Coronavirus Australia live news: Scott Morrison gets majority support on plan to reopen borders
Scott Morrison says it’s unrealistic to get 100 per cent National Cabinet consensus, while outlining agreements on hot spots, travel and easing of restrictions.
- PM gets backing on plan to reopen
- WA explains refusal to open up
- Victoria deaths rise to 59
- Dutton lashes Palaszczuk over AFL
- NSW has single-digit new cases
Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Scott Morrison has won majority National Cabinet support for a December reopening, outlining agreements on hot spots, travel and easing of restrictions. Peter Dutton has lashed Annastacia Palaszczuk’s decision to host hundreds of AFL officials. Victoria cases fall to 81, toll rises to 59.
AFP 9.20pm: Silvio Berlusconi hospitalised ‘as a precaution’
Italy’s former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, who recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus, has been hospitalised “as a precaution”, a statement from his entourage said Friday.
It said the media tycoon was taken to San Raffaele hospital in Milan on Thursday night after suffering “certain symptoms”, but there was “no cause for concern.” The AGI news agency said Berlusconi, who turns 84 at the end of this month, was hospitalised in a room that he often occupies when he stays at the facility. AGI said this indicates that his condition is not serious, or he would be in intensive care.
Licia Ronzulli, a senator with Berlusconi’s Forza Italia party, said the former prime minister “spent the night in hospital to check on his condition... but he is fine.” Berlusconi announced Wednesday that he had tested positive for the novel coronavirus and was in quarantine at home.
Two of his children - daughter Barbara, 36, and son Luigi, 31 - have also contracted the virus, as has his companion Marta Fascina.
Berlusconi, who once owned AC Milan, had insisted on Wednesday that he would continue his political activities.
“I will be present in the electoral campaign with interviews on televisions and in newspapers,” he said during a video-conference of Forza Italia’s women’s movement.
He recognised “the limitations imposed on my activities by testing positive for the coronavirus... but I will continue the battle.” Regional elections are due to take place in two weeks as well as a referendum on reducing the number of Italian parliamentarians.
Read the full story here.
AFP 9.15pm: Russia covid trial ‘too small to prove effectiveness’
Patients involved in early tests of a Russian coronavirus vaccine developed antibodies with “no serious adverse events”, according to research published in The Lancet Friday, but experts said the trials were too small to prove safety and effectiveness.
Russia announced last month that its vaccine, named “Sputnik V” after the Soviet-era satellite that was the first launched into space in 1957, had already received approval.
Russia denounced criticism as an attempt to undermine Moscow’s research. In the Lancet study, Russian researchers reported on two small trials, each involving 38 healthy adults aged between 18 and 60, who were given a two-part immunisation.
Each participant was given a dose of the first part of the vaccine and then given a booster with the second part 21 days later.
They were monitored over 42 days and all developed antibodies within the first three weeks.
The report said the data showed that the vaccine was “safe, well tolerated, and does not cause serious adverse events in healthy adult volunteers”.
Researchers underlined that larger and longer trials -- including a placebo comparison -- would be needed to establish the long-term safety and effectiveness of the vaccine for preventing Covid-19 infection.
“Showing safety will be crucial with Covid-19 vaccines, not only for vaccine acceptance but also for trust in vaccination broadly,” Naor Bar-Zeev of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health wrote in a commentary in the Lancet.
The report said the 76 participants of these trials would be monitored up to 180 days, adding that a more rigorous phase 3 clinical trial was planned with the involvement of 40,000 volunteers “from different age and risk groups”.
Rachel Baxendale 7.45pm: Health chief seeks hospital deaths data
Victoria’s Chief Health officer says he will “look into” providing data on the number of people who have died after contracting coronavirus in the state’s hospitals, after being unable to provide the information at Friday’s press conference.
The Australian asked Professor Brett Sutton how many situations he knew of where patients had contracted the virus while in hospital for other conditions, after the newspaper was contacted by a family member of a man who died after being infected with coronavirus at a Victorian hospital.
“That wouldn’t be reported separately. I think the Healthcare Worker Wellbeing Taskforce might be looking into where the index cases are for some healthcare workers getting infected,” Professor Sutton said.
“They won’t necessarily have all the statistics on whether particular patients have contracted it within a hospital outbreak, but we do, for each and every case, try and determine whether that’s been contracted from a known close contact, or unknown, so it’s probably data that we can look into.
“I think they’re reasonably uncommon events, but of course there’s been transmission that’s occurring in healthcare settings, and so that will have tragically occurred in some cases.”
“I’m aware of others (COVID deaths where the infection was contracted at hospital), but I don’t know the exact numbers.”
Following the press conference, University of Melbourne Associate Professor of Obstetric Anaesthesia Alicia Dennis tweeted her concern about Professor Sutton being unable to specify how many patients had been infected with COVID-19 in Victorian hospitals.
“This is an essential metric that must be reported - patients need to understand risks they take when they come into hospitals,” Professor Dennis said.
@VictorianCHO unable to state how many patients without COVID19 in hospitals have been infected with COVID19 or died
— Alicia Dennis MAKE WORKPLACES SAFE FOR #HCW (@AliciaTDennis) September 4, 2020
Me: this is an essential metric that must be reported - patients need to understand risks they take when they come into hospitals#patientsafety
Professor Sutton tweeted in response: “Agreed. Didn’t have a number at hand but we can and should collect this. Will look into it.”
Agreed. Didn’t have a number at hand but we can and should collect this. Will look into it. https://t.co/kpfdQh63MB
— Chief Health Officer, Victoria (@VictorianCHO) September 4, 2020
Rachel Baxendale 6pm: Daniel Andrews’ message for protesters
Asked whether he had a message for those planning to protest on the weekend, Premier Daniel Andrews said: “Don’t. It’s not safe to protest. It’s not smart to protest. It’s not lawful to protest.”
