Australia should have seen the Delta COVID variant coming, but it has exposed our serious weakness
3 years, 8 months ago

Australia should have seen the Delta COVID variant coming, but it has exposed our serious weakness

ABC  

Since the pandemic began, various plans, pathways, horizons and war-games have all been deployed to demonstrate the government is keeping one step ahead of the virus. Immediate support needed The income support is now slightly more generous than where the JobKeeper scheme finished, but it only kicks in once a declared COVID "hotspot" enters its fourth week of lockdown. That hasn't stopped an angry Victorian Government labelling Morrison "the Prime Minister for NSW", triggering yet another political spat. Victoria was being "childish and petulant", said federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, who cites the generous JobKeeper support pumped into the state during last year's lengthy lockdown. By contrast, the Prime Minister stood alongside Gladys Berejiklian to announce increased support this week, without a breath of criticism of how Sydney wound up in this situation or any reference to a "NSW wave".

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History of this topic

Australia's leaders to consider single, uniform definition of a COVID-19 close contact at national cabinet
3 years, 2 months ago

Australia's leaders to consider single, uniform definition of a COVID-19 close contact at national cabinet

ABC  

A single, nationally-consistent definition of a COVID-19 close contact will be presented to the nation's leaders today, as health authorities seek to recalibrate their response to the fast-spreading Omicron variant. Key points: Leaders will consider making the definition of a close contact someone who spent more than four hours with an infected person The AMA president says that's a bad …

National Cabinet considers how to deal with an influx of COVID-19 patients, with hospitals already straining
3 years, 6 months ago

National Cabinet considers how to deal with an influx of COVID-19 patients, with hospitals already straining

ABC  

There's something Mark McGowan would rather not talk about. Mr McGowan has conceded the system is under pressure but said "hundreds" of aged and disability care patients were occupying hospital beds because the federal government had failed to fund enough beds for them elsewhere. The Delta outbreak in New South Wales is putting enormous strain on the state's health system, …

Victoria to remain in lockdown as COVID cases surge but Andrews hopeful of driving down numbers
3 years, 6 months ago

Victoria to remain in lockdown as COVID cases surge but Andrews hopeful of driving down numbers

ABC  

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the state, Victorians have been told to prepare for another lockdown extension. "Obviously with almost 100 cases today, where many of them remain mysteries, many of them were out in the community during their infectious period, it is not going to be possible for us to open up our Victorian community in just …

Scott Morrison's COVID lockdown exit plan has a big stumbling block — the two halves of Australia
3 years, 7 months ago

Scott Morrison's COVID lockdown exit plan has a big stumbling block — the two halves of Australia

ABC  

After being pummelled for months over the vaccine "stroll-out" and wearing at least some of the blame for never-ending lockdowns, it's understandable the Prime Minister has grabbed a torch from the Doherty Institute to lead the nation "out of the cave". It's the course of ending lockdowns once vaccination targets are met, reopening state borders and "living with" the Delta …

Australian Prime Minister hints at end to ‘Covid zero’
3 years, 7 months ago

Australian Prime Minister hints at end to ‘Covid zero’

CNN  

CNN — Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison hinted at an end to the country’s zero Covid-19 infections strategy in an opinion piece published Sunday, warning Australians to expect a rise in infections as restrictions relax. Morrison’s article comes as Sydney, Australia’s largest city, recorded 830 confirmed Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, its highest number of daily new infections …

Melbourne's sixth COVID lockdown extension cuts deep as community deals with cumulative effect
3 years, 7 months ago

Melbourne's sixth COVID lockdown extension cuts deep as community deals with cumulative effect

ABC  

Melburnians are waking to two more weeks of being in lockdown — and this time it will be a tighter, stricter affair, with the police promising to crack down on anyone who breaks or bends the rules. "In Melbourne … in the second wave, people did that very successfully," Professor Hickie said. "We're now faced with the stark reality of …

