ACT announces support grant for small and medium businesses

The Commonwealth and Australian Capital Territory (ACT) have announced a support grant to support small and medium businesses in the territory that have been impacted by the lockdown measures introduced yesterday. 

For employing businesses, $10,000 will be delivered in financial support. Non-employing businesses will be able to access $4,000 over the three week lockdown period. The businesses' turnover must decline by 30 per cent or more as a result of the COVID 19 health restrictions. 

The package will be split on a 50/50 basis between the Commonwealth and ACT governments, with the territory to administer the program. 

Chief Minister Andrew Barr has welcomed the support.

"We understand that this lockdown comes off the back of a period of slower economic activity as a result of outbreak of the virus in Sydney. ACT businesses have been supporting the Government's efforts to respond to the pandemic in the Territory, but that has come at a cost", Barr said. 

"We want to protect jobs during this period, and it was important that the ACT and the Commonwealth were able to come together quickly and have this package ready for businesses that may be worried about their future as a result of this lockdown."

"Should the lockdown in the ACT be extended beyond this seven day period, further jointly funded support programs will be considered."

The ACT government will also open a COVID-19 Small Business Hardship Scheme, whereby eligible businesses can apply for credits on the cost of eligible fees and charges of up to $10,000 (including GST) per ABN.

The program will provide credits for payroll tax, utilities, rates and certain business licence for the small to medium businesses that can demonstrate a 30 per cent loss in revenue.

Small businesses with a turnover between $30,000 and $10 million per annum can apply.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the business support package builds on the $2.1 billion the government has delivered to households and businesses in the territory. 

"The ACT is facing its most challenging period this year, but it has shown remarkable resilience throughout the pandemic," he says.

"This package will help to keep businesses in business and people in jobs."

"As we have done so throughout this crisis, we will continue to work with the ACT Government to ensure the ACT economy recovers from the impact of COVID-19."

Canberra reports two new cases of COVID-19 

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr has announced two new cases of COVID-19 since yesterday evening, bringing the total number of active cases in the community to six. 

One of the positive cases is a 14 year old boy from Gold Creek School in Gungahlin. All students, staff and construction workers at the school are considered secondary contacts and will need to get tested immediately and quarantine, including the families of those students and staff. 

A significant number of close contacts have been identitfied - with 1,862 contacted by ACT Health. Authorities are urging people who are considered close contacts to come forward to get tested immediately. To see a list of exposure sites, click here. 

"If you do not have symptoms and you are not identified as a close contact you do not need to be tested today," says Barr. 

"Please stay at home, there'll be an opportunity to be tested in the days ahead, but the priority right now is to test those people who ACT Health have contacted."

The territory has also conducted 2,000 tests since yesterday - a record for the jurisdiction. Of those, 1,330 have returned a negative result so far. 

Updated at 10.03am AEST on Friday 13 August 2021.

ACT to enter lockdown amidst 'most serious public health risk' since pandemic began

The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) will enter a strict, seven-day lockdown from 5pm tonight following a positive detection of COVID-19 with an unknown source.

The new case is a man in his 20s who resides in Gungahlin, and has been considered infectious in the community since 8 August. Click here for a list of exposure sites.

Chief Minister Andrew Barr said Canberrans had "one opportunity to stamp this out", explaining the only reasons people can leave home would be for essential reasons such employment, health care, getting vaccinated, purchasing essential groceries and supplies, and up to one hour per day of exercise.

"We do not currently know the source of the infection, but extensive investigation has been underway for many hours," the Chief Minister said.

"This is the most serious public health risk that we have faced in the territory this year, and really since the beginning of the pandemic, and it's why we will be introducing a strict lockdown in response," he said, adding mask mandates will also be introduced for outside the home.

"We've said throughout the outbreak that we've witnessed 300 kilometres up the road from Canberra in Sydney, that the lessons we've learned from that and from elsewhere around Australia are that immediate and significant public health responses are needed to get ahead of this Delta strain."

He said 'general' retail would be shut and called on residents not to browse when they go shopping, and to remain within their local community. Hospitality venues will only be open for takeaway.

"So if you live in Belconnen, exercise in Belconnen. Get your groceries, your essential supplies, in Belconnen...do not be travelling across the ACT for exercise or essential supplies," he said.

"This is not an opportunity to go to Bunnings to browse. This is not an opportunity to hang around the local shops. Get in, get what you need and leave.

"Many people will need to travel outside of their district in order to get vaccinated or to work for essential purposes or to access essential health care - that is reasonable and understood, but where a service is available in your local area, please stay in your local area."

It has been more than a year since the last locally acquired case was recorded in the ACT, and 105 days since the territory recorded a case - a diplomat who was in quarantine.

Updated at 12:36pm AEST on 12 August 2021.

More Victorian businesses to benefit from new $367 million support package

The Victorian Government has announced a series of top-ups to funding schemes to help businesses get through another week of lockdown, following a joint funding deal with the Commonwealth Government to provide $367 million to more than 100,000 businesses across Melbourne.

The Commonwealth and Victorian Governments have combined to allocate $1.16 billion over the past two weeks alone to back Victorian businesses that are doing it hard, so they can continue to pay their bills and the wages of workers and be in the best shape possible to recover.

Under the new initiative, businesses including sole traders will get an automatic payment if they received or were approved for recent rounds of the Business Costs Assistance Program or the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund.

A significant boost to the new Small Business COVID Hardship Fund that opens today will take the one-off payments for eligible businesses that do not qualify for existing programs to $10,000.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the Morrison Government has delivered more than $45 billion in direct economic support to households and businesses in Victoria.

"This is a very difficult and challenging time for all Victorians," the Treasurer said.

"Along with the state government we will continue to support Victorians through the crisis to ensure households and business can bounce back from this latest set of restrictions."

"Victorian businesses have shown remarkable resilience during the pandemic.  We will continue to stand by them during this crisis with support they need to get through."

The Victorian Government has provided more than $7 billion in direct economic support for businesses over the course of the pandemic, including $1.4 billion in cash grants paid to more than 97,000 businesses since the May/June restrictions period.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said that the Victorian Government will continue to directly support businesses affected by restrictions.

"As we continue to fight the Delta strain, we are not forgetting the toll that this has taken on our business community," Pallas said.

"We've backed businesses with direct, targeted and consistent support where it has been needed most and we'll continue to do so."

Victorian Minister for Industry Support and Recovery Martin Pakula said that the funding will provide vital support and reassurance.

"Thousands of businesses will benefit from this new injection of support and we know that the funds are essential to back businesses through this difficult period," Pakula said.

"We're acting decisively to get on top of the Delta outbreak and also to give businesses the best chance to emerge in decent shape on the other side."

The new package contains three main elements, with agreement also reached between the two Governments to extend Commonwealth COVID-19 Disaster Payment arrangement for workers and eligible businesses affected by the metropolitan Melbourne lockdown extension.

COVID-19 Disaster Payments

Eligible workers across the state who lose hours due to the lockdown will be able to access the Commonwealth's COVID-19 Disaster Payment, as will individuals who are sole-trader businesses who lose work and that do not qualify for Victorian Government support programs.

The payment is set at $450 for people who have lost from eight and up to 20 hours work or a full day of work (over seven days), and $750 for 20 hours or more of work lost. People who receive certain Commonwealth income support are eligible to receive a $200 payment.

Small Business COVID Hardship Fund

An allocation of $41 million will boost the Small Business COVID Hardship Fund to $180 million, with grants of $10,000 available to small- and medium-sized businesses across the state.

The fund opens for applications today through the Business Victoria website and will help up to 18,000 businesses that have been ineligible for business support programs and have experienced a reduction in revenue of at least 70 per cent.

Businesses that are legally allowed to operate but are restricted in their ability to generate revenue,  such as a food store located at a shopping centre or a manufacturer supplying goods for closed venues,  will be among those that that could be eligible.

Businesses that have lost custom due to restrictions affecting foot traffic such as pharmacists located in the CBD could also be eligible.

Business Costs Assistance Program

More than 95,000 businesses in metropolitan Melbourne will automatically receive payments of $2,800, with grants scheduled to be paid within seven business days.

This new $271 million Business Costs Assistance Program assistance will allow businesses across multiple sectors to continue paying overheads and other costs despite significant impacts on revenue.

Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund 2021

Automatic payments of $5,000, $10,000 and $20,0000 will be made in coming weeks to more than 7,000 licensed hospitality venues in metropolitan Melbourne that have previously received or been approved grants under the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund program. A total of $55 million has been allocate to the new licensed venue initiative.

Payment amounts will be tiered according to premises capacity: $5,000 for a capacity of up to 99 patrons, $10,000 for a capacity of 100 to 499 patrons and $20,000 for a capacity of 500-plus.

Updated at 12:09pm AEST on 12 August 2021.

SA to expand Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccine eligibility to all aged 16 and older

South Australia will become the first Australian state to make both Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccination appointments available to all people aged 16 and over at state-run clinics from Monday, Premier Steven Marshall has announced.

The appointments will open from Monday 16 August, with 127,000 extra booking slots to become available for inoculations in September and October once more Pfizer shots arrive in Australia.

"This nation-leading move is a huge milestone in our vaccine rollout with South Australia leading the way as the first state in the nation to open up to everyone aged 16 and older," SA Premier Steven Marshall told The Advertiser.

