Coronavirus Australia live news: Russian push to produce 200m vaccine doses this year as Victoria's second wave spreads to Tasmania
Russia hopes to complete trials of a coronavirus vaccine in August and produce 200 million doses with foreign partners by the end of the year, the head of its sovereign wealth fund said.
- No known source for 759 Vic cases
- Quarantine: Every Vic case may be linked
- 20 new cases in NSW
- Victoria records 275 new cases
- ADF deployed to Queensland border
- NSW pub cluster grows
Hello and welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. As Victorians swamp stores in preparation for a mandatory mask wearing outdoors edict to take effect, at least 759 virus cases in Victoria since July 1 have no known source. It comes as the state’s second wave spreads to Tasmania. An inquiry is probing whether every recent Victoria case is linked to the botched hotel quarantine program. Victoria has recorded 275 new cases in the past 24 hours while 20 more people have tested positive in NSW, as a cluster linked to a southern coast pub has grown to eight.
AFP 10.30pm: Russia hopes to produce 200m vaccine doses this year
Russia hopes to complete trials of a coronavirus vaccine in August and produce 200 million doses with foreign partners by the end of the year, the head of its sovereign wealth fund said on Monday.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund, which manages about $10bn ($14.2bn) , is working with a government research institute on one of several vaccine projects in the country.
RDIF chief executive Kirill Dmitriev said he hoped the project would receive permission next month to begin production, after the first phase of a vaccine trial was completed last week.
“Immediately after that we are planning to begin mass production,” Mr Dmitriev said.
READ MORE: Covid job saver: it’s a keeper
Charlie Peel 10pm: Sunshine State revels as southerners get the blues
Queenslanders have always boasted about the superior weather in the Sunshine State. Right now, however, it’s not just the warm winter temperatures and endless blue skies that are the envy of the rest of the nation — there is an unmistakeable air of positivity in the north, a sense that perhaps the dark clouds of COVID-19 have cleared.
Read the full story here
Kieran Gair 9.55pm: Stem NSW outbreak or ‘cases could triple’
NSW could face a “doubling or tripling” of COVID-19 cases by next month if health officials are unable to “clamp down” on the current outbreak, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has conceded.
Read the full story here
John Ferguson 8.20pm: Calls to add vitamin D to arsenal
Experts believe vitamin D could be a simple help for some people to lower the risk of a dire COVID-19 outcome.
Read the full story here
Greg Sheridan 7.45pm: Trump’s strangest and most grotesquely untrue statement
Donald Trump chose, 100 days before the election, to make surely the strangest and most grotesquely untrue statement of his life, when the US President told Fox TV’s Chris Wallace that the US has the lowest COVID-19 mortality rate in the world.
Read the full story here
Joe Kelly 7.15pm: JobKeeper to be extended
The JobKeeper wage subsidy will be extended to businesses beyond September at a lower rate and broken into a two-tiered payment, as the Morrison government massively expands its COVID-19 economic rescue package.
Josh Frydenberg will on Tuesday announce an overhaul to the eligibility requirements to ensure the $1500-a-fortnight program, which has covered about 960,000 organisations and 3.5 million individuals, is targeted at those who need the payment most.
The two-tiered payment system will be introduced after a Treasury review of the JobKeeper scheme found that about 900,000 individuals were earning more than they were in February before the extra assistance kicked-in.
It found the value of the income increase was $130 when averaged across all JobKeeper recipients. However, when averaged across those who had received an income boost the increase leapt to $550.
The separate $550 coronavirus supplement, which has boosted JobSeeker to about $1115 a fortnight, will also be paid at a lower level beyond September — although it will still be more generous than the rate of Newstart before the pandemic took hold.
The eligibility requirements for both payments — JobKeeper and the coronavirus supplement —- will be amended to ensure assistance is well targeted at those who need it most.
“The Morrison government has provided an unprecedented level of economic support to date worth $260bn or 13.3 per cent of GDP,” the Treasurer said. “A crucial part of this economic support was the $70bn JobKeeper Payment to keep businesses in business and Australians in jobs.”
“A three-month review of the JobKeeper payment found the scheme met its objectives, preventing widespread business closures and putting a brake on the job losses that commenced in the second half of March.”
“JobKeeper has been an economic lifeline to millions of Australians and that lifeline will be extended for those businesses that need it most.”
The Treasury review of JobKeeper found it had been successful in supporting business and job survival, preserving the employment relationship and providing income support.
However, it also identified problems with the scheme.
“It distorts wage relativities between lower and higher paid jobs, it dampens incentives to work, it hampers labour mobility and the reallocation of workers to more productive roles, and it keeps businesses afloat that would not be viable without ongoing support,” it found.
“A better approach to sectoral targeting would be to maintain JobKeeper but reassess eligibility in October based on actual decline in turnover. This would target the most affected businesses and would reduce the proportion of the economy at risk of the adverse incentives of JobKeeper.”
As of July 15, payments under the JobKeeper scheme totalled $29.8bn. Treasury also found the payment went to businesses that experienced an average decline in turnover in April of 37 per cent against the same month last year.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said JobKeeper had created a number of “adverse incentives which may become more pronounced over time as the economy recovers”.
“This formed part of our considerations as we looked at the next phase of the JobKeeper program,” Senator Cormann said.
“The government recognises the need for JobKeeper to be extended, we are conscious that there will still be businesses that will continue to be severely impacted by the coronavirus crisis.
“But we also want to ensure that ultimately we can transition businesses back into a situation where they are able to pay for the wages of their employees out of their income.”
