Australia news LIVE NSW records 1281 new local COVID-19 cases five deaths Victoria records 246 new cases extra Pfizer doses arrive from UK

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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Deputy Premier John Barilaro, Minister for Health Brad Hazzard, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant and NSW Health deputy secretary Susan Pearce are due to provide a coronavirus update from 11am AEST.

Watch live below.

Meanwhile, Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley and COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar are providing a coronavirus update from 11.15am AEST.

Watch that press conference live below.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the modelling on hospital capacity and case numbers made available today “best anticipates” what will happen when the state’s economy starts to be reopened during this period.

“Obviously when we do open up at 70 per cent [of people aged over 16] double dose, anyone who interacts with each other will be completely vaccinated, so that massively reduces the chance of anybody requiring hospitalisation,” she said.

“So what you have in front of you is what we best anticipate will occur.”

The Premier said she “absolutely” guaranteed additional freedoms would be granted to people who were fully vaccinated once that 70 per cent threshold was met, even though the modelling indicated the state’s hospitalisation peak could be after that and daily case numbers would still be above 1000 a day.

“Every week that goes past and our rates of vaccination increase, that puts less pressure on our hospital system; it puts less pressure on our world-class clinicians,” Ms Berejiklian said.

“And that is why we have been in a race to get vaccinated, that’s why in NSW we have been keen to step up.”

Dr Nhi Nguyen, clinical director of the Intensive Care Network NSW, has flagged there will probably be intensive care staff and other health staff working double and extra shifts as they deal with the greatest challenge of their careers.

“You will hear stories, and you know, reflections from staff about having to work double shifts,” she said.

“Everyone is tired, we recognise that, but we check in and make sure everyone is okay. We are used to looking after critically ill patients, but the majority of [staff] will not be used to seeing the number of patients they are seeing at the moment, and the number that are going to come through the doors”.

NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce said this will be “an incredibly and difficult time for the system”.

“The plans that have been put in place however are only as good as the people who deliver them,” she added.

“And my message at the moment to the public is we have amazing health staff who are out there each and every day working really hard to deliver the best possible care to our patients and we will continue to do that during this period.”

If you are wondering what you can do to assist intensive care units across the state, obviously getting vaccinated and staying home are high on the list, but Dr Nguyen has also suggested chocolate is well received.

“Many units across the city have really benefited from generous donations of food,” she said.

“It is mostly chocolates, you will know that all intensive care staff love chocolates. And these have been things that seem small, but they have been important for the morale of our staff.”

Only one person in a Victorian hospital with COVID-19 yesterday was fully vaccinated, and that person is now well enough to be discharged, according to the state’s health minister.

Labor frontbencher Martin Foley says 92 people are in hospital as a result of the Delta outbreak.

Sixty-seven of those had not received any vaccine dose despite being eligible at the time they were hospitalised.

Another 13 were unvaccinated and were not eligible because they were under 16 at the time they were diagnosed. From next Monday, children aged 12 to 15 will be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine.

Ten people in hospital had one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

“This current outbreak is targeting the unvaccinated,” Mr Foley said.

Twenty-six people are in intensive care in Victoria and, of those, fourteen are on a ventilator.

Dr Nhi Nguyen, clinical director of the Intensive Care Network NSW, says a phone line has been established for doctors and nurses who may be working outside of their specialty as COVID-19 cases surge in NSW.

According to modelling released by NSW Health today, the state’s peak intensive care unit occupancy will hit in early November, when the estimate is 947 patients, including non-COVID patients.

The estimated peak COVID-19 intensive care at that time will be 560 patients. The intensive care advisory service will operate to assist clinicians with real-time advice from intensive care experts.

“We know that there are nursing staff and medical staff who will feel a little bit uncomfortable with what they are being asked,” Dr Nguyen said.

“But I am really confident that we have such a well connected and supportive environment that patients will continue to get care when they need it.”

As reported earlier, the NSW government has today released the modelling, informed by the work of the Burnet Institute, which projects hospitalisations and cases through to the end of the year.

Within the local government areas of concern, NSW Health is expecting it will record cases of 1100 to 2000 a day until mid-September.

It is estimated that between 2200 people and 3900 people will require hospitalisation.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Monday.Credit:Edwina Pickles

The total estimated peak number of people who will require hospitalisation in NSW at any time â€" including non-COVID patients â€" is 3434 patients across the state towards the end of October.

