As it happened: Victorian cases continue to surge; Tasmania enters snap lockdown; NSW scraps hotel quarantine for overseas vaccinated travellers

Thanks for joining us on the blog today, we’ll be back tomorrow morning with more coverage of Australia’s top stories and the latest on the country’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For now, let’s take a look back at the main stories across the day:-

• Victoria recorded 1993 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, with a 15-year-old girl with COVID-19 and other health conditions was listed among the seven Victorians who died from the virus in the past 24 hours.
• NSW recorded 319 new locally acquired cases on Saturday, with two overseas cases and two deaths. The ACT has recorded 20 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Fourteen of these cases are linked to known cases or clusters.
• NSW officially hit its 80 per cent double dose COVID-19 vaccination target today, triggering a second round of eased restrictions on Monday including 20 visitors being allowed at homes and the resumption of community sport.
• Queensland recorded zero local cases on Saturday and three from the international quarantine hotels.
• Victoria Police arrested 57 people in connection to anti-lockdown and anti-mandatory vaccination protests at Princes Park in Melbourne’s inner north on Saturday.
• Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg urged the Victorian government to ease restrictions in the same way New South Wales has when double-dose vaccinations pass 70 per cent.
• The White House on Friday said it will lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals effective November 8, ending historic restrictions that had barred much of the world from entering the United States.

Victoria’s purpose-built $200 million quarantine facility still has a role to play in the pandemic, experts say, however it won’t be as crucial as anticipated due to high case numbers and vaccination rates.

The Mickleham “centre for national resilience” for incoming travellers won’t be ready until the end of the year, however there is a risk it may become a white elephant if Victoria also relaxes quarantine rules.

NSW’s move to effectively end quarantine for most travellers by opening international borders to those who are vaccinated from November 1 has raised questions over the purpose of the facility being built in Melbourne’s north.

The state government has committed to finish building the centre, which could be used to house people fleeing disasters once the pandemic is over. It is being funded by the federal government.

While most travellers will avoid it, the quarantine camp is likely to still have a use for unvaccinated people and those who come from high-risk countries, University of Melbourne epidemiologist Dr Driss Ait Ouakrim said.

Read the full story here.

A Greek Orthodox church in Melbourne’s north and a popular tourist spa in regional Victoria have been listed as the state’s latest tier-1 coronavirus exposure sites.

The Transfiguration of Our Lord Greek Orthodox Church in Thomastown has been listed as an exposure site on October 10 between 8.30am and 1.00pm.

The Sanctuary Mineral Bathing Area at the Hepburn Bathhouse and Spa, around 118 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, was visited by a positive case on October 10 between 1pm and 2.30pm.

Earlier in the day, the Department of Health announced the Bendigo Wholefoods Cafe was a tier-1 exposure on Ocotber 9 between 7am and 4.30pm.

Anyone who visits a tier-1 exposure site must isolate for 14 days and get tested as soon as possible.

Washington: The White House on Friday said it will lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated foreign nationals effective November 8, ending historic restrictions that had barred much of the world from entering the United States. In Italy, protests greeted the start of a national health pass designed to fight the spread of coronavirus.

Announcing the starting date for the new rules on travel into and out of the country, White House spokesman Kevin Munoz posted on Twitter that the policy “is guided by public health, stringent, and consistent”.

The unprecedented travel restrictions kept millions of visitors out of the United States from China, Canada, Mexico, India, Brazil, much of Europe and elsewhere; shrunk US tourism; and hurt border community economies. They prevented many loved ones and foreign workers from reuniting with families.

US allies had heavily lobbied the Biden administration to lift the rules.

Restrictions on non-US citizens were first imposed on air travellers from China in January 2020 by then-President Donald Trump and then extended to dozens of other countries, without any clear metrics for how and when to lift them.

Curbs on non-essential travellers at land borders with Mexico and Canada have been in place since March 2020 to address the COVID-19 pandemic.

One woman has been arrested at Princes Park in Melbourne where lockdown and vaccine protesters have planned a rally today.

Dozens of police have swarmed the park, with public order response units also patrolling the Brunswick area in Melbourne’s inner north.

Protesters have attempted rallies every weekend for the past month at least, but attendance has waned in recent weeks.

It’s unclear how many people have come to protest today, but there are at least a dozen media personnel and social media live streamers.