Around 11 million doses of the COVID 19 vaccine have now been administered.
We are now tracking at around 1 million doses a week.
Sure, we’ve had our problems. Not all the calls we have made have turned out like we had hoped.
In a pandemic no country gets everything right. But having saved more than 30,000 lives, having supported over 3 million Australians through Jobkeeper and getting 1 million Australians back into work, we’ve also got a lot right.
After a difficult start, over recent months we have been turning the vaccination programme around. We’re definitely making up lost ground. Lieutenant General Frewen and his team in the Department of Health are doing a great job getting us back on track.
This daily infographic provides the total number of vaccine doses administered in Australia as of 26 July 2021. Stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccine information here: https://t.co/vqZuOLzB2Ppic.twitter.com/wnOm0w6WpE
— Australian Government Department of Health (@healthgovau) July 27, 2021
The program is accelerating even more with the new additional supply we have secured – around one million Pfizer doses now arriving every week.
As more and more Australians get vaccinated, we rob the virus of its potency and power to disrupt our lives.
Getting vaccinated protects you, your family and your community.
Though we are currently responding to the threat of the COVID Delta variant in many parts of Australia, we can be confident that we will emerge from this pandemic successfully as we have done before.
Our record in saving lives and livelihoods is world’s best. We see it clearly from the health and economic data. More than 30,000 lives saved and 1 million jobs restored. Very few countries can claim these results.
However, I understand Australians facing lockdowns are asking immediate questions about their incomes and about the weeks ahead, as well as the pathway back to normal life.
For Australians facing lockdowns, we are directly delivering financial support to individuals and businesses impacted by the lockdowns through Services Australia. And we are sharing costs with state governments delivering much needed support to small and medium sized businesses.
People who have lost more than 20 hours of work in the previous week can claim $600. People who have lost between 8 hours or a full day of work to 20 hours, can claim $375. This is the same level of support we provided with Jobkeeper last year.
For more information about accessing these payments in Greek visit www.servicesaustralia.gov.au or call the multilingual phone service on 131 202.This is in addition to other help like Medicare telehealth, mental health and child care gap fee relief to help respond to outbreaks when and where they occur.
Importantly, we are also setting out a pathway back to normal life. It is built on a clear premise: if you get vaccinated, we can make lockdowns, border closures and restrictions a thing of the past.
The National Cabinet has agreed to set out a four stage path. Moving from one stage to the next will depend on achieving vaccination targets of the population informed by the best health and economic advice and scientific modelling.
National Cabinet noted the extension of the COVID-19 Disaster Payment for Greater Sydney & VIC. It also agreed that in NSW State Clinics, second dose Pfizer apptments will be extended to up to 6 weeks between doses (within the recommended TGA timeframe).https://t.co/ERdV9H2onNpic.twitter.com/ejGsSvBigT
The plan recognises that Australians who get vaccinated pose less of a health risk to themselves and others than people who are not vaccinated, and should therefore face fewer or no restrictions as vaccination rates increase. It’s only fair.
I will be recommending these vaccination targets to Premiers and Chief Ministers in coming weeks so we all know what we are aiming for.
Stage 1 is where we are at now – suppressing the virus and offering every Australian an opportunity to be vaccinated, while we trial new ways to ease restrictions, like home quarantine.
Stage 2 is where have enough confidence in the vaccine take-up to shift our current focus on COVID case numbers to the numbers of people with serious illnesses, hospitalisations and fatalities.
This change means we will be able to ease restrictions for vaccinated residents.
In this stage, lockdowns will only be in extreme circumstances to prevent escalating hospitalisations and fatalities, not a few cases.
In Stage 3 we will be managing COVID-19 consistent with public health management of other infectious diseases, like the flu.
In this stage, we will see the complete end of lock downs and a continued easing of the border controls that have protected us for so long, so Australians can travel overseas again and we can lift restrictions at our airports.
Stage 4 is the final phase, the return of normal life.
In this stage, there will still be modest, but prudent controls at our borders, because the virus will never be eliminated. But for the most part COVID will be managed just like any other infectious disease.
Over the past 18 months, I have asked a great deal of Australians, and there is still a way to go – and we can all play our part in the weeks and months ahead.