READ MORE: Fears 40 aged-care residents will die
Matthew Denholm 6.45pm: Tasmania’s virus case recently arrived from Victoria
Victoria’s coronavirus second wave has spread to Tasmania, with authorities in the island state revealing its first case for several months is a woman recently arrived from Victoria.
“The case is a young woman who has been in hotel quarantine after returning to Tasmania from Victoria,” said Dr Scott McKeown, Tasmania’s Acting Director of Public Health.
“The woman is currently receiving treatment at the Royal Hobart Hospital, and Public Health Services are (sic) conducting contact tracing.”
It is the first coronavirus case confirmed in Tasmania since May 16, and comes days before Premier Peter Gutwein is due to announce a decision on border reopening.
READ MORE: ALP fears ‘Dandemic’ landmines
6.42pm: Experts predict 30,000 US deaths in three weeks
Imogen Reid 5.55pm Fresh warning as Sydney churchgoers told to isolate
An urgent new warning has been issued to churchgoers to isolate as a new link emerges between the Thai Rocks cluster a western Sydney cathedral.
People who attended the Our lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Harris Park over the course of three days last week have been directed to self-isolate for 14 days and to get tested for COVID-19 even if they are not experiencing any symptoms.
Those days include:
Wednesday 15 July - 5:30pm mass
Thursday 16 July - 6pm mass
Friday 17 July - 1pm funeral and 6pm mass
A NSW health statement confirmed a person with the virus connected to the Thai Rocks cluster attended the cathedral four times before testing positive.
“Two additional cases, parishioners who also attended services on these days, have now also returned a positive result for COVID-19, both of whom are in isolation,” the statement read.
NSW Health is asking anyone who attended mass at the church in Sydney’s west to immediately self-isolate for two weeks even if they have no symptoms.
NSW recorded 20 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday – all of which have been linked to existing clusters.
Imogen Reid 4.10pm: DCMO on whether you need to wear a mask in NSW
Australia’s deputy chief medical officer has addressed whether NSW residents should start wearing masks while they are in public.
Nick Coatsworth has said while face masks have an effect on reducing the spread of COVID-19, Australians need to understand “where we put masks in the hierarchy of protection.”
He said the advice to NSW residents is “not to catch public transport” and “completely reconsider how you get to work,” — but to wear a mask if taking public transport is necessary.
Dr Coatsworth added it would be contentious to suggest earlier mask use would have prevented Victoria’s second wave of infections.
“I think that it would be a contentious point for anyone, even the most strident mask advocate, to suggest that the current levels of transmission in Victoria could have been avoided with an earlier mask-use policy,” he said.
“The reason for that is clear in the epidemiology of infections in Victoria. They originated from household outbreaks and then spread out in the community. You don’t wear a mask in your household.
“So, while we will continue to say they have an effect on reducing transmission, the submission that they significantly blunt an epidemic curve is not supported at the moment.”
He said the “degree of community transmission” is what prompted the Victorian government to mandate the use of face masks in public.
“The AHPPC has always acknowledged that masks represent an important part of a suite of measures against respiratory viruses, COVID-19 being no exception,” Dr Coatsworth said.
“The issue is the point at which you recommend that for the general community, and we’ve said, for many weeks now, it’s to do with the degree of community transmission.
“So, there is clearly community transmission in Victoria at the moment. That has reached the point where masks need to be mandated.”
Dr Coatsworth added that mandating something like compulsory face coverings “is not a straightforward thing to do.” He said as community transmission increased in Victoria, the response shifted to encouraging mask use.
“Now we support the Victorian’s government’s use to mandate mask use in greater Melbourne and Mitchell Shire,” he said.
Dr Coatsworth praised Victoria and New South Wales on their public health responses to new outbreaks, calling the community support “phenomenal” and a “source of great pride for all Australians.
“The community support that we’re getting throughout this second peak of COVID-19 in Australia has been phenomenal and continues to be, I think, a source of great pride for all Australians that we can go through this, again, together, to help the most vulnerable in our community avoid getting diagnosed with this virus and potentially getting severe consequences from it.”
READ MORE: How Victoria’s new face mask rules will work
Rachel Baxendale 3.50pm: No known source for 759 cases; regional cases triple
As Victorians swamp stores in preparation for a mandatory mask wearing outdoors edict to take effect, at least 759 virus cases in Victoria since July 1 have no known source. And the number could be more than 1000 with 247 of today’s 275 new cases in the state not yet linked to known clusters.
Meanwhile the number of Victorian COVID-19 active cases outside the Melbourne metropolitan and Mitchell Shire lockdown zone has almost tripled in a week, from 27 last Monday to 73 this Monday.
When the Stage Three Melbourne-wide lockdown began on July 9, there were just 14 active COVID-19 cases in regional Victoria, where the lockdown does not apply.
Parts of regional Victoria which have recorded net increases in cases in the 24 hours to Monday include Colac-Otway and Greater Geelong, southwest of Melbourne, with net increases of seven and two active cases respectively.
The Colac cases are linked to a cluster of 12 cases at the Australian Lamb Company abattoir in the town.
Ballarat, Golden Plains, Macedon Ranges, South Gippsland and Loddon all recorded net increases of one case in the 24 hours to Monday.
Of the 32 local government areas inside the lockdown zone, there are now only two with fewer than 10 active cases, reinforcing how widespread Melbourne’s epidemic is.
Those two LGAs are Yarra Ranges with nine active cases, and the Mornington Peninsula with seven.
There are 22 metro and Mitchell Shire LGAs with at least 20 active cases, 14 with at least 50, 10 with at least 100, and five with at least 200.
