Coronavirus updates: SA praised by PM as border reopens
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged other states to follow the lead of South Australia in reopening its borders, and also praised Queensland for its efforts.
NSW
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison says he hopes more states follow the “common sense” moves by Queensland and South Australia in relaxing harsh border measures.
“I particularly congratulate (SA Premier) Steven Marshall for going the full distance in what he’s decided to do there,” he told Sky News.
“But equally, I welcome the changes that have been made with Queensland. I look forward to more in the future as we further open up Australia.”
Mr Morrison said he knew Tasmania was looking to “open up” soon and encouraged states to focus on ramping up their COVID-19 testing and tracing capabilities to ensure future outbreaks can be managed.
“There’s a lot of frustration about this, but you know, what I’m basically trying to do is get us all heading in that direction, get us opening up safely,” he said.
“I know that there is a sense of security people feel from being behind a border. But that border is not a substitute for testing, tracing and outbreak containment.
“And NSW has demonstrated that and they’ve got both the health and the jobs to prove it.”
Mr Morrison said Australia still had a “long way to go,” even in NSW.
“We’ve got to get people back into our major CBD areas, whether it’s in the CBD where I am now or out in Parramatta or Liverpool or or other parts of the city, Chatswood and so on, where a lot of small businesses depend on people working in those office towers,” he said.
“So we’ve still got a long way to go. But I think this commonsense move today, we look forward to seeing more of that.”
ONLY TWO NEW CASES IN NSW
NSW has recorded just two new coronavirus cases in the past day – both returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
Testing numbers in NSW have declined in recent weeks with just 7616 people getting tested in the 24-hour reporting period.
Residents in southwest Sydney, in particular, are advised to get tested ahead of the school holidays.
Health authorities are treating 77 cases including three in intensive care. One person is on a ventilator.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said: “Pleasingly overnight NSW only had two cases of COVID, both in overseas quarantine.”
“So, for the first time in some months we had zero community transmission overnight.
Two new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,017.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 22, 2020
Both are returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine. pic.twitter.com/LjYTesBF5z
“However, obviously we want to see the testing rates go up, there were just over 7500 people that got tested.
“We know the numbers always go up traditionally on a Wednesday but can I please implore everybody to keep coming forward and get tested.”
SOUTH AUSTRALIA REOPENS TO NSW
South Australia has announced it will reopen its borders to NSW as of midnight tomorrow.
Following the state’s Transition Committee meeting on Tuesday, Premier Steven Marshall said the decision was subject to no community transmission being recorded up until midnight tonight.
“Our borders have been the front line of our defence and have served us well. They enabled us to open up our economy and get tens of thousands of people black to work but because of the reduced risk in NSW, it’s time for us to open up our borders,” Mr Marshall said.
“This will be massive relief for people dislocated from family, friends and business opportunities.
“We know this has been a massive burden on the business community, families and individuals but we did this to keep people safe.”
He said people who come into South Australia before the official opening still need to complete 14-days of quarantine.
Airlines are scrambling to put on extra flights now that NSW residents can hop the border into South Australia.
Virgin will be operating daily flights between Sydney and Adelaide and will recommence travel between the ACT and Adelaide.
The Sydney-Adelaide flights will increase from the current three per week to daily flights on October 2.
They are expected to reach twice daily by November.
Flights will be available for booking as early as tomorrow.
QLD OPENS BORDERS TO MORE NSW TOWNS
Queensland will throw open its borders to five NSW shires from next weekend.
The 41 postcodes that make up Byron, Ballina, Lismore, Richmond Valley, and Glenn Innes shires will be welcome in Queensland from 1am on October 1, with Queensland residents allowed to “travel freely” to those regions.
However NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has pleaded with QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to “bring down the whole border”.
“We always know that we are a few days off from another outbreak, but so is QLD, we’re all in the same situation,” she said.
“I feel given where we are in the pandemic, given that people do want to plan ahead for the school holidays but also for Christmas, I would like to see that border come down entirely.
