wodonga checkpoint this morning, residents are frustrated they once again have to endure border closures after only having 28 days of freedom since the last shutdown. #9news pic.twitter.com/P73aLFfHUJ
— Liz Gwynn (@LizGwynn) December 20, 2020
These are from the Queensland border checkpoints:
Here we go... We’re heading north on the M1 and the traffic is back to the Tweed Heads exit (which is also jammed up). Surely this is not to cross the border - 8kms away? Is it? Yikes. #COVID19nsw pic.twitter.com/pp29IUezKd
— Jen King (@JustJenKing) December 21, 2020
I can’t believe that after 7 plus months of border closures you don’t have a better process for this!! 2 hours so far, busiest highway in QLD & you have TWO people checking 🤦🏼♀️ @AnnastaciaMP please sort your house out & fix this shit show! pic.twitter.com/DWJ1TCUAAB
— Yvette Ferguson (@YvetteF54617414) December 21, 2020
Well, too late now to ‘escape’. Delays of up to 90 minutes to cross from NSW into Queensland currently. Luckily we have a cracking good #podcast from @BBCRadio4: The Lovecraft Investigations #storytelling https://t.co/6VXG1neJnj pic.twitter.com/MayZ5Yv1tR
— Jen King (@JustJenKing) December 21, 2020
It appears everyone who can, is attempting to escape NSW.
Updated
More venues of concern from NSW Health
NSW Health has expanded its list of venues of concern.If you’ve attended these locations at the times listed, you are considered a close contact and must get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:
- The Boatshed Café & Bar, Lower Level, 11 Narrabeen Street, Narrabeen: Monday 14 December, 2pm-3pm
- Pittwater RSL, 82 Mona Vale Road, Mona Vale: Wednesday 16 December, 8pm-10pm
- Sankaku Izakaya, 376 Barrenjoey Road, Newport: Thursday 17 December, 2.30pm-3.30pm
- Rose of Australia, 1 Swanson St, Erskineville, on Tuesday 15 December after 7pm
- 4 Pines, 313 Barrenjoey Road, Newport, on Wednesday 16 December between 4.30pm and 9pm
The following are for casual contacts, which means if you were at the venues, you must get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result.
- Hotel Steyne, 75 The Corso, Manly, on Thursday 17 December between 3pm and 7pm
- Fitness First Mona Vale, Pittwater Place Shopping Centre, 10 Park Street, Mona Vale: Sunday 13 December, 2pm-4pm; Monday 14 December, all day; and Wednesday 16 December, all day.
- Bus route 304, Wednesday 16 December, departing Bourke Street (opposite Lachlan Street) Rosebery, 7.46am and arriving Martin Place Station Stand C, 8.11am
- Bus route 199, Thursday 17 December, departing Bourke Street (opposite Lachlan Street) Rosebery, 8.05am and arriving Martin Place Station Stand C, 8.30am
Updated
Theres some more information on the Shoalhaven confusion, with the Canberra Times reporting the whole Illawarra-Shoalhaven region has been removed from the list of areas to avoid.
Health authorities included the area in their list of areas of concern, sparking a rush of Canberrans to return home to avoid quarantine. ACT Health has since removed the area from the list.
Overnight, NSW has updated their advice that affected areas cover Greater Sydney, Central Coast and Wollongong.
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) December 20, 2020
Illawarra-Shoalhaven has now been removed and Shoalhaven LGA is not included on the list of affected areas.
More at https://t.co/nUoTM1WSd2. pic.twitter.com/90f7dz5DWb
ACT chief health officer Kerryn Coleman apologised for the mix-up, and said authorities were working to clarify their messaging.
“I apologise if our information is not quite hitting the mark ... We are really trying to clarify it in the best way possible,” she said.
Updated
On the topic of border confusion and the ACT:
ACT's chief health officer has apologised to Canberrans who raced back from the coast last night for the confusion over the inclusion of the Shoalhaven in the hotspots with travel restrictions
— Katina Curtis (@katinacurtis) December 21, 2020
It isn’t the first confusion arising today – 500 people were mistakenly told to quarantine in South Australia.
Updated
The ACT is announcing there were no new cases in the capital today.
There is one active case in hotel quarantine, with more than 350 returning Canberrans now quarantining at home as part of the recently introduced restrictions.
Updated
There is a heap of confusion regarding the different rules for different borders, and the timing of the introduction of border restrictions – even among authorities.
If you are planning on crossing any borders (or already have), I’d advise you to take a quick look at the Guardian’s quick guide to border restrictions:
Updated
The Therapeutic Goods Administration has published its final decision on banning personal importation and possession of liquid nicotine without a prescription.
Despite a lot of dissent from within the Coalition party room, the TGA is sticking to its guns to require people to have a prescription for liquid nicotine for vaping.
However, it has delayed the implementation to 1 October 2021 and added a new requirement for packaging to be child-resistant.
The TGA delegate said:
“The question of whether nicotine e-cigarettes are an effective aid to smoking cessation is still contested. I have reflected on the personal experiences shared by many individuals in their submissions on my interim decision and I acknowledge the successful use of nicotine e-cigarettes as an aid to quit smoking for these individuals. However, while some individual smokers have successfully used nicotine e-cigarettes to quit smoking, evidence at a population level is lacking.”
Of particular concern is the impact on adolescents: ”Adolescents and youth are vulnerable and particularly susceptible to nicotine addiction. I reiterate the concerns highlighted in my interim decision regarding the harms associated with use of nicotine by adolescents and note the 2016 report of the US surgeon general, which concluded that youth use of nicotine in any form, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe.”
I have considered the Irish HRB reports, which conclude that adolescents using e-cigarettes are between three to five times more at risk of future initiation of cigarette smoking when compared to those who have never smoked e-cigarettes.”