Wyndham, in Melbourne’s outer southwest, has the highest number of active cases, with 350, including a net increase of 10 since Sunday.
Victoria had a total net increase in active cases of 76 on Monday.
It is now more than fortnight since the state began recording daily increases of more than 100, if not more than 200, meaning many of these people are appearing in recovery statistics.
READ MORE: Quarantine inquiry: It might be every case of COVID-19
Matthew Denholm 3.30pm: Virus resurfaces in Tasmania with new cases
Tasmania is investigating its first suspected new case of coronavirus in more than two months, Premier Peter Gutwein has revealed.
The suspected case is a person in hotel quarantine. More details are expected to be released late on Monday. If confirmed, it would be the state’s first confirmed case since May 16.
READ MORE: What it’s like to live in ‘virus-free’ Tasmania
Rachel Baxendale 3.10pm: New school closures announced in Victoria
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has release a list of 12 schools newly closed following associated COVID-19 cases.
Given that Prep to Year 10 students in metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire only returned from school holidays on Monday and the vast majority are learning from home, it is interesting that this list includes Melbourne primary schools.
The Australian is aware of school communities who were not contacted by DHHS until more than a fortnight after students who subsequently tested positive had attended school.
Also on the list are several schools in regional areas where the Stage Three stay-at-home orders do not apply.
The schools are:
- Charles La Trobe P-12 College in Macleod, in Melbourne’s outer northeast;
- Roxburgh College in Roxburgh Park in Melbourne’s outer north;
- Overport Primary School in Frankston, in Melbourne’s outer southeast;
- Drysdale Primary School on the Bellarine Peninsula, east of Geelong;
- Toorak Primary School in Melbourne’s inner southeast;
- Princes Hill Secondary College in Melbourne’s inner north;
- Pascoe Vale Girls Secondary College in Melbourne’s northwest;
- Grovedale West Primary School in Geelong’s outer south;
- Victorian College of the Arts Secondary School in Southbank in Melbourne’s inner south;
- Trinity College Colac, in southwest regional Victoria;
- Parkville College - Malmsbury Campus, attached to the central Victorian youth justice centre;
- Leibler Yavneh P-12 College in Elsternwick, in Melbourne’s inner southeast.
READ MORE: Is there a glitch in insolvency relief?
Rachel Baxendale 2.55pm: Uncertainty over origin of 247 new Vic cases
Of Victoria’s 275 new cases on Monday, only 28 have so far been linked to known clusters, with the remaining 247 under investigation.
Here’s what we know about the size of clusters with new cases on Monday:
- 173 cases have been linked to Al-Taqwa Islamic College in Truganina in Melbourne’s outer west, up from 169 on Sunday;
- 57 cases have been linked to Somerville Retail Services abattoir in Tottenham, in Melbourne’s west, up from 53 on Sunday;
- 36 cases have been linked to JBS abattoir in Brooklyn, in Melbourne’s west, up from 35 on Sunday;
- Four cases have been linked to the Nestle factory in Campbellfield in Melbourne’s outer north. This is a previously unreported cluster;
- 12 cases have been linked to Australian Lamb Company in Colac, in southwest regional Victoria, up from six on Sunday;
- Five cases have been linked to Australian Pharmaceutical Industries in Dandenong South, in Melbourne’s outer southeast, up from three on Sunday’
- 13 cases have been linked to the Goodman Fielder Pampas factory in West Footscray, in Melbourne’s west, up from six in Sunday;
- 13 cases have been linked to St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner, in Melbourne’s north, up from 10 on Sunday;
- 40 cases have been linked to Estia Health in Ardeer, in Melbourne’s west, up from 38 on Sunday;
- 28 cases have been linked to Glendale Aged Care facility in Werribee, in Melbourne’s outer southwest, up from 24 on Sunday. These cases include that of former Glendale resident, 90-year-old great-grandfather Alf Jordan, who died with COVID-19 in hospital 10 days ago;
- 18 cases have been linked to the Royal Melbourne Hospital Royal Park campus, up from eight on Friday;
- 20 cases have been linked to LaManna Supermarket in Essendon Fields, in Melbourne’s northwest, up from 16 on Friday;
- 14 cases have been linked to Embracia Aged Care Moonee Valley in Avondale Heights, in Melbourne’s northwest, up from 12 on Sunday;
- Five cases have been linked to Japara Central Park Aged Care Home in Windsor, in Melbourne’s inner southeast, up from four on Sunday.
READ MORE: Consider administration, firms told
Rachel Baxendale 2.45pm: Hundreds of cases in public housing towers
There are currently 287 cases in residents of previously locked down public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington, in Melbourne’s inner northwest – the same number as on Sunday, and up from 242 a week ago.
There are also 54 cases in residents of public housing towers in Carlton, in Melbourne’s inner north, again the same number as on Sunday, but up from 32 a week ago.
READ MORE: Inquiry opens in Melbourne
Rachel Baxendale 2.30pm: 759 Victoria cases have unknown source
Victoria has now recorded 1060 cases of COVID-19 where the source of infection is not known, including 759 since July 1.
This does not include 247 of the state’s 275 new cases on Monday, which are yet to be linked to known clusters and remain under investigation.
Of the 5942 cases in Victoria since the pandemic began, 2933 people have recovered, 39 have died, and there are currently 2913 active cases.
There have been 5456 cases in metropolitan Melbourne and 348 in regional Victoria, and 3082 cases in men, compared with 2830 in women.
More than 1,331,000 tests have been processed.
There have been 429 cases in healthcare workers, 164 of which are active.
The health department says the “vast majority” of these active cases in healthcare workers were “acquired in the community”.
