The Delta-variant Covid outbreak in NSW continues to threaten to completely get away from authorities, with NSW reporting 262 new positive tests in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
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Fifty of those cases were active in the community, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said, which is the figure authorities are most concerned about.
The NSW update followed good news from Queensland, where 11 local government areas previously in lockdown were freed from strict stay-at-home restrictions as of 4pm.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk thanked everyone who had abided by the rules, citing the outbreak as the 15th incursion in recent months that the state had stopped from spreading.
However it wasn't all good news for the sunshine state, with the Cairns and Yarrabah local government areas in north Queensland going into a three-day lockdown due to an unlinked case.
A Cairns taxi driver tested positive for Covid after having been infectious in the community for 10 days.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the Cairns case posed a huge risk to the community, with a number of the man's family members unwell and being tested.
Down south, Victoria's outbreak is continuing to spread slowly, with Premier Dan Andrews reporting 11 locally acquired cases yesterday - however contact tracers are working fast to ensure that number doesn't keep growing day-to-day.
All 11 of the reported cases were in the community while infectious, though they were linked to known outbreaks.
At the federal level, Health Minister Greg Hunt has promised millions of doses of another mRNA-type vaccine, one made by Moderna, will be available in Australia in coming months.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration's decision on whether to grant the vaccine final approval is due in the next two weeks.
Once approved, supplies are expected to ramp up to 3 million per month from October through to December.
Moderna's vaccine has proved popular in the United States, although the company is considering recommending a third "booster" jab after a study revealed the vaccine's efficacy may fall after six months, which is within earlier predictions.
Australia's federal government has also announced it has secured doses of an early treatment for COVID-19 known as Sotrovimab, also pending TGA evaluation.
"It's not a silver bullet but it can absolutely save lives and protect lives for whom are considered to be likely affected," Mr Hunt said earlier today.
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*This edition of The Informer was written by Canberra Times producer Andrew Thorpe. If you'd like to show your support for the team behind The Informer, why not forward us to a friend?
THE NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- Moderna on its way in September: Hunt
- New early COVID-19 treatment secured: Hunt
- New Hunter cases revealed as NSW records 262 positive tests
- South-east Queensland lockdown ends as planned
- Cairns to go into lockdown as south-east Queensland opens
- Victoria records 11 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases
- Everything you need to know about the census
- Sydney man confirmed to have Delta COVID-19 variant when in Tasmania
Andrew Thorpe
I edit the opinion pages and write the occasional breaking news story, feature or newsletter, in addition to being part of the production team which gets the paper out the door and manages our digital products.
I edit the opinion pages and write the occasional breaking news story, feature or newsletter, in addition to being part of the production team which gets the paper out the door and manages our digital products.