So the ball will be back in the court of Coalition dissenters such as Hollie Hughes and Matt Canavan if they want to continue to take the fight to health minister Greg Hunt in the new year.
Updated
While much of the focus on the final report of the Victorian hotel quarantine inquiry will be on the lessons for the Victorian government, the head of the inquiry, Jennifer Coate, also takes aim at the federal government for failing to adequately prepare for the pandemic that had flow-on effects to hotel quarantine.
She notes the commonwealth review of the health response to the H1N1 pandemic in 2009 recommended the roles and responsibilities of governments for the management of people in quarantine – both at home and in accommodation – during a pandemic should be clarified, and there should be a national set of principles that could be used by the states to develop guidelines for quarantine.
The review was published in 2011, but no work was undertaken by the commonwealth to develop these principles, and as a consequence, Victoria did not have any guidelines in place.
“The lack of a plan for mandatory mass quarantine meant that Victoria’s hotel quarantine program was conceived and implemented ‘from scratch’, to be operational within 36 hours, from concept to operation,” Coate said in the report.
“This placed extraordinary strain on the resources of the state, and, more specifically, on those departments and people required to give effect to the decision made in the national cabinet and agreed to by the premier on behalf of Victoria.
“This lack of planning was a most unsatisfactory situation from which to develop such a complex and high-risk program. Given the future movement of people in and out of Victoria from across the nation, it is in Victoria’s interests to advocate for nationally cohesive and detailed quarantine plans.”
Prime minister Scott Morrison was not asked about this at the press conference earlier today, but on the broader report said he was focused on the lessons to be learned and did not seek to criticise the Victorian government.
Updated
In South Australia, authorities at the border have apparently received the wrong information on increased Covid restrictions so 500 people were released from quarantine.
Police commissioner Grant Stevens said because restrictions were imposed from Sunday night, hundreds of people beat the deadline and didn’t actually have to quarantine.
“This is a very unfortunate set of circumstances, at a very unfortunate time of the year, when people are travelling to spend Christmas with their families,” he said.
“We apologise for that inconvenience but we would ask that people appreciate this is exceptionally difficult work. This is an evolving situation with conditions changing every single day.”
Stevens said about 100 people who arrived at border checkpoints by road and elected to turn back would be contacted individually.
Whether they would now be allowed to come to SA would depend on their individual circumstances.
Those who elected to continue into SA and those who arrived by plane on Sunday evening would be likely to be released from their quarantine requirements.
Health minister Stephen Wade said the government would consider compensating people inconvenienced or out of pocket by the confusion on a case-by-case basis.
“In a pandemic, things won’t always be neat, things won’t always be tidy,” he said.
“I would much rather them act swiftly and act decisively to protect South Australians than wait until they’ve got all the forms finished.”
Updated
Testing lines seem are swelling in Queensland, in keeping with the wider determination to meet this outbreak with huge testing numbers:
This is the line up right now for Covid tests at the Robina testing centre on the Gold Coast (at the Robina Health Precinct Building opposite hospital) in 31C heat https://t.co/XwiG8QOXyA@Rachwani91 @GuardianAus
— Dave Earley (@earleyedition) December 21, 2020
#covidqld #covid19qld #COVID19au #covid19australia pic.twitter.com/61WGO1OU3c
We got tested on Saturday, and when we arrived walked straight into that tent, joining the back of the line almost halfway through the tent. And it still took more than 2hrs to get through testing and out. This queue would be close to 10 times longer https://t.co/XwiG8QOXyA https://t.co/vvjOBShYhX
— Dave Earley (@earleyedition) December 21, 2020
The main thrust of Scott Morrison’s presser was that although the commonwealth is providing lots of support to the states – like ADF personnel – there is no need to change policy settings.
Morrison said national cabinet can be held “if there is a need” to, but said it didn’t meet specially to discuss the Adelaide cluster.
In a backhander to Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk he said he hadn’t had a “direct request” for national cabinet to meet, but noted there was some “commentary in the media”.
Morrison said Australia’s economic response was among the best in the world and had underpinned the health response.
Asked if the government would consider further economic support such as delaying planned cuts to jobkeeper, he said:”The date and transitions are set, we have no plans to change any of those and we will see what happens over the next week or so with the Avalon outbreak but at this stage I can’t see any reason to change.”
Morrison brushed off a question about whether the travel bubble with New Zealand would be delayed, by noting New Zealanders are welcome in Australia without quarantine, and questions about Australia travelling to New Zealand should be directed to the Ardern government.
Updated
And breathe.
That was a lot of press conferences, and a lot of information, in a very short time.
But it was interesting that both Prof Kelly and the PM noted how localised the Avalon cluster is. If things go well, that may the most important element to getting on top of this outbreak.
Updated
Finally, Morrison has a word on the “disappointing” nature and timing of the Avalon cluster.
So as we go into Christmas, while it’s frustrating, I know, and while it’s disappointing – deeply disappointing – that some of the reunions that might have happened this Christmas for many families won’t happen, but they will happen in the new year.
People will get together. We will get through this like we got through so many other events.
It’s important to stay calm, to follow the health advice, to follow the public health information that is available and to keep the Covid-safe behaviours and practices in place and I think we’ve got very good reason to trust what is happening in NSW at the moment.
Updated
Will the potential travel bubble with New Zealand be affected by this new outbreak?
That’s entirely a matter for New Zealand. Australia has no role to play in that decision whatsoever.
Updated
Will we have restrictions lifted in Sydney as we enter the key tourism month of January?
“It all depends on the data over the next few days,” Morrison says.
Hopefully in the next few days, next week, that will become clearer. But what we have done all the way through particularly managing in relation to the economic response to the pandemic is to ensure we have been driven and led by the evidence that we’re seeing and Australia’s economic response has been in the top tier around the world.
