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Health

COVID updates: Millions of RAT kits sent to schools as NSW and Victoria reveal education plans — as it happened

ABC News Channel live stream

Students and teachers in NSW and Victoria will have access to weekly rapid antigen tests, with those states planning to do away with school closures when classes resume.

Look back on the news and updates on our live coronavirus blog from Sunday, January 23, 2022 — as it happened. 

Key events

Live updates

By Dan Nancarrow

Pinned

Cases, hospitalisations and deaths

If you don't see your state or territory yet, don't worry - these numbers are updated throughout the day.

For a detailed breakdown of cases across the country, check out Charting the Spread.

NSW: 34 deaths and 20,324 cases; 2,712 people in hospital, including 189 in ICUs. Read more hereRewatch the press conference here.

ACT: No deaths, 694 new cases; 67 people in hospital, including 3 in ICUs.

Victoria: 14 deaths and 13,091 cases; 1,002 people in hospital, including 120 in ICUs. Read more hereRewatch the press conference here.

Tasmania: No deaths and 625 new cases; 39 people in hospital, including 3 in ICUs. Read more here.

Queensland: 10 deaths and 11,947 cases; 863 people in hospital, including 47 in ICUs. Read more here.

South Australia: No deaths, 2,062 new cases; 278 people in hospital, 24 in ICUs. Read more here.

Northern Territory: No deaths, 212 new cases; 61 people in hospital, 2 in ICU. Read more here.

Western Australia: No deaths, 26 new cases; zero people in hospital. Read more here.

By Dan Nancarrow

That's all folks

That's it for the blog today. Thank you for following along. Keep an eye on our dedicated Coronavirus section for further updates on the pandemic. 

By Dan Nancarrow

All new WA cases linked

Health minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said there was some good news despite the jump in case numbers.

"Although 24 is a higher case number than we are used to here in WA, the good news is they are all currently linked to existing cases," she said.

By Dan Nancarrow

Patients not triaged correctly 

Health minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said a suspected known COVID-positive woman and her COVID-positive child attended Fiona Stanley Hospital and were not triaged correctly.

Both spent time in the emergency department.

Ms Sanderson also pleaded with people in the state to get tested.

By Dan Nancarrow

WA records 24 new local cases of COVID-19

The state has recorded 26 cases in total.

Health minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said all are linked to known cases and all are now in quarantine.

There is still no one hospitalised with COVID in WA.

Read more.

By Simon Smale

Handover time

Right, I'm about to duck off, but Dan Nancarrow will take you through for the next little while, at least until we get the WA numbers.

See you tomorrow.

By Simon Smale

Keeping children at home is 'no longer an option'. Here's how Victoria plans to bring them back to schools

Students and staff will be given free RATs to self-test as part of the government's four-week back-to-school strategy.

Read how it's all going to take shape in Judd Boaz's explainer.

By Simon Smale

Any news on WA?

-A waiting person

Not yet, but you'd have to expect it fairly imminently.

By Simon Smale

'Could have gone very badly': At-risk Aboriginal community defies COVID outbreak as peak passes

When the first case of COVID-19 was detected in the Aboriginal community of Cherbourg last month, authorities feared the worst for the vulnerable and low-vaccinated community, but residents seem to be defying the odds.

Almost a month later, Cherbourg, 250 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, has seen just two people hospitalised and both have since recovered. The daily case numbers in the town are also already slowing.

Read more from ABC Southern Queensland's Jon Daly here.

By Simon Smale

Twice-weekly RAT tests in Victoria for students 'strongly recommended' 

are double RAT tests mandatory for vic school or just recommended

-random student

Hi, random student.

The press release earlier said the twice-weekly rapid antigen tests will be "strongly recommended".

By Simon Smale

Doctors urge SA government to ease elective surgery freeze as private hospitals sit 'idle'

Surgeons say private hospitals in South Australia have the staff, operating theatres and beds to enable more elective surgeries.

Read the story from Evelyn Manfield.

By Simon Smale

When can under 17s be boosted?

I’ve just tried to book a booster appointment for my teenager children who had their vaccinations over 3 months ago only to find out that boosters are only for 18 years and older. With schools about to open I’m shocked that we can’t protect our kids and the teachers and staff better.

-Corncerned Parent

Hi, Concerned Parent

You're right, at the moment, ATAGI is not recommending booster doses for people aged under 18.

When and if that advice changes, we will of course let you know.

When can my daughter (aged 17) get her COVID booster? She has a disability and is with the NDIS.

-Simone

Hi Simone,

Without knowing your daughters exact circumstances, that is a question that you would need to ask your doctor.

By Simon Smale

Three household COVID outbreaks, three different results: Why some exposed people don't catch Omicron

An effective pandemic response requires clear rules and thresholds that tell us how to judge COVID-19 risk. But that does not mean the virus always follows the script. 

Check out the story of how some people appear to be more or less susceptible to COVID-19 than others from Maani Truu right here.

By Simon Smale

Key Event

Labor describes moves by the EU and US to restrict travel to Australia as concerning but not surprising

Federal Labor has described moves by the European Union and United States to restrict travel to Australia as concerning, but not surprising. 

As coronavirus cases in Australia continue to soar, the European Council has recommended EU member states continue to impose COVID restrictions on Australian travellers.

The directive applies regardless of vaccination status, and means that anyone wanting to travel from Australia to Europe for non-essential purposes could be banned from entry or have to quarantine on arrival. 

