Victoria records 303 new virus cases, four deaths
People have flocked outside in droves, despite Melbourne’s stage four restrictions limiting exercise and forbidding public gatherings. It comes as community transmission continues to increase, with hundreds of infections classified as “mystery” cases overnight.
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Melburnians have left home in droves despite stage four restrictions across the city.
Cyclists, runners and walkers were a common sight on footpaths and bike tracks across Melbourne.
While most wore mandatory masks, runners and riders were spotted with uncovered faces, despite the inability to social distance.
Many exercised shoulder-to-shoulder, mixing with other pairs on the footpath in the process.
In Brighton, sunbathers could be seen sitting on the sand at the beach, despite strict rules on exercise.
Victorians also flocked to local shopping strips and supermarkets, taking time to socialise in the warm weather.
Many in Melbourne’s west were seen attending crowded farmers’ markets on Saturday, mingling in large groups.
Images on social media show a busy Yarraville park lined with groups of people.
Some can be seen standing close together around market stalls, while others indulge in a picnic, sitting down on the grass to socialise.
The images ignited anger on Twitter from Victorians who have been following lockdown protocols, only leaving home to buy essentials or exercising for an hour, once a day.
It comes after Premier Daniel Andrews quipped about Saturday’s sunny weather at his 11am press conference, saying: “I had hoped it was going to rain a lot.”
“For any interstate viewers tuning in today, the irony of us complaining about the weather … That it’s too good, I mean,” he said.
“I think people know and understand as frustrating as this is, and yes, it’s a beautiful morning, but we have got people this morning planning funerals of their loved ones, so let’s all keep the perspective that we have to keep.
“It’s not over. The signs are encouraging, but it’s not over.”
OUTBREAK AT ALBERT PARK RESIDENTIAL SERVICE
A coronavirus outbreak has been reported at a supported residential service in Albert Park.
The Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed five residents and one staff member at Hambleton House have tested positive to the virus.
“All are currently self-isolating,” a DHHS spokesperson said in a statement.
“We are increasing onsite support with additional staffing, security and authorised officers to ensure the proprietors can manage the outbreak safely.
“Significant work has been undertaken on site to ensure all relevant and necessary supports are in place and that all relevant cleaning protocols have been followed.
Hambleton House is a private supported residential service, that provides accommodation for vulnerable community members.
Health workers, security guards, police and patient transport workers were at the scene on St Vincent Pl North on Saturday night.
Medical staff wearing full PPE, including gowns and face shields, were seen coming and going from the residential service property.
Some workers were seen encouraging a confused man to leave the house with them.
Patient transport vehicles were on stand by for use ferrying vulnerable residents away from Hambleton House.
Police were seen outside the front door on to Montague St and side exit on to St Vincent Pl North, to keep watch over the inhabitants.
A neighbour posted on Facebook expressing her concern, claiming she had often seen the residents not wearing masks.
“They’ve been moving around as normal during entire pandemic — many of them pass by our house daily,” she wrote.
The neighbour claimed she had contacted the COVID hotline and Victoria Police about their concerns about non-compliance at the home.
Hambleton House is home to some of the state’s most vulnerable residents for both long-term and respite care. Many of them have mental health, chronic health issues and complex care issues.
Nearby residents reported seeing ambulances coming and going, police and security workers outside the doors since 3pm on Saturday.
- Rhiannon Down
FOUR DEATHS, MYSTERY CASES SPIKE
Victoria has recorded 303 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
Another four people have died from the virus, the DHHS confirmed on Saturday morning.
A woman and two men aged in their 80s, along with a woman in her 90s are the latest to succumb to the virus. Two of the latest deaths are connected to aged-care outbreaks.
Concerningly, “mystery” cases with no known source have increased by 264 in the past 24 hours.
But Mr Andrews said it was a cumulative figure.
“Before people see that as a very big increase on previous days, we have always made the point that with that coronavirus detective work, it’s not all done in one hit,” he said.
“It does take time to try and work out, try and exhaust all possible sources and then to declare that case a mystery case.
“They do come in ‘batches’, so I wouldn’t read too much into that, other than it’s simply the product of multiple days work being brought to book.”
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton also said he was not too concerned about the spike in mystery cases.
“They are not attributable to today’s numbers, they are the numbers that have been closed off that will relate to historical cases going back for some days — and sometimes weeks — when you are still investigating to make sure that you are not missing a link that links back to a cluster or a known outbreak or a known case,” he said.
He said it was expected to see some community transmission as a result of the four essential reasons that people need to be out.
Prof Sutton said he was cautiously optimistic that Victoria’s restrictions were now being reflected in the daily figures.
“People should have hope and confidence that the things that we know work are now manifesting,” he said.
“Our new outbreaks every day are in single figures now. At one point, there were 20 or 30 new outbreaks every day. We are at four or five now each day, which is another positive sign.
“The number of active cases in aged care is beginning to stabilise. It’s still far, far, far too much at 2000.
“The number of active cases amongst health care workers is stabilising. It is also far, far too much.”
