What we know today, Thursday December 23
New South Wales is reinstating mandatory QR check-ins at shops and venues after COVID-19 cases jumped by nearly 2000 to 5715 overnight, while Victoria has ordered masks to be worn inside all venues from midnight Thursday.
- NSW reintroduces QR check-in after case surge
- Victoria mandates masks inside all venues
- Booster cash boost but PM rules out mask mandate
- Murder charge man named after body found at Wingfield dump
- More than 20,000 to spend Christmas in quarantine in NSW
- UK records 100,000 daily cases in Omicron surge
NSW reintroduces QR check-in after case surge
New South Wales is reinstating mandatory QR check-ins at shops and venues after its number of COVID-19 cases jumped by nearly 2000 to 5715 overnight.
The NSW surge saw cases jump by 1952 from Tuesday, while another 45 people were hospitalised to take the total to 347, including 45 in ICU.
NSW Health says most patients are unvaccinated.
The dramatic spike in cases two days before Christmas prompted the NSW Government to reinstate mandatory check-ins at supermarkets, shops and hospitality venues after being dropped earlier this month.
But Premier Dominic Perrottet is still resisting bringing back mask mandates at indoor venues, despite NSW Health urging everyone to wear them in high-risk settings.
Victoria mandates masks inside all venues
Victoria has ordered the mandatory wearing of masks in all indoor venues outside of the home for Victorians eight years and over in a bid to curtail rising COVID-19 cases and the spread of the Omicron variant.
Victoria today reported 2005 new COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths, the highest figure since October 22.
A total of 398 patients are in hospital, with 72 in intensive care including 39 on ventilators.
Acting Premier James Merlino today said the indoor mask mandate will take effect from 11.59pm Thursday.
Face masks will also be required at all major events with more than 30,000 patrons.
“This is a sensible response which will allow businesses to stay open, bars and restaurants to continue to stay open and major events to go ahead,” Merlino told reporters.
“Masks are a cheap and effective way to maintain the health of the community – it’s something public health experts have been calling for.”
He said a lockdown was not considered as an option because Victoria was in a strong position due to its high rates of vaccination.
Booster cash boost but PM rules out mask mandate
General practitioners and pharmacists will receive an extra $10 for each booster jab under an additional $120 million in funding as Australia’s latest vaccine rollout ramps up.
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The package aims to give GPs and pharmacies greater flexibility to run vaccine clinics and ensure they’re adequately staffed. It also includes free rapid antigen tests for residential aged care facilities.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was important the country kept up with the demand for booster shots, with millions of people becoming eligible after a quarter of state and territory run vaccination hubs closed.
“This is an added incentive to keep the primary care system delivering vaccines at as great a capacity as we possibly can,” he said.
GPs currently receive between $65 and $75 for delivering a client with two jabs.
Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid said the additional funding would help GPs and pharmacies ramp up the number of booster doses being administered.
“This will enable GPs to reach out to patients, to run larger clinics and hold more vaccination sessions to meet demand,” he said.
But Royal Australian College of General Practitioners President Dr Karen Price approached the announcement cautiously.
She said practices are under the pump and will soon face the challenge of vaccinating children aged between five to 11.
“I want to stress that this is not a panacea; it won’t solve every problem in front of us,” she said.
“I will always welcome more support for general practice but we need to remember that many practices are operating on wafer thin margins, and some are actually losing money on the vaccine rollout.”
More than half of booster-eligible Australians have received their third COVID-19 vaccine.
About 200,000 doses go into arms each day, with roughly three in four of those shots being boosters.
But the prime minister wants to see this increase to more than two million doses per week early in the new year.
Head of the vaccine rollout Lieutenant General John Frewen said there is enough supply to cover Australians until the end of April 2022.
Meanwhile, national cabinet was told by health experts on Wednesday that mask wearing was “highly recommended”, but Morrison ruled out any mandates.
“Mask wearing in indoor spaces in public areas is of course highly recommended,” he said.
“Whether it’s mandated or not, that’s what we should be doing.
“Australians are common sense people and they know what they need to do to protect their own health.
“Mandates require enforcement and that requires resources.”
National cabinet also discussed shortening the timeframe for booster shots and an updated definition of fully vaccinated from two doses to three, but no decisions were made on either item.
