Coronavirus Australia live blog: China trade stronger than ever: Morrison; Melbourne LGA records 2-day case spike
Scott Morrison has declared Australia’s trade with China ‘has never been stronger’, describing the economic relationship with Beijing as “mutually beneficial”.
- Lockdown fails to curb spike
- Surge in cases among health workers
- Jobless rate to hit 9.25 per cent
- Five more deaths in Victoria
- Vic records 403 new cases
Hello and welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. One Melbourne LGA has had a two-day spike, despite being party of early lockdowns weeks ago. The spread of the virus among Victoria’s frontline medical staff has spiked, the state also recording 853 cases since July 1 with no known source. Victoria has recorded 403 new cases, its third worst daily tally, and five more deaths. A toddler in NSW has contracted the virus. And Queensland may close its border to all of Sydney.
Patrick Commins 11pm: Record debt ‘price of saving jobs, economy’: Cormann
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has said a legacy of massive debt that could take decades to pay back is the necessary cost of saving 700,000 jobs and the economy tens of billions of dollars through the COVID-19 crisis.
Read the full story here
Adam Creighton 10.30pm: We’re also-rans in the global debt stakes
The Morrison government’s historic debt surge, which will push gross debt above $850bn within a year, won’t strip the nation of its near-top position in the global fiscal pecking order, according to the budget update.
Read the full story here
Stephen Lunn 10pm: Melbourne aged-care homes at risk
Seventeen of the 29 fatalities in Victoria’s COVID-19 second wave have been aged-care residents, sources have told The Australian, amid concerns up to 70 per cent of nursing home care workers trying to manage the outbreak have Certificate 3 qualifications that require six weeks’ training.
Read the full story here
Angelica Snowden 9.20pm: Costco customer tests positive
A Costco shopper who visited a store in Sydney’s northwest has tested positive to COVID-19.
“A person with COVID-19 visited Costco, Marsden Park on Sunday 19 July,” the NSW Health website said on Thursday night.
The statement said any one who visited the store between 11am and 2pm should monitor for COVID-19 symptoms.
“If symptoms occur, self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19 immediately,” the statement read.
READ MORE: Forget debt: Scott Morrison is on a pedestal
Geoff Chambers 8.55pm: Rescue package saved thousands of lives: PM
Scott Morrison has warned “hundreds of thousands of Australians” would be left destitute and thousands dead if his government had not implemented its $289bn COVID-19 economic rescue package.
The Prime Minister said he had faced an “existential threat and challenge” and there was only one response, which his government had provided through a series of support packages, adding to net debt levels forecast to hit $677.1bn in 2020-21.
“The alternative would’ve seen not only hundreds of thousands of Australians become destitute, it would’ve seen thousands of Australians die,” Mr Morrison told A Current Affair on Thursday night.
He said he was not interested in putting “some certificate on the wall about having a balanced budget”.
“What matters is that you put yourselves in a position like we did to respond like we are right now,” he said.
“It’s costly but it’s what’s necessary. This is like nothing we’ve seen in generations. And in those times that’s when governments have to do what they do now because the private economy — the broader economy — has been so suppressed.”
Mr Morrison said “you don’t fix the health situation by sacrificing your economy” and outlined his path back to economic recovery.
“The way you create jobs is you ensure that you can give businesses as much confidence as you possibly can to open their doors, to employ people and to invest, to look beyond the pandemic and to look to their future.”
“Australia is faring better than almost any other developed country in the world.
“What we will do as a government is do things that create jobs. Jobs are at the centre of our plan. If someone is in a job, they’re paying taxes so they’re not on welfare benefits and hopefully not even needing JobKeeper as well.”
Mr Morrison, a former treasurer, said “we’re seeing our debt raised to levels that we haven’t seen in this country for a very long time”.
READ MORE: Victorian lockdown fails to check coronavirus surge
Angelica Snowden 8.40pm: NSW more successful than Victoria: Morrison
NSW has been more “successful” at containing a second COVID-19 outbreak than Victoria, Scott Morrison says.
“NSWis showing that they’re dealing with it, we’re not seeing the same number of cases, we are not seeing that at all,” the Prime Minister told A Current Affair on Thursday night.
“And this isn’t a criticism of Victoria, this isn’t a criticism of Victoria, this is difficult, extremely difficult, but in NSW they are having more success.”
He said “every resource” was being directed to help Victoria, including 1500 defence force personnel, because and he spoke regularly with Premier Daniel Andrews because “Australia doesn’t win if Victoria doesn’t win”.
He said lower case numbers in NSW was “evidence” Australia’s health response to cope with the virus has improved.
He said the outbreak in NSW was linked to a “failure” in Victoria’s hotel quarantine system.
“This wasn’t community transmission, it was a failure of quarantine, and went out throughout the community,” he said.
“We had people arriving overseas for months now...it only takes one failure, and that’s why we’ve doubled down.”
Despite record case numbers in the state, Mr Morrison said he was not “cranky” about Victoria’s outbreak.
“Getting cranky doesn’t help. No one elected me to be cranky,” he said.
“There’s a lot of noise, lots of opinions, everyone is a pandemic expect these days, but I will take the advice from those who were accountable.”
He said he expected there to be “accountability for any failings” identified by the Victorian inquiry into the coronavirus hotel quarantine management.
READ MORE: Labor on the attack: what’s the jobs plan?
Geoff Chambers 8.20pm: China trade never stronger, says Morrison
Scott Morrison has declared Australia’s trade with China “has never been stronger”, describing the economic relationship with Beijing as “mutually beneficial”.
The Prime Minister — who confirmed China was not “connecting with us at the moment” — said the communist nation was “buying more than they ever have”.
On the back of surging iron ore prices, fuelled by demand from China, Mr Morrison said the trade performance between the nations remained strong.
“The facts on the ground are they’re buying more than they ever have. Because it’s a mutually beneficial relationship,” Mr Morrison told A Current Affair on Thursday night.
“Australia’s products, Australia’s reliability, Australia’s performance is what drives the trade. You trade with people who you know are going to give you a good product and the right price.
“That’s what will drive it. That’s what’s always driven it. There’s always noise around all of these things. People rush to conclusions. The facts on the ground are ... our trading performance with China has never been stronger.”
On relations with China, which have been strained over the government’s pursuit of an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 and heightened awareness over foreign interference, Mr Morrison said it would concern him if Australia didn’t “stand up for ourselves”.