“I have made that position very clear.
“I think it’s also appropriate for us to be mindful of our communities living on those northern borders, and many of those have been doing it tough, we appreciate how difficult the last period has been for you.”
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said residents would be able to apply for a border pass to travel around Queensland, and Queenslanders “will also be able to travel as well”.
“I think this is a great effort to consider how we can make our border zones more effective, but also looking at these areas have a lot in common with Queensland … So we believe that this is the right measure to take.”
There were no new cases confirmed in Queensland on Tuesday morning, in what Deputy Premier Steven Miles said was a “stark contrast” to what was happening in the rest of the world.
Chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young said she hoped it would make life easier for northern NSW residents.
“There have been no cases in those border areas for quite some time … there have been no cases north of Sydney for quite a while,” Dr Young said.
“So it is safe to open up. The people that live on that border have a lot more to do with Queensland than they do with NSW.
“We know the difficulties (border closures) have caused those communities.”
There are about 152,000 people who live in those shires.
VICTORIA RECORDS 28 CASES, THREE DEATHS
Victoria has recorded 28 cases of coronavirus and three more deaths in the past day.
It comes after the state recorded just 11 on Monday – the lowest daily tally since June 16.
Melbourne’s 14-day average continues its downward trend, dipping to 34.4.
It means the city could be on track to an easing of restrictions before the scheduled date in late October.
Metropolitan Melbourne must reach an average daily case rate of between 30 and 50 cases over the preceding fortnight to trigger an easing of lockdown measures from September 28.
The 14-day rolling average for regional Victoria is at 1.6 as of Monday.
NSW JOB FIGURES ON THE DECLINE
NSW job figures have slipped backward after a previous month of modest gains, with workers under 20 the only age group to improve.
Weekly payroll job figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed a fall of 0.3 per cent in the fortnight to September 5 in NSW.
Since March 14 the state’s payroll jobs have dropped 3.7 per cent.
Nationally payroll jobs were 0.7 per cent lower for the month to September, with a drop of 2.1 per cent in Victoria and 0.2 per cent for the rest of Australia.
ABS head of labour statistics Bjorn Jarvis said about 48 per cent of jobs lost across Australia by mid-April had been regained by 5 September, down from 59 per cent in mid-July.
“Nationally, payroll jobs worked by people aged under 20 showed the greatest increase since mid-April … however in Victoria the initial recovery for this group had largely been reversed,” he said.
FORECAST DROP IN BIRTH RATE
A decline in births driven by the coronavirus recession and inaccurate forecasts of a baby boom could blow a major hole in the federal government’s budget and put pressure on the government to splash more cash on childcare.
A fresh analysis of Australia’s birthrate shows the nation is staring down a deficit of 280,000 births by 2024 in a trend that could challenge the government ahead of the handing down of the October 6 budget.
Traditionally, population growth has been a major stimulant for the economy and there are now concerns the fall in births — compounded by slowing migration rates amid border closures — could pose an economic threat.
The 2019-20 Budget forecast a rise in the nation’s fertility rate to 1.9 babies but Australian National University demographer Peter McDonald said fertility rates were already on a downward trend pre-pandemic.
New research commissioned by the government’s Centre for Population has forecast the fertility rate will continue to decline — falling to a record low of 1.59 in 2021 — in a major hit to the budget bottom line.
This will mark the lowest fertility rate Australia has ever seen.
Dr McDonald said the downward trend would continue until 2024 – when the birthrate will marginally increase.
The baby deficit will amount to 280,000 fewer babies than forecast in the five years to 2024. The fall is largely a result of the originally high birth forecast and the economic fallout from the pandemic.
The overall slump in new births follows a global trend as many women choose to postpone having babies and focus on developing their careers, Dr McDonald said.
The economic impact of a fall in birthrates is “widespread,” resulting in less spending in the short-term and fewer taxpayers and an ageing population in the long-term.
“When births drop, the labour force in 20 years time will fall and there will be fewer taxpayers and more spenders. It also creates a burden on the health system,” he said.
