NSW reports another HUGE spike in Covid case numbers as Christmas party season kicks off - so are more restrictions on the cards? 

NSW recorded 516 new cases and zero deaths on Friday.

Australia COVID-19 update 10 December 2021

Australia wide — 1743 new Australian acquired cases, 6 new OS acquired cases, 2 deaths.

VICTORIA
• 1,206 new from 66,784 tests, 1203 locally acquired, 3 OS travellers in hotel quarantine, 2 deaths.
• 11,145 active cases, 313 in hospital, 61 active with 43 cleared in ICU, 25 ventilated.
• Deaths included people aged in their 50s and 70s.
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Casey, Hume, Brimbank, Moreland, Whittlesea, Kingston, Bayside, Wyndham, Darebin and Knox.
• Two new Omicron cases detected in Victoria, both travellers who landed in Melbourne from Dubai on November 30, take the total number of state Omicron cases to three. 
• Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says we still don't know enough about Omicron's severity and it's too early to jump to conclusions about the variant.

NEW SOUTH WALES
• 516 new from 90,223 tests, 0 deaths.
• 3,683 active cases, 158 in hospital, 24 in ICU, 9 ventilated.
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 117 Western Sydney, 115 SW Sydney, 86 SE Sydney, 84 Sydney, 25 Northern Sydney, 21 Northern NSW, 15 Nepean Blue Mountains, 11 Hunter New England, 11 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 10 Central Coast, 6 Murrumbidgee, 5 Western NSW, 4 Mid North Coast, 1 Southern NSW, 5 yet to be assigned.
• Sewage virus fragments detected where there are no known cases in Gulargambone, Eden, Moruya, Tomakin and Narrandera.
• Noah's backpacker hostel in Bondi locked down due to COVID-19.
• NSW Health says no new cases of Omicron detected overnight.
• NSW Health concerned about the increased transmission taking place in larger social venues such as pubs, clubs, and party settings, including recent outbreaks associated with the Golden Sheaf Hotel at Double Bay, the Oxford Tavern at Petersham trivia night and the Albion Hotel at Parramatta.

QUEENSLAND
• 9 new from 11,065 tests, 4 locally acquired, 4 interstate acquired (2 in hotel quarantine, 2 in the community), 1 OS acquired in hotel quarantine. 
• 44 active cases, 25 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• Six people have been infectious in the Gold Coast community.
• Broadbeach State School on the Gold Coast has asked all students to stay home for the final day of the year, after a positive COVID case was confirmed.
• Many new Gold Coast exposure sites added including venues at Elanora, Broadbeach, Mermaid Beach, Miami, Currumbin Waters and Tugun with six people having been infectious in the community for a number of days this week.
• List of exposure sites.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 8 new from 10,851 tests, 3 locally acquired, 4 interstate acquired, 1 OS traveller in hotel quarantine.
• 51 active cases, 2 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• Two of the new locally acquired cases are linked to the Norwood cluster and one is a mystery.
• Two of the new interstate cases are suspected to be the Omicron variant — the first in the state.
• List of exposure sites.

ACT
• 6 new with 1,393 negative tests, all locally acquired.
• 73 active cases, 5 in hospital, 2 in ICU, 0 ventilated.
• List of exposure sites.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 4 new from 1,934 tests, 3 locally acquired, 1 interstate/OS traveller.
• 40 active cases, 1 in hospital.
• Of the four new cases, three are linked to the Katherine East cluster with an unrelated case who was a returned traveller, a man in his 60s who was a household contact of two other confirmed cases.
• One day after exiting lockout, residents at properties on four streets in Katherine East have suddenly been placed under tightened COVID restrictions until at least 5pm on Sunday 12 December, following continued positive wastewater results. Residents in Frangipani Court and Hudspeth Place, as well as a number of properties on Maluka Road and Acacia Drive, must not leave their homes unless they can produce a negative coronavirus test taken within 72 hours. Pop-up testing stations will be in place for three days.
• List of exposure sites.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 0 new from 2,645 tests.
• 2 active cases in hotel quarantine, 0 in hospital.

