‘State border closures could do more harm than good’: health expert warns
Border closures between states with little or no COVID-19 transmission must not do more harm than good, with premiers warned by a senior medical expert they could further risk the nation’s health.
NSW
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Border closures between states with little or no COVID-19 transmission must not do more harm than good, with premiers warned they could further risk the nation’s health.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said in recent weeks the tough restrictions beyond the measures designed to contain Victoria had a “significant effect” on people who found themselves on the “wrong side” of a border.
“It’s a general principle of medicine when you’re doing anything to treat a problem is first ‘do no harm’,” he said.
“That has to be a consideration as well, equally with border closures.”
Dr Coatsworth said while he was confident his state counterparts were being transparent in their medical advice on borders, it was up to premiers to be clear with the public.
“It is clear to Australians now that those border decisions are made by state premiers and health ministers on advice of their chief health officers,” he said.
“And that it’s particularly important that those decisions are justified not just to the people of that state.”
Dr Coatsworth pointed to his own experience working in healthcare in Lismore when patients would often be sent over the border to Queensland for treatment.
“It’s not just a question of being able to switch that off, of course, because these border towns actually depend on cross-border healthcare and they haven’t depended on it for 10 or 20 years, they’ve depended on it for 50 years,” he said.
“It’s the same for the South Australian border.”
HOTEL QUARANTINE SECURITY GUARDS CAN WORK ELSEWHERE: PREMIER
Premier Gladys Berejiklian is resisting calls to prevent security guards in hotel quarantine from taking any other work.
Ms Berejiklian was speaking at a press conference with NSW Health today, where it was reported seven new cases of COVID-19 were recorded overnight.
It follows revelations a security guard was infected with the virus after working at a quarantine hotel in Sydney.
Police said there was no evidence to suggest the security guard was doing the wrong thing when he caught the virus from a returned US traveller.
“There is absolutely no evidence or piece of information that suggests that anything inappropriate has occurred between the two people in quarantine and the guard,” Deputy Police Commissioner Gary Worboys said.
The guard was working on the same floor as the women, who were both in the same hotel room.
Ms Berejiklian said it was a “miracle” that this is the first case of COVID leaking from the hotel quarantine system.
“Can I make this point very clear: It has been a miracle we haven’t had anyone contract the virus in that setting before now,” she said.
“We’ve welcomed, from overseas, around 48,000 Australians. We also know that 2000 people in NSW have acquired the disease from overseas. So, it’s been a tremendous effort,” she said.
But she said “we have to accept now there are jobs in the community that are higher risk and that’s a reality”.
NSW Chief Medical Officer Dr Kerry Chant said the guard worked three shifts at Flemington markets, in addition to two shifts at Parramatta Local Court, before testing positive.
Ms Berejiklian said there was no need to stop security guards at hotel quarantine working other jobs, adding people were no more likely to spread the disease at work than when going to the shops or a restaurant.
Among the seven new cases recorded in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, two were returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
Five were locally acquired, including three which were close contacts of existing cases, and two cases from southwest and western Sydney whose sources are under investigation.
A case has been confirmed since the reporting period in a patient who attended Liverpool Hospital, Dr Chant said.
Close contacts have been identified and told to isolate for 14 days. Deep cleaning has occurred in areas where the outpatient received care and other precautionary measures taken.
Ms Berejiklian said she remained concerned about the 16 mystery cases detected in the past four weeks with no known source.
“We’re concerned about the level of community transmission which is particularly active in southwestern and western Sydney,” she said “NSW is doing okay but we have to remain vigilant.”
PM’S VACCINE CLAIM: DRUG FIRM SAYS ‘NO DEAL’
Drug company AstraZeneca denies Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s claim he has reached a deal to secure 25 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Oxford University.
The Pharmaceutical company’s UK Headquarters told pharmaceutical industry newsletter Pharma in Focus all the government has is a letter of intent.
“The LOI doesn’t go into any detail about costs or numbers or anything until we have an idea of what the manufacturing capacity is — that’s a critical piece in the puzzle,” a spokesperson said.
Mr Morrison has also claimed CSL will manufacture the vaccine here but AstraZeneca says as of now there is no such deal.
“Discussions with CSL are ongoing. They’re still looking into whether they have the capability and capacity to produce a vaccine. We’re hoping that those discussions will be concluded swiftly but they’re still ongoing,” the company spokesman told Pharma in Focus.
VACCINE COULD BE MANDATORY
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged that a coronavirus vaccine could be made mandatory in order to protect all Australians.
Speaking to Neil Mitchell on 3aw this morning, Mr Morrison said he “would expect it to be as mandatory as you can possibly make it”.
Mr Morrison said as the minister that established ‘no jab, no pay’ he would similarly support mandatory vaccination but the PM would wait for health advice before mandating it.
“There are always exemptions for any vaccine on medical grounds but that should be the only basis,” he said.
The Prime Minister said healthcare workers and those in aged care facilities may be the first candidates for the vaccine.
Australia has inked a deal to secure enough doses of the world’s most promising COVID-19 vaccine for the entire country in what is expected to be the first of several agreements worth billions of dollars.
