Category Archives: New South Wales

Australia Covid news live: new close contact and isolation rules come into effect ahead of NYE celebrations

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Thousands now free to leave isolation after changes to close contact definition comes into force; New Year’s Eve plans appear to be going ahead in major cities despite surging coronavirus numbers. Follow all today’s news

So, it appears South Australia will resist the changes to the definition of close contact the National Cabinet agreed to yesterday.

In a Facebook post earlier this morning, premier Steven Marshall lays out his government’s definition of close contacts, resisting the changes introduced by the PM yesterday.

It doesn’t matter to us whether they’re free, subsidised or other some other thing.

What we as an industry have been more concerned about is having a clear role for rapid testing in managing infections, in keeping the economy going and in keeping people safe.

So our representation to them [the federal government] has always been that there needs to be a hybrid system, because it may only be $10 or $15 a test and yes, that may be a lot cheaper than a PCR test.

But $10 or $15 per person per household twice in a seven-day period is still not affordable for some low-income earners.

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Australia news live update: national cabinet agrees on new definition of ‘close contact’ as more than 21,000 Covid cases recorded nationwide

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Victoria’s case numbers have also come in and 5,137 new Covid-19 infections have been detected. That’s quite a jump from 3,767 yesterday.

Sadly, 13 lives have been lost overnight.

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Australia Covid news live update: NSW records 11,201 cases, Victoria 3,767; states consider shorter isolation time; Qld to change border testing requirements

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NSW records three Covid-19 deaths as cases spiral; Queensland to allow rapid antigen test to cross border; chief health officers are reportedly considering cutting isolation periods to match the US and UK. Follow all the latest updates

NSW cases have jumped again, significantly this time, recording 11,201 cases today. Its the highest ever tally recorded by a state in a single day, and the first time a state has recorded over 10,000 cases in a day.

Sadly, three people have lost their lives overnight.

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NSW scales back Covid contact tracing as health system faces Omicron strain

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Authorities to focus on high-risk groups as Dominic Perrottet admits health staff are at point of exhaustion

The New South Wales government’s Covid contact-tracing system has been all but abandoned, with efforts now focused only on those in the highest risk categories.

NSW Health authorities are under increasing strain as the Covid Omicron variant pushes up hospital admissions, while its virulence means contact tracers have all but given up tracking its spread in the wider community.

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Australia Covid live news updates: almost 500 extra Sydney cases undetected in community for days after mistake by major testing facility

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More positive cases after Sydney lab testing error; ‘sacred’ SCG Ashes Test to go ahead, NSW minister says; Queensland reports 1,158 cases, scraps day five testing requirement after Brad Hazzard criticises ‘tourism testing’; massive demand for testing in NSW blows out wait times as state records 6,062 cases and one death; Victoria records 2,738 Covid cases and four deaths; Tasmania reports 43 cases and the ACT 252 – follow all the latest news

More footage of those queues – this one in Sydney. Yikes. A big thank you to everyone involved for their patience ...

Back on those testing queues, waiting times for results and calls for more rapid antigen testing.

Of the people AAP spoke to, around half were from interstate and were required to take a PCR test. Car batteries were going flat in the line and people, including the elderly, were forced to wait for hours in hot vehicles.

The numbers appear to correlate with people lining up in the ACT to get tested, with the territory’s health minister saying anecdotal evidence from testing teams pointed to half of all swabs being for people getting tested to travel.

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Covid positive test rate in NSW jumps to 6.5%, highest since start of pandemic

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After easing of restrictions in mid-October, positive result rate hovered at 0.5% or below

The Covid positive test rate in New South Wales has risen to 6.5%, the highest since the pandemic began.

The positivity rate is up from 1.73% a week ago and 0.71% a fortnight ago, a figure some epidemiologists say is likely to mean a proportion of cases are going undetected.

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Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks: health experts call for caution as Omicron outbreak worsens

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NSW tourism minister expects lower turnout as leading epidemiologist says best place to watch festivities is from home

Experts are urging caution around Sydney’s planned New Year’s Eve celebrations amid surging Covid-19 cases in New South Wales.

On Friday, the NSW tourism minister, Stuart Ayres, said New Year’s Eve fireworks would proceed as planned under the current public health order, despite the growing Omicron outbreak.