“It would worry me if Australia had in any way not acted consistently with who we are. It would worry me if we didn’t act in accordance with our interests. It would worry me if we responded to threats or coercion,” he said.
He also said a trans-Tasman bubble with New Zealand could be operational “before the end of the year”.
With Treasury forecasting the potential reopening of international borders between January and June next year, Mr Morrison said the “opportunity for large-scale travel beyond our borders is not foreseeable”.
“I would hope and expect that before the end of the year New Zealand and Australia will be able to agree to a safe travel zone between Australia and New Zealand. There are many Pacific nations equally who want to be part of that.”
“The discussions I had with the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ... they’re keen to see more safe travel.”
READ MORE: Treasury bets on ‘relatively fast’ recovery
Angelica Snowden 8.05pm: PM ‘optimistic’ despite frustration
Scott Morrison says he is “optimistic” and wants Australians to feel “more confident in the future” despite a second wave of coronavirus gripping the country
The Prime Minister said there is a sense of “frustration” over outbreaks in Victoria and NSW.
“I think the first time round, there was an even greater fear of the unknown,” Mr Morrison said on Channel Nine News.
“We were seeing mass graves dug in New York. We were seeing large tents in fields in the UK with bodies in them.”
But now that Australians know more about the virus, Mr Morrison warned against complacency.
He said what concerned health authorities is people will “get out of the habit” of practising social distancing and other “COVID-safe” ways of living.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg handed down the country’s pre-budget statement on Thursday and revealed an $850bn gross debt bill with a budget blowout of nearly $280bn by mid next year.
Mr Morrison said although the statement presented the best-case scenario and assumed the Victorian COVID-19 lockdown would lift in four weeks, he was optimistic for a return to the “same trajectory we were in May-June”.
“Learned of this COVID-19 period is that you can’t make assumptions,” he said.
“Things change quickly and you have to learn to respond.”
After another 403 cases were recorded in Victoria — the third-worst daily tally on record — Mr Morrison said he was not “cranky” about the outbreak.
“I do expect there to be accountability for any failings, and I’m sure the Premier would too,” he said.
READ MORE: Dior designer lets her hair down and shows her roots
Richard Ferguson 7.50pm: Rescue package is a $173bn slug for taxpayers
The key planks of Scott Morrison’s COVID-19 rescue package — including the JobKeeper and JobSeeker stimulus schemes — will cost taxpayers more than $173bn, according to the July economic statement.
Read the full story here
Adam Creighton 7.30pm: What’s a billion or 10 when life’s at stake?
The government is incurring much fiscal pain to save lives from the coronavirus, a lot more than it usually does, at least.
The budget update on Thursday revealed a historic $280bn hole in public finances over this and last financial year, a harbinger of chronic budget weakness for years to come.
Let’s assume the government’s actions have saved between 5000 and 10,000 lives, which seems feasible given what’s roughly happened so far in Sweden, Florida and Texas, where shutdowns have been less comprehensive than in Australia.
That, very crudely, equates to a budget cost of between $30m and $60m for each life saved, even if we just look at the cost over two years.
Read the full commentary here
AFP 7.05pm: Global caseload tops 15m
The number of novel coronavirus infections around the world passed 15 million on Thursday, with Latin America and the Caribbean, one of the hardest-hit regions, notching more than four million cases.
Read the full story here
AFP 6.35pm: Fearful PNG calls for WHO help
Papua New Guinea has asked for World Health Organisation help after a rapidly spreading new coronavirus outbreak sparked preparations for large-scale community transmission in the under-resourced country.
Having mostly dodged the COVID-19 pandemic until now, Papua New Guinea reported on Thursday it had detected three new cases in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total to 30 — up from 11 on Sunday.
With limited coronavirus testing and many positive cases found in health workers, there are fears the virus may have a stronger foothold than those detected cases indicate.
National pandemic response controller David Manning expressed “serious concerns on the alarming rate of increase of COVID-19 cases in Port Moresby and the likely spread to the other provinces”, saying there was a “high likelihood of expanded community transmission”.
Papua New Guinea is one of the poorest countries in the Pacific. Its rickety health system is already under severe pressure from the widespread transmission of malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, as well as one of the world’s few remaining outbreaks of polio.
READ MORE: Jobless rate to hit 9.25pc
Rachel Baxendale 6.10pm: City of Melbourne hotspot for cases with mystery source
The City of Melbourne, covering Melbourne’s CBD, Moonee Valley in the northwest, and Hume in the outer north, has had the highest number of cases of COVID-19 with no known source of transmission over the past fortnight.
Victoria has had 853 cases of COVID-19 since July 1 where contact tracers have been unable to identify a source of transmission, and 1154 since the pandemic began.
This number does not include hundreds of cases that remain under investigation as contact tracers battle with a backlog of close contacts, including 334 of today’s 403 new cases.
The Australian has requested a full breakdown by local government area of recent cases with no known source of transmission, but the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services has only been able to provide the top three.
The top five local government areas for all modes of transmission on Thursday were Wyndham, in Melbourne’s outer southwest, with 439 cases, Brimbank in the outer west with 411, Hume with 335, the City of Melbourne with 276 and Moonee Valley with 206.
Wyndham is home to several significant clusters, including Al-Taqwa Islamic College in Truganina, linked to 182 cases, and Glendale Aged Care in Werribee, linked to 41 cases.
Brimbank is next door to the Somerville Retail Services abattoir in Tottenham, linked to 72 cases, and home to the JBS abattoir in Brooklyn, linked to 58 cases, and the Estia Health aged-care home in Ardeer, linked to 67 cases.
The City of Melbourne and Moonee Valley have achieved their high levels of community transmission despite also being home to the megacluster of 293 cases in residents of previously locked-down public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington.
The City of Melbourne also includes public housing towers in Carlton linked to a cluster of 60 cases.
Communities in the City of Melbourne, Moonee Valley and Hume have been targeted for testing by the Andrews government, with the 3000 residents of the Flemington and North Melbourne public housing towers not allowed to leave their homes without agreeing to a test, and a testing blitz across hotspot postcodes in Hume.
READ MORE: Victoria facing a $7.5bn deficit
Andrew McMillen 5.50pm: The Show must go online for Tex Perkins
When the enforced closure of live music venues wiped clear the schedule of rock singer-songwriter Tex Perkins from March onwards, it wasn’t long before he realised that a partial solution to the problem could be found by filming performances at the property where he lives with his family in the Northern Rivers region of NSW.
