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Australia Covid news live: NSW records 141 new cases and two deaths as Victoria records 11 new cases
Australia Covid news live: 141 new cases and two deaths in NSW, including woman in her 30s; Victoria records 11 new cases
(32 minutes later)
Follow all the latest updates, live
Follow all the latest updates, live
Berejiklian says the government is “doing all we can” to increase vaccination rates in the five Local Government areas most impacted by the Covid-19 outbreak.
Berejiklian is asked whether it is time to exempt vaccinated people from lockdowns in the hope that that will persuade more people to get vaccinated quickly “because they want that freedom as well”?
The answer: no, or at least, not yet.
She says the government won’t be able to consider easing restrictions for vaccinated people until “a larger proportion of the population is vaccinated”.
Gladys Berejiklian warns that yesterday’s protests could result in a spike in Covid cases.
Worboys says yesterday’s protests did not take police by surprise: “I’m well aware that the police executive and indeed all the intelligence around that – we have been working on that for weeks, weeks now, well over two weeks that I can recall.”
NSW police deputy commissioner Gary Worboys says police have issued 510 infringement notices in the past 24 hours, “the vast majority of those to people whose behaviour yesterday in and around Sydney could only be described as violent, filthy behaviour, risky behaviour, that police will continue to investigate”.
Worboys says a strike force has been set up to identify all the protesters: “So I expect over the next few days and perhaps weeks that that number of penalty infringement notices will continue to be high.”
He says that at 1pm the police minister and deputy will provide further information.
McAnulty says NSW health is particularly concerned about a gathering of people in Pendle Hill.
There are 141 Covid cases in hospital. Of these, 43 people are in intensive care, and 18 needing ventilation.
McAnulty says that of the people in intensive care, “one is in their teens, seven are in their 20s, three in their 30s, 14 are in their 50s, and 12 are in their 60s, and six are in their 70s”.
“So this is affecting people of all ages with very serious disease... One person has just received one dose of vaccine,” he says.
McAnulty has since clarified that of the 43 people in intensive care, 42 of them have not had any dose of the vaccine.
As I mentioned earlier, NSW has recorded two deaths overnight. These include a woman in her late 30s from the Sydney CBD area, and a woman in her 70s from south-west Sydney.
“These are very tragic events and our sympathy goes out to their family, friends and loved ones,” McAnulty said.
NSW Health’s Dr Jeremy McAnulty is providing the Covid-19 health update.
NSW has recorded 141 locally acquired cases, up until 8pm yesterday.
Of the 141 locally acquired cases, 87 are linked to other cases in the cluster and 54 remain under investigation.
There are no new overseas acquired cases.
There are now 2,081 cases associated with this outbreak since 16 June.
NSW has seen a record number of more than 102,000 tests across the state up until 8pm yesterday.
Berejiklian says she is “absolutely disgusted” by yesterday’s anti-lockdown protests.
Berejiklian reassures that the government is acting on the advice of experts.
Berejiklian says the government is “doing all we can” to increase vaccination rates in the five local government areas most affected by the outbreak.
Berejiklian says measures include:
Berejiklian says measures include:
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she wants to make two points this morning:
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian says she wants to make two points this morning.
First, she is urging everyone who can. to come forward and get vaccinated.
First, she is urging everyone who can to come forward and get vaccinated.
NSW has recorded 141 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. Of those, 38 cases were infectious while in the community.
The state has also recorded two deaths over night: a woman in her 70s, but also a woman in her 30s with no pre-existing conditions.
South Australian authorities are also due to give a Covid-19 update at 11.30am AEST (11am SA time).
But first, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is stepping up to the mic.
Queensland has recorded no new locally acquired cases overnight.
It has recorded five new cases in hotel quarantine, which were acquired overseas. This brings the total number of active cases in Qld to 26.
For those who don’t watch the daily news press conferences, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant is doing a live Q&A on TikTok TONIGHT at 7pm AEST.
The goal of the Q&A is to “inform and educate” listeners about Covid-19, lockdown rules across NSW, and the importance of getting vaccinated.
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian is due to give a Covid update at 11am AEST.
My first press conference of the day. I’m wolfing down a piece of toast for sustenance. Stay tuned.
While most state and federal government leaders have condemned yesterday’s anti-lockdown protests, Liberal National party backbencher George Christensen has gone far, FAR in the other direction.
He took to his Facebook page yesterday to not only voice his support for the protests, but encourage his followers to attend.
In one post reflecting on the Melbourne protests, he wrote:
In another post, Christensen shared photos of himself attending a local “freedom” protest in Bluewater Quay, and complained that “hardly any media were in sight”.
I put “freedom” in quote marks because having thousands of unmasked people in close proximity during a Covid outbreak is a pretty effective way of helping to spread the virus and keeping people in lockdown.
So here you go, George. I’m covering it.
Nobel laureate Prof Peter Doherty has weighed in on whether other states should divert their Pfizer vaccines to NSW to help curb the growing outbreak as discussed on the ABC’s Insiders this morning.
Doherty cautioned that any vaccine won’t have an effect for at least two to four weeks, suggesting that vaccines shouldn’t be used in place of stricter, more effective lockdowns.
To put this into context: NSW’s lockdown has, so far, Not. Been. Going. Well.
Not only are case numbers growing (163 yesterday), but many of these cases are still in the community during their infectious period (45 yesterday).
The Australian Medical Association president Omar Korshid also warned on Friday that current lockdown measures are “simply not strong enough” to contain the Delta variant in NSW.
The Chris O’Brien Lifehouse cancer treatment centre at the RPA hospital in Camperdown, Sydney, has been declared a Covid exposure site.
Anyone who visited it on 20 July is considered a close contact and needs to get tested and isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result.
More than 100 exposure sites have been added in NSW overnight.
In other news, UK journalist and former Good Morning Britain host Piers Morgan has revealed he has Covid-19. He believes he caught the virus at Wembley during the Euro 2020 final, which took place on Sunday 11 July.
Morgan is fully vaccinated with the AstraZeneca vaccine.
He told the Mail On Sunday that he thought the event would be Covid-safe, but that that hope “disintegrated”.
“It was turning into an unregulated free-for-all,” he said.
The government has announced it has secured an additional 85m doses of the Pfizer vaccine to be delivered in 2022 and 2023.
Prime minister Scott Morrison says the deal will provide every Australian with access to a booster vaccine, if required.
