Australia COVID as it happened NSW records 239 new cases and issues vaccine plea Queensland records nine new cases on first day of snap lockdown
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Thanks very much for following our national blog today. It’s time for us to wrap things up now, but if you’re just logging on, here’s a quick recap of today’s headlines.
Make sure to join us again tomorrow morning as we restart our rolling coverage of the nation’s biggest stories.
Today’s mild winter weather in Sydney drew crowds of people out of their homes and onto the beaches, and police were in tow.
NSW Police deployed 22 crews to patrol the eastern suburbs, including Bondi, Bronte, Watsons Bay, Maroubra, Coogee and Little Bay.
People enjoying the warm weather at Bondi Beach on Sunday.Credit:Edwina Pickles
Officers dealt out 29 fines to people breaching COVID-19 restrictions, issued 35 warnings and conducted 44 inspections of businesses. They also spoke to nearly 1000 people to make sure they were adhering to rules regarding their local government areas.
Victoria will probably reach the threshold of 70 per cent fully vaccinated, outlined by Canberra on Friday as a key milestone in avoiding lockdowns, ahead of most other states, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says.
“We are leading the big states,†Professor Sutton said on Sunday. “I think we will be ahead of the average.â€
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton in July getting his second AstraZeneca vaccine at The Hills Medical Practice at Olinda.Credit:Andrew Henshaw
He said while smaller jurisdictions such as the ACT and Tasmania were likely to reach the 70 per cent benchmark first, Victoria was “well placed†to reach that threshold.
On Friday, the National Cabinet agreed states and territories would enforce fewer lockdowns, and vaccinated people would be subject to fewer restrictions, once 70 per cent of the eligible population was fully vaccinated.
Read the full story here
NSW Health has published its updated list of exposure sites. Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.
Burwood: Chemist Warehouse, 69 Burwood Road, Wednesday 28 July 5:25pm to 5:30pm.
Campsie: Katsuya Japanese Restaurant, Clemton Park Shopping Village, Shop 14/ 5 Mackinder Street, Monday 19 July 6am to 10pm; Tuesday 20 July 6am to 10pm; Wednesday 21 July 6am to 10pm; Thursday 22 July 6am to 10pm; Friday 23 July 6am to 10pm; Saturday 24 July 6am to 10pm; Sunday 25 July 6am to 10pm; Monday 26 July 6am to 10pm; Tuesday 27 July 6am to 10pm; Wednesday 28 July 6am to 10pm.
Ali Group Supermarket, 238 Beamish Street, Sunday 25 July 8:30am to 3:30pm; Monday 26 July 8:30am to 3:30pm; Tuesday 27 July 8:30am to 3:30pm.
Rhodes: Myhealth Medical Centre, Level 8, Rhodes Waterside Shopping Centre, 1 Rider Boulevard, Tuesday 27 July 9am to 11am; Friday 30 July 10am to 11:30am.
Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a casual contact who must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
Smithfield: GRAM Engineering, 16-22 Cullen Place, Friday 23 July 7:15am to 4:30pm; Monday 26 July, 7:15am to 4:30pm; Tuesday 27 July 7:15am to 4:30pm.
Bankstown: Quantum Radiology, 258 South Terrace, Monday 26 July 12:30pm to 12:50pm.
Brookvale: Woolworths, Warringah Mall, 145 Old Pittwater Road, Sunday 25 July 5:05pm to 5:35pm.
Pennant Hills: Astley Mobility Pharmacy, 368 Pennant Hills Road, Thursday 29 July 1:30pm to 2pm; Saturday 31 July 11am to 11:30am.
NSW Health is also advising of additional dates and times for a previously announced venue of concern. Anyone who attended the following venues at the times listed is a casual contact who must immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
Bondi Junction: Bondi Junction Post Shop, Eastgate Shopping Centre, Shop 28 71-73 Spring Street, Friday 16 July, 9:10am to 9:20am.
Health experts and epidemiologists say the 70 per cent vaccination target for adult Australians is too low to achieve herd immunity, though they have welcomed national cabinet striking a deal to plot a course out of the pandemic.
After a marathon national cabinet meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that agreement had been reached on a 70 per cent vaccination target to move Australia to phase two of the national plan out of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announcing his government’s plan on Friday to transition Australia’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
In this phase, vaccinated Australians would not be subject to some restrictions and international arrivals will begin to rise. Phase three would be reached when 80 per cent of the adult population is fully vaccinated. Lockdowns of whole cities would not be used and vaccinated people could leave the country.
But Grattan Institute Health program director Stephen Duckett said the 70 per cent of adults figure was actually about 56 per cent of the entire population and “it’s a very risky strategyâ€.
“The targets they have set are too low, even if they are assuming that the virus is not very transmissible,†he said.
Read the full story by James Massola here
Earlier we heard about several COVID-19 cases being reported at Summer Hill nursing home. Wyoming, the operator has issued a statement saying that a staff member had tested positive on July 27, and 12 residents have since tested positive.
“The staff member who appears to have contracted COVID-19 in the community was asymptomatic while at work and had received her first COVID-19 vaccination,†the operator said.
