Although Brisbane's 2032 Olympic Games selection celebration is still fresh in our minds, the groundwork has already been done towards the event's athletes' village.

New artist's impressions released today show what the Northshore Hamilton site could look like in 11 years, with the city's winning bid triggering $14 million in new roads, water and sewerage for the area.

Deputy Premier Steven Miles said the design is the "beginning of an Olympic transformation" for the river city.

READ MORE: Ariarne Titmus wins gold, claims OR in 200m freestyle final

The site will house 10,000 Olympians, 5000 Paralympians and will see chefs churning out 60,000 meals a day, requiring 210,000 kilograms of raw ingredients.

"When the athletes go to the food hall, they're eating Queensland beef, Queensland vegetables," Mr Miles said.

Despite the Queensland Government already investing another $115 million in further preparation works, it remains unclear how much the final price tag will be.

What has been made clear is the fate of the site once the Games are over – with a mixture of hotels, aged care, and residential accommodation being tipped to take up the athlete exodus.

"We certainly hope that it will allow us to deliver some housing for social and affordable housing," Mr Miles said.

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New South Wales has recorded 239 new local cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, marking the highest number of community transmission infections since the beginning of the pandemic.

At least 66 of these were infectious while in the community. Two more people have also died from the virus.

As a result of the growing infections, new rules will be put in place for the eight high-risk LGAs in Greater Sydney.

LIVE UPDATES: New rules for high-risk areas

READ MORE: All the new rules coming for Greater Sydney's extended lockdown explained

"Based on those numbers we can only assume that things are likely to get worse before they get better given the quantum of people infectious in the community," Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

More than 110,000 people were tested yesterday – another record for the state. 

New rules for Sydney hotspot LGAs

New compliance measures are being introduced in high-risk LGAs across Greater Sydney.

Three new LGAs were yesterday added to the NSW Government's list of high-risk areas as the spread of the Delta strain shows no signs of slowing.

Those living in Parramatta, Georges River and Campbelltown are not allowed to leave their local areas unless on the list of authorised workers.

They join residents in the Fairfield, Liverpool, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland and Blacktown local government areas.

For residents living in the eight local government areas, they must wear a mask at all times when outside the house.

"If you step foot outside your household, you need to wear a mask at all times. It doesn't matter where it is," Ms Berejiklian said.

"We're seeing too much evidence of people who are not wearing masks when they need to, or if they are outdoors, they're coming into contact with other people and not having a mask."

Penalties for not wearing a mask will increase from $200 to $500.

Additionally, residents within those LGAs will only be able to move within a five kilometre radius of their homes.

"It doesn't matter what the reason is … it doesn't matter whether it's for shopping. It doesn't matter whether it's for other exercising that you're allowed to leave the house from. You can't move beyond a 5km radius and that includes singles bubbles," Ms Berejiklian said.

Police given extra powers

Police will also be given extra powers to close a public premise, a work site, a workplace or business, if those entities flout the public health orders.

Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said he sought extra police powers due to continued non-compliance of COVID-19 rules in Greater Sydney. 

"We all want to come out of lockdown," Mr Fuller said. 

"These new powers are about getting us out of lockdown sooner. So you can expect to see more police on the ground. You can expect to see more enforcement," he said. 

Police Minister David Elliot said authorities "detest" the tightened restrictions, however the measures are necessary to reduce case numbers. 

"It is important for the community to rest assured that short-term pain has a long-term gain," Mr Elliot said. 

"We want to make sure that everybody complies with the restrictions knowing full well that it is the intent of the police, it is the intent of the government and certainly the intent of the commissioner and I to get rid of these restrictions and fines as quickly as we had to introduce them."

Police have not ruled out a 'ring of steel' around Sydney if the number of LGAs of high concern increase, Mr Fuller said.

"Nothing is off the table between conversations between the premier and myself.

"We are not stretched at the moment, but clearly if there was an LGA expansion, I would absolutely have the confidence in expanding the Australian Defence Force in NSW."

Police will be conducting at-home checks of people supposed to be in isolation particularly in hotspot suburbs in south-west and western Sydney.