The federal Government reached the agreement with UK-based drug company AstraZeneca on Tuesday meaning every Australian will have free access to its vaccine developed by the University of Oxford, should phase three trials prove it is successful, safe and effective.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the Oxford University trial was “one of the most advanced and promising in the world” but more work was needed to prove its viability.
“If this vaccine proves successful we will manufacture and supply vaccines straight away under our own steam and make it free for 25 million Australians,” he said.
“However, there is no guarantee that this, or any other, vaccine will be successful, which is why we are continuing our discussions with many parties around the world while backing our own researches at the same time to find a vaccine.”
Mr Morrison said the government was taking advice from Australia’s “best medical and scientific expertise” on which vaccines to pursue.
The letter commits to production of the vaccine in Australia, subject to safety and effectiveness, while a final formal agreement will include distribution, timing and price of the vaccine.
VICTORIA LATEST
Twelve Victorians have died of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, with 216 new cases of the disease detected.
It brings the state’s COVID-19 death toll to 363, but the daily total is equal lowest since July 11 — more than five weeks ago.
It comes as Victoria’s integrity watchdog received more than 150 complaints from residents in a Melbourne housing tower locked down for two weeks during the coronavirus pandemic.
The number of complaints has tripled since the original probe into the lockdown at 33 Alfred Street in North Melbourne was launched on July 17.
It comes after the building was surrounded by police and locked down on July 4 without warning amid soaring coronavirus infections.
At the time people reported being trapped in the building and unable to access adequate fresh air, food or medical supplies.
Ombudsman Deborah Glass said some of the submissions to the inquiry were very concerning and called for anyone with a complaint to file it by August 28.
ILL GUARD WORKED ALL OVER SYDNEY
A guard who contracted COVID-19 in a stunning leak from a Sydney quarantine hotel went on to work at two venues in western Sydney.
Authorities are racing to prevent a repeat of the Victorian lapse in infection control at isolation facilities after the guard fell ill and tested positive on Sunday.
Genomic sequencing linked his infection to a returned US traveller staying at the Marriott Hotel in Circular Quay.
All other cases active in Sydney have been linked to the Victorian hotel quarantine debacle which has resulted in that state’s second wave that has sickened 15,585 and killed 322 people so far.
NSW Labor called for all security guards contracted to quarantine hotels to work there exclusively in a bid to reduce the risk of infection.
The sick guard went on to work at Parramatta Local Court and Flemington Market before testing positive.
People at all three venues when the guard was working have been warned to monitor for signs of the illness and get a test if they develop symptoms.
The guard worked at the Marriott from August 3-8 and a NSW Health investigation found that the virus strain he contracted matches a quarantined traveller who had tested positive after returning from the US.
The traveller tested positive on August 4, before being transferred to another facility.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said on Tuesday the security guard “most probably” contracted the virus from the returned traveller, either directly “or as part of a chain”.
Dr Chant said the guard had been interviewed and “there’s been no indications of (quarantine) breaches,” but said “it’s inappropriate to speculate” how the virus leaked from the facility while investigations are ongoing.
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Leanne McCusker would not identify the security company for which the man worked, but confirmed security guards working in quarantine hotels could also work elsewhere.
Police have overarching control of quarantine in NSW, unlike in Victoria. However, private security guards support police at Sydney hotels.
“They may have other roles as part of their employment with their security company,” she said.
Labor’s health spokesman Ryan Park last night said any security guard working in the “high risk” environment of hotel quarantine should work there full-time.
“There’s got to be an assurance given by the government that guards will be appropriately compensated and supported so that they can work there and work there exclusively,” Mr Park said.
He said Minister Brad Hazzard must give the public confidence quarantine is secure.
“We have seen the disastrous impacts that occurred in Victoria and this has got to be something that cannot happen here in NSW,” Mr Park said.
Despite the breach, Dr Chant said she is “just as worried” about mystery cases, “particularly in south western Sydney and western Sydney”.
NSW recorded three cases yesterday, including one mystery case with an unknown source.
PM: BORDER RULES MUST BE TRANSPARENT
Harsh border restrictions must be transparent and backed up by medical advice Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned.
Mr Morrison said state Premiers must be able to justify and explain domestic border closures to Australians who suffer the economic and personal consequences of the strict rules.
“I understand what they’re seeking to do, but it’s important that all premiers act on the basis of transparent medical advice,” he said.
“If there’s going to be these border arrangements in place, they will, of course, have very serious impacts on the economies of their states and the livelihoods of those who live in those states and businesses and jobs.
“That all has to be weighed up and that’s the decisions they’re taking and they need to be transparent with the Australian people about it.”
FREE PRESCHOOL TO CONTINUE
Free preschool will be extended by the NSW government until the end of the year, throwing a lifeline to parents and centres wanting to keep their doors open.
The $20 million government funding allows preschools to provide fee relief for parents and also to keep employing staff despite declining attendance in the pandemic.
It comes after many parents struggled with the federal government’s decision to end free child care in July.
Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the government wanted as many children as possible to reach a target of 600 hours of preschool before starting school next year.
“Extending this relief funding will help families keep their children attending this critical year of early education,” she said.
“COVID-19 has already caused disruption to all of our lives, so it’s more important than ever to ensure families are supported to keep children in quality education and care.”
Preschools will be contacted directly with information on how to opt in for access to the scheme and payments in term four.