Coronavirus Australia live news: McGowan slams NSW hotel bill demand; Race to contain outbreak in five suburbs
Premier Mark McGowan has hit back at suggestions Western Australia should repay NSW for the cost of quarantining its residents, saying the call is a diversion from ‘serious corruption’
- Testing blitz in race to contain cluster
- DHHS bungle with student linked to new Melbourne cluster
- Human rights chief blasts lockdowns
- AusPost chief asked to stand aside
- Confusion linked to new cluster
Welcome to our rolling coverage of the continuing coronavirus pandemic. The race is on to contain a cluster in five Melbourne suburbs after confusion between a family and Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services saw a grade five student attend school before testing positive for the coronavirus. The bungle was linked to five new cases today, with 73 close contacts identified and 400 people in isolation. In Question Time, the Prime Minister demanded Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate stand aside while the gifting of $3000 Cartier watches to executives is investigated. Meanwhile, NSW has recorded just one new locally transmitted case today.
Remy Varga, Tess Akerman 10.30pm: Alert as infected boy sent to Melbourne school
Hundreds of Melburnians have been sent into isolation after mixed messages to a quarantining family saw a Grade 5 student attend school in the city’s north for two days before testing positive for coronavirus.
Victoria’s Deputy Chief Health Officer Allan Cheng said there had been some understandable confusion between the family and the Department of Health and Human Services. It appeared the boy believed he was allowed to attend East Preston Islamic College.
The number of active cases linked to the northern metro region outbreak rose to 16 on Thursday, with Dallas Brooks Primary School closed for deep-cleaning after a student was identified as a close contact.
David Ross 10pm: Town split by ‘ring of steel’ reunited
Little River, the town between Melbourne and Geelong that had been split by the “ring of steel” running through the centre of town, will now be reunited.
The town on the outskirts of Melbourne had previously had a border blockade running through the middle, but is set to be reclassified so the Melbourne border restrictions go around the town rather than through.
The move will take effect at 11.59pm on Thursday.
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said the good news meant the town would be unified “under the same set of restrictions”.
“We know that this measure has been tough for the Little River community,” he said.
READ MORE: Palaszczuk keeps Covid polling secret
Richard Ferguson 9.30pm: Foreign students face visa delays
Thousands of foreign students trying to apply for Australian visas are facing long delays in receiving the necessary biometric tests, potentially denying the nation’s universities much-needed enrolments.
Australia’s international student sector is fearful that delays in Hong Kong, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam in biometric tests — the taking of fingerprint and on-the-spot photographs — will see students opt instead for Canadian and British universities.
With the nation’s universities in desperate need of more foreign students to fill a $16bn funding hole left by lost international education revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, the sector is demanding the immediate rectification of the delays.
A Department of Home Affairs spokeswoman said there had been delays but the department was aiming to have ser¬vices up and running within two weeks. “The department’s contracted offshore Service Delivery Partners are dealing with a dynamically changing situation in many countries,” she said.
“We expect services in most biometric collection locations, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, to recommence on or before Monday November 2. The department is allowing additional time for student visa applicants to provide biometrics where COVID-19 has disrupted access to services.
AFP 9pm: Belgian foreign minister in intensive care
Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes, who was caretaker prime minister during the first wave of the coronavirus, has been admitted to intensive care, officials said on Thursday.
The 45-year-old tested positive for COVID-19 last week and had been self-isolating, but her condition worsened and on Thursday (AEDT) she was admitted to a Brussels hospital.
“She is conscious and she can communicate,” her spokeswoman said, confirming that Ms Wilmes was receiving intensive care. A source in her office said her condition was “stable”.
Prime Minister Alexander de Croo, who succeeded Wilmes on October 1, wished her a “speedy recovery” on his Twitter account.
“No one is immune from this dangerous virus. Together as one, we will beat Covid-19!” he said.
Several senior European politicians have fallen ill with the coronavirus, and Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg tested positive on the same day as Ms Wilmes.
The EU is reviewing its policy for face-to-face meetings after a Brussels summit last week was disrupted by three leaders being forced to go into self-isolation after aides were infected.
Belgium, meanwhile, is experiencing one of the worst second waves of the epidemic in the world, and with 10,539 deaths in a country of 11.5 million people, one of the deadliest outbreaks per capita.
The number of confirmed infections has doubled in a month to 253,386, and there are 3274 patients in hospital, despite a renewed partial lockdown that has seen pubs and restaurants close.
Government ministers and scientists will hold a new emergency meeting on Friday and are expected to announce still tighter measures to stem the spread of the virus
READ MORE: Trump’s done a phenomenal job: Norman
Andrew Kidd Fraser 8.30pm: Labor’s targeted seats ‘most virus-hit’
The Gold and Sunshine coasts are the two areas in Queensland whose local economies have been most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but these are the areas where the Palaszczuk government needs to pick up seats to counter expected losses in north Queensland.
Lockdowns associated with coronavirus have hit the tourism industry hard, especially in southeast Queensland, with the closure of interstate and national borders cutting off the free flow of tourists from other parts of Australia as well as overseas.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington have visited both coasts in the past few days, with Labor promoting its handling of the coronavirus pandemic as an election issue.
Figures released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics show the Gold Coast lost 19,000 jobs in the 12 months to the end of September, the highest number in Queensland, while the Sunshine Coast had the second-highest with 7000 less.
AFP 8pm: First space station crew of COVID age returns to Earth
An American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts touched down safely on the Kazakhstan steppe on Thursday, completing a 196-day mission that began with the first launch under lockdown conditions.
NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Russian cosmonauts Anatoly Ivanishin and Ivan Vagner landed about 150km southeast of the Kazakh city of Zhezkazgan.