TASMANIA
• 0 new from 752 tests.
• 1 active case, 0 in hospital.

NEW ZEALAND
• 96 new from 27,645 tests, 95 locally acquired, 1 OS traveller in managed isolation.
• 6,630 active cases, 56 in hospital, 4 in ICU.
• New case locations are Auckland 75, Waikato 11, Bay of Plenty 5, Lakes 1, Canterbury 2, Nelson-Tasman 1. 
• List of exposure sites.

OMICRON
• Pfizer's chief executive says a fourth shot could be needed in order to target Omicron, 12 months after the third shot, but it was considering moving up the timeline.
• South African data shows hospitalisations are lower with Omicron, despite big case numbers.

The omicron variant of COVID-19 is spreading rapidly throughout Great Britain and is likely to become the dominant form of the disease across the country by the middle of this month, the UK Health Security Agency said on Friday. 

New data from the UK confirm that omicron is more easily transmissible than other variants, the agency said in its latest variant technical briefing. The latest data show 568 confirmed or probable omicron infections as of December 8, up from just two one week earlier.

 If current trends continue, the UK will exceed 1 million omicron infections by the end of December, the health security agency said.“Once again, we urge everyone who is able to get a booster jab to come forward and do so,” Dr Jenny Harries, the agency’s chief executive, said in the briefing paper.    

Australia COVID-19 update 11 December 2021

Australia wide — 1771 new Australian acquired cases, 2 new OS acquired cases, 16 deaths.

VICTORIA
• 1,193 new from 82,895 tests, 1191 locally acquired, 2 OS travellers in hotel quarantine, 13 deaths.
• 11,457 active cases, 323 in hospital, 68 active with 44 cleared in ICU, 29 ventilated.
• Of those in hospital 61.8% not fully vaccinated, and of those in ICU 81.8% not fully vaccinated.
• Deaths included people aged in their 50s, 60, 70s, 80s and 90s. Seven of the deaths are historic deaths that occurred in November.
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Hume, Casey, Brimbank, Whittlesea, Moreland, Greater Dandenong, Melton, Kingston, Monash, Glen Eira and Port Phillip.

NEW SOUTH WALES
• 560 new from 823,517 tests, 3 deaths.
• 4,058 active cases, 150 in hospital, 25 in ICU, 8 ventilated.
• Deaths: A triple-dosed SW Sydney man in his 80s with underlying health conditions died at Liverpool Hospital. He acquired his infection at the Gillawarna Village Aged Care facility, its second COVID death. A double dosed Eastern Sydney man in his 80s with underlying health conditions died at St Vincents Hospital. A double dosed Riverina woman in her 70s with underlying health conditions died at Albury Base Hospital.
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 112 SE Sydney, 107 SW Sydney, 100 Sydney, 80 Western Sydney, 35 Northern NSW, 28 Northern Sydney, 24 Central Coast, 19 Hunter New England, 14 Nepean Blue Mountains, 9 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 9 Murrumbidgee, 8 Western NSW, 7 Mid North Coast, 3 Southern NSW, 2 Far West NSW, 1 in a correctional setting, 2 yet to be assigned.
• Three new cases of the Omicron variant of concern overnight. There are currently 45 cases with the Omicron variant throughout the state but none hospitalised yet.
• Public advised of two Sydney venues visited by likely Omicron cases — the Cult Nightclub in Potts Point and the Albion Hotel in Parramatta.

