Australia news LIVE: Queensland border reopens; Omicron COVID-19 cases expected to grow in NSW, Victoria

Good evening and thank you for reading our live coverage of the day’s events. If you are just joining us now, here’s what you need to know.

• Western Australia will reopen its borders to the rest of the country and the world at 12.01am on Saturday, February 5. WA Premier Mark McGowan said 80 per cent of the state’s residents aged 12 and up are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 89.1 per cent have received a first dose. He said he was confident the state would reach a 90 per cent vaccination target by February 5. The reopening date is set in stone, he said, barring “some unforeseen emergency or catastrophe which we can’t predict”. Josh Dye has everything you need to know about interstate travel requirements here.

• The rules for travelling to WA differ for interstate and international travellers. Peter de Kruijff has a handy guide to the rules here: domestic travellers aged 12 and up will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they are ineligible or medically exempt from vaccination, and must show proof of a negative PCR test result received within 72 hours of departing for WA. Domestic arrivals staying more than six days in WA will need to take another test within 48 hours of arrival. West Australians who leave the state for five days or less will not need to take a test before returning but will need to do a PCR test within 48 hours of being back in WA.
• International travellers require the pre-departure test, a test within 48 hours of arrival and another test on day six. There is no quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated international arrivals, but the unvaccinated (including those who have taken a vaccine that is not approved in Australia) will need to spend 14 days in isolation in a hotel or the soon-to-be built federal quarantine facility in Bullsbrook.

• Australia’s international borders remain on track to reopen later this week, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says. As Broede Carmody and Rachel Clun report, Mr Hunt said this morning that students and some skilled labour visa holders would be allowed into the country from Wednesday, December 15 (although not into every jurisdiction). The border has yet to re-open to international tourists, although fully vaccinated Australians are free to depart overseas. The international border was set to reopen on December 1, but that was delayed to allow health experts to gather more data about the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 that was discovered at the end of November.

• Queensland’s borders reopened at 1am today to fully vaccinated travellers from the hotspot areas of NSW, Victoria and the ACT. Travellers do not have to go into quarantine upon arrival but must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test in the 72 hours before travel. They must also get tested again on day five. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says today is a “great Christmas present for thousands of Queensland businesses”. “The Queensland tourism industry is worth more than $20 billion a year,” he said.

• Sarah McPhee and Mary Ward report that nearly 700 people in NSW have been deemed close contacts of a COVID-19 case after attending the Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle last Wednesday night, as the state recorded 536 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths today. Nine of today’s cases have been confirmed as the Omicron variant of the virus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases of this variant to date to 64. NSW Health said 84 people linked to the nightclub had tested positive to COVID-19, 60 of them overnight.
• The nightclub cases are all believed to be the new Omicron variant of COVID-19, but that has yet to be confirmed. “Given the high transmission of COVID-19 at the venue, we ask household contacts of anyone who attended to also immediately get tested and isolate until they and the close contact tests negative,” NSW Health said. The number of coronavirus patients in NSW hospitals has risen to 171 (up from 156 yesterday). Of those, 24 are in intensive care. On the vaccination front, 93.1 per cent of NSW residents aged 16 and up are fully vaccinated against the virus, and 94.8 per cent have received a first dose. In the 12 to 15-year-old age group, 77.7 per cent are fully vaccinated and 81.4 per cent have received a first dose.

• Lower vaccination rates in young adults and a growing number of people who failed to return for their second shot are keeping NSW from its 95 per cent vaccination goal, data reveals. Read more from Mary Ward here.

• Victoria has recorded 1290 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths. That’s up on yesterday’s 1069 cases. There are 323 people in Victorian hospitals with COVID-19. Of those, 77 active cases are in intensive care. Forty are on a ventilator. The Victorian government says 92 per cent of residents aged 12 and up are fully vaccinated against the virus. The state has confirmed three cases of the Omicron variant of the virus, all of which are in returned travellers. Another nine cases are under investigation.

• The Northern Territory has recorded 17 new cases of COVID-19, as authorities effectively declared the whole of Katherine a COVID exposure site. It brings the total number of cases in the so-called Katherine cluster to 87. The Northern Territory’s Acting Chief Minister, Nicole Manison, said it was a “big number” but it was not unexpected. Fourteen of those cases were from households in a street in Katherine, and eight of those cases were children under 12 (who cannot yet get vaccinated against the virus, but will be able to next year).
• People who have spent any time in Katherine, Binjari or Rockhole in the past 14 days (from Monday, November 29) are required by law to get tested for the virus in the next three days. “Katherine has been ground zero for COVID in the Territory,” Ms Manison said. “The issue we have is the high likelihood that it is spreading into other communities. If we do get cases in some of these communities in the next few days, there is a 99 per cent chance that would have come from Katherine. This effectively means all of Katherine is an exposure site.” People who get tested do not need to isolate while awaiting their result.

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

Good evening and thank you for reading our live coverage of the day’s events. If you are just joining us now, here’s what you need to know.

