Coronavirus Australia live news: Victoria Police chase thousands of virus fines
Victoria Police have revealed that of approximately 40,000 fines issued for breaches of coronavirus restrictions, just 3000 have been paid.
- Tennis stars ‘not taking place of Aussies’
- Victoria eyes boost to int’l arrivals cap
- Andrews eases Sydney restrictions
- Tennis stars slam quarantine
- New virus case on tennis flight
- Andrews cops a grand slam
Welcome to live coverage of Australia’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australian Open players in Melbourne’s hotel quarantine are not taking the place of Australians stranded abroad. Daniel Andrews says the quarantine system is helping pave the way for Victoria to increase its international arrivals cap. The Victorian Premier has eased restrictions on Greater Sydney, downgrading 25 of 35 Sydney LGAs from red to amber.
Rhiannon Down 10.48pm: Pompeo’s ‘proof’ Covid leaked from Wuhan lab
US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has released a controversial document, claiming workers at a Wuhan lab fell ill long before the first cases were officially recorded.
In a colourful “fact sheet” Mr Pompeo questioned the origins of the virus saying it could have come from the Wuhan Institute of Virology rather than a wet market.
Mr Pompeo, who will step down this week as Donald Trump’s presidential term comes to an end, claimed scientists had been experimenting on a bat-born coronavirus similar to COVID-19.
WHO investigators arrived in Wuhan to begin an investigation into the origin of the coronavirus on Thursday.
The US has almost reached 400,000 COVID deaths and recorded almost 24 million cases, according to figures from Johns Hopkins University.
Adam Creighton 10.00pm: Biden ‘could be key Covid ally’
Australia’s ambassador in Washington DC says the Biden administration can win hearts and minds around the world by facilitating access to COVID-19 vaccines because people were more likely to remember how the pandemic ended.
Arthur Sinodinos, speaking ahead of the inauguration of Joe Biden as president on Thursday Australian time, said Australia was well-placed to influence US foreign policy in the Asian region.
He also played down prospects Australia would be isolated on climate change policy under a Biden administration.
Tim Dodd 9.18pm: Andrews slams door on overseas students
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has dashed hopes for a revival of the international education industry in his state, saying that the return of large numbers of students is “not possible” in 2021.
“Tens of thousands of international students coming back here is going to be incredibly challenging, if not impossible, this year,” he said on Monday.
“We want to get it back as fast as we can, but … the government is not spending hours and hours to try and make something I frankly think is not possible, possible.”
His statement came as the Victorian government deals with COVID cases discovered on three special charter flights bringing tennis players and officials to Australia for next month’s Australian Open in Melbourne. More than 120 people, including 72 tennis players, were forced into two weeks’ strict quarantine.
Angelica Snowden 8.30pm: Melburnians still stranded far from home
Melbourne couple Lyrian and Steven Fleming-Parsley didn’t mind holing up in Greater Sydney with their three-year-old son, Joachim, after Victoria’s borders were closed on December 31.
After all, the family was staying with Ms Fleming-Parsley’s parents in Sydney’s western suburb of Seven Hills, could work remotely and access childcare.
It is a bit irritating given we are stuck in Greater Sydney and can’t get home to Melbourne and we are not coming from UK/Europe/USA yet loads of tennis people can come in from highly infected areas 🤔 https://t.co/2nupVzsJHk
— LyrianFlemingParsley (@lyrianfleming) January 15, 2021
But after the Victorian state government defended their decision to allow Australian Open tennis players and crew into town — who on Monday were linked with nine positive COVID-19 cases — Ms Fleming-Parsley said it was “unfair” the government would not support more Victorians to come home.
“They are letting 1000-plus tennis players come in for a sporting event and they can‘t find a way for us to get home,” the 40-year-old said. “There are less than 10 cases in Sydney and no cases in Melbourne … you can’t apply different rules for tennis players and then not let people go home.
Samantha Pearson 8.00pm: Brazil starts its vaccine rollout
Brazil began its COVID-19 vaccine rollout on Sunday (Monday AEDT) with the shot developed by China’s Sinovac, minutes after its approval by regulators, promising to bring relief to a country that is struggling to cope with a surge in infections.
The country’s health regulator, Anvisa, approved emergency use of the Chinese vaccine, known as CoronaVac, as well as the shot developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
The ruling follows a bitter tug of war between President Jair Bolsonaro and Sao Paulo’s powerful state governor, Joao Doria, to secure the first vaccines for the country of more than 210 million people.
Rhiannon Down 6.54pm: UK health system stretched to breaking point
The UK healthcare system is being stretched to breaking point, with one new COVID patient being hospitalised every 30 second.
NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said 15,000 COVID-19 patients had been admitted since Christmas day, enough to fill 30 hospitals.
“The facts are very clear and I’m not going to sugar-coat them, hospitals are under extreme pressure and staff are under extreme pressure,” he said on The Andrew Marr Show on BBC One.
Some 704 deaths had been recorded in the UK in the past 24 hours, despite case numbers starting to level off in some parts of the country.
Vaccinations have been administered at four times the rate than the virus has been spreading, with 140 people receiving the jab every minute
Rhiannon Down 6.20pm: New health warnings for three Sydney venues
Health authorities are calling for patrons at a number of venues in Sydney’s west to get tested for coronavirus, as NSW Health investigates the source of a mystery case.
Three pubs in Auburn and Berala have been added to the list of hot spot venues in an effort to determine “the source of infection for a recently confirmed case of COVID-19”.
NSW Health has asked anyone who was at the following venues in a number of time periods to get tested and self-isolate until they receive a negative result:
NSW Health is investigating the source of infection for a recently confirmed case of COVID-19.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 18, 2021
This information will be updated on the website shortly. pic.twitter.com/rcV7fozhZu
• Village Tavern, Corner of Queen Street and Harrow Road, Auburn between 6pm Monday December 28 and 4am Tuesday December 29; between 6pm Thursday 7 January and 4am Friday 8 January; between 6pm Wednesday January 13 and 4am Thursday January 14
• Berala Hotel, 159 Woodburn Road, Berala from 6pm Wednesday December 30 to closing time
• Auburn Hotel, 43 Queen Street, Auburn from 6pm Tuesday January 12 to closing time
NSW recorded zero locally acquired cases in the last 24 hours.
READ MORE: Regions better than cities for property profits
Rachel Baxendale 5.54pm: 2489 of 11,000 Vic exemption applications processed
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has processed just 2,489 of more than 11,000 border closure exemption applications since the state closed its borders to NSW on New Year’s Day.
The latest statistics mean DHHS has processed 603 applications since Friday, when a total of 11,240 people had applied, with four applications rejected and a further 1200 closed off as a result of regional NSW being reclassified as an “amber” zone early last week.
Mercifully thousands more Victorians will now be saved from having to continue to wait for DHHS to process their border exemption applications, after Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Monday that 25 of 35 Sydney local government areas will be downgraded from “red zone” status to amber, enabling travel back to Victoria.
DHHS confirmed late on Monday that it now had a waiting list of only 1,060 applications, which are “being carefully triaged, interviewed, assessed and considered”.
“Approved exemption applications mostly relate to Victorians returning for compassionate reasons as well as inter-state residents travelling into Victoria for funerals or to be with a loved one at end of life,” the department said.
READ MORE: Tackling adversity on her own terms
Rachel Baxendale 5.45pm: Just 3000 of 40,000 Victorian virus fines paid
Victoria Police have revealed that of approximately 40,000 fines issued for breaches of coronavirus restrictions, just 3000 have been paid, with offenders accepting guilt and agreeing to payment plans for another 5700.
While a further 2400 fines are the subject of court proceedings, Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent was unable to say what proportion of the remaining 29,000 fines had been withdrawn.
The statistics came as Mr Nugent denied a Nine Newspapers report that Victoria Police had opted to hand out cautions for unpaid coronavirus infringements, rather than proceed with charges, blaming a “poorly worded” guide to fines written for prosecutors and police for giving the wrong impression.
