Health News at Your Fingertips

A large crowd of anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination protesters has moved out of Brisbane’s CBD botanic gardens and is now gathered outside Queensland’s state parliament building.

Royal Melbourne hospital says two patients and a staff member have tested positive for Covid-19. Contact tracing and testing is under way.

Michael Kidd says more Australians than ever before are reaching out for mental health support. Calls to Lifeline and Beyond Blue are up 30% since the pandemic started:

We need to be supporting each other and show our love and our care to our family members and to our neighbours and our friends.

Here are some numbers that you should keep safe and hand to your friends and loved ones struggling with these lockdowns.

• Beyond Blue: 1800 512 348
• Lifeline: 131 114
• Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800

Australia’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Michael Kidd, is giving an update on coronavirus numbers and vaccine rates.

This is on another record day for new infections, when NSW reported 825 new cases.

Here are some of the key numbers.

• There have been 894 locally acquired new cases reported in the last 24 hours.
• There are 554 people in hospital – including 94 in intensive care and 36 are on ventilators.
• Friday was a record day for vaccinations with 310,524 doses given.
• More than 80% of people aged 60 and over have received at least one vaccine dose.
• Some 51.8% of eligible people have had at least one vaccine dose and 1.7m have been given in the past week.

The Department of Defence has released these images of Australians and Afghan visa holders boarding an Australian Air Force Globemaster plane at the airport in Kabul.

A flight with 80 people on board – which included some New Zealanders – arrived in Australia from Kabul earlier today.

There are now reports of an anti-lockdown protest in Brisbane, joining a large march in Melbourne and a smaller demonstration in Sydney.

A Nine News helicopter shows a large crowd gathered in Brisbane’s CBD botanical gardens, which are next to the state’s parliament building.

A plane is shown dragging a banner above Brisbane with the words “LOCKDOWN INSANITY = CHILD ABUSE”.

Thanks to Ben Smee. You have me again, Graham Readfearn, for a few more hours now.

The protest in Melbourne has calmed for the time being.

Large numbers of protesters have backed away from a police barricade near Flinders Street station.

In Melbourne, the main tranche of protesters has reached a police line near Flinders Street station.

Objects are being thrown at officers. As yet there has been no attempt to break through the line.