It came as the State Government will announce further mandatory vaccination requirements for Victorian workers.On Tuesday, more than 60,829 Victorians were given a dose of the Covid vaccine. Currently, 73.5 per cent of eligible Victorians have received one dose of the jab, while 44.7 per cent are double-jabbed.Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said more sectors would join the construction industry and residential aged care facilities that would need to ensure workers were vaccinated.Deputy Premier James Merlino is expected to outline further mandatory requirements later today.The new requirements come as a top epidemiologist warned Victoria’s Covid-19 testing numbers are way too low.Epidemiologist Peter Collignon said testing rates should be sitting closer to about 150,000 – the figure NSW was consistently racking up at the same stage in their outbreak.“I worry the testing numbers in Victoria are lower than what they should be,” Collignon said.“If NSW can get close to 150,000 then Victoria should be in that same range.”NSW Covid CRISIS NSW has recorded 1022 new locally acquired cases and 10 further deaths on Tuesday.Health Minister Brad Hazzard said eight of the victims were males.One person was in their 50s, another in their 60s, two in their 70s, five in their 80s and one in their 90s.Six of the deceased were not vaccinated, two had received one dose, only two were fully vaccinated.“I just want to say to their family and friends my very great sympathy to each and every one of you. When you have someone from your family or a friend pass away it certainly is one of the worst moments in our lives. To each and every one of their family and friends, my condolences and sympathy and condolences on behalf of New South Wales Health as well,” Mr Hazzard said.NSW has 1266 people with Covid-19 in hospital, 244 people in intensive care and 118 people on a ventilator. Of those 244 people in ICU, 181 have not been vaccinated., 54 people have received a first dose and only nine people are fully vaccinated. NSW Covid Exposure SitesMr Hazzard announced that Byron, Tweed and Kempsey Shires will re-enter lockdown for seven days after a positive coronavirus case visited NSW’s north.The lockdown will begin on Tuesday at 5pm. “Unfortunately we’ve had some cases in the northern part of the state, in Tweed, and Byron Bay and in Kempsey,” he said. “And I certainly encourage everyone those areas, take it very seriously. So far those areas have been relatively safe.” Fragments of the virus have also been found in sewage catchments in Ballina and Wardell, also in northern NSW.There are currently no active cases in those areas, sparking fears of more cases to come.The stay-at-home orders will apply to anyone who has been to Kempsey since September 14, and to Byron and Tweed since September 18. The rules will be the same as the ones that apply in other regional communities in lockdown. “Everyone in the affected (local government areas) must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason, which includes shopping for food, medical care, getting vaccinated, compassionate needs, exercise and work or tertiary education if you can’t work or study at home,” NSW Health said in a statement. However the “picnic rule” that came into effect for fully vaccinated people last week will still apply.That means those people can gather outdoor for exercise or recreation in groups of five as long as everyone is vaccinated.VICTORIA RECORDS 603 CASES, ONE DEATHVictoria has recorded 603 local cases of Covid-19 overnight, along with one death.The latest active cases bring the total in the state to 6000.A woman in her 70s from the Hume local government area passed away, Health Minister Martin Foley told reporters.“It’s yet another reminder about the tragic toll that Covid brings,” he said.Victoria has 241 people in hospital with Covid-19, 60 of these are in ICU and 39 on a ventilator. Of the cases in hospital, 85 per cent are not vaccinated, 13 per cent are partially vaccinated, only three are fully vaccinated.In terms of vaccination rates, 73.4 per cent of Victorians have received the first dose of the vaccine and 44.4 per cent are double jabbed.Nearly 49,000 Covid-19 tests were conducted in the past 24 hours.It comes after the state recorded 567 local cases and one death on Monday, a woman in her 70s from the Moreland local government area.Thirteen people have now died with Covid during the latest outbreak, with 833 lives lost since the start of the pandemic.It comes after Premier Dan Andrews finally announced the state’s much anticipated road map out of lockdown where he revealed Melbourne would remain under stay-at-home orders until 70 per cent of the state was fully vaccinated.He said that was likely to occur around October 26, meaning Melburnians are facing another five weeks in lockdown.