“I don’t care what you’re protesting for or against. Don’t protest,” he said.
“The worthiness or otherwise of your cause, which is a pretty personal thing anyway, ultimately no protest is safe at the moment.
“We need all of us to, as best we can, contribute to these numbers going down, not contribute to them potentially going up.”
Asked whether vision of police raiding Mr Bartolo’s house, or the arrest on Wednesday of pregnant Ballarat woman Zoe Lee Buhler in front of her children may have been counterproductive for police, Mr Andrews said: “I can’t be the judge of that.”
“People will make their own judgements and come to their own conclusions whenever they see footage or reports of a particular incident,” he said.
“I am not in the business of criticising police, I am in the business of supporting them to do very challenging work.
“I want to thank [them] on behalf of all Victorians, all law-abiding Victorians, certainly every single member of Victoria Police and their families because they are part of this too.
“It is not easy, it has been a tough year for Victoria Police, PSOs, custody officers, all of our emergency services in many ways and I think they are doing a fantastic job in very challenging circumstances.
“They have my full support to continue making sure that the law is upheld.”
Read more: Anti-virus conspiracy theorist arrested
Patrick Commins 5.30pm: Declining GST share costing $9bn in lost revenue
The declining share of GST revenue relative to the size of the economy over the past 20 years is costing the government $9bn in lost annual tax revenue – a shortfall which, absent reform, could blow out to $24bn by the end of the decade, the parliament’s independent budget watchdog has found.
A new analysis by the Parliamentary Budget Office found that despite being originally promoted as a “growth tax”, the 10 per cent GST has not kept up with economic growth over the last twenty years.
Instead, the GST tax take relative to total GDP has declined from 4 per cent in 2003-04, to 3.3 per cent in 2018-19. Had the ratio remained constant, the government would have collected an additional $9bn in the financial year before last. The report also estimated that on current trends, the GST to GDP ratio will slip further to 3.2 per cent – equivalent to an annual shortfall of up to $24bn in 2030-31 versus the early 2000s.
“While any falls in revenue flow directly through to state budgets, there may be an associated pressure on the commonwealth to provide greater transfer payments to the states,” the PBO said.
The GST is a significant revenue source for the states, accounting for almost a quarter of state revenue on average.
READ MORE: Trading Day: ASX wipes $58bn as BHP, CSL slide
Rachel Baxendale 4.07pm: Active cases in aged care drops by 128
There are 993 active cases linked to aged care facilities - a decrease of 128 since Thursday.
As of Friday, there have been 505 coronavirus deaths linked to aged care in Victoria.
The 10 aged care outbreaks with the highest cumulative total numbers of cases are:
215 cases linked to Epping Gardens Aged Care in Epping, in Melbourne’s north (an increase of one since Thursday);
213 cases linked to BaptCare Wyndham Lodge Community in Werribee, in Melbourne’s outer southwest;
206 cases linked to St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Fawkner, in Melbourne’s north (an increase of one since Thursday);
162 cases linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Ardeer, in Melbourne’s west;
139 cases linked to Kirkbrae Presbyterian Homes in Kilsyth, in Melbourne’s outer east;
127 cases linked to Twin Parks Aged Care in Reservoir, in Melbourne’s north;
123 cases linked to Cumberland Manor Aged Care Facility in Sunshine North, in Melbourne’s west;
117 cases linked to Japara Goonawarra Aged Care Facility in Sunbury, in Melbourne’s outer northwest;
117 cases linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Heidelberg, in Melbourne’s northeast (a decrease of one since Thursday, with no explanation provided);
116 cases linked to Outlook Gardens Aged Care Facility in Dandenong North, in Melbourne’s outer southeast (an increase of one since Thursday).
READ MORE: Virus conspiracy theorist films arrest
Rachel Baxendale 4pm: Another 255 Victorians recover from COVID-19
Of the total 19,415 people who have so far had coronavirus in Victoria, 16,625 have recovered - an increase of 255 since Thursday.
Of the 2060 active cases in Victoria - a decrease of 235 since Thursday - 1900 are residents of Melbourne, 124 are residents of regional Victoria, 32 either have unknown addresses or are subject to further investigation, and four are interstate residents.
Of the total 19,415 cases since the pandemic began, 18,053 have been Melbourne residents and 1173 have been from regional Victoria, while 9270 (47.9 per cent) have been men and 10,100 (52.1 per cent) have been women.
The total number of cases in health workers since the pandemic began rose by 26 to 3267 on Friday, despite the number of active cases falling by 40 to 297.
READ MORE: Black eye to AFL deserves harsher penalty
Rosie Lewis 3.53pm: Date set for Palmer’s High Court border challenge
Clive Palmer’s constitutional challenge against Western Australia’s hard border closure is set to be heard before the full bench of the High Court in November.
Chief Justice Susan Kiefel indicated the matter would be set down for the November sittings at a directions hearing on Friday.
The Morrison government believes there could be constitutional issues with the WA border, as it prohibits free movement of people, but withdrew from the legal challenge to keep the peace with Premier Mark McGowan.
READ MORE: Premier caned over ‘double standard’
Rachel Baxendale 3.47pm: Fifty virus deaths added on Friday ‘not new’
The 50 coronavirus deaths which occurred in July and August and were added to Victoria’s official toll on Friday are “not new, families were notified, and the deaths were reported as required,” according to the Department of Health and Human Services press release issued on Friday.
“The state and federal governments and the aged care sector have worked together to reconcile the data relating to deaths,” DHHS said.
