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World View: Bidens Wants Vaccines for All, India’s New Record, Ramadan in China, More

March 19, 2021

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration on Wednesday joined calls for more sharing of the technology behind COVID-19 vaccines to help speed the end of the pandemic, a shift that puts the U.S. alongside many in the developing world who want rich…Read More

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NEW DELHI (AP) — Infections in India hit another grim daily record on Thursday as demand for medical oxygen jumped seven-fold and the government denied reports that it was slow in distributing life-saving supplies from abroad… …Read More

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Facebook’s oversight board, which on Wednesday upheld the company’s ban of former President Donald Trump, also had some harsh words for its corporate sponsor: Facebook… …Read More

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WASHINGTON (AP) — No. 3 House Republican Liz Cheney was clinging to her post as party leaders lined up behind an heir apparent, signaling that fallout over her clashes with former President Donald Trump was becoming too much for her to overcome……Read More

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KASHGAR, China (AP) — Tursunjan Mamat, a practicing Muslim in western China’s Xinjiang region, said he’s fasting for Ramadan but his daughters, ages 8 and 10, are not. Religious activity including fasting is not permitted for minors, he explained….Read More

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NEW YORK (AP) — Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., said it pained her to vote against the $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan.” But in the weeks that followed, the first-term Re…Read More

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — On the frontlines of the battle against Russia-backed separatists and in the halls of government in Kyiv, Ukrainians hold strong hopes for Thursday’s visi…Read More

MILAN (AP) — The Netflix series “Zero,” which premiered globally last month, is the first Italian TV production to feature a predominantly black cast, a bright spot in an othe…Read More

The post World View: Bidens Wants Vaccines for All, India’s New Record, Ramadan in China, More appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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NIA cabinet fully vaccinated

By Monique Washington 

Nevis Island Administration cabinet members on Wednesday (May 5) took their second dose of the Oxford University Astra Zeneca vaccine and are now fully vaccinated for COVID 19.

Ten weeks prior, cabinet members in Nevis received their first dose of the vaccine. Premier of Nevis Hon Mark Brantley encouraged persons to get vaccinated so that the island can return to a place of normalcy.

‘Cabinet members, I am pleased to say that we have gotten the second shot therefore we are fully vaccinated. We encourage our people to go out and get vaccinated so we can get the island reopened and get back to work,” he said.

Brantley noted that because they are fully vaccinated they will be able to travel.

“We will be able to travel and be able to move about and that is what we hope the rest of Nevis will also do,” he said.

On Tuesday the Prime Minister Hon Dr Timothy Harris and the  Federal Cabinet received their second dose of the vaccine and are now too fully vaccinated.

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Disney to unveil real-life Star Wars 'lightsaber'

It's a childhood dream come true.

Disney has somehow managed to create a realistic lightsaber that can extend and retract at the press of a button.

But don't get too excited – there's a chance it may never hit shelves.

They've been tight-lipped, but in an investor call a few months back Disney let loose their plans to create the dream. 

READ MORE: Engineer creates world's first retractable 'Star Wars' lightsaber

Since then blueprints have been unveiled, and some have even gone to great lengths to create 3D renders of how it would work. 

But we don't need to wait any longer.

In a teaser video published earlier this week, Disney Parks shared a 13-second video that shows the prototype lightsaber in action. 

Before you get your wallet out, only guests who stay at Disney's upcoming Star Wars resort in Florida will be the first to see it in action.

The upcoming, "all-immersive" Star Wars resort, Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, is still under construction and we're yet to see any physical interior of the ship. But we know it's going to be packed with activities for people of all ages. 

READ MORE: How to catch a glimpse of Baby Yoda from Earth

Galactic Starcruiser will offer a two-night stay "aboard" a Star Wars spaceship which sends you at lightspeed (virtually) into space.

And while it may seem that they're essentially locking you in a big simulation building for two days, that doesn't mean it's any less exciting. 

In a blog, Disney Parks says guests will have the opportunity to train in the ways of the lightsaber.

