Good evening!
It's Friday, January 7. Here's what's been happening today.
One thing to know right now: NSW has brought back a few COVID restrictions
From tomorrow:
- Singing and dancing will be banned in hospitality venues, entertainment facilities and major recreation facilities — but this doesn't apply to weddings.
- Major events may also be subjected to risk assessments from health authorities and could be postponed at their discretion.
These are expected to be in place until January 27.
Elective surgeries, which are non-urgent or not required in the next 365 days, will be paused from tomorrow until mid-February to free capacity in hospitals.
And NSW will make booster shots mandatory for certain front-line workers.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said the changes were "minor" and "proportionate" given the state is facing "a difficult few weeks".
Later this evening, the ACT announced it was also bringing back restrictions.
From midday tomorrow, dancing will be banned at licensed venues and patrons must be seated to eat and drink at cafes, bars and restaurants.
Some elective surgeries will be paused at Calvary Public Hospital, but there aren't any planned changes to elective surgeries at Canberra Hospital or in the ACT's private hospitals.
One thing we heard a lot about today — the Novak Djokovic saga
- The men's tennis world number one remains in Australian immigration detention as his legal team fights the federal government's decision to remove him from the country.
- Immigration lawyer Carina Ford says the Australian Border Force has scope to move Djokovic to a different hotel but would have to amend the type of detention he was subject to.
- Nick Kyrgios, who has previously been very critical of Djokovic's attitude towards COVID-19, has weighed in on the whole situation and says we need to do better:
News you might have missed
Let's get you up to speed.
- North Korea says it will skip next month’s Beijing Olympics because of the pandemic and what it calls hostile forces — but the country was already banned from the games by the International Olympics Committee.
- Russian paratroopers have been deployed to Kazakhstan as part of a peacekeeping force after an appeal from the nation's president to help restore order amid unrest that has left dozens dead and seen government buildings ransacked.
- The Tamworth Country Music Festival's 50th-anniversary event will be postponed due to changes made to COVID-19 safety measures today.
The news Australia is searching for
- Bird flu: The UK government has confirmed a case of avian flu was detected in England's south-west. The government says it's Britain's first human case of this strain.
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Elmo: The three-year-old monster is generating a lot of talk after videos of him going off his chops about a pet rock started doing the rounds on social media. Elmo's friend Zoe has a pet rock called Rocco, which Elmo is not a fan of... at all. This clip has clocked up nearly 8 million views over the past few days:
The issue got so heated, it prompted Elmo to release this statement:
And then he fired off this snarky little sub-tweet:
One more thing — check out this video of a minor leak in a shopping centre ceiling
That was shot at a Point Cook shopping centre, south-west of Melbourne.
A severe thunderstorm hit Melbourne this evening, with the Bureau of Meteorology warning of giant hail, destructive winds and heavy rainfall.
And a second severe storm warning has been issued for other parts of regional Victoria, including Horsham, Shepparton, Seymour, Maryborough, Ballarat, and Traralgon.
That's it for the week
We'll be back bright and early on Monday morning with some more of the good stuff!
ABC/wires
