Australia politics live news: Scott Morrison speaks; NSW reports 818 Covid cases, three deaths; Victoria gives update as 71 cases recorded

Prime minister says ‘this cannot go on forever’ as he discusses path out of pandemic; NSW reports 818 new cases; Victoria reports 71; parliament returns in locked-down ACT. Follow updates live

3.48am BST

The “eligible’’ population when it comes to vaccinations does not currently include children (outside of vulnerable children aged 12-15).

No vaccine has been approved for children younger than 12 as yet. And there isn’t enough mRNA supply, at this stage, for the program to be opened up to over-12-year-olds more widely.

Weimar says some who test tested are asymptomatic, but adds: “We have examples of children collapsing at school and vomiting at school, that is how ill they are. And then we go to the house of and we realise a number of people in the household are positives. Very symptomatic.”

3.45am BST

ACT

Back to Covid politics, ACT chief minister Andrew Barr says the “common sense’’ approach to the national plan is understanding it in context of what is happening with Covid nationwide:

I think it is very important, as I have been stressing throughout this process, to understand the detail of the national plan and it has been very disappointing that both some senior politicians in Australia and some media outlets have glossed over the detail and I think that has led to a lot of confusion in the community.

I don’t think Australians want to embrace more people getting infected with Covid and more people finding themselves in hospital and intensive care or [dying].

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Source: The Guardian