Australia news LIVE NSW records 239 new local COVID-19 cases as harsher restrictions implemented for eight Sydney LGAs

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Health Minister Greg Hunt said COVID-19 will be around for a long time.

“The world will be living with COVID for decades â€" that’s an honest answer,” he said.

“It’s a pandemic that’s become endemic in many countries.

“Vaccinations will remain an ongoing feature of life in Australia in just the same way flu vaccination is, but we manage this.”

Mr Hunt said to his knowledge no Australian has died of the flu this year.

He also promised to investigate reports that a GP is reportedly charging patients for a vaccine, pledging to “throw the book at them” if the claims were substantiated.

Mr Hunt reiterated that by end of this year “every Australian will be given the opportunity to be vaccinated” if they want to be.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has reported a record day of COVID-19 vaccinations with more than 201,000 doses administered.

He said 39.5 per cent of Australians have had first doses. Coverage among over 70-year-olds has reached 78 per cent, he said.

“That is an extraordinary achievement by our doctors, our nurses, by the Australian public, for coming forward,” Mr Hunt said.

“It is a very significant degree of protection for the over 70s, for the most vulnerable population, and that has been borne out by the protections we’ve seen in particular within aged care homes.”

Mr Hunt said more than one million claims have been processed for COVID disaster relief payments, with more than $500 million paid. The Chief Medical Officer has extended the Commonwealth hotspot definition for Greater Sydney until August 28, which Mr Hunt said provided certainty for people on relief payments.

“[That] should make a difference and should allow people to be able to stay at home,” he said.

Mr Hunt said the Therapeutic Goods Administration has approached businessman Clive Palmer over leaflets he has been sharing discouraging vaccination uptake.

“He is not succeeding,” Mr Hunt said. “We are also seeing increase in intention to be vaccinated.

“Those people spreading misinformation ... are losing the argument.”

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt is holding a press conference at 3.30pm (AEST). Watch live below:

A Sydney law firm that was admonished by the regulator for urging civil disobedience during Victoria’s winter lockdown has been accused of spreading misinformation on social media with suggestions that COVID-19 vaccination does not work and testing is nonsense.

G&B Lawyers is drumming up donations for a $10 million High Court challenge to mandatory vaccination.

The firm is run by Kim Glassborow, who was formerly in-house legal counsel at Dial-a-Dump, the garbage empire founded by rich-lister Ian Malouf and Nathan Andrew Buckley, who was reprimanded by the NSW Legal Services Commissioner in January last year for sending threatening, abusive or discourteous correspondence.

Sydney lawyer Nathan Buckley of G&B Lawyers has been accused of peddling misinformation about COVID-19.

In the past few days, the firm posted to its Facebook page a description of the anti-lockdown protests as “awesome” and claimed “COVID-19 jabs don’t work”.

G&B Lawyers has found fertile ground for its mandatory vaccination class action among aged care workers, who will be required to have their first dose by mid-September.

Since the order was announced in late June, the firm has been swamped with calls, Mr Buckley told his followers. More than 2400 people expressed their support in the class action.

“What we want to do is stop governments controlling people’s lives, and protect an individual’s right to decide whether to have a vaccination,” a flyer said.

In July last year, Mr Buckley encouraged Victorians to defy their state’s public health order on masks.

“Free legal advice to all Victorians,” he wrote. “Don’t wear a mask ... Every single one of you 6.359 Victorians can challenge the fines in court. The Victorian government won’t fight you in court. It is far too expensive for them to do so.”

Read more here.

South Australia has recorded two COVID-19 cases, both of which are in isolation and associated with a known cluster.

Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said she spent this morning in meetings to find a solution to get South Australians home from NSW.

“Some of [them] went over there for the school holidays and some ... need to come back here for compassionate reasons,” she said.

“But obviously we don’t have enough hotel capacity for all of those people and so some of those people will need to quarantine at home.”

The community will be dependent on those people following instructions to stay at home.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has provided a COVID-19 update.

Under the NSW government’s new lockdown restrictions announced on Thursday, residents in eight Sydney local government areas of concern will have to wear masks anywhere outside and cannot travel further than five kilometres from home.

People in the areas of concern (Fairfield, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Blacktown, Parramatta, Georges River and Campbelltown) are not allowed to leave the LGA they live in for work unless they are on the list of authorised workers.

So how far is five kilometres? The tool below lets you enter your address and then see how far you can travel without breaking the basic rule (there are some exemptions).

Read more about how this tool works here.

Qantas has confirmed it will roll out a digital health pass for international flights, which will confirm passengers have clearance to fly.

Qantas and Jetstar use the International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Travel Pass, which will allow passengers to prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have had a negative test result before their flight.

Qantas said the app will be ready for use international travel resumes.Credit:Getty

The Travel Pass will also check the passengers’ health information against the specific requirements for their flight, including the entry requirements of the country they are travelling to.

Qantas said that passengers who do not use the app would still be able to present a vaccination certificate or proof of a negative test at the airport. However, these customers would not be able to receive confirmation they were cleared to fly prior to arrival at the airport.

Read more here.

Good afternoon and thanks for reading our live coverage.

Here’s everything you need to know in case you’re just joining us.

NSW has recorded 239 new cases of coronavirus, the state’s highest daily number on record. Another two people have died and additional restrictions have been put in place for eight local government areas in Greater Sydney, including mandatory mask-wearing whenever leaving the house. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the daily numbers are likely to get worse before they get better.

Residents of an apartment block in Melbourne’s south-west have been tested for COVID-19 after a mystery case visited their building while potentially infectious. Victorian authorities still don’t know how the man caught the virus, but suspect he was infected while working at a testing site in the city’s north-west. The state recorded six new cases of coronavirus today, but all are linked to existing outbreaks and were in isolation for their infectious period.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg have been out and about spruiking their government’s increased disaster payments. The emergency funding is now level with last year’s JobKeeper subsidy. Mr Frydenberg says lockdowns are hurting the economy but has suggested the federal government has no choice but to keep spending.

And Queensland has thankfully recorded no new cases today. It’s a relief to health authorities who remain on high alert due to a COVID-positive man staying at a backpackers while he was infectious.

I’m signing off from the blog now. My colleague Josh Dye will bring you the latest news and analysis through to the early evening.

We’re looking to speak to Sydney families today to learn how people are coping with the city’s extended lockdown.

What’s bringing you and your children joy, or just getting you through? Please leave a name and contact number so one of our reporters can get in touch.

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