But Prof Sutton urged against complacency and encouraged Victorians to continue following the rules.
“We are seeing the fruits of a very difficult period of restrictions, stage three and stage four, and it should continue to trend down,” he said.
“Our effective reproduction number, so the average number of people that one person infects, is almost certainly below one now. It can get to 0.4, 0.5 if everyone can do the right thing.”
He said most infected people did not go on to reinfect anyone, but warned of “super spreaders” and settings that could amplify the risk of infection.
“The reality is most people don’t infect anyone. But there is a small percentage, maybe 20 or 30 per cent who might infect dozens of people,” Prof Sutton said.
“So there are these super spreading events and especially indoor settings, work settings where people are in close contact where you can have a great number of people infected.
“That’s what cruise ships did, the restaurants in NSW had 100-plus cases. We know from our meatworks you can get hundreds of cases.
“Germany had a meatworks where 1500 people got infected. There are settings that amplify that risk.
“If on average we can get that reff number below one, then every generation of transmission we will see fewer and fewer cases over time.
“That number is completely affected by what we do at a community level, how much time we are spending at home, limiting the number of people that we might meet for essential reasons, but also at that micro distance, so whenever we are meeting someone that we have got a mask on, that we are not shaking hands, we are not hugging and kissing and not getting closer than 1.5m.”
There is a total of 7875 active cases statewide, with 7200 in metropolitan Melbourne and 484 in regional Victoria.
“Those regional numbers are actually down on where they were four or five days ago,” Mr Andrews said.
“We peaked at about 512 if memory serves correctly. They are relatively stable but we have seen growth in those bigger cities.”
Active cases among Victoria’s healthcare workers number at 1178. There are also 2938 active cases in aged-care settings.
There are currently 661 Victorians in hospital, with 41 of those receiving intensive care.
Meanwhile, a man watching Netflix on his phone while driving to buy fast food is among the latest batch of Victorians to be slapped with a fine for breaching coronavirus restrictions.
Victoria Police confirmed they issued 223 fines in the past 24 hours, including one to the hungry Wyndham driver.
Of the fines, 27 were for not wearing a mask, while 87 were for breaching curfew.
A further 23 were handed out at vehicle checkpoints.
Other examples of breaches in the past 24 hours include:
• A Truganina man, who believed that COVID-19 is a conspiracy and that he was targeted by police, who was located in Box Hill.
• A Morwell man who travelled by train to Drouin so he could go for a walk.
GRAND FINAL EVE HOLIDAY TO STAY
Victoria’s controversial AFL Grand Final eve public holiday is set to stay this year — even if the match is played interstate.
“It will still be the Friday before the Grand Final … I reckon Victorians may well have earnt that, and if there are a bunch of people who want to criticise me for that, go for it, fine. If that makes you feel better, fine,” Mr Andrews said.
“This has been a really, a very difficult year, what October looks like, none of us can say … (the) public holiday is not universally popular but we made the commitment and we honour our commitments.
“That day is there and I have no plans to change that. No matter where the grand final is played, and if some in the business community want to have a crack at me today, if that makes them feel better than fine.
“But it is about work, working to live, not living to work, perhaps. I think I have made that point a few times, it is a special day and we should try as best we can in this year of challenges to make it the most special day possible.”
It is increasingly likely that the biggest day on the AFL calendar will be hosted outside of Melbourne, with Queensland confirming it would put in a bid to host the event.
The 2020 season decider is slated to be held on October 17.
HOW STAGE FOUR RESTRICTIONS COULD BE LIFTED
Victoria is on track to ease out of stage four restrictions on time with hopes families could spend Christmas together.
Official government modelling, obtained exclusively by the Herald Sun, reveals a key indicator has drastically encouraged authorities in charge of the COVID-19 response.
The Herald Sun understands authorities are now confident of a gradual easing of restrictions, providing ongoing compliance with current restrictions.
It would likely see Melbourne’s nightly curfew dropped as a first step, with families possibly able to gather again by Christmas.
But Mr Andrews declined to make any predictions, instead urging Victorians to
“We have got to do this right,” he said.
“If we let our frustration get the better of us and we pretend that the second wave is over when it really isn’t, and open up when there are too many cases out there, all we are really doing is just kicking off a third wave and potentially a fourth.”
The Premier also said the pandemic’s effects would be felt well into the following year.
“2021 will not be a normal year, it will be at best a COVID-normal year,” he said.
“Unless, of course, a vaccine can be developed, produced and administered, which I don’t think is going to be happening: all three of those things inside a year. I genuinely hope to be proven wrong in that.”
Read the full story here.
TOO EARLY TO SEE STAGE FOUR EFFECTS
Two weeks have passed since strict stage four restrictions were introduced in metropolitan Melbourne, but Prof Sutton said it was too early to tell if the measures were reflected in today’s figures.
“We really can’t make a call on what today’s numbers are in relation to those restrictions,” he said.
“We know that the mobility data is very encouraging. So we have an expectation that that will continue to drive transmission down.
