Coronavirus Australia live news: ‘We’ll find you’: Minister warns hotspot travellers as five stopped at Sydney airport
Five people flying from Melbourne’s COVID-19 hotspots into NSW have been stopped at Sydney Airport as screening ramps up.
- Hotspot travellers stopped in Sydney
- Probe to uncover how hotel scandal happened
- Victoria records 77 new cases
- Melbourne hotspot link to new NT case
- Guard blows lid on hotel virus disaster
Welcome to The Australian’s live coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Five travellers from Melbourne’s virus hotspot areas have been stopped at Sydney airport. Passengers heading into NSW by car, plane or train are being screened to ensure they are not entering from one of Melbourne’s hotspots, as infected people who have travelled from Victoria are detected in Sydney and the Northern Territory. Daniel Andrews’ government is under the spotlight with a judicial inquiry formed to investigate the decisions and actions that led to the Melbourne hotel quarantine scandal.
AFP 10.45pm: Sinn Fein criticised over IRA man’s funeral
Leaders of Irish republican party Sinn Fein faced accusations of hypocrisy on Thursday for attending the funeral of a former IRA paramilitary member despite coronavirus restrictions.
Northern Ireland deputy first minister Michelle O’Neill, who regularly urged the public to comply with COVID-19 orders, was among mourners at Bobby Storey’s funeral on Tuesday.
Storey was the alleged intelligence chief of the Irish Republican Army, and served 20 years in prison at the height of three decades of unrest over British rule in the province.
But a political row has ensued after photographs emerged that indicated social distancing measures were not observed at the funeral in Belfast.
About 1800 people were said to have attended, breaking guidelines limiting group gatherings to 30 in Northern Ireland.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald and other senior figures in the all-island party were also present.
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster has written to O’Neill calling for her to step aside, a spokesman for her Democratic Unionist Party said.
READ MORE: Security guards suspected of sleeping at Sydney quarantine hotels
Andrew McMillen 10.10pm: When will big concerts finally return?
As the fate of festivals hangs in the balance, live music is taking baby steps toward a comeback — minus the mosh pit.
Read the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 9.25pm: Victoria exporting live cases across nation
Victoria has allowed a COVID-19 positive man to leave hotel quarantine and travel interstate without requiring a coronavirus test, sparking an infection scare in Sydney’s inner-west and a lockdown of 50 people.
Read the full story here
Remy Varga 9.05pm: Postcode segregation the mother load
Soula Ikonomopoulos and her mother have lived side by side for more than 20 years but are now separated for the crime of living in different postcodes.
Read the full story here
Karl Rove 8.30pm: Trump camapign needs to hit ‘reset’
Amid multiple crises — a pandemic, a badly damaged economy and racial unrest — Americans need to see competence equal to the country’s challenges, and a bold second-term agenda.
Read the full story here
Gerard Baker 8pm: New US lockdown a gross over-reaction
A rise in COVID-19 infections is no reason to panic — it may even prove that the virus is less deadly than we feared.
Read the full story here
Aamer Madhani 7.30pm: I’m the Lone Ranger in a mask: Trump
After long resisting wearing a mask in public, Donald Trump said on Thursday AEST he thinks it makes him look like the Lone Ranger — and he likes it.
“I’m all for masks. I think masks are good,” the President told Fox Business. “People have seen me wearing one.”
He added: “I had a mask on. I sort of liked the way I looked. OK. I thought it was OK. It was a dark black mask, and I thought it looked OK.
“It looked like the Lone Ranger. I have no problem with that, and if people feel good about it, they should do it.”
Read the full story here
AFP 7pm: US virus cases smash daily record
New daily coronavirus cases in the US have soared past 50,000 for the first time, as the World Health Organisation delivered a grave warning that the global pandemic is accelerating.
Restaurants, bars and beaches in the world’s worst-hit nation closed from California to Florida, as states reeling from yet another surge in the deadly virus braced for Independence Day festivities.
Global infections have hit their highest level in the past week, WHO data showed, with chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus saying new cases topped “160,000 on every single day.” The grim milestone came as the EU left the US, Brazil and Russia off its final list of nations safe enough to allow residents to enter its borders.