• Western Australia will reopen its borders to the rest of the country and the world at 12.01am on Saturday, February 5. WA Premier Mark McGowan said 80 per cent of the state’s residents aged 12 and up are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 89.1 per cent have received a first dose. He said he was confident the state would reach a 90 per cent vaccination target by February 5. The reopening date is set in stone, he said, barring “some unforeseen emergency or catastrophe which we can’t predict”. Josh Dye has everything you need to know about interstate travel requirements here.

• The rules for travelling to WA differ for interstate and international travellers. Peter de Kruijff has a handy guide to the rules here: domestic travellers aged 12 and up will need to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 unless they are ineligible or medically exempt from vaccination, and must show proof of a negative PCR test result received within 72 hours of departing for WA. Domestic arrivals staying more than six days in WA will need to take another test within 48 hours of arrival. West Australians who leave the state for five days or less will not need to take a test before returning but will need to do a PCR test within 48 hours of being back in WA.
• International travellers require the pre-departure test, a test within 48 hours of arrival and another test on day six. There is no quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated international arrivals, but the unvaccinated (including those who have taken a vaccine that is not approved in Australia) will need to spend 14 days in isolation in a hotel or the soon-to-be built federal quarantine facility in Bullsbrook.

• Australia’s international borders remain on track to reopen later this week, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says. As Broede Carmody and Rachel Clun report, Mr Hunt said this morning that students and some skilled labour visa holders would be allowed into the country from Wednesday, December 15 (although not into every jurisdiction). The border has yet to re-open to international tourists, although fully vaccinated Australians are free to depart overseas. The international border was set to reopen on December 1, but that was delayed to allow health experts to gather more data about the new Omicron variant of COVID-19 that was discovered at the end of November.

• Queensland’s borders reopened at 1am today to fully vaccinated travellers from the hotspot areas of NSW, Victoria and the ACT. Travellers do not have to go into quarantine upon arrival but must have proof of a negative COVID-19 test in the 72 hours before travel. They must also get tested again on day five. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says today is a “great Christmas present for thousands of Queensland businesses”. “The Queensland tourism industry is worth more than $20 billion a year,” he said.

• Sarah McPhee and Mary Ward report that nearly 700 people in NSW have been deemed close contacts of a COVID-19 case after attending the Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle last Wednesday night, as the state recorded 536 new coronavirus cases and no new deaths today. Nine of today’s cases have been confirmed as the Omicron variant of the virus, bringing the total number of confirmed cases of this variant to date to 64. NSW Health said 84 people linked to the nightclub had tested positive to COVID-19, 60 of them overnight.
• The nightclub cases are all believed to be the new Omicron variant of COVID-19, but that has yet to be confirmed. “Given the high transmission of COVID-19 at the venue, we ask household contacts of anyone who attended to also immediately get tested and isolate until they and the close contact tests negative,” NSW Health said. The number of coronavirus patients in NSW hospitals has risen to 171 (up from 156 yesterday). Of those, 24 are in intensive care. On the vaccination front, 93.1 per cent of NSW residents aged 16 and up are fully vaccinated against the virus, and 94.8 per cent have received a first dose. In the 12 to 15-year-old age group, 77.7 per cent are fully vaccinated and 81.4 per cent have received a first dose.

• Lower vaccination rates in young adults and a growing number of people who failed to return for their second shot are keeping NSW from its 95 per cent vaccination goal, data reveals. Read more from Mary Ward here.

• Victoria has recorded 1290 new cases of COVID-19 and two deaths. That’s up on yesterday’s 1069 cases. There are 323 people in Victorian hospitals with COVID-19. Of those, 77 active cases are in intensive care. Forty are on a ventilator. The Victorian government says 92 per cent of residents aged 12 and up are fully vaccinated against the virus. The state has confirmed three cases of the Omicron variant of the virus, all of which are in returned travellers. Another nine cases are under investigation.

• The Northern Territory has recorded 17 new cases of COVID-19, as authorities effectively declared the whole of Katherine a COVID exposure site. It brings the total number of cases in the so-called Katherine cluster to 87. The Northern Territory’s Acting Chief Minister, Nicole Manison, said it was a “big number” but it was not unexpected. Fourteen of those cases were from households in a street in Katherine, and eight of those cases were children under 12 (who cannot yet get vaccinated against the virus, but will be able to next year).
• People who have spent any time in Katherine, Binjari or Rockhole in the past 14 days (from Monday, November 29) are required by law to get tested for the virus in the next three days. “Katherine has been ground zero for COVID in the Territory,” Ms Manison said. “The issue we have is the high likelihood that it is spreading into other communities. If we do get cases in some of these communities in the next few days, there is a 99 per cent chance that would have come from Katherine. This effectively means all of Katherine is an exposure site.” People who get tested do not need to isolate while awaiting their result.

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

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan held a press conference at about 2pm local time (5pm AEDT) about the state’s border reopening plan. We will have the playback clip for you shortly.