Live: All the coronavirus news you need in one place

By Caitlyn Davey

Cases, hospitalisations and deaths

For a detailed breakdown of cases across the country, check out Charting the Spread.

This post will be updated throughout the day as numbers are announced, so if your state or territory is not mentioned, check back later.

NSW: 21 deaths, 1,280 hospitalisations, 77 of which are in ICU and 5,582 new cases. 

VIC: Nine deaths, 358 hospitalisations, 51 of which are in ICU and 4,867 new cases.

TAS: No deaths, nine hospitalisations, two of which are in ICU and 555 new cases. 

ACT: No deaths, 35 hospitalisations, one of which is in ICU and 560 new cases. 

QLD: Two deaths, 386 hospitalisations, 38 of which are in ICU and 4,265 new cases. 

NSW tourism operators call for consistency on interstate regulations

Tourism operators in New South Wales are calling for consistency between the states, as Australia re-opens its international borders. 

From tomorrow, overseas travellers who are double-vaccinated against COVID will be welcomed back without having to quarantine. 

John O’Sullivan, the CEO of an adventure tourism company, says the rules need to be the same across board. He said: “One of the things I think we’ve got to get right as a nation though is just what are going to be the travel rules in between the different states and territories? For an international visitor, the more friction or hoops they have to jump through, the less inclined they are to travel.” 

Back to you in the audience

I think Charlie’s ideas need to be given serious consideration – what a positive contribution!

Vive les idees magnifiques!

-Jacob

To add to Charlie’s so-called “kooky ideas”: No-one to be allowed outside their home without wearing self contained breathing apparatus (like scuba gear but without the “underwater”) for a period of say 60 days. Could eliminate coronavirus, influenza and pretty much every other respiratory virus. And it would be relatively easier to spot and apprehend offenders. Bit expensive though compared to paper masks. Carry your own personal air, people!

-Sudo Nim

I agree with brisbanite no stores for me either can successfully shop local for a few bits and pieces like chemist, butcher and online for main line stuff, so all good.

-Sue

As hubby & I both have medical issues. We won’t be going dancing, to a theatre or cinema any time soon & certainly restricted our outings in January due to omicron.

We have done things since though. We found a quiet outdoor Indian restaurant to have lunch on Valentines weekend & a quiet outdoor bar for a afterwards instead of going out in the evening when it’s busy ❤️❤️❤️ It takes thought & planning but it can be done!! Be kind we’ve got to look out for each other !!!

-It can be done

In regards to NSW stopping the RAT testing twice a week – but acknowledging that they were important in getting the kids back into class – I’d say they are important in keeping kids in class too! The earlier someone is isolated the less time they have spent potentially infecting other students, so more people will be in class. Food for thought?

-Teacher life!

Tributes flow for Bowral teacher Michelle Hayes in wake of death from COVID-19

Tributes are flowing for a New South Wales primary school teacher who died two days after testing positive for COVID-19.

Sporting teams hit by WA’s COVID border breathe sigh of relief with end in sight

For the Western Force, it was the perfect news on the eve of its Super Rugby season.

“We were on the bus having just arrived into Canberra and there was a bit of a ‘wahoo’ on the bus,” Force captain Feleti Kaitu’u said of Western Australia’s plan to reopen its border in March.

“We are all battling with our own struggles, whether it be with family or whatever, and being able to go home without having to quarantine will be a lift to the boys’ spirits,” he said.

Before Friday’s announcement, the Force were staring at the prospect of having to repeatedly navigate border difficulties for the third season running.

Now the squad knows it can return to relative normality once the border comes down on March 3 — with quarantine-free interstate and international travel resuming from that date.

The Force are far from the only West Australian sporting team breathing an enormous sigh of relief thanks to the relaxation of restrictions.

Under WA’s hard border, some teams — including clubs made up of part-time or semi-professional players who have had to step away from day jobs to continue competing — have been forced to spend weeks or even months interstate.

Major events have fallen by the wayside, with an Ashes Test, a one-day international cricket match and scores of Scorchers, Glory and Wildcats games among those lost because of the restrictions, while a handful of smaller sports were forced to cancel their seasons.

Perth Glory invested big money in former Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge, hoping the big-name drawcard would boost attendances, but months into his stay he has only played at home once.

But with a return home on the horizon, the club is hoping to make up for lost time.

China records 195 new cases 

China reported 195 new COVID-19 cases in the mainland yesterday up from 137 cases a day earlier, the health authority said on Sunday.

Ninety-four of the new infections were imported, the National Health Commission said in a statement, while 101 were locally transmitted, compared with 80 a day earlier. There were no new deaths.

China also reported 39 new asymptomatic patients, compared with 37 a day earlier. China does not classify asymptomatic cases as confirmed COVID-19 cases.

As of Saturday, mainland China had 107,707 confirmed coronavirus infections, while the COVID-19 death toll remained at 4,636, it said. 

