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| Australia Covid live update: NSW records 239 new cases as Queensland reports nine; 4.5m vaccine doses administered nationwide in July | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Follow all the day’s news | Follow all the day’s news |
| Hello everyone, Justine Landis-Hanley here bringing you the late-afternoon/ evening news. | |
| First things first, let’s catch up with what’s happened today so far: | |
| NSW recorded 239 new cases of community transmission, only 80 of which are confirmed to have been in isolation for their entire infectious period. | |
| Acting chief medical officer Prof Michael Kidd says less than 1% of people who tested positive to Covid-19 in the NSW outbreak were vaccinated. | |
| NSW is also dealing with a Covid-19 outbreak at a nursing home in Summer Hill. Nine residents have been diagnosed with the virus, most of whom have been vaccinated, and have been transferred to hospital. | |
| Queensland has recorded nine new cases. The news comes as the state’s south-east regions complete the first day of a snap three-day lockdown, in response to an outbreak of the Delta variant in Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast. | |
| Victoria has recorded just four new cases of community transmission in the last 24 hours. All of the cases are linked to known outbreaks and were all in isolation during their entire infectious period. | |
| Victoria is also delaying people’s second doses of Pfizer from three weeks to six weeks to ensure that more people can get their first shot. Chief health officer Brett Sutton said Victoria was well placed to hit 70% and 80% Covid-19 vaccination coverage, which would trigger escalating levels of freedom from restrictions nationwide. | |
| Speaking of vaccinations, Australia administered 4.5m vaccine doses in July, up from 3.4m in June and 2.1m in May | |
| Meanwhile, over in WA, Western Australian health authorities are still monitoring nine active cases of Covid-19 on the cargo ship MV Darya Krishna, which docked in Fremantle this week. | |
| As always, if you have any yarns, tweets, or opinions you want to send my way, you can message me on twitter @justinel_h | |
| With that I’ll hand over to the wonderful Justine Landis-Hanley, who will take you through the evening. | |
| Thank you for your company. If you’re in Sydney or south-east Queensland – stay home, stay indoors, you’ve got this. | |
| Guardian Australia’s Daniel Hurst asked what the role of those anti-viral drugs could be alongside the vaccine rollout and other measures. | Guardian Australia’s Daniel Hurst asked what the role of those anti-viral drugs could be alongside the vaccine rollout and other measures. |
| Kidd said: | Kidd said: |
| And on vaccinations - how many doses would have to be administered each week to reach the target of having 70% of Australians fully vaccinated by the end of the year? | And on vaccinations - how many doses would have to be administered each week to reach the target of having 70% of Australians fully vaccinated by the end of the year? |
| Kidd said he’d let reporters do the maths, but said: | Kidd said he’d let reporters do the maths, but said: |
| Kidd was asked if the Therapeutic Goods Administration was close to approving anti-viral pills which would be able to be used to treat Covid-19 at home. | Kidd was asked if the Therapeutic Goods Administration was close to approving anti-viral pills which would be able to be used to treat Covid-19 at home. |
| He said to date the only approved anti-viral for Covid-19 was Remdesivir, which is an injection and only used in hospitals on people who are “seriously unwell”. | He said to date the only approved anti-viral for Covid-19 was Remdesivir, which is an injection and only used in hospitals on people who are “seriously unwell”. |
| Kidd says that of the 2,700 locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 associated with the NSW outbreak and reported to the national notifiable disease surveillance system between 16 June and 28 July, “there have only been 15 people who were fully vaccinated who have become infected”. | Kidd says that of the 2,700 locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 associated with the NSW outbreak and reported to the national notifiable disease surveillance system between 16 June and 28 July, “there have only been 15 people who were fully vaccinated who have become infected”. |
| That’s just 0.55% of all cases. | That’s just 0.55% of all cases. |
| Kidd says: | Kidd says: |
| Kidd said 4.5 million doses of Covid vaccines were administered in Australia in July, up from 3.4m in June and 2.1m in May. | Kidd said 4.5 million doses of Covid vaccines were administered in Australia in July, up from 3.4m in June and 2.1m in May. |
| Australia’s acting chief medical officer, Prof Michael Kidd, says all of the residents of a Summer Hill nursing home in Sydney who have tested positive to Covid-19 have been transferred to hospital. | Australia’s acting chief medical officer, Prof Michael Kidd, says all of the residents of a Summer Hill nursing home in Sydney who have tested positive to Covid-19 have been transferred to hospital. |
| As reported earlier, nine residents at the nursing home have been diagnosed with Covid-19. “Fortunately many have been vaccinated,” says Kidd. | As reported earlier, nine residents at the nursing home have been diagnosed with Covid-19. “Fortunately many have been vaccinated,” says Kidd. |
| Kidd is in Canberra and giving an update now on the national situation. Australia recorded 252 new locally-acquired cases overnight — 239 in NSW, nine in Queensland and four in Victoria. | Kidd is in Canberra and giving an update now on the national situation. Australia recorded 252 new locally-acquired cases overnight — 239 in NSW, nine in Queensland and four in Victoria. |
| In more depressing news, more than 80% of young turtles found off the coast of Queensland have ingested plastics. | In more depressing news, more than 80% of young turtles found off the coast of Queensland have ingested plastics. |
| From AAP: | From AAP: |