During the COVID Pandemic we have not got everything right. But we have done better than almost every country in the world.
We now have to finish the job of getting our country vaccinated.
What we all have to do is clear: follow the public health advice; maintain social distancing; be COVID safe; and if you haven’t already done so, make your appointment to get vaccinated.
Australian men’s water polo team the Sharks posted their first victory of the Tokyo Olympics with an 11-8 win over the world No. 3 Croatians last night.
Goalkeeper Anthony Hrysanthos led the team to Australia’s first win over Croatia in Olympic history.
“[Hrysanthos] had an absolutely incredible game, can’t do better than that for your Olympic debut,” captain Aaron Young told Channel 7.
“We definitely have the hardest group here. Now we’re up in the mix… we (know we) can play against these bigger teams.”
Australia’s coach Elvis Fatovic addresses his players in Tokyo. (Getty)
The Sharks came home strong after taking a single-goal led into the final quarter.
The team fired three unanswered goals within three minutes in the final quarter to seal the match.
Hrysanthos led a brilliant defensive effort while Richard Campbell and Blake Edwards scored a combined five goals.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced a four-week extension of the state’s lockdown at the state’s coronavirus briefing this morning.
The Greater Sydney, Wollongong, Blue Mountains, Central Coast, and Shellharbour areas will remain in lockdown until at least August 28.
The Premier also tightened restrictions in the Parramatta, Georges River, and Campbelltown LGAs in Greater Sydney.
The eight LGAs in Greater Sydney which are now under strict restrictions are Cumberland, Canterbury-Bankstown, Blacktown, Liverpool, Fairfield, Parramatta, Campbelltown, and Georges River.
The Premier has eased the three-day COVID-19 testing mandate for two of these LGAs:
Fairfield: Only aged care and health care workers need to be tested every three days.
Canterbury- Bankstown area: Only essential workers need to be tested every three days.
📣STAY AT HOME ORDER – ADDITIONAL RESTRICTIONS across Greater Sydney incl. the Central Coast, Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour📣 pic.twitter.com/pTfIMsnFAx
A “singles bubble” has also been introduced to allow people living on their own to nominate a designated person to visit their home. It has to be the same person for the next four weeks. Those inside the eight LGAs must nominate a person inside the same area and within 10km. Those outside of the eight LGAs areas must nominate a person outside of these eight LGAs.
The Premier also announced that everybody will be restricted from shopping 10km outside of their local area.
NSW recorded 177 cases to the 24 hours to 8:00pm last night. At least 46 were infectious while in the community.
The state also recorded a COVID-19 related death of a woman in her 90’s. It’s the 11th COVID-19 related death during the current outbreak.
Restrictions were due to be lifted on July 31 but it became clear last week when the state’s number of COVID-19 daily case numbers continued to grow that the Delta outbreak was not yet under control.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Cyprus Prime Minister Nicos Anastasiades are in “perfect coordination” following a meeting to discuss Turkey’s advancements in Varosha.
Prime Minister Mitsotakis pointed to the UN Security Council’s condemnation against Turkey’s actions following the meeting in Athens on Tuesday evening.
“And how did Turkey react? Not only did it reject this response, it attributed it to propaganda dealt by Greece and Cyprus,” Mitsotakis said.
“Turkey claims Greece and Cyprus have misled the entire world, instead of questioning how its actions have managed to turn the entire world against it”.
(Photo: Associated Press)
Prime Minister Anastasiades says the support of international law is “something Mr. Erdogan must finally accept”.
The pair have maintained their willingness to create the appropriate conditions that will allow the UN Secretary General to reopen negotiations.
“We seek to restart the dialogue, with UN resolutions as our common ground,” Anastasiades says.
The Greek government has also responded to Turkey’s letter to the United Nations regarding the militarisation of the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean Islands with their own letter.
The letter rebuts Turkey’s calls for Greece to demilitarise the islands, in cooperation of the Treaty of Lausanne (1923) and the Treaty of Paris (1947).
“Once again we wish to reiterate that sovereignty over the islands, islets and rocks of the Aegean was ceded to Greece definitively and unconditionally by the above Treaties and any interpretation against the letter or spirit of these fundamental Treaties would amount to an unauthorised attempt to unilaterally review and modify them,” the Greek letter reads.