Rather than join the global frenzy of live-streamed performances from artists’ homes, the singer and a small crew of creative friends began a ticketed online concert series named The Show, which he records inside a space dubbed “the great hall”.
Read the full story here
Angelica Snowden 5.15pm: NSW ‘complacent’, health chief warns
NSW residents have become “complacent”, Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant says.
“There has been a drop off in adherence to social distancing,” Dr Chant said on 2GB on Thursday.
“We have been seeing that people have been gathering in larger numbers and are more mobile.
“I think we have become complacent and my plea to the community at this time would be please socially distance, please don’t go out and about when you have got symptoms.”
Despite her concerns, she said the spike in COVID-19 cases in Victoria “resonated” with the southwestern Sydney community and in Batemans Bay on the NSW south coast after localised outbreaks in both areas.
Dr Chant also advised residents to “wear masks” in areas where social distancing is not possible, but stopped short of recommending more widespread use of them.
“Our recommendation is that face masks are an important complementary strategy,” she said.
“Where you can’t socially distance, wearing a facemask does afford you additional protection and what it really does is protect other people.”
From Friday COVID-19 restrictions will be tightened in NSW, including a limit to 10-person bookings at restaurants. A cap of 150 people will be able to attend weddings and corporate events and funerals and places of worship will be limited to 100 people.
READ MORE: Mask use in Melbourne is up, but the mood is very low
Rosie Lewis 5pm: Victoria tops of national cabinet agenda
The Victorian COVID-19 outbreak will be top of the agenda when national cabinet meets on Friday, as Scott Morrison and state premiers nervously watch case numbers one fortnight after Greater Melbourne went into lockdown.
The federal and state leaders will also discuss progress on easing restrictions, which has stalled in some parts of the country because of Victoria’s situation, and localised outbreak planning.
The states will be updated on the Morrison government’s economic statement released on Thursday. The Closing the Gap agreement and interim independent review into the Environment Protection Biodiversity Conservation Act were also set to feature.
READ MORE: Painful numbers could get worse
Mackenzie Scott 4.45pm: Queensland declares new hotspot in NSW
Queensland premier Annastasia Palaszczuk has declared a third NSW hotspot as case numbers in Sydney’s south west continue to rise.
Residents within the City of Fairfield council area will not be able to enter Queensland from 1am Monday, July 27.
The latest addition adds to previous travel bans placed on the nearby Campbelltown and Liverpool council areas and the state of Victoria.
Anyone travelling to Queensland who has visited a hotspot in the previous 14 days will be forced to enter hotel quarantine for 14 days at their own expense.
Forty-six cases have originated in the Fairfield region from the Thai Rock restaurant outbreak at Wetherill Park, with a further nine cases linked to the cluster overnight.
The Queensland border restrictions were lifted on July, 10 to all of Australia except Victoria.
Rachel Baxendale 4.20pm: Early lockdown fails to stop case surge
One Melbourne local government area has recorded a net increase of 122 coronavirus cases in just two days, despite being home to three postcodes which were part of the early Stage Three lockdown three weeks ago.
Brimbank, in Melbourne’s outer west, had 49 active cases when it went into Stage Three lockdown on July 2.
A week later, by July 9, this had risen to 75, before more than doubling to 180 by July 16 - a week ago.
By Thursday, Brimbank’s tally of active cases had more than doubled again, to 411, including a net increase of 53 on Thursday, and 69 on Wednesday.
Brimbank is next door to the Somerville Retail Services abattoir in Tottenham, linked to 72 cases, and home to the JBS abattoir in Brooklyn, linked to 58 cases, and the Estia Health aged care home in Ardeer, linked to 67 cases.
Thursday’s local government area data continues to show the most significant increases occurring in Melbourne’s outer suburbs as the essential workers who live in these areas continue to be required to work despite the lockdown.
All 31 metropolitan Melbourne LGAs have at least 12 active cases, while the Mitchell Shire, which is also part of the Stage Three lockdown, has 11.
Three other regional Victorian LGAs have now exceeded or equalled the Mitchell Shire’s tally, with 26 active cases in Colac-Otway in the southwest (all linked to a cluster of 29 cases at the Australian Lamb Company abattoir in Colac), 23 in Greater Geelong, and 11 in Ballarat.
There was a net increase of 10 active cases outside the metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire lockdown zone in the 24 hours to Thursday.
There are now 113 active cases in regional Victoria outside the lockdown zone, across 20 LGAs.
When the Melbourne and Mitchell Shire lockdown was imposed on July 9, there were 14 active cases across six LGAs.
The Wangaratta LGA, in Victoria’s northeast, recorded its first case in months on Thursday.
Active confirmed cases of COVID-19 by LGA as of Thursday, with net increase since Wednesday in brackets:
Wyndham (outer southwest): 439 (+27)
#Brimbank (outer west): 411 (+53)
#Hume (outer north): 335 (+6)
#City of Melbourne: 276 (+1)
#Moonee Valley (northwest): 206 (-6)
#Moreland (north): 222 (+8)
Whittlesea (outer north): 213 (+23)
Melton (outer northwest): 165 (+18)
Banyule (northeast): 140 (-5)
Yarra (inner northeast): 124 (-3)
Casey (outer southeast): 116 (+10)
#Maribyrnong (inner west): 107 (+4)
Darebin (north): 86 (+1)
Hobsons Bay (inner southwest): 67 (+2)
Greater Dandenong: (outer southeast): 63 (+9)
Whitehorse (east): 46 (-4)
Boroondara (east): 49 (+3)
Monash (southeast): 41 (+1)
Manningham (east): 39
Port Phillip (inner south): 37 (+2)
Stonnington (inner southeast): 35
Kingston (southeast): 33
*Colac-Otway (western regional Vic): 26
Glen Eira (east): 24 (+3)
*Greater Geelong (southwest regional Vic): 23 (+5)
Knox (outer east): 22 (+4)
Nillumbik (outer northeast): 22 (+1)
Cardinia (outer southeast): 21 (+2)
Bayside (southeast): 18 (+2)
Maroondah (outer east): 17 (+2)
Yarra Ranges (outer east) 16 (+5)
Frankston (outer southeast): 15 (+2)
Mornington Peninsula (outer southeast): 12 (+1)
*Ballarat (western regional Vic): 11 (+1)
Mitchell (central regional Vic, north of Melb): 11 (-2)
*Golden Plains (western regional Vic): 8
*Moorabool (western regional Vic): 6 (+1)
*Macedon Ranges (central regional Vic): 5 (+1)
*Surf Coast (southwest regional Vic): 4 (+2)
*Latrobe (eastern regional Vic): 4
*Horsham (western regional Vic): 4
*Greater Bendigo (central regional Vic): 4
*Glenelg (western regional Vic): 3
*South Gippsland (eastern regional Vic): 3
*Baw Baw (eastern regional Vic): 3 (-1)
*Swan Hill (northwest regional Vic): 2
*Greater Shepparton (northern regional Vic): 2
*Wangaratta (northeast regional Vic): 1 (+1)
*Corangamite (southwest regional Vic): 1
*Loddon (northwest central regional Vic): 1
*East Gippsland (east regional Vic): 1
*Bass Coast (southeast regional Vic): 1
Interstate: 6
Unknown: 75 (+21)
TOTAL: 3630 (+222)
*Denotes LGAs outside the Melbourne metropolitan/Mitchell Shire lockdown
#Denotes LGAs with postcodes locked down from 11:59pm on July 1
Source: Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
READ MORE: Everything coming up roses for PM
Samantha Bailey 3.45pm: JobKeeper sparks lottery ticket surge
JobKeeper payments have provided a boon for lotto operators, with Australians snapping up tickets despite cutting back on day-to-day non-essential spending. Read more here
Rachel Baxendale 3.20pm: Authorities tracking source of 334 cases
Of Victoria’s 403 new cases on Thursday, 69 have so far been linked to known clusters, with the remaining 334 under investigation.
