Here's what you need to know this morning.
NSW road upgrades in budget
ABC News: Gavin Coote
)Tomorrow’s federal budget has a major infrastructure focus to assist with post-COVID economic recovery, and more than $3 billion will be spent on NSW projects.
The bulk of the funding has been allocated to the expansion of the Great Western Highway through the Blue Mountains between Katoomba and Lithgow, with a $2 billion commitment.
There will also be a $400 million upgrade of the Princes Highway south of Nowra between Jervis Bay Road and Sussex Inlet Road.
Other key projects include:
- A new interchange (costing $240 million) on the Princes Highway at Mount Ousley, near Wollongong
- A new bridge for motorists to cross Jervis Bay Road on the Princes Highway ($100 million)
- A two-lane bridge over the George’s River connecting the M5 Highway and Moorebank Ave to the Hume Highway ($87.5 million)
- A bigger interchange with roads to Harrington and Coopernook, north of Taree ($48 million)
- A final business case to upgrade Stacey Street in Bankstown which is the only part of Sydney’s north-south corridor that is four, not six, lanes ($52.8 million)
First vaccination hub opens
Supplied: NSW Health
)Thousands of people have registered for their COVID-19 vaccination at a new centre, which opens today in Sydney west.
NSW Health's mass vaccination hub at Sydney's Olympic Park in Homebush will operate six days a week from 8:00am to 8:00pm, employing about 200 registered nurses and midwives.
They will aim to vaccinate 30,000 people per week, with that number doubling in time.
Sydney Local Health District chief executive Teresa Anderson said only one of the vaccines would be available to start with.
"We're starting with Pfizer. We want to make sure we get that one running really smoothly, and then we'll be starting AstraZeneca, as the Premier said, on the 24th," she said.
No masks for shoppers
AAP Images: Dan Himbrechts
)The wearing of masks in retail and hospitality venues has been eased from today but other COVID-19 restrictions remain in place.
NSW Health yesterday announced the change while extending existing restrictions until May 17.
Restrictions were put in place last week after two new locally acquired cases were identified — a man in his 50s and his partner.
Investigations into the source of these cases are ongoing, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian explaining on Twitter the extension was necessary because the "missing link" case had not been identified.
The following measures are in effect until 12.01am Monday, May 17:
- Visitors to households are limited to 20, including children
- Masks are compulsory on public transport and in public indoor venues, such as theatres, hospitals, and aged care facilities
- Masks are not required in gyms or other similar facilities, like indoor pools or dance studios
- Drinking while standing up at indoor venues is not allowed
- Singing by audiences at indoor shows or by congregants at indoor places of worship is not allowed
- Dancing is not allowed at indoor hospitality venues or nightclubs, however, dancing is allowed at weddings with a strong recommendation of no more than 20 people on the dancefloor
- Visitors to aged care facilities are limited to two people per day
NZ travel bubble resumes
AAP Images: Mick Tsikas
)New Zealand authorities have confirmed quarantine-free travel from NSW will resume from today as previously indicated.
A spokesperson from NZ's Ministry of Health said that while restrictions had been extended in NSW until May 17, the threat to their country remained low.
"NSW health officials have informed the Ministry of Health in New Zealand that the situation in NSW has not changed," the spokesperson said.
"The public health risk assessment for New Zealand remains as low, however, it is important to remain vigilant."
Voting opens amid tensions
AAP Images: Bianca De Marchi, Dan Himbrechts
)Early voting opens today in the Upper Hunter by-election, a day after tensions boiled over between former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull and Deputy Premier John Barilaro.
Mr Turnbull has publicly supported independent candidate Kirsty O’Connell, despite the government needing the Nationals to win to retain its majority.
The Nationals Leader called the former PM "an absolute disgrace" and accused him of "actively campaigning to destroy the Berejiklian-Barilaro government".
As voting opens, the Nationals have announced they aren't doing any preference deals. Instead, they are running a campaign of 'Vote 1' for the party's candidate.
The Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party and One Nation have exchanged preferences, while Labor won't reveal if it's done any deals.
There are 13 candidates on the ballot paper for the by-election, scheduled for May 22.
Drive to cure hepatitis C
ABC News: Kathleen Calderwood
)Will Smith lived with hepatitis C for more than 20 years, and for the last three, he's worked to help people get screened for the now curable disease.
Until 2016, treatment for hepatitis C was long and arduous, with cure rates as low as 50 to 70 per cent, but now it's simply a course of tablets for eight to 12 weeks, and there's a better-than 95 per cent cure rate.
The lived experience that Mr Smith and fellow peer support workers offer is part of the success of a new health outreach program in Sydney's west.
More than 300 people have gone through screening so far and 10 per cent have been found to have hepatitis C.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiWGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTA1LTEwL3N5ZG5leS1tYXNzLXZhY2NpbmF0aW9uLWh1Yi1vcGVucy10b2RheS8xMDAxMjY5MzLSAShodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTAwMTI2OTMy?oc=5
2021-05-09 21:28:57Z
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