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Watch live: Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt’s press conference
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt is due to hold a press conference at 1pm AEST, with COVID-19 Taskforce Commander Lieutenant General John Frewen.
Watch live below.
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This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good afternoon, I’m Natassia Chrysanthos and I’ll be steering the blog for the rest of the day. It’s been a busy morning – here’s what you might have missed:
- NSW recorded one new COVID-19 case: a man in his 50s who visited Myer Bondi Junction at the same time as an air crew driver who later tested positive. Masks will become compulsory on Greater Sydney public transport for five days from 4pm today, and eastern suburbs residents are urged to limit their movements amid evidence the virus has spread through “fleeting contact”.
- Victoria also recorded one new case: a primary close contact of an existing case at the Kings Park apartment complex in Southbank, which has been locked down due to the outbreak.
- A survey of 4000 Australian Nursing Federation members working in aged care in Western Australia has shown 31 per cent say they would leave the industry if forced to have a COVID-19 vaccination. Elsewhere, doctors warn over 50s are cancelling their appointments to get second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
- Underworld figure Bilal Hamze, 34, was killed in the middle of Sydney’s CBD by a hail of bullets in a drive-by shooting last night. Police have described it as a brutal, execution-style murder that is being treated as an escalation of gangland violence with a substantial risk of reprisals.
- And former special forces soldier Ben Roberts-Smith has been challenged over the truthfulness of his evidence this morning, after telling his Federal Court defamation trial that he made a mistake when recounting the circumstances surrounding the killing of an Afghan man with a prosthetic leg.
Next up, Health Minister Greg Hunt will hold a press conference from Canberra. We’ll bring that to you live at about 1pm.
Victoria requests additional ADF staff to help with storm clean up
By Ashleigh McMillan
The Victorian government is set to ask the Commonwealth for more Australian Defence Force members to assist with cleaning up last week’s major storm.
Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino said he would request an additional 120 ADF personnel from the federal government on Friday.
Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino.Credit:Jason South
He said the personnel would be involved in “road clearing, general clean up, community assurance and doorknocking”.
The State Control Centre confirmed that five experts from the ADF would spend a second day providing logistical and planning support for emergency services in Gippsland (in a region in south-east Victoria) and the Dandenong Ranges (a leafy region east of Melbourne) on Friday.
It comes after some criticism of Victoria’s storm clean up from the federal government. Cabinet ministers have said for a couple of days now that the ADF has been on standby.
Victoria’s new COVID-19 case has been self-isolating
By Ashleigh McMillan
The single new coronavirus case announced in Victoria earlier this morning is a primary close contact and lives with a previously discovered case in Southbank.
The woman lives at the Kings Park apartment complex, which has been locked down for 14 days due to an outbreak.
The Kings Park apartment complex in Southbank.Credit:Eddie Jim
Acting Premier James Merlino said as Victoria’s public health team were able to contact-trace the movements of the new case and there are no new additional exposure sites which he called a “good outcome”.
“Today is a good day for Victorians but the developing situation in New South Wales is a sobering reminder that this virus is with us in our country and will be with us for quite some time,” he said.
Mr Merlino said the more than 35,000 test results completed across Thursday mean the state government had “cautious confidence” on the first day of eased restrictions which reunited regional and metropolitan areas.
There are currently 54 active cases of coronavirus in Victoria.
Watch live: Victoria’s COVID-19 update
By Broede Carmody
Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino and the state’s COVID response commander Jeroen Weimar are due to provide a coronavirus update.
Watch the live press conference below. It’s scheduled to start at midday AEST.
Investigations into NSW limousine driver ongoing
By Mary Ward
A police investigation looking at whether a Sydney limousine driver did not adhere to daily testing requirements during his time transporting international air crew is ongoing.
“Police have spoken with the gentleman and he has been very forthcoming in his information,” Acting Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland said.
NSW Acting Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland.Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
Under rules governing air transportation, people who drive air crew are required to complete a saliva test on every day of their shift.
“We are not casting any aspersions until the police report is completed,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian added. “There is no point dealing in speculation in a pandemic.”
Asked if he was confident there were no other private contractors who might also have not been completing daily testing, Health Minister Brad Hazzard said “no system is perfect”.
“Our system has had 190,000 people who have come through hotel quarantine,” he said. “We have 6500 workers every week working in our hotel quarantine system. We do everything possible to make sure it is as safe as possible.”
It comes as NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant revealed today’s new case and the infectious limousine driver were shopping on the same floor of Myer Bondi Junction.
