Australia news LIVE NSW records 863 new local COVID-19 cases 15 deaths Victoria records 950 new cases seven deaths Queensland records one new case
1 of 7
Melbourne’s construction union headquarters has officially been listed on the Victorian Government’s coronavirus exposure site list alongside a suburban supermarket.
CFMEU president John Setka tested positive for COVID-19 and is in isolation, after heated protests outside the union’s inner city building last week.
CFMEU secretary John Setka outside the union’s Melbourne headquarters before the protest turned violent.Credit:AAP
The health department on Wednesday evening listed the CFMEU’s Melbourne office, on Elizabeth Street, as an tier-1 COVID-19 exposure site on September 20 from 8am to 6.30pm after a positive case attended the building.
This means anyone who attended the Elizabeth Street premises during that time must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure date.
The CFMEU headquarters has also been listed as a tier-2 site during the same time period.
The health department said those who will be subject to tier-1 conditions will be contacted directly.
In Melbourne’s north, the Epping Costco store on Deveny Road has been listed as a tier-1 exposure site on September 21 from 5.45pm to 7.15pm.
Six cases of COVID-19 have been linked to a hotel in Manly, on Sydney’s northern beaches, after the building was identified as an exposure site yesterday.
All residents had been required to get tested for COVID-19 and isolate.
Residents have been moved from the Manly Waves hotel to nearby accommodation. Credit:James Brickwood.
The Northern Sydney Local Health District provided the update to case numbers this afternoon.
“Some residents who have recently been exposed to COVID-19 at the Manly Wave[s] Hotel have been relocated to the Hidden Gem Hotel so they can isolate in more suitable accommodation as required by public health experts,†a health spokesperson said.
“They have all tested negative to COVID-19.
“Some other residents have been transferred to the Special Health Accommodation where their health needs can be better cared for by staff.“
Manly’s Hidden Gem accommodation is about 600 metres away from the Manly Waves Hotel.
Masked security guards were spotted surrounding the hotel, on the corner of Malvern Avenue and Pacific Street, on Tuesday afternoon.
Sydney students will return to school a week earlier than originally announced after the government reviewed its back-to-class plan amid faster than expected vaccinations, with kindergarten, year 1 and year 12 students now returning on October 18.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell also wants all schools across the city to reopen at the same time, in a sign that the government has stepped away from earlier plans to close those in areas with high rates of COVID-19 community transmission.
The staggered return will follow the same plan, but begin a week earlier.Credit:Louise Kennerley
The NSW crisis cabinet made the decision on Wednesday, a senior government source who spoke on the condition of anonymity confirmed, and will meet later this week to consider an overhaul of the state’s contact tracing methods.
The initial back-to-school plan, announced in late August, was due to begin on October 25, based on expectations that community vaccination rates would reach 70 per cent on October 18. However, that target is expected to be met a week earlier.
Read the full story here.
Coronavirus vaccinations for young people aged 12 to 15 years in Victoria have hit a 40 per cent first dose milestone.
Premier Daniel Andrews took to social media to announce the figures on Wednesday afternoon revealing 123,000 doses had been administered in the past 17 days.
According to the health department, there were 90,066 vaccine doses administered on Tuesday alone, including 34,028 at state run vaccination hubs.
The department said 49.13 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and over have now been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, as of September 28, and 79.43 per cent had received one dose.
You can find more information in our vaccine tracker here.
NSW and the ACT are leading the nation with more than 60 per cent of their adult populations having received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, the most recent figures show.
In NSW, 86.7 per cent of residents have received their first dose, while 62.9 per cent are full-vaccinated. More than 89 per cent of Canberra residents have had one injection, and 63.2 per cent are double-dosed.
Victoria is not far behind, with 79.4 per cent of its eligible population having had one dose, and 49 per cent fully vaccinated.
The figures show vaccination rates in states and territories not battling major outbreaks are below the national average.
Nationwide, 77.28 per cent of adults 16 and older have had one dose and 53.42 per cent are fully vaccinated.
Queensland has vaccinated 65.2 per cent of its eligible population with at least one dose, with 65.2 fully-vaccinated.
The rates are similar in Western Australia, where 64.3 per cent have received one jab - roughly the same percentage of ACT residents who are fully vaccinated - and 45.9 per cent have had two doses.
More than 65 per cent of the Northern Territory’s eligible population has received one dose of the vaccine, while 51.9 per cent are double-dosed.
About 67 per cent of South Australians have had one vaccination, and 49 per cent are fully vaccinated.
In Tasmania, 75.8 per cent of those eligible have had one dose, while 57.8 per cent are double-jabbed.
Dene Heath arrived at the Albert Park Golf Course on Wednesday in darkness, rejoicing at being able to play again after COVID-19 restrictions triggered the longest break he’d had from the sport he has adored since he was nine years old.
“It was phenomenal,†Mr Heath said.
