NSW has recorded 97 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours to 8pm last night.
Of those, 29 were infectious while in the community.
“That number of people being infectious in the community keeps going up,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced.
“We really want to stress to everybody, please stay at home, follow the orders in particular, unfortunately, the Fairfield local government area is still seeing more than, or around three quarters of cases in the Fairfield local government area but we are also seeing an extension of cases in adjoining suburbs and local government areas.”
NSW recorded 97 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/FxVPjCCKee
NSW set a record by conducting more than 77,000 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
Meanwhile, Victoria has recorded 10 new locally-acquired cases on the state’s first day of lockdown, including four that were announced in press conferences yesterday.
All 10 are linked to the current outbreaks and it brings the state’s current outbreak to 24.
Wani Sakellaropoulos, co-owner of Ms Frankie restaurant in inner Melbourne, says she went into “lockdown mode” when her business was listed as a Tier 1 exposure site.
The list includes more areas at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and multiple locations in Bundoora, Maribyrnong, and Richmond.
Greek Australian writer and director, Jason Raftopoulos, has recently wrapped filming on his next feature Voices in Deep in Athens, IF reports.
The film, which stars newcomer Hannah Sims in the lead as an Australian humanitarian, is the second from Raftopoulos after he released Melbourne-set West of Sunshine in 2017.
The writer-director tells IF he decided to film in Athens because it’s a city full of history and culture.
“For centuries, Athens has been a place where the lives of millions have intersected; it’s a city that has been both conqueror and conquered, a place of great enlightenment and great oppression, a melting pot of religions ideas and sexual ambiguity,” Raftopoulos told the media outlet.
“It is for these reasons that I chose Athens as the setting to explore ideas of time, desperation, identity and freedom.”
Jason Raftopoulos.
But of course, preparing a production in Greece during a pandemic was no mean feat.
According to one of the film’s producers from Exile Entertainment, Alexandros Ouzas, the initial plan was to shoot in September of last year, but the COVID risk still seemed too great. The next window, given the seasons in Athens, was May this year.
By that stage, it was “now or never” as the Gallipoli clause, which allowed certain international shooting expenses to be claimed as QAPE under the Producer Offset, was due to end in July, IF reports.
“By then we trusted our team could execute the creative vision while staying COVID-safe. We managed to get through production without any major issues – the Greek Gods were on our side!” Ouzas said.
What is Voices in Deep about?
Angeliki Papoulia and Christos Karavevas star in the film. Photo: IF.
In Voices in Deep, Sims stars as Bobby, who becomes connected to the lives of two orphaned refugees Tarek and Zaheed following a tragedy at sea.
Bobby compulsively exposes herself to strangers to dull the tragic memories, but a chance encounter with Gloria (played by Greek actress Angeliki Papoulia), leads them on an adventure together.
Tarek and Zaheed (newcomers Michael Hilane and Christos Karavevas) fend for themselves on the streets. Tarek sells his body for food and shelter to provide for his increasingly vulnerable younger brother.
Desperate to pull them out of their situation, Zaheed takes matters into his own hands, setting off a chain of devastating events.
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and his Lithuanian counterpart Ingrida Simonyte have met in Athens to discuss migration.
Both leaders suggest that their influx of asylum seekers is being orchestrated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in an effort to exert political pressure.
“What Belarus is doing is simply unacceptable,” Mitsotakis said.
Mitsotakis says both countries “are characterised by persistent migratory flows, coupled occasionally by an orchestrated effort by a third country to exert political pressure on the European Union through migration as a tool for the projection of geopolitical power.”
Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has accused Belarus of orchestrating Lithuania’s recent influx of illegal migration (Credit: Pool photo by Maxim Guchek/Belta/EPA)
“Neither Greece in the south, nor Lithuania in the north wish to be the gateway to Europe for people-smuggling networks or third-party states intent on putting pressure on the European Union,” he said.
The European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Belarus last month following the Belarusian government’s forced landing of a Ryanair flight booked from Athens to Vilnius to arrest dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.
Lithuanian President Simonyte says Lithuania is collateral damage to President Lukashenko’s consequential and retaliatory decision to halt cooperation with the EU on illegal migration.
