Rolling coverage: 13th day without a new coronavirus case as test numbers soar
Victoria’s Health Department secretary Kym Peake has resigned from her position. It comes as the state recorded 13 days of zero new cases but Premier Daniel Andrews has warned that the virus threat is not gone.
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Victoria has recorded yet another day without a new coronavirus case or death, bringing the state’s streak to 13 days.
Active cases have dipped to just three, with 20,819 people tested on Wednesday.
But Premier Daniel Andrews cautioned that even 13 days of zero cases was “not the same as a vaccine”.
“The state needs enough data to get the most complete picture on how to proceed,” he said.
“These announcements are spaced out in two-week blocks because that is the life cycle of this virus.”
“This thing will still be lurking, smouldering if you like, but we must take the steps in a safe and cautious way.
“We need to find that normal and lock it in and hopefully defend it throughout 2021.”
But the Premier said to have more than 20,000 tests conducted on Wednesday was “just terrific”.
“Victorians are coming forward — even with the mildest of symptoms — and getting tested.
“It is the key in many ways to keeping these numbers low.
“If we pull it up so it doesn’t spread, we can open up.”
Mr Andrews said further changes to testing would be announced soon.
HEALTH DEPARMENT SECRETARY RESIGNS
Another top government staffer has stood down following criticisms over her role in Victoria’s pandemic response.
Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kym Peake has resigned following claims she “failed in her duties” by not adequately briefing former health minister Jenny Mikakos.
Ms Peake will be replaced by her deputy Professor Euan Wallace.
Her resignation follows the resignations of public service boss Chris Eccles, former health minister Jenny Mikakos.
ANDREWS’ POPULARITY SOARS AS RESTRICTIONS EASE
Daniel Andrews approval rating has soared on the back of Victoria’s latest easing of restrictions with the Premier almost as popular as he has been since April.
A new Roy Morgan survey, published on Thursday, showed Mr Andrews’ approval rating jump 12 per cent to 71 per cent, just four points short of his April approval rating.
The poll was conducted on Monday and Tuesday after the bulk of Victoria’s lockdown restrictions were eased.
The biggest increase in the Premier’s job approval compared to mid-October came from older Victorians.
And 40 per cent of coalition supporters also recorded approval of the Premier’s handling of his job, up nine per cent from October.
Roy Morgan chief Michele Levine said while Mr Andrews’ approval rating had increased substantially, 29 per cent of Victorian electors, down 12 per cent, disapproved of his handling of the job.
LATEST COVID-19 EXPOSURE SITES
Victorian health authorities have updated the list of potential coronavirus exposure sites after three patients retested positive.
Anyone who has visited the locations has been urged to watch for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested immediately if symptoms occur.
NEW SITES:
November 8 from 1.45pm to 2.15pm: Craigieburn line inbound between Glenroy Station and Flinders St Station
November 8 from 3pm to 3.50pm: H&M, 350 Bourke St
November 8 from 3.55pm to 4.40pm: Cotton On Body, 211 La Trobe St
November 8 from 5pm to 5.15pm: Chemist Warehouse, 220-226 Collins St
November 8 from 6.30pm to 7pm: Craigieburn line outbound between Flinders St Station and Glenroy Station
November 8 from 7.45pm to 8.15pm: Touch of Asia, 826A Pascoe Vale Rd, Glenroy
November 10 from 11.45am to 1.20pm: Terminal 4 Domestic, Melbourne Airport
For the full list visit https://dhhs.vic.gov.au/case-locations-and-outbreaks
$870M MENTAL HEALTH BOOST
Premier Daniel Andrews has announced an $868.6m boost for mental health services in the state’s upcoming budget.
He said the pandemic and the broken mental health system was a “twin wicked challenge”.
“Now, more than ever, we need to invest and reform the mental health system.”
Mental Health Minister James Merlino said the government would “respond comprehensively to the final (royal commission) report in February next year”.
He said the centrepiece of this year’s budget would be allocating $492m for the delivery in full of 144 mental health beds in Sunshine, Geelong, Epping and Melbourne.
$2.2m will be allocated to the design of a Victorian collaborative centre for mental health, which will be designed and delivered through people with lived mental health experience.
