Wife pregnant with triplets mourns death of cricket coach husband Matt Conwell

Matt Conwell, 32, died in Brisbane on September 2 in what police say was a suicide. His wife of 12 years, Ashleigh Conwell, 29, is expecting the couple’s three babies later this year.

Mrs Conwell’s sister Emily Fallon told the Courier Mail her brother-in-law was struggling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and made a “snap decision”.

“It was a snap decision, a moment of clouded judgement, and totally out of character,” Ms Fallon told the publication. “This year’s been tough for everyone, even the strongest people you thought could get through it, and while there were some struggles and stresses there, it just shows suicide doesn’t discriminate.

“The outpouring of support is a testament to the kind of person Matt was – very non-judgemental, very genuine and caring, an unassuming, quiet person who had time for everyone.”

Matt and Ashleigh Conwell. Matt died on September 2, with his wife Ashleigh expecting triplets.

A GoFundMe page set up to support the expectant mother during this unimaginable time has already garnered more than $142,000 as of Tuesday morning.

“The pregnancy, delivery and care of triplets is challenging for any couple. This has now been made so much more difficult for Ashleigh with the loss of her beloved soulmate, who was so looking forward to meeting his babies,” Mrs Conwell’s best friend Alex Nesevski wrote on the page.

“Not only has Ashleigh’s world been torn apart emotionally, the financial hardship she now finds herself in is significant. Both Matt and Ashleigh had been impacted by COVID-19 in their job roles; they were already stretching every dollar and budgeting tightly for the arrival of their unexpected but so very wanted an ‘instant’ family.

“Losing Matt has placed an almost overwhelming burden on Ashleigh.”

Thousands of Australians have donated, leaving heartfelt messages of support and condolences for Mrs Conwell as she prepares to raise the couple’s three children alone.

“As a parent of 10 year old triplets, I can’t imagine what you are going through,” one father wrote.

“I don’t know you but my heart breaks for you. I am so so sorry for your loss,” another said.

While another wrote: “Ashleigh, we have not met, but my heart hurts for you.”

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Matt and Ashleigh were married and expecting children.

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Mr Conwell, known affectionately as ‘Cozzy’, worked with professional and premier grade sporting clubs, including his work as a strength and conditioning coach for the Brisbane Roar But it appears cricket was where his loyalties were with an outpouring of grief and support from various cricket clubs on social media.

Brisbane-based community club Wolston Park Centenary Cricket said Mr Conwell was “a driving force for Queensland Cricket” in many development programs.

Dear WPC Cricket members, families and friends, You may have notice a couple of posts regarding the tragic passing of...Posted by WPC Cricket on Sunday, September 6, 2020

“Matt always presented a smiling face and he will be sadly missed by everyone who had the privilege of knowing him,” WPC Cricket Club President Peter Davies wrote on the club’s Facebook page.

The Redlands Tigers Club, whom Mr Conwell worked with, held a pre game gathering and minutes silence at the weekend for their “great friend and teammate”.

South Brisbane Cricket Club Brisbane Super King also said Mr Conwell “was a huge part of BSK Juniors over the recent years and will deeply missed”.

A mental health emergency has erupted in the months since Australia launched its unprecedented response to coronavirus, with anxiety and depression rates skyrocketing.

The consequences of that, coupled with the long-term psychological distressed caused by unemployment and its myriad side-effects, will see suicide rates jump sharply.

“The predicted increase of suicides is 25 per cent each year for the next five years,” Professor Ian Hickie, co-director of the Brain and Mind Centre at The University of Sydney, said.

“That’s 750 extra deaths by suicide a year. It’s an enormous number. It will be a massively bigger death toll than COVID.”

If you wish to donate to Mrs Conwell you can access the GoFundMe page here.

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Jim’s Mowing pens scathing letter to Dan Andrews

In the letter penned on Monday morning and seen by NCA NewsWire, the mowing magnate outlined how an extension of the lockdown would compromise the wellbeing of his Victorian contractors.

“Premier, you will have blood on your hands,” Mr Penman wrote.