Given healthcare workers are one of few cohorts undergoing routine testing, the high proportion of community transmissions points to significant levels of undetected virus in the community.
READ MORE: Businesses headed to the wall
Caroline Overington 2.20pm: Mask defiance springs up in Melbourne
The Victorian government has decreed that masks will be compulsory in so-called ‘hot zones’ … but it seems many are prepared to instead wear a $200 fine. Read more here
Adeshola Ore 2pm: ACT warns some residents to self-isolate
ACT’s health authorities have urged territorians who visited a Batemans Bay club linked to eight COVID-19 cases to self-isolate.
On Monday, NSW’s Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed there were four additional cases linked to the hotel on NSW’s south coast. The source of the cluster remains unknown.
ACT Health said anyone who attended the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club on July 13, 15, 16 or 17 should self-isolate. The territory’s Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman said the requirement to self-quarantine for 14 days would be enforced from midday, Monday
“With many Canberrans returning from the south coast after the school holidays we are keen to ensure anyone who has been in this location on the dates specified by NSW Health follows the advice to self-quarantine and get tested,” she said.
“ACT Health is working closely with its NSW counterparts to contact trace anyone in the club over those days but I would urge anyone who has not yet been contacted and was in the Club to follow this advice.”
The territory recorded no new cases of coronavirus overnight. There are three active cases of coronavirus in the ACT.
READ MORE: Fears over new BLM protest
Mark Ritson 1.30pm: What it’s like to live in a virus-free state
The era of Tassie inbreeding jokes is over. Here, you can get a beer and a meal as normal. Even my octogenarian in-laws are relaxed doing their shopping. Read more here
John Ferguson 1.10pm: Labor fears Dandemic inquiry
The inquiry into Victoria’s hotel quarantine debacle must have every opportunity to do its job. Pandemics can’t stop democracy. And Labor is petrified of the outcome. Read more here
Rachel Baxendale 1pm: ‘No time wasted’ in hotel quarantine inquiry
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews thanked Justice Jennifer Coate, who with Counsel Assisting Tony Neal QC is conducting the judicial inquiry into the state’s bungled hotel quarantine system.
Unusually, Mr Neal is being instructed by lawyers provided by the Victorian Government Solicitors’ Office, after Justice Coate determined there was no conflict of interest in government lawyers interrogating government officials on government policies.
Mr Andrews said Justice Coate and her team had “wasted no time” in seeking to “give us the answers that we need to understand exactly what has cone on in that hotel quarantine program”.
“They’ve put in a power of work to get to this point, and of course that formally begins in a public-facing way, that formally begins today and I’m very confident that process will give us the answers that we are each entitled to,” the Premier said.
“What has gone here is completely unacceptable to me and indeed unacceptable to all of us, but the best thing to do is to have that proper understanding of exactly what has gone on, those answers.
“That’s what we’re entitled to and that is what the judicial process, at arm’s length from government, will appropriately deliver.”
Since announcing the inquiry on June 30, the Premier and his ministers have used it as an excuse not to answer questions from journalists regarding the management of the hotel quarantine system.
Breaches at two hotels led to clusters totalling more than 60 cases, to which a “high proportion” if not all of Victoria’s current COVID-19 caseload has been genomically linked.
READ MORE: Mothballed hospital turns Covid refuge
Rachel Baxendale 12.45pm: Victoria’s weight of virus cases laid bare
Victoria has now had 5942 cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began.
This accounts for 50 per cent of Australia’s 11,877 cases and compares with 3399 cases in NSW.
Richard Ferguson 12.35pm: PM: Range of support will be rolled out
Scott Morrison says the next phase of federal income support – to be revealed on Thursday – is just the beginning of a series of government programs over the course of the pandemic.
The Prime Minister and Josh Frydenberg will detail the next phase of JobKeeper and JobSeeker, starting from September, this week. It is expected both the wage subsidy and the increased welfare benefit will be more tapered.
But Mr Morrison said on Monday that the pandemic income supports would not end after the next phase, though he could not say how many changes would be made to government programs down the track.
“We will have more to say about the next phase, but we have to look at our supports and our programs as a series of phases,” he said in Sydney.
“How many phases there are, it’s very difficult to say as there are so many uncertainties.
“It will be targeted, it will be temporary … What the Treasurer and I will announce will not commence the day after we announce it, it will be several months from now.”
READ MORE: A return to a Cold War
David Swan 12.15pm: Twitter disables Donald Trump tweet
The video, which included music from the group Linkin Park, disappeared from the president’s Twitter feed late Saturday with the notification: “This media has been disabled in response to a report by the copyright owner.”
Twitter removed the video, which Trump had retweeted from White House social media director Dan Scavino, after it received a Digital Millennium Copyright Act notice from Machine Shop Entertainment, according to a notice posted on the Lumen Database which collects requests for removal of online materials.
READ MORE: Bill Shorten rises again
Remy Varga 11.45am: Inquiry begins into botched quarantine
A judicial inquiry is examining if every coronavirus case identified in Victoria in recent weeks could be linked to the state government’s botched hotel quarantine program.
Saying he understood the “profound and ongoing significance” of the recent COVID-19 outbreak to Victorians, senior counsel assisting Tony Neal QC opened the hearing into the disastrous program on Monday.
He said information already provided to the inquiry suggested the possibility of a link between returned travellers in hotel quarantine and many of the cases identified in the wider Victorian community in recent weeks.
“Comments made by the Chief Health Officer to the media have suggested that it might even be that every case of COVID-19 in Victoria in recent weeks could be sourced to the hotel quarantine program,” he said.
