Calls are being made for Australian workers to receive half a day’s paid leave to go and get vaccinated.
Unions are calling on the NSW government, being the largest employer in the country, to introduce the leave for public servants and make the case at National Cabinet.
“Every barrier and impediment to vaccination must be removed as soon as possible,” Unions NSW Secretary Mark Morey said.
“There are many things slowing the vaccine rollout, but one element is the cost of missing work, especially for people who are insecurely employed and on modest incomes.
“As things currently stand, employees have no right to get vaccinated on work time.
“Workers can’t even use their sick leave to get vaccinated under the national employment standards. This needs to be fixed, immediately.
The worker is one of 170 fly-in, fly-out workers from an NT gold mine where a positive case was detected on Saturday and who were now in Queensland.
“We’ve got enormous risks throughout our state,” Dr Young said, also highlighting the positive Virgin crew member who had taken five flights, including one to the Gold Coast and another to Brisbane.
The cases are on top of three new cases recorded yesterday, two of which are not linked to the NSW outbreak and a third that is another miner who returned from working in the Northern Territory.
In addition, anyone who has visited Greater Sydney is also subject to the stay-at-home order currently in place in NSW.
The LGAs of Waverley, Woollahra, Randwick and the City of Sydney have also been a declared COVID-19 hotspot, backdated to June 11.
Anyone who has been in these LGAs will not be allowed to enter Queensland, unless they are a returning Queensland resident or have an exemption.
Anyone allowed to enter will need to go into hotel quarantine for a period of two weeks.
High-level restrictions are expected to be reintroduced across South Australia today around the use of masks and density limits with growing concerns COVID-19 could be going undetected.
The state has recorded no new local cases of COVID-19 however tough travel restrictions are in place for every state except Tasmania.
A hard border is now in place with NSW, the ACT, NT, WA and Queensland.
People who have visited Tier 1 or 2 exposure sites in Victoria are also prohibited from entering.
A list of exemptions are provided on the SA Health website.
The Northern Territory on Sunday recorded four new local cases of the virus via a mine worker who flew in from Queensland.
As a result, Darwin and surrounds have entered a 48-hour lockdown, the first since the outbreak of the pandemic.
The lockdown includes Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield.
So far, the cases have all been linked to the Granites gold mine where a worker was diagnosed with having the virus after staying in hotel quarantine in Brisbane.
Residents will only be allowed to leave their home to receive medical care, receive a COVID-19 vaccination, buy essential goods and services, exercise or provide care to a family member.
Phase one COVID-19 restrictions are being reintroduced in Perth and Peel for the next three days at least after a positive case from Sydney entered the state.
Health Minister Roger Cook confirmed the latest infection on Sunday morning and said the woman aged in her 50s had been out in the community while infectious for three days.
She is believed to have been visiting Sydney, where she had dined at the Lyfe Café in Bondi on June 19.
She tested negative upon returning back to WA before later developing symptoms and visited several locations while potentially infectious.
The exposure sits are three primary schools in the northern suburbs and Ikea Perth.
Masks will now be mandatory indoors, on public transport, and outdoors where physical distancing is not possible.
Public events that cannot be restricted to 150 people will be cancelled or played without spectators.
A 30-person limit has been reintroduced in all homes for private gatherings.
Hospitality, entertainment venues, retail, beauty/hairdressers, recreation centres and places of worship can remain open but must comply with the two-square-metre rule, with a maximum of 150 people.
Community sport is allowed and weddings and funerals can also go ahead but will be limited to a maximum of 150 attendees.
Anyone who enters a regional area from the Perth-Peel region is required to wear a mask as per requirements in Perth-Peel, and travel should be minimised.
Western Australia has implemented COVID-19 testing requirements for travellers returning from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and recently from New Zealand.
People, both symptomatic and asymptomatic, who have been to a listed exposure site at the dates and times indicated are required to be tested and adhere to isolation requirements.
A hard border has also been introduced with NSW.
Face masks are now required in certain public settings within the ACT.
While there is currently no community transmission, masks will add another line of defence as we work to keep COVID-19 out of Canberra.
The ACT has now declared NSW, the NT, Queensland, Victoria and New Zealand as areas of concern.
Non-ACT residents who have been in the Greater Sydney, Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour regions of NSW are not permitted to travel into the ACT unless they have an approved exemption.
The same restrictions apply to people in the NT and Queensland who have visited listed exposure sites.
In addition, anyone hoping to travel from Victoria into the ACT will need to complete an online declaration form within 24 hours prior to arrival.
Tasmania has introduced a hard border with most of Greater Sydney.
Anyone who has been in any of the NSW LGAs listed as high-risk on or since June 21 have been told to isolate immediately and arrange a COVID-19 test.
“You need to be tested at least five days after you left the high-risk LGA and will be able to leave isolation if you receive a negative result,” the health department said in its latest alert.
Anyone who has visited a high-risk LGA, including returning Tasmanians, is no longer able to enter Tasmania unless approved as an essential traveller.
For the NT, Darwin, Palmerston and Litchfield have also been listed as high risk with travel restrictions now in place.
Tasmanian health authorities have also listed a number of venues in WA, Victoria and Queensland.
Anyone who has visited the listed locations at the specified dates and times listed below will not be permitted to travel to Tasmania.