"While our COVID recovery plan remains focused on supporting business, protecting jobs, and shielding South Australians from the health threat posed by the pandemic, vaccination is our pathway out of the pandemic and we are determined to ensure everyone has access to the vaccine as soon as possible to keep our state safe and economy strong.

"Thanks to the increase in supply and massive interest from our community, we can expect to see a significant increase in the number of vaccinations delivered over the coming weeks and months."

It comes just days after a vaccination clinic in Adelaide briefly opened up its calendar to any South Australian aged 16 and over wanting to get a Pfizer jab - a move described as an "error" by SA Health.

That clinic in Highgate Park mistakenly made appointments available to SA's adult population according to the state's health authorities, as it was previously only vaccinating aged care workers.

At the time, workers at the clinic said the decision to open up eligibility for Pfizer appointments was made because of an oversupply of the mRNA vaccine.

However, texts sent out today to those who booked in at Highgate Park on Monday clarifies that anyone aged over 16 who managed to secure an appointment during the brief window availabilities were open will see their booking honoured.

SA also eased COVID-19 restrictions today, increasing density limits for venues and shops, and allowing private gatherings outside of home.

The new restrictions are as follows:

• Density limits for seated activities have increased to three people per 4sqm. This includes for the seated consumption of food and beverages at cafes, restaurants and pubs.
• Density limits for standing activities, such as retail shops, or mixed standing and seating, are now one person per 2sqm.
• All private gatherings outside the home are capped at 50 people (home gatherings remain capped at 10).

Queensland opens up to South Australia

Today's news comes as Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced travellers from South Australia would be permitted to enter the sunshine state from midday today, as long as they fly in.

In addition, anyone from South Australia currently in home quarantine in Queensland will be able to leave isolation as long as they have a negative test result.

Updated at 9.53am AEST on 12 August 2021.

Eight Western NSW LGAs in lockdown, Newcastle stay-at-home orders extended

Eight local government areas (LGA) in Western NSW entered a one-week lockdown at 7pm last night after two new locally acquired COVID-19 cases were reported in the region.

The stay-at-home restrictions apply to the LGAs of Bogan, Bourke, Brewarrina, Coonamble, Gilgandra, Narromine, Walgett and Warren and are expected to last until 19 August.

"The rules for this area will be the same as those already in place across Greater Sydney, as well as Dubbo, Tamworth, Northern Rivers, Armidale, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Singleton, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock," NSW Health reported in an update.

"Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless they have a reasonable excuse to leave. They also cannot have social visitors in their home from outside their household, including family and friends.

"People still can have one visitor at one time to fulfil carers' responsibilities or provide care or assistance, or for compassionate reasons, including where two people are in a relationship but do not live together."

The two new cases in the Western NSW Local Health District (WNSWLHD) are members of the same household and will be included in today's numbers for the state.

Hunter and Newcastle lockdown extended

With additional cases being reported in the Hunter and Upper Hunter region today, the NSW Government has extended the region's lockdown by an additional week.

The area, which includes the eight LGAs of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Cessnock, Dungog, Singleton and Muswellbrook was set to come out of lockdown tomorrow.

"I think given what the area's experiencing the community would understand why that's the case," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

Elsewhere in regional NSW the areas of Armadale, Tamworth and the Northern Rivers recorded zero cases of COVID-19 today, and five cases were reported in Dubbo.

In total, 345 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases were reported today, of which 116 were isolating while infectious, 34 were in isolation for part of their infectious period, and 57 in the community while infectious. The isolation status of 138 cases remains under investigation.

Updated at 9:46am AEST on 12 August 2021.

Rhinomed shares up 82 per cent as first orders received for patented COVID nasal swabs

Update (4:47pm AEST): At the time of writing this article shares were up 82 per cent, but in the last 10 minutes of the market trade it shot up further to double for the day, sitting at $0.40 per RNO share. 

Shares in Rhinomed (ASX: RNO) have charged 82 per cent higher today after the wearable nasal and respiratory technology company received purchase orders from the NSW Government for its patented, self-administered nasal swabs.

The group has begun supplying NSW Health Pathology with an initial one million Rhinoswabs as part of a program to support testing capability.

The orders are expected to be fulfilled over coming weeks, while Rhinomed is now scaling up its manufacturing facilities to respond to growing domestic and international demand for its innovative technology.

The company's points of difference are the comfort and convenience of its swabs, as well as the fact they can capture a larger sample and accelerate the sample collection process, significantly reducing waiting times.

It is a technology that works with existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) pathology workflows and equipment, with an equivalent cost and quality to the US and European standard of care nasopharyngeal swabs.

"We are thrilled to receive this support for this Australian innovation," says Rhinomed CEO Michael Johnson.

"The Rhinoswab can make a meaningful impact on the SARS-CoV-2 testing process and enable more people to be tested quickly and easily.

"With approximately two billion SARS-CoV-2 tests having been carried out globally over the last 18 months (close to 26 million* in Australia alone), there is a major opportunity for Rhinoswab to radically improve the testing process, clinical outcomes and user experience."

Today's announcement is in stark contrast to where Rhinomed found itself in August 2020, its shares having fallen by three quarters in the preceding year. Even though the commercialisation of its Pronto Sleep technology was expanding in the United States, Rhinomed had pinned its hopes on a vapour inhaler for medicinal cannabis; an oversupplied market that was in decline.

But just as the company's leadership had pounced on the opportunities of what was a booming medicinal cannabis market in 2018, in September 2020 it announced the fruition of a logical COVID pivot; not just an intention, but the declaration of advanced development for a high-yielding nasal swab that can collect samples from the nose to test for the presence of upper respiratory tract diseases. Shares rose by 50 per cent in one day, from 8cps to 12cps.

"An increasing body of evidence and research supports the proposition that mass, high-frequency testing could be a vital tool in managing epidemics, pandemics and infectious disease outbreaks," Johnson said at the time.

"Rhinomed believes that an effective, easy-to-use and comfortable nasal swab that everyone can use, every day, could play an important role in achieving this outcome."

He said the company was rapidly scoping out manufacturing solutions and would register the device in Australia, the USA and the European. Less than year later, all these goals have been achieved as Rhinoswab is registered with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Australian Therapeutic Goods Association and has a European CE (Conformité Européenne) mark. 

Today RNO shares jumped to $0.365 each today on the news, with expectations revenue from the initial order would represent 25-35 per cent of unaudited FY21 revenues of $3.9 million. Investors clearly believe profits will follow suit, as the company's market capitalisation is at more than $92 million at the time of writing.

Interim results from a recent comparison study with 204 participants, completed at CWZ and Radboud University Medical Center, a leading teaching hospital in Nijmegen in the Netherlands, are in line with previously announced user study results and showed participants' strong preference for the Rhinoswab when compared to the traditional nasal swab:

• 89 per cent of respondents preferred Rhinoswab to the Nasopharyngeal swab
• 98 per cent of respondents felt no pain with Rhinoswab vs 48 per cent with Nasopharyngeal swab
• 98 per cent of respondents needed little or no guidance when using Rhinoswab

Dubbo to go into lockdown as virus continues to spread in regional NSW

The Central New South Wales town of Dubbo will go into lockdown for one week from 1pm today after two cases of COVID-19 were detected in the region overnight.

The town is the latest regional NSW hub to see the virus enter the community from Sydney, and joins the local government areas (LGAs) of Byron Bay, Lismore, Ballina, Richmond Valley, Tamworth, Armidale, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Singleton, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock in lockdown.

“As has been foreshadowed, in Dubbo there were two cases overnight, and that follows…our health experts have told us a few days ago there was some sewage detection in Dubbo,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

“Sewage detection has been a good way of identifying or pre-empting where there may be cases.”

As such, everyone in Dubbo must stay at home unless they have a reasonable excuse to leave.

They also cannot have visitors in their home from outside their household, including family and friends.

People still can have one visitor at one time to fulfil carers' responsibilities or provide care or assistance, or for compassionate reasons, including where two people are in a relationship but do not live together.

Today the Premier also announced there were no new cases in Armadale, Tamworth or the Northern Rivers which represent “positive signs”.

However, with the Hunter New England region reporting 14 new cases today the Premier believes it is unlikely that area will come out of lockdown as planned later this week.

In total NSW reported 344 cases of community transmission today, of which 143 were in isolation throughout their entire infectious period, 36 were isolating for part of their infectious period, and 65 were infectious in the community. The isolation status of 100 cases remains under investigation.

Two more COVID-related deaths were reported overnight - one was a man in his 90s from Southwestern Sydney, and the other a man in his 30s from Northern Sydney.

This brings the number of COVID-related deaths during the current outbreak to 34.

Updated at 11.55am AEST on 11 August 2021.

New mystery cases see Melbourne lockdown extended until next Thursday

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a one-week extension of Melbourne’s lockdown today after a number of “mystery cases” were included in the state’s COVID-19 infection numbers.

Of the 20 new locally acquired cases, 15 were linked to current outbreaks but the remaining five are still under investigation or are unlinked to the current outbreaks, meaning contact tracers cannot determine where or how they were infected.

“Overnight we have added to the number of mysteries, the number of unanswered questions out there,” Andrews said.

“That’s why, sadly, today the Cabinet of the Government we have met and we have determined to accept the advice of the Chief Health Officer to extend for a further period of seven days until 11.59pm next Thursday.”