“Aged care providers are also now reporting deaths to the state’s public health unit in addition to the commonwealth and normal reporting mechanisms.”
The deaths, and nine previously unreported deaths which have occurred in September, bring Victoria’s death toll to 650, including 505 deaths linked to aged care.
All but 19 of the 650 deaths occurred as part of Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus, sparked by breaches in hotel quarantine.
Of Victoria’s 81 new coronavirus cases on Friday, 22 have so far been linked to known outbreaks, while the remaining 59 are under investigation.
Victoria’s total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began has increased by 79 to 19,415, due to the reclassification of two cases.
READ MORE: Morrison prevents new federation’s complete collapse
Rachel Baxendale 3.25pm: Virus conspiracy theorist arrested
Melbourne resident James Bartolo live-streamed his dramatic arrest, saying he was on the toilet when police tackled him. Read more here
Paige Taylor 3.15pm: WA Premier explains border stance
West Australian premier Mark McGowan has sought to explain why his government is refusing to join other states in committing to bring down borders by Christmas. Mr McGowan told reporters in Perth that he did not believe WA’s decision, stated at national cabinet on Friday, was a sign of the Federation fracturing.
“It was a productive discussion, but I made it clear that Western Australia will not be agreeing to a hotspot model or a hotspot definition which replaces our successful border controls,” Mr McGowan said. “WA has always avoided setting an arbitrary deadline on borders.
“A date will be set, when our health advice recommends it, but that might be some time away.”
Mr McGowan said any outbreak in WA would damage the national finances, since WA was the engine room of the national economy. WA had 10 per cent of the nation’s population but produced about half its exports. Mr McGowan said he could not risk a shut down of the state’s mining industry.
“I just hope that out of this, there is a greater appreciation of what Western Australia does,” Mr McGowan told reporters.
He said Prime Minister Scott Morrison and other states respected and understood that decision “given the unique factors for WA and the positive direction our economy is heading”.
“Unlike the rest of the country, WA is not currently in a recession. We are the engine room of the national economy.
So we won’t prematurely re-open borders,” Mr McGowan said. “If we went too soon, it could be deadly and there would be economic devastation.”
Mr McGowan said WA did not have border communities so did not face the associated social disruption seen on the east coast.
“In WA we have positive economic activity, business confidence is buzzing and retail trade is increasing and businesses are hiring. Our retail growth figures out today are outstanding,” Mr McGowan said.
“By almost any measure, Western Australia is in an enviable position in the new COVID-world.
“We’ve worked so hard to achieve this - and we must do everything we can to maintain it.”
READ MORE: Victoria’s ‘blunt instrument’
Rosie Lewis 2.55pm: How a ‘hotspot’ will be defined
A coronavirus hotspot would be declared in Australian metropolitan areas if there were 30 or more locally acquired cases over three consecutive days (10 per day), under a new definition being proposed by Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly.
Here's the initial definition of a hot spot, as worked on by Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly for the federal government #auspol #covid19 pic.twitter.com/KV5faKZTb0
— Rosie Lewis (@rosieslewis) September 4, 2020
In regional areas, there would need to be at least nine cases over three days.
A metropolitan area could be defined as multiple suburbs or one local government area, whereas in regional Australia it would more likely be a single town or LGA.
“Once an area is listed as a COVID-19 hotspot, individual states and territories will apply their own risk assessments and use public health powers for appropriate action,” a Department of Health document released by the Morrison government states.
“Such determinations would be expected to be transparently publicised – a state or territory that chooses actions that are disproportionate to the hotspot declaration would need to justify these to the public.
“The commonwealth’s involvement in determining and reporting of ‘hotspots’ or COVID-19 transmission areas will assist jurisdictions in their response to identified areas of risk. It will also aid to clearly identify when commonwealth resources are needed to support response.”
READ MORE: A win for the PM
Imogen Reid 2.42pm: Premier urges Palaszczuk to consider border impact
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has urged her Queensland counterpart to “carefully consider” the impacts of border bans on both states.
She said she was especially concerned with construction, infrastructure, and tourism jobs and stressed the need for people with medical conditions or people who needed to get to work to be given exemptions to cross the border.
Ms Berejiklian encouraged Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to support the movement of agricultural workers between states.
“I would like to see the Queensland Premier join those discussions as well,” she said.
READ MORE: Premier caned over ‘double standard’
Imogen Reid 2.31pm: Cap on returning Australians to be lifted
The limit on Australians re-entering the country from overseas has been raised.
Scott Morrison said the National Cabinet agreed the capacity for inbound arrivals will be boosted, “particularly for those Australians seeking to come home”.
“We noted that New South Wales has been doing all the heavy lifting on this, and they really are at their capacity for the time being,” the Prime Minister said.
The Federal Transport Minister will look into having more international flights arrive in Perth, Adelaide, Darwin, Canberra and Tasmania.
READ MORE: SA eases restrictions
Imogen Reid 2.15pm: Australia to take hotspot approach with NZ
Mr Morrison said he has had discussions with the New Zealand Prime Minister concerning a trans-Tasman travel bubble, but warns it will be a “matter of time” before Jacinda Ardern agrees.
“What I advised her was that Australia will be looking to apply the same hotspot approach to New Zealand,” he said.
“So, that means, when we’re in a position to do so, and when the Acting Chief Medical Officer has come to a set of arrangements with New Zealand, then we would be able to have New Zealanders come to Australia.”
Mr Morrison stressed this did not mean Australians will be able to travel to New Zealand.
“That’s a matter for Prime Minister Ardern. But if there’s no COVID in Christchurch, and there’s no COVID in Queensland, then there’s no reason both of them can’t come to Sydney,” he said.