Meanwhile in Hong Kong

 Hong Kong reported 15 coronavirus deaths and more than 6,000 confirmed cases for a second day in a surge the Chinese territory’s leader says its overwhelming hospitals.

Also Saturday, the government announced plans to have construction crews from mainland China build isolation units with 10,000 beds after crowding at hospitals forced patients to wait outdoors in winter cold.

There were 6,063 confirmed cases in the previous 24 hours, raising the territory’s total to 46,763. That was down slightly from Thursday’s 6,116 but one of Hong Kong’s highest daily totals.

Hong Kong has tightened travel and business controls as it tries to contain the surge. On Friday, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said the election for her post would be postponed by six weeks to May 8 due to “public health risks.”

Ms Lam said Monday the territory’s hospitals were overwhelmed. The government said the new isolation and treatment units will be built in the Penny’s Bay and Kai Tak districts.

Thinking outside the box

Rather than just the continual rhetoric of striking a balance between safety and freedom, can we open the floor to some genius ideas please? Let’s brainstorm some things that maybe governments haven’t considered or even thought of! What are your “balanced” ideas? Maybe they are unworkable or kooky but maybe they’ll solve all our issues!

Here’s some of mine to start:

1. Perhaps businesses can open fully most of the time but have one day a week where capacity limits are in place so that more vulnerable people can enjoy too. Government could subsidise this.

2. Free grocery delivery services for those who feel unsafe.

3. Outdoor/open air pharmacies.

4. Move desks around in the office so that everyone maximally spaced out and/or is facing away from each other.

5. Wearable mini fans to keep air circulating around you.

6. Surgical masks that change colour or beep when they should be changed.

Do the people have other ideas (hopefully better than mine)? Maybe someone who works with a Premier or health department might read the blog…

-Charlie

Particularly love the first idea – similar to how some supermarkets have quiet shopping times for people with sensory issues. 

WA declares outbreak in remote Aboriginal community of Jameson

WA Health is working with Ngaanyatjarra Health Service following two COVID cases in the remote community of Jameson, 1000km east of Kalgoorlie. 

The community has been placed into lockdown as a protective measure, and the two cases are currently in isolation. 

Contact tracers have identified five close contacts according to WA Health. There are currently about 50 people in the community. 

Queensland’s numbers

Two lives lost, 386 hospitalisations and 38 in ICU. There are currently 34,081 active cases in the state. 

New Zealand reports 100 cases in hospital, 2,522 new community cases

Our Kiwi friends have recorded 2,522 new local cases, and 100 hospitalisations in the latest reporting period. There were also 17 cases identified at the border. 

Health authorities have also annonced that rapid antigen tests will be made available at Auckland testing sites, from Monday morning. The site will determine whether RAT or PCR test is correct on a case-by-case basis. 

There are currently no people in ICU due to the virus. 

What would get you back into stores? 

One Brisbanites says nothing: 

What would get me back into stores? Nothing.

2+ years living with pandemic has encouraged me to entirely change my habits to use online shopping for virtually everything. And after a period of getting used to it, it’s a much more efficient use of my time, so why would I return to the old way of doing things. I don’t need to sit in traffic, use fuel to get to the shops, pay for parking, and spend the time searching for the thing I need, only to have to go for the 3rd-worst option because what I need/want isn’t in stock on that particular store’s shelf.

Nothing is going to make me return to brick and mortar stores.

-Brisbanite

That’s in response to a story about the retail sector looking for support from the government as foot traffic slowly comes back to CBDs. 

Victorians getting back on trams, trains and buses 

Victoria’s public transport and roads minister, Ben Carroll, has been speaking in Melbourne about level crossing removals and has also answered some questions about COVID-19.

He said before the Omicron wave, public transport usage was approaching 70 per cent of pre-COVID levels —a number which dropped sharply again as cases surged.

But Mr Carroll said Victorians were getting back on trams, trains and buses as the outbreak was brought under control and things reopened in the CBD.

“I think one of the big issues for public transport is going to be, and for everyone really, what is the Monday 9-5 going to look like going forward?” he said.

He said the department of transport was working on shifting more services to off-peak hours in light of the pandemic’s impact on flexible work arrangements.

He said mask-wearing would remain “vitally important” on public transport, even as rules eased in other settings.

QLD CHO says with winter coming, concerns for influenza 

Chief Health Officer, Dr John Gerrard, says as cooler weather approaches there are concerns about influenza. 

Speaking today at a press conference, he said: “We are going to be strongly encouraging people to receive the influenza vaccine, when it arrives in April. So we are going to be strongly encouraging influenza vaccination in the coming weeks because there is a significant chance that we could have both viruses.”

Victoria’s stats 

There are 358 COVID-19 cases in hospital in Victoria – with 24 active cases in ICU, including 12 on a ventilator, and an additional 27 cleared cases in ICU.

There were 5,906,838 vaccine doses have been administered by Victoria’s state-commissioned services, with 11,413 administered yesterday at state-run centres. 742 of the doses administered yesterday were for children aged 5 to 11 years.

