Live: Australia expected to hit 80 per cent first-dose target this week

By Liam Butterworth

More regional NSW postcodes are going into lockdown tonight

Stay-at-home orders will be begin from midnight tonight until 11 October in the following parts of the Mid Coast local government area:

• Postcode 2430 (including Taree)
• Postcode 2428 (including Forster and Tuncurry)

These stay-at-home orders also apply to anyone who has been in these areas since 27 September.

Stay-at-home orders will be extended for Muswellbrook LGA until 11 October.

Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason, which includes shopping for food, medical care, getting vaccinated, compassionate needs, exercise and work or tertiary education if you can’t work or study at home.

What’s going on in New Zealand?

Can you provide more information on New Zealand. I hear they conceded they can no longer eliminate Delta and are transitioning to suppression and living with the virus

-Gamechanger

You heard correctly. New Zealand has abandoned its strategy of eliminating COVID-19 and will instead look to live with coronavirus and control its spread as vaccinations rise.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern signalled the change of strategy today as she announced a lockdown affecting Auckland would be scaled back in phases, starting on Wednesday.

“With this outbreak, and Delta, the return to zero is incredibly difficult,” Ms Ardern said.

“This is a change in approach we were always going to make over time. Our Delta outbreak has accelerated this transition. Vaccines will support it,” she said.

The country recorded 29 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, taking the total number in the current outbreak to 1,357.

Most of the infections are in Auckland, which has been in lockdown for almost 50 days.

You can read more about it here.

Where to get your Moderna shot in Melbourne

Ten vaccination centres across Melbourne will begin administering the Moderna vaccine from today until Sunday 10 October, with 100,000 doses available to anyone aged 12 to 59 years at the following hubs:

• Melton Vaccination Hub (former Bunnings)
• Sunshine Vaccination Hub
• Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre
• Royal Exhibition Building
• Sandown Racecourse Vaccination Centre
• Frankston Community Vaccination Hub (Bayside Centre)
• Plenty Ranges Arts and Convention Centre
• Dandenong Palm Plaza • Former Ford Factory, Campbellfield
• La Trobe University, Bundoora

From today, Victorians awaiting a second dose Pfizer booking can bring their dose interval forward to three weeks between doses.

A breakdown of cases in regional NSW 

Can we get a full breakdown of cases in regional NSW?

-Nervous in northern NSW

You sure can. NSW Health lists these by local health district (LHD):

• 77 in Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD
• 59 in Hunter New England LHD
• 32 in Central Coast LHD
• 25 in Nepean Blue Mountains LHD
• 23 in Western NSW LHD
• 21 in Southern NSW LHD
• 4 in Northern NSW LHD
• 3 in Mid North Coast LHD
• 1 in Murrumbidgee LHD
• 1 in Far West LHD

Queensland’s mystery case is still a mystery 

was there any more update on the qld mystery case today? or will that not come out until tomorrow?

-Qld

At this stage, we have not learned any more about how a north-Brisbane woman in her 50s caught COVID-19.

CHO Dr Jeanette Young said urgent tracing was underway to determine all the woman’s contacts.

Queensland Health released a list of new COVID-19 exposure sites overnight at locations on the northside and Cannon Hill, in the city’s south-east.

The woman has been deemed infectious since September 25 but had mild symptoms and is fully vaccinated.

If you need support, get in touch

Can we please have the mental health numbers again?

-Concerned

You sure can.

If you or anyone you know needs help, you can call:

• Lifeline on 13 11 14
• Beyond Blue on 1300 224 636
• MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978
• Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467
• Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800
• Headspace on 1800 650 890
• QLife on 1800 184 527

A full break down of the cases in regional Victoria

Earlier today, Victorian health authorities released the details of 44 of the 73 cases recorded in regional Victoria today. We now have the full list of locations:

• 2 cases in Ballarat
• 4 cases in Baw Baw
• 2 cases in Benalla
• 2 cases in Campaspe
• 1 case in Colac-Otway
• 2 case in Gannawarra
• 1 case in Golden Plains
• 2 cases in Greater Bendigo
• 8 cases in Greater Geelong
• 11 cases in Greater Shepparton
• 13 cases in Latrobe
• 5 cases in Macedon Ranges
• 12 cases in Mitchell
• 2 cases in Moorabool
• 2 cases in Mount Alexander
• 2 case in Moyne
• 1 case in Surf Coast
• 1 case in Wellington

Remote Aboriginal communities may reopen later than rest of WA, Health Minister warns

Remote Aboriginal communities in WA could remain locked off for longer than the rest of the state as the Health Minister admits some communities may not get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Roger Cook said he understood many Aboriginal communities were making progress, but not all were on board with the vaccination strategy.

Mr Cook said in the meantime WA officials were focusing efforts on communities where the leaders accepted the importance of vaccination.

His comments came as authorities push to vaccinate the entire population of Port Hedland against COVID-19 over the next week. The Pilbara region continues to see the lowest vaccination rates in the country.

Read the full story here.

New restrictions introduced in Gunnedah, NSW

Stay-at-home orders will be introduced from midnight tonight in Gunnedah, and will last for one week, until 11 October.

These stay-at-home orders also apply to anyone who has been in the Gunnedah LGA since 27 September.

Everyone in this area must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason, which includes shopping for food, medical care, getting vaccinated, compassionate needs, exercise and work or tertiary education if you can’t work or study at home.

NSW Health has confirmed stay-at-home orders for Cowra and Port Macquarie LGAs will be lifted as scheduled from tomorrow, Tuesday 5 October. Cowra’s restrictions will be lifted at 12:01am, and Port Macquarie’s will be lifted at 11:59pm.

An assortment of questions

Can we please get some clarity around the two statements; in the roadmap – only double vaccinated staff can return to the office from 5th November.

Now we have all authorised workers must be double vaccinated by the 26th November. So is a single vacc enough by November 5, or do they need two?

Who is allowed in the office come November 5??

-Question on Notice

Those two statements deal with authorised workers, and unauthorised workers (those who right now must work from home). Here are the vaccination requirements for the two:

• Authorised workers attending shifts on site: Single dose by October 15, fully vaccinated by November 26
• Officer workers (non-authorised/non-essential): If they want to go back into the office after state reaches 80 per cent full vaccination (November 5), must be fully vaccinated.

Why would Greg Hunt specifically mention countries that, as of today, recgonise Australian-made AZ vaccine? Are there countries that do not recognise it?

-Australian AZ?

That was the case until this morning. A few governments, including those in the EU, did not recognise the Australian-made AstraZeneca. But now they do, so that’s one less barrier against international travel.

Hi Jacqueline, could you please tell me what the vaccination rates in NSW are including the 12+ cohort? I really like how the ACT do that, which seems to be a better way as it incorporates all of the eligible population.

-Would be greatly appreciated

In NSW, 5.3 per cent of 12-15-year-olds are fully vaccinated, and 58.1 per cent have had one dose.

Hi there, thanks for the blog! Any updates on temporary residents, particularly those under temporary working visas, regarding border openings?

-missing family

At this stage, the international borders will be opening for Australian citizens and permanent residents who are fully vaccinated. If you intend to leave the country, you are able to do that as long as you have had two doses of a vaccine, but you may still be subject to the travel restrictions in your destination country.

Cases are growing in Lithgow NSW, now we have 20. Exposure sites aren’t getting published though so it’s very worrying. Any suggestions?

-Worries in Lithgow

We’ve all come to rely on exposure site lists, so the unknown of them not being updated with every location is really unsettling. But remember, the first priority of contact tracers is to individually reach out to anyone who visited an exposure site during the exposure window. And any site that is visited by a positive case must be deep cleaned before it can reopen. So, keep masking up, sanitising your hands, and using check in codes, and you’ll be giving yourself the best protection you can. 

One new case in SA

The case is a man in his 30s who is a truck driver. He travelled from Victoria. He arrived in SA on Saturday night and developed symptoms yesterday. He has now travelled back to Victoria.

There is one public exposure site linked to this new case — On The Run Port Augusta. The man spent time at both the petrol station and the truckie lounge.