A seated Captain Cassidy bumped elbows with one member of the crew at the recovery site and saluted another after they exited the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft, before they were taken to medical tents ahead of their onward journeys to Moscow and Houston.
Angie Raphael 7.30pm: McGowan hits back over NSW hotel cost
Premier Mark McGowan has hit back at suggestions Western Australia should repay NSW for the cost of quarantining its residents, saying the call is a diversion from “serious corruption” recently exposed in the eastern state.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian wants WA to “cough up” about $8m, saying her state has been “doing the heavy lifting” with hotel quarantining, but Mr McGowan said WA accepted the most travellers per capita.
“We currently have two people arriving in the last 24 hours from NSW who are COVID-positive, who we’re looking after,” he said on Thursday.
“Clearly, what the NSW government is doing is outside the national agreement that was reached at national cabinet.
“If I was unkind, I would say maybe we should send a bill to the NSW government for the Ruby Princess and all the trauma that caused other states.
“Or maybe we should send a bill to the NSW government for the billions upon billions of dollars we gave them in GST over the course of the last decade.
“Or maybe this is just a diversion by the NSW government from the serious corruption that’s been exposed at senior levels there.”
Mr McGowan was referring to the Independent Commission Against Corruption investigation into Ms Berejiklian’s former partner.
AFP 6.40pm: Germany sets record for new cases
Germany recorded 11,287 new COVID-19 infections in 24 hours, a sharp jump from the previous day and a record for the country since the outbreak of the pandemic, according to official data on Thursday.
The figure far exceeds the next highest total of 7830 recorded last Friday, and is a steep jump from the 7595 cases reported on Wednesday by the Robert Koch Institute.
Germany, like many European countries, has been facing a sharp increase in COVID-19 cases for several weeks.
Faced with the rebound, authorities have toughened anti-pandemic measures, such as banning large gatherings.
Local restrictions have also been imposed — in Berlin, it is now compulsory to wear a mask on certain busy streets.
On Saturday, Chancellor Angela Merkel asked citizens to cut down on socialising, encouraging them to stay at home instead.
“What winter will be, what our Christmas will be, will be decided in the days and weeks to come,” she warned.
The country, hailed for its management of the first wave of the virus earlier this year, has in recent days broken several records for new infections in 24 hours.
At least 380,762 people have been infected in Germany, with 9875 deaths reported.
READ MORE: Trump’s done a phenomenal job: Norman
AFP 6.10pm: Push to develop oral treatment
Swiss pharmaceuticals giant Roche is collaborating with Atea Pharmaceuticals on the development of an orally administered drug to treat coronavirus patients who have not been admitted to hospital.
“Roche and Atea Pharmaceuticals are joining forces in the fight against COVID-19 to develop, manufacture and distribute AT-527, Atea’s investigational oral direct-acting antiviral, to people around the globe,” the two companies said in a joint statement on Thursday.
AT-527 is being tested in phase 2 clinical trials for use as a treatment for people hospitalised with moderate cases of coronavirus.
And phase 3 trials — the last stage before an application can be made for a new drug to be approved and sold on the market — are to be held in the first quarter of next year where it will be tested on patients outside a hospital setting, Roche said.
“AT-527, while being a potential oral treatment option for hospitalised patients, also holds the potential to be the first oral treatment option for COVID-19 patients that are not hospitalised,” the statement said.
“If successful, AT-527 could help treat patients early, reduce the progression of the infection, and contribute to decreasing the overall burden on health systems.”
READ MORE: Dan-nesia: in Victoria, it’s a thing
Anthony Piovesan 5.40pm: Testing blitz in race to contain cluster
Victoria’s deputy chief health officer has hinted at using one coronavirus case manager per household – as opposed to one per every family member – in a bid to avoid confusion and more infections.
It comes as 16 cases are now related to six households across the northern suburbs, with 73 close contacts now in isolation from East Preston Islamic College after a student attended the school and then tested positive.
There is now a testing blitz across Dallas, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Preston and West Heidelberg, with all residents encouraged to get tested.
DHHS testing commander Jeroen Weinmar said the northern suburbs clusters had affected 36 people until the student attended school, where 500 were now in isolation.
“That is a big step up,” he said.
“We have a lot of work to do over the coming days to ensure they are OK, we understand which of them are currently positive.
READ MORE: You’ve got enough problems, Gladys: Palaszczuk
Anthony Piovesan 4.30pm: Health officials stand by controversial funeral limit
Victorian health authorities are maintaining it is still unsafe to have more than 10 people gather at a funeral in Melbourne despite a move to allow 1200 racegoers to attend the Cox Plate race meeting this weekend.
Even though the state government reversed its decision, public health officials have copped backlash for allowing it in the first place – especially since no more than 10 can gather to mourn the loss of a loved one in metropolitan Melbourne.
Speaking at Thursday’s COVID-19 media briefing, deputy chief health officer Professor Allen Cheng said it was still unsafe for more than 10 to gather at a funeral but expected this to change in the near future.
“This is changing over time and we hope … that by next week or week after it will change,” he told reporters.
Currently, funerals held in metropolitan Melbourne are limited to 10 mourners, plus those required to conduct the funeral. Babies under 12 months of age are not counted in the 10-person limit.
Up to 20 mourners can attend a funeral in regional Victoria.
It comes after the state government on Tuesday backflipped on a decision to allow a crowd of 1200 people at Saturday’s Cox Plate, with Racing Minister Martin Pakula reversing the decision just hours after it was announced.
It followed an intense reaction from the community over an alleged double standard where hundreds would have been able to gather at the Moonee Valley Racing Club despite Melburnians living under strict stay-at-home directions.