“Lithuania is not a corridor, is not a track towards the European Union, towards Sweden, Germany or other countries,” Lithuanian President Simonyte said.
She’s reported as saying that Belarus was not an unsafe country unless you oppose its government and that many asylum applications to the country will likely be rejected.
More than 1,700 people have crossed the border into Lithuania this year, including 1,100 in July alone.
“The total number might not seem very frightening but what is frightening is the trend,” Simonyte said, adding that more than 20 times more people had entered than in previous years.
Greece has been grappling with a surge in boat arrivals for years and have been accused of carrying out illegal summary deportations.
Greek Prime Minister Mitsotakis denies the accusations and other government officials label them as ‘fake news’.
Firefighters are battling a wildfire in Kokkari on Samos which broke out from a forested area near Vourliotes around midday on Thursday.
112 residents in the villages of Kokkari, Mytilini, Vourliotes, and Mavratzei, were put on high alert later that evening and Samos Police blocked off roads in the villages as they became engulfed in smoke.
Around 37 volunteer firefighters have been deployed in 15 firetrucks and six aircraft and water carriers are hovering over the area to control the fire against what’s currently a light breeze.
The Chief of the Fire Brigade, Lieutenant General Stefanos Kolokouris, and the National Commander of Civil Protection, Theodosios Dimakogiannis, have flown to Samos to help coordinate the response.
Lieutenant General Stefanos Kolokouris (left) and Theodosios Dimakogiannis (right)
Residents in Kokkari are to limit their water usage.
The Arion and Kalidon Panorama hotels were evacuated for a few hours as a precautionary measure.
Arion Hotel (left) and Kalidon Panorama Hotel (right) were evacuated (Credit: Arion Hotel) (Credit: Expedia.com)
“Due to the large fire that is approaching a water supply point, we ask for the minimum use of drinking water in the wider area of Kokkari as well as the city of Samos,” the Municipality of Eastern Samos announced.
Kefalonia, Mati, Schinos, and Eleios-Pronnoi, have faced their own fires this summer season.
Hara Liokos Lazarou decided to stir up the Greeks of Thessaloniki with her energy and teach them to train outdoors. Outdoor training – as it is known in Australia where Joy was born and grew up – greatly helped the residents of the city during quarantine.
She organised free lessons outdoors in Thessaloniki and took a lot of people on the street. People from 6 years old to 83-year-old Mrs Areti, who attended her course a few days ago.
Personal trainer Hara Liokos Lazarou started her initiative from the very first lockdown, and performed gymnastics continuously for almost 12 months for 3 to 4 times a week.
“When we were given the opportunity to do gymnastics outdoors 2 people at a time, I said I would start it and do it every day. So I started making calls through Instagram and visiting various parts of Thessaloniki, the City Hall, the Macedonia Palas, the Xarhakos Park and the courtyard of the Thessaloniki city hall,” Hara tells The Greek Herald.
“I put on loud music and started the lessons,” Hara adds, while explaining what prompted her to take this initiative: “It was my personal need and all this suddenness, which forced us isolate in our houses and not be able to go to the places where we work out. Suddenly, the world wasn’t well and I wanted to keep people’s spirit strong and alive. That is what I wanted and it was very important to me, to keep the morale of my team up.”
The love of the people:
Hara was hosted on Greek television broadcasts for this initiative. Her success was great since people were looking for a way to escape from the difficult quarantine restrictions.
“The world had the urgent need to defuse itself. What we discuss after the end of a workout is not to stop doing gymnastics outdoors,” Hara says.
“In Greece it is not particularly widespread. I was familiar, of course, since we did gymnastics in parks in Melbourne. And so I told a lot of people that gymnastics is nice and indeed, those who followed me loved it.
“I will continue to do lessons despite the fact that it is summer in Greece and the temperature has risen. I had a team of 10 people at the beginning, then they became 20, 30, 50 and today I have a very big team.
“I’ll stop classes for a while in the near future to get some rest. Since the first lockdown I have not stopped. From September I will continue as normal,” she tells us.
