Rolling coverage: Victoria records 113 new virus cases, 23 deaths
A number of critical medical workers, including doctors and nurses, have been unable to cross from Victoria to New South Wales in another border bungle. It comes as an outbreak connected to Frankston Hospital jumped overnight.
Coronavirus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
This coronavirus article is unlocked and free to read in the interest of community health and safety. Get full digital access to trusted news from the Herald Sun and Leader for just $1 a week for the first $12 weeks. Join here.
Doctors, nurses and other medical workers have been unable to cross from Victoria to New South Wales in another border bungle on Thursday.
Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie said a series of critical medical workers had been turned back at the border, including a dentist who had patients waiting in their Albury practice.
A cardiac stenographer from Mt Beauty was told to drive to Melbourne and fly to Sydney to see her patients in Albury.
“It is simply not good enough after all the meetings, all the phone calls, all the assurances from Macquarie Street that critical workers will be able to get through, we are at this point two months in,” Senator McKenzie said.
“This is a disaster waiting to happen. Medical workers on their way to critical work being turned around puts lives at risk.”
“The question needs to be asked: What does it take for bureaucrats in our capital cities to understand their decisions are having serious consequences to the health and wellbeing of our border communities?”
She said the workers had been using their border crossing permits successfully in recent days until they were blocked on Thursday.
Senator McKenzie is now demanding the NSW government resolve the situation.
FRANKSTON HOSPITAL OUTBREAK JUMPS
An outbreak connected to Frankston Hospital has jumped, with another 19 cases of COVID-19 confirmed overnight.
The Peninsula Health cluster now has 63 active cases, DHHS on Thursday said.
It comes after the health service revealed more than 600 workers are currently off-work due to the outbreak.
A statement on the Peninsula Health website says a number of wards have been closed as a precaution but services including mental health, ICU, emergency and maternity remain open.
They said contact tracing of all patients and staff deemed close contacts has now been completed.
DEATH TOLL REMAINS HIGH IN VIC
Victoria’s COVID-19 death toll continues to rise, with another 23 deaths added to the growing number overnight.
The state’s pandemic death toll is now 485, more than four times the rest of the country combined.
The victims include a man in his 60s, one women and four men in their 70s, six women and three men in their 80s, and five women and three men in their 90s.
Twenty-two of the latest deaths are linked to aged-care outbreaks.
Victoria’s daily cases increase is remaining steady, with another 113 new cases detected across the state on Wednesday.
Thursday’s figure is the lowest since 75 cases were recorded on July 5.
And daily totals have been in the 100s for six of the past seven days — 149 on Wednesday, 148 on Tuesday, 116 on Monday, 208 on Sunday, 182 on Saturday and 179 on Friday.
The number of m people in hospital has dropped to 532, but 29 Victorians remain in ICU and 11 on ventilators.
Another 35 mystery cases have been detected in Victoria bringing the total to 174.
Active cases across the state have decreased by 180 to 3308.
Of the active cases, 198 are in regional Victoria, 391 among healthcare workers, 1412 are in aged care settings and 48 in disability facilities.
Of the regional cases Geelong has 71, Bendigo has 16 and there are six in Ballarat which Mr Andrews said was a “pleasing decrease”.
Authorities are hopeful the state’s daily cases will soon drop below 100 as the numbers continue to trend down.
Premier Daniel Andrews has flagged a roadmap to be announced soon for how Victoria will transition out is Stage 4 lockdown.
As the state finishes its fourth week of lockdown on Mr Andrews revealed jobs would be a major focus in the coming weeks as the state approached the September 13 deadline.
“The strategy is working,” he said.
“Every Victorian should be clear about the government’s intention....by head restrictions will not be in place one day longer than necessary.
“A lot of working is going on at the moment,” he said.
Mr Andrews caution that the state wasn’t “ready” to re-open up yet.
“At 100-plus cases a day, we cannot open up right now,” he said.
“I think that Victorians, as painful and as challenging as this is, I think they understand that fact. That’s why we’re working as hard as we possibly can to drive the numbers down further. Once we achieve that, we will be able to outline clear plans.”
DEFIANT PROTESTERS WARNED AFTER UGLY POLICE STAND-OFF
Victoria’s top cop warned police will be out in force in Dandenong if anti-lockdown protests go ahead on Thursday.
It comes the day after police made a number of arrests at a tense protest involving about 100 people.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said seven protesters were arrested and dozens more issued $1652 fines for taking part in the illegal demonstrations held daily since Monday.
He said anti-authoritarians appeared to be hijacking the protests and would be held to account.
“They might not be happy with the lockdown but no one is,” he told 3AW.
“Some people are taking advantage … they are anti-police, anti-authority, anti-everything and are using the situation to get up to no good.