With more than 52,000 new COVID-19 cases in the US alone in a 24-hour period, according to a Johns Hopkins University tally, several US states imposed 14-day quarantines on visitors in the buildup to the long weekend’s July 4 celebrations.
Read the full story here
6.18pm: Fears of increased virus transmission in schools
Home learning could make a return for Term Three after the first signs of student-to-student coronavirus infections were detected within Victorian schools.
As clusters at two coronavirus hot spot schools grew again on Thursday it was revealed there have also been multiple cases of teacher-to-teacher transmission of COVID-19.
The new infections included two more linked to Al Taqwa College at Truganina and five new cases linked to Albanvale Primary School.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said authorities were seeing, for the first time, a worrying trend in the spread of the infectious virus in schools.
“We are certainly seeing some evidence of student-to-student and teacher-to-teacher, especially teacher-to-teacher, transmission,” he said.
“It’ll certainly be reviewed on a day-to-day basis.
“I will give as much notice as I possibly can around the resumption of school, specific to the restricted postcodes.”
READ MORE: Tender waived for hotel security
5.53pm: Global COVID-19 cases pass 10.6 million
Globally, 10,694,288 cases of coronavirus have now been confirmed, and 516,210 deaths recorded according to Johns Hopkins University.
The US has the biggest outbreak, with 2,686,480 cases, followed by Brazil (1,448,753), Russia (653,479), India (604,641) and the UK (314,992).
Australia has now recorded 8001 coronavirus cases, deputy chief medical officer Professor Michael Kidd said today.
Professor Kidd said the 8000 mark had been passed in the past 24 hours.
READ MORE: When can you travel overseas?
Rachel Baxendale 5.04pm: Where new virus cases have emerged in Melbourne
At least 33 of Victoria’s 77 new coronavirus cases on Thursday have been attributed to local government areas outside the hotspot postcodes the Andrews government is locking down in Melbourne’s north and west.
The Australian’s analysis of the Victorian health department’s local government area COVID-19 case data for Thursday shows there have been at least 17 new cases in the local government areas which include lockdown postcodes.
Because the department’s numbers take into account people who have recovered from COVID-19, and therefore reflect the net number of active cases in an LGA, it is not possible to calculate the absolute number of new cases in an LGA each day.
Concerningly, the net number of active cases in the City of Melbourne, which covers Melbourne’s CBD, has risen by nine, after rising by eight on Wednesday, despite no new cases in hotel quarantine on Thursday.
There are now 29 active cases in the City of Melbourne.
There was also a net increase of five cases each in the southwestern Melbourne LGA of Wyndham, and in the outer northwestern LGA of Melton.
This poses the question of whether the Andrews government will be forced to extend its lockdown beyond the current 10 postcodes to slow the spread of the virus.
Active confirmed cases of COVID-19 by LGA as of Thursday, with change since Wednesday in brackets:
*Hume (outer north): 85 (+3)
*Brimbank (outer west): 49 (+9)
*Moreland (north): 32 (-5)
*Moonee Valley (northwest): 32 (+4)
City of Melbourne: 29 (+9)
Wyndham (outer southwest): 22 (+5)
Casey (outer southeast): 21
Whittlesea (outer north): 21
Melton (outer northwest): 19 (+5)
Yarra (inner northeast): 12 (+2)
*Maribyrnong (inner west): 10 (+1)
Darebin (north): 8 (+1)
Stonnington (inner southeast): 6 (+1)
Hobsons Bay (inner southwest): 5 (+1)
Port Phillip (inner south): 5 (+1)
Mitchell (central regional Vic, north of Melb): 5
Banyule (northeast): 4 (+1)
Kingston (southeast): 4
Glen Eira (southeast): 4 (-2)
Whitehorse (east): 3 (+2)
Greater Dandenong: (outer southeast): 3
Knox (outer east): 3
Bayside (southeast): 2 (+1)
Greater Geelong (southwest regional Vic): 2 (+1)
Manningham (east): 2 (+1)
Greater Bendigo (central regional Vic): 2
Boroondara (east): 2
Monash (southeast): 1 (+1)
Yarra Ranges (outer east) 1 (+1)
Frankston (outer southeast): 1
Nillumbik (outer northeast): 1
Latrobe (Gippsland, eastern regional Vic): 1
Swan Hill (northwest regional Vic): 1
Interstate: 2
Unknown: 16 (+3)
TOTAL: 415 (+45)
*Includes suburbs in the locked down postcodes
READ MORE: Online retail shift looks permanent
David Ross 5pm: Coles introduces new grocery limits
Coles is introducing new limits on some products in Victoria and some NSW towns following a fresh COVID-19 case in a key warehouse. Read more here
Richard Ferguson 4.50pm: Labor wants help for Hong Kong citizens
Labor has called on Scott Morrison to provide visa pathways for more than 17,000 Hong Kong nationals currently in Australia temporarily, and not to deport anyone from the city.
