After an Omicron outbreak at popular nightclub Argyle House, Newcastle’s pubs are closing their doors and ‘everyone’s staying away’
“It’s like the apocalypse out there,” Tilse says. “Everyone is staying away, either out of fear of getting Covid or having to isolate over Christmas, or because they have it. It’s a ghost town.”, is the centre of the largest Covid-19 outbreak in Australia.
The outbreak has left the city reeling. Events such as the Lunar Electric music festival were cancelled following an order by the NSW health minister, while on Wednesday the local A-League franchise, the Newcastle Jets, announced their Boxing Day match would be played behind closed doors, the first major sporting event to do so since the Omicron outbreak.
“The flow-on effects from the sharp rise in case numbers and household contacts has been widespread devastation for local businesses, particularly for tourism, hospitality and retail businesses,” she wrote. “We’re now expecting to get them on Christmas Eve,” he said. “We’re getting literally hundreds of calls a day about this, and I can only vaccinate a fraction of them.“The demand has gone up by at least 10 times since then. We’re completely over-subscribed.”
“It’s putting everyone under a lot of pressure. People are trying to do the right thing to get their boosters and we have to send them away. There’s one single state-run hub in Belmont [a suburb about half-an-hour’s drive from the centre of Newcastle] and we don’t have the world’s greatest public transport.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
National Hockey League decides against competing in Beijing due to COVID-19: reportThe NHL flagged last September that it could withdraw if COVID-19 disruptions forced games to be rescheduled during the Olympics window.
Read more »
Interactive: How many people are in hospital with COVID-19 in Australia?COVID-19 infections are rising again, with cases in New South Wales above previous record levels. This is what the data currently tells us about hospitalisations in each state and territory, how vaccination rates have had an impact, and what role Omicron could play in what happens next.
Read more »
'I'm desperately worried': Alanna faces a four-hour trip to take a COVID-19 testWith Tasmania open to vaccinated travellers from interstate, some residents are concerned about the increased demand on the state's testing system and what impact that will have on the health system more broadly.
Read more »
Sydney Swans caught in COVID-19 chaosThe Sydney Swans has confirmed several players and staff have tested positive for COVID-19 following a boat cruise on Sydney Harbour late last week.
Read more »
NSW posts record 3,763 new daily COVID-19 cases as Victoria reports 1,503NSW has reported 3,763 new daily COVID-19 cases, while Victoria has recorded 1,503 infections as concern about the spread of Omicron grows ahead of a snap national cabinet meeting:
Read more »
200,000 cases a day in Australia: What you need to know about new COVID-19 modellingANALYSIS: New modelling shows national COVID-19 cases numbers could hit 200,000 a day by late January or early February, but it must be considered in context:
Read more »