"Overnight we conducted hundreds of checks, particularly close contact or those who have the virus," Mr Fuller said.

"We'll continue to do that. We know home-to-home transmission is a huge issue for us. 

"We know people are bringing it home from work sites which aren't complying with health orders.

"We will be patrolling the streets and we have the right to seek information from people in terms of their residence so we can check that."

Two more people die in Sydney

Two more people have died as a result of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours in NSW, neither of whom were vaccinated against the virus. 

The deaths include a woman in her 90s from south-western Sydney who died yesterday morning at Liverpool Hospital. 

"She was not vaccinated and was a household contact of a confirmed case," Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said. 

The woman was not connected to the virus cluster at Liverpool Hospital. 

The second death was a man in his 80s from south-western Sydney who passed away yesterday afternoon at Royal North Shore Hospital.

"Again, he was not vaccinated and was a household contact of a confirmed case," Dr Chant said.

Dr Chant said more deaths are likely if vaccination rates don't increase.

"At this level of cases, we are going to continue to see further deaths. And, sadly, too many elderly people in our communities are not protected," she said. 

Over a quarter of people over the age of 70 yet to receive their first dose of the vaccine, Dr Chant said.

"I'm drawing the point to the fact that the consequences for someone over 70 will inevitably be almost tragic. So please get vaccinated," she said.

There are currently 182 people with COVID-19 admitted to hospital with 54 people in intensive care and 22 of whom require ventilation.

Hospital worker tests positive

A staff member at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital's emergency department has tested positive to COVID-19. 

The worker is fully vaccinated but was potentially infectious on July 24 to July 27.

"That person did not have any symptoms and they tested positive with a regular surveillance test," Dr Chant said.

"All close contacts and casual contact have been identified and contacted and there's no evidence of transmission to date to staff or patients and the emergency department has been thoroughly cleaned and there's no disruption to patient care." 

Earlier this morning NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro this morning admitted it's difficult to know "what's working and what's not working".

Speaking on Today, Mr Barilaro said the government was doing what it could to curb the spread of the virus.

"It's difficult to sort of quantify what's working and what's not working," Mr Barilaro said.

"The reality is, even though we continue to see a rise in numbers, those numbers aren't accelerating into hundreds and hundreds. So in one way the restrictions are working but, of course, more needs to be done…I have no crystal ball to tell you what to do next."

When asked by Karl Stefanovic how the public should have confidence in what the NSW government is doing, Mr Barilaro said there was "no rule book".

"I can assure the public that they should have confidence because what we have done in the past, what we have in front of us.

"But we are not going to pretend that we have every answer because we don't."

But infectious diseases expert Professor Robert Booy refuted claims from Mr Barilaro, insisting the state does know what measures were effective in crushing the outbreak. 

"We know a lot of things that are working. Every day the evidence has improved," Professor Booy said. 

He said Sydney had "flattened that curve" but case numbers were still surging due to people interacting with one another. 

"It's already working, but there's too much mixing of people. It's pretty simple."

He also said expanded hotspot zones in Sydney will help drive COVID-19 cases down.

Professor Booy said he has been tracking Taiwan's coronavirus figures amid its lockdown and noticed similarities to the Sydney outbreak.

"I'm confident that we'll see a major improvement," he told Today.

"I followed the progress of a country (Taiwan) that's been one month ahead of us.

"They're down to less than 20 for the last few days. Same number of people, same level of Delta problem. They've got it under control."

The lockdown across Greater Sydney has been extended for a further four weeks, due to end on Saturday August 28.

Construction will not be allowed to resume in any of the eight LGAs of concern nor will construction workers be allowed to leave these areas.

READ MORE: Coronavirus outbreaks have 'significantly reduced' vaccine hesitancy

Work in other local government areas will only be allowed on unoccupied sites.

But there is a sign of reprieve for some.

Year 12 students will be allowed to return to the classroom from August 16 and will be offered the Pfizer vaccine.

Rapid antigen testing will be introduced to mitigate the risk of outbreaks.