“CCTV footage ... it showed they are in the same section at the same time,” she said. “We’re looking at different angles to watch how they moving around to see if there is a more direct exposure.”
Dr Chant said it was too premature to determine if there may have been surface transmission.
“We also know there is an individual factor for transmission,” she said. “Some people with the Delta strain don’t transmit further. But we have evidence that this gentleman did transmit.”
And the Premier has clarified earlier comments on compulsory mask-wearing on Sydney’s public transport: that will come into effect from 4pm today.
Victorian Health Minister to cop grilling from cross-party panel
By Michael Fowler
In Victoria, the state’s Health Minister Martin Foley has started answering questions from the state parliament’s public accounts and estimates committee in what will be a marathon four-hour session.
What on earth is the public accounts and estimates committee, you ask? Well, PAEC is a panel of 10 Victorian MPs: five Labor, three Coalition, Greens MP Sam Hibbins and crossbencher David Limbrick from the Liberal Democrats.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley.Credit:Eddie Jim
They hold hearings and subsequently compile reports scrutinising essential government operations. This week’s topic is last month’s state budget. That said, Coalition MPs in particular occasionally stray from the set agenda and we can expect some hard questioning about Victoria’s lockdown and COVID-19 management throughout the day.
Ambulance Victoria chief executive Tony Walker is sat alongside Mr Foley to also answer questions.
Acting Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng will be in attendance from 2pm today with Brett Sutton on leave.
Professor Sutton’s absence has sparked some controversy: he travelled to Canberra on Wednesday to attend the annual dinner for the National Health and Medical Research Council, of which he is a board member. He flew out of Melbourne in spite of the 25-kilometre movement limit, which was only lifted at 11.59pm last night.
The Liberal Party is fuming, saying Professor Sutton has shown contempt for Victorians. The government argues the leave had been scheduled long before this week and leaving the state for essential work reasons was permitted. Senior health officials from other states and federal Health Minister Greg Hunt also attended the annual dinner.
We’ll keep you up-to-date on any developments as they arise.
Wages ombudsman takes Woolworths to court over underpayments
By Nick Bonyhady
Meanwhile, Woolworths is facing court action from the wages umpire.
The Fair Work Ombudsman is alleging the retail giant has failed to compensate its employees properly in a move that could see its previously reported $390 million underpayments bill blow out further.
Woolworths is facing a court claim from the wages ombudsman over its underpayment scandal.Credit:Dylan Coker
Read the full story here.
New venue alerts for Sydney’s north, inner west, south-west
By Mary Ward
In light of the new case announced today, NSW Health has identified four new venues of concern. They are:
- The Twisted Olive at Redfern on Sunday from 12.20pm to 1.30pm;
- Greenwood Grocer at North Sydney (on the lower level of the plaza) on Tuesday from 5pm to 5.20pm;
- The Alkalizer at Campbelltown on Tuesday from 9am to 10am;
- And Adora Handmade Chocolates at Newtown on Sunday from 2pm to 3.30pm.
People who were at these venues at these times should call NSW Health on 1800 943 553 immediately get tested and self-isolate.
“I just want to again highlight the importance of going back over your movements,” Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said. “Check your receipts and your bills, check your movements and follow the public health action.”
In a statement, NSW Health said it has contacted more than 1100 people who are getting tested and self-isolating.
“It is also very important for all household members of any of these contacts to also self-isolate until the contact receives a negative result,” the ministry said.
Masks compulsory on Sydney public transport, recommended inside
By Mary Ward
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced that masks will be mandatory on public transport in Sydney for the next five days.
Unlike in previous outbreaks, these rules will not extend to the Central Coast, Illawarra or Wollongong areas.
Dr Kerry Chant, right, and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, left.Credit:Kate Geraghty
Masks are being strongly recommended in indoor venues including cinemas, and for hospitality workers.
“It is not compulsory but we are recommending that, especially if you cannot guarantee social distancing [and] especially in those places around the eastern suburbs,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We know the virus has the potential to have been circulating in eastern Sydney, in particular.”
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant asked eastern suburbs residents to be particularly alert given the additional case today appears to have been acquired while shopping in a department store. She said the cases emerging in this outbreak were catching the virus in usually lower risk settings.
She said the woman in her 70s who caught the virus at an eastern suburbs cafe had been sitting outdoors.
“We would normally see outdoor dining as a lower risk setting and we would normally see shopping centres as a lower risk setting,” Dr Chant said.
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2021-06-18 02:46:43Z
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