ACT
• 11 new with 1,492 negative tests, all locally acquired.
• 76 active cases, 5 in hospital, 2 in ICU, 0 ventilated.
• List of exposure sites.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 7 new from 13,675 tests, 6 locally acquired, 1 interstate acquired.
• 54 active cases, 3 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• Five of the seven are fully vaccinated and two are unvaccinated.
• Today's new local cases are four men aged between 20 and 40 and two women aged between 20 and 60. Three cases are known contacts of previous cases with 3 still under investigation. 
• Any close contacts of Omicron or suspected Omicron cases will now need to quarantine for 14 days, regardless of their vaccination status.
• List of exposure sites.

QUEENSLAND
• 1 new from 9,249 tests, locally acquired on the Gold Coast. 
• 46 active cases, 29 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• The new community case was flagged as a potential case yesterday, but confirmed today. Authorities believe the man from Mudgeeraba is a casual contact from a Bunnings store and has been active in the Gold Coast community for five days, from December 6 to 10. 
• All the local cases on the Gold Coast are the Delta variant so far.
• List of exposure sites.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 1 new from 2,856 tests, locally acquired.
• 32 active cases, 1 in hospital.
• A man in his 20s has tested positive and is associated with the Katherine cluster, which now stands at 68.
• 'Unexpected' waste water positives 'a concerning development' with a number positive wastewater tests in the Katherine area and in Alice Springs. The communities of Barunga and Beswick, around 80km south west of Katherine, have recorded positive waste water samples, which was unexpected. Baraunga, which is 91 per cent fully vaccinated, will have a 72-hour mask mandate. Beswick is in a 72-hour lockout as it only has a 64 per cent fully vaccinated rate. Wastewater in the Gillen and Northside catchments in Alice Springs has also unexpectedly tested positive.
• List of exposure sites.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 0 new from N/A tests.
• 2 active cases in hotel quarantine, 0 in hospital.

TASMANIA
• 0 new from N/A tests.
• 1 active case, 0 in hospital.
• There are now 90 per cent of Tasmanians aged 16 and over who have received both doses of a coronavirus vaccine, with the state set to open its borders next Wednesday.

NEW ZEALAND
• 65 new from 27,362 tests, 63 locally acquired, 2 OS travellers in managed isolation.
• 6,661 active cases, 60 in hospital, 3 in ICU.
• New case locations are Auckland 53, Waikato 3, Northland 2, Canterbury 2, Bay of Plenty 1, Taranaki 1, Southern 1 historical. 
• List of exposure sites.

WORLD
• The United States stands on the brink of recording 50 million cases of COVID-19, as the latest wave of infections continues to rise there. It is also approaching 800,000 deaths during the pandemic.
• In England, Friday's increase in Covid cases was the biggest since 9 January and it is estimated that the number of Omicron cases is doubling every two to three days.

Yay !! The race is on

NSW trying to catch up with Victoria's (new daily numbers of 1,193)  with the NSW daily cases up from below 160  to 560 cases per day.

Of course QLD not wanting to be left behind

Australia COVID-19 update 12 December 2021

Australia wide — 1568 new Australian acquired cases, 1 new OS acquired case, 4 deaths.

VICTORIA
• 1,069 new from 67,312 tests, all locally acquired, 2 deaths.
• 11,393 active cases, 310 in hospital, 74 active with 41 cleared in ICU, 37 ventilated.
• Deaths included people aged in their 70s and 80s.
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Hume, Casey, Brimbank, Moreland, Whittlesea, Melton, Kingston, Wyndham, Glen Eira and Mornington Peninsula.