He said Prime Minister Ardern was “very happy” to have further discussions but said the decision relied on Australia’s border arrangements.
“We would just need to ensure that the arrangements in place of identifying hot spots and things of that nature are well understood and are practical,” he said.
READ MORE: Transport habits ‘back to normal’
Imogen Reid 1.55pm: WA isolated over border reopening plan
Mr Morrison said South Australia will join NSW and Victoria for a trilateral arrangement to open their borders.
However, he said Western Australia has “set out some very specific circumstances in their state as to why they won’t be joining that aspiration at this time.”
“Western Australia has a very different border and a very different economy than most of the other states and territories where these decisions have been made,” Mr Morrison said.
“They are no large border towns. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, there are virtually none along the Western Australian border.
“They will watch carefully, they will look on, and the thing about our new way of working in the National Cabinet is the door will always remain open and they are always able to join us at a subsequent time.”
Mr Morrison said that Tasmania also has a goal of lifting its border ban by December.
Imogen Reid 1.45pm: Hotspot definition gets majority support
Scott Morrison said only one state or territory was not on board with his plan to define a COVID hotspot. He said WA was the outlier state.
“It means that we need to have a good understanding and an open data room between states and territories, to know what the incidence of outbreaks are or case numbers are, and the source of those things, so states can make decisions in confidence as part of a plan,” the Prime Minister said.
“We agreed that moving to the hot spot model as a concept is what must be in that plan. But the idea of ultimately moving beyond a situation where you have hard borders, but you move to a situation where you can have a workable hot spot concept, then that is something we are going to give it our best possible go to define and to make work.
“States, of course, will reserve ultimately the decisions they take, but all of those who have committed to this path have agreed that we should work hard to get that in its best possible form.”
Mr Morrison said the new road map would focus on testing regimes, data sharing and interstate borders as well as bilateral and multilateral agreements between the states, such as the border arrangement between NSW and Victoria.
Imogen Reid 1.35pm: PM says 7 out of 8 states agree on reopening
Scott Morrison says the notion of 100 per cent consensus in the National Cabinet is unrealistic and “sets up the federation up to fail”.
Instead, the Prime Minister has announced that seven out of eight states and territories have agreed on a timetable to get to stage 3 restrictions by Christmas.
“We agreed today, seven out of eight states and territories, we agreed that before you know what you’re going to do, you’ve got to agree about where you want to get to,” Mr Morrison said.
“And we agreed today with the objective that was set out in the May plan to be, at the end of that step 3 process, which we will seek to ensure is even better defined, we said before we wanted to get there in July and the virus prevented us from achieving that.
“Seven out of eight states and territories want us to get back to that position in December of this year.”
Staff Reporters 12.55pm: PM to deliver National Cabinet update at 1.15pm
Scott Morrison has held talks today with state and territory leaders, and is due to hold a media briefing after 1pm.
Rachel Baxendale 12.20pm: Victoria’s death toll now at 650
Victoria’s 81 new coronavirus cases on Friday have brought the state’s number of cases since the pandemic began to 19,415.
An additional 59 deaths, 50 of which occurred prior to Thursday, have brought Victoria’s COVID-19 death toll to 650.
The nine more recent deaths include those of two men and one woman in their 70s, one man in his 80s, two men and two women in their 90s, and a woman in her 100s.
Eight of nine latests deaths have been linked to aged care.
There have now been 505 coronavirus deaths in Victoria linked to aged care.
READ MORE: The case against testing the young, healthy
Staff Reporters 11.55am: AFL players brawl after bubble breach
Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones have been involved in a fight after being removed from the venue, despite all players being required to live in their AFL ‘bubble’. Read more here
Imogen Reid 11.50am: NSW issues new location alerts
New health alerts have been issued for a Sydney supermarket and Bunnings.
Anyone who attended the venues between the following times should monitor for symptoms and get tested if they develop:
• Aldi North Strathfield Tuesday 1 September 10am to 10.30am.
• Bunnings Padstow Thursday 27 August 12pm to 2pm.
NSW Health is conducting assessments and will provide further information to patrons if they are deemed close contacts.
Imogen Reid 11.40am: Nursing homes a Father’s Day no-go zone
NSW Health says the current health advice urging people in Greater Sydney and the Central Coast to avoid visiting nursing homes will remain in place over the weekend, despite the state’s Chief Health Officer indicating restrictions will be reviewed ahead of Father’s Day.
“NSW Health confirms the advice for residents of the Sydney Metropolitan, Nepean Blue Mountains and Central Coast regions to not visit friends and family in aged care facilities will continue through this weekend,” the health authority said.
“This decision has been reached after careful consideration of the risks of COVID-19 being introduced into an aged care facility while the CBD cluster is brought under control.”
Health officials said they understood the decision will be difficult for many families over Father’s Day, but reiterated the importance of preventing the spread of the virus to the most vulnerable members of the community.
“We encourage people to make the best of the COVID safe measures the aged care sector has put in place to make contact with their loved ones, including through audio visual links and window visits.”
READ MORE: ASIC sues self-managed super firm
Rachel Baxendale 11.35am: Victoria lockdown protests: ‘Don’t do it’
Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien has warned people they should not attend planned protests against the Andrews government’s coronavirus lockdown, saying it could jeopardise the state’s ability to reopen.
“Don’t do it,” Mr O’Brien said, saying he had opposed protests during the pandemic, regardless of the cause.
In early July the Andrews government supported a Victoria Police decision not to fine any of the 10,000 people who attended a Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne’s CBD, at a time when gatherings of more than 20 people were illegal.
