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Coronavirus Australia live: Victoria, NSW and Queensland record no local Covid cases as three new cases linked to Australian Open Coronavirus Australia live: Victoria, NSW and Queensland record no local Covid cases as three new cases linked to Australian Open
(32 minutes later)
Two tennis players have tested positive, but hard lockdown of those who shared flights remains. Follow latest updatesTwo tennis players have tested positive, but hard lockdown of those who shared flights remains. Follow latest updates
Another piece from our powerful Childhood in Custody series has just been published :
The ACT has recorded no new Covid-19 cases.
ACT health confirmed restrictions remained for 10 local government areas in Sydney, meaning ACT residents who have been in those areas can return but must quarantine, and non-ACT residents cannot travel to the ACT without an exemption.
No locally acquired Covid-19 cases recorded in New South Wales, Victoria or Queensland.
Ten cases linked to the Australian Open, including two players.
Restrictions could ease in NSW next week, and on track to ease in Queensland on Friday.
Prime minister Scott Morrison appears to compare the US Capitol insurgency with the Black Lives Matter protests.
A tennis player who said quarantine was like prison apologises.
Multiple reports regarding that earlier bus crash on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road confirming six people have been injured. The road remains closed in both directions between Wye River and Lorne, but you can keep updated with VicRoads here.
As our West Australian readers start to log-on, I bring to you news of possible secession. I have not clicked through to see what other images/tweets etc come up under #WAXIT but please feel free to do so:As our West Australian readers start to log-on, I bring to you news of possible secession. I have not clicked through to see what other images/tweets etc come up under #WAXIT but please feel free to do so:
A $7bn funding injection into social housing would address surging homelessness caused by the pandemic, advocates say.A $7bn funding injection into social housing would address surging homelessness caused by the pandemic, advocates say.
This just in from AAP:This just in from AAP:
There has been a serious bus crash on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Paramedics are reportedly on the scene, but it is unclear how many people are injured. VicRoads say that the road, an exceedingly popular tourist destination this time of year, is closed between Lorne and Wye River, near the Mount Defiance lookout.There has been a serious bus crash on Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. Paramedics are reportedly on the scene, but it is unclear how many people are injured. VicRoads say that the road, an exceedingly popular tourist destination this time of year, is closed between Lorne and Wye River, near the Mount Defiance lookout.
A detour is in place taking drivers inland via Deans Marsh and Skenes Creek.A detour is in place taking drivers inland via Deans Marsh and Skenes Creek.
Victorian emergency services minister Lisa Neville has confirmed there are 10 positive Covid-19 cases linked to the Australian Open, seven of which were confirmed as of yesterday and three more that will be included in tomorrow’s figures.Victorian emergency services minister Lisa Neville has confirmed there are 10 positive Covid-19 cases linked to the Australian Open, seven of which were confirmed as of yesterday and three more that will be included in tomorrow’s figures.
She said during a media conference in Melbourne that the three new cases included two players and a support person, but one of the players is believed to be shedding the virus.She said during a media conference in Melbourne that the three new cases included two players and a support person, but one of the players is believed to be shedding the virus.
All the cases are in hotel quarantine, which Neville confirmed was being paid for by Australian Open organisers, not the state government.All the cases are in hotel quarantine, which Neville confirmed was being paid for by Australian Open organisers, not the state government.
Refugee activists say that 26 men held for more than a year in Melbourne hotels were told earlier today they had been granted bridging visas, and will be released.Refugee activists say that 26 men held for more than a year in Melbourne hotels were told earlier today they had been granted bridging visas, and will be released.
A statement for the activists said the men were being held in Carlton’s Park Hotel, after being moved recently from the Mantra Hotel in Preston. They had been held for as long as seven years on Manus Island before coming to Australia.A statement for the activists said the men were being held in Carlton’s Park Hotel, after being moved recently from the Mantra Hotel in Preston. They had been held for as long as seven years on Manus Island before coming to Australia.
