22:20
Returning to Queensland now … Annastacia Palaszczuk was asked about comments from the federal employment minister, Stuart Robert, that the national opening up plan might have to change.
The Queensland premier said:
Look, well, he’s not at national cabinet, right, and I think the very clear message here is national cabinet wants to get this right and the Doherty Institute is doing more work and when we get that extra work we will come in and have a good discussion about it.
Palaszczuk – who was in the spotlight last week over her comments about children being vulnerable to Covid-19 – said national cabinet “had a really good discussion on Friday”.
Everyone wants to keep families safe … There is more data and modelling that’s going to be coming in from the Doherty Institute and what we are hearing about the 80% plus vaccination rates for all of the country was very encouraging. So we’re going to continue those discussions.
Palaszczuk pivoted to send a message to Queenslanders to keep putting out their arms for vaccination:
This is like an emergency. This is to avoid our hospitals becoming overrun with Covid patients and people getting sick. We have this window of opportunity, this is an emergency, to go and get vaccinated. So I want to see that vaccination rate increase as we get the extra supply from the federal government and, well done, they have been able to source extra supply, but this is the window of opportunity, September, October, to get vaccinated. I cannot stress this enough on Queensland families.
The Queensland premier said she would like to see “a lot more than 80%” of people get vaccinated, because the higher the rate the better the chance of reducing the risk.
Asked about Scott Morrison’s push to open up by Christmas, she said everyone “wants to have hope”.
But the way to do that is to get vaccinated – that’s the key.
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21:48
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed that the state’s contact tracers have stopped calling confirmed Covid-19 cases this week, instead sending them text messages.
Berejiklian:
As case numbers increase, it obviously stresses the system and work have been streamlining the processes that track…Over the last several days, we have been using text messages for cases to give them clear information about what they need to do in terms of staying at home, isolating, caring for themselves, seeking additional care where necessary.
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21:41
Berejiklian has also been questioned on whether the state’s hospital system is coping with the continuous rise in Covid-19 cases.
Berejiklian said “the short answer is: absolutely”, adding that every hospital system has “it’s bad days”.
We have experts throughout our system who have been working on this plan for 18 months, and they will be frankly and directly talking to you about the plan and what we expect and how we will have to do things differently because we are not in a typical situation. Our health system is the best in Australia, but even in the absence of a pandemic, it has bad days. All health systems have a bad day but in the midst of a pandemic we can appreciate what that would be like, but having said that, the resources and planning and staff are there and we will provide the information in detail this week.
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21:39
Berejiklian has been asked what the current hospitalisation rate for those in the state who have contracted the Delta strain, including those who are getting treatment at home.
The question appears to nod to a piece by journalist Rick Morton in The Saturday Paper this weekend, who reported there are a further 1,700 people who are receiving hospital grade care for coronavirus in their own homes in NSW.
Berejiklian maintained there are “around 1,000 people in hospital…about 170 in the ICU and 11,000 being cared for in the community”.
Berejiklian:
Case numbers into the future will be less relevant. The number is how many people require hospitalisation and how many people require intensive care. If you don’t need to be in hospital, that means your Covid case is being managed. You might be fully vaccinated and fine at home. If you need oxygen you will be taken to hospital. If you have breathlessness, severe symptoms, do not hesitate to call an ambulance.
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21:28
Back to Victoria, premier Dan Andrews said the Delta outbreak in the state is a “pandemic of the unvaccinated”, highlighting that 91% of new cases reported Sunday were in people under 50.
The highly transmissible Delta strain is most prevalent across younger cohorts who have not had the same opportunity to get vaccinated as older groups.
The age breakdown confirms that this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated.
Of the new cases today, 91% are under 50. Victoria has 89 cases in hospital, 24 in intensive care units and 13 on ventilators.
Only one person who is in hospital has been fully vaccinated, again, making the point that if you are double-dose protected with either of the vaccines that are available then you are almost certain to avoid very serious illness.
It’s another reminder and important point to make about an appointment to get vaccinated and vaccinated quickly.
Victoria has 1,714 active cases: 216 cases are aged 0-9; 232 are aged 10-19; 348 are aged in their 20s; and 245 are aged in their 30s.
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21:21
New Zealand records 20 new Covid cases
New Zealand authorities have ALSO just provided their Covid-19 update.
New Zealand has reported 20 new cases of coronavirus in the community, bringing the total number in the outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant to 801. It is the fifth day in a row cases numbers have remained low, and an encouraging sign the strict lockdown measures are working.
Since Sunday’s likely peak of 83 cases, daily case numbers have been 53, 49, 75, 49, 28 and now 20, two days in a row.
The country recorded the first death from the outbreak on Saturday – a woman in her 90s who died in Auckland’s North Shore hospital on Friday night.
There are 38 people in hospital, with six people in intensive case, and four patients requiring ventilation machines.
As of Sunday morning, 38,120 close contacts had been identified, with 90% of those tested for the virus. More than 77,000 vaccine doses were administered on Saturday.
Deputy prime minister Grant Robertson said:
We are heading in the right direction when it comes to getting in control of the virus, but the job is not done yet.
With Delta, there is no room for complacency, so please, stick to your bubble; stay under the one roof. That means no going and visiting your family and friends, isolate if you’re a contact and get a test if you’re sick. Let’s double down and let’s get the job done.
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