Fines of $1652 were issued to three organisers, but none were charged with incitement, unlike pregnant Ballarat woman Zoe Lee Buhler, who was arrested in front of her children on Wednesday over a Facebook post encouraging people to attend an anti-lockdown protest in the regional Victorian town on Saturday.
“I at least have been consistent when it comes to protests, whether it’s been Black Lives Matter or anti-masks, or anti-5G or anything else,” Mr O’Brien said.
“What I think governments should be is even-handed and consistent. This government hasn’t been.
“This government rolled out the red carpet for Black Lives Matter protesters, and it’s held up a red card to this weekend’s protests. You know what? Red card them all.
“We don’t need protests at this time. The last thing we can afford is something which jeopardises our ability to get out of this damn Stage Four lockdown, so my advice is don’t do it because that could actually jeopardise us getting out of Stage Four.”
READ MORE: ‘No regrets’ over rally plan
Rachel Baxendale 11.25am: Extension of state’s emergency powers closer
The Andrews government’s State of Emergency extension legislation is set to pass Victorian Parliament’s lower house on Friday, after it cleared the more difficult hurdle of the upper house in the early hours of Wednesday morning, 20 votes to 19.
Labor holds 55 of 88 seats in the Legislative Assembly, so the bill is certain to pass.
Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said he would be voting against the bill, arguing it will give Premier Daniel Andrews a “six-month blank cheque”.
“There is no call for a six-month state of emergency. The only extension should be on a month by month basis, because that would give Victorians confidence that it’s only being done where necessary,” Mr O’Brien said. “It would give Victorians confidence that the government’s being held accountable.”
“Now, we might have a sitting in a couple of weeks’ time, but once this six-month state of emergency gets passed, there’s no guarantee that Andrews won’t shut down the parliament for the next six months.
“The only time he calls the parliament back is when he wants something from us. He either wants budget bills passed or he wants more power.”
Mr O’Brien said he was not arguing against having any coronavirus restrictions.
“I’ve never said that we should go from Stage Four to Stage Zero,” he said. “In fact, because the government has mismanaged this pandemic so badly, I’ve made clear there do need to be continuing public health measures.
“My point is there should not be a six-month blank cheque.”
Victorian parliament scheduled to sit again on September 14.
READ MORE: Prime Minister’s authority rebuffed
Imogen Reid 11.20am: NSW records single-figure new cases
Eight new cases of coronavirus have been reported in NSW overnight.
Of the new cases, one is a returned traveller in hotel quarantine and the other seven are all locally acquired infections and are linked to known clusters or sources.
There are 3910 active cases in the state.
Rachel Baxendale 11.15am: Premier Andrews to face media at midday
The press conference comes as the Department of Health and Human Services on Friday added a record 59 deaths to Victoria’s coronavirus death toll, bringing the number of deaths since the pandemic began to 650, all but 19 of which were part of the second wave linked to hotel quarantine breaches.
Mr Andrews and his health bureaucrats are expected to face many questions about why these deaths, the majority of which are understood to have occurred in July and August, were not made public earlier.
READ MORE: Arrest of Facebook mum ‘unacceptable’
Imogen Reid 11.05am: Victoria ‘needs to get cases back to zero’
The Editor-in-Chief of the Medical Journal Australia Nick Talley says Victoria needs to record zero cases of coronavirus before life can return to normal.
In a tweet he questioned the speed at which contact tracing and testing was being conducted in Victoria, saying it needs to be fast to control transmission rates.
“I remain convinced zero is the right target,” he said. “In Victoria to achieve this will require test/trace success.
“How long is it taking for COVID-19 test results now? How long is it taking contact traces to reach positive cases and trace contacts? It all needs to be quick. How long?”
It comes after Stephen Duckett, the Health Program Director at Grattan Institute, said coronavirus cases need to be driven down to zero before the country’s restrictions are lifted completely.
“Australia’s initial response to COVID-19 in March saved lives and livelihoods. But now we face our largest challenges with community transmission,” he said in a tweet.
“How we respond now is just as important as how we responded in March. Governments need clear plans to reach their goal of zero.
“The job is not over when we reach zero.”
An additional 81 cases of coronavirus were reported in Victoria in the 24 hours to Friday. The state added a record 59 deaths to its COVID-19 death toll, largely due to a reconciliation of previously unreported deaths from earlier in Victoria’s second wave of the virus.
READ MORE: Time for action, not words, on recovery
Rachel Baxendale 10.40am: Calls for Andrews to ‘give Victorians hope’
Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien has called for Premier Daniel Andrews to give the state’s businesses “some hope” when he unveils his plans for easing coronavirus restrictions on Sunday.
The Liberal leader’s comments come after Mr Andrews on Thursday indicated he may extend Melbourne’s stage four lockdown beyond its current expiry date of September 13, dismissing leaked documents detailing his government’s plans to ease restrictions as “out of date”, but declining to rule out any of the measures within them.
“Victorian business is on its knees. Victorian business has barely got a heartbeat. The government must come out and give our small businesses some hope this Sunday,” Mr O’Brien said on his way in to state parliament on Friday.
“It’s not enough for the government to keep people waiting. We need to be able to get businesses, small businesses, safely reopened, and that’s what the government’s road map must have if it’s to be any plan at all.
“It was only on the 30th of July that Daniel Andrews said at a press conference that there is basically no transmission happening in cafes and pubs and restaurants.
“Well Premier, if that’s the case, let them reopen safely. Put restrictions in place, put in density limits, put in COVID-safe plans, put in whatever needs to be done, but give these small businesses a chance to stay alive, because at the moment these small businesses are facing the end of the road, and if the Premier doesn’t come up with a road map, it’ll be the end of the road for tens of thousands of small businesses and hundreds of thousands of Victorian jobs.”
