Good evening!
It's Thursday, December 23. Here's what's been happening today.
One thing to know right now: NSW, Victoria and WA have brought back mask mandates
Here's the lowdown:
- After yesterday's national cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was "highly recommended" that people wear face masks indoors in public places to prevent the spread of the Omicron COIVD-19 variant
- But he said it wasn't necessary to mandate it
- However, this morning, Victoria went ahead and did just that
- The state's Acting Premier James Merlino announced that, from midnight tonight, masks will be mandatory in all indoor settings across Victoria for those aged eight and over
- And then later this afternoon, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet held a press conference to announce that masks need to be worn in indoor settings from midnight tonight
- Then, a few hours later, WA Premier Mark McGowan brought back a mask mandate for Perth and Peel after a community COVID-19 case was recorded there
Another thing we heard a lot about today: the Omicron strain and hospitalisations
- Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says Australians shouldn't fear the explosion of COVID-19 cases — the past week has seen states reporting record increases in case numbers, something we've long been told to expect
- He said the growth in cases had not translated into a spike in patients in intensive care.
- "Now these things can change, there can be a lag, so I don't want to make false promises on this. But [this situation is] very, very heartening," Mr Hunt said
- He noted there were 112 patients in intensive care with COVID-19 yesterday, an increase of just three people from a week earlier
- Preliminary research from Imperial College London found that 40-45 per cent fewer patients needed a hospital admission of one day or more when infected with Omicron, compared to the Delta variant
News you might have missed
Let's get you up to speed.
- Two children injured in Tasmania's jumping castle tragedy have been moved out of intensive care, as one of the victims is farewelled as "kind and loving"
- A New York man has become the first member of the Proud Boys to plead guilty to storming the US Capitol. He faces more than four years in prison
- A leading Hong Kong university has dismantled a statue from its campus that commemorated pro-democracy protesters killed during China's Tiananmen Square crackdown in 1989
The news Australia is searching for
- Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: Sally Ann Howes, best known for her starring role in the 1968 children's movie, has died age 91. Her role in the film was iconic, particularly the scene in which Howes is disguised as a wind-up music doll was filmed in a single take despite its challenging timing:
- Emily in Paris: The second season of the series is out on Netflix. And I won't reveal any spoilers because, as someone who hasn't seen it, I'm not in a position to, but we do learn that Emily is 29, all but confirming we'll get an "oh geez, I'm about to turn 30 and have wasted my youth" freakout in the next season. And I'm assuming there's going to be a third season, because I've seen a lot of chat about a cliffhanger at the end of the series:
One more thing: This big fella's bin out on the town
Nick Doherty forgot to put his bin out before work and asked his neighbour Carl Stanojevic for a favour, texting him asking if he could "take my bins out".
And Carl happily obliged.
He took the bin out around Mackay, visiting iconic pubs, the harbour, hardware stores, a fast food drive-through, and even the local dump.
"That's what you do for your neighbours," he said.
Carl posted photos of the bin's day out on social media to give people a bit of a laugh.
"At the end of the day, everyone has been going through such a shitty time at the moment," he said.
"It's heartbreaking to see all these businesses doing it tough, so I thought if I could put a smile on a couple of people's faces, then so be it."
That's enough for today
But we'll be back tomorrow with a sack full of news.
ABC/wires