The letter adds that Turkey’s baseless, in legal terms, attempt to link its allegations of a purported demilitarisation obligation of the Greek islands “to the entitlement itself of these islands to maritime zones confirms attempts to negate Greek islands’ continental shelf and exclusive economic zone (EEZ), contrary to article 121(2) of the UNCLOS, which reflects customary international law, and which explicitly provides for the entitlement of islands to all maritime zones.”
Turkey announced last week that 3.5 per cent of the fenced-off area of Varosha will be demilitarised and opened for resettlement.
Prime Minister Mitsotakis reiterates Greece’s support for Cyprus and its opposition to Turkey’s desires of a two-state solution.
Prime Minister Anastasiades says the ultimate goal is to reach a sustainable and fruitful solution for all legal citizens of Cyprus, “while will allow us [Greek Cypriots] to coexist in peace with our [Turkish Cypriot] compatriots beyond guarantees and dependencies”.
Authorities are counting the toll after a wildfire swept through a pine forest north of Athens on Tuesday.
The fire has run up damages in the area, forced evacuations, and blanketed Athens in smoke before firefighting personnel was able to bring it under control.
“It was a difficult and dangerous fire,” Civil Protection chief Nikos Hardalias said.
“Fire crews had to operate between inhabited areas and between homes … The fire is currently receding, but is still burning at several different sites.”
(Source: Skai.gr)
Over 300 firefighters were joined by eight water-dropping planes and twelve helicopters to help extinguish the blaze.
A lull in wind conditions also helped contain the fire on Tuesday.
Residents in the Stamata area – 30km north of Athens – received cellphone alerts and were urged to keep doors and windows closed to shut out smoke and prevent sparks before they were evacuated.
The cause of the fire isn’t clear but local reports of arson are being investigated, authorities say.
The fire department is currently on high alert in several parts of Greece with temperatures set to soar to 43 degrees Celsius in central Greece in the next few days.
Greek tennis player, Maria Sakkari, has been defeated in the third round of the Tokyo Olympics by Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, 5-7 6-3 6-4.
As the match began, Svitolina got the first break of the match but in the seventh game of the set, Sakkari broke back, levelling things up.
The momentum was clearly with the Greek player who broke again when her opponent was serving in the following game. Things got interesting when Svitolina broke again to level things up at 5-5.
After over an hour of play, Sakkari finally broke the Ukrainian player for the third time in the set and consolidated the break, winning the set 7-5.
Ήττα για την Μαρία Σάκκαρη με 2-1 από τη Σβιτολίνα μετά από συναρπαστικό αγώνα και αποκλεισμός από το μονό. Συνεχίζει στο διπλό με τον Στέφανο Τσιτσιπά#TeamHellas🇬🇷 pic.twitter.com/myERySTLte
— Ηellenic Olympic Committee (@HellenicOlympic) July 27, 2021
In the following set, Svitolina raised her level. In the fourth game of the set, the Greek was broken and this was enough for the Ukrainian to seal the set 6-3 in her favour.
As the final set began, both players were striking the ball with real perfection. Sakkari was broken at first but then she struck right back.
But Svitolina got the break in the seventh game, which helped her edge closer towards the finishing line. In the end, she served for the set, winning 6-4 in 50 minutes.
The Ukrainian will now face the winner of the match between Karolina Pliskova and Camila Giorgi.
Louie Douvis and Natassia Chrysanthos are making a name for themselves in the field of Australian journalism after they were named as finalists in the NRMA Kennedy Awards for 2021.
Douvis, who is the Chief Photographer and Photo Editor at the Australian Financial Review (AFR) and Sydney Morning Herald (SMH), has been recognised in the ‘Outstanding Portrait’ category for his photograph of folk singer, Martha Marlow.
Meanwhile, Chrysanthos, who is an Education Reporter at the SMH, is in the running for ‘Young Journalist of the Year.’
To celebrate this exciting news, The Greek Herald spoke with both Douvis and Chrysanthos to find out more about their career trajectory and of course, to ask them how it feels to be recognised in the prestigious awards.
Louie Douvis:
Louie Douvis. Photo supplied.