NEW SOUTH WALES
• 485 new from 90,804 tests, 2 deaths.
• 4,366 active cases, 156 in hospital, 23 in ICU, 7 ventilated.
• Deaths: Two unvaccinated men — the first a man in his 70s from Sydney’s inner west who died at Concord Hospital and a SE Sydney man in his 80s who died at Sutherland Hospital.
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 104 Western Sydney, 90 SE Sydney, 81 SW Sydney, 58 Sydney, 38 Northern Sydney, 30 Northern NSW, 21 Central Coast, 13 Nepean Blue Mountains, 12 Hunter New England, 12 Western NSW, 10 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 8 Murrumbidgee, 5 Mid North Coast, 3 yet to be assigned.
• Sewage virus fragments detected where there are no known cases in Wellington, South West Rocks, Raymond Terrace and Boulder Bay.
• The Sydney harbour party boat cruise last Friday is now the source of more than 10 cases, with three of these confirmed as the Omicron variant.
• The Newcastle community is being advised that The Argyle House nightclub was visited by confirmed cases of Omicron from the party boat cruise. This follows recent outbreaks associated with the Albion Hotel at Parramatta, Oxford Tavern at Petersham and Cult Nightclub in Potts Point.
• First NSW Omicron case in hospital among 10 new infections of the variant, taking the total number of Omicron cases in NSW to 55.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 10 new from 13,611 tests, 6 locally acquired, 1 interstate acquired, 3 under investigation.
• 64 active cases, 3 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• One case is from interstate, six are contacts of known local cases, and three more have a mystery source. Virus fragments have also been detected in wastewater at Indulkana in the APY Lands in the state’s far northwest.
• SA Health confirms two of last week's positive cases are the Omicron variant. Any close contacts of Omicron cases will be required to carry out 14 days isolation, even if they are vaccinated.
• Gym-goers in Glenelg East have become the latest group of South Australians to be forced into quarantine following a positive case. 
• List of exposure sites. Four high-risk exposure sites linked to Omicron cases added.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 3 new from 4,790 tests, all locally acquired.
• 33 active cases, 1 in hospital.
• The three new local cases are related to the Katherine cluster, all are in Acacia Drive at Katherine East. This brings the total number of cases in this cluster to 71.
• They include a four-year-old girl, who is a family contact of a case detected last week. The girl has been in the Howard Springs quarantine facility throughout her infectious period. Two other girls in Katherine East, aged 15 and 17, have also tested positive. They will be transported to Howard Springs to undergo quarantine.
• Positive wastewater readings detected in smaller remote communities around Katherine, including Bulla, Dagaragu, Pidgeon Hole, Kalkarindji and Lajamanu with a 72-hour mask mandate now imposed for those communities.
• List of exposure sites.

ACT
• 1 new with 1,207 negative tests, locally acquired.
• 70 active cases, 4 in hospital, 2 in ICU, 0 ventilated.
• List of exposure sites.

QUEENSLAND
• 1 new from 11,918 tests, a returned OS traveller from Nigeria in hotel quarantine. 
• 47 active cases, 28 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• Genomic sequencing underway for the Nigerian traveller recorded overnight.
• List of exposure sites.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 0 new from N/A tests.
• 2 active cases in hotel quarantine, 0 in hospital.
• WA government to tighten COVID border controls with Queensland from Monday, when visitors from that state will be required to quarantine for 14 days. It says the elevated risk level has been brought in due to the "escalating situation" in Queensland where there has been community spread of the virus and is also the result of Queensland's plan to introduce relaxed quarantine requirements with COVID-positive jurisdictions from Monday.

TASMANIA
• 0 new from N/A tests.
• 1 active case, 0 in hospital.

NEW ZEALAND
• 104 new from 24,754 tests, 103 locally acquired, 1 OS traveller in managed isolation.
• 6,738 active cases, 61 in hospital, 3 in ICU.
• New local cases are Auckland 86, Waikato 9, Bay of Plenty 3, Northland 2, Lakes 1, Canterbury 2.
• List of exposure sites.

AUSTRALIA BOOSTER VACCINES
• The federal government has acted on advice from the vaccine advisory body ATAGI, and the wait for a booster has been reduced from six months after a second vaccination to five. The increased transmissibility of the Omicron variant is behind the decision.
• ATAGI has also given the final approval required for Moderna to be offered as a booster shot, alongside Pfizer.

My younger diabetic son  [Type One] had his Booster Jap yesterday he was ok then I must phone him and see how he coped last night!