"Watching that lightsaber activate right before your eyes will be just one of the countless ways that, from the moment you arrive to the moment you depart, you'll be plunged into a Star Wars story," the post read. 

READ MORE: Disney confirms new Star Wars series, The Book of Boba Fett

And while we haven't seen the new lightsaber retract just yet, we presume this is coming when Disney is ready to unveil their multi-million-dollar attraction. 

The lightsaber has been created by Walt Disney's Imagineering Research and Development team at Disney Parks. 

It's true, we have other types of toy lightsabers available to buy. But this is the first of its kind. No plastic insertable blades, no violent flick of the wrist, no push down spring release. 

This is the real deal. 

There's no price point, we don't know how big it is and we don't actually know how readily available it'll be (or if it'll even be available for sale) – but this doesn't mean every Star Wars fan in the galaxy isn't excited. 

But how does the lightsaber work exactly? 

The patented design for the lightsaber is publicly available online. It explains in great detail how it operates and the materials required. 

The concept has been compared to placing two builder's measuring tapes together, the tapes slightly wrap around each other, with another retractable spool of LEDs in the centre. 

The patent reads, "The device includes two long plastic semi-cylinders, and these two blade body members are rolled perpendicular to their length, which creates compact cylinders of material of small volume that can be provided on a pair of spools in a hilt.

"To extend the blade, a motor provided in the hilt unrolls the blade body members from the spools."

The below 3D render by Ben Ridout illustrates the lightsaber's function in layman's terms.

https://twitter.com/benridout/status/1381412831707422721

It's not clear if we'll see anything else regarding the lightsaber any time soon. 

We'll just have to wait for it to be unveiled at Walt Disney World next year. 

headline

Biden Backs Patent Waiver Allowing Any Nation to Make Corona Vaccine

Biden backs COVID-19 vaccine patent waivers

The Biden administration will support a proposal to temporarily waive international patent protections for COVID-19 vaccines, a move that’s a major blow to pharmaceutical companies.

U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai said in a statement Wednesday that the “extraordinary circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic call for extraordinary measures.”

The U.S. will begin participating in World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations over the exact language of the waiver, which supporters say would make the details of vaccine production widely available and allow lower-income countries to make doses themselves.

“The Administration believes strongly in intellectual property protections, but in service of ending this pandemic, supports the waiver of those protections for COVID-19 vaccines,” Tai said.

What’s waived: The argument centers on temporarily lifting patent and other intellectual property protections to help expand the production and deployment of vaccines during supply shortages. The aim is to suspend the rules until the end of the pandemic.

The debate has exploded in the U.S., as dire scenes in countries like India contrast with rosy domestic predictions and millions of Americans getting vaccinated daily.

Not a done deal: Any WTO action needs the support of every member. While many lower income countries backed the waiver proposal, it was opposed by others, including the European Union, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Japan, Brazil, Canada and Australia.

Drug industry reacts: The pharmaceutical industry has fought hard against the proposal. Stephen Ubl, president CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), called the move an “unprecedented step that will undermine our global response to the pandemic and compromise safety. This decision will sow confusion between public and private partners, further weaken already strained supply chains and foster the proliferation of counterfeit vaccines.”

Just a few hours earlier, Anthony Fauci expressed some support for the waiver 

Anthony Fauci said Wednesday that a waiver for COVID-19 patent protections should not be off the table, while also pointing to other possible options to increase access to vaccines in lower-income countries.

“I think it’s certainly an option that we should not take off the table,” Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases expert, told The Hill’s Steve Clemons.

Basically, Fauci said he supported any move that would increase global vaccine access.

“By whatever mechanism it takes,” Fauci said. “Whether that involves taking a look and examining whether you want to waive patent protection, whether it means making investments in a lot of money to have tech transfer go to the developing world so they can make their own vaccines.”

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COVID-19 vaccine brings in billions for Pfizer in first quarter

Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine earned the company $3.5 billion in the first three months of this year, representing nearly a quarter of its total revenue, the company announced ahead of its earnings call.

