Coronavirus NSW: Baby among latest COVID cases, Victoria records 429 new cases
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced paid pandemic leave will be available to those without sick leave as the majority of Melbourne retail, admin and manufacturing businesses shut under Victorian stage four restrictions.
NSW
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Australians who have exhausted their sick leave and must self-isolate will have access to paid pandemic leave as Melbourne businesses face a major shut down this week.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the new scheme on Monday and said the $1500 a fortnight payment and will be eligible to those living in a state of disaster, which currently only applies to Victoria.
“This pandemic is a disaster. And we need a disaster payment when it comes for people who have to isolate for a period of 14 days through no fault of their own, regardless of what job they’re in or employment they’re in – they need that support,” Mr Morrison said.
“They will principally be made to those on short-term visas – those who are not permanent residents or citizens of Australia who otherwise wouldn’t have accessed Commonwealth payments.”
“We will make sure that everyone else who finds themselves in this situation and they don’t have that leave available to them through their sick leave because it’s been exhausted will get a $1,500 payment for that fortnight.”
The payment will be available as long as Victoria remains in a declared state of disaster.
It follows an announcement from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews that the majority of retailers, manufacturing and admin will close from 11.59pm on Wednesday under stage four restrictions.
Click and collect can continue at some retail businesses such as Bunnings.
“To give you the retail example, for instance, Bunnings, you will no longer be able to go into a Bunnings store but you will be able to collect goods without making contact with anybody,” Mr Andrews said.
Drive-through arrangements and home delivery will be able to continue in a number of different retail sites, but retail will look very different.
Supermarkets, grocery stores, bottle shops, pharmacies, petrol stations, banks, news agencies, post offices will remain open.
Mr Andrews said that means people do not need to panic buy six weeks worth of groceries and supplies.
“I understand that there is a sense of concern in the community and hopefully the clarity of the message today, you do not need to do that because supermarkets as well as grocery stores, the local fruit and veg, the local butcher, the baker, all of those shops, they will remain open,” he said.
Large commercial constructions sites on buildings higher than three stories will need to reduce their workforce down to the minimum, with no more than 25 per cent of employees on site.
Mr Andrews said large-scale major projects the government was involved in had reduced their workforce by about half.
“We will continue project by project to look at ways we can further reduce the number of staff while doing so safely and for instance allowing us to reopen train lines that are currently closed because we are removing level crossings,” he said.
Residential building can continue, but it will be illegal to have more than five people on site at any one time.
Thirteen Victorians have died from COVID-19 in the past day and 429 more cases of the virus have been confirmed.
A man in his 60s, two men and women in their 70s, two men in their 80s, and five women and two men in their 90s are among the latest fatalities.
Eight of the 13 deaths are linked to aged care.
BABY AND FAMILY TEST POSITIVE IN NSW
A baby who has tested positive for COVID-19 after returning to Wagga Wagga from Melbourne is displaying no symptoms of the virus, local health authorities have said.
The baby, understood to be about one year old, is among four people who tested positive for coronavirus after returning to NSW on July 25.
The positive tests are in a 52-year-old woman, her son and daughter-in-law, and that couple’s baby.
“The good news is that the 52-year-old lady has got very very mild symptoms,” Murrumbidgee Local Health District Medical Services Director Dr Len Bruce said.
The woman was tested for COVID-19 after displaying symptoms, and that case was confirmed with local health authorities on July 28.
The woman’s son and daughter-in-law, both in their 20s, tested positive along with their baby, but none have symptoms.
All four people have been isolating since returning from Melbourne.
Murrumbidgee Health Senior environmental health officer Tony Burns said the family had been visiting the “lower Melbourne area,” and had returned to NSW after acquiring the required border permits.
THIRTEEN NEW CASES IN NSW
Thirteen new cases of COVID-19 were detected in NSW in the past 24 hours with the NSW Premier urging residents to be on “extra high alert” as the state battles outbreaks.
Of the new NSW cases just three were found in hotel quarantine while one was in a person who had travelled from Victoria.
One infection could not be traced to existing clusters while eight were linked with existing outbreaks including one case who attended Apollo Restaurant, one who attended Mounties, another who attended Advance Early Learning childcare and five who were close contacts of known cases.
Another included a person who attended Fitness First at Rockdale on 27 July 2020 from 11.25am to 12.30pm, and a person who was infectious attended a yoga studio in Bondi on 23 July 2020 from 12.15 to 1.15pm.
Both cases are associated with the Apollo Restaurant cluster at Potts Point and contacts have been individually identified.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has reminded the state’s residents to “be on extra high alert and extra COVID-safe” and wear a mask in crowded areas as new infections continue to emerge.
“The next few weeks are absolutely critical for NSW,” she said.
Ms Berejiklian warned the state remains in a “precarious” position as the risk of Victoria’s deadly outbreaks spreading into NSW looms.
She said the Victoria-NSW border is not immune to potential outbreaks, saying “no border is impenetrable.”
“It only takes one case to get out of hand to cause an enormous ripple through the community,” she said.
Tougher lockdown rules could be on the cards if the number of new infections continues to grow, she said.
“If we need to do more, we will. We’ll know in the next few days what the flow [of infections] is like.”
MAN ACCUSED OF PUNCHING COP AMONG LATEST COVID FINES
A man wanted on seven outstanding warrants has been charged after allegedly punching a senior police officer in the face after trying to evade a NSW-Victoria border checkpoint early on Saturday morning.