“Every day I hear stories of misery and despair. Putting people out of work without need is a massive risk to health and wellbeing. I have one franchisee whose son barely survived a suicide attempt. His daughter too is severely depressed.

“Another franchisee had until four weeks ago a superb business with an exceptional customer service rating. Unfortunately, she had not been operating long enough to build a reserve, and your restrictions wiped out her savings. She can get no government support, is begging for leftovers from neighbours and surviving only by loans from myself and others.

“These examples could be multiplied a thousand times.”

Last week, Mr Penman told NCA NewsWire his Victorian contractors financially affected by Melbourne’s strict second lockdown would sue the State Government for $7 million.

He said about 700 contractors across the state were losing about $3000 a week since the Premier’s controversial workplace restrictions prevented cleaners and gardeners from working.

“When these regulations were changed, I advised all affected franchisees to cease work, and we suspended their fees. Even though feeling the restrictions unfair and wrong, they agreed to do this for the six weeks. This extension has filled them with despair,” Mr Penman wrote in Monday’s letter.

“I appeal to you once more to drop this senseless measure, to put human welfare before the cynical pursuit of political advantage. Sole operators on a site are no risk to public health, and should be allowed to work – regardless of whether they are part of the Jim’s Group or not.

“This applies to all sole operator and mum and dad businesses across the state who have no voice.”

Jim’s Mowing founder Jim Penman is appealing to the Premier again, to reconsider changes that prevent sole operators from working.

Jim Penman outlines worrying details of his contractors suffering, as a result of the harsh lockdown.

Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Sunday the stage-four lockdown measures in Melbourne would be extended until September 28.

Some conditions will be eased from 11.59pm on September 13, including the 8pm curfew, which will move to 9pm to account for the longer days, while public outdoor gatherings of up to two people will be allowed.

Exercise will also be increased to two hours per day, up from one hour a day.

Singles will be able to have one nominated person visit them, as part of a “bubble” system.

But people must continue staying within 5km of their home, unless they were travelling for essential work or education purposes.

anthony.piovesan@news.com.au

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Returned traveller only new COVID-19 case in Qld

The new case had already been in hotel quarantine.

Tuesday, 8 September – coronavirus cases in Queensland:• 1 new confirmed case• 25 active cases• 1,134 total confirmed cases• 978,869 tests conductedSadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,090 patients have recovered.#covid19au pic.twitter.com/sEvUxXMpBQ— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) September 7, 2020

It comes after a fifth healthcare worker from the Ipswich Hospital tested positive to COVID-19 on Monday. More than 200 staff are currently in home quarantine awaiting further testing.

Elective surgeries have been cancelled this week, with reinforcement staff called in to ensure emergency and acute departments remain open.

On Monday, Queensland Health director-general John Wakefield said the newest case had contracted the virus from one of her colleagues.

Dr Wakefield said the outbreak had been contained to staff members working in the COVID ward, or their close contacts.

It comes as controversial construction tycoon Mark Simonds and his Lady Pamela travel companions will today leave hotel quarantine, and Queensland Health authorities confirmed the group “can stay in Queensland if they want”.

There are only 25 active cases of the virus in Queensland, and the state is quickly approaching the one million tests milestone.

As of 9.45am on Tuesday, 978,869 tests have been carried out across the state.

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More Victorians interested in assisted dying

A new report into the laws released on Tuesday shows 348 people applied to end their life since the laws were introduced in June last year.

In the first six months of their operation, 137 Victorians applied, rising to 211 in the second six months ending June 30 this year.

In total, 124 people died from taking the prescribed medications, with 46 in the first six months and 78 in the second.

Those applying to end their life must be deemed eligible before they are granted a permit.

Conditions include that they have lived in Victoria at least 12 months and can make decisions about voluntary assisted dying.

The Voluntary Assisted Dying Review Board report says the latest figures show access to voluntary assisted dying is growing, with eligible applications rising by half from the first six months of operation.

For the first time, details have also been revealed about who is requesting assisted dying.

Applicants were aged between 32 and 100, with the average age of 71. More than half were from Melbourne and more than half were Australian born.