Updated
On the different definitions of a Covid “hotspot”, among the states, Morrison was dismissive.
If they feel they want to have a stronger rule or different set of rules to exercise their responsibilities, then that is understandable. It is their accountability and the basis upon which they were elected as governments.
Updated
Morrison says we need to 'learn the lessons' in response to Victoria's hotel quarantine report
On the findings of the review into hotel quarantine in Victoria, the PM said what matters most is “...that we learned the lessons from what happened”.
In the middle of a pandemic, you have to focus on making sure you learn the lessons and get it right going forward. I honestly think the best way I can continue to do that is by keeping looking forward and learning whatever we can from those experiences.
For the Victorian government that is a matter for them. I am focused on working and supporting every single government in this country, leading from our government to ensure you put in place the best possible response on each and every occasion.
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Is the PM hoping and praying for a Christmas miracle?
Miracles happen everyday in Australia, small and large, and Christmas is a time to give thanks to those that we know of.
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On state border closures, Morrison was understanding:
We have a hotspot in Avalon. We have a hot spot in the northern beaches. And when you have hot spots respond to those with restrictions. That is the way this has been successfully managed anywhere in the world and Australia is no different to that.
The ultimate decisions that states make are sovereign matters to them, as I have said to you before, states, they determine their own definition of a hotspot and what restrictions they put in place. We have sought to get a national approach to that and the states and territories have chosen that they want to retain their flexibility to set those issues for the individual states and territories. They have the constitutional power to do that.
In the new year, if there is a way to get further streamlining of the content consistency, well, my door is always open.
You can’t ignore hotspots and pretend they aren’t there. Of course they present a risk until we have a vaccine.
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Kelly has some advice for everyone living in Sydney.
Please, download the CovidSafe app if you have not already done so and make sure it is switched on. And secondly, if you go to a place that has a QR code, check in. Use it. That is how we can really get on top of these issues if anyone has been to those, those venues, that is how we know who else has been there and we can get that done quickly.
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Prof Kelly has “shouted out” the people in the northern beaches, and the people from wider Sydney, for the testing numbers over the past couple of days.
That is a huge response from the community and a real shout to the people of Greater Sydney but particularly the northern beaches – real shout out.
Most quadrupled the number of average daily test as was occurring two weeks ago so that is an enormous response and people are coming forward and that is something we need to absolutely stress.
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Acting chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, is now addressing the Avalon outbreak, welcoming how localised it has been.
Part of the northern beaches is quite insular, actually, they tend to stay where they are in that peninsula.
So all of the cases so far, all of them, the 83 locally acquired cases that have happened since the 17 December in New South Wales have been linked back to the cluster. So most of them are living in Avalon, Newport and surrounding suburbs.
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Finally, the PM notes that tomorrow’s swearing-in ceremony for his new cabinet will be done virtually, a first for the ceremony.
The PM is now also addressing the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment, saying some $18m has been paid on the scheme since it was introduced.
I also note the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment for those in New South Wales who are having to take tests and isolate themselves, it continues to be available. Some $18m has been paid out in that payment since it was first introduced to Australians and Australian residents, $16m but I note was paid in Victoria and so in New South Wales, for those who need to access that payment, they can access that payment and hopefully, will be of great use to you.
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Scott Morrison is now speaking about defence, saying that 1,298 defence personnel were deployed to support the hotel quarantine programs. That includes, “342 officers in New South Wales, 284 in Queensland, 150 in Victoria”.
He said overall, 1,600 ADF personnel were directly involved in combating the virus across the country.
But our major priority for ADF is actually on the hotel quarantine. And that is where I think we can add the most value and that is certainly the view of the ADF and the general who is responding in assessing each of those cases.
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Federal government 'doubling down' on support for aged care, Morrison says
Morrison is now addressing the issue of aged care, saying firstly that there have been no new cases in aged care facilities, and that the federal government will be “doubling down” in their support of the industry.
That said, we have put in place the single site working arrangements and support of the facilities in the affected areas, and in addition we are also doubling down on the support provided for PPE and other support through the aged care facilities to ensure that those facilities on infection control and the other matters are being well attended to.
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The PM has backed up states categorising the outbreak in the northern beaches as a “hotspot”, saying:
The Avalon outbreak does qualify under the national hotspot definition and that has been the case for several days now, and so therefore the precautionary actions taken in other jurisdictions is understandable in that context.
Let’s hope that they won’t be required for long.
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The PM has welcomed the reduced numbers in NSW, saying the northern beaches “is a very cohesive community that tends to keep to itself, a bit like the Shire, where I’m from, and that is certainly I think assisting in making sure that the Avalon outbreak is staying exactly where it is”.
We do welcome the fact that we have seen a reduction in those new cases in that 24-hour period. That is no guarantee of tomorrow or the next day after that but it is certainly much better than the alternative and as we, as we go into these next few days we will be watching carefully, as we endeavour to understand whether there has been further seeding.
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Good afternoon everyone, and a quick thanks to Naaman Zhou for expertly guiding us through the morning.
We begin with prime minister Scott Morrison speaking now.
2020 is not done with us yet, that is very clear.
Let’s dive in.
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With that, I will hand over to my colleague Mostafa Rachwani, who will cover Scott Morrison’s press conference and the rest of the afternoon’s news.
Andrews is asked about the report’s finding of “a complex and at time inexplicable internal government structure in DHHS”.
He says:
It’s very clear to me that in DHHS – and perhaps in other parts of government – there was not that clarity of role. People did not have a clear understanding of what their job was, what their part to play was.
I think that leadership changes in that department are important because there is a culture change that needs to be made.
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Andrews says the report is clear that no one person was responsible for the decision.
