Victorian police confirmed close contacts after COVID-positive person attended Melbourne protests — as it happened

By Dannielle Maguire

Thanks for reading

Well, I think it’s fair to say this week’s been a bit of a nightmare.

But you’ve made it to the weekend now — take care of yourself, check in on your loved ones and be kind to strangers, it makes all the difference.

That’s all for the blog tonight. See you again soon. 

New vaccine forecasts shift bulk of rollout earlier than anticipated

The government has updated its COVID vaccine supply forecasts for the rest of the year, showing supplies will now peak earlier than planned.

It reveals for the first time the impact of the vaccine “swap” with the UK, with 4 million doses being delivered to Australia now in exchange for 4 million being sent back to the UK at the end of the year.

Nine million doses of Pfizer are expected to arrive in Australia across both September and October.

A further 9 million will then be split across November and December, with authorities expecting the pace of the rollout to drop off dramatically later in the year as demand for vaccines is largely met.

Political reporter Tom Lowrey has got more on all this here.

Hey Kelsie, If Mrs Jake is vaccinated will little Miss Jake now be vaccinated?

-Pointless pondering

I stumbled across some research on this completely by accident the other day — scientists in the US have been looking into this, and there are some findings to indicate that newborns can get some level of immunity if their mothers are COVID-vaccinated.

There’s a study that’s been published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, you can look into it a little more closely here — I’m not 100 per cent sure what level of research is being done into this in Australia, but it is broadly recommended that pregnant women get vaccinated (insert the talk-to-your-doctor speech here).

‘That is not helpful to the whole community’

Kempsey Shire’s Mayor is frustrated people have been caught flouting COVID restrictions after two people were fined $1,000 for failing to comply with the public health orders.

A man, a woman and a child were stopped in Port Macquarie on Monday night for a random drug test, and the female driver allegedly returned a positive roadside result — further inquiries by police revealed all three were close contacts of a positive COVID case and had been directed by NSW Health to isolate at a residence in South Kempsey.

Kempsey was ordered into a seven-day lockdown earlier this week.

“It’s incredibly frustrating when you are in stay-at-home orders and people don’t do the right thing — that is not helpful to the whole community,” Mayor Liz Campbell says.

More details on the COVID situation on the mid-north coast here, by Kate Aubrey and Luisa Rubbo.

Michael Gunner labels Malarndirri McCarthy an ‘anti-vaxxer’ in mandatory vaccination stoush

NT Chief Minister Michael Gunner has called the views of his federal Labor party colleague senator Malarndirri McCarthy a “disgrace”, labelling her an anti-vaxxer despite her support for the coronavirus vaccine rollout.

Senator McCarthy, a vaccinated Indigenous woman from Borroloola, yesterday told ABC Radio Darwin while she encourages everyone to get vaccinated, she wanted them to be armed with the correct medical information to make that choice themselves — but she said mandating vaccines “is something that we’ve not reached as a country”.

The statement is at odds with a coronavirus management plan released by the Labor-led NT Government last week, which will mandate vaccination for workers in what it deems to be high-risk settings.

Mr Gunner yesterday told NT Parliament anyone who didn’t support his plan — including Senator McCarthy – was an anti-vaxxer, but added the senator’s office had iterated its support for the plan since the radio interview.

But his attack intensified when he learned the senator later clarified that she did not support plans for mandatory vaccination, instead encouraging people to talk to medical professionals if they had concerns.

Read exactly what was said here.

Is this not just the best thing to ever happen on a COVID blog

Huge congratulations to Jake & his Wife!!💕💖💓💖

-We have a blog baby !!! Yaaaayyyy!!!

Woo hoo! Really don’t care if that’s legit Jake or not. I like it. Congrats!!!

-Kylie

CONGRATS JAKE AND WIFE

Good Timing!!!

Welcome to the world little one

-CONGRATS

CONGRATULATIONS Jake’s Wife and Jake on the safe arrival (in hospital, just!) of your baby girl! Thank you for sharing this special day with us! You have given us all some joy. Best wishes!

-Lege Feliciter

I live by myself, and Jake’s baby news has perked up this old chook’s day

-Bernice

Did I miss something… who is Jake?

-Who is Jake?

