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Victoria records 24 new cases of COVID-19
By Broede Carmody
Victoria’s daily coronavirus numbers are in.
The state has recorded 24 new, locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and one in hotel quarantine.
The Department of Health says all but three of today’s local cases are linked to known outbreaks. Ten people were out and about in the community while infectious.
There are now 227 active cases of coronavirus across Victoria.
Those numbers are off the back of yesterday’s 31,519 coronavirus tests.
People in Afghanistan will return to Australia in due course: Foreign Minister
By Cassandra Morgan
Foreign Minister Marise Payne says Australian Defence Force planes are en route to Afghanistan to ensure that Australian citizens and their families, permanent residents and visa holders get out of the country safely.
Senator Payne told the ABC’s Radio National that those people would be returned to Australia in “due course”.
So far, 1800 Afghan staff and their families have been brought to Australia under the country’s humanitarian program.
Senator Payne said there were several hundred more locally engaged staff, Australian citizens and permanent residents that were in Kabul and known to Australian authorities.
“I will certainly acknowledge that this is an extraordinarily difficult situation,” Senator Payne said.
“The security issues, the lack of arrangements on the ground in Kabul, make this very difficult for everyone. But we will do our level best to make sure that we are able to support those Australian citizens and their families, the permanent residents and visa holders and applicants through this process.
“But I absolutely acknowledge the difficulty that we face in doing that.”
Senator Payne said all Afghan citizens who were in Australia on a temporary basis would be supported by the Australian government, “and no Afghan visa holder will be asked to return to Afghanistan at this stage”.
She said she didn’t agree with the assertion that Australia had been slow to start helping with the rescue mission in Afghanistan.
Melbourne parents brace for playground closures as lockdown tightens
By David Estcourt
Fitzroy North dad Toby Cummings says the pending closure of Melbourne’s playgrounds is a “punch in the guts” for parents.
With his son Louis, 8, homeschooling, Mr Cummings said the number of boredom-busting lockdown options available to parents was becoming increasingly scarce.
Toby Cummings’ son Louis. 8, enjoys his last swing at a public playground for at least two weeks.Credit:Joe Armao
During a quick dash to the shops yesterday afternoon, Mr Cummings and his son jumped on the swings at Curtain Park in Carlton North for one last ride before playgrounds across Melbourne were made off limits again.
Read the full story here.
ADF won’t be landing in Kabul amid ‘terrible scenes’, Defence Minister says
By Broede Carmody
Defence Minister Peter Dutton says the videos emerging from Kabul airport in Afghanistan show “terrible scenes” and that is why Australian defence troops won’t be flown directly into the country’s capital for the time being.
Australia is planning to deploy more than 250 ADF personnel to help evacuate Australian citizens and visa holders after the Taliban toppled the country’s former government.
“There needs to be order restored to the airport so that there can be safe passage of planes in and out and so that we have the ability to move people, whether they’re Australian citizens or American citizens, Canadians, New Zealanders, in and out of that airport,” Mr Dutton told the Today show earlier this morning.
“It’s all in a state of flux at the moment. We’d need to see order restored. Hopefully, that takes place sooner [rather] than later.
“We won’t be landing into Kabul in these circumstances. Obviously, we have a base close by, which is safe and secure in the United Arab Emirates. That’s where we’ll stage from, but we’ll work with the Americans and others, including the Turks, etc, to make a very difficult, a tragic situation, as best as it can be.”
School closed in Sydney’s west due to positive case
By Sarah McPhee
A school in Sydney’s west will be closed today after a member of the school community tested positive for COVID-19.
The NSW Department of Education has asked all staff and students of Jamisontown Public School to self-isolate and follow the NSW Health advice and protocols.
“Our school will be non-operational effective immediately for the on-site attendance of staff, students and visitors to allow time for contact tracing and cleaning,” Principal Jason Clarke said in a statement to parents and carers.
The school is in the Penrith local government area but is not one of the suburbs listed as being of concern.
Bankstown Public School and The Meadows Public School in Seven Hills are also closed today, as a precaution, due to possible COVID-19 cases in those school communities.
Staff and students have been asked to self-isolate until they receive further advice.
