Australia news LIVE NSW records fifth death as state records 98 new local COVID-19 cases Victoria lockdown extended as state records 16 new cases
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New Zealand has extended the suspension of its travel bubble with Victoria, with the situation set to be reviewed again on Wednesday.
The country’s Ministry of Health announced last week its travel bubble with Victoria would be paused for at least four days, in light of Victoria’s developing COVID situation.
After reviewing the suspension on Monday, the ministry said, “a better understanding is still needed of the developing situation in Victoria, including the number and pattern of COVID-19 casesâ€.
“Victoria remains in lockdown and, with a growing number of people considered linked to the outbreak, Australian health authorities advise that further announcements for the state are expected tomorrow,†the ministry said in a statement.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Monday that the state’s lockdown will be extended past Wednesday as it continues to try to get ahead of its COVID-19 outbreak.
Major developers and peak building industry bodies have slammed the NSW government’s decision to put the brakes on construction work, labelling it an over-reach that will cost the economy billions of dollars and lead to substantial job losses.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced on Saturday that construction would be halted for two weeks, in a move to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Construction workers were forced to down tools from today. Credit:Rhett Wyman
However, industry groups have accused the government of blindsiding the building sector, warning that it will result in a trail of litigation that could take years to resolve. Industry representatives were sitting down with the NSW government on this afternoon to make their case for a staged reopening over the next fortnight.
Urban Taskforce boss Tom Forrest said the hasty decision, made without consultation, reeked of a government in panic.
“There is simply no evidence base to support the decision to close down the entire construction industry 100 per cent,†he said.
Earlier today, Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant admitted she had not given advice to shut down the sector.
Read more here.
Towns in north-west Victoria face a nervous wait to see whether they will record their first-ever COVID-19 infections as health authorities stepped up their response in Mildura after testing clinics in the area were overwhelmed today.
More than 40 staff at Mildura Base Public Hospital were sent into isolation after a positive case was treated at the emergency department on Saturday night.
Queues at the testing clinic in Mildura on Sunday afternoon.
One of Victoria’s new cases reported this morning was a household contact of the COVID-positive Mildura man. There are now more than 11 exposure sites in Mildura.
Nine News reported queues to get tested at clinics in Mildura stretched 1.5 kilometres on Monday morning, with some eager for a test getting turned away.
The state’s Chief Health Officer said on Monday evening that authorities had deployed new testing sites in the area, including at the Mildura Recreation Reserve. Nine News reported one of those sites was at capacity within 15 minutes on Monday.
The Chief Health Officer said an online community forum would be held in Mildura on Monday night, with presentations from Mildura’s Mayor Jason Modica, the Department of Health, and the local public health unit.
Read more here.
There is now one COVID-19 case in hospital in Victoria, up from zero yesterday, the state’s Chief Health Officer has confirmed.
This comes as Victorians are uncertain when the lockdown will end, after Premier Daniel Andrews said “we will not be ready†to open up on Wednesday.
There were 16 new cases announced today, including from an inner-city cafe, two CBD pubs and last week’s Wallabies match at AAMI Park.
Read more about Victoria’s COVID-19 situation here.
Western Australian health officials have confirmed the eight symptomatic crew members aboard a cargo ship docked in Fremantle have tested positive for COVID-19.
The six remaining seafarers will be tested later today.
The BBC California docked this morning after leaving Egypt last month and stopping at three ports in virus-stricken Indonesia on July 11. The crew members started showing signs of sickness from July 12.
Read more here.
Nagging fears that have underscored Kirribilli resident Alex Allen’s daily interactions for months were pushed aside by a sense of relief, and a little bit of hope, on Monday morning.
Leaving the new mass vaccination hub on Pitt Street in Sydney’s CBD, where he had joined a short queue to receive his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine shortly after 9am, Mr Allen said he felt “really relievedâ€.
People queuing for the new mass vaccination hub in Sydney’s CBD have their temperature checked on Monday morning. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
“Simple things, like walking the dog and someone’s running past without a mask and you think, ‘Have they got it?’â€
Mr Allen was among dozens of people who lined up metres from Pitt Street Mall on the hub’s first day of operations, as NSW’s COVID-19 outbreak grew by 98 cases and lockdown restrictions tightened on Monday.
The clinic was one of two mass vaccination hubs to open in NSW on Monday, as the NSW government pushes towards vaccinating 200,000 people per week.
Read more here.
NSW’s Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says she did not advise the government to shut down the state’s construction industry, insisting decisions on restrictions and lockdowns were ultimately a matter for ministers.
Defining the extent of her health advice to the government, Dr Chant on Monday said she and health authorities did not have the expertise to determine which industries and sectors would be targeted by health orders, such as the stop-work on all constructions sites.
Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the latest restrictions were aimed at decreasing workplace attendances.Credit:James Brickwood
Premier Gladys Berejiklian throughout the outbreak has repeatedly said all decisions were based on “health adviceâ€, including the decision to enter a second lockdown and close construction sites, which has angered the industry.
However, Dr Chant and NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard both confirmed on Monday it was ultimately the government’s decision to introduce critical measures such as forcing more than a quarter of a million construction workers to down tools until July 30.
Read more here.
Victoria’s list of COVID-19 exposure sites has surpassed 300, with the addition of seven new sites late on Monday afternoon.
Three of the sites are “tier 1â€, meaning anyone who has visited them is a close contact and must immediately get tested for COVID-19 and quarantine for 14 days.
The remaining sites are “tier 2â€, meaning anyone who visited is a casual contact has to get tested and isolate until they return a negative result.
Victorian health authorities had locked down the seven-storey Burnley Street apartment complex in Richmond as of Saturday, after a resident tested positive.
Bastion Collective is near the Ms Frankie restaurant in Cremorne which has about 540 close contacts linked to it, and on the same street as an F45 gym exposure site.
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has outlined the new restrictions which will come into effect state-wide from midnight after two positive cases of COVID-19 were recorded today.
An 81-year-old man who arrived from overseas and did hotel quarantine in Sydney before returning home was the first case, and his daughter has also now recorded a “weak positiveâ€.
The restrictions, until at least Friday, include:
“We are very concerned about the situation,†Mr Marshall said. “We are assuming it is the Delta variant.â€
Far-right British commentator Katie Hopkins has been given a $1000 fine by NSW Police for failing to wear a face mask in hotel quarantine.
Police have just announced she was fined yesterday for the incident on Friday night.
Officers also assisted Border Force officials in escorting Ms Hopkins to Sydney International Airport this afternoon to facilitate her return home after her visa was cancelled.
Channel Seven dumped Ms Hopkins from its upcoming series of Big Brother after the commercial television network learned the British national had been boasting on social media about flaunting infection controls in NSW hotel quarantine.
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