The Prime Minister on Thursday morning flagged pathways to Australia for people who do not want to stay in Hong Kong as China’s security clampdown begins.
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong and opposition home affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally have called on the government to act with “compassion” towards Hong Kong nationals.
“Scott Morrison said this morning that he has asked for proposals to be brought forward “several weeks ago” and that “the final touches would be put on those and they’ll soon be considered by Cabinet” – well now is the time to deliver,” they said in a joint statement.
“Temporary visas for Hong Kong citizens currently in Australia have been expiring every week since Scott Morrison asked for his proposals.
“The Morrison Government must also make clear to citizens of Hong Kong – including family members of Australians – how existing visa arrangements can be used to respond to any emerging needs, and how Australia’s current border closures would be managed in this situation.
“Labor expects the Government to act with compassion and work closely with like minded countries to demonstrate Australia’s support for the people of Hong Kong.”
READ MORE: PM considers safe haven
Yoni Bashan 4.15pm: Melbourne hotspot travellers stopped in Sydney
Five people flying from Melbourne’s COVID-19 hotspots into NSW have been stopped at Sydney Airport as screening of travellers ramps up to identify individuals who could potentially spread the virus.
The five individuals —two from Queensland and three from the Northern Territory — were on their way home returning from Victoria where they had been visiting family, an official said.
Under newly signed NSW Public Health Orders people travelling from Melbourne postcodes identified as at-risk for COVID-19 are still allowed to transit through NSW without physically entering the state.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters on Thursday that he had alerted Queensland and Northern Territory Health Ministers to the incoming arrivals of the five passengers, who would be required to go into isolation.
More work at Sydney airport with â¦@NSWHealthâ© supported by â¦@nswpoliceâ© screening for COVID-19 travellers from Melbourne. Travellers from hotspots generally shouldn’t be travelling to NSW! You will be found and prosecuted. â¦@NSWHealthâ© â¦@nswpoliceâ© pic.twitter.com/rQAM3w2vR7
— Brad Hazzard (@BradHazzard) July 2, 2020
“I personally picked up the phone to the ministers in both those jurisdictions and just advised them,” he said. “They have their own checks and balances … and that’s appropriate.”
The five travellers were interviewed by NSW Police officers on arrival and had their details recorded. A NSW Health spokesman said more flights were expected to arrive from Melbourne into Sydney this afternoon.
NSW Police officers are currently working with NSW Health across the state’s airports, including regional airports, to monitor incoming arrivals. Police are also “keeping an eye out” for Victorian number plates on the state’s highways, Mr Hazzard said.
READ MORE: Sweden plans lockdown inquiry
Heath Parkes-Hupton 4pm: Australia’s coronavirus cases pass 8000
Australia has now recorded 8001 coronavirus cases, deputy chief medical officer Professor Michael Kidd says.
Professor Kidd said the 8000 mark had been passed in the past 24 hours.
“There are 24 people in hospital across the country with Covid-19 and five people are in intensive care,” he said at a press conference today.
“Yesterday there were 18 people in hospital and three in intensive care. So we are seeing a rise in the number of people in hospital and in intensive care.