“Since the outset, fines are issued to people who blatantly, deliberately breach the Chief Health Officer’s directions and put fellow Victorians at risk. That hasn’t changed,” Mr Nugent said.
“A guide was prepared for prosecutors and police with respect to prosecuting fines. In hindsight, that document was poorly worded and doesn’t appropriately articulate the process for fines and warnings in relation to the CHO directions.”
Mr Nugent said police had always used discretion in the first instance when dealing with health direction breaches, formally warning 12,000 people and issuing informal, unrecorded warnings to many others.
Rhiannon Down 5.39pm: Bondi beach party under police investigation
Police are investigating after footage surfaced of a raucous party on Bondi North on Sunday night in a possible breach of COVID-19 health orders.
Video appearing to show dozens of scantily clad revellers dancing to music at a North Bondi park in Sydney’s east was shared by the Daily Telegraph.
Outdoor gatherings are currently limited to 30 people in NSW with only five allowed indoors, under heightened health restrictions.
No one in the video could be seen wearing face masks.
NSW Police said it was not yet clear what time the footage was taken or how many people attended the potentially illegal event.
“We are aware of the incident and police are investigating,” a NSW spokesperson said.
Sydney’s beaches have become a flash point for health authorities after hundreds of people, reported to be backpackers, gathered at Bronte Beach on Christmas Day for an illegal celebration.
READ MORE: Real reason Djoker made those demands
Adeshola Ore 4.25pm ‘US will bounce back and unite’: PM
Scott Morrison says he is confident the United States will be able to unite, as the country’s National Guard troops stream into Washington DC and other cities in response to security concerns for Inauguration Day.
The FBI will vet all 25,000 National Guards amid concerns over an insider attack, or a threat from service personnel involved in Joe Biden’s inauguration.
“America is going through a very terrible time at the moment. We’re looking forward to the country uniting and moving on from these terrible last few months and particularly these last few weeks,” he told 2GB radio.
“America is an amazing country and they’ll bounce back. I believe they’ll come together.”
The Prime Minister said the recent pro-Trump riots on Capitol Hill were “deeply distressing.”
“It was very disappointing that things were allowed to get to that stage and that the things that were said that encouraged people to come to the Capitol and engage in that way were incredibly disappointing and the outcomes were terrible.”
READ MORE: Warnings of insider attack at inauguration
Rhiannon Down 4.10pm Tasmania downgrades Brisbane’s alert level
Tasmanian health authorities have downgraded the alert level for several Brisbane local government areas, though travellers will still be required to quarantine on arrival.
The Queensland LGAs Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redland and Logan became medium-risk areas as of 3pm today.
Anyone wishing to enter Tasmania who has been in these areas in the past two weeks is still required to complete 14 days of quarantine.
“In line with medium-risk area requirements, anyone intending to travel to Tasmania, who has been in any of the Greater Brisbane LGA’s in the 14 days before their arrival, will be required to undertake 14 days quarantine on arrival,” a Tasmanian government statement said.
“Travellers are required to quarantine, either in a suitable premises or in government-designated quarantine (fees can apply).”
Some travellers may be eligible for exceptions as essential travellers though all arrivals need to lodge a G2G PASS before departure.
Adeshola Ore 4.00pm ‘Tennis stars not taking place of stranded Aussies’: PM
Scott Morrison says tennis stars doing hotel quarantine in Melbourne are not taking the places of Australians abroad waiting to return home.
Hundreds of tennis players have landed in Melbourne ahead of the Australian Open, sparking controversy as nearly 40,000 Australians remain stranded overseas and unable to get home due to caps on international arrivals.
“I can certainly tell you that no one is being prevented from coming home from overseas because of the Australian Open. That’s not happening,” The Prime Minister told 2GB radio.
READ MORE: Definite no’: Djoker demands rejected
Anthony Piovesan 3.40pm Inside Tomic’s hotel quarantine room
Bernard Tomic’s girlfriend Vanessa Sierra has shared an intimate view of their quarantine room, revealing they have been stuck inside playing video games up to 11 hours a day.
Granting NCA NewsWire an exclusive preview into their quarantine reality, social media star Ms Sierra said the pair had abandoned the hotel’s menu and been ordering Uber Eats instead, “because the food is s**t”.
Ms Sierra said nobody had cleaned their room, they didn’t get fresh sheets, and were forced to wash their dinner plates in the bathroom sink.
Despite other players being able to hit tennis balls against walls and windows in their hotel rooms in videos posted to social media, Ms Sierra said their “tight space” only allowed for “minimal yoga”.
She said they spent about 11 hours a day playing video games.
“I played Pokemon for 11 hours straight yesterday and I think 12 hours straight the day before,” Ms Sierra said.
“Bernard’s been playing World of Warcraft for about the same time I’ve been playing Pokemon.
“It’s sort of all we’ve got as an option.”
Ms Sierra explained Tomic was a vegan and his meals were regularly not properly catered, and the couple had been spending "up $200 a day on food".
“It’s real hit and miss, sometimes the food is good, sometimes it’s not, so we’d rather order our own food,” she said.
In a video blog posted to YouTube on Monday, controversial Aussie player Tomic appears to open a breakfast meal and seem very unenthused with his cold piece of toast
“And also when you do order your food they have to inspect it, and I don’t know what the hell they do, but by the time the food comes to you it’s so cold,” Ms Sierra said.
She claimed they had not been allowed to leave their room in three days, there was “literally no fresh air”, and the room did not have a balcony.
She also said both of Tomic’s scheduled training sessions had been cancelled “last minute”.
“The point of the bubble is you’re supposed to stay in the hotel room, during the day you’re allowed out to the training site, to the gym … but there were a couple of positive COVID-19 cases on a couple of the planes and that’s pretty much delayed everything,” Ms Sierra said.
“It’s really frustrating because we’re stuck in this room with no air, no training.
“A lot of people are saying ‘it was your choice to travel and that’s why you’re in quarantine’; well we had to leave Australia to do the qualifying match, to play in the Australian Open.”
READ MORE: Real reason Djoker made those demands
Rachel Baxendale 3.20pm Cops ‘set up to fail by Andrews’ chaotic covid rules’
Victorian opposition police spokesman David Southwick says a Victoria Police decision not to enforce the vast majority of 19,000 fines issued for breaches of coronavirus restrictions showed front line police had been “set up to fail by Labor’s chaotic and confusing COVID-19 rules”.
Mr Southwick listed a series of events he said showed the inconsistency of the rules and their enforcement, including the decision by police not to fine any attendees at a 10,000-strong Black Lives Matter protest in June, the withdrawal of 15 incorrectly issued fines relating to a lawful gathering at a Southbank party in July, the fining of a couple who posted photos on social media from a 2019 holiday, and the withdrawal of a fine, followed by the issuing of a late notice, to a 17-year-old L-plate driver who had left the house for a driving lesson with her mother.
“Daniel Andrews’ failure to set and enforce fair and effective COVID-19 restrictions has undermined community confidence,” Mr Southwick said.
“It has left Victorians and frontline police second guessing themselves.
“Where does this leave enforcement of COVID-19 restrictions if we experience further outbreaks? And where does this leave law abiding citizens that have already paid the fines?
“From day one, Daniel Andrews’ inconsistent COVID-19 rules left the community confused and afraid. This fines failure highlights just how poorly this has been managed.”
Didi Tang 3.00pm US reveals Covid may have originated from Wuhan lab
Workers at a laboratory in Wuhan fell ill with symptoms similar to coronavirus months before China admitted to the outbreak, the US government says.
Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, released a “fact sheet” questioning whether the pandemic might have originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology rather than from human contact with infected animals.
Mr Pompeo, who steps down this week, said that since at least 2016 its scientists had been conducting experiments on a bat coronavirus similar to the one that causes COVID-19. He said that the institute, ostensibly civilian, had done work for the military, including animal tests, since at least 2017.