“Those assisting you are in the process of obtaining the necessary material and documents and witnesses before the board on that very issue.”
The Honourable Jennifer Coate AO who is overseeing the judicial inquiry, said she expected “no less than full, frank and timely co-operation from all relevant government departments, entities and persons to enable me to do my job.”
READ MORE: Victoria move could spell disaster
Adeshola Ore 11.30am: Sydney pub, restaurant report cases
NSW Health has confirmed an inner-Sydney pub and restaurant have reported coronavirus cases.
Pizza restaurant Love Supreme and the The Village Inn hotel have been visited by a person who was positive for COVID-19. They join a growing list of NSW venues associated with coronavirus cases.
Anyone who attended Love Supreme on Saturday, July 11 between 5.30pm and 9pm or The Village Inn on Tuesday, July 14 between 6.30pm to 10pm is urged to monitor themselves for symptoms of the virus.
Anyone who has symptoms develop should self-isolate and get tested.
READ MORE: Pregnant Melbourne woman in ICU with COVID
Yoni Bashan 11.25am: NSW records 20 more cases, one in her 30s
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed a rise of 20 novel coronavirus cases across the state.
Ms Berejiklian told journalists that while the number of transmissions was concerning, each instance could be linked back to a known source.
“Whilst I remain incredibly concerned, that is one positive takeout,” she said.
20 new cases of #COVID19 have been diagnosed in NSW between 8pm on 18 July and 8pm on 19 July.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 20, 2020
For the latest list of COVID-19 locations, visit: https://t.co/pqkRdfh3cR pic.twitter.com/YUxq9wcv9Q
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said there were 96 people suffering from COVID-19 being treated by NSW Health, including two people in intensive care, one of whom requires the assistance of a ventilator.
Dr Chant said one of those people was aged in their 30s.
“Often we tend to say this disease affects the elderly … but there are still young people that are impacted,” she said.
Of the new cases, eight are associated with the Thai Rock restaurant in Wetherill Park, four are overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, one person is a returned traveller from Victoria, and four are associated with the Bateman’s Bay Soldier’s Club cluster.
Dr Chant said the source of that cluster remains unknown, but efforts were continuing to establish its origin.
READ MORE: Time to lift our game on elevator etiquette
Rachel Baxendale 11.15am: Victoria toll rises to 39 as 80-year-old dies
A woman in her 80s has become the 39th person to die with COVID-19 in Victoria.
There have been 275 new cases of coronavirus in Victoria in the 24 hours to Monday, bringing the number of active cases to 2913 – an increase of 2543 active cases since July 1.
Of the 275, 28 cases have so far been linked to known outbreaks, and the remainder are under investigation.
There are 147 people in hospital, including 31 in intensive care – up from 130 in hospital and 28 in ICU on Sunday.
There have been 19 coronavirus deaths in Victoria since July 5.
There were 26,588 tests processed in the 24 hours to Monday, meaning the 275 positives give a 1.03 per cent positive test rate.
This compares favourably with a record 1.75 per cent on Friday, and 1.36 per cent on Sunday, but would have been a record had it occurred eight days ago.
READ MORE: How new face mask rules will work
Remy Varga 11.05am: Coronavirus inquiry opens
A judicial inquiry is examining if every coronavirus case identified in Victoria in recent weeks could be linked to the state government’s botched hotel quarantine program.
Saying he understood the “profound and ongoing significance” of the recent COVID-19 outbreak to Victorians, senior counsel assisting Tony Neal QC opened the inquiry into the disastrous program on Monday.
He said information already provided to the inquiry suggested the possibility of a link between returned travellers in hotel quarantine and many of the cases identified in the wider Victorian community in recent weeks.
“Comments made by the Chief Health Officer to the media have suggested that it might even be that every case of COVID-19 in Victoria in recent weeks could be sourced to the hotel quarantine program,” he said.
“Those assisting you are in the process of obtaining the necessary material and documents and witnesses before the board on that very issue.”
The Honourable Jennifer Coate AO who is overseeing the judicial inquiry, said she expected “no less than full, frank and timely co-operation from all relevant government departments, entities and persons to enable me to do my job.”
READ MORE: Airport overhaul as new normal arrives
Ewin Hannan 10.55am: ACTU urges $3bn fund for reconstruction
The ACTU is urging the Morrison Government to commit tens of billions of dollars to fund a national economic reconstruction plan that unions claim will either create or support one million jobs.
As well as free childcare at a cost of $7 billion a year, the ACTU wants the government to commit $3 billion to support the hospitality, retail, tourism and arts industries; $2.5 billion a year to fund 100,000 subsidised apprenticeships; and $1 billion a year to finance 150,000 free TAFE spots.
Unions want the government to establish a $3 billion fund, allocated over three years, to support capital improvements in the TAFE system.
Under a proposed National Reconstruction Investment Plan, the ACTU is calling for an “additional $30 billion of new capital spending per year on the full range of qualifying public capital projects”.
A proposed sustainable manufacturing strategy includes an additional $1.5 billion funding for the Clean Energy Finance Corporation; $2 billion to support energy sector investments; $500 million in technology grants; and $1 billion in initial capital funding for a Superpower Investment Fund.
ACTU president Michele O’Neil said unions wanted the government to “think big by investing public money for public good, in creating jobs that support people and communities now and into the future”.
“With almost one million people officially unemployed and many hundreds of thousands out of work, or without enough work, the Australian people need to see that the economy isn’t going to fall off a cliff,” she said.
She said the government currently had no plan to rebuild the economy and steer the country through the next stages of COVID-19 crisis.
