Another 13 Victorians die, 182 new cases, PM announces extra $171m to boost aged care support
Another 13 Victorians have died from coronavirus and 182 new cases have been added to the state’s tally. But the state’s chief health officer says the overall trend is positive. It comes as autorities investigate new outbreaks at two Melbourne hospitals.
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Victoria has recorded 182 new virus cases and another 13 deaths.
It comes after 179 cases were recorded on Friday - the lowest daily increase since July 13.
Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said it was great to see two days in a row of cases under 200.
“That is showing up in the stabilisation of hospital figures as well, we have a decrease in hospitalised patients, a decrease in ICU and even ventilators. So the overall trend is positive,” Prof Sutton said.
“Next week we, if we carry on like this, we will see numbers below 150. But it is the simple measures, the ones we have show.”
Among the deaths recorded on Saturday, the youngest was a man in his 50s while the oldest was a woman in her 100s. Authorities have linked 10 of these to aged care homes.
Another 30 mystery cases have been detected in Victoria, bringing the total cases with an unknown source to 3838.
Active cases across the state have decreased by 128 to 4293.
Of those active cases, 674 are healthcare workers, 1689 are in aged care and 247 are in regional Victoria.
There are 610 Victorians in hospital, including 36 in ICU and 22 on ventilators.
Premier Daniel Andrews urged Victorians to brave the cold weather and get tested.
“Please, please come forward and get tested,” he said.
In the past 24 hours, 21,346 Victorians were tested for the virus, bringing the overall tally to 2,070,581.
When quizzed about Health Minister Jenny Mikakos’ 12-day absence from the daily coronavirus pressers, the Premier denied it was a “bad look” for the government.
NEW OUTBREAKS AT HOSPITALS
The Department of Health is investigating new coronavirus outbreaks at two Melbourne hospitals.
There are COVID-19 cases at Dandenong Hospital, and Cabrini Hospital in Malvern, but the DHHS could not confirm how many infections across the two sites in a detailed list of outbreaks released on Saturday afternoon.
A volatile outbreak at the Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park campus continues to grow with active cases soaring to 155.
AGED-CARE OUTBREAKS
- 209 cases at Epping Gardens Aged Care, Epping
- 193 cases at St Basil’s Homes for the Aged, Fawkner
- 158 cases at Estia Aged Care Facility, Ardeer
- 155 cases at BaptCare Wyndham Lodge Community, Werribee
- 133 cases at Kirkbrae Presbyterian Homes, Kilsyt
- 113 cases at Outlook Gardens Aged Care Facility, Dandenong North
- 113 cases at Cumberland Manor Aged Care Facility, Sunshine North
- 112 cases at Twin Parks Aged Care, Reservoir
- 110 cases at Estia Aged Care Facility, Heidelberg
- 107 cases at Japara Goonawarra Aged Care Facility, Sunbury
KEY OUTBREAKS WITH NEW CASES
- 155 cases at Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park campus
- 34 cases have been linked to AusFresh in Broadmeadows
MMA FIGHTER TO GIVE EVIDENCE TO HOTEL INQUIRY
A professional mixed martial arts fighter, “Genghis’’ Kaan Ofli, will give evidence to the inquiry on Monday.
Melbourne-born Mr Ofli, 27, will give a first-hand account of his experience during his 14-day mandatory quarantine period.
Two security guards will also give evidence.
BORDER RESOLUTION EXPECTED SOON
Senior officials in South Australia and Victoria will meet at the start of the week to work out a deal over the issues on the state border.
Mr Andrews spoke to South Australian Premier Steven Marshall on Saturday morning to discuss the potential for a “bubble” that would remove problems for communities in the western parts of the state.
It comes after more than a week of earnings from farmers about the serious impediments created by tough border controls on NSW and South Australia.
ANTI-MASKERS SLAPPED WITH FINES
A man not wearing a mask because “my solicitor said so” was among 161 people fined for COVID breaches in the past 24 hours.
That man was on a Mernda-bound train when police spoke to him, one of more than 20 face-covering breaches penalised by police.
Another rail passenger, who was walking near Flinders St station, said he was going to get a train home to Epping and did not believe in restrictions.
A woman who had been caught for a breach earlier this month was found at a bus terminal and fined.
A man walking outside of curfew hours was intercepted at Abbotsford and told officers he had forgotten why he was out.
Of those fined for breaking the chief health officer’s directives, 13 were caught at vehicle checkpoints and 58 for curfew breaches.
A total of 16,115 vehicles were checked.
- Mark Buttler
PREVENTING A THIRD WAVE
The best way to safeguard against a third wave is to bring virus number down to the lowest possible level, Prof Sutton says.
“I hope that includes zero. We haven’t been there yet, there is no country in the world that has gone through a second wave bigger than its first wave and has gone to the second side to tell us about that,” he said.
Victoria’s biggest challenge of the second wave was a “super spreader event”.
Prof Sutton said before that Victoria was on a path of reducing restrictions because numbers were being driven down.
“But our uptick in cases happened even as we had a really low effective reproduction number,” he said.
“So there is no alternative than to have both an effective track and trace system, but also the restrictions that allows to get on top of that transmission.”