Forty-four per cent were female and 55 per cent were male and 1 per cent, identified as “self described”.

Loss of autonomy was frequently said to be the reason applicants gave for requesting assisted dying, the report said.

Other common reasons included being less able to do activities that make life enjoyable, losing control of body functions and loss of dignity.

Board chairperson Betty King said the COVID-19 pandemic had created more stress for people who are vulnerable and trying to self-isolate.

In the report, she says the ongoing requirement for face-to-face consultations has significantly affected those who are in regional areas or find it hard to travel due to their condition.

She called for teleconferencing to be allowed in order for consultations about assisted dying to continue.

“This board is repeating its call for the Commonwealth to reconsider making an exemption from the criminal code to allow Victorians, especially those in regional Victoria, to be able to have important conversations about voluntary assisted dying over the phone or via teleconference.”

To request assisted dying, applicants must be diagnosed with a disease, illness or medical condition that is incurable, advanced and progressive.

Their condition must be expected to cause death within no more than six months or one year for a neurodegenerative condition.

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Queensland Deputy Premier takes swipe at ScoMo over baby death

A northern NSW woman lost one of her unborn twins this week after waiting 16 hours for a flight to Sydney for treatment rather than going to the Mater Hospital in Brisbane.

Brisbane was closer to her Ballina home and was able to provide the specialised treatment she required for her unborn babies.

But the woman, and doctors at Lismore Base Hospital, reportedly believed she would have to apply for a permit to cross the border for care.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday demanded an explanation from Queensland as to how the “terribly distressing” incident could happen.

He has also put pressure on states with few cases, like Queensland, to open their borders.

But Mr Miles told him to stick to his own responsibilities.

Queensland’s Deputy Premier Steven Miles didn’t mince words at his press conference on Saturday. Picture: NCA Newswire

“Scott Morrison should spend a bit more time on the things he’s responsible for, like international borders, like aged care, like supporting the Victorian government in their response,” he said.

“And a bit less time lecturing those states that so far have done a very good job of keeping on top of COVID, and are doing their very, very best to keep their communities safe in an ongoing way.”

Mr Miles said the border restrictions were “clear” that those requiring emergency medical care, or support people for those emergency requiring medical care, were allowed to cross the border.

He said there was “no border” that would prevent health care workers from “saving lives”.

He said he would write to the NSW Health Minister to ensure NSW hospitals were aware of the rule.

Queensland opposition leader Deb Frecklington also criticised the government over the tragedy, but Mr Miles said it was a”very tragic, private matter”.

“I want to say a few things about this case because a lot has been said about it,” he said.

“This last 24 hours, watching politicians use this tragic event to further their political arguments … it’s left me feeling sick.

“I can assure you we are doing everything we can to ensure these border restrictions do not limit patients (requiring care).

“I can’t speak for hospitals in NSW.

“If there is a communication problem south of the border, I want to fix it.”

Meanwhile, Queensland recorded four new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday.

All four cases were related to the known outbreak at the Wacol correctional training academy.

One new case was a trainee at the academy and three were the wives of previously recorded cases.

Mr Miles said some of these cases had already been reported in the media in the past 24 hours.

There are 18 Queenslanders with COVID-19 in hospital, and 24 active cases in the state.

Mr Miles praised health services for conducting 18,763 tests in the 24 hours to Saturday, adding it was a “really promising result” that the testing blitz turned up only four cases.

Mr Miles announced tighter restrictions in place in some Queensland regions would expand to the Darling Downs region around Toowoomba, coming into place at 8am on Monday.

Here’s how the new COVID-19 restrictions will impact Toowoomba according to Darling Downs Health. pic.twitter.com/uH2j7Rg2ln— Tobi Loftus (@tobiloftus) August 29, 2020

The tighter restrictions had already been put in place in some other Queensland regions, including the City of Brisbane, Ipswich and the Gold Coast, and limit gatherings at someone’s home to 10 people including the people who already live there.

Informal public gatherings outside the home are also limited to ten people, but cafes, restaurants, and shops with COVID Safe plans continue to operate as they were before the change.

