Coronavirus Australia live: Melbourne cafe staff abused over Dan Andrews sign

A Melbourne cafe has drawn the ire of locals for displaying a sign which 'charges' supporters of the Premier an extra dollar for their coffee.

Ally Foster and Natalie Brown

less than 2 min read

October 21, 2020 - 6:40PM

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Locals have lashed out at a café in Melbourne's south-east over a sign which jokingly purports to charge supporters of the Premier an extra dollar for their coffee.

The sign displayed in Moorabbin cafe Acrobar reads: "Do you support Dan? Add $1 to your order".

But while the cafe's management tells 9newsit was meant in jest, some people are not amused.

Co-owner Franz Madlener told the outlet the sign has incited so much abuse aimed at staff, he has been forced to hire security.

Online, 200 people have slammed the café with one-star reviews on Google, with one online troll even threatening to throw a brick through the store's window.

Mr Madlener assure the publication the sign was not "anti-Labor" or politically motivated, but the "equivalent of a swear jar" for people who had taken to lecturing staff about how "lucky" they were to be able to reopen in November.

"We're just not going to be lectured to … 'be grateful you can have 10 people in two weeks' time' – no I'm not grateful at all," he said, adding that the business has lost thousands of dollars during the difficult period.

He added that the 'surcharge' on the tongue-in-cheek sign is by no means enforced to customers.

It comes as several other retail and hospitality industry figures have criticised Mr Andrews for his cautious approach to reopening the city, given many had hoped for reprieve before the end of October.

Follow the latest coronavirus news in our live updates below.

Updates

New DHHS alert over school outbreak

Areas surrounding a school in Preston in Melbourne's north are on high alert and a social housing block has been forced into isolation after a student tested positive for coronavirus.

A boy in year five at East Preston Islamic College returned a positive test on Wednesday. It comes after the school was closed on Tuesday following the discovery that the boy was meant to be in isolation.

It is understood he had isolated for 11 days instead of the full two weeks after coming in close contact with a positive case in his family.

Late on Wednesday, after his test came back positive, Victoria's Department of Health and Human Services urged any residents of Melbourne's northern suburbs including Dallas, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Preston and West Heidelberg who are experiencing symptoms to be tested for coronavirus.

"The College has taken positive steps to manage this situation and is working closely with us. It has been closed for deep cleaning," commander of testing and community engagement Jeroen Weimar said in a statement.

"We need everyone working together to tackle this virus, and that's exactly what the school community is doing.

"Staff and students who are close contacts — and their households — have been identified and are quarantining for 14 days."

The DHHS statement also revealed other cases had been identified in a social housing block in Broadmeadows.

120 residents have been asked to self-isolate for 48 hours, get tested and monitor for symptoms.

A close contact of the East Preston Islamic College student has also been identified at Dallas Brooks Primary School. It has since been closed for deep cleaning.

Swedish approach to COVID-19 takes a turn

Rohan Smith

Coronavirus cases have exploded in Sweden as authorities try to keep hold of twin battles – containing the virus and controlling the narrative.

The breakaway Nordic nation divided experts by refusing to lock down its citizens when the virus swept through the country earlier this year.

But a devastating second wave has forced a dramatic rethink as infections threaten to derail any gains that were achieved by taking a now notoriously relaxed approach to the pandemic.

David Steadson, an Australian former public health researcher now living in Sweden, told news.com.au the region where he lives is experiencing a disturbing rate of new infections.

Sweden update, new cases –

Week 39 2919
Week 40 3640
Week 41 4280
Week 42 5627

That's a 93% increase in cases in 3 weeks. pic.twitter.com/Mt9Ekvplsl
— David Steadson 🇦🇺🇸🇪🇪🇺🌍 (@DavidSteadson) October 20, 2020

He said Uppsala, north of Stockholm, where he and his family live, has seen more than double the total number of infections in the last two weeks, forcing authorities to introduce new restrictions.

It comes as Time magazine reports that Sweden’s per-capita death rate as of last week was 58.6 per 100,000 people and that average daily cases rose by 173 per cent from early September to early October “with particularly dramatic increases in cities such as Stockholm and Uppsala”.

The Washington Post reports that Sweden’s cumulative death total from infections is 10 times higher than neighbouring Norway and Finland and five times higher than Denmark.

Read the full story here

Melbourne school closes amid outbreak fears

A school in Melbourne’s northern suburbs has closed as a precaution after a primary student tested positive to coronavirus.

It is understood the year five student from East Preston Islamic School had returned to school this week after only 11 days of isolation after coming into close contact with a confirmed case.

The boy had unknowingly caught the virus from the infected family member, with the school closing on Tuesday as soon as they were contacted by health authorities, The Australian reports.

Principal Ekrem Ozyurek said he was contacted by the Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday afternoon about the student, inquiring whether he was absent from school in line with isolation protocols.

“Our understanding is that this student was considered to be a close contact and was meant to be quarantining, but after day 11 he returned to school thinking that it was okay to do so,” Mr Ozyurek said.

“He stayed at home for the first week but I think his siblings had tested negative and he thought he was OK to come back too. But he hadn’t taken the test.

“I think there must have been some misunderstanding perhaps, some broken communication,” he added.

The boy had attended class for two days this week. He was tested for coronavirus on Tuesday and returned a positive result on Wednesday morning.

It is understood the department is contacting all those who had close contact with the child, including the classroom teacher, specialist teachers and other students.

Alert for Bathurst 1000 attendees

Bathurst 1000 racegoers and locals who live in the area are being urged to monitor for symptoms and get tested as soon as possible after coronavirus traces were detected in sewage.

