Happy Wednesday! Fun fact: there are only about 22 or so left this year.
Allegedly. Given that it seems 2020 never really ended, who knows.
There are reports that an apartment block in Campbelltown has been placed into hard lockdown after several residents were diagnosed with Covid.
A hard lockdown in that sense means police were called to “secure” the building, which is the third time this has happened this outbreak. Apartment complexes in Bondi Junction and Blacktown had previously been locked down.
This comes after Gladys Berejiklian admitted on Tuesday that she couldn’t say whether the Sydney cases had peaked as yet. She still has no idea whether the city is over the worst of it. For people who have been locked down for more than a month, that’s pretty disheartening.
Meanwhile, Queensland reported a mystery case in Cairns, which is not in lockdown. Brisbane is closer to Sydney than it is to Cairns so authorities are trying to work out how Covid could have spread there, given that the state’s south-east has been in lockdown since Saturday.
We’ll bring you all the Covid updates, as well as what’s happening in parliament as we enter our second day of the spring session.
So far, it hasn’t exactly been about legislation. Yesterday was all about the Doherty Institute modelling, which was presented in the most convoluted way possible, because why on earth would you want information when you could have politics?
Seventy per cent of the eligible population fully vaccinated is the goal, but the most important cohort in a world of Delta (under-30s) won’t be eligible for the vaccine until September/October. And the under-40s, who until recently were told to wait for Pfizer are only now being given relatively easy access to vaccine bookings (although the booking system remains a mess).
So of course the government focused on completely dismissing any idea of a financial incentive for receiving the vaccine, as an “insult”. Good times.
You have Mike Bowers at your disposal today, as always, with Katharine Murphy, Daniel Hurst and Sarah Martin. Amy Remeikis will take you through the blogging day. I hope everyone has had their Weeties.
Ready?