Coronavirus: Victoria’s daily COVID-19 case number dips below 100; Scott Morrison wants to get stranded Aussies home
Daily COVID-19 cases in Victoria have dropped below 100 for the first time in almost two months, but the state has been warned of a ‘third wave’ risk. Meanwhile, Scott Morrison is looking at ways to get Australians caught overseas back on home soil.
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Victoria’s daily coronavirus case number has dropped below 100, with 94 new infections recorded on Saturday alongside 18 deaths.
The last time the state recorded fewer than 100 cases was 55 days ago on July 5.
Today’s death toll includes one female in her 60s; one female and two males in their 70s; four females and five males in their 80s, as well as two females and three males in their 90s.
The new deaths bring the state’s total fatalities to 514.
Premier Daniel Andrews said there were 481 Victorians were in hospital, and 26 of those were receiving intensive care. Seventeen were on a ventilator.
Today’s 94 new infections were from 18,114 COVID-19 tests taken yesterday.
Mr Andrews said the decreasing new case numbers meant the state’s lockdown was “absolutely working”.
Last night, the state’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton tweeted that officials were looking at easing restrictions for single Victorians.
Mr Andrews pointed to “the notion of movement” and being able to spend time with a “immediate family, or someone who is nominated”, but did not say when this would occur or how relaxed restrictions may look more broadly.
Victoria’s tough stage four restrictions are due to end on September 14.
“There is work going on across the board to get us to a situation where we can make announcements about what the weeks and months ahead will look like,” Mr Andrews said
“I know there has been a lot of feedback from people who live on their own, people without others in their household are doing it tough, we will have more to say about that at the appropriate time.”
However, any easing of restrictions would not depend on Victoria have “three months of zero [cases]”, he said.
But he warned Victoria risked “plunging into a third wave” if restrictions were eased too quickly.
“We still have, we still have to see further days of these numbers dipping, and we want them to come down to a very low number, the lowest number we can get them to, because that will mean we can have much greater confidence that we can stay on top of this and open up,” he said.
He said there was a “great degree of frustration in the Victorian community” over the lockdown, but urged people to continue abiding by the rules.
“I will just say to every Victorian, please make choices that contribute to this strategy working. Please don’t make choices like going to a protest that would potentially undermine this strategy,” he said.
Yesterday, Mr Sutton, was asked yesterday whether the shrinking case numbers meant Victoria could lift stage-four restrictions after September 13.
Professor Sutton said falling below 100 new cases per day would be positive from a psychological perspective but he could not predict when the orders would be lifted, with thousands of mystery cases still a major concern.
“I don’t know; the tail of an epidemic has lots of complexity to it,” he said.
“We do need to hold the course.”
QUEENSLAND DEPUTY PREMIER’S SWIPE AT SCOMO OVER BABY DEATH
Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles took a swipe at Scott Morrison on Saturday, when asked about the tragic death of an unborn baby.
A northern NSW woman lost one of her unborn twins this week after waiting 16 hours for a flight to Sydney for treatment rather than going to the Mater Hospital in Brisbane.
Brisbane was closer to her Ballina home and was able to provide the specialised treatment she required for her unborn babies.
But the woman, and doctors at Lismore Base Hospital, reportedly believed she would have to apply for a permit to cross the border for care.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday demanded an explanation from Queensland as to how the “terribly distressing” incident could happen.
But Mr Miles told him to stick to his own responsibilities.
“Scott Morrison should spend a bit more time on the things he’s responsible for, like international borders, like aged care,” he said.
Mr Miles said the border restrictions were “clear” that those requiring medical care, or support people for those requiring medical care, were allowed to cross the border.
He said there was “no border” that would prevent health care workers from “saving lives”.
He said he would write to the NSW Health Minister to ensure NSW hospitals were aware of the rule.
Queensland opposition leader Deb Frecklington also criticised the government over the tragedy, but Mr Miles said it was a “private matter”.
“I want to say a few things about this case because a lot has been said about it,” he said.
“This last 24 hours, watching politicians use this tragic event to further their political arguments … it makes me sick.
“I can assure you we are doing everything we can to ensure these border restrictions do not limit patients (requiring care).
“I can’t speak for hospitals in NSW
“If there is a communication problem south of the border, I want to fix it.”
Meanwhile, Queensland recorded four new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday.
All four cases were related to a known outbreak at the Wacol correctional training Academy, with 19 cases now linked to that outbreak.
One was a trainee at the academy and three were the wives of previously recorded cases.
Mr Miles said some of these cases had already been reported in the media in the past 24 hours.
There are 18 Queenslanders with COVID-19 in hospital.