Look, you missed a fair bit. The shortest possible version of this story is that a blog friend named Jake wrote in a few hours ago asking if he and his wife were allowed to go to the hospital during lockdown because his wife had just gone into labour, to which I of course said ABSOLUTELY YES JEEPERS GET TO THE HOSPITAL NOW. Cue blog readers from far and wide sharing their well-wishes for Jake and his wife and being anxious that mum, dad and bub are all okay. A few hours go by and Jake writes back in saying he and wife made it to the hospital just in time and IT’S A GIRL. As you know, you’re not required to leave, like, an email or any identifying contact details when you comment here on the blog, so there’s a chance we’ve all been tricked by a fake Jake and the real Jake is still quite tied up with a wife in labour right now. But we’re all so desperate for some good news that we’re just hoping it was in fact the real Jake who confirmed his baby news and we’re all going to bed with a little smile tonight after what has truly been an absolute dumpster fire of a week. And that’s what you missed on Blog.

Melbourne tradie who was in ICU with COVID urges protesting construction workers to get vaccinated

Melbourne construction worker Nathan Chellia wasn’t in any great rush to get his COVID vaccine — he’s in his 30s and didn’t think it was that serious — until he caught it, and spent 14 days in intensive care in Melbourne’s Northern Hospital.

Grateful to have recovered, he’s now urging other Australians to get vaccinated and wants his experience with coronavirus to act as a cautionary tale.

In particular, Nathan says he’s been frustrated and disappointed by this week’s rallies in Melbourne against mandatory vaccinations for the building industry, which have involved many tradies like him.

“Stop the protests – you’re spreading the virus everywhere,” he says.

He says the importance of getting vaccinated was really brought home during his stay in hospital when he saw the quick recovery of three other COVID-positive patients, who’d each received at least one vaccine dose.

It’s a mistake he doesn’t want anyone else to make.

“If I’d also had an injection, it wouldn’t have got to that stage,” he says.

“Think of your families. Go and get vaccinated.”

Nathan’s story is worth a read — check it out here.

Victoria Police clamp down on protesters in Melbourne’s inner north, 31 arrested

Victoria Police arrested 31 people today after dozens gathered at a shopping complex in Melbourne’s inner north attempting to continue this week’s anti-lockdown protests.

The protesters initially gathered in a car park next to the Northcote Plaza shopping centre, then moved to a nearby park.

More than 100 police dressed in riot gear and armed with crowd control equipment were deployed to the area and appeared to rapidly disperse the small crowd.

In total, 215 people across the city will be fined for breaching public health orders, with a number of other people to be charged with criminal offences including deception, theft and drug offences.

Reporting by Judd Boaz

Testing sites established after Warrnambool wastewater COVID detection

Two COVID-19 testing centres are being set up in south-west Victoria in response to multiple exposure sites being flagged in the area.

South West Healthcare said the pop-up asymptomatic testing sites would open at the South Warrnambool and Camperdown football ovals on Saturday morning, and operate all weekend.

“A number of COVID-19 exposure sites have been identified in our part of the region,” SWH said in a statement late today.

“We’re working closely with the Department of Health and the Barwon South West Public Health Unit to get this information to you as soon as possible.”

SWH has also suspended all visits to its campuses, with the exception of end-of-life visits and birth partners or parents of children.

Traces of COVID were unexpectedly detected in wastewater in Warrnambool on Tuesday.

The exposure sites, expected to be named in the Warrnambool area, are yet to be listed on the Department of Health’s website, but the team at ABC Ballarat are all over the situation and keeping an eye out for more detail.

Reporting by Christopher Testa

Tips for our Vic teacher (or anyone else) chasing a vaccine ASAP

Lots of people have been writing in with some suggestions for our teacher who commented earlier, saying they were struggling to get a vaccine booking before next month.

I’m not sure where exactly in Victoria our teacher friend is based, but here are a few of the suggestions that have come through: 

No vaccine supply didn’t say where in Vic they were or their age demographic but I just had a play on the pharmacy guild website and I found moderna appointments available tomorrow onwards at a local pharmacy so if they have only tried the Vic government site that might be a way to an earlier appointment.

-Billy Pilgrim

To no vaccine supply- keep checking all the time including GPs and maybe call the booking line and chat to them if you haven’t already. Is there no priority access for teachers like there has been for construction etc. ? Good luck!

