Coronavirus Australia news: Greg Hunt confirms Government will offer vaccines to 'all people living in Australia', including refugees and asylum seekers — as it happened

Thank you for reading and sending in those questions.

Thinking of those in WA and Victoria's affected regions.

Here's to a safe few days and crushing the outbreaks!

James Maasdorp and Yasmin Jeffery will be on deck to take you through all the latest news tomorrow.

Take care!

I can see the QLD questions but can I ask the same about SA? Can we transit from Regional Victoria through Melb Airport without the testing requirement?

-Does Melbourne airport count?

You can, DMAC!

Acting Chief Public Health Officer at SA Health Emily Kirkpatrick told ABC Radio Adelaide on Thursday afternoon:

“If you are travelling from a regional area – not from the greater Melbourne area – and you do not stop in that area and you wear a mask in the airport and you get on your flight to Adelaide there is no requirement for you to have testing because you are transiting through with no contact with anyone from the greater Melbourne area.”

“If you are flying through Melbourne, say you are flying from Hobart to Melbourne and then Melbourne to Adelaide, and you are there for less than two hours and you wear a mask you will not be required to have testing on days one, five and 12.”

Tasmanian health authorities say four people who are now in Tasmania have been identified as having been in Victorian exposure locations.

All are in quarantine and are being tested.

Tasmania will continue to work with Victoria to contact any person who is identified as being at risk of COVID-19 while in Victoria.

Tasmania is taking a precautionary and proportionate approach in response to this case to help minimise the risk of COVID-19 spreading in our community.

If you have any cold or flu symptoms, even mild, contact the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738 to arrange a test.

Anyone who is currently in Tasmania who was in Victoria on or after January 29 should check the updated list at www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au/travelalert.

If you were at any of the premises at the specified dates and times, self-isolate immediately and call the Public Health Hotline for further advice. 

People planning to travel to Tasmania will be required to confirm if they have been at any of the high-risk locations at the specified dates and times.

People who have been at the locations at the specific times will be required to apply to the Deputy State Controller to enter Tasmania, including returning Tasmanians.

If allowed to enter they will be required to quarantine in a government facility for 14 days.

Fees will be waived for anyone arriving from Victoria required to enter hotel quarantine before midnight tonight.

More than 8000 people in Tasmania who have recently been in Victoria have been contacted today, and advised to check the list of locations and call the Hotline if necessary.

Visit www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au for the latest Tasmanian information.

Vic Health is continuing to follow up close contacts of a hotel quarantine worker at the Grand Hyatt Hotel who tested positive to coronavirus.

After further investigation 17 social and household close contacts of the worker have been identified.

All close contacts have must get tested and isolate for 14 days.

Nine have so far tested negative with further results to come.

Staff who worked at the Grand Hyatt during the period of concern and who are considered primary close contacts are being contacted.

They should immediately isolate and get tested and to remain isolated for 14 days from January 30, or their last day at the hotel, whichever is earlier.

Over 500 Australian Open players, officials and support staff who were staying at the Grand Hyatt are considered casual contacts. They should immediately isolate and get tested.

A further six public exposure sites have been added, taking the total number of sites to 14.

Out of an abundance of caution, anyone who has visited these Tier 1 exposure sites during these times must immediately isolate, get tested, and remain isolated for 14 days from the time they were at the site.

Professor Dominic Dwyer works in NSW Health Pathology and is currently undergoing a 14-day quarantine before embarking on a further two-week mission to investigate the origins of COVID-19, where he will work alongside a 15-member team.⁣

⁣Professor Dwyer has extensive experience in pandemic responses, even prior to COVID-19.

His work in molecular testing for HIV spans three decades and he was also involved in a WHO investigation into the SARS outbreak nearly 20 years ago.

When he's not consulting with international experts or sharing his insight and experience at virtual health conferences, he is a trusted spokesperson on public health, providing expert advice to help keep our communities safe through the COVID-19 pandemic.⁣

Late last year, Professor Dwyer was selected by the World Health Organization (WHO), to be part of an international team of physicians, scientists and researchers, chosen for their expertise in animal health and animal viruses, human viral infections and transmission and epidemiology and public health.

After he returns to Australia from Wuhan, Professor Dwyer will go through another quarantine period upon his return to Sydney.

To read more about Professor Dwyer's work, visit: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/…/Pages/staff-profiles.aspx

When Spanish player Carla Suárez Navarro had stomach pains and sickness last summer she suspected it was COVID-19.

