A handful of Australians have attracted criticism for their "disrespectful" protest against virus restrictions on Anzac Day.
A group of protesters who ignored social distancing measures to stand up against restrictions designed to combat the coronavirus' spread on Anzac Day have attracted condemnation for the "ridiculous" and "disrespectful" demonstration.
Australia has now recorded 6694 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 2994 in New South Wales, 1346 in Victoria, 1026 in Queensland, 438 in South Australia, 549 in Western Australia, 207 in Tasmania, 106 in the Australian Capital Territory and 28 in the Northern Territory. 81 people have died of the disease, but thousands more have recovered, ensuring the nation is not just flattening the curve but crushing it.
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Updates
Coronavirus-fuelled breakups claim another high profile scalp
The pandemic is putting pressure on the relationships of many worldwide, and one friendship appears to have been pushed past its limit.
US President Donald Trump has unfollowed conservative UK commentator Piers Morgan on Twitter after Morgan criticised his "batsh*t" response to the virus.
Morgan and Trump have a long history together, including Morgan notably winning Trump's Celebrity Apprentice reality show in 2008.
He predicted Trump's 2016 election win (though said he wouldn't vote for him, not that it matters given he's from the UK) and has interviewed him multiple times, with audiences critical of his light questioning.
But the friendship now appears strained.
Piers Morgan has criticised Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic in the country he leads in his regular column in the UK Daily Mail.
He criticised the President for suggesting the use of UV light and disinfectant injections to treat patients.
It didn't take long to draw a response, with Morgan soon reporting the President had unfollowed him on Twitter.
The World Health Organisation has released a statement advising public health authorities around the world that its yet to see any evidence that contracting coronavirus stops you from getting it again after you've recovered.
"Some governments have suggested that the detection of antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, could serve as the basis for an “immunity passport” or “risk-free certificate” that would enable individuals to travel or to return to work assuming that they are protected against re-infection. There is currently no evidence that people who have recovered from COVID-19 and have antibodies are protected from a second infection," the WHO statement reads.
If you're infected with coronavirus your body will produce antibodies to fight the virus.
They might clear the virus from your body, and even prevent you getting more severely ill or reinfected with the same virus.
But the WHO said that it's yet to see any evidence that recovering from a coronavirus infection makes you immune to getting it again.
The Organisation is continuing to review evidence about antibody responses but is advising against the adoption of any systems that would treat recovered coronavirus patients as being immune to reinfection.
"At this point in the pandemic, there is not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an “immunity passport” or “risk-free certificate.” People who assume that they are immune to a second infection because they have received a positive test result may ignore public health advice. The use of such certificates may therefore increase the risks of continued transmission," the WHO warned.
Protesters slammed over Anzac Day stunt
A handful of Australians who protested against social distancing measures in Victoria on Saturday have drawn condemnation for the protest and comparing themselves to the Anzacs they said they were honouring.
Between 20 and 30 protesters gathered in a suburb of Gippsland, holding signs and banners deifying themselves as a "Freedom Keeper" and asking "What Did Our Anzacs Die For?"
According to the Herald Sun, the protesters likened their fight against social distancing measures designed to prevent mass casualties from the coronavirus pandemic to a fight against the Nazis.
Victoria Police confirmed the organisers will be fined and the Victorian government slammed their actions as “not only unacceptable but dangerous”.
Protest spokesman and aspiring YouTuber Topher Field said they were standing up to governments who “took control over their people”.
He said the protest was on behalf of people who felt “bullied and threatened” and were “controlled into living lives of fear and withdrawing into our homes, stripped of our incomes and independence”.
“We are all supposed to behave as if we all have the virus, but never behave as though we had the virus and are therefore immune,” he said.
Mr Field earlier posted a video on YouTube where he said he volunteered to catch the coronavirus.
The video shows him making the claim before engaging in a debate about the severity of the virus with another person, who appears to be an identically dressed but less groomed version of himself drinking a Corona beer.
Mr Grace has been posting videos featuring his "Unpopular View" on topics relating to "Lifestyle Regulation Madness" for over a decade, according to playlists on his YouTube channel.
Local RSL sub-branch vice president Jim Crowe said the protesters were “making fools of themselves”.