As it stands, health officials are currently grappling with 116 active locally acquired cases, nearly 300 exposure sites and more than 12,000 active primary close contacts around Greater Melbourne.

“We cannot afford to open up and let this variant run free – we need to get in front of this, just like we have done before,” Andrews said.

As such, for the next seven days Melburnians can still only leave home for five reasons: to get food and supplies, to exercise for up to two hours, for care or caregiving, for permitted work or education if you can’t do it from home or to get vaccinated at the nearest possible location.

Shopping and exercise must be done within 5km of your home or the nearest location. Face masks will remain mandatory indoors (not at home) unless an exception applies – this includes all workplaces, and secondary schools.

As Victorian officials remain concerned about the level of COVID-19 coming into the state from New South Wales, residents of cross-border community local government areas (LGAs) will now be required to obtain a permit to enter Victoria from 6pm, Friday 13 August.

Residents will be able to apply for a permit from Thursday afternoon at the Service Victoria website, service.vic.gov.au and via the Service Victoria app.

“If this virus can get from Sydney to Byron Bay, to Dubbo, to Armidale, to Tamworth then only a fool would think that it couldn’t get to Aubrey,” Andrews said.

“That’s why we need to go beyond just a bubble - we need to have permits.”

Updated at 11.32am AEST on 11 August 2021.

Cairns to exit lockdown today as planned

A “short, sharp lockdown” in Cairns, Queensland, has been declared successful in stopping the potential spread of COVID-19 in the region, meaning the state’s health authorities will lift the tough restrictions today.

As planned, Cairns will exit its snap three-day lockdown from 4pm, which QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said was “absolutely tremendous’ news.

Some restrictions will however remain in place.

“Who would have thought a week ago we would be in this position today, so well done Queensland,” Palaszczuk said.

The easing of lockdown restrictions in Cairns comes after QLD reported four new cases of community transmission today, all linked to the Indooroopilly school cluster and all isolating for their entire infectious period.

The ongoing restrictions in Cairns will mirror the current restrictions Southeast Queensland is under, and will apply until 22 August:

• No more than 10 people are allowed in homes, including those who live there, and in public spaces. Visits to patients in hospital and residents in aged-care facilities are permitted unless a person is subject to a home quarantine order.
• Weddings and funerals are allowed a maximum of 20 people.
• Businesses and venues, including places of worship, conventions centres, retail, dining, gyms, hairdressers, beauty and personal cares services are allowed to operate on the one person per 4sqm rule - or 50 per cent with ticketed or allocated seating for venues.
• Community sports are not permitted.
• Masks must continue to be worn in the workplace and indoor areas where social distancing is not possible.

“A week ago I think everyone was worried about where we would end up with this cluster - it was our biggest challenge and Queensland absolutely rose to that challenge,” the Premier said.

“It’s through your hard work that we’re in this fantastic situation today.

“Well done Cairns. Every single person in the community needs to be commended.”

Updated at 10.40am AEST on 11 August 2021.

Record daily case numbers in NSW as Premier aims for 5 million vaccine doses by the end of this week

NSW Health reported 356 cases of community transmission of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, representing the state's highest daily increase since the pandemic began.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian reported there were four deaths from the virus, one of which was a returned traveller from overseas and not related to the current outbreak.

There have been no additional cases in Tamworth or Armidale, while another potential case is under investigation in the state's north but not in connection to the individual who tested positive in Byron Bay.

"We had a gentleman and two of his children test positive, and there were a number of exposure sites. We have had no further cases linked to that exposure site," Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.

"We have had additional cases in relation to Newcastle, and there are a number of exposure venues that have been placed on the website for Newcastle.

"I do just want to also mention that we have had a confirmed case at the St George Aged Care Centre in Bexley...the staff member worked one shift whilst infectious on one level at the facility where four out of eight residents have tested positive, and all eight of the residents were vaccinated and the staff member had received their first dose of vaccination."

The Premier said getting vaccinated was key for NSW residents getting back to normal life, and hoped she would see vaccination rates continue to rise.

"I assume that by today we're at 4.5 million already, and I'd like to see us get to five million by the end of next week, and then we look forward to having the sprint towards six million by the end of August," she said.

Elsewhere in the country, there were 20 new locally acquired cases reported in Victoria and three new cases of community transmission in Queensland.

Updated at 11:51am AEST on 10 August 2021.

Liquor licensing fee waiver and COVID cleaning rebate among new schemes in QLD $70m support deal

Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick has today unveiled a new $70 million business support package targeting the tourism and hospitality industries, of which $22 million alone will relieve liquor licence fees for these sectors.

The Treasurer said there would be payroll tax deferrals, refunds or waiving for businesses that are doing it tough in these industries, applied state-wide for the entirety of the current financial year until 30 June, 2022.

“We’re also extending our $5,000 business support grants to all large tourism and hospitality businesses across Queensland,” he explained.

“The government is also setting aside $20 million for a COVID cleaning rebate. The government will pay 80 per cent of small and medium sized businesses’ cleaning costs if they are a COVID-exposed site, up to a maximum of $10,000.

“We hope that will help businesses who may become COVID exposed sites.”

He said these initiatives were about the government “flexing” in response to what COVID is doing to businesses and to the economy, and follows close consultation with business groups and peak industry bodies.

“We obviously want to help businesses get back on their feet as soon as possible, to rebound as soon as possible, and every Queenslander can play a role there when we come out of lockdown to spend – to spend particularly in your local small and family businesses,” Treasurer Dick said.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk reported there were only three new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, all linked to the Indooroopilly school cluster.

"They haven't been out in the community infectious, and they're all in home quarantine," she said.

"We've had 20,484 tests in the past 24 hours, and just received some updated figures that in Cairns we've had over 4,200 tests," she said of the Far North Queensland city, which is currently in lockdown with authorities reporting high compliance levels with the stay-at-home orders.

The testing levels equate to almost 3 per cent of the Cairns population getting tested in one day, and the Premier urged people to continue to come forward for testing if they have any symptoms.

Since yesterday's call-out for vaccine registrations and the announcement of a new mass vaccination centre in South Brisbane that will open tomorrow, there were 11,000 vaccines administered in the state in the past 24 hours.

"Yesterday we announced that we were taking registrations for people aged 16 to 59 for our mass vaccination centre, and we've had 50,000 registrations already to date," the Premier said.

Updated at 10:45am AEST on 10 August 2021.

Byron Bay, Lismore, Ballina and Richmond Valley in lockdown for one week

The four New South Wales North Coast local government areas (LGAs) of Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina Shire have tonight joined the list of regional hubs under lockdown following updated health advice.

The four LGAs entered lockdown at 6pm AEST today, and will remain under stay-at-home restrictions until 12.01am Tuesday 17 August, after a positive case was detected in the region.

The new restrictions came into effect just hours after the NSW state government put Tamworth into lockdown at 5pm today, and two days after Armidale entered a snap seven-day lockdown on Saturday.

The rules for these areas will be the same as those already in place across Greater Sydney, as well as Tamworth, Armidale, Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Singleton, Dungog, Muswellbrook and Cessnock.

Everyone in these areas must stay at home unless they have a reasonable excuse to leave. They also cannot have visitors in their home from outside their household, including family and friends.

People still can have one visitor at one time to fulfil carers' responsibilities or provide care or assistance, or for compassionate reasons, including where two people are in a relationship but do not live together.

People also cannot enter the Byron Shire, Richmond Valley, Lismore and Ballina Shire LGAs without a reasonable excuse to do so.

“We understand this is a difficult time for the community and appreciate their ongoing patience and cooperation,” the NSW Government said.

“We are asking people not to seek exceptions to the rules, but to ensure they comply with them so we do not see further cases of COVID-19 in the community.”

The lockdown comes after a man in his 50s tested positive to COVID-19 after arriving in Byron Shire.

He travelled from Sydney in late July and is currently being treated at Lismore Base Hospital.

The NSW Government has also confirmed the man did not enter Queensland during his infectious period.

Byron Shire Mayor Michael Lyon said Council was told about the situation this morning and staff are now working with authorities on getting additional testing facilities open, including the Cavanbah Centre on Ewingsdale Road at Byron Bay.

“The first message is - if anyone is not feeling well please, please go and get tested,” Lyon said.

“Details about the positive COVID case are still emerging and NSW Police and NSW Health are working on this.

“While these investigations are being done and information is being gathered people should be making sure they are checking in with QR codes whenever they go into a shop or business, wearing a face mask and social distancing."

Updated at 6.19pm AEST on 9 August 2021.

First Moderna COVID-19 vaccines to arrive in September as TGA gives green light

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has granted provisional approval to another COVID-19 vaccine, which Prime Minister Scott Morrison believes puts Australia on track to having 70 per cent of the population vaccinated by the year's end.

The Administration has granted provisional approval to provide Moderna's Spikevax (elasomeran) vaccine as an immunisation against COVID-19 for individuals aged 18 years and older.

Like Pfizer/BioNTech's Comirnaty vaccine which is currently the preferred option for younger people, Moderna's product is a messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine.

"We will have 10 million of the Moderna doses arriving before the end of this year," the Prime Minister said.

"The first one million doses is on track to arrive next month and will go to pharmacies. Then we’ll have three million in October, three million in November and three million in December.

