Just when I was beginning to think I could delete the word 'lockdown' from my vocabulary, it raises its ugly head once again.
Katherine up in the NT has been plunged into a lockdown after the territory recorded its first ever case of COVID-19 community transmission yesterday.
The region faces 72 hours of stay-at-home orders while Darwin residents will have a 'lockout'.
Being locked out means vaccinated people will be able to move freely in the community while wearing a mask, while unvaccinated people will be forced into lockdown conditions.
The territory's Chief Minister Michael Gunner said an unvaccinated contractor at an RAAF Base near Katherine tested positive for the virus yesterday after developing symptoms on Tuesday.
Mr Gunner also said the man had not travelled interstate recently.
"We don't know where, we don't know when, but this is community transmission," Mr Gunner said.
The man visited the iconic Monsoons Nightclub on October 29, which has since been listed as a venue of concern.
Mr Gunner said "given the amount of people at Monsoons, and given his large exposure period, this may have been where he picked up the virus".
Since then a second person has tested positive for COVID-19 and 53 close contacts have been linked to the case.
NT authorities are investigating whether the source of the virus could be a visitor from QLD.
Unfortunately, authorities also say the vax rates in the Top End are not high enough to provide much comfort, so we can only hope that the government has acted early enough to nip this in the bud.
A lot can be learned from the decisions made in NSW and VIC that's for sure - hindsight being 20/20 and all.
Speaking of NSW, COVID cases are still hovering around the 250-300 mark and Premier Dominic Perrottet has already decided our hospitals don't need additional federal support.
Perrottet has walked back demands for increased Commonwealth funding for hospitals, claiming the state will "stand on its own two feet".
*cue raised eyebrows*
"As a former treasurer, I'm always going to try and get more money out of these guys," he said today, standing alongside Mr Morrison.
"But ultimately our strategy, our approach, and plan during this pandemic is to stand on our own two feet in this state and to not blame the Commonwealth."
I am not sure any of the nurses and midwives I know would agree though.
New South Welshfolk who missed Melbournites (and vice versa) can now reunite with their loved ones.
Victoria has thrown open its borders to NSW - even those who are unvaccinated are welcome.
This is despite the state recording more than 1000 new cases overnight.
Western Australia, however, is holding firm on its plan not to open its borders until after Christmas.
Premier Mark McGowan hasn't given an official opening date, but said controls would be eased once the state reaches 90 per cent of people over 12 years of age vaccinated.
That target is expected to be reached by February 2022.
I guess, we'll see WA in the new year. Hopefully a year that will be much better than this one.
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