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Coronavirus Australia: NSW records 623 COVID cases, six deaths as State enters final week of lockdown

AAP & staff writersThe West Australian
Cleaners at Noah’s Backpacking Hostel in Sydney.
Camera IconCleaners at Noah’s Backpacking Hostel in Sydney. Credit: DEAN LEWINS/AAPIMAGE

NSW has recorded 623 new local cases of COVID-19 and another six people have died, as the State begins its final scheduled week in lockdown.

Of the six deaths in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday, three were women and three were men.

Four were not vaccinated, one had received a first dose, and one was fully vaccinated.

One person was in their 40s, three were in their 60s, one was in their 70s and one person was in their 90s.

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It brings the toll for the current outbreak to 378 deaths.

There are currently 959 people in hospital with COVID in NSW, with 193 in intensive care, and 97 people on ventilators.

Homes and hospitality businesses are hoping to once again welcome visitors in about a week’s time as the state nears its 70 per cent double dose vaccination target.

Across the state, 88.4 per cent of people aged 16 and over had received a first vaccine, and 67.1 per cent were fully vaccinated as of midnight on Saturday.

The NSW government on Sunday outlined new public health advice to come into effect on October 11 to manage the spread of COVID-19 as restrictions ease.

Under the advice, which may change as case numbers do, vaccinated and unvaccinated people will have different isolation times if they are a close contact of a COVID-19 case.

Vaccinated close contacts of a positive case must get tested and isolate for seven days.

On the sixth day they must get tested again and if the result is negative, they can end isolation after day seven.

They must work from home for an additional week where possible and not attend hospitality or high-risk settings, even if it is their place of work.

Unvaccinated close contacts must get tested and isolate for 14 days, get tested again at 12 days and if a negative result is received isolation can end after the fortnight.

Everyone, vaccinated or unvaccinated, with COVID-19 symptoms, has been urged to get tested and self-isolate and anyone who tests positive must still isolate for 14 days.

Businesses will be responsible for taking “reasonable measures to stop unvaccinated people entering premises” such as having prominent signs, QR code requirements and only accepting valid proof of vaccination.

Hospitality, retail, gyms, hairdressers and beauty salons will be monitored by authorised officers and on-the-spot fines of $1000 will apply to individuals who do not comply or use fraudulent vaccination records.

Businesses may be fined $5000 for breaching the rules.

NSW Health has detected virus fragments in sewage at Kingscliff and Banora Point in far northern NSW.

Casino is in lockdown, with stay-at-home orders applicable to anyone who has visited the northern NSW town since September 24.

QUEENSLAND RECORDS NEW MYSTERY VIRUS CASE

Queensland has recorded a new mystery virus case in the community as it tries to manage an outbreak in the state’s southeast while continuing to avoid a lockdown.

Health authorities are unsure where the infection was acquired and say the woman was active in Brisbane’s northern suburbs for 10 days.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the new case had no known links to existing clusters and had not been to any existing exposure sites.

The woman in her 50s from Fitzgibbon was double vaccinated and other household members had so far tested negative, Dr Young said.

“I am reasonably reassured by all that, but it would be good to see that enhanced testing response,” she told reporters on Monday.

No other chains of transmission identified by more than 100,000 tests over the past week was also encouraging, Dr Young said.

Genome sequencing results are expected shortly to help determine the source of the infection.

New contact tracing locations, including a number of massage parlours, have been listed for Redcliffe, Cannon Hill, Slacks Creek, Boondall, Bracken Ridge, Chermside and Archerfield.

Two new overseas-acquired cases were also recorded in hotel quarantine.

Queensland is now managing 26 active cases and the state has responded with tighter border restrictions for Lismore following stay-at-home orders announced by NSW.

VICTORIA RECORDS 1377 NEW CASES, FOUR DEATHS

Victoria has recorded 1377 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and four deaths as Melbourne claimed the unenviable title of the world’s most locked down city.

The health department confirmed the 1377 case figure on Monday, the fifth day in a row of four figure infections.

It has pushed the number of active infections in the state to 12,711.

More than 67,789 Victorians were tested for the virus in the 24 hours to Monday morning, while 30,985 vaccinations were administered at state-run sites.

It comes as Melbourne has become the most locked down city, chalking up 246 days living under stay-at-home orders across six lockdowns to surpass the record set by the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires.

With the end of lockdown weeks away, Premier Daniel Andrews called on Melburnians to make a final push.

“We are going to get past this. We are going to end this lockdown and open up, and all that we will enjoy then will be a result of all that we have given,” he told reporters on Sunday.

Epidemiologist Tony Blakely, a long-time supporter of the elimination strategy, said the lockdowns saved lives but Victoria had been unfortunate to have so many.

“If we let it rip last year, we would have had severe mortality and morbidity. It’s just that we haven’t had the same luck as other places,” he told ABC TV on Monday.

Victoria is forecast to hit 70 per cent vaccination coverage of its 16-plus population on or around October 26, triggering the end of lockdown under the state’s roadmap before restrictions ease further at 80 per cent.

Mr Andrews is hopeful the reduction of the second dose Pfizer interval in state- run clinics from six to three weeks from Monday will speed up meeting those targets.

Meanwhile, regional Victorian students in prep, year 1 and year 12 are returning to classrooms on Monday.

VCE unit 3/4 students will be back at schools across the state on Tuesday to sit the repeatedly rescheduled General Achievement Test.

Three students tested positive as part of a targeted testing of COVID-hit areas for the GAT on Saturday and will be granted exemptions.

STATE-BY-STATE CASE BREAKDOWN

VIC - 1377 new local cases, four deaths

NSW - T623 new local cases, six deaths

QLD - one new local case

ACT - TBA

WA - TBA

SA - TBA

TAS - TBA

NT - TBA

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