Friday: ACT chief minister attacks Gladys Berejiklian’s handling of NSW Covid crisis. Plus: Australia-based charities fear for staff in Afghanistan
Good morning. The chief minister of the Australian Capital Territory, Andrew Barr, has accused New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian of putting young people at risk by not toughening restrictions in greater Sydney, and has called on his colleagues to stop presenting 70% or 80% vaccination targets as “freedom day”. Berejiklian on Thursday told locked down residents across the state there are “exciting things to look forward to” when she introduces freedoms for vaccinated people once targets are met in coming weeks. Ahead of what is likely to be a testy national cabinet meeting today, Barr told Guardian Australia political leaders needed to be more frank with the community about when it will be safe to move past lockdowns, given the Doherty Institute modelling painted a much more nuanced picture than simply hitting certain vaccination rates.
All Australians aged over 16 will be eligible for Pfizer vaccine from 30 August, coinciding with the anticipated arrival of an extra 5m doses of the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA vaccines in September. Australia has now reached the milestone of more than half of eligible Australians having received at least one dose. The regional NSW lockdown was extended for at least a week until 28 August as the state set a new daily record of 681 cases on Thursday. Childcare providers across NSW are seeking urgent guidance, saying they are concerned centres may be inadvertently contributing to the spread of the virus. The call came as hundreds of Covid cases were reported in children across the state and more than 160 childcare centres were closed nationally.
Continue reading...source https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/aug/20/morning-mail-act-cautions-against-freedom-day-giant-coral-covid-rule-confusion
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