“From Australia to Greece”:
These days Sydney is in a tough lockdown and we asked Hara if she is learning the news from the country in which she was born.
“I have been following the news in Australia, since half my family continues to live there. In fact, I hope that in October or November I will be able to go on a visit to Australia even though things are difficult.
“It is a fact that Greek Australians and Australians in general are more familiar with gymnastics outside of gyms. So the lockdown will not stop them from working out.”
“I am from Melbourne” she tells The Greek Herald and begins to tell her story. “I came to Greece in 2008. I went to a Greek school there and studied Greek and English literature at the University of La Tromp.
“In 2008 I came on vacation to Greece. I met Eleni Petroulaki (one of the most famous gymnasts in Greece) and took me as her right hand.
“Every year, of course, I was saying: I will go back to Australia … But I didn’t… This is because I loved the way of life here in Greece. It’s a lot different than it is in Australia.
“For example, in Greece you can work for 8 hours but you can enjoy the rest of the time.
“The first years of my stay in Greece I struggled very much. I was bothered by a lot of things. From cleanliness, from the traffic in the street, where people do not care about others. In Australia when there is a rule we adhere to it. In Greece things are much looser.
“But what I loved in Greece is the people and that is the reason I stayed here.”
Future plans with the Greek communities:
After the success of the initiative was received, Hara Liokos Lazarou is now making other plans. “I want to start a program with the Greek communities in Europe, America and Australia,” she says.
“It will have live music by artists and gymnastics at the same time. The artists will be either from Greece or from the Greek Communities, which I will visit every time.
“This program will combine music, gymnastics and fun together. So you will go to listen to your music and at the same time you will be able to do gymnastics.
“For example, in Munich I have found a complex, which is a good alternative. In Melbourne I have too many people to do the equivalent. It’s something that’s never been done before. To watch a live music concert and do gymnastics as well”.
We asked her to tell us one thing that she misses from Australia and one that she will miss from Greece.
“I miss the smell of Melbourne, Oakley… I’ve had a fantastic time there.
“From Greece I miss everything. In Greece I feel I miss Australia, in Australia I feel I miss Greece.
“I don’t know how things will turn out for me. For example, I may decide to have my family in Melbourne because the services in Australia for health and education cannot be compared with what Greece offers” concludes Hara, who continues to do gymnastics with the Thessalonians.
Melbourne will go into a snap five day lockdown from midnight tonight to curb the growing COVID outbreak. The lockdown will end at midnight on Tuesday, July 20.
It will be the fifth lockdown since the pandemic began and the third this year.
“This will be a hard lockdown, similar to or identical to, what we did a couple of weeks ago,” Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, said this afternoon.
“If you are authorised to work then, you will be authorised to work now. If you were close then, you will be closed now.”
Mr Andrews stressed that there are five reasons to leave home.
Victoria will enter a five-day lockdown from midnight tonight.
“The four reasons from last year, plus going and getting your jab, going and being vaccinated as part of the Commonwealth government’s program,” Mr Andrews said.
“You can’t go outside the 5km radius. You can go and exercise.”
Mask rules were already tightened overnight to respond to the outbreak, which is now linked to 18 cases.
There are 75 exposure sites, 1,500 primary close contacts and 5,000 secondary close contacts.
If you visited a Tier 1 exposure site during these times, you must immediately isolate, get a COVID-19 test, and quarantine for 14 days. You should also contact us on 1300 651 160. pic.twitter.com/APeSEWx1wr
Two of the cases were confirmed this morning, adding to the 10 included in yesterday’s numbers.
The new cases are understood to have acquired the virus at an AFL game at the MCG on Saturday which was also attended by a COVID-positive case.
The asymptomatic man in his 60s caught the virus from a group of removalists who spent time at the Ariele apartment complex in Maribyrnong, infecting residents of the building.
One of the new cases sat in close proximity to the Ariele apartments man at the MCG, while the other sat further away but in the same section of the ground.
Daniel Andrews announced the lockdown this afternoon.
The outbreak is being driven by the fast-moving Delta variant of the virus which is spreading in New South Wales.