The drug giant said it expects the vaccine to earn about $26 billion in total revenue for 2021, based on signed contracts as of mid-April that call for 1.6 billion doses of the shot to be delivered this year.

The company’s previous forecast was $15 billion for the year, but its first-quarter 2021 revenues alone totaled $14.6 billion, an increase of $4.5 billion, or 45 percent, compared to the first quarter of 2020.

Price gouging concerns: Unlike several other rival companies that developed COVID-19 vaccines, Pfizer did not use federal funds and said it planned to make a profit. Democratic lawmakers and drug pricing advocates have raised concerns about Pfizer’s decision, arguing it could lead to price gouging after the initial pandemic period.

Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca both decided to sell their vaccines on a nonprofit basis during the pandemic. Moderna developed its vaccine with significant help from the federal government, but with no other products on the market decided to sell its vaccine at a profit.

What’s next: The FDA is getting ready to issue an emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for those aged 12 to 15, The New York Times reported on Monday. Pfizer also said Tuesday that it expects to apply for emergency authorization for the shot to be given to those aged 2 to 11 in September.

The two companies are also planning to seek approval from the FDA later this month for the vaccine to be used for those 16 to 85 after the public health emergency is declared over.

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Tweaked Moderna vaccine ‘neutralises Covid variants in trials’

Limited data from small test trial shows positive results against South Africa and Brazil strains

A health worker prepares a dose of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine
A health worker prepares a dose of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. The trial results have yet to be peer-reviewed. Photograph: Virginia Mayo/AP

 

The first “tweaked” vaccine against the worrying coronavirus variants that emerged in South Africa and Brazil has successfully neutralised them in laboratory trials, the US company Moderna has said.

The results of the small trial suggest that boosters against the variants will be feasible and could be rolled out this year to counter the threat from variants that have appeared around the world and are feared in some cases to be more transmissible or partially vaccine-resistant.

Leading companies have been racing to produce adapted versions of their Covid vaccines. Pfizer/BioNTech, which has a similar mRNA vaccine to Moderna’s, and Oxford/AstraZeneca are also in the process of developing tweaked vaccines against the South African variant, B1351, and the Brazilian variant, P1, which appear to be the major threat to current immunisation programmes.

Moderna became the first to announce results on Wednesday night. They appear to be very positive, although only basic information from an initial analysis of results is available so far.

The US company has tested both a booster shot of its standard Covid vaccine and also a tweaked version of the vaccine in people who have previously had the full double dose. Twenty adults were recruited for each arm of the trial, or 40 in total.

Two weeks after the new jab, Moderna says both the booster shot and the tweaked vaccine increased the antibodies in the blood that can neutralise the two variants of concern.

But the tweaked vaccine – called mRNA-1273.351 and designed specifically to combat the South African and Brazilian variants, which have similar mutations to the spike protein – produced higher levels of neutralising antibodies than the standard booster shot, mRNA-1273.

Moderna says it is also running a trial in which people are given a mixture of the booster and the vaccine specifically designed against the variant. It has submitted the early results as a paper to a pre-print server, it said in a statement. Once the combined trial is complete, it will produce a paper that will be published with peer review.

“As we seek to defeat the ongoing pandemic, we remain committed to being proactive as the virus evolves. We are encouraged by these new data, which reinforce our confidence that our booster strategy should be protective against these newly detected variants,” said Stéphane Bancel, CEO of Moderna.

“Our mRNA platform allows for rapid design of vaccine candidates that incorporate key virus mutations, potentially allowing for faster development of future alternative variant-matched vaccines should they be needed … We will continue to make as many updates to our Covid-19 vaccine as necessary to control the pandemic.”

The vaccines have not been trialled in the field; these are blood samples analysed in the lab. But the regulatory authorities have said they would not need to go through the rigorous large-scale trials that were necessary for the original vaccines to obtain emergency approval.

The company said there were few side-effects from the vaccines and those that were reported were mild. Apart from pain at the injection site, the most common reported side-effects were fatigue, headache, muscle pain and joint pain.