The man has had one dose of a vaccine.

CHO Prof Nicola Spurrier said there had been 4,000 tests across the state yesterday, which “is not enough for us to feel confident that we’re on top of things”.

Prof Spurrier said any conversations had with contact tracers is the same as speaking with a doctor. She said any personal information is kept confidential. 

Restrictions introduced for several SA local government areas

From 4:00pm today, SA authorities are imposing new restrictions on Mt Gambier, Wattle Range Council and the Grant LGA.

These restrictions will be in place for a minimum of seven days:

• New density requirements for all venues (including workplaces): one person per 4sqm
• Home gatherings are now restricted to two visitors
• Private activities now restricted to a maximum of ten people
• Prohibition on sports, including spectating and participation
• No private functions

These restrictions are being introduced as a result of new information coming to light about the movements of the woman who tested positive yesterday.

Tune in to the SA press conference here:

Some more positivity in the comments section

Earlier, one of our readers asked what you’re all looking forward to post-lockdown. Here are some more of your responses that gave me feelings:

I can’t wait for someone to say “Are you ready to order?” And then for me to receive a delicious plate of food and then for someone to say “Are you finished? I’ll take that away for you”

And Oh! to pay for that privilege will be so sweet!!

-Anne

Post Melbourne lockdown I’m looking forward to visiting my lil sis in NZ and meeting (and hugging) her life partner for the first time.

-Everytime we Zoom I cry

I’m looking forward to busting my dad out of his aged care residential facility and taking him to the RSL for lunch.

-Absent carer

After reading what people are looking forward to, I can’t help thinking how we are all looking forward to and appreciating things we took for granted before the pandemic…

Oh!!and congratulations to

Positive Vibez2!!!

You now have a blog family who are celebrating with you….

-Nostalgic Victorian

I’m looking forward to meeting my new niece. Seeing all the cousins play together. My family. My friends and their kids.

-Waiting waiting…. Impatiently

I’m looking forward to international and national arrivals being permitted again, so that we can see our Parisbased brother and meet his partner, we’ve not seen our brother in person since 2017, reunite our daughter with her Chinese based husband, who’ve been apart since March 2019 and see our Melbourne based sister and her partner again. We’ve not seen one of them in person since 2015 and the other since early 2019. Keep going strong Vic and NSW you’re all amazing and I’m sorry you’ve been treading such a tough road. We love you all and are sooo impressed by your strength and resilience. Up the vaxx ante everyone to beat that covid19 virus to the punch. Xx WA rural Mum

-WA rural mum

Perth travellers ordered to quarantine after casual contact with COVID-19 case at Adelaide airport

More than 150 passengers on a Virgin Australia flight from Adelaide to Perth are isolating and being tested for COVID-19 after being deemed casual contacts of a positive case.

Adelaide airport was deemed a potential exposure site after a woman who flew from Victoria into South Australia on Friday evening tested positive to COVID-19.

WA Health Minister Roger Cook said 157 passengers on a flight that left the airport bound for Perth on Friday evening were also being tested for the virus.

He said the incident was ‘low risk’ with 18 people returning negative tests so far.

Queensland government to begin vaccine text campaign

Queensland residents will receive a text from the state government on Tuesday urging them to book in for a COVID vaccine.

Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said the text blast was part of the government’s campaign to ramp up Queensland’s vaccination rollout.

“By texting millions of Queenslanders, we’ll reach a lot of people who we might struggle to communicate with in other ways,” Ms D’Ath said.

Queenslanders are urged not to treat the message as spam and block the number, as the source of the text message is the same that is used nationally for emergencies and disasters.

New exposure site linked to15-year-old Tasmanian positive case

The acting premier Jeremy Rockliff says the teenager travelled with a cousin to a Newnham IGA on Saturday October 2, from 2:20pm  to 2:45pm. 

The teen did not wear a mask inside the store.

Authorities are in the process of contacting close contacts, and anyone who was there is urged to self-isolate.

Mr Rockliff said there was further exposure in this family on the Friday night, in which two people visited the family house. These contacts are in quarantine and authorities are awaiting their test results.