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Coronavirus Australia: ACT records 28 new virus cases and one death

AAP and staff writersThe West Australian
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People are seen crossing Flinders Street in Melbourne.
Camera IconPeople are seen crossing Flinders Street in Melbourne. Credit: DANIEL POCKETT/AAPIMAGE

A woman in her 70s has died from COVID in the ACT, bringing the territory’s death toll from the current outbreak to six.

The woman was receiving end-of life care at an aged-care facility in Canberra’s north.

Health authorities have also revealed a baby at Canberra’s Centenary Hospital has also tested positive for COVID, as the territory recorded 28 new cases in the most recent reporting period.

Of the new cases, 19 are linked to known cases or outbreaks, while nine are still under investigation by health authorities.

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There were 11 cases that were in quarantine the whole time, with five being infectious in the community.

The number of COVID patients in Canberra hospitals now stands at 16, seven of those being in intensive care and four being on a ventilator.

ACT Health Minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said the baby had been in a special care nursery for some time and had been moved to a COVID ward.

“This situation is being expertly handled and Canberrans can feel safe to attend hospitals if they require care,” she said.

Vaccination rates in the ACT have now reached 95 per cent for first doses in residents aged 12 and over.

NSW RECORDS 594 LOCAL CASES, 10 DEATHS

NSW has reported 594 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and 10 more deaths, after NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet flagged a review of the state’s roadmap out of lockdown.

Across the state, 88.6 per cent of people aged 16 and over have received their first vaccine, and 67.7 per cent are fully vaccinated as of 1159 AEST on Monday.

NSW Chief Deputy Health Officer Marianne Gale thanked people in NSW for getting vaccinated.

“Thank you everybody for your ongoing terrific efforts in coming forward to get vaccinated, it’s really pleasing to see such high coverage of vaccination across the state,” she said on Wednesday.

There were seven men and three women among the ten deaths reported in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday.

There have now been 395 COVID-19 deaths in the state in the latest outbreak.

There were more than 90,000 COVID-19 tests reported.

The daily case number is the lowest since August and it’s the fifth day in row infections have been below 700.

The state is on the cusp of reaching its 70 per cent double dose vaccination milestone.

Mr Perrottet, who was sworn in on Tuesday, will meet with health officials and his crisis cabinet on Wednesday to go over the plan for the state to emerge from months of lockdown from October 11.

VICTORIA RECORDS 1420 NEW LOCAL CASES, 11 DEATHS

Victoria has reported 1420 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and 11 deaths as the CFMEU prepares to expel members who participated in violent protests outside its Melbourne office.

The health department on Wednesday confirmed the latest cases and deaths, the most fatalities of the current outbreak, which brings the toll to 68.

It follows Victoria’s national daily case record of 1763 on Tuesday, and is the seventh straight day the state has reported four-figure infections.

There are now 14,410 active cases in the state.

More than 71,000 Victorians were tested for the virus in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning, while 36,542 vaccinations were administered at state-run sites.

The latest figures come as cases linked to a “superspreader” event outside Melbourne’s CFMEU office grow.

Seven infections are now linked to the CFMEU headquarters protest on September 20 when demonstrators threw bottles at union officials and smashed the office’s door down in protest at mandatory vaccinations and other construction industry restrictions.

Victorian CFMEU boss John Setka said dozens of families and children had been affected, and officials were reviewing footage to identify members.

“They’ll be fronting the executive of the union and they’ll have to answer for their actions,” he told Nine’s Today on Wednesday.

“In some of the cases, in some of the footage that I’ve seen, they’ll probably be expelled from the union.

“We’re not going to tolerate behaviour like that. Not against union members’ property ... and then on top of that starting a superspreader, I mean it’s just absolutely unforgivable.”

The construction industry in Melbourne and other locked-down areas restarted on Tuesday, with workers required to have had their first jab and strict conditions such as workforce caps and on-site COVID marshals.

Meanwhile, restrictions in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley region eased overnight as Shepparton, Moorabool and Mitchell Shires remain in lockdown.

QLD RECORDS ZERO LOCAL CASES OF COVID-19

The Queensland government is ramping up calls for people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 with the state close to suppressing another Delta variant outbreak.

Queensland recorded no new locally-acquired cases in the 24 hours to 6.30am on Wednesday after 12,829 tests.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the news comes nine days after the first case emerged in a cluster involving workers at an aviation company, which swelled to nine cases.

“So we have zero community cases, this is unbelievable,” she told reporters on Wednesday.

“This is great effort from everyone in Queensland doing the right thing.”

Mr Palaszczuk said there was ongoing risk from the Delta variant so it’s crucial for people to keep getting vaccinated.

STATE-BY-STATE CASE BREAKDOWN

VIC - 1420 new local cases, 11 deaths

NSW - 594 new local cases, 10 deaths

QLD - zero new local cases

WA - TBA

ACT - 28 new local cases, one death

SA - TBA

TAS - TBA

NT - TBA

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