READ MORE: How to claim the COVID-19 Disaster Payment: Maximum payment lifts to $750 a week

A singles bubble has also been announced, allowing people living alone to nominate one person to visit their homes.

NSW Health says the four-week extension will allow residents "to significantly increase the uptake of vaccines in areas most affected by the current outbreak and across the state".

Overnight, authorities added dozens of new venues to the state's growing list of exposure sites.

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison says every Australian will have access to the coronavirus vaccine by Christmas.

However he added higher vaccination rates won't necessarily stop lockdowns.

"We have caught up a lot of ground on this program and Australians are responding really well. We need that to continue not just in NSW but right around the country," Mr Morrison told Today.

LIVE UPDATES: Police guard backpackers ahead of test results

READ MORE: All the new rules for Greater Sydney's extended lockdown

"That's why I think the boosting of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the new advice from the immunisation advisory body is very important. It's a strong vaccine. It's an effective vaccine. 

"It's the most recognised COVID-19 vaccine in the world and it saved millions of lives. And it can do the same here in NSW and across the country.

"So lifting those AstraZeneca vaccine rates in NSW will be incredibly helpful.

"(Vaccines) will certainly help the efforts with the lockdown. But on its own it won't stop the lockdown."

The Prime Minister said authorities and the community "have to make sure this lockdown is effective" as Sydney begins another four weeks of stay at home orders.

"I can't guarantee there won't be more lockdowns," Mr Morrison said.

"The Delta variant is the one that is most punishing here. The lesson of the last six weeks or so is that, under the Delta strain, going quickly and early is the new mode of operation."

READ MORE: Two million more Sydney residents now under tightened lockdown measures as Delta strain spreads

Mr Morrison has also defended the delayed rollout of a financial support package to help struggling businesses affected by COVID-19 lockdowns.

"$400 million and more already in people's bank accounts, giving support to more than 400,000 people across NSW," Mr Morrison said.

He said the money would keep flowing "as long as the lockdown goes".

But he's admitted to being worried about a prediction from the major banks that 300,000 people across Sydney could lose their jobs in the next month.

"Of course I am (worried) and that's why we have put the support payments in to help people to get through this.

"Of course there will be (an) impact. But there is this hope.

READ MORE: How to claim the COVID-19 Disaster Payment: Maximum payment lifts to $750 a week

"I expect that we'll see the NSW economy turn around quickly provided – and that's why these payments are so important because they keep those businesses as whole as possible so, when the restrictions lift, they can get back to work and the jobs can come back.

"Yes, there is that risk. But there is also the hope that the economy turns around very quickly and we are not seeing that big rise in JobSeeker applications because our disaster payments are working."

Officials say they have little hope of finding five missing workers alive, a day after an explosion at an industrial park for chemical companies in western Germany that killed at least two people and injured 31 others.

Tuesday's explosion at the waste management facility of the Chempark site sent a large black cloud of smoke into the air and ignited a blaze that took firefighters almost four hours to extinguish. The industrial park is located in the city of Leverkusen, near Cologne.

"The events of yesterday shocked us all," said Frank Hyldmar, the chief executive of Currenta, which operates the Chempark industrial park

READ MORE: Data suggests third dose of COVID-19 vaccine 'strongly' boosts Delta variant protection

"At least two people lost their lives," he said.

"Five are currently still missing. We no longer have much hope of finding them alive."

He added that of the 31 injured, one person was still in a life-threatening condition.

The cause of the explosion isn't yet known. Police are expected to begin their investigation in the coming days.

Currenta said the blast was linked to storage tanks filled with solvents.

Due to the thick smoke, authorities told residents Tuesday to stay indoors and shut down several major highways for hours. City officials also warned people not to let children play outside, use outside pools or eat fruit and vegetables from their backyards for the next few days.

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The environmental authority for the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Leverkusen is located, said Wednesday that the explosion's smoke contained dioxin, polychlorinated biphenyl and furan compounds. However, it could not yet say how strong the concentration of these chemicals were, DPA reported.

Currenta said that pollution measurements had so far not detected any elevated levels of hazardous substances in the air.