Here’s what we know about the size of clusters with new cases on Thursday, other than those linked to aged care which were detailed in a previous post:
Public housing towers:
- 293 cases are residents of previously locked down public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington, in Melbourne’s inner northwest, up from 291 on Wednesday.
- 60 cases are residents of public housing towers in Carlton, in Melbourne’s inner north, up from 57 on Wednesday;
School/childcare:
- 182 cases have been linked to Al-Taqwa Islamic College in Truganina in Melbourne’s outer west, up from 175 on Tuesday;
- 21 cases have been linked to Clever Kids Childcare in Ashburton, in Melbourne’s southeast, up from five on Saturday;
Abattoirs:
- 72 cases have been linked to Somerville Retail Services abattoir in Tottenham, in Melbourne’s west, up from 61 on Wednesday;
- 58 cases have been linked to JBS abattoir in Brooklyn, in Melbourne’s west, up from 47 on Wednesday:
- 29 cases have been linked to Australian Lamb Company in Colac, in southwest regional Victoria, up from 17 on Wednesday.
Other:
- 10 cases have been linked to Bertocchi Smallgoods in Thomastown, in Melbourne’s north. This is a previously unpublicised cluster.
READ MORE: Victoria’s budget deficit revealed
Rachel Baxendale 3pm: 447 Victoria cases linked to aged care sites
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services says there are now 447 cases of COVID-19 linked to 35 aged care sites in the state.
On Wednesday, DHHS said there were 383 cases across 45 aged care sites, while the federal Health Department said there were 393 COVID-19 cases across 68 aged care services, including 197 infections in residents, 191 in staff, and five infections in elderly people receiving care in their homes.
The Australian is seeking clarification over the reasons for the disparity in numbers, although it is suspected that the previous higher numbers of aged care sites may be due to the fact that Thursday’s number is based on sites with active cases only.
Victoria’s largest current aged care clusters include:
– 73 cases have been linked to St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner, in Melbourne’s north, up from 69 on Wednesday;
– 67 cases have been linked to Estia Health in Ardeer, in Melbourne’s west, up from 54 on Wednesday;
– 55 cases have been linked to Menarock Life Aged care in Essendon, in Melbourne’s northwest, up from 38 last Friday;
– 34 cases have been linked to Estia Health in Heidelberg, in Melbourne’s northeast, up from 26 on Wednesday;
– 33 cases have been linked to Arcare Aged Care in Craigieburn, in Melbourne’s outer north, up from 30 on Wednesday;
– 21 cases have been linked to Baptcare Wyndham Lodge in Werribee, in Melbourne’s outer southwest, up from 20 on Wednesday;
– 20 cases have been linked to Embracia Aged Care Moonee Valley in Avondale Heights, in Melbourne’s northwest, up from 18 on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Marley Spoon finds new digs
Rachel Baxendale 2.35pm: Surge in cases among Victoria’s healthcare workers
The number of COVID-19-infected healthcare workers in Victoria has increased by 60 in the 24 hours to Thursday – from 469 cases on Wednesday to 529 on Thursday.
Of these, 239 are active cases, with hundreds more of their colleagues currently in isolation due to being close contacts.
READ MORE: Mask use is up, mood very low
Rachel Baxendale 2.25pm: Over 850 cases since July 1 with an unknown source
Victoria has now had 853 cases of COVID-19 since July 1 where contact tracers have been unable to identify a source of transmission, and 1154 since the pandemic began.
This number does not include hundreds of cases which remain under investigation as contact tracers battle with a backlog of close contacts, including 334 of today’s 403 new cases.
There are currently 3630 active cases in Victoria, and 3298 people have recovered.
There have been 6558 cases in people from metropolitan Melbourne and 398 from regional Victoria since the pandemic began.
There have been 3607 cases in men and 3442 in women.
READ MORE: Victoria hits grim number
Richard Ferguson 2.17pm: All states at the ready if Vic outbreak worsens
Health Minister Greg Hunt says all states and territories are preparing contingency health reserves if the Victorian outbreak worsens further and they are called into help more.
States are already lending staff and resources to help Victoria, but the Health Minister has asked them to prepare further equipment and staff reserves in the next few weeks.
“What we’re doing is three steps down the track, were there to be a worst-case scenario,” he said in Melbourne.
“We’re just preparing the workforce and so the states and territories will consider and advise as to what they have available.
“So, it’s always about making sure that we are planning three steps down at the track and looking at the best case – and the worst case – and planning for the most difficult of circumstances.”
READ MORE: Push for mandatory masks on trains
Amos Aikman 2.13pm: Two men charged after ‘lying’ about hot spot visit
Two men have been charged with ignoring health directions and placed in mandatory quarantine in Darwin after they allegedly lied about having visited a coronavirus hotspot before travelling to a remote part of Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory.
The news has heightened fears that outbreaks elsewhere could bring deadly COVID-19 to vulnerable Aboriginal communities. Police commander Matt Hollamby called the men’s behaviour grossly irresponsible.