Dr Nhi Nguyen, clinical director of the Intensive Care Network NSW and physician at Nepean Hospital has told reporters of the “journey” clinicians have been on since the start of the pandemic in early 2020.

“You would have heard well reported that we were aiming for the 2000 ICU beds [at that time] ... and we breathed a sigh of relief in April, where we reached the maximum number of 50 patients in intensive care, and only 20 of them were ventilated,” she said.

Today, there are 1071 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 177 people in intensive care, 67 of whom require ventilation.

Dr Nguyen said workforce will “continue to be our biggest challenge”, noting registers have been established to call people back to the intensive care workforce and colleagues in operating theatres, emergency and coronary care are being brought into the field due to their corresponding skills.

She said the system would need to work differently to cope.

“When you hear stories of patients needing to be diverted elsewhere ... that is actually a sign that system is working,” she said.

“The system is working because it is recognition that to provide the best and timely care for those patients is actually not at an ambulance, you know, in the driveway of an ED, it may be that it is to divert across the city.”

New Zealand has recorded 20 new community cases of COVID-19.

It’s the third day in a row that the country has reported 20 local cases. Eight days ago, New Zealand reported 83 local cases.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.Credit:AP

The apparent levelling-off has raised expectations Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern could once again lower restrictions outside of Auckland, New Zealand’s largest city.

Ardern will reveal today, around 2pm AEST, if the rest of the country will remain at alert level 3 or be downgraded. Auckland, remains in a strict lockdown at alert level 4.

NSW recorded 1281 new local coronavirus cases and five deaths on Monday, as Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced modelling showing when the state will reach its infection peak and what its intensive care and hospital requirements will be over the next two months will be released today.

The Premier said she received the modelling late last week, which showed cases in NSW were set to hit a peak “in the next week or so” and the state would require its highest number of intensive care beds in early October.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian at Monday’s COVID-19 update.Credit:Edwina Pickles

NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce and Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant are both at today’s press conference to discuss the modelling and “operating changes” which will be in place, Ms Berejiklian added.

“I do want to qualify that to say that modelling depends on a number of things; a number of variables,” the Premier said.

“If too many of us do the wrong thing, there are too many superspreading events, we could see those numbers higher.”

There were five deaths recorded in the reporting period: a man in his 90s who was a resident at St George Aged Care Facility at Bexley, a woman in her 80s who died at Ryde Hospital, a woman in her 50s who died at Westmead Hospital, a woman in her 80s who also died at Westmead Hospital and a man in his 60s who died at home in the Southern Highlands.

“My key message is please get vaccinated, please get tested early, and seek help when you need it,” Dr Chant said, in light of the fifth death.“Even if you have done something that you think is a breach of public health orders, even if you are concerned about that, know that we will not care about what you have done.”

Sky News chief executive Paul Whittaker has told the media diversity inquiry that YouTube’s misinformation policies are “incapable of compliance”.

He added that the removal of content was not an admission of a breach, but a proactive attempt to comply with the social media giant’s policies.

“Sky News requested multiple times for YouTube to confirm that historical content will not be subject to further notice from YouTube and that Sky News is afforded the opportunity to address concerns or challenge the notification in advance of any further strikes,” Mr Whittaker told the inquiry. “No such reassurance was received.”

“With no transparency provided, Sky News took the proactive approach of removing a batch of videos all published during 2020 from online platforms to ensure ongoing compliance with YouTube’s arbitrary editorial guidelines.”

Asked why Sky News did not appeal the seven-day ban, Mr Whittaker said the platform was suspended before it could appeal. He said the broadcaster was given a warning for two videos in December.

“On July 29, we were informed that we were subject to a strike, and we were given less than 30 minutes notice to be told that we could not upload any videos. So there’s no appeal at that time because you are already suspended,” Mr Whittaker said.

“We then sought clarification about why we had breached the guidelines, and despite having written also myself personally on August 6 to the CEO of YouTube in America, not had an acknowledgement, much less even a response.”

Asked why Jones, Dean and Panahi weren’t appearing at the inquiry, Mr Whittaker said that was a personal decision, but there was “not a lot of confidence instilled in the process” after statements were made to media about their appearance before they had been given an opportunity to answer the invitation.

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins isn’t too impressed with the PM’s earlier comments about women and domestic violence.

Here’s what she had to say on social media:

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