Professor Cheng, who was forced to explain the public health advice, said there would have been safeguards to separate groups.
“We were not expecting 1200 people to just gather at the one spot – that was not what was presented,” he said.
“There are people that were involved in the jockeys, the strappers and those running the event and they’re separate from other groups, and there was certainly a plan for other people to be well separated in small groups – that was some of the things we took into account.”
READ MORE: Victorians treated like mug punters
Nicola Berkovic 3.37pm: Dyson Heydon faces new harassment claims
Four more former High Court staff members have made allegations of inappropriate behaviour by former High Court judge Dyson Heydon.
Three of those were allegations of sexual harassment, and one was an allegation of bullying.
The revelations come after High Court Chief Justice Susan Kiefel apologised in June after an independent inquiry by Vivienne Thom had found Mr Heydon had harassed six female former associates. She said at the time that the women had been “believed”.
However, Mr Heydon “categorically denied” any allegation of predatory behaviour or breaches of the law.
READ the full story here
Nicola Berkovic 3.13pm: Human Rights chief blasts lockdowns
Australians are being exposed to “potentially unnecessary” infringements on their basic human rights during the lockdown because of a lack of scrutiny and accountability, says Australian Human Rights Commission president Rosalind Croucher.
Professor Croucher said any measures to combat COVID-19 that curtailed human rights needed to be necessary to protect public health and proportionate to meet that goal, with the least restrictive measures imposed to do so, to comply with international human rights obligations.
“I am concerned at the lack of transparency in explaining the continued justification for some emergency measures, and even for identifying precisely which level of government is responsible for some of them …
“Australians have been, and continue to be, exposed to potentially unnecessary restrictions of their rights and freedoms, because of the lack of transparency and accountability,” she told Senate estimates.
READ the full story here
Rosie Lewis 3.04pm: PM: ‘If AusPost boss doesn’t stand aside, she can go’
The Prime Minister said Australia Post chief Christine Holgate should stand aside immediately so the independent investigation can look into the conduct of board members and executive team over the purchase of four $3000 Cartier watches bought as rewards for senior executives.
“That report will come back to me and my members of my cabinet and if there are issues to be addressed with board members, then they will be addressed then,” Mr Morrison told parliament.
“This all happened within an hour (of the Senate estimates evidence), so appalled and shocked was I by that behaviour because as any shareholder would in a company raise their outrage if they had seen that conduct by a chief executive, a management or a board, they would insist rightly on the same thing.
“We are the shareholders of Australia Post on behalf of the Australian people, so that action was immediate and if the chief executive wishes to stand aside, she has been instructed to stand aside, if she doesn’t wish to do that, she can go.”
Rosie Lewis 2.33pm: Holgate asked to stand aside as Cartier watches probed
BREAKING: Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate has been asked to stand aside while the federal government investigates the purchase of four $3000 Cartier watches for senior executives.
Communications Minister Paul Fletcher told federal parliament he was “shocked and concerned” by revelations the government-owned company had purchased the watches for $12,000 and has asked for an investigation into the matter.
“I have spoken to the chair of Australia Post (Lucio Di Bartolomeo). I have explained that the government’s view is that boards and management of government business enterprises need to take great care with taxpayers’ money,” Mr Fletcher said in question time.
“I have informed the chair of Australia Post that the shareholder ministers (Mr Fletcher and Finance Minister Mathias Cormann) have asked our respective departments to carry out an investigation into this matter and I have asked the chair to provide the full support of the company for this investigation. And I have also asked the chair to inform the chief executive as she will be asked to stand aside during the course of this investigation.
“This is a matter that the Australian government takes very seriously. We expect the board and management of government business enterprises to deal with taxpayers’ money with scrupulous care and that is what this investigation will be focused on and it will examine the conduct of all involved in how this matter occurred.”
READ MORE: $3000 Cartier watches for Australia Post execs
Remy Varga 2.20pm: DHHS bungle with student linked to new cluster
Confusion between a family and Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services saw a grade five student attend school before testing positive for the coronavirus.
The bungle was linked to five new cases today, with 73 close contacts identified and 400 people in isolation.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Allan Cheng said each member of the family had a different case manager, which meant they were receiving different advice.
Adding to the confusion, Professor Cheng said each member of the family was at a different stage of the isolation period.
“I think there probably was some confusion, which is probably understandable,” he said.
“What has probably happened in this case is that the people that had infection had been cleared and told they could come out of isolation.
“But the people that haven’t had infection were still in quarantine and there was obviously some confusion.”
Contact tracing boss Jeroen Weimar said it appeared a number of people in the family had been cleared to leave quarantine, but other members defined as close contacts hadn’t.
“One of the members of that household did attend school on the Monday and Tuesday, he had his day 11 test and that was positive,” he said.
Professor Cheng said “going forward”, the family would have one case manager instead of one for each member.
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The Mocker 2.15pm: Dan-nesia: in Victoria, it’s a thing
He is the teller of truth, the protector of the people, the antivirus, the great healer. He watches over us children while we sleep. When we transgress, he admonishes us firmly but with love.
He is magisterial in his wisdom, he is benevolent to all, he speaks of a day when, provided we behave, he will allow us more liberties.
READ The Mocker’s full commentary on Daniel Andrews here
Sarah Elks 1.36pm: ‘You’ve got enough problems, Gladys’: Palaszczuk
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has criticised her NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian for telling Queensland to do more on hotel quarantine, saying Ms Berejiklian “has enough of her own internal problems”.