The fact sheet said: “Today’s revelations just scratch the surface of what is still hidden about COVID-19’s origin. Any credible investigation into the origin of COVID-19 demands complete, transparent access to the research labs in Wuhan, including their facilities, samples, personnel, and records. As the world continues to battle this pandemic – and as WHO investigators begin their work, after more than a year of delays – the virus’s origin remains uncertain.
“The United States will do everything it can to support a credible and thorough investigation, including by continuing to demand transparency on the part of Chinese authorities.”
READ the full story
Rachel Baxendale 2.30pm Andrews tight-lipped on fines
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has refused to say whether he backs a decision by Victoria Police to hand out cautions for unpaid coronavirus infringements, rather than proceed with charges.
More than 19,000 fines of at least $1652 were issued as of October for breaches of the Chief Health Officer’s directions, with Mr Andrews saying at the time that people must pay their fines and “we will come after you if you don’t”.
But in a move the Police Association says could undermine future enforcement of public health orders, Chief Commissioner Shane Patton has opted to give all but the most egregious offenders diversion orders, meaning even some who have received multiple infringement notices will not have to pay.
Asked to respond to the decision on Monday, Mr Andrews said: “What I’d say to you is that Victoria Police are completely independent of the government. That’s not a decision the government’s made. That’s a decision the Chief Commissioner has made and I’ll leave him to speak to the reasons why he has done that.”
Mr Andrews said he stood by the coronavirus restrictions his government put in place.
“We didn’t achieve what we achieved in 2020, because we all flouted the rules,” he said.
Liberal Democrats MP David Limbrick said that while it was “appropriate and predictable” that the fines will not be enforced, he could “appreciate the frustrations of Victoria Police officers who had the thankless task of enforcing these rules.”
“For police they had to enforce these rules and take a lot of the heat when the rules were inconsistent, overbearing or simply didn’t make sense,” Mr Limbrick said.
“A public health response should never have been led by police with massive fines and strict enforcement.
“Throughout the pandemic I have consistently questioned whether measures were evidence based and proportionate - as the law requires. It’s not clear in many circumstances whether this is the case and it’s possible that the government would prefer some cases not go before the courts so that we can find out.”
Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt earlier said police had been “asked to do a thankless job by the government and they did that”.
“If offenders form a view from this experience that penalties will be readily converted to cautions or diversions as a matter of course, then that sends a concerning message. We want to encourage wilful compliance and not encourage civil disobedience,” Mr Gatt said.
READ MORE: Lockdown is the blunt instrument Victorians fear
Rachel Baxendale 2.00pm Aus Open paves way for boost in int’l arrivals cap
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says he is working with the federal government on plans to boost Victoria’s international arrivals cap, but indicated it is “frankly not possible” to facilitate the return of tens of thousands of international students.
The Australian revealed on Friday that the Andrews government planned to take to national cabinet on February 5 a scheme that would increase the number of overseas arrivals allowed in the state — currently 160 a day — and create a separate entry quota for international students.
On Monday Mr Andrews welcomed Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s return from leave, saying the current quarantine arrangements for 1200 people associated with the Australian Open tennis tournament would help pave the way for Victoria to increase its international arrivals cap.
“Tennis Australia are essentially paying for a system that will mean a whole bunch of staff are trained, will mean we’re able to step up and take more return travellers, more than we would otherwise take,” Mr Andrews said.
“I’ll have announcements to make soon, and I have agreements with the Prime Minister about us doing more. That’s fair. We will have more than the numbers that are coming back now, all of which are unaffected by the tennis or seasonal workers or any of that.
“But I’ll have more to say about seasonal workers and I’ll have more to say about more Australians getting home. This (Emirates) airline decision over the weekend is really challenging, and I think it’s a good thing that the Prime Minister I think has foreshadowed that there will be extra flights, put on by the Australian government to get people home.
Mr Andrews indicated he was walking away from any large-scale program to quarantine international students.
“I think the prospect of tens of thousands of international students coming here, while we’ve still got people struggling to get home, or even if there was every Aussie that wanted to come home had already made it home, there’s a big capacity issue here,” he said.
“There are limits to how many people you can safely quarantine when your risk threshold is so high.
“I’m not pleased about that. International education is our biggest export. It’s a massive part of the prosperity that we enjoy as a state, we want to get it back as fast as we can, but I just again say, the government is not spending hours and hours trying to make something that I think is frankly not possible, possible.
“Tens and tens of thousands of international students coming back here is going to be incredibly challenging if not impossible, during this year. I take no joy in saying that, but I’ve tried to be as frank as possible about that.”
READ MORE: Real reason Djoker made those demands
Courtney Walsh 1.50pm ATP responds to anger over cancelled practice sessions
Officials from the ATP Tour have assured the men caught in strict quarantine ahead of the Australian Open that they are doing everything possible to assist them.
Several practice sessions have been abandoned or cancelled at short notice for players wanting to begin training at either Melbourne Park or Albert Reserve.
As The Australian noted on Sunday, players and coaches were left in the dark as to why their sessions on Sunday were postponed without explanation.
Top-ranked Australian man Alex de Minaur posted footage of himself sitting at his door, with his racquet bag strapped to his shoulders, waiting for his escort to arrive.
Players not subjected to strict quarantine are allowed to practise for two hours each day, with another two hour window allocated to gym work. A further hour is allocated for a meal.
The ATP said it was aware of problems in an email to players.
“We wanted to reassure you we are constantly trying to improve the player experience where possible,” the email reads.
“We understand there are significant problems being posed at the moment for the players.
“Thus far, the information that was provided to us was that the government operated transport links are creating difficulties, affecting some practice sessions.
“TA (Tennis Australia) are working all hours to resolve this issue with the utmost urgency.
“Yesterday the ATP strongly requested TA to provide additional support to players who are in the unfortunate position of a 14-day self-isolation and the rest of the player group. We will continue to focus on this matter.
“We are working with TA to deliver essentials to players, including better quality food, gym equipment, snacks, and drinks to make your stay more comfortable.”
READ MORE: Advantage Australians in Open lockdown
Adeshola Ore 1.45pm ‘Vaccine deaths underlines safety first’: Frydenberg
Josh Frydenberg says the deaths of 30 elderly Norwegians who received Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 underscores the importance of Australia’s regulator not taking any shortcuts in its vaccine approval process.
Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration is currently seeking urgent answers from Norwegian health authorities after 30 frail, elderly people died after receiving the vaccine.
“What it underlines is how important it is to put safety first. Not to have any shortcuts. But to pursue the vaccine, which we are very positive about, in a very considered way,” the Treasurer told reporters in Melbourne.
“That’s why we haven’t rushed it. That’s why we haven’t cut corners. That’s why we are waiting for the TGA to complete their own processes.”
Mr Frydenberg said he still had confidence in the Pfizer vaccine as well as the AstraZeneca jab and was confident the country’s regulator would be guided by the best medical advice.
Adeshola Ore 12.50pm: Albo laughs down challenges as heartland vote tanks
Anthony Albanese has played down his leadership challenges after a union-commissioned poll revealed the ALP faces the loss of two seats in its political heartland at the next election.
CFMEU national political organiser Elizabeth Doidge — a close ally of the Opposition Leader’s union nemesis John Setka — said Tanya Plibersek would be a better chance to lead Labor to a victory.
“I’ve never heard of the official, frankly, and I’ve never heard of the company that did the alleged poll,” Mr Albanese told 3AW radio.
“I just had a bit of a chuckle by myself frankly, and don’t take it all that seriously.”
READ the full story
Jess Malcolm 12.30pm Tennis players ‘told of quarantine risk before flight’
Tennis players were told they would be forced into mandatory quarantine if someone tested positive for COVID-19 on their plane, according to Russian-born New Zealand player Artem Sitak.
Speaking from his hotel room where he is quarantined, Mr Sitak says players were told on a phone call with Tennis Australia before boarding the flight to Melbourne.
“We had a call from Tennis Australia and that question came up about the plane, if somebody test positive on the plane, and it was very clear what they said is that if that - if that happens, then the health authorities will have to decide what to do in the particular case and the particular situation,” Mr Sitak told the ABC.
