The day that was, Wednesday 18 August
That is where we will leave the live blog for Wednesday. Here’s what made the news today:
- NSW recorded a new daily high of 633 new locally acquired Covid cases with premier Gladys Berejiklian warning “we haven’t seen the worst of it”.
- Three people in NSW died with the virus – an unvaccinated man in his late 60s and two men in their 70s, one was fully vaccinated and the other had received one dose.
- Victoria reported 24 new infections, with six not isolating while infectious. The state is hunting down mystery cases in Melbourne’s south east, with six in St Kilda.
- The ACT recorded 22 new cases taking the outbreak to 67. A total of 3% of the population of the territory are currently isolating as close contacts.
- The NT looks set to come out of its snap three-day lockdown on Thursday after recording zero new cases.
- Prime minister Scott Morrison says the vaccination rates offer “rays of hope” and the expert immunisation panel is expected to make a decision soon on vaccinating all 12 to 15-year-olds.
- Federal parliament will sit for a fortnight from next week despite the outbreak in the ACT.
- Non-urgent elective surgery has been cancelled in nearly 30 NSW private hospitals as staff are called upon to assist with the Covid-19 response and vaccination effort in NSW.
- 15.82m doses of vaccines have been administered nationally, including 273,869 on Tuesday.
- New Zealand recorded seven new cases of Covid, with four reported in the morning, and three reported in the evening.
- Qantas announced plans to make vaccination mandatory for its employees.
- Australia’s evacuation efforts in Afghanistan began, with 26 passengers on the first flight out of the country.
Until tomorrow, stay safe.
Updated
New support payments have been announced for Victorians who work in music and the performing arts industries, which continue to be battered by lockdowns, AAP reports.
Creative industries minister Danny Pearson on Wednesday opened the second round of the Live Performance Support grants, for those impacted by event cancellations between 27 May and 2 September.
The program will provide funding of up to $12,000 for eligible presenters, and up to $4000 for suppliers who had been contracted to work on events and have lost income or incurred costs due to lockdowns.
The grants are open to those who work on stage and off, across live performances such as comedy, cabaret, dance, music, opera, theatre, and Victorians who have lost work interstate can also apply.
Pearson said the program has been updated in response to industry feedback to assist a wider range of affected businesses and workers.
Simon Thewlis, from Save Victorian Events, said the grants did not go far enough and excluded those who do not work in the music industry and performing arts.
He said those who work in business events, which include conferences and trade shows, have not been eligible for any targeted financial support.
“Most in the event industry have not worked since the beginning of lockdown four in late May,” Thewlis said.
“Sadly, most events have already been cancelled until the end of October – with many people having now lost all their projects for the rest of the year.”
Updated
Canberra’s health system is also under strain due to the number of staff forced to isolate at the moment.
An update to this:
— Anna Vidot (@AnnaVidot) August 18, 2021
Canberra Health Services interim CEO Dave Peffer says there are now 505 CHS healthcare workers in quarantine, and around 150 Calvary staff too.
Immense pressure on #Canberra's health system, discussions now about what/which services to be scaled back https://t.co/kAaFAu8Vg3
A family who travelled from Sydney to Townsville without entering quarantine has sparked a Queensland police investigation after a boy told his school teacher he had come from a hotspot, AAP reports.
Authorities were alerted when a student at Pimlico State High School was sent home after sharing the news.
The boy did not show any symptoms, but will be tested for Covid-19. Authorities believe the risk of infection is low.
Police say they are investigating the validity of the family’s border declaration form and how they were able to pass through Queensland’s hard border without notice.
“The border restrictions were well in place and the issue has got to be the accuracy and validity of the border pass,” Townsville chief superintendent Craig Hanlon said.
“It’s really important for us to make sure that all the allegations of the breach of the chief health officer’s directions is investigated.”
The Townsville public health unit says the school is expected to remain open on Thursday.
Updated
Non-urgent elective surgery cancelled in nearly 30 NSW private hospitals
Due to staff from private hospitals across greater Sydney and some regional areas being deployed to assist the response to Covid-19 in NSW, the health department has announced non-urgent elective surgery at just under 30 private hospitals will be postponed from Monday, 23 August.
The federal government has agreed to the temporary suspension. Emergency and urgent elective surgery will continue as normal.
The private hospitals are:
- Macquarie University Hospital
- Castlecrag Private Hospital
- Hunters Hill Private Hospital
- Kareena Private Hospital
- North Shore Private Hospital
- St George Private Hospital
- Strathfield Private Hospital
- Warners Bay Private Hospital
- Westmead Private
- Wollongong Private Hospital
- Brisbane Waters Private Hospital
- Dubbo Private Hospital
- Gosford Private Hospital
- Hurstville Private Hospital
- Lingard Private Hospital
- Maitland Private Hospital
- Shellharbour Private Hospital
- Tuggerah Lakes Private Hospital
- Sydney Adventist Hospital
- Campbelltown Private Hospital
- Hunter Valley Private Hospital
- Newcastle Private Hospital
- Norwest Private Hospital
- Prince of Wales Private Hospital
- Sydney Southwest Private Hospital
- Nepean Private Hospital
- Northern Beaches Hospital
- Mater Hospital Sydney
- St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Darlinghurst
Labor has warned defence troops dispatched to boost coronavirus vaccination rates in western NSW Indigenous communities will fail without trusted Aboriginal elders working alongside them, AAP reports.
Five Australian Defence Force teams of medics, nurses and logistics experts will be sent to the region to boost low vaccination rates.
An AUSMAT team of emergency medical experts will join the effort, with the reinforcements to be based in Dubbo.
Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Linda Burney welcomed the move but warned scars from the Northern Territory military intervention remained.
“If it’s going to work, if it’s going to be successful, it has to be done hand in glove with the local Aboriginal community,” she said on Wednesday.
“These are traumatised communities. It takes a long time to build trust particularly around the issue of provision of help – that trust will not be there with the ADF.”
The opposition is calling for a First Nations coronavirus plan to include localised data, more vaccine, testing and tracing resources, and more power for Indigenous health organisations.
The approach would also clearly outline to communities treatment options should people require it.
About 60% of the 142 cases in western NSW are Indigenous people.
Updated
Victorian federal Liberal MP Tim Wilson told the ABC he would like to see more evidence to justify the curfew and playgrounds being shut in Victoria.
I support measures that are proportionate and work and one of my chief concerns – I raised this last year around the curfew to the point of writing to the Human Rights Commission saying: ‘Can you provide me the evidence base that we will restrict people’s movements in terms of the hours that they move. What’s the evidence base, what is the justification?’
And I haven’t seen one in context of the new announcements. The state government is claiming that playgrounds are a source of transmission. I am not going to question that. I know a number of people are and raising concern but I want to see the evidence base to justify them because if you want to maintain public confidence around measures they need to be seen as proportionate and effective and I think the state government has a responsibility after the police have come out and said they didn’t request it which is what the state government claimed last lockdown, that is police requested the outcome and they said, ‘No, we didn’t’.
There are a lot of epidemiologists who are questioning this merit we simply want evidence to ... substantiate it.
Updated
No new cases in SA.
South Australian COVID-19 update 18/8/21. For more information, go to https://t.co/mYnZsGpayo or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/Z4rWTr776U
— SA Health (@SAHealth) August 18, 2021
Dutton says it is important parliament still sits next week to pass legislation, and says it will be done in the safest way possible.
He says he feels “desperately” for people in lockdown, particularly those in Melbourne (he’s made this comment about 200 days in lockdown a few times).
I’ve got friends and we’ve all got friends and family in different parts, but friends in Melbourne at the moment that I think are up to day 200 of isolation now with curfews. I feel desperately sorry for these families that have funerals they can’t attend or weddings, etc. This is a terrible virus. We’re dealing with it as best we can and in New South Wales, it’s obviously an incredibly difficult situation and I hope that they can get on top of the situation as quickly as possible.
He didn’t respond directly on whether NSW will get to Covid zero, but says vaccination in NSW is ramping up.
Updated
Dutton expresses doubt countries like Canada and the UK will end up taking tens of thousands of refugees quickly from Afghanistan:
Again, someone who is suggesting to you that they will take 10 or 20,000 random people out of Kabul or out of Kandahar or wherever and them into a country within weeks, I don’t think that firstly is going to happen and, secondly, there is no way in the world you can guarantee the security arrangements with that sort of movement of people. It needs to be done in a measured way.
He won’t go into how many more flights Australia will make out of Afghanistan, but indicates several more are likely to occur, depending on a few factors, including weather:
We have the capacity to uplift a significant number of people. I think the restriction, the reality will be the circumstances on the ground, whether people can get through roadblocks, get into the airport terminal, whether they can present themselves to the airport. That is going to be the practical reality on the ground that will play out. The other ingredient at the moment as you know, is that there’s bad weather that’s forecast over a three to four day period, which may make flights in and out impossible. So we’re anxiously waiting to see what prevails there in terms of the weather and that practical reality we have to deal with.
Updated
Dutton speaks of “the reality on the ground” a lot when it comes to the slowness of processing locals who helped Australians in Afghanistan for visas, including security checks:
There are some wonderful people who have supported us at a point in time 10 years ago and they have gone on to work for the Taliban, they’re working for al-Qaida, they’re acting out against our allies, and their allegiances have shifted. They did that for survival or for their own purposes, intents. We’re not bringing them to our country. Those that provided us with support, wherever is possible, they will come to our country.
He is back in his old portfolio a bit when he says some are looking at offers from other countries, and are hard to contact due to the situation in Afghanistan. He won’t go into the numbers of those who have been rejected but says some have been rejected on the belief they may commit a terrorist attack in Australia.
They’re coming from a very difficult part of the world. There are people that have helped us at a point in time who have since acted out either against our interests or those of our allies which includes passing on intelligence to ISIL and others.
Updated
Dutton echoes comments from the PM and foreign minister when asked about the recognition of the Taliban government: it depends what they do.
Well, I think we wait on the results. On the actions as opposed to the words. The words are welcome, but they mean nothing without the actions. If this is a very different regime to a barbaric regime that existed many years ago, then of course, the international community would welcome that, but we’d reserve judgement until we see the actions. There are some reports through open source reporting about retributions and beheadings, etc, outside of Kabul, but the words mean nothing without follow-through and the actions really are what counts.
On whether the US could have handled the withdrawal better, he says no one was arguing forces should spend another 20 years there:
Nobody was arguing a month ago that the United States or France or Germany or Australia should commit to another 20 years in Afghanistan, so I think there are a lot of academics and a lot of people with 20/20 hindsight, but the fact is nobody predicted that the Taliban would advance so quickly.
We were criticised for leaving Kabul earlier and we’ve been really ramping up our activity over the course of the last six weeks. Our military planners advised us to get out early. We took that advice, it was prudent and we’ve been able to get Dfat and home affairs and others out including defence personnel from Kabul and I’m pleased we did that.
