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Watch live: Health Minister Greg Hunt’s press conference
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt is providing a COVID-19 update. Watch live below:
Federal Parliament to be scaled back during August sitting period
By Rob Harris
Federal Parliament will be drastically scaled back for the August sitting period and will again encourage many MPs to contribute remotely following coronavirus outbreaks across three states.
In a joint statement on Monday, House of Representatives Speaker Tony Smith and Senate President Scott Ryan said the building would be closed to the general public until early September.
School group bookings and all event bookings will be cancelled or postponed.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Prime Minister Scott Morrison arrive wearing masks ahead of question time in August last year.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The numbers of members and senators attending sittings in person will be substantially reduced, co-ordinated by party whips. Remote participation for those unable to attend will be facilitated and supported.
The Coalition has told its NSW members they are under no obligation to physically attend the sitting weeks in Canberra, before which they would have to complete two weeks of quarantine.
Parliamentarians have been requested to bring only essential staff to Canberra and Parliament House, limited to ministerial, shadow ministerial, party spokespeople and whips’ staff.
Numbers of parliamentary departmental staff will be reduced by about 60 per cent, with as many regular staff working remotely where possible.
Vic Health Minister praises thousands of ‘outstanding’ close contacts isolating
By David Estcourt
Health Minister Martin Foley has praised the more than 24,000 Victorians who are primary close contacts of positive cases and have been isolating now for close to two weeks.
“Those people are the heroes of this outbreak, among a long line of heroes of our public health team, our front-line workers and others,” he said.
“Those people have been isolating for 14 days to keep themselves safe, [and also] to keep us all safe.
“Their efforts have been outstanding.”
Today’s headlines at a glance
By Broede Carmody
Good afternoon and thanks for reading our live coverage.
If you’re just joining us, here’s everything you need to know:
- NSW has recorded 145 new cases of COVID-19. At least 76 were infectious in the community. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged people to stay at home and “not mingle” when buying essential items.
- Victoria has recorded 11 new cases of coronavirus. All of the new cases are linked to known outbreaks and were in quarantine for their entire infectious period. The state is expected to come out of lockdown at 11.59pm tomorrow night. However, restrictions of some kind are set to remain in place.
- Queensland has recorded one new case in the community (a fully-vaccinated man who recently returned from China). He tested positive after leaving hotel quarantine. Health authorities are investigating whether the man contracted the virus in China, hotel quarantine or in the Queensland community.
- South Australia has recorded just one new local case. Premier Steven Marshall says his state is on track to come out of lockdown tomorrow evening.
I’m signing off the blog now. My colleague Josh Dye will bring you the latest news and analysis throughout the afternoon.
AstraZeneca to be available on a walk-in basis at some Sydney mass vaccination hubs
By Mary Ward
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has let slip news of a shift in vaccination policy at the end of this morning’s press conference, revealing AstraZeneca will be available on a walk-up basis at some health clinics.
Dr Chant said the shift in policy, which will be announced tomorrow, will be targeted through local health districts and community partners, focusing on vulnerable groups who may need the vaccination process to be made easier.
AstraZeneca will soon be available at Sydney’s mass vaccination hubs. Credit:Eddie Jim
“I won’t tell you where, just because at the moment there is some work being done and I don’t want it to be swamped just as they are setting it up,” she said.
It is unclear if under-40s will also be able to receive a walk-in AstraZeneca shot at the hubs, or just people aged 40 and over who were currently able to receive the vaccine through NSW Health by appointment.
Most of Victoria’s new cases household close contacts
By David Estcourt
Victorian COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar says nine of today’s 11 new cases of community transmission occurred between household contacts in known outbreaks.
Mr Weimar says it brings total cases linked to the state’s overall outbreak to 180.
Victoria’s COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar. Credit:Chris Hopkins
“Five of those cases are currently in hospital, two are in ICU, one of whom is on a ventilator,” he said.
There are 21,183 primary close contacts associated with the various stages of this outbreak, and 565,000 tests have been undertaken, Mr Weimar says.
The two cases that were not household contacts are linked to the Ms Frankie restaurant outbreak: two diners, who ate there on July 15. Mr Weimar praised the Cremorne restaurant for its work helping authorities chase down each aspect of the cluster.
The nine cases that are household primary close contacts include two associated with Trinity Grammar, two linked to Bacchus Marsh Grammar, two associated with AAMI Park, two to the City of Hume cluster and one linked to the Young & Jackson hotel outbreak.
As all cases were in quarantine, none of them have generated new exposure sites in the community.
Mr Weimar also said there were no more positive cases in the Mildura outbreak.
Aged care staff member in south-west Sydney tests positive
By Mary Ward
A staff member at a south-west Sydney aged care facility has tested positive to COVID-19.
Bankstown Terrace Care Community was placed in lockdown on Sunday after a carer returned a positive test.
An aged care worker has tested positive to COVID-19 in Sydney’s south-west. Credit:iStock
The carer was being tested every three days as part of routine testing requirements in their local government area. They had previously tested negative on July 21.
“The team member is in isolation at home with mild symptoms,” the facility said in a statement.
No residents or other staff members have so far returned a positive test.
The facility said “100 per cent of residents who wanted to be vaccinated have been” and they were working with the local health authority to vaccinate some additional residents who were new to the facility or had recently decided to be vaccinated.
Altered lockdown rules in Sydney possible, Premier says
By Mary Ward
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she “does not know where” speculation that children in Greater Sydney may not return to schools until term four has come from, but she expects to make tweaks to the city’s lockdown settings this week.
At present, schools in the region are conducting classes remotely until July 31, but the Premier said there would be more information provided about what schools will look like beyond that this week.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says an update on schooling can be expected shortly. Credit:Dean Sewell
“I appreciate that perhaps one of the challenges during our lockdown is home schooling,” she said.
“We are always looking at opportunities there to ease the pressure off our households and we will base those decisions on health advice.”
The Premier said she would not “rule out” settings changing at the end of the week.
“We might need to go harder in some areas and release some settings in others,” she said.
However, the Premier expressed a lack of enthusiasm for curfews or a move to tighten the current 10-kilometre exercise radius.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said she was pleased by mobility data from south-west Sydney showing people were not moving around as much.
“We need [to keep] a very tight lockdown to get the numbers down and we also need to do more – the ‘more’ is to work very closely in a supportive way with a community-led model for those affected communities, and also we need vaccination.”
‘Nothing finalised’ on restrictions easing, says Vic Health Minister
By David Estcourt
Health Minister Martin Foley says the Victorian government has not finalised which restrictions may change tomorrow.
“As we stand here today nothing has yet been finalised, but we are mindful of the need, as soon as possible … to share that with the people of Victoria.”
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley. Credit:Wayne Taylor
He said the state was “on the right track” but that health authorities would be waiting on testing results due to arrive in the next 24 hours.
Mr Foley also thanked Victoria’s contact tracing team for working so hard throughout the latest outbreak.
NSW Premier says she will listen to health advice, not the PM
By Mary Ward
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has been asked about comments made by the Prime Minister yesterday that a lockdown strategy will bring Sydney’s spread to an end, as she pushes for more vaccine supply for the state.
“A lot of people have given me a lot of free advice,” the Premier said.
“The best advice I will continue to rely on is that of [Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant] and her team, the NSW Health experts.”
Ms Berejiklian said she “argued [her] little heart out” for more Pfizer doses at national cabinet on Friday.
The Premier and Dr Chant said health authorities are currently looking at how Pfizer in the state is being distributed, with a focus on younger essential workers.
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2021-07-26 03:30:43Z
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