“So knowing the situation in Australia, knowing the rules, the fact that Melbourne was
in a four-month lockdown, knowing all that, before I was getting on the plane I knew that if something were to happen, then it would be very, very strict and unfortunately it did happen, but I was definitely prepared for that.”
This comes after multiple tennis players locked in quarantine complained they were not told about having to isolate, with some saying they would have decided to skip the Australian Open tournament if they had known.
Mr Sitak said he was still happy that he made the decision to come, despite being unlucky that his plane was infected.
“Of course I’m happy. As I said, I was prepared for the worst and unfortunately it happened to me, but I’m - I’m definitely happy. I’m here, I love Australian Open. I think it’s going to be any sixth or seventh Australian Open and I love playing here. There’s always a really vocal huge crowd.”
Rachel Baxendale 12.00pm Office attendance may remain low: Andrews
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has flagged further increases to the number of people permitted in the state’s office buildings, following the return of up to 50 per cent of private sector office workers on Monday, and 25 per cent of public servants.
However, he indicated some employers had told him than many of their workers may continue to predominantly work from home.
“If individual businesses and employees are vigilant about their COVID-safe planning, then, hopefully, very soon, I can be standing here saying that it is not 50 per cent any more, it’s 60 per cent or 65 per cent or 70 per cent.
“That’s what I want to do because that’s more people buying coffee and lunch and dinner and all of the other things that are incredibly important for jobs and livelihoods, but we won’t get to the further positive announcements unless people take their responsibilities and their obligations that underpin the ones that come into effect today absolutely seriously,” Mr Andrews said.
“But ... some very, very big employers were reporting to me that they had surveyed all of their staff and that they were expecting that on any given day, there might be only 50 per cent of the people back at work.
“That’s the mix between working from home and how that does work for some people, and some people have changed their routines and have found that to be good for them and their family, but also not really a negative in terms of their output and the contribution that they can make to their employer.
“So again, we won’t know, but I want to get that number as high as we possibly can as soon as we safely can, and then it will be a matter of some of those agreements that have been struck or need to be struck between bosses and workers about what each working week looks like for people.”
READ MORE: China ‘silent over infected workers’
Rachel Baxendale 11.50am Andrews, Gladys exchanged texts before LGA downgrade
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said he had exchanged text messages with his NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian ahead of announcing that he would reclassify 25 of 35 Sydney LGAs from “red” to “amber” zones.
The exchange comes after Ms Berejiklian on Sunday slammed Victoria’s border restrictions, saying they should have been dropped “quite a while back”.
“I tried to ring (Ms Berejiklian) and she was not able to take my call,” Mr Andrews said on Monday.
“I then sent her a text and she responded to my text. I indicated to her that I would announce at 10:00am that all but ten of the LGAs would be going from red to orange. She texted me back and was very pleased to hear that.”
Asked whether Ms Berejiklian had asked him, “What about the 10 remaining red zones?”, Mr Andrews said: “No, and I’m not necessarily in the habit of reading out verbatim the text messages, but given that there was some interest in this, I will be clear about it.”
“I did indicate in the earlier text that if there’s a need to speak, we will,” he said.
“That’s the nature of the relationship. I will point out in case there was any further interest in this, that the Chief Health Officer speaks with his (NSW) counterpart very frequently.
“(Victorian Health) Minister (Martin) Foley speaks with (NSW Health) Minister (Brad) Hazzard very frequently, and I don’t need to speak to any Premier of any other state to determine what our Chief Health Officer says is the safe and right thing to do.
“That isn’t the way that this works. I’m not going to get the permission of other political leaders in other states to keep Victoria safe, nor will I rely on their settings, such as they are, to keep our state safe.
“Again, we apologise and we express our absolute regret that this virus and the outbreaks out of hotel quarantine in New South Wales and in Queensland has disrupted the summer of many Victorians, but the alternative ... would be me ignoring the advice of the Chief Health Officer and I don’t think that that would be a good thing to do.”
READ MORE: Border blue as Premier slams ‘inconsistency’
Adeshola Ore 11.40am Birmingham defends Australian trade officals
Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham says Australian diplomats have helped forge new export markets after a leader of a key business group called for more alignment between the country’s economic and diplomatic interests regarding China.
Australian Industry Group chief executive Innes Willox urged Australian diplomats to get “their hands dirty’’ by helping to find alternative export markets. Writing in The Australian on Monday, Mr Willox said diplomats and business must unite to overcome trade obstacles.
“Our diplomatic network, our Austrade officials around the globe well and truly has rolled their sleeves up, as they always do in terms of helping to find alternate markets,” Mr Birmingham told the ABC.
“If you take the barley market, for example, there have been significant new contracts secured in the Middle East, in parts of South East Asia and elsewhere.”
READ MORE: ‘We must not trade principles in stand against Beijing bully’
Adeshola Ore 10.25am Repatriation flights ‘too little, too late’: Chalmers
Opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers says the government’s 20 extra repatriation flights for Australians abroad is “too little, too late.”
The additional 20 flights to bring back stranded Australians will be organised by the Commonwealth from January 31 to March 31.
Mr Chalmer said the Morrison government had failed to deliver national leadership on Australia’s quarantine capacity.
“It’s a national responsibility. The states are doing the best they can in difficult circumstances when the feds have more or less vacated the field,” Mr Chalmers told reporters on Monday.
“Scott Morrison said he would get Australians home by Christmas. We’re now in the middle of January and 40,000 Australians are stranded overseas. So this is too little, too late. It’s months overdue.”
READ MORE: Behave and stop whingeing, Australian Open stars warned
Jess Malcolm 11.20am NSW records no new local cases
NSW has recorded no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 in the past 24 hours to 8pm last night.
There were eight cases recorded in returned travellers in hotel quarantine, following 8,773 tests conducted yesterday.
NSW recorded zero new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 18, 2021
There were also eight cases recorded in returned travellers, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 4,885. pic.twitter.com/JBJuiSGICz
NSW Health says it is increasingly concerned about the drop in daily testing numbers, following the previous day’s testing total of 12,764.
It has renewed calls for people to get tested, even with the mildest of symptoms.
Genome sequencing suggests the seven new cases reported over the weekend are linked to the Berala cluster in Western Sydney, and contact tracing is underway to establish the chain of transmission.
“High testing rates are critical to our efforts to identify COVID-19 cases and to prevent it from spreading. This is particularly important in areas where recent cases have attended, including Auburn, Berala, and surrounding suburbs, as well as across western and south-west Sydney,” a statement from NSW Health said.
“Communities in these areas are asked to be vigilant, with anyone experiencing any cold- or flu-like symptoms, no matter how mild, to isolate immediately, get tested and continue to isolate until a negative result is received.”
There is one person in intensive care in NSW due to COVID-19. NSW Health says 98 per cent of cases are being treated in non-acute, out-of-hospital care.
Courtney Walsh 11.15am Aus Open player among latest Victorian cases
Victoria’s chief medical officer Dr Brett Sutton said an Australian Open player is among four new COVID-19 cases now in strict lockdown.
None of the first five cases stemming from three flights to Australia of Open participants had involved a player.
Instead quarantine officials issued a lockdown that includes 72 competitors after two coaches, two airline employees and a broadcast worker recorded positives after flights from Los Angeles, Dubai and Doha.
Grand slam preparation 😅 pic.twitter.com/ALvc4EugN6
— Yulia Putintseva (@PutintsevaYulia) January 17, 2021
But Dr Sutton this morning said he believed a player was among four new positive cases in hotel quarantine.
“I believe there’s one player among the four,” Sutton said.
READ MORE: Advantage Australians in Open lockdown
Adeshola Ore 11.00am ‘Vaccine deaths highlight importance of not rushing approval’
Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham says the deaths of 30 elderly Norwegians who received Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19 highlights the importance of Australia’s regulator not rushing its vaccine approval process.
Australia’s medical regulator is seeking urgent answers from Norwegian health authorities after 30 frail, elderly people died after receiving the vaccine.