We’ve also been able to get out a number of locally engaged staff, the Afghanis with visas and some of those were on the first flight out and I hope that many more will follow.
Updated
The defence minister, Peter Dutton, is on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing. Patricia Karvelas asks him why only 26 people were on the first C-130 flight out of Afghanistan.
Dutton says it is in the range of the number of people it can take on board, and talks about the situation on the ground:
It’s within that range. That’s the first point. It’s not a C-17, where you might have the space for several hundred people. With the C-17 Globemaster with the United States, they had over 600 people. So we had limitations on how people can get to the airport and it’s a very difficult situation on the ground. It’s not like turning up to a normal airport where people can come and go freely. It’s clearly a difficult situation for people to make their way to the airport and I think that’s the reality of the circumstances on the ground.
Updated
Greens senator for NSW, Mehreen Faruqi, has said telling people to stay home isn’t enough when there isn’t financial support to let them stay home.
Today’s Covid-19 numbers are just devastating. But simply telling people to ‘stay home’ is not going to cut it when people aren’t getting the financial support they need to do so. The vast majority of people are doing the right thing, and have been for weeks. Blame-shifting onto individuals is very unhelpful.
We know people are having to go to work in areas with high transmission because the alternative is that their families go hungry. Workplaces are some of the most common areas of viral transmission. That has been the reality throughout this pandemic. People pick the virus up at work and bring it home to their families.
Telling people off and high-profile police operations might be a cheaper strategy than proper, widely-available wage subsidies and income support payments, but it won’t get this virus under control.
It’s crushing to watch NSW authorities lean on public shaming and so-called ‘compliance theatre’ here. It’s completely nonsensical and dangerous.
Shifting the blame for government failures onto individuals and multicultural communities needs to stop.
NT lockdown likely to end as planned
Just catching up on the NT. After the territory reported no new cases today, chief minister, Michael Gunner has said the snap three-day lockdown will likely end tomorrow, AAP reports.
“We are confident that we have caught this thing in time,” he said on Wednesday.
“We are confident that we have trapped the risk, and we are confident that our tracing efforts have been a success.”
Gunner said he was “fairly confident but not completely certain” it would end as planned at noon on Thursday.
We are feeling good. It’s looking pretty sweet.
Restrictions, such as wearing face masks in public, are likely to apply for one week.
Updated
New Zealand outbreak grows to 10 cases
Case numbers in New Zealand’s Delta outbreak are continuing to grow.
Covid-19 response minister Chris Hipkins just told RNZ: “I can confirm that we have had further positive test results since the press conference today.”
The prime minister’s office has confirmed three more cases had been detected, bringing the total number to 10.
Hipkins said he expected there would be more overnight.
We’re seeing more cases coming through, I don’t have details of those cases. But yes, I can confirm that we have further positive test results since the press conference today.
Updated
Just under 50% of eligible Australians have had first vaccine dose, deputy CMO says
Now the deputy chief medical officer, Prof Michael Kidd, is providing an update on the national Covid situation, starting with vaccination rates:
So far in Australia we’ve seen more than 15.8m doses of Covid-19 vaccines administered to the people of our country. Over the last seven days 1.7 million doses have been administered to people in Australia and that is more than the population of Adelaide and Darwin combined.
He says just under 50% of the eligible population over 16 have received a first dose of the vaccine, while 27.5% are fully vaccinated. For over 70s that is 83% for first dose, and 78% first dose for those over 60.
Since 28 June, 355,000 Australians under 40 have turned up for a first dose of AstraZeneca.
Over 67% of people working in aged care have had at least one dose of a vaccine, with 46% fully vaccinated.
We have been offering the vaccine widely and now we are seeing very rapid uptake of the vaccine amongst that workforce. Much of the previously reported hesitancy is melting away amongst people working in residential aged care.
Updated
'Officers are at the ready': NSW police urge people not to attend planned protest
The NSW police minister, David Elliott, has again urged people not to attend planned anti-lockdown protests in NSW this weekend (there’s a few protests planned around the country):
The overwhelming majority of people in NSW are doing their bit to turn the Covid case numbers in the right direction and this proposed protest would undermine all that work. We’re temporarily living with restrictions that we all want to see lifted, but the mass gathering of a group of idiots could mean that day moves further into the future.
I have complete confidence in the work police are doing within operation stay at home and the operational plans for the weekend should reassure the wider community that officers are at the ready to take swift action against anyone not complying with the public health orders.
NSW police are monitoring online communications around the protest plans, and they said they plan to have police on hand to disrupt any planned mass gatherings across NSW.
Updated
Prospective marriage visa holders to be allowed travel exemptions
People planning to tie the knot with partners in Australia will be granted travel exemptions, paving the aisle for delayed weddings to go ahead, AAP reports.
Long-term prospective marriage visa holders will be eligible for an exemption one year after the date they submitted their visa application.
The change is expected to allow 1,600 people to immediately apply to come to Australia.
Until now, fiances have had to meet strict criteria to be eligible for a travel pass because of tight coronavirus border restrictions.
The home affairs minister, Karen Andrews, said exemptions needed to be balanced against protecting Australia’s health through international border rules.
“Allowing prospective marriage visa holders to apply for an exemption to come to Australia, get married, and start their lives here will bring relief to those whose plans have been disrupted for so long by Covid-19,” she said on Wednesday.
“These people have been patiently waiting to reunite with loved ones and I’m pleased I could make this change to allow for their reunification in Australia.”
Australian citizens, permanent residents and their immediate family members have been able to enter Australia without an exemption during the border closure.
But many fiances have been stuck overseas despite holding a visa.
Updated
Just a bit more detail on the earlier announcement from the prime minister, Scott Morrison, that 3,000 places will be made available in Australia’s existing humanitarian intake allocation (13,750 refugees globally per year) for people fleeing from Afghanistan.
The government says the focus will be on “family members of Australians, persecuted minorities such as women and girls, children, the Hazara and other vulnerable groups”.
A total of 8,500 Afghans have been resettled in Australia since 2013, and the immigration minister, Alex Hawke, said he expected the allocation in the humanitarian intake could increase further during the course of this year.
Updated
Pat Turner, the CEO of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation, is on ABC News at the moment to speak about the cases in western NSW.
Turner says she is very concerned because the average age of those contracting Covid-19 in Dubbo is 24, and implored people to stay home.
She said she hoped the younger cohort do not have the same level of comorbidities as the older groups do, and noted there had been some vaccine hesitancy in the clinics because of the mixed messaging about AstraZeneca.
AstraZeneca has been out in the clinics for quite some time, but people really became very hesitant about it when there was all the publicity and mixed messaging from leadership, not our leadership but other leadership in the country about the blood clotting, so everyone got fearful, and people didn’t want to have it, they wanted to wait for Pfizer.
Well, Pfizer is rolling out, daily increases of Pfizer vaccines are being distributed out into western New South Wales and I’m very pleased about that. We have a hook up every day [with government departments] to discuss the vaccine rollout and any other additional requirements. For example, we are working with the Kirby Institute and the Department of Health to increase access to the point-of-care testing machines, and we are hoping to ensure that that goes to Dubbo, Bourke.
Turner said 31.3% of Indigenous Australians have had at least one dose of the vaccine, while 16.5% are fully vaccinated.
She said she wanted to see the rollout sped up, noting it was going well in the Kimberley, and Broome planned on holding a “vaxathon” in a few weeks time.
We really need all of the state health authorities to be working in partnership and collaborating. With our community controlled health sectors. Making sure they have the constant supply of the vaccine because our children are eligible from the age of 12 to get vaccinated and we need all of our families vaccinated because of the unnecessary, ongoing overcrowded housing that our people still have to put up with in Australia today.
Updated
If you are wondering how the vaccination rollout is going in NSW, we have a new interactive map where you can check percentages by postcode.
West Australians in NSW are being warned the window to return home on compassionate grounds will soon close as tougher restrictions loom, AAP reports.
WA this week tightened its controlled border regime, demanding arrivals from NSW provide a negative test and prove they have had at least one vaccine dose.
It will be a future requirement for any states and territories classified as “high risk” after recording an average of more than 50 daily community cases.
NSW is on track to enter the “extreme risk” category, restricting entry to commonwealth, state and specialist officials and forcing them to enter hotel quarantine for 14 days.
The trigger point for jurisdictions to enter that category is an average of more than 500 daily local cases over a period of between five and 14 days.
Premier Mark McGowan on Wednesday said there would be no exemptions under compassionate grounds once the extreme risk threshold is reached.
“If you are someone who wanted to come home, who went to NSW over the course of this year and who has compassionate grounds for coming home, get yourself vaccinated, get tested and get on a flight now,” he told reporters.
“The window will close if we go to extreme risk for NSW.”
McGowan said WA had provided an opportunity for West Australians in NSW to return home under compassionate grounds if vaccinated, but “if they choose not to and the window closes, that will have been their choice”.
“If we go to extreme risk, that would mean that people coming in from NSW would be restricted right back to those people we can’t essentially block under the constitution,” he said.
Updated
WA quarantine facility expected to be open by March next year
I think it got lost in all the press conferences, but WA and the federal government have announced an in-principle deal for a 1,000-bed quarantine facility, likely to be built at Jandakot Airport, AAP reports.
Finance minister Simon Birmingham said the WA facility was expected to be running at half-capacity by March next year.
“It will increase our ability to respond to future emergencies or disasters, including the continued management of the Covid-19 pandemic into next year,” he said.
But WA premier Mark McGowan labelled that target “optimistic”, citing high demand for housing which has left the state facing skills shortages.
“In my experience in the current building market, it takes a while to build things,” he said.
Updated
Here’s the breakdown of the cases in Victoria today, via AAP:
- Ten linked to Al-Taqwa College, three students and seven household members
- Four linked to Glenroy West Primary School, all household contacts
- Two linked to Caroline Springs Square shopping centre, contacts of retail facilities
- Two linked to Newport outbreak, a household contact and another to a local football club
- Two linked to addresses on Lygon Street, both residents have moved out
- Four unlinked ‘mystery’ cases, including one in Glenroy, two in Altona North and one in the Glen Eira area, someone who works at Malvern East pizza store.
Updated
Man taken into custody in WA for alleged home quarantine breaches
A 41-year-old man in Western Australia has been charged with breaching self-quarantine directions.
Police allege he flew to WA from Melbourne on 8 August, was granted entry to self-quarantine for 14-days, but when police went to check on him, they allege he had left and returned to Melbourne.
He then arrived in WA from Melbourne on 8 August, and was granted entry to self-quarantine again, but when police went to check up on him, they allege he wasn’t there.
After they found him they took him into custody and charged him with two counts of failing to comply with a health direction.
He is due to appear before the Perth Magistrates Court today.
Updated
Federal parliament to sit next week
As expected, parliament will sit as scheduled next week, after consultation with the commonwealth chief medical officer and the presiding officers (the speaker and the Senate president).