Ms Palaszczuk is campaigning at Fitzroy Island, on the Great Barrier Reef, on Thursday, in the Labor electorate of Mulgrave (10.9 per cent), where she’s announced $30m in borrowings to fund reef promises.
Thursday, October 22, is the day the Palaszczuk government had flagged as “D-Day” for NSW to prove it had community transmission of COVID-19 under control for the borders to be reopened on November 1.
But Ms Palaszczuk said she had not been briefed by her Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young on whether NSW had met that mark.
Ms Palaszczuk would only say the decision would be made “by the end of the month”.
Asked about Ms Berejiklian’s comments that Queensland should pull its weight more in terms of hotel quarantine of returning travellers, Ms Palaszczuk hit back, in an apparent reference to Ms Berejiklian’s recent ICAC appearance.
“I don’t think Gladys Berejiklian should be criticising anyone, frankly,” she said.
“I think she’s got enough of her own internal problems.”
“I’m not going to be lectured by the Premier of NSW, what happened to all working together?
READ the full story here
Yoni Bashan 1.05pm: Maguire ‘had key’ to Berejiklian’s house
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian allegedly gave a house key to the former Liberal MP Daryl Maguire, with parliament hearing he may have had access to her property for “many years” and came and went from the premises routinely.
NSW One Nation leader Mark Latham put the information to the government during Question Time in the Legislative Council, suggesting that this marked a failure by Ms Berejiklian to disclose her secret relationship.
Ms Berejiklian has repeatedly stated that the pair were in a “close, personal relationship” but one that did not meet the threshold for disclosure under the NSW Ministerial Code of Conduct.
READ the full story here
Remy Varga 12.59pm: Andrews happy for drones over home during grand final
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says he’d be fine with police flying drones over his backyard at the AFL grand final match this weekend.
It follows reports on Thursday that Victoria Police will use drones and other surveillance technologies to ensure Melburnians following social distancing laws on Saturday.
When asked how he would feel if a drone flew over his house, Mr Andrews said everyone in his household would be following the rules.
“They can fly drones over my place because no one will be doing anything wrong,” he said.
“We’ll be following the rules.”
Melburnians are not allowed to visit each other’s homes unless for caring reasons, which does not include grand final barbecues.
READ MORE: ‘Moneyball’ team beats AFL odds
Cameron Stewart 12.54pm: Obama returns to election campaign stage
Barack Obama has made a dramatic entry into the US election campaign, delivering a blistering attack on Donald Trump’s presidency and calling on Americans to restore the value and ideals that the nation was founded on.
READ the full story here
Remy Varga 12.46pm: Cox Plate crowd ‘could have been safe’
Victoria’s deputy Chief Health Officer Allan Cheng said he believes the Cox Plate could have been run safely but said the decision to cancel 500 owners gathering to watch their horses was appropriate.
Professor Cheng said the Cox Plate was “very different” to the 10-person limit on funerals, with the Cox Plate being one event instead of multiple funerals.
“Its not 500 people all gathering at once, they are spread out,” he said.
The 100th running of the Cox Plate was cancelled hours after it was announced following widespread backlash from weary Melburnians forbidden from visiting the homes of their families.
As well, a 10-person limit remains on funerals, which Mr Cheng maintained was currently still necessary.
He said the decision to cancel the Cox Plate was the right one.
“I think the event could have been done safely but the decision that’s been made is appropriate,” he said in response to a question.
READ MORE: Dan open then shut on health advice
Imogen Reid 12.31pm: Two more crew on Sunshine Coast ship positive
Two crew members on board the Sofrana Surville cargo ship anchored off Queensland’s Sunshine Coast have tested positive to COVID-19.
Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles said authorities are still determining how severe the cases are after they were asked to run genomic sequencing tests by New Zealand health officials.
“That can take up to a week, but we’ll do the work asked by the New Zealand government,” he said.
Mr Miles said the new cases were not included in Queensland’s tally as the crew members had not yet been brought ashore.
“A meeting is underway to determine if they need to be evacuated to the mainland, and which hospital they would be sent to,” he said. “We are continuing to monitor that ship.”
It comes after a New Zealand engineer, who had worked on the same ship, tested positive to COVID-19 on Saturday.
Following investigations, health officials discovered he had tested positive to a strain of the virus not seen in New Zealand or Australia before.
With wires
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Rosie Lewis 12.04pm: Australia Post execs given $3000 Cartier watches
Four Australia Post executives received $3000 Cartier watches after clinching a deal to provide a banking service with three of the four big banks and other financial institutions, but the government-owned business does not know which credit card was charged.
In budget estimates questioning, Australia Post CEO Christine Holgate confirmed Gary Starr, Deanne Keetelaar, Anna Bennett and Greg Sutherland were gifted the watches in October 2018 for the “Bank@Post” deal but said she did not use taxpayers’ money.
“We do not receive government funding, we are a commercial organisation,” Ms Holgate said.
“It was a recommendation from our chair that these people get rewarded.”
The Australia Post officials could not recall what credit card the $12,000 watches were charged to.
“I cannot because I haven’t had that question today. Australia Post has $7.4bn worth of expenses, we look after those expenses and take great care of those expenses,” Australia Post chief financial officer Rodney Boys said.
Ms Holgate also did not know what type of Cartier watch the men and women received.
READ MORE: Retail’s winners and losers
Remy Varga 11.48am: Andrews: Hundreds isolating after student positive
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says there are “many hundreds of people in iso at home” in Melbourne’s north after a year-five student at East Preston Islamic College tested positive for the coronavirus.
Mr Andrews thanked the community for isolating, urging people to come forward for testing.
“It’s not pleasant to be essentially isolated from everybody,” he said.