A “group of people” made the decision, he says.
The report speaks to a meeting and a group of people – not politicians, because these are deeply operational matters – a group of very senior who sat around and [made that decision].
People had excluded themselves from that work. Victoria police preferred a model where they were a back-up.
I think Judge Coate is very clear on the forum, the timing and the nature of that judgement.
He says “oversight is the clear failing here and that is what we have remedied”.
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Andrews says NSW is proof that hotel quarantine can lead to outbreaks, and says these recommendations will help prevent a third Victorian wave.
You can never make hotel quarantine zero risk. We have seen that in Adelaide, we’re seeing it in Sydney at the moment, we have seen it in New Zealand, we have seen it in lots of different parts of the world.
What we can do and what we have to do and what my government must do is learn these lessons, make these changes and do everything we can to make sure that we do not have a third wave. That is my commitment and that’s what I’m spending every hour of every day doing.
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Andrews "intends" to accept every recommendation of hotel quarantine report
Daniel Andrews is now addressing the final report into hotel quarantine.
He says he intends to accept all recommendations, but the government will also “spend the summer to consider the report in more detail”.
What has occurred is a very detailed report. At the outset, it is our intention to accept all the recommendations that Judge Coate has made.
I say “intention” but we just have to work through some of the detail of some of the recommendations that she has made, but it is our preference and our intention and we’ll spend the summer to consider the report in more detail. Many of those recommendations have already occurred. We’re already doing that work.
He also apologises for the failings of the system.
At the outset ... I want to apologise to the Victorian community for the very clear errors that were made in this program. I think that the way in which the program was established, it had to be done quickly. That’s the nature of a global pandemic. There is no rule book as such.
If I could turn back the clock and receive daily reports on what happens in hotel quarantine as I do now, then, of course, I would.
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Victoria has recorded a new case of Covid-19, in hotel quarantine. There are currently 13 active cases in the state, all in quarantine, Andrews says.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is due to speak soon. And prime minister Scott Morrison will speak at 1pm.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has taken clothing company Lorna Jane to court over its “Anti-virus Activewear” from earlier this year.
The ACCC has instituted proceedings in the federal court against Lorna Jane Pty Ltd for allegedly false or misleading claims about the activewear, which could breach the consumer law.
In July 2020, Lorna Jane claimed that its ‘Anti-virus Activewear’, which was sprayed with a substance called ‘LJ Shield’, eliminated and stopped the spread of Covid-19 and provided protection against viruses and pathogens, including Covid-19, when this was not the case.
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The border closures and restrictions are also wreaking havoc with the country’s sporting calendar. Already the Sydney to Hobart has been cancelled and now the Sydney cricket Test is in jeopardy. Australia’s third Test against India is due to start at the SCG on 7 January and the fourth in Brisbane at the Gabba from 15 January – an impossible order of events given Queensland has shut its doors to the greater Sydney region.
Cricket Australia is publicly insisting time is on its side but already alternatives are being thrown up, including swapping the Sydney and Brisbane Tests so both camps travel straight from the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne to Brisbane and then on to Sydney as the last stop. Another option is staging the second and third Tests in Melbourne and skipping Sydney altogether before playing the fourth at the Gabba.
Over the weekend, CA pre-empted Victoria’s decision to close its border to greater Sydney, moving injured Test players David Warner and Sean Abbott to Melbourne.
Also in disarray is the A-League and W-League, which were both set to kick off on 27 December but now face the prospect of up to 14 games – nine A-League and five W-League fixtures across the first two and a half weeks – being postponed. Five of the 12 A-League teams are based within the affected New South Wales regions.
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The NSW president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Danielle McMullen has urged employers to allow employees to work from home.
Please encourage your employees to work from home if possible. Don’t put them at risk unnecessarily.
If you have symptoms get tested. But getting a Covid test for the sake of being ‘cleared to come to work’ won’t help reduce transmission.
Unfortunately, the test only proves you were negative at that point in time. If you get the test and then continue to come to work and move about in the community, you could possibly pick up the virus afterwards. It’s false reassurance.
The best course of action is to stay home. And if you must leave your house – wear a mask, be physically distant from others and practice good hand hygiene.
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SA incorrectly turned away 100 NSW travellers
And meanwhile, in South Australia, while NSW was giving its update, police commissioner Grant Stevens has revealed hundreds of travellers were given the wrong information and incorrectly sent home as border restrictions came into force.
Travellers from greater Sydney were allowed to enter SA last night before midnight, and not undergo mandatory quarantine.
But due to “miscommunication” roughly 550 hundred were put into quarantine, and 100 turned away at the border.
There was some miscommunication that resulted in specific instructions going out to our border checkpoints that people were required to quarantine.
Some of those travellers were given the option of coming n to SA and quarantine or turning around to NSW. My advice is somewhere in the order of 100 travellers at our road borders made the decision to turn around and go home, and others decided to come in. The same thing happened in the airport.
That anomaly was identified at 9.30 last night.
He added:
Five hundred and fifty people are currently quarantining in South Australia, having chosen to come in ... the majority of those people will be allowed to leave quarantine once they’ve been spoken to.
"There was some miscommunication" @SAPoliceNews Commissioner confirms 100 NSW travellers were incorrectly turned away at the border overnight "We obviously regret the inconvenience and disruption this has caused" #sapol #auspol @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/ACzjJ5nix3
— Brett Mason (@BrettMasonNews) December 21, 2020
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No one person responsible for private security decision in Victoria – report
The final report of Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry has been released in two volumes at over 500 pages.
The immediate takeaway from the initial reading is the board’s chair, former judge Jennifer Coate, does not find anyone in the ministry or the public service ultimately responsible for the decision to use private security in hotel quarantine.
