Daily News Roundup

 

THURSDAY, JULY 8

QUEENSLAND recorded just two “unconcerning” cases of locally acquired COVID 19 in the past 24 hours in stark contrast to NSW which had 38 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to 8:00pm yesterday.

It’s the highest number of new infections NSW has recorded in a 24-hour reporting period this year.

The source of 12 of the infections remains under investigation.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said 11 of the new cases had been infectious for a number of days while out in the community. 

“Those numbers are too high. We need to get those numbers down,” Ms Berejiklian said.

She pleaded with people to stay at home and stop visiting extended family.

“Data over the last few days shows this is how the virus is spreading,” Ms Berejiklian told reporters, a day after extending the state’s two-week lockdown by another week until next Friday.

“Please avoid contact with other households, please avoid visiting family and friends because you are not allowed to,” Ms Berejiklian said.

It came after she had singled out south-western Sydney for potentially tougher restrictions, accusing residents of the Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown and Liverpool local government areas of doing the wrong thing – comments slammed as unfair by local mayors.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the two new locally acquired COVID 19 cases in her state were in home quarantine.

The pair had been isolating since July 2 and are linked to two cases in Carindale which are part of the Alpha cluster circulating in the south-east.

“We have absolutely no concerns about these two [latest cases],” Ms Palaszczuk said.

There was one more case reported overnight, a returned traveller in hotel quarantine, bringing the state’s total active cases to 49.

Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said the pair had “no public exposure sites”.

“There is no risk there at all. And this is what we always want to see as a cluster evolves,” Dr Young said.

Brisbane is still grappling with a number of clusters with about 10,000 contacts being monitored by health authorities.

The city’s lockdown was lifted on Saturday evening but the mandatory wearing of masks will remain in place until Friday, July 16.

Meanwhile, all 10 hospital workers who responded to a COVID-positive patient at an emergency in the Sunshine Coast hospital were vaccinated.

Chief health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said she “wanted to clarify” that all the staff involved in the incident were wearing personal protective equipment [PPE].

“They just felt their PPE may have been compromised because they were in such a rush to help that patient,” she said.

Ms Palaszczuk said she was proud of the team’s actions.

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Basketball champion Patty Mills will become the first Indigenous Australian to carry the flag into an Olympic Games opening ceremony when he marches alongside swimming star and fellow flag-bearer Cate Campbell in Tokyo.

The Tokyo Olympics mark the start of a new tradition, with every nation to be led out by both a female and male flag-bearer.

Both Mills and Campbell are heading to their fourth Olympic Games.

Campbell has won two Olympic gold medals, but she said being tasked with carrying the flag into the stadium was “up there amongst some of the greatest things that has happened to me”.

“It’s one thing to represent your country in a sport that you love and another thing to represent your fellow Olympians and your Olympic family that you become a part of,” she said.

“That is an honour and privilege that I do not take lightly and I am so, so humbled to be able to do.”

Mills struggled to put into words his gratitude as a proud Kokatha, Naghiralgal and Dauareb-Meriam man leading the country’s Olympians.

“I’m just thankful for all the support up unto this moment … It’s something I won’t be able to put into words what I am feeling right now,” he said.

“To be selected to carry the flag and lead our team into the Olympic Stadium is the highest recognition of achievement and leadership that can be bestowed on any athlete in any Australian sport or multi-sport team,” Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said in a letter to both flag-bearers.

“While you will not be leading a team into a packed Olympic stadium due to COVID-19 countermeasures, you will readily appreciate the significance of your selection from the congratulations and acknowledgement from your peers within the Australian Olympic Team and the wider public.”

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The look on Prince William’s face said it all.

England football fans went on a rollercoaster ride of emotions on Thursday morning (AEST) but were finally able to celebrate when the referee blew full-time in their Euro 2020 semi-final.

The Three Lions beat Denmark 2-1, the winner coming from captain Harry Kane, who scored on the rebound after his penalty in extra time was saved by Kasper Schmeichel.

There was plenty of debate over whether the spot-kick was warranted but all British football lovers care about is they now have a chance to win their first international trophy since the 1966 World Cup, when they play Italy in the decider on Monday morning.

The Duke of Cambridge looked mighty chuffed as he watched the action from the stands at Wembley.

It meant Britain’s royal family had the last laugh over Prince Frederik and Australia’s own Princess Mary, who married into the Danish royal family. They were also at the game.

England fans were stunned into silence when 21-year-old Mikkel Damsgaard scored after half-an-hour with a free-kick described by commentators as “extraordinary”.

Damsgaard got the ball over the wall and down again in time as it sailed into the top-left corner, evading Jordan Pickford’s desperate dive.

Being an England supporter has been a seriously tough gig for the past 55 years, and there were plenty of worried faces wondering if their team would exit a tournament before the most important game yet again.