Latest global Covid-19 data

Total cases
153,650,863
New daily cases
840,999
Total deaths
3,182,945

New daily deaths

14,200

Total vaccinations
1195.3m

New daily vaccinations

18.7m

Data from JHU CSSE Covid-19 Data and Our World in Data at 08.43 on 6 May 2021

 

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New painkiller to hit Australian shelves

At the height of the coronavirus pandemic last year, paracetamol was almost as scarce as toilet paper.

The shortages affected many Australians, including Alex Philp, who needed pain relief after undergoing a knee reconstruction.

"I had to traipse around sometimes with two kids," she said.

READ MORE: New mothers react to world record breaking birth of nine babies

New painkiller to hit Australian shelves

Global giant Johnson and Johnson was given approval to supply Tylenol until April this year. Now the product is here to stay.

"Now, coming into the market, it's a help as an alternative brand that customers can go to," Cabramatta East Day and Night Pharmacy's Vu Huynh said.

Industry analysts say paracetamol demand has increased, largely due to the ageing population.

But pricing customers away from market leader Panadol will be tough, according to IBISWorld industry analyst Liam Harrison.

"Tylenol is going to have a significant struggle trying to build up its own brand reputation in order to really be able to compete against Panadol," Mr Harrison said.

READ MORE: Former AMA head calls for vaccine confidence after 'concerning' clots

New painkiller to hit Australian shelves

Government restrictions to combat misuse have made it harder to access codeine, and only last year long-acting paracetamol was placed behind the counter to tackle the disturbing rise in deliberate overdoses.

"It can lead to liver toxicity [and] liver failure," Dr Christina Abdel Shaheed from the University of Sydney said.

Last month experts uncovered the true benefits of paracetamol.

Among 44 conditions, they could only find evidence that the drug was effective in just four types of pain.

READ MORE: Study reveals way to reverse type 2 diabetes

"Those four conditions include knee and hip osteoarthritis, tension headache, perinatal pain following childbirth and craniotomy, which is the removal of part of the skull," Dr Abdel Shaheed said.

But Ms Philp believes pain relievers are effective.

"It was really important in my recovery," she said.

headline

Nepal: COVID Moves North to Mt. Everest Slopes

Kathmandu, Nepal (CNN) In Nepal, a situation is unfolding that looks chillingly familiar.

Covid-19 cases are skyrocketing, hospitals are overwhelmed, and the country’s Prime Minister is pleading for help from other nations.

Nepal is now reporting about 20 daily Covid-19 cases per 100,000 people — about the same number as India was reporting two weeks ago.

Nepali devotees observing the first day of the Biska or Bisket Jatra at Taumadi, Bhaktapur, Nepal on April 10, 2021.
maharjan 2021

Last weekend, 44% of Nepal’s Covid tests came back positive, according to government figures quoted by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), as it warned of an impending crisis.

“What is happening in India right now is a horrifying preview of Nepal’s future if we cannot contain this latest Covid surge that is claiming more lives by the minute,” Nepal’s Red Cross chairperson, Dr. Netra Prasad Timsina, said in a statement.

The virus’ rapid spread has raised fears Nepal is teetering on the brink of a crisis just as devastating as India’s — if not worse.

Nepal has a fragile health system, with fewer doctors per capita than India, and a lower vaccination rate than its neighbor. The country’s high test positivity rate suggests it isn’t catching nearly enough cases.

Mass public events, including festivals, political gatherings and weddings, have allowed cases to spread, along with general public complacency and slow government action.

“The situations are worsening day by day and it may go out of control in future,” Dr Samir Adhikari, a spokesperson for Nepal’s Ministry of Health and Population, said Monday.

Although Nepal has tightened borders and imposed lockdowns in its worst-hit regions — including the capital — some fear that won’t be enough to contain the virus as it spreads through the capital, and even as far as Everest Base CampShops closed during the first day of lockdown in Kathmandu, Nepal, April 29, 2021.