“We have acted swiftly in terms of seeking information from Norway and that information is to be provided rightly to the Therapeutic Goods Administration, the independent regulator here in Australia, who we have tasked with the normal process of going through and assessing the safety and efficacy of vaccines for rollout in Australia,” Mr Birmingham told the ABC.
“There were those who had called for us to truncate the TGA process, to somehow run faster or speed it up, but because of the fantastic positive management of COVID right across Australia, we’ve been in a position to let the TGA do its job and part of that job is to look at the evidence from Norway.”
“Australia can be thankful that our positive health management of COVID-19 to date means we don’t have to rush these things. We are able to go through the proper processes.”
Rachel Baxendale 10.55am ‘The answer is no, Djokovic’: Andrews
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has dismissed a list of demands from men’s tennis world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, saying he’s free to provide such a list, “but the answer is no”.
“That was very clearly laid out beforehand, so the notion that there’s been any change, the notion that people weren’t briefed - I think that that argument really has no integrity whatsoever, and don’t just take my word for it, you’ve got other players, who I think on social media and in other forums have made it clear that they were clear on the rules, and I probably can’t be any plainer than that,” Mr Andrews said.
Asked whether the Victorian government had provided tennis players with a document outlining quarantine provisions in advance, Mr Andrews said that was a matter for Tennis Australia.
“They’re paying for it. We’ve got a very clear set of rules and guidelines. Tennis Australia and the other, the tour and both tours, and the (International Tennis Federation) beyond that, I think that they’re all engaged in this.
“This is a no surprises thing. Whilst people might prefer to do it differently, that was not what the public health advice said was safe and we’re not changing that, because whilst the event is very important, nothing is more important than making sure that we follow public health advice and keep the state safe.”
READ MORE: ‘Definite no’: Djoker demands rejected
Rachel Baxendale 10.45am New Victorian cases all linked with Aus Open
All four of Victoria’s new coronavirus cases on Monday are in people associated with the Australian Open tennis who are in hotel quarantine, Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed.
More than 1200 tennis players and support people flew into Melbourne between Thursday and Saturday, where they are being quarantined in three dedicated hotels.
Amid complaints from tennis players about the requirement for them to quarantine for 14 days, Mr Andrews said the “rules apply to them as they apply to everybody else”.
“They were all briefed on that before they came, and that was the condition on which they came,” he said.
“There’s no special treatment here, because the virus doesn’t treat you specially, so neither do we.
“As to what they require and their some of the commentary they’ve run, I think that Tennis Australia is probably best to speak to that.”
Mr Andrews did not have a figure on the total number of people associated with the tennis who have so far tested positive.
#AusOpen update... pic.twitter.com/x7m34jhqns
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2021
“The other point to make here is that there’s still plenty of time for ... two weeks of quarantine and a buffer that’s built in before February 8 before the tournament starts, and we’ll just have to be guided by the test results that come back from people who have been, by virtue of being on a flight with people who have tested positive, despite having tested
negative before they got on the plane. That will all be guided by the actual test results as they come through.”
READ MORE: ‘Definite no’: Djoker demands rejected
Rachel Baxendale 10.40am Red zone Sydney LGAs reviewed on ‘daily basis’
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said his government would review the “red zone” status of the remaining 10 Sydney LGAs “on a daily basis”.
“I think it unlikely that all 10 would flip to orange at the same time,” Mr Andrews said.
“It may be that ... one or two may change, and as soon as we can update people based on public health advice, and again, that further extensive work to determine exactly what the risk profile is, as soon as that changes, they will be designated red for not a moment longer than they need to be.
“It may be that some of them come off in a few days. Others may take longer. I know that that is frustrating and challenging not to be able to provide a definite answer on that, but again, you’ve got to be guided by the best public health advice, and that’s exactly what we’ve got in the public health team as led by the Chief Health Officer.”
READ MORE: ‘Definite no’: Djoker demands rejected
Rachel Baxendale 10.30am Northern Beaches among downgraded Sydney LGAs
Professor Sutton noted that Sydney’s Northern Beaches had been among the city’s northern LGAs reclassified from a “red zone” to “amber”, despite being the epicentre of Sydney’s initial pre-Christmas cluster.
“That’s really because the Avalon cluster also appears to be one that’s inactive, so that’s all a good sign,” Professor Sutton said.
He said the LGAs that remained as red zones were related to the Berala cluster, centred on a bottle shop in Sydney’s west.
“There have been some additional cases recently, but they’ve again, very likely been linked back to that BWS exposure, so fingers crossed for the remaining suburbs in Sydney and as the Premier says, they’ll be reviewed every single day, both in terms of any new cases that will emerge or might emerge, and all of those wastewater results as well.”
Richard Ferguson 10.27am Scott Morrison officially invited to expanded G7
Scott Morrison has been officially invited to this year’s G7 leaders summit in Britain, as UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pushes to expand the elite global group to include Australia.
Mr Johnson has invited Australia, South Korea and India to the June meeting as a part of a plan to permanently expand the G7 to include the world’s 10 biggest democracies.
“Under the #G7 Presidency, the Prime Minister has invited leaders from India, South Korea and Australia to join G7 leaders at the #G7UK Summit in Cornwall in June,” the G7 Twitter account posted.
“The 10 leaders will represent over 60% of the people living in democracies around the world.”
Under the #G7 Presidency, the Prime Minister has invited leaders from India, South Korea and Australia to join G7 leaders at the #G7UK Summit in Cornwall in June 🇮🇳🇰🇷🇦🇺
— G7 UK (@G7) January 17, 2021
The 10 leaders will represent over 60% of the people living in democracies around the world #G7Cornwall
The Cornwall summit will be US President-elect Joe Biden’s first G7 meeting, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s last before she retires at the end of the year.
READ MORE: Scott Morrison manages to side-step failures on waltz to election
Rachel Baxendale 10.25am ‘A dozen donuts - fantastic’: Sutton
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said he was delighted to see 12 days with no new locally acquired coronavirus cases in Victoria, and confident that the Black Rock cluster which emerged in late December has been contained.
“That doesn’t mean that we formally close the Black Rock cluster and the other unknown case that we had at the same time, but 12 is fantastic - a dozen donuts,” Professor Sutton said.
“It means that we’re quite confident that we’re on top of this. The secret - it’s no secret, really, but the essence of why we’ve gotten on top of the Black Rock cluster is the close contacts.
“The primary close contacts are quarantined. Their contacts - so the contacts of contacts - are quarantined as well.
“That meant that at the peak of it, there were over 4,500 people in quarantine, but it also means that we were always ahead of those contacts. They were always quarantined. When somebody else turned positive, there weren’t new exposure sites ... and that really gives me the confidence that the Black Rock cluster is looking fantastic and I don’t expect additional cases out of that really, and if there are, they’ll be in the few remaining people who are finishing their quarantine period and won’t lead to new exposure sites or any transmission.”
Rachel Baxendale 10.18am Andrews eases restrictions for most of Sydney
Thousands of Victorians currently stranded in Sydney will finally be able to head home, after the Andrews government downgraded 25 of 35 Sydney local government areas from “red zones” to “amber”.
From 6pm on Monday, anyone who has spent time in the 25 LGAs will be allowed to apply for an automatically issued permit and travel back to Victoria.
They must get tested for coronavirus within 72 hours of arrival in Victoria, and isolate until they receive a negative result.
“What the detailed and extensive evaluation of the epidemiological conditions in Sydney has revealed is that transmission and cases are pretty much confined to those 10 local government areas and we’re not seeing cases and spread or contacts that are in isolation in those other 25 local government areas,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said.
“That’s what gives the public health team confidence to provide to me and the government and therefore for decisions to be confirmed about releasing or changing from red to orange, those 25 local government areas.”
The Blue Mountains and Wollongong LGAs have also been downgraded.
The 10 Sydney LGAs which remain red zones due to potential coronavirus exposure are
Blacktown City, Burwood, Canada Bay City, Canterbury-Bankstown, Cumberland, Fairfield City, Inner West, Liverpool City, Parramatta City and Strathfield Municipality.
