Our fourth wave of Covid lasted longer than previous waves but led to less severe illness than the third wave last winter.
That was the key finding of a new report from the chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, into the Omicron wave which ended in late February.
The report also coincided with the release of an updated vaccination guide from the World Health Organization, which said that strong population-level immunity due to Covid-19 infection means that ongoing boosting of the general population offers little impact. The WHO recommends ongoing booster doses for high-risk groups only, bringing it largely into line with recommendations already in place in Australia.
More than 1 million Australians have received a booster so far this year, and around 70% of those are aged 60 and over, the health minister, Mark Butler, said Thursday.
Butler also announced a host of new measures to protect those most at risk, including new aged care worker Covid-19 leave grants, to begin on 1 April. More than 160,000 people aged 60 to 69 will also have free access to the antiviral treatment Paxlovid under expanded eligibility guidelines from Saturday.
Top news
NSW Labor minister ‘physically sickened’ by Mark Latham tweet | Penny Sharpe says she was left “physically sickened” by comments from Mark Latham about the sexuality of fellow state MP Alex Greenwich. The NSW One Nation leader made the comments on Twitter in response to an article in which Greenwich called Latham “a disgusting human being”.
Clive Palmer hires Christian Porter for lawsuit against Australia | Clive Palmer has enlisted the former attorney general Christian Porter in a landmark case arguing a breach of the Asean free trade deal. Palmer’s Singapore-based company Zeph Investments is suing Australia for $296bn, claiming the commonwealth is liable for a Western Australia law that prevented him seeking compensation for a rejected mining project in the Pilbara.
Mexican migrant deaths investigated as suspected homicide | An investigation has been opened “for the crime of homicide and damage to property” after at least 39 migrants died in a fire at a Mexican detention centre. Authorities face mounting scrutiny of their handling of the disaster after video surveillance footage appeared to show guards leaving as flames engulfed a cell with migrants locked inside.
26 years for man who stabbed two teenage girls, killing one | Kristian Kovaleff has been sentenced to at least 26 years’ jail after stabbing two 17-year-old girls, one of whom died from her wounds. Justice Stephen Rothman said during the sentencing that he believed Kovaleff, who pretended to be mentally ill until realising he could not fool forensic psychologists, had told the court what he thought it wanted to hear. The girls had been celebrating the victim’s upcoming 18th birthday in a Parramatta hotel room.
Reprieve for Indigenous elder cut from Obama event | The Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy was invited to perform the welcome to country at a lunch for Barack Obama on Thursday after organisers axed her from an earlier event. Growth Faculty had removed Aunty Joy from an event on the former US president’s speaking tour after she requested a support person and also asked them to provide Obama with a gift in line with cultural practice. The organisers cited “security requirements” for the late change and have apologised.
Gwyneth Paltrow ski collision trial nears conclusion | Ski crash accuser Terry Sanderson has been shown photos of himself holidaying in the Amazon, Thailand and other destinations - at odds with his claims he’d lost his joie de vivre since allegedly being hit by Gwyneth Paltrow in Utah. The actor’s attorneys have contended that Sanderson’s claims that she crashed into him are “utter BS”. The judge has asked for Paltrow’s defence to rest by Thursday afternoon US time.
Full Story
Australia’s queer community is under attack – are our laws letting it down?
Australia’s LGBTQ+ advocates say attacks on the country’s queer community are increasing – and they claim that the protections offered by Australian law are lacking. Laura Murphy-Oates talks to non-binary performance artist and activist Kitty Obsidian and Guardian Australia journalist Cait Kelly about whether the country’s laws are failing to protect the queer community in this 20-minute episode.
What they said …
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“When it’s this hypothetical person and people are making a picture of what a transgender athlete looks like in their head: one, I don’t think it’s me; and two, I think it’s a bit harsh, and people just forget that there’s actually a person.” - Lexi Rodgers, basketball player
The transgender basketballer who is bidding to play in the NBL1 competition has spoken publicly for the first time on the issue. Rodgers said she realised transitioning may preclude her from playing the sport but her passion for it remains.
In numbers
The Australian War Memorial received more funding than the rest of Australia’s national cultural institutions put together in the last two years of the Coalition government. Over the same period, the country’s national collecting agencies – including the National Gallery of Australia and the Australian Maritime Museum – received $400m between them.
Before bed read
On the day the Indigenous voice bill was introduced to parliament, our Voices on the voice series hears from Jenny Kawangka of the Wik nation. She writes of the turning point that came when the government introduced a wet canteen to Aurukun in 1985. “Devastating rates of incarceration, school incompletion, unemployment and violence affect Aurukun today,” she writes. But there are natural leaders in the remote Cape York community who Kawangka argues are not being heard. “Our women, with the right support, are Aurukun’s best hope.”
Daily word game
Today’s starter word is: EAR. You have five goes to get the longest word including the starter word. Play Wordiply.
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