Australia COVID LIVE updates NSW records 177 new cases Victoria records 1036 before international border reopening

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Thanks for joining us so far today. I’m going to hand over to Roy Ward to bring you the rest of the afternoon’s updates.

Before I do, here’s a quick recap of today’s developments:

Australia’s international borders are set to reopen almost two years after they closed due to the pandemic.

From Monday, the ban preventing Australians from leaving the country without an exit visa will be lifted to enable citizens and permanent residents who have had two doses of the vaccine to travel. The changes mean fully vaccinated returning Australians who arrive in NSW, Victoria and the ACT will not be required to quarantine in hotels or at home. Those who arrive in other states will still have to quarantine.

NSW has recorded one death and 177 new local cases of COVID-19, the state’s lowest daily number of cases in three months, hours before travel restrictions ease for those who are fully vaccinated.

Fully vaccinated Australians can travel overseas from Monday.Credit:James Brickwood

All adults in NSW who received their second vaccination at least six months ago will be able to get booster shots of the Pfizer vaccine - regardless of which vaccine they first received - from Monday.

Victoria has recorded 1036 new cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths. Eighty per cent of Victorians aged 16 and older are now fully vaccinated. There are 702 patients with the virus in hospital. Of those, 128 are in intensive care and 80 require ventilation.

Queensland recorded a fifth straight day of no new locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Sunday. The state’s vaccination rates have now reached 77.3 per cent for one dose and 63.5 per cent for two.

London: Getting a Pfizer booster jab five months after a second dose reduces a person’s risk of hospitalisation with COVID by 93 per cent, according to research published in The Lancet.

The study from the Clalit Research Institute in Tel Aviv and Harvard University in the US is the first nationwide analysis of booster jab effectiveness and involved 1.5 million Israelis.

Rachel Gershon, 83, receives a third Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine from a Magen David Adom national emergency service volunteer, at a private nursing home, in Netanya, Israel, Sunday, August 1, 2021.Credit:AP

Half of these people got a booster, while the other half had not yet received one. Israel was a pioneer in the distribution of vaccines at the start of 2021, getting a jab in the arm of half of its population by the end of February. But by the time a fourth wave hit the nation in summer, there was some waning of vaccine-induced immunity.

Data from the study show that a person’s risk from COVID in the week after getting a booster is much lower than someone who is only double-jabbed.

“Vaccine effectiveness... was estimated to be 93 per cent for admission to hospital, 92 per cent for severe disease, and 81 per cent for Covid-related death,” the researchers write in their paper.

Read the full story here.

Queensland recorded a fifth straight day of no new locally acquired COVID-19 cases on Sunday.

The state’s vaccination rates have now reached 77.3 per cent for one dose and 63.5 per cent for two.

A total of 77.3 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have now had one jab and 63.5 per cent two. Credit:Jason South

So far, more than 1000 jabs have been administered at Surf Life Saving clubs as part of this weekend’s vaccination drive.

“It is not just a race now, it is a sprint … there is no issue with supply,” Transport Minister Mark Bailey said when delivering the state’s COVID-19 update on Sunday.

The state currently has 12 active cases.

NSW residents celebrating Halloween are being advised to hand out wrapped lollies to trick-or-treaters to reduce the risk of spreading COVID-19.

Deputy chief health officer Jeremy McAnulty said adults and children should avoid communal bowls of unwrapped treats, keep their hands clean and maintain social distancing during festivities on Sunday night.

Children and adults are being encouraged to play it safe during Halloween festivities on Sunday.Credit:Rhett Wyman

“Please keep celebrations outside and use packaged treats rather than communal bowls.

“Please keep it local rather than going further afield to ‘treat streets’ in other neighbourhoods. Don’t share costume masks and things that could get contaminated.

“If you’re feeling unwell, please don’t participate in the celebrations and check that your children are well before doing so.

“Make sure you get tested if you, or they, have symptoms, and if you’re feeling unwell don’t open your door to people who might be coming around.”

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said he believed young families were taking precautions, but he also encouraged them to maintain social distancing and only give out wrapped lollies.

“There was a party quite near to mine last night. Sounded like they were having great fun. I have to tell you, I hope they were socially distancing, but it was great to hear laughter after two years of misery.

“Please just be safe.”

Adults who have been fully vaccinated for at least six months will be able to get a booster shot in NSW from Monday.

NSW Health said on Sunday that state-run clinics will offer a booster dose of Pfizer vaccine to all eligible individuals aged 18 and over. The boosters will also be available from GPs and some community pharmacies.

All adults in NSW will be able to book in their booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine from Monday, provided at least six months has passed since their second shot.Credit:AP

“This booster shot will help people maintain a high level of protection against the COVID-19 virus, including the Delta variant,” NSW Health said on Sunday.

People aged 18 years and older may receive a booster at least six months after receiving their second dose of any of the COVID-19 vaccines registered for use in Australia.

“The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will be offered as the booster dose, regardless of which vaccine people received for their first or second dose,” NSW Health said.