“This is a victory first and foremost for the men inside, who’ve put up with terrible conditions for years but never gave up their struggle for freedom”, said Nahui Jimenez, protest coordinator for the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism.“This is a victory first and foremost for the men inside, who’ve put up with terrible conditions for years but never gave up their struggle for freedom”, said Nahui Jimenez, protest coordinator for the Campaign Against Racism and Fascism.
“As well, it’s a victory for the refugee movement, who have been united in hitting the streets day after day, month after month.”“As well, it’s a victory for the refugee movement, who have been united in hitting the streets day after day, month after month.”
The campaign will hold a protest on 30 January in a bid to free those who are still detained, with the 26 men released today to be invited as guests of honour.The campaign will hold a protest on 30 January in a bid to free those who are still detained, with the 26 men released today to be invited as guests of honour.
Earlier, the Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed her government is looking at “a number of options” for quarantine in the regions instead of hotel quarantine in Brisbane.Earlier, the Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed her government is looking at “a number of options” for quarantine in the regions instead of hotel quarantine in Brisbane.
Asked if that would include a mining camp outside Rockhampton, she said:Asked if that would include a mining camp outside Rockhampton, she said:
Scott Morrison has said he is open to the idea, and the federal government is “already doing that” at the Howard Springs facility in the Northern Territory.Scott Morrison has said he is open to the idea, and the federal government is “already doing that” at the Howard Springs facility in the Northern Territory.
He told 2GB Radio:He told 2GB Radio:
Berejiklian also had this to say about the diminishing prospect of international tourists being allowed into Australia this year and state border closures:Berejiklian also had this to say about the diminishing prospect of international tourists being allowed into Australia this year and state border closures:
I am just catching you up on a press conference that NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has given on the mid-north coast.
She has, somewhat predictably, again made comments about the approach in NSW compared with other states.
Berejiklian said:
“I do want to foreshadow that mask wearing in certain settings may be something we may keep indefinitely,” Berejiklian says about the potential for easing restrictions next week.
“We just want to give people that additional line of defence.
“We also want to make sure what we announce is simple and wholistic.”
“Deep, deep gratitude to the community for allowing NSW to get to where we are,” Berejiklian says.
Berejiklian said some conditions, such as masks on public transport and other high-risk settings, could remain beyond next week.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is thrilled with all the testing yesterday (almost double the number of tests than Monday).
She says the health advice is that they will wait another week before easing conditions, but they are hoping to get to “pre-Avalon” restrictions then if case numbers remain low.
NSW Health will not be doing a press conference today, but have confirmed there are no new locally acquired cases and a significant increase in the number of tests (almost 20,000). Three new cases were found in hotel quarantine.
We have heard from another reader who successfully obtained one of the 40,000 travel vouchers released by the Victorian government today. She says all of the $200 vouchers were snapped up within 25 minutes!
There is a disconnect between the expectations of employers and employees when it comes to “hybrid” working relationships that have developed during the pandemic, according to research published today.
The Adapting to the New Normal: Hybrid Working 2021 report found that while about 80% of employers said they had based their return to office plans on discussions with staff, only half of staff said they had been consulted.
Some 600 employees and 300 employers contributed to the Pitcher Partners and Bastion Collective research.
You can find global Covid-19 news, if you’ve a hankering, on this blog which just launched over here:
Prime minister Scott Morrison appears to have drawn a comparison between the violence at the US Capitol by a mob attempting insurrection and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020.Speaking to 2GB Radio, Morrison agreed with presenter Ray Hadley that the events of the last couple of months had “detracted” from what the Trump administration had achieved over four years.Morrison said:
The apparent comparison between an insurrection and rallies for racial justice and against police brutality echoes comments by the deputy prime minister Michael McCormack, last week while acting PM.
McCormack invoked the “all lives matter” rebuttal to Black Lives Matter protests while comparing them to the Capitol Hill mob.Morrison also rejected critics’ including Anthony Albanese’s claims he was too close to Donald Trump, saying that “reflects more on them than me”.