Australia COVID-19 update 13 December 2021

Australia wide — 1864 new Australian acquired cases, 6 new OS acquired case, 2 deaths.

VICTORIA
• 1,290 new from 55,122 tests, all locally acquired, 2 deaths.
• 11,649 active cases, 323 in hospital, 77 active with 39 cleared in ICU, 40 ventilated.
• Deaths included people aged in their 80s and 90s.
• The 10 LGAs with the highest number of new cases are Casey, Hume, Whittlesea, Wyndham, Moreland, Melton, Monash, Greater Dandenong, Brimbank and Kingston.

NEW SOUTH WALES
• 536 new from 74,997 tests, 0 deaths.
• 4,677 active cases, 171 in hospital, 24 in ICU, 9 ventilated. 
• New cases by Local Health Districts are 140 SW Sydney, 97 Western Sydney, 86 SE Sydney, 58 Sydney, 29 Northern NSW, 28 Hunter New England, 28 Northern Sydney, 20 Central Coast, 20 Illawarra Shoalhaven, 14 Nepean Blue Mountains, 7 Western NSW, 4 Murrumbidgee, 1 Mid North Coast, 1 in hotel quarantine, 3 yet to be assigned.
• There were nine new cases confirmed with the Omicron variant overnight, and more are expected as results of genomic testing are confirmed. In total, NSW has recorded 64 cases of Omicron to date.
• NSW Health has updated its advice for The Argyle House nightclub in Newcastle after an escalation in COVID transmission at the venue. So far, 84 people linked to the nightclub have tested positive. A number of these cases are likely to be the Omicron variant.

NORTHERN TERRITORY
• 17 new from N/A tests, 16 locally acquired, 1 OS traveller in quarantine.
• 45 active cases, 1 in hospital.
• The Territory's highest daily case increase so far in the pandemic.
• Households from four streets in Katherine East, where a testing blitz has been taking place, account for 14 cases. Of these 14 cases, 8 are children under 12, 5 are aged in the 20s,30s, 40s, and a 70-year-old woman. There are two other cases, a male teenager and a male in his 70s, who were both already in quarantine. It brings the cluster to 87.
• List of exposure sites.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
• 13 new from 15,142 tests, 6 locally acquired, 5 interstate acquired, 2 OS acquired.
• 65 active cases, 3 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• Three people remain in the Royal Adelaide Hospital in a stable condition.
• Of the new cases reported today, two are children, five are men aged between 20 and 70 and six are women aged between 18 and 60. Four of the cases have been linked to the Norwood cluster, but health authorities are yet to work out the local source of two of the cases. Two acquired their infection overseas and five caught it while interstate.
• Hundreds of children who attend Willunga Primary School south of Adelaide will be required to quarantine until 12:01am on Christmas Day after their end-of-year whole-school assembly on Friday was declared a COVID exposure site. Unvaccinated family members who share a home with the child must also quarantine for 14 days, unless they can be appropriately separated.
• List of exposure sites.

QUEENSLAND
• 10 new from 9,356 tests, 1 locally acquired, 7 interstate travellers in home quarantine, 2 OS travellers in hotel quarantine.
• 56 active cases, 28 in hospital, 0 in ICU.
• The new locally acquired case was detected on the Sunshine Coast.
• A wave of new cases expected after today's border opening. New entry requirements.
• Queensland exposure sites list updated to include Jetstar flight from Cairns and locations in Brisbane and on the Gold and Sunshine Coasts.
• List of exposure sites.

ACT
• 3 new with 1,845 negative tests, all locally acquired.
• 63 active cases, 4 in hospital, 2 in ICU, 0 ventilated.
• List of exposure sites.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA
• 1 new from N/A tests, a returned OS traveller in hotel quarantine.
• 3 active cases in hotel quarantine, 0 in hospital.
• WA has now reached its 12+ 80% double dosed rate.
• WA to reopen its borders on Saturday February 5.

