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Australia’s third wave of coronavirus infections threatens to eclipse the daily tally of last year’s second wave and is reaching into younger age groups. Follow all the day’s news
‘Immediate risk’: nearly 150 childcare centres closed across Australia Fatigued not complacent: as lockdowns drag on Australians find it harder to comply with Covid restrictions Restrictions: NSW; Vic; Qld; borders Hotspots: NSW; Vic; Qld Vaccine rollout tracker; get our free news app; get our morning email briefing11.01pm BST
Immigration minister Alex Hawk has just spoken with ABC radio.
He justified only rescuing 26 on the first plane to land in Kabul airport, saying that the environment on the ground was chaotic.
Why were there only 26 people on the plane from Kabul?
"There are plenty of factors on the ground. It is not a normal airport terminal, it is a chaotic environment, it is uncontrolled."
- @AlexHawkeMP, Immigration Minister
Is the issue that we don't want to take more people or that we can't get people out of the country?
"There's an element of both."
- @AlexHawkeMP, Immigration Minister
10.51pm BST
A second rescue flight from Indonesia is planned following the repatriation of 186 Aussies from Bali, reports AAP.
Around 1200 Australians want to return home from Indonesia, which has racked up nearly 3.9 million official coronavirus cases and more than 120,000 deaths.