“These individuals potentially placed the lives of Territorians at risk,” he said. “If you lie on your entry declaration, you may face heavy penalties including three years in jail.”
It comes as representatives of a community in the shadow of Uluru called on the Territory government to completely ban entry by travellers from all coronavirus hot spots. Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation said in a statement that there should also be health checks at departure and arrival airports and forced quarantine for entire plane-loads of passengers if even a single one showed coronavirus symptoms. It said its proposals were supported by the Central Land Council.
READ MORE: Fear and loathing on trip to uncertainty
Rachel Baxendale 2.00pm: Virus impact: Victoria facing a $7.5bn deficit
Victoria’s 2019-20 budget is expected to return an operating deficit of $7.5bn as a result of reduced revenue and increased expenditure arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, Treasurer Tim Pallas’s prediction of a nine per cent peak in unemployment in September, and a 6.25 per cent rebound in gross state product in 2021 following a 5.25 per cent fall this calendar year is based on the current Stage Three coronavirus restrictions only remaining in place for a six week period, before a gradual easing through August and September.
This is despite a warning on Wednesday from Premier Daniel Andrews that if the state’s coronavirus case numbers continue to rise, “a six week shutdown will not be for six weeks. It will run for much longer than that.”
READ the full story here.
Rachel Baxendale 1.25pm: Two virus victims in 20s among 36 in Vic ICUs
Two people in their 20s, two in their 30s, five in their 40s and seven in their 50s were among 36 people in Victorian intensive care wards with coronavirus on Tuesday.
The information has been released by the Andrews government on Thursday afternoon.
Since then the numbers of people in Victorian hospitals with the virus have increased from 175 in hospital of whom 36 were in intensive care on Tuesday, to 201 in hospital of whom 40 were in intensive care on Thursday.
There were three deaths in the 24 hours to Tuesday, two in the 24 hours to Wednesday, and five in the 24 hours to Thursday.
Tuesday’s hospitalisation figures also show there was one child under nine in hospital, and three people aged between 10 and 19, none of whom were in ICU.
There were three people in their 20s, of whom two were in ICU, seven in their 30s of whom two were in ICU, 11 in their 40s of whom five were in ICU, 11 in their 50s of whom seven were in ICU, 13 in their 60s of whom 11 were in ICU, 22 in their 70s of whom seven were in ICU, 45 in their 80s of whom two were in ICU, and 23 aged over 90, none of whom were in ICU.
READ MORE: Mask use is up, but mood is low
Richard Ferguson 12.53pm: Today’s economic statement at a glance
Here’s what you need to know from Josh Frydenberg’s July Economic Statement:
– Unemployment to peak at 9.25 per cent in December
– Net debt to hit $677.1bn in 2020/21
– Budget deficit to grow to $184.5bn in 2020/21
Here are Treasury's key assumptions underpinning today's budget update #auspol @australian pic.twitter.com/FfCrpY63nf
— Rosie Lewis (@rosieslewis) July 23, 2020
– Real GDP to fall 3.75 per cent in the 2020 calendar year
– JobKeeper to cost the budget $85.7bn over the next four years
– Welfare to cost the budget $16.72bn over the next four years
READ MORE: Shanahan: Painful numbers paint a dire picture, but they could get worse
Adeshola Ore 12.26pm: Two venues added to NSW watchlist
NSW health authorities are urging anyone who visited two businesses near the Port Stephens area to monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms and get tested:
– Salamander Bay Village Woolworths on 17 July between 2.30pm to closing time, 18 July between 4pm to closing time, 19 July between 12.45pm to closing time, and 20 July between 3pm to closing time.
– The Fingal Bay Café and Takeaway on 17 July between 11.30am – 12 midday.
NSW Health said the Woolworths store was deep cleaned overnight and there is no ongoing risk to customers.
READ MORE: 19 new cases in NSW
Patrick Commins 12.18pm: S&P reaffirms Australia’s AAA credit rating
Global ratings agency Standard & Poor’s has reaffirmed Australia’s top AAA credit rating despite Josh Frydenberg today confirming the COVID-19 crisis has triggered an expected $185bn budget deficit in this financial year.
“The Treasurer’s economic and fiscal update released this morning is consistent with the ‘AAA’ rating and negative outlook on Australia,” S&P said in a release.
Mr Frydenberg said gross debt will reach more than $850bn by June 2021, or 45 per cent of GDP.
The rating agency’s level of comfort “reflects our expectation that the economy will begin to recover from recession during fiscal 2021”, the report said.
“We expect the general government’s fiscal balance to improve during the next few years beyond the large deficit being incurred in fiscal 2021, and believe the government remains committed to fiscal discipline.”
S&P could downgrade the rating should there be evidence in coming years that the Australian government was not committed to budget repair and paying down debt, or should the COVID-19 recession prove deeper and last for longer than expected.
READ MORE: Jobless rate to hit 9.25pc as ‘harsh reality’ hits
Adeshola Ore 12.05pm: NSW records 19 new cases, three under investigation
NSW has recorded 19 new coronavirus cases, including nine associated with the Thai Rock restaurant cluster. There are now 46 COVID-19 cases associated with the outbreak at the Wetherill Park restaurant.
Three of today’s new cases are associated with the Crossroads Hotel cluster, bringing the total number of cases to 56. One person in southwestern Sydney acquired their infection in Victoria and has been self-isolating since arriving back into the state.
Three cases are in returned travellers in hotel quarantine. A further three cases remain under investigation.
There were 24,640 tests carried out in the reporting period, compared with 18,465 tests in the previous 24 hours.
NSW Health confirmed that one of today’s cases associated with the Thai Rock cluster is a student at Tomaree Public School. The school is closed today for deep cleaning and contact tracing.
Another case linked to the Thai Rock Cluster is a young child who attends Good Start Early Learning Anna Bay. The centre has been closed for cleaning.
Tomaree High School is also closed today after a student tested positive to coronavirus.
There are 94 people being treated in hospital for COVID-19 across NSW, with one in ICU and requiring ventilation.
READ MORE: New cluster emerges in Hunter Region
Rachel Baxendale 12.02pm: Fines issued to 47 Victorians for lockdown breaches
Three people travelling more than 100km to visit a friend’s house on the other side of Melbourne were among 47 issued with $1652 fines by Victoria Police for breaching the Chief Health Officer directions in the 24 hours to Thursday.