Mr O’Brien said he supported Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp’s proposal of closing off streets to enable restaurants and cafes to use the space to ensure distance can be maintained between patrons.
“I think that’s a terrific idea. I think anything that can give these businesses a chance to do what they do, to give people a chance to get back into work, I think that’s fantastic,” he said.
“We’re getting into the warmer weather. I think a bit of alfresco dining, if that lets people reopen and do it safely, I’m all for it.”
READ MORE: Election a bridge too far
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.50am: Unemployment set for ‘high single digits’
ANZ chief Shayne Elliott has told the House Standing Committee on economics that although there are “emerging bright spots” in the economy, he believes that unemployment will reach “high single digits” in the next 12 months.
“There are emerging bright spots around the country like agriculture and resources,” Mr Elliott said. “We’ve also seen how quickly business can adapt, particularly when supported by effective policy.”
Mr Elliott said that the rate of economic recovery will be dependent on the extent to which the state governments and Commonwealth “be responsive and act with speed” but the outlook was more optimistic than it was earlier in the year.
“Having said all that, while there is still much concern about the future state of the economy over the next 12 months, it is looking less bad than it did in March when we reported our half-year results,” Mr Elliott said, adding that at that time the bank was predicting peak unemployment of 13 per cent.
However, Mr Elliott said that due to government support, the bank is now forecasting peak unemployment in the “high single digits” by “the second quarter of next calendar year.”
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Sarah Elks 9.35am: I won’t be intimidated: Premier
Ms Palaszczuk said the criticism of her and Queensland over the borders was upsetting to her family.
“It is relentless, it is intimidating, but I will not be intimidated,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
She said her family was “very upset” but she was telling them to hang in there.
Of the AFL executives seen mingling by a pool in hotel quarantine, Ms Palaszczuk said it was part of a nationally-accepted plan for “bubbles” for the football codes.
The AFL hotel was entirely booked out by the code.
Dr Young said the Melbourne people were not mingling with the Queensland hotel staff.
“They (the AFL executives) have been mingling in Victoria, they can continue to mingle here, and they wear the risk … if one of them tests positive, they’re all in individual quarantine.”
READ MORE: Premier caned over lap of luxury
Sarah Elks 9.30am: Palaszczuk ‘won’t change course’ on borders
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she will not be “changing course” on borders, and will rely on advice from her Chief Health Officer.
Ms Palaszczuk said there would be no decisions made at national cabinet today, “it’s a discussion”.
BREAKING: The Queensland border bubble has been extended to include Moree in New South Wales. This will aid boarding school families and those affected by the loss of Mungindi's supermarket. #covid19 pic.twitter.com/GSyv7akhiN
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) September 3, 2020
“Queensland has done extremely well by relying on (advice from CHO Dr Jeannette Young),” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I will not be changing that course any time soon, because you’ve seen the great results that have been occurring in Queensland.”
She said a Federal Court case ruled states had the right to impose border measures to protect their states from COVID-19.
“I think it’s a bit disingenuous for this heightened criticism, from a whole lot of levels, when our fundamental concern is to look after Queenslanders and to make sure they’re safe during this time,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I do not want to see what has happened in our aged care sector in NSW and VIC happen here in Queensland, that would be a nightmare.”
READ MORE: Lockdown experiments failed
Sarah Elks 9.25am: Palaszczuk defends border closures
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has defended her border closures, arguing the government is working “in the best interests of families” during difficult times.
The state recorded zero new cases of COVID-19 overnight, ahead of an expected showdown over border closures at national cabinet.
Ms Palaszczuk acknowledged the restrictions were difficult for people, but essential.
She said there were now 80 people working on processing border exemptions.
Ms Palaszczuk said NSW’s Moree would be added to Queensland’s travel bubble, after negotiations between the chief health officers of the states.
LIVE: No new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Queensland overnight. #COVID19 https://t.co/CpHqmGIlUe
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) September 3, 2020
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said eight months into the pandemic, Queensland had it under control, but there was still a long way to go.
“Today is the first day of zero clusters relating to those two clusters,” she said.
Queensland has outbreaks stemming from the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre and a correctional training facility, both at Wacol.
Dr Young said Queensland was still providing health care to people who lived in northern NSW, despite the border closures.
She said last week, Queensland treated 900 NSW residents in QLD hospitals along the border.
“We are continuing to provide essential and emergency health care to people who live in northern NSW … there has been no change to that,” Dr Young said.
A specialist unit has been set up in Dr Young’s office to process medical exemptions for the border closures.
Ahead of today’s national cabinet meeting, Dr Young said she had advised Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk that the borders should stay closed.
“I’m still concerned about the number of cases every single day in VIC and NSW … there are still too many cases for us to safely open the border between QLD, NSW, VIC and the ACT,” Dr Young said.
She said, though there was not definitive proof, she believed three Logan women who returned from Melbourne were the source of the current outbreak. She said those three people had sparked 35 cases.
READ MORE: Guidelines relaxed with view to Christmas
Rachel Baxendale 9.15am: Victoria deaths rocket to 59
Victoria has added a record 59 deaths to its coronavirus death toll on Friday, largely due to a reconciliation of previously unreported deaths from earlier in the state’s second wave of the virus.
The latest figures bring the state’s death toll since the pandemic began to 650, all but 19 of which have occurred since the virus escaped the Andrews government’s bungled hotel quarantine program, sparking Victoria’s second wave of the virus.
There have been 81 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Victoria in the 24 hours to Friday.