There are also changes to aged care and disability accommodation visitation, with no care and support visits allowed unless it is an end of life visit.

Mr Miles also said on Saturday the “busy” Graceville Netball Courts had been closed on Saturday after it was visited by people who “may have been infectious” last weekend.

The netball courts are among an extensive list of places visited by individuals while they may have been infectious, available through Queensland Health.

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Coronavirus Qld: Preclinical vaccine results ‘better than expected’

The University of Queensland researchers have released the results regarding their earlier trial on hamsters, presented to the International Society of Vaccines overnight.

Project co-leader Associate Professor Keith Chappell on Wednesday said a single dose of their “molecular clamp” type vaccine provided a strong level of protection from the coronavirus in the animals.

“Around half of the animals had no virus at all detected in the lungs and the other half had reduced levels,” he told the ABC.

“We saw a marked reduction in the severity of the disease in the hamsters.

“The protection we saw after a single dose was better than we expected.”

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Associate Professor Keith Chappell in the Molecular Virology Lab at the UQ School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences. Picture: Liam Kidston

In a statement about the “positive results”, Prof Chappell said: “The neutralising immune response created by our molecular clamp vaccine in animal models was better than the average level of antibodies found in patients who have recovered from COVID-19.”

He said they had seen “very good immune responses in the animal model” and the protection after a single dose “was better than we expected”.

“And also we’ve got very good data showing protection from challenge in those animals,” he said.

“So we can say that the immunisation has in fact protected from disease, so virtually no disease in the lungs and has suppressed the virus in the respiratory tract as well.”

Since July, 120 healthy human volunteers aged 18 to 55 have received the vaccine with preliminary results expected after about three months.

Prof Chappell said there are “absolutely no safety concerns with all the participants dosed so far” and the last 20 were given a dose this week.

He told the ABC results indicate that two doses of the vaccine “do a great job” of protecting against replication of the virus and the disease itself.

The ability to produce vaccines “at sufficient scale for widespread use” is one of the big challenges in the vaccine development, which is where Seqirus – under its parent global biotechnology company CSL – comes in, Prof Chappell said.

“We are working with CSL to ensure the production yield is as efficient as possible, and have every confidence they will be able to manufacture the millions of doses required to protect the Australian public,” he said.

Prof Chappell said trials are progressing at a speed “with which we’ve never tried before”.

“So an accelerated pipeline of clinical trial activity, where we’re looking at multiple components – that normally would be split out into a broader clinical trial – will take place over the next year,” he said.

“I would imagine is middle of next year is when we’d have our first access to it.”

Queensland Innovation Minister Kate Jones said the vaccine trial results were a “huge milestone”.

“A vaccine is vital in putting an end to this pandemic,” Ms Jones said.

“The sooner we can produce a coronavirus vaccine, the sooner life will get back to normal for millions of Queenslanders who have been impacted by this pandemic.”

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(L-R) Associate Professor Keith Chappell, Professor Paul Young, Professor Trent Munro and Innovation Minister Kate Jones. Picture: Annette Dew

Deputy chief health officer Michael Kidd told Today on Wednesday the results were “very encouraging”.

“This is really good news, especially coming out of Australia,” Professor Kidd said.

“We have some of the top vaccine researchers in the world based in our country who are putting their efforts into finding the vaccine for COVID-19 and very encouraging to see these early results coming out from the trials being run by the University of Queensland.”

According to the World Health Organisation’s “draft landscape” of COVID-19 candidate vaccines, there were 31 in clinical evaluation across the globe as of August 25.

The two-dose UQ vaccine is in phase one of human trials while the single dose University of Oxford and AstraZeneca vaccine is in the third and final clinical stage and is being tested on thousands of people.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week announced the federal government had secured a deal with the UK-based drug company for “every single Australian” to receive the University of Oxford vaccine for free “should trials prove successful, safe and effective”.

Mr Morrison said a Letter of Intent had been signed with AstraZeneca for the supply of the vaccine candidate to Australia and a consumables contract with Becton Dickinson for needles and syringes.