Leverkusen is home to Bayer, one of Germany's biggest chemical companies and one of the biggest employers in the region. The city has about 163,000 residents, many of whom work for Bayer.

The industrial park is located close to the Rhine River.

A third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine can "strongly" boost protection against the Delta variant — beyond the protection afforded by the standard two doses, new data released by Pfizer suggests.

Data posted online suggests that levels of antibodies that can target the coronavirus Delta variant grow fivefold in people 18 to 55 who get a third dose of the vaccine.

Among people ages 65 to 85, the Pfizer data suggests that antibody levels that should protect against Delta grow 11-fold more than following a second dose.

LIVE UPDATES: Record coronavirus cases in Olympic host city

The data, which involved tests of 23 people, have not yet been peer-reviewed or published.

It's not clear if boosted antibody levels actually correlate to better protection, or if that extra protection is even needed. The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention says the current vaccines protect people well against all the common variants.

During a company earnings call yesterday morning, Dr Mikael Dolsten, who leads worldwide research, development and medical for Pfizer, called the new data on a third dose of vaccine "encouraging."

"Receiving a third dose more than six months after vaccination, when protection may be beginning to wane, was estimated to potentially boost the neutralizing antibody titers in participants in this study to up to 100 times higher post-dose three compared to pre-dose three," Dr Dolsten said in prepared remarks.

"These preliminary data are very encouraging as Delta continues to spread."

The data also shows that antibody levels are much higher against the original coronavirus variant and the Beta variant, first identified in South Africa, after a third dose.

Separately, Pfizer and its partner BioNtech released new safety and efficacy data for their coronavirus vaccine yesterday, and said it shows protection holds up for at least six months, although it may start to wane slightly towards the end of that time.

The pre-print paper, posted to the online server medrxiv.org, updates results from Pfizer's trial involving 44,000 volunteers around the world.

It found the overall efficacy was about 91 per cent during the six months. Vaccine efficacy against severe COVID-19 was about 97 per cent, the data show. The paper has not yet been peer-reviewed nor published in a journal.

The data show that the vaccine's efficacy peaked at more than 96 per cent from a week to around two months after receiving a second dose of vaccine, and then appeared to gradually decline to 83.7 per cent four to six months later, with an average decline of about six per cent over the last two months.

Earlier this month, Pfizer announced it has seen waning immunity from its coronavirus vaccine, saying it is picking up its efforts to develop a third dose that will protect people from variants. The company also specified it would seek emergency use authorisation under the US Food and Drug Administration for a third dose in August.

READ MORE: COVID outbreaks have 'significantly reduced' vaccine hesitancy

But in an unusual move, the FDA and CDC said at the time Americans don't need third doses quite yet and that it was not up to companies alone to decide when an additional dose might be needed.

US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy repeated that point yesterday, telling CNN's Poppy Harlow, "People do not need to go out and get a booster shot."

Also, there is much more to the immune system than antibodies.

For instance, experts say it remains unclear how antibody levels correlate with real-world immunity, and to what extent other parts of the immune system — such as B cells and T cells — could factor into protection.

Pfizer to submit third-dose vaccine data to FDA soon

Pfizer said it anticipates submitting data on a third dose of its coronavirus vaccine to the FDA as soon as next month, Dr Dolsten said during yesterday's earnings call.

"We are in ongoing discussions with regulatory agencies regarding a potential third-dose booster of the current vaccine and, assuming positive results, anticipate an emergency use authorisation submission as early as August," Dr Dolsten said.

In order for third doses to be administered to people in the United States, the emergency use authorisation that the FDA issued for the vaccine would either need to be amended or, if the vaccine were fully FDA approved, a third dose could be given off label.

"We continue to believe it is likely that a third-dose booster may be needed within six to 12 months after full vaccination to maintain the highest level of protection, and studies are underway to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of a third dose," Dr Dolsten said, adding that data suggest antibody levels appear to decline around eight months after receiving a second dose of vaccine.

"Pending regulatory approval, we also plan to start an immunogenicity and safety study in August to evaluate an updated version of our vaccine specifically designed to target the Delta variant."