“The notion of opening this place up very quickly at 70 per cent or 60 per cent simply cannot be done,” Mr Andrews said.The Premier also revealed “sobering” modelling under the road map that predicts Victorian Covid-19 deaths would peak at 2200 in January.Mr Andrews said the modelling assume cases would peak at about 4500 cases a day by December 15, hospital admissions would peak around 3150 towards the end of December and in January deaths due to the Delta variant would peak around 2200.NED-3869-Covid-19-Exposure-Sites-VictoriaNED-4588-VIC-road map-out-of-lockdownQLD RECORDS ZERO NEW CASESQueensland has reported zero new local cases of Covid-19, with the state yet to record any cases linked to the infected traveller who stopped over in the Brisbane Domestic Airport on Friday. But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said there were major concerns over a traveller who arrived in the Northern Rivers region of NSW while infectious at the weekend. NSW health authorities believe the person was infectious in the Tweed, Byron, and Ballina areas between Saturday and Monday. Ms Palaszczuk said Qld health authorities will await the numbers at the 11am NSW press conference before making any decision on the state of the border bubble.“We are going to wait to see what New South Wales does at 11 o’clock and we’ll listen to the advice from New South Wales, but we just need to be ready if New South Wales does anything in relation to that Byron Bay area, so please listen to updates from Queensland Health,” she said from Bundaberg. “The concern is, of course, if there are cases in northern New South Wales. That will cause that would present a real risk to the southern parts of the Gold Coast where I have thousands of families holidaying on the Gold Coast at the moment.”One new case was recorded in hotel quarantine in Queensland in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. 16 NEW CASES IN CANBERRAThe ACT has pleaded with the government to allocate more vaccines to the territory’s mass vaccination clinics as it concedes a return to Covid zero is unlikely. Canberra recorded 16 locally acquired cases on Tuesday, bringing the outbreak total to 641. Just three cases were in isolation for the entirety of their infectious period and at least 11 spent some time in the community while contagious. Nine cases have been linked to existing cases or transmission sites while the rest remain under investigation. Ten people are receiving treatment in hospital and two individuals are in intensive care requiring ventilation. Chief health officer Kerryn Coleman conceded it was unlikely the state would return to Covid zero and focus was now on slowing transmission. “I think we are accepting that we are unlikely to get back to zero at this stage,” she said. Dr Coleman said 31 per cent of Canberra’s cases had been recorded in people under the age of 18. “In particular, those under 12 make up 17 per cent of all cases in the ACT. Another 8 per cent are aged between 12 and 15. And then 5 per cent is between 16 and 18 years of age,” she said.In total, health authorities have been unable to link 77 cases to other known sources. Chief Minister Andrew Barr urged the government to allocate more Pfizer doses to the territory-run vaccination clinics, which he described as more efficient. “In larger, more decentralised jurisdictions, the GP and pharmacy model really has benefits because we cannot have a mass vaccination hub in small communities but we are a city state,” he told reporters. “Ultimately, we just want more vaccines so we can vaccinate people more quickly. That’s the pathway out of our current public health restrictions.”It comes as the chief minister unveiled millions of dollars in additional funding for mental health support. Mental health, alcohol and other drug services are set to be supported by the $14m fund. “It’s okay to not be okay at the moment and support is available,” Mr Barr said. The federal government will contribute $2.5m to support a Head to Health pop-up mental health clinic in the ACT. SHOCK Covid BREACH IN NTA Darwin woman is accused of helping a traveller skip quarantine by releasing confidential information.Northern Territory Police arrested a woman, 37, as part of an investigation by the Special References Unit.Police say she is accused of providing information to a 43-year-old man on how to breach Covid-19 border control measures.The man was arrested on August 27 for related offending.Police allege she provided advice on how to create false records to avoid having to quarantine.Assistant Commissioner of crime, intelligence and capability Michael White said the woman offered to process the traveller so they could pass through the Border Arrival Checkpoint at Darwin International Airport.