Weekly COVID news at a glance

1  New restrictions commenced in NSW

New restrictions have been announced for Greater Sydney, as New South Wales investigates how its latest COVID-19 case contracted the virus.

All of New South Wales is still a “green zone” for those travelling into Victoria. Only those who have been to an exposure site in Sydney should be following NSW health advice and should not leave the state. Travellers will still need to obtain a Victorian Border Permit to enter Victoria and list areas they have visited in New South Wales.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said authorised officers at the airport will be increasing permit checks for flights from Sydney. He said those who have visited exposure sites listed on NSW Health should be self-isolating and obtaining a COVID-19 test or contacting the Victorian Department of Health.

2  The ban to India flights

The Indian-Australian community is urging the Australian government to bring home Australians stranded in India, after direct flights from the country were halted until at least May 15. Around 9-thousand Australians have now registered as wanting to come home from India through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Dr Jagvinder Singh Virk, chairman of the Indian Australia Strategic Alliance, said he has not seen any indication from the government for when flights will return. He said members of his community have instead been looking at ways to bring people home, but the government needs to approve and create space for them to quarantine safely.

The Government says the ban is necessary to take pressure off Australia’s quarantine system and reduce positive cases entering the country.

3  Indian Australian cricket players stranded in Maldives

Australian Indian Premier League cricket players have arrived in the Maldives, fleeing India after the tournament was suspended due to the country’s COVID-19 crisis.

Only Chennai Super Kings batting coach and former Australian Test player Michael Hussey remains in the country after testing positive for the virus. All 40 players will remain in the Maldives, uncertain when they can return home due to Australia’s border closure to India until at least May 15.

Australian Prime Minister Scott is expected to lift the ban then, but the cricket players must still wait at least a week until they can return. Upon arrival, the team will undergo a mandatory 14-day quarantine before they can re-enter the community.

4  Vaccine rollout moves further stages

General practitioners will soon be able to administer double the current number of vaccine doses, as the federal government aims to ramp up nationwide vaccinations.

From next week, more than 3-thousand local doctors will receive 150 vaccine doses a week, up from 50, and a further one-thousand doctors will double their current dosage supply.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said increased supply will ensure more people can get vaccinated as the country moves into further stages of the vaccine rollout. The next stage includes everyone over 50, whether or not they are high-risk or a frontline worker.

So far across Australia, almost 2.4-million vaccine doses have been administered, 240-thousand of which have been in Victoria.

5  Victorian artist-in-residence program

Artists who lost their jobs during COVID-19 are turning to teaching art in government schools across Victoria in a new Victorian artist-in-residence program. Regional Arts Victoria, Creative Victoria and the Department of Education and Training founded the Creative Workers in Schools program.

As part of the program, 150 artists are sent to schools without a dedicated art teacher where they undergo a paid residency for six months. Artists Lucy Parkinson and her partner Gonzalo Varela told the ABC they felt art helped kids to slow down and reduce their stress in such a turbulent time.

According to the June 2020 PAC Australia Update, almost 75-per-cent of casual working artists lost their jobs due to the pandemic.

6  Regional job vacancies in high rate

Regional job vacancies across Australia have hit an all-time high, with the lack of potential employees leaving businesses desperate. There are now over 66 thousand job vacancies in regional areas, with  experts noting that a lack of migrant workers due to the pandemic as a key factor in the shortage.

The job vacancies have now surpassed the numbers seen during the mining boom a decade ago, according to data from the Regional Australia Institute. The institute’s Chief Economist Dr Kim Houghton believes that getting skilled overseas workers back into the country was key but there  needed to be a longer-term strategy, with more investment in regional TAFE colleges and post-school learning opportunities.