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Watch live: NSW and Victoria’s COVID-19 updates
By Broede Carmody
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her team are providing a coronavirus update from 11am AEST.
We are having issues with our stream. Apologies. Hopefully, you can watch the press conference below.
Meanwhile, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews and Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton are providing a coronavirus update from 11.30am AEST.
Watch that press conference live below. If you encounter any issues with the stream, please keep refreshing your browser.
COVID-19 is like ‘drowning on dry land’: Melbourne ICU doctor
By Cassandra Morgan
A Melbourne intensive care doctor says having coronavirus is “like drowning on dry land”.
Speaking during Tuesday’s COVID-19 update, Dr Stephen Warrilow, director of intensive care at Austin Health, said the sickest patient he’d seen with the virus wasn’t elderly, but in their 40s.
“You just cannot get enough oxygen, you cannot get enough air, no matter how much you try [with COVID-19],” Dr Warrilow said.
“The relentless effort to breathe is overwhelming until the point where the patient simply can’t safely maintain that anymore and we have to put a breathing tube down into their throat.
“To do that to a human being is a big deal.”
Dr Warrilow said COVID-19 patients almost invariably had a longer stay in hospital than other patients, and longer stays in the intensive care unit.
He said if hospital staff were overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients in the intensive care unit, someone was inevitably going to feel the impact of that.
“That necessarily impacts on our ability to care for other patients – that includes patients who might need major elective heart surgery for example, or major semi elective cancer surgery,” Dr Warrilow said.
He said staff were tired and “there’s a finite amount of time that people can keep this up”.
NSW Health Minister believes ‘bulk of community’ on-board with public health message
By Mary Ward
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says he is not concerned by small demonstrations against the state’s lockdown and vaccination rollout.
“I think the fact that our vaccination rates in NSW are going through the roof indicate the bulk of our community are very supportive,” he said.
An anti-lockdown protester is arrested and detained outside NSW state parliament. Credit:Getty
The Health Minister said it was a small minority of people in the state who were “listening to people with crackpot ideas” on social media.
“My strong advice would be to talk to your doctor about what you should be doing to stop this virus,” he said.
Mr Hazzard said he was frustrated by people who were expressing vaccine refusal, noting they would be the ones who would need treatment when the state opens up.
“They’ll still expect to come into our public health system, paid for by the taxpayers of NSW ... you’ve got to think about whether that’s a fair way of thinking, a just way of thinking”
A breakdown of Victoria’s new COVID-19 cases
By Cassandra Morgan
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has just provided a breakdown of the state’s 76 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases.
They are as follows:
- Seventeen linked to the MyCentre Child Care centre in Broadmeadows;
- Nine are in Shepparton in regional Victoria (all were in quarantine);
- Three are linked to the Millers Junction shopping centre in Altona North;
- One is linked to the Learning Sanctuary in Spotswood;
- One is linked to the St Kilda East outbreak;
- One is linked to a legal office in Melbourne’s outer east;
- One is linked to Al-Taqwa College;
- One is linked to retail warehouses in Fishermans Bend;
- Eleven are linked to existing cases, but the existing cases have an unknown acquisition source; and
- Thirty-one cases are mystery cases.
Professor Sutton said of Victoria’s now 841 active cases, 182 are aged between 0 and 9, 125 are aged between 10 and 19, 177 are in their 20s and 158 are in their 30s.
In case you missed it, 36 of today’s 76 new COVID-19 cases were in isolation for their infectious period.
NSW Health Minister criticises ‘negative’ unions
By Mary Ward
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has criticised certain health worker unions who have raised concerns about staffing and working conditions in the state’s hospitals.
It comes after two members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association spoke about their experience working in COVID-affected mental health units the ABC’s 7.30 last night.
“Certainly what I would say to the Nurses and Midwives Association is, instead of giving the negativity, how about you get out and back everybody and be a bit more positive,” Mr Hazzard said.
“I’ve noticed that the HSU, the Health Services Union, have been extremely supportive and positive and I want to acknowledge them for being out there and making sure the health community know that we’re all in this together, but I’ve noticed that one or two of the other unions are out being negative.”
Asked about concerns expressed by NSW Australian Medical Association president, Dr Danielle McMullen, last week that the health system may not have enough staff to deal with constant furloughing from COVID-19 exposures and the accreditation process for staff needed to be fast-tracked, Mr Hazzard was dismissive.
“The information the Premier and I are getting from the health system is we have appropriate staffing levels but it’s under pressure and it will be. We’re in a pandemic.”
ACT records 13 new cases of COVID-19; lockdown extended
By Nick Bonyhady
The ACT has recorded 13 new coronavirus cases overnight and each infectious person is passing on the virus to less than one new person on average, but the territory’s lockdown will be extended to September 17.
The lockdown had been scheduled to end on Thursday. Online learning will continue in the territory for the rest of the school term.
ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has confirmed another lockdown extension. Credit:Elesa Kurtz
There will be some minor adjustments to the ACT’s lockdown rules from 5pm Thursday, including allowing two hours of outdoor exercise rather than one. The construction sector will be allowed to partially reopen from Friday.
Only four of the cases announced on Tuesday were in quarantine for their entire infectious period. At least eight were infectious in the community unknowingly. Seven of the cases are linked to known clusters while six are still under investigation.