““Our initiatives will support and create jobs for women and men, for cities and towns, and for young people as well as older workers,” she said.
“Whether it is free and universal childcare, the expansion of public infrastructure investment with locally made materials, free TAFE courses focused on rebuilding our skills and training sector, support to revitalise our travel and hospitality sectors and regional communities or building a sustainable manufacturing capacity this plan delivers jobs, community infrastructure and a future for Australia.”
READ MORE: BCA’s big ask: create 2 million new jobs
Rachel Baxendale 10.45am: Victoria records 275 new cases
Victoria has recorded 275 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, and the death of a woman in her 80s.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Deputy Premier James Merlino are due to give a press conference at 11am.
It is likely Mr Merlino will speak in his capacity as Education Minister following the return of Prep to Year 10 students and their parents to home schooling on Monday morning.
While the new number consolidates on a stabilisation in figures in recent days, rather than indicating a continued exponential rise, it still adds a significant number of new cases to what was already 2837 active cases as of Sunday.
It will also be important to consider the number of tests processed, which is often lower on Sundays than during the week
Charlie Peel 10.10am: Palaszczuk moves to take border south
The Queensland government will submit a detailed proposal to temporarily move the border south to end the congestion nightmare wrought by the COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The border reopened on July 10, except to Victorian residents or people who have travelled through the state recently.
Since then, people who have been in the Sydney suburbs of Campbelltown and Liverpool have also been prevented access after they were declared virus hot spots.
The restrictions have necessitated police roadblocks for officers to check travel details of visitors, creating massive chokepoints that have greatly frustrated commuters working and living between the Tweed Shire on the NSW side of the border and the Gold Coast.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday said her government would submit a fresh proposal to NSW to temporarily shift the border.
“I think in the spirit of co-operation it would be good if the NSW government could, now that we’re in July, give it due consideration,” she said.
“It would make things much easier operationally.
“It would keep those communities together and of course they will remain NSW residents. It is just about making the flow of traffic easier.
“We will put that detailed submission to the NSW government today.”
The new confirmed case is a crew member from a cargo ship who has been transferred to hospital. Not considered a risk to the public.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) July 19, 2020
A similar proposal was discussed by the states’ respective police ministers in March, but was rejected.
Ms Palaszczuk urged NSW residents to lobby the NSW government if they wanted the border crossing to change.
“If the NSW government is against it, they’re against it,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I just hope that they would give it due consideration.
“I’m just trying to make life a little easier. Perhaps the Tweed residents would like to let their views known to the NSW government.”
Ms Palaszczuk said the government was continuing to monitor the virus in Sydney’s suburbs and would update is “no travel list” if it spread further.
“We are continuing to monitor those hot spots in NSW and we get regular briefings from the chief health officer,” she said.
READ MORE: Bondi crowds hit beachfront
Remy Varga 9.40am: Melbourne law firm’s advice: don’t wear a mask
A law firm is telling Victorians not to wear masks as well as giving free advice on getting out of the $200 fine.
It comes after the Victorian government announced face masks would be mandatory from Thursday in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus outbreak that is devastating the state.
Sydney based G & B Lawyers, which has previously opposed mandatory vaccination laws, advised Victorians not to wear masks and instead elect to fight the state government in court.
“Free legal advice to all Victorians. Don’t wear a mask. Get a $200 fine then elect to have it determined in Court,” the post said.
“Every single one of you 6.359 million Victorians can challenge the fines in Court.
“The Victorian Government won’t fight you in Court. It is far too expensive for them to do so.”
READ MORE: New virus measures for buses, trains
Anne Barrowclough 9.25am: One new case in Queensland
One new case of coronavirus has been confirmed in Queensland, bringing the number of active cases to two.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed the new case on Monday, warning Queenslanders that they must “never let our guard down.”
Monday, 20 July – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) July 19, 2020
• 1 new confirmed case
• 2 active cases
• 1,072 total confirmed cases
• 461,932 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,061 patients have recovered. pic.twitter.com/DQ7g60DDmT
READ MORE: War families threatened by shrinking cash flow
Anne Barrowclough 9.10am: ‘Hundreds and hundreds’ must isolate
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has warned “hundreds and hundreds” of people will have to isolate over the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club coronavirus cluster grew to eight
NSW Health has ordered anyone who visited the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club on July 13, 15, 16 or 17 to get tested and quarantine for 14 days after eight coronavirus cases among staff and visitors to the venue in Mr Constance's home town.
New South Wales has recorded its biggest spike in new cases in three months as a virus cluster explodes on the state's South Coast. #9Today pic.twitter.com/VvHDfC32Go
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) July 19, 2020
“This is obviously devastating news to our community and we have to make sure everybody isolates, everybody gets tested and stick to the critical rules that are there to keep us safe,” Mr Constance told Nine’s Today Show.
READ MORE: More than 100 ‘imprisoned’ in isolation
Adeshola Ore 8.55am: ADF deployed to Queensland border
More than 50 Australian Defence Force personnel will be stationed along the Queensland-NSW border to help ease congestion at road checkpoints.
ADF Captain Bradley White said the personnel would help monitor traffic flow.
“We have sixty personnel from my task force to assist the police along the Queensland border. This also goes along with the other 90 people we have along the Queensland border on the western side,” he told Channel 9 on Monday morning.
Over the weekend, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk drafted a letter to her NSW counterpart to request the border be moved south to Tweed River to reduce the traffic congestion.
READ MORE: Law firm trolled over free mask advice
Staff writers 8.10am: Sydney rugby league teams in isolation
Two junior rugby league teams in Sydney have gone into isolation after a parent of a player tested positive for COVID-19.
