Good morning all, Matilda Boseley here, bringing you all of the news on this lovely Tuesday morning.
If you see anything in your area or online that you think I should be aware of, make sure you send it through to me on Twitter @MatildaBoseley or by email on matilda.boseley@theguardian.com.
So, what’s happening today?
It looks likes Queensland might have a second Covid-19 case caused by the highly contagious UK variant of the coronavirus, but it’s unlikely that it will spark another lockdown.
The partner of the quarantine hotel cleaner who originally contracted the new strain of the virus has now tested positive, and while technically genomic testing will take another 24 to 28 hours, it seems likely that they are carrying the same varient.
“We know this particular variant of Covid-19 is more contagious, so this result is unsurprising,†Queensland’s chief health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, said.
Luckily that individual has been in isolation since 7 January, but additional contact tracing is now underway as a precaution.
Yesterday Young confirmed to reporters that if another UK variant case appeared in someone who was already in isolation it was unlikely to cause the state to enter another snap lockdown.
Down south at the NSW/Victoria border trapped holidaymakers have been left frustrated after the website required to apply for a permit to enter Victoria still wasn’t working hours after the permit cut off at 6pm last night.
Earlier on Monday, the premier, Daniel Andrews, announced that anybody wanting to enter Victoria, including from areas with no travel restrictions, needed to apply for a permit through the Service Victoria website, with a new maximum penalty of $5,000 for those arriving without the correct documentation.
Regional NSW would be downgraded from a “red†zone to an “orange†zone at 6pm, meaning that Victorian residents could enter the state with a permit.
But by the 6pm deadline, the website to apply for a permit was not operational. The application site did not start working until a few minutes before 9pm with Service Victoria and the Department of Health and Human Services apologising for the delay on Twitter.
Okay, now we are all caught up, let’s get going with the day!