TASMANIA
• 0 new from 1,941 tests over 72 hours.
• 0 active cases, 0 in hospital.

NEW ZEALAND
• 103 new from 15,830 tests, 101 locally acquired, 2 OS travellers in managed isolation.
• 6,811 active cases, 61 in hospital, 4 in ICU.
• New local cases are Auckland 97, Bay of Plenty 1, Taranaki 1, Nelson-Marlborough 1, Canterbury 1.
• List of exposure sites.

AUSTRALIA
• Telehealth services to become a permanent part of the Australian healthcare system, following their success during COVID. More than 16 million Australians used telehealth during the worst of the pandemic. Since then, there have been more than 86 million telehealth consultations.

I chose this site purely because of the transcript as you don't need to download anythng, but you can if you wish, copy or play the video.

Raymond Broomhall is an Independent Barrister who deals in Criminal Law.
He is not an antivaxer for all other types of vaccines, and using the real words -nor is he an Anti-covid Vaxxer  either.

He purely states all Australians legal rights to choose whether to have the vaccine or not, but more so, what you should expect if you choose either one way or the other.

Much of what is happening in a criminal offence, re lockdowns, fired from employment, banning from certain areas, etc.

Its well worth the read to know 100% where you stand and your legal rights. Mandates are NOT mandatory, and no State can make something law outside of their state to affect others, unless Canberra sanctions it. Even so canberra sanctions, may even apply within the state as well.

https://pennybutler.com/c19-mandate-broomhall/

I also find these laws distressing for the many within the state who now seem t have a dictator at the helm.

He has gone too far and one wonders if a person who has done everything right, may also be incarcerated or held against their will.

Institute of Public Affairs www.ipa.org.au
Executive Summary
The Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill 2021 (“the
Bill”) introduced by the Victorian state government into the Legislative Assembly on 26
October is a demand for power that is unprecedented in Australia’s peacetime history.
The purpose of the Bill is to insert into the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008
provisions which would confer additional, extraordinary, and permanent powers to the
state government to enable it to respond to pandemics.
In effect, the Public Health and Wellbeing Amendment (Pandemic Management) Bill
2021 gives Daniel Andrews dictatorial powers. It would allow the Premier and his
officials to:
•  Impose indefinite lockdowns even if there were no cases of the virus in the country
(new sections 165AE & 165AI)
•  Imprison people without trial (new section 165BA(1)(b)
•  Arrest people because of their religion, political beliefs, or ethnic background
(new section 165AK(4)).
All these powers would be exercised without the control or scrutiny of the Parliament or
the courts (new sections 165AG(6), 165AQ(2), 165AT(3) & 165BI).
Analysis of the proposed legislation by the Institute of Public Affairs reveals the Bill
is fundamentally antithetical to parliamentary democracy. Specifically the proposed
legislation would violate fundamental democratic principles in the following six ways:
1.  The Bill gives the Premier and the health minister the power to rule by decree
indefinitely
2.  The Bill allows the health minister to use draconian powers against people based
on their religion, political beliefs, or ethnic background
3.  The Bill grants sweeping powers to authorised officers and abrogates the
privilege against self-incrimination
4.  The Bill grants authorised officers the power to detain people without trial
indefinitely which abrogates the ancient right of habeas corpus
5.  The Bill allows the health minister and authorised officers to exercise draconian
powers which could not be challenged in the courts
6.  The Bill allows the government to exercise draconian powers without the scrutiny
of parliament.
It is during an emergency in which the government is exercising extraordinary powers
that checks and balances on the use of that power is more important, as there is a greater
capacity for power to be abused. It is not an excuse to indefinitely suspend parliamentary
democracy, which will be the case if the Bill is passed by the Legislative Council.

One further death has been recorded in the state overnight, while 168 people are in hospital with the virus. Of those, 21 are in the intensive care unit.