In addition, 16 LGAs on the Victorian-NSW border will go from amber to green in a boost for the local tourism industry which will enable Melburnians to travel to NSW border communities without having to isolate on their return.
READ MORE: Back to work welcome but industry wary
Courtney Walsh 10.15am French tennis player’s apology to Australians
French player Alize Cornet has issued an apology for her initial complaints about being subjected to a strict 14 day lockdown ahead of the Australian Open.
Cornet, a tour veteran who was a fan favourite while representing her nation in the now-defunct Hopman Cup in Perth, was among those upset when she learned she would be unable to practise.
She and several peers who flew to Australia from Abu Dhabi on a flight carrying a COVID-19 infected passenger argued they had not been told of the prospect everyone on board could be forced to quarantine and forego the daily five hour practice window allocated to players.
But Cornet was the subject of on-line backlash and said she now had a greater understanding as to why it was important to serve the entirety of the quarantine in lockdown.
“After my last (deleted) tweet I feel like I need to apologise to you Australian people,” she wrote.
“Your reaction to this tactless comment made me realise what you’ve been through last year and how much you suffered. I guess I feel a bit anxious about all this & I better have shut my mouth.
“But sometimes we make mistakes and the last thing I wanted to do was to hurt your feelings.
“Don’t be mad at me, Aussie people. You’ve always been one of my favorite(s). I promise I’ll stay quiet for a while. Take care.”
After my last (deleted) tweet I feel like I need to apologize to you Australian people. Your reaction to this tactless comment made me realize what you've been through last year & how much you suffered. I guess I feel a bit anxious about all this & I better have shut my mouth
— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) January 17, 2021
1/2
But sometimes we make mistakes and the last thing I wanted to do was to hurt your feelings. Don't be mad at me Aussie people, you've always been one of my favorite ! I promise I'll stay quiet for a while 😉. Take care ðŸ™
— Alize Cornet (@alizecornet) January 17, 2021
2/2
Rachel Baxendale 10.00am Victoria records no new local cases
Victoria has recorded its twelfth consecutive day with no new locally acquired coronavirus cases.
Yesterday there were 0 new locally acquired cases reported and 4 new cases in hotel quarantine. Thanks to all who were tested – 13,973 results were received.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 17, 2021
More information will be provided later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#EveryTestHelps #StaySafeStayOpen #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/mrreCUjbL7
There were four internationally acquired cases recorded in hotel quarantine in the 24 hours to Monday.
The latest figures bring the total number of active cases in Victoria to 33, after 13,973 tests were processed on Sunday.
READ MORE: Tackling adversities on her own terms
Jess Malcolm 9.45am QLD records no new cases
Queensland has recorded no new cases of community transmission in the state, with only one overseas acquired case detected in hotel quarantine.
There are 25 active cases in the state, following a total of 5,173 states conducted in the past 24 hours.
No new cases were recorded following the recent Hotel Chancellor outbreak, following the six initially recorded. Today’s case in hotel quarantine is a female who has recently returned from Brazil.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk flagged the removal of restrictions on Friday, pending no further outbreaks.
“This is again really, really good news and, of course, we’re waiting until Friday morning, 1:00am, if we keep this track happening now, it’s more than likely that all of those restrictions will be removed by Friday,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“So a few more days to go, but thank you to everyone who’s been doing the right thing especially with the mask-wearing and listening to what you can do and you can’t do.”
Queensland Police said overall compliance in Brisbane remains very high, after issuing no fines and only handing out 28 masks.
READ MORE: ‘Vaccine a game-changer for us’
Courtney Walsh 9.32am Quarantine chief says no to Djokovic’s demands
The head of Victoria’s COVID-19 quarantine program has issued a firm no to Novak Djokovic’s plea for an alternative arrangements for some of his tour peers.
CQV Commissioner Emma Cassar reiterated on Monday the 72 players now isolating in their hotel rooms would need to do so for the next fortnight.
“We’re not modifying the program,” she said.
“We understand the 14 days is really tough ... but we’re not taking risks on community safety.
“That’s a definite no from me,” she said when asked if the players could leave quarantine early.
“They’ve got phones, they’ve got technology where they can do that now, because again that’s the safest way for them to do those coaching sessions and we’ve all learnt to live with this pandemic in a virtual sense. It’s about keeping them safe and their coaches safe.”
Djokovic wrote to Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley with a list of requests to consider.
The head of the Professional Tennis Players Association, set up on September as an alternate voice for players, requested;
— Fitness and training material in all rooms
— Better food for elite athletes, following players taking aim at the meals on offer
— Reduce the days of isolation for players in hard isolation and carry out more tests to confirm they are negative
— Permission to visit your coach or physical trainer, as long as both have passed the tests
— Grant both the player and his coach permission to be on the same floor of the hotel
— Move as many players as possible to private houses with a tennis court to facilitate training
Private houses, which were used ahead of the US Open, had been considered midway through last year as a possibility.
But at that stage the summer of tennis was to occur across the country, with quarantine spread across the states.
Once it became clear border restrictions could hinder the movement of players locally, which resulted in the relocation of all events to Melbourne leading into the Australian Open, it was among the measures abandoned.
Exercise equipment is being delivered or has already arrived to the rooms.
READ MORE: Border blue as Premier slams ‘inconsistency’
Jessica Malcolm 9.20am Many more tennis players likely to be Covid positive
Epidemiologist Catherine Bennett has foreshadowed that there could be many more tennis players test positive for COVID-19 after contracting it on the plane.
Players who initially tested negative for COVID-19 could test positive in the coming days given the incubation period of the virus, meaning strict COVID-19 protocols to manage risk are essential.
“We should also say that pretty much every person off those planes still needs to be considered as if they’re potentially incubating the virus. Just because they haven’t tested positive yet doesn’t mean that they might not have contracted the virus before they left their home country,” Ms Bennett told ABC News Breakfast.
“That’s something that has always been built into the planning - trying to manage risk. Not just in identifying cases, but managing all the others through quarantine while they do allow some to continue.”
“We always knew that there was a risk that the virus would come on some of the planes. But now it’s playing out, it’s the response that needs to be put in place to ensure that the players themselves are safe, but also that they’re managing risk.”
READ MORE: Stranded families not positive about negative test rule
Adeshola Ore 9.05am: ‘Border closures shouldn’t be Premier’s call’: Gladys
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she is frustrated Greater Sydney remains locked out from Victoria, saying state and territory leaders should not be able to label locations COVID hotspots and order border closures.
On Sunday NSW recorded six new locally acquired coronavirus cases which - all linked to a man who was identified the previous day.
“If the federal health authorities have deemed that there isn’t a single place in Australia that’s a hotspot, why should any Premier determine what is a hotspot and what isn’t?” she told 2GB radio.
“We have to go by the science, we have to go by the data ...to impact thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of lives, by going overboard, I don’t think is the way to do it.”
READ MORE: Students back on campus
Jess Malcolm 8.55am: Djokovic demands better conditions for quarantined players
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has issued an open letter to Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley with a list of demands for the growing number of tennis players forced into mandatory quarantine for 14 days.
Djokovic - who is not in Melbourne and doing his isolation in Adelaide - asked for more training materials, better food, and permission to visit coaches and trainers.
He has called for:
- Reduction of isolation time following negative COVID-19 tests.
- Permission to visit coach or physical trainer as long as they have passed negative tests
- Fitness and training equipment in all rooms
- For players and coaches to be on the same floor of the hotel
- Decent food appropriate for elite athletes
- To move as many players as possible to private houses with tennis courts
Mr Djokovic tested positive to COVID-19 last June after he organised the Adria Tour without any social distancing or COVID-19 measures.
READ MORE: Behave and stop whingeing, Australian Open stars warned
Rachel Baxendale 8.50am: Covid Quarantine Victoria staff record false positive
Two COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria staff who initially recorded weak positive coronavirus test results have been cleared of having the virus, Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville has confirmed.