"This is another important tool that we have in our battle against COVID."

A further 15 million doses of the Moderna vaccine have been secured for 2022, but the PM is optimistic for the nearer term as well.

"We have more Pfizer, we have more AstraZeneca, and now we have Moderna," he said.

"With more than 1.3 million vaccine doses delivered in just one week, that is almost the population of the city of Adelaide, with 676 pharmacy sites, with 5,765 GPs enlisted and out there providing jabs and providing important advice, and with the state hubs that are in place and rolling out, the national plan to get jabs in arms...is working with a plan to get 70 per cent of Australians vaccinated before the end of the year."

It is recommended that the Moderna vaccine is given in two doses that are administered 28 days apart.

"The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine has shown strong efficacy preventing symptomatic COVID-19 and severe COVID-19 in clinical trials," the TGA stated.

"The vaccine has also received regulatory approval or emergency authorisation in several countries and is being widely used in the United Kingdom, Canada, the European Union, the United States, Switzerland and Singapore.

"Provisional approval of this vaccine in Australia is subject to certain strict conditions, such as the requirement for Moderna Australia Pty Ltd to continue providing information to the TGA on longer-term efficacy and safety from ongoing clinical trials and post-market assessment."

The TGA will make a separate announcement in due course about people aged under 18.

"Data to support the use of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to 17 years are currently under evaluation and no specific concerns have been identified to date," the administration stated.

"Australians can be confident that the TGA's review process of Spikevax (elasomeran) was rigorous.

"The decision to provisionally approve the vaccine was also informed by expert advice from the Advisory Committee on Vaccines (ACV), an independent committee with expertise in scientific, medical and clinical fields including consumer representation."

The TGA highlighted mRNA vaccines use a synthetic genetic code called RNA to give our cells instructions about how to make the coronavirus’ unique spike protein.

"When our body has made the protein encoded by the mRNA vaccine, it then recognises the spike protein as being foreign and launches an immune response against it," the administration stated.

"The RNA from the vaccine does not change, or interact, with our DNA in any way."

Updated at 4:59pm AEST on 9 August 2021.

Regional Victoria to exit lockdown from midnight tonight

With no new COVID-19 cases being recorded outside of Melbourne, the state’s chief health officer has advised the government to lift lockdown restrictions in regional Victoria from 11.59pm tonight.

It comes as Victoria recorded 11 new cases of the coronavirus today, all linked to known outbreaks, but only one was in quarantine while infectious.

From 11.59pm tonight, the five reasons to leave the home will be removed in regional Victoria and there will be no limit on the distance they can travel from home.

However, people will only be able to travel to Melbourne for a permitted reason, and once in the capital city travellers must abide by ongoing lockdown restrictions.

While lockdown will be lifted, private gatherings in regional Victorian homes are still not permitted, but outdoor gatherings in public spaces can occur with up to 10 people.

Face masks will also still be mandatory indoors and outdoors.

Food and hospitality will open for seated service only, and a density requirement of one person per 4sqm will apply, with a maximum of 100 people per venue. Venues smaller than 100sqm can have up to 25 people before density requirements apply.

Retail can also open and personal services such as beauty and tattooing can resume. Face masks can be removed where required for the service to be performed.

Religious gatherings and ceremonies are allowed, with density requirements of one person per 4sqm, and no more than 100 people total indoors and 300 people outdoors per venue.

Weddings and funerals are also able to have up to 50 people at a venue. This limit doesn’t include infants under 12 months of age, or the people required to conduct the service.

Community sport is open for all ages, including training and competition. Only the minimum number of participants (players, coaches, referees, officials, and carers or parents) needed to train or compete are permitted to attend, subject to a density quotient of one person per 4sqm. Spectators are not permitted.

Entertainment venues can have up to 300 people per outdoor space with a density requirement of one person per 4sqm and a cap of 100 people per space indoors. All entertainment facilities are required to have a COVID check-in marshal to monitor patrons checking-in with the Service Victoria app.

“We’ve always said the moment it’s safe to lift restrictions we will. While we continue to get on top of this outbreak in Melbourne, minimal primary close contacts and no new cases means we can ease setting in regional Victoria,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said.

“This outbreak is an important reminder that until more Australians are vaccinated, we cannot afford complacency to creep in – we must stay safe to stay open.”

Most new Melbourne COVID cases in the community while infectious

With 10 of today’s 11 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the community while infectious, the Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has warned this trend will continue over the coming days.

“At the beginning of an outbreak we have many people not isolating," said Andrews.

"As the outbreak unfolds, more and more people will be away from others and not a risk to public health.”

The new infections takes the number of active COVID cases in this latest community outbreak to 56, which have been detected from more than 1 million test since 12 July.

“It’s a fantastic effort and it’s central to our fight against this virus,” said Andrews on Victoria meeting the one million test milestone.

There are now 12,738 close contacts now associated with the active clusters, with almost 9,000 of those being staff and students of a number of schools connected to the outbreak.

“This shows how quickly this outbreak has sped up and how quickly we’ve activated a really significant response,” Victorian COVID Commander Jeroen Weimar said.

Updated at 12.00pm AEST on 9 August 2021.

Tamworth to enter lockdown, Byron Bay on high alert

New alerts are popping up all over regional NSW.

After Armidale entered a snap seven-day lockdown on Saturday, the same will happen in Tamworth from 5pm today after a woman from Newcastle who was exposed to COVID-19 visited numerous locations in the Northern Tablelands city.

Meanwhile, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the Northern Rivers community is on high alert following a new positive case in Byron Bay - a man in his 50s who travelled from Sydney in late July, who is currently being interviewed as health authorities establish exposure sites and determine the next course of action.

In the 24 hours to 8pm last night there were 283 new cases of COVID-19 in NSW and one death. Only 106 of the new cases were in isolation for the entirety of their infectious period.

"The epicentre of the virus in NSW and Sydney still remains the Canterbury Bankstown local government area (LGA)," Premier Berejiklian said.

But new clusters have the potential to take hold in other parts of the state. The Hunter and Upper Hunter regions have been in a one-week lockdown that began last Thursday, and from there it is possible the virus may have spread to almost 400km away in Tamworth.

"Unfortunately, somebody from Newcastle went to Tamworth and there's a number of exposure sites in Tamworth," the Premier said.

"There aren't any cases there yet, but we do know the person went from Newcastle to Tamworth and visited a number of locations, so as a precaution the health experts have recommended that we lock down Tamworth for one week starting from five o'clock today.

"I understand there's already been discussions with community leaders and people on the ground in that area."

Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the woman who visited those exposure sites travelled from Newcastle on 4 August and arrived in Tamworth on 5 August.

"I'll just disclose that a young lady was exposed to COVID in Newcastle," Dr Chant said.

Anyone who attended the following venues in Tamworth and Newcastle at the indicated times is considered a close contact, and must get tested and isolate for 14 days:

• Inland Cafe Tamworth - 9:15-10am, 5 August
• The Tudor Hotel Tamworth - 11-11:40am, 5 August
• Habesha Ethiopian Restaurant, Tamworth - 31 July - 5 August
• Mr Rice Takeaway, Cooks Hill, Newcastle - 3-3:20pm, 4 August

If anyone attended the following venues on the specific dates and times, they are considered casual contacts and must get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result:

• Gloria Jeans, Tamworth - 9:15-9:20am, 5 August
• The Super Vape Store, Tamworth - 10:55-11:05, 5 August
• Ampol Roadhouse, Tamworth - 12:25-12:30pm, 5 August

"She then returned to Newcastle on the 5th of August, and hence why there is no additional exposure being is from that time," Dr Chant said.

She said testing was also underway to determine the source of the infection for the latest case in Byron Bay.

"He is currently being re-interviewed and we are also arranging urgent testing of his two household contacts, and once we have more information we'll be alerting to the community in terms of any venues that he's checked into. At the moment we don't have any venues that he's checked in using his QR codes at this time," Dr Chant said.

11:38am AEST on 9 August 2021.

QLD down to four new locally acquired cases, all in iso

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has reported four new cases of COVID-19, who were all in quarantine for their entire infectious period and have been linked to the Indooroopilly school cluster.

"That's the sort of news we want to wake up to," the Premier said.

There are now 12,364 people in home quarantine in Queensland, and Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young has reinforced the importance that these individuals continue to follow the isolation orders given one of the new cases today is a teacher at Ironside State School.

"So we're still seeing first generation cases. We all have to remember that the incubation period is 14 days, so it's really important that all of those 12,000 people do stay and adhere to that quarantine, as we go forwards," Dr Young said.

"Anyone who's in home quarantine, if they become positive that entire household then has to remain in quarantine for another 14 days, so this is a lengthy process but we all have to work together to get through."

She noted one case was a parent related to a child who attends Ironside, another is a household contact of a Brisbane Boys' Grammar School student, and the fourth is another household contact of an Ironside student.

Premier Palaszczuk has also announced as of 11 August the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) will be opening as a mass vaccination centre, also with free parking.

"What we do know is some of that Pfizer is going to be coming on faster over the next couple of weeks, so from Wednesday this convention centre will be open from 8:30 to 4:30, and we are now asking people if you are between 16 and 59, you can now register on the Queensland Health website," Premier Palaszczuk said.