Ultimately, the evidence did not identify that any one person decided to engage private security in the program. However, there were clearly people who influenced the position that was found to have been adopted at the [state control centre] SCC meeting on the afternoon of 27 March 2020.
The report finds that the then chief commissioner of police Graham Ashton did express a preference to use private security, and that ultimately that set off the chain of events for private security to be used.
It had been a source of focus of the inquiry due to several security guards in the two hotels that had outbreaks of Covid-19 being linked to those outbreaks.
The report finds there was no consideration on 27 March of the respective merits of using private security or police or Australian Defence Force personnel in the hotels.
The report says the public will likely be shocked there was no rationale given on the date for using private security, or approval by upper levels of government, including the ministry.
The people of Victoria should understand, with clarity, how it was that such a decision to spend millions of dollars of public money came about. The people should be able to be satisfied that the action to proceed in this way was a considered one that addressed the benefits, risks and options available in arriving at such a decision. There was no evidence that any such considered process occurred, either on 27 March 2020 or in the days and weeks that followed, until the outbreaks occurred.
Coate found premier Daniel Andrews, and former health minister Jenny Mikakos played no part in the decision to use private security, and while police minister Lisa Neville was aware of the proposal, the report found she was not responsible.
The report said jobs minister Martin Pakula “appears not to have been told” until after private security was engaged.
Enforcement of quarantine was a crucial element of the program that the premier had committed Victoria to adopting, but neither he nor his ministers had any active role in, or oversight of, the decision about how that enforcement would be achieved.
The report is careful not to blame security guards directly, noting the overwhelming majority worked in the program with honesty and good will.
None of those workers went to work to get infected with Covid-19. However, systemic governmental failings led to problems.
Updated
There is a lot happening at the moment, and while NSW was giving its update, Victoria released its long-awaited final report into its hotel quarantine system. Josh Taylor has the first update.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said she is “pleading” with her interstate colleagues to be compassionate in terms of border closures to NSW.
The various premiers have made various decisions about borders but I ask people to think about things compassionately and base it on the facts.
For example, the only time that New South Wales has closed the border to anyone was Victoria. Their case numbers were more than 140 before we took that decision, and it was subsequently and then up to 180.
And I just ask other states to consider that in their response as well.
Please make decisions based on the facts. That’s all we ask for in New South Wales.
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Chant is asked whether she is concerned about the new strain of Covid-19, which is spreading quickly in the UK.
We have had a couple of UK returned travellers with the particular mutations you’re referring to.
Can I be very clear that the Avalon cluster strain does not have those mutations.
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Dr Kerry Chant’s phone has just gone off during the press conference – with a call from her mother’s aged care facility. Probably reacting to the new recommendations she has just herself announced.
“I’ll return that call,” she says. “I’m not a negligent daughter.”
Chant says that NSW Health is looking at all people who could have come in contact with the returned traveller – including cleaners, drivers, health staff and flight crew on her flight.
However, she says that she is still waiting on the test results for flight crew, via the “relevant company”.
She says again that it is not certain that the returned traveller from Los Angeles was the source of the outbreak.
[The genomic testing] It’s not a perfect match with that returned traveller. But it’s close.
This strain may well be present in other people that have come from the United States, so our investigations are broad spread. So we actually have, to your point, gone back and reviewed all the CCTV footage around this individual.
We’ve tested cleaners at the hotel. We’ve tested people who transported her when the person went to a health facility. We’ve looked at anyone who may have come in contact with her – even if they were wearing PPE.
Also we are working with all of the international flight crew to get a sense of whether any flight crew who attended were in the country in the relevant time period.
She adds:
So all of the people on the flight went into a quarantine isolation arrangement. We have made contact with the relevant company and advised that all of them were compliant with self-isolation requirements and following up testing results.
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Chant is asked what factors will determine whether restrictions will be lifted on Wednesday in time for Christmas.
The key things we’re looking for is whether we have any evidence of community spread outside the northern beaches. What we’re interested in is making sure that we don’t see any further transmission that is not linked exactly to the Avalon cluster.
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Chant says that “a number” of the 15 new cases had already been in isolation before they were infectious – which is good to limit the spread.
The anecdotal feedback from the staff who are collating that is that a number of the cases have been isolating.
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Berejiklian has still urged media to not “speculate” on the source of the northern beaches cluster.
Previously, it was announced that the strain was “similar” to that found in a returned traveller, who had flown from Los Angeles, and arrived in Australia on 1 December.
However, she said it is unclear whether this person was the source of the outbreak, as she has not left hotel quarantine since arriving.
What is still in question is the intermediaries. How did it get from that person in quarantine to the community? And Health has yet to determine that.
So can I please ask everybody not to speculate. Because if we had that information, we would tell you.
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'Final call' on Christmas restrictions on Wednesday morning
Berejiklian says NSW will still have to wait until Wednesday morning to find out “what Christmas might look like in NSW or the northern beaches”.
While welcoming today’s lower numbers, she says it is still too early to indicate if the current restrictions – in place until Wednesday 23 December – will be lifted.
Unfortunately, one day’s results doesn’t tell us it’s a trend. Obviously, we have halved the number of cases overnight, but in a pandemic, there is a level of volatility, so we’ll closely monitor what happens obviously to 8pm tonight and we’ll be making a final call on Wednesday morning.
I appreciate how frustrating it is, and I would love to be able to tell everybody today what Christmas might look like in New South Wales or the northern beaches. But we’re not in a position to do that yet.
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No visits to aged care recommended across Sydney
NSW Health have issued a new recommendation to the whole of greater Sydney not to visit aged care facilities or vulnerable people.
This is a recommendation not a rule as of now.
