Hi there. It's Wednesday, December 22 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of the news you need to know about.
One thing you should know
Well, it's not really one singular thing, but collectively: quarantine, border crossing and general COVID rules are changing all over the place.
- From today in Queensland, fully vaccinated close contacts of positive cases can quarantine for seven days instead of 14
- Yesterday, South Australia relaxed the requirement for interstate travellers to get tested on arrival, as long as they've tested negative 72 hours prior to travel and don't have any symptoms
- The ACT has been told to mask up indoors again, with national cabinet expected to discuss today whether that should be extended around the country
- Tasmanians who travel to high-risk areas for seven days or less will now have 72 hours to get a COVID test when they return to the state (up from 24)
- New Zealand has postponed its phased border reopening plans by more than a month — that means that non-quarantine travel for Australians will be pushed back until the end of February
- And it's pretty likely there will be more changes to come
There are stacks of reports of long wait times for tests and results around the country as borders open for travel and case numbers (and therefore contacts of cases) rise.
One thing you’ll be hearing about today
National cabinet is meeting today.
Unsurprisingly, we're expecting most of the conversation to revolve around the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and how it could impact the country's plans to reach some kind of COVID-normal.
It hasn't been confirmed at this stage when we might hear about the outcome of the meeting, but we'll bring you the details as they come to hand.
News while you snoozed
- Sydney's Northern Beaches Council has asked the NSW government to declare the area a disaster zone which would allow access to funds to help with storm clean-up
- US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill have welcomed a new family member to the White House — a four-month-old German Shepherd named Commander
What Australia has been searching for online
- Sydney Swans. The AFL club says some of its players have tested positive for COVID-19 but all are double-vaccinated and none are showing any severe symptoms
- Ghislaine Maxwell. The 59-year-old former partner of financier Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking trial is wrapping up, but the jury is still deliberating
You're up to date
Stick with us for more news updates and alerts throughout the day.
ABC/wires