Wyoming says since then the facility has been working with federal health officials, NSW Health and Sydney Local Health District to undertake COVID-19 testing and contact tracing of all staff and residents of the facility.
“All close and casual contacts have been identified. All staff who are close or casual contacts have been tested and have been instructed to isolate. Residents have been tested daily. Twelve residents have been identified as positive for COVID-19,†the operator said.
Those residents have been transferred to hospital as a precaution and the staff member, as well as her close contacts, are now in isolation.
Wyoming has said that 80 per cent of the 65 residents are fully vaccinated and more than 75 per cent of the 60 staff are fully vaccinated, with 80 per cent having received at least their first dose.
The operator said testing of residents and staff will continue daily and the facility has undergone deep cleaning while being in full lockdown with all residents in isolation.
The action taken by YouTube follows strong criticism of veteran broadcaster Alan Jones’ ongoing COVID-19 commentary on Sky News, on which he is a presenter. However, it is unknown whether or not his segments were the cause of or contributed to the suspension.
Ray Hadley is waging a war of words with his former 2GB colleague Alan Jones. Credit:Peter Rae, YouTube
Sydney radio host Ray Hadley last week said his former colleague at 2GB (owned by Nine, the publisher of this masthead) “needs to be called out†for his commentary, which included sympathy for anti-lockdown protesters, calling NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant a “village idiotâ€, and suggesting a 38-year-old woman who died from COVID-19 was killed by something else.
“His performance during this [pandemic] has allowed conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxers like his old mate Pete Evans who he does podcasts with occasionally, to gain support from a minority in the community who think the virus is nothing more than a dose of the flu,†Hadley said.
On July 13, Hadley said Jones was “dead wrong†and was “doing himself, Sky News, and the Australian public, a great disservice†after Jones cited UK data to suggest the Delta strain of COVID-19 is far less dangerous than the original virus.
Rather than acknowledging that the low case fatality rate in the UK is due to nearly two-thirds of the adult population being fully vaccinated, Jones and his guest Craig Kelly cited debunked statistics to suggest vaccinated people are more likely to die from COVID-19.
Sky News later posted a correction to the July 12 broadcast and removed the video from all platforms.
In a response published on its website, Sky News said the suspension followed a review of the channel’s content for compliance with YouTube’s COVID-19 policies, and it acknowledged the platform’s right to enforce its own rules.
“We support broad discussion and debate on a wide range of topics and perspectives which is vital to any democracy,†a Sky News Australia spokesperson said.
“We take our commitment to meeting editorial and community expectations seriously.â€
The organisation has said it “expressly rejects that any host has ever denied the existence of COVID-19†and that “no such videos were ever published or removed.â€
Sky News has been suspended from uploading content to YouTube for a week after the video and livestreaming platform claimed the media organisation breached its COVID-19 misinformation standards.
A Youtube spokesperson said in a statement the website had taken steps against Sky, including removing videos from the media outlet’s online channel and issuing a ‘strike’ against it, causing it to be temporarily suspended from uploading new content.
“We have clear and established COVID-19 medical misinformation policies based on local and global health authority guidance, to prevent the spread of COVID-19 misinformation that could cause real-world harm,†a YouTube spokesperson said in a statement.
“We apply our policies equally for everyone regardless of uploader, and in accordance with these policies and our long-standing strikes system, removed videos from and issued a strike to Sky News Australia’s channel.â€
YouTube has not said what videos published by Sky it removed, but the platform doesn’t allow content medical misinformation about COVID-19 “that poses a serious risk of egregious harm in contradiction with local and global health authorities’ guidance about COVID-19 treatment, prevention, transmission, and social distancing.â€
Thanks for following our live coverage this morning. I’m Natassia Chrysanthos handing over to my colleague Angus Thompson who will guide you through any updates this afternoon.
The latest news comes out of Queensland, where Toby Crockford reports police have arrested four people and handed out 28 fines during the past 24 hours, which included the start of the south-east’s three-day lockdown.
Authorities continue to monitor talk of a Brisbane anti-lockdown protest, but one of the state’s top police officers says “now is not the time to protestâ€.
Queensland recorded nine new locally acquired cases todayâ€" the biggest daily spike in almost a year â€" however all were linked to the Indooroopilly cluster.
Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said “a small percentage of people†had been caught “doing the wrong thing†since 4pm on Saturday, when the lockdown began.
“We handed out 43 masks yesterday [Saturday] and gave one person a penalty infringement notice for not complying when given the opportunity [to wear a mask],†he said this morning.
“In relation to the lockdown, we did 123 vehicle intercepts, 11 people were issued with penalty infringement notices, [and] one further person on foot [was also fined] for not complying with the directions.
“For all of those 12 people, it means they were out in the community when they did not have a valid reason to do so.
“We received 80 calls for service from our community around private residence activities, and of those that we visited, 11 people were issued with penalty infringement notices for having private gatherings against the directions.
“A further four were arrested, which is terribly disappointing to think that people, when our officers come around giving the opportunity to comply, they choose not to.â€
Mr Gollschewski said police believed an anti-lockdown protest could be planned for Monday in Brisbane. “We are being cautious to ensure we have sufficient police to deal with it if needed,†he said.
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