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Lockdown extended in Cowra as stay-at-home orders lift for Yass Valley
By Megan Gorrey
Lockdown will be lifted for residents of the Yass Valley, near Canberra, at midnight, while stay-at-home orders will be extended for a week in Cowra, in central-west NSW, due to an ongoing risk of transmission of COVID-19.
NSW Health said late on Monday that Cowra’s lockdown would remain in place until midnight on October 5.
“To determine the extent of the risk and detect any other potential COVID-19 cases in the Cowra area, we are calling on the community to come forward for testing in large numbers,” NSW Health said in a statement.
All residents are being urged to get tested for the mildest of symptoms.
“High vaccination rates are also essential to reduce the risk of transmission and protect the health and safety of the community.”
‘It was the fear factor’: Vaccine push at Sydney public housing estate
By Megan Gorrey
Bundjalung man Raymond King says fear prompted him to change his mind about getting vaccinated against COVID-19, as he watched cases rise among residents of his neighbourhood in Sydney’s inner south.
“It was the fear factor, that’s the honest truth. In all honesty, I was against [the vaccine]. I was against for a long time because I believe in keeping myself healthy and all natural,” Mr King said.
Raymond King gets his COVID-19 jab at the pop-up clinic set up at the Waterloo social housing estate in Sydney’s inner south. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer
“I was just scared. I was scared of the side effects, and from the bad publicity that got into my head, that got into everyone’s heads.”
Mr King was among residents who got jabbed at a pop-up clinic at the Waterloo public housing estate after health authorities detected a rising number of COVID-19 cases among tenants in Redfern and Waterloo.
The Reverend Bill Crews Foundation and Aspen Medical set up the Pfizer vaccine clinic, for residents aged 12 to 59, outside the estate’s 30-storey Turanga building.
Mr King, who lives in Redfern-Waterloo, said he was motivated by the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the area and his desire to set an example for his nine children.
“It’s getting serious around here. The past two days I’ve been walking around the park, umm-ing and ahh-ing about it, and I just woke up today and went that’s it, and went and got it.
“If people don’t start taking responsibility, we’re going to get stuck in this time warp of who is vaccinated, who isn’t vaccinated. I can’t wait to buy a new pair of shoes, I want to get a haircut. It’s the little things.
“Today was about me and my family leading the way.”
Celebrity chef Kylie Kwong teamed up with Aboriginal elder Aunty Beryl Van-Oploo to cook a meal of braised beef brisket with jasmine rice, native Warrigal greens and bush mint, grown at an Indigenous rooftop garden near her Lukcy Kwong eatery in South Eveleigh, to provide to residents getting their jabs.
The project was also supported by Sydney lord mayoral candidate Yvonne Weldon, a Wiradjuri woman, and the Addison Road Community Organisation, which distributed care packs to tenants.
Melbourne anti-lockdown protest fizzles after calls for rallies
By Clay Lucas
Those encouraging people to rally against lockdowns and vaccinations called for rallies in parks across Melbourne on Monday, but the only notable event was a quiet protest in North Fitzroy’s Edinburgh Gardens around 11am that was quickly dispersed by police.
Attended by around 30 protesters – some of whom said they were health workers – police allowed the rally to go on for a brief period before asking them to finish. There were no arrests made. Dozens of police were patrolling the park this morning, while there continued to be a very large police presence in Melbourne’s CBD.
Melbourne was quiet after violent protests in the city last Monday. Credit:Luis Ascui
Dozens of police were still guarding the CFMEU’s Elizabeth Street offices at lunchtime on Monday. The offices were the scene of a violent rally last Monday. Following the chaotic scenes, the Andrews government shut Victoria’s building industry for a fortnight citing high COVID-19 case numbers in the construction sector.
The riot at the CFMEU’s office was followed on Tuesday by a large, rolling protest that swept across the city before protesters brought traffic on the West Gate Freeway to a standstill for an extended period.
On Wednesday, hundreds of protesters occupied Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance and there were violent scenes as police cleared the crowd and arrested more than 200 people.
Scattered attempts at protests since then have been quelled by police.