State-run clinics are already providing a third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to people aged 12 and older who are severely immunocompromised.

The booster doses will be available throughout the NSW Health vaccination clinic network, including the mass vaccination hubs at Sydney Olympic Park, Macquarie Fields in south-west Sydney, Wollongong and Newcastle.

A booster vaccination can be booked through the COVID-19 Vaccine Clinic Finder.

NSW Health said people who have received two doses of the vaccine are still considered to be fully vaccinated under public health orders, “but the booster dose is important for strengthening protection against the virus”.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has applauded the “record-breaking speed” at which residents raced to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as the state reached its 80 per cent double dose vaccine target this weekend.

Mr Andrews said on social media: “At the start of this month only half of Victoria was fully vaccinated.

“Thanks to Victorians coming forward in record breaking speed to get vaccinated, today we’ve reached 80 per cent. Congratulations, Victoria.”

The state recorded 1036 new local coronavirus cases and 12 deaths on Sunday, when health authorities reported that more than 80 per cent of eligible residents aged 16 and older had now received two doses of the vaccine.

Residents of a town in the NSW Hunter region are being urged to monitor for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested after fragments of the virus were detected in the sewage system and case numbers grow in the area.

NSW Health said in a statement on Sunday that its ongoing sewage surveillance program had found fragments of the virus that causes COVID-19 in sewage samples collected from across NSW, including Dungog.

“Everyone in this area is urged to monitor for the onset of symptoms, and if they appear, to immediately be tested and isolate until a negative result is received,” the statement said.

NSW on Sunday recorded 177 local COVID-19 cases and the death of an unvaccinated woman in her 70s from south-west Sydney. It was the state’s lowest daily case number since late July.

Of the new cases, 33 are from Hunter New England Local Health District, 25 are from South Western Sydney, 22 are from Murrumbidgee, 18 are from Western Sydney, 17 are from Sydney, 14 are from South Eastern Sydney, 13 are from Mid North Coast, nine are from Illawarra Shoalhaven, seven are from Northern Sydney, six are from Central Coast, four are from Southern NSW, three are from Nepean Blue Mountains, two are from Western NSW, one is from Far West NSW and three are yet to be assigned.

NSW deputy chief health officer Dr Jeremy McAnulty said residents should be cautious as international travel resumes, and restrictions ease to allow regional travel throughout NSW for the fully vaccinated, from Monday.

“It’s now more important than ever that we continue to be careful with our COVID-safe behaviours,” Dr McAnulty said.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says higher vaccination rates outside Sydney have given the government confidence as restrictions ease to allow regional travel for the fully vaccinated across the state from Monday.

Mr Perrottet defended the decision to push back the easing of restrictions to allow regional travel by two weeks and said vaccination rates had since “substantially” increased in many local government areas in regional NSW.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet.Credit:Louise Kennerley

“In fact, it far exceeded where we believed we would be when we extended it out to November 1. The reason we made that decision was not because the vaccination rates in the bush were slow.

“They had well exceeded expectations in Sydney, so that the gap between where we expected to be across the board was much higher in Sydney, but a little lower in regional NSW. So we have given that breathing space to provide and instill confidence in the bush.

“Two weeks ago was that there were still concerns in relation to their vaccination rate, and [the past two weeks] has brought confidence back up and we are ready to go.

“It is an exciting day to many people, not just people in Sydney visiting relatives in regional NSW but also for many families in the bush being able to come to Sydney.

Asked whether the government would consider pushing back the December 1 date when restrictions will ease for those who are not vaccinated, Mr Perrottet said the government was “always looking at the roadmap”.

“We discussed aspects of the roadmap [last week], we will be discussing them again, and if we formed the view that certain things can be changed we will make those changes.”

Mr Perrottet said the 177 cases recorded on Sunday - the state’s lowest daily number since July 30 - were detected among more than 75,000 tests and praised residents for coming forward for tests in large numbers.

“It is a very bright day tomorrow for our state, and also as a booster shot program commences, and I think that is a real testament to the people of NSW.

“But we will always look at aspects of the roadmap we can bring forward and they will be continued at cabinet deliberations.”

Australians whose foreign partners were barred from entering the country during the international border closure will have to wait for several months until general inbound tourism resumes before they can be reunited for good.

The federal government’s staged resumption of international tourism puts partners who have been unable to meet existing criteria at the back of the queue, behind parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents, skilled workers and international students.

Australian Danielle Edwards and her partner Darren, from the US, are in a registered relationship but have been separated since early 2020 because of the international border closure.

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews told ABC Radio on Friday, “We will work to bring in international travellers as soon as we can, but the priority is Australians, followed by skilled workers, international students.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said a week ago, at a press conference at a Qantas hangar at Sydney Airport, he was confident that it was “very possible and very achievable” Australia would be accepting international visitors, starting with those from Singapore and New Zealand, by the end of the year.

Read the full story here.

Premier Dominic Perrottet and Health Minister Brad Hazzard are holding a press conference in Sydney .

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