Australia news LIVE: Private hospitals to assist public health sector as COVID-19 admissions grow; second round of 2022 Australian Open begins in Melbourne

• Rogue government backbencher George Christensen has resigned from a senior parliamentary role, pre-empting possible disciplinary action by the Morrison government over his call for parents to refuse to vaccinate their children against COVID-19. Earlier today, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was weighing up whether to remove Mr Christensen from his role as chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth, for which he was paid $23,238 on top of his $211,250 parliamentary salary. In a Facebook post this evening, Mr Christensen said he would stand down from the position upon his return to Parliament House on February 7 and it was “a decision of my own making”.

• Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews indicated today that a change in national vaccination policy is imminent and that a third dose of a coronavirus vaccine may be required in the future to be considered fully vaccinated. State and territory leaders and health experts have already stressed the importance of eligible adults receiving a booster dose of a coronavirus vaccine to protect themselves against the highly transmissible Omicron strain of the virus.
• Mr Andrews said that his government had “mandated a number of people, many people across many different sectors, [receive] a first and second dose”. “I think you’ll see very soon, out of national processes, you’ll see the terminology and the recognition of the third dose be crystal clear. This is not an option, not an add-on, not a ‘good thing to have’. I think we’re close to a change in policy that will simply reflect the fact that in order to be fully protected, you need three doses, not two doses plus an optional extra.”

• The Prime Minister and Health Minister have been asked in recent days about whether Australia will cut the mandated isolation period for COVID-positive people from seven days to five days or less. Prime Minister Scott Morrison replied at today’s press conference that “all of these things are always under active consideration and that has been for some time”. But he added: “The most recent information that we have is that post-five days you still get 30 per cent [of people] that are remaining infectious, and so that is a calibrated decision you’ve got to make.” Under existing rules in NSW and Victoria, COVID-positive people can leave isolation after seven days, but only if their symptoms have cleared up.

• Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said yesterday that “the more you go down that path of shorter isolation periods, the higher the risk of having transmission in the community. It is a decision of balance; a decision about workforces and a trade-off with increased transmission in the community.”
• Victoria has reported 20,769 official cases of COVID-19 and 18 deaths. Today’s numbers are up on yesterday’s total of 20,180. Of today’s cases, 10,726 were positive PCRs and 10,043 were from positive self-reported rapid antigen tests. There are 1173 people in Victorian hospitals with the virus. Of those, 125 cases are in intensive care. Today’s hospitalisations are up from yesterday’s 1152 patients (when there were 127 cases in ICU).
• NSW reported 32,297 official cases of COVID-19 and 32 deaths. More than half of today’s cases, or 19,847, are positive PCR results, while 12,450 are self-reported positive rapid antigen tests. Today’s daily case total is up from yesterday’s 29,830 cases. There are 2863 people in NSW hospitals with the virus. Of those, 217 are in intensive care. That’s up from yesterday’s 2850 hospitalisations (when there were 209 people in ICU).

• NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says the state’s daily COVID-19 case numbers will go up when schools returns, Daniella White reports. “Yes, when school goes back ... an increase in cases would be expected,” she said during this morning’s coronavirus update. “But we as a community, we can take actions to offset that. One of the keys is getting boosted.” Dr Chant said she wanted to see as many people get vaccinated in the next two weeks as possible, to minimise the risk of the return-to-school plan. NSW and Victoria are working on a plan which is set to include the regular use of rapid antigen tests.

• Queensland has reported 11 new deaths and 19,932 additional COVID-19 infections, Matt Dennien reports. The update comes as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced an easing of restrictions for international arrivals from 1am Saturday, after the state reached a 90 per cent vaccination rate among its 16-plus population. “You will not have to do quarantine,” Ms Palaszczuk said. Arrivals will only have to complete a rapid test within 24-hours, consistent with measures in other states. Hospitalisations have risen to 835, with 52 in intensive care and 18 of those people on ventilators. Today’s COVID numbers come from a total of 5940 self-reported rapid antigen test results and 41,293 PCR swabs.

• Clive Palmer will personally lead the Queensland Senate ticket of his United Australia Party at the upcoming federal election, Sean Parnell reports. The Queensland businessman was a one-term MP for his former Palmer United Party, but recently installed former Liberal Craig Kelly as leader of the UAP.

This is Michaela Whitbourn signing off on the blog for this evening. My colleague Broede Carmody will be back with you tomorrow morning.

“They will at the end of this month, they’ll make that transition [in line with the national vaccine program], and some GPs and pharmacies might start to move to three months if they have supply, if they have capacity,” she said.

“But to be really certain if you are in that three-month category, the best thing to do in the short term is probably come through the state system until that change essentially washes through into primary care.“

Ms Bromley said authorities were waiting on advice from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation as to whether people would require three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to be considered “fully vaccinated”.

As we reported earlier, Premier Daniel Andrews flagged that change could be imminent.

“If that moves to three doses, then that opens up, I guess, opportunities to think about how that interplays with things like [the] vaccinated economy,” Ms Bromley said.

Some immunocompromised adults have already received, or are eligible to receive, a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as part of their primary vaccination course. They are then eligible for a fourth dose as a booster shot at the same interval after their third dose as the general population receives their booster shot.

Just two years ago, Johnson was the darling of his party after he secured the biggest Conservative majority since Margaret Thatcher in 1987, allowing him to deliver on promises to finally steer Britain out of the European Union.

But the relationship is rapidly souring under the impact of a steady stream of revelations about Downing Street’s apparent flouting of strict lockdown rules.

Read the full story here.

Reuters, AP