-No vax

On ^ this, surprisingly no — James Merlino said earlier this week that priority access would not be given to school staff to receive a vaccine because there was “plenty of capacity” for everyone who wanted a vaccine to book one in. 

Re: No vaccine supply. If your medical clinic/vaccine provider is local to your home and willing to, you can go on a cancelation/waiting list. I had my son vaccinated way earlier than I had expected this way (he had a November booking). Worth a try. Good luck!

-Concerned in Vic!

Try somewhere other than the state run clinics. Was able to call a GP for a booking the very next day! Also remember there are pharmacies also doing vaccinations now. Plenty of options are available.

-To No vaccine supply

They’ll be in Perth in person, but in Victoria in spirit

The Presidents of both AFL Grand Final sides say the players will be thinking of their locked-down fans in Melbourne during tomorrow’s match.

More than 60,000 people are expected to attend the game at Perth Stadium tomorrow, which is just the second grand final to be played outside of Melbourne.

 

Speaking to ABC Radio Melbourne, Demons President Kate Roffey has given a shout-out to the fans.

“To all the supporters who can’t be over here, I know the boys will be playing their hearts out tomorrow for you,” she says.

“They don’t wanna win for themselves, they don’t even wanna win for each other, they actually wanna win for every single fan of the Melbourne Football Club who, A, waited so long and B, actually can’t be here.”

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We *just* made it to the hospital in time. Given the influence the blog had on how our newborn’s arrived, I’m proud as punch to share that it’s a girl!

-Jake

I should say that I have no way of verifying whether this is our original Jake, but honestly we all need some good news so let’s run with it.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Trying to think of a good Tame Impala pun but I can’t

WA’s Tame Impala will change the venue for an upcoming concert in Texas due to the amphitheatre not allowing vaccines to be mandated for entry.

The originally scheduled venue, Austin’s Frank Erwin Center, is a government-owned building and will not allow proof of vaccination requirements to be enforced for entry.

In a tweet, the Tame Impala says the “current venue will not comply with our COVID protocols that were put into place to keep our crew, artists and fans safe, so we have no choice but to move to a new venue”.

The band ruled that everyone attending their US tour had to prove they’re vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID within 48 hours of the event.

Reporting by Judd Boaz

It is true — I have the tweet to prove it.

The Northern Territory HAS declared all of regional Victoria a hotspot

Yep, there it is — have just found the updated information. 

The NT Chief Health Officer has declared all of regional Victoria to be a COVID-19 hotspot from 5pm ACST today for the purposes of travel to the Northern Territory.

All of Victoria is now a hotspot for the NT — which means you need an approved exemption to enter the Territory, and you’ll need to stay in supervised quarantine for 14 days.

I feel like we’re putting a lot of pressure on Jake and his wife here

Any *baby* updates yet?

-Concerned in Vic!

I feel like they’ll probably be a bit flat out right now, so let’s not stress if we don’t hear from them.

But also, Jake and Jake’s wife, you have a big ol’ team of supporters now so if you wanna announce your newborn to the entire blog family, email me. If you missed the whole Jake’s-wife-going-into-labour situation earlier in the blog, just scroll down, like, a few hours. 

I am a high school teacher in Vic and I am required to have my first dose before 18th Oct due to the mandatory requirement announced this week. However the first appointment I can find anywhere near me isn’t until the end of Nov. Will I be stood down from my job because the government has failed to get enough doses of the vaccine?

-No vaccine supply

If you have clear evidence that you’ve attempted to make a booking, I’d be going to your principal/manager with that and having a chat with them ASAP — that booking shows you intend to get vaccinated, but as we’ve seen time and time again, supply varies a fair bit across different parts of the country. 

The ruling is that “all staff in schools and early childhood services will be required to have a first dose by 18 October or have a booking within one week” (unless a medical exemption applies) — the Victorian Government also says “all government school staff entitled to a half-day of paid time off to get their vaccination“, which hopefully will help too. 

Just been told NT is declaring regional Victoria a hotspot again? Is that true.

-Regional vic

As of right this second, the most recent additions to the NT’s list of declared hotspots are the Moorabool Shire and Macedon Ranges Shire, which were added earlier this week. I’ll keep an eye on that and see if it changes through the evening though. 

There certainly are parts of regional Victoria that are hotspots in the NT and have been for a while — you can see the full list here.