Good morning and welcome to the 9News live news blog for Monday, September 27, 2021.
Contact tracers are continuing their work to try and track the movements of a Geelong resident who attended last week’s Melbourne protests while infected with COVID-19.
While it is believed the person didn’t catch the virus at the events, Geelong has still exited its lockdown overnight with locals welcoming eased restrictions.
Residents across NSW have also woken to new freedoms, with public pools reopening and nurseries and hardware stores back open in red zones.
Queensland families could miss out on seeing interstate loved ones at Christmas with Deputy Premier Steven Miles casting doubt on whether borders will reopen by then.
The news is devastating for the state’s tourism industry which has already seen losses of around $81 billion since the pandemic started.
And home COVID-19 testing kits could be a reality by the festive season, with Health Minister Greg Hunt confirming the TGA has approved their use in the fight against Delta.
Stay with us throughout today for all the breaking news including live press conferences.
