Live: All the COVID news you need from across Australia

By Dannielle Maguire

Case numbers by state

ACT: 514 new cases, 11 people in hospital, two in ICU. 

NSW: 20,794 new cases, 1,204 people in hospital, 95 in ICU. Four deaths

NT: 

Queensland: 4,249 new cases, 147 people in hospital, 10 in intensive care. One death. Watch the press conference here

Tasmania: 466 new cases, two people in hospital, none in ICU

SA: Watch the press conference here

Victoria: 8,577 new cases, 491 people in hospital, 56 active cases in ICU, 48 cleared cases in ICU. Three deaths. Watch the press conference here

WA:

Where to watch the SA press conference

SA Pathology waiting times

Here’s one for our mates in the Festival State:

Loading

Victoria: QR codes aren’t going anywhere

Mr Weimar was asked about QR check-in codes, given the new close contact rules means only people who have been exposed to COVID cases in home or household-like settings for four hours or longer. 

He says the state will continue to maintain QR code settings and review them “when the time is right”. 

“The QR code system has many purposes — one is absolutely for us to use as an outbreak response. 

“It’s also there for individuals to recognise their vaccination status when they’re going into those kind of settings.

“And finally it’s for individuals to manage their own movements as they’re going through their own record of where they have been to ensure they can inform people of where they’ve been in case they do turn positive.”

Victoria: If you’re symptomatic, act as if you’re positive 

Victoria’s COVID Commander Jeroen Weimar says people need to isolate if they’re symptomatic. 

“With such a high number of cases now in our community we have to assume if we’re symptomatic, we’re probably contacting COVID.

“We need to be very mindful of our exposures to our loved ones and other people in the community. 

“So please, you’re symptomatic, we’d like you to get a PCR result or a rapid antigen result as soon as possible, but in the meantime, please isolate and act as if you are postive.”

Victoria: There’s a lot of pressure on PCR testing sites 

Mr Weimar asks everyone waiting for a PCR testing result to be patient. 

“If you’re thinking about getting a test today, I would only ask people who are currently symptomatic or people have returned a positive RAT result to come forward for a PCR test.”

Here’s why testing turnaround times are longer

Victoria’s COVID Commander Jeroen Weimar that’s due to changes in lab procedures. 

“When we were running at lower rates of positivity, we would pool all of our samples together — we’d essentially batch them up and run them through the labs. 

“And only when we find a positive rate in a group of tests retest that subset to work which cases were positive. 

“Because of the very high rate of positivity we’re now seeing in all of our tests, every single test is now processed individually through all of our labs. 

“That means it takes us longer to process individual test results.”

How much longer?

“We usually have a hallmark of nine out of 10 tests coming back by the next day.

“We’re now seeing a third of our test results coming back by the next day.

“We’re seeing half of our test results coming back within two days.”

One in five PCR tests in Victoria are positive 

Victoria’s COVID Commander Jeroen Weimar says that’s a tenfold increase in the positivity rate in the last few weeks. 

“The rate of positive cases of all the ones we’re testing is going to numbers we’ve never seen before,” he says.

He says there’s been a “superhuman” effort from testing staff for processing so many tests in recent weeks. 

Victoria’s had more cases this year than all of 2020

That’s how Victoria’s COVID Commander Jeroen Weimar opened his press conference appearance. 

He says he’s expecting numbers to increase significantly.

“This wave is now certainly right upon us.

“We are seeing, at this point, a lower rate of hospitalisation with Omicron numbers.

“We are seeing our hospitalisation numbers continue to increase.”

He says that, given the state is about a week behind NSW’s outbreak, he’s expecting hospitalisation numbers to increase. 

Where to watch Victoria’s press conference

Two of Tassie’s new cases were on cruise ship

Tasmanian authorities have confirmed two positive cases on board the Coral Discoverer.

The small expedition cruise boat departed Hobart on Saturday evening for a planned circumnavigation of Tasmania, with around 90 people.

The vessel has returned to the port of Hobart, the two passengers have been removed, while other passengers are being kept on board.

Reporting by Michael Breen

QLD: Your New Year’s resolution should be to get a booster shot

Queensland Premier Annaszszuk made that suggestion. 

That was after the state’s Chief Health Officer John Gerrard talked about how important it was to get a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. 

“All of us are going to be exposed in the next few weeks. 

“Even if you’ve had just the two doses of the vaccine, it probably isn’t enough to protect you from getting infected, even if you have only mild symptoms. 

“That’s why it is so critical that people get that third dose of the vaccine because that is more likely to protect you from getting infected and is more likely to protect you from getting severe disease.”

From tomorrow, anyone who has had their second dose of the vaccine more than four months ago can get their booster shot.

QLD: This is not influenza 

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer John Gerrard is asked about how this pandemic compares to a flu outbreak. 

“It’s not a totally illegitimate question.

“But… the number of cases we will be seeing with Omicron will be vastly greater than what we would typically see with an influenza seasonal epidemic. 

“And that has a huge impact on the hospitals. 

“This is not influenza, it is more severe — we don’t see this number of people getting sick with influenza.

“In vaccinated people and with the Omicron strain, it is clearly is not anything like the COVID-19 that we were seeing a year ago prior to vacciantion.”

He says we need more time to learn about the virus to make comparisons. And that data, he says, is coming in day by day. 

“Most of it is pretty good news — most of it — but the big problem is the sheer volume of people who are going to get this virus.” 

QLD: The vaccine is working

Dr Gerrard says he’s expecting a substantial rise in cases in the coming weeks. 

“But in the majority of cases, the vast majority of cases, the illnesses will be mild. 

“We’ve had over 20,000 active cases and only one patient is on a ventilator last night — so clearly the vaccine is working.”

He says Omicron’s transmissibility means case numbers will climb. 

“All of us are going to be exposed in the next few weeks. 

“I think we just have to assume that all of us are going to be exposed.”

QLD: New death is ‘very, very unusual’

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer John Gerrard is asked more about the man in his late 30s who died overnight. 

“It’s very, very unusual for a young man to die suddenly from COVID-19

“It’s a very unusual circumstance so it needs investigation as to exactly what has happened here.”

It’s understood the man had been vaccinated. 

“The circumstances are very unusual — this is not at all what we would typically see with COVID-19 in someone of this age.”

Dr Gerrard says the man is being referred to as a “probable” case based on a rapid antigen test, but his COVID-positive status hasn’t been confirmed. 

QLD: Vaccination rate of hospitalisations 

Dr Gerrard says there are 170 people in hospital with COVID-19 but Queensland Health figures say 147 of those are “specifically requiring treatment for COVID-19”.

Of those, 39 cases are unvaccinated. 

QLD: New death being investigated 

Queensland’s Chief Health Officer John Gerrard says the man in his late 30s was a “probable” COVID-19 case.

He said the man died suddenly in his home on the Gold Coast last night.

Queensland records 4,249 new cases

There’s been another death, a man in his late 30s. 

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says his death will be referred to the coroner. 

There are 147 COVID cases being treated in hospital, with 10 in intensive care, one on a ventilator. 

Ms Palaszczuk she’s expecting a peak in cases in later January, early February.

Are you in the queue?

If you’re lining up for a COVID test, we want to hear from you!

What’s the vibe there? Are people being polite? Is anyone pushing in or is it just one big happy socially-distanced conga line?

Let me know! 

Where to watch the Queensland press conference