Hundreds of shoppers have made their way to Sydney's CBD today after the NSW government eased social distancing restrictions.
The keen shoppers filled the shopping district, which has been largely deserted in recent months as retail hospitality businesses were closed by the coronavirus pandemic. The NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has warned residents of the state to continue to practice social distancing, saying the coronavirus remains "extremely dangerous, and we are all – every one of us – sitting ducks for this virus".
Today, seven new cases were recorded in Victoria and one new case was recorded in NSW. In WA a single historic case of coronavirus was detected through a PCR test.
Australia has recorded 7049 cases of COVID-19, with 3075 in New South Wales, 1554 in Victoria, 1054 in Queensland, 439 in South Australia, 557 in Western Australia, 226 in Tasmania, 107 in the Australian Capital Territory and 30 in the Northern Territory. The death toll stands at 98.
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Updates
8000 people quarantined in Chinese city
Chinese officials concerned about a new outbreak of coronavirus have quarantined 8000 people in the country’s northeast.
Residents have been barred from leaving the city of Jilin in Jilin Province after a cluster of infections was reported in the city, according to the New York Times. The city of Shulan in the same province has also had an outbreak.
Nearly 700 traced contacts have now been ordered into testing and quarantine by authorities from Jilin, and officials from Liaoning province to the west found another 1000 contacts, and a further 6500, who have been deemed at high risk of infection.
The two provinces share a border with North Korea.
The orders come after five new cases of coronavirus were reported by China on Saturday — three of them from local transmission in Jilin province, and two from overseas travellers.
Country threatens three years jail for not wearing mask
The gulf country of Qatar on Sunday began enforcing the world’s toughest penalties of up to three years’ imprisonment for not wearing a mask.
More than 30,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the country — 1.1 per cent of the 2.75 million population — although just 15 people have died. The numbers leave the small country with one of the highest rates of infection in the world. Only the micro-states of San Marino and the Vatican had higher per-capita infection rates, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
People who fail to wear a mask in Qatar will now face up to three years in prison, and fines of up to $85,740.
People driving on their own in their car are exempt, but several expats told AFP that police were stopping cars at checkpoints to warn them of the new rules before they came into force. Most of the customers who gathered outside money lenders on Doha’s Banks Street on Sunday wore masks, while those that didn’t produced a face covering when asked.
“From today it’s very strict,” Majeed, a taxi driver wearing a black mask said.
Wearing a mask is currently mandatory in around 50 countries, although scientists are divided on their effectiveness.
–with AFP
Tasmania reports no new cases
Tasmania has reported no new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.
The state has recorded a total 226 cases of COVID-19. Of those, 195 have recovered and just 18 remain active. The state has sadly also recorded 13 deaths from the virus.
NSW Premier Berejiklian: 'We’ve made mistakes'
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejikilan has conceded “mistakes have been made” when during the state’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.
However, when it comes to the decision to disembark 700 passengers from the Ruby Princess cruise ship who would later go on to test positive for coronavirus, the Premier said the Federal Government had to share the blame.
Talking to Lisa Wilkinson on tonight’s Sunday Project, Ms Berejiklian also said she found it difficult to sleep at night due to the “life and death” decisions she and her team have had to make.
NSW has recorded 3075 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 47 lives lost – both figures are Australia’s highest when it comes to the pandemic. Although, on Sunday, the state recorded just one new case.
Asked by Wilkinson if she thought NSW has “screwed up” the cruise disembarkation Ms Berejiklian conceded it wasn’t the state’s finest moment.
“There no doubt mistakes have been made during this process and not just on that issue – quite a few. A lot in NSW, a lot elsewhere.”
But the Ruby Princess wasn’t solely NSW’s fault, she said.
“State governments have never been involved in border protection. This was a new phenomena for us. That incident did change the federal-state protocols around border protection and what each jurisdiction needs to do.”
Ms Berejikilan said avoiding a second wave was top of her list of worries.
“On the Richter scale of my concern, from one to 10, it would be a 10. Not so much of the ferocity of a second wave but because we've been lulled into a sense of complacency.
“The virus is as dangerous, is as deadly. You feel very guilty when you've had to shut down the economy and people have lost their jobs.”
She said any thought of balancing the state budget was out: “That’s just not going to happen”.
When Wilkinson asked at what time she had been getting to bed, given the pressures of the crisis, Ms Berejikilan said the difficulty wasn’t that.
“The difficult thing is staying asleep because the mind's always going.
“I used to say to my colleagues, ‘don't stress unless it's life and death.’
“In a pandemic, it is life and death. I never used to worry about my health and mental health but I do now because I have to make decisions that will affect a lot of people.”
She stressed, however, that it wasn’t the Government that should be praised for making tough decisions – it was the public for following through with them.
“I think we have coped more than we thought. I didn't think I'd cope without seeing my sisters and my parents; but you do.”
Berejklian says she feels 'guilty' over job losses
The NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has said she feels guilty over job losses caused by the coronavirus restrictions, and has turned her attention to trying to "save the economy".