People in Greater Sydney are also urged not to visit residential aged care facilities, disability services or vulnerable people unless it is critical. This advice will be reassessed on Wednesday 23 December.
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Health minister Brad Hazzard, who lives on the northern beaches, says that “most of the northern beaches villages are looking like ghost towns at the moment” as people stay at home.
There’s very few people out on the streets and I want to thank them for that.
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There are five cases linked to a Turramurra Salon for Hair – and Chant says that anybody there between Tuesday 15 December and Friday 18 December are considered close contacts.
She is urging anyone who knows friends who might attend the salon to tell NSW Health.
There has also been a second case linked to the Rose of Australia hotel in Erskineville.
Chant says this gives “added urgency” to the alert. The time is 15 December between 7 and 9pm.
We know that the records are incomplete. We know that some people have heard through friends and family.
Updated
The total number of cases linked to the northern beaches is now at 83.
As they earlier said today, and on previous days, premier Gladys Berejiklian and health minister Brad Hazzard have strongly urged masks while indoors, but not made them mandatory.
At this press conference today, Berejiklian and chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant all wore masks for the first time since the latest outbreak began – though they took them off to speak. Hazzard wore a mask yesterday and today.
Deputy premier John Barilaro, who is also present, is not wearing a mask.
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Berejiklian says that some of the people who contracted Covid-19 did visit venues “outside of the northern beaches”, so there is some risk of spreading.
But she said it is “pleasing” that today’s cases are “a reduction on the previous day’s numbers”.
To date, every single case we’ve had has been linked to the Avalon cluster, and that’s how we want to keep it. Although, obviously some venues outside of the northern beaches have been impacted and there are issue that is health officials are going through today.
She says that the lockdown placed on the northern beaches, due to expire on Wednesday night, will be considered on Wednesday morning.
We will consider our position in relation to what Christmas and the next few days look like beyond Wednesday midnight on Wednesday morning.
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NSW records 15 new cases
New South Wales has recorded 15 new cases of Covid-19 since 8pm last night – all are linked to the existing northern beaches cluster.
That is down from the 30 new cases yesterday.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the state also had a record day of testing.
More than 38,000 people came forward to get tested, so thank you so much to everybody who did that.
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NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is about to speak, with chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant, in the latest NSW case update. That will begin at 11am.
Report into Victoria's hotel quarantine released
The final report into Victoria’s hotel quarantine has been released. We’ll bring you a summary soon.
We’re also 5 minute away from the latest NSW numbers.
Final report has landed: https://t.co/FKBsoQvL7z
— Benita Kolovos 🐯 (@benitakolovos) December 20, 2020
‘NSW’s luck has run out’: Dr Norman Swan scathing about response to northern beaches outbreak
ABC journalist and doctor Norman Swan has not held back on today’s edition of his Walkley award-winning Coronacast podcast.
Speaking about the NSW government’s response thus far to the cluster that is spreading from Sydney’s northern beaches, he criticised the lack of public health measures, saying:
I don’t think they’re doing enough. The risk is that it overwhelms the contact tracing.
There are a lot of cases there and they’re not just in the northern beaches area ... they’re in Sydney, they’re in the northern suburbs, they’re in the eastern suburbs, not many, but there’s just a few and you don’t need many.
This started from just one case from overseas, probably air crew, although the press is speculating on someone getting an exemption. But either way it’s from overseas and the system has broken down. Basically, NSW’s luck has run out.
Swan continued:
I think it’s gobsmacking that they haven’t mandated masks Sydney-wide. I mean, that’s the first thing you do: you tell everybody in greater Sydney that as soon as you walk out the house, you wear a mask ... It’s cheap, effective, reduces the risk by 70%. You don’t know where the virus is. Just mandate it. I do not know why the NSW government is so down on mask-wearing ... They should just mandate masks. Sydney-wide. Right now. Just do it. It’s so frustrating that they’re not doing that. [It’s an] evidence-based approach. So Christmas unfortunately becomes in Sydney a super-spreading event, potentially.
Swan said unless the case numbers in Sydney drop suddenly to very low levels, authorities “can’t afford to let Christmas to go ahead ... otherwise it’s going to go nuts, unfortunately”.
Swan added that ring-fencing the northern suburbs would only have a “limited effect” in containing the coronavirus outbreak. “It will not control the pandemic,” he said.
You’ve really got to ring-fence greater metropolitan Sydney for a few days to see what’s happening and maybe for a few weeks. It’s Christmas, yes it’s tough, but businesses are already winding down for Christmas – the economic impact should not be huge if you lock down Sydney and get this thing under control and not mess around.
What we’ve seen from overseas is quite clear and it’s quite clear from Victoria as well: if you mess around and do a little bit of this and a little bit of that, it doesn’t work. It simply does not work. You’ve got to lock down the way Victoria did and if you do it early, you don’t have to do it for too long. Every day you wait can be a week at the other end.
He also urged the Therapeutic Goods Administration to speed up Covid vaccine approval.
Now that you’ve got this outbreak and it’s big and it’s going to spread potentially through Australia’s biggest city and potentially cripple the economy, there’s a very good argument for going with immunisation.
He said authorities need to get the Pfizer vaccine to Sydney’s northern beaches “and ring-fence immunisation”.
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In a historic first, the swearing-in ceremony for Scott Morrison’s new cabinet will be conducted virtually tomorrow.
Governor general David Hurley will conduct the swearing-in by video conference from Canberra on Tuesday, AAP report.
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NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian and chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant will give the latest case numbers in just over 30 minutes, at 11am.
Health insurance premiums to rise next year
The federal government has authorised a rise in private health insurance premiums that will cost families an extra $126 a year on average, AAP report.
The 2.74% annual increase is due to take effect from 1 April next year, and builds on rises of 2.92% this year and 3.25% in 2019.