Commander of Testing and Community Engagement Jeroen Weimar said 120 residents of a public housing block in Broadmeadows had been asked to self-isolate for the next 48-hours as well as undergo a coronavirus test.
He said one resident had tested positive.
Of the East Preston Islamic School positive case, Commander Weimar said the contact tracing unit had identified 73 possible close contacts with 400 people currently isolating.
He said there were 16 positive cases across five households in total relating to the outbreak in the northern suburbs.
Victoria’s deputy Chief Health Officer Allan Cheng said “going forward” each family would have one case manager, instead of each family member receiving different advice from their own manager.
In the case of the year five student who tested positive after attending the East Preston Islamic College, Professor Cheng said some members had been told they had been clear.
He acknowledged it would have caused some confusion for the family who tested positive.
Command Weimar said daily checks on the family were undertaken, with different family members at different points in the isolation period.
“There were a number of people released from their quarantine period … but there were other members and one of the members did attend school,” he said.
Mr Andrews said Thursday’s five new cases are linked to known outbreaks.
He said four were in Hume and one in the Banyule local government area.
Of the three active cases in regional Victoria, all are in the town of Shepparton in Victoria’s north.
Imogen Reid 11.43am: ACT’s 104-day virus-free streak broken
The ACT has recorded its first case of COVID-19 in 104 days.
A foreign diplomat who returned from overseas and is in quarantine has tested positive to the virus.
The man in his 70s flew into Sydney on 9 October and travelled by car to the ACT. The man has been in quarantine since his arrival.
It is the first time the virus has been detected in the Territory since July.
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Ewin Hannan 11.36am: Police probe Victoria ‘road to recovery leak’
A Victorian public servant is under police investigation for the alleged leaking of documents revealing the Andrew government’s road to recovery to the Herald Sun.
Victoria Police confirmed on Thursday the Department of Health and Human Services employee was under investigation by its E-Crime squad after a referral by DHHS.
“Victoria Police can confirm it has received a referral from a government department in relation to unauthorised access of information,” a spokeswoman said.
“This matter is being investigated by the E-Crime Squad and as this investigation is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.”
In a statement, the DHHS confirmed the employee’s alleged conduct had been referred to the police.
READ the full story here
Stephen Lunn 11.10am: ‘Tear up aged system and start again’
The current aged care system should be abandoned, with a new aged care act introduced by 2023 that gives older Australians a universal right to high quality, safe and timely support and care, the aged care royal commission has been told.
The new system should end the current rationed approach to aged care, and instead develop a system of integrated care by July 2024 that incorporates the current home care services and residential care to create a continuum of care, counsel assisting the commission have advised.
Outlining their final recommendations to the commission ahead of its final report in February, counsel have outlined 124 recommendations to reform aged care, saying the current system is not fit for purpose.
“The weight of the evidence before the Commission supports a finding that high quality aged care is not being delivered on a systemic level in our system and the level of substandard care is unacceptable by any measure,” counsel assisting Peter Rozen told Commissioners Tony Pagone and Lynelle Briggs.
“At least one in five people receiving residential aged care have received substandard care,” he said.
READ the full story here
Remy Varga 10.54am: Andrews to provide update after five new cases recorded
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will provide an update on the state’s coronavirus crisis at 11.30am.
It comes after the state recorded five new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday.
Agencies 10.48am: Proud Boys link to Iran, Russia US poll influence
Russia and Iran have both obtained US voter information and taken actions to influence public opinion ahead of the November 3 election, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe announced Wednesday.
Mr Ratcliffe said Iran specifically had sent “spoofed” emails to Americans “designed to intimidate voters, incite social unrest, and damage President Trump.”
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He said Iran had also distributed a video that implies that people could send in fraudulent ballots, including from outside the United States.
Ratcliffe said both Iran and Russia seek to use information obtained “to communicate false information to registered voters that they hope will cause confusion, sow chaos, and undermine confidence in American democracy.” “These actions are desperate attempts by desperate adversaries,” he said. The announcement came after registered Democratic voters reported receiving personally addressed emails in the name of the Proud Boys armed militia group.
“You will vote for Trump on election day or we will come after you,” the emails said.
Ratcliffe, with FBI Director Christopher Wray beside him, did not explain how the Russians and Iranians had obtained the voter information, or how the Russians might be using it.
Wray stressed that US election systems remained safe and “resilient”. “Rest assured that we are prepared for the possibility of actions by those hostile to democracy,” Ratcliffe said. — AFP
READ MORE: Savva — For once, elections are not about the economy
Imogen Reid 10.43am: Queensland must ‘cough up’ for hotel bill: Berejiklian
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian has called on Queensland to “cough up more than $35 million they owe us” for the cost of the state’s hotel quarantine system.
“We’ve welcomed Australians back from all the other states. It’s about time Queensland coughed up,” Ms Brejiklian said.
“We don’t mind doing it because we do that as part of our responsibility to Australia but when other state’s aren’t respectful of that it does get your goat up.
“I want the Queensland government … to pay their bill and acknowledge the heavy lifting New South Wales has been doing, especially given they keep their border shut when they really don’t need to.”
READ MORE: Hotel inquiry closing in
Imogen Reid 10.11am: ‘Critical’ for commuters to wear masks on transport
New South Wales Transport Minister Andrew Constance has urged commuters to wear masks on public transport after being advised the use of them had dropped significantly in the last month.
“We need people to put them on,” Mr Constance said. “We don’t want to have to consider other measures.
“But, with everyone starting to return to work, it’s critical people put their masks on on public transport, particularly buses.”
Mr Constance asked commuters to wait for another transport service to arrive instead of getting on an already cramped bus or train.
“Please just walk away, wait for the next service. We don’t want to see anyone getting COVID on the transport network,” he said.