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‘We’re all going to get Omicron’: NSW health minister’s warning as Australia records 9,618 cases

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Covid case numbers continue to grow across Australia with 6394 cases in NSW, 1,608 in Victoria, 774 in South Australia, 714 in Queensland, 71 in the ACT, 44 in Tasmania, 12 in the Northern Territory and one in Western Australia

New South Wales reported 6,394 new infections on Boxing Day and 458 cases in hospital, with the health minister warning “we’re all going to get Omicron” and the Australia-wide tally reaching almost 10,000 cases.

The case numbers in NSW are a slight increase on the already record case numbers reported on Christmas Day.

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NSW reports 6,288 Covid cases on Christmas Day as Australia hits record infections

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Victoria has 2,108 new infections and Queensland 765 as tens of thousands around the country forced into isolation

New South Wales has recorded its highest ever Covid daily caseload, with 6,288 new infections announced on Christmas Day, as tens of thousands of Australians are forced into isolation over the festive period.

Covid transmission is also continuing to surge in Victoria, where authorities announced 2,108 new Covid-19 infections and six deaths from the virus.

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Airport chaos as Christmas flights cancelled over Covid surge – as it happened

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Labor MP Jim Chalmers was up and about on breakfast television earlier today, expressing shock at NSW premier Dominic Perrottet’s slow limp to reintroducing mask mandates.

He said mask mandates were just “common sense” right now:

It’s a bit strange frankly that they held out for so long and in that period we probably lost a bit of ground when it came to tracing and tracking outbreaks of the virus, particularly the new strain.

It’s an interesting thought but it’s not a thought which I think should turn into practice. We have a universal health system ... we care for people who need that care. We should encourage people to get vaccinated, it’s the best thing we can do to protect our health, but I don’t think our health system should discriminate.

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Australia Covid news live: Chant says roughly 80% of NSW cases are Omicron; WA to introduce mask mandate after community case

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WA to introduce mask mandate after community case; SA records 484 new Covid cases; fires break out at Melbourne hotel housing refugees; NSW records 5,715 cases and one death; Victoria records 2,005 cases and 10 death; Queensland reports record 369 casess. Follow all the day’s news live

Covid-19 testing clinics are reducing their openings hours during the Christmas period despite “unprecedented demand” and reports of hours-long wait times in several states.

Guardian Australia analysis shows 77% of the 490 testing sites listed on the NSW Health website on Wednesday will either close or operate on reduced hours through the Christmas and new year period.

Novavax is still going through the approval process. I know they’re getting closer. We’re looking forward to get Novavax into the mix of available vaccines as well. It won’t be until the new year. I don’t know exactly when.

As soon as Novavax is ready to go, we’ll be delighted to get it out there. I know some people have been holding out for Novavax specifically. It will be part of our arsenal and we look forward to helping people access that vaccine if that’s what they want.

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Covid live news update: Australia Covid live news update: national cabinet to meet as testing centres overwhelmed; NSW records 3,763 new cases, Victoria 1,503 cases

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PM says mask guidelines up to states; NSW records 3,763 new cases and two deaths; Victoria records 1,503 cases and six deaths; ACT records 58 cases; Tasmania records 12 cases; national cabinet to meet as confidence in interstate travel plummets. Follow all the day’s news

More than 300 doctors around the world have written to deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce today urging him to seek Julian Assange’s immediate release from prison in the UK on medical grounds.

The letter cites concern over Assange’s apparent mini stroke, warning it may be “the tip of a medical iceberg”:

Indeed his symptoms suggest as much. It is therefore imperative that Mr Assange be released from prison, where his health will otherwise continue to deteriorate and where his complex medical needs cannot be met.

Perhaps our concerns were previously dismissed by your colleagues as hyperbolic. They are not. On the issue of cardiovascular pathology, we have been proven right. We do not wish to be proven right on the issue of Mr Assange’s survival.

We implore you, as Deputy Prime Minister, to intervene with the UK Government to seek Mr Assange’s immediate release on urgent medical grounds. We reiterate that he is an Australian citizen innocent in the eyes of the law, and guilty of and charged with nothing in the UK.

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Australia Covid live update: AMA calls for mask mandate and density limits for Christmas; NSW reports record 3,057 cases, Victoria 1,245

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AMA calls for mask mandate and density limits for Christmas; South Australia records 154 new Covid cases, Queensland 86; RACP calls on state and territory governments to reintroduce restrictions as PM says ‘we’re not going back to lockdowns’; Victoria records 1,245 cases; NSW records 3,057 cases; national cabinet to discuss vaccination timeframes and mask mandates – follow all the day’s news live

According to Seven News Scott Morrison is supportive of an indoor mask mandate in light of the Omicron variant spreading throughout Australia, but not further lockdowns.

