• SA records highest daily COVID cases in four weeks
• Eastern states to relax mask mandates
• NZ COVID cases hit new daily record
• Libs commit to new Adelaide Aquatic Centre, pledge $55m less
• US imposes first sanctions on Russia for ‘invasion’
• Australia’s national security committee convenes over Ukraine crisis
• Port Augusta booze restrictions extended for a month
• Horror day on South Australian roads
• Queen to miss engagements due to COVID symptoms

SA records highest daily COVID cases in four weeks

South Australia has recorded its highest number of daily COVID cases in four weeks, with 1958 new infections reported today.

The last time the number was above this was on January 26, with 2401 cases.

Yesterday there were 1378 new cases.

SA Health reported no new COVID-related deaths today.

There are 192 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including 14 people in intensive care, with three people requiring a ventilator.

There are currently 14,119 active cases in the state.

SA Health said that yesterday 10, 598 people received a PCR test in South Australia – a 20.3 per cent increase on the previous 24 hours.

“Of the test results returned yesterday, 1,521 PCR tests were positive, while 437 positive Rapid Antigen Test results were reported,” SA Health said in its daily update.

The numbers of school students isolating – either infected with COVID or as contacts of cases – have been creeping up since all year levels returned to classrooms on February 14.

Latest data from the Education Department shows that on Monday and Tuesday this week, 1.6 per cent of public school students were away from school for COVID-related reasons, up from 1.4 per cent on Friday and 0.7 per cent at the start of Week 2.

On Tuesday, 258 teachers and 180 school services officers were absent for COVID-related reasons, either infected, isolating or caring for someone else.

That’s an increase on Monday’s figures, when 230 teachers and 151 school services officers were absent for COVID reasons.

Eastern states to relax mask mandates

New South Wales and the ACT are the latest eastern states to ease mask-wearing rules following a similar softening of mandates in Queensland and Victoria.

From 6pm on Friday, masks will no longer be required to be worn indoors in the ACT except for public transport along with high-risk settings such as hospitals, aged care facilities and prisons.

Students in years 7 to 12 will still need to wear masks if they are in indoor areas at school.

However, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet announced this morning that high school students and staff in NSW won’t have to wear masks any longer as a swathe of COVID-19 restrictions ease in schools next week.

Perrottet said the relaxation of measures was a sensible approach that will give students, staff and parents more freedom to enjoy school life while keeping the school community safe.

Teachers and staff at primary schools and childcare centres will no longer have to mask up from March 7.

NSW reported 8931 new COVID-19 cases and six more deaths on Wednesday.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced yesterday that her state will scrap face mask mandates in most indoor settings and density limits at most venues next week, as its COVID-19 outbreak fades.

The face mask mandate and density limits in Queensland will be eased from 6pm on Friday March 4.

“Masks will no longer be required in most settings, you won’t need them at work or in school or at the shops, staff and patrons won’t be required to wear them at cafes, pubs and restaurants,” Palaszczuk told parliament on Tuesday.

Density limits in Queensland will also be scrapped for private homes, weddings and funerals and there will be no limits in food courts, hairdressers, gyms, private venues and universities.

Queensland today recorded 6300 new COVID-19 cases and 37 deaths, the second-highest number of daily fatalities recorded in the state since the pandemic began.

Victoria has recorded another 6926 COVID-19 infections and 17 people have died with the virus.

The latest figures come as the state is days from further restrictions easing, with indoor mask-wearing and working from home rules to be scrapped from 11.59pm on Friday.

Primary school students in year 3 or above will continue to wear masks, as will teachers, but secondary students will not.

Masks will still be required on public transport, in taxis and rideshares, on planes, in airports and at hospitals and care facilities.

Hospitality, retail, court and corrective services workers in Victoria will also still have to don a mask.

Tasmania this morning recorded 842 new coronavirus cases.

South Australia’s daily case numbers will be announced this afternoon.

NZ COVID cases hit new daily record

New Zealand has posted a record 3297 community COVID-19 cases, amid another increase in hospitalisations.

The coronavirus is straining the country’s health system like at no other time during the pandemic.

On Wednesday, health officials reported 179 people were in hospital including one in intensive care.

The number in hospital, and the single-day increase, are the highest recorded in NZ.

One in every eight tests are returning positive, showing how widespread infections currently are.

Auckland reported 1729 cases – a small drop from Tuesday – but other areas across the country have jumped.

The Waikato (297 cases), Christchurch (176), Bay of Plenty (157) and Wellington (151) are in the midst of major outbreaks.

The Southern region, which includes Queenstown and Dunedin, recorded a huge jump to 455 cases, which the health ministry has attributed to a data reconciliation.

Public health experts hope NZ’s high vaccine rates and ongoing booster campaign will see it avoid death rates suffered by Australia during its recent outbreak.

