As mentioned earlier this morning, NSW has recorded its highest daily coronavirus tally in 10 weeks.
As you can see from the chart, below cases have been bubbling along around the 200 to 300 mark throughout November.
The daily tally surpassed 400 cases earlier this month for the first time since October. Since then, the general trend is northwards.
As Sarah McPhee reports, NSW is due to ease coronavirus restrictions for all people tomorrow – regardless of their vaccination status.
Face masks will only be required on public transport, in airports and on planes, and for unvaccinated indoor hospitality staff.
Density limits will also end and check-ins will only be required for indoor settings deemed high risk (such as hospitals and gyms).
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has urged people to focus on hospitalisations and deaths instead of daily case numbers. There are 168 NSW residents in hospital due to COVID-19 and there was one death included in today’s numbers.
NSW has reported 804 new COVID-19 cases and one death.
Today’s tally is up from the 536 cases reported yesterday, and the highest daily total since 813 cases were recorded on October 2 (when Greater Sydney was in lockdown).
There were 86,562 tests in the 24-hour period to 8pm last night.
There are 168 coronavirus patients in NSW hospitals and, of those, 21 are in intensive care.
For the NSW population aged 16 and over, 94.8 per cent have had one COVID-19 vaccine dose and 93.2 per cent are fully vaccinated.
In 12- to 15-year-olds, the first-dose coverage is 81.4 per cent, and 77.7 per cent double-dose.
Yesterday, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said 64 cases of the Omicron variant had so far been detected across the state.
She said 84 COVID-19 cases had been linked to The Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle, pending genomic sequencing tests for the Omicron variant, with nearly 700 attendees deemed close contacts.
“We are expecting those [Omicron] numbers to actually jump quite significantly as those tests are performed,” Dr Chant said at the time.
Overnight, NSW Health issued a public health alert for Finnegan’s Hotel in Newcastle, labelling it a venue of concern.
Anyone who attended the Darby Street venue between 6.30pm on Friday, December 10 and 2.30am on Saturday, December 11 is considered a close contact and must get tested for COVID-19 and isolate for seven days.
All households contacts of close contacts must also get tested and isolate until everyone at their address receives a negative result.
Victoria’s daily coronavirus numbers are in.
The state has recorded 1189 new cases of COVID-19 and six deaths. Today’s tally is down slightly from yesterday’s 1290 cases.
There are 364 people in hospital due to coronavirus. Of those, there are 80 active cases. Forty-four are on a ventilator.
There are now 11,051 active cases of coronavirus across the state. Today’s numbers are off the back of yesterday’s 54,467 tests.
In terms of vaccines, the Victorian government says that 92 per cent of residents aged 12 and up are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
Victorian Medical Research Minister Jaala Pulford says Melbourne’s position as a budding pharmaceutical manufacturing hub placed the city ahead of Sydney in terms of securing a deal with biotech giant Moderna to build an Australian mRNA manufacturing facility.
Unlike traditional vaccines, mRNA vaccines teach our bodies how to make a protein that helps fight off viruses rather than introducing a dead virus cell into the body. The Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines are mRNA vaccines.
Victorian Innovation Minister Jaala Pulford.Credit:Justin McManus
Ms Pulford told the ABC’s RN Breakfast earlier this morning that Melbourne had invested heavily into the medical research sector over the past two years, positioning itself alongside other cities like Boston and London.
“Melbourne is home to around 60 per cent of medical research that occurs in Australia and around 90 per cent of pharmaceutical manufacturing,” she said.
“So the case that we’ve been putting to the federal government and Moderna and all others is that this is the only place in Australia where we have those capabilities.
“Melbourne is the logical choice and, really, it’s the safer bet for the federal government as well because we know we can do this and we know we can do exceptionally well.”
Victoria’s medical research sector supports about 30,000 jobs and contributes an estimated $21 billion to the state economy, according to state government figures.
Ms Pulford said the government had identified several suitable sites for the facility, which will also conduct clinical trials and research, but is yet to make a decision.
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States to face espionage charges, calling for the WikiLeaks founder to either be put on trial in Britain or brought back to Australia.
Mr Joyce said the Australian citizen, who has spent more than two years in Belmarsh Prison in south-east London, should not be forcibly sent to the US because he was not on American soil at the time of his alleged offences.
