Health authorities in Tasmania have just confirmed there’s been one new case of coronavirus in the state in the past day.
It brings the total number of cases to 226.
Coronavirus Australia live coverage: Aussies could be able to travel overseas 'within months'
Aussies who are keen to travel internationally again could be in luck within months, with a model being proposed to open the borders.
We've been told that travelling internationally might not be practical for years, but a model has been proposed that could see Aussies head overseas within months.
The 'travel bubble' model mooted between Australia and New Zealand, which have managed to control the spread of coronavirus, could be expanded.
That's the view of a leading travel industry figure, who believes that other nations could open their borders to Australia within months.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has addressed Australia's relationship with China, declaring the country will never compromise on values.
The PM rejected suggestions the diplomatic relationship with China was strained, despite recent issues with Australia's beef and barley exporters.
"I'd stress again that what the Australian Government is doing is completely unremarkable," Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
"We are standing our ground on our values and the things that we know are always important."
Australia has recorded 7024 cases of COVID-19, with 3071 in New South Wales, 1543 in Victoria, 1054 in Queensland, 439 in South Australia, 554 in Western Australia, 226 in Tasmania, 107 in the Australian Capital Territory and 30 in the Northern Territory.
Australia’s death toll is at 98.
Here's how the day unfolded.
Updates
New case in Tassie
Wanna go OS? Good news (maybe)!
Heading overseas on holiday is an idea that’s not going to be practical for some time, with analysts this week saying it’ll be years before international travel returns to normal.
But an Australian industry leader believes there will be some opportunities to head to other countries much sooner than that.
And it could be well beyond heading across the ditch to New Zealand, as has been proposed.
Margy Osmond is the boss of the Tourism and Transport Forum and believes a ‘bubble’ concept could be developed with a range of coronavirus-stable nations.
The bubble idea has been mooted between Australia and New Zealand, with both Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern keen to open travel between the countries.
“I think we might see some Asian and pacific ports open their borders to us from the start to the middle of next year,” Ms Osmond told The Courier-Mail newspaper.
She expects the Australia and New Zealand bubble to be activate from September.
And Ms Osmond believes agreements with countries like Taiwan, Japan and South Korea could follow.
“I think it’s too early to say what the world is going to look like, but I am slightly more optimistic than other people saying overseas travel won’t start until the end of next year.”
She conceded that “if there’s a second wave, that might change things”.
Mr Morrison today hinted that domestic travel within Australia could be allowed in time for the July school holidays.
Transport challenge 'as big as the Olympics'
Only a handful of commuters could be allowed to board individual buses and trains in Sydney, compared to the hundreds who bustled onto each service pre-coronavirus.
"If you're not already on the bus or the train in the morning, do not catch public transport in the peak," NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said today, noting the early peak can last until 11am.
"And I stress that strongly."
In its COVID-19 and hygiene etiquette guide, Transport for NSW already advises commuters to "help protect our drivers" and avoid using the Opal card reader at the front of the bus.
"Keep in mind the distance between you and others when travelling," it states.
Seven News on Friday night reported a standard bus, able to carry 69 people, could be limited to as few as 12 passengers under the state's new transport management plan.
It said 28 people would fit on the biggest Waratah trains carriages which have a capacity of 118.
Stickers will reportedly be placed on seats across the entire fleet to advise passengers where they can and can't sit.
The Sydney Morning Herald reported sources who said one proposal under consideration included a cap on the number of people allowed on a train station at one time.
Sydney University transport expert Geoffrey Clifton said: "We talk about flattening the COVID curve but we also need to flatten the peak hour curve. This is as big a challenge as the (Sydney 2000) Olympics were."
Ms Berejiklian said the network was "pretty much at capacity at this stage" during peak hour.
She said "more details about the public transport network" will be announced but they are going to be "very strict" about social distancing.
Authorities tracing Qantas passengers
Health authorities in New South Wales are conducting contact tracing after a person on a Qantas flight today tested positive for coronavirus.
The person was on board QF flight 537 from Brisbane to Sydney, which landed at 4.05pm.
NSW Health is contacting passengers who were seated in rows 31 to 35.
