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Coronavirus Australia live updates: 49 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in Victoria

Australia's deputy medical chief has refuted ideas Victoria is seeing a second wave of COVID-19, saying the outbreak is "exactly what was planned".

Natalie BrownNatalie Brown
@natalieisbrown
less than 2 min read
June 27, 2020 - 11:08PM
Coronavirus: ‘It’s going to get out of control so easily’. Did Victorians become complacent?

Victoria has recorded its highest number of new cases since early April, reporting 49 new cases of COVID-19 overnight. 

But of the new cases - which bring the state's tally to 2036 - only four are linked to known outbreaks, sparking concern over widespread community transmission. 

Despite this, Australia's deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd has said the outbreak in Victoria is "not a second wave" and explained why the state has seen a drastic spike.

"What we're seeing happen in Victoria is exactly what was planned when we have outbreaks occurring across the country with the immediate increase in the testing, the activation of the contact tracing to identify individuals who have been in contact with infected people and the very rapid action to get people into isolation and quarantine and to prevent further transmission from occurring within the community," he said.

Chief health officer Brett Sutton said health authorities would have a clearer picture tomorrow of whether the 45 cases under investigation might also be linked to existing clusters. 

"Again, with yesterday's numbers at 41, the great majority of those ended up being linked to known outbreaks and clusters. I imagine it will be the same for today." 

Professor Sutton warned, "Unfortunately we will see deaths associated with it because it represents a lot of transmission and there will be a lot of vulnerable people potentially exposed." 

He urged residents in hotspot areas to "minimise your interaction with other people to the fullest extent that you can". 

RELATED: Follow the latest coronavirus updates 

Australia has recorded 7694 cases of coronavirus, with 3177 in New South Wales, 2036 in Victoria, 1067 in Queensland, 609 in Western Australia, 440 in South Australia, 228 in Tasmania, 108 in the ACT and 29 in the Northern Territory.

The death toll stands at 104.

Updates

Drunk driver busted breaching quarantine

A man has been charged after allegedly drink driving and crashing his car, which also saw him busted for breaching strict coronavirus restrictions.

Police say the 28-year-old man from Victoria entered South Australia eight days ago, meaning he was under a mandatory 14-day self isolation order.

But at 6.30pm on Saturday, SA police were called to a street in Port Augusta, where the man had crashed his car into a street sign.

He recorded a blood alcohol reading of 0.229, more than four times the legal limit.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall was furious about the incident when he spoke to reporters this afternoon.

“We are absolutely angry that this Victorian has come across the border, done the wrong thing, broken the commitment that he made and then caught for drink driving,” Mr Marshall said.

Coronavirus cases reach 10 million worldwide

Global coronavirus cases have officially reached more than 10 million people, with half of them in the United States and Europe.

According to an AFP tally released Sunday, at least 10,003,942 infections have been registered globally.

The deadly disease has killed nearly 500,000 people worldwide in seven months.

Europe remains the hardest hit continent with 2,637,546 cases including 195,975 fatalities, and the US with 2,510,323 infections including 125,539 deaths, according to AFP.

Victoria suburbs warned of potential lockdown

Premier Andrews said he was prepared to put certain suburbs on lockdown if coronavirus cases continued to rise in the state.

Channel 7 listed Broadmeadows, Fawkner, Reservoir, Brunswick West, Maidstone, Keilor Downs, Albanvale, Sunshine West, Hallen and Pakanham as areas at risk of receiving stay at home orders.

"If that is what is deemed the appropriate public health response then that is what we will do," Premier Andrews said.

Read the full story here.

Virus question Andrews wasn't copping

Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews was forced to remind a number of reporters today that coronavirus "does not discriminate", shutting down questions about a specific race or religion being to blame for the state's surging virus infections.

While Mr Andrews and chief health officer Brett Sutton said "new migrant families" could potentially be larger, have more children, or reside in "more crowded households", Professor Sutton said "there should be no vilification in this space".

"This is a virus that will simply transmit to others if they are close enough," he told reporters.

Addressing the implications "frankly", Mr Andrews added, "This virus doesn't discriminate based on where you were born or whether you pray or not, and to whom you pray.

"It is with all of us and it is with all of us for a long time, and that is why we all have to work together to beat it."

You can read more here.

"This is not a second wave"

Professor Kidd has insisted that the situation in Victoria is "not a second wave".

"We hope that we do not come to the position of having a second wave of infections occurring within Australia.

