All mainland states and territories are living under coronavirus restrictions ranging from full-blown lockdowns to mask mandates.
Three capital cities are in COVID-19 lockdown with Perth joining Sydney and Darwin after a second locally acquired case was recorded.
Fears of a large-scale nationwide outbreak has prompted Prime Minister Scott Morrison to announce major changes to the vaccine program.
Young Australians will be able to request the AstraZeneca shot from their doctor, and aged care and quarantine workers will be compelled to get a COVID-19 jab.
Just hours after Mr Morrison announced the new measures, Perth and the neighbouring Peel region were plunged into a four-day lockdown.
Here’s what you need to know about the latest announcements and lockdowns:
PM widens bungled vaccine program
Until now the advice from medical experts had been not to force workers to be vaccinated.
Under five per cent of Australians have received both doses of AstraZeneca or Pfizer.
It’s hoped new rule changes will speed up the rollout.
Tweet from @Simon_Cullen
Mr Morrison said that advice about workers had changed and state public health orders and Commonwealth measures would be used to enforce mandatory shots for residential aged care staff.
It’s expected all workers will have had their first dose by mid-September.
Vaccination and testing of all quarantine workers will also be made mandatory, including those involved in transporting people to quarantine.
The states and territories will be in charge of the program and no timeframe has been set for its completion.
National cabinet also agreed to compulsory post-quarantine testing for returned travellers, which must occur two to three days after they leave.
There will also be a ban on accommodating low-risk domestic travellers next door to high-risk international arrivals.
Travellers who have gone through 14-day quarantine in one jurisdiction will be able to enter other jurisdictions without having to quarantine for a further 14 days.
And in a bid to encourage broader vaccination, the federal government will provide a no fault indemnity scheme for GPs who administer COVID-19 vaccines.
The scheme would enable, for example, a person under-60 who is happy to get the AstraZeneca vaccine – which is currently only recommended for over-60s – to do so if their doctor considers it is the best option.
Perth in lockdown
Meanwhile, people in Perth are waking up for the first day of another snap lockdown after the state recorded a second locally acquired case of COVID-19.
A man aged in his 30s who is thought to have contracted the virus at the Indian Ocean Brewery is the latest case.
“We’re hopeful a four-day lockdown and all of the measures we’re putting in place will be enough to crush and kill the virus in its tracks,” Premier Mark McGowan told reporters of the stay-at-home order which came into effect at midnight.
The man dined at the brewery last Tuesday, eating at a different table to a woman who returned from Sydney and subsequently tested positive to the Delta strain of the virus.
Another woman, aged 32, also tested positive after coming into contact with the original case.
Everyone from the brewery that night is in isolation.
Compulsory face masks outside the home will accompany the lockdown, during which people are directed not to leave their residence except for essential reasons.
Schools and childcare centres will remain open.
New exposure sites in NSW
Virus infections in Sydney, which is in the first few days of a 14-day lockdown, have ballooned to 130.
NSW reported 18 new coronavirus cases on Monday, with all but one confirmed as linked to existing cases.
New alerts were added on Monday night for six train lines and 10 bus routes.
Tweet from @NSWHealth
Meanwhile, more than 500 school students from South Coogee Public School are isolating after four of their classmates acquired the virus.
Another student, at Emanuel School in Sydney’s east, attended school whilst infectious, Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.
Queensland on the brink of lockdown
Queensland authorities are anxiously waiting to learn if 169 workers from a Northern Territory mine have brought COVID-19 home with them.
One miner is already confirmed to have the Delta variant after spending a day out and about in the Sunshine Coast region while infectious.
Health authorities are waiting on test results for the other 169, who have been ordered into isolation.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday warned Queensland was on the verge of another lockdown, and Tuesday and Wednesday’s test results would determine which way things go.
There’s also high level concern about passengers who travelled with an infected crew member on flights from Sydney to Brisbane and the Gold Coast over the weekend.
“We will not hesitate to take action,” the premier warned after mandating the use of masks in 11 local government areas across southeast Queensland for a fortnight.
On Monday evening, six Virgin flights into and out of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Darwin and the Gold Coast on June 25-26 were added as COVID-19 exposure sites by Queensland Health.
Northern Territory lockdown extended
The Northern Territory’s snap lockdown has been extended after a seventh COVID-19 case was reported from an outbreak linked to a central Australian mine.
The lockdown was expected to end on Tuesday but has been extended for a further 72 hours until 1pm on Friday, Chief Minister Michael Gunner says.
Health officials have confirmed the outbreak is of the Delta variant, with seven positive cases reported in three days.
The most recent case is a man in his 50s, who left Newmont’s Granites Mine about 540km northwest of Alice Springs, on Friday.
He returned to Darwin, where he travelled to multiple venues while infectious in the community for about 36 hours, Mr Gunner said.
The newest case was moved to the Howard Springs quarantine facility but authorities fear he may have come into contact with about 150 people while in the community.
Public exposure sites include the Buff Club, Darwin International Airport departure lounge, the BWS bottle store in the Parap, Bunnings Darwin, Corner Store Friendly Grocer in Stuart Park and the Commonwealth Bank on Smith Street in the CBD.
-with AAP
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