Summary
- Brisbane residents are in lockdown until at least 6pm on Monday and masks are mandatory as of 6pm Friday, in response to the UK virus variant discovered in a hotel quarantine cleaner on Thursday.
- NSW recorded four locally acquired cases on Friday, with one from the Avalon cluster yet to be linked to a source. The upper northern beaches will exit lockdown at midnight tonight.
- Victoria recorded no new cases for a third day on Saturday. People from greater Brisbane "red zones" have been barred from entering the state since midnight.
- Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced caps on international arrivals will be halved in NSW, Western Australia and Queensland until February 15. WA has closed its border to Queensland.
- International flight crews will be subject to stricter conditions and testing, while quarantine workers across Australia will be subject to stricter testing requirements.
Latest updates
Genome sequencing and exit testing to take place before patients with new COVID-19 strains exit quarantine
Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath said protocols were now in place to ensure nobody with the mutant variants of COVID-19 would be released from quarantine unless authorities had full information and the patient took an exit test.
She said it was significant that the woman, who arrived in Victoria from the UK, had left quarantine without authorities knowing her genome sequencing, that linked her to the UK strain. "[That] would not be occurring now," she said.
"So in Queensland, every person who tests positive in Queensland for COVID, their genome sequencing is done at the same time and the results would be known before they are released, to know whether they have the UK variant or any other variant, for that matter, including the South African variant... We would be doing exit testing on anyone who has this other variant."
Victorian officials did not break any protocols in how they acted because exit testing for COVID-19 patients has not been required. But Ms D'Ath said that would now change due to the threat of the new mutant strains.
"I understand that this has been agreed to nationally now as well: we would not see anyone with the UK variant being released before we have that information and they are getting those exit tests," Ms D'Ath said.
"We thank this woman for her co-operation overnight. I'm sure it's not easy to have gone through full quarantine, plus isolation, only to finally get to come home to her family and be tested again and find out that she is still positive."
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said authorities had now received details of the woman's flight from Melbourne: JQ570 arrived into Brisbane from Melbourne at 11pm on January 5.
Woman with UK strain of virus travelled from Victoria to Queensland
A woman who tested positive to the UK strain of COVID-19 travelled from Victoria to Queensland earlier this month.
The woman first tested positive to the strain while in Victorian hotel quarantine, completed her isolation period, cleared her symptoms and was allowed to travel to Queensland.
But she again returned a positive COVID-19 test yesterday when she was tested by Queensland health officials, the state's chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said.
"That's why we are now following through with her contacts. The risk is extremely low, very, very, very low because she is right at the end of her potential infectious period, and with a normal variant, we would not be at all concerned," Dr Young said.
"But it is not zero risk, so we are just taking all of those precautions."
The woman arrived in Victoria on December 26 after flying in from the UK. She was returned a positive test in hotel quarantine on December 27, and then completed 10 days of isolation. She was allowed to leave Victoria and fly to Queensland on January 5, arriving in Brisbane on a Jetstar flight.
"Then she travelled up to Maleny [on the Sunshine Coast] where her parents live and she has been staying with her parents. Her parents have been tested and we're working through any close contacts that need to be looked at there," Dr Young said.
Dr Young said it was uncertain whether the woman was infectious on the flight. "I don't know. She would have been ... at the end of her infectious period, but she did test positive yesterday."
Some people continue to excrete the virus for 120 days after their illness is complete, so exit testing is not typically a requirement for COVID-19 patients to exit isolation.
"You've got to have had first no symptoms for three days, and then second, at least 10 days since you tested [positive]. So she met those two criteria, so therefore she was allowed to leave isolation," Dr Young said.
She said exit testing had now been re-introduced as a requirement for people with the UK mutant variant.
No new community cases in Queensland after first night of lockdown
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said there had been no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 in her state in the most recent 24-hour reporting period.
She described it as "very good news overnight".
"Can I thank Queenslanders who have come out in droves to get tested," she said.
There were about 14,000 tests carried out in the 24-hour period.
"Zero new cases overnight is welcome news, but once again, if you have any symptoms, please go and get tested today. It is very important that we try to contain this virus as much as we can, especially in the Greater Brisbane region," she said.
