There was also one infection reported in returned travellers on Saturday. It brings the state’s total number of active cases to 165 — up from 158.Health Minister Yvette D’Ath confirmed all six local cases were linked to the state’s Indooroopilly cluster — now at 143 cases — and none of them have been infectious while in the community.She thanked those Queenslanders for staying at home. Deputy chief health officer Dr James Smith said the one-year-old was a sibling of a child already infected and was in hospital with the virus in a stable condition. The remaining five cases were adults linked to either the Brisbane Boys‘ Grammar School or the Ironside State School. “The numbers are looking very reassuring,” Dr Smith said. There are currently 8514 people completing required quarantine.The case that presented from hotel quarantine was a four-year-old child who arrived from Cambodia. Chief health officer Jeannette Young on Friday warned more outbreaks were inevitable after seven local cases were identified.“I can’t say if they’ll come out of NSW, if they’ll come out of our international borders, or if they’ll come from the cases they’ve clearly got in the ACT,” she said. “They could come from anywhere.“We will see more cases in our community so we need to be prepared for that.”All of the seven cases were linked to the state’s Delta cluster; one connected to the Japanese language class at St Aidan’s Anglican Girls School while the others were connected to Ironside State School and Brisbane Grammar School.NED-3869-Covid-19-Exposure-Sites-QldVICTORIA HAS 21 NEW CASESThere have been 21 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases recorded in Victoria on Saturday. It brings the state’s total number of active cases to 163 — up from 148.The Victorian Department of Health confirmed all of today’s cases were linked to the recent outbreak that forced Greater Melbourne into its seventh lockdown. Of today’s total number, only 11 were in quarantine during their entire infectious periods.There were 15 local cases recorded on Friday and zero infections from international arrivals. NED-3869-Covid-19-Exposure-Sites-VictoriaNSW SAYS NO TO TIGHTER LOCKDOWNNSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has blocked harsher lockdown restrictions recommended by police, refusing to limit outdoor exercise to a 5km radius to prevent high numbers of people at Sydney’s beaches.But, according to a report in The Australian, the NSW government’s crisis cabinet yesterday agreed to strengthen existing measures, including closing a loophole that allowed Sydneysiders to travel between places of residence.There will also be a new $320 payment for people living in the worst affected areas who must isolate after a Covid-19 test, similar to Victoria’s $450 allowance available to all residents.The payments will be made to residents of nine local government areas, but could be extended if deemed necessary by health bureaucrats.Officials said there were some doubts about the effectiveness of the Victorian payments.With a record 390 infections reported in NSW on Friday, other premiers have brought up concerns the Berejiklian government has abandoned attempts to eradicate the coronavirus.Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was “very concerned” about the number of new infections.“I think we would need to hear very clearly from NSW what their clear plan is for containment,” she said. “It’s absolutely imperative that NSW contains this virus.”PM HAPPY WITH VAXX PROGRAMMeanwhile, Scott Morrison says he is encouraged by how much Australia’s vaccination program is gathering pace.Speaking after national cabinet, the prime minister said one in four eligible Australians are fully vaccinated compared to just 11.6 per cent one month ago.“What is encouraging is that the vaccination program is continuing to escalate. It is continuing to get higher and higher marks every day and I think that gives all Australians great hope about the path ahead,” Mr Morrison said.In Tasmania and the ACT, first dose vaccinations have gone above 50 per cent; NSW is at more than 50 per cent and other states are expected to achieve the same rate.In Victoria, vaccinations are just shy of 25 per cent on second dose vaccinations.“For the national plan for us to move to 70 per cent, the whole country needs to get to about the 70 per cent mark. And then each and every state needs to move into that. As you can see, Tasmania is really leading the charge. They are now at 52.5 per cent on their first vaccines and they are over 30 per cent now in Tasmania in double dose full vaccinations in that state.”On Thursday, there were more than 270,000 vaccinations in Australia, the “equivalent in per capita terms to the fourth best day they had in the UK ever,” the prime minister said.