He said Anzac Day was not the time to push a “ridiculous” message and that "any protest on Anzac Day is disrespectful”.
He added the day was supposed to commemorate the memory of our soldiers who had "given the ultimate sacrifice".
Mr Crowe said the protesters chose Anzac Day "to get maximum benefit", a decision he hopes backfires.
Mr Field has since hit out at "the media" who "struggle to get anything right".
He said he didn't think anyone likened to group to soldiers fighting Nazis.
"I know someone said something about how this is our fight, and I mentioned the fact that the Anzacs fought the Nazis, but I don't recall anyone ever making that comparison and I certainly don't agree with it if they did," Mr Field said on his Facebook page.
He also took issue with the crowd numbers, saying there were a lot more people at the protest.
"There were at least 75 (direct headcount) and possibly up to 100 given that more people came after that headcount," he said.
He also said the police did not disperse the protesters.
Mr Field had attracted criticism even before the protest by announcing its plans, causing him to defend himself and his right to protest on Anzac Day by sharing a picture of himself in a military uniform.
"I served, I was ready and willing to deploy into combat if they sent me. They never did. I know people who are no longer with us, and I know many veterans wrestling with the demons they brought home," Mr Field said in the picture's caption.
Sixth aged care resident dies
A sixth resident has died at the Newmarch House aged care facility near Penrith.
The man, 83, died at the Anglicare aged care facility in Caddens.
He is the sixth resident to die after testing positive to coronavirus.
Anglicare released a statement saying he will be greatly missed.
Elsewhere, an aged care centre where a worker developed coronavirus symptoms shortly after their shift has been identified.
Earlier on Saturday NSW health minister Brad Hazzard said the worker developed symptoms within 48 hours of working their last shift.
"Normally we would say in most situations if it came on in 24 hours we would be concerned but in a particularly vulnerable population such as aged care facilities if someone has symptoms even within 48 hours it is a trigger," he said.
"It is a trigger for NSW Health and our federal government colleagues to implement what is necessary in terms of tracing."
Mr Hazzard it said it wasn't "appropriate" to name the facility earlier today because families and staff have yet to be notified.
The Catholic Healthcare Bodington facility at Wentworth Falls in the Blue Mountains has since been identified as having a new coronavirus case confirmed in one of its staff.
The aged care facility is home to 120 residents, sparking fears about a potentially deadly outbreak as older Australians are at greater risk.
The facility was named on ABC News Saturday evening but NSW Health said it's "not in a position to name the facility at this stage".
WA reports lone new case linked to cruise ship
Western Australia recorded one new case of coronavirus on Saturday, in a patient who recently departed a cruise ship.
A 65-year-old woman who recently travelled on the Costa Luminosa cruise ship is the 549th confirmed case in the state.
Passengers on the Costa Luminosa flew from Rome to Perth towards the end of March.
Western Australia has 63 active cases, 16 of which are in hospital.
Cruise ships have been frequent sources for coronavirus cases.
The Ruby Princess bungle is now being investigated by homicide detectives due to the amount of cases it's been linked to and people being let off the ship.
The Artania cruise ship has been linked to 81 COVID-19 cases in WA, including the death of one man.
A German national aged in his 70s became WA's eighth death on Friday, after being in ICU since he was taken off the Artania.
WA hasn't recorded a new case outside its capital Perth in almost a week.
South Australia considers asymptomatic testing
South Australia has recorded its third day in a row with no new cases of coronavirus being detected, as the state considers expanding tests to more people.
SA has recorded 438 confirmed cases so far.
402 of them have since recovered and four of them have died.
The state said there will be no dropoff in testing however, and is now considering testing people who don't show any symptoms.
"In terms of gaining further assurance and information if we have asymptomatic pockets in the community, we do plan to test asymptomatic individuals," SA Health deputy chief public health officer Dr Michael Cusack said on Saturday.
It's unlikely to be a free-for-all on testing though.
"We will perhaps target certain groups at certain times as opposed to have just anybody have a test," Dr Cusack said.
The state is in the middle of a two-week "testing blitz" that runs until Thursday, under which any South Australian with symptoms is eligible for testing. Other states have since followed.
