Coronavirus NSW: Sydney shopping centre COVID alert, 41 deaths in Victoria
Tough restrictions on Sydney residents visiting aged care homes could be scrapped in time for Fathers’ Day, NSW Health has revealed after the state recorded just 10 new COVID cases – six in hotel quarantine. FULL DETAILS
NSW
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Tough restrictions urging Sydney residents to stay away from aged care homes until September 12 could be scrapped in time for Father’s Day if the number of new cases linked with a coronavirus cluster in the CBD remains low.
Health authorities were “very concerned” about the cluster last week, but Premier Gladys Berejiklian said fears that the outbreak would spread across Sydney “have not yet materialised”.
Fears the outbreak could have spread across the city led authorities on Friday to urge Sydney and Central Coast residents to stay away from aged care homes – just a week out from Fathers’ Day.
Of the state’s 10 new cases reported today, six were from hotel quarantine. Four cases were linked to the CBD cluster, and two of those were household contacts of previous cases.
“If this reassuring picture continues we will be updating our aged care advice later in the week ahead of Father’s Day, and may well be able to see some of those restrictions on age care,” Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.
Despite the hopeful news, there was new health advice for three venues linked to a COVID case:
● Woolworths Balmain, 276 Darling St Balmain – Thursday 27 August, 10-11am
● Chemist Warehouse Balmain, 293 Darling St Balmain – Friday 28 August, 2-2.30pm
● Sushi Rio, 345 Victoria Ave Chatswood – Thursday 27 August, 5.45-7.30pm
● Coles, St Ives Shopping Centre – Friday 28 August, 1-2pm
MAN ALLEGEDLY SPAT ON POLICE IN LATEST COVID FINES
Two men have been charged for breaching Public Health Orders over the weekend, including a 24-year-old who allegedly spat on a police officer at the A-League Grand Final yesterday.
Police were called to assist security at Bankwest Stadium in Parramatta, to remove the man from stalls after he allegedly became argumentative.
When police issued the Bronte man with a move-on direction, he allegedly began walking away only to turn around and spit on an officer.
He was arrested and taken to Parramatta Police Station, where he was charged with common assault, not comply with noticed direction and assault on a police officer in execution of duty.
He will appear at Parramatta Local Court on October 14.
In a separate incident, a 47-year-old man was arrested in Surry Hills on Saturday for failing to self-isolate after being in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, and for driving on a disqualified license.
Police allege the man had also been at the home of a woman with whom he had an AVO, and it was her car he was driving.
He has been refused bail and is due to reappear at Central Local Court on Wednesday September 2.
14 others were issued $1000 fines over the weekend for further breaches of health acts.
PREMIER: MANDATORY MASKS COULD CREATE ‘FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY’
Premier Gladys Berejiklian defended her decision not to make masks compulsory on public transport.
She said forcing people to wear masks could create a “false sense of security” and lead to infectious people mingling in the community.
A southwest Sydney resident case has now become potentially the first person to catch coronavirus on public transport, after NSW Health discovered the person shared a bus with an infected passenger.
The person who appears to have caught the virus on the bus was not wearing a mask.
The Premier knocked back increasing calls to make masks mandatory on public transport, saying it could give people a “false sense of security”.
“What we don’t want is people with symptoms thinking they can wear a mask and go out and conduct their business because that won’t work,” Ms Berejiklian said.
However, the advice for mask use has again been ramped up.
“If you’re on public transport, if you’re somewhere where you can’t guarantee social distancing, for heaven’s sake wear a mask,” the Premier said.
In a statement, NSW Health said: “People should ensure that they stay at least 1.5m from others and that they wear a mask in situations – especially on public transport – where physical distancing is difficult”.
Service NSW figures show that around 60 per cent of people are wearing masks on public transport, Premier Berejiklian said.
41 DEATHS, 73 CASES IN VICTORIA
Victoria has recorded 41 more deaths but a drop in the number of new cases with just 73 people diagnosed with coronavirus in the past day.