He mentioned how the Delta variant is the "most transmissible" yet seen and now represents about 83 per cent of sequenced COVID-19 cases in the United States.

READ MORE: Australia secures 85 million Pfizer booster shots

Surgeon general: 'People do not need to go out and get a booster shot'

At this point, the decision on if and when booster shots are necessary will be made by agencies such as the FDA and CDC, Dr Murthy said on CNN yesterday.

"This data from Pfizer, we've been in talks with them about what they're seeing with regard to their studies related to boosters," Dr Murthy said, when asked about Pfizer's new data.

"But at this point, I want to be very clear: People do not need to go out and get a booster shot."

Dr Murthy said government agencies would be "looking at the whole breadth of data that will come from companies, that will come from cohorts that the CDC is now following, where they're tracking whether or not there is any waning in immunity or increase in breakthrough rates.

"Ultimately, that collective information is what will drive any decision about boosters."

Dr Murthy also said that the question of whether it was ethical for a third booster shot to be recommended while there is a major vaccine supply shortage in the developing world was a "critical question" because the ability to reduce the likelihood of future variants depends on tamping down spread of the virus around the world.

"We as a country have a vested interest in getting the rest of the world vaccinated," Dr Murthy said. "It's one of the reasons why we don't want to have to choose between giving our population boosters, if it's required, and vaccinating the rest of the world."

This is why the United States is making sure it is increasing manufacturing capacity in other countries, he said, working with vaccine companies such as Pfizer and Moderna to ensure they are producing more for the rest of the world and donating excess supply to other countries.

A disability worker has pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of an Adelaide woman she was meant to be caring for.

Rosemary Maione, 68, was paid to look after Annie Smith, who lived with cerebral palsy.

Instead, Ms Smith was confined to a chair for nearly a year and lived in squalid conditions in her Kensington Park home.

READ MORE: South Australian lockdown lifts after no new cases of COVID-19

Ms Smith, 54, was found malnourished, with her organs failing, and in septic shock.

She died a day after she was taken to hospital in April last year.

Today, 11 months after her arrest, Maione admitted to manslaughter.

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Ms Smith's brother welcomed the guilty plea.

"While nothing will ever make what happened to Annie go away, those who inflicted harm and ultimately caused the death of Annie, need to be brought to justice," he told 9News.

"The faster this happens the better."

Disability advocate Kelly Vincent, who also lives with cerebral palsy, said she hoped Maione "rots in prison".

"She will never know – like I do and thousands of other people around this country know – how frightening it can be to rely on someone every day to get you out of bed, to put you in the shower, to put your clothes on," Ms Vincent said.

Maione will appear in the Supreme Court in September, where prosecutors say they'll likely ask to have her bail revoked.

Maione remains in home detention for now.

A Queensland pup prodigy has taken the title of the Gold Coast's newest sporting idol, doing it all from the back of his longboard.

Pork Chops, the six-year-old British bulldog, has become the coast's most recent surfing superstar after amassing a large wave of fans and has even landed his first sponsorship deal.

Opting to swap the leash for the leg rope, Pork Chops owner Sam Rollinson told 9News the clever dog's skill just came naturally.

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"I was just down the beach one day; he ran down and jumped on a board," Mr Rollinson said.

"I took him out, and he was a natural; he ran up the nose when he needed to catch the wave and came back when we needed to come down."

All the practice in the water has appeared to pay off, with Pork Chops now inking a new lucrative sponsorship deal with local pet probiotic manufacturer Ipromea.

"It's more of a food deal; he loves the food." Mr Rollinson added.

Ipromea Brand Manager Tony Davis said the deal seemed like a "national relationship" between the two Gold Coast locals.

"I was aware of Chops; he's an icon on the Gold Coast," Mr Davis said.

Chops hitting the big time comes after he was already the face of Ride a Wave Surf School, with many not arguing for a better example.

Motorists in the Wellington region are warned to expect delays on State Highway 1 due to a crash this morning, with queues forming through Porirua. Waka Kotahi advised that SH1 was partially blocked just before the Tawa interchange,…