As of Wednesday, 94.9 per cent of eligible Kiwis have been double-dosed, with 67.7 per cent also receiving a booster shot.

The children’s vaccination campaign lags. Less than half (48.5 per cent) of Kiwis aged five to 11 have been vaccinated, including 28.8 per cent of Maori kids.

Libs commit to new Adelaide Aquatic Centre, pledge $55m less

The Liberals have responded to Labor’s election pledge for a new $80 million Adelaide Aquatic Centre but are only committing $25 million in State Government funds towards the project, arguing the facility should be jointly funded by all three levels of government. 

Labor announced on February 12 that, if elected, it would put $80 million towards building a new Aquatic Centre to replace the ageing facility on Jeffcott Road in North Adelaide.

The Opposition also said its proposal would see the State Government operate the centre rather than the Adelaide City Council.

The Liberals responded this morning pledging just $25 million in State Government funds towards a new “$75 million – $85 million” facility.

The remaining money would come from the Adelaide City Council and Federal Government, the latter of which is yet to make a funding commitment for the project.

Council would also continue to operate the facility under the Liberals’ proposal, which Treasurer Rob Lucas claims will save taxpayers $2 million in operating costs each year.

“There is no doubt that the Adelaide City Council and the Federal Government should be co-funding this community facility – it is not and should not be the sole responsibility of South Australian taxpayers,” he said in a statement.

“The State Government and the Council have now committed funding and the final decision rests with the Federal Government.”

Lucas said the State Government would be providing “precisely the amount of funding the Adelaide City Council requested” in a project submission last November.

Shadow Treasury spokesperson Stephen Mullighan labelled the Liberals’ proposal a “half-baked” idea.

“It beggars belief Steven Marshall has got no problem spending $662m on a basketball stadium no one wants but has a problem spending a fraction of this amount to rebuild a heavily-used, much-loved aquatic centre,” Mullighan said.

US imposes first sanctions on Russia for ‘invasion’

President Joe Biden provides an update on the situation in Russia and Ukraine from the East Room of the White House on Tuesday, February 22. Photo: Chris Kleponis/Pool via CNP

President Joe Biden says the United States is imposing a first tranche of sanctions against Russia for “the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine” and promised that more would come if Moscow goes further into the country.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the White House, Biden said the US would impose sanctions against two large Russian financial institutions and Russian sovereign debt.

Starting on Wednesday, he said, sanctions would begin against Russian elites and their family members as well.

President Vladimir Putin on Monday told Russia’s defence ministry to deploy “peacekeeping” forces into two breakaway regions of Ukraine after recognising them as independent, defying Western warnings that such a step would be illegal and wreck peace negotiations.

“This is the beginning of a Russian invasion of Ukraine,” Biden said.

“Russia has now undeniably moved against Ukraine by declaring these independent states.”

The US had promised severe sanctions against Russia in the event it invades Ukraine, which the White House has previously defined as “any movement of troops across the border.”

Biden said the sanctions in the initial tranche applied to VEB bank and Russia’s military bank, referring to Promsvyazbank, which does defence deals. He said the sanctions against Russia’s sovereign debt meant the Russian government would be cut off from Western financing.

“As Russia contemplates its next move, we have our next move prepared as well,” Biden said.

“Russia will pay an even steeper price if it continues its aggression, including additional sanctions.”

The United Kingdom has also slapped sanctions on five Russian banks and three high-net-worth individuals. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Germany announced that it has taken steps to halt the process of certifying the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia in response to the Kremlin’s actions.

The decision is a significant move for the German government, which had long resisted pulling the plug on the project despite pressure from the United States and some European countries to do so.

Elsewhere, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the military alliance believes Russia is still planning a big assault on Ukraine following its recognition of two separatist regions in the former Soviet republic’s east.

“Every indication is that Russia is continuing to plan for a full-scale attack of Ukraine,” Stoltenberg told a news conference in Brussels.

Australia’s national security committee convenes over Ukraine crisis

Prime Minister Scott Morrison will convene cabinet’s national security committee this morning and is expected to finalise what sanctions and measures Australia will introduce in response to the crisis in Ukraine.

Australia has so far ruled out direct military assistance and is supporting Ukraine’s cyber-capability. It has left the door open for technical military support but the prime minister declined to elaborate on what the term meant.

Sanctions by the United States and United Kingdom will target Russian billionaires and financial institutions while Germany put the brakes on a new gas pipeline.

The committee is this morning expected to finalise what sanctions and measures Australia will introduce.

International security and intelligence professor John Blaxland said Australia would look to support European and NATO action “without overstepping the mark”.

“I’m a little bit worried that this may once again become a political football and we need to be very, very cautious at this point,” he told the Nine Network ahead of the meeting on Wednesday.

