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Victoria records 507 new cases, one death
Victoria has recorded 507 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24-hour reporting period, and one death.
There were also 43,441 vaccine doses administered across the state.
Victorians eagerly awaiting the release of the state’s re-opening road map, expected today
By Michael Fowler and Paul Sakkal
It’s a big day for Victorians as they prepare for the state government to unveil its re-opening road map.
The plan will outline Victoria’s path out of lockdowns in line with the nationally agreed targets of 70 and 80 per cent double dose vaccination coverage. The former is expected in mid to late October and the latter in November.
A minor easing of travel restrictions and hospitality rules are expected at the 70 per cent double dose target, but the details were still being thrashed out between Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton and cabinet last night.
A minor easing of travel restrictions and hospitality rules are expected at the 70 per cent double dose target in Victoria.Credit:Eddie Jim
Some government sources said they expected Victoria’s plan to be more conservative than that of NSW, where pubs and restaurants will reopen and five visitors will be allowed in the home once the 70 per cent double dose target is achieved.
They said Professor Sutton had conveyed at meetings this week that the 80 per cent vaccination mark should be the trigger for the wider easing of restrictions to avoid hospitals being overrun.
Government sources also said ministers and Professor Sutton’s public health team were not in lock-step on elements of the move to allow picnics at the 70 per cent first dose target, as Mr Andrews announced on Thursday.
The disagreements between ministers and the Chief Health Officer began midweek and - while internal debates are not unusual - the friction highlights the difficulty the government faces in trying to restore normality for weary Victorians while maintaining control over case numbers and hospitalisations.
Stay tuned for further updates throughout the day. We’ll let you know when we’re expecting an announcement.
Federal AMA backs reopening plan, no need to vaccinate kids first
By Michael Koziol
The Australian Medical Association has cautiously backed the national plan for reopening and says there is no need to vaccinate children as a prerequisite to ending lockdowns.
However, it warned cities with major outbreaks may need to reopen slower than planned to prevent overwhelming hospitals.
In what it describes as a “middle ground” position paper released today, the peak medical body broadly backs the Doherty Institute’s thresholds for reopening the country once 70 and 80 per cent of the population aged 16 and over is vaccinated.
Residents in some parts of Sydney began picnics this weekend ahead of further reopening next month.Credit:Steven Siewert
But it warns policymakers that easing restrictions with a large number of new infections each day risks overloading contact tracers and hospitals, and calls for the maintenance of “high-impact public health measures” for longer in Sydney and Melbourne.
“There’s a lot more at stake here than just our ability to go back to our normal lives and go out for dinner,” AMA federal president Omar Khorshid said.
The communique comes amid debate about whether 12- to 15-year-olds - who are now eligible for a Pfizer jab - should be vaccinated before lockdowns end, and whether the thresholds for reopening should be more ambitious.
Perth-based Dr Khorshid said it was not necessary to wait until that teenage cohort was vaccinated before opening borders. Instead, the AMA is calling for all age groups to be included in vaccination targets for the final “phase D” of the reopening plan, which largely resembles pre-COVID settings.
France could suspend military co-operation and trade talks with Australia
By Anthony Galloway, James Massola and Bevan Shields
French outrage at Australia’s decision to abandon a $90 billion submarine deal has escalated to a dramatic new level with President Emmanuel Macron recalling his ambassador from Canberra amid warnings that future trade deals and military ties between the nations are in jeopardy.
Recalled ambassador to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault has told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that Australia engaged in “lies and treason” for 18 months behind his nation’s back.
French ambassdor to Australia Jean-Pierre Thebault says there has been a breach of trust between the two countries.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
Paris took the extraordinary step of recalling its ambassadors from both Australia and the United States yesterday, citing “unacceptable behaviour between allies and partners” stemming directly from Australia’s decision to walk away from the French deal and buy a nuclear-powered submarine fleet from the US and Britain instead.
Mr Thebault said there was an “intentional breach of trust” and “when something serious happens between two countries, really serious, there is a need for reassessment, and obviously consultation at high levels”.
“For us clearly, such a decision announced without any prior consultation – not just a phone call, but real consultation due to the scope of the consequences – marks a real breach of trust,” he said.
France has recalled its ambassador from Canberra only once before, in 1995 at the height of tensions over French nuclear testing.
Mr Macron’s decision to recall US ambassador Philippe Etienne to Paris for consultations was the first time that action had been taken in the history of their alliance, which dates back to 1778.
Good morning and welcome to today’s coverage
Good morning and welcome to today’s live coverage. My name is Natassia Chrysanthos and I’ll be running the blog until early afternoon.
Before we begin, these were the key headlines yesterday:
- More than 200 people were arrested and six police officers were hospitalised after violent anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne’s inner east. But in NSW, the planned anti-lockdown protests in Sydney fizzled out amid a massive police operation. A large crowd also gathered at Perth’s Forrest Place to support anti-lockdown protests.
- NSW recorded 1331 new locally acquired coronavirus cases and six deaths. Victoria recorded 535 new cases of coronavirus and one death - a woman in her 70s from the regional city of Shepparton. The ACT recorded 15 new cases.
- The chief medical officer of coronavirus vaccine maker Moderna said there is scope for its COVID-19 booster shots to be made onshore in future and the company will look to leverage Australia’s research talent to make new products.
And Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said he feared the new three-way defence alliance between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom will trigger a nuclear arms race in the contested Indo-Pacific.
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2021-09-18 22:38:19Z
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