![David McCartney [left] and Dene Heath were among those who hit Albert Park Golf Course on Wednesday morning.](https://static.ffx.io/images/$zoom_0.092%2C$multiply_0.4431%2C$ratio_1.5%2C$width_756%2C$x_0%2C$y_0/t_crop_custom/q_86%2Cf_auto/3fe54252ad55c80e2a168c4007008d532c41b5ab)
David McCartney [left] and Dene Heath were among those who hit Albert Park Golf Course on Wednesday morning. Credit:Wayne Taylor
“Just the change ... having a conversation on a golf course over nine holes this morning versus a traditional Zoom call was just wonderful.
“I turned up in the dark ... and pulled out the putter and everyone was amazingly energetic.â€
Mr Heath was not alone. Golfers wasted no time getting back into the swing of things after the reopening of courses on Wednesday.
Read the full story here.
About 1.3 million Australian passports have expired during the COVID-19 pandemic, prompting the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to urge aspiring travellers to renew theirs now.
Those who don’t are likely to face lengthy delays when borders reopen, with the department expecting high demand, as experienced in the UK and US.
Shane Nicklos is itching to travel and recently renewed his passport anticipating international borders reopening.Credit:Wayne Taylor
Americans wanting to renew or apply for a passport currently face up to an 18-week wait, while the UK Passport Office says its citizens should allow up to 10 weeks to receive their new papers.
“While the department is doing everything it possibly can to prepare for a similar eventuality, longer-than-usual processing times cannot be ruled out,†a DFAT spokeswoman said.
Read the full story here.
US news giant Cable News Network (CNN) has become the first major international media company to disable its Facebook pages in Australia after the High Court ruled publishers are liable for defamatory comments made on their Facebook pages.
CNN said in a statement it had approached Facebook to see whether the platform would disable the comment functionality on its Australian pages but the social media behemoth chose not to.
CNN is the first major publication to bow out of posting on Facebook in Australia. Credit:AP
“We are disappointed that Facebook, once again, has failed to ensure its platform is a place for credible journalism and productive dialogue around current events among its users,†the statement said.
The NSW Court of Appeal ruled in June last year that news outlets including this masthead, and The Australian were liable as publishers of readers’ Facebook comments about former Northern Territory youth detainee Dylan Voller because they facilitated the comments by posting on their public Facebook pages.
The media outlets lost a High Court appeal of the decision earlier this month and were ordered to pay Mr Voller’s legal costs.
Read the full story here.
Two of the three threats to Western Australia’s COVID-free status have been averted after a Russian military plane pilot and alleged border jumper both tested negative to the virus.
Yesterday it emerged WA was facing COVID threats from three fronts including border hoppers, a new COVID-infected ship heading down WA’s coast and a positive case on a Russian military plane that landed in Perth on Tuesday.
WA Health Minister Roger Cook. Credit:Hamish Hastie
Both of the men arrested in WA’s South West on Tuesday after allegedly travelling to the state from Victoria via the Northern Territory for the AFL grand final have now returned negative tests.
WA Health Minister Roger Cook said the two men remained in custody and were subject to 14 day quarantine arrangements.
Authorities are also no longer concerned about the pilot of a Russian Antonov aircraft that landed in WA from Queensland with a suspected positive COVID-19 case on board.
Out of caution, all 21 people on the plane were put in hotel quarantine but Mr Cook said the test was a false positive and further testing both in WA and in Queensland had returned negative results.
The third COVID threat to the state, the ship travelling from Singapore known as the Cayman Island-flagged Stolt Sakura, has 11 out of 22 crew members so far testing positive to the virus.
The ship left Singapore earlier in September with some crew members reporting COVID-19 symptoms on Sunday.
Mr Cook said most crew members had mild to no symptoms but said it was a ‘live situation’ with the vessel due to arrive in Fremantle at the end of this week.
WA Health reported there were no new cases of COVID 19 overnight with the state’s total remaining at 1096.
Japan’s ruling party has elected Fumio Kishida as its leader, paving the way for the 64-year-old to become prime minister and guide the country out of the coronavirus pandemic.
The vote followed the resignation of Yoshihide Suga from the top job in early September after less than a year as Prime Minister over growing dissatisfaction with the government’s management of COVID-19, state of emergency measures and the Tokyo Olympics.
Fumio Kishida. Credit:Bloomberg
The Liberal Democratic Party’s internal votes are usually sewed up well before the ballot box is opened but Wednesday’s runoff was the most tightly contested in years. Two candidates - the establishment’s Fumio Kishida and popular favourite Taro Kono - both had pathways to the prime ministership when voting began just after 1pm Tokyo time (3pm AEST).
Read the full story here.
1 of 7
0 Response to "Australia news LIVE NSW records 863 new local COVID-19 cases 15 deaths Victoria records 950 new cases seven deaths Queensland records one new case"
Post a Comment