“This is a stark reminder of the very serious impact that Covid-19 can have, especially on the health of elderly people and people with significant chronic health problems.”
Professor Kidd said there had now been more than 2.56 million coronavirus tests conducted in Australia since the pandemic began, with 20,000 tests carried out in Victoria yesterday as part of an ongoing “blitz”.
He expressed his concern for the 300,000 Melbourne residents who have gone back into lockdown from July 2 and encouraged anyone struggling with mental health issues to seek help.
READ MORE: New US lockdowns a gross over-reaction
Agencies 3.20pm: Melburnians stopped from entering NSW
Reports are emerging that authorities have been forced to prevent people from Melbourne hotspots entering NSW.
It is understood a woman from Melbourne who was awaiting a coronavirus test result tried to enter the state by train.
Also, five people from one of the postcodes locked down under new Victorian restrictions tried to fly to Sydney, despite a ban on them leaving their suburb.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has asked the Victorian government to start screening people at Melbourne airports and train stations to ensure people don’t try and breach restriction orders.
READ MORE: US car sales plunge
Jack Paynter 2.38pm: Victoria’s police out to enforce new restrictions
More than 1000 police officers have flooded Melbourne’s streets solely focused on enforcing coronavirus restrictions.
Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said the very small window of police discretion was rapidly closing.
He said officers would be out in force, particularly in the 36 suburbs across the 10 locked-down postcodes, and people should expect to be pulled over and spoken to about why they are out.
“While we may have been very lenient of recent times, with this emergency we’re experiencing, with this threat to public health and the safety of the public, that leniency is dissipating day-by-day,” Mr Patton said.
“I can assure you we will now be issuing the majority of people who commit these breaches with infringements. Very rarely will we be using discretion and warning them, only extreme cases of ambiguity will we be doing so.
“I want to be absolutely crystal clear, for those who are selfish enough to disregard these warnings from the chief health officer, the deliberate, obvious and blatant breaches, if they’re committing that we will be infringing them.”
Mr Patton couldn’t confirm whether any fines had been issued in the first 13 hours of Operation Sanus as the data was still being uploaded.
It comes as police this morning set up booze buses on major roads in and out of Melbourne’s 10 hot-spot suburbs where they are performing random checks on drivers and passengers.
Mr Patton said public order and critical incident response teams, mounted police, highway patrols and local police would all be involved in the operation.
“We’ll be having police on those targeted roads, some backstreets, some other roads, but also main arterials,” he said.
“We’ll be having a high volume presence in those high-volume public places, we’ll have booze buses out and about.
“We’ll be speaking to them to make sure that they are supposed to be out and about, that they are adhering to the reasons for being out and about and they are adhering to the chief health officer’s stay-at-home directions.
“Drivers and passengers can expect, and should expect to see us, and there’s a strong probability they’ll be intercepted and asked where they’re going and why they’re going there.”
Mr Patton said number-plate recognition technology would also be used to monitor vehicles.
He said having more than 1000 police specifically tasked to the coronavirus response was not an overreach when faced with a deadly public health emergency.
READ MORE: Sweden launches lockdown inquiry
Hannah Moore 2.15pm: NSW hunts virus hotspot fugitives
Passengers heading into NSW by car, plane or train will be screened to ensure they are not entering from one of Melbourne’s hotspots, where community transmission of coronavirus has put 36 suburbs back into lockdown.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard told reporters on Thursday police officers began running Victorian number plates on highways and byways from midnight last night and had pulled cars over that were identified to have come from the infected suburbs.
Mr Hazzard said the drivers were heading to Queensland and the Northern Territory, and they were allowed to continue their journey by police, though the Minister called his counterparts in both states to warn them of the impending arrivals.
“(The other states) have their own checks and balances, of course, in their states and territories and that’s appropriate,” he said.
“Some folks might be, for example, returning to their own homes in the Northern Territory or their own homes in Queensland.”
Despite mostly positive outcomes from Thursday’s screenings, Mr Hazzard said there had been a “disturbing” incident at a Sydney train station.