On Saturday, protesters attempted to gather in St Kilda, but hundreds of police moved swiftly on demonstrators, making scores of arrests.
Protesters promised to rally “every day” but took Sunday as a “rest day”.
The Sydney council areas with the highest vaccination rates
By Megan Gorrey
More than 20 local government areas in NSW have more than 90 per cent of residents who have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, several weeks before the state starts to ease lockdown restrictions.
In Blacktown, Hornsby, the Hills, Camden and Ku-Ring-Gai council areas, more than 95 per cent of residents have received their first jab, according to the most recent vaccination data.
Other areas with first vaccination rates above 90 per cent include the Sutherland Shire, Campbelltown and the Northern Beaches in Sydney, and the regional council areas of Orange, Warren, Gilgandra and Eurobodalla.
Those figures put them above the NSW average of 85.7 per cent of residents having received their first dose of the vaccine. About 60 per cent of residents are fully vaccinated.
At the opposite end of the spectrum, 65.9 per cent of residents in the Byron Shire in northern NSW have had their first jab and 69.5 per cent of residents in the City of Sydney have received their first dose.
The state government detailed a three-stage plan for easing restrictions from October 11, shortly after 70 per cent of the population is expected to be fully vaccinated. Rules will relax further at the 80 per cent mark.
In Victoria, 77.91 per cent of residents have had their first COVID-19 jab, while 47.72 per cent are fully vaccinated.
The state administered 45,514 doses of the vaccine on Sunday, while NSW administered 40,539 doses.
Premier Daniel Andrews praised the figures on social media, saying: “Yesterday more people got vaccinated in our state than anywhere else in Australia. Great work Victoria.”
Why people with disabilities lost trust with the vaccine rollout
By Rachel Clun
People with disability lost trust in the federal government after the Department of Health failed to adequately communicate changes to the vaccination rollout to the community, as a damning report found the plan to vaccinate NDIS workers and participants was “seriously deficient”.
In a draft report from the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability, published on Monday, the commissioners found the federal health department made no genuine attempts to consult with the sector. They also failed to appreciate the unique challenges associated with vaccinating people living in residential disability accommodation.
The disability royal commission said the government did not do enough to consult people with disabilities about access to vaccines.Credit:Chris Hopkins
The commissioners said the department’s lack of transparency, particularly around the pivot away from focusing on people with disability as the department focused on residential aged care, meant those affected could not protest or challenge the changed plan.
That communication failure was “a serious departure from the standards of transparency” to which the government should adhere, the report said, and potentially contributed to vaccine hesitancy.
“Not surprisingly, the failure to communicate the decision in a timely manner caused many people with disability to lose trust and confidence in the Australian government’s handling of the vaccine rollout,” the commissioners said.
Read the full story here.
Melbourne protest activist seeks support for legal fight
By Cassandra Morgan
One of the organisers behind Melbourne’s freedom rally protests has asked supporters to pay for his legal defence after he was arrested and charged with inciting others to breach public health directions.
Harrison Mclean describes himself on his website as having “helped launch the World Wide Rally for Freedom in Melbourne and around Australia to push back against the encroachments on Victorian Freedom”.
Activist Harrison Mclean. Credit:Facebook
More than 230 protesters were arrested and six police officers needed hospital treatment after the Melbourne protests on September 18.
Using an encrypted messaging platform about 1am on Sunday, Mr Mclean wrote that he was arrested at home and later released after an interview with police. He said “incitement charges have been laid against me” in relation to the protest.
Read the full story here.
Opinion: Why Italy will be the first country I visit
By Michael Gebicki
Like thousands of other Australians, travel writer Michael Gebicki is getting excited about venturing beyond his local council area.
“I’m planning my travels in 2022 and the first country I’ll be visiting is Italy,” he writes.
Aerial view of Noto in Sicily, Italy.Credit:iStock
“Per million of its population, Italy has fewer case numbers than France and Germany, just slightly more than Spain but six times less than the UK. Fewer infected people means less chance of you getting sick.
“At September 21, 66 per cent of Italy’s eligible population is fully vaccinated, with 74 per cent having received one shot. That’s ahead of France, the UK and Germany although less than Spain and Portugal.”
