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New rules for Victorians on masks, home visits and workplaces
On this rainy day, Victorians have woken to new rules on masks, home visits and in workplaces.
As Rachael Dexter reports, Victorians will be able to host 30 people for Christmas and will no longer have to wear masks when they leave home, as authorities declared the state was rid of community transmission of COVID-19.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton made the call on Sunday as part of major changes to coronavirus restrictions that will end mandatory mask-wearing outdoors.
"[Virus] elimination may or may not be the right word, I think we're talking about no community transmission [and] I'm confident we are there now," Professor Sutton said.
"We have not got into the epidemiological threshold of 28 days yet, but I'm confident we will get to that."
Babies under 12 months old are not counted among the 30 people allowed into homes for holiday celebrations. The change to the cap on private gatherings comes into effect on December 13 to accommodate for the Jewish holidays of Hanukkah.
As of 11.59pm last night, Victorians can now welcome 15 people into their homes, up from a cap of two. Outdoor gatherings at parks and beaches will increase to 50 people.
On the same day that Victoria recorded 23 consecutive days of no new coronavirus cases or deaths, Premier Daniel Andrews also said city workers could begin to return to offices from the end of the month - with strict density requirements and cleaning protocols in place.
"We will begin a slow, steady and safe return to work for those who have been working from home. That is to say 25 per cent of staff will be able to be in the office, and it is mainly offices, 75 per cent will still need to work from home and we will make further announcements over the course of the coming weeks and months," he said.
Eased Victorian restrictions:
- Universities and TAFE students will return to classes on site for some studies;
- Gyms will open up to a maximum of 150 people in groups of 20, with one person per four square metres;
- Indoor physical recreation and sport can commence with 150 people in 150 people, in groups of 20, one per four square metres;
- Outdoor sport can commence with 500 people, with groups of 50 following the one per four square metres as well;
- Indoor pools can host 150 people and outdoor pools will now host 300 people;
- Skate parks and indoor trampolining centres will increase to 150 people;
- Religious ceremonies can take place indoors with 150 people and outdoors with 300 people;
- Weddings and funerals, both indoors and outdoors, can be 150 people, with density requirements. Weddings at home will need to follow the normal home visitors rule of 15 people maximum;
- Larger facilities such as the galleries, cinemas and museums can open for 25 per cent of their capacity;
- Drive in cinemas have no caps on patrons;
- Casinos and gaming machine venues will be able to go to 150 people but every second electronic gaming machine will be turned off, so as to keep a distance between patrons; and
- Large sporting venues will be able to increase patronage to 25 per cent of their capacity.
- Accommodation providers will be able to cater to groups of one household plus up to 15 people, with density requirements in communal areas;
- Karaoke venues, arcades, escape rooms and bingo centres will be able to accommodate 150 people at a time with density limits;
- There are no longer any restrictions on visitors within hospitals;
- For real estate inspections and auctions, 20 people are now allowed inside and 50 outdoors.
- Strip clubs can now operate with up to 150 people for seated service only and group limits of 20 with social distancing requirements; and
- 50 people can now attend brothels.
Afraid of needles? Vaccines could come without a jab
By Mary Ward
While the thought of a coronavirus vaccine, and the freedoms it could bring, is exciting for many, the thought of actually receiving the shot can conjure a less pleasant emotion.
"Fear of the needle is part of the reluctance for a full uptake of adult vaccines," said Professor Rachel Skinner from the University of Sydney's Faculty of Medicine and Health, noting vaccination rates decrease from early childhood for a variety of reasons – including an aversion to the jab.
"It is often related to looking at the needle coming in," she said, although pain – or anticipation of pain – is also a factor.
Professor Skinner is leading a team of researchers investigating a possible alternative to needle vaccine delivery, called a microarray patch, which they hope will eventually be used to administer vaccines for influenza and – when they arrive – coronavirus.
The patch is a square centimetre of biocompatible polymer, covered in more than 3000 "micro projections" coated in a dry vaccine formula. When applied to the skin using a disposable applicator, it penetrates the outer layer and delivers the vaccine dose to the cell layers immediately underneath.
It is also known as a microneedle patch. Although there is "a sensation" when applied, Professor Skinner insists it does not hurt.
The patches, which are being trialled and have not yet been approved for use anywhere, require only one-fifth of the dose of a syringe vaccination.