“You feel very guilty when you've had to shut down the economy and people have lost their jobs, and that's the balancing act," Ms Berejiklian said on Sunday.
In a candid interview with Lisa Wilkinson on The Sunday Project, Ms Berejiklian said the state and territory leaders have “gave up balancing our budget”.
“That's just not going to happen. Without being too dramatic it's about saving the economy.”
"I used to say to my colleagues, don’t stress unless it’s life and death. Well in the pandemic, it is life and death. I never used to be one to worry about my health, and my mental health, but I do now because I’ve got to make a decision that will affect a lot of people." pic.twitter.com/XT7GyWXOBo
An emergency room doctor has said “things are starting to go back to normal” as social distancing restrictions are eased around NSW.
Dr Andrew Rochford told The Sunday Project he’d seen an uptick in alcohol related violence in recent days, which had declined during the pandemic.
“We weren't seeing as much alcohol-related violence or trauma and that's started to kick up a bit,” Dr Rochford said.
Dr Andrew Rochford gives us an update on where Australia's at with our fight against infections, including the mental health issues which have flared up for many people. pic.twitter.com/d6uHJXjly2
“The other thing we hadn't seen as much of has been mental health, and it's flaring up," he said. "A lot of people have had it before and it's flaring up for them but we're seeing presentations of people who haven't had mental health issues in the past.”
Dr Rochford also warned that as social distancing restrictions are eased the government needs to focus on keeping testing numbers high.
“The infection numbers is the data where we can start to understand just how contagious is it, where the pockets we need to shut down, where are the flare-ups, to make sure we're on top of those.”
62 nations call for inquiry into coronavirus pandemic
A coalition of 62 nations has backed a call by the Australian government for an independent inquiry into the coronavirus pandemic.
A draft resolution is expected to be delivered to the World Health Assembly on Tuesday, according to a report by The Australian.
An updated version of the draft motion, seen by The Australian, reportedly includes stronger language from an earlier version. That motion has been backed by all 27 EU member states, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, India, Indonesia and Japan. The United States has not yet signed off on the motion.
The motion demands the director general of the World Health Organisation, Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, initiate “a stepwise process of impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation” of the international response to the pandemic, including the WHO’s own timeline.
Flour producers still struggling to keep up with demand
An Australian flour producer is operating 24 hours a day to try and keep up with demand as people in lockdown turn to baking to pass the time.
Flour and other baking products have been stripped from supermarket shelves during the coronavirus pandemic, and Australia’s largest miller Manildra said they’d hired extra staff ten weeks ago to keep up with demand.
"We moved immediately to a 24-seven operation, that is we used existing staff and employed some more staff to spread right across the full week,” John Brunner from Manildra told the ABC.
Mr Brunner said the company made the changes ten weeks ago and are still working under those conditions to try and supply Aussies with enough flour.
He said demand has been “ridiculously high” reaching about 70 per cent over normal value.
Pitt St Mall in Sydney's CBD was busy with shoppers today as social distancing restrictions were eased in NSW.
The hundreds of keen shoppers were out and about in the Sydney retail precinct, where streets have been largely deserted in recent months as the country was gripped by the pandemic.
The NSW government relaxed some of its restrictions on Friday, allowing many previously shuttered businesses to reopen over the weekend, including pubs, bars and restaurants.
Photos: Joel Carrett
The NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said today he many people in Sydney were out and about, calling it a “great NSW bust-out”.
"We all deserve it, we've all worked very hard at it. So I don't want to dissuade people from enjoying what is a fantastic state, and at the moment, fantastic weather for this time of the year," Mr Hazzard said.
"But I also do want to remind people that this virus is extremely dangerous, and we are all – every one of us – sitting ducks for this virus."
The government is still urging business to encourage social distancing and to allow employees to work from home where possible.
Brazil's outbreak becomes fourth largest in the world
In global news, the Latin American epicentre of coronavirus, Brazil, has surpassed Spain as its infection number tops 230,000.
The country now has the fourth highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, and has recorded more than 15,000 deaths.
Photos have shown mass graves being dug for coffins in the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus in the Amazon rainforest.
Experts have warned a lack of testing across the country means the real figures could be up to 15 times higher and warn the worst is yet to come.
The sprawling South American country registered 816 deaths and 14,919 new cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the country's total number of cases to 233,142. Of those, 15,633 have died.
The country's far right president Jair Bolsonaro has opposed social distancing restrictions and dismissed the virus as a "little flu".
Despite the rising tolls, Bolsonaro on Saturday attacked lockdown measures taken by some governors to contain the spread of the virus.
“Unemployment, hunger and misery will be the future of those who support the tyranny of total isolation,” the he tweeted, a day after Health Minister Nelson Teich resigned after less than a month on the job. The president insists business closures and stay-at-home orders are unnecessarily damaging the economy.
The pandemic has already claimed almost 310,000 lives worldwide.
