Latest snapshot of the coronavirus impact

By | March 2, 2021

* The federal government has stuck by its time frame for the COVID-19 vaccination rollout despite initial delays, with administered doses falling well short of the 60,000 nationwide target for the first week.

* As of Tuesday, nearly 42,000 first-dose vaccinations have taken place.

* The federal government has also insisted the vaccination of all aged care residents within six weeks of the rollout’s start remains on course.

* Federal biosecurity powers have been renewed for another three months until mid-June, which gives the government the ability to limit such things as cruise ship movement and international travel.

* Victoria’s state of emergency will continue for another nine months after the Andrews government struck a deal with the Victorian Greens. The state on Tuesday recorded its fourth straight virus-free day.

* Western Australia could maintain border checks and track those who enter the state even after the COVID-19 pandemic, Premier Mark McGowan says.

* Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says Australians can have confidence booking Easter holidays in her state amid wariness about border closures, with the state going 50 days without a local COVID-19 case.

* The Therapeutic Goods Administration is batch testing the first doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine this week, with the aim of rolling it out from March 8. The first 30,000 doses landed in Sydney on Sunday.

AUSTRALIAN CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS:

* The national death toll is 909: Victoria 820, NSW 56, Tasmania 13, WA 9, Queensland 6, SA 4, ACT 3 (Two Queensland residents who died in NSW have been included in the official tolls of both states).

GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS:

* Cases: at least 114,428,000

* Deaths: at least 2,538,000

* Recovered: at least 64,620,000

Data current as of 1700 AEDT on March 2, taking in federal and state/territory government updates and Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre figures.

Australian Associated Press

Western Advocate – Health