Experts back Melbourne’s tough new restrictions as only way to avoid disastrous outbreak
By Melissa Cunningham, Aisha Dow and Sumeyya Ilanbey
A night curfew, taped-off playgrounds and worker permits have returned in Melbourne as public health officials and epidemiologists warn tough new restrictions are the only way for Victoria to avoid following NSW into a disastrous coronavirus outbreak.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has warned Victoria is “right on the cliff edge” of an explosion of coronavirus cases after several major breaches of restrictions, including an organised takeaway pub crawl in Richmond and an engagement party attended by 69 guests.
“We are at the brink and we need to step back from the brink,” he said.
Melbourne’s lockdown has been extended for two more weeks, dragging it out until September 2. A curfew from 9pm to 5am has been reintroduced and playgrounds will be closed. The number of staff will be restricted on construction sites and rules around exercise have also been tightened.
What are the COVID rules across Australia?
By Broede Carmody
Around 140,000 additional Australians are waking up in lockdown this morning compared to this time yesterday.
Residents of Greater Darwin and Katherine in the Northern Territory are subject to a snap, three-day lockdown. Meanwhile, stay-at-home orders have been extended in Melbourne and the ACT for another fortnight.
Here’s the current state of play.
Police Minister says public tip-offs needed to stop COVID-19 outbreak
By Alexandra Smith, Lucy Cormack and Mary Ward
NSW Police Minister David Elliott is urging the public to tip off police to illegal family gatherings and household visits, saying it is one of the most effective ways for the state to bring the COVID-19 outbreak under control.
As a 21-day police blitz began across the state on people flaunting public health orders, Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned NSW could reach 1000 cases a day “if people keep ignoring the rules”.
A 21-day targeted police operation has begun as NSW races to stop the growing outbreak.Credit:James Brickwood
NSW reported another record number of infections on Monday, with 478 cases and seven deaths. Transmission inside homes remains one of the main ways the virus spreads.
Mr Elliott says having the public report illegal family gatherings and household visits to Crime Stoppers would be one of the most useful ways to help stop case numbers rising.
Read the full story here.
Medical professionals among guests at illegal Melbourne engagement party
By Benjamin Preiss
At least two medical professionals were among dozens of people who attended a prohibited engagement party in Melbourne’s south-east that is now set to attract at least $350,000 in fines.
Premier Daniel Andrews lashed out at the organisers of the “uniquely bad” gathering attended by 69 people last week.
People at the party will each be fined $5500, while the presence of medical professionals at the gathering has been referred to the health practitioner regulator.
Authorities have confirmed there are three cases linked to the party, but tests results for more than half the attendees had not been returned as of Monday.
More on this story here.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
By Broede Carmody
Good morning and thanks for your company.
It’s Tuesday, August 17. I’m Broede Carmody and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day.
Here’s everything you need to know before we get started.
- NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has described yesterday’s coronavirus numbers as “disturbingly high”. A record 478 cases were announced on Monday, along with seven more deaths. It comes as the NSW Police Minister urges people to call Crime Stoppers if they see people flouting public health orders. Meanwhile, regional NSW remains a concern with cases in Dubbo almost reaching triple digits.
- Experts have backed Victoria’s latest coronavirus restrictions. Last night, a curfew (from 9pm to 5am) came into effect. Playgrounds and skate parks are also off limits. Yesterday, Victoria recorded 22 locally acquired cases and Premier Daniel Andrews lashed out at those who attended an engagement party in south-east Melbourne. The city’s lockdown has been extended for another two weeks.
- Residents of Greater Darwin and Katherine are waking up to the first full day of a snap lockdown. It comes after an authorised worker – a man in his 30s – tested positive to coronavirus after completing hotel quarantine in NSW and flying to the Top End via Canberra. He was infectious in the community for a couple of days and all eyes will be on today’s coronavirus numbers.
- The lockdown in the nation’s capital has been extended for another fortnight. Yesterday, the ACT recorded 19 new cases of COVID-19. One case is linked to aged care and another case was detected in a student who had been at school for several days while infectious.
- There continues to be long lines at the NSW-Queensland border. The Sunshine State yesterday recorded zero cases of coronavirus for the second day in a row. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says essential workers will need to have at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Friday if they want to keep working in her state.
- And in overseas news, US President Joe Biden has broken his silence on the situation that is unfolding in Afghanistan. The President says he stands by his decision to withdraw US troops and says it is wrong for more Americans to die in a war that Afghanistan’s former government won’t fight. He has told the Taliban to allow US armed forces and diplomats to leave the airport or face “devastating force”.
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2021-08-16 22:41:54Z
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