“You can’t run the Australian economy on taxpayers’ money forever,’’ he will say.“With more than 90 per cent of the jobs lost already back, our comeback has not only begun, it is gathering pace.“And a response where emergency measures are temporary and accompanied by a clear fiscal exit strategy.”Mr Morrison will also warn there is “still so much more to do” in the fight against the coronavirus, and there must be “no let-up” in international border restrictions and the nation’s quarantine system over the coming year.“The pandemic is still raging. It is not petering out. The virus has not gone anywhere. Indeed, it is morphing into new and more virulent strains,’’ he said.“Our 2020 achievements have bought valuable time on vaccines, to ensure they are safe and can be effectively rolled out across our population.“But even with the roll out of the vaccine, there can be no let-up in the three vital suppression measures that served Australia well in 2020 and must be the focus of continuous improvement in 2021.“Our international border restrictions and robust quarantine system. Our high rates of testing, our contact tracing systems and our management of outbreaks in hot spots.“And physical distancing and sound hygiene practices.”
NED-2712 Aus Vaccine Hopes REBUILD
STATES, TERRITORIES SLAM BORDERS SHUT ON WAMore than two million residents in Western Australians woke on Monday to the start of a five-day lockdown after the state’s 10-month coronavirus-free streak came to an end.A security guard at a Perth quarantine hotel has tested positive to COVID-19 – believed to be the highly contagious UK strain.WA Premier Mark McGowan made the shock announcement that Perth and the Peel and South West regions would be forced into a strict five-day lockdown from 6pm Sunday.Mr McGowan said the man in his 20s had been working at Four Points by Sheraton where there were four active cases, including two of the UK variant and one of the South African mutant strain.The guard from Maylands had tested negative on January 15, 17 and 23 but developed symptoms on January 28.The news plunged the city into lockdown, and other state leaders have been quick to react.
NSW
The same rules that are in place for parts of Perth will apply to anyone arriving in NSW from those areas.NSW Health said passengers who landed in Sydney from Perth on Sunday night had been screened for COVID-19 symptoms.All arrivals will be required to complete an interstate traveller declaration confirming whether they attended any venues of concern. If so, they will be required to isolate for 14 days.
Travellers who have been in the Peel region, Perth and the South West region since January 25 will be required to get tested within 48 hours of arriving in NSW.
They will also have to follow the same lockdown rules as WA residents, including staying home for five days – until 5pm on Friday. “If they do not get tested, they are required to remain at home for a total of 14 days,” the department said.
VICTORIA
Victoria has slammed its border shut to the majority of Western Australia, and its traffic light system is in place.Anyone who tries to cross the border from a “red zone” will face a $5000 fine.Travellers who have visited the Perth metropolitan area, the Peel region and the South West region of Western Australia since January 25 will not be allowed to enter Victoria.Those caught flouting the ban will be taken straight to hotel quarantine.
QUEENSLAND
The sunny state was the first to respond to the news.Anyone who has been in the LGAs of concern and arrives in Queensland after 6pm Sunday will be forced into 14 days of hotel quarantine.Queensland Health said anyone who was already in Queensland and had been to Perth, the Peel or South West regions since January 25 should come forward for testing and isolate until they received a negative result.Acting Premier Steven Miles said border restrictions were being “ramped up to protect Queenslanders”.
NORTHERN TERRITORY
Perth and surrounds have been declared a COVID-19 hot spot by health officials in the Top End.All travellers entering the Northern Territory from 7.30pm on Sunday are required to go into mandatory quarantine in either Alice Springs or Darwin at a cost of $2500 per person.Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the state “cannot take any chances”.“It’s getting more contagious, not less. And that means we need to be more vigilant than ever. We will keep doing whatever it takes to protect the Territory,” he said.
ACT
ACT Health has urged anyone who has been in the parts of Western Australia currently in lockdown since January 25 to quarantine.
Deputy chief health officer Vanessa Johnston said the quarantine period would be the same as the five days enforced in WA.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
South Australia has slammed its border shut to Western Australia without warning.SA Police made the announcement in the early hours of Monday morning. Anyone who arrived in South Australia from Western Australia and is not classed as an essential traveller, local resident or relocating for fleeing domestic violence was banned from entering the state from 10.15pm on Sunday.Those who are permitted to enter will still need to undergo 14 days of home isolation.Anyone who visited Western Australia from Australia Day – January 26 – also needs to quarantine.
TASMANIA
Travellers who arrived in Hobart from Perth on Sunday have been told to self-isolate.Premier Peter Gutwein said Tasmania’s Public Health Services were speaking with colleagues in Western Australia to determine the best course of action.“A flight from Perth has landed in Hobart late this afternoon, (and) 108 passengers have been asked to self-isolate and told they will be contacted by Public Health,” he said.“I am mindful that the WA Premier is encouraging people from other states and territories not to travel to WA at the moment, so I would ask Tasmanians to heed that message and to defer their travel.”