Australia’s COVID cases at record high with millions in lockdown
3 years, 7 months ago

Australia’s COVID cases at record high with millions in lockdown

Al Jazeera  

Country struggles to contain spread of the virus as 60 percent of the population is placed under lockdown. Australia has reported a record daily number of new coronavirus cases for the year on Saturday with the highly infectious Delta variant continuing to spread through the country’s most populous states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland. With about 15 million …

Delta variant creates new COVID danger in Australia, as early data suggests it is more severe and more transmissible
3 years, 7 months ago

Delta variant creates new COVID danger in Australia, as early data suggests it is more severe and more transmissible

ABC  

Health experts are preparing for a "nightmare scenario" in Australia, with early data from both overseas examples and the local outbreak showing the Delta strain is more severe as well as being harder to contain. Key points: Experts say early studies indicate the Delta strain is putting more people in hospital in a serious condition The new data, on top …

Sydney braces for rise in COVID-19 cases as Delta outbreak worsens
3 years, 8 months ago

Sydney braces for rise in COVID-19 cases as Delta outbreak worsens

Live Mint  

Australia's most populous state, New South Wales, on Friday warned residents to brace an increase in COVID-19 infections over the next few days as it reported the biggest daily rise in locally acquired cases recorded so far this year. Country-wide, Australia is fighting outbreaks of the highly infections Delta variant simultaneously in three state capital cities, meaning nearly half of …

Australia’s Victoria reports Delta COVID variant in new outbreak
3 years, 9 months ago

Australia’s Victoria reports Delta COVID variant in new outbreak

Al Jazeera  

New variant has not been linked to any sequenced cases elsewhere in Australia but patients had travelled to New South Wales. Authorities in the Australian state of Victoria said genomic sequencing has detected for the first time the Delta COVID-19 virus variant among infections in the latest outbreak in Melbourne, the state capital and Australia’s second-biggest city. Sutton said the …

Greater Melbourne workers affected by COVID lockdown eligible for Commonwealth payments
3 years, 9 months ago

Greater Melbourne workers affected by COVID lockdown eligible for Commonwealth payments

ABC  

People in greater Melbourne who have lost work as a result of the lockdown will receive a payment of either $500 or $325, as part of a financial support package from the federal government. Key points: The payment will be available to people over 17 who have less than $10,000 in "liquid assets" The payment will be available to people …

With coronavirus border restrictions, Scott Morrison is at the whim of the states — and it's worse than we thought
4 years, 6 months ago

With coronavirus border restrictions, Scott Morrison is at the whim of the states — and it's worse than we thought

ABC  

Things have obviously been worse than we thought. The strains in the Federation, brought on primarily by tension over border closures, have long since rendered the Prime Minister's "we're all in this together" slogan redundant. On Friday, the Prime Minister emerged from a turning point National Cabinet meeting to reveal that "at times it has felt like Australia could break …

Australia got its health response to COVID-19 right at a high price, but some feel the risks were overblown and the price tag too large
4 years, 9 months ago

Australia got its health response to COVID-19 right at a high price, but some feel the risks were overblown and the price tag too large

ABC  

The mathematicians are at it again. It's just that far more Australians would have died and our health system would have been stretched beyond capacity. While the supposed $60 billion accounting mistake technically should give the Federal Government more latitude, Prime Minister Scott Morrison until late last week was adamant all the employee payment subsidy and the doubling of unemployment …

Australia to pass huge stimulus plan, S&P lowers AAA outlook
4 years, 11 months ago

Australia to pass huge stimulus plan, S&P lowers AAA outlook

Al Jazeera  

Australia’s coveted AAA credit rating came under a cloud on Wednesday as the country’s parliament returned to pass an emergency 130 billion Australian dollars stimulus package to help cushion the blow to the economy from the coronavirus pandemic. Australia’s government has so far pledged 320 billion Australian dollars in fiscal support as the coronavirus pandemic shuts companies and leaves many …

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