Health News at Your Fingertips

Here’s the daily Covid snapshot, via AAP:

• There have been 55,114,521 vaccine doses administered in the national Covid-19 rollout up to Saturday, including 72,514 recorded in the previous 24 hours.
• Of that total, 34,749,316 have been administered by commonwealth facilities, an increase of 42,425 in the previous 24 hours.
• State and territory facilities have administered 20,365,205 vaccines, an increase of 30,089 in the previous 24 hours.
• 96.54% of people aged 16 and over have had at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and 94.74% are double vaccinated.
• A total of 12,195,821 people have received more than two doses – with a booster or top-up shot – an increase of 33,246 in the previous 24 hours.
• 29,311 new cases: 13,093 in NSW, 5,192 in Victoria, 3,669 in Queensland, 3,602 in Western Australia, 2,023 in South Australia, 932 in Tasmania, 649 in the ACT and 151 in the Northern Territory.
• The national death toll is 5,587 (+16): Victoria 2,644 (+4), NSW 1,980 (+7), Queensland 632 (+3), South Australia 222 (1), ACT 37, NT 31, Tasmania 26 and WA 13 (+1). (Two Queensland residents who died in NSW have been included in the official tolls of both states).

There have been 2,023 new Covid-19 cases reported in South Australia today, and one additional death.

Possible severe storms are heading to Victoria tomorrow and Tuesday.

This is an incredible story by my colleague Chris Knaus, about how an entire hospital was evacuated by health workers during a flood emergency in Ballina:

Labor will consider establishing a civilian natural disaster agency rather than use defence forces to respond to floods and bushfires, Paul Karp reports.

The shadow defence minister, Brendan O’Connor, cited the “increased incidence of natural disasters and also the need for our defence force to be trained for military purposes” as reasons to consider a separate agency.

O’Connor’s comments to the ABC on Sunday come as Scott Morrison continued to defend the pace of the Australian defence force emergency response, arguing that the community “are always the first” on scene because it is not possible to have “an ADF base around the corner in every town”.

Here are some more details about the support package the NSW premier, Dominic Perrottet, announced earlier.

The NSW government will fast-track access to essential trauma and recovery services to communities hardest hit by the recent flooding in NSW as part of a $25m funding package.

Perrottet said this package will provide mental health support to people in flood-affected communities across the state to help them get through the recovery as they begin to rebuild.

Deputy premier Paul Toole said the investment will have an initial focus on communities across the northern rivers, with other areas likely to be included as the full impact of the floods becomes clearer. He said:

The task before us is complex and extensive. People’s mental health will not only be affected by the floods but by the enormity of the clean-up effort and the uncertainty it brings.

NSW Health will support the immediate mental health needs of the northern NSW community by deploying mental health clinicians from northern NSW, mid-north coast and northern Sydney local health districts. Teams from Hunter New England and western NSW local health districts are also being prepared to travel to northern NSW to assist.

There will be $5m in grants allocated to non-government organisations to deliver local trauma and recovery programs so support is available long after the clean-up has finished.

The Wellbeing Package includes:

• $7 m over three years to fund Primary Health Networks to engage both clinical and non-clinical workforce, including staff for the Safe Havens, to boost local access to psychological and clinical support.
• $5m over three years to establish grants program for NGOs to fund trauma-based programs. Key focus on supporting young people, older residents and Aboriginal communities.
• $5 m for statewide needs based resourcing and support.
• $3.5m over three years to appoint Headspace and Lifeline work with affected communities to identify what each community needs.
• $3.5m over three years to recruit 10 Local Recovery Coordinators who will coordinate service delivery and identify emerging issues.
• $1m to set up four pop-up Safe Havens in the areas hardest hit.

If you, or someone you know, is thinking about suicide or experiencing a personal crisis or distress, please seek help immediately by calling 000 or one of these services:

• Lifeline 13 11 14
• Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467
• NSW Mental Health Line 1800 011 511

Queensland’s police commissioner says it is an “absolute miracle” no one died in a head on collision between a patrol van and a ute driven by a man allegedly fleeing a stabbing.

Katarina Carroll says the 37-year-old senior constable driving the van is in a stable condition in intensive care after “extensive surgery” overnight but will require months of rehabilitation, AAP reports.

However she was surprised no one was killed after watching the “confronting” dash cam footage of the crash that hospitalised another two officers aged 24 and 23 – the latter a recruit yet to be sworn in – and the man.

“Thankfully all officers are safe and alive,” Carroll said on Sunday.

If you saw that video, I just don’t know how people survived. There was no reducing of speed by the offending vehicle. It is absolutely extraordinary.

It is extraordinarily confronting and how they survived is just an absolute miracle.

Officers were heading to the scene of a reported stabbing at Moon Street in Caboolture before 3pm on Saturday when they collided with a white ute police believe was being driven by the alleged assailant.

Superintendent John Hallam confirmed they were investigating whether the man deliberately drove into the van.

“It is really difficult to say at this point in time,” he said.

A man has been charged with murder after a woman was found dead in a South Australian home, AAP reports.

Police found the 26-year-old woman’s body inside the home at Millicent, about 50km north-west of Mount Gambier, late on Saturday night.

The 25-year-old Millicent man was arrested at the scene and interviewed by police before being charged with murder.

He will remain in police custody until facing Mount Gambier magistrates court on Tuesday. Police say the man and woman were known to each other and it was not a random incident.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

Lifeline 13 11 14

Let’s recap the news and events so far today:

• Flood damage has left 25% of some 15,000 Hawkesbury-Nepean Valley properties that have been assessed so far for damage “uninhabitable”, recovery coordinator Dean Betts said.
• NSW premier Dominic Perrottet has said the deployment of Australian Defence Force troops and rescue teams would be examined as part of a review into the response to the flooding event. Currently there are still 23 evacuation orders in place across the state, with the premier announcing “this event is not over”.
• Meanwhile the federal government will provide $35.9m to ensure communities affected by the Queensland and New South Wales floods can continue access health services, including mental health support.
• Queenslanders have been warned to avoid “disaster tourism” and stay off the Brisbane River, with the clearing of debris caused by devastating floods expected to take weeks. Maritime authorities say more than 1,000 tonnes of debris have already been removed from Brisbane waterways.
• In Covid-19 news, NSW has reported 13,093 new Covid-19 infections along with seven deaths. A further four Covid-19 deaths and 5,192 new cases have been reported in Victoria. In Western Australia, 3,602 new cases were reported to 8pm last night, and WA Health confirmed on Sunday that a woman in her 80s who tested positive has died.
• The prime minister Scott Morrison said he believes Australians understand why petrol prices are going up but won’t say whether there will be help in the budget at the end of the month through a cut in fuel excise.

WA Health is reporting a total of 3,602 new cases to 8pm last night. There are currently 24,126 active cases in Western Australia.

Sadly, WA Health confirmed a woman in her 80s who tested positive has died. Due to patient confidentiality, no further information will be released by the department on the death.

To 8pm last night, there were 122 people with Covid-19 in hospital, including 5 in ICU.