Mr Miles praised health services for conducting 18,763 tests in the 24 hours to Saturday, adding it was a “really promising result” that the testing blitz turned up only four cases.
Mr Miles announced tighter restrictions in place in some Queensland regions would expand to the Darling Downs region around Toowoomba, including restrictions of 10 people at “non-COVID safe venues”, and limits on visitors at aged care and disability services.
Mr Miles also said the “busy” Graceville Netball Courts had been closed on Saturday after it was visited by people who “may have been infectious” last weekend.
PM WANTS STRANDED AUSSIES HOME
Australia’s hotel quarantine caps are being reviewed after it was revealed 18,000 Australians living overseas are unable to get commercial flights home.
“We have to get the balance right here. We are giving additional support wherever we can to people who need it around the world and there are many cases where there is an urgent need for people to get home and we will continue to seek to support them in the ways that we can,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
Under the current program, up to 4000 Australians are being returned every week, which has been widely criticised for not being enough.
But Mr Morrison said the government has “a lot of contingencies for emergency situations” including instances such as the devastating Beirut explosion and the Diamond Princess cruise ship.
“In other cases we have brought chartered flights back into Australia and they have gone through the normal hotel quarantine, but we don’t want to put too much stress on hotel quarantines,” Mr Morrison said.
“We know what happens when quarantine breaks and there isn’t the tracing program to back that up. We have seen that in the terrible incidents that occurred in Melbourne.”
NSW RECORDS 14 NEW VIRUS CASES
New South Wales has recorded 14 cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the state’s total number of infections to 3844.
Of Saturday’s new infections, only one was recorded in hotel quarantine.
Sixty-seven people are being treated, with six in intensive care.
NSW Health has advised those planning to make the most of the warm weather over the weekend to remain COVID safe and refrain from leaving the house if feeling unwell.
Sydney is forecast to reach 21C on Saturday and 25C on Sunday.
When out and about, make sure you:
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 28, 2020
- Stay 1.5 metres apart
- Maintain good hand hygiene. Take hand sanitiser with you
Face masks are strongly recommended in situations where you can’t physically distance, for example on public transport. https://t.co/tNYupE1zg9
With a growing number of cases, NSW Health has asked anyone who lives or visited the following local government areas or suburbs in the past two weeks to get tested, even if you have mild COVID-19 symptoms such as a runny nose or scratchy throat:
- Campbelltown LGA
- Canterbury Bankstown LGA
- Eastern part of City of Sydney LGA (including the suburbs Sydney, Surry Hills, Darlinghurst, Woolloomooloo, Potts Point, Rushcutters Bay, Elizabeth Bay, Centennial Park)
- Fairfield LGA
- Guildford (suburb)
- Hornsby Shire LGA
- The Hills LGA
- Liverpool LGA
- Merrylands (suburb)
- Parramatta LGA
- Woollahra LGA.
People are also reminded to immediately self-isolate and get tested if they have been to locations, linked to clusters.
This includes those who attended Anytime Fitness in Marrickville between 7pm to 8pm on August 24; the 7.40pm Active Dance class at the Virgin Gym on August 24; City Tattersalls Club Fitness Centre between 8am to 2pm on August 19, 21, 23 and 24; and the indoor dining room of Hunters Hill Bowling Club between noon to 2pm on August 23.
People should also monitor for symptoms if they visited one of 21 sites listed on NSW Health’s website.
This includes the Ramadan Pharmacy at Auburn between 1.30pm to 2.30pm on August 19; Aldi at Fairfield West from 9.45am to 11am on August 16; Broadway Shopping Centre — including the Apple Store — at Glebe from 3.30pm to 5pm on August 22; and Magpies Waitara between 11.30am to 1.15pm August 24.
If symptoms develop, get tested right away and isolate.
There were 24,623 people who were tested in the past 24 hours, with the state’s total number now reaching 2,137,629.
Over the past week, daily cases numbers have gradually increased.
On Friday, 13 new cases were reported — Six were linked to the Sydney CBD cluster, one was a returned traveller in hotel quarantine, two were linked to known clusters and four were still under investigation.
Nine were reported on Thursday and were all locally acquired and linked to known cases — Five from the Sydney CBD cluster and four close contacts of previous cases.
As for Wednesday, six new cases were reported with one being an overseas traveller in hotel quarantine and five locally acquired.
Only three were recorded on Tuesday of which two were close contacts of previous cases and one a repatriated Australian in a medi-hotel.
CORONAVIRUS CASES SURGING AGAIN IN EUROPE
Meanwhile, coronavirus cases are spiking again in Europe after months of diminishing numbers, but there is a difference to the second wave – fewer people are dying, and the latest and mostly younger victims of the pandemic need less medical treatment.
