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NSW COVID-19 statistics
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NSW recorded zero new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. There were two new cases in returning overseas travellers, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,401. In the 24 hours to 8pm last night, NSW Health administered 14,595 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine (the highest ever number in a single day), bringing the total number of doses administered in the state since 22 February 2021 to more than 1.37 million. More information here.
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NSW venues of concern
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NSW Health has released a list of public exposure sites in NSW visited by a confirmed case of COVID-19. These include venues in Goulburn, Gundagai, Huskisson, Hyams Beach and Jervis Bay. Anyone who lives in, or has visited these areas since 19 May, is asked to be especially vigilant for even the mildest of cold-like symptoms, and is urged to come forward for testing immediately if they appear. Information on the venues, dates and times of concern and instructions for anyone who visited them can be viewed here.
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Victorian lockdown continues
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The Victorian Government announced yesterday that lockdown restrictions will continue for another week. For Melbourne, there will still be only five reasons to leave home: shopping for food and supplies, authorised work and study, care and caregiving, exercise, and getting vaccinated. Restrictions in regional Victoria will ease tonight as there has been no community transmission over the past week. People will be able to travel further for exercise and shopping, with an expanded 10km radius. In the 24 hours to midnight last night, Victoria recorded three new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 from a record 57,519 tests. Read the details of the extension here.
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Service NSW to assist in vaccine push
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The Service NSW app is now being used in the NSW Government’s push to rollout the COVID-19 vaccine as quickly and as safely as possible. As of 2 June, people aged 40-49 will be able to register their interest for the vaccine directly on the Service NSW app, with other age groups to follow when it is their turn. Those who register will be contacted to book via email when appointments become available. These invitations can be targeted by location depending on booking availability and supply of the vaccine in their local area. Those aged 50 and over should visit nsw.gov.au to book their AstraZeneca vaccine now. More information on how to use the app to book your vaccine is here.
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Productivity the key to lifting living standards, report finds
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A pathway to higher wages and better living standards for NSW residents and a reduced state debt without additional taxation has been set out in the NSW Productivity Commission’s White Paper. The report, Rebooting the Economy, was prepared over the past three years with extensive consultation. It proposes 60 opportunities to increase productivity by focusing on areas including talent, innovation, housing, and infrastructure and natural resources. NSW Productivity Commissioner Peter Achterstraat AM said the White Paper suggested a range of options on how to boost the economy in the face of changing work patterns and altered demographics, both of which had been further heightened by COVID-19. Read the Paper here.
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Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern met in Queenstown this week for the annual Australia-New Zealand Leaders’ Meeting, their first in-person meeting since February 2020. In a joint statement, the two leaders outlined the success of trans-Tasman collaboration in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and reaffirmed that “together Australia and New Zealand will provide safe and effective vaccines to ensure comprehensive vaccine coverage for our Pacific family and Timor-Leste at the earliest opportunity”. Read the joint statement here.
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