That means after about three weeks of lockdown, there are 242 active cases.
Chief Minister Andrew Barr says the lockdown extension is “absolutely essential” in order to reduce the current outbreak.
“Today’s headline case numbers show that we are bending the curve down and are getting on top of the outbreak,” he said.
“However, it is a slow process and it will take more time.”
Hesitancy around ‘one particular vaccine’ in Aboriginal communities: NSW Health Minister
By Mary Ward
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard says there has been challenge around “one particular vaccine” in Aboriginal communities in western NSW.
“It’s very challenging and it certainly would have been preferable if the Indigenous community, the Aboriginal people across NSW had been vaccinated earlier, no question,” Mr Hazzard said.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard. Credit:Rhett Wyman
The Health Minister said the Aboriginal Medical Service at Walgett had expressed they had struggled with take-up due to the available brand of vaccine.
Earlier in the press conference, Mr Hazzard urged people across the state to take whatever vaccine was offered to them.
“Unfortunately, the mixed messaging from the last six or eight months on the vaccines, particularly AstraZeneca, has not been helpful to the broader community’s understanding of how important it is to get vaccinated from any vaccine you’re eligible to get,” he said.
He described the failure of the vaccine rollout in remote Aboriginal communities as “disappointing” and “challenging”.
“And today we can either look back and say what we should have done or we can work on making sure things are as best as possible for the Indigenous community both in north-west of NSW and more broadly.”
‘Modest’ restriction changes ahead for Victorians
By Cassandra Morgan
Victorian health authorities will today finalise a plan that includes what restrictions can be eased in the state once certain case number thresholds are reached.
Premier Daniel Andrews said during Tuesday’s COVID-19 update announcements would be made on Wednesday as to what restrictions would be eased once the thresholds were reached – but he stressed there wasn’t a “freedom day” ahead.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Credit:Scott McNaughton
“If we can’t achieve zero despite our best efforts, how many cases can we tolerate – it will need to be a low number, it cannot be in the hundreds,” Mr Andrews said.
“Based on those thresholds and those low case numbers, we will make further announcements about things that can be eased – those announcements will be made tomorrow.
“I want to stress for all Victorians, no decision has been made about what will be on that list.
“We’re looking at all manner of different things that we might be able to do but I do want to, I do want to be very clear with the people of Victoria, this will not be freedom day, it will not be an opening up type day.
“It’ll be modest changes that hopefully can be meaningful in people’s lives.”
Victoria needs to keep driving COVID-19 cases down: Premier
By Cassandra Morgan
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says “you either aim for zero or very low” COVID-19 case numbers, “or you finish up with many zeros”.
“We have to aim to keep these numbers incredibly low,” he said during Tuesday’s COVID-19 update.
“If we can achieve zero, that’s a terrific outcome.
“If we can’t, then we are all the better for having tried to drive the numbers down as low as possible.”
Mr Andrews said there has been some commentary about COVID-19 case numbers not mattering.
He said while they will matter less when 80 per cent of the population is vaccinated, they matter a lot at the moment.
“We need to continue to work to run these cases down to the lowest possible number,” Mr Andrews said.
He said Australia and the state could deal with a pandemic of the unvaccinated, but only if the proportion of those who aren’t vaccinated is small.
Thirty-six of Victoria’s 76 new COVID-19 cases were in isolation
By Cassandra Morgan
Of today’s 76 new, locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in Victoria, 36 were in isolation for their entire infectious period.
The state now has a total of 841 active coronavirus cases.
There are 52 people in hospital with COVID-19 in Victoria, 16 in intensive care and 15 on a ventilator.
The 15 people on ventilators are aged between 38 and 72. The median age of COVID-19 patients in the hospital is 49. The median age for those in intensive care unit is 48.
NSW Premier hopes for interstate, international reunions for Christmas
By Mary Ward
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she wants NSW residents to be reunited with their families for Christmas.
“My absolute goal and dream is to have every Australian be home for Christmas: whether it’s Aussies within Australia visiting loved ones, or Aussies overseas coming back home,” she said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she wants Australians reunited by Christmas. Credit:Rhett Wyman
“Once we hit 80 per cent double-dose vaccination, NSW will continue what we’ve done during the entire pandemic: do more than our fair share of reuniting families, of having a compassionate approach, accepting we’re all Australians.”
Asked if she would go it alone to reopen its borders to international travel when her state hits 80 per cent full vaccination, the Premier said she would be acting in line with the national cabinet agreement and she “hoped [other] premiers don’t back away from that plan”.
“Once we hit 70 per cent double dose we’ll be thinking about, if not beforehand, how we treat people in quarantine when they’re coming home,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“If you have fully vaccinated Aussies coming home, do you expect them to be in a hotel for two weeks in quarantine? Can we look after them at home as we do all the COVID cases now?”
Asked if the decision of some vaccine hubs in hotspot areas to push Pfizer doses out to eight week intervals would affect her mid-October deadline for 70 per cent vaccination coverage, the Premier said she believed the targets remained valid.
“The timing between the doses is based on what is going to give the maximum number of people maximum coverage in the shortest possible of time,” she said.
“We are still estimating we will hit 70 per cent double dose somewhere in October.”
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2021-08-31 02:12:23Z
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