“This morning our health staff found somebody with symptoms who had actually been tested in Victoria and then got on the train and came to Sydney,” he said.
“Now, that‘s about as silly as it gets.”
Mr Hazzard said the state government was in talks with Victoria to see what extra measures they could take “as soon as possible” to ensure nobody from the hot-spot suburbs made it out of the state.
“We have done everything possible, but we are of a very strong view, and I as Health Minister am of a very strong view, there should be similar screening (in Victoria),” he said.
“Asking some questions, taking some temperatures, just adds that extra layer before people get onto the flights. And if that doesn’t occur, well, I’ll be looking at what other orders I might make to require perhaps the airlines to take some steps in that regard.”
The NSW government has already reached out to airlines flying into NSW to ask if it would be possible for them to begin checking on passengers’ addresses.
READ MORE: Zoom revamps video call security
Max Maddison 1.44pm: NSW has eight new cases, all returned travellers
NSW has recorded eight new cases of coronavirus, all returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
The additional cases mean NSW recorded another day without community transmission, while the state’s testing blitz also continued, with 18,347 tests conducted in the past 24 hours, taking the state’s total close to 900,000.
The updated figures from NSW Health took the state’s total to 3211 cases. There are currently 68 active cases in NSW, with one patient in intensive care.
READ MORE: Online retail shift looks permanent
Max Maddison 1.37pm: Sick passenger caught XPT from Melbourne to Sydney
A passenger with “flu-like” symptoms travelled from Melbourne to Sydney via XPT train, before being picked by health staff after he disembarked.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the actions of the person were “completely unacceptable”, and said he’d asked the Victorian government to ramp up efforts to ensure an incident like this didn’t happen again.
After undertaking a coronavirus test in Melbourne, the passenger travelled to Sydney before being flagged by health staff due to a number of symptoms including a temperature. The case hasn’t been confirmed as coronavirus yet.
“We have actually asked Victoria to reflect a similar position to what we have done and that is to set-up some sort of screening process at the airport, at the train stations in Victoria, in Melbourne,” Mr Hazzard told a press conference.
“We have done everything possible, but we are of a very strong view, and I as Health Minister am of a very strong view, there should be similar screening.”
As the state attempts to balance the dual concerns of keeping NSW coronavirus free, while keeping the Victorian border open, the incident will heap pressure on Gladys Berejiklian to introduce further measures to prevent the outbreak spreading north.
MAX MADDISON 1.18pm: Infected man flew from Melbourne to work in Sydney
A man has flown to Sydney from Melbourne while infected with coronavirus, before attending work at Woolworths in Balmain, Health Minister Brad Hazzard has revealed.
The supermarket on Darling Street has undergone a deep clean and 50 colleagues have gone into isolation, while they undertake further testing, after the infected man worked in the self service section of the store for two days on June 26 and June 27.
#BREAKING: 50 workers from #Balmain #Woolworths are in isolation after an employee returning from #Melbourne tested positive to #COVID19. The store has been deep cleaned overnight. pic.twitter.com/ztkoH52Veu
— 10 News First Sydney (@10NewsFirstSyd) July 2, 2020
After returning from Bangladesh on June 11, the infected man spent two weeks in hotel quarantine and tested positive to COVID-19, before being released at the end of the quarantine period, as he had gone 72 hours without showing signs of the virus.
However, after flying to Sydney, he attended work on June 26 and June 27. The worker was then sent for testing after signs of the virus re-emerged.
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the man was considered “low-level” of infectiousness.
Mr Hazzard said questions remained as to how the man left quarantine while still infectious, providing another damaging incident for Victoria’s beleaguered quarantine system.
READ MORE: Kangaroos players moved out of lockdown areas
Richard Ferguson 1.15pm: Parliament to reopen to public
The Australian Parliament in Canberra will re-open to the nation’s public on Sunday after months of being closed off due to COVID-19.
The ACT now has some of the loosest coronavirus restrictions in the country and gatherings of 100 people will now be allowed on Capitol Hill.