"What we're seeing happen in Victoria is exactly what was planned when we have outbreaks occurring across the country with the immediate increase in the testing, the activation of the contact tracing to identify individuals who have been in contact with infected people and the very rapid action to get people into isolation and quarantine and to prevent further transmission from occurring within the community.

"So this is not a second wave. This is an outbreak occurring, and the response is very vigorous and appropriate."

"We all need to be vigilant", deputy CMO says

Deputy CMO Michael Kidd has reminded Australians of their "need to be vigilant", in the face of Victoria's surging cases.

"We all need to continue to do our part to ensure that this outbreak is brought rapidly under control and that we don't experience a resurgence of COVID-19 in other parts of the country," he tells reporters.

"None of us can afford to become complacent. This pandemic is not over."

Professor Kidd said unlike the outbreaks on cruise ships and aged care facilities, "many of the people who have been infected so far in the outbreaks in Melbourne are well, young people, often with only mild symptoms".

To them, he said, "You may not get sick or very sick if you become infected with COVID-19, but if you pass the infection onto your parents what your grandparents they could become very unwell, they could even die."

Numbers in Victoria "of genuine concern"

Australia's deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd is giving us a national COVID update at the moment.

Professor Kidd says the latest numbers in Victoria – with 49 new cases reported today – are "a number of genuine concern".

"It's important that Victoria continues to test widely and to rigorously follow up with any contacts and to ensure people identified as cases and contacts remain in quarantine and isolation until advised otherwise by the state health authorities," Prof Kidd told reporters.

"The Commonwealth strongly endorses the testing of all people in hotel quarantine. The Commonwealth supports the widespread testing underway in Victoria, especially in the areas of highest prevalence in Melbourne.

"As expected, this widespread testing continues to identify further cases and this is allowing us to identify those who are infected and to follow their contact's order to move rapidly to contain the outbreak."

Global coronavirus cases exceed 10 million

Global coronavirus cases have now exceeded 10 million according to a Reuters tally, marking a grim milestone in the spread of the respiratory disease that has so far killed almost half a million people in seven months.

The figure is roughly double the number of severe influenza illnesses recorded annually, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The milestone comes as many hard-hit countries are easing lockdowns while making extensive alterations to work and social life that could last for a year or more until a vaccine is available.

Some countries are experiencing a resurgence in infections, leading authorities to partially reinstate lockdowns, in what experts say could be a recurring pattern in the coming months and into 2021.

North America, Latin America and Europe each account for around 25 per cent of cases, while Asia and the Middle East have around 11 per cent and nine per cent respectively, according to the Reuters tally, which relies on government reports.

There have been more than 497,000 fatalities linked to the disease so far, roughly the same as the number of influenza deaths reported annually.

The first cases of the new coronavirus were confirmed on January 10 in Wuhan, China, before infections and fatalities surged in Europe, then the United States, and later Russia.

The pandemic has now entered a new phase, with India and Brazil battling outbreaks of over 10,000 cases a day, putting a major strain on resources.

The two countries accounted for over a third of all new cases in the past week.

– Reuters

NT's savage response to Vic virus spike

Everyone's favourite publication for funny takes on current affairs, the NT News, has taken a swipe at Victoria as its cases continue to surge.

The Northern Territory newspaper unleashed on Victoria, tweeting: "CAN VICTORIA AND TASMANIA SWAP PLEASE? VICTORIA NEEDS TO BE ITS OWN ISLAND RIGHT NOW."

You can read more here.

Gyms don't increase risk of COVID infection, study finds

The world's first study into reopening gyms during the coronavirus pandemic has suggested that the facilities don't increase the risk of contracting COVID-19.

The University of Oslo in Norway began a study on May 22, looking at five gyms allowed to reopen to boost the industry.

The researchers found fears over the safety of gym-goers – due to enclosed spaces, heavy breathing and circulated air – may have been overstated.

During the study, 80 per cent of the 3764 participants used the gym at least once, while 38 per cent went more than six times.

While using the gym, people had to wash their hands regularly and maintained social distancing.

When the participants took an antibody test on June 8, only one individual had caught COVID-19.

"This shows us that low-prevalence environments are safe for gyms and probably just about everything else," professor of medicine at Canada's McMaster University, Dr Gordon Guyatt, told The New York Times.

"It is very unlikely you will get infected.

"If you were in a different environment where this is a substantially higher prevalence, we don't know what will happen."

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Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/world/coronavirus/australia/coronavirus-australia-live-updates/live-coverage/80d176fd759f506d8c0d9f55a3b1e3fd