Two CQV staff have been cleared of COVID after returning initial weak positive results. Saliva swab was retested and nasal PCR test taken - both came back negative. Contact tracing was undertaken and staff isolated as a precaution until the result was confirmed.
— Lisa Neville (@LisanevilleMP) January 17, 2021
“Saliva swab was retested and nasal PCR test taken - both came back negative,” Ms Neville tweeted.
“Contact tracing was undertaken and staff isolated as a precaution until the result was confirmed.”
All COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria staff are tested daily, with household members tested weekly.
Adeshola Ore 8.40am: More analysis needed on Pfizer deaths: AMA vice president
Australian Medical Association Vice President Dr Chris Moy says more analysis is needed to determine whether there is a causal link in the deaths of 30 elderly people in Norway who received the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19.
The country’s medical regulator is seeking urgent answers from Norwegian health authorities after 30 frail, elderly people died after receiving the Pfizer vaccine.
“The trick now is to actually determine and make a clear analysis over whether this is a normal, but unfortunate background and greater death that occurs in this age group or whether there is something about thePfizer/BioNTech vaccine which could be causing this,” Dr Moy told Sky News.
“We just need to go through the normal process and have trust in the independent body that does this.”
READ MORE: Fair play over Victorian border
Jessica Malcolm 8.35am: Another player insists she wasn’t told of plane rules
Oxana Kalashnikova has joined the list of tennis players who say they weren’t told about regulations forcing them into hotel quarantine after someone tested positive on a third planeload forcing hundreds into mandatory isolation.
Speaking from her hotel room in Melbourne, the Ukranian tennis player said that while authorities told her any case of COVID-19 would be judged individually, the rules were not clear.
“When we were boarding the plane we knew we needed to have a negative COVID-19 test. We knew there were strict rules with whom we could practice, to have it under control if something could happen,” Ms Kalashnikova Todl the ABC’s RN Breakfast.
“There was nothing said about the plane.
“The plane was about 25 per cent capacity. Pretty much all of us were sitting alone, very spaced out.”
Ms Kalashnikova said Tennis Australia were giving players bicycles and weights so they can work out but she will still be missing four hours of tennis a day in the lead up to the competition.
“We’re in the toughest situation right now because other players have an advantage who can move and train,” Ms Kalashnikova said.
“We’re just following what we’ve been told to do, a Grand Slam will bring something good to the community. It’s not all bad.”
READ MORE: Silver lining to controversy
Jess Malcolm 8.15am: Joyce slams ‘non-essential’ Australian Open
Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce has slammed the decision for the Australian Open to go ahead, saying the event poses an “unacceptable risk”.
Federal MPs @Barnaby_Joyce and @FitzHunter joined @Sam_Armytage to discuss the concerning COVID-19 vaccine deaths in Norway, whether the jab should be required to enter pubs and clubs, the #AusOpen chaos and calls for @Tanya_Plibersek to replace @AlboMP as Labor leader. pic.twitter.com/5v8F3ZkqXv
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) January 17, 2021
Given the threat of the new highly infectious strain of COVID-19 spreading in Australia, Mr Joyce called tennis “a non-essential job” and said that the event should not go ahead without a vaccine.
“I do think this word on unacceptable risk and why we are bringing people in when there is another strain out there which we are trying desperately to keep out of the nation,” Mr Joyce said on Seven.
“If this new strain gets in, it’s virility here is much higher than the current COVID strain and then you have to start asking questions, if the new strain comes in, is the efficacy of the vaccine going to work that strain?”
“Unfortunately, this one, until the vaccine is out and around, the answer should have been no.
READ MORE: Silver lining to quarantine calamity
Adeshola Ore 8.10am: Victoria prioritises tennis players over farmers: Littleproud
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has slammed the Victorian government’s quarantine priority of international tennis players over seasonal workers, saying the decision will worsen regional labour shortages.
Mr Littleproud has criticised the state government for dragging its feet on implementing an industry proposal put forward in October for 200 seasonal workers to quarantine each fortnight in regional Victoria.
“The Victorian government has accelerated bringing in tennis players but forgotten about farmers,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News.
“We are seeing billions of dollars worth of produce in Victoria that will simply go to rot.”
Hundreds of tennis players have landed in Melbourne ahead of the Australian open, sparking controversy as nearly 40,000 Australians remain stranded overseas and unable to get home due to caps on international arrivals.
Many tennis players have also taken to social media to complain about being forced into quarantine for two weeks.
READ MORE: Social media inflames scrutiny
Jess Malcolm 8.00am: Open crowds warned over contact with players
Infectious diseases expert Sanjaya Senanayake says crowds will have to be careful not to interact with tennis players who have come from northern hemisphere countries with high COVID-19 case numbers.
“This is going to be almost a reverse to the US and French Open where players and their staff were all worried about getting it from the crowd,” Mr Senanayake told Sunrise.
“It will be the opposite here when we will have hardly any COVID and we don’t want to get from our visitors, so we will have to be very careful to make sure the crowds do not interact with the people who have come from overseas, and we should have a reduction in the capacity of the crowds just in case there is some background COVID circulating in metropolitan Melbourne.”
Mr Senanayake said authorities shouldn’t be surprised with Covid-19 cases associated with the Australian Open, considering high case numbers in Europe and North America.
“I think that Melbourne, Victoria and Australia have got a good hotel quarantine system so we should be able to deal with the cases that have come here and we shouldn’t be surprised.”
READ MORE: Behave and stop whingeing, tennis stars told
Jess Malcolm 7.50am: Murphy ‘not overly concerned’ over Pfizer deaths
Professor Brendan Murphy says he is “not unduly concerned” about the latest development in the Pfizer vaccine which saw over thirty people die in Norway after receiving the jab.
Professor Murphy said the TGA is continually looking about the latest developments ahead of Australia’s vaccine rollout, but said the cause of the deaths was still unclear.
“We’re trying to get more information about it. This group of people who had the jab, and unfortunately some died, were very, very old and frail. It’s not clear whether the vaccine, how directly related to the death it was,” he told the ABC.
“The TGA is looking at this information. The TGA will look at that with its registration. We’ve always taken the view that we needed a diversified vaccine tragedy.”
When asked about the Australian Open, he said that while major sporting events are good for people’s mental health, the health risks must come first.
“It’s terribly bad luck that they’ve had the positives on three flights, and I think that they’ve done a lot of preparation,” Professor Murphy said.
It’s always a balance. You know, having big events is good for the community, for the mental health of the community. But the health risks must come first.”
READ MORE: Norway probes Pfizer vaccine deaths
Jess Malcolm 7.30am: Tennis players ‘knew about quarantine regulations’
Former Australian tennis player, coach and commentator Louise Pleming says angry tennis players locked up in mandatory quarantine were very aware of the regulations before boarding flights to Melbourne.
Calling it a “very very difficult situation”, Ms Pleming said players would have to adjust their mindset ahead of the upcoming Australian open as the more frustrated they got, the more impacted their performance would be.
“My understanding from Tennis Australia is that they were very much aware of the regulations, and if these certain situations did come up. I guess, the players are perhaps saying that they haven’t heard some of these things,” Ms Pleming said.
“They’ll have to come up with ways to just keep themselves extremely positive inside those hotel rooms. The more they get frustrated and disappointed and negative, the more it’s going to disadvantage them.”
“I’m sure Craig Tiley and all the organisers are thinking of every possible situation and solution here. I know that he is looking at changing the schedule for the very first tournament. So this is one of the reasons why Tennis Australia wanted to get the players out here very early and give them the time to have the preparation if someone did get Covid”
#AusOpen update... pic.twitter.com/x7m34jhqns
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 17, 2021
READ MORE: Silver lining to quarantine calamity
Jess Malcolm 7.15am: Workers return to CBD offices as rules eased
Tens of thousands of workers are heading back to the workplace for the first time in months today in the nation’s two biggest central business districts.