Three of these infringements were issued at vehicle checkpoints across the metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire lockdown zone, where 22,890 checks were conducted on Wednesday.
Another 4544 spot checks were conducted on people at homes, businesses and public places, contributing to a total of 147,977 spot checks since March 21.
The three people fined for travelling more than 100km to their friend’s house were driving from Pakenham, in Melbourne’s outer southeast, to Melton in the outer northwest.
Police said the drive claimed not to know about the COVID-19 restrictions.
There were 19 active cases of COVID-19 in the Pakenham local government area of Cardinia on Wednesday, and 147 in the Melton LGA.
Another five people gathering in a park consuming alcohol in Cranbourne, in Melbourne’s southeast, were issued with $1652 fines.
Cranbourne is in the local government area of Casey, where there were 106 active cases on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Mask use in Melbourne is up, but the mood is very low
Richard Ferguson 11.53am: Treasury estimates borders will reopen in 2021
Treasury estimates assume Australia’s international borders will reopen in the New Year and global arrivals will undergo a two-week quarantine.
Mr Frydenberg said no final decision had been made on borders, but the government was looking to gradually re-open the country to some countries and foreign university students.
“In terms of the borders the assumption is it very gradually starts to come back. The quarantine that is required, you start to bring in some international students,” he said.
“That is work we have been undertaking but, of course, the environment with respect to the coronavirus is very fluid.
“So decisions haven’t been taken about start dates for that. But these are Treasury’s forecasts and as you can understand it’s a very dynamic environment.”
READ MORE: Frydenberg provides economic update
Richard Ferguson 11.38am: JobKeeper costs $85.7bn, saved 700,000 jobs
JobKeeper wage subsidies will cost Australian taxpayers $85.7bn over the next four years and welfare support will cost $16.75bn.
Mr Frydenberg announced that people impacted by the pandemic will now have another six months to empty $10,000 from their superannuation accounts to help them through the recovery.
“We will get through this and we will get through this together,” Mr Frydenberg said.
Treasury has estimated the government’s COVID support has saved 700,000 jobs this year and shaved five percentage points off the ultimate growth in unemployment.
READ MORE: Jobless rate to hit 9.5pc
Richard Ferguson 11.30am: Jobless rate to hit 9.25 per cent
Unemployment is forecast to balloon to 8.75 per cent and Australia’s real GDP will fall by 3.75 per cent this calendar year, as Josh Frydenberg releases his “harsh” July economic statement.
The Treasurer is now projecting the federal budget deficit will be $184.5bn in 2020/21 – the largest deficit since World War II – and net debt will be $677.1bn.
Unemployment is projected to peak at 9.25 per cent in the December quarter, before going down to 8.75 per cent in 2020/21
“These are harsh numbers … for a harsh reality,” he said in Canberra. ‘The coronavirus has had a significant impact on the budget bottom line.”
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 11.15am: Five dead in Vic including man in 50s
Five people have died of COVID-19 in Victoria in the past 24-hours, three of them aged care residents.
The news of the deaths comes as Victoria recorded 403 new coronavirus cases on Thursday – the third worst daily tally on record, following a record 484 cases on Wednesday.
The five deaths include a man in his 50s and a man in his 70s who were not aged care residents, and a woman in her 70s, a man in his 80s and a man in his 90s who were.
There have nos been 29 COVID-19 deaths in Victoria since July 5, and 49 since the pandemic began.
Victoria now has 3630 active cases of COVID-19, representing an almost tenfold increase since July 1, when there were 370 active cases.
There have now been 7125 cases in Victoria since the pandemic began.
Of the 403 new cases on Thursday, 69 are connected with known outbreaks, while the remaining 334 are under investigation.
There were 201 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus on Thursday, down from 205 on Wednesday, and 40 in intensive care – the same number as Wednesday.
This follows the five deaths and a sharp increase in hospitalisations since Tuesday, when there were 174 people in hospital and 36 in intensive care.
Thursday’s 403 new cases come from 27,151 processed on Wednesday, representing a positive test rate of 1.48 per cent.
This is the third-worst positive test rate on record, down from 1.96 per cent on Wednesday and 1.75 per cent last Friday.
Victoria has now equalled NSW’s death toll of 49, but deaths in the southern state are expected to continue to grow, with more than 200 active cases in aged care recipients and 40 people in intensive care on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Companies warned on JobKeeper payments
Anne Barrowclough 11.00am: White House cafe closes after positive test
A cafeteria in the White House has been closed for deep cleaning after a worker tested positive for coronavirus.
The White House is conducting contact tracing of people who used the cafeteria in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, NBC reports. The building houses the offices of much of the senior White House staff, including officials from the coronavirus task force, the vice president’s office, the National Security Council and several economic policy shops.
It is unclear how long the facility will remain closed, although NBC reported it could remain shuttered for two weeks.
READ MORE: Pace slows in America’s COVID surge
Adeshola Ore 10.15am: Two more clubs in NSW regions cluster
Andrew Constance says the Batemans Bay community is on high alert after an additional two regional clubs were linked to a coronavirus cluster in the region.
The Batemans Bay Soldiers Club is now associated with eight COVID-19 cases. On Wednesday evening, NSW Health said that an infectious person from that outbreak had visited the Malua Bay Bowling Club and the Narooma Bowling Club.
The NSW Transport Minister whose electorate includes Batemans Bay, said residents were “absolutely scared” of the outbreak spreading.
“The place has quite literally shut down. Businesses have made their own decisions to close,” he told 2GB radio on Thursday morning.
“Everyone is on high alert and looking for the risks associated with COVID.”
“After the fires, this is a really tough time, but we want to ring-fence it and get back to as normal as we can in the middle of the pandemic.”
Local health authorities are urging anyone who visited the Malua Bay Bowling Club (on July 7, 8 and 12) or the Narooma Bowling Club (on July 13) to get tested for the virus if symptoms arise.
On Wednesday, NSW Health revealed that genetic sequencing linked the state’s clusters at the Crossroads Hotel, Thai Rock restaurant and Batemans Bay Soldiers Club to virus strains in Victoria.
READ MORE: Push for mandatory masks on trains
Rachel Baxendale 9.55am: Victoria in third worst tally of 403
Victoria has recorded its third-worst daily tally of COVID-19 cases, a day after recording its worst, with 403 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Thursday.
Premier Daniel Andrews is also expected to announce that there have been more deaths when he and Health Minister Jenny Mikakos address the media at 11am.