Billionaire Stokes in need of another exemption
A few short days after it was revealed he and his wife were able to skip quarantining in a hotel like everyone else, WA billionaire mining and media magnate Kerry Stokes has flown out of the state, and will need to be granted yet another exemption to fly back.
This week WAToday revealed Stokes and his wife Christine were allowed to quarantine at their waterfront Dalkeith mansion, rather than a hotel.
The pair entered quarantine after returning from their $15 million penthouse near famed US ski haunt Aspen via private jet.
The exemption was reportedly granted due to an unnamed medical procedure received by Mr Stokes.
His wife was granted an exemption to care for him.
The news broke a day after the couple's 14-day quarantine period came to an end on Wednesday.
Despite applying for the right to quarantine at home, it appears Stokes couldn't wait to get away from there once the quarantine ended.
He showed up to lay a wreath at an Anzac Day memorial service in Canberra on Saturday morning, alongside Governor-General David Hurley and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Stokes has been chairman of the Australian War Memorial Council for nearly five years.
He'll be allowed back into WA if granted another exemption on compassion grounds, or if he makes a late-life career switch to become an essential healthcare or transport worker.
Those are the only reasons the WA government has given for granting exemptions.
"If you want to come into Western Australia, you've got to be exempt. If you're not within the rules, you can't come," Premier Mark McGowan said last month.
The federal government has also told Australians to avoid any unnecessary air travel.
A spokesperson for Stokes told WAToday the couple would be travelling to Sydney next, where he owns another mansion by the water.
The payments are supposed to help businesses whose trade has been impacted by the pandemic, allowing them to keep their staff on the books.
Next country to become 'hotspot'
The first coronavirus cases were detected in China, but it only took a matter of weeks for the amount of confirmed infections in other countries to surpass them.
Italy quickly became a new hotspot for the virus and was frequently held up as a warning of how things could go for countries beginning to introduce social distancing measures despite low infection numbers.
The United States is the current hotspot for the virus, with almost a million confirmed infections and over 50,000 deaths, more than a quarter of all worldwide deaths.
Picture: AP / Eraldo Peres
But there are now fears Brazil could become the next centre of the pandemic as infections start to surge.
The Brazilian government has been criticised for its response, in particular comments from President Jair Bolsonaro.
On several occasions the Brazilian president has dismissed the virus as a media "trick", just a little flu, and not powerful enough to kill tough Brazilians.
There's also been speculation he may have contracted the virus himself.
Evidently dissatisfied with the government response, drug gangs took it upon themselves to enforce social distancing in Brazil's favelas, the high density neighbourhoods primarily occupied by the nation's poorer citizens.
Now, as cases continue to rise in Brazil, there are fears its health system might not be able to cope.
Medical officials in some of the country's biggest cities are warning hospitals are filling up, and health experts said the amount of infections is likely much higher due to inadequate testing, according the Associated Press.
Mass graves are reportedly being dug in Manaus, near the Amazon rainforest.
Mr Bolsonaro has continued to dismiss dire predictions about the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Last week, he fired a health minister who had supported tough anti-virus measures and replaced him with an advocate for reopening the economy.
On Friday, Brazil's Justice Minister resigned, accusing the President of meddling.
Mr Bolsonaro's stance largely echoes that of his counterpart and ally US President Donald Trump, who has been stressing the need to put people back to work as unemployment figures reach Depression-era levels.
As of Saturday morning, Brazil had 52,995 confirmed cases and had recorded 3670 deaths.
— with AP
Misuse of app data to be a crime
As Australia's curve of coronavirus infections appears to continue flattenning, the government is pushing its "tool" to trace infections through an app.
The app will use Bluetooth to identify when you may have come in contact with someone who was positive for the virus.
The government has been saying around 40 per cent of Australians need to download the app for it to work, but said it won't be mandatory.
The government has however hinted that the relaxation of social distancing measures could be dependent on how many people download the app.
Many have expressed concern over the collection and use of data generated by the app.
The government already collects similar information already through metadata retention laws.
In an effort to dispel some of the talk on the app's data, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said it will be illegal for anyone but health authorities to access the data.
Most of the concern has been around law enforcement using data generated by the app.