Visitors will be allowed in the Great Hall and the art galleries where portraits of Prime Ministers hang, and work will now be done to let the public safely watch question time in the House of Representatives.
Parliament House in Canberra will re-open to the public from Saturday July 4.
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) July 2, 2020
School visits will recommence on July 20.
House Speaker Tony Smith and Senate President Scott Ryan said health officials have given the public the green light to return to parliament, and strict social distancing measures will apply.
“Our COVID Safe reopening of APH to the public is similar to the reopening plans of other national institutions and takes into consideration that APH is a significant working space for thousands of people,” the statement said.
“Further advice on access to the public galleries of the Senate and House of Representatives, and to committee hearings, will be provided later this month, prior to the resumption of Parliament on 4 August.”
READ MORE: Service export slump finds the floor
Rachel Baxendale 12.50pm: Probe to uncover how hotel quarantine scandal happened
A judicial inquiry into Victoria’s bungled hotel quarantine system will investigate the decisions and actions of Andrews government agencies and their communication with hotel operators and private contractors.
The government on Thursday afternoon released the terms of reference for the inquiry into hotel quarantine infection control breaches, which have led to at least 49 cases of coronavirus in security guards at two quarantine hotels, and their close contacts.
Those clusters have in turn been linked to a large proportion of Victoria’s current cases through genomic sequencing.
The terms of reference of the inquiry, which the government says will begin “promptly”, and report by September 25 include:
• decisions and actions of government agencies, hotel operators and private contractors
• communication between government agencies, hotel operators and private contractors
• contractual arrangements
• information, guidance, training and equipment provided to staff in hotels
• policies, protocols and procedures
The inquiry is being overseen by eminent former judge Jennifer Coate.
Justice Coate was one of six Royal Commissioners appointed to lead the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse and has served on the Magistrates’ Court of Victoria, the Coroners Court of Victoria, the Federal Court and as President of the Children’s Court of Victoria.
The Andrews government has provided $3 million in funding for the inquiry.
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Rachel Baxendale 12.06pm: Hotel security guard link to another new Vic case
Yet another Victorian coronavirus case has been linked to a known close contact of a hotel quarantine security guard, as the Andrews government faces pressure over why it ignored national cabinet recommendations to deploy police or ADF personnel to oversee the role.
One of Thursday’s 77 new cases of COVID-19 in Victoria had been linked to a close contact of a Stamford Plaza hotel security guard, bringing the total in that cluster to 32, and adding to 17 cases detected in staff members at the Rydges on Swanston quarantine hotel.
However, the problem is much larger than the 49 primary and secondary cases classified as part of the cluster, with genomic sequencing earlier this week linking a high proportion of Victoria’s second wave of cases to hotel quarantine breaches.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton on Thursday also declared a significant new cluster of 20 cases across eight households linked to a large extended family in Roxburgh Park, in Melbourne’s north.
“Really this outbreak is illustrative of the challenges that we’ve seen and the reason for the restrictions being in place,” Professor Sutton said.
“They’re not 20 that are all reported today but they’re now known to be 20 from all of the links that we’ve made.”
Of Thursday’s other new cases linked to outbreaks, there have also been two more cases at Al-Taqwa Islamic College in the western Melbourne suburb of Truganina, bringing the total in that cluster to 10.
Five new cases, including three students, a teacher and a household contact have been linked to Albanvale Primary School in Melbourne’s west, bringing the total number of cases linked to that school to 12.
Another case has also been linked to a family outbreak in Wollert, on Melbourne’s northern outskirts, bringing the total in that cluster to 11.
There has also been a second case linked to the Villa Bambini early learning centre in Essendon, in Melbourne’s northwest, after an initial case there earlier this week.
One case has been linked to Springside Primary School Caroline Springs, in Melbourne’s west, where another case was previously detected in a teacher.
A further case has been linked to a Patterson Lakes/Lysterfield family outbreak in Melbourne’s southeastern suburbs, bringing the total in that cluster to five.
Professor Sutton said an investigation into the source of this case was being explored.
Professor Sutton said there had now been at least 87 COVID-19 clusters in Victoria, but he could not say how many were currently active.