The United States Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has also issued a warning to avoid travel to Australia, saying "because of the current situation in Australia, even fully vaccinated travelers may be at risk for getting and spreading COVID-19 variants."

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese says it's deeply troubling. 

"This is a real concern, but it's not surprising given our infection rates are so high," he said.

"Our infection rates are so high because there wasn't the preparedness. One of the reasons why the rollout of the booster is so low compared with European countries is because the rollout of the original vaccine was so low."

But Government frontbencher Paul Fletcher has shrugged off the moves. 

"Those are matters for the authorities in other countries - the advice they give to their own citizens," he said. 

"The task and responsibility of the Australian government is doing everything we can to keep Australians safe and of course that has been an enormous focus of effort." 

Reporting by Stephanie Dalzell.

By Simon Smale

If there is a positive case in a classroom in Victoria, do all the kids then have to isolate for 7 days or just return a negative RAT?

-Parent

Hi Parent.

James Merlino outlined this in his press conference earlier.

"If a child is positive, the requirement on the parent or the carer is to notify public health, and also to notify the child's school or kindergarten or childcare centre, and the school will contact other parents and say, 'there has been a positive case, look out for symptoms'. 

"That is how we approach any communicable disease."

He said being in a school with a positive case is not grounds for being a close contact.

"The school would identify all the close contacts of the child, the class, other activities that child might have been undertaking and engaging with students and staff, then contacting them.

"The approach is broader, given the change in settings are statewide, the definition of primary close contact is now household or household like, so for those reasons, the best approach, supported by public health, is that schools, early childhood settings, deal with this issue as they would with any other communicable disease, that is notifying parents, looking out the symptoms."

By Simon Smale

COVID news from our region

Just a quick sweep of news around our local area in relation to COVID-19.

Samoa, Kiribati record cases

Kiribati and Samoa have entered lockdowns after overseas arrivals brought COVID-19 to the Pacific island nations that had avoided the worst of the pandemic for two years.

Until this month, Kiribati hadn't reported a single virus case, while Samoa had only recorded two since the pandemic began, according to the World Health Organization.

But authorities in both countries were forced to put in place stay-at-home orders on Saturday after the virus was detected in international arrivals.

Hong Kong warns of worsening COVID-19 outbreak

Hong Kong authorities have closed down a second apartment block in an attempt to halt a COVID-19 outbreak as Chief Executive Carrie Lam defended a pet hamster cull that has angered animal rights activists.

Ms Lam said on Saturday that a second Kwai Chung apartment block, home to more than 2,000 people, would be shut down for five days.

On Friday, officials shut down another Kwai Chung building after more than 20 cases were linked to it, with food delivered from outside three times a day and mass testing underway.

In total, some 16 buildings in the area would face various restrictions and compulsory testing, affecting some 35,000 residents, Ms Lam added.

Tonga aid

Aid from Australia, New Zealand, Japan and China is beginning to arrive in Tonga and it's all being delivered contactless to keep COVID at bay.

The island nation has largely kept COVID under control throughout the pandemic.

UN officials in Tonga claim the country will be heavily reliant on food aid for some time following last weekend's volcanic eruption and tsunami.

By Simon Smale

Key Event

NT records 212 new COVID-19 cases

There are currently 61 patients in Northern Territory hospitals with COVID-19, with nine patients requiring oxygen.

There are two patients in intensive care.

There were 212 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in the NT in the 24 hours to 8pm.

Several remote communities in the Northern Territory are under restrictions.

Utopia and Ski Beach are in a seven day lockdown, while Galiwin'ku's lockdown was yesterday extended for another seven days.

Lockouts in Alice Springs, Amoonguna, Yuendumu and Yuelamu were also extended for seven days.

By Simon Smale

Pfizer boss hopes for annual COVID vaccine rather than frequent boosters

The chief executive of Pfizer says the global pharmaceutical giant is working on a yearly vaccine dose as Omicron forces tweaks to vaccines.

The company is developing a dose similar to a yearly flu shot that would replace the need for periodic booster jabs.

In an interview with  Israel's N12 News, Albert Bourla said the shot could work against all strains of the coronavirus.

"We are hoping that we will have a vaccine that we will have to do once a year, like we do for many other things.

"We are looking to see if we can create a vaccine for Omicron and doesn't forget the other variants and that 
could be a solution, unless if something completely different."

He also said getting boosted every four or five months would "not be a good scenario".

By Simon Smale

Jacinda Ardern cancels wedding as New Zealand goes into higher COVID restrictions

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also had to cancel her wedding to Clarke Gayford as a result of the increased restrictions in New Zealand announced today.

New Zealand will raise its level of COVID restrictions from midnight tonight after nine cases of the Omicron variant were found to have spread from the North to South islands.

The red-light setting is not considered a lockdown and businesses remain open, but gathering numbers are reduced and the rules on social distancing increased.

That means no large gatherings, including one of the more high-profile weddings scheduled for this coming year.

“My wedding will not be going ahead, but I just join many other New Zealanders who have had an experience like that as a result of the pandemic," Ms Ardern said at the press conference earlier.

“And to anyone who’s caught up in that scenario, I’m so sorry, but we’re all so resilient and I know we understand that we’re doing this for one another.”

“I am no different to ... thousands of other New Zealanders who have had much more devastating impacts felt by the pandemic.”

By Simon Smale

So you've recovered from COVID. Now what?

For two years, we've been hearing about symptoms, testing and quarantine protocol, but what about once you've had the virus?

Check out the story here.

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