He later backtracked on comments that the COVID-19 vaccine would be “as mandatory as possible”.

“There’s been a bit of an over-reaction to any suggestion of this, there will be no compulsory vaccine,” he told 2GB.

“What we want to achieve is as much vaccination as we possibly can.”

In a statement, Mr Morrison said: “A final formal agreement will include distribution, timing and price of the (Oxford University) vaccine.”

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Calls for WA, Tas to open border to SA

Following Friday’s national cabinet meeting, Steven Marshall said he was unsure why those jurisdictions did not open their borders to the state.

“We would not pose a threat with the current level of infection in SA,” he said.

“I know it's enormously frustrating for businesses but importantly for families who are dislocated due to these arrangements.”

Under the current restrictions, South Australians can return from Queensland, Tasmania, Western Australia and the Northern Territory without self-quarantining for 14 days.

However, it is not reciprocated with WA and the ACT where those travellers or returning residents must isolate in those jurisdictions.

“I would love to see that restriction lifted,” Mr Marshall said.

“Tasmania has indicated they’re looking to do that in December. I’d love for it to be much sooner.”

It comes after SA recorded zero new infections on Friday, with the state’s total number of cases remaining at 462.

There are six active cases — four of whom are repatriated Australians in supervised hotel quarantine.

Mr Marshall said while the situation in Victoria had massively improved, he made no apologies for the restrictions that were keeping South Australians safe.

Victoria recorded 179 new cases and nine deaths today — the lowest number in more than a fortnight.

“It’s not just the numbers (we’re looking at). It’s if we know the origin of the infection,” Mr Marshall said.

“We’ve seen the numbers come down … but they still have more than 5000 active case and level 4 restrictions.

“We don’t want it coming here so we make no apologies for putting place the type of restriction that are going to keep our state safe but as soon as we can remove those and get back to a COVID-normal, we will do it.”

He said the state’s border arrangements with NSW and the ACT were continuously looked at.

“The trajectory in NSW has been extraordinarily good,” he said.

“We’re focused on community transmission and when that number gets down to an acceptable level and SA can feel confident, we’ll lift that restrictions. At the moment, the evidence suggests it should remain in place.”

SA Police have released new figures showing how many people have entered the state between 12.01am August 14 to 11.59pm August 20.

SA Police released new figures on Friday that showed a total of 16,149 people travelled into SA between the week of August 14 and August 20.

Of that total, 7297 came from Victoria with the majority — some 4493 — entering for commercial transport and freight services, while 2454 were cross border community members.

During the period, 53 fines or cautions were issued.

The most common group of people that entered were approved non-essential travellers, with 6655 people, followed by those in the transport or freight industry, with 5188 people.

A total of 226 people from all jurisdictions came on compassionate grounds.

Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier says returning university students from Victoria can apply for an exemption to enter SA. Picture: Tom Huntley

Meanwhile, SA Health’s chief public medical officer Nicola Spurrier said returning university students from Victoria were eligible to apply for entry into the state.

She said some students have already started their 14-days of quarantine this week.

“We’ll definitely be prioritising students from interstate who are returning students,” Professor Spurrier said.

“We’ve been working with the university’s to try speed up that process.

“People in my team have been actively working with all the students and we may have many of them back buy the middle of next week.”

The state government recently received criticism for announcing international students would be allowed to enter the state, while tougher border restrictions with Victoria came into effect today.

The restrictions will see those from cross border communities no longer be allowed into SA, unless they are year 11 and 12 students, are farmers with property spanning the border or essential workers with a newly approved exemption.

Professor Spurrier said the return of international students was a “long term plan” that created jobs, although no definite plans were in place.

“As a state we are known for our educational institutions... we need to be able to do that safely and our experience with hotel quarantine has been very good.

“We need to be working closely with the university’s on this because we don’t want students to come in with COVID-19 and place a strain on our health system and the community.

“We’d be looking at places in the world that have a good control of the virus when we make our decisions.”

Originally published asPlea to WA, Tas: Open up your borders

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Coronavirus: You’re still not allowed to do this

According to chief nursing and midwifery officer Alison McMillan, “we have reached a point at the moment where a handshake is no longer something we should be doing socially”.