#COVID19VicData for 4 Sep 2020.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) September 3, 2020
There were 81 new cases and sadly 59 deaths. This includes 50 people in aged care who passed away in July - August. The State & Federal govts and Aged Care sector worked together to reconcile data and update Victorian reporting related to deaths. pic.twitter.com/KSUpRCJmXa
The new cases see Victoria’s seven day daily average fall to 90.7 on Friday.
This number had consistently fallen since the peak of a seven day daily average of 573 from a record 725 new cases on August 5, but stalled when Thursday’s 95.3 was exactly the same as Wednesday’s figure.
READ MORE: Andrews set to extend Stage 4
Imogen Reid 8.45am: Dutton lashes Palaszczuk over AFL decision
Peter Dutton has lashed Annastacia Palaszczuk’s decision to host hundreds of AFL officials, accusing the Queensland Premier of making decisions to get the upper hand ahead of Queensland’s upcoming election.
The Home Affairs minister said Ms Palaszczuk was only “happy to be out there bouncing the AFL ball,” because of the looming election.
“She wants to be popular, but it’s at the expense of a lot of livelihoods and a lot of businesses in Queensland that at the moment should be doing really well,” he said.
Mr Dutton said there is “no way in the world” the state’s Chief Medical Officer would have said the move was “OK”.
“There shouldn’t be an exemption to the quarantine rules for executives coming in from the AFL. They should be two weeks isolated like everybody else,” Mr Dutton said.
“If it’s driven by the health advice, fair enough, but that’s not the case at the moment.
“There is no way in the world that the Queensland Chief Health Medical Officer would have suggested that it’s OK for 400 AFL officials to come across the border, not go into proper quarantine, given what’s happening in Victoria.”
READ MORE: Premier caned over ‘double standard’
Imogen Reid 8.30am: Nursing home restrictions set to be eased
Changes to the current health advice urging people in Greater Sydney and the Central Coast to avoid visiting nursing homes are expected to be announced today.
It comes after the state’s Chief Health Officer indicated restrictions in aged care facilities would be reviewed ahead of Father’s Day visits this Sunday.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she would be able to provide an update to the community on Friday regarding any changes.
READ MORE: ‘Fortress’ premiers betray nation
Imogen Reid 8.10am: Outrage over footy officials’ luxury quarantine
The Queensland government’s decision to allow hundreds of AFL officials to cross the border has caused widespread outrage, as new footage shows them enjoying quarantine poolside at a luxury Gold Coast resort.
About 400 executives and their families, including chief executive Gillon McLachlan, were given border exemptions to enter Queensland to plan for the upcoming AFL grand final which will be played in Brisbane in October.
The Queensland government is being accused of setting double-standards after pictures emerged of the AFL's luxury lockdown on the Gold Coast. @lcalcutt #9News pic.twitter.com/TiyBxYsfGP
— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) September 3, 2020
Aerial footage published by Nine News show officials and their families sunbaking and enjoying the luxury pool, despite Mr McLachlan saying, “We are doing this quarantine the same as everyone else.”
Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg accused Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of double standards over the move after reports that a brain tumour patient had her application for quarantine exemption rejected twice by the government.
“And today (Thursday) we hear of a grandmother of seven who is recovering from brain surgery who asked to be quarantined and recover at home yet is being forced into hotel quarantine while football officials can sit by the pool bar in Queensland,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“It seems to be double standards.”
The state’s Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young said the process did not show a double standard because the event was “important” and the exemptions were “supporting the people who are putting this event on.”
“It needs to be put under a COVID-safe plan, which has happened,” she said.
Outrage has followed the release of the video, with Brisbane radio host Scott Emerson calling it “perverse”.
Mr Emerson said there appeared to be “one rule for celebrities, sportsmen and multi-millionaires when it comes to Queensland’s hard border lockdown, and another for battlers and medical emergencies.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and her Queensland counterpart discussed the issue of exemption of healthcare workers outside the border zone this week, ahead of a national cabinet meeting on Friday where a common definition of hotspot is set to be the focus.
READ MORE: PM’s arguments no match for premiers
Imogen Reid 7.40am: Sydney golf club alert over positive case
A golf club in Sydney’s south-west has been linked to a positive case of coronavirus.
The Brighton Lakes Recreation and Golf Club said a person with COVID-19 attended the club on August 28 between 6.15pm and midnight.
Anyone who was at the club during that period has been directed to self-isolate for 14 days until September 11.
“The club is currently closed this evening (Thursday 3 September) as a specialised COVID-19 team deep clean and disinfect the entire premises,” the club said in a statement on Facebook.
“The club will reopen tomorrow (Friday 4 September) at 10am. Golf is unaffected and will be on again from sunrise tomorrow.”
READ MORE: Hotel guest attacked nurse
Imogen Reid 7.30am: France records more than 7000 new cases
France recorded more than 7000 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours for the second time in two days.
The country’s health authority confirmed that the total number of infections rose by 7157 to 300,181. It jumped up from an increase of 7017 cases on Wednesday.
Thailand has reported its first locally acquired case in 100 days, after a prison inmate tested positive for coronavirus.
Any potential contacts linked to the 37-year-old man are being tested, including family members, people he came into contact with in court and other inmates. Health officials are still investigating the source of his infection.
Thailand was the first country outside of China to record a case of COVID-19. The country has managed to control outbreaks since lockdown measures were introduced in March, including border restrictions which still remain in place. A total of 58 people have died in Thailand from COVID-19.
Mexico’s death rate among healthcare workers is the highest in the world, with 1320 confirmed deaths.
Research conducted by Amnesty International found that at least 7000 health workers have died around the world, however experts have warned the results will likely revive debate over Mexico’s extremely low coronavirus testing rates.