“I have no standing in the British courts. But in that birthplace of the common law, I hope the learned come to a just conclusion,” Mr Joyce writes in an opinion piece for this masthead.
“They should try him there for any crime he is alleged to have committed on British soil or send him back to Australia, where he is a citizen.”
Assange is trying to avoid extradition to the US to face 18 charges relating to the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified military documents and diplomatic cables more than a decade ago. Before being sent to Belmarsh, he sheltered at the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has warned “action will be taken” against anyone who disregards the vaccination mandate that will soon bar unvaccinated people from certain venues.
Unvaccinated patrons and staff will not be allowed to enter many hospitality and entertainment venues, such as cafes and clubs, from Friday.
Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has warned police will hand out fines if unvaccinated people flout incoming laws.Credit:Fairfax Media
Other venues that also fall under the mandate include stadiums hosting crowds of more than 5000, convention centres, festivals and state-owned galleries.
The mandate is an attempt to curb the virus’ spread and impact on the economy after Queensland opened its borders to interstate travellers.
Patrons will have to show proof of their vaccination as they check into businesses.
As mentioned earlier this morning, WA’s border plans made a lot of headlines yesterday.
Here’s a quick recap for those who missed it:
- The state’s borders will reopen from 12.01am on Saturday, February 5. WA Premier Mark McGowan says the date is locked in (barring some kind of unforeseeable emergency).
- The changes will apply to interstate and international borders. By that time, WA is expected to have reached a 90 per cent double-dose vaccination rate for residents aged 12 and over.
- Masks will be required in some settings and proof of vaccination will be required at some venues when the border reopens.
- If there is not a significant lift in vaccination rates in, say, remote WA communities, then the state government may introduce tougher mask restrictions and may prevent international and even interstate visitors from going to these areas.
- As with jurisdictions like Queensland, travellers will need to be vaccinated and get a negative PCR test prior to entering WA.
Epidemiologists warn a rule requiring Victorian shoppers to wear masks indoors should not be scrapped this week given growing Christmas crowds and uncertainty about the severity of the Omicron strain.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced last month a requirement for retail customers to wear masks would be lifted by Thursday, unless there was a significant jump in hospitalisations.
However, this public assurance is now under a cloud, with state government officials refusing to comment on whether it will proceed as planned, citing the legal requirements of the new pandemic laws.
Victoria’s state of emergency powers expire at 11.59pm on Wednesday (and will be replaced by the government’s new pandemic laws. The first major announcement of coronavirus restrictions under the legislation is expected in the coming days, but whatever is announced, epidemiologists say that the mask-wearing rule should stay for now.
To overseas news briefly, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced the country has recorded its first death of someone with the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Coronavirus cases are currently on the rise in the UK and tougher restrictions have been imposed (for example, people are being told to work from home and vaccination certificates are being checked at large venues).
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.Credit:Getty
“Sadly, at least one patient has now been confirmed to have died with Omicron,” Johnson told reporters.
“So I think the idea that this is somehow a milder version of the virus – I think that’s something we need to set on one side – and just recognise the sheer pace at which it accelerates through the population.”
It is not yet known if the person in question was unvaccinated, their age or whether they had any underlying health conditions.
Britain’s Health Secretary Sajid Javid says the Omicron variant now accounts for about 40 per cent of London’s coronavirus infections.
The first Omicron cases were detected in the UK in late November.
Australia has not recorded any deaths from Omicron. Yesterday, a person with the Omicron strain was admitted to a NSW hospital.
with Reuters
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has vowed to pursue lower taxes as one of his fundamental goals in the recovery from the pandemic, preparing for an election fight on the economy by warning against “busy-body” intervention by a Labor government.
Mr Morrison named tax as a key issue in a warning that the economic recovery could not be taken for granted, amid forecasts of an improvement in the budget to be revealed within days.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is ramping up his rhetoric ahead of the next election.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“Our economy is primed for growth. But securing our economic recovery in 2022 cannot be taken for granted,” he said last night.
“We must continue to get the fundamentals right – lower taxes, less regulation and sound public financial management.”
The government is expected to gain more fiscal room to announce personal tax cuts before the federal election when the mid-year budget update is released this Thursday, with Deloitte Access Economics forecasting a $103 billion improvement in deficits over four years.
Australia news LIVE: NSW, Victoria COVID-19 cases grow; WA locks in border reopening
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