Watch LIVE: Queensland Premier gives COVID-19 update on first day of lockdown
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is due to give a COVID-19 update on greater Brisbane's first day of lockdown. We will stream it live at 10am AEDT / 9am AEST.
The state's health authorities are tracing and testing contacts of the hotel worker who has tested positive to the mutant strain of COVID-19 linked to the UK. The federal government yesterday declared Brisbane a "Commonwealth hotspot" due to the threat of the new strain.
EU buys up half of Pfizer’s entire 2021 output; WHO warns poor countries don't have vaccine
By Reuters
The head of the World Health Organisation said on Friday there is a "clear problem" that low and middle-income countries are not yet receiving supplies of COVID-19 vaccines and urged countries to stop striking bilateral deals with manufacturers.
"Rich countries have the majority of the supply," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in strongly-worded comments on vaccine nationalism at a Geneva news briefing.
While Tedros did not name countries, the European Union said it reached a deal with Pfizer and BioNTech for 300 million additional doses of their COVID-19 vaccine in a move that would give the EU nearly half of the firms' global output for 2021.
Brian Pinker, 82, receives the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from nurse Sam Foster at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.Credit:Getty
The move would allow EU governments to double their orders from Pfizer to 600 million doses, as the 27-nation bloc races to ramp up the vaccination of its 450 million people. Each recipient of the Pfizer vaccine needs two doses to develop maximum protection.
"No country is exceptional and should cut the queue and vaccinate all their population while some remain with no supply of the vaccine," Tedros said.
He asked countries and manufacturers to stop making bilateral deals and called on those who have ordered excess doses to immediately hand them over to the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility.
The scramble for shots has accelerated as governments also struggle to tame more infectious variants identified in Britain and South Africa, which are threatening to overwhelm healthcare systems.
Britain's medical regulator on Friday approved Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine for use, the health ministry said, adding that it had agreed to purchase an additional 10 million doses as it eyed a spring rollout of the shot.
Three COVID-19 vaccines have now been approved for use in Britain, with Pfizer/BioNTech's shot and one developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca already being administered.
The Moderna shot is not expected to play a part in the first stage of Britain's vaccine rollout, which needs to see 2 million vaccinations a week being given for the next six weeks in order to hit a target of inoculating high priority groups by mid-February.
Instead, supplies will begin to be delivered to the UK from the spring once Moderna expands its production capability.
Reuters
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to give first update after holidays
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is back from holidays and will give her first COVID-19 press update since returning at 11am today.
She will be joined by Deputy Premier John Barilaro, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard and NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant. You'll be able to watch that here live.
It comes as the government prepares to lift the upper northern beaches lockdown at midnight tonight. As reported yesterday, health authorities are feeling anxious about the mystery case of a man in his 40s linked to the Avalon cluster. But the beaches' high testing rate over Christmas has given authorities confidence to proceed with lifting restrictions despite uncertainty.
Dr Chant also revealed yesterday that NSW had detected its first cases of the mutant COVID-19 strain linked to South Africa, in a family of four returned travellers now in NSW Health accommodation. "There are concerns that this South African strain does share a similar mutation from the UK that may be associated with increased transmissibility. That is why we are taking a very cautious approach there," Dr Chant said.
We'll bring you updates as they come throughout the day.
Victoria records third day with no local cases
Victoria has recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 for its third straight day, while one case has been detected in hotel quarantine.
There were 28,337 test results received across the state on Friday. Victoria now has 40 active cases.
Premier Daniel Andrews says he hopes to make an announcement next week detailing when the NSW-Victoria border will reopen. Read more here.
Victoria declares Brisbane 'red zones'; residents barred entry from today
By Ashleigh McMillan
Victorians who have returned from Queensland since January 2 will need to get a coronavirus test and isolate until Monday, as Victorian health authorities warn residents to "reconsider" travel to the sunshine state.
Victoria closed the border at 11.59pm on Friday to anyone who had been in a Queensland "red zone" - Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands and Logan - on or after January 2.
“You will not be able to enter Victoria,” the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said on Twitter. “If you have a trip planned to Queensland, please reconsider.”
Those who have returned from Queensland to Victoria since January 2 will need to get tested and isolate until 6pm on Monday, and await further DHHS advice.
