Australia’s vaccination program is poised to hit a key milestone on the road to freedom, with 70 per cent of the country receiving one dose as leaders meet on Friday to discuss the national plan.
Currently 69.8 per cent of eligible people have had their first jab and just under 45 per cent of those aged over 16 are fully vaccinated.
The milestone coincides with a National Cabinet meeting on Friday, with Australia’s transition out of COVID-19 restrictions and vaccinations expected to dominate discussions.
Victoria will become the latest jurisdiction to hit 70 per cent of its residents getting their first dose, with the state expected to reach the important milestone on Friday.
The state will also see some lockdown restrictions lifted from midday on Friday, coming off the back of the 70 per cent figure.
In NSW, two more regions are waking up to their first full day back under COVID-19 lockdown, as a parliamentary inquiry into the state’s current outbreak resumes.
Lismore and Albury have re-entered lockdown for at least the next seven days, after three cases were detected across the two areas.
The NSW upper house public accountability committee is exploring the state government’s handling of the current outbreak, and will hold a further hearing on Friday.
The ACT is set to enter its sixth week in lockdown as the territory government walks back from a COVID-zero strategy.
National Cabinet meeting
The national plan to transition out of COVID-19 restrictions and the vaccine rollout are set to dominate discussions when the national cabinet meets on Friday.
It’s the first meeting of the prime minister and state and territory leaders in a fortnight.
Epidemiology, vaccine take-up levels, the ongoing coronavirus situation in NSW and the national COVID plan will be among the main items discussed at the meeting.
Leaders will also hear of updates on virus modelling from the Doherty Institute.
Friday’s meetings will coincide with 70 per cent of Australians over 16s having received their first dose of the vaccine.
The most recent vaccine figures from the federal government showed there were more than 305,000 doses distributed on Wednesday.
“That 70 per cent double dose and 80 per cent double dose mark is within plain sight. Keep going Australia,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Victoria
Melburnians have been urged not to abuse new COVID-19 freedoms allowing up to five fully vaccinated adults to gather for a walk or picnic from this weekend.
To mark Victoria reaching its 70 per cent first dose vaccination target on Thursday, Premier Daniel Andrews announced a suite of “modest” restriction changes for Melbourne from Saturday including small outdoor gatherings.
Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated adults will be able to meet up with one other person from a different household for a walk or picnic, while that figure grows to five from two households, plus dependents, for fully vaccinated adults.
The premier said police will not be going from park to park to check the vaccination status of those gathering for picnics, but he hoped Victorians would “do the right thing”.
“There’s a degree of good faith in this,” Mr Andrews told reporters.
An exemption to the current ban on removing masks to drink alcohol outside of the home has not been granted, effectively making it illegal to have a tipple during picnics unless done through a straw.
Other rule changes from 11.59pm on Friday include a doubling of the amount of time allowed outdoors to four hours, the expansion of the travel limit from five kilometres to 10, and the reopening of outdoor gym equipment and skate parks.
The government’s full roadmap out of lockdown, outlining restrictions through to November, will be released on Sunday.
NSW
A NSW parliamentary inquiry into the state’s Delta coronavirus outbreak will resume as more regional areas toggle in and out of lockdown.
The upper house public accountability committee is exploring the state government’s handling of the current outbreak, and will hold a further hearing on Friday.
Committee chair David Shoebridge said the virtual hearing will focus on issues in Sydney’s west, with local mayors, ethnic community leaders and government agency representatives scheduled to speak.
“The committee will be taking evidence from those who have borne the brunt of the government’s lockdown of certain Sydney LGAs, with a particular focus too on the management of the justice system during this extremely difficult time,” the NSW Greens MP said.
It comes as Lismore and Albury have re-entered lockdown for at least the next seven days, after three cases were detected across the two areas.
The sources of the infections in both regions are unknown, but Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Marianne Gale suspects they are linked to Sydney.
The Lismore case has prompted a change in the “border bubble” arrangement negotiated only days ago by the Queensland and NSW governments.
With the city of Lismore declared a restricted zone again, anyone who has been in the area in the past 14 days will now be unable to enter Queensland.
The cross-border community of Wodonga has not joined Albury in lockdown, but Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews flagged there could be some “knock-on effects”.
Just hours before Lismore and Albury were plunged back into lockdown, stay-at-home orders were repealed across 12 other regions.
NSW reported 1351 new local cases of COVID-19 and 12 deaths in the 24 hours to 8pm on Wednesday, taking the toll for the three-month virus outbreak to 210.
Twelve people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 across three social housing buildings in inner Sydney Redfern.
ACT
While nearby local councils in NSW will spend their first full day out of lockdown, Canberrans will face four more weeks of restrictions.
Bega Valley and Snowy Mountains local government areas were among the 12 regions in NSW that had their lockdowns lifted after zero new COVID-19 cases were recorded there.
However, NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro urged residents in those areas to remain vigilant.
The ACT’s lockdown was initially slated to end on Friday, but Chief Minister Andrew Barr announced a four-week extension earlier this week.
While he is confident the ACT will be able to contain the virus, he would not predict there would be zero cases by the time the lockdown is forecast to end on October 15.
The ACT is days away from reaching the vaccine milestone of having 80 per cent of its residents over 16 having received their first dose.
-with AAP
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