The Covid Wrap: A State-By-State Summary On Covid Across Australia

Changes to New South Wales' leadership have this week delivered a shift in tone, rhetoric, and reportage from case numbers to economy.

Usually relegated to aligning with the Prime Minister’s dogma, who is instead answering to the Queen on Australia's climate inaction, the NSW Premier blind-sided the PM and delivered a post-Covid economic recovery roadmap, side stepping the national plan.

Stay up-to-date on the latest news with The National Briefing - keeping you in the loop with breaking news as it hits.

In a bold declaration, NSW are ending hotel quarantine and opening international travel as early as 1 November.

Premier Dominic Perrottet, made the state's most significant announcement on Friday, claiming that NSW are opening up to the world.

"For double vaccinated people around the world, Sydney, New South Wales is open for business"

Returning Australians and tourists will no longer be required to quarantine, with the 14 day-mandated isolation now "a thing of the past," he said.

Mr Perrottet’s unilateral decision to scrap hotel and home quarantine for vaccinated international travellers, comes two weeks ahead of schedule.

But in a last-minute dash to the finish line, Scott Morrison, said the move would not extend to international tourists.

Instead, the PM delivered a swift uppercut, declaring that only Australian citizens, residents and their immediate families would be allowed to avoid hotel quarantine.

Whether Perrottet's calculated risk pays off, opening at 70 per cent double-dose as opposed to the recommendations from the Doherty institute at 80 per cent remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, regional domestic travel for Sydneysiders remain off the cards until November 1, amid escalating fears surrounding low vaccination rates in the bush.

Further down the eastern seaboard and Victoria announced that from October 19, fully vaccinated people from NSW red zones will be allowed into the Garden state without having to quarantine for 14 days. 

It does appear though that Victoria, or at least health minister Martin Foley were not made aware of NSW’s international travel plans before making Friday's announcement on the state's northern border.

"No, I wasn’t. There would be no need for me to be so. Each state is responsible for its own circumstances".

- Martin Foley

In other breaking news on Friday, Hobart and southern parts of Tasmania entered a three-day snap lockdown as health authorities try to get ahead of a potential Covid outbreak, sparked by two quarantine breaches in recent days, including a Covid-positive man who was in the community for two days.

The escapee spent time in Hobart's outer northern suburbs, sending dozens of people including police officers into quarantine. 

To the nation’s capital and the ACT are expanding the number of areas in regional NSW that Canberrans can travel to, as they exit lockdown.

There are 27 postcodes that ACT residents can venture to in NSW without requiring an exemption, while the rest of regional NSW and greater Sydney are off limits until November 1

The ACT also hit a significant milestone this week, with 99 per cent of eligible people having received their first dose of a Covid vaccination.

Meantime, Australia's peak medical body has cautioned that public hospitals will be overwhelmed once the country opens up.

The Australian Medical Association have released a report, “Public hospitals: Cycle of crisis” warning that public health systems in most states and territories are already running close to capacity.

“Our hospitals are full - there simply aren’t enough hospital beds or enough doctors and nurses - and tragic stories of deaths, deterioration and delayed care are becoming increasingly commonplace,” the report says

Warning of dire consequences if not addressed, the report said a shortage of hospital beds, overcrowded emergency departments and longer waits for elective surgery are "risking the lives of all Australians".

Meanwhile, across the country:

With the tightest border in the country, Western Australia have mandated that travellers from a 'high risk' state are required to provide evidence that they have received their first Covid vaccine and have tested 72 hours prior to departing for the western skies. Elsewhere Queensland, Victoria and the ACT are considered 'medium risk' and require an exemption to enter WA. South Australian's have been deemed 'low risk', but require a border declaration. That leaves 'low risk' Tasmania, the Northern Territory and New Zealand as the only visitors allowed into the state. WA recorded no new Covid cases on Friday.

South Australia continues to keep the gate firmly locked to Victoria, NSW the ACT, and some parts of Queensland. Visitors from WA and NT are allowed but must have a series of Covid tests and self-quarantine until receiving their first negative result. And once again the only Aussies deemed ‘restriction free’ are Tasmanians, as long as the current situation remains under control. There were no new Covid case recorded in South Australia on Friday. 

Lockdown ended across the Australian Capital Territory on Friday. Further, border restrictions have been tightened for all non-ACT residents entering the capital from locked down areas of Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales, effectively not allowing them in. Meanwhile, travellers from all other states and territories must stay abreast of exposure site locations. The countries capital recorded 35 new Covid cases on Friday

The Northern Territory is closed to travellers from hotspots – NSW, ACT, and Victoria – and returning NT residents face mandatory supervised quarantine and all arrivals must complete an online Border Entry Form. Meantime, anyone who has been at a public exposure state in any other state must get a COVID -19 test and quarantine in a suitable place for 14 days. NT recorded no new Covid cases on Friday.

To Queensland and they have extended border restrictions to all of NSW except for LGA's along the NSW border bubble to allow students and essential workers carrying a border permit to cross the state line as long as they can provide proof of having had at least one dose of a Covid vaccine. Victoria and South Australia are considered a ‘hot spot’, while travellers from the NT, WA, Tasmania, and SA are permitted to visit but must complete a travel declaration form up to three days prior to arriving. The sunshine state recorded 2 new Covid cases on Friday.

After another week of declining Covid numbers New South Wales recorded 399 new infections and sadly four deaths on Friday. Restrictions have further eased for greater Sydney, however regional travel for Sydneysiders is off the cards until November 1. For outsiders wanting to enter NSW, particularly those from Queensland, South Australia, the ACT and Victoria they must all complete a travel declaration form.

Down south and Victoria continues to break records with 2179 new cases reported on Friday and tragically six Covid deaths. From Thursday 2 September, 6 Victorian and 2 NSW LGA's were removed from the border bubble and a strict permit system remains in place for all states and territories, with anyone wanting to enter the garden required to secure a permit. However, from next Tuesday fully vaccinated people in New South Wales’ red zones will be allowed into Victoria without having to quarantine for 14 days, while cross-border NSW LGAs have been downgraded to a red-zone, meaning cross-border residents can enter Victoria without a permit

Tasmania despite remaining quartered off from the mainland to avoid the worst of the Delta downfall Covid has hit their shores this week, however no new cases were reported on Friday. The Apple Isle is now off limits to people from NSW, the ACT, and Victoria, while travellers from South Australia, WA, parts of Queensland and some parts of New Zealand may visit if they don't bring any more nasties with them

Across the ditch and New Zealand will not be reopening its trans-Tasman travel bubble any time soon, as Covid cases numbers remain vigilant across NSW and Victoria. Set to remain in place until November 19, New Zealand's ban on quarantine free travellers from Australia hinges on vaccination rates. New Zealand reported 65 new Covid cases on Friday ahead of their Super Saturday vaccination drive.

Finally, to wrap up in the words of Mr Scott Morrison “there are shifting sands when it comes to the evolution of this issue".

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