'Massive demand' for Sydney-Melbourne flights, says Qantas boss
By Rachael Dexter
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce believes his airline will return to 60 per cent of pre-COVID domestic flight numbers before Christmas, as the world’s second busiest flight path between Sydney and Melbourne officially reopened today.
"It’s gone from one flight a day in the ... last few months, then to seven a day and it’s a step up today and we’re seeing massive demand already occurring,” he told ABC Radio National’s Breakfast program.
"When the news of the borders opening up happened, both Qantas and Jetstar sold 25,000 seats on Melbourne-Sydney alone in the space of 24 hours."
Mr Joyce said Jetstar had also clocked its biggest day of sale activity ever since the announcement, with 120,000 seats again in a 24-hour period.
Qantas and Jetstar would likely resume 60 per cent of pre-COVID domestic flight levels before Christmas, depending on whether Queensland reopened its borders, Mr Joyce said.
"Then in the new year, we start getting towards 100 per cent," he said.
Mr Joyce claimed airline fares would be reasonable, despite the company's financial woes due to air travel virtually stopping during the pandemic.
"We’ve had this philosophy that it’s better to earn a dollar in the air than on the ground so we’re just trying to cover cash costs at the moment, which means we’re not trying to make money on covering the ownership costs of the aircraft which are down [grounded] anyway," he said.
"I’d rather have our people back working rather than us make money out of these domestic operations. We just have to cover our overheads."
Six thousand Qantas staff have been made redundant since the beginning of the pandemic, with another redundancy round underway which could see that number increase to 8500, Mr Joyce said.
But the chief executive said some Qantas staff stood down on Jobkeeper were today working their first shifts since March as a result of the border reopening.
"If we can get back to 60 per cent of our pre-COVID schedule by Christmas, that’s a lot more people back in the air, a lot more people working again."
Two dozen days of perfect zeros
By Hanna Mills Turbet
And that's two dozen days of perfect zeros. What an achievement, Victoria!
For the 24th consecutive day, there have been no new cases of COVID-19 and no deaths across the state.
Health Minister Martin Foley said on the weekend that the sole remaining active case was an immuno-compromised person who remains in hospital with a long-term case of COVID-19.
Yesterday, there were 7261 test results received, which is on the low side but not too bad for a Sunday.
NSW-Victoria border operation by the numbers
By Josh Dye
When NSW announced its Victorian border closure on July 6, police had about 36 hours to react.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the lengthy operation involved some "amazing infrastructure" installed across the length of the Murray River.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian with NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller and Brigadier Mick Garraway at the Victorian border checkpoint yesterday.Credit:Getty
During the 138 days police monitored and restricted border crossings there were:
- 100,000 police officer shifts
- Five million vehicle movements
- 500,000 heavy vehicle movements
- 40,000 Australian Defence Force personnel shifts
- 54 different border crossings
- About 1000 arrests
"It was an enormous operation,” Mr Fuller told radio station 2GB.
"The police down there did some great job protecting local communities.
"We still had people trying to run drugs across the border and other types of illegal activities and most of these people didn’t find the time to get a permit either, so you sort of scratch your head."
Emotions high as Albury-Wodonga hard border crossing lifts
By Hanna Mills Turbet
The emotions were high at the Albury-Wodonga border at midnight, as the hard border between Victoria and NSW finally lifted. Albury mayor Kevin Mack was there.
"There is a bit of elation but more so relief," he told Channel 7's Sunrise this morning. "High emotion last night. I was here at midnight and a lot of emotion was going on. Just fantastic."
There were celebrations in Albury-Wodonga at midnight as NSW reopened the border to Victoria. Credit:Getty
Mr Mack said the long lockdown – the hard border was enacted in July – would be felt for months, and perhaps years, to come.
"The economic impacts, we truly won't know what they are until the end of the year probably, but probably losing $1 million a day easily," he said.
"And there is also the mental health aspect ... and a lot of people have missed out on major family moments in their life, funerals, and reunification for birthdays and things like that.
"A lot of our families work out of Melbourne so it has been a difficult time but we will move forward."
In usual times, Mr Mack said up to 20,000 vehicles crossed the border each day.
137 days later, travellers can cross the NSW-Victorian border
By Rachel Dexter
About 8500 passengers will arrive at Melbourne Airport today after travel restrictions between NSW and Victoria lifted after 137 days.
"Up until yesterday, we were processing 1000 passengers," Shane O’Hare, Melbourne Airport's chief of aviation, told radio station 3AW this morning.