READ MORE: When can you travel overseas again?
Richard Ferguson 12.01pm: PM weighs safe haven offer to Hong Kong citizens
Australia will consider giving safe haven to Hong Kong citizens after China’s draconian national security laws came into effect.
Scott Morrison said on Thursday federal cabinet will look at a number of proposals on how to best help Hong Kong nationals who may look to move to Australia.
READ MORE: Full Hong Kong story here
Jack Paynter 11.46am: Hotspot residents try to alter addresses
VicRoads have clamped down on driver’s licence change-of-address requests in Melbourne’s 10 coronavirus hot spots after locals tried to alter their details to avoid going into lockdown again.
The authority will now review and request additional information from holders in the 10 locked-down postcodes after a surge of licence amendments were lodged as people tried desperately to avoid stage three restrictions for a second time. They came into force at midnight on Thursday.
Drivers are able to change their licence address instantly online and no proof is required, but the service was unavailable on Thursday morning.
Police have this morning set up booze buses on major roads in and out of hotspot suburbs and are performing random checks on drivers and passengers.
On Wednesday the Victorian Department of Transport quickly moved to ensure drivers wanting to change their address were genuine. It will be contacting customers from hotspot postcodes to request additional information to substantiate their change.
“As soon as we were made aware of this issue we immediately put in place measures to ensure any changes of address in priority postcodes were for genuine reasons,” a Department of Transport spokesman said.
“We are reviewing all changes to licence holders’ addresses from priority postcodes since the Premier’s restrictions announcement on Tuesday to ensure anyone who changed their address did so because it was necessary.
“We all have a part to play in helping slow the spread in Victoria. Following the rules will help reduce transmission and keep all Victorians safe.
NCA Newswire
READ MORE: Will politics sour China deal?
Rachel Baxendale 11.11am: Victoria records 77 new coronavirus cases
Victoria has confirmed 77 new cases of coronavirus on Thursday — with 31 new cases where the source is unknown.
Thursday is the fourth straight day with more than 60 new cases, and the fifteenth straight day with a double digit increase.
The state has now had 2303 cases of COVID-19.
Of Thursday’s 77 new cases, 13 have been linked to known outbreaks, 37 were detected through routine testing, and 27 are under investigation.
There were no cases in hotel quarantine.
The net increase in cases on Thursday was 72, due to the reclassification of five previously confirmed cases.
Alarmingly, there have now been 332 cases in Victoria with no known source — an increase of 31 since Wednesday.
There are currently 413 active cases in Victoria — an increase of 45 since yesterday and 250 since this time last week.
There are now 20 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus - up five since Wednesday, including five in intensive care - an increase of two since Wednesday.
There have now been 856,591 tests conducted in Victoria, including 26,320 since Wednesday.
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Amos Aikman 11.05am: Vic hotspot link as NT streak ends
The Northern Territory is no longer coronavirus free after a returning traveller who had recently visited one of Melbourne’s COVID-19 hotspots was found to be infected.
READ the full story here
Anne Barrowclough 11.00am: Knighthood medal ‘racist’: Monty Python star
British comedy icon Michael Palin has joined calls to redesign one of the highest honours bestowed by The Queen amid claims its image of St Michael defeating Satan encourages racism.
The Monty Python star-turned travel documentary broadcaster was awarded the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George last year but has now declared the image on the medal is “inappropriate and offensive” because it is reminiscent of the murder of George Floyd.
The knighthood medal shows a white Archangel Michael standing on the throat of a black Satan, who is in chains. George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died after a white police officer knelt on his throat for nearly nine minutes.
READ the full story here
Max Maddison 10.49am: Victoria’s lockdown crackdown begins
Victorian police have launched their RBT-style blitz of lockdown suburbs with a huge operation across Melbourne today.
MUST WATCH: For everyone wondering what happens in a Lockdown police check #VicCorona @BreakfastNews @abcnews #Broadmeadows pic.twitter.com/WcGSh5ce0B
— Georgie Tunny (@georgie_tunny) July 1, 2020
Police will use roadside stops, similar to booze buses, in and out of major hotspots to check drivers identification and ensure people are adhering to the month-long stay-at-home orders.