“So the vaccination rates now being achieved under operation Covid Shield right across the country is now hitting those world-class marks that is necessary to get Australia where we want to get to. One million doses in just four days. That is an extraordinary effort Australians,” he said.Australia is just shy of 15 million of doses delivered around Australia.NED-4292-Percentage-of-eligible-population-fully-vaccinated-by-stateMr Morrison mentioned the work Victoria, Tasmania and NT are doing on vaccine passports but said no decision had been made on whether to use them.“It is looking at the exemption arrangements for vaccinated persons in Australia. This is done on the basis of public health knowledge that if you are vaccinated you present less of a public risk to yourself and to others around you, your work colleagues, your community and so if people present less of a health risk, then it only stands to reason that you would have different arrangements,” he said.“We are continuing to work through that. No decisions on that yet. As you know, they will take place when we reach those 70 per cent marks and we are making great progress towards that but that work will continue to be done, including the tools that will be necessary to support those arrangements by states and territories.”Mr Morrison said $2.256b has been paid out in Covid disaster payments for people in lockdowns.Of these $1b in NSW to 762,879 people; $260m in Victoria to 252,843 people; $98.7m to Queenslanders, and $45m in SA to 80,669 people.National cabinet discussed mandating vaccination in some businesses but not at large, he said.“If a business feels that they think they need to do it to protect themselves, potentially about an employee who might bring an action against them if they were to become ill, then I am saying that that would happen because a state workplace health and safety law might provide for that. What I have advised the stated territories today is through the workplace health and safety regulators they can take action to prevent that situation,” he said.He later added: “We’re not running a mandatory vaccination program. We are not running one. In specific cases we may seek to do that for public-health reasons but otherwise, that is just not how we do things in Australia.”Vaccine LocatorHe also signalled there will not be a requirement for teachers to be vaccinated.“I would hope that teachers of course are going to get vaccinated,” he said.Australia’s chief health officer Paul Kelly repeated the PM’s sentiment that Australia “is clearly in the middle of its third wave”, following the initial spread and Victoria’s outbreak last year.“This is clearly our third wave in Australia,” Mr Kelly said.“The first wave you would remember right back in the beginning of the pandemic was mostly related to people coming from overseas … and some local cases. “Almost exactly at this time last year we were faced with a terrible situation in Victoria and that wave, which was mostly locally acquired cases in Melbourne. “Now we’re in this wave which is not entirely, but mostly, in New South Wales. “In fact, we have active outbreaks at the moment in four of our eight jurisdictions.”Queensland’s outbreak is now “definitely under control”, while the Victorian outbreak is “coming under control”, he said.In NSW case numbers are still quite high, but the high number of vulnerable people who are vaccinated has saved us from the “terrible death rate” we saw last year.“Because of the success rate of vaccination, the terrible death rate has not been replicated this year, in terms of deaths,” he said.“That is mostly because our oldest population, including those in age get are largely protected by vaccination so a very important point.”Australia’s Covid-19 Taskforce Commander Lieutenant General John Frewen agreed the “numbers in the rollout are very encouraging”.“The real sense of momentum is clear,” he added. “The Prime Minister has mentioned we are closing on almost 50 per cent of the nation having received their first dose now, and one in four Australians are now fully vaccination. A million doses delivered in four days.”Gen Frewen thanked the GPs, pharmacists, state hubs and clinics and Aboriginal health services for their work in carrying out the rollout.He also thanked Australians that were getting the jab.“Recent surveys indicate to us that 79 per cent of Australians are prepared to get vaccinated and another 14 per cent are still deciding whether they will,” he said.“So those are also really encouraging numbers and I want to thank all of those Australians who have already come forward and encourage everyone who hasn’t done so to get a booking in and to get that first jab done.”TWO DEATHS, 390 NEW CASES IN NSWNew South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has revealed 390 new Covid-19 cases and two more deaths from the virus.The Premier said a unvaccinated woman in her 40s in southwestern Sydney died at home.A man in his late 90s in the Hunter, New England area also died, and he was vaccinated, but also under palliative care. Ms Berejiklian said that while there is ongoing stabilisation in Fairfield and Canterbury-Bankstown areas, Blacktown and Mount Druitt are now areas of concern. “We are really wanting to make sure that people living in Blacktown and Mount Druitt and those adjoining suburbs come forward for testing and stay home,” she told a media conference.