This is mostly because there is some legislation which absolutely has to be dealt with – there are sunset clauses about to expire on some terrorism bills, which the government has only just put through the house. So they need the tick off from the parliament, kinda urgently.
There is no word on the sitting which was scheduled for the week after next as yet – I would say it is all a watch and wait game.
So parliament is on next week. There are some MPs who stayed in Canberra, including the leaders of both major parties, so they will be there in person, but the virtual systems will be getting a workout, given how much of the nation is in lockdown.
Updated
Just a bit more on the ACT chief minister Andrew Barr’s press conference earlier.
He is expressing concern about parliament potentially becoming an exposure site next week if parliament sits without strong protections in place.
Barr: "I don't want [APH] to be a new covid cluster. That would be terrible for the parliament itself and the operations of our democracy. So I know they need to be absolutely, absolutely certain that they have eliminated all risk points if they are to proceed."
— Anna Vidot (@AnnaVidot) August 18, 2021
Yesterday, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, said he had not made a decision on whether to delay the next sitting fornight, due to start on Monday.
He said if they only held parliament with the MPs who stayed in Canberra in the non-sitting week we are in at the moment, then there would be enough numbers for quorum.
A second South Australian MP has been referred to an official investigator over allegations of bullying, AAP reports.
Treasurer Rob Lucas says he has referred allegations against Labor MP Tony Piccolo to the Commissioner for Public Sector Employment.
It follows claims a former trainee in the MP’s office was subjected to escalating harassment and abuse leading up to his resignation.
The state government last month referred bullying allegations against Sports Minister Corey Wingard to the commissioner for investigation.
A complaint against Wingard was lodged by Sport SA chief executive Leah Cassidy in relation to the minister’s conduct on two occasions.
Lucas said the claims against Piccolo were disturbing, particularly allegations the trainee was forced to resign one month before the completion of his traineeship.
The treasurer said there were reports Labor had launched its own investigation into the allegations.
“However, these complaints can’t be properly dealt with by a cosy little internal review conducted by Labor-appointed investigators into a long-serving Labor MP,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
In relation to the allegations against Wingard, premier Steven Marshall said previously that the matter was being treated seriously.
“We take any allegation seriously and so we’ve referred it on promptly,” the premier said.
“If there is reason to take any further action, I will have no hesitation in doing so.”
Updated
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, said just a moment ago that expanding access to the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds was something being worked through.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese is pushing for a plan.
Parents worried about the effect that lockdowns are having on their kids are now more concerned than ever that their children might catch Covid.
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) August 18, 2021
And right now, Mr Morrison doesn’t have a plan for our kids to access a vaccine when it’s safe to do so.
Updated
I love this from Nick Cave.
Nick Cave responding to a question about whether he’s had covid vaccine, and if it hurts “the soul” pic.twitter.com/v621wtPDnB
— Ange McCormack (@_angemccormack) August 17, 2021
The NSW government has announced that specialist organisations that support asylum seekers and temporary visa holders who need emergency support can apply for grants as part of a $5.5m program.
The NSW minister for multiculturalism Natalie Ward said the focus would be on those who provide emergency relief such as food, medical support, housing, and transport.
It’s important this support gets to where it is needed most, as quickly as possible.
Updated
Asked again if Australia will recognise the Taliban government, Marise Payne says she won’t speculate:
They will be the subject of international discussions as they have already been in terms of the engagement at the UN Security Council. We will continue to talk with partners and I think the Prime Minister’s made our views fairly clear.
Morrison was also asked whether Queensland and Tasmania were refusing to help with people returning in quarantine. He said they were cooperating, but noted Tasmania doesn’t have an international airport.
Queensland are supporting and participating, and this is a matter that we’ll discuss again on Friday at national cabinet to confirm a number of those arrangements. Of course in Tasmania they don’t run international flights normally from other parts of the world.
Their facilities are different to what’s available in other states and territories. It wouldn’t be because of any reluctance to want to assist and I have no doubt the Tasmanian government will provide whatever help they can assist in this effort. There’s been a spontaneous and ready response from all the states and territories and I’m grateful for that. As indeed through the national resilience facility at Howard Springs as well which will be playing a role in these repatriations.
He says those being evacuated from Afghanistan will be based in Emirates while they get welfare and medical checks before they’re taken to Australia.
That’s the end of the press conference.
Updated
Morrison was asked about providing the Pfizer vaccine to 12- to 15-year-olds. He notes it is provisionally approved for children in that age bracket who are Indigenous or have underlying medical conditions, and work is under way to decide whether to roll that out for everyone in that age group:
This is a matter that we have dealt with regularly both at national cabinet in terms of the state-based systems for potential school-based vaccination programs and the work is already under way on how that could be done and planned together with the commonwealth and the state and territory administrations.
And it’s not too far away, is my understanding, but equally we’re talking about the vaccination of our kids and I want to be very sure about the medical advice we’re getting about that.
He also mentions Labor senator Katy Gallagher, whose daughter tested positive for Covid-19:
To Senator Gallagher, I can understand she’s terribly upset about the fact that one of her own children has been affected with Covid. Any parent, I can understand that [it] would be absolutely heartbreaking and I wish Evie and the family all the best for a speedy recovery.
Updated
Morrison is asked if he thinks other companies should follow Qantas and mandate the vaccine for their workers.
Morrison says it is a matter for the companies, but commends Qantas for surveying their staff and talking them through it before mandating it:
They have a reasonable position to be able to make this request and they’ve gone about it I think in a very engaged way. And they’ve come up I think with a fair and well intentioned direction. So I wish them well with that. But I think they’ve shown I think the right model about how you go about this. I welcome the fact, because many of those employees are – live in the shire, in my own electorate, and I know across my own community people out there are getting vaccinated and understand the importance of that.
So I welcome the fact that so many Qantas employees understand the importance of it without having to be asked. I think that’s what we’re seeing. There are certain circumstances where this maybe necessary and companies will move in those areas but I do know is that I have great faith in Australians that they know what they need to do. They are doing it. And by tomorrow one in two Australians would have actually gone out and got their first jab. All we had to do was ask them to do it. I have great faith and trust in them. I have great confidence in them doing the right thing.
Updated
Morrison said part of the reason it had taken so long to do security checks on some of those Afghans who had worked for Australian forces was that some had worked for Australia a long time ago:
I think we also have to explain to Australians that we’re dealing with people who have worked for us not last week but they may have worked for us four years ago or five years ago, and we knew where they were then and we may not have heard from them for a very long time ,and we don’t know what they’ve been doing in that intervening period in what has been a very unstable situation.
So it isn’t just a matter of people coming along and presenting a pay slip from the Australian government saying ‘I used to work for you’. I wish it were that simple. It is not that simple. It is incredibly complicated and that’s why we’ve been meticulous in working through that process, that those we bring to Australia we know who they are. We know what they’ve done. And we want to be there to support them, and we have brought family members with them as well and we’re working through this in a very painstaking way.
Updated
Back on Afghanistan, Morrison says Australia will bring as many people here as quickly and safely as possible as part of the evacuation.
On the issue of whether an Australian government would recognise a Taliban government, Morrison says no assumptions have been made, and foreign minister Marise Payne says trust needs to be earned:
No government has been formed. It remains to be seen what form and membership that government has and I would also say a request for trust is usually met by an expectation that trust is earned.
Updated
Asked if Australia is headed for a double-dip recession, Morrison says advice is that if vaccination rates get high, then the economy can bounce back.
We get the country to those levels of vaccination, we open up the country, the economy comes back strongly. And so the sooner we achieve that, the sooner that’s realised. And that should address the very issue that you’ve raised. That’s why it’s so important that we maintain this pace on vaccinations.
He admits the timing will depend on the vaccination rates:
Now, the timing of these things, that’s a separate issue, but at this pace then ... I do remain optimistic, I do remain confident in the Australian economy because there is no issue with the Australian economy. There is an issue of the impact of Covid-19 and restrictions that are holding that economy back. But as soon as we’re able to release those, that’s why the national plan, that’s why getting to 70% and 80% and following through with the national plan and the confidence that national plan giving I think to businesses to look ahead and plan.
Updated
Australia in a Covid 'tunnel' and vaccines are 'rays of light', PM says
Morrison then turns to the Covid situation.
NSW recorded its highest day of cases ever, Victoria, ACT and NT are in lockdown, and Morrison notes the country is “in a tunnel” but people getting vaccinated are the “rays of light”.
One in two Australians have had their first dose. That’s what we’re achieving. 40% over the age of 50 have been fully vaccinated.
273,000 additional doses just yesterday, that’s 273,000 rays of light coming in from the end of that tunnel that I talked about yesterday.
We are going down that tunnel, and every vaccination shines light for Australians to see, and I want to thank those 273,000 Australians yesterday to create those rays of light, those rays of hope.
He then compares Tasmania to swimming champion Ariarne Titmus, leading the way with vaccination rates.
Well done Tassie! Almost 200 doses that I said yesterday in this country happening every single minute. That’s what’s being achieved – 1.6 million vaccinations in just a week now, and for those ourselves, all of us, who have been going through what has been a difficult last two months, this is what you’ve achieved in just two months, we’ve gone from 4.5% double dosed vaccinations two months ago to 27.5%.
He says he knows the news is tough every day, but people staying at home is making a big difference.
Updated
Australia to provide about 3,000 humanitarian visas to Afghan nationals this year
The prime minister Scott Morrison says Australia will provide about 3,000 humanitarian visas to Afghan nationals this year.
We will be ensuring this year that we believe we’ll be able to provide around 3,000 visas. That’s more than double what we’ve been doing, and in some cases triple what we’ve been doing, in the current year. And we do believe we’ll be able to do more than that.
Morrison, who instituted a hardline policy against asylum seeker boat arrivals when he was immigration minister, added that Australia “will only be resettling people through our official humanitarian program going through official channels”. He said the government would not offer a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship for those who arrived by boat.
Updated
With that, I shall leave you the competent hands of Josh Taylor who will be manning the blog this afternoon.
See you tomorrow.
Australia won't offer path to permanent residency to Afghan refugees: Morrison
Morrison’s hard line on immigration policy does not appear to have wavered too much, even in the face of the Afghanistan humanitarian crisis.
He has been clear that although Australia will accept more visas from Afghan nations, we will not be opening up to huge numbers of refugees.
What I can confirm is this – I have a clear message – we will only be resettling people through our official humanitarian program going through official channels. We will not be offering a pathway to permanent residency or citizenship.
We will not be allowing people to enter Australia illegally, even at this time. Our policy has not changed.
We will be supporting Afghans who have legitimate claims through our official and legitimate processes. We will not be providing that pathway to those who would seek to come any other way ... That is a very important message. The government’s policy has not changed, will not change.
But I can confirm that since we came to government some 8,500 Afghans have been resettled in Australia. We have been continuing to process through our official humanitarian program, working through the legitimate channels, some 8,500 Afghans into Australia ranging from about 1,300 a year up to about 1,900 a year, and we are going to continue to do that.