1. Congratulations on being named a finalist in the Kennedy Awards 2021 in the category ‘Outstanding Portrait.’ How does it feel to be recognised?
It feels fantastic to be recognised in the outstanding portrait category of the Kennedys. I’ve been shooting portraits for many years and what I’ve learnt over time is good planning and preparation produce the best outcomes.
2. What portrait are you being recognised for?
The portrait I am being recognised for is a SMHSpectrum cover photo of folk singer, Martha Marlow. It came about after I shot another Spectrum cover and the editors and my manager, Mags King, were impressed with it. So when this opportunity came along, I accepted it immediately. Sometimes you just have to be at the front of people’s minds and take the opportunities when they arise, otherwise you may not get a second chance.
I decided I was going to really go for it [the photo] and I had something in mind, but I needed the right location close to where Martha lives in Waverley. It took me a couple of hours of scouting before the shoot to find the right location at Gordons Bay. The subject and I had also been briefed about what Martha should wear and the sort of feel we were looking for.
SMH Spectrum Cover of Martha Marlow by Louie Douvis. Photo supplied.
3. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
Both my parents are Greek and from the Peloponnese. My dad immigrated here in the 50’s and lived in Geelong for a few years, and mum in the 60’s. They met in Sydney and settled in the inner west suburb of Dulwich Hill where my sister and I grew up and went to school. I studied Applied Science at UTS, majoring in Geology, so I was not inclined to be a photographer at that stage of my life.
I graduated in 1992 and decided to travel around Europe that year, using the recession as an excuse, as much as a fact, to not be able to find work. After a few months of backpacking, it was time to face reality and come home. I applied for a few jobs in my field but still found it quite difficult so my parents, being good Greeks with contacts, said I should talk to a friend of theirs, Theo, who worked at the old printing press in Broadway. He had a nephew, Spiro, who worked as a copy boy and I was told to meet with him.
One thing led to another and I reluctantly accepted a casual job in the mail room for a couple of weeks. They kept calling me back whenever someone was on leave, which was often, so I pretty much worked full time for a while.
One day while I was doing my mail delivery rounds, I was having a chat with the Financial Review Photographic Editor, Greg Newington, and I asked him if I could do a desktop publishing course in photoshop. It had just come out and everyone was talking about it. I still wasn’t interested in photography but thought ‘why not.’ Soon after I ended up in that department as his assistant.
4.What inspired you to be a photographer?
I had no idea what I wanted to be. I knew I was good at geology at school, so I pursued that for as long as I could. Photography came about only because of the environment I was working in. There was a bit of redundant photographic gear just sitting in cupboards and I had plenty of opportunity. There were lots of very good and inspiring photographers working in the industry that I had access to back then, so I learnt a lot from them and from making lots of mistakes along the way.
SMH Spectrum Cover of Martha Marlow by Louie Douvis.
5. Tell us a little bit about your career. What do you enjoy most about your work?
I’ve mainly stuck with the AFR and have recently spent more time shooting across the Fairfax (Nine) mastheads rather than doing admin, as I enjoy it so much more. I do find editing interesting and listening to all the great minds in news is quite amazing.
I love rising to a big challenge and when I get that incredible result at the end. The great thing about photography is the instant gratification you get when your vision becomes a reality.
I also really enjoy meeting new people and getting to know a little bit about them. Talking to them and getting a bit of their personality is a vital part of the process. I’ve met and photographed everyone from Prime Ministers and captains of industry to average citizens and school kids. Understanding them and seeing what they’re about is incredibly fascinating to me.
6. Does your Greek heritage influence your work in any way?
It is a great privilege to have a Greek heritage and I feel so much richer for it. It especially comes in handy when travelling as so many people have a great love and story to tell about Greece. When I come across other Greeks while in my line of work, I feel a sense of pride. It’s inspiring to see so many doing terrific work in their chosen fields.
7. What are your future plans?
To keep going for as long as possible. It’s a tough and competitive industry so it’s important to keep learning and coming up with new ideas. Never be complacent, the minute you stop learning you may as well retire.
Natassia Chrysanthos:
Natassia Chrysanthos. Photo supplied.
1. Congratulations on being named a finalist in the Kennedy Awards 2021 in the category ‘Young Journalist of the Year.’ How does it feel to be recognised?