“We need everybody to register their Opal card so we can contact trace easily if there is an issue. At the same time, please put your mask on.”
READ MORE: Andrews winning ugly far from a losing proposition
Agencies 10.01am: Trump lawyer Giuliani’s humiliating bedroom scene
Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has been filmed in an embarrassing encounter with a young actress, in the latest Borat movie. — AFP
READ the full story here
Imogen Reid 9.46am: NSW records one new locally transmitted case
New South Wales has recorded one new locally transmitted case of coronavirus.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the new case is linked to the Liverpool private clinic cluster, taking the number of infections of the outbreak to 17.
The state also registered six new cases in hotel quarantine.
“We are managing to keep the rate of community transmission very low in New South Wales, with just one overnight,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“But I do want to refer to everyone to the health messages we’ve had, especially around the Bathurst 1000 event, where there were remnants of the virus in the sewage. We are asking everybody to make sure that if they went to that event that they check their symptoms and get tested and follow the health advice.”
READ MORE: Premier ‘rode roughshod’ over advice
Imogen Reid 9.37am: NZ case link to virus-hit ship off Mooloolaba
As New Zealand records its first locally transmitted cases of coronavirus since September 25, Queensland authorities are on alert over a ship docked off Mooloolaba.
New Zealand Health Director-General Ashley Bloomfield said the Sofrana Surville — the cargo ship at the centre of a coronavirus scare — usually sails between Brisbane, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia and New Zealand.
He said eight crew members joined the ship from the Philippines on October 13, the same day an infected engineer from New Zealand carried out work onboard.
“What we’ve seen here is this strain is a new one, in that it’s not any of the ones we’ve reported here in New Zealand previously,” Dr Bloomfield said.
“Now we’re matching it to see if it matches a strain that’s on an international database, but at the moment the suggestion is it doesn’t and so it’s probably from a country that doesn’t necessarily have either the capacity or the ability to do whole genome sequencing routinely and report that to the global database.”
The infected ship anchored off Queensland following fears it could be carrying an undetected strain of COVID-19 on board.
The Sofrana Surville was prevented from docking at Brisbane, and was instead anchored off the coast of Mooloolaba on Thursday.
An engineer who worked on the Sofrana as well as another ship tested positive to coronavirus in New Zealand on the weekend.
Further genomic testing found the engineer’s virus had never before been detected in New Zealand.
Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said it remained unclear whether the crew was infected with the new strain of virus.
“We wouldn’t have that kind of information to hand yet,” he said.
“We will continue to seek advice from New Zealand.”
Mr Miles said it was not unusual for a virus like COVID-19 to mutate into different strains.
Queensland Health says there are currently no confirmed cases on the ship, but the 19 crew members will undergo testing.
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Staff writers 9.23am: Bubbles, staggered shifts: Leaked plans for reopening
A leaked 24-page document outlines strict new measures including workplace bubbles, staggered shifts, lunch breaks outside and they will no longer be able to have carpool arrangements with colleagues, The Herald Sun reports.
The draft plans outline that all workplace premises must have a COVIDSafe Plan which includes ensuring businesses enforce physical distancing between workers and customers to ensure they are 1.5m apart at all times.
It also requires the compulsory wearing of face masks even when workers or customers are on the phone or with others instore.
The workplace bubbles requires businesses to ensure groups of workers work on the same shifts and there is no overlap during shift changes – they must also limit or cease employees working across multiple locations.
The plans also state that interactions in enclosed spaces should be avoided.
“All activities are to be held in outside areas where practical which don’t have a roof or ceiling,” the document states.
“This includes meetings, lunch breaks, customer registrations.”
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Staff writers 9.02am: Victoria records five new cases amid fresh alerts
Victoria has recorded five new cases amid fresh alerts for five Melbourne suburbs.
Yesterday there were 5 new cases & no loss of life reported. In Melb, the 14 day average is down from yesterday and cases with unknown source stable. There is more info here and also later today https://t.co/eTputEZdhs #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/SnVOTdbD7A
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) October 21, 2020
New cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in Melb’s northern suburbs. If you’re in Dallas, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Preston or West Heidelberg and are experiencing symptoms please get tested, Victoria’s Department of Human and Health Services says.
New cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in Melb’s northern suburbs. If you're in Dallas, Roxburgh Park, Broadmeadows, Preston or West Heidelberg and are experiencing symptoms please get tested. #COVID19vichttps://t.co/Z3aT2Xr9xJ. pic.twitter.com/Dg2vdOLdbN
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) October 21, 2020
Lilly Vitorovich 8.42am: ABC boss defends Tingle’s Twitter rant
ABC managing director David Anderson has described 7.30’s chief political correspondent Laura Tingle’s social media attack on Scott Morrison and the Coalition government as an “error of judgment’’ but the veteran journalist will not be disciplined.
Tingle described a “smug” Prime Minister and “government ideological bastardry” in a tweet last week, which was subsequently deleted.
Asked during Senate estimates on Wednesday evening whether Mr Anderson thought Tingle’s tweet was in breach of the television and radio broadcaster’s policy, he said Tingle was upset about the departure of long-serving colleague Philippa McDonald from the public broadcaster.
McDonald is one of more than 200 ABC staff leaving the broadcaster as part of its five-year blueprint in a bid to plug an $84m budget hole.
Tingle’s tweet, first reported by The Australian’s Media Diary on Monday, began by praising a tribute video posted by McDonald: “What a legend … It is what mere journalistic mortals aspire to.”
She then changed tone and attacked the government. “We grieve the loss of so many of our colleagues to government ideological bastardry. Hope you are feeling smug @ScottMorrisonMP.”