We will be ensuring this year that we believe we’ll be able to provide around 3,000 visas. That’s more than double what we’ve been doing and in some cases triple what we’ve been doing in the current year. And we do believe we’ll be able to do more than that.
You would have heard other countries talk about figures of 5,000, I note that some are talking about figures of 20,000 but can I tell you there are no clear plans about that. Australia is not going into that territory.
Updated
Morrison seems to be indicating that Australia’s rescue operation will not resemble the photos from similar US aircraft with hundreds upon hundreds of people crammed into the plane’s body.
Last night, that first C-130 went in, bringing in the Australians facilitating things on the ground. I stress how important that is. To get people on a flight and get people on the ground to process this. This will be done in as orderly fashion as is possible in the circumstances.
We need to be very clear who is getting on our planes, who is going to our base and going to come here and live in Australia. We have to be very, very clear about that. We are taking all the sensible precautions that moving urgently to address the very real need in these stressing conditions.
That plane touched down at our base in the Emirates at 10.45am Canberra time today. There were 26 people on board that flight. That included Australian citizens, Afghan nationals with visas and one foreign official working in an international agency. I remind people we are working with other agencies, other governments, like-minded and others, to address their needs as well as our own and we’re seeking to maximise the use of all the flights from all the countries going in and out of Kabul.
Updated
The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has confirmed an initial Royal Australian Air Force aircraft arrived in Kabul overnight.
Morrison said the initial flight picked up 26 people - Australian citizens, Afghan nationals with visas, and one foreign official with an international agency.
He told reporters in Canberra:
Last evening, Australia’s operation to commence evacuating Australians and visa holders, Afghan nationals and others from Kabul, commenced. We were able to get our first flight in last night, enabling us to transfer also in key personnel from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, home affairs and defence to facilitate the evacuation of citizens, residents and visa holders, Afghan nationals, from Kabul. This was the first of what will be many flights subject to clearance and weather.
The Australian government’s announced on Monday that it was sending about 250 defence force personnel and three RAAF aircraft to the region for a potential evacuation mission.
Morrison also said:
The operation involves everything from establishing contact with those who are in Afghanistan, particularly closer to Kabul, to ensure that they can be in a position to be at the airport in order to be evacuated on the flights as they come into Kabul, to process their embarkation and to get onto those flights. This is not a simple process. It is very difficult for any Australian to imagine the sense of chaos and uncertainty existing across this country, the breakdown in formal communications, the ability to reach people. And we are doing this directly ourselves.
State hotel quarantine to accept Afghanistan evacuees above caps, PM says
States have agreed to accept Australians in Afghanistan and Afghan nationals into Australia’s hotel quarantine system above existing caps, Morrison says.
We’ve made arrangements with state governments around the country over and above existing caps, for those who have been transferred back to Australia to be quarantined in appropriate facilities to support their quarantine.
Updated
Morrison says there have been difficulties reaching people who need to be evacuated from Afghanistan given the chaos in the country.
The operation involves everything from establishing that contact with those who were in Afghanistan, particularly closer to Kabul, and to ensure that they can be in a position to be at the airport in order to be evacuated on the flights as they come into Kabul. To process their embarkation, and to get on to those flights.
This is not a simple process. It’s very difficult for any Australian to imagine the sense of chaos and uncertainty that is existing across this country, the breakdown in formal communications, the ability to reach people. And we are doing this directly ourselves.
Groups like the IOM are no longer able to assist us, and so we are doing that directly. We’re doing it working with the local Afghan communities here in Australia to assist us in making the and the foreign affairs minister can speak further to it.
Updated
Australia's Kabul evacuation operation has begun, PM confirms
Morrison:
Last evening, Australia’s operation to commence evacuating Australians, visa holders, Afghan nationals and others from Kabul commenced. We’re able to get our first flight in last night ... enabling us to transfer also in key personnel from the department of foreign affairs and trade, home affairs and defence to facilitate the evacuation of citizens, residents and visa holders, Afghan nationals from Kabul.
This was the first of what will be many flights, subject to weather, and we do note that over the back end of this week, there is some not too favourable weather forecast.
Updated
Today is Vietnam Veterans’ Day and the prime minister has acknowledged the 521 Australians who died in the war.
I want to acknowledge those wounds inflicted on many of our Vietnam veterans, including, by some of their fellow Australians, when they came home. That was not the way to do that.
It should never be the way that we receive Australians back after they’ve served in our name wearing our uniform under our flag.
Updated
Morrison has begun by addressing the Covid-19 situation in NSW.
Good afternoon, everybody. More difficult news in New South Wales. I will return to that shortly. I want to continue to encourage all Australians that we’re going to beat this. We’re going to get on top of it. We’re never going to give up against battle in this country. We’ve had so many successes, compared to so many countries around the world, by pesevering and pushing through.
I will return with an update on the issues. I wanted to say, after hearing that news in New South Wales today, I know that once again your hearts would have sunk for a moment and perhaps longer but let’s lift them up because we will get through this and beat this.
Updated
Scott Morrison gives press conference
Prime minister Scott Morrison is speaking now.
Updated
ACT press conference
The ACT’s chief minister Andrew Barr has been asked about the large number of cases coming out of NSW today (633). He seems to think that there may be some room to move on travel restrictions if regional NSW clears up its cases.
Look, that is very, very concerning. New South Wales are going to need to get this outbreak under control.
We are seeing seeding of the virus out of New South Wales into most states and territories. We are amongst the most exposed, if not the most exposed when it comes to New South Wales’ control of the outbreak.
There’s a distinction between greater Sydney’s extent to which they can put a ring of steel around greater Sydney, and then what’s happening in regional New South Wales. So, really, where the case number goes and what plays out over the coming weeks will clearly have an impact on the settings that we can put in place.
Updated
Victoria press conference:
Why are playgrounds closed but childcare open?
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) August 18, 2021
Foley says it's because childcare is a controlled environment with strict protocols.
"There's always a difference between a regulated, controlled environment and unregulated."
(Also presumably easier to contact trace childcare)
There are no new positive cases linked to the engagement party. So it's still seven positive cases — six guests and a carer — from the 69. All tests back.
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) August 18, 2021
Updated
Queensland records no new local Covid-19 cases
This got swept up in the avalanche of press conferences but I’m happy to report there have been no new cases of Covid-19 in Queensland today.
Wednesday 18 August – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) August 18, 2021
0 new locally acquired cases.
4 new overseas acquired cases - 1 detected in hotel quarantine, 3 detected on a marine vessel.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/EnUSj3HAdL
Prime minster Scott Morrison is expected to step up to the plate and hold a press conference any minute now.
Victorian press conference (yes, it’s still going):
At the Victorian press conference, Jeroen Weimar was asked to provide examples of the virus transmitting outdoors between children.
This is off the back of Victoria closing playgrounds, skateparks and basketball courts. The chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, mentioned yesterday that they were investigating a possible instance of transmission between children at a playground.
Weimar said he had no more detail on that particular case, but said there had been two cases of proven transmission between children interacting outdoors.
Again, as mentioned earlier, 56 of the 246 cases in Victoria at the moment are under nine years old and 55 are aged between 10 and 19.
Weimar said one of those instances is a child from Glenroy West primary school and a kid from Corpus Christi, who “had some kind of social encounter outside”.
We have a large number of children in this outbreak ... all examples of where children have transmitted both within their households or within themselves.
Health minister Martin Foley said:
Young people and children in particular hang out in playgrounds. It’s a risky transmission site … no one wants to close playgrounds, no one wants to have a lockdown, no one wants to close schools. What we want is to be on the other side of this as quickly as we can. That’s why we have to go hard … or we will be in the Sydney territory.
Updated
NSW press conference:
We have some further information about the three people who died of Covid in NSW announced today.
None of the patients were fully vaccinated.
A man in his 60s from south-western Sydney who died at Liverpool hospital had not received any vaccine doses.
There were two men in their 70s from western Sydney who died at Nepean hospital. One had not received any vaccine doses, the other had received one dose.
Updated
There are seven public sites in the ACT that have spawned their own chains of transmission.
Coleman:
Associated with the Lynham High, we have 15 cases. That includes the indexed case and any case directly linked to that site.
The Fiction night club, 13 cases.
The Lennock Jaguar Land Rover dealership, six cases.
The Belconnen basketball sadium, five.
The Gold Creek school, five.
The Assembly bar, two.
And the Downer Community Centre, three cases.
At this time, there are no further cases at the Greenway Views Village. All residents and staff have been tested on site and all the results came back negative, though testing is available for contacts of the village case on-site and will continue to support them. They will need to remain locked down and in quarantine for the full 14 days.
Updated
By the way, the source of the ACT outbreak is still one of those four remaining mysteries.
Back to the ACT press conference and the territory’s chief health officer, Dr Kerryn Coleman, is given a breakdown of the cases now.
Since our update yesterday, the ACT recorded an additional 22 new Covid-19 cases, which brings the total active cases associated with this outbreak to 67.
Of our new cases today, I can confirm that all of these are linked to known cases. So all of the new 22 cases are linked, which is fabulous news.
Additionally, because of the further investigative work done by our epidemiologists, we now know that there are only four of the total 67 cases remaining under investigation.
Updated
Prime minister Scott Morrison to address the public soon
By the way, we are just standing by now for prime minister Scott Morrison to speak in around 15 minutes.
Hopefully, we will learn what next week’s planned federal parliament sitting week will look like.
Updated
The chief minister became emotional when discussing the tough time people in the ACT have been going through, encouraging residents to keep in touch with family and friends online.
It’s been a really tough winter across Australia and particularly in Canberra. I want to hold out hope for people that we will get through this but we need to look after each other.
Please stay at home, but do keep in touch with family and friends online and through the telephone. Now is not the time to be popping over to mum or dad’s, or the visit your cousins or brothers or sisters, but you can keep in touch with them using the internet or the telephone.
That sort of support will be essential as we go through the next few weeks of our lockdown.
Barr:
Of course, there are also vulnerable Canberra households who don’t have the means to afford food deliveries at this time and we have in place through a partnership with the community sector a food relief program that will assist those households who don’t have the means to pay for food to be delivered to them.
In relation to further economic support, we continue to engage productively with the commonwealth government. We’re looking at a range of jointly funded additional programs. This will be targeted at supporting businesses that are impacted by the lockdown measures. That includes work on commercial tenancies relief.
Updated
Nearly 3% of the ACT population are now in quarantine
Barr has confirmed the ACT now has 12,500 people in quarantine, just under 3% of the territory’s population.
Barr:
10,500 of those are close contacts linked to the ACT clusters. The remaining 2,000 are linked to interstate outbreaks.
This has put significant pressure on food delivery services and the chief minister said the government was teaming up with major supermarket chains to ensure self-isolating people can get access to necessary supplies.
