As it happened: NSW records 830 new local cases, three deaths; Victoria records 65 new local cases

Thanks so much for joining us as we followed the evolving coronavirus situation across Australia today.

Here’s a recap of the main stories from today:

• NSW has again broken the daily case numbers record, reporting 830 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Sadly three more people have died.
• Victoria reported 65 new locally-acquired cases of COVID-19, with the entire state now in lockdown after a snap decision to expand restrictions from 1pm yesterday.
• There were also 19 new locally acquired cases in the ACT, six of which were infectious in the community.
• The number of COVID-positive patients in Victorian hospitals on Sunday grew to 27, with one child aged under five currently receiving care. None of them are vaccinated.
• The Victorian Premier’s office has confirmed children can access childcare if just one of their parents is an authorised worker.
• Police have issued 54 infringement notices after anti-lockdown protesters crossed the border between Coolangatta in Queensland and Tweed Heads in NSW.
• The Chief Medical Officer says the modelling being used to lead Australia out of constant lockdowns is still relevant despite increasing COVID-19 cases, after a record 196,000 vaccine doses were administered across the country on Saturday.
• Victorian Police are considering shutting down public transport in and out of Melbourne CBD before future anti-lockdown rallies after nine officers were injured on Saturday in what the force’s chief says was the most violent protest he had seen in more than 20 years.

Our national blog will back bright and early tomorrow morning, with coverage of the important news of the day. For now, have a wonderful night.

The much-loved Kinfolk cafe has closed its doors after more than 10 years, the latest casualty among Melbourne’s charitable businesses as the pandemic cuts a swath through the city’s social enterprises.

The renowned Charcoal Lane restaurant in Fitzroy will stop trading in September and the popular Lentil as Anything chain says it is in serious trouble.

Other social enterprises - charities that support good causes through commercial activities or who train and employ marginalised people - say they are struggling to stay afloat despite having access to the same level of state and federal government support available to their for-profit counterparts.

The sector’s peak body says the pain of the closure of a social enterprise is felt acutely, with many workers employed in the not-for-profit sector struggling to get into the mainstream job market.

Read the full article here.

The number of COVID-positive patients in Victorian hospitals on Sunday grew to 27, with one child aged under five currently receiving care.

The full breakdown of people currently hospitalised with COVID-19 includes four people aged in their 20s and 30s, 12 aged in their 40s, three aged in their 50s, one aged in their 60s, and two aged over 70.

Of those, nine were not vaccinated and ineligible for the vaccine; 18 were not vaccinated but eligible. None of the cases in hospital had been either partially or fully vaccinated.

There has been mass confusion in Victoria about who can access childcare. The Premier’s office has now confirmed children can access childcare if just one of their parents is an authorised worker.

Premier Daniel Andrews on Saturday announced tightened access to childcare and said the settings would reflect the restrictions in place in 2020.

However, last year there were two settings: the government initially announced both parents would need to be authorised workers, and then swiftly changed the settings to allow children to attend childcare if one parent was an authorised worker.

The Chief Health Officer’s directions states both parents must be authorised workers.

Early Sunday afternoon, Health Minister Martin Foley’s office clarified only one parent needed to be an authorised worker. Four hours later, the Department of Health pointed to the Chief Health Officer’s directions in that both parents must be authorised workers.

Less than an hour later, the Premier’s office clarified - again - that it was one parent. The directions are being redrafted, they said.

New York: While some infections among those who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 are inevitable, they are unlikely to result in hospitalisation or death. But one important question about breakthrough infection that remains unanswered is: Can the vaccinated develop so-called long COVID?

Long COVID refers to a set of symptoms – such as severe fatigue, brain fog, headache, muscle pain and sleep problems – that can persist for weeks or months after the active infection has ended. The syndrome is poorly understood, but studies suggest that between 10 per cent and 30 per cent of adults who catch the virus may experience long COVID, including those who experienced only mild illness or no symptoms at all.

But the vast majority of data collected about long COVID has been in the unvaccinated population. The risk of developing long COVID for the fully vaccinated who get infected after vaccination has not been studied.

The New York Times

Click here to read the story.