READ the full story here
Imogen Reid 8.32am: Victoria should manage cases like NSW, says Hunt
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has said the health response in New South Wales is a model Victoria should follow as the state’s strict COVID-19 restrictions are eased.
Speaking on ABC this morning, Mr Hunt said the federal government supported Victoria’s decision to re-enter lockdown following the outbreak of the state’s second wave.
“After the massive outbreak in Victoria, we did support the movement to Stage 2 and 4,” he said.
“But, equally, we’ve pointed to the fact that New South Wales has been able to manage low levels of case numbers — indeed, over 10 cases a day for 24 days — by being predominantly open, which is immensely important to health and mental health, in particular, as well as giving people back their employment.
“That’s a model that Victoria can follow. Its rolling case average is now below seven cases a day for 14 days, and below three for the three-day average. So, now is the moment where we can safely take steps.”
Mr Hunt said the new case in Preston in Melbourne’s north, which has been linked to two schools and spread into a housing tower, was an example that there will continue to be outbreaks of the virus, despite low daily case numbers.
“There will be outbreaks, it could be in any state or territory,” he said.
“But if we have strong systems, we can take care of it. And the authorities are responding well, in our observation, to the Preston case and the Islamic school.”
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Robert Gottliebsen 8.24am: Using super to buy a home worth a new look
Some regard it as heresy, but it’s time to look again at allowing superannuation to help young people purchase their best retirement asset — a dwelling to live in.
READ Robert Gottliebsen’s full story here
Imogen Reid 8.14am: Major club, shopping centre in SE Sydney alerts
NSW Health has added three new venues across south eastern Sydney to its list of coronavirus impacted locations after they were visited by a positive case.
The health body said the fresh alerts are linked to an infected person who was in the area on 15 October.
“Investigations, including testing of contacts for antibodies, have now revealed this case may be linked to a person who NSW Health has identified as someone who likely had unrecognised COVID-19 infection during September. This person has since recovered,” NSW Health said.
The three locations include:
Souths’ Juniors Club, Anzac Parade Kingsford, in the poker machine room or the high roller room between Saturday September 26 and Saturday October 3
Century 21 Dixon Real Estate, Anzac Parade Kingsford, between Saturday September 26 and Friday October 9, inclusive.
The Shed Café Royal Randwick Shopping Centre on Saturday October 3 between 3pm and 5pm.
To stop the virus from spreading any further, health officials are urging anyone to come forward for testing if they experience any symptoms.
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Imogen Reid 7.50am: Easing of restrictions in jeopardy, expert says
A infectious diseases specialist has said Victoria’s latest virus outbreak in two schools and a social housing tower could jeopardise the easing of COVID-19 restrictions on Sunday.
Associate Professor Sanjaya Senanayake told Today the new clusters were a “serious worry” that will test the state’s contact tracing system.
“In the first few days you need to try and identify all the cases and try and work out who those contacts are, so having this focused blitz early on is really important and will determine how successful your contact tracing is,” he said.
Professor Senanayake said Victoria’s response to the new cases had so far been reasonable and consistent with strategies around the world.
“So-called ring fencing, where certain areas are shut down while the testing is being done and people are identified with the virus until the outbreak is over … that is not an unreasonable thing, but while life in the rest of the city continues as normal,” he said.
While health authorities were hoping that Melbourne could eliminate the virus, Professor Senanayake said: “Life is likely to be periods of very low cases, punctuated by potentially super-spreading events like this.”
“What’s really important is that these events are identified early and that there is a good, quick response, which the government seems to be doing at the moment.”
READ MORE: Schools closed, social housing tower infected
Imogen Reid 7am: First community transmission in NZ since Sept 25
New Zealand has recorded 25 new cases of COVID-19.
Two were locally transmitted and are contacts of a ports worker who was reported on Sunday. It was the first instance of community transmission in the country since September 25.
The remainder were caught at the border, 18 of which were infections among Russian and Ukrainian fishing crew who arrived on a flight from Moscow.
A total of 235 fishing crew had arrived on the same flight chartered by a seafood company, health officials in New Zealand said.
The Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield reiterated the importance of remaining vigilant, especially at the border.
“Putting our cases today in perspective, yesterday Spain announced around 48,000 new cases, and that would be the equivalent in New Zealand of around 4,000 new cases [by population size],” he said.
“We are not being complacent at the border and all New Zealanders need to make sure they are not complacent in the community.”
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Imogen Reid 6.30am: US records 60,000 new COVID-19 cases
The US recorded more than 60,000 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, causing hospitalisation numbers to soar across the country.
In at least four Midwestern states — South Dakota, Iowa, Idaho and Wisconsin — an alarming 20 per cent of recent COVID-19 tests were positive.
The virus has killed more than 220,800 people across the US and has infected 8.2 million, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Spain has become the first western European country to record more than one million coronavirus infections since the pandemic hit earlier this year.
It comes after 16,973 new cases were included in the country’s tally, taking the total to 1,005,295. The death toll rose by 156 to 34,366.
New cases of COVID-19 in Europe today:
— Coronavirus â˜£ï¸ Turkish Agency (@CoronaTurkeyEN) October 21, 2020
UK: 26,688
France: 26,676
Spain: 16,973
Russia: 15,700
Italy: 15,199
Poland: 10,040
Belgium: 9,679
Czechia: 8,841
Netherlands: 8,743
Germany: 7,149
Ukraine: 6,719
Switzerland: 5,596
Romania: 4,848
Portugal: 2,535
Slovakia: 2,202
Italy’s daily COVID-19 cases soared to a new daily record on Wednesday, with 15,199 new infections. The new cases take Italy’s total to almost 450,000, while 127 new deaths were added to the country’s death toll.