Updated
Barr:
Pleasingly our vaccination rates continue to be well above the Australian average – 57% of Canberrans have now had a first dose of the vaccine and one-third now are fully vaccinated. We continue to focus our efforts on running our vaccination program full-tilt.
Updated
ACT chief minister Andrew Barr is speaking now:
In the last 24 hours, 8,417 tests were conducted in the ACT. That’s nearly 25,000 tests since lockdown commenced, which is equivalent to around 6% of the ACT population.
We continue to stand up additional testing sites to respond to emerging cases and demand across the city. Can I remind Canberrans, though, that travelling to Yass to get tested is not appropriate.
Updated
ACT records 22 new Covid-19 cases
The Australian Captial territory has recorded 22 cases overnight.
This is nearly as many cases as Victoria, despite Victoria having 15 times the population.
This brings the total number of cases in the ACT to 67.
NSW health minister Brad Hazzard has once again been asked about Westmead hospital potentially becoming overwhelmed, with ambulances lined up outside.
There’s no question, as I said a number of time, that the health system is under stress, but what’s happening at Westmead is a challenge and [that they had] pre-Covid, anyway. Any of those situations would be is because there was a blockage in the ED.
That is too many patients arriving at one time rather than a steady flow and some of those would be transferred out to the wards and the blackage therefore would be from the wards.
What I’m told in this particular case, the ED, the emergency department, is trying to manage people who could be potentially Covid-exposed ... What they’re doing is trying to work through a logistical system, a better flow system within the emergency department to allow the staff not to be exposed and other patients not to be exposed to people coming in who may have it before they know it.
Updated
Reporters continue to question Chant over if she has somehow been barred from implementing a harsher lockdown.
Dr Chant, it was an important question that Andrew asked before. You didn’t quite answer it.
The question wasn’t about a shared vision. The question was about a methodology on how you achieve that. The people of NSW deserve to know if you have given health advice to the government.
I appreciate the position you’re in, but we’re looking for the truth here – have you given health advice to the government that is not being adhered to? Have you suggested a harsher lockdown is needed and that advice has been ignored? It’s a yes or no answer.
Chant:
It’s not as easy as that.
Reporter:
Yes, it is.
Chant:
What we do is define the problems. We define the fact the transmission is occurring, the fact we need to decrease mobility, we need to reduce presence at workplaces, we need to keep activity to the most essential. Those are the objectives we need.
She continues on for a while, not really answering the question at all.
Reporter:
Are you seeking harsher restrictions?
Chant:
I’m just commenting on the fact with the R effective above one, we’re seeing growing case numbers. We need to drive the R effective beneath one and I’m committed strongly to be saying that that is what we need to do.
So that wasn’t really an answer at all.
Updated
Chant was asked why there was such a significant jump in case numbers today – 181 more than yesterday.
The communities of south-western Sydney and western Sydney are a resilient community and I think it’s also very important to reflect on the fact that they have been experiencing some of the harshest lockdown conditions anywhere and restrictions.
It is important to note that a lot of the essential workers that keep our economy moving, and I mean that in terms of the basic economy of putting food on our tables, our essential items that we need for our life, live and work in south-western Sydney and they also work outside those areas of south-western Sydney and western Sydney.
So what we are seeing is workers from those areas doing the fantastic work that they do in supporting disabilities, supporting aged care, being – working in factories and cleaning and other things, going into workplaces, leading to transmission and then transmission occurs and then a seeding of another household.
We also know that some people – there are a small proportion of people are not, perhaps, taking Covid as seriously as I would like them to do. And then what’s happening is they’re potentially going into multiple households.
So, for instance, you might have one person who has connections across three households, but in each of those households, you have got tens of people. And we know that household transmission for Covid is so common.
We’re also seeing outbreaks in childcare centres and that’s a feature we haven’t seen in previous outbreaks because the Delta strain seems to be able to transmit more in the childhood setting.
Updated
NSW press conference:
Following on from that question to chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant on if the premier is stopping her enforcing a harder lockdown, she says that the premier is not.
Reporter:
Why is 25% of construction only open in Melbourne? Why can’t you play golf in Melbourne? Why is there a curfew in Melbourne? They got 20 cases a day, it’s 633 here... except the premier stubbornly refuses to introduce them.
Chant:
I’m not going to respond apart from saying that we – the premier and I – are both committed passionately to seeing the case numbers decline.
I cannot stress that even with high vaccine coverage, we cannot do well with the case numbers we have got. So the challenge for us as a community is to work together to get those numbers down. We need to see the numbers very low in terms of case numbers and we need to see the vaccine coverage very, very high. So my key message is, please, get vaccinated.
We have two very good vaccines. Access points in the community are increasing and can I thank the hard work of the GPs, our own state services, and pharmacies in rolling out and bringing the vaccine access to be the people. We have the tools, but we have to also address the issues that are leading to ongoing transmission.
Updated
Victoria press conference:
Victorian health minister Martin Foley says that one of the positive cases reported in the St Kilda area in recent days is a sex worker.
So anyone who employed a sex worker in that area in recent days is urged to get a Covid-19 test, even though there’s no evidence of transmission with a client.
He said:
I can also confirm that that person is safely quarantining and is under the best possible care. We need to deal with that issue as we deal with all issues, respectfully and carefully. We are working with that individual and their privacy is assured. I stress there is no evidence of transmission having occurred because of this person’s sex work occupation but out of caution we are asking that, if you have employed a sex worker in the St Kilda area, you need to come forward and get tested.
Foley stresses that the outbreak in St Kilda is “not of a particular part of that rich, diverse community”. He says it has stretched from Middle Park to Caulfield North, and is not limited to a group of a particular faith, a particular occupation, or a particular living arrangement.
The virus doesn’t discriminate.
Updated
New Zealand cluster rises to seven cases
New Zealand press conference:
Genome sequencing has confirmed the positive Covid-19 case in New Zealand is linked to the NSW outbreak but sequencing is yet to establish a link to a case at the border.
At a media briefing on Wednesday afternoon, prime minister Jacinda Ardern, said “there is more to be done to help piece together this puzzle”.
As you can hear already, we have really important information, and our ability to narrow down, that this is a case that is linked to the NSW outbreak, gives us a lot of leads to chase down as quickly as we can.
The country went into a snap level-four lockdown – the highest level of restrictions – on Tuesday night, after detecting one case with no obvious links to the border. New Zealand has not had a level 4 lockdown in more than a year, and the case is the country’s first instance of Delta transmission in the community.
Seven community cases have now been confirmed in New Zealand – all are linked to the 58-year-old man who tested positive on Tuesday. One person is a fully vaccinated nurse at Auckland city hospital. Another is a teacher at an Auckland high school.
The director general of health, Ashley Bloomfield, said most of the cases identified were in their 20s.
They’ve been out and about a lot, and I’m flagging that there will be large numbers of locations of interest. It is very important that everybody keeps an eye on these.
That includes the Sky City Casino on Saturday night and a central Auckland church on Sunday.
Ardern also announced that mask use will now become mandatory for people over the age of 12 if they are visiting supermarkets, pharmacies or other locations open for essential services. Mask use is already mandatory on public transport.
The vaccine roll-out will also continue from 8am Thursday, after momentarily being paused, Ardern said.
Updated
Victorian outbreak disproportionately affecting children, CHO says
Victorian press conference:
The Victorian coronavirus update is happening now.
Health minister Martin Foley points out that this outbreak is disproportionately affecting children.
Of the 246 active cases currently in Victoria, 56 are under nine years old and 55 are aged between 10 and 19.
That will be relevant to the questions asked by reporters, which are expected to focus on the decision on Monday to close playgrounds and skateparks.
Playgrounds were also closed during the second wave.
Foley said that 18 of the 24 cases reporting today were isolating throughout their infectious period and 20 cases have been linked – meaning four are unlinked.
There are currently 12 people in hospital in Victoria and two in ICU.
Foley also makes a plea for people to get tested. More than 39,000 people got tested yesterday and there are new testing clinics in the local government areas of Port Phillip and Glen Eira, in response to cases in the St Kilda area. The full list of testing clinics is here.
Foley says that the St Kilda cases are only linked by geography. There is no other common thread, so anyone who lives or has been in that area is urged to get tested if they have any symptoms, however mild.
Updated
An interesting question for Chant here.
Reporter:
Dr Chant, if I can ask. I have been told that you are in agreement with commonwealth health officials that this lockdown needs to go harder and you have expressed that over several weeks to the premier and she’s not on the same page as you on this. What is your comment?
Chant:
Can I just indicate the fact that the premier is very committed to achieving the same outcomes.
We have a shared vision, a shared vision which is high vaccination coverage and very low levels of community transmission. I can’t restate that.
I can’t comment any further than to say that the premier, in all my discussions with her, is absolutely committed to increasing vaccine coverage and getting low community transmission.
Updated
From Victoria:
The Victorian press conference is starting now. It's Martin Foley, Jeroen Weimar, and deputy police commissioner Rick Nugent.
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) August 18, 2021
Of the 246 active cases currently in Victoria, 56 are under nine years old and 55 are aged between 10 and 19.
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) August 18, 2021
This variant is affecting kids.
Updated
Quick break for this:
There was a horse and cart in the Covid-19 testing queue in Mudgee this morning. Photo via my aunt who lives in Mudgee. @MatildaBoseley pic.twitter.com/yRADUUdz42
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) August 18, 2021
Here is the NSW breakdown of cases based on isolation status. A huge number of cases today are “under investigation”.
today's NSW case numbers are extremely bad, to say the least - a big jump in cases, and again the highest % of under investigation pic.twitter.com/XVPMiLpHJ9
— Nick Evershed (@NickEvershed) August 18, 2021
Berejiklian:
Know that it’s a collective responsibility. And I know I give the same message every day. I know I give the same message every day, because some people aren’t hearing the same message. Stay at home, don’t break the rules, everybody knows what they mean.
A small number of people are choosing to ignore what the rules are and as Deputy [Police] Commissioner Worboys said, in one day alone more than 400 people that police know of, across the state, 400, left their house for the wrong reason.
Updated
The reporter attempted to make the point several times that Melbourne’s case numbers have hovered around 20 cases all week, with the city’s stricter lockdown measure, but the NSW premier has moved on.
Updated
On this day of extremely high case numbers, Berejiklian is leaning heavily on individual responsibility.
Unfortunately, it only takes a small number of people to do the wrong thing, to cause this amount of spread. That’s why I’m urging everybody – stay home, don’t leave home unless you absolutely have to.
And I’m also saying to people – we know that there is the light at the end of the tunnel. We know we’ll get through this but it will take us much longer than we need to if people keep doing the wrong thing.
Now, I’m really, really pleased that we have so many people coming forward to get vaccinated, so many tests are happening everyday. I mean, yesterday we had more than 106,000 people get vaccinated in NSW. That is fantastic. We had more than 105,000 people come forward and get tested. That is fantastic. But we also had too many people doing the wrong thing.