And while he acknowledges the lure of the Colosseum in Rome, St Mark’s Square in Venice, Florence’s Ponte Vecchio in Florence, the Sistine Chapel and the Cinque Terre, Gebicki writes that, “for me there’s another Italy”.
You can read his full piece here.
New exposure sites in regional Victoria as Geelong’s lockdown ends
By Erin Pearson
A popular pub, produce store and beauty salon in Geelong are among new tier-one COVID-19 exposure sites listed as the regional city south-west of Melbourne emerges from tight lockdown restrictions.
Victoria’s Health Department said on Monday a coronavirus-positive person attended TH Nails and Spa in Geelong on September 18 from 2pm to 4.30pm.
An infected person also attended the Inn Hotel on Corio Street on September 18 with an exposure time listed of between 7.30pm and 10pm.
Anyone who has visited these locations during these times must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days from the exposure.
Taste Jamaica on Pakington Street, Geelong West, is listed as a tier-one exposure site on September 18 from 10pm until 11.59pm.
On September 19, an infected person attended the Bottlemart Express on Miverva Road in Herne Hill, with an exposure time of 8pm to 8.40pm, and the Bendigo Bank on the coroner of Pakington and Aberdeen streets in Geelong West on September 23 from 4.45pm to 5.20pm.
In Ballarat, the Fruit Shack on Howitt Street in Wendouree has also been listed as a tier-one site for September 21 from 4.20pm to 5.30pm.
New York eyes National Guard to replace unvaccinated health workers
By Nathan Layne
New York: New York governor Kathy Hochul is considering employing the National Guard and out-of-state medical workers to fill hospital staffing shortages as tens of thousands of workers face possibly losing their jobs for not meeting a Monday deadline for mandated COVID-19 vaccination.
The plan, outlined in a statement from Hochul on Saturday, would allow her to declare a state of emergency to increase the supply of healthcare workers to include licensed professionals from other states and countries as well as retired nurses.
New York governor Kathy Hochul. Credit:AP
Hochul said the state was also looking at using National Guard officers with medical training to keep hospitals and other medical facilities adequately staffed. Some 16 per cent of the state’s 450,000 hospital staff, or roughly 72,000 workers, have not been fully vaccinated, the governor’s office said.
The plan comes amid a broader battle between state and federal government leaders pushing for vaccine mandates to help counter the highly infectious Delta variant of the novel coronavirus and workers who are against inoculation requirements, some objecting on religious grounds.
Hochul attended the Sunday service at a large church in New York City to ask Christians to help promote vaccines.
Read the full story here.
Greater Sydney’s 5km travel limit set to be scrapped next month
By Megan Gorrey
The rules preventing Greater Sydney residents from travelling outside their local government area, or further than 5 kilometres from home, will be scrapped as lockdown measures across the state ease from October 11.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the 5-kilometre rule would be dumped shortly after 70 per cent of the adult population is double-dosed as she detailed plans for fully-vaccinated residents to experience greater freedoms from next month.
Sydney residents have been confined to their local area for months. Credit:Louise Kennerley
The limits on movement apply to residents of Greater Sydney (including the Central Coast), Wollongong and the Blue Mountains. People who are unvaccinated will remain under stay-at-home orders until December 1.
Regional travel is banned until shortly after 80 per cent of the population aged 16 and older has received both jabs. This will likely be a couple of weeks from October 11.
Ms Berejiklian said on Monday she hoped residents could “see the light at the end of the tunnel” after nearly 100 days in lockdown, as she outlined the state’s three-stage plan to reopen.
“It’s just this week and next week we have to get through and I’m looking forward to enjoying those things all of us missed out on,” she said.
Ms Berejiklian said that glimmer of hope was accompanied by a warning for people to take sensible precautions against COVID-19 as restrictions were scaled back.
“I do want to stress that between 70 per cent and 80 per cent double dose, which could be just a matter of weeks, we need to exercise a very high degree of caution.
“We don’t want to see our hospital system overwhelmed and we don’t want to see our fantastic front-line staff go through all that stress of having to deal with people who are going through a horrific stage of illness.”
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2021-09-27 09:44:59Z
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