"Of course, a lot of people will still be going to their GPs or the pharmacist to get their vaccine. I've just heard I think that that Commonwealth Government has also approved Moderna, so we'll be getting more information about Moderna."

The Premier said there were 26,394 tests in the last 24 hours, which is a good result but Queensland residents are urged to keep up those testing numbers.

Today's update comes after 11 local government areas (LGAs) in Southeast Queensland came out of lockdown yesterday afternoon, while at the same time Cairns entered one after it was revealed a taxi driver in the Far North Queensland city had been infectious in the community for around 10 days.

The taxi driver has now been linked to a marine pilot in the Cairns area, with a lot of contact tracing now underway to establish new exposure sites. Many have been published on Queensland Health's list of sites, including Raintrees Shopping Centre in Manuda, Brothers Leagues Club in the same suburb, Café China in Parramatta Park, a medical centre and QML Pathology.

South East Queensland out of lockdown as Cairns emerges as new hotspot

The South East Queensland lockdown will be lifted at 4pm today, but a positive case active in Cairns has plunged the state's far north into a snap three-day lockdown after it was declared a new COVID hotspot.

Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk, fresh out of hotel quarantine after returning from the Tokyo Olympics, today announced nine new cases with seven of them linked to the Indooroopilly school cluster that led to the current lockdown of 11 local government areas in the state's south-east. The other two were on the Gold Coast and Cairns.

The Cairns infection, a taxi driver, has caught authorities by surprise, leading to a 'hard and fast' response in the state's north.

"We are quite concerned about this," says Palaszczuk. "He's been infectious in the community for about 10 days."

The news comes as NSW today recorded 262 new locally acquired cases and one death, an aged-care resident in her 80s, while Victoria announced 11 new locally acquired cases with all of them not in quarantine throughout their infectious period.

Although lockdown in Queensland's South East will end at 4pm today, some restrictions will remain in place for the next two weeks, while there is a new public health directive for teachers, staff and high school students to wear masks.

"We're not out of the woods," says Palaszczuk. "We are dealing with the Delta strain; it is highly, highly infectious and I can tell you from my conversations in Tokyo and people from around the world, this strain is sweeping the world. We need to make sure we are making some extra precautions."

With the focus on the risks at schools, Queensland has also announced school staff and childcare workers as a high-risk priority group to be added to the 1B priority list for COVID-19 vaccinations. They will be joined by FIFO, freight and distribution centre workers.

"The Delta strain has taken a heavy toll on our schools, and we need to provide the best possible protection for staff and students," says Palaszczuk. "This strain of the virus moves incredibly quickly, and we need to be just as fast in our response."

South East Queensland restrictions

Although the 11 local government areas in the state's south-east are out of lockdown from Sunday at 4pm, some restrictions are still in place. These restrictions will apply to Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Logan City, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and the Gold Coast.

• No more than 10 people are allowed in homes, including those who live there, and in public spaces. Visits to patients in hospital and residents in aged-care facilities are permitted, unless a person is subject to a home quarantine order.
• Weddings and funerals are allowed a maximum of 20 people.
• Businesses and venues, including places of worship, conventions centres, retail, dining, gyms, hairdressers, beauty and personal cares services are allowed to operate on the one person per 4sqm rule - or 50 per cent with ticketed or allocated seating for venues.
• Community sports are not permitted over the next two weeks.
• Masks must continue to be worn in the workplace and indoor areas where social distancing is not possible.

"If you are living within those 11 LGAs, you can travel within those LGAs but now is not the time to be travelling in regional Queensland unless you are an essential worker," says Palaszczuk. "Please put off plans to visit family and friends for the next two weeks."

Cairns lockdown

Palaszczuk says the positive case in Cairns was 'something we were not expecting' and has urged residents to get tested to determine if it had spread further into the community. A decision on extending the lockdown will be made later in the week.

From 4pm today, Cairns and Yarrabah will be in lockdown for three days with the same restrictions that applied to the 11 LGAs in sSouth East Queensland. Residents in these areas must stay at home except for the following reasons:

• Obtaining essentials such as groceries or medications
• Essential work if you can't work from home
• Exercise within you r local area (within a 10km radius of your home,with no more than one person from outside your household)
• Healthcare, including to get  a COVID-19 test or vaccination, or to provide help, care or support to a vulnerable person, or for an end-of-life vi sit to a hospital or aged-care facility.

Two visitors are allowed into a home excluding those who live there while no visitors are allowed for those in home quarrantine. Weddings and funerals can take place where they are ordinarily held with a maximum 20 people onsite including those officiating.

Schools and childcare is only open for children of essential workers and vulnerable children while universities and TAFE is online learning only. 

Masks must be worn at all times outdoors including public transport or rideshare unless alone or with members of your household; eating or drinking; doing strenuous exercise or it is unsafe. Masks must be worn indoors including workplaces, even where physical distancing is possible unless working alone in a closed office, you are at your residence and there is no one else there except people you live with; eating or drinking or it is unsafe.

The Queensland Government will be looking at a business support package for those affected in the region. Details have yet to be announced.

Meanwhile, the positive Gold Coast case has Jeannette Young, Queensland's chief medical officer, perplexed.

The positive result had a very high CT value which meant there was high level of virus detected. Subsequent tests have proved negative, and the person's family is now in isolation.

"We're waiting to get a genome sequence on it to see what it might be," says Young. "It is really important that anyone on the Gold Coast with any symptoms at all please come forward and get tested so we can work out what has happened there and whether there has been any spread."

NSW records 262 new local cases

NSW recorded 262 new locally acquired cases over the 24 hours to 8pm last night. The cases include 88 from Western Sydney's Local Health District (LHD), 31 from Sydney LHD, 21 from Nepean Blue Mountains LHD, 17 from South Eastern Sydney LHD, 12 from Hunter New England LHD, three from Northern Sydney LHD and two from Central Coast LHD.

The new cases follow a lockdown announced yesterday for the Armidale Regional Local Government Area, covering Armidale and Guyra, from 5pm until 12.01am Sunday 15 August.

Because of the rise in transmissions, 12 suburbs in the City of Penrith LGA will now be part of areas of concern, along with the eight previously identified LGAs, and have additional restrictions from 5pm today. These suburbs, which are adjacent to the Cumberland and Liverpool LGAs, are Caddens, Claremont Meadows, Colyton, Erskine Park, Kemps Creek, Kingswood, Mount Vernon, North St Marys, Orchard Hills, Oxley Park, St Clair, and St Mary's.

In line with the restrictions currently in place for Blacktown, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield, Georges River, Liverpool and Parramatta LGAs, people in these 12 suburbs must only obtain food or other goods and services, and exercise, within 5km of their home. You cannot travel to other areas for work unless you are an authorised worker.

Business News Australia

Higher case numbers likely for NSW as state records 291 new local infections

New South Wales has today reported the highest daily case number from the current outbreak to date with 291 new infections confirmed.

According to Premier Gladys Berejiklian the daily case numbers are likely going to stay high in the coming days, with infection numbers in the local government area (LGA) of Canterbury Bankstown of particular concern to health authorities.

"I do want to foreshadow that, given this high number of cases, we're likely to see this trend continue for the next few days," Berejiklian said.

"I'm expecting higher case numbers in the next few days and I just want everybody to be prepared for that."

Of today's cases, 91 were in isolation throughout their infectious period and 96 were in the community for part or all of their infectious period. The isolation status of 104 cases remains under investigation.

The state also reported another death today - a woman in her 60s from Southwestern Sydney who tested positive on 29 July and acquired her infection in the Liverpool Hospital.

Two new cases were reported in the Newcastle area overnight after the Hunter and Upper Hunter regions went into lockdown yesterday, however both cases are linked to already known infections.

Even though all of the cases in the Newcastle cluster are linked, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant has called upon residents of the regional hub and the surrounding areas to come forward for testing.

"We need those high testing rates to give us that assurance that we're not missing those chains of transmission," Dr Chant said.

Dr Chant also stressed that while the curve in Fairfield has been flattening, she is concerned about rising case numbers in the LGA of Canterbury Bankstown.

"We're seeing escalating cases in Campsie, Bankstown, Lakemba, Punchbowl, Wiley Park, Yagoona, Greenacre, Earlwood, Bass Hill, Canterbury and Chester Hill," Dr Chant said.

"So it is important for anyone going into that area for essential work, working in that area, living in that area to be very very vigilant.

"We are seeing transmission, potentially around shopping areas, and so I urge everyone do not enter shops when there are other people in the shop. Wait outside, keep your social distance, wear your mask correctly at all times, and stay safe."

Premier issues a "call to arms" for vaccine uptake

One of today's key messages from the NSW Premier was encouraging people to get vaccinated.

Her message comes as the state revealed around 84,000 people received a jab on Wednesday, but Berejiklian said she wants that number to increase.

"I also, again, want to really literally send out a call to arms in New South Wales: please come forward and get vaccinated," Berejiklian said.

"We are doing better than what we had previously in terms of the number of people getting vaccinated every day and that's a positive.

"I can't tell you how important it is for us to get those vaccination rates up, because it will give government better options on what we can do moving forward and certainly the health experts will feel more confident giving us advice once we know we have higher rates off vaccination."

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard echoed the Premier's comments, particularly in relation to Year 12 students in Sydney LGAs of concern who are set to receive a Pfizer jab soon, calling it a "golden opportunity".