"It’s more exciting than the [AFL] grand final ... that’s absolutely fantastic, 32 of the more than 50 flights landing at Melbourne today will be from Sydney alone."
Despite the jubilation of passengers and staff, Mr O'Hare said there was still a sense of anxiety about the virus in the airport.
"The same way that people are a bit nervous about going back to work," he said. "[But] it’s absolutely essential that everybody – workers and passengers – wear a mask [inside the airport] and that will be enforced."
Mr O’Hare said one of the effects of the long months of lockdown was a rise in wildlife sightings around the airport.
"It’s quite an environmental playground for kangaroos," he said. "We actually found one in the terminal a couple of weeks ago we had to deal with."
Top adviser joins calls to move COVID-19 quarantine out of big cities
By Liam Mannix and Sumeyya Ilanbey
Quarantine hotels have certainly had their time in the spotlight this year. It's why one of Australia's top infection-control has joined growing calls for COVID-19 quarantine to be isolated in regional facilities after the virus escaped hotels in central Melbourne and Adelaide.
Associate Professor Philip Russo, the Australasian College for Infection Prevention and Control president and deputy chair of the federal government’s Infection Control Expert Group, said moving infected people away from population centres "just makes logical sense".
"Certainly, the further distance you have between people who are infected and the vulnerable community, that would be a good thing," Associate Professor Russo said.
The Howard Springs quarantine facility near Darwin.Credit:Ben Sale
He said dedicated regional accommodation could be set up for quarantined travellers within reach of airports and hospitals. The facilities could employ full-time staff living on-premises, meaning they were far less likely to seed infection into the community.
South Australia was forced into a hard lockdown last week after an outbreak connected to hotel quarantine. Melbourne’s devastating second wave was caused by hotel quarantine breaches, while a security guard fell sick in Sydney’s system and a Defence Force guard was fined for hosting a female guest in his room. Multiple people have been fined after skipping out on hotel quarantine in Perth.
Mass COVID-19 vaccination gets a dry run in a Louisiana parking lot
A COVID-19 vaccine may be months from reaching millions of Americans. Getting all those shots into arms will be a monumental task. Shreveport, Louisiana, is getting ready now.
The city recently completed a test run, one of about a dozen across the state. Health officials there organised the community's first-ever drive-thu flu shot clinic in the massive parking lot of the Louisiana state fairgrounds.
Drivers rolled down their windows and rolled up their sleeves as they pulled up to tents for the largest vaccination event the regional health department has ever hosted. Cheerful and fast-working nurses jabbed them with vaccines.
Healthcare workers administer a flu shot during a drive-thru clinic at the Louisiana State Fairgrounds in Shreveport, Louisiana, US.Credit:Bloomberg
Within about five minutes, people were on their way, exiting the parking lot while passing a row of food stands selling corn dogs, roasted nuts and lemonade.
In the near future, that's just the way officials hope it will go for a COVID-19 vaccine. A poor state that's seen its share of hurricanes, floods and tornadoes, Louisiana is trying to get out front of the challenge.
The state's health department decided early on to run test clinics in each of its nine public-health regions, using this winter's flu shot as practice to eventually distribute millions of COVID-19 vaccine doses.
"Unlike with testing, we have the luxury to have four to five months to plan," said Frank Welch, a doctor who is Louisiana's immunisation director. AP
Victoria unmasked, a summer of possibilities looms
Victorians have been promised a summer that seemed impossible a few months ago, with family gatherings, travel, in-store Christmas shopping and the ability to remove masks in public now permitted after 23 days without a new coronavirus infection.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced widespread changes to coronavirus restrictions in the state on Sunday that included the scrapping of a requirement for masks to be worn outdoors when physical distancing is possible, which comes into effect at 11.59pm Sunday.
And while there will be no crowds at Carols by Candlelight and no New Year's Eve fireworks display, holiday gatherings of family and friends will resemble pre-pandemic times, with a new cap of 15 visitors to a home on a single day set to be lifted to 30 people at 11.59pm on December 13, in time for Christmas and part-way through Hanukkah celebrations.
"[The latest coronavirus numbers] are a testament to the character and the conviction and the amazing job that every single Victorian has done this year," Mr Andrews said.
"Each of us playing our part to make sure that we protect public health, that we value and protect this precious thing that we have built ... It's incredibly valuable, but it is fragile. And even though these rules are important changes, this virus is not gone."
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2020-11-22 21:56:00Z
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