Prof McMillan said on Sunday that the traditional greeting has become “very much part of our culture” but is now something “we should avoid at this point in time”.

She said people who live together can still hug one another but “when it comes to the broader community, and hugging others outside of your family unit, then no, we really think at this point in time we need to think of innovative and different ways to show a welcome or a greeting to somebody, but it’s not a hug”.

“At some point perhaps in the future we may reach a point where we will see hugging again, but not at this point in time,” she said.

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Chief Nursing & Midwifery Officer Prof. Alison McMillan says hugs in your household are ok, but you shouldn't hug others, has this sobering message: "At some point perhaps in the future we may reach a point where we would see hugging again but not at this point in time." #COVID19— Jonathan Kearsley (@jekearsley) August 23, 2020

Ms McMillan’s comments come as 17 new deaths in Victoria pushed Australia’s death toll past 500.

502 people have now died from COVID-19 in Australia since the nightmare coronavirus pandemic began.

The majority of those deaths (415 total) have been in Victoria, and within the past six weeks as the state was hit with a second wave of infections.

Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan. Picture: Mick Tsikas

Back in mid-March Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Australians it was no longer safe to handshake.

“No more handshakes,” he said during a live address.

“This is a new thing we’ve moved to, something I will be practising, my cabinet members and others are practising.

“This is not something that was necessarily a key requirement weeks ago but it’s just another step up now.”

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard recommended that people replace hand shaking with other greetings, saying it was “not necessary”.

“It is a very Australian thing to do to put your hand out and shake hands for example,” he said.

“I would be suggesting it is time that Aussies actually gave each other a pat on the back for the time being.

In June, Australia’s deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth conceded it was “a hard thing to remember” not to hug or shake hands, but was more important than other measures like face masks.

“You’ve got to catch yourself out now when you see your friends and family who you haven’t seen for a long time, but these things are nonetheless important and are arguably far more important then say wearing masks,” he said.

“Importantly as well for those states where restrictions are lifting, that doesn’t imply a lifting of our personal behaviour standards that we’ve become so used to,” Dr Coatsworth said.

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Doctor slams ‘clown’ anti-vaxxers

Unfortunately, it is not even close to halfway.

To achieve “herd immunity” and completely eradicate the transmission of COVID-19, Australia would need about 80 to 95 per cent of its population vaccinated, which in reality may take up until late next year.

And a key element to achieving this is to convince everyone to get vaccinated – even those people who are the curse of the scientific community, anti-vaxxers. That means 20 million Australians is the vaccination target.

Since January, Australia has conducted 5,380,613 COVID-19 tests. To achieve our target, we would need to double that number, twice, in half the amount of time. It will be a landmark test of our country, and it will be a chapter in our history textbooks.

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Dr Zac Turner says the vaccine is good news but there’s still a long way to go. Picture: Supplied.

Once a vaccine is approved for general use, it will take a minimum of three to six months for it to be made available to the entire population of Australia. During this time, it could be difficult for authorities to determine who is an anti-vaxxer versus somebody who is yet to be offered the vaccine.

The government should consider updating the current “yellow fever vaccination passport” issued to Australians who receive vaccinations before visiting high risk countries. These could easily be turned into electronic vaccine cards and offered to each Australian.

At least 2 to 5 per cent of the Australian population cannot be vaccinated due to health reasons, especially those with serious allergies. It’s important to protect those who can’t be vaccinated by having everyone around them vaccinated – so it cannot spread.

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In order for the vulnerable to be protected everyone else needs to be vaccinated says Dr Zac Turner. Picture: Chandan Khanna/AFP

The next biggest threat to the virus is those who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In America, a CNN poll showed one-third of Americans would not get the vaccine even if it was readily available and affordable.

That’s startling enough to hear but we should recognise as a cultural extension of America, our population could not be too far off this as well.

Australia’s next obstacle will be getting people to be vaccinated. We cannot afford to be complacent.

The problem is a bunch of clowns with degrees from the “University of Believing Everything They Read Off the Internet” are espousing misinformation and lies that could seriously derail our country’s return back to normal.

I believe a person who refuses to be vaccinated should not be allowed to travel interstate or overseas, nor be allowed to travel on public transport without a face mask. And when it comes to the private sector, businesses could refuse these anti-vaxxers from visiting their retail outlets, gyms, movie cinemas, restaurants, bars or nightclubs.

As a precedence, state governments have previously banned children from attending childcare if they are not vaccinated. Similar restrictions could be placed on Australians who refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccination.

The foundations of my medical training were involved in infectious disease and vaccinations. Before I studied medicine and one of the key factors that led me to study it in the first place was the several months that I spent volunteering alongside Médecins Sans Frontières in the Republic of Congo.

Between 2002 and 2003 I helped vaccinate the local populations from mumps, measles, rubella, polio, and tetanus. First-hand I saw a community struggling to achieve herd immunity. It was this training and experience that has moulded my strong passion for vaccinations, as I have seen the devastation when herd immunity does not exist.

RELATED: Can you get COVID-19 from frozen food?

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is seen during a tour of the AstraZeneca laboratories, in Sydney. Picture: Bianca De Marchi/NCA NewsWire

A few years later in 2007, I worked in the AstraZeneca malaria research lab in Brisbane where we researched the development of medication and treatments to eradicate malaria from the world.

AstraZeneca may sound familiar as they are developing the COVID-19 vaccine that Prime Minister Scott Morrison settled in a deal to make sure every Australian has a vaccine.

We should not take this for granted, our Prime Minister should be commended for opening the door for Australia to fast track our population to get back to our normal lives.

Choices have consequences and an anti-vaxxer’s nonsensical stance should see their lives limited to help protect the rest of the community.

No longer can we nurse the conspiracy theories of a few, and put us all at risk.

Dr. Zac Turner has a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Sydney. He has worked as a Registered Nurse, both in Australia and internationally and is also a qualified and experienced biomedical scientist. | @drzacturner

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Georgia Love shares wedding fears

Ms Love and her reality show winner partner, Lee Elliott, were due to marry in Italy next year after announcing their engagement via Instagram in September last year.

Last month, the couple announced they had changed plans in response to the pandemic and would marry in Tasmania, where Ms Love worked as a journalist before signing up as the Bachelorette.

On Tuesday, Premier Peter Gutwein announced the state’s border restrictions would remain in place until December, causing Ms Love to share her grief on Twitter.

“So like HOW FUNNY IS IT when you cancel your Italy wedding and book it for Tasmania instead hahahahahahahaha and then the Premier shuts the borders til at least December HAHAHAHAHA OMG SO FUNNY I’M TOTALLY FINE!!!!!,” she wrote to her followers.

So like HOW FUNNY IS IT when you cancel your Italy wedding and book it for Tasmania instead hahahahahahahaha and then the Premier shuts the borders til at least December HAHAHAHAHA OMG SO FUNNY I’M TOTALLY FINE!!!!!— Georgia Love (@GeorgieALove) August 18, 2020

Ms Love also shared a song on her Instagram from Melbourne band Tobi Tobi, announcing the artists had just released a new song and would be her wedding singers “if the bloody thing ever happens”.

Despite the current situation in Melbourne, the couple booked their honeymoon earlier this month, with Ms Love telling Instagram followers it was helping her get through “day one of stage four lockdown”.

She was apparently inundated with messages suggesting she would not be able to have her wedding or honeymoon because of ongoing restrictions, as her next message to fans was not as serene.

“Trying my best to stay positive here guys! Would love if you would just let me do that,” she wrote, using a middle finger emoji in the message.

Mr Gutwein told parliament the closure extension would allow for NSW and Victoria time to bring their current outbreaks under control, and in the meantime, he would be encouraging Tasmanians to support the state’s tourism industry with a $100 local travel incentive.

Last week, Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner announced border controls would be in place for at least another 18 months, and Queensland remains closed to NSW, Victoria and the ACT.

Western Australia has also chosen to delay easing its COVID-19 restrictions for another two months.

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