Australia news LIVE: NSW records 2213 new COVID-19 cases, one death; Victoria records 1510 new cases, seven deaths; second Ashes Test continues in Adelaide

• The nation’s Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, says three doses of a coronavirus vaccine have a “roughly equal” effect on the Omicron variant of the virus to two doses for the Delta variant. In a COVID-19 update today, Professor Kelly said booster vaccines, which are available to adults five months after their second jab, “do indeed boost that protection both against transmission and infection and against severe disease back to the sort of levels we have seen with two doses for Delta. Three doses for Omicron is roughly equal”. Asked about modelling in NSW suggesting the state may record 25,000 new infections a day by the end of January, Professor Kelly said “that’s quite possible, but I’m not going to speculate on the numbers”. He urged adults to get their booster shots when they became eligible, and said “the most important thing is to look at what that [increasing case numbers] does for the health system. Particularly hospitalisations. Particularly the intensive care [admissions]. But also our primary care system”.

• The specialist vaccine advisory body, the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation, announced late today it would not change the interval between second and third COVID-19 vaccination shots for adults. In a statement tonight, ATAGI noted recent coronavirus outbreaks and the rise of the Omicron variant and said case numbers would continue to rise, but it opted to keep its recommendation of five months between a second vaccination shot and a booster jab. But in a note of caution that appeared at odds with Professor Kelly’s statements earlier today, ATAGI said it remained “uncertain whether a booster will provide additional protection against severe disease”. Booster shots are only available to people aged 18 and up, and not to children.

• Western Australia has raised the drawbridge again in response to rising coronavirus infections in the eastern states. As Hamish Hastie reports, free travel into Western Australia has been banned from every state for the first time since November 2020. Despite being 50 days away from abandoning its hard border policy, West Australian Premier Mark McGowan announced his government would reclassify Tasmania as a ‘low risk’ state as at 12.01am on Monday – meaning travellers will need to isolate for 14 days on arrival. Queensland has also been reclassified as a ‘medium risk’ jurisdiction, meaning “travel from Queensland will no longer be permitted, unless you are an approved traveller” with an exemption from WA Police, Mr McGowan said. Use our interstate travel planner here to ensure you are across the ever-changing rules in each state and territory.

• NSW reported 2213 new COVID-19 cases on Friday and one death, as infections continued to climb in Newcastle and Sydney’s local health districts recorded more than 1100 cases. As Sarah McPhee and Mary Ward report, it sets another daily record for NSW, after a total of 1742 cases on Thursday. Hospitalisations in the state rose slightly: there were 215 coronavirus patients in NSW hospitals, up from 192 on Thursday and 166 on Wednesday. Of those hospitalised, 24 are in intensive care, a figure which has remained stable. To date, a total of 185 cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant have been confirmed in the state, with 63 new cases confirmed overnight.

• Prime Minister Scott Morrison was asked earlier today about his comments yesterday that the government was taking the Omicron coronavirus variant “incredibly seriously” but “at the end of the day, our own health is our own responsibility” and people could choose to continue wearing masks, and “choose to stay home”. He said at a press conference in Sydney this morning that case numbers were “important, but the real measure is what does it mean for serious illness, [intensive care admissions], hospitalisation, pressures on the hospital system and the health system”. He said “we can’t go back to lockdowns, we all know that. Right from the start of this pandemic, we have always sought to balance saving lives and saving livelihoods and we always must protect lives and livelihoods”.

• A mask mandate will come into force again in Queensland from 1am tomorrow in an effort to stop a rapid rise in COVID-19 cases in the lead-up to Christmas, Stuart Layt reports. Queensland recorded 16 new local cases of the virus on Friday, seven of which were from interstate. The mandate requires masks to be worn in indoor settings such as retail outlets and shopping centres, supermarkets, public transport and ride-sharing vehicles, as well as airports and hospitals and aged care centres. Masks are not mandated outdoors, and they will stay optional for hospitality venues such as pubs and clubs. Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said his state was considering following suit , and said that “if you’re indoors at events, even at a big family gathering, and you can’t appropriately socially distance, wear a mask. It’s just the sensible thing to do.”

• Victoria recorded 1510 new cases of COVID-19 and seven deaths. Today’s total is down slightly on yesterday’s 1622 cases. There are 386 Victorians in hospital with COVID-19, 82 of whom are in intensive care. Forty-three are on a ventilator. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has tested negative to the virus after attending a social event with a positive case.

• As is now required under the Victorian government’s new pandemic legislation, the state government made a pandemic declaration today and issued a report setting out its reasoning for making that call. Declaring a pandemic allows the government to impose public health orders as required. The report made clear there is still a “serious risk to public health arising from COVID-19”. It also suggested vaccines alone will not be sufficient to manage the outbreak, echoing the comments of World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus earlier this week. “I need to be very clear: vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis. It’s not vaccines instead of masks. It’s not vaccines instead of distancing. It’s not vaccines instead of ventilation or hand hygiene. Do it all. Do it consistently. Do it well,” the WHO Director-General said on December 14. The Victorian government’s report says that “while the considerable protection offered by high vaccination rates amounts to a significant change in the risk profile, the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to leave a significant number of people exposed to risk”.