I am very grateful to be recognised for my work covering and exposing the problem of sexual assault within Sydney’s school communities. I believe it is a very important issue and that the conversations we’ve had about it as a community this year have been challenging but productive.
When I was at school, I would never have imagined such a candid public discussion about this often-pernicious culture would actually be possible. I feel privileged to have been part of bringing this conversation to a wider audience in the first place, and I am thankful that my role in it has been recognised with this nomination.
2. Tell us a little bit about yourself.
All four of my grandparents migrated to Australia from the Peloponnese in the 40s and 50s. All but one of them coming independently without much money in their pockets. One of my pappou’s, from Lefkohori, came to work on the Snowy Mountains Scheme, while one of my yiayia’s, from Agio Nikola, originally settled in Moree. My other two grandparents came from near Kalavryta. But they all eventually came to live in Sydney and my parents were both born in the city. Mum and dad met through family connections in the 70s. I went to school in Sydney and eventually got my degree from the University of Sydney too.
Natassia with her grandparents at her graduation. Photo supplied.
3. What inspired you to be a journalist?
I started university with a combined arts and law degree, majoring in psychology. I quickly learnt that wasn’t right for me but didn’t know what was, so took some time off to travel and work. When I returned to university, I studied international relations and media. I had looked around at the people whose lives and careers I admired and found many were journalists – but it wasn’t until I was a couple of years into my new study path that I became properly passionate about it.
4. Tell us a little bit about your journalism career.
Before starting at the Sydney Morning Herald I did some communications work and was heavily involved in community media. I was an editor of the Sydney University student newspaper, Honi Soit, as well as my area’s local magazine, the inner west publication Ciao Magazine, which gave me really valuable experience in several elements of print publication: writing, sub-editing, commissioning, graphic design, laying up and proofing.
Before that, when I first decided I wanted to pursue journalism, I started pitching articles to small outlets and was soon awarded a fellowship through my university degree to live in Dubai and work at their major newspaper The Gulf News for a month. That was my first exposure to the world of newspapers and how they come together. My longest job, however, has still been as a bookseller at my local Dymocks where I worked for seven years.
Natassia has always been supported by her family. Photo supplied.
5. What do you enjoy the most about your work?
The pandemic has substantially changed the daily rhythm of work, but I really enjoy the variety: meeting people, learning about a new issue, visiting a part of Sydney or NSW I’ve never spent much time in and hearing different perspectives.
The challenge for me, after all of that, has always been communicating those varied insights or various parts of a story into a clear piece of writing that readers can engage with. I have enjoyed developing and extending my writing and communication skills the longer I’ve been in this job.
A highlight for me was covering the bushfire crisis on the NSW South Coast, which demonstrated some of the best parts of this job: travelling, collaborating with colleagues, working under pressure and creating journalism that was of great value to the community.
6. Does your Greek heritage influence your work in any way?
Natassia is a very proud Greek. Photo supplied.
I am very close with my family and can safely say they are my biggest supporters. My mum’s parents started subscribing to the SMH when I started working there and they check each day for my articles. I know when I’ve done a particularly good job because I’ll get a call early in the morning (often before I’ve started work for the day) saying congratulations and telling me what page I’m on. I’ll also know when I’ve done a less than stellar job because my yiayia will question why she hasn’t seen my name in a few days.
But in all seriousness, my family has always instilled in us grandchildren a very strong work ethic, having come from nothing when they first arrived here and built stability and security for the next generation. They place great value in hard work: the first question pappou asks any of his grandkids during each visit is “how is business?”. I believe this has had an enduring impact on how we’ve all pursued our careers. My heritage has also made me passionate about representing Australia’s multicultural diversity in several parts of my day to day work.
7. What are your future plans?
Much of it is pandemic permitting! I would like to expand my skills and try new topic areas, including politics.
As we find ourselves in yet another lockdown, working from home, physically isolated from our loved ones, home-schooling children and missing many of the pleasures in life, mental health and wellbeing is quickly becoming a major concern for many Australians.
Add into that the questions of when lockdowns will be lifted, which vaccine to get, how long it might take to get the jab, and how many days to get a COVID test result, and we find ourselves with extensive amounts of uncertainty in our lives.