| Let’s go to Melbourne for a second, where Labor have announced their new candidate for the inner-city seat of Higgins, Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah. | Let’s go to Melbourne for a second, where Labor have announced their new candidate for the inner-city seat of Higgins, Dr Michelle Ananda-Rajah. |
| Ananda-Rajah is an infectious diseases doctor at Alfred Health, who has been branded an AstraZeneca critic after she described the vaccine on Q+A in February as a “population-level experiment” and cautioned young people seeking access to the vaccine. She has also written opinion pieces in favour of the vaccine and addressing issues of vaccine hesitancy. | Ananda-Rajah is an infectious diseases doctor at Alfred Health, who has been branded an AstraZeneca critic after she described the vaccine on Q+A in February as a “population-level experiment” and cautioned young people seeking access to the vaccine. She has also written opinion pieces in favour of the vaccine and addressing issues of vaccine hesitancy. |
| On Friday she released a statement via twitter saying all her comments have been in line with the Australian health advice, and that people should follow the health advice and get vaccinated. | On Friday she released a statement via twitter saying all her comments have been in line with the Australian health advice, and that people should follow the health advice and get vaccinated. |
| Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles used the press conference confirming her nomination — which was held at Prahran town hall, the site of a vaccine clinic, which feels a bit on the nose — to criticise the Morrison government’s handling of the vaccine rollout. | Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles used the press conference confirming her nomination — which was held at Prahran town hall, the site of a vaccine clinic, which feels a bit on the nose — to criticise the Morrison government’s handling of the vaccine rollout. |
| He said: | He said: |
| For her part, Ananda-Rajah said that in areas with high community transmission — like Greater Sydney — people should take the AstraZeneca vaccine. | For her part, Ananda-Rajah said that in areas with high community transmission — like Greater Sydney — people should take the AstraZeneca vaccine. |
| Sky News Australia has been banned from uploading content to YouTube for seven days after violating its medical misinformation policies by posting numerous videos which denied the existence of Covid-19 or encouraged people to use hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin. | Sky News Australia has been banned from uploading content to YouTube for seven days after violating its medical misinformation policies by posting numerous videos which denied the existence of Covid-19 or encouraged people to use hydroxychloroquine or ivermectin. |
| The ban was imposed by the digital giant on Thursday afternoon, the day after the Daily Telegraph ended Alan Jones’s regular column amid controversy about his Covid-19 commentary which included calling the New South Wales chief health officer Kerry Chant a village idiot on his Sky News program. | The ban was imposed by the digital giant on Thursday afternoon, the day after the Daily Telegraph ended Alan Jones’s regular column amid controversy about his Covid-19 commentary which included calling the New South Wales chief health officer Kerry Chant a village idiot on his Sky News program. |
| YouTube has not disclosed which Sky News program the videos were from but said there were “numerous” offending videos which have now been removed. | YouTube has not disclosed which Sky News program the videos were from but said there were “numerous” offending videos which have now been removed. |
| The Sky News Australia YouTube channel, which has 1.85m subscribers, has been issued a strike and is temporarily suspended from uploading new videos or livestreams for one week. | The Sky News Australia YouTube channel, which has 1.85m subscribers, has been issued a strike and is temporarily suspended from uploading new videos or livestreams for one week. |
| Read more: | Read more: |
| The NSW opposition leader, Chris Minns, told reporters in Sydney earlier that Labor will support “any measure the government needs to take” in order to meet the target of ending the Sydney lockdown on 28 August. | The NSW opposition leader, Chris Minns, told reporters in Sydney earlier that Labor will support “any measure the government needs to take” in order to meet the target of ending the Sydney lockdown on 28 August. |
| Minns said: | Minns said: |
| He also called on the NSW government to release the health advice. | He also called on the NSW government to release the health advice. |
| It’s a very supportive, very conciliatory message — quite different to the course taken by the Liberal state opposition in Victoria. | It’s a very supportive, very conciliatory message — quite different to the course taken by the Liberal state opposition in Victoria. |
| Guardian Australia’s data editor, Nick Evershed, has been crunching the numbers on the Sydney outbreak and says things are “well and truly worse than the first wave”. | Guardian Australia’s data editor, Nick Evershed, has been crunching the numbers on the Sydney outbreak and says things are “well and truly worse than the first wave”. |
| And here’s a state by state comparison. | And here’s a state by state comparison. |
| Firstly, NSW cases by isolation status. | Firstly, NSW cases by isolation status. |
| And then Victoria by isolation status. | And then Victoria by isolation status. |
| Revenue from speed cameras in regional NSW and Sydney’s western suburbs has jumped since the NSW government decided to remove warning signs from mobile speed cameras last year, figures from Revenue NSW show. | Revenue from speed cameras in regional NSW and Sydney’s western suburbs has jumped since the NSW government decided to remove warning signs from mobile speed cameras last year, figures from Revenue NSW show. |
| More from AAP: | More from AAP: |
| An important correction to an earlier post: this is Andrew Hoy’s eighth olympic games. He is has competed in more Olympic games than any other Australian athlete. | An important correction to an earlier post: this is Andrew Hoy’s eighth olympic games. He is has competed in more Olympic games than any other Australian athlete. |