Keen for live music?
Client Liaison are performing live right now on Facebook to encourage young people to access mental health services during the COVID-19 crisis.
As I reported earlier, coronavirus has intensified pre-existing stressors for young people while adding even more issues to the mix.
ReachOut, a free internet service for Australians aged 12 to 25, has been accessed by an additional 120,000 people since physical distancing measures were announced – a rise of 50 per cent on the same period last year.
It reported a spike of 160,000 contacts in March, rising from a low of just over 40,000 at the end of 2019, according to graphs released by the federal government.
Support for international students
The New South Wales Government has announced a $20 million package to support stranded international students in the state.
It includes a temporary housing scheme for students who are in genuine need, delivered via approved student accommodation and homestay providers, Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education Geoff Lee said.
"It also provides increased support via the International Legal Service NSW, making available 50,000 free subscriptions to the multilingual My Legal Mate student app,” Mr Lee said.
Weeraphan, who is helping coordinate free meals through Sydney’s Thai restaurants, sent me these photos of international students queuing round the block pic.twitter.com/XcuxCStayJ
— Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) May 15, 2020
International students are “an integral part of our communities and our economy”, Mr Lee said.
“Thousands of families around the State depend on the sector – whether through direct employment, homestays or other services.
“Many have lost their part-time jobs, are unable to return to their home countries and do not qualify for Commonwealth Government support programs.”
Nurse likely infectious for two weeks
Testing of residents and staff at a central Queensland aged care facility continues, after a worker was found to be infected with COVID-19.
North Rockhampton Nursing Centre remains in lockdown tonight, with a rapid response team assembled to manage the case.
Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said 23 residents and eight staff have so far been tested and all are negative.
Remaining residents and employees will be tested over the next 24 hours, Dr Young said.
The nurse who tested positive is believed to have contracted coronavirus during a trip to Brisbane and is likely to have been infectious for the past two weeks.
She continued to work at the centre while feeling unwell.
“We are isolating and testing residents and staff, using our GeneXpert rapid testing equipment,” Dr Young said.
“That testing can return results within an hour but there’s limited capacity in Queensland and Australia. These samples will be run through our normal PCR testing regime as a precautionary measure.
“We’re communicating with residents, families and carers, and staff. This is an early, robust and coordinated response.
“Coronavirus inside a residential aged care facility can have significant consequences and we are taking this very seriously.”
Contract tracing continues to find anyone the nurse has been in contact with since May 3 when she is thought to have become infectious.
Some 70 people have already been identified and quarantined, Dr Young said.
The nurse “has been in the community on several occasions” and it’s crucial that anyone in the Rockhampton region who feels unwell gets tested and self-isolates until their results are in.
“That will help us determine if there has been community transmission of COVID-19 and, if there has, act to stop the spread.”
Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service is investigating the circumstances of the nurse's conduct.
“The nurse was onsite after being symptomatic and after being sent for testing,” the organisation's chief executive Steve Williamson said.
“That’s outside the direction we’ve set for our staff and we will look into that further – in detail – but our focus currently is 100 per cent on ensuring safety in the facility.”
Good news in the west
Western Australia has just provided its coronavirus update, confirming no new cases of COVID-19 in the state in the past day.
And in additional good news, there are just seven active cases – with the sole remaining hospitalised patient also being cleared.
"The person who was in (intensive care) up to yesterday remains in hospital (for observation), but is no longer positive for COVID-19," Premier Mark McGowan said.
"We wish that person very well in their recovery."
Virgin bid deadline looms
The deadline for interested parties to bid for Virgin Australia is a little over an hour away, and administrators for the troubled airline expect they’ll receive eight non-binding offers.
Deloitte, which is managing the voluntary administration process, is expected to review those bids and come up with a shortlist of three contenders.
Binding offers are then due on June 12.
“From here, we will start working even more closely with the short-listed parties,” administrator Vaughan Strawbridge said.
“This will involve access to more detailed business and operational information, management presentations and workshops, and key stakeholder interactions from across all areas of the business, to allow them to prepare a definitive and binding proposal.”
SA is now COVID-free
Here's some good news out of South Australia.
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