"You have your HSC coming up in October, and in order to be able to do that safely, for you to be able to go sit your exams, you're being given a golden opportunity to attend the Qudos Bank Arena next week," Hazzard said.

"We've seen the most amazing stars in the Qudos Bank Arena. There's been Lana Del Rey, Keith Urban, Pink, just so many people.

"You have the chance to go into that stadium next week and actually land some gold by getting your first vaccination."

Updated at 11.53am AEST on 6 August 2021.

Another $400m in support on its way for Victorian businesses

Around 95,000 Victorian businesses will be eligible to receive $2,800 payments under round three of the Business Costs Assistance Program (BCAP), after State and Federal Governments agreed to a co-funding scheme worth $400 million.

Pakula told a press conference this morning the payments would be made automatically to registered businesses, but those that hadn't taken part previously could apply with applications open until next week.

"Last night after the lockdown was confirmed, my department put together a $400 million package to support more than 100,000 Victorian businesses. Treasurer Pallas then spoke to Treasurer Frydenberg in order to seek Commonwealth 50 per cent co-contribution," Pakula said.

"Very pleasingly, the Commonwealth has agreed to that. I spoke to Treasurer Frydenberg about a half an hour ago.

"We are very grateful for that support. It means that this package can be in the vicinity of $400 million for a seven-day lockdown, which is above and beyond what we've been able to do in the past."

He said the new funding added to $950 million in support paid to businesses through the May, June and July restriction periods.

He noted a wide variety of businesses would be eligible for the BCAP support, including gyms, cafes, restaurants, caterers, hairdressers, dance and swim schools, tourism businesses and events businesses.

The new funding will also go towards the Licensed Hospitality Venue Fund (LHVF), which will also be paid automatically based on the patron capacity of recipients: $5,000 for venues that hold up to 199 people; $10,000 for those that host between 200 and 499; and $20,000 for venues with a capacity of 500 or greater.

Minister Pakula added the Small Business COVID Hardship Fund, previously offering $5,000 grants with total funding worth $85 million, would be lifted to $8,000 grants with a total funding of around $139 million.

"That will be based on demonstration of turnover reduction of 70 per cent," he said.

There will be another round of support for the Alpine Business Support Program, with grants of between $5,000 and $20,000 that will support 430 Alpine businesses.

"I'd finally indicate that in regards to the Commonwealth Disaster Payments, we are waiting on a hotspot declaration from the Commonwealth - we believe that that will apply to Greater Melbourne, and those payments are up to $450 from eight to 20 hours, that's $750 for over 20 hours, administered through Services Australia," he said.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said the Victorian Government has provided more than $7 billion in direct economic support for Victorian businesses since the start of the pandemic.

"Every step of the way since this global pandemic began, Victoria has not shirked its responsibility to back our business community this is immediate and targeted support right now, when it is needed most," the Victorian Treasurer said.

Parliament passes rent relief scheme

The announcement comes after a commercial rent relief scheme, flagged on Tuesday, passed in Victorian Parliament yesterday.

Businesses that have experienced a loss in turnover of more than 30 per cent during the pandemic are now guaranteed to receive rent reductions, while separate support will be provided to landlords.

Tenants' percentage drop in turnover will determine the amount of initial rent relief available to the tenant.

For example, a business with a turnover of 40 per cent of pre-pandemic levels can only be charged 40 per cent of its rent. Of the balance, at least half must be waived, with the remainder to be deferred.

The Government is also ensuring new businesses don't miss out on the assistance. Special arrangements will be in place to assess the turnover impacts for new businesses which were not operating in 2019.

To help landlords that are doing the right thing by eligible tenants, the Government will provide land tax relief of up to 25 per cent, in addition to any previous relief, at an estimated cost of $100 million.

Small landlords who can demonstrate acute hardship will be eligible to apply for payments as part of a $20 million hardship fund.

"This passing of this legislation provides peace of mind for small businesses who are struggling to pay the rent, giving them the security they need," Minister for Small Business Jaala Pulford said.

"Tenants and landlords have already been working together really well and we'd encourage them to continue to do so to achieve fair outcomes."

COVID-19 update

There are now 84 exposure sites in Victoria but the state's COVID Commander Jeroen Weimar expects the number will grow throughout the day, after six new locally acquired cases were reported for yesterday.

Three of those cases are linked to the Hobsons Bay community outbreak and the other three are connected to the Maribyrnong cluster. 

"A further six people remain in hospital with two in ICU (intensive care units). Both of those are on a ventilator, and we send our best wishes for a quick recovery for those people," Health Minister Martin Foley said.

"There were 29,631 tests yesterday particularly as we ramp up our targeted testing in response to the new cases."

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has listed two flights as tier one exposure sites as a positive case travelled From Sydney to Launceston via Melbourne, including VA808 and VA1364, both on 2 August.

"If you were on these flights, you need to isolate for 14 days, and of course to get tested immediately," Foley said.

"My advice is that the positive case entered Melbourne on a valid transit permit. He was screened and escorted to his transiting flight by the public health compliance team, all wearing appropriate PPE for their protection. These staff now are having to be furloughed and are being tested and isolated as a precaution.

"My understanding is that the person from Sydney was detained in Launceston, tested as part of their arrangements, sent back to Sydney, and his positive case became apparent after he had already left Tasmania on a direct flight to Sydney."

He said Victoria was now in a "precarious position" when it comes to where this particular series of outbreaks are at the moment.

"It is in all of our hands to continue to work together to work with our public health teams to get on top of and ahead of this particular outbreak," Foley said.

Updated at 12:07pm AEST on 6 August 2021.

QLD closer to trigger for lockdown lift, but new cases still in double digits

"We're not there yet, so we genuinely need to keep doing what we've been doing so effectively," says Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young.

Queensland has reported 10 new cases linked to the Indooroopilly school cluster of whom only two were infectious while in the community, but authorities aren't yet in a position to make a call on whether a lockdown for the state's lockdown will be lifted on Sunday.

This compares to 16 new locally acquired yesterday, while the number of daily new cases who were out and about with the virus has fallen in half.

Half the new cases are adults and the other half are children, all linked in some way to Indooroopilly State High School (ISHS), Ironside State School and Brisbane Boys Grammar School.

"Eight were not infectious in the community at all, two were infectious in the community for one day and that was during the Southeast Queensland lockdown period," Deputy Premier Steven Miles said.

"That brings to 89 the total number of cases in the Indooroopilly Delta cluster."

There were 48,028 people who got tested yesterday which is short of yesterday's state record above 52,000 but still a "very, very good result", according to Miles.

"We need to continue to see low case numbers, all linked, declining infectious days in the community and a high rate of testing, and if we can keep that up then we will be able to begin to ease these restrictions," Miles said.

"That's all very reassuring, but we've got to keep it up for the next few days. We're not there yet, so we genuinely need to keep doing what we've been doing so effectively," Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young added.

Given Victoria has gone back into lockdown just seven days after lifting the previous one, Miles said hotspot restrictions will be reapplied to the state so that those arriving from Victoria after 1am Sunday will need to go into hotel quarantine.

"Yesterday was also a tragic day for New South Wales and our hearts go out to everyone in the Greater Sydney area and New South Wales more generally battling the outbreak there."

At the time of writing there have been fewer additions to Queensland Health's list of exposure sites, although another school - Anglican Church Grammar - has been listed, at one of its sporting fields. This adds to several schools listed for various dates and times, including the aforementioned schools, St Peters Lutheran College, Brigidine College, Pullenvale State School, Holy Family School and St Aidan's Anglican Girls' School.

Updated at 10:37am AEST on 5 August 2021.

NSW loan deferrals spike as lockdown continues

Data released today by the Australian Banking Association (ABA) reveals more than 20,000 customers have received hardship assistance during recent lockdowns, with the majority coming from New South Wales.

Since 8 July, more than 14,500 homes loans and 600 business loans have been deferred. Comparatively, during the peak of the crisis in 2020, almost 500,000 home loans and more than 225,000 business loans were deferred.

NSW home loan deferrals account for more than two thirds of the total, while almost 80 per cent of deferred business loans are also from the state. 

ABA CEO Anna Bligh says banks are reporting many calls for assistance coming from NSW businesses and families affected by the shutdown of the construction industry.

"Lockdowns continue to bite across several states, and banks are again stepping up to help," says Bligh.

"Support is available to all small businesses and home loan customers significantly impacted by current lockdowns or recovering from recent lockdowns, irrespective of geography or industry."

This week, the number of customers accessing hardship grew by 73 per cent, with the week before seeing 153 per cent growth.

Growth in housing loan deferrals slowed from 344 per cent to 79 per cent, while growth in business loans grew from 93 per cent to 108 per cent.

Almost 24,000 people since early July have accessed support measures offered by their bank, with 64 per cent of customers opting to defer their loan repayments for up to three months.

"Given the lockdown situation in South East Queensland, banks stand ready to assist customers who need help," says Bligh.

"The sooner you talk to your bank, the sooner they can help you find a solution that is right for you."

Updated at 9.50am AEST on 6 August 2021.

"There is no alternative": Victoria to enter seven-day lockdown

Victoria will enter its sixth lockdown for one week from 8pm tonight as authorities seek to stamp out the spread of "mystery" COVID-19 cases in the state.