So I can’t stress enough – you can have every single rule out there in place, but when people blatantly do the wrong thing ...
Updated
Things are getting somewhat heated between the premier and this reporter.
Reporter:
Premier, there’s 8 million people in this state, of course 400 people are going to be doing the wrong thing. You got [to have] the right health orders and lockdown in place.
Berejiklian:
We have had and continue [to have] the right settings in place. But unfortunately, too many people continue to do the wrong thing.
Reporter:
The settings are right, are they?
Berejiklian:
Excuse me, it’s not your press conference, there’s other journalists here as well.
Can I say this point: that we know the settings we have in place are some of the harshest that Australia has ever been.
Reporter:
But not harshest?
Updated
Questions have started and reporters are going in hard.
Reporter:
Premier, what is it going to take? Is it going to take 1,000 case as day, 1,200 cases a day before you institute a proper stage 4 lockdown? This lockdown is not as hard as in New Zealand, as in Melbourne. There’s clear there’s this gap before the vaccination. How many cases a day is it going to take?
Berejiklian:
Look, we rely on the advice of our health experts. We know that our lockdown is extremely harsh and extremely strict and we appreciate the pressure that so many families are on because of the lockdown. The vast majority of people are doing the right thing.
Reporter:
But what concerns us ...
Berejiklian:
Can you just let me finish the answer, please? What concerns us as Deputy Commissioner Worboys just reported, police found at least 400 examples in one day of people leaving their home when they shouldn’t be. In one day alone police found 400. And what worries us is for every person we find doing the wrong thing, there could be somebody else doing the wrong thing.
Updated
Here is Dominello with the solutions:
We got 587 assessors that are working specifically to make sure that we clear that backlog of 15,000 which represents about 5% of the total amount.
Now, across-the-board, the average time from the grant application to payment is 7.5 days, working days, but again we still have about 15,000 grants with an average time of more than two weeks that we are really put our best efforts towards in the coming days.
In relation to wait times - again, they have not been great. You would expect that with 260,000 applications. We had a 4,000 - 4,000% increase in call demand at the peak.
We have never had this level of demand before and when we were setting up this grant program, in many ways we were flying and building the plane at the same time.
Services from Service NSW 'not up to standard', minister says.
The minister for customer service*, Victor Dominello, has apologised to businesses who have not promptly received promised business support payments.
I first begin by apologising to all the businesses that did not receive their grants on time or did not receive phone calls when they should have expected phone calls.
Service NSW and myself, we pride ourselves on providing great services to the people of our state. It’s a service that we built up over seven or eight years now but is not just renowned here in Australia but around the world. The quality of service we provided over the last month is not up to standard.
We are making headway in relation to the business grants and I’ll provide you with the figures today. About 260,000 grants have been received so far. Of the 260,000 grants, about 200,000 have been approved and/or paid. That is 200,000 businesses have either received the money or will receive the money in the next few days.
Of the 60,000-odd grants remaining, about 10,000, we are waiting for customers or businesses to give us more information in terms of whether they want to proceed with the grant or additional information. Of the 50,000 then remaining, we still have about 15,000 that are more than two weeks old.
*Yes, real title.
Updated
Here is deputy premier John Barilaro with more details of the western NSW outbreak.
As Dr Chant touched on, western NSW continues to be of concern for our regional rural communities.
Twenty-three cases overnight, predominantly 17 of those cases were in Dubbo, but there are cases in Mudgee, Narromine, Gilgandra.
In the far west, Wilcannia has three cases, Bourke and the reported case at Broken Hill yesterday. It is clear that this issue in western NSW is where our focus and our priority is and the message for everybody is to follow the state-at-home orders, cut down mobility.
Updated
Here is the situation in regional NSW.
Chant:
In western NSW, there have been 23 new cases of Covid reported to 8pm last night and this brings the total case numbers to around 139.
There’s been a case in Bourke, also people in the affected area through western NSW and NSW more broadly need to be vigilant if they have been in Wilcannia in recent days because we think that there’s been some exposure in Wilcannia.
NSW Health’s ongoing sewage surveillance program has detected fragments in Bathurst and Orange and again we need those communities to be vigilant and come out for testing.
And also overnight we had a detection in the Yamba sewage treatment plant. So again we ask that the communities be particularly vigilant.
Updated
Here are the hospitalisation numbers for NSW today.
Chant:
We currently have 462 Covid cases admitted to hospital and 77 people in intensive care, 25 of those whom require ventilation.
We have people in their teens, in their 20s, in their 30s, in their 40s, in their 50s, in their 60s, in their 70s and in their 80s, and we know that for every one of those individuals in ICU, particularly those in the older age groups, they have a real and material risk of death.
We will see more admissions and more deaths if these numbers continue to increase
Here is NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant with a breakdown of today’s huge caseload.
I can’t express enough my level of concern at these rising numbers of cases. We have 633 locally acquired cases of Covid.
As the premier has indicated, every person is passing on the virus to more than one person, so we are continuing to see case numbers increase.
Whilst that vaccination will be an aid and essential for us getting to a point where we can live safely with Covid, our vaccination coverage at the moment is far too low.
We need to push that up as much as we can but, in the meantime, we also need to do everything we can to not come in contact with anyone, to minimise our movements and to continue to get tested and isolate if you have the most minimal of symptoms.
Updated
Berejiklian has flagged possibly the only sliver of good news today, which is those extra 500,000 doses of Pfizer for that extremely hard hit western Sydney area.
Now, as you heard yesterday, we have an ambitious task of getting jabs into the arms of half a million 16 to 39 year olds in those areas of concern and can I please call out everybody who’s between the ages of 16 to 39 in those local government areas of concern that we have been highlighting to come forward and get vaccinated.
We got an extra half a million doses from the federal government which we’re very grateful for. Extra doses of Pfizer that will go straight into the arms of those 16 to 39-year-olds in those local government areas of concern to make sure, not only keep them and their family safe but also contribute to the reduction of the spread.
Obviously if you go to the NSW website you can book for your vaccine and we encourage you to do that as quickly as possible so we can vaccinate as many people as possible.
Vaccines are critical not only in dealing with this outbreak, but also in maintaining the safety of our citizens moving forward and obviously ensure that we get back to a normal life as soon as we can.
Updated
Berejiklian says authorities are still extremely concerned about Indigenous communities in the Dubbo area.
As I said, there were 550 cases within those areas of western and south-western Sydney that continue to be a challenge and the particular suburbs we want to call out are Merrylands, Guilford, Auburn, Greenacre, St Mary’s and Strathfield, these are the suburbs of most concern where we’re continuing to see an escalation of cases.
In western NSW, the deputy premier will give further details, as well as Dr Chant. We obviously remain concerned about western NSW, especially in our remote Indigenous communities, and we just are calling out anybody who was in Wilcannia in the last little while needs to come forward and get tested.
Updated
NSW records three deaths overnight
Berejiklian:
Before I move forward to the suburbs of concern, I do want to extend my condolences to the three families of loved ones who passed away to 8pm last night.
A male in his late 60s who was in Liverpool hospital who wasn’t vaccinated, two males in their late 70s who both passed away at Nepean hospital. One was vaccinated and one only received one dose of vaccine.
Again we extend our deepest condolences to the families of those three gentlemen and obviously appreciate how distressing this is and I hope that really re-enforces the message that even if you think you’re OK, don’t risk given the virus to those you love the most.
Some of the stories we hear every day about the way people are suffering, the way that people are seeing loved ones dying, the impact it’s having, is just devastating.
Updated
Berejiklian:
Concerningly, as we have seen right – from right at the beginning of this outbreak, out of the 633 cases, 550 are still from south-western and western Sydney.
Updated
Berejiklian:
At the moment, according to the data we have, every person who has the virus is spreading it to at least more than one person.
Now, for us to know that we have reached our peak, that can’t continue. So what the data is telling us in the last few days is that we haven’t seen the worst of it. And the way that we stop this is by everybody staying at home.
You cannot get the virus if you do not have contact with other people. You have to assume, no matter where you are in the state, that every time you set foot out of your door, that you have the virus or anybody you’re in contact with has the virus.
NSW records 633 local Covid-19 cases
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is speaking now:
There were 633 cases of community transmission and at this stage there are at least 62 of those that were infectious in the community during that time.
Well this isn’t very reassuring.
I have no specifics, but I’m told today’s new case numbers for NSW are “terrible”.
— Lisa Wilkinson (@Lisa_Wilkinson) August 18, 2021
Oh my good lord. Here is the presser list for this morning.
NSW - 11am AEST
New Zealand - 11am AEST
VIC - 11.15am AEST
QLD - 11.30am AEST
ACT - 11.45am AEST
NT - “later today.”
Good luck everyone!
Health Minister Martin Foley, COVID-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar and Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent to provide today's coronavirus update at 11:15am. More @AAPNewswire
— Benita Kolovos (@benitakolovos) August 18, 2021
No new cases in the Northern Territory today
Great news, NT chief minister Michael Gunner has just posted to Facebook, announcing that there have been no new local Covid-19 cases in the territory overnight.
Morning everyone. There have been no new cases of Covid-19 in the Northern Territory overnight.
We are just waiting on some more data from close and casual contacts this morning – I will hold a press conference later today once I’ve got that info for you.
I’ll bring you updates on this as soon as I can.
#BREAKING: Emergency services are responding to reports of a light plane crash near Pumicestone Passage, east of #Caboolture.
— 9News Queensland (@9NewsQueensland) August 18, 2021
More to come. #9News pic.twitter.com/1tpAIbzGbq
A little joy for you this morning. As a treat!
Melbourne’s lockdowns have all been worth it pic.twitter.com/RQlKQIMxq9
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) August 16, 2021
Australian Twitter users will be allowed to report potentially misleading content as part of a new experiment in monitoring misinformation on the platform.
Twitter users from Wednesday will be able to flag tweets that seem misleading, via a new option on the platform’s content reporting mechanism.
The option to report misleading content is being trialled in three countries – the US, South Korea and Australia – for about a month.
The trial will allow Twitter to gather data and assess whether user reporting can usefully inform attempts to identify and curb misinformation in real time.
Twitter also hopes it will be able to analyse the reported data to better understand the origins of misinformation, identify it early, and take action before it snowballs out of control.
You can read the full report below:
BOOOOOOOOOOO! Ardern, pick a better time!
Sorry to do this to you @MatildaBoseley Do not forget
— Wolf, yes that is my name. (@wolfcat) August 18, 2021
NZ 11am AEST
As well. pic.twitter.com/VFnK2kk4FK
Updated
Flaws in SA hotel quarantine security to blame for escapee, investigation finds
I mentioned this before, but here is a bit more detail about that man who escaped South Australia’s hotel quarantine system last week.
An investigation has just found that it was flaws in the security system in SA’s “medi-hotel” that allowed a recent international arrival to leave the facility and spend eight hours in the community and attending fast food stores and a nearby pub.