The last time Victoria recorded any Delta cases, the state was already in its fourth lockdown, meaning movement in the community was limited.
The state has been slowly easing out of that lockdown, with mask rules only recently relaxed and caps on social gatherings and hospitality still in place.
Blue Mountains cafe owner, Dora Tsaroumis, has welcomed the Federal and NSW Government’s new COVID-19 relief measures announced this week, saying the stimulus gives her hope for the future.
In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Mrs Tsaroumis, who owns Cafe Leura, said her business is completely closed with 12 staff on annual leave and long-service leave.
“It’s crippling… We provide a dine-in experience and we’re in a high tourist area that doesn’t have a lot of population around,” Mrs Tsaroumis told the SMH.
The owners of Cafe Leura – Andrew and Dora. Photos republished with permission.
“To stay open and try to do takeaway wasn’t going to be a model that worked for us. We decided to close to try to reduce our costs as much as possible.”
Cafe Leura’s average turnover is about $30,000 a week but higher during school holidays, the SMH reports.
Whilst Mrs Tsaroumis says this latest lockdown will see her lose “hundreds of thousand of dollars,” the recent relief measures will be helpful.
“I’m feeling more hopeful [with the relief measures]. It’s not going to be like trading but it will be helpful. How long can you tread water? You get tired,” Mrs Tsaroumis adds to The Greek Herald.
The cafe is known for its delicious meals. Photos republished with permission.
“We’re keen to get back to running our business and doing what we love, not only for us and our team but for our awesome customers as well.”
Among the various relief package benefits, businesses can access grants up to $15,000, a $10,000 federal cash flow boost, as well as receive payroll tax waivers and get protection from evictions.
There’s a short-term moratorium on evictions for tenants in arrears, and commercial landlords are being incentivised with land tax waivers if they provide tenants rental relief. Meanwhile, individual employees who have lost work can access $600 a week in disaster payments directly from the federal government.
Sydney Olympic Football Club today confirmed that three of its star players have been granted permission to depart the club and transfer to Greek club, Xanthi FC.
Mohamed Adam, Fabian Monge and Matthew Scarcella are all leaving the club under agreements entered into some weeks ago between themselves, Xanthi FC and Sydney Olympic.
The players have now departed Australia to pursue the finalisation of a contract and relevant transfer with Xanthi FC and will join pre-season training.
“We wish the players the best of luck and thank them for their contribution to our Club,” Sydney Olympic FC wrote on Facebook.
“We are disappointed to see them leave, as they are exceptionally talented players, but, as a Club we are very happy and proud that we are able to play a role in providing this opportunity to further their careers.”
George Averoff was a Greek businessman and one of Greece’s greatest national benefactors.
Early Life:
George Averoff was born on August 15, 1818 in Metsovo (Epirus, Greece, then Ottoman Empire). He was the youngest of five brothers in the family and his parents appointed him a teacher at the local school. He, however, was a restless spirit and preferred to seek his fortune abroad.
At the age of 22, Averoff went to Cairo to work close to his brother, who owned a textile shop. He quickly spread his wings and initially engaged in agriculture, renting estates near the Nile. He then engaged in the wheat trade in Russia and in 1866, founded a trading and banking house in Alexandria.
George Averoff.
Philanthropic work:
Averoff quickly emerged as one of the richest Greeks in the diaspora, with a fortune exceeding 100,000,000 drachmas.
His first donations were made to the Greek community of Alexandria with the establishment of a high school, a girls’ school and a hospital.
Afterwards, he took care of his special homeland, Metsovo, where he allocated 1,500.00 drachmas for public works.
Averoff was one of the richest Greeks in the diaspora.
With this money:
The Technical University of Athens (NTUA) was completed.
The Military School of Evelpidon (today the Courts of Evelpidon) and the Prisons were built on Alexandras Avenue (in the area where today stands the Megara of the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal).
The statues of Patriarch Gregory V and Rigas Feraios were erected at the Propylaea of the University of Athens.
The ancient Panathinaiko Stadium was rebuilt, in view of the 1896 Olympic Games, a technical achievement for its time.