Almost 14 million Australians will be impacted by the cost increase.
A single person will pay an extra $1.14 per week, and a family will pay $2.44 more a week.
But federal health minister Greg Hunt says it’s the lowest annual average premium increase in 20 years.
“Australian government reforms mean private health insurance will continue to offer Australian families affordable choice and flexibility in their health care,” his office said in a statement on Monday.
The government returns about $6.3bn to private health insurance holders through the private health insurance rebate scheme.
In 2019/20, Australians received a record $21.9bn in benefits for medical services through the private health system, according to the government.
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Long lines are being reported at testing clinics in Sydney.
I woke up with a dry cough so drove down to the Bondi clinic to get tested.... the line goes all the way up the hill pic.twitter.com/ixlEISg6k2
— Alex Bruce-Smith (@alexbrucesmith) December 20, 2020
New UK Covid strain detected in Australia
I’ve been speaking to some infectious disease experts and epidemiologists this morning about what the new Covid strain detected in the UK means for Australia, and whether Australians should be concerned about it spreading from hotel quarantine here.
The strain has been detected in extremely small numbers in Australia.
Victoria’s deputy chief health officer, Professor Allen Cheng, told me it isn’t clear whether this variant is truly more infectious, although obviously the UK authorities are in a better position to assess the evidence for this.
“It could be that this variant is spreading faster because of a ‘founder effect’ – for example, it could be simply the strain that was involved in a superspreading event or spreading in a part of the country where restrictions are less strict or less adhered to,” he said. “Higher viral loads could reflect detection earlier in the illness.”
He said that Australian health authorities in the meantime were “keeping a close eye on things”. Cheng said it’s also unclear at this stage as to whether the mutation, known as the N501Y mutation, will have any impact on vaccine efficacy. The vaccines all target the spike protein of the virus, and Cheng said the mutation does affect the binding site of the spike protein.
“But further studies are required to see if it affects how the immune system recognises the virus after immunisation,” he said. “One thing to look out for is if people who had previously been infected get reinfected with this strain. I haven’t seen any reports of this yet.”
An associate professor at the Kirby Institute at the University of New South Wales, Dr Stuart Turville, said Westmead and Prince of Wales hospitals in NSW had sequenced the northern beaches cluster, and that was one virus strain that was “nothing like the UK variant”.
“The northern beaches one has been observed in US and European samples, but the frequency is low,” Turville said. “Australia is somewhat unique in the pandemic. When the virus does breach our quarantine it is only one seeding event. This was seen in Melbourne. One virus gets out and then expands.”
Asked how concerned we should be about the vaccine efficacy in light of this variant, Turville said: “I think we need to be aware and test if these changes impact vaccine induced immune responses.
“Presently our teams do this by testing if the antibody response from Sars infection, say in the first wave, is as effective in blocking these newly emerging variants,” he said. “When vaccines are available in Australia we will do the same. We unfortunately do see differences even with small changes to the virus. That said, we don’t presently know how that would influence reinfection until we see it happen or infection in a vaccinated patient until it happens. The good news is many of the vaccine technologies can also change the viral flavour to vaccinate against.”
For more on the UK strain, read this:
Updated
There has been some suggestion that Sydney’s Covid-19 outbreak may be linked to an exemption to hotel quarantine given to a traveller returning from overseas.
On Monday the Sydney Morning Herald led with a story saying the government had “defended” the transparency of its exemption scheme, after criticism from the shadow health minister Ryan Park.
Park told the Herald that the “reasons given for the exemptions should be transparent when you are dealing with an outbreak”.
New South Wales grants quarantine exemptions in cases where there are “strong medical, health or compassionate grounds, or the person is transiting out of NSW to an international destination”.
Though the government says they are “rarely granted”, there have been some high-profile exemptions, including the Hollywood actor Mark Wahlberg.
On Sunday, the state’s chief medical officer, Dr Kerry Chant, said NSW Health had reviewed exemptions, and that there were “no exempt return travellers who have been brought to my attention that have tested positive”.
And NSW Health has told Guardian Australia there were no exemptions granted in the northern beaches for at least a month before the Avalon cluster developed.
On 17 December a spokeswoman told the Guardian NSW Health had “not approved any exemptions from hotel quarantine to anyone in the northern beaches area in the past four weeks”.
Updated
NSW bus drivers call on government to make masks mandatory on crowded transport
The NSW bus drivers union has called on the government to make masks mandatory on public transport – when social distancing isn’t possible.
Masks are currently strongly recommended, but not compulsory in NSW. Buses and trains are also marked with spaced-out green spots recommending where people can sit to facilitate social distancing.
Now, the NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union says masks should be compulsory when there are more passengers than green dots on a service.
Earlier today, the NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, said bus drivers had told him not to make masks compulsory because “the bus drivers become the policemen” and have to enforce it.
But the union is calling for stronger rules.
Secretary of the union’s tram and bus division, David Babineau, said: “NSW’s Covid crisis has hit a critical point and the use of masks should be mandatory when passengers can’t physical distance on buses and trams throughout Sydney.
“It’s common sense that we need a dramatic increase in people without a medical exemption wearing masks on buses and trams, and this needs to be enforced. If the NSW government wants to be on top of the virus, it must implement preventative measures – especially in areas of high congestion on our bus and tram network.”
Updated
Two people fined for entering northern beaches
Two people have been issued penalty infringement notices and fined over allegedly breaching restrictions in the northern beaches.
A 60-year-old man from Padstow and a 39-year-old woman from Bankstown – both in Sydney’s south-west – were fined after they were stopped in Manly on East Esplanade at 4pm on Sunday afternoon.
NSW police alleged that the two “did not have a lawful excuse or exemption for being in the northern beaches”.