In the United States, 1077 health workers have died from coronavirus, while 649 deaths among health staff have been reported in the United Kingdom and 634 in Brazil.
Federal public health officials in the United States have asked the states to prepare to distribute a potential coronavirus vaccine to high-risk individuals as early as late October.
Documents published by the New York Times revealed that the Centers of Disease Control is preparing for one or two vaccines to be available before the end of the year.
The treatment will be available for free to high-risk groups including healthcare workers, national security personnel and nursing home residents and staff.
Globally, there have been more than 26.1 million people infected with the virus, while the total number of COVID-19 deaths is 865,132.
With agencies
READ MORE: Distribution of vaccine a huge challenge
Imogen Reid 7.00am: Alerts over Sydney gym, school
A gym in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs and a Western Sydney school have closed after being attended by positive cases of COVID-19.
NSW Health is advising anyone who went to Fitness First Randwick between Sunday 23 August and Tuesday 1 September to monitor for symptoms and to get tested if they develop.
The health alert was issued after two cases were found to have attended the gym.
Regents Park Christian School closed on Thursday for cleaning after a case of coronavirus was confirmed late on Wednesday night.
The case will be included in today’s case numbers and is linked to a previously reported infection.
“NSW Health is contracting people who attended after-school hours care on Monday 31 August and Tuesday 1 September from 3pm to 6pm,” the state’s health authority said.
“All children and staff who attended at these times are considered close contacts and are being directed to get tested and isolate for 14 days, and stay isolated for the entire period, even if a negative test result is received.”
READ MORE: Recovery needs more doing, less planning
Agencies 6.25am: Robert Pattinson tests positive
Actor Robert Pattinson has tested positive for COVID-19, causing production in Britain on the set of his film The Batman to pause, Vanity Fair and the Hollywood Reporter reported on Thursday.
Warner Bros, the Hollywood studio behind the movie, said in a statement that “a member of The Batman production had tested positive for the coronavirus”, but did not give a name.
“Filming is temporarily paused,” the Warner Bros statement added.
Vanity Fair and the Hollywood Reporter cited unnamed sources as saying the person who tested positive was Pattinson, the film’s star.
Filming of The Batman had resumed in Leavesden north of London only three days ago after being shut down in mid-March, along with dozens of other movies and TV shows around the world due to the pandemic.
The movie, in which Pattinson, 34, stars as the comic book hero, has about three months of material left to shoot, according to Hollywood trade outlets. Its release was pushed back earlier this year from June 2021 to October 2021.
Reuters
READ MORE: Women and Welles head film festival’s credits
Rosie Lewis 6.00am: Closed-border states reject PM’s plan
Queensland and Western Australia have rejected Scott Morrison’s plan to reopen borders, vowing to keep their restrictions in place despite the most populous states, NSW and Victoria, being ready to adopt new rules on interstate travel.
Amid fresh divisions over Queensland’s ban on NSW, the impasse has weakened the national cabinet’s ability to drive the pandemic recovery and frustrated Coalition MPs, who say people are being treated unfairly, particularly in border communities.
The Liberal states of NSW and South Australia have been responsive to the Prime Minister’s appeals to fix border problems affecting healthcare, education and work, but the federal government does not believe Queensland will remove its border closure with NSW until after the state election on October 31.
While conceding defeat on his push to set a national standard on travel restrictions by defining a coronavirus hotspot, Mr Morrison said he would “continue to exercise patience”.
“I will continue to recognise the states are all coming from different situations,” he told The Australian on Thursday. “They may not all come together at first or at once, but it is important we provide the way forward so they can all join up. Sometimes you have to rebuild things one brick at a time.
“My immediate priority is to ensure that Australians receive medical care where and when they need it. That is a critical priority and we need to work harder to prevent these horrific and cruel outcomes, whether borders are up or borders are down.”
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 5.45am: Andrews set to extend Stage 4
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has indicated he may extend Melbourne’s stage four lockdown beyond its current expiry date of September 13, dismissing leaked documents detailing his government’s plans to ease restrictions as “out of date”, but declining to rule out any of the measures within them.
Mr Andrews warned that any rapid opening up could result in an “explosion” of new COVID-19 cases, saying he would be sticking to his plan of unveiling his timeline for easing coronavirus restrictions on Sunday.
The comments came after the Herald Sun published comprehensive Department of Health and Human Services documents outlining a series of phases that would see Melbourne remain in a modified form of stage four for an additional fortnight, with no clear timeline for businesses to reopen.
Under the draft plan, Melburnians would be allowed to move to stage two — allowing them to leave their homes for reasons other than work, medical care, shopping or exercise — only after Victoria had experienced a fortnight of daily averages of fewer than five COVID-19 cases, and fewer than three cases with an unknown source.
READ the full story here
Patrick Commins 5.30am: Frydenberg must set $80bn free
The October budget must prioritise measures aimed at getting Australians to spend $80bn in precautionary household savings built up through the COVID-19 recession, economists say, after a collapse in consumption drove the worst quarterly economic contraction on record.
Josh Frydenberg on Wednesday again signalled he was considering bringing forward legislated income tax cuts in the upcoming budget, as part of a five-year plan to reignite the country’s economic potential in after the COVID-19 recession.
Victoria’s second coronavirus wave and intensified restrictions are expected to squash a national recovery in this quarter, with economists and Treasury predicting flat to negative GDP growth over the three months.
With uncertainty around the health crisis and the pace of recovery remaining elevated, PwC chief economist Jeremy Thorpe said the June quarter collapse in household consumption “reinforced that the key criterion in the October budget is giving people the confidence to spend again”.
“Consumers need to be the priority as they drive demand in the economy,” Mr Thorpe said.
READ the full story here
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