A porous border

Only a month ago this Himalayan nation of 31 million people was reporting about 100 cases a day. Now, it’s more than 8,600.

Some have blamed that on India’s raging second wave spilling over into Nepal, which shares long, open land border with its neighbor.

Nepalis don’t need to show their passport or ID card to enter their country, and many Nepali people have businesses in India, and vice versa, meaning cross-border traffic is high. In recent weeks, some Indians have fled their country’s second wave, hoping to access health care in Nepal or escape to a third country, Adhikari said.

“It’s very hard to stop all the mobility between the two countries,” he added.

In recent days, Nepal tightened those rules. Nepali citizens can now only cross from India at 13 out of 35 border points, according to Nepal’s Foreign Minister, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.

But returnees need to be tested at the border, according to Shankar Bahadur Bista, assistant chief district officer of Banke district, which borders India.

Anyone who test negative can go home — but positive cases must enter a quarantine facility or hospital, he added.

However, Dr Sameer Mani Dixit, a Nepal-based public health research scientist, says those measures came too late — the virus was already spreading within the country.

Large-scale gatherings

Nepal’s crisis began building in early April, as the country’s Prime Minister K. P. Sharma Oli touted yet another unproven coronavirus remedy.

Oli said the illness could be treated by gargling with guava leaves, adding to his ridiculed comments last year that Nepalis had stronger immune systems due to their daily intake of spices.

As April progressed, Nepalis gathered for religious festivals at home and across the border in India, where Nepali devotees joined Hindus who bathed in the Ganges for Kumbh Mela, one of the world’s biggest religious gatherings.

They included Nepal’s former King Gyanendra Shah and Queen Komal Shah, who were admitted to hospital with Covid-19 on their return to Nepal, according to a statement from Norvic International Hospital in Kathmandu.

Around the same time, thousands of Nepalis gathered in the capital to celebrate the major religious festival Pahan Charhe. Others came together in Bhaktapur, a nearby city to celebrate Bisket Jatra, despite authorities ordering them not to, according to local media. One placard in support of the event read: “Our festival is dearer than our lives to us.”

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At Least One Person Climbing Mt. Everest Has Tested Positive

BBC- Norwegian climber Erlend Ness was isolated in hospital for eight nights due to the virus, he told the BBC.

Reports say a sherpa in his party had also tested positive for the virus.

The outbreak is a blow to Nepal, which relies heavily on income generated from Everest expeditions.

Mr Ness is unsure where he could have caught the virus, but raised the possibility of catching it whilst in one of the tea houses along the Khumbu Valley.

He added that he could have “done more” to protect himself, such as being more diligent with handwashing, and wearing a mask all day.

“Not many people used masks on the trek,” recalled Mr Ness, who had been feeling sick for about six days in the mountains before being evacuated on April 15 by helicopter.

He was taken to two different hospitals in the Nepali capital Kathmandu, and tested positive for the virus three times.

He has since recovered – testing negative on April 22 – and is now staying with friends in the city.

Hundreds of foreign climbers are expected to attempt the ascent this spring season, which began in April, after the slopes were shut off due to the pandemic.

Aside from wider tourism revenue, Nepal earns $4m (£3.1m) by issuing Everest climbing permits every year, according to the Kathmandu Post.

All travellers entering Nepal must present a negative Covid report, taken within 72 hours of their first flight, according to Nepal’s Department of Immigration.

Passengers from counties with new Covid variants will be subject to an additional 10 days of hotel quarantine. If a test comes back negative after five days, they will be allowed to spend their remaining five days in home quarantine.

Reporting by the BBC’s Waiyee Yip.

 

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Teenage boy stabbed, another arrested at western Sydney school

A teenage boy has been stabbed and another arrested at a school in western Sydney this afternoon.

Emergency services were called to Glenwood High School about 1.15pm and found a 16-year-old student with multiple stab wounds to his stomach.

An argument broke out at lunchtime and police will allege the younger boy pulled out an ornamental-style knife and stabbed the 16-year-old twice in the stomach.