Wednesday was Victoria’s worst-ever day for new cases, with 484 and a positive test rate of 1.96 per cent.
The only other day with a tally over 400 was 428 last Friday.
The further deaths follow 24 deaths between July 5 and Wednesday – many of them linked to aged care facilities.
The federal Health Department confirmed on Wednesday there were 393 COVID-19 cases across 68 aged care services in Victoria, including 197 infections in residents, 191 in staff, and five infections in elderly people receiving care in their homes.
READ MORE: Lockdown could last until Christmas
Adeshola Ore 9.40am: Palaszczuk hedges on border, no new cases
Queensland has recorded no coronavirus cases overnight, with three cases currently active.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was monitoring NSW’s COVID-19 numbers and would not hesitate to take further action if necessary.
“I will be getting further updates today,” she said.
“If we have to declare further hot spots, we will declare further hot spots.”
Ms Palaszczuk said she was disappointed the NSW government would not consider her proposal to move the border checkpoint south to Tweed River to ease traffic congestion.
“This was just about easing the border communities and making their lives easier, but they are NSW residents and there is nothing I can do about that,” she said.
READ MORE: New cluster identified in NSW
Adeshola Ore 9.15am: Constance: No masks on NSW public transport
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has dismissed the idea of enforcing masks on the state’s trains and buses.
From today, masks are mandatory in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire. The NSW government is encouraging people to wear masks when they cannot socially distance.
Mr Constance said the state government’s COVID-19 transport plan had been in place for months.
A new drive-through #COVID19 testing clinic has opened in Harris Park at:
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 22, 2020
Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral
40 – 46 Alice Street
Harris Park, NSW 2150
Open 9am – 4pm
All ages welcome. No booking or GP referral required. For other clinic locations visit: https://t.co/LmeATIQK4Z pic.twitter.com/KQsifuYs9A
“It’s a centralised health decision … but the key message is if you’re not feeling well, go get tested,” he told 2GB radio on Thursday.
“At the moment, the government doesn’t have the advice to start fining people if they haven’t got masks. But again, that could happen into the future.”
READ MORE: BLM rally organiser ‘willing to get COVID’
Adeshola Ore 8.55am: ‘Significant way to go’ for Victoria
Health Minister Greg Hunt says the possibility of extending Victoria’s lockdown will depend on if the state can flatten the curve.
The Australian has reported that senior figures in the state government have discussed the region’s lockdown lasting months.
Mr Hunt said Victoria had a “very significant way to go” to reduce its number of infections, after a record 484 cases were reported on Wednesday.
“We particularly want to make sure that this does not spread to the regions,” Mr Hunt told the ABC on Thursday morning.
“There’s an outbreak in Colac which is very serious and so the ADF is available to assist with testing and tracing. Significantly, tracing and getting each case followed up.”
Mr Hunt also urged people to self-isolate while waiting for their coronavirus test result.
His warnings come after Victorian health authorities revealed that more than half of people awaiting COVID-19 test results continued to go about their daily life.
“My message to Victorians and all Australia, if you’re being tested, please isolate,” Mr Hunt told Channel 7 on Thursday morning.
“If you’re in the risk space, you can inadvertently spread the disease to your mother, father, grandparents, if you are not self-isolating. This is absolutely important. Each one of us can help save a life or inadvertently risk life.”
READ MORE: Markets braced for news of spread
Adeshola Ore 7.50am: Chalmers: give us plan for job recovery
Shadow Treasurer Jim Chalmers has called the federal government to outline its plans for job recovery, as it prepares to unveil the largest budget deficit in more than 70 years.
The Australian has revealed the government will announce a record $850bn gross debt bill today, with a combined budget blowout of almost $280bn by mid-next year.
Dr Chalmers said “most of the government’s debt” was accumulated well before the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The government will try to pull a swiftie and pretend the red ink in the budget is a consequence of the virus when the truth is the majority of the debt had piled up beforehand,” he told Channel 9.
“What we need to see today is the admission the debt had doubled beforehand but more importantly a plan for jobs and recovery into the future when all of this otherwise welcome support runs out.”
READ MORE: COVID hangover soars to $850bn
Rachel Baxendale 7.45am: Vic police ‘exercise discretion’ over masks
Victoria Police say they will “exercise discretion” in issuing fines for not wearing mandatory face coverings over the next seven days, to allow people to adjust to the new rules.
People living in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire are now required to wear a face covering when leaving home for an approved reason such as work, study, essential shopping, medical care or exercise.
The police statement comes after Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton warned Victorians not to vilify each other over mask wearing.
“You will see some people who were not wearing masks and a number of them are legitimately not able to wear masks, so please don’t vilify individuals or don’t make the assumption that they are simply stubborn and refusing to wear masks,” Professor Sutton said.
“There will be people with medical, behavioural, psychological reasons not to wear a mask. Certainly don’t make an assumption that they should be the subject of your ire.”
Victoria Police said they would be able to issue on-the-spot fines of $200 to those not wearing a face covering without a legitimate reason.
“This is a critical measure designed to reduce the spread of coronavirus,” a police spokeswoman said.
“Police will exercise discretion over the next seven days, as we understand that for many people this is a significant adjustment.
“We understand that the vast majority of Victorians are trying to do the right thing and our exercise of discretion will reflect that.
“That said, we do expect people to follow the Chief Health Officer’s directions and will not hesitate to issue fines to people who are obviously and blatantly showing a disregard for community safety by failing to wear a mask.
READ MORE: Big reveal; the cost of the pandemic
Adeshola Ore 7.25am: Call for national cabinet to tackle Victoria
The Australian Medical Association president has called for a national cabinet approach to Victoria’s coronavirus crisis, warning cases will continue to rise if infection control procedures are not followed.
On Wednesday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews revealed that 53 per cent of people waiting for coronavirus test results did not self-isolate.
Dr Tony Bartone said a national cabinet-driven approach was needed to tackle Victoria’s surge in cases.
“War time cabinet is something that has come to mind. We need that co-ordination between everybody in the space, not just the Victoria government, because this is a national problem,” he told Nine News on Thursday morning.
“Whether it be in the additional contact tracing capacity, whether it is the co-ordination of the entire workforce, not just in hospitals, not just in aged care, but across the whole clinical spectrum, in terms of dealing with patients.”