“The (alleged) behaviour of this person is appalling,“ he said. “For someone in a position who is responsible for ensuring the safety of all Territorians to act in this manner is beyond self-interest and the charges which are likely to be laid will reflect the serious nature of this conduct.”The woman is expected to be charged with disclosing confidential information and recklessly endangering life.Under the Territory’s current border restrictions, entry from a declared hotspot or public exposure site is not permitted unless someone is a returning resident. All of the ACT and NSW are considered hot spots as well as a large number of local government areas across Victoria, including metropolitan Melbourne. Those permitted to enter from those areas must undergo testing and complete 14 days of isolation.US DID NOT SNUB US: PMPrime Minister Scott Morrison has denied he was snubbed by the United States after it did not assist with the government’s plan to bolster Covid vaccine supply through securing doses from other nations. Speaking with Sky News ahead of his trip to Washington, the Prime Minister said the denial had no impact on his relationship with US President Joe Biden.“I didn’t read anything into that at all, because we continue to work on so many other issues,” Mr Morrison said. In the end, it was Singapore, Poland, and the UK who came to Australia’s rescue as the nation’s supply of the mRNA vaccine constrained the roll out of the Covid-19 vaccine. Instead, the Prime Minister said, the focus of the US and other Quad nations was to roll out vaccine supplies to the developing world. “The United States, together with Japan, ourselves, and India, in the Quad relationship in so many other ways, is carrying a huge burden in terms of getting vaccines right across the developing world. And that’s where so much of the focus is.”‘UNVACCINATED NOT OUR PROBLEM’: JOYCEUnvaccinated Australians have been told if they choose not to receive a jab they will not be the government’s problem as the nation reopens. Speaking in Canberra on Monday, Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said Australia had to move on from its current locked down state. “Unfortunately, we can’t wait for those who decide not to get vaccinated. By the end of October, you’ll have more vaccines than people wanting to get vaccinated,” Mr Joyce said. “You’ll have chemist shops, GPs and clinics. If in that instance you don’t want to get vaccinated, that’s not our problem anymore.“We can’t wait round, because the cost of it to the Australian taxpayer is so much that somebody, somewhere has to pay this money back.”Mr Joyce’s comments come as the government revealed two million Australians had been vaccinated in the last seven days. VIC BUILDING SECTOR LOCKED DOWN FOR TWO WEEKSThe Victorian construction industry will be closed in locked down parts of the state for two weeks in response to a violent protest in Melbourne.The Master Builders Association of Victoria has confirmed the snap shut down of all building and construction worksites in metropolitan Melbourne, Geelong, the Surf Coast, Ballarat and the Mitchell Shire from 11.59pm on Monday.In a statement on Monday night, the MBAV said its representatives had met with Treasurer Tim Pallas, Trade Minister Martin Pakula and Transport Minister Jacinta Allan.“We are sending this message ahead of any formal (government) announcement,” the statement said.“While the period is set for two weeks, the restrictions will only be in force until each of those local government areas are in restrictions for”.MODERNA DOSES ARRIVE IN AUSTRALIAAustralia’s vaccine rollout has received another boost with the first batch Moderna vaccines arriving in Sydney on Saturday.A second flight from Europe will bring the remainder of the one million doses.Health Minister Greg Hunt said the vaccine would be rolled out to pharmacies following a batch test by Australia’s medical regulator. “The significant outcome of that is that that means over 1800 pharmacies will commence distribution of Moderna next week. They will start aggressively during the week as they are ready and as supplies arrive to them,” he said. From next week, 4500 general practices across the country will be available to administer the Covid-19 vaccine, up from 3000. “Around Australia we will have over 9000 points of presence next week. My hope is that everybody, everybody who has not yet taken the vaccine will come forward over the coming days and weeks and there is sufficient vaccine for every Australian before the end of October, if not significantly earlier,” Mr Hunt said. The one million extra doses were sourced from European Union member states and are additional to the 10 million doses the government has ordered from Moderna. Australia on Friday hit a major vaccination milestone, with 70 per cent of the