It is expected Minister for Business Martin Pakula will make an announcement about business supports tomorrow, and the Premier is confident he can work with the Federal Government on a 50-50 split support program with automatic payments as per the recent lockdown.

"We know this will hurt a lot, and we will look to make those payments as quickly as we can using that automatic payment function that we've used before," Premier Daniel Andrews said.

Schools will close and there will only be five reasons to leave the house: getting the needed food and supplies, exercising for up to two hours, care or caregiving, authorised work or education if not possible from home, or getting vaccinated at the nearest possible location.

It comes after Victoria reported eight new locally acquired COVID-19 cases today, of which only three were connected to a known outbreak of the virus. 

"We have some reason to believe that there is COVID either in that community or has been in that community," the Premier said.

Andrews said today's decision was a "difficult one" but there was "no alternative" to the snap lockdown.

"I want to make it very clear; we only get one chance to act fast," Andrews said.

"I'd much prefer to wait two or three days, I'd much prefer that we didn't have to make this decision now. But my fear is that if we were to wait a few days...there's a chance that instead of being locked down for a week, this gets away from us and we are potentially locked down until we all get vaccinated."

Click here for a full list of exposure sites in Victoria

There has also been a positive COVID-19 detection at a sewage plant in Wangaratta, underscoring the decision to make the lockdown statewide rather than just limited to Melbourne.

"We have some reason to believe that there is COVID either in that community or has been in that community," he said.

"We don't get the luxury of assuming that we have all of the knowns, that we know everything about this. We've always got to assume there are more cases out there than we have positive test results, and with one sewage detection we have to assume that there are cases.

"That's why it's statewide...as painful as it is and as counterintuitive sometimes as it as it is, we don't want this taking a hold in country Victoria. We just don't."

Under the new restrictions, shopping and exercise must be done within 5km of home or the nearest location.

Face masks will remain mandatory indoors and outdoors unless an exception applies -  this includes all workplaces and secondary schools.

Private gatherings are not permitted except for an intimate partner or nominated person visits. Public gatherings are not permitted. Exercise is limited to two people.

Childcare and Early Childhood Care will remain open. Schools will close, with primary and secondary school students returning to remote learning except for vulnerable children, and the children of authorised workers who can learn on site.

Updated at 4.30pm AEST on 5 August 2021.

WA confirms no new cases of COVID-19

Western Australia has reported no new cases of COVID-19 after concerns arose when a man working at the FMG Cloudbreak mine returned a weak positive test result yesterday afternoon.

It has been confirmed the man's close contacts have all tested negative, including his girlfriend and a housemate.

In addition, three workers who were in contact with the man have also returned negative results.

"This is very encouraging to begin with, but we need everyone to keep getting tested," WA Premier Mark McGowan said.

"In terms of close contacts, 83 have been identified so far with the majority of those on the Cloudbreak mine site.

"All are required to quarantine for 14 days and get tested."

A further 544 casual contacts have also been tracked down, with the expectation further test results will come in today.

"This is an unusual case, but we're taking it very seriously," the Premier said. 

New exposure sites have been identified in the Greenwood Village Shopping Centre on 31 July.

People who visited Coles between 3-3:30pm, Lewis Meats between 2:45-3pm and Baker's Delight between 2:45-3pm are being urged to immediately go and get tested.

Other exposure sites include the following:
Old Faithful Bar and BBQ - Fremantle
28/07/21: 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Indian Ocean Hotel (Indi Bar) - Scarborough
29/07/21: 7:30pm - 1:00am

MRKT SPACE - North Freemantle
31/07/21: 8:30am - 10:00am

Subiaco Hotel - Subiaco
31/07/21: 6:30pm - 12:00am

Southbank Day Surgery - South Perth
02/08/21: 6:30pm - 12:00am

Pathwest waiting room (Freemantle Hospital) - Freemantle
02/08/21: 1:00pm - 3:00pm

To see an updated list of exposure sites, click here.

Yesterday's positive result brings the total number of active cases of COVID-19 in the state to 10.

The state's vaccination turnout continues to be positive, with 16,388 receiving a dose yesterday. Of those, 9,453 were second doses.

Updated at 1.54pm AEST on 5 August 2021.

More exposure sites for Melbourne as Victoria records six new locally acquired cases

"Today's numbers are very much a reminder that this virus has not gone away," Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said.

A number of new exposure sites have been listed in Melbourne today after three of the six new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 were unable to be connected to any known outbreak of the virus.

The state government today actually announced eight new cases, though two of those will be included in tomorrow's numbers as they were identified after the official cut-off for reporting new infections.

Of the six new cases, three are close contacts of an already identified case and were isolating while infectious.

However, the remaining three cannot be traced to the current outbreak, and are being treated as two new lines of investigation for contact tracers.

One is a case that was identified late yesterday and is a person who lives in the Melbourne suburb of Maribyrnong.

Another case is a person who lives in the Hobsons Bay Area and a household contact of that case has also tested positive.

Genomic sequencing to determine how the three new cases contracted COVID-19 is underway and should be available late tonight or early tomorrow.

As such, numerous exposure sites have been published online so far, and Victorian Minister for Health Martin Foley anticipates more locations will be listed following further investigation.

The sites include a Coles in Yarraville, the Newport Football Club, a pharmacy in Altona North and Da Barber House in Caroline Springs. A full list of the new exposure sites can be found here.

As one of the new cases worked at a school in Truganina, everyone who also worked at Al-Taqwa College, attended the school or just visited on the 28th, 29th or 30th of July has been ordered into isolation for 14 days.

In addition, VIC Health has set up a testing site today at Al-Taqwa College.

"The Department of Health is working very closely in partnership with the Western Public Health Unit in supporting that local community and is working very closely with the school principal," Foley said.

"I want to congratulate the school as we know the school has been through this process in the past and have learnt and engaged in so many ways."

As for the two additional cases that will be reported in tomorrow's figures, COVID Commander Jeroen Weimar said they were both relatives of the couple from Maribyrnong.

"24 hours is a long time in any pandemic, and we have a significant new board of work to do over the next few hours or days or weeks ahead of us," Weimar said.

Updated at 12.38pm AEST on 5 August 2021.

Hunter and Newcastle in lockdown from 5pm today as COVID spreads into regional NSW

Eight local government areas (LGAs) in the Hunter and Upper Hunter regions of New South Wales will go into lockdown from 5pm today for one week, after COVID-19 cases were detected in the area.

It comes as NSW recorded 262 new cases of community transmission over the last 24 hours, with 110 (42 per cent) of those cases isolating during their entire infectious period.

Five people died as a result of the virus yesterday, following two deaths the day before. 

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant believes the emerging cluster in the Newcastle area can be linked to a gathering at Blacksmiths Beach on Friday night.

Elsewhere in regional NSW, higher detections of COVID-19 via surveillance testing have been found in sewage from Armidale and Dubbo.

With the Hunter New England Local Health District (LHD) currently providing care for and supporting five people diagnosed with the virus, authorities have mandated a one-week lockdown for the LGAs of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Cessnock, Dungog, Singleton and Muswellbrook.

The rules during the week will be the same as the lockdown restrictions for Greater Sydney, meaning face-to-face schooling is off and residents can only leave the house for essential reasons.

"That will commence at 5pm tonight and go until midnight next Thursday - so a week. Similar to what occurred in Orange," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

"And hopefully, similar to what occurred in Orange, we'll see that restrictions will lift at that time.

"I cannot stress enough how it's so important for everybody of all ages to come forward and get the vaccine."

Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the five Hunter New England cases were reported overnight, and therefore would be included in the numbers to be released tomorrow.

"While the source of the infections continues to be investigated, we now think that the source originated from a gathering on Blacksmiths Beach on Friday night, which is believed to be the source of the initial cases," she said.

"Can I just thank the people involved? I mean, not that I want to see gatherings, but I also want to people to tell us the truth if they've made a wrong judgement."

It is known that two of the new cases are students at Maitland Christian School, which has been closed for cleaning today.

"All of the parents and the children are asked to go home and isolate, and we'll provide further advice as we work through the day," Dr Chant said.

"Also, we're calling out that a couple of venues but I do have to say that as the contact tracers go through the other cases, there may be other venues."

Those locations include the Auchmuty Library at the University of Newcastle and Target at Glendale Shopping Village.

Chant has reinforced the message that the stay-at-home provisions under the new Hunter region lockdown do not permit visitors to the home; rules that apply to all home visits from people outside the household including family and friends.

"We're also moving schools to learn from home for the week. In addition, the Morisset High School has also been closed for cleaning, and that's following a confirmed case with a student at the school," she added.

"This student resides in the Central Coast, and this case is not linked to the other cases. Separately, there's a case in the Central Coast," she said, noting eight of the nine cases in that region are in the same household.

To bolster the push for vaccination uptake Berejiklian today announced NSW has secured an extra 180,000 doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine from the Federal Government which will arrive from 9 August.

"We can redirect those doses we've taken from the regions for the HSC students, and it also means we can put the balance into those eight local government areas in Greater Sydney of concern in particular," the Premier said.

"I'm urging everybody to come forward and get vaccinated. It doesn't matter which vaccine you're offered."

Dr Chant echoed Berejiklian's plea for vaccine uptake today, pointing to the fact there are 51 people in the ICU, including younger people. There are 290 COVID cases admitted to hospital in total in NSW, and 24 on ventilators.