“Nothing entitles them to protest in public. We will get more police out there and do everything we can to hold them to account.”
Police are bracing for a mass anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne’s CBD next Saturday, with indications up to 8000 may attend.
Read the full story here.
HELP FOR DV VICTIMS
New help has been announced for women and children fleeing violence in the home with five new hubs opening across the state.
The Andrews government have expanded the Orange Door Network - which provides help to families in immediate danger - with new centres operating in Barwon, Gippsland, North East Melbourne Bayside and the Mallee.
Premier Daniel Andrews unveiled the new Centres while also reiterating fleeing danger and violence in the hike is an acceptable reason to break Stay at Home restrictions.
SUICIDES DID NOT INCREASE DURING PANDEMIC
Suicides in Victoria haven’t increased during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Coroners Court of Victoria has revealed there were 466 suicides between January 1 and August 26 this year.
It compared with 468 suicides over the same period last year.
State Coroner Judge John Cain said: “There is clearly growing awareness and community concern regarding mental health and suicide — and everyone should have access to the facts.
“While it is encouraging to see there has not been an increase in suicides to date, our focus is to prevent all suicide deaths and see the figures go down.”
Males were three times more likely to die by suicide than females.
So far this year, 350 males and 116 females have died by suicide. Men aged 25 to 55 were at greatest risk. Twelve deaths were children.
Suicides this year peaked at 73 in March and remained around the mid-50s between April and July.
This month, there have so far been 46 fatalities by suicide.
Judge Cain said the data marked the first of ongoing monthly public data reports on suicide from the court.
This aimed at supporting safe and open conversations about suicide and prevention in the community.
“Open, transparent discussions are critical to reducing suicides, but must be handled with care,’’ Judge Cain said.
“The release of these data reports will enable accurate and safe conversations about suicide in
Victoria.”
— Wes Hosking
FRANKSTON HOSPITAL OUTBREAK FORCES 618 TO ISOLATE
More than 600 hospital staff are currently off-work due to a COVID-19 outbreak in Melbourne’s southeast.
Peninsula Health today confirmed 618 staff have been furloughed due to an outbreak at Frankston Hospital.
This includes 44 staff members who have tested positive for the virus.
The hospital said that all discharged patients who had been determined a close contact have now been contacted and asymptomatic testing of all staff and inpatients would continue across the service.
Read the full story here.
DHHS NOW NOTIFIED BY ‘ELECTRONIC FORM’
Victorian doctors can now notify authorities of coronavirus cases online, after frustrated GPs were left waiting on the phone.
The Department of Health and Human Services said the “electronic form” was “one of many improvements made to our contact tracing throughout the pandemic”.
It comes after the Australian Medical Association Victorian president Julian Rait wrote to DHHS last month about his “dismay at the long wait times that health professionals have to endure” to notify the department of a case.
He said one GP had waited two and a half hours on the phone, while another said it took three minutes to find the correct switchboard menu option.
He told the Herald Sun on Wednesday that he was pleased there was now an online option. “We have been calling for a more streamlined process,” he said.
The Herald Sun understands that Victoria has been working to improve and digitise its contact tracing system, which has come under fire for being outdated, cumbersome and slow.
MORE THAN 1000 COVID-19 FINES CHALLENGED
Hundreds of Victorians are contesting their COVID-19 fines with the government admitting the challenge rate was higher than normal.
The Parliamentary Accounts and Estimates Committee has heard 1108 fines handed out by Victoria Police are currently under review.
Furthermore, 53 fines are being reviewed by Fines Victoria.
It comes after Attorney-General Jill Hennessy revealed Victorians had the right to contest any punishments handed out during the pandemic- however, no court challenges are currently are afoot.
“There’s definitely a higher rate of people seeking review, and then a higher rate of people, indicating that they wish to go and argue the toss in court, as I would describe it.”
It comes as Victoria Police Issued another 156 fines for COVID-19 breaches.
Up to 22 were for failing to wear a face covering and 46 were for curfew breaches.
Multiple people across Metropolitan Melbourne were caught leaving their homes during curfew hours to buy fast food including a woman found driving without headlights in her way to get doughnuts
— Alex White
ANALYSIS: CRISP’S EVIDENCE MUDDIED WATERS
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp’s evidence before the parliament’s pandemic response inquiry should have led to answers over the bungled hotel quarantine inquiry.
Instead it just muddied the waters.
Mr Crisp chaired the pivotal March 27 meeting at which the parliamentary inquiry has already been told the decision was made to use private security contractors to run the scheme.
But his evidence contradicted key testimony given by Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions secretary Simon Phemister who said he was tasked with locking down contractors after that meeting.
Read the full story here.
– Shannon Deery