Australia Covid news live: Victoria records 11 new cases, NSW treasurer calls for return of jobkeeper
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Version 2 of 19. Follow all the latest updates, live 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. Morrison says: Ohhhhh, things just got JUICY. David Speers has asked Bill Shorten whether he is hoping to take out the top spot once again and become leader of the Labor party (and, someday, prime minister?). Shorten flat-out denied the story which was printed in the Australian yesterday. Speers pressed on, asking whether Labor was being bold enough on the policy front. Shorten, surpise surprise, said: “Yes.” David Speers has asked how many people in Australia need to be vaccinated “before we hit the finish line”. Shorten says about 80%: Asked why some Australians aren’t getting vaccinated, Shorten says: Shorten lays blame for what’s happening in NSW squarely on the federal government’s vaccine rollout. But he concedes that if there are unallocated vaccine doses in other states, they should be diverted to NSW. Shorten also welcomed Atagi’s decision to recommend anyone over the age of 18 in greater Sydney get any available vaccine, including AstraZeneca. Bill Shorten is speaking to David Speers on ABC’s Insiders this morning. Asked whether other states should provide NSW with doses of the Pfizer vaccine, Shorten said: NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has called on the federal government to reinstate the JobKeeper payment, as the state struggles with rising Covid-19 case numbers, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The federal government has already extended a Covid-19 Disaster Payment to eligible workers in NSW. But Perrottet said: Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce have confirmed to the paper that discussions are being had about greater financial assistance for Greater Sydney, depending on how the current outbreak continues. But they warned that there were no immediate plans to boost assistance. NSW health authorities added more than 100 locations to the list of public exposure sites in Sydney and regional NSW overnight. They include Virgin Flight VA1139 on 14 July from Sydney to Ballina, arriving at 11.45am. Anybody who was on this flight is considered a close contact and must get tested and isolate for 14 days from the data of exposure, regardless of the test result. They must also call NSW Health on 1800 943 553. There are also a number of other exposure sites associated with the case: Campsie Centre, 14-28 Amy Street, Campsie. Haldon Street, Lakemba. Health authorities have warned that anyone who has visited either of those locations in the past 14 days must be vigilant for symptoms, given the high number of exposure sites associated with them. We’ve heard a lot about the anti-lockdown protests in Sydney and Melbourne yesterday, but thousands of protesters also took to the streets in Brisbane. Police estimate a whopping 7,500 people gathered in the Botanic Gardens and marched through the city as part of the “freedom rally”. Many weren’t wearing masks but under current restrictions in Brisbane, you aren’t required to wear one outside as long as physical distancing is maintained. Queensland police told the ABC that police “will be reviewing all available footage of today’s events to determine if any clear breaches have occurred”. Two men have been charged after allegedly striking police horses during yesterday’s anti-lockdown protests in Sydney. A 33-year-old man has been charged with affray, join or continue in unlawful assembly, commit an act of cruelty upon an animal, and not comply with noticed direction re 7/8/9 – COVID-19. A 36-year-old man has been arrested and charged with assault officer in execution of duty, commit an act of cruelty upon an animal, not comply with noticed direction re 7/8/9 – COVID-19. Both men have been refused bail and will appear today at Parramatta local court. Victoria has recorded 11 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases, all of whom where in quarantine during their infectious period, according to the state’s health department. All cases are linked to the current outbreak. Good morning! It’s Justine Landis-Hanley here, bringing you the news today. To kick off, let’s recap the biggest stories from yesterday and a few overnight developments. NSW recorded 163 new cases yesterday, its highest daily case number of this outbreak. More than 3,500 anti-lockdown protesters flooded the streets of Sydney’s CBD and clashed with authorities yesterday. And more than 1,000 protesters also took to the streets of Melbourne’s CBD to protest the latest lockdowns. A NSW police strike force consisting of 22 detectives is working to identify the state’s anti-lockdown protesters. Police minister David Elliott says the strike force will examine CCTV footage from surrounding buildings, as well as social media footage that has been gathered overnight. So far, 57 people associated with the protest have been arrested, 34 of whom have been charged. More than 100 sites have been added to the list of exposure venues on the NSWhealth website overnight. In light of growing case numbers, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (Atagi) now recommends that anyone over the age of 18 in greater Sydney should consider getting any available vaccine, including AstraZeneca. |