NSW has rolled out a record number of vaccinations, as Victoria's health department admits its contact tracers have muddled up recent exposure sites.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
NSW Health administered 12,485 COVID jabs in the 24 hours to 8pm on Friday, the highest one-day number recorded. That included more than 5000 jabs administered at the Olympic Park mass vaccination site alone.
With more than 89,000 doses for the day across the country, Australia also passed the 3.5 million mark.
Meanwhile in Victoria, Health Minister Martin Foley has blamed a mix-up over recent exposure sites on supermarket receipts listing the wrong location.
The health department said a fortnight ago that Victoria's most recent case had shopped at Woolworths in Epping, when he had actually been at a nearby supermarket in Epping North.
Shadow Health Minister Georgie Crozier said on Saturday the state's contact tracing teams are not getting the basics right.
"It just demonstrates again the confusion, the chaos, and the incompetence of the government in managing the COVID pandemic," she said.
Victorian health authorities are now concerned they may be active undiagnosed cases in the area, after virus traces were picked up in wastewater on Thursday.
More than 10,000 vaccinations were delivered by Victorian health services on Thursday.
At the same time, half a dozen Victorian businesses have been slapped with thousands of dollars in fines for not following COVID rules.
Authorities have checked more than 2200 businesses so far, and about a third have been found to be non-compliant.
Seven were slapped with fines of between $1650 and almost $10,000.
In South Australia, the police association says relentless COVID compliance duties have overwhelmed front line officers and left the state vulnerable to serious crime.
"It is a simple equation: core police functions are being severely weakened and it is threatening the delivery of frontline policing to the public," Police Association President Mark Carroll said.
The association wants officers diverted from issuing COVID-related fines.
Meanwhile Australia has sent another plane of emergency supplies to India, as the death toll there nears 300,000 people.
The first repatriation flight from New Delhi arrived in Darwin a week ago, but more than 9000 Australians are still trying to return home.
Australian Associated Press