Death and Legacy:
Averoff died on July 15, 1899 in Ramlech, Alexandria and his grave is in the First Cemetery of Athens.
Averoff is buried in the First Cemetery of Athens.
He left a fortune estimated at 31,000,000 drachmas. Most of it was donated to public purposes such as:
2,500,000 in favour of the National Fleet Fund for the construction of a warship that would bear his name. This is the battleship “Averoff,” which dominated the Aegean during the Balkan Wars.
1,500,000 in favour of the Greek community of Alexandria.
500,000 for the establishment of an Agricultural School in Larissa.
500,000 in favour of the NTUA.
500,000 in favour of the Athens Conservatory.
900,000 in favour of the community of Metsovo.
1,000,000 for the completion of the Panathinaikos Stadium.
The Greek state, as a sign of gratitude to this national man, erected his statue in front of the Panathinaikos Stadium.
There has been a lot of coronavirus news across Australia in the last 24 hours. If you can’t keep up with every press conference, restriction or announcement, don’t stress. This article has the most current updates.
NSW:
NSW recorded 65 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
Of these locally acquired cases, 40 are linked to a known case or cluster – 27 are household contacts and 13 are close contacts – and the source of infection for 25 cases remains under investigation.
29 cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period and seven cases were in isolation for part of their infectious period. 28 cases were infectious in the community, and the isolation status of one case remains under investigation.
Two major Sydney hospitals have been impacted by coronavirus, with health authorities confirming a fully vaccinated staff member at Sydney’s Westmead Hospital has tested positive to COVID-19.
Sydney’s Liverpool Hospital was also forced to close some of its operating theatres for deep cleaning after a patient returned a positive test on Wednesday.
A number of staff have gone into a two-week isolation, and contact tracing is underway.
Victoria:
Victorians must wear face masks indoors as health authorities try to stop the latest COVID-19 outbreak.
Victoria announced 11 new local cases on Wednesday, with 10 of those being counted in Thursday’s statistics, and more than 40 exposure sites identified.
The state did not add to those 10 new cases on Thursday.
Face masks must now be worn in all indoor settings, including workplaces and secondary schools. Masks will also be required outdoors when social distancing is not possible.
Queensland:
Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, has confirmed three new local cases in Brisbane.
Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk.
One is a 12-year-old who recently finished quarantine in Sydney and flew to Brisbane, and another is the child’s parent.
The third is a Brisbane Airport worker who was vaccinated.
Mask mandates and restrictions in Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Logan City, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley, Scenic Rim and Gold Coast are extended for another week.
The Premier has warned Queenslanders against travelling to Victoria given its current outbreaks.
Authorities are also still monitoring the outbreak in New South Wales, and say possible border restrictions are being reviewed daily.
South Australia:
People entering South Australia from Victoria will now have to get tested on arrival, and are banned from attending high-risk locations such as aged care homes for 14 days.
Commercial transport and freight drivers entering South Australia are now required to get a COVID-19 test within 24 hours of arrival.
Freight drivers coming into the state will need to produce evidence they have had a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of their arrival.
WA has enforced new border restrictions.
Western Australia:
Western Australia enforced new restrictions on travellers from Victoria on Wednesday afternoon. Those arriving from Victoria must now self-quarantine for 14 days. They must get a COVID-19 test when they arrive, and on day 11 of quarantine.
Northern Territory:
The Northern Territory Chief Health Officer has not announced any new COVID restrictions for Victoria, but he has warned he is closely monitoring the state’s growing number of cases.
New directions were issued on Wednesday night for anyone who has been to an exposure site in the town of Tailem Bend, south-east of Adelaide. Anyone who has been there must get tested and quarantine for 14 days.
Travellers from Victoria are still under quarantine and testing directions that were issued last month.
ACT:
ACT residents will have to check in to shops, takeaways and other venues from 12:00pm using the Check In CBR app. This will be mandatory for anyone over the age of 16.
Check-ins will be required for all retail settings, including supermarkets, department stores, petrol stations, takeaway services, public transport and taxi, hire car and ride share transport services.
Previously, people needed to check in if they were going to be somewhere for longer than 15 minutes, but that condition has been removed.
