Australia news LIVE Victoria records 10 new local COVID-19 cases states lockdown likely to ease NSW cases continue to soar

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There are no new cases of COVID-19 in Queensland, which is good news after two separate cases of concern in recent days.

Acting Premier Steven Miles said genomic testing had discovered a man who tested positive after completing hotel quarantine likely picked it up there.

Queensland’s Deputy Premier Steven Miles. Credit:Matt Dennien

“The Chief Health Officer has received back the genome sequencing for their virus and it is linked to another returned travel another the same hotel quarantine hotel,” Mr Miles said.

“You’ll have seen there’s a range of new contact venues that have been listed and I just want to say what amazing science it is that our health detectives are able to do this kind of thing.”

Queensland CHO Dr Jeannette Young said testing has confirmed the man caught the virus off a traveller who returned from South Africa via Doha, the capital of Qatar, and was quarantining in the same hotel.

Dr Young said the man had been fully vaccinated in China, and because of that she was not very worried about him spreading the case to other people despite being in the community for a few days while infectious.

She said she was more worried about the man from Sydney and the woman from the Brisbane suburb of Banyo who came across the border despite the man being a close contact of a Sydney case.

“I am still very, very worried about the other two individuals … they have been out and about in our community while infectious for a while so it’s really important,” she said.

“Please could everyone keep wearing their masks, because I genuinely think that has made a difference for Queensland in not seeing large cases out of any of these infected people.”

Queensland authorities are holding their daily coronavirus update.

You can watch via the Twitter stream below. We apologise for not having a video of our own: we were notified of the press conference just before it began.

As we reported earlier, an apartment block in Sydney’s west is in lockdown after some residents tested positive to COVID-19.

The complex is currently under police guard and cleaners have arrived wearing personal protective equipment.

Photographer Nick Moir has been out and about this morning documenting what authorities have been up to.

Police in Victoria will not take any action against Sydney removalists who spread the highly infectious Delta variant to several people in Melbourne.

In a statement, Victoria Police say the Department of Health has finished its investigation into whether the removalists have breached public health guidelines.

The apartment building in north-west Melbourne that was put into lockdown earlier this month due to the Sydney removalists.Credit:Eddie Jim

“Victoria Police has undertaken an assessment of the material provided and determined there is no evidence of other offending,” a police spokeswoman said.

“As such, Victoria Police will not be taking any action and this matter is closed from a police perspective.”

COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar has previously said health authorities would “throw the book” at the trio if they were found to have breached health restrictions.

Victoria’s daily coronavirus numbers are in.

The state has recorded 10 new, locally acquired cases of COVID-19. The Victorian Department of Health says all cases are linked to existing outbreaks and all were in isolation for their infectious period.

Zero cases were detected in hotel quarantine.

There are currently 198 active cases of coronavirus across the state.

Those numbers are off the back of yesterday’s 24,340 tests.

We’re expecting the Victorian government to announce the easing of restrictions at midday.

America’s Food and Drug Administration has told the companies behind the Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines to conduct further studies into children aged five to 11.

As we reported last week, Australia’s own drug regulator has approved the Pfizer vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds. The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation will have to give its own green light before those jabs can go into arms (starting with immunocompromised children).

At the FDA’s urging, the Pfizer vaccine will be tested on more children.Credit:Pfizer

Read the full story courtesy of our world desk here.

An infectious disease expert says states and territories should send their Pfizer doses to NSW and Victoria while warning against extending the intervals between the vaccine.

University of NSW epidemiologist and World Health Organisation adviser Professor Mary-Louise McLaws said boosting Pfizer vaccination rates in Australia’s two most populous states would protect other jurisdictions.

UNSW epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

“We need all the doses from around Australia to go to Victoria and NSW because they represent 58 per cent of all cases to date,” she told ABC radio.

“They are vulnerable because of mostly the breaches in Victoria and NSW.

“So if we can actually go to the hotspots, such as Victoria and NSW, and dampen down that risk by focusing on the 20 to 39-year-olds who have had most infection then the rest of states and territories around Australia won’t suffer. They won’t have to put their borders up, there won’t be economic loss.

“I know that it feels unfair but from an epidemiology perspective you go where you’re going to get most of your results.”

Professor McLaws said the time between Pfizer doses should remain at three weeks to prevent the spread of the Delta strain of the virus.

“Pfizer gives you about 88-per-cent protection [against symptomatic infection] but it doesn’t if you actually extend that dose between dose one and dose two,” she said.

Home learning has been a major talking point since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.

As every parent would know, children aren’t just missing out on valuable school hours when their state goes into lockdown. Extracurricular activities, such as swimming lessons, are also affected.

Kensington Community Recreation Centre manager David Rowe needs another 10 swimming teachers to meet demand at his pool. Credit:Chris Hopkins

And then, of course, there is the casualised workforce that relies on those children. In Victoria, there is a shortage of some 1800 swimming instructors.

My colleague Benjamin Preiss has the full story.

An apartment block in Sydney’s west is under lockdown after a number of residents tested positive to COVID-19.

The Blacktown complex is currently under police guard and all residents have reportedly been tested.

Police arrived at the site overnight following a request from health authorities.

Blacktown, located around 34 kilometres west of Sydney’s CBD, is one of five local government areas of where non-essential workers are banned from leaving the locality for work.

There are 93 confirmed cases in the LGA.

NSW Health has been contacted for comment.

The chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness, Professor Jane Halton, says the NSW government should consider implementing additional restrictions in Sydney to get on top of the city’s current outbreak.

NSW has recorded more than 100 new, locally acquired cases of coronavirus every day for the past five days. Ten people have now died as a result of the current outbreak.

Jane Halton, chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen

“The good news is we haven’t seen exponential growth [in the last little while],” Professor Halton told the Today show.

“The bad news is the numbers are not coming down. What we need to see is a different strategy and we need to see it pretty soon.”

Professor Halton said one thing NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian could do was mandate masks outdoors even while doing non-strenuous exercise, as has happened in Victoria. Last week, pictures were circulating on social media of people along Sydney’s eastern beaches not wearing masks outdoors even though they weren’t socially distancing.

“It is an easy thing to do,” she said. “Good on the Victorians for doing what they did, which was to go hard and early. They’ve done a great job. They’re about to come out [of lockdown]. We need to be a little bit tougher.

“I’m sorry, Sydney. But if you’re going to get out of this in the next two months, that’s what we need to see.”

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