On Thursday, a curfew which will run from 11pm to 5am will come into effect to help contain the spread of the virus.
Globally, there have been more than 41 million people infected with the virus, while the total number of COVID-19 deaths is 1,127,797.
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Daniel Sankey 5.50am: Australian golf star tests positive for COVID-19
Australia’s top-ranked golfer Adam Scott has withdrawn from the Zozo Championship at Sherwood after testing positive for COVID-19.
The former world number one, currently ranked 15, last competed on the US PGA tour in September.
“While it’s difficult news to receive — as I really looked forward to playing this week — my focus is now on recovery for the final stretch of the fall,” Scott said in a statement.
PGA TOUR Statement on Adam Scott pic.twitter.com/p4FwcXhlDp
— PGA TOUR Communications (@PGATOURComms) October 21, 2020
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Rebecca Urban 5.15am: Fears of new Melbourne outbreak as schools closed
Victorian health authorities are scrambling to contain a coronavirus outbreak in Melbourne’s northern suburbs that has closed two schools and spread into a social housing tower.
The Department of Health and Human Service issued a statement late on Wednesday confirming a report in The Australian of an exposure at an Islamic school, and revealing that it expected the cluster to increase.
Vic DHHS confirmed details about the Preston school outbreak just before midnight. Additional cases identified in a social housing block in Broadmeadows. 120 residents asked to self-isolate for 48 hours, to get tested and to monitor for symptoms. Dallas Brooks PS also closed. pic.twitter.com/EIcYt6EfLL
— Rebecca Urban (@RurbsOz) October 21, 2020
East Preston Islamic College was closed on Wednesday following a positive test for a Year 5 student who should have been isolating due to a close contact’s infection.
DHHS is planning a testing blitz in the northern suburbs of Melbourne and is urging anyone with symptoms to get tested.
Additional cases linked to this outbreak have also been identified in a social housing block in Broadmeadows. The Department of Health and Human Services has issued advisory notices to 120 residents asking them to self-isolate for 48 hours, to get tested and to monitor for symptoms.
A close contact has also been identified at Dallas Brooks Primary School. As a precautionary measure the school has been closed for deep cleaning and contact tracing is underway.
The concerning outbreak comes as Melbourne appears to be getting on top of its COVID-19 infections, with three new case on Wednesday taking the 14-day rolling average to 6.2.
Two schools closed and fears for housing tower infected. Latest developments in the northern-metro coronavirus outbreak. @australian https://t.co/VDttLHjwIN
— Rebecca Urban (@RurbsOz) October 21, 2020
Read the full story here.
John Stensholt 5am: Cox Plate plan approved by Sutton, Andrews teams
Victorian health authorities declared it safe for hundreds to gather at an outdoor event, but the Andrews government has abandoned this advice in the face of a public backlash.
The decision to allow 500 people to attend Friday night and Saturday races this weekend had been approved by Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton’s team and the Department of Health and Human Services, as well as by Daniel Andrews’ crisis cabinet.
Despite this advice, and repeated claims that the state’s lockdown was guided by health recommendations, the Victorian Premier and Racing Minister Martin Pakula on Tuesday backtracked from allowing attendees at the Cox Plate this weekend.
The decision to allow some owners on course for the 100th Cox Plate was motivated only by respect for the occasion & a desire to mark a small step on the path to reopening. It was a mistake, given that other restrictions remain in place, and we’ve heard the community feedback 1/2
— Martin Pakula (@MartinPakulaMP) October 20, 2020
Tonight I’ve spoken to the Moonee Valley Racing Club and the decision’s been reversed. Owners won’t return to the race track until we reach the next stage of the easing of restrictions. I apologise for any upset that has been caused 2/2
— Martin Pakula (@MartinPakulaMP) October 20, 2020
The Moonee Valley Racing Club’s 300-page proposal, which included biosecurity protocols, had also been given the green light by Racing Victoria and the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions.
It received final approval about 5pm on Tuesday. But hours after the announcement, public anger swept social media, with many people contrasting the decision with the ongoing restrictions on religious gathering and the shuttering of retail and hospitality venues.
Read the full story, by John Stensholt, Remy Varga and Tessa Akerman, here.
Damon Johnston 4.45am: Hotel quarantine inquiry witnesses may be charged
Key witnesses in the quarantine inquiry may have left themselves open to criminal charges under strict laws empowering the commission to investigate the hotel fiasco.
Senior lawyers have told The Australian there is an emerging view within the legal community that several witnesses — including former top public servant Chris Eccles and Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton — could be in breach of the Victorian Inquiries Act 2014.
Sections 86-90 of the act set out a range of offences relating to evidence and the tendering of documents, including failing to comply with a notice to produce, an offence to hinder, obstruct, or cause serious disruption to proceeding, and an offence to make false or misleading statements or produce false or misleading documents or other things.
The offences carry penalties, with a breach of section 86 carrying a fine of almost $40,000 and two years’ jail. Section 90 carries a fine of almost $20,000 and 12 months’ prison.
Read the full story, by Damon Johnston and Ewin Hannan, here.
David Ross 4.30am: COVID-19 alert for Bathurst 1000 attendees
Sewage tests from the Bathurst 1000 have turned up traces of COVID-19, with NSW calling for anyone who attended the motor race last weekend with symptoms to come forward for testing.
The tests of wastewater from Bathurst were taken over the weekend and could indicate a current or prior infection of someone who attended or worked at the race, or visited or lives in Bathurst.
Authorities are reviewing lists of everyone who attended or worked at Mount Panorama Raceway.
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