So much about COVID-19 is out of our control, and all of the uncertainty can lead to feelings of stress, anxiety, fear, sadness, hopelessness and helplessness. Here are some recommendations for maintaining good mental health and wellbeing throughout the lockdown.
Recognise and acknowledge that your feelings are valid.
We are sometimes sold the story that uncomfortable feelings are “bad” or “negative”, and that we should do what we can to change those. If you’re anxious, we are told to find a way to relax. Feeling sad? Watch some funny videos on Youtube. This can be helpful, however it misses a really crucial part of regulating our emotions, and that is, that emotions, even the uncomfortable ones, are often valid, normal and natural responses to difficult situations. Pushing these feelings away can be a temporary solution.
As psychologists, we encourage people to try to be accepting of these emotions, acknowledge the validity of them, and even if for a moment, sit with the emotions before deciding to try to shift the emotional state. It is completely normal, understandable and valid to be feeling a whole range of uncomfortable feelings at the moment. Give yourself time and opportunity to process uncomfortable emotions before trying to change how you feel, as acknowledging your emotions can in itself help take some of the power and intensity out of them.
2. When we are faced with so much that is out of our control, look at what you can change that is within your control.
During these times of lockdown, it is important for us to try to accept the things we cannot change, but also to change the things we can, that are in our control. Find ways to retain a sense of autonomy over the areas of your life you can, despite the lockdowns. Routine, consistency and structure is something we can have control over in our lives. Design a schedule for yourself to give the day some structure, such as waking up at a similar time, or having a morning and evening routine you stick to.
3. Stay true to your values
Research has shown that when we live life in a way that is consistent with our values, we have greater overall life satisfaction and quality of life. If you are unsure what our values are, take some time to sit down and make a list. Values are not goals, rather, values serve as a sort of compass as they guide us in a particular direction in life.
We can have values of family, health, creativity, honesty, autonomy, peace, and the list goes on. Once we identify our values, we have then start to do deliberate actions and set goals that are congruent with these values. The overall effect is greater satisfaction with our life.
For anyone who may be requiring extra mental health support at this time, Dr Anastasia Hronis and the Australian Institute for Human Wellness are able to provide telehealth consultations to people around Australia. Medicare rebates are available with a referral from a GP. Get in touch to enquire: www.ausihw.com.au
Those wanting to build their dream home are being made to play a form of Lotto to get new blocks in Sydney’s southwest, amid a crippling land shortage and the fastest land price rises in two decades, The Daily Telegraphreports.
Housing experts say the southwest has been at the centre of the land crisis due to the promise of a second airport at Badgerys Creek pushing up demand.
In response, the Telegraph reports that developers have introduced mechanisms such as lot ballots – lotteries where buyers have their name pulled out of a draw for the chance to get a sales appointment.
The Village in Menangle.
In Michael and Deanna Parzakonis’ case, they recently bought a block of land in Mirvac estate, The Village, in Menangle in the outer southwest after their name was drawn out of a ballot.
The couple were entered into the ballot with 300-odd buyers for the chance to get a sales appointment for one of about 30 blocks. They told The Telegraph, the experience was “stressful.”
“Your number determines where you are in the pecking order. We were the 40th pulled out and, luckily, there were other buyers who backed out, so we got a block,” Michael Parzakonis told the newspaper.
“It’s ridiculous how much demand there is, especially for an area so far out. I’m just relieved it’s over.”
NSW Treasury announced in June that 42,000 homes would need to be built every year over the next four decades – or 1.7 million by 2060 – to meet growing demand.
Southwest Sydney is now earmarked to pick up some of the slack with NSW Planning Minister Rob Stokes revealing new land in the area would be rezoned.
About 18,000 homes could be built in Glenfield, Lowes Creek Maryland, Leppington and Wilton, of which 2700 could be ready in three years.
Greek tennis player, Stefanos Tsitsipas, is through to the next round of the Tokyo Olympics after crushing his American opponent, Frances Tiafoe, in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.
Despite having to save a break point in the opening game, Tsitsipas made a break in the consecutive game to quickly dominate the score 3-0.
The American managed to find his game, but it wasn’t enough to cause trouble for a superlative Tsitsipas. Without changing the trend, the Greek won the first set 6-3 .