The head of the Ukrainian embassy in Canberra Volodymyr Shalkivskyi wants the Australian government to join the sanctions to show a unified position with international partners.

“There’s need for significant expansion of sanctions. Sanctions are the most effective way right now to influence the situation,” the Charge d’Affaires told the ABC.

“We would like to avoid full-scale war. There is still a door open for diplomacy but we are not ready to sacrifice fundamental principles of freedom (and) independence”.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne said Australia is reviewing options relating to Ukraine’s pro-Russia breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk, and an announcement would be made as soon as possible.

“We will use whatever tools we have available to us to the greatest degree to ensure that we are applying sanctions in conjunction with our counterparts,” Senator Payne told the ABC.

She also reserved the right to summon or expel the Russian ambassador but says the focus remains on targeted sanctions.

“As to how we deal with diplomats, that’s a matter I’ll turn my mind to at an appropriate time,” Senator Payne said.

Port Augusta booze restrictions extended for a month

(AAP Image/Melanie Foster)

Tight restrictions on the sale of alcohol in Port Augusta have been extended for a further four weeks, the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner has announced, despite “mixed” feedback and “frustration” from the community.

The “temporary” alcohol restrictions – which came into force on February 8 in response to an “increase in alcohol-related offences and anti-social behaviour” – prohibit Port Augusta bottle shops from opening before 11am and limit customer purchases of spirits, fortified wine/port and 2L cask wine to one per day.

Liquor and Gambling Commissioner Dini Soulio on Tuesday said the restrictions would be extended for another four weeks based on advice from SA Police and local support services that there has been a “decline in alcohol-related incidents” since the curbs were introduced.

“The restrictions on opening times appear to have had a positive impact, with a drop in public consumption of alcohol, particularly earlier in the morning, that has enabled health and outreach services to engage with clients to provide counselling, medical assessments and other referral services,” Soulio said in a statement.

However, Soulio said the requirement for all bottle shops to record transactions in an electronic or handwritten record would be dropped, as would the classification of spirits as a restricted item.

“I appreciate there have been concerns about the requirements around recording identification and purchases on restricted sales and the practicalities of doing this,” he said, noting “mixed” community feedback on the overall proposal.

“I have considered the economic impact to licensees and inconvenience to local residents and tourists.

“And while the restrictions on purchases of spirits have been removed, I consider some restriction is still needed in relation to the quantities of cask wine and fortified wine that can be purchased in a single transaction to minimise bulk purchases of those products.”

Over the last fortnight, there has been only one acute intoxication presentation at the Port Augusta Hospital compared to “two to three per day” before the restrictions were introduced, according to data provided to the Liquor and Gambling Commissioner.

However, customers have also expressed “frustration” about the later opening times and licensees have been concerned about the expiry of 4L and 5L casks of wine.

The restrictions will either be revoked, varied or extended at close of trade on March 22.

Horror day on South Australian roads

Police are investigating two fatal car crashes in South Australia over the past 24 hours.

The first occurred in Monbulla, near Penola, in the state’s South East shortly after 6am yesterday when a Toyota Hilux crashed and rolled at the intersection of Clay Wells Road and Kinley Road, according to police.

A 21-year-old man from OB Flat, the Hilux’s sole occupant, died at the scene.

Around three hours later on Kangaroo Island, Police say they responded to reports of a crash between a truck and a car at the intersection of Davies Roads and Hog Bay in Pelican Lagoon.

A 42-year-old Kangaroo Island woman, the driver of the car, died at the scene, although the truck driver was unharmed.

The two separate crashes mark the eighth and ninth deaths on South Australian roads this year, compared to 14 at the same point last year.

Police say Major Crash Officers are investigating the circumstances surrounding both crashes.

Queen to miss engagements due to COVID symptoms

Queen Elizabeth will miss a planned virtual engagement on Tuesday because she is still experiencing mild cold-like symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19, a spokesman for Buckingham Palace says.

The palace announced that the Queen had tested positive on Sunday but was expected to carry on with light engagements, an indication that the world’s current oldest and longest-reigning monarch was not seriously unwell.

She sent a message of condolence to Brazil on Monday to say she was deeply saddened by recent fatal floods, and was planning to go ahead with other virtual diplomatic audiences scheduled with foreign ambassadors, the palace said.

She will now decide nearer to the time whether to press ahead with further engagements this week, such as her weekly conversation with Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday.

News of the positive test has sharpened concerns about the health of the world’s longest-reigning monarch two weeks after she marked 70 years on the British throne.

The 95-year-old, who has been fully vaccinated against coronavirus, quipped last week to Palace staff that she could not move much, and she spent a night in hospital last October for an unspecified ailment.

-With AAP and Reuters