After tests, however, the news was far worse than she had imagined as she was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma, a type of cancer, and would need months of chemotherapy.

The former world number six, known for one of the best backhands in tennis, had already decided earlier in the year to retire, but this was not how she wanted to bow out.

A few months since that anxious September news she has made a strong recovery and is targeting a proper farewell to the sport at the re-scheduled Tokyo Olympics.

Suárez Navarro completed her chemotherapy in January, a milestone moment after her life was turned upside down.

Fragments of SARS-CoV-2 have been detected in the Yeppoon sewage catchment.

Yeppoon sewer catchment receives sewage from the suburbs of Taroomball, Inverness, Hidden Valley, Rosslyn, Mulambin, Cooee Bay, Barlows Hill, Lammermoor, Meikleville Hill, Pacific Heights, Taranganba and Yeppoon.

Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said continued detections across the state is becoming more concerning.

"We continue to urge anyone with any symptoms, no matter how mild to come forward and get tested," Dr Young said.

"Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, fatigue, diarrhoea, nausea or vomiting, and loss of taste or smell.

"This is especially important now more than ever, as we know the new variants emerging overseas are more contagious than previous variants we have seen in Queensland.

"If there is a case we are not yet aware of, it is critical we detect it through our testing mechanisms as quickly as possible to contain any potential spread.

"It is, of course, also possible that this detection relates to previous COVID-19 cases who can shed viral fragments for a couple of months after they are no longer infectious."

Further to this morning's announcement that a potential case in north Brisbane was being investigated with additional testing, preliminary results have returned negative, with more test results still to come.

Another potential case in Townsville which was also discussed this morning has since been confirmed as an historical case.

Hi

Any news if transiting through melb airport from regional Victoria to Queensland is considered being in greater Melbourne

-Kerry

Long time ready first time commenter, thank you all for everything you do.

Regarding the QLD advice that “Anyone who has been in Greater Melbourne since January 29 and arrived into Queensland should come forward and get tested – even if you do not have symptoms – and isolate until they receive a result.”

Is the airport considered greater Melbourne, even if you travel straight there from regional Vic?

I need some beach in my life and not those windy pebble wastelands melburnians call a beach.

-Region Victorian

The gun reporters in the Brisbane ABC office have found the answer for you.

People in regional Victoria can travel through Melbourne Airport despite the current outbreaks.

Travellers cannot stop anywhere else in Melbourne on the way and have to take private transport to the airport from their home.

Australia's plan to vaccinate the entire population by October has been boosted with another 10 million doses of the Pfizer immunisation, taking the national total to 150 million doses of various COVID-19 jabs.

Health Minister Greg Hunt says the rollout is "the next critical step in protecting Australians."

Peta Fuller has all the answers for you.

If you are in a suburb where there are coronavirus (COVID-19) exposure sites, you may receive a text message from us urging you to check locations and times of exposure sites.

If you have symptoms, get tested and stay home.

Check this link for more information on the latest outbreak: https://go.vic.gov.au/dEcv8H

Is the WA premier meant to give us an update this evening on the easing of restrictions from tomorrow?

-Jake

He did indicate this, Jake, but there's nothing confirmed yet.

A cafe owner in Sydney's northern beaches says the State Government's grants program to relieve businesses struggling since the Christmas coronavirus lockdown is an "insult".

NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet this morning announced grants of up to $5,000 for small businesses that lost money as a result of the lockdown, introduced in response to the Avalon cluster.

Businesses need to show the lockdown caused a 30 per cent reduction in turnover for a $3,000 grant, or a 50 per cent reduction in turnover for a $5,000 grant.

In December, the northern beaches was the epicentre of a COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney, which resulted in more than 150 cases linked to a cluster at Avalon.

The northern beaches was separated into a northern and southern zone and strict restrictions were in place, including across the Christmas period.

The last case to be linked to the cluster was on January 14.

Nourished Cafe and Lounge owner Jimmy Arslan said while he understood people needed funds, he considered the amount an insult.

Is Nashy Cab tomorrow??

-Natty

This advice is effective from 3:30pm CST.

Anyone arriving in the NT from those suburbs will be required to go into mandatory supervised quarantine at a cost of $2,500.

The suburbs are Melbourne, West Melbourne, Brighton, Brandon Park, Clayton South, Heatherton, Keysborough, Moorabbin, Noble Park and Springvale.