De La Salle JRLFC in Caringbah issued an urgent warning to anyone associated with its under-14 gold team after a parent of a Sutherland-Loftus player tested positive, The Daily Telegraph reports.
De La Salle faced Sutherland-Loftus on the weekend before the positive test came back. The parent was not present at the match.
All players, officials and spectators, including family members, of both teams are required to self-isolate until further notice.
All other players, officials and spectators – including family members – that were in close contact with any players at any point on Sunday must also self isolate until further notice
READ MORE: Discovery taps Irwins for life in a bubble
Adeshola Ore 8.05am: Police warn against Sydney BLM protest
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has urged people not to attend a Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney planned for next week, as the state’s coronavirus numbers continue to climb.
More than 4,000 people have expressed their interest in attending the event on Facebook. Commissioner Fuller said protest organisers have lodged a formal application, but NSW Police will be taking the matter to the Supreme Court.
“Relying on some pretty good intelligence from Victoria, we know how dangerous these protests can be, in terms of health,” he told 2GB radio on Monday morning.
“At the moment, you just can’t take chances.”
Commissioner Fuller said police would be able to fine people under the current health orders.
“If the numbers get above what is lawful at that time, then we can start writing tickets. That is the instruction I’ll be giving to police in relation to that matter.”
READ MORE: Return to Keynes and a Cold War
Adeshola Ore 7.45am: Loan extensions ‘keep businesses viable’
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says the government’s extension of loan guarantees for small businesses will help keep organisations financially viable.
On Sunday night, the federal government unveiled a program to extend loan guarantees for small to medium business to June next year. It will allow banks to provide low-interest rate loans of up to $1 million for terms of up to five years compared to the current three-year period.
“We’ll take out loans to support their growth opportunities or to maintain their working capital to stay operational and viable,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“Today’s announcement is great news for 3.5 million small businesses. We’re giving them more access to money at lower rates and for longer periods.”
.@mjrowland68: Will the Government consider bringing universities into the remodelled JobKeeper scheme?@JoshFrydenberg: We are not proposing to change those criteria. pic.twitter.com/A36IGgGP5K
— News Breakfast (@BreakfastNews) July 19, 2020
The Treasurer’s economic statement on Thursday will include a forecast and an update on the future of JobKeeper and JobSeeker.
The Australian has reported that the federal government’s $70 billion JobKeeper scheme is set to be extended beyond September.
Mr Frydenberg has flagged that turnover tests will continue for the next stage of income support.
Currently, companies need to prove their turnover is down by 30 per cent to qualify for the JobKeeper wage subsidy.
“Those turnover tests will also be applied in the future,” he told Channel 7 on Monday morning.
“If the turnover is improved sufficiently and they are opening their doors, seeing more foot traffic through their shops, then the JobKeeper program may not be applicable to them more.”
Mr Frydenberg said the next round of income support would be necessary for sectors that rely on open borders, such as aviation, tourism and the arts.
“While a number of states are opening up, we recognise that with Victoria in lockdown and some of the other businesses in other sectors really being challenged, this will be an important initiative for the government.”
READ MORE: 240,000 businesses heading for the wall
Staff writer 7.55am: ‘Bike or walk better than bus’
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has warned against using public transport this week as children return to school, suggesting commuters walk or ride bikes instead.
“Walking or cycling are better options than public transport for commuters,” Mr Constance told Sky News on Monday as cases rose across the state.
Mr Constance said people should avoid busy buses and trains, and not board a train if the carriage was full.
READ MORE: Cry for more seasonal workers
Adeshola Ore 7.10am: US marks grim new toll
US President Donald Trump has claimed that coronavirus is coming under control, despite Florida reporting more than 12,000 new cases on Sunday. It marks the fifth day in a row the state has announced over 10,000 new cases. In a Fox News interview broadcasted on Sunday, President Trump defended his administration’s handling of the virus.
“We have embers and we do have flames. Florida became more flame-like, but it’s – it’s going to be under control,” he said.
He also repeated his assertion that the virus would eventually disappear, calling Dr Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious diseases expert, “a little bit of an alarmist.” Dr Fauci has warned that virus cases could soon top 100,000 a day if the country does not unite to fight the virus. Currently, the country is averaging 60,000 new cases a day. The virus has now claimed the lives of over 140,000 people in the US.
The French government has announced it will issue a €135 ($220) fine for people who flout its directive to wear a mask in indoor public space. On Thursday, the French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced that masks would be compulsory to prevent a second wake of infections. Masks are already required on public transport and failure to wear one is punishable with a fine of the same amount.
Hong Kong has announced tightened coronavirus restrictions as the region recorded a record number of daily cases. Non-essential civil servants have been ordered to work from home this week. On Sunday, an event by pro-democracy politicians to mark the one-year anniversary of an attack in a train station by an armed mob was stopped by police in riot gear for breaking coronavirus restrictions. Currently, group gatherings are restricted to four people.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam confirmed that the region recorded more than 100 cases in a twenty-four hour period – the most since the pandemic began in late January. Amusement parks, gyms and other venues will remain closed and a requirement for restaurants to only serve takeaway food after 6pm has been extended.
Globally, the number of coronavirus deaths has now surpassed 600,000. There have been 14.3 million confirmed cases of the virus.
READ MORE: Diversify to help economy
Imogen Reid 6.45am: NSW club cluster grows to eight
Another six people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Batemans Bay on the south coast of NSW in an outbreak health authorities say is linked to the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club.
The Southern NSW Local Health District confirmed on Sunday that six people have tested positive for the disease after two infected patrons dined at the venue.
