Covid 19 coronavirus Australia: NSW records 1480 new cases, nine deaths; Victoria eases restrictions

Police officers outside the Sydney Opera House on June 26, 2021. Photo / Getty Images

New South Wales has recorded 1480 new Covid-19 cases and nine Covid-related deaths in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

Of the nine deaths, one was a man in his 20s, one was a man in his 40s, one was a woman in her 60s, one was a man in his 60s, two were men in their 70s, two were men in their 80s, and one was a man in his 90s.

"Seven of the nine cases, of people who died that we're reporting today, were not vaccinated," NSW deputy chief health officer Dr Marianna Gale said.

"One person had one dose and one person had two doses. All those individuals had underlying health conditions."

The man in his 20s who died was not vaccinated and had serious underlying health conditions, Gale said.

NSW recorded 1,480 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.

No new cases were acquired overseas in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, and 23 previously reported cases have been excluded following further investigation. pic.twitter.com/K49OgHhfie

— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 8, 2021

NSW recorded 1220 new cases yesterday and eight Covid-related deaths.

Despite the high case numbers, Premier Gladys Berejiklian is sticking to her guns and planning to begin reopening once the 70 per cent vaccination target is reached, a move backed by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Yesterday, ICU nurses across NSW penned an open letter to Berejiklian claiming the state's hospital system is "at the brink" due to staff shortages.

They asked the Premier to fix the issue urgently ahead of an expected surge in Covid cases over the next few weeks.

There are currently 1136 Covid patients in NSW hospitals - 194 in intensive care, 78 of whom require ventilation.

Victoria

Despite reporting 221 new locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 today - just 98 of which have been linked to previous clusters - Victoria will ease restrictions for most regional areas from Thursday at midnight.

All regional areas in the state aside from Greater Shepparton will have their travel distance limits scrapped, and restaurants and cafes will be allowed to open with numbers caps.

In these areas, schools will be open for students in prep to grade 2 and grade 12.

Premier Daniel Andrews said he hoped the new rules would be sustainable.

"As I said, and I have said a number of times, it's not a snapback, it's not Freedom Day, it's not 100 per cent capacity down at the pub," he said.

Reported yesterday: 221 new local cases and 0 new cases acquired overseas.
- 36,716 vaccine doses were administered
- 42,429 test results were received

More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic #COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/iEdGj4Sr1U

— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) September 7, 2021

"We want to do this in a cautious way, but in a positive way in as optimistic way as possible."

The Premier gave just two hours' notice when he locked down regional Victoria on August 21 and warned there would be a significant police presence making sure people from Melbourne are not heading to the regions without need.

The only change for metropolitan Melbourne is that single parents can now access childcare regardless of whether they are authorised workers or not.

The announcement comes a day after Andrews blasted the federal government over his state's vaccine supply.

"I signed on to a national plan to vaccinate our nation, not a national plan to vaccinate Sydney," he said.

"Some don't like to see this as a race, but a race it surely is. What I didn't know was that Premier Gladys Berejiklian's in a sprint while the rest of us are supposed to do some sort of egg and spoon thing."