The new deaths include 33 people linked to aged care who died in recent weeks but were included in today’s toll. Thirteen women and a man who were in their 90s and a woman in her 100s are among the latest fatalities.
On the possibility of the easing of restrictions, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said it’s “too early to open up right now” but authorities will have a better idea by Sunday, after another week of medical advice.
“We will be in a position to be able to share that road map, what it will look like, its various components and phases with the community on Sunday,” he said.
The state’s chief health officer professor Brett Sutton said on Monday that he expected daily case totals to be at the 40-50 mark by the end of the week.
“We have had substantial community transmission, but as we get down to the 60-70 numbers, we know that the number of mystery cases, community transition cases where we don‘t know where they have acquired it is getting to single figures,” he said.
“It gives us a little bit more confidence that we can get on top of it, and with smaller numbers, we have greater and greater clarity around whether transmission is occurring.”
SYDNEY SHOPPING CENTRE ISSUES ALERT
Meanwhile, a childcare centre in Sydney’s north west has been closed for deep cleaning after a staff member tested positive to COVID-19.
The employee worked at Reddam Early Learning Centre at Lindfield while unknowingly infectious for three days between August 25 and 27.
The positive case is a household contact of a previously reported case linked to the CBD cluster.
It comes as patrons who attended the Highfield Caringbah pub for more than two hours on August 22 between 6-8.30pm are urged to immediately self-isolate and test regardless of symptoms.
Those who attended the venue for less than two hours are considered “casual contacts” and should monitor for symptoms.
Meanwhile, gym-goers who visited the weights room at Fitness First Randwick on August 23 between 3.30-4.15pm must self-isolate for 14 days since that date and get tested immediately.
There are now 28 cases linked to the CBD cluster, with five more recorded on Sunday.
MORE BUS WARNINGS AFTER COVID CASES
Passengers on a string of Sydney bus and train services are on high alert for COVID-19 after infected commuters travelled on public transport.
More than 25 bus services and three train services are now subject to health warnings, with passengers on one service urged to immediately get tested irrespective of symptoms.
Anyone who travelled on the X39 bus service which departed Pitt Street on August 20 at 6.08pm and arrived at Clovelly Rd, Randwick at 6.40 are considered “close contacts.”
These passengers must self-isolate and be tested for the disease immediately, regardless of symptoms.
The health warning comes after a case linked with the growing Sydney CBD cluster travelled on the service while infectious. The person was wearing a mask at the time, however, another passenger tested positive to the disease on Friday, prompting concerns among authorities.
Both cases live and work in the same areas and disembarked the bus service at the same time, however, the cause of the infection is still under investigation.
Eleven passengers were on the bus at the time and transport authorities are contacting all registered Opal card users, although one passenger was not registered.
Meanwhile, NSW Health has told commuters on several other Sydney bus and train services to monitor for symptoms as they are now considered “casual contacts” of cases.
Anyone who travelled on the following high-risk bus or train services should watch for symptoms and, if they develop, self-isolate and attend a COVID-19 clinic for testing.
ALBO STICKS WITH ANDREWS ON COVID RECOVERY
Anthony Albanese has claimed Victoria’s coronavirus contact tracing system is as good as NSW’s, appearing to disregard health data in favour of “blindly” backing a fellow Labor leader.
The Opposition leader conceded Victoria had issues with its hotel quarantine system, but rushed to Premier Daniel Andrews’ defence on COVID-19 testing and tracing on Sunday.
“The (testing) numbers for Victoria as a proportion are about the same as NSW,” he told the ABC.
When pushed, Mr Albanese said there was “no problem” in Victoria, again saying the state’s system was proportionately similar to NSW.
But The Daily Telegraph can reveal Victoria is still failing key contact tracing measures, even after the state’s system was bolstered by dozens of NSW Health officials and the Australian Defence Force.
A shocking 10 per cent of confirmed COVID-19 positive patients in Victoria were still waiting for a contact tracing interview 24 hours after being diagnosed in the week to August 27, according to the Department of Health. Over the same period in NSW there were zero cases awaiting an interview after one day.
