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Coronavirus Australia: NSW records 262 new local cases and five deaths

The West Australian
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian speaks to the media during a COVID-19 update and press conference in Sydney.
Camera IconNSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian speaks to the media during a COVID-19 update and press conference in Sydney. Credit: BROOK MITCHELL/AAPIMAGE

NSW has reported 262 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and at least 72 of those people were circulating in the community for all or part of their infectious period.

Five people have also died - three in their 60s, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s. None were fully vaccinated.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian also announced the Hunter region would enter a one- week lockdown after COVID-19 cases were revealed in the area.

“No one who has died has had both doses of vaccine. I cannot stress enough how it’s so important for everybody of all ages to come forward and get the vaccine,” Ms Berejiklian said on Thursday.

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Three cases were detected in two Hunter schools a day after Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant warned fragments of the virus had been found in the region’s wastewater system.

Lake Munmorah Public School is closed for cleaning after two students were detected with the virus. One student at Morisset High School has also tested positive.

“All staff and students are asked to self-isolate until you receive further advice,” Lake Munmorah Public School posted on social media.

The unions representing both NSW public and private school teachers are urging the NSW government to delay the return to school of Greater Sydney’s year 12 student on August 16.

The NSW Teachers Federation and the Independent Education Union of Australia joined forces on Thursday to resist the plan, saying it’s premature considering COVID-19 is still surging in Greater Sydney.

Since the end of June the highest number of COVID-19 infections (more than one quarter) had occurred among those aged 0-19 years, they said in a joint statement.

“The situation in relation to COVID-19 and the Delta variant in NSW is clear. As the premier said, ’things are only likely to get worse’,” they said.

“As teachers, we are determined to welcome students back to face-to-face learning as soon as possible, but this can only happen when it is safe to do so.”

On Wednesday Premier Gladys Berejiklian cast doubt on when year 12 students would return to school saying, “we will have more to say about that”.

There are currently 51 COVID-19 patients in NSW in intensive care, with 24 ventilated.

Greater Sydney and surrounding regions are in lockdown until at least August 28 as health authorities battle to contain a outbreak of the virulent Delta strain.

QUEENSLAND RECORDS 16 NEW CASES

Queensland has recorded 16 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases, lifting Brisbane’s Delta outbreak to 79 cases.

The new cases emerged after 52,351 tests in the 24 hours to 6am on Thursday - a second consecutive daily record for the state.

They are all linked to the existing Delta variant outbreak centred on Indooroopilly in western Brisbane, which led to an eight-day lockdown of the southeast.

Another 11 new virus cases have been recorded on the ship off the coast of Queensland, but they’re safely isolated from the general population.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles says 12 of the 16 new cases in Brisbane have been in isolation for their entire infectious period, but the end of the lockdown on Sunday remains uncertain.

“We’re very pleased to be able to report this encouraging progress, but the risk of this outbreak is still very real,” he told reporters.

“There will be new contact sites loaded up today and we’d urge people to check those.

“We just need to keep it up, we just need to keep that testing right above 50,000, we need to keep staying at home.

“We need at least the next couple of days to see what happens with this outbreak, but what we know is that when we work together we can do this.”

There are 7766 people are currently in home quarantine and more almost 200 COVID-19 exposure sites for close and casual contact across southeast, central and far north Queensland.

Three of the new cases are students at Ironside State School and nine are household contacts linked to the school.

A teacher, a student and a person linked to Brisbane Boys Grammer have also tested positive.

Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the four cases that were infectious in the community had only been out during day five of the southeast lockdown.

She remains optimistic the lockdown of the southeast could be gradually be wound back from 4pm on Sunday.

“I didn’t expect us to be so far in front of the virus,” Dr Young said.

“This is fantastic news, this is Queenslanders coming together brilliantly and working with us.”

Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said officers had handed out 253 masks and issued 66 penalty notices to people not abiding by public health orders.

VICTORIA RECORDS TWO NEW CASES BRINGING TOTAL TO EIGHT

Victoria has recorded another two coronavirus cases on top of the six previously announced on Thursday.

The two new cases will be included in Friday’s numbers.

They are close contacts of a teacher from Al-Taqwa College and her husband, both in their 20s and who live in the Hobsons Bay council, who tested positive on Wednesday with the source of their infection unknown.

Victoria is racing to trace the sources of the couple’s infection and that of a man in his 20s who lives in the Maribyrnong council.

He works at a warehouse in Derrimut and he and his housemate are now isolating.

The three other cases from Thursday’s numbers are linked to the Moonee Valley testing site cluster.

Authorities are refusing to confirm if the cases will send the state into a sixth lockdown, less than two weeks after it emerged from its last one.

“There will be a series of meetings this afternoon as there was this morning,“ Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters at parliament.

“What I can indicate obviously is that the government’s priority is to avoid what’s going on in Sydney.

“There’s only one real way to deal with Delta outbreaks, but it’s too early for us to say what will happen in relation to these cases.”

The Hobsons Bay man is also a player with Newport Football Club, whose players are now isolating.

Newport president Marwan Abou-Zeid said the player contacted the club immediately after learning of his positive result on Wednesday.

“We’ve stopped everything and are just waiting for the health department to get back to us with what tier exposure site the club is in,” he told AAP.

People are seen waiting in line at a pop-up COVID-9 testing facility outside of the LaCrosse apartment block in Docklands, Melbourne.
Camera IconPeople are seen waiting in line at a pop-up COVID-9 testing facility outside of the LaCrosse apartment block in Docklands, Melbourne. Credit: JAMES ROSS/AAPIMAGE

Al-Taqwa College is a tier one exposure site from July 28 to 30 and has been closed while more than 2000 students and 300 staff get tested and self-isolate. A testing site has been set up at the school.

It was a significant location for transmission in last year’s second wave, with at least 210 cases linked to it at the time.

Ilim College and Australian International Academy campuses as well as the Islamic College of Melbourne (ICOM) at Tarneit were also shut on Thursday as a precaution.

In separate letters, the three schools reassured parents that none of their students or staff had tested positive so far.

Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of Victoria recording 725 cases, the highest daily number of infections in its deadly second wave of the virus.

For exposure sites visit www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites

With AAP

STATE-BY-STATE BREAKDOWN

NSW - 262 new local cases

VIC - six new local cases

QLD - 16 new local cases

WA - TBA

SA - TBA

TAS - TBA

NT - TBA

ACT - TBA

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