Coronavirus updates LIVE: Brisbane awaits news on end to lockdown; stranded Victorians hope for border review; NSW Premier opens new front in borders wars

Summary

  • NSW reported three locally acquired cases on Sunday; Victoria recorded its fourth consecutive day of no new locally acquired cases, while Queensland also recorded none.
  • The northern part of Sydney’s northern beaches was released from its three weeks of misery when its lockdown order was lifted. Greater Brisbane endured its second day of lockdown following the discovery of a cleaner with the highly contagious UK variant of COVID-19 on Thursday.
  • The WA Premier, who closed his state’s border to the sunshine state on Friday, indicated that Queensland will have to clock up 28 days of zero cases before they are allowed back. Victoria is also closed to people from Greater Brisbane.
  • NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian raised the hackles of her counterparts around the country again by claiming she was given no warning before the other states closed their borders to NSW.
  • The number of confirmed coronavirus deaths in Britain has reached 80,868, the fifth highest in the world behind the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico.

Western Sydney emergency department closed overnight due to positive COVID-19 case

In developing news, ambulances have been diverted from western Sydney's Mount Druitt Hospital overnight and its emergency department has been closed for deep cleaning after a positive COVID-19 case attended while symptomatic.

A Western Sydney Local Health District spokeswoman said a person with COVID-19 symptoms first presented to the hospital’s emergency department on Saturday.

“Please talk to us”: NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.Credit:Christopher Pearce

In a veiled swipe at Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Ms Berejiklian said states needed to "talk to us in NSW before you close the border because we can explain to you the situation that's going on".

Victoria disputed Ms Berejiklian's suggestions that it did not inform NSW before the decision was made, and said NSW health authorities and ministers had been kept up to date.

Melburnians stuck in Queensland after the Palaszczuk government declared the Greater Brisbane area a hotspot, and the Victorian government banned Victorians from returning home at least until Monday, said confusion reigned over the weekend, and the Department of Health and Human Services provided unclear advice.

Ben, an accountant from Melbourne who asked that his surname not be used, was in Brisbane before travelling to the Gold Coast on Thursday, the day before the travel restrictions were announced.

An airline representative told the group they would have to pay for hotel quarantine if they flew home. "I cancelled my flight on the spot," Ben said.

He said he had contacted the Department of Health and Human Services five times in the past three days and received only general information.

"The hotline is useless because they just read exactly what's on the website."

Front pages of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald

Here's what is making front-page headlines on this Monday:

Victorians stranded in NSW and Queensland are growing increasingly frustrated with coronavirus restrictions that have indefinitely shut them out of their home state, as tensions escalate between the Andrews government and NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian over the closure of the border.

The Victorian government insists it told NSW of its plans to close the border as soon as receiving health advice after Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it acted too quickly and without consultation.

Those stranded in NSW and Queensland hope to learn in the next day or two when they will be allowed to return home.

Meanwhile, Greater Brisbane residents will find out today whether their efforts to keep the new COVID-19 strain at bay have paid off enough for the snap three-day lockdown to be lifted at 6pm.

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Global cases pass 90 million

First off, let's take a look at the global figures according to Johns Hopkins University this morning.

The global tally of COVID-19 cases has passed 90 million. The death toll has now exceeded 1.9 million, while nearly 50 million people have recovered from the virus.

You can explore our data centre below:

Welcome to Monday's coverage

Hello and welcome to Monday's live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. It's Marissa Calligeros here coming to you, not from Melbourne this time, but Brisbane, where the city is in its third day of lockdown.

Yesterday was a day in which the rhetoric over coronavirus restrictions was significantly more dramatic than the number of cases – here's a quick recap of where we are as we start the week.

  • NSW reported three locally acquired cases; Victoria recorded its fourth consecutive day of no new locally acquired cases, while Queensland also recorded none.
  • The northern part of Sydney's northern beaches was released from its three weeks of misery when its lockdown order was lifted.
  • Greater Brisbane endured its second day of lockdown following the discovery of a cleaner with the highly contagious overseas variant of COVID-19 on Thursday. The WA Premier, who closed his state's border to the sunshine state on Friday, indicated that Queensland will have to clock up 28 days of zero cases before they are allowed back. Victoria is also closed to people from Greater Brisbane.
  • NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian raised the hackles of her counterparts around the country again by claiming she was given no warning before the other states closed their borders to NSW. WA Premier Mark McGowan said it was not all about NSW and the Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said NSW was well aware that a lockdown was on the table.
  • The number of confirmed coronavirus deaths in Britain has reached 80,868, the fifth highest in the world behind the United States, Brazil, India and Mexico.

Stick with us as we follow these and other stories throughout the day.

The border wars are back on.Credit:

Sunday, as it happened: Three new cases in NSW as lockdown lifts in northern beaches; Victoria, Queensland record zero local transmissions

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