“But showing up in the numbers can take a bit longer. You’ve got that average incubation period of five or six days, getting tested, getting that result in, getting notified to the department.
That can take nine or ten days from the time that someone is exposed. We won’t really see it show in the numbers until next week.”
HOW PANDEMIC COULD CHANGE RETIREMENT PAYMENTS
A push to delay an increase to compulsory retirement payments has been boosted by Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe, who has warned it could limit pay rises and cost jobs.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has also conceded the recession sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic was a “rather significant event” that could be a roadblock to the government’s commitment to lift superannuation contributions from 9.5 per cent to 12 per cent by 2025.
The boost to retirement payments is already legislated but a growing group of Liberal MPs are lobbying to delay or scrap the change.
Their efforts received added ammunition from Dr Lowe on Friday, who said the evidence showed increased super contributions would lead to “lower wage growth over time”.
“There will be less current income and if there is less income there may be less spending, and if there is less spending there may be less jobs,” he said.
Asked about Dr Lowe’s comments, the Prime Minister said he was “very aware of those issues” and that despite his government’s election commitment, it had “to be considered”.
Dr Lowe was responding to questions from committee chair and Liberal MP Tim Wilson.
“The Reserve Bank gets that the most important thing is to create jobs, and increasing the compulsory super guarantee will hit wages and ultimately job creation and neither are good,” Mr Wilson said.
It came as Mr Morrison and Dr Lowe called on state governments to pull their weight and boost spending to support the nation’s economic recovery.
Dr Lowe said state governments needed to worry less about protecting their credit ratings and borrow more.
“The states do control many of the state levers here — they control the infrastructure programs, they do much of the health and education spending,” he said.
“What’s important is that we use the public balance sheet in a time of crisis to create jobs for people.”
Victoria has spent $10.5bn on its COVID-19 response, according to federal estimates, which is $4.9bn less than NSW.
Victoria’s net debt is now at $40.3bn, compared to the commonwealth’s net debt of $488bn after committing $314bn to health and economic support measures.
Mr Morrison backed Dr Lowe and said that the commonwealth “cannot do all the fiscal heavy lifting on its own”.
“It is not a licence to make whoopee with taxpayers’ funds,” Mr Morrison said.
“The projects have got to be good projects. The spending must always be good spending.”
PREMIER DAN GETS TICK OF APPROVAL
Two-thirds of people say Premier Daniel Andrews is doing a good job handling the coronavirus pandemic, according to an online survey.
The poll on the Herald Sun Facebook page attracted more than 200,000 votes and 5000 comments from people explaining their view.
It found 68 per cent were supportive of Mr Andrews, while 32 per cent thought he was not doing a good job.
The poll results were collected this week while Melbourne was in stage four restrictions and regional Victoria in stage three.
The Premier and his cabinet ministers have come under mounting scrutiny over their handling of the botched hotel quarantine system.
The board of inquiry into that program, headed by former Family Court judge Jennifer Coate, will start public hearings next week.
A Newspoll conducted for The Australian in July found 57 per cent were satisfied with Mr Andrews’ performance handling the pandemic and 37 per cent were dissatisfied.
That was down from 67 per cent satisfaction with Mr Andrews in June and 75 per cent satisfaction in April.
EMERGENCY SERVICES’ LEADERSHIP SWITCH-UP
A critical command post has been filled by emergency services chiefs during the coronavirus crisis even though a government pandemic plan declared it was a job for the chief health officer.
State Emergency Service and Forest Fire Management Victoria bosses are among those to have rotated through the state controller position in recent months.
But the action plan for influenza pandemic — drawn up in 2015 by Emergency Management Victoria and the Department of Health and Human Services — says the chief health officer should hold the role with “overall responsibility for emergency response operations”.
Emergency services insiders and the state opposition have raised concerns with the structure after co-ordination issues were exposed in Victoria’s hotel quarantine system and contact tracing program.
Premier Daniel Andrews said on Friday that the current structure “was nothing more or less than a reflection that this is truly unprecedented”.
At the start of the pandemic, the Premier released a plan which said governance structures were based on the state’s existing pandemic influenza manual, drawn up in the wake of the swine and bird flu.
It also put the Emergency Management Commissioner in charge of “response co-ordination”.
The plan was supposed to be updated every three years, but a new version has not been published since 2015.
Shadow Attorney-General Edward O’Donohue said the “proven framework had been arrogantly ignored”.
“The near public absence of the Emergency Management Commissioner and the lack of clear lines of responsibility points to a shambolic response to this public policy disaster by the Andrews Labor Government that is costing lives and ruining communities,” he said.
Mr Andrews said Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton and health experts were “deeply involved” in the government’s response.
Last month, DHHS secretary Kym Peake was appointed state controller, in a reshuffle that elevated Prof Sutton and Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton to the state control meeting team. An emergency services insider said they “should have been around the table from the beginning”.
The source said there had been an “utter failure” to implement robust command structures, pointing to Prof Sutton’s acknowledgment that he did not have oversight of hotel quarantine.
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