Anyone who has arrived in the Northern Territory from the Victorian hotspots since January 29 is being directed to get tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate until a negative result is confirmed.

would be great to get one summary of all the states new rules for Vic travellers as impossible to track it all

-summary of border restriction rule changes

You ask and we deliver, SOBRRC!

Here are all the state restrictions on Victorian/Melbourne travellers we know about from each state and territory in the country:

Queensland: Will keep its border with Victoria open but urges anyone who has visited Greater Melbourne since January 29 to get tested for coronavirus and isolate until they receive their test result.

Anyone who has been at the exposure sites listed on the Victorian Government website should isolate for 14 days and follow the advice from the Victorian Government.

Western Australia: Travellers from Victoria still need to self-quarantine for 14 days and undergo a Day 11 test.

New South Wales: Those who have been in an exposure site in Melbourne since January 30 are to get tested immediately and isolate for 14 days since being there, regardless of the result.

NSW Health asks for a second test to be conducted on day 12 after being at the site.

Other recent arrivals from Melbourne are asked to monitor the Victorian health sites for additional exposure sites that may be added to the list.

Passengers from Melbourne will undergo a health screening at the airport and will also be asked if they have been to any venues flagged by Victorian health authorities and must complete a passenger declaration.

Tasmania: Anyone currently in Tasmania who was at any of the high-risk Victorian exposure sites at the specified times should self-isolate immediately and call the Public Health Hotline on 1800 671 738 for further advice. 

Travellers who have spent time in a high-risk area or premise in the 14 days before arriving in Tasmania are not permitted to enter Tasmania, unless approved as an Essential Traveller. If entry is approved, there may be a quarantine requirement in government-designated accommodation (fees can apply).

Travellers who have spent time in a high-risk area or premise need to provide information to help determine entry and quarantine requirements for travel to Tasmania. The most effective way of doing this is via the G2G PASS system.

South Australia: If you’ve been in the Greater Melbourne Area from January 28, having not been in the hotspot areas, you must get a test on day 1, 5 and 12 and isolate at a suitable location until you get a negative day 1 test result.

If you’ve visited any of the listed hotspots at the specific time listed, you must self-isolate at a suitable location for 14 days and get tested on day 1, 5 and 12.

Anyone who has been in the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Melbourne since January 28 will be required to go into hotel quarantine.

Northern Territory: Travellers who have been in Melbourne, West Melbourne, Brighton, Brandon Park, Clayton South, Heatherton, Keysborough, Moorabbin, Noble Park and Springvale will be required to go into mandatory supervised quarantine at a cost of $2,500, from today.

Anyone who has arrived in the Northern Territory from the Victorian hotspots since January 29 is being directed to get tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate until a negative result is confirmed.

Australian Capital Territory: Anyone in Canberra who has been in a potential high-risk COVID-19 exposure site in Victoria has been asked to get tested and quarantine for 14 days.

Non-residents will have to apply for an exemption to travel to the ACT.

He says outbreaks over the last three months from hotel quarantine in our five major cities have caused "extraordinary disruption".

"You have Perth in a week-long lockdown, Adelaide has experienced that, Brisbane has experienced that, Melbourne is going through its processes today to put in place restrictions on the Victorian community because of this outbreak.

"There is no question that outbreaks from hotel quarantine are THE most serious failing we have right now in our COVID response, and responsibility for that failing, constitutional, legal responsibility rests with Scott Morrison.

"I want to see the Commonwealth take a leadership role here, rather than continuing to duck-shove this to state premiers."

Does the entire system needs to be looked at again? Should national standards be introduced?

He's on ABC's Afternoon Briefing now.

Mr Sukkar says he will "be informed by discussions at National Cabinet and really the experiences not just from Victoria but from other states and territories".

"I think we need to keep the one case in Victoria into some perspective. In the last 24 hours we had about 439,000 cases worldwide, so I don't want to diminish the seriousness of it, but the ability and the capability to be able to manage these sorts of outbreaks are things that I think we all accept need to be constantly worked on. But I don't think we should overly panic.

"I think from a Federal Government perspective, we always stand ready to support state governments in their attempts to try and make sure that there aren't outbreaks that get out of control and New South Wales has done that phenomenally successful in a very economically responsible way, and we would hope that all jurisdictions can do that."

He also says it was a great decision to host the Australian Open.