A student was stabbed this afternoon at Glenwood High School

READ MORE: Queensland man in ICU after receiving AstraZeneca jab

The school went into lockdown students told to stay inside.

An ambulance was called, and he was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening wounds.

He is in a stable condition, undergoing treatment at Westmead Hospital.

The 14-year-old was charged with wounding with intent and will face court tomorrow.

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New COVID-19 restrictions now in place for Greater Sydney

NSW Health has announced a new venue of concern connected to the current COVID-19 outbreak.

The update came after a raft of new COVID-19 restrictions went into effect at 5pm across the state.

Anyone who visited XOPP restaurant in Haymarket on Wednesday, April 28 between 1.30pm and 2.30pm has been asked to get tested and self-isolate until a negative result is received.

EXPLAINER: All the Greater Sydney restrictions

Gladys Berejiklian

The health department has also updated its list of venues, with updated times.

Restrictions are now in place across Greater Sydney as health authorities work to find the missing link that saw a Woollahra couple test positive to coronavirus.

A man in his 50s from Sydney's Eastern Suburbs tested positive yesterday and today his wife was also confirmed to have contracted the virus.

LISTED: Every Sydney venue where patrons are urged to get tested

The restrictions will remain in place for Friday, Saturday and Sunday and are aimed at reducing any possible community transmission.

Authorities are still unable to determine where the couple contracted it, but genomic testing has found the strain is the same as a returned traveller.

The returned traveller came back from the United States on April 26 and entered hotel quarantine at the Park Royal in Darling Harbour, before testing positive to COVID-19 on his day one test, when he was moved to Sydney Health Accommodation on April 28.

READ MORE: Popular restaurant at busy shopping centre visited by COVID cases

"We are currently reviewing CCTV footage to look at how the transmission got from this individual to our case," Dr Chant said.

"What we're concerned about is that there is a missing link, because there is no direct contact that we've been able to establish yet."

New restrictions in place

No more than 20 people will be allowed in people's homes.

There will be no singing or dancing in indoor venues, including places of worship and entertainment venues. Weddings will be given an exception with health advice to limit patrons on the dancefloor to 20.

Mask-wearing will be compulsory at all public indoor places for the next three days.

The NSW Premier is urging Sydneysiders in particular to be cautious over the next few days, as it remained likely that unidentified cases were wandering around the city.

She urged everyone to follow the mask rules and, if going to a bar, to sit down while drinking.

"Enjoy Mother's Day – do what you would normally do," Ms Berejiklian said.

"We're actually saying to businesses, keep your doors open, just make sure you have a COVID safe plan."

She said she expected to be criticised by other state premiers for not going hard enough, but urged that it remained "business as usual" for businesses.

"Our decision is based on advice – it's proportionate," she said.

"If this was Queensland or WA or anywhere else, they would have shut down the whole city, they would have shut down businesses."

NSW's snap restrictions explained

The following measures will be effective from midday today(enforceable from 5pm) until 12.01am Monday, 10 May for the Greater Sydney region (including Wollongong, Central Coast and Blue Mountains):

  • Visitors to households will be limited to 20 guests – including children;
  • Masks will be compulsory on public transport and in all public indoor venues, such as retail, theatres, hospitals, aged care facilities and for front-of-house hospitality staff (except in a hospitality venue when eating or drinking);
  • Drinking while standing up at indoor venues will not be allowed;
  • Singing by audiences at indoor shows or by congregants at indoor places of worship will not be allowed;
  • Dancing will not be allowed at indoor hospitality venues or nightclubs however, dancing is allowed at weddings with a strong recommendation that no more than 20 people should be on the dancefloor at any one time; and
  • Visitors to aged care facilities will be limited to two people.

Additional restrictions for NSW Aged Care Facilities

Additional restrictions have been implemented for aged care facilities in the Greater Sydney region including Sydney, Nepean Blue Mountains and the Central Coast.

Going forward, a maximum of two visitors will be permitted per resident, per day.

