- The federal government will reduce the interval between people's second dose and booster COVID-19 vaccine to four months following advice from The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).
- Health Minister Greg Hunt said the interval will be brought forward to four months from 4 January and to three months from 31 January.
- Chief Health Officer Paul Kelly says case numbers are ‘not the most important’ but encourages people to get their booster shots.
- In NSW a mask mandate for indoor settings, except private homes, came into effect from today until January 27. Density limits on hospitality venues and mandatory QR check-ins will be in place from December 27 to January 27.
- Victoria introducing stricter mask rules on Thursday, and Western Australia mandating masks for all public indoor settings and nightclubs until 28 December
- Travellers in Victoria face delays as airline crew forced into isolation on Christmas Eve.
- The list of exposure sites in Perth has grown as authorities rush to find out whether the virus was spread by an infected backpacker from Queensland.
COVID-19 STATS:
NSW recorded 5,612 locally acquired cases and one death.
Victoria recorded 2,095 new community cases and eight deaths.
Queensland recorded 589 cases, the ACT 102, Tasmania 27
Quarantine and restrictions state by state:
Travel
Financial help
There are changes to the COVID-19 Disaster Payment once states reach 70 and 80 per cent fully vaccinated:
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