With his back to the wall, the Prime Minister faced a barrage of questions from both Sunrise and Today show presenters as well as political jabs from Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese.The majority of the frustration relates to accusations from the Victorian government that Mr Morrison has favoured NSW after offering financial relief to struggling businesses during the latest outbreak.The Victorian government released a scathing statement on Tuesday, saying its residents were “sick and tired” of having to beg for help and the support for NSW represented a “double standard” compared with the relief it was given last year during long Victorian lockdowns.From Sunday, the Covid-19 Disaster Payment in NSW will increase from $500 to $600 per week if a person has lost 20 hours or more of work a week or $325 to $375 each week if a person has lost between eight and 20 hours.But Sunrise host David Koch grilled Mr Morrison on financial support given to the two states, remarking, “You’re being accused of not being fair.”The Prime Minister snapped, “Well, that’s just nonsense.“The numbers don’t (support that). They are two different situations, the Victoria lockdown went for two weeks and what happened in NSW is exactly what has happened in Victoria. “It’s the same support provided by the commonwealth to NSW and Victoria during the two-week period. We are now going into a longer lockdown. When Victoria needed the country last year in that long lockdown on the second wave, the commonwealth was putting in three-quarters of a billion dollars into Victoria every week.“In Victoria, there was more JobKeeper provided than any other state.”Labor leader Mr Albanese was on ABC breakfast radio throwing barbs at his opposition that were then passed onto Mr Morrison during a Today show interview.“Anthony Albanese has labelled you ‘incompetent’ and said the vaccine failures have endangered lives. Your response to that?” Today host Allison Langdon asked.“Well, if negativity was the answer then Labor would be the solution,” Mr Morrison responded, prompting laughter from the Today show hosts.“But that’s not the solution. The solution is, working together, not undermining to score political points.”ONE NEW CASE IN VICTORIAVictoria has recorded one new locally acquired Covid-19 case on Wednesday.The health department confirmed the new infection was a known primary close contact in isolation during their infectious period.It was revealed on Tuesday 300 primary close contacts had been identified and linked to someone who travelled from the virus-stricken NSW.They have been ordered into isolation for 14 days.Two infectious Sydney removalists transited through Victoria last Thursday after completing a drop-off in the City of Hume and a pick-up in Maribyrnong.They later drove to South Australia before returning to NSW, where they tested positive to Covid-19.An entire apartment complex in Melbourne’s west was plunged into lockdown on Monday after the removalists visited the building.The Western Public Health Unit identified a “risk of transmission” at the Ariele Apartments in Thomas Holmes St, Maribyrnong from 1pm to 11.59pm on Thursday July 8.Two members of a family in the city’s northwest have also tested positive for Covid-19 after returning from NSW.Victoria now has 19 active coronavirus cases.COVID-19 Australia: Cumulative vaccinations by state SYDNEY LOCKDOWN EXTENSION LOOMS AS EXPOSURE SITES GROWThe NSW Premier has hinted at a lengthy winter lockdown just hours out from an expected extension of tough Covid-19 shutdown measures.The state posted 89 new infections on Tuesday and a second death – with at least 21 of those cases infectious in the community.During a joint press conference on Tuesday afternoon with Prime Minister Scott Morrison to announce a Covid-19 Disaster Payment, Gladys Berejiklian made a grim suggestion that there was currently no end in sight for Sydney’s restrictions.“The New South Wales Government was very pleased to be able to extend with our part of the payments to all of New South Wales so that no matter where you live, if you‘re suffering because of the stay at home provisions, you are able to make sure that you and your loved ones don’t go through that stress – no matter how long the lockdown lasts,” she told reportersMs Berejiklian went on to say it was the government’s intention to “have this lockdown not go longer than it needs to”, but the disaster payments would provide relief during that period of uncertainty. “Whether you‘re someone who runs a business or someone who’s an employee, you’ll be able to respect the rules we put in place and also have peace of mind,” she said.NED-4175-Warning-for-three-LGAs-in-Sydney-mapNSW businesses who suffered at least a 30 per cent drop in revenue due to the lockdown will be paid up to $10,000 a week to cover costs provided they keep their workers, under the new changes. “It’s really having peace of mind and also the ability to follow the health advice because they’re the two things that will help us get through this lockdown,” Ms Berejiklian said.The Covid-19 Disaster Payment would increase from $500 to $600 each week if a person lost 20 hours or more of work a week – or $325 to $375 each week if a person lost between eight and 20 hours of work. Sydney’s total Covid-19 outbreak has now grown to 767 since June 16 when the first case was reported.The Premier is expected to make an important announcement on Wednesday morning, regarding the end of Sydney’s lockdown, which has already been extended once.Following 112 local cases on Monday and 89 on Tuesday Ms Berejiklian warned there was little chance the restrictions would be repealed.“One day is not a trend,” she said of the case numbers on Tuesday. “The numbers will keep bouncing around and we have to say that. “But I do want everyone to know that our efforts will make a difference (and) allow us to leave the lockdown in a timely way.”NED-4142-Vaccine-StatsMeanwhile, health authorities have issued a new list of venues visited by an infected coronavirus case that span across Sydney.While suburbs including Smithfield, Punchbowl and Bankstown were back on the close and casual contact list, sites across Hurstville, St Ives, Haymarket and Bondi Junction also appear.Anyone who attended the following venue at the times listed is a close contact and must immediately get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.NSW Covid Exposure SitesPM’S NEW $600 PAYMENT FOR STRUGGLING NSW WORKERSPrime Minister Scott Morrison has released details of a Covid-19 support package for NSW businesses throughout the Greater Sydney lockdown. In a joint media conference with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at Kirribilli House, Mr Morrison confirmed the details of the package for individuals and businesses.The Covid-19 Disaster Payment will increase from $500 to $600 each week if a person has lost 20 hours or more of work a week, or $325 to $375 each week if a person has lost between eight and 20 hours of work.It will become a recurring payment for approved recipients for as long as the Commonwealth declared hotspot and lockdown restrictions remain in place. This will remove the need for recipients to re-claim for each seven day period of a lockdown.People will be eligible for the payment even if they are still working, provided they have lost more than eight hours or a full day of work. NSW businesses who have suffered at least a 30 per cent drop in revenue due to the lockdown will be paid up to $10,000 a week to cover costs provided they keep their workers.NSW support payments BIG CHANGE TO ASTRAZENECA JAB Adults under the age of 60 who cannot access the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine should be able to receive the AstraZeneca jab instead if they are in a Delta variant outbreak zone, health authorities say.The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation said in a statement on Tuesday that its recommendations for non-outbreak settings were unchanged.“In the context of a Covid-19 outbreak where the supply of Comirnaty (Pfizer) is constrained, adults younger than 60 years old, who do not have immediate access to Comirnaty (Pfizer), should reassess the benefits to them and their contacts from being vaccinated with Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca, versus the rare risk of a serious side effect,” ATAGI said.“While the recommended interval between the first and second doses of Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca is between four and 12 weeks, in outbreak situations an interval of between four and eight weeks is preferred.“Therefore, people in an outbreak situation who received their first dose of Covid-19 vaccine AstraZeneca more than four weeks ago should contact their vaccine provider to arrange their second dose as soon as possible.”In non-outbreak settings, the preferred interval between doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine remains at 12 weeks.NED-4088-NSW-Locally-acquired-Covid-19-graph
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