THE WEST AUSTRALIAN LGAS IMPACTED BY THE LOCKDOWN INCLUDE:
Peel region: Boddington, Manudrah, Murray, Serpentine-Jarrahdale, WaroonaPerth Metro region: Armadale, Bassendean, Bayswater, Belmont, Cambridge, Canning, Claremont, Cockburn, Cottesloe, East Fremantle, Fremantle, Gosnells, Joondalup, Kalamundra, Kwinana, Melville, Mosman Park, Mundaring, Nedlands, Peppermint Grove, Perth, Rockingham, South Perth, Stirling, Subiaco, Swan, Victoria Park, Vincent, WannerooSouthwest region: Augusta-Margaret River, Boyup Brook, Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Bunbury, Busselton, Capel, Collie, Dardanup, Donnybrook-Balingup, Harvey, Manjimu, Nannup.BORDER ROW HITS ALBO AND PM’S POPULARITYIt comes as an exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian indicates Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese have both suffered drops in their approval ratings.Popular support for the Coalition has fallen a point to 42 per cent, while Labor maintains a primary vote of 36 per cent.Anthony Albanese faces unrest from a divided Labor caucus, but has narrowed the two-party-preferred contest from 51-49 to 50-50. The federal government’s electoral advantage has dropped by a point to 50-50.
QLD REOPENS TO SYDNEY AS PERTH SHUT OUTHundreds of police officers will be sent back to other duties as Greater Sydney residents enter Queensland for the first time in 2021. The Sunshine State reopened to the city at 1am on Monday, 42 days after locking the five million residents out just days before Christmas over fears of the Northern Beaches cluster. The concrete and plastic barriers are not expected to be taken down until Monday night, but motorists no longer need to stop and have their border declaration pass sighted.
Speaking from the Coolangatta checkpoint on Monday morning, Gold Coast superintendent Mark Wheeler told Channel 9’s Today program traffic flow was “excellent” and the border removal would allow officers to return to their other duties.“(The) five checkpoints we had operating the last 42 days will provide about 170 people back into other operations, into their front line positions. Also remembering that we still have a hotel quarantine program, and we will need to maintain a presence at those airports,” he said.“But most of the resources will go back into front line to give us more operational capacity, which would be great.“I know the staff who have been working on our borders are extremely happy … Everyone knows the job they were doing was incredibly important in keeping COVID-19 out of Queensland, but of course they are happy to go back to their normal roles.”
Meanwhile, almost two million Greater Perth residents have been barred from entering Queensland as the city goes into a five-day lockdown following a positive COVID-19 case in a hotel quarantine worker. Anyone who enters Queensland from Western Australia as of Monday morning will require a border declaration pass, and Mr Wheeler said there would be “very few exemptions” for anyone coming in from the 45 affected local government areas. “Domestic airport terminals will still have a police presence, and we will be scrutinising people as they come in,” he said.AUSTRALIA-NZ TRAVEL BUBBLE RESUMESOn Sunday, Acting Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd said it had been noted that there had been no further cases of COVID-19 in the community in New Zealand since the initial three South African variant cases linked to hotel quarantine in Auckland. Green zone flights from New Zealand to Australia were to resume on Sunday afternoon, Professor Kidd said. Professor Kidd has recommended to the Federal Government that passengers on flights from New Zealand are screened before, and after, flying for the next ten days. AUSSIES COULD GET COVID VACCINE FROM CHEMISTSAustralians are likely to have the options of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine from their chemist as early as May during the second phase of the rollout. Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sunday that the Federal Government will begin an expression of interest process from Monday, inviting Australia’s 5800 community pharmacies to take part in Phase 2a of the national rollout.“They are experienced, they are trained in dispensing medicines, and they would be participating from Phase 2a onwards, and that means more points of presence for Australians in terms of where they can receive their COVID-19 vaccine,” Mr Hunt said.Mr Hunt said Australia was on track to get vaccines from suppliers in late February despite supply chain issues across Europe.An additional thousand health services had signed up to administer the vaccine, he said. “There will be lots of ups and downs around the world. Global supply charges, there will be issues in the coming months, inevitably.
When will I be able to get the vaccine?
“But we have developed a strategy for all circumstances and I think that is extremely important comfort for Australians. We will just keep going and our goal is very clear … we aim to have the country vaccinated before the end of October.” “What we’re doing is making sure there is appropriate remuneration and significantly we are able to increase our guidance on the likely number of points of presence in Australia,” he said.“We had been conservative in indicating 1000. I am now able to indicate today it’ll be 2000, we’ve had much greater uptake from the practitioner community.”Mr Hunt said the European Union’s supply chain issues would not affect Australia. “Our advice is that our vaccine supply and guidance remains on track,” he said. “The guidance from the EU is provisional and preliminary at this stage, so I will remain cautious, but that guidance is that the EU regulatory steps are not aimed at Australia, and not expected to affect Australia.”