FINANCIAL FEARS TAKE TOLL ON AUSTRALIANS
Meanwhile, seven out of 10 Australians are worried about their future finances, with parents and those over 40 among those hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
A national study of more than 7000 Australians, surveyed in May and June, shows nearly half of parents have had a drop in income and one third have experienced a substantial cut.
A quarter of all those surveyed and almost a half of those who have had a reduction in their income, have been using their savings to pay for everyday expenses, the Australian Institute of Family Studies’ latest COVID snapshot shows.
Adults over 40 are more likely than younger adults to be cutting down on essentials and using their savings to get by.
Retirees are applying for pension and concession cards and reducing superannuation drawdowns, the study found.
Even those who haven’t had a drop in income are spending less on non-essentials.
Lead author of the report, Australian Institute of Family Studies senior research fellow Diana Warren, said there were “significant levels of concern among Australians about both current and future financial wellbeing”.
“This is especially true for people who have experienced a drop in income, but even those who haven’t been directly impacted are worried,” Dr Warren said
The survey found 80 per cent of those who had a drop in income were spending less on non-essential items, 52 per cent were spending less on essentials like groceries and one fifth asked friends and family for help.
In addition, 15 per cent had asked for a pause in their rent or mortgage and 12 per cent for help from a welfare or community organisation.
“A significant proportion of Australian families have been impacted financially — whether by job losses, reductions in hours, having to close their businesses, or lower returns on investments impacting the incomes of self-funded retirees,” Dr Warren said.
Husband and wife team Dean and Joanne Austin have weathered the financial storm for most of this year.
Ms Austin left a career in tertiary education after 32 years to open a flower and gift shop next to her husband’s hairdressing salon, The Birdcage on Elgar at Box Hill South, just as the pandemic hit.
“Because of the lockdown I opened for the first time last week,” she said.
“But I’ve been here every day for months waiting for everyone to be able to come.”
STATE LIBRARY SET TO REOPEN
After months of lockdown, the beloved State Library Victoria has revealed when it will reopen its doors.
CEO Kate Torney announced the library will welcome visitors back on November 19, after the longest closure in the building’s 164-year history.
The iconic domed La Trobe Reading Room, the Heritage Collection Reading Room, the Ian Potter Queen’s Hall, the Swanston Street Welcome Zone, Hansen Hall, the Pauline Gandel Children’s Quarter, Cowen Gallery, the Friends Lounge, StartSpace and the Ask a Librarian reference desk spaces and services will all return.
A $7.9 million funding boost for Melbourne’s public cultural institutions from the state government will also see outdoor activations return to the building’s forecourt, while popular online services will continue for those still staying at home.
Ms Torney said staff were thrilled to reopen the doors of one of the state’s “most loved and visited buildings” and they had a strong COVID-safe plan.
“We’ll be implementing a number of health and physical distancing measures, including limited timed entry via online bookings, as well as collection handling protocols and increased cleaning,” she said.
The Library will open from 10am–1.30pm for morning sessions and 2.30pm–6pm for afternoon sessions, with visitors able to pre-book or walk up on the day.
Online booking and collection requests will resume on 16 November.
MORE STUDENTS UNEMPLOYED
More than a quarter of a million fewer students were working at the height of the national COVID-19 restrictions, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
The impact of closures in retail and hospitality sectors meant the number of students working fell by 283,000 between the first two weeks of May 2019 and the same period this year.
The proportion of students aged 15-64 who were employed fell from 59 per cent to 50 per cent, ABS director of education and training statistics Steven Nicholas said.
The data coincides with the results of a world-first study at Monash University which found tertiary students have become increasingly anxious about their wellbeing during the pandemic and concerned about their futures in a post-COVID world.
Lead researcher Kim Cornish said students reported slightly higher levels of anxiety, depression, fatigue, sleep impairment and social isolation. Almost one in four reported high levels of stress.
The Thrive@Home study by Monash’s Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health surveyed up to 1500 students four times — May, July, August and October — this year.
“Normal life as a student has disappeared,’’ Professor Cornish said. “These changes have placed students at a heightened risk of a wide range of mental health issues including depression, anxiety, insomnia and stress.”
Almost one in three said they had money worries.
But the students’ mood did not fluctuate as the study progressed during the year, indicating many had adapted to their new reality. Most respondents were full-time, undergraduate women.
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