Last week 10 Victorians who were close contacts of a confirmed COVID-19 case were not told of the connection within 48 hours, compared to zero in NSW.
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg said it was clear Mr Albanese had an “enormous blind spot” when it came to Victoria’s failings.
“The idea that there is any equivalence between NSW and Victoria is ridiculous; the hotel quarantine disaster in Victoria was worsened by inadequate contact tracing,” he said.
“It’s a contact tracing fail that has not been represented in my state (NSW) … Victoria lost control as their contact system was ‘cactus’.”
VICTORIA HINDERING NATIONAL RECOVERY
Victoria is dragging down the rest of nation’s economy with more of the state expected to be on welfare by the end of the year than the rest of Australia combined.
The dire outlook for the southern state as it continues to suffer through a deadly second wave of COVID-19 is expected to have a lasting impact on the national economy with new Treasury estimates showing a stark contrast to NSW.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said restrictions imposed by the Victorian Government have had a “devastating impact”.
“As we have seen in other states, if you can successfully suppress the virus jobs will return,” he said.
“In July the effective unemployment rate in Victoria, before the stage four lockdown, was around 10.5 per cent, while it was around 8.5 per cent in NSW where they are managing the virus and have reopened their economy.”
Mr Frydenberg said the accommodation and hospitality sector had “borne the brunt of the restriction,” with spending significantly down and job losses severe.
MINISTERS CALL FOR BORDER BANS TO BE SCRAPPED
Farcical restrictions preventing Victorian farm workers crossing the border need to be scrapped in order to keep food on the nation’s tables, the NSW Agriculture Minister said.
After The Daily Telegraph’s Bush Summit called for agricultural workers to be allowed to travel freely across state lines, Adam Marshall and Deputy Premier John Barilaro broke ranks to call for a national code to give farm workers unrestricted movement.
Mr Marshall’s push to scrap agricultural restrictions is a major win for the Bush Summit, which on Friday listed free movement of farm workers as a priority.
As part of a plan that Mr Marshall will put to a meeting of his state counterparts on Tuesday, farm workers would have unrestricted access across state boundaries after accessing a permit, provided they meet certain conditions.
Employers would need to have a COVID safe plan and contract workers would need to self isolate while not working.
The Agricultural Workers Code would mirror rules for freight workers, which sees truckies permitted to travel across state lines to ship goods across the country.
Mr Marshall said the agriculture sector “needs to be treated in exactly the same way” as freight.
“Just like the freight industry is crucial, the agricultural sector, and the work that it does, is vital,” he said.
Continued restrictions on farm workers would, Mr Marshall said, “cost the economy and the agricultural sector tens of millions of dollars at a time where everyone is looking to the regions to spearhead the economic bounce-back from COVID”.
“I‘ll push pretty hard with my state colleagues to have a clear, concise, unambiguous code about what critical agricultural workers are,” he said.
Mr Marshall wants National Cabinet to agree to the code at its next meeting on Friday.
With recent rains bringing the first good crop in years, Mr Marshall said “the stakes could not be higher” for the agriculture sector.
Harsh penalties would ensure people did not break the rules, and workers from hot spots, such as Melbourne, could also be prohibited from getting a permit under the proposed code.
Mr Marshall said Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Health Minister Brad Hazzard would “find it hard to argue against” allowing free movement of farm workers.
Mr Barilaro said the code would be a “real test” of the National Cabinet.
“If the premiers can’t agree on Friday, I think they should all hang their heads in shame,” Mr Barilaro said. “The Bush Summit on Friday made this absolutely clear as a priority.”
He said he was “confident” Ms Berejiklian understood the importance of reducing restrictions on farm workers.
Andrew Rolfe, a seventh generation farmer who attended the Bush Summit, said the push to lift restrictions would be a “huge” help to farmers straddling state lines.
He said a lot of farms on the NSW-Victorian border relied on interstate contract workers at harvest time, and restrictions on workers coming into NSW was “quite costly”.
“With a huge crop coming up this year and a large harvest, anything that impacts that can really affect people’s bottom lines,” he said.
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