NED-1859 State of our borders
NSWThere are no restrictions around travelling to or from regional or rural NSW, or other areas of NSW.However, NSW Health currently recommends practising COVID safe behaviours such as physical distancing and hand hygiene when travelling within NSW, especially between Greater Sydney and regional and rural areas.All arrivals from Western Australia will be required complete an interstate traveller declaration confirming whether they attended any venues of concern. If so, they will be required to isolate for 14 days.
Travellers who have been in the WA’s Peel region, Perth and the South West region since January 25 will be required to get tested within 48 hours of arriving in NSW.
They will also have to follow the same lockdown rules as WA residents, including staying home for five days – until 5pm Friday. “If they do not get tested, they are required to remain at home for a total of 14 days,” the department said.
SOUTH AUSTRALIASydneysiders are allowed to travel into South Australia.But visitors will need to be tested on day one, five and 12 of their stay and must isolate until they receive a negative result from their first swab.Travellers from outside of the Greater Sydney area will have no restrictions and do not need to be tested. Travellers from Victoria, Queensland, Tasmania, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and the ACT can enter without restriction but must complete a Cross Border Travel Registration.But from 10.15pm on Sunday, January 31, South Australia closed it’s border to travellers from WA.If you are classified as an essential traveller, local resident, relocating to SA or fleeing from domestic violence, you are able to enter the state but will have to complete 14-days quarantine on arrival.Anyone who visited WA from January 26 also needs to quarantine.VICTORIAPeople from anywhere in Australia entering Victoria must apply for a permit to enter the state.Victoria has also reopened its border to the majority of NSW.However, those from the Cumberland LGA will need to apply for an “orange zone” permit, meaning travellers from the area will need to take a COVID-19 test within 72 hours after arriving in Victoria and isolate both before and after the test.Victoria has also slammed its border shut to the majority of Western Australia.Anyone who tries to cross the border from a ‘red zone’ will face a $5000 fine.Travellers who have visited Perth metropolitan area, the Peel region and the South West region of Western Australia since January 25 will not be allowed to enter Victoria.Those caught flouting the ban will be taken straight to hotel quarantine.
NORTHERN TERRITORYAll arrivals to the Northern Territory (NT) must fill in a Border Entry Form and complete 14 days of mandatory supervised quarantine at their own expense, if they have recently been in an active declared COVID-19 hot spot. This includes children returning from a hotspot.Perth and surrounds have been declared a COVID-19 hotspot by health officials in the Top End.All travellers entering the Northern Territory from 7.30pm Sunday, Jaunary 31 are required to go into mandatory quarantine in either Alice Springs or Darwin at a cost of $2500 per person.
QUEENSLANDFrom Monday, February 1, anyone who has been in any part of New South Wales will be able to enter Queensland, by any means of travel, without having to quarantine or having to complete a border passPeople from most other parts of Australia can travel to Queensland freely.However, anyone who has been in Western Australia’s LGAs of concern and arrive in Queensland after 6pm on Sunday, January 31, will be forced into 14 days of hotel quarantine.Queensland Health said anyone who is already in Queensland and has been to Perth, the Peel or South West regions since January 25 should come forward for testing and isolate until they receive a negative result.
WESTERN AUSTRALIAParts of Western Australia will entered a five-day lockdown at 6pm WST on Sunday, January 31.The West Australian LGAs impacted by the lockdown include:Peel region: Boddington, Manudrah, Murray, Serpentine-Jarrahdale, WaroonaPerth Metro region: Armadale, Bassendean, Bayswater, Belmont, Cambridge, Canning, Claremont, Cockburn, Cottesloe, East Fremantle, Fremantle, Gosnells, Joondalup, Kalamundra, Kwinana, Melville, Mosman Park, Mundaring, Nedlands, Peppermint Grove, Perth, Rockingham, South Perth, Stirling, Subiaco, Swan, Victoria Park, Vincent, WannerooSouthwest region: Augusta-Margaret River, Boyup Brook, Bridgetown-Greenbushes, Bunbury, Busselton, Capel, Collie, Dardanup, Donnybrook-Balingup, Harvey, Manjimu, Nannup.TASMANIATasmania has fully reopened its border with NSW.People from others states and territories can travel to Tasmania without restriction.However, travellers who arrived in Hobart from Perth on Sunday, January 31, have been told to self-isolate.Premier Peter Gutwein said Tasmania’s Public Health Services were speaking with colleagues in Western Australia to determine the best course of action.AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORYACT Health has urged anyone who has been in the parts of Western Australia currently in lockdown since January 25, to quarantine.Deputy chief health officer Vanessa Johnston said the quarantine period would be the same as the five-days enforced in WA.However, people from WA as well as other parts of Australia can still travel to the ACT.
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