population aged 16+ having received their first Covid-19 jab. Friday also marked the national cabinet deadline for all aged care staff to receive at least their first dose of the vaccine. The deadline was set back in June in a bid to stop Covid-19 seeping into aged care facilities. Mr Hunt confirmed 96.9 per cent of the workforce had taken the call to get inoculated. “Although the international figures are not readily available, this is likely to be one of the highest rates of aged care worker vaccination in the world,” he said. The Health Minister confirmed facilities would not roster on those who had not received their first dose. At this stage, the department did not expect there to be workforce shortages as a result. “It has been difficult and it did require mandating and there are some people who have different views about vaccination and that’s a reality across the country,” he said. “But it is a world-leading outcome and world-leading model, which is contributing to lifesaving outcomes.”It’s expected the figure of vaccinated aged care workers will rise when aged care facilities issue their final report to the health department on Tuesday evening. Around 800 workers have been granted a temporary medical exemption and a “small number” have been grant a permanent exemption. Only 50 of the 260,000 strong workforce cited access to the vaccine as a barrier. Chief nursing officer Alison McMillian said the department was working to shift hesitancy around being vaccinated, especially with women around child-bearing age.“Aged care workers are a very female-dominated workforce often of child-bearing age, and understandably among some women of that age, there is some hesitancy,” she said. “We now know that Covid can significantly, particularly Delta can, impact pregnant women but also their children, so this gives us some additional protection, but we need to make sure that we do that in a trusted way.”DELTA DRIVING DOWN JAB HESITANCYMore Australians are willing to roll up there sleeves and get a Covid-19 jab amid major Delta variant outbreaksThe latest Melbourne Institute vaccine hesitancy tracker shows the number of Victorians unwilling to be vaccinated has plunged to a mere 7 per cent, down from almost 18 per cent in mid-June, The Australian reports.Across the nation, vaccine hesitancy has fallen from 20.3 per cent in the previous survey on August 20 to 16.7 per cent, with 9.4 per cent unwilling to be vaccinated and 7.3 per cent who don’t know.Vaccine acceptance is highest in Victoria, NSW and South Australia, while hesitancy continued to be highest in Western Australia (22.1 per cent) and Queensland (21.6 per cent).Vaccination rates in the latter two states are lagging behind the rest of the nation, with fewer than 40 per cent of their eligible populations double-jabbed compared with 50 per cent in NSW and Tasmania, and almost 54 per cent in the ACT.National – 2021 – Covid Vaccination StatsFIVE MORE BLOOD CLOTS LINKED TO ASTRAZENECAAustralia has recorded five more blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine including in a male aged under 60.Two cases, 78 and 91-year-old men from NSW, are being treated as confirmed cases of Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS), a rare occurrence characterised by blood clots and low platelet levels.The other cases, 58 and 69-year-old men from NSW and an 85-year-old woman from NSW, are being treated as ‘probable TTS’.The figures were released on Thursday afternoon in the Therapeutic Goods Administration Vaccine Weekly Safety Report.“We continue to closely monitor cases of TTS as Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca) is now being used more frequently in people aged under 60 years. To date, we have not observed a significant change in the rate of TTS in this age group,” the TGA said.The latest cases raise the total Australian reports assessed as TTS following AstraZeneca to 134 cases (75 confirmed, 59 probable) from nearly 10.8 million vaccine doses.Most cases happened two weeks after vaccination and almost all of the confirmed cases appeared after the first dose.Eight people have died as a result of TTS – six of these were women. A ninth was a case of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), a disorder that can lead to easy or excessive bruising and bleeding. The TGA advises people should seek immediate medical attention if they develop any of the following symptoms after vaccination:– severe or persistent headache, blurred vision, confusion or seizures– shortness of breath, chest pain, leg swelling or persistent abdominal pain– unusual skin bruising and/or pinpoint round spots beyond the site of vaccination.The most common time period for onset of TTS symptoms is four to 30 days after vaccination.
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