A leading health expert has warned of the potential spread of the virulent Omicron COVID-19 strain during Australia Day events as large crowds gather for protest or celebration. Chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness and former health department head Jane Halton says the closer people pack together, the more likely the virus will spread. “We know it’s highly infectious …

A man who was arrested at the Australian Open has been released pending further inquiry, as police investigate assaults on staff at the event. Earlier on Wednesday, Victoria Police alleged a woman had been sexually assaulted at Rod Laver Arena just before midnight on Tuesday. However, police have since changed their statement and no longer believe the sexual assault took …

NSW has added 21,030 new infections to its COVID-19 caseload along with 29 more virus-related deaths. Two years after the first COVID-19 cases were recorded in Australia, the state surpassed one million coronavirus cases on Wednesday according to data that includes rapid antigen test results. The total number of cases reported in the 24 hours to 8pm on Tuesday night …

Novak Djokovic faces Federal Court in Melbourne on Monday in a bid to have the cancellation of his visa overturned ahead of the Australian Open. Djokovic’s lawyers will be up against the Department for Home Affairs in a fight to have the Serbian star remain in the country after having a medical exemption revoked by border authorities last week. The tennis …

Tennis Australia boss Craig Tiley reportedly told Australia’s advisory body on immunisation that the Australian Open’s “viability” could be decided on whether unvaccinated players would be granted exemptions to compete. A report by the Sydney Morning Herald has revealed Tiley’s letter to the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI), which was sent on November 10. The group was queried on whether a player …

Of all the people you would expect to leap to Novak Djokovic’s defence, Nick Kyrgios would be well down the list. The Australian tennis ace has long been a Djokovic critic, even calling him a “tool” last year after the Serbian superstar provided Australian Open organisers with a list of suggestions to improve quarantine conditions. But as Djokovic controversially remained “locked up” in a modest Melbourne hotel, …

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews says border force made it clear Novak Djokovic had not met the entry requirements for Australia. Novak Djokovic will remain in Australia until at least Monday as his legal team launches a court challenge after his visa was cancelled.His Australian Open fate remains in limbo after border force officials denied him entry on the grounds …

The coronavirus pandemic is reaching new peaks in Australia this week off the back of a busy Christmas and New Year’s period, and governments are today starting to bring back restrictions. Before we whip around the new rules, here are the COVID numbers we have so far: New South Wales: 38,625 new cases, 11 deaths, 134 in ICU, 1738 in hospital. Victoria: 21,728 …

Serb politicians and celebrities have described the treatment of Novak Djokovic as shameful scapegoating, as the foreign ministry in Belgrade suggested the world tennis No 1 had been “lured to Australia … to be humiliated.” The 34-year-old champion, who was born in the Serb capital, is in detention in an immigration hotel in Melbourne pending a legal challenge to Australia’s decision on …

Here’s a quick wrap of what’s happening in COVID news across Australia. NSW records more than 20,000 COVID-19 cases for second-straight day New South Wales has recorded 22,577 COVID-19 cases, the second day in a row where more than 20,000 new cases were reported. There were also four deaths of people with COVID-19 reported. Hospitalisations rose to 901, up from 832 …