All visitors and team members must wear a mask while inside the premises.

People who have been a close contact of the identified case or been at the casual contact locations will not be allowed to enter.

https://twitter.com/cokeefe9/status/1390108512466788352

'We know for sure' someone with COVID has been moving around Sydney

Ms Berejiklian has defended today's new restrictions as "reasonable" and "proportionate", saying that we know "for sure" that someone infectious with COVID-19 has been moving around in the community.

"At least one person with the virus has been going around their business and we haven't found them yet," she said.

"We don't know where they've been. We don't know if they've been to major events. We don't know who they've sat next to."

She said that today's measures, particularly around the use of masks, would help protect the community against becoming infected by those people, without unnecessarily impacting on businesses.

She said that the Blue Mountains and Wollongong had been included in the restrictions as many Sydneysiders commute there.

"Last time we were told, why were we including the Illawarra, and then the next day there was a handful of cases in the Illawarra," Ms Berejiklian said.

Locations

NSW Health advised on Thursday night a new venue of concern, XOPP restaurant, has been identified and others have been updated as part of ongoing investigations into two COVID-19 cases.

Tuesday, April 27:

– Fratelli Fresh, Westfield Sydney, F5 Pitt Street, Sydney , 1:15pm to 2:15pm

Wednesday, April 28:

– XOPP, Mezzanine level, 1 Little Pier Street in Haymarket, 1:30pm to 2:30pm

Thursday, April 29:

– Bondi Trattoria, 34 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach , 12.45pm to 1.30pm

Friday, April 30:

– District Brasserie, Chifley Square, 11am – 11:45am

– HineSight Optometrist, Sofitel Sydney, Wentworth, 12pm – 1pm

– Barbetta, Paddington, 1:30pm – 2:30pm

– Event Cinemas (not including those who attended screening of The Courier), Westfield Bondi Junction, 6pm – 8pm

– Figo Restaurant, Rushcutters Bay, 8.45pm – 11pm

Saturday, May 1:

– Joe's Barbeques & Heating, Silverwater, 1pm – 1.45pm

– Tucker Barbecues, Silverwater, 1pm – 1.45pm

– Barbeques Galore, Annandale, 2pm – 3pm

– Barbeques Galore, Casula, 3:35pm to 4:05pm

– BP Runway, Cnr Butler Road, General Holmes Dr, Mascot, 4.30pm – 5pm

Sunday, May 2:

– The Meat Store, Bondi Junction, 3pm – 4pm

Monday, May 3:

– The Stadium Club, Moore Park, 11.30am-12.30pm

– Azure Café, Moore Park, 12.30pm-1pm

– The Royal Sydney Golf Club (bridge room and club bar), Rose Bay, 5:20pm to 10:00pm

Tuesday, May 4:

– Rug Cleaning Repairs Hand Rug Wash Sydney, Brookvale, 12.30pm-1pm

– Alfresco Emporium, Collaroy, 1pm-2pm

– SMITH MADE, Balgowlah, 2.30pm-2.45pm

– Chemist Warehouse, Double Bay, 3.45pm-4pm

– Woolworths, Double Bay, 4.05pm-4.15pm

The full list of venues of concern and advice for those who attended the venues is available on the NSW Health website. People are urged to check the website regularly for updates.

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South Australian hoon caught doing 160km/h

An Adelaide hoon has been filmed driving 160 kilometres an hour in a 100 zone.

After the driver put lives on the line, they bragged about their racing online.

It has sparked calls in South Australia to crush the cars of dangerous drivers.

READ MORE: Hoon caught driving at 181km/h in South Australia

South Australian hoon caught doing 160km/h

This incident comes after a teenager was caught driving at 181km/h.

South Australia Police Commissioner Grant Stevens is waiting for the government to finalise legislation to treat dangerous drivers as criminals.

READ MORE: Rescue after man falls on bulk carrier ship

Those laws are currently being drafted by the government.

It expects them to be finalised and ready to introduce them into the parliament in the coming weeks.