Two Australia Defence Force members and three police officers were manning a border crossing at Federation Way in Corowa when a car, with three people inside, was stopped just before 5am.
The 22-year-old female driver and a 25-year-old female passenger presented authorities with valid permits and identification.
But officers allege a 21-year-old male, who was sitting in the back seat, provided false information.
Further checks revealed the man was wanted on seven outstanding warrants – including a revocation of parole warrant.
He then tried to flee the scene before allegedly punching a senior constable in the face, knocking him to the ground.
The man, from Wagga Wagga was charged with assaulting an officer and resisting police in execution of duty. He was also charged with the outstanding warrants.
In a separate incident in the Riverina, a woman has been charged with deliberately coughing on an officer at Ashmont before letting two large dogs off their leads.
The alleged incident happened when police were called to a home on reports of a domestic violence incident.
Sixteen penalty infringement notices were issued for noncompliance with Public Health Orders across the weekend.
INNER WEST CHURCH ALERT
Two cases of coronavirus have been identified in an inner west church after they attended mass.
The couple attended St Brigid’s Church in Marrickville for Vigil Mass on Saturday July 25 at 5pm.
A statement from the church parish said the couple was deemed low risk, and it is unlikely they infected people at the church.
“NSW Health has advised that the couple is considered low risk since health authorities believe they were not infectious at the time they attended the church,” Fr. Erick. Niyiragira said.
The church will undergo deep cleaning today and anyone who attended the mass should monitor for symptoms.
Meanwhile NSW Health has issued an alert for patrons who visited two licensed premises in the Hunter Region last week to get tested after the confirmation of COVID-19 cases.
People who visited Hotel Jesmond on July 29 between 7.30pm and 9.30pm or Wallsend Diggers on July 30 between 7.30pm and 9.30pm should be tested immediately.
“Get tested regardless of symptoms, but you must remain in isolation for the full 14
days even if your initial test is negative,” NSW Health said.
“If you do develop COVID-19 symptoms, you should be retested.”
The warning follows confirmation of a confirmed Sydney case who visited Newcastle on July 29 and 30 while infectious.
Meanwhile, a childcare centre in Sydney’s west was closed on Sunday when two workers tested positive as NSW recorded 12 new infections.
The first case worked shifts at the Advanced Early Learning centre in Merrylands on July 27, 28 and 29, and a second worker was identified on Sunday morning.
Most concerning to health authorities is that the two cases have not been traced to a known cluster, and the source of infection remains unknown.
Two of Sunday’s new cases were connected to the Mounties club at Mount Pritchard, three to the Apollo restaurant at Potts Point, five are contacts of known cases and one was a returned traveller.
NSW chief medical officer Dr Kerry Chant urged anyone in Potts Point and greater Western Sydney to stay particularly vigilant.
NSW STRENGTHENS MASK RULES
Health authorities are pleading with the people of NSW to mask up and reconsider non-essential activity to help the state avoid a deadly Victorian-style disaster.
New rules now “strongly recommend” mask wearing in crowded areas in response to the uncontained spread of COVID-19 south of the border.
From Monday masks should be worn on public transport, supermarkets, shops, churches and other places of worship. Hospitality staff and other workers who have regular contact with customers should also cover up.
While not mandatory, businesses will be able to enforce mask use as a condition of entry.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would back retailers who refused to serve unmasked customers and said vulnerable people “should consider wearing a mask at all times” and anyone in a hotspot should limit their activities.
“Obviously the consistent situation in Victoria gives us cause for alarm,” she said. “The next few weeks will make or break us in terms of the way we get through this pandemic.”
Prime Minister Scott Morrison yesterday covered up before heading into the shops, saying wearing a mask “protects others you come into contact with in enclosed areas, in particular the retail salespeople just doing their jobs”.
The tougher edict strengthens the government’s earlier recommendation for covering up when social distancing can’t be maintained.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said people should also avoid crowded public transport by working from home or asking for flexible working arrangements.
Do-it-yourself cloth masks are acceptable for use in NSW, but government guidelines say masks should be made from three layers of fabric. They should be washed after each use, or at least daily.
A spate of mystery cases in Sydney has also concerned authorities. NSW Health said seven cases not linked to any known cluster had been identified in the past week.
They involved people from the South Western, Western Sydney, South Eastern Sydney and Sydney local health districts.
MORE PEOPLE FINED AFTER ILLEGAL PARTIES
A second illegal snow resort party was busted by police at the weekend, with 27 people found inside a single room at a resort.
Police were called to a property on Kosciuszko Rd, East Jindabyne at 11pm on Saturday for a noise complaint when they found the illegal party in full swing.
Only eight of the partygoers were actually staying at the resort.
Seven men, aged 26, 29, 31, two aged 24 and two aged 27, and a 29-year-old woman were slapped with on the spot $1000 fines for the risky gathering, and the rest of the party was ordered to move on.
It comes after 100 revellers were fined for a bush-doof near Thredbo last month. Police said the organised event, which included a DJ, was in a national park near Jindabyne. Some at the party ran from police, escaping fines.
On Sunday police were pictured speaking to many among a large group that had gathered in North Bondi — including some playing music — not social distancing.
The night before two 16-year-old girls had to be taken to hospital after they were found unconscious on a Mosman beach. Police were told the girls had been attending an illegal beach party with up to 40 young people. In another incident, police fined a 29-year-old Maroubra man for hosting an illegal party in his unit.
Originally published as Coronavirus NSW: Baby among latest COVID cases, Victoria records 429 new cases
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