READ MORE: State’s long and suffering march
Adeshola Ore 6.55am: Bolsonaro returns third positive test
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has returned a third positive coronavirus test, after first becoming ill in early July. He previously faced criticism for downplaying the seriousness of the virus. A government statement said the president was “still in good condition.” He will extend his two-week quarantine and halt his travel plans.
Mr Bolsonaro’s test result came as the country’s Sao Paulo state surpassed 20,000 deaths from COVID-19. Brazil has now recorded more than 80,000 deaths from the virus.
The US daily death count topped 1,000 fatalities, forcing President Donald Trump to acknowledge the crisis will “get worse before it gets better.” More than 142,000 people in the US have died from coronavirus. Public health experts have warned it will likely rise in several states. Florida, Texas, Georgia and California are among about 40 states recording new cases. Florida reported 9,785 new cases and a further 140 deaths on Wednesday.
Globally, more than 15 million people have been infected with coronavirus. There have been more than 618,000 COVID-19 deaths.
READ MORE: Workplace transmission ‘a real problem’
Adeshola Ore 6.50am: Toddler contracts virus in Port Stephens
A toddler is among three new cases of coronavirus detected in the NSW coastal town of Port Stephens, after authorities issued a public health warning for the region.
Local MP Kate Washington said on Facebook that Tomaree Public School, Tomaree High School and Goodstart Anna Bay Childcare Centre had each recorded a coronavirus case. All sites will be closed today for deep cleaning and contact tracing.
On Tuesday, NSW Health urged anyone who visited the Salamander Bay shopping centre in Port Stephens on July 15 to get tested for COVID-19 after a man in his 60s visited while infectious.
NSW Health said the source of the case was linked with a visitor from Sydney who attended the Windsor Castle Hotel in East Maitland about 6pm on July 13.
NSW recorded 16 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, taking the state’s total number of cases to 3,425.
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Staff writers 6.30am: Qld could close borders to all of Sydney
Queensland may close its borders to all five million Sydney residents, with police ready to enforce stricter bans if COVID cases continue to surge in Victoria and NSW.
Police manning border checkpoints are preparing for more COVID-19 hot spots to be declared in NSW, including possibly the whole of Sydney, as early as today, the Courier Mail reports.
The newspaper reports the complete closure of the border is also not out of the question if the coronavirus second wave sweeping Victoria and NSW continues to gather momentum.
“There is no way that more hot spots are not going to be declared, and all of Sydney would definitely be a consideration given what’s happening down there,” a senior police source told The Courier-Mail.
“If the situation continues to deteriorate over the next week, I honestly don’t see how we wouldn’t look at closing the border entirely.”
READ MORE: Berejiklian warns of ‘critical time’
Rachel Baxendale 6.00am: ‘Worst case scenario’ looms in Victoria
Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus infections has brought the state much closer to realising an economic forecast that Treasurer Tim Pallas described in April as a “worst-case scenario”, according to new modelling.
The Department of Treasury and Finance modelling, being released by the Andrews government on Thursday as part of a mid-year financial update, says unemployment will peak at 9 per cent in the September quarter.
In April, Treasury modelling predicted unemployment would peak at 11 per cent in the September quarter — more than double the March rate of 5.2 per cent — but this forecast assumed six months of uninterrupted stage-three stay-at-home lockdowns, and not the initially more relaxed scenario Victoria faced prior to its second wave of infections.
Victoria spent six weeks in full stage-three lockdown from March 30 to May 11 before metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire went into the current lockdown period of at least six weeks on July 8.
The new modelling does not appear to account for the possibility of the current lockdown lasting longer than six weeks, despite warnings on Wednesday from Premier Daniel Andrews that if the state’s coronavirus case numbers continued to rise, “a six-week shutdown will not be for six weeks. It will run for much longer than that.”
The updated modelling shows gross state product could fall by 5.25 per cent this calendar year.
READ the full story here
Jacquelin Magnay 5.45am: Study finds full lockdown doesn’t work
A scientific study analysing 50 countries has found that full lockdowns and widespread testing of COVID-19 does not reduce the number of critical cases or overall mortality from the disease.
Instead the levels of obesity, the dispersal of wealth throughout a country, the population age of a country, the number of nurses and smoking levels all had an impact on the COVID-19 death rate.
University of Toronto researchers said their findings found that rapid border closures, full lockdowns, and widespread testing were not associated with COVID-19 mortality per million people.
“Government actions such as border closures, full lockdowns, and a high rate of COVID-19 testing were not associated with statistically significant reductions in the number of critical cases or overall mortality,’’ the researchers said in the study published on Wednesday in The Lancet.
However they said full lockdowns and reduced country vulnerability to biological threats were significantly associated with increased patient recovery rates.
Some measures, taken by Australia such as a quick border closure, was credited with lessening the peak of transmission, preventing health system overcapacity, and helping the recovery rates of those infected.
“Those countries with a higher median population age, prevalence of obesity and a longer number of days to any border closure had significantly higher caseloads (of infections),’’ the researchers said.
They found no association between the scale of testing with the number of critical cases or deaths.
The researchers said they analysed the top 50 countries ranked by death rates, and didn’t name the countries. The study was conducted up to May.
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Michael McKenna 5.30am: Plea to go easy on booze
A Cairns hotel has reissued warnings to occupants under COVID-19 quarantine to refrain from excessive drinking and anti-social behaviour after a spate of complaints about loud music and “balcony hopping”.
The Esplanade Hotel this week gave occupants copies of a police “official warning” — first issued in May — that alcohol supplies would be limited to a “6 pack of premix drinks/beer” or a bottle of wine per room under quarantine.
It comes as police confirmed that since mid-April at least 185 people had lied on their border declaration forms in various ways and could not be found when officers conducted compliance checks on their self-quarantine orders.
In total, 387 of more than 2300 allowed to self-quarantine could not be found at their nominated address, with 125 leaving the state and 17 found to be at an alternative residence due to personal circumstances.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said despite the breaches there were no concerns about the spread of the virus in the state, with just one new case on Wednesday — a member of the ADF returning from overseas — taking the tally to just three people.
READ the full story here
How retail umpire mediated a row while on Ukraine mercy mission
Food Code’s Chris Leptos spends his days arbitrating disputes between suppliers and supermarkets, but after hours he’s part of an international group helping to ease the plight of Ukrainians.
100,000 overshoot in ALP migration target
With arrivals outstripping expectations and departures less than anticipated, economists and immigrations experts say Labor will oversee a net migration intake as high as 495,000.