The new figures will create major challenges for the Treasurer ahead of the government’s post-coronavirus budget, he says, underscoring the importance of stimulus measures to promote population growth.
“We may need to stimulate the birthrate perhaps through better access to childcare or increasing migration,” he said.
FIVE POINT COVID PLAN FOR SYDNEY SUMMER
Major parks around Sydney will have COVID-safe social distancing markings while beachgoers will be told to stay a ‘towel length’ from others and away from popular locations as the state government prepares for a summer like no other as coronavirus kills off Aussie traditions.
The fresh push to stops Sydneysiders packing crowded beaches are part of a five point plan launched by the state government to ensure people don’t flout COVID-19 rules while enjoying the outdoors.
Under the plan, social distance markings will be implemented in parks and other major locations and multiple sets of flags could appear on beaches.
New education campaigns about keeping COVID safe at the beach will be launched, and more outdoor events will be organised.
Venues will be encouraged to embrace alfresco dining and more support will be provided to councils to promote little-known locations.
“We know how much our community loves fresh air, beaches and parklands, but we will all need to do that a bit differently this summer,” Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
To bolster COVID safe events over summer, the state government is preparing to launch an ambitious year-long program including outdoor theatre, dance and art events and short films.
The program, focused on the summer months, will seek to move events traditionally held indoors out into the open to aid social distancing and contact tracing.
More details about “The Festival Of Place” program are expected in the coming weeks after COVID-19 killed off big-ticket summer events like Tamworth Country Music Festival and Falls Festival.
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The state government’s COVID Safe Summer plan will put a stop to the Aussie tradition of crowds at the beaches to fend off the midday heat.
To ensure COVID safety, Sydney beaches could feature multiple sets of flags to ensure social distancing.
A push for outdoor dining will see patrons spill out onto footpaths by next month.
While low weekend testing rates are causing concern for authorities, more restrictions are set to be eased in coming days.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard last night suggested rules would be relaxed allowing both parents to watch on from the sidelines at school sport finals this weekend. He has also given the green light for school formals booked in for November 11.
Only one new locally acquired coronavirus case was reported on Monday, a household contact of a previous case linked to Concord Hospital.
That case was already in quarantine so did not cause concern for health authorities, but contract tracers were yesterday scrambling to identify passengers in nine taxi trips linked to a COVID-positive driver.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant yesterday suggested additional measures like QR code sign-in could be put in place to increase contact tracing capacity in cabs.
“We are going to be working with the taxi industry to look at whether additional technology like the QR codes might supplement and be a good setting to have in place,” Dr Chant said.
Sitting in the front seat of a cab is now discouraged, with people instead told to sit on the back left seat – diagonally opposite from the driver.
MAN ALLEGEDLY STOLE 5000 HAND SANITISER BOTTLES
A man who police allege stole 5000 bottles of hand sanitiser from a western Sydney warehouse has faced court for the first time.
John Mathew Weyman, 36, of Cranebrook, faced Magistrate Geoffrey Hiatt at Penrith Local Court on Monday charged with break and enter to commit a serious indictable offence and not disclosing the identity of a driver or passenger.
According to court documents, police will allege Weyman stole 45 boxes of hand sanitiser and a box of face masks from a warehouse on Rowood Rd, Prospect, sometime between 1am and 2am on September 1.
They allege Weyman used the company’s forklift to gain access to a garage door before loading the boxes into the back of his Toyota Landcruiser.
They will allege they have CCTV footage of Weyman’s Landcruiser arriving at, and leaving, Global Auto Parts where the hand sanitiser and face masks were being stored.
Later that day, police will allege Weyman failed to identify himself during a traffic stop in Cranebrook at about 4.30pm.
In court, Weyman asked Magistrate Hiatt for an adjournment so he could obtain some legal advice about his charges.
Magistrate Hiatt granted his request, and noted the matter would move to Blacktown Local Court for future mentions.
Weyman will next appear at Blacktown on October 14.