State and territory leaders will be updated again in two weeks time about whether testing for travel was needed, with travellers making up a quarter of testing requirements, stretching out waiting times.
Morrison said one in every thousand people being tested for travel purposes returned a positive result, compared to between 17 and 20 people for every thousand tests on close contacts and those with symptoms.
“That gives you an idea of where the resources are best applied,” he said.
National cabinet will also be provided with a standard definition of a casual contact when it meets again in the new year.
“There is even an argument which says there shouldn’t be any requirement to have a casual contact definition at all,” Morrison said.
The announcements out of national cabinet followed a spike in the number of daily infections in NSW, which recorded 3763 new cases and two more deaths.
Victoria recorded 1503 new cases and six additional deaths.
Both Queensland and the ACT recorded daily case highs of 186 and 58, respectively. Tasmania notched up 12 more cases.
South Australia recorded 198 new infections.
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Murder charge man named after body found at Wingfield dump
A 44-year-old man charged with murder after a body was found among green waste at an Adelaide dump has been remanded in custody.
Detectives were called to Wingfield Integrated Waste Services on Tuesday afternoon after staff made the discovery.
The dead man was identified as 52-year-old Anastasios Tzanavaras, from Hectorville.
His alleged killer, Daniel Gordon Bremner, did not apply for bail in a brief appearance at Adelaide Magistrates Court on Wednesday.
He will return to court in June next year.
A further search of the dump was conducted for potential evidence while a post-mortem examination was also being performed.
Superintendent Matt Nairn said the two men were known to each other and lived at the same address.
“Part of the investigation is working with the waste management services in regard to the timeframes for rubbish truck deposits and when they may have disturbed that pile of rubbish,” he said.
“The victim was in a slightly decomposed state which has made some things difficult but a post-mortem will assist us to establish a time of death.”
More than 20,000 to spend Christmas in quarantine in NSW
Tens of thousands of people in NSW are facing Christmas in isolation as the Omicron COVID-19 variant continues to run rampant through the state.
Some 15,815 people have tested positive since December 16, with Wednesday’s record daily caseload of 3763 set to be smashed on Thursday.
Under current rules, people with COVID-19 must self-isolate at home until medically cleared, even if fully vaccinated.
“If you are self-managing you are able to leave self-isolation 10 days after your positive test, as long as you have had no symptoms for 72 hours – you will receive an SMS with this information,” NSW Health says.
Broadcaster Michael Turner, who is fully vaccinated, tested positive on Wednesday after “nothing short of the worst” symptoms he’s had with any illness over the prior two days.
“It’s heartbreaking to be spending Christmas and New Year away from my family and potentially in hospital,” he told AAP on Wednesday evening.
“While things may be opening up, and we are vaccinated, it can still hit you hard and the symptoms for those who get the full blast are certainly not just a simple cold/flu.”
Others forced to cancel Christmas Day plans due to being positive or a close contact took to social media.
“I am COVID positive and get to have Christmas sick and isolated. I am double-vaxxed, I wore a mask, I sanitised and checked-in where available – I am devastated,” Twitter user Debbie Stracey said.
“With COVID numbers plus partially positive RAT (rapid antigen test) plus close contact with many people, I’ve had to cancel the trip that my mum and sister had organised to come down,” video gaming manager Nate Bramley said.
Despite the upwards trend, NSW will continue to mandate masks and QR code check-ins only in high-risk settings after national cabinet failed to agree on a mask mandate.
UK records 100,000 daily cases in Omicron surge
Britain has reported more than 100,000 new daily COVID-19 cases for the first time since widespread testing was introduced.
There were 106,122 cases reported on Wednesday compared with 90,629 on Tuesday.
The rapid spread of the Omicron variant has driven a surge in cases in the last seven days, with the total rising by 643,219, or 59 per cent, according to government data.
Many industries are struggling with staff shortages as sick workers self-isolate, and hospitals have warned of the risk of an impact on patient safety.
The British government said on Wednesday it was reducing the COVID-19 self-isolation period to seven days from 10 days for people in England who get a negative result on a lateral flow test two days in a row.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday ruled out new restrictions before Christmas, saying that there was uncertainty about the severity of Omicron and hospitalisation rates.
However, he did not rule out further measures after the holiday if the situation deteriorated.
-With AAP and Reuters
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