NSW Health said in a statement: "The sample comprises wastewater from over the past weekend, and could indicate current or a previous infection in someone who attended or worked at the Bathurst 1000 motor race, a visitor to Bathurst, or even a local resident.

"Visitors to and residents of Bathurst must be aware of any symptoms of illness, and immediately isolate and get tested should even the mildest of symptoms appear that you think might just be a cold.

"Symptoms like a runny nose or scratchy throat, cough, tiredness, fever or other symptoms could be COVID-19."

NSW Health is investigating the incident and reviewing lists of all those known to have had the virus that attended or worked at the race.

Melbourne cafe staff abused over sign

Furious Melburnians have lashed out at a café in the city's south-east over a sign which 'charges' supporters of the Premier an extra dollar for their coffee, 9news reports.

"Do you support Dan? Add $1 to your order," a cheeky message displayed in Moorabbin coffee spot Acrobar reads via a photo on Reddit.

Speaking to 9news, co-owner Franz Madlener said the sign was meant to be "tongue-in-cheek", but has instead incited a tirade of abuse aimed at staff.

He revealed about 200 people have slammed the café with one-star reviews on Google after the sign was erected.

Others have abused staff in store over the photo, and one online troll allegedly threatened to throw a brick through the store's window, prompting the cafe to hire security to protect its workers.

Mr Madlener assured the publication the sign was not "anti-Labor" or politically motivated, but the "equivalent of a swear jar" for people who had taken to lecturing staff about how "lucky" they were to be able to reopen in November.

He added that the 'surcharge' on the sign is by no means enforced to customers.

It comes as several other retail and hospitality industry figures have criticised Mr Andrews for his cautious approach to reopening, given many had hoped for reprieve before the end of October.

NSW: Mystery case recorded in southeast Sydney

Urgent calls for people to come forward for coronavirus testing have intensified after a mystery case surfaced in southeast Sydney last Thursday.

NSW Health is asking people to come forward after several venues have been identified as areas of possible exposure.

Anyone who visited the following venues is being asked to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19, and should present to a testing centre if even the mildest signs of the virus emerge.

– Souths’ Juniors Club, Anzac Parade Kingsford, in the poker machine room or the high roller room at any time between Saturday, September 26, and Saturday, October 2.

– Century 21 Dixon Real Estate, Anzac Parade Kingsford, at any time between September 26 and Friday, October 9.

– The Shed Cafe in Royal Randwick Shopping Centre on Saturday, October 3, between 3pm and 5pm.

NSW Health recently revealed COVID-19 testing has dropped off in recent weeks.

With news of the latest infection in the southeast Sydney zone, the virus is likely to be circulating undetected.

US CDC releases grim 2020 death report

The coronavirus pandemic has caused nearly 300,000 more deaths in the US than expected in a typical year, a new report has found.

The study, released on Tuesday by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, covered deaths February to October – with experts saying numbers are likely to reach 400,000 by the end of 2020.

The comparative data, which is based on historical trends, found two-thirds of deaths recorded during this period were related to COVID-19.

“The number of people dying from this pandemic is higher than we think,” said Steven Woolf, director of the Centre on Society and Health at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“This study shows it. Others have, as well.”

Overall, the CDC found that “excess deaths have occurred every week since March, 2020,” with a peak during the week of April 11 and another during the week ending Aug. 8.

Those dates roughly match the surge of deaths in New York's metro area near the start of the outbreak.

Sydney club visitors receive virus warning

A large club in Sydney's south has been forced to issue health alerts to visitors after a confirmed COVID-19 case in its pokies area.

The Juniors Club at Kingsford has warned those who attended the club in late September/early October to be on alert for coronavirus symptoms.

According to its annual report, the sports club has nearly 46,000 members.

"We have been informed by the health department that a person who was positive with COVID-19 attended the Kingsford site between September 26 and October 2 inclusive," CEO Geoff Knight said in a statement.

"The advice from the health department is anybody that was in the ground floor gaming or the Jewel gaming room on level two, between these dates should monitor their health and if they show any signs of COVID-19 they should immediately self-isolate and get tested.

"For the sake of clarity, if you do not feel ill or show signs of COVID-19 you can continue your activities as normal, but we ask you remain vigilant for any signs or symptoms."

Mr Knight said the venue was thoroughly cleaned every night using "government approved COVID effective chemicals".

"Our staff also constantly clean during trade with these same chemicals," he said.

"You should be comforted by the fact that the risk of any infection is kept to an absolute minimum by following Government recommended COVID procedures."

ANZ among new high risk spots

Victoria's DHHS have added a couple of new locations to their list of "exposure sites".

While the spots aren't considered a current risk to the public, anyone who visited the following places at the listed times should be on the lookout for symptoms of COVID-19 – and get tested immediately if they arise:

ANZ Bank, Wyndham Street, Shepparton on October 9 between 9:30am and 10:30am
Freshplus, 250 Somerton Rd, Roxburgh Village on October 13 between 4:30pm and 5pm

Eerie footage shows reality of Melbourne lockdown

Eerie footage filmed in the heart of Melbourne has shown the reality of the Victorian capital's lockdown, by comparing how popular spots like Bourke Street Mall, Hosier Lane and Flinders Street station looked this time last year.

Captured by TV journalist Kristina Costalos during peak hour on October 14, the difference can be not only seen – but heard.

Pictures: YouTube

"This is peak hour right now. It is absolutely extraordinary," Ms Costalos is overheard saying in the video.

Images in the clip from October 2019 show hordes of workers crossing Bourke St – compared to a footage taken around 5pm last week, with no one in sight.

Similar footage of once bustling restaurants, stores and Hosier Lane, famous for its graffiti street art, was just as "surreal", she said.

"When our beautiful city is thriving again, I hope we can look back on these challenging times and reflect."

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