“If they haven’t already got vaccinated, and they don’t have symptoms, come forward and get vaccinated. “Unfortunately, also around the Dubbo region, Dubbo in western New South Wales is becoming a big challenge health wise with 25 cases overnight.”From Monday next week, 100,000 authorised workers aged between 16 and 39 years of age from one of the LGAs of concern in greater Sydney will be getting a jab. “So through their workplaces, and other points of contact, they will be sent invitations, over and above what doing already, 100,000 authorised workers, we know that workplaces and households remain and continue to be the greatest source of infection,” she said.“We know there are categories of workers who just can’t stay home because of the work they do, whether it is in healthcare or getting food on our table, they must work, knowing that they are going to get vaccinated gives us a greater degree of confidence in trying to reduce the spread but also in making sure that people stay out of hospital, and that’s what we need to ensure.”She said there were still people in the state who weren’t “doing the right thing”.“People are saying, oh, I didn’t know this was this or that was that. Police are doing an incredible job in terms of compliance but let’s not pretend that people are doing the right thing.”“People are knowingly doing the wrong thing, and pretending it is because they did not understand. We have been very clear about what the rules are.”Ms Berejiklian said: “Stay at home unless you absolutely have to leave your house because of authorised work and make sure, if you have symptoms, you don’t leave the house — you get tested, and stay home, and isolate, and of course come forward and get vaccinated.”“People know the basic rules … some streets are absolutely bare, there is no-one around. The vast majority of people are doing the right thing. “But when a handful don’t, it is a setback for all of us.”A statewide lockdown is not imminent, Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.“We have tried to balance all along through this keeping our economy open.”He added: “It is a pretty awful time. So we’re still trying to strike that in New South Wales, we have no intention to do that at this point.”NSW deputy chief health officer Dr Marianne Gale said there were almost 131,000 tests reported to 8pm last night. A total of 63 cases are in intensive care, and 30 require ventilation. Of the 63 in ICU, four are in their 20s, six are in their 30s, five in their 40s, and 15 in their 50s.NED-3760-NSW’s new Covid restrictionsNED-4339-New-South-Wales-LGAs-In-Lock-DownNSW Covid Exposure Sites. MANDATORY JAB POWERS FOR HOTSPOT EMPLOYERSAustralia’s workplace regulator has paved the way for employers to require mandatory vaccinations of workers against Covid-19 where businesses are running in lockdown hot spots.However, in an expected legal guidance on the vaccination regimen, released on Thursday night, the Fair Work Ombudsman cautioned employers might not have the power to require mandatory vaccination where there had not been a Covid-19 transmission for a while, according to a report in The Australian.The ombudsman said that employers could advise employees to be vaccinated if the direction was lawful and reasonable, but whether a direction was lawful and reasonable would be “fact-dependent” and needed to be looked at on a case-by-case basis.The advice will disappoint business groups, which have been pushing for legal certainty around the mandatory vaccinations of workers. Scott Morrison suggested last week that the federal government would not be legislating to aid mandatory vaccinations, saying employers would have to be ready to defend their actions in court.The Fair Work Ombudsman’s advice was released as NSW recorded 345 new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 and two deaths.NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian tightened lockdown restrictions in the local government districts of Burwood, Strathfield and Bayside as infections spread into the these areas.Canberra was also put into a snap seven-day lockdown on Thursday when a Covid case was discovered.The Fair Work Ombudsman’s updated guidance came as the push to vaccinate 70 per cent of eligible Australians passed the halfway point, with 14.48 million doses now given.National cabinet has set 70 per cent as the threshold for the initial easing of Covid restrictions.Based on the current rollout trajectory, the 70 per cent threshold of having 14.43 million Australians aged 16 and over fully vaccinated should be reached during October.– with additional reporting by James Hall and Emily Cosenza
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