"I want to acknowledge that younger people have not had the opportunity to be vaccinated because of the access to Pfizer and I just want to indicate that I'm aware with that," Dr Chant said.

"But my comments are that please, now is the time to strongly consider getting vaccinated if you're over 18.

"Even one vaccination reduces hospitalisation and death, both Pfizer and AstraZeneca, by 70 per cent, and two doses achieves about 90 per cent effectiveness against hospitalisation and death. We have the tools to allow us to protect ourselves and our loved ones from COVID."

The CHO has urged people in Armidale and Dubbo to come forward for testing as COVID levels in their respective wastewater plants have risen.

"Whilst in Armidale there had been a low detection previously and that was thought to be related to a case in that area, it is no time for complacency. The levels in the sewage have become higher, and we are concerned that there may be active cases in the area of Armidale," Dr Chant said.

"Also, the Dubbo sewage plant, that also has had a detection."

Updated at 11.29am AEST on 5 August 2021.

"Encouraging" signs as most new QLD cases were in isolation, Pfizer vaccines to arrive early

One in every hundred Queenslanders came forward for testing yesterday in a new daily record for the Sunshine State, which has recorded 16 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 including only four who were infectious while in the community. 

Two days ago Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young indicated she would need to see new cases having been in quarantine for their full infectious period in order to lift the lockdown this Sunday.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said it was encouraging all the new community cases can be directly linked to the Indooroopilly school cluster which has now risen to 79 infections.

The majority of the new cases are students of or can be linked to Ironside State School, with the remainder connected to Brisbane Grammar School including a student and a teacher.

"Also encouraging is the fact that of the cases reported today, only three were infectious in the community for one day, and one was infectious in the community for two days," Miles said, with those dates being 30-31 July.

However, the list of exposure sites in Brisbane continues to grow with highly frequented locations including the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA), Coles Toowong, Woolworths Ashgrove, Stafford City Shopping Centre, Aldi in the Gap Village, The Gap Football Club, Indooroopilly Shopping Centre, and the Hyperdome Shopping Centre.

Of concern given its demographics is the listing of the Keperra Retirement Village, while a memorial service in Kenmore was also listed as an exposure site.

This adds to numerous additional sites added in recent days throughout Brisbane from Sunnybank to Woolloongabba to Fortitude Valley, not to mention various sites in the Cairns area.

With 11 local government areas across Southeast Queensland still in lockdown, the state's residents pulled out all stops to get tested in a bid to stamp out the virus.

"Queenslanders outdid themselves again when it comes to getting tested for COVID-19. We did 52,351 tests, another record for Queensland," Miles said.

"A fantastic result - what we have to do from here is keep it up."

The Deputy Premier also revealed a breakthrough with the Commonwealth Government to secure an earlier supply of Pfizer vaccines, which are set to be delivered in two batches next week and the following week.

"Last night, I can advise Queenslanders that the Prime Minister phoned the Premier and they had a very productive conversation," Miles said.

"The result of that conversation is that the Commonwealth will bring forward the delivery of some Pfizer vaccines that were allocated to Queensland for September and bring those forward to August.

"They're not additional vaccines, but they will allow for Queensland Health to do more vaccinations in August."

Miles explained the high numbers of people in quarantine in relation to the latest outbreak has led to localised constraints for home delivery services.

"Yesterday we became aware of some slight delays with online ordering," he said.

"This is a localized issue around the Indooroopilly area because of the sheer number of people in the inner western suburbs and western suburbs who are subject to those quarantine directions.

"We're working closely with Woolworths and Coles in particular, to see what improvements can be made to ensure that we can be getting supplies to people in quarantine."

Meanwhile, the State Government has engaged the Care Army and NGOs to assist with the delivery of click and collect orders.

Updated at 10:51am AEST on 5 August 2021.

SPC makes COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for all staff before year-end

Iconic fruit processing business SPC is at the forefront of private companies in Australia by mandating that all its staff be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of November to gain entry to any company location.

The decision mirrors moves made internationally by other companies like Microsoft, Google and Disney, with SPC stressing the decision will ensure the health and wellbeing of all staff and the broader community.

"Lockdowns are not a sustainable solution and the Australian economy needs to open up again," SPC chairman Hussein Riafi said.

"The Delta variant poses a significant threat to our people, our customers and the communities we serve. The only path forward for our country is through vaccination.

"As a company, we believe it is the right thing to do and we must go further to minimise risk and to protect the people we care about from the Delta variant."

As part of the mandate, all casual and permanent staff as well as contractors must have at least the first dose of the vaccine scheduled by September 15, with the first dose administered by the end of October.

Any visitors to a site run by Shepparton-based SPC, famous for its Goulburn Valley and SPC brands, will also be required to be vaccinated.

To support workers all staff will be offered compensation via paid time off when required to receive their vaccination as well as special paid leave of up to two days for any staff who may become unwell after receiving the jab.

For those with a pre-existing condition and are unable to receive the vaccine, their circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

"We have already implemented rigorous safety plans at all our sites in response to the pandemic," SPC CEO Robert Giles said.

"These plans have ensured our people's health, safety and job security while ensuring business continuity for the essential service we provide to the broader community. But Australian companies must go further by rapidly vaccinating their staff.

"By taking proactive steps now, we are shoring up our company for the future. We firmly believe that it will be manufacturers and innovators like SPC who will help drive Australia's post-COVID economic recovery."

Updated at 9.33am AEST on 5 August 2021.

No new COVID cases for Victoria

Victorians have achieved a significant milestone within 10 days of the lifting of their fifth lockdown since the pandemic began, reporting zero new cases in the 24 hours to midnight.

Jeroen Weimar, Deputy Secretary at the Department for Health and Human Services (DHHS), says it is a pattern the state's authorities would like to keep up for as long as possible, reiterating the importance of compliance with border pass rules for travellers arriving into Victoria.

"We still have, unfortunately, nine people in hospital with coronavirus, two of whom are in ICU (intensive care unit) and both of those are on a ventilator," Weimar said.

"Of course, we send our very best wishes to all those nine people and to the others who continue to recover from coronavirus here in Victoria."

The state has recorded a total of 220 cases since the latest outbreak began in mid-June, but the number of active cases has reduced to 99.

"We had over 400 exposure sites. We're now down to 33 exposure sites we continue to manage.

"We've undertaken a total of 815,000 coronavirus tests since the 12th of July - 30,117 of those yesterday. That gives an average of around 32,000 tests a day."

Weimar added sustained high and effective testing numbers are so important in giving the public health team a really good understanding of the pattern of community transmission, and has enabled them to "get on top of it".

Updated at 12:02pm AEST on 4 August 2021.

NSW daily cases rise again to 233 as concerns raised over Newcastle waste water detections

The spread of COVID-19 shows no signs of abating in NSW where 233 daily cases were reported this morning, while two people died of the virus yesterday including a Southwest Sydney man in his 20s and a woman in her 80s who passed away at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

Fewer than half the new cases are linked to a known case or cluster, and an even lower number - 92 - were in isolation throughout their infectious period.

By NSW Health's definitions, 47 cases were infectious in the community, and the isolation status of 73 cases remains under investigation.

Both the Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant raised concerns about very high sewage rates in the Hunter-Newcastle area.

"The sewage detected high viral load, which suggests they could be undetected cases up around the Newcastle area, so we're really keen to have people come forward to get tested -  there will be a list of the drive-through places that people can go to," the Premier said.

Dr Chant noted the detections were found in the Shortland and Burwood Beach sewage treatment plants, as well as lower detections at the Belmont sewage treatment plant.

She called on people across all of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie areas to monitor for symptoms, but particularly residents in Birmingham Gardens, Shortland, Maryland, Fletcher, Minmi, Cameron Park, Mayfield, Stockton and Fern Bay.

"It is critical that we can get those testing levels up to really understand as soon as possible whether there is any undiagnosed cases there so that we can make the best public health decisions," Dr Chant said.

"In terms of other sewage detections, we have had low levels of detection from the Coffs Harbour sewage treatment plant, and the Mudgee sewage treatment plant. Again, we want to see high rates of testing there."

Updated at 11:34am AEST on 4 August 2021.

NSW sets vaccination targets after confirming 199 local COVID-19 cases

New South Wales recorded 199 locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, with almost a quarter of those people being out in the community during their infectious period.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian also highlighted plans to reach the six million mark for administered vaccine doses by the end of the month, as currently only 19.2 per cent of the adult population has received two doses.

"We're looking forward to us getting more jabs - six million is the target I want to set by the end of August 29," the Premier said.

"We're at 3.9 million. I suspect we'll be at four million by end of the week or in the next few days.

"The more of us that get vaccinated, the greater chance we have to live freely."

Efforts to vaccinate the population will be focused on the eight local government areas of concern: Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool, Cumberland, Blacktown, Parramatta, Georges River and Campbelltown. The Premier is urging people to avoid entering them during this period.

"Workplaces and households are the main places where the virus is transmitting."

"If you must leave the house, assume everybody you are coming into contact with has the virus."

Testing rates continue to be strong after 104,536 people came forward yesterday. There are a total of 53 cases in ICU, with 14 patients aged 40 or under.

Updated at 11:45am AEST on 3 August 2021.