There were also 4,867 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded yesterday. This includes:

• 3,141 who tested positive on a Rapid Antigen Test
• 1,726 who returned a positive result on a PCR test.

Sadly, the Department was notified yesterday of nine deaths of people aged in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. 

This brings the total number of deaths in Victoria since the pandemic began to 2,376.

There are 46,703 active cases in Victoria.

There were 17,132 PCR tests were processed yesterday. The total number of PCR tests performed in Victoria since the pandemic began is 19,344,636.

Novavax available tomorrow

It’s all happening tomorrow – borders opening to tourists, and Novavax will be available for those who’ve been waiting for it. 

It will be available from selected state-run clinics, GPs and pharmacies. 

More on the restrictions and vulnerable demographics

I have a medical mask exemption, however because of the mask mandates I’ve been on lockdown for over 2 months having left my home only twice for medical reasons.

Why – because an exemption means nothing when places have ‘NO MASK NO ENTRY’ signs on them, including my doctors – where I wasn’t allowed in and the doctor had to come out to my car.

Not going well here.

-Christopher

Covid is here to stay, we all know that. But maybe our governments, both state and fed actually work at making lives of the vulnerable better? Retirement homes are constantly called out for poor care and treatment, NDIS is a minefield etc

Let’s work on making this world a better place for everyone, with covid or without.

-Day dreaming

The last time Brisbane CBD businesses lobbied for the government to get consumers back into the CBD, the government poured a tonne of money into campaigns etc… and then Omicron hit undoing all that effort. Considering we’re only just looking like we’re coming out of the Omicron wave, isn’t it a bit premature to be getting consumers back into the CBD in droves? Do these businesses really want another lockdown when the next variant comes along?

Whilst I don’t want the CBD shopping experience to die, there’s a reason why I’m not heading in there at the moment. I don’t want to catch covid and end up spreading it to my elderly parents. I’m not even going out to the suburban shopping hubs.

Perhaps the government should be focusing on working through better ways to sustain CBD businesses when consumer confidence in heading out to shop is low (for good reason).

— B&M industries need a better solution

I just missed the blog yesterday when I posted :- Reading all these comments – just as I’d been thinking – it’s become an ageist situation, & with disregard for disabilities & underlying medical conditions inc mental healthy (which are many & common in all ages).

I can see both sides.

Why can’t we respect each other & meet in the middle? Go out & do things but safely – so others feel safe. Is it fair so many don’t feel safe to go out? With our current numbers we should still be doing the simple things wearing masks where no eating & indoors. Yes it’s a discomfort but easy & effective. Many of us healthcare workers wear them all day, even before Covid – it’s doable. Keeping our distance also works very well. We have just seen at all recent music & sporting events most are not abiding these rules, likewise everywhere we go. These people might not care about getting Covid themselves but they are risking spread to others, keeping the numbers up & ongoing, disruption to workplaces, absolutely exhausted healthcare workers struggling to cope, other illnesses going undetected & untreated, & disregard causing cases with risk of long Covid damage or deaths – purely selfish. The world has become a very selfish & greedy place & we are seeing the effects in this viral pandemic as well as in global warming. If only everyone would wake up & see.

Let’s have a communal & respectful attitude & meet in the middle – mask properly & keep distancing it’s not a lot to ask.

Thank you blog team for all your info & positivity & good humour.

-Retired Nurse

I agree with the comments from Jackie and Melbourne Gal etc. I have chronic conditions and am also an essential worker, required to go to work in small rooms with people every day. It astounds me that there is even a consideration to remove masks indoors in public places whilst we are still having thousands of cases per day, and it makes me even more scared to go to work. Wearing a mask is a tiny inconvenience (and I wear a mask daily to do surgery) but makes people much safer and reduces the risk to everyone, not just vulnerable people.

-O

NSW reports 21 deaths – 15 men and six women 

• One person in their 50s
• Three in their 60s
• Five in their 70s 
• 11 in their 80s 
• One person in their 90s

NSW to ease twice-weekly rapid antigen tests for school students and staff from next week

Students and staff in NSW will no longer be required to take twice-weekly rapid antigen tests (RAT) after this week.

From Monday, February 28, students and staff will only need to take a rapid test if they have symptoms.

The NSW government has said it would still be offering eight RAT kits per student and staff member to be used as required.

Students and staff have been asked to take a COVID-19 test at home two mornings a week before going to school since the start of term one. 

Premier Dominic Perrottet said RATs had played a big part in getting children back into the classroom.

“It was vital we got our students back in the classroom after two years of disruption to their education, social lives and well-being, and RATs have played an important part in enabling their safe return,” Mr Perrottet said. 

“We are therefore providing every student and staff member across the state with another eight RATs for them to use at their discretion when they consider necessary, following a four-week program of surveillance testing. 

‘The packs are there for families and staff to use at their discretion for their own peace of mind, for example, when a student is feeling unwell with a sore throat or cough, or if family members are sick.”