“In addition to the two people who were infectious with COVID-19 and were dining at the Bistro a further six people associated with the Club have been diagnosed as positive with COVID-19,” the spokesperson said.
Free COVID-19 testing will be available in Batemans Bay today (Monday, July 20) from 9am-2pm.
— John Barilaro MP (@JohnBarilaroMP) July 19, 2020
WHERE: Hanging Rock Oval Car Park (near the function centre), Beach Rd.
If you’re feeling unwell, even with the mildest of symptoms, please self-isolate and seek COVID-19 testing. pic.twitter.com/9WF9Y6bVPQ
Staff and customers who visited the Club on Monday July 13, Thursday July 16 and Friday July 17 have been told to self isolate for 14 days and to get tested for coronavirus.
It is the first outbreak to occur in regional NSW.
READ MORE: Young bear the brunt of unemployment
Emily Ritchie 6.30am: Victorians rush to buy masks
A burst of face mask panic buying saw many Victorians spending their Sunday in long queues before mask-wearing becomes compulsory in the state on Wednesday.
The Victorian government is imposing mandatory face covering for all people in Metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire, with a fine of $200 facing those who refuse.
Premier Daniel Andrews said “people will be wearing masks for a long time into the future”, noting no particular type of face covering was mandated and “even a scarf will do”.
However, people have opted to turn to their local pharmacies to buy a clinical grade mask, causing a blowout in demand and a return to panic buying. Taking to social media to document the rush, one user said he saw “people climbing over each other” to get to the masks.
“I was just in Chemist Warehouse and they are selling small boxes of disposable masks for $50,” the tweet reads.
READ the full story here
Jacquelin Magnay 6.00am: UK COVID toll vastly over-exaggerated
The coronavirus death toll has been over-exaggerated in England, two leading scientists have claimed, prompting an urgent government review.
Over the weekend Health Secretary Matt Hancock ordered a halt to announcing daily death figures amid plummeting trust in the government’s handling of the pandemic and pending the outcome of the review.
Oxford scientists Yoon Loke and Carl Heneghan have found that Public Health England was over-exaggerating deaths by including deaths of anyone who had previously had a positive coronavirus test.
“A patient who has tested positive, but successfully treated and discharged from hospital, will still be counted as a COVID death even if they had a heart attack or were run over by a bus three months later,’’ the scientists said.
“PHE’s definition of the daily death figures means that everyone who has ever had COVID at any time must die with COVID too. So, the COVID death toll in Britain up to July 2020 will eventually exceed 290,000, if the follow-up of every test-positive patient is of long enough duration.’’
The scientists’ findings have created a furore.
For some time there has been a debate whether someone dies of COVID-19 or with it and whether the UK was over-emphasising the death figures to scare people to stay at home, and more recently, to wear masks inside shops and on public transport.
The official government website warns: “Coronavirus deaths and cases give a sense of the spread of the epidemic. Deaths are counted where a lab-confirmed positive coronavirus test result is reported in any setting. This means that not all deaths reported here are caused by coronavirus.’’
In the UK COVID-19 deaths were supposed to be measured by adding up the deaths of people from coronavirus virus, as confirmed by a positive test, from hospitals, care home and deaths at home in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and had been announced each day.
Separately, the Office for National Statistics has been looking at death certificates, which involves a much longer time lag, but this too, has been mired in controversy.
In England, the rules were changed so that nursing home executives – who may not be a medical doctor – could attribute any death to coronavirus without any testing.
That has led to families complaining that the death of their loved one, many of whom had been long term cancer, or dementia sufferers, has been logged as a COVID-19 statistic.
Up to July 19, there have been 29,146 deaths in England attributed to coronavirus.
But the PHE scandal involved Public Health England workers who would ring up people who had had a positive coronavirus test to check if they were still alive. If not – even if that person had died in a fire or a drug overdose – they were logged as a coronavirus death.
It’s believed the boosting of coronavirus deaths by PHE in this way may have added at least 4000 deaths to England’s tally, which then feeds into the UK’s coronavirus total of 45,300.
READ MORE: New weapon to tackle COVID
Stephen Lunn 5.45am: Fears 40 aged-care residents will die
Authorities are anticipating that 40 of the 110 COVID-positive nursing home residents in Victoria won’t survive as they introduce new measures to try and control the “alarming” second wave outbreak.
In the past two weeks 49 nursing homes in Victoria have been linked to coronavirus, with 110 residents infected, federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck said.
Another three nursing homes reported cases on Sunday, and two more nursing home residents, both in their 90s, died.
“This is a genuine concern. These cases have all occurred in the last two weeks, which is very alarming,” Mr Colbeck told The Australian. “They are the most vulnerable.”
“If you look at this nationally the mortality rate is about 37 per cent, so 35 to 40 out of 100 (in residential aged care) who have the virus won’t survive,” he said.
READ the full story here.
David Murray 5.30am: Aviation staff ‘ may fall prey to gangs’
Federal police have warned of an increased risk of organised crime groups paying or blackmailing aviation staff for their security cards and inside information.
The AFP is concerned the pandemic has made sacked or stood-down airport and airline workers more vulnerable to being targeted by crime syndicates, as reduced air travel disrupts traditional drug trafficking operations and leads to a spike in prices.
“It is likely criminal groups will take advantage of a perceived shift in the focus of police and border authorities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,’’ said AFP commander Krissy Barrett.
“Airline and airport staff may possess the necessary skills, expert knowledge, sensitive access, diversion expertise and contacts to assist organised crime groups with their criminal ventures.”
READ the full story here.
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