300,000 Melburnians across ten postcodes will only be allowed to leave their hour for four reasons - work or school, caregiving, exercise or essential travel like food shopping - and will face fines if they’re pulled over outside their neighbourhood without a valid excuse.
READ MORE: Does insurance cover lockdowns?
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.41am: Adventure store rebounds after lockdown
Outdoor and adventure wear retailer Kathmandu says it has seen a strong rebound in sales driven by online customers following the coronavirus lockdown, but has warned about continuing market uncertainty.
In a note to the ASX the New-Zealand based retailing group, which also owns brands like Rip Curl and Obuz, said that social distancing and lockdown requirements impacted sales in the prior financial year, with total group sales in the 10 months to the end of May down 15.1 per cent compared to the same period in 2019.
But with lockdowns around the country gradually easing and international travel bans encouraging domestic tourism, the company said sales rebounded in all locations but its stores in airports in the six weeks from May 18 to June 28.
Same store sales for the recently-acquired Rip Curl swimwear brand increased by 21 per cent, with retail stores up 5.1 per cent and online sales up 151 per cent.
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Robyn Ironside 10.24am: Virgin takes off, resuming holiday routes
Virgin Australia has hit the ground running following its sale to US private equity firm Bain Capital, which provided an immediate financial boost to the airline to help it compete with Qantas.
Days after administrator Deloitte signed the deal with Bain to become the new owners of Virgin Australia, the carrier is adding another 17 routes to its domestic network with plans to have about 40 aircraft operating by early August.
The routes include Sydney-Ballina for $89 one way, Sydney-Hobart from $139 and Brisbane-Proserpine and Adelaide-Sydney from $135.
READ the full Virgin resumes holiday routes story here
Richard Ferguson 9.50am: China warns: Don’t start an arms race
China — a nation with an annual defence budget of RMB $1.2tn (US$175bn) — is calling on Australia to avoid starting an arms race over Scott Morrison’s $270bn-over-ten-years defence pivot.
A new defence white paper update says more assertive behaviour by major powers, including Beijing’s militarisation of the South China Sea and coercive “grey zone” activities, present immediate challenges to Australia.
On Wednesday night, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian warned the Morrison government against its planned build-up of Australia’s defence capabilities.
“All countries should avoid an arms race and refrain from purchasing unnecessary military equipment,” Mr Zhao said in Beijing.
China’s military budget grew by 7.5 per cent last year and the communist superpower is leading the way in both hypersonic and energy weapons - tools the new Australian defence pivot will invest more money in developing.
READ MORE: Gottliebsen: Four dangerous months lie ahead
MAX MADDISON 9.41am: Ardern’s beleaguered health minister quits
New Zealand’s beleaguered health minister David Clark has resigned, months after he breached lockdown measures and weeks after the mismanagement of quarantine isolation facilities.
At a press conference, Mr Clark said his ongoing role in the Cabinet was distracting from the government’s COVID response. He offered his resignation to Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the lockdown, which she declined due to the ongoing health crisis.
However, with no community transmission and a renewed focus on border measures, Mr Clark said it was an appropriate time to step aside. He will continue to stand as an MP.
The resignation is another unwelcome distraction for Ms Ardern, months out from the September election. In mid-June, she was forced to call in the military to manage quarantine facilities after two UK residents, who later tested positive, were allowed into the country.
In April, Mr Clark came under fire for breaking lockdown measures to drive his family to the beach, 20km from his home.
READ MORE: Minister’s appeal for lockdown breach expedited
AMOS AIKMAN 9.30am: Top End no longer a virus-free zone
Health authorities are preparing to announce that the Northern Territory is no longer coronavirus free. The Top End jurisdiction, which has so far fared well during the pandemic, is understood to have detected a new case of COVID-19 in a traveller who recently returned from overseas. The person is believed to have already undergone 14 days in quarantine
elsewhere, raising questions about how they acquired the disease