Unlike the initial hit of coronavirus in March which overwhelmed hospitals in Europe and the US, the recent surge has not forced as many people into medical care.
Still, cases have again spiked in former hot spots such as the UK, Italy, Germany and France where there has been an “exponential” rise in new cases, the country’s Director of Health said
On Friday (local time), Paris joined some other French cities in imposing a citywide mask requirement, with cases again growing. France, Germany, Spain and others posted caseloads in recent days that had not been seen since April and early May.
It comes as German Chancellor Angela Merkel said coping with the coronavirus will become more challenging in the coming Northern Hemisphere autumn and winter months, in her annual summer press conference.
Germany has fared relatively well in its battle to contain the virus so far but like many other European countries has seen a new surge in cases in recent weeks.
Spain has been hit hard, with per capita cases now worse than in the US — a notable marker in Europe, which after the initial spike had generally controlled the virus more successfully than America, which has had more than 180,000 deaths.
SCHOOLIES CANCELLED, NEW RESTRICTIONS FOR GC
On Friday, it emerged that Gold Coast residents are set to be hit with increased restrictions in a bid to control the further spread of coronavirus.
From 8am Saturday, gatherings inside the home will be limited to 10 people, and 10 people outside.
Brisbane restrictions currently in place for aged care, hospitals and disability service providers will also cover the Gold Coast.
The annual Gold Coast celebration of Schoolies has also been cancelled, with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk saying “the Schoolies that we have come to know over the years will not be able to go ahead in that form this year”.
The Queensland government said the mass event held over multiple days and traditionally attended by Year 12 school leavers from across the county was too high-risk during the pandemic.
“It poses high risk not only for the people who attend – all the young people – but also all the people they come in contact with, and of course their families and their friends and their grandparents. So, we’ve had to take that very tough decision,” Ms Palaczszuk said.
“I hope parents can understand, and students can understand, that this event cannot go ahead in this format this year.”
In announcing the news, Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young said: “I personally feel for this group. They’ve had a really difficult year. This [Schoolies] is a rite of passage. Your last year of school is such an important year to get you prepared for going out and joining adulthood, if I can put it like that. It’s such an important year and so much of it has had to change for this group. I’m really sorry that they won’t be able to have the traditional Schoolies celebration.”
SYDNEY CLUSTER GROWS
Meanwhile, NSW recorded 13 new cases of coronavirus on Friday.
Of the new cases, one relates to hotel quarantine, six are linked to the Sydney CBD cluster and two are linked to previously known cases. The source of four cases is still under investigation.
Following more cases being linked to the CBD’s Tattersalls Club, the NSW government is ordering anyone who attended the fitness centre on August 24 between 8am and 2pm to present for testing immediately before entering 14 days of mandatory isolation.
“This cluster has grown significantly, and we have received additional cases linked to this cluster overnight. So, again, it highlights how quickly COVID-19 can spread,” NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.
Last week, a person who tested positive to coronavirus attended the club, and new case numbers have grown steadily since.
NSW Health has confirmed the club has undergone yet another deep clean and has encouraged anyone who visited the club on August 19-24 to present for testing and enter self-isolation.
A Fitness First centre on Bond Street in Sydney has also been flagged as a potential hot spot, as has the CBD office building of 300 George Street and an Apple Store in Broadway.
One of the new cases is a student from Saint Gertrude’s Catholic Primary School in Smithfield, while another case that was not included in the overnight numbers has been confirmed as a staff member from Ryde Secondary College. Both schools are now closed and undergoing deep cleans.
The NSW Government is also asking anyone who visited Matterhorn in Turramurra on August 2, the Parish of Holy Name church in Wahroongha on August 23, Liquorland Marrickville on August 23 and Metro Petrol Station in Helston Park on August 24 to come forward for testing.
AUSTRALIA’S COVID RESPONSE RANKED WORLD’S SECOND BEST
A survey measuring government responses around the world to the coronavirus has placed Australia in number two position, while the US ranks last, according to CNN.
Citizens of more than a dozen countries were asked whether their governments had done a good job or a bad job in responding to the pandemic.
They were also asked if their nation is now more united than it was before the coronavirus pandemic. In Australia, 94 per cent answered positively.
But the United States and the United Kingdom were at the bottom of the list.
In the US, only 47 per cent of people thought their government had done a good job in handling the virus, and a majority of 77 per cent said the country was more divided now.
In the UK, 54 per cent of respondents thought the government had done a bad job.
In contrast, a majority of 54 per cent of Australians thought their nation had united under the pressure of the pandemic.
The survey was carried out between July and August by the Pew Rearch Centre.