Thousands of customers are still without power on Sydney’s northern beaches after the brief but cyclonic weekend storm that felled power lines, leaving a trail of destruction, reports AAP.

It’s a very difficult time of year to be without power, and we apologise for the delays. We are doing everything we can to turn the lights back on as soon as possible. Where we can, we are progressively turning power back on, and as always the safety of our customers and staff remains our number one priority.

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Life in the ward: how do you care for Covid patients in prison?

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‘You can only build a net, it’s never a wall,’ says Dr Michael Novy, who cared for 160 inmates through a flap in a locked door

  • Read more in our series Inside Covid

From prisoners to the homeless and people living with disabilities – these are some of the at-risk communities hidden from public view during the pandemic. Now the health workers working with them share their stories.

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Christmas weather forecast: warm and calm conditions for most Australians and a scorcher in Perth

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Bureau of Meteorology’s official prediction for 25 December includes good beach weather for Melbourne and Sydney

Christmas Day will bring warm weather and calm conditions for most Australians, but those in the north should brace for a potential storm, while temperatures are set to soar in the west.

The La Niña downpours of recent weeks are not expected to make an appearance on Christmas Day, with warm and potentially cloudy weather opening the door to outside festivities across most state capitals. The south-eastern cities will enjoy temperatures just shy of 30C, while Queenslanders should prepare for showers. Perth is set for a 40C scorcher and Darwin may be in for a storm.

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Nearly 100 Covid cases linked to Sydney Taylor Swift party as Newcastle residents urged to postpone celebrations

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Some cases from the Metro theatre on Friday likely to be Omicron and at least 600 people who attended are now isolating

At least 97 people have caught Covid-19 at a Taylor Swift-themed dance party in Sydney, as NSW cases escalate to record levels.

NSW Health issued an alert on Thursday evening about the “On Repeat: Taylor Swift Red Party” at Sydney’s Metro theatre, with at least 600 people who arrived after 9pm on Friday deemed close contacts.

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NSW cases jump; Qld passengers to be released from quarantine; Victoria lifts vaccine mandate for non-essential retail

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Victorian vaccine mandate lifted for non-essential retail; Omicron will inevitably spread through Queensland, CHO says; Qld hotspot passengers to be released from quarantine; Victoria records 1,405 new Covid-19 cases and three deaths; NSW cases jump to 1,360 infections, with one death; potential Omicron superspreader event in Melbourne – follow all the day’s news live

The New South Wales government has picked Kerry Schott to chair its net zero emissions and clean economy board, hoping for a happier outcome than its first attempt.

Earlier this year, the energy and environment minister Matt Kean chose former prime minister and mentor of sorts Malcolm Turnbull to lead that role.

Dr Schott is one of the most outstanding public servants in the country and brings with her a wealth of knowledge and experience which will be invaluable as NSW drives towards halving our emissions by 2030 and reaching net zero by 2050.

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Former NRL player Brett Finch arrested over alleged involvement in a child sexual abuse ring

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Finch one of eight men arrested over alleged involvement in discussions about sexually abusing children and swapping material depicting abuse

Former NRL player Brett Finch is among eight men in NSW accused of being involved in a telephone chat line where they allegedly discussed sexually abusing children and swapped material depicting abuse.

Finch is understood to be the 40-year-old man arrested on Tuesday at a Sans Souci home in Sydney’s south, where police also seized a mobile phone.

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Australia live news update: Victoria records 1,189 Covid cases, six deaths; NSW 804 cases, one death; Joyce opposes Assange extradition;

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Victoria records 1,189 new Covid-19 cases and six deaths; NSW records 804 cases and one death; Barnaby Joyce says Julian Assange should not be extradited to the US; passengers on NSW rail network face another day of disruption as train union strikes – follow all the day’s news

Here is the full statement for the Victorian government on the Moderna manufacturing facility that’s set to be operational by 2024.

Prime minister Scott Morrison has called on states and territories to ease their last remaining Covid-19 restrictions, as Western Australia announced plans to reopen its hard border to the rest of the nation, reports AAP’s Andrew Brown.

Australians kept their side of the deal, it is time for governments to now keep theirs; to step back and let Australians step forward...

To put Australians back in charge of their own lives, relying on the connecting points and relationships that exist between the state and the individual.

Australia is going to be connected and together again...

This will be welcome news for thousands of Western Australians looking forward to reuniting with family and friends after so long apart.

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