• South Australia has recorded 64 cases of COVID-19 overnight, according to South Australian Premier Steven Marshall. He said his state will ease coronavirus restrictions on Tuesday, December 28. From that date, indoor dancing will return and drinking while standing up at pubs will be allowed. Home gathering caps will also be completely removed. “I know that will be huge relief to people who’ve been looking forward to that,” Mr Marshall said during today’s health update. He said venues will be allowed to operate at 100 per cent capacity for seated service come December 28, while density limits will be 75 per cent for venues allowing people to stand up while drinking alcohol. “The key issue is go get vaccinated.”

This is Michaela Whitbourn signing off on the blog for today. I’ll be back with you next week.

The message “Rest in peace our little angels” is projected on a screen.

Addison Stewart, 11, and 12-year-olds Zane Mellor, Jye Sheehan, Jalailah Jayne-Maree Jones and Peter Dodt died after a gust of wind lifted the jumping castle they were playing in 10 metres into the air.

Four other students were also injured during the incident. Three remain in hospital and one is recovering at home after being discharged this morning.

The vigil will run until 8pm tonight with mourners invited to stay back and talk to parish priests if they need support.

People who are already in isolation under the old requirements may leave on Tuesday, when the changes take effect, provided they have returned a negative PCR test.

International arrivals will still be required to produce a negative pre-departure test, within three days of boarding their flight, as well as on day six if travelling into NSW or between day five and seven if in Victoria. Hotel quarantine remains in place for travellers who are not vaccinated.

Mandatory hotel quarantine for people entering from a list of southern African nations, introduced at the same time as the 72-hour isolation, was scrapped earlier this week.

“We know it has been a challenging time for international travel with new rules and the emergence of the Omicron variant, but this announcement is about simplifying the process and making sure Australia’s two biggest cities have a consistent approach,” Mr Perrottet said.

“This decision has been made with safety remaining the top priority, which is why all arrivals must return a negative PCR test before they can exit isolation and have an additional test following that.”

“With more than 92 per cent of Victorians 12 years and older double-vaccinated, Victorians have given themselves the strongest chance of living safely with coronavirus and enjoying more freedoms this festive season, while we continue to monitor the Omicron variant,” Mr Merlino said.

“If you’re indoors at events, even at a big family gathering, and you can’t appropriately socially distance, wear a mask. It’s just the sensible thing to do,” Mr Gutwein said.

“It’ll ensure that we can keep our borders open, that we can slow the spread of any transmission and, importantly, we can allow people to go about their daily lives.”

Mr Gutwein said 96.65 per cent of Tasmanians aged 16 and up had received one dose of a coronavirus vaccine and 91.3 per cent had received two doses.

Of Tasmanians aged 12 and up, 95.54 per cent had received one dose and 90 per cent had received two doses.

Adults who received their second jab at least five months ago are now eligible for a booster shot and are being urged by health authorities to get that third dose as soon as possible in response to the highly transmissible Omicron variant of coronavirus.

Queensland’s mask mandate, announced today and taking effect from 1am tomorrow, requires masks to be worn in indoor settings such as retail outlets and shopping centres, supermarkets, public transport and ride-sharing vehicles, as well as airports and hospitals and aged care centres.

Victorians are also required to wear masks in retail settings such as supermarkets and shops, and hospitality workers must wear masks at cafes, bars and pubs.

In NSW, which recorded a record 2213 new COVID-19 cases today, masks are no longer required in shops but are required on public transport, in airports and on planes, and for unvaccinated indoor hospitality staff. Masks remain strongly encouraged in settings where people cannot maintain social distancing.

It makes clear there is still a “serious risk to public health arising from COVID-19”.

It also suggests vaccines alone will not be sufficient to manage the outbreak, echoing the comments of World Health Organisation Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus earlier this week.

“I need to be very clear: vaccines alone will not get any country out of this crisis. It’s not vaccines instead of masks. It’s not vaccines instead of distancing. It’s not vaccines instead of ventilation or hand hygiene. Do it all. Do it consistently. Do it well,” the WHO Director-General said on December 14.

The Victorian government’s report says that “while the considerable protection offered by high vaccination rates amounts to a significant change in the risk profile, the scale of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to leave a significant number of people exposed to risk”.

“The Premier was satisfied that current vaccination rates alone will not suffice to contain transmission within health system capacity, and available treatments are only partially effective in mitigating serious illness or death.”

The pandemic declaration follows a promise by Mr Andrews that there will be “no more lockdowns” after the state reached its vaccination targets.

However, since then, the highly infectious Omicron strain has triggered to fresh doubts about the ability of the health system to cope, particularly if case numbers continue rise.

“There are limited preventative and therapeutic interventions to manage COVID-19 and – other than vaccines – many interventions remain supportive (oxygen, ventilation etc.) rather than curative or preventive,” the report said.

“The available therapeutic interventions of antivirals, steroids and supportive care, have been shown to be only partially effective in reducing mortality and decreasing hospital stays.”