Workers in Victoria will flood back into the office this morning, with new limits allowing 50 per cent of workers to return. It comes as Victoria recorded its 11th straight day of no community transmission.
In Sydney, the CBD will reach 40 per cent capacity, according to the Sydney Business Chamber, after continuous days of low case numbers in NSW and Premier Gladys Berejiklian flagging the easing of restrictions.
Employers say mandatory mask wearing and COVID-19 safe plans have given people greater confidence to return to work after months of working from home.
Insurance Australia Group, the nation’s biggest general insurer, encouraged workers in NSW, Victoria and Queensland to return to work from today up to a 50 per cent capacity. All employees had been directed to work from home since March last year.
Within the next two weeks a variety of major employers will direct their workers to return to the office. From January 27, ANZ will allow up to 50 per cent capacity in its Sydney office, followed by 50 per cent in its Melbourne headquarters from February 1. Commonwealth Bank is set to follow, instituting a formalised return to work in February, having already recorded a 20 per cent capacity in their Sydney and Melbourne offices last week.
READ MORE: Industry maps out vaccine order line-up
Jess Malcolm 7am: ‘I would have stayed home’, quarantined stars say
Tennis stars have lashed out at being forced into mandatory quarantine, saying they were never told whole planeloads of people would be isolated in the event of a positive COVID-19 test.
Romanian player Sorana Cirstea said she would need “at least three weeks” to get back into peak physical form to be ready to compete again after isolating for two weeks.
I agree...if they would have told us this rule before i would not play Australia...I would have stayed home. They told us we would fly at 20% capacity, in sections and we would be a close contact ONLY if my team or cohort tests positive . https://t.co/kF58HEijqq
— Sorana Cirstea (@sorana_cirstea) January 16, 2021
Kazakh player Yulia Putinseva shared similar frustrations, saying that if the rules had been made clear to her before she boarded the plane, she would not have come.
“What I don’t understand is that, why no one ever told us, if one person on board is positive the whole plane need to be isolated, I would think twice before coming here,” Ms Putinseva wrote on Twitter.
I was planning to play the tournament because they promised daily 5 h quarantine exemption where we could go practice,do a gym session and rehab.this was the deal before signing up to this...but the rules changed "overnight"! https://t.co/nRg94NNS57
— Sorana Cirstea (@sorana_cirstea) January 16, 2021
Ms Cirstea hit back at people who were criticising players for being “entitled”, saying she could not compete after spending “14 days on a couch.”
People complaining we are entitled. I have no issues to stay 14 days in the room watching netflix. Believe me this is a dream come true, holiday even. What we cant do is COMPETE after we have stayed 14 days on a couch. This is the issue,not the quarantine rule.
— Sorana Cirstea (@sorana_cirstea) January 16, 2021
The list of tennis players forced into two weeks mandatory quarantine is growing as all passengers on a third charter flight into Melbourne were told to self-isolate after a person on the plane tested positive for COVID-19.
At least 170 people, including 72 players, are now in hard quarantine after being identified as close contacts, meaning they are unable to train in the lead-up to the competition.
Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley said officials would do whatever they could to make it as fair as possible for players who were in isolation, calling the situation “not ideal”.
Mr Tiley also confirmed that Tennis Australia made it clear to the players that there was a risk of being forced into mandatory quarantine if other Australian Open participants tested positive.
READ MORE: Former champs Azarenka, Kenin caught up in lockdown
Jess Malcolm 6.30am: Disgraced musician Phil Spector dies of COVID-19
Pop music producer Phil Spector has died aged 81 from COVID-19 while serving a prison sentence for the murder of a Hollywood actress.
Spector was known for his “wall of sound” when recording music, producing 20 top 40 hits between 1961 and 1965. He worked with some of the world’s most renowned musicians such as The Beatles, Leonard Cohen, the Righteous Brothers and Tina Turner.
Spector was diagnosed with COVID-19 four weeks ago while serving his 19-year sentence for the murder of actor Lana Clarkson.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said Spector “died of natural causes at an outside hospital, awaiting for the official cause of death to be determined by a medical examiner in the San Joaquin county sheriff’s office”.
READ MORE: Phil Spector found guilty of murder over death of actress
Jess Malcolm 6.20am: No jab, no entry: NSW considers vaccine incentive
People who refuse to receive the COVID-19 vaccine could be prevented from entering some hospitality venues under a radical new plan being considered by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian.
Some pubs and clubs may require people to prove they have had their vaccination before entering, Ms Berejiklian told The Daily Telegraph.
The NSW Premier has not ruled out ways to “incentivise” the jab, with its uptake crucial to getting back to normal life.
“Clearly, opportunities to travel overseas or opportunities to enter certain workplaces or venues might be enhanced if you have the vaccine,” she said.
“Some of those decisions could be inspired by government, (and) some of those decisions might be inspired by the organisation themselves.”
Hospitality venues could be considered as “high-risk settings” and through a radical vaccine rollout plan, be encouraged by the government to require proof of vaccination.
“Obviously the vaccine rollout and the vaccine policies are the domain of the federal government, but certainly in NSW I would be encouraging people to have the vaccine once it’s made available,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Read the full story at The Daily Telegraph.
Courtney Walsh 5.15am: Third Australian Open flight registers positive virus case
A third flight of players to Melbourne for the Australian Open will be forced into a strict 14-day quarantine after a person travelling from Doha — not a player — tested positive for COVID-19.
An alert to players who flew from Doha on January 16 notifying them that a passenger infected with COVID-19 was on their plane was sent late on Sunday night.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Carolyn Broderick was scheduled to discuss the matter with the players at 9.45pm.
Allez hop ! A LA NICHE !!!!! pic.twitter.com/SkGdOfCGGH
— Alexandre Müller (@Alex2Mumu) January 17, 2021
But it means the players, who arrived in Melbourne on Saturday morning, will join the 47 Australian Open participants already forced to quarantine for the next fortnight without being able to train in the five-hour daily window they had been initially allowed.
It’s understood Western Australian teenager Tristan Schoolkate was on the flight, along with France’s Benoit Paire, Japan’s Taro Daniel and American Michael Mmoh.
However, fellow Australians Bernard Tomic, Andrew Harris, John-Patrick Smith, Jason Kubler and Dane Sweeny were among those on the previous flight from Doha.
READ MORE: Behave and stop whingeing, tennis stars told
Kieran Gair 5am: Andrews cops grand slam over border inconsistency
Gladys Berejiklian has sharply criticised her Victorian counterpart for refusing to reopen the border with NSW, after Daniel Andrews allowed more than 1000 elite tennis players and their support staff to fly into Melbourne from around the world for next month’s Australian Open.
In a critique of the Victorian Premier’s leadership, Ms Berejiklian said the decision to push ahead with the international grand slam event despite the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak highlighted “inconsistencies” in Mr Andrews’s approach to border restrictions.
“I can’t understand why the border was closed in the first place and why the attitude of certain governments is what it is,” she said on Sunday.
“There isn’t anywhere in Australia that’s currently being designated a hotspot. So why shouldn’t people be able to return home?”
Tensions between Ms Berejiklian and Mr Andrews appeared to finally boil over on Sunday, with the NSW Premier saying Victoria should have reopened to NSW “quite a while back”.
Read the full story here.
Natasha Robinson 4.45am: Watchdog on alert after Norway Pfizer jab deaths
Australia’s medical regulator is seeking urgent answers from Norwegian health authorities after 30 frail, elderly people died after receiving the Pfizer vaccine against COVID-19.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration is considering whether warnings should be included in product information for doctors on the risks of providing the vaccine to very frail or terminally ill people
The TGA is working with the European Medicines Agency to determine whether the 30 deaths were caused by the Pfizer vaccine, although Norway’s medical regulator says a clear link is yet to be established.
The Pfizer jab is due to be rolled out to frontline healthcare workers, the elderly and aged-care workers from mid to late February, with the TGA indicating it expected to approve the vaccine in late January.
The government says there is “no change” to that timeframe.
Read the full story here.
Labor’s migration target to be overshot by 100,000
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.
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