Victoria’s COVID response commander Jeroen Weimar said Victorians who are currently in green zone parts of Queensland should considering coming home, due to the uncertainty of the COVID-19 situation in the state.
“If you’re in Greater Brisbane, then stay there,” Mr Weimar told 3AW on Friday.
“The Queensland government is asking everybody in the Greater Brisbane area to stay exactly where they are, stay locked down for three days to Monday, while they try to find out as much as they can about this case and any contacts.
“I would not be planning a trip to Queensland at this time. At this point, there’s no closure on other parts of Queensland, but my advice would be to start making plans to come home, unless you intend to be up there for a significant period of time.
“As we’ve seen with NSW, we don’t know how this stuff is going to pan out over the space of the coming days and weeks."
New venues in Burwood and Avalon added to NSW alert list
NSW Health has listed several new venues in Burwood, in Sydney's inner west, that have been visited by a confirmed COVID-19 case.
Anyone who attended the following venues at the listed times is a casual contact. They must get tested immediately and self-isolate until they receive a negative result:
- Artisaint Café, the ground floor, 60 Burwood Rd, Burwood, on Wednesday 6 January, 10.30am – 11am
- Bing Lee, 103, Burwood Rd, Burwood, Wednesday 6 January, 11.25am – 11.40am
People who attended the next set of venues at the times listed should monitor for symptoms. If symptoms occur, get tested immediately and self-isolate until you receive a negative result.
- Westfield Burwood Shopping Centre, 100 Burwood Rd, Burwood, Wednesday 6 January, 11.45am – 1.30pm and Thursday 7 January, 1pm – 2pm
- Kmart, Westfield Burwood, 100 Burwood Rd, Burwood, Wednesday 6 January, 11.45am – 12.15pm
- House, Westfield Burwood, Shop 318-319/100 Burwood Rd, Wednesday 6 January, 12.20pm – 12.30pm
- Coles Burwood, 100 Wilga St and Shaftesbury Rd, Burwood, Wednesday 6 January, 12.40pm – 1.20pm and Thursday 7 January, 1.20pm – 1.55pm
- Artisaint Café, the ground floor, 60 Burwood Rd, Burwood, Thursday 7 January, 1.10pm – 1.20pm
People who went to Costume in Avalon at 2/21-23 Old Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon Beach, on Thursday 31 December between 2pm – 2.15pm, should also monitor for symptoms and get tested if they appear.
A full list of venues is also available here.
Brisbane wakes up to day one of a three-day lockdown
Here are some reactions to Brisbane's three-day lockdown, from our reporters in Queensland:
- Health experts have backed Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's decision to lock down Greater Brisbane for three days in a bid to stop the highly infectious UK mutant strain of COVID-19 from taking hold in the community. Former Queensland Chief Health Officer and QUT Emeritus Professor Gerry Fitzgerald said the decision to go into a three-day lockdown was akin to a "short, sharp shock". Australian Medical Association Queensland president Chris Perry also issued a statement saying doctors welcomed the three-day lockdown. "Little is known about the peculiar characteristics of the new COVID strain from the UK and, until we understand how best to protect frontline health workers and the community, we must take an abundance of caution," Professor Perry said.
- While businesses in the five south-east Queensland council areas going into lockdown this weekend understand the risk posed by the UK COVID-19 strain, owners and managers were frustrated by the short notice – 10 hours – given by the Premier and Chief Health Officer on Friday.
Some were angered by images from supermarkets in parts of the lockdown zone – Brisbane, Ipswich, Redland, Logan and Moreton Bay – showing mass panic buying, with several bar owners saying the risk of virus transmission was greater in those supermarkets than their venues.
And the door to a longer lockdown remains open, as health authorities investigate the source of infection for the Brisbane hotel worker. Queensland Health Minister Yvette D'Ath warned that Brisbane's three-day lockdown could be extended if the best-case scenario doesn't eventuate. Ms D'Ath said there were "a lot of hypotheticals" about what will come next, but the government will assess the results on a rolling basis over the weekend.
The best case scenario would involve no new community cases. "But of course, [the] worst-case scenario is we're seeing broad community transmission, and [we're] looking at everything that could be in between," she said.
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2021-01-08 23:17:00Z
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