The 33-year-old is a NSW resident and flew in from Singapore on 3 August.
SA police confirmed last Thursday that just after 10pm he left his room and used a fire escape to get to the hotel’s basement car park.
Police questioned him there, but he was allowed to leave when he allegedly told them he had lost his way after leaving a nearby pub.
The man has since been arrested and charged and has so far tested negative to Covid-19 four times.
Since the investigation was completed, SA police commissioner Grant Stevens acknowledged police should have asked more detailed questions.
The investigation has made nine recommendations for improving security hotel quarantine.
Updated
This is not the press conference news I want this morning!
NSW – 11am AEST
QLD – 11.30am AEST
ACT – 11.45am AEST
Dear Daniel Andrews and Michael Gunner I SWEAR TO THE GOOD LORD if there is even a whisper of an “11” in your press conference time announcements I will flip out!
Updated
After the news that Katy Gallagher’s daughter has contracted Covid-19, it’s worth revisiting what Labor has said about vaccination of children aged 12 to 15.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation has given the green light for vaccination of 12-15 year olds with underlying health conditions, in remote areas, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children – but is yet to make a call on the rest of the population in that age range.
On Tuesday, Labor’s shadow health minister, Mark Butler, called for a clearer timetable for when they will be eligible.
He said:
Parents are becoming increasingly concerned at the position of children and teenagers in this third wave. Particularly their exposure to the Delta variant.
We are seeing hundreds of cases of children and teenagers picking up this Delta variant during the third wave. As many as a third of cases in the greater Sydney area over the past fortnight, as we understand it.
Parents are contacting my office and my colleagues to ask what is the plan to protect Australia’s children and teenagers with a Covid vaccine?
Now I know that there is not a vaccine approved for children under the age of 12 anywhere in the planet yet, but the TGA four weeks ago provided approval for the Pfizer vaccine to be administered to 12 to 15-year-olds. Atagi, the technical advisory group, has provided advice to the government to approve that vaccine being administered to 12 to 15-year-olds with underlying health conditions but we still don’t know when the vaccine will be made available to teenagers in a general sense.
Parents want to know from the Morison government what is the plan over coming months to vaccinate our teenagers. It’s time that Greg Hunt and Scott Morrison provided parents with some assurance about that.
Updated
#BREAKING: Full statement from @Qantas confirming employees will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, with exemptions granted only for "documented medical reasons." @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/bSAFWdmj6W
— Naveen Razik (@naveenjrazik) August 17, 2021
There is a lot flying around about whether or not parliament will be on as scheduled from next week. As of right now, the official word is no decision has yet been made. The presiding officers, Speaker Tony Smith and president Scott Ryan, are working on the basis parliament will sit and will do so until told otherwise.
The house sitting can be cancelled by the government, but the government doesn’t control the Senate – so there would need to be agreement from the major parties to cancel the senate.
Labor has not been advised of any changes as yet. Scott Morrison has previously said discussions are underway, and there are enough MPs still in Canberra for it to happen (plus, each electorate office has been set up for virtual attendance).
People don’t expect it to continue though, especially after Katy Gallagher’s news that her teenaged daughter was among the latest Canberra cases. The ACT is in lockdown for the next two weeks as authorities try and contain a Delta outbreak, and they don’t think they have all the cases before the lockdown was put in place as yet, so bringing everyone together in parliament, even with social distancing, seems unlikely.
We’ll keep you posted.
Updated
Qantas will mandate vaccination for all employees
Qantas has announced it will require all employees to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, as debate around mandatory vaccination in Australian workplaces intensifies.
By 15 November, all frontline employees, including cabin crew, pilots and airport workers, will need to be fully vaccinated. All other Qantas employees will need to be fully vaccinated by 31 March 2022.
The airline said there will be exemptions for employees who are unable to be vaccinated for documented medical reasons, but said it expects this cohort to be “very rare”.
Qantas surveyed 12,000 of its staff and found that 89% had already been vaccinated or planned to be, and that 4% were unwilling or unable to get the jab. About 75% of staff said they thought mandatory vaccines should be a requirement.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said:
Having a fully vaccinated workforce will safeguard our people against the virus but also protect our customers and the communities we fly to.
One crew member can fly into multiple cities and come into contact with thousands of people in a single day. Making sure they are vaccinated given the potential of this virus to spread is so important and I think it’s the kind of safety leadership people would expect from us.
It’s clear that vaccinations are the only way to end the cycle of lockdowns and border closures, and for a lot of Qantas and Jetstar employees that means getting back to work again. This was one of the largest responses to any survey we’ve conducted, even with thousands of our people stood down, which shows just how important this is for them.
Many of our people said they would feel concerned about working with unvaccinated colleagues, which is something that many workplaces across the country are grappling with. We understand there will be a very small number of people who decide not to get the vaccine, and that’s their right, but it’s our responsibility to provide the safest possible environment for our employees and for our customers.
The move follows canned fruit producer SPC announcing earlier this month it would mandate vaccines for its workers.
Updated
The RSPCA, the Australian Veterinary Association, and the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia have called on the federal government to stop delaying changes to pet food regulation, following the deaths of more than 20 dogs in Victoria.
A senate committee report in 2018 recommended mandatory pet food regulation and mandatory pet food safety standards, but the federal government has yet to act.
They wrote to the federal agriculture minister, David Littleproud, in July, but he hasn’t responded.
Said the RSPCA’s senior scientific officer for companion animals, Dr Sarah Zito:
All pets in Australia should have access to safe, high-quality food and pet owners must be able to have confidence that the food they’re buying is safe.
But at the moment, we do not have adequate regulation of pet food in Australia, and the Australian Standard for the Manufacturing and Marketing of Pet Food is not mandatory. The recent events in Victoria, where at least 23 pet dogs died, and many more became ill due to unsafe pet food causing liver failure, are a tragic reminder of this.
Now more than ever, our pets are providing us with valuable comfort and companionship. They’re viewed as family members, and the consequences of losing a beloved companion to unsafe pet food are devastating.
Zito said the laws would need to include a mandated recall process after problems have been identified in the food, saying that the lack of mandatory recall has “exacerbated adverse events in which pets have suffered from life threatening illnesses”.
This has dragged on long enough, and we must act now to prevent future tragedy. The Federal Government must outline a clear way forward to establishing Government regulation of pet food in Australia.
I have an extremely important update! The 367 Collins falcons are back!
For those uninitiated, one particular windowsill of the 367 Collins Street skyscraper in Melbourne has a nesting pair of peregrine falcons that raise their babies there each year, unknowingly watched by hundreds of thousands of people via a live stream.
And while there are no eggs yet the adults are back in the box, meaning the 2021 season of falcon TV has officially started.
Check the live stream out here! (Although it’s just an empty box this morning as they are probably hunting right now):
Headache today. Listening to the calming tones of the birds and train sounds on the "Collins Street Falcons".https://t.co/GVSirArHJo
— Margaret Lawson (@konstantkaos) August 17, 2021
Still no eggs, maybe this weekend. Gives us something to look forward to during lockdown.#367collinsfalcons #peregrinefalcons #slowtv #calming
Updated
After more than 20 years of fighting in a hot, unforgiving terrain, the allied forces left. They took flight in helicopters and planes and whatever vessel or moving vehicle they could get their hands on. And within days, the local government fell. I’m not talking about Afghanistan. I’m talking about the war in Vietnam.
The Vietnam war was the seminal tragedy in the recent history of my family. We owe our existence here in Australia to it. All our joys and sorrows come from this one failed war.
Australia had entered the conflict backing the Americans to stop another domino from falling to communism. But by the 1970s, it was clear that there was no end in sight. They would leave the defence of the republic to the southern Vietnamese.
Pinch me if you see a pattern here.
You can read the full opinion piece below:
Updated
From SA:
BREAKING: The Police Commissioner admits there were failings from officers in regard to the medi-hotel breach at the Hotel Grand Chancellor.
— Andrea Nicolas (@AndreaLNicolas) August 17, 2021
The overseas traveller managed to escape via the stairwell.#sapol has implemented 9 recommendations from the report. @7NewsAdelaide
Updated
Australia’s Afghanistan evacuation mission has reportedly begun
There are reports from the ABC that an Australian evacuation mission is under way in Kabul:
And now the confirmation: Australia’s evacuation mission to Afghanistan has begun, with an RAAF transport plane flying into Kabul.
— Sabra Lane (@SabraLane) August 17, 2021
Flight tracking websites have recorded the C-1-30 Hercules heading from a military base in the Middle East towards Afghanistan overnight.
Updated
And would you look at that! Pfizer bookings are now open for 16- to 39-year-olds living in the 12 greater Sydney LGAs of concern.
GO GO GO!
📢 Priority Pfizer vaccination appointments are now available to all 16-39 year old’s living in a local government area of concern 📢 pic.twitter.com/oMIFJAx5WH
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 17, 2021
These areas include Bayside, Blacktown, Burwood, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith & Strathfield.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 17, 2021
Updated
And, as always, here is the trend line, based on the seven-day rolling average of case numbers for Victoria:
Updated
Here’s a breakdown of Victoria’s case numbers by isolation status from the fantastic Josh Nicholas:
Updated
But it isn’t all good news – there are four unlinked (potentially mystery) cases in today’s Victorian numbers compared with three yesterday:
Of the 24 locally-acquired cases, 20 are linked to known outbreaks and 18 have been in isolation for the entirety of their infectious period. [2/2]
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 17, 2021
Updated
Victoria records 24 new local Covid-19 cases
Victoria has reported 24 new locally acquired cases today.
This is the same number as yesterday but 18 of these were in isolation for their entire infectious period, compared with yesterday’s 14.
Reported yesterday: 24 new local cases and no new case acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 17, 2021
- 27,173 vaccine doses were administered
- 39,832 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/dESMp3ZkAy
Updated
In case you missed it from yesterday NSW has stopped publishing ‘low risk’ Sydney Covid exposure sites due to high volume.
Anne Davies and Josh Taylor wrote about this (quiet) decision made by the government:
NSW Health has decided to stop publishing Covid exposure sites in greater Sydney, unless they are high risk, after the list ballooned to thousands of locations over the past week.
The department will, however, continue to publish exposure sites in regional New South Wales, where Covid-19 has spread between towns.
“What we’ve learned is where the infection is most likely to spread,” the deputy chief health officer, Dr Jeremy McAnulty, said on Tuesday as he explained the new policy.
“That’s why we’re focusing on those areas and we’ve learned that people get lost in the detail when we put up venues that we don’t think are risk places on the website or in the media.”
You can read their full report below:
Extremely important trans-Tasman news. Lorde’s new single Mood Ring is out.
(Don’t worry, it’s better than Solar Power.)
Lorde's new single is out ... just in time for NZ's new lockdown https://t.co/YDTTkspA7D
— Ben McKay (@benmackey) August 17, 2021
Updated
As the Australian government approves the deployment of ADF personnel and scrambles to send extra vaccines to Aboriginal communities in western New South Wales, its own figures reveal that vaccination rates for Indigenous Australians are lagging behind in every state and territory except Victoria.