Sharon Strzelecki has asked me to pass on a message. So here it is - “the sooner we obey the rules and get this Covid thing OVAH the sooner we can get back to the things that matter...like NETTY!!†#COVID19Victoria #COVID19Vic #springst pic.twitter.com/Tp30I7fM3L
— Magda Szubanski AO (@MagdaSzubanski) August 22, 2020
FAMOUS FACES FEATURE IN NEW AD CAMPAIGN
Sharon Strzelecki and Tayla Harris will front a new ad campaign urging people to do the right thing during the pandemic.
Prominent Victorians will feature in the humorous advertisements to be launched from Saturday.
They will be used to remind people on key safety messages such as wearing masks while encouraging them to stay strong during lockdown.
Other stars to feature on screens Include Shane Jacobson, Nazeem Hussain and Waleed Aly.
The celebrities were offered a small fee for their pariticipation, but Mr Andrews was unaware of the exact amount.
“... they could choose to donate it to charity and I think most have moved that on,” he said.
CASH SPLASH TO EXPAND AGED CARE SUPPORT
The emergency workforce holding together Victoria’s aged care system will be expanded in a $171m federal funding boost that will also beef-up the sector watchdog.
Scott Morrison announced on Friday that commonwealth aged care support during the coronavirus crisis would reach $1bn, with extra cash also allocated to mental health help for residents and families affected by deadly outbreaks.
It came as the Prime Minister said his Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck would regret being unable to remember how many Australians had died in aged care with COVID-19.
Senator Colbeck was grilled over the government’s response in a fiery Senate inquiry on Friday, during which he apologised for the fact that “in some circumstances, we haven’t got it right”.
Asked by Labor senator Katy Gallagher how many Australians had died in aged care during the pandemic, Senator Colbeck fumbled to find the information before a departmental official intervened to confirm the death toll was 254 people.
“I have got the details, I just couldn’t find it,” Senator Colbeck said.
Mr Morrison later maintained that he had confidence in his minister.
“I’m sure the minister regrets not being able to recall those figures to mind. On occasion I can’t call every figure to mind,” he said.
In Friday’s national cabinet meeting, Mr Morrison struck an agreement with state and territory leaders to activate local aged care response centres — modelled on the Victorian body set up during the crisis — in the event of outbreaks. He announced the $171m funding boost, which also included $50m to add to a second instalment of retention payments for aged care workers next month, and $9m to expand the work of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
With the aged care royal commission to report next year, Mr Morrison flagged major investments would be made in the federal budget this year and beyond.
Of nine COVID-19 deaths recorded in Victoria on Friday, seven were linked to aged care.
NO ROOM FOR COMPLACENCY AS DAILY CASE NUMBERS DROP
BORDER FAMILIES LEFT IN THE DARK
About half of vet Claire Law’s business comes from Victoria, but under SA’s tough new border controls, it is the animals and clients she is most worried about.
She treats companion animals, such as cats and dogs, as well as livestock and horses.
Under SA’s latest restrictions, clients from Victoria will no longer be permitted to go to her business, Rural Veterinary Services, which sits near the border at Hynam, east of Naracoorte.
“It’s the animal welfare and it’s also the mental health of the community,” Dr Law said of her biggest concerns.
The closest large-animal vets are in Stawell and Hamilton, 150km-200km away, and there is a small animal vet at Horsham, 130km away.
“They could have an animal that’s been hit by a car 5km away and have to drive 150km, or they euthanise the animal,” Dr Law said.
She estimates that under the new restrictions, she will lose about 60 per cent-70 per cent of her business.
At the same time, her children, Grace, 9, George, 7, Joseph, 6 and Emma, 2, will be doing remote learning because they are no longer able to attend Apsley Primary just over the border.
“Our nine-year-old was in tears last night,” Dr Law’s husband, Jason, said.
“She’s worried that her mum and dad are going to lose their jobs. It’s really starting to knock the kids.”
PM SIGNALS DELAY IN SUPERANNUATION HIKE
Scott Morrison has given his strongest hint yet that next year’s increase to compulsory superannuation contributions will be scrapped by the government because of the COVID-19 recession.
The Prime Minister said that while he was “hopeful” the economy would improve before the super rate is due to rise to 10 per cent next July, he had to act “in the best interests of people getting jobs and staying in jobs”.
“It’s something the government has to carefully consider,” Mr Morrison said, after Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe backed a long list of experts warning the super increase would limit pay rises and cost jobs.
At Friday’s national cabinet meeting, Dr Lowe said the unemployment rate would likely stay above 7 per cent for the next two years.
But in better news for homeowners, he said he expected interest rates to remain at record lows for at least three years.
The Reserve Bank Governor also used his briefing to call on the states and territories to spend an extra $40bn over the next two years to kickstart the nation’s economic recovery.
While the states have already committed $48bn to major projects over that time, Mr Morrison said Dr Lowe had told them far more was needed, as he encouraged spending on transport, housing, energy and schools.
The Prime Minister backed that message to the states and territories, saying the commonwealth had been doing the heavy lifting during the pandemic.
He said the national cabinet agreed that “jobs is the number one economic issue”.
“Don’t expect the states and territories to be making announcements tomorrow morning,” Mr Morrison said.
“That will need to be done in a careful and purposeful way, in a way that builds and works on existing programs to get the maximum efficiency, that extends capital programs that are already in place.”
“The debt that will be required to fund that is one that the Reserve Bank Governor has said can be absorbed by the states and territories with their existing areas of exposure. And I would support that view.”
Dr Lowe also emphasised the need for ongoing income support, and tax and regulation reforms to reduce the strain on businesses.
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