“Both were issued an infringement notice for fail to comply with requirement of public health order,” police said. “They were also directed to leave the area.”
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NSW health minister Brad Hazzard has also just been on ABC TV.
He said that health authorities were still investigating how the virus spread from the US to the northern beaches.
We know a woman got off a flight from Los Angeles on 1st December. She went straight into hotel quarantine but her genomic sequencing indicates it is extremely close to the strain of the virus that is circulating on the northern beaches.
“She is certainly a person that we have got to look more closely at. How could it have possibly got from her to the beaches when she is still in a quarantine hotel? It is a human system.
“People have to accept this is a human system and if someone picked up a bag by mistake and then put it down, it could be anything that she might have handled. It just could be anything at all on that front. We don’t know the answer at this point.
He adds that he has seen testing ramp up on the northern beaches.
I am a northern beaches resident and looking around the area yesterday, the only people who were out in great numbers were people getting tested. That is a big positive. I am expecting big numbers today, possibly the biggest ever in terms of the number of people getting tested. They have been out in massive force.
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Victoria deploys 700 police at NSW border
Seven hundred Victoria police officers have been deployed to establish checkpoints along the state’s border with NSW, according to health minister Martin Foley.
AAP also reports that the Victorian government requested 200 to 300 Australian defence force personnel to help with planning, logistics and surveillance on Saturday night, but defence has so far only committed to 50 additional personnel.
Defence say they already have 235 personnel supporting Victoria’s hotel quarantine program and any additional ADF backup will “not provide direct support to vehicle checkpoints on the NSW/Victoria border”.
“Defence has provided extensive support to Victorian authorities under Operation Covid-19 Assist, with more than 3,000 ADF personnel deployed to Victoria since June,” an official told AAP.
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In one of the greatest headlines this year – we asked readers for the word to sum up 2020.
Please enjoy this word cloud in which we asked readers to 'summarise how you felt about 2020 in a single word' https://t.co/j0biubb0j0 pic.twitter.com/dGfHlh8fRT
— Nick Evershed (@NickEvershed) December 20, 2020
Northern beaches residents to find out Wednesday if they'll be in lockdown for Christmas
Hazzard, who lives on the northern beaches, is asked what chance the region has of being under lockdown for Christmas.
He declines to give an estimate, and says the region will have to wait for the “crisis cabinet” on Wednesday.
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NSW Health minister refuses to mandate mask-wearing on public transport
The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, is speaking on ABC Radio Sydney now.
He is asked why the state has not made masks mandatory – even on public transport.
Host Josh Szeps asks him: “Why not just mandate them? Is part of the thinking it become a big culture war issue and people become more antagonistic?”
Hazzard says: “We want people to feel like we are on the journey with us. If we make it compulsory the big issue is, the bus drivers become the policemen.”
He says that bus drivers have told him strongly that they don’t want to have to deal with this.
“We have already seen enough aggression on the buses,” he says.
Rather than make them mandatory, he and the premier are urging people to wear masks.
“Right now you should be wearing masks anywhere inside the premises, other than your own home.”
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New hotspots declared for NSW
Late last night, NSW Health declared new potential exposure sites – mostly in the northern beaches, but including one location in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, and a bus route.
Anyone who was at the following new venues is considered a close contact and should get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result:
- Anytime Fitness, 7 Taronga Place, Mona Vale, on Thursday 17 December between 9.50am and 12.45pm;
- G Fitness, 72/80 Evans Street, Freshwater, on Tuesday 15 December between 11am and 12.45pm;
- 4 Pines, 313 Barrenjoey Rd, Newport, on Wednesday 16 December between 4.30pm-9pm;
- Twenty-One Espresso, 21 Knox Street, Double Bay: Any staff working on Tuesday 15 December, and patrons seated in the indoor section on that day for more than 1 hour between 7.10pm and 8.15pm and 8.25pm and 9.10pm.
Anyone at the following venues is considered a casual contact and should get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result:
- Northern Beaches Indoor Sports Centre, Jacksons Rd, Warriewood, on Tuesday 15 December between 6.30pm and 9.30pm;
- Twenty-One Espresso, 21 Knox Street, Double Bay: Any patrons who were in the restaurant for less than 1 hour, or those who sat in the outdoor area on Tuesday 15 December between 7.10pm and 8.15pm and 8.25pm and 9.10pm on Tuesday 15 December;
- Flower Power, 22 Macpherson St, Warriewood, on Friday 18 December between 8.45am and 9.30am;
- Bowen Island Bakery, 383 Barrenjoey Road, Newport, on Friday 18 December between 9am and 9.30am.
Times have been revised for the Garfish restaurant in Manly, it is now:
- Garfish Manly, 1/39 E Esplanade, Manly, on Thursday 17 December between 6.45pm-10pm.
And advice has been updated for 4 Pines, Newport. Anyone who attended this venue on Tuesday 15 December from 6pm to 10pm should get tested immediately and self-isolate for 14 days.
And anyone on the following bus route is considered a casual contact, and should get tested and isolate until a negative result is received:
- Bus Route 199 on Saturday 12 December, departing Palm Beach 10.10am and arriving at Manly Beach at 11.30am.
The full list of venues is here:
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Good morning and welcome to our live coronavirus and Australian news blog today. It’s Naaman Zhou here with you.
All eyes will be on Sydney today, with the next update on case numbers scheduled for 11am.
Yesterday, NSW reported 30 new cases of Covid-19, but all were linked to the continuing northern beaches outbreak. The total number of cases linked to the cluster is now at 68.
And in overnight news, the World Health Organisation has said that the new virus variant, which is spreading across the UK and Europe, has been detected in Australia, with at least one case. There is no evidence that this variant reacts differently to any vaccines.
Stay with us for all the latest.
