Daily News Roundup

 

NEWSDESK, September 8

​​The brains behind Australia’s vaccine rollout has called for an end to the politicking and bickering by leaders over the issue.

Covid-19 commissioner Jane Halton has called for an end to politicking and bickering by leaders, saying all states would receive “equitable amounts” of the Covid-19 vaccine.

It comes off the back of revelations NSW had received a greater share of Pfizer vaccines allocated to GPs last month.

On Monday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said his state was being left behind in accessing vaccinations in favour of NSW.

“ … What I didn’t know is Premier (Gladys) Berejiklian is in a sprint, while the rest of us do some egg and spoon race,” Mr Andrews said.

Meanwhile, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and WA Premier Mark McGowan have both called for a greater allocation of vaccines to boost their states’ lagging rates.

Ms Halton said she could “understand the frustration” coming from Mr Andrews, Mr McGowan and Ms Palaszczuk, but that NSW had a greater need.

“The international advice is that when there is a (Covid-19) crisis, we should be using vaccines to bring the crisis to an end,” she told Sunrise.

“What we have seen here is a short-term additional allocation of vaccine into NSW, but particularly into Sydney, to help bring the crisis to an end.

 “It’s a bit like saying ‘I’m going to send the fire truck to where the fire is in the short term’, that is what is happening here. But, there is a commitment to ensure everyone gets equitable allocations.”

Ms Halton shut down allegations the additional doses had been routed to Sydney “in secret”.

“When there is a crisis, we have to use our resources. Let’s remember, Victoria got extra vaccines when there was that outbreak early on, so no, there is nothing secret here,” she said.

It comes as new modelling was released by the Burnet Institute, suggesting that if NSW hadn’t enforced strict restrictions and did not have high vaccination rates, more than 5000 people in the 12 local government areas of concern could have died during the Delta outbreak.

Brendan Crabb, the director of the institute, told Sunrise the “extraordinary” vaccine rollout had saved “lots of lives”.

“It has made a massive difference to have lockdowns and restrictions and the extraordinary vaccination rollouts,” he said.

“We’ve got some work to do and some hard yards ahead, but there is a good end in sight and people should be proud of the job they have done.”

*Victoria has recorded 221 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases.

Contact tracers have been able to link 98 of those cases to existing outbreaks.

The cases were among 42,429 test results processed on Tuesday, when 36,716 vaccine doses were delivered at state-run sites.

There are more than 950 venues listed as exposure sites across the state, including the waiting room of the emergency department of the Alfred Hospital.

Authorities have listed the waiting room as a tier 1 exposure site for September 6 between 5:37pm and 11:15pm after a person with COVID-19 was present.

An Alfred Health spokesperson said emergency department staff were working in PPE and no staff had been furloughed as a result of the exposure.

The Victorian government has committed to a slight easing of restrictions once 70 per cent of Victorians aged 16 years or older have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

That sits at 61.6 per cent, based on the Tuesday update from the federal Department of Health.

Police have issued fines and say they are still investigating a religious gathering in Melbourne’s south-east that breached public health orders yesterday.

The Victorian government has committed to a slight easing of restrictions once 70 per cent of Victorians aged 16 years or older have had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.

That sits at 61.6 per cent, based on the Tuesday update from the federal Department of Health.

Premier Daniel Andrews has indicated that a plan for home quarantine for Victorians wanting to return from New South Wales will soon be announced.

*Queensland has recorded no new COVID-19 cases, Health Minister Yvette D’Ath has announced.

It comes as restrictions on visitors to hospitals in the Logan City Local Government Area have been lifted, with mask wearing still mandatory.

Speaking at the vaccination hub at the Entertainment Centre in Boondall on Brisbane’s northside, Ms D’Ath said the state had set a new record of vaccinations yesterday with 23,012 doses having been administered.

The state has 17 active cases and more than 35 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have been fully vaccinated.

It comes as restrictions on visitors to hospitals in the Logan City Local Government Area have been lifted in the wake of the latest outbreak, with mask wearing still mandatory.

“It is great to be able to let people go visit their loved ones in hospital, aged care and disability facilities again so well done to Queensland for coming out and getting tested and doing the right thing,” Ms D’Ath said.

She thanked those Logan families in 14-day quarantine after a Logan truck driver who had been in New South Wales last week tested positive for COVID-19.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the Beenleigh cluster now stands at three people.

She said as a result, it was now safe to reopen hospital visitation.

“I’m confident that we found the vast majority of the people that we needed to find, they’re all now in quarantine,” Dr Young said.

“And so far, except for the original three cases, of course, they’ve all tested negative.”

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Mystery is growing over the whereabouts of the Duchess of Cambridge, who has not been photographed or taken part in any public engagements for 58 days.

The last time the royal was in the public eye was on July 11 when she attended Wimbledon men’s singles final before a costume change and zipping across London for the Euro 2020 final at Wembley with her husband and son Prince George. 

Last year, the longest gap between public appearances (including Zoom engagements) was 41 days. On August 5, she and William visited Wales, spent much of the month on a break, and then she reappeared for a series of outings in London on September 15.

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Britney Spears’s father, James Spears, has filed to end the court conservatorship that has controlled the singer’s life and money for 13 years.

Mr Spears filed his petition to terminate the conservatorship in the Los Angeles Superior Court.

“As Mr Spears has said, again and again, all he wants is what is best for his daughter,” the document said.

“If Ms Spears wants to terminate the conservatorship and believes that she can handle her own life, Mr Spears believes that she should get that chance.”