Australia news LIVE NSW records 787 new local COVID-19 cases 12 deaths as 80 per cent vaccination road map revealed Victoria records 705 new cases one death
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Business groups have welcomed the Berejiklian government’s plan for NSW to emerge from its long lockdown as a positive step that will provide more certainty for employers and hope for residents.
But tourism providers have expressed disappointment the date for regional travel to resume has been delayed.
Restrictions on venues and retail stores in NSW will ease from next month. Credit:Steven Siewert
Fully-vaccinated residents can start to attend venues such as pubs, retail stores and hairdressers from October 11, with further restrictions to ease a few weeks later when 80 per cent of the population is double-vaccinated.
Regional travel will also restart at that time, rather than at the 70 per cent vaccination milestone as previously planned.
Business NSW chief executive Daniel Hunter said the plan was a relief for business owners, who had experienced “lots of confusion†about which businesses would be able to open, when, and under what rules.
“The release of the public health orders in coming days will reconfirm that the onus will be on individuals to do the right thing and abide by the rules,†Mr Hunter said.
“Business owners can’t be expected to also act as security guards, so long as they have a COVID-safe plan and appropriate registration in place at their entry, they can get on with the business of being in business.â€
Australian Hotels Association NSW director John Green said the full guide for reopening was “very pleasing†and would “absolutely†provide a boost to venues and tourism operators.
“Once people can get out of Greater Sydney and start to move around regional NSW, we’ll see that regional tourism will go off the chart.
“[I’m] a bit disappointed that it’s no longer going to be October 11 at the 70 per cent [double-dose vaccination] mark that was originally predicted. It has been moved back today. As has the imposition of a 20-person booking cap that regional NSW will also have to comply with.â€
He hoped the state could reach the 80 per cent vaccination target as soon as October 18.
Property groups want workers to return to Sydney’s CBD.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
Property Council NSW executive director Luke Achterstraat said the further freedoms would be a vital reboot for the economy. He said the next step was to revive Sydney’s central business district.
“Our CBDs cannot be reactivated until workers are going back to offices to breathe life into our cities.
“With Sydney’s most recent office occupancy data detailing just four percent of workers are in our offices in August, we need a concerted effort from business, people and government to come together to ensure our public spaces and central districts can bounce back.â€
Committee for Sydney chief executive Gabriel Metcalf said the plan provided “a light at the end of the tunnel†for Sydney residents and business operators.
“We can see the path to reopening, and it looks good.â€
Mr Metcalf said the business lobby group particularly welcomed the decision to open up community sport, places of worship and regional travel at the 80 per cent vaccination mark.
“It makes all the sense in the world to continue to treat vaccinated and unvaccinated people differently. We support vaccine passports for the foreseeable future, so people who refuse to get vaccinated don’t harm others.â€
Three Melbourne kids helping Australia track the virus. A community kitchen campaign that’s gone viral, attracting the likes of Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver. A publican in Terang creating a sanctuary for artists, writers, musicians, and performers.
Jack, Wesley and Darcy, the brains behind the highly regarded CovidBaseAU database.Credit:Simon Schluter
As politics and protests continue to dominate headlines, The Age is also surrounding itself with inspiring stories, little tales of humble, unassuming, interesting Victorians making a difference.
A medical centre in the Macedon Ranges and a daycare centre in Melbourne’s south west are among new COVID-19 exposure sites identified by Victorian health authorities.
Parkwood Green Medical Centre at Romsey was identified as a tier-1 or close contact exposure site on Tuesday, September 21 between 1.30pm and 2.50pm.
Anyone who attended the centre during that timeframe has to immediately get tested for COVID-19 and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure, regardless of whether they receive a negative test result.
A Thai restaurant at Riddells Creek also in the Macedon Ranges, Spices and Pestle, was declared a tier-1 site on Tuesday, September 21 between 5.30pm and 7.45pm.
The remainder of new exposure sites are tier 2 or casual contact, and include Point Cook World of Learning at Stockland Point Cook Shopping Centre, and Woolworths at Kilmore, about 65 kilometres north of Melbourne.
A full list of Victorian exposure sites can be found here.
Australian of the Year Grace Tame is among 100 prominent Australians who have signed an open letter calling on the federal government to do more to help people flee Afghanistan and grant permanent protection to Afghans living here on temporary visas.
Other high-profile signatories include journalist Peter Greste, former senator Nova Peris, television presenter Amanda Keller, women’s rights activist Brittany Higgins, musician Megan Washington, and TV host Osher Günsberg.
Australian of the Year Grace Tame.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
A petition launched off the back of the letter has attracted more than 180,000 signatures.
The letter calls on the Morrison government to commit to a further humanitarian intake of 20,000 Afghans from the troubled country, in addition to the initial intake of 3000 Afghans announced by Australia last month.
It also calls on the government to:
Tammy Fraser, the widow of former prime minister Malcolm Fraser, also signed the letter.
“Many women, men, and children in Afghanistan at the moment are desperate for food and shelter and are at risk,†she said.
“It is little enough to demand the government accept and welcome them as refugees to this wonderful country where they can join people from Afghanistan who have been here for a hundred years.“
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has revealed the state’s three-stage road map out of lockdown, with more freedoms when the state reaches an 80 per cent double vaccination rate for people aged 16 and older.
The plan will allow unvaccinated people the same freedoms as the rest of society from December 1.
The state is set to move to the first stage of a three phase plan to ease restrictions on October 11, the Monday after NSW is due to reach 70 per cent vaccination coverage.
It is projected NSW will reach 80 per cent coverage a few weeks later, when further freedoms will be allowed.
You can read our summary of what restrictions will ease, and for whom, at each of the three stages here.
Qantas has cancelled most of its flights scheduled from Western Australia to Victoria and NSW over summer and will bypass Perth on its non-stop flights to London because of the state’s reluctance to reopen its border.
The airline said on Monday it would reroute its direct Perth-London flights until at least April 2022 and instead operate a daily Melbourne-Darwin-London service from December, when it expects the Morrison government to reopen the international border.
Qantas says it will bypass Perth on its non-stop flights to London. Credit:Brent Winstone
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said that based on discussions with the WA government, it had pushed back the resumption of normal domestic flying from the state to Victoria and NSW from December 1 to February 1.
“We know their borders won’t be open to New South Wales and Victoria until early next year, so we’ve sadly had to cancel the flying we had planned on those routes in the lead-up to Christmas,†Mr Joyce said.
“We will maintain a minimum service for people with permits to travel, though, as we have throughout the pandemic.â€
Read the full story here.
Good afternoon. Megan Gorrey here, I’m taking over the blog from Broede Carmody to bring you live updates throughout the afternoon.
If you’re just joining us now, here’s what you might have missed:
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announcing her state’s 80 per cent road map.Credit:James Brickwood
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.Credit:Wayne Taylor
The ACT has recorded 19 new cases of COVID-19. That’s down from yesterday’s 25 cases. The ACT government announced the territory’s lockdown will end on October 15, when it expects 80 per cent of residents aged 12 and over to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In the meantime, two people will be able to visit another household from midnight on Friday, October 1.
Queensland’s Deputy Premier has accused Prime Minister Scott Morrison of giving Australians false hope. On Sunday, the PM said he was confident states would open up in time for Christmas. But Labor’s Steven Miles says he doesn’t think Queenslanders “will want to let COVID in for Christmas if we don’t have it but NSW still doesâ€.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel receives applause during the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) election event, as voters go to the polls. Credit:Getty
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says authorities have not made a decision about how long the state’s vaccination economy will operate for.
“[There’s no], ‘You’ll only be locked out of the pub for a few weeks,†Mr Andrews said during Monday’s COVID-19 update.
“That is not the position at all â€" we have made no decision on how long the vaccinated economy will operate for.â€
The Premier said he was “not about giving people reasons to delay†their COVID-19 vaccinations.
He reiterated that people should get vaccinated as soon as possible to become part of the 70 per cent of people, then 80 per cent to enjoy greater freedoms.
The ACT’s daily coronavirus numbers are in.
The nation’s capital has recorded 19 new cases of COVID-19. That’s down from yesterday’s 25 cases.
It comes as the ACT government announces that the territory’s lockdown will end on October 15, when it expects 80 per cent of residents aged 12 and over to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
In the meantime, two people will be able to visit another household at any one time, for any reason, from midnight on Friday, October 1.
From that date, one household, or up to five people, will be able to gather outdoors for exercise or recreation for up to four hours. Outdoor personal training can also return for no more than two people (excluding instructors).
Preventative dental services will also be able to resume from October and non-essential retail will be able to operate click-and-collect services.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says strict rules will be in place when the unvaccinated are allowed to re-enter places of worship under the state’s 80 per cent vaccination road map.
These people, unless they have a medical contraindication form completed by a doctor, will otherwise be under existing stay-at-home orders until December 1.
The Premier stressed the measure had not been considered “safe†but had been decided as a wellness measure, following consultation with communities.
“It is not safe, there is a risk involved [when the unvaccinated gather indoors] and that is why we are saying faith leaders can make decisions themselves as to what they do,†Ms Berejiklian said.
She said there would be capacity limits, mask-wearing and limits on singing and chanting in place in these settings.
Churches have been sites for the spread of COVID-19. Last year, the virus spread through the air from a western Sydney church’s choir loft, ultimately infecting 24 people and resulting in one death.
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