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NationalCoronavirus pandemic

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As it happened: NSW, Victoria and Queensland record no locally acquired cases on Friday; debate rages over arrival of tennis stars

Kate Rose and Ashleigh McMillan
Updated ,first published

Summary

  • NSW, Victoria and Queensland have recorded no locally acquired cases today, but all three recorded two cases in returned travellers in hotel quarantine. SA has recorded once case in hotel quarantine.
  • Andy Murray has tested positive for COVID-19, while Tennys Sandgren originally tested positive for COVID-19 in late November and recovered from the virus, presenting fresh challenges for the Australian Open.
  • Queensland has suggested using mining camps in the outback to quarantine returning arrivals to keep COVID-19 out of populated areas. 
  • NSW cases of the highly transmissible coronavirus variant have doubled within a week but Health Minister Brad Hazzard is confident the state's current quarantine system can handle the more contagious strain.

That's all for today

By Ashleigh McMillan

Thank you so much for joining us. Here's a quick wrap of the biggest stories of the day:

  • NSW, Victoria and Queensland recorded no locally acquired cases on Friday, but all three recorded two cases in returned travellers in hotel quarantine. SA has recorded one case in hotel quarantine.
  • NSW Minister Andrew Constance said the Victorian government’s decision to push ahead with the Australian Open highlighted inconsistencies with their border restrictions.
  • Health authorities in NSW have urged residents in Sydney's north, west and south-west, and Wollongong, to get tested for COVID-19 even if they have extremely mild symptoms, due to concerns the virus is still circulating in the community.
  • Some of the world's best tennis players have arrived in Adelaide ahead of the Australian Open, with Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, reigning champion Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka all starting their 14 days quarantine before the tournament begins in Melbourne on February 8.
  • But it hasn't been smooth sailing for all Open hopefuls: Andy Murray and Madison Key were blocked from boarding flights to Australia after testing positive to COVID-19.
  • Samples of sewage collected at seven south-east Queensland facilities have returned positive results for coronavirus fragments. Viral fragments were detected at wastewater treatment plants on Gibson Island in Brisbane's south; Luggage Point in Brisbane's north; Pimpama and Coombabah on the Gold Coast; Capalaba in Redland City, east of Brisbane; Wynnum in Brisbane's east; and Loganholme in Logan City, south of Brisbane.
  • Qantas boss Alan Joyce has taken a swing at the Victorian government for keeping its border shut to NSW, saying it was both devastating and bizarre given it was letting in 1000 people from “countries where the virus is raging” for the Australian Open.

  • Vaccine industry experts have urged Australians not to panic about the limited supply of Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine into Australia, arguing the government was always going to face stiff competition for doses.

We'll be back tomorrow with the latest on Australia's coronavirus situation. Have a wonderful evening.

NSW Minister slams Victoria's 'inconsistent' rules that bar Sydneysiders

By Tom Rabe, Mary Ward and Patrick Hatch

A senior NSW minister has questioned the basis of the Victorian government’s strict coronavirus border restrictions on Sydneysiders while more than 1000 elite tennis players and their support staff are flown into Melbourne from around the world.

Transport Minister Andrew Constance said the Victorian government’s decision to push ahead with the Australian Open highlighted inconsistencies with their border restrictions, which were hampering business and freight, as well as separating families.

“Against the backdrop of having an international event and trying to maintain normalcy: fine. But I think where this falls short is the inconsistency in their decision making,” Mr Constance said.

“Throughout 2021 we need consistency around the trigger points that these state restrictions are going to have or else it will just trash jobs.”

As NSW recorded its second straight day of zero community transmission, close to 1200 international tennis players and their staff were being flown into Melbourne and quarantining in the city ahead of next month’s Australian Open.

Read the full article here.

Victoria's army bases 'not suitable' as quarantine sites

By Noel Towell and Sumeyya Ilanbey

The Defence Department told the Victorian government at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic that military bases in the state would not be suitable sites for quarantining international travellers.

Premier Daniel Andrews revealed the discussions on Thursday as Queensland considered a plan to use mining camps to house returned travellers in the wake of an outbreak at a Brisbane quarantine hotel of the feared "UK" variant of COVID-19.

Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday revealed his government asked the Commonwealth if returned travellers could be quarantined at various Defence sites. Jason South

But a leading epidemiologist warned the risks of moving quarantine operations to remote locations – an idea backed by the Victorian state opposition on Thursday – could far outweigh the benefits, while the federal government reacted cautiously.

The Northern Territory has successfully used the Howard Springs resort outside Darwin as its main quarantine site and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said her state was considering a similar arrangement as its health officials searched for the route of transmission of the virus among staff and guests at Brisbane’s Grand Chancellor Hotel.

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Caught off-guard by scant testing, Japan battered by COVID winter

By

Japan missed opportunities to coordinate coronavirus testing and secure hospital beds in the months before the pandemic's third wave, health officials, doctors and experts say, missteps that hampered its response as winter set in.

Japan has stood out for containing infections while avoiding the strict lockdowns that devastated economies elsewhere. The death toll, now at 4,315, is one of the lowest among developed nations and around 1 per cent of that of the United States.

Closed restaurants in Tokyo during the state of emergency, Getty Images

But the third wave has been painful. Daily infections hit a record 2,447 in Tokyo last week and authorities this month launched a second state of emergency.

More than a dozen doctors, experts and health officials told Reuters authorities were slow to expand testing and said officials still lack real-time data on testing numbers. That raises questions about Japan's grasp of its own testing capabilities, just months before the planned Olympics.

Zero community cases in eastern states brings hope for WA border change

By Peter de Kruijff

A run of low community COVID-19 case numbers in the eastern states has buoyed hopes Western Australia will start reducing travel restrictions with the rest of the country.

There is currently a 'hard border' up with New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, which are all considered 'medium risk' states for transmission of the disease.

WA Premier Mark McGowan.Peter de Kruijff

WA Premier Mark McGowan said all three states having no new community cases recorded on Friday was great news.

"We'll have an emergency committee meeting this afternoon and we'll discuss the matter there," he said.

Tennis stars land in Adelaide ahead of the Australian Open

By Ashleigh McMillan and Rachel Eddie

Some of the world's most lauded tennis players have begun arriving in Adelaide for two weeks of hotel quarantine before the Australian Open kicks off in February.

Novak Djokovic waves as he arrives at Adelaide Airport on Thursday. Getty

Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, reigning champion Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka have all touched down in Australia, before the tournament begins in Melbourne on February 8.

Players must complete 14 days of hotel quarantine before being able to compete in lead up events prior to the Australian Open.

Serena Williams with her daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. arrives at Adelaide Airport.Getty
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More testing needed in Sydney, Wollongong as COVID 'likely still circulating': NSW Health

By Georgina Mitchell

Health authorities in NSW have urged residents in Sydney's north, west and south-west, and Wollongong, to get tested for COVID-19 even if they have extremely mild symptoms, due to concerns the virus is still circulating in the community.

In the 24 hours to 8pm last night, the state recorded 16,070 tests, with 20,437 the day before. Last week, testing numbers climbed as high as 32,667.

"While two days without any locally acquired cases is encouraging, it is likely that COVID-19 is continuing to circulate in the community among people who have mild or no symptoms," NSW Health said in a statement on Friday.

"To detect cases in the community effectively, we need to see higher testing numbers. This is particularly important in Sydney’s west, south-west and northern beaches, as well as Wollongong, because of recent cases who have been in these areas.

"The best thing any of us can do for our families, friends and communities is to get tested immediately if we experience any cold- or flu-like symptoms, no matter how mild, then isolate until a negative result is received."

Victorian man's COVID-19 result deemed 'false positive'

By Ashleigh McMillan

Victorian health authorities have confirmed that a positive coronavirus test result received on Thursday was actually a false positive.

The state's Health Department said the man in his 30s had returned multiple negative test results since the initial "very low positive" test, and was deemed to not have the virus by an expert panel.

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"Investigations have been undertaken on a suspected false positive COVID-19 test result detected yesterday in a man aged in his 30s," the Department of Health and Human Services said on Friday afternoon.

"Multiple follow up tests on this case have returned negative results.

COVID-19 fragments at seven south-east Queensland wastewater facilities

By Toby Crockford

Samples of sewage collected at seven south-east Queensland facilities have returned positive results for coronavirus fragments, according to the state's health department.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young says viral fragments were detected at wastewater treatment plants on Gibson Island in Brisbane's south; Luggage Point in Brisbane's north; Pimpama and Coombabah on the Gold Coast; Capalaba in Redland City, east of Brisbane; Wynnum in Brisbane's east; and Loganholme in Logan City, south of Brisbane.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young.Getty

“This does not mean we have new cases of COVID-19 in these communities, but we are treating these detections with absolute caution, especially considering the Hotel Grand Chancellor cluster,” Dr Young says.

“A positive sewage result means that someone who has been infected was shedding the virus. Infected people can shed viral fragments and that shedding can happen for several weeks after the person is no longer infectious.”

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Opinion: Why we needed more shots in the quest for a vaccine

By David Crowe

Australians have just had a reminder that they are in a global queue for the best vaccines to shield them from COVID-19, and there is no easy way to jump to the front.

The country’s Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, admitted on Wednesday that the federal government could not get all the agreements it wanted with companies that could send more vaccines our way.

The fight against the pandemic has entered a critical stage as countries around the world roll out vaccination campaigns.AP

There is no deal with Moderna, for instance, even though its vaccine is one of the most promising right now. “A contract takes two parties to sign,” said Kelly. In other words, the company would not commit.

Nor is there a deal with Johnson & Johnson, which is trialling a single-dose vaccine with 45,000 people. “We were unable to reach agreement,” said Kelly. Why not? That is confidential.

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