According to a Guardian Australia analysis of Department of Health figures, Western Australian regions are lagging behind the rest of the country in the overall rollout, with two outback areas having the lowest vaccination rates in the country.
The communities of western NSW are among the least vaccinated in the nation.
In Victoria, an estimated 47% of the Indigenous population aged 16 and over has been vaccinated, which is almost double the vaccination rate for the total population.
You can read the full report below:
Updated
Federal government agrees to purpose-built quarantine facility in WA
Gosh! It’s been a hot second since we were talking about purpose-built quarantine facilities (probably because the most pressing Covid-19 threat is now, well, Sydney, not hotels).
But nevertheless, there has been a big win on this front for WA. The commonwealth government has reached a deal with the state government to build a 1,000-bed purpose-built quarantine and emergency response facility in the state.
And, according to a press release from WA premier Mark McGowan, it looks as though the commonwealth will be footing the bill:
Under the agreement, the Commonwealth will fund the construction of the facility and the Western Australian Government will operate the facility and meet operational costs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
McGowan has been (rather publicly) arguing with the commonwealth about getting this facility built for months, and he seems reasonably pleased with the outcome:
WA has always stood ready to support the Commonwealth to deliver on its proposal for a dedicated quarantine facility to ensure more Australians can safely return to our shores following the devastating impacts of the global Covid19 pandemic ...
We look forward to this Commonwealth facility progressing as quickly as possible, to help keep WA safe.
Generally, these purpose-built quarantine agreements with the commonwealth government are contingent on hotel quarantine remaining operational to at least some degree.
Updated
This St Kilda cluster has also fostered an unlikely friendship* between the Liberal state member for Caulfield David Southwick** and federal Labor member for Macnamara, Josh Burns.
Thanks Raf and thanks to the leadership of the Jewish Community who have also been working tirelessly with the health authorities to get on top of this. #springst https://t.co/NMeZQtP2d0
— David Southwick (@SouthwickMP) August 17, 2021
*kinda
**Fun fact I once accidentally parked in Southwick’s office car park and received a strongly worded note on my windshield saying next time my car would be towed. I have no proof that it was Southwick who wrote the note (in fact it could have been Bendigo Bank employees next door) but I choose to believe that it was him.
And yes I did make this whole post just so I could tell this story.
Updated
One of the biggest areas of concern is the Melbourne cluster in the seaside neighbourhood of St Kilda (and neighbouring, less famous, suburbs).
The state government has urged people to ramp up testing in this area and, to help out with the (sometimes intimidatingly) long lines, it is setting up a new testing clinic near Luna Park:
Drive through & walk in testing facility next to Palais Theatre will open at 10AM this morning. St Kilda is now the area of greatest concern for authorities. @TheTodayShow @9NewsMelb pic.twitter.com/BQUi7eGZM8
— Izabella Staskowski (@IzaStaskowski) August 17, 2021
Updated
Here is that interview in technicolour if you are interested:
"All this stuff 'it's not a race, we'll get there when we can'. It's not been enough to protect Evie."
— News Breakfast (@BreakfastNews) August 17, 2021
Senator @SenKatyG is frustrated by the pace of the vaccine rollout after her 14-year-old daughter tested positive for COVID-19. pic.twitter.com/IioCKQLsQD
Updated
ABC News Breakfast host Michael Rowland asked Katy Gallagher what it was like, as a mother, to care for a Covid-positive child:
It is [stressful].
And I mean – my family’s not special – we’re just like every other Australian family. We’ve been touched by Covid now.
I’m angry that it’s come to this. That my children are so vulnerable because we have such low vaccination rates.
I just think there’s plenty of parents around Australia that are in the same boat as I am, maybe not directly touched by Covid, but anxious and worried about what this virus means for our young people.
Gallagher is impressively on party message when it comes to this family crisis, using her platform to discuss the failure of the Morrison vaccine rollout. (Although I can’t blame her for being pretty bloody pissed off in this situation.)
Again, my frustration has been if we ordered enough supply, if we got the rollout running as it should’ve been, we did so well at the beginning of the pandemic, everyone in Australia did so well, and now where we are right now, and my fear is it will get worse before it gets better.
And I think again as a parent I just feel like young people have been left to be so vulnerable and that’s what we’ve got to focus on. We’ve really got to get the rollout – the jabs in the arms, the supply happening, and people in government need to take it seriously.
My little girl’s lying in bed on her own. With terrible symptoms. And I can’t do much about it. And my son is in the next room, waiting to catch it. And that – I know – as a parent, it’s really difficult.
Updated
Speaking of shadow federal finance minister Katy Gallagher, she is speaking with ABC now, about the stress of caring for her Covid-positive daughter Evie:
Evie contracted the virus as part of the ACT cluster which has affected a number of high schools. She was one of the territory’s 17 cases yesterday:
She’s pretty sick, actually. So, you know, I’m pretty worried about her. And she’s worried about herself. But she’s got a lot of the Covid symptoms. And yeah, we’re just taking every day as it comes. Looking after her ...
I’m her main carer. We’re trying to keep my son away from her. So he’s almost 16, I’m really worried about him, because he’s unvaccinated ...
My partner and I are vaccinated but I’m doing most of the care. I’m in full face shield, masks, gloves. disinfectant. It’s quite a palaver and it’s quite scary for her as well. It’s not the most reassuring environment.
Updated
New Zealand records four new cases
New Zealand has said an additional four cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the country overnight, including an Auckland hospital worker, reports Praveen Menon from Reuters.
That takes the total number of confirmed cases in the country to five, a government spokesperson has confirmed.
All cases have now been confirmed as the Delta variant and are linked to the original case reported yesterday – New Zealand’s first local Covid-19 infection in six months – when a snap lockdown was ordered for the entire nation.
Prime minister Jacinda Ardern has said the country will be in lockdown for at least three days while its largest city, Auckland, will remain in lockdown for seven days.
Updated
Byron Bay Bluesfest postponed yet again
Byron Bay’s major music festival Bluesfest has been forced to postpone its 2021 event for the second time.
The five-day festival, which annually attracts about 15,000 people, was initially scheduled for the Easter break in April but on the eve of opening was ordered to close by NSW health minister Brad Hazzard.
The festival – with a line-up including Midnight Oil, Jimmy Barnes, Kasey Chambers, Paul Kelly and Pete Murray – was rescheduled for the first week of October.
Bluesfest director Peter Noble confirmed in a statement this morning the festival has once more been postponed:
It is obvious that we cannot present Bluesfest in a safe manner in October ...
We have rescheduled back to our usual timing with dates over the Easter long weekend next year, a time we expect things to be returning to normal ... lockdowns will be consigned to history.
He implored festival-goers to hold on to their October tickets and roll them over to mid-April 2022.
Updated
Thirty-four aged care facilities in New South Wales are in the grip of a Covid-19 outbreak or are under close surveillance, new data shows.
The resurgence of the virus across the eastern states has again put dozens of aged care facilities at risk and highlighted low vaccination rates among aged care workers, who the government once promised would receive the jab by Easter.
Health department data shows 24 aged care facilities across NSW were experiencing outbreaks as of Monday morning. Ten other residential aged care facilities were under “enhanced surveillance”.
Those 10 sites are not considered by the department to be “active outbreaks” but they are being monitored closely.
You can read the full report below:
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Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Sally McManus is out and about this morning advocating for the government to bring in universal workplace requirements for paid vaccine leave.
She is speaking with ABC radio now:
Towards the end of the year, hopefully, there’s going to be adequate vaccines for everyone. So that issue hopefully, will be resolved. Then what we’ve got to do is go about removing the barriers.
Some of the barriers are to do with exactly what we’ve talked about, people not having to fund their own vaccine. When they have to take time off, they don’t have to pay for it themselves. If they is a small percentage who get side-effects, [they don’t have to] pay for their own sick days ...
[This is] a practical essential excellent thing we need to remove that barrier, so we’re asking for up to two days.
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Shadow finance minister's daughter tests positive to Covid-19
For those who didn’t see the news last night, the daughter of one of the federal opposition’s most senior members, shadow finance minister Katy Gallagher, has tested positive to Covid-19:
This morning we were advised that my gorgeous daughter Evie has tested positive for Covid-19. One of Canberra’s 17 positive cases today.
She is at home with us but is feeling pretty unwell and understandably worried about what this means for her and for the rest of her family. We are really grateful for the medical and personal support we are receiving.
Our household remains in strict quarantine until ACT Health advises us that we don’t need to isolate anymore.
The rest of our family, including myself, have all returned negative tests.
Gallagher is fully vaccinated but said: “These events bring a sharp personal focus to the consequences of our government’s failure to ensure a prompt, efficient national rollout of vaccines.”
(Never miss a chance to twist the “botched vaccine rollout” knife in Scott Morrison’s side, I guess.)
This morning we were advised that my gorgeous daughter Evie has tested positive for COVID-19. One of Canberra’s 17 positive cases today.
— Katy Gallagher (@SenKatyG) August 17, 2021
My full statement is available on this link or on my Facebook page. https://t.co/uIbJlwmZIo pic.twitter.com/2iFyecwgce
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This hasn’t been independently confirmed by Guardian Australia but the ABC is reporting that Victoria’s numbers will be around the 24 mark today.
This is the same as yesterday, but, at least according to Raf Epstein, the ratio of cases in isolation will be better.
We usually get the official numbers from Victoria’s health department about 8.45-9am AEST.
24 cases today in Vic Covid number
— Rafael Epstein (@Raf_Epstein) August 17, 2021
better ratio in iso than yesterday
(was 14/24 yday)
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Good morning all, it’s Matilda Boseley here. This week might be going on for approximately 5,000 years but that isn’t going to stop us from having an exciting day going through all the breaking news.
If you are aged 16 to 39 and live in any of the 12 local government areas of concern in greater Sydney then you are in luck this week, because NSW Health has confirmed that you will be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine from tomorrow.
There are 530,000 jabs up for grabs, which the Morrison government secured from Poland earlier in the week. NSW now plans to carry out a young person vaccine blitz at state hubs for high-priority areas over the next two weeks.
NSW health deputy secretary Susan Pearce celebrated the news this morning:
We know there are several hundred thousand people in these LGAs who are unvaccinated in this age group, and this is a great opportunity for them to come forward and get their jab.
Bookings for these prized Pfizer doses open at 9am today on the NSW Health website.
The need for more vaccines in Sydney was compounded yesterday, with premier Gladys Berejiklian promising: “Life will be much freer than what it is today once we get to 70% and 80% [vaccination rates].”
Government rhetoric around the end of the NSW lockdown has focused more and more on increase vaccination rates, rather than solely lowering case numbers .
Now, without further ado why don’t we jump into the day (which I suspect will last at least several months).
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