As it happened:Novak Djokovic’s visa cancelled by Immigration Minister;tennis star’s Australian Open campaign under threat;COVID-19 cases continue to grow across the nation

Western Australia has reported one new local case of COVID-19 in a child,who is a household contact of a positive case previously announced.

“There is no community concern as the child has been in quarantine throughout their infectious period,” WA Health said.

The state also reported eight travel-related cases of COVID-19. Seven of those acquired the virus interstate and one case is related to an overseas traveller. All are in quarantine.

The department said Chief Health Officer Dr Andy Robertson had advised “case 1260” - a woman announced in the state on Wednesday as having acquired the virus from an unknown source - had been linked to another case.

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Immediate testing advised for 14 COVID-19 exposure sites in Perth’s south

“Genome sequencing has connected the previously announced case of the Tasmania returned traveller with case 1260,” WA Health said.

“This was a result of comprehensive tracing by WA Health officials and is the reason WA Health is issuing new public health advice for exposure sites in Perth’s south.”

There are 118 confirmed active cases in WA. Of those,42 are in hotel quarantine and 76 in self-quarantine.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke has used his personal power to cancel Novak Djokovic’s visa,as his lawyers prepare to file an immediate injunction against the decision.

The move has thrown the world tennis no.1’s quest for a 10th Australian Open into turmoil with the tournament to begin on Monday. If he doesn’t challenge the decision in the courts or is unsuccessful in doing so,he will be immediately deported from the country.

Late this afternoon,Mr Hawke said:

Today I exercised my power under section 133C(3) of the Migration Act to cancel the visa held by Mr Novak Djokovic on health and good order grounds,on the basis that it was in the public interest to do so.

This decision followed orders by the Federal Circuit and Family Court on 10 January 2022,quashing a prior cancellation decision on procedural fairness grounds.

In making this decision,I carefully considered information provided to me by the Department of Home Affairs,the Australian Border Force and Mr Djokovic.

The Morrison Government is firmly committed to protecting Australia’s borders,particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story here.

The streets surrounding the office of Novak Djokovic’s lawyers remained quiet this afternoon as Australia awaited a decision on the cancellation of the tennis star’s visa.

Two police officers manned the vehicle entrance to the building on Flinders Lane until about 3.45pm,when they drove off without being replaced.

Djokovic fans,who have relentlessly showed their support for the tennis pro since he was detained and moved to Park Hotel last week,were nowhere to be seen. It was a markedly different scene after the original cancellation decision was overturned and fans clashed with police on Monday night.

Immigration Minister Alex Hawke is expected to make a decision on Djokovic’s visa today after revising new documents submitted by the star’s lawyers on Wednesday.

For all the updates,read our live blog on the saga here.

NSW’s shortage of rapid antigen tests comes after the government last week allowed people to confirm their COVID-19 infections through the at-home kits instead of PCR tests.

The supply constraints are unlikely to ease for weeks as pharmacists report being “at their wits’ end” trying to source adequate supplies.

Sydney residents desperate for the tests have paid up to $30 for individual kits that appear to have been separated from larger packs and sold in resealable sandwich bags.

Pharmacy Guild of Australia NSW branch president David Heffernan said pharmacists did not have enough time to prepare for the move away from PCR testing to rapid antigen tests.

“It would have been good to have some consultation in early December … because then we could have prepared,orders of RAT tests could have come in,vaccines could have been sorted,” he said.

“The demand has just been through the roof,and it’s still through the roof. I’m nearly at my wits’ end.

“There are real workforce issues here now and the concern is that it’s not just RAT tests that are going to be in short supply,but it’s pharmacists as well.”

Read the full story here.

We’re still waiting on Western Australia’s COVID-19 update.

However,here’s where every other state and territory is at:

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Hillsong Church maintains its youth camps are “not music festivals”,after NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said he was “completely shocked” to see video of attendees partying without masks at a summer camp near Newcastle and NSW Health called for an immediate end to singing and dancing.

Mr Perrottet said the organisation should be fined if it is found to be in breach of COVID-19 restrictions,which ban singing and dancing at music festivals,hospitality venues,nightclubs,entertainment facilities and major recreation facilities. The order does not apply to religious services.

“I understand that Hillsong are ensuring that that doesn’t occur again. But I was incredibly disappointed,” Mr Perrottet said. “These rules aren’t there for the sake of it.”

In a statement issued today,Hillsong Church said its camps have a Christian focus and include worship services,and that over the three days “the percentage of time spent singing is minor”.

It stated it had “always abided by public health orders as directed by each government”,considered the safety of attendees and the wider community to be priorities for the church,and took COVID safe procedures seriously including having professional paramedics on-site and testing capabilities.

“It is important to clarify that the current youth camps we are holding are not music festivals,” Hillsong said.

“These are high school-aged events that include sporting activities and games. They are alcohol-free events,held outdoors,and the number of students attending each camp is just over 200. The students are known to us and part of the same social network.

“All of these factors have been communicated by the NSW government as low-risk as described under current guidelines.”

Hillsong said it regretted giving any perception it was not playing its part and apologised to the community at large.

“We have since spoken to NSW Health and received instruction to cease congregant/student singing and dancing during the services that occur on the campsite and have immediately and willingly enacted that instruction,” the statement read.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet says rapid tests will play a key role in the state’s return-to-school plans,vowing that children will be back in classrooms when term begins.

“As part of the plans,we are working through how those issues are managed,and I’m very confident from what I am seeing that school disruption in terms of actual school closures will be your last resort,” the Premier said during this morning’s coronavirus update.

Mr Perrottet says NSW will work closely with Victoria when it comes to keeping children safe.

“[While no policies have been locked in],what I will say is that we’ll have kids back in school on day one,term one,in an environment that is safe for teacher and for students.

“I believe from a NSW perspective,we work closely in alignment with Victoria – two states in a very similar situation in respect of this latest COVID outbreak –[and] that we’ll be in a strong position to achieve kids in the classroom day one in a very safe way.”

As previously reported,Queensland has delayed the start of its first school term due to the current Omicron wave. And South Australia has today announced that not all year levels will return to face-to-face learning on February 2.

The Northern Territory’s daily coronavirus numbers have just dropped.

The Top End has recorded 546 official cases of COVID-19. There are 27 people in NT hospitals with coronavirus. Of those,one is in intensive care.

There are around 3300 active cases of COVID-19 across the NT,according to Chief Minister Michael Gunner. He says around 75 per cent of cases are in the Greater Darwin area.

Mr Gunner has also revealed a recent reporting failure with the Top End’s check-in app.

“The person responsible for tasking this ... has been stood down,” the Chief Minister told reporters just now.

“From today,Territorians will start receiving messages of an exposure site they’ve been to[which hadn’t been happening over the past few days].

“Territorians have a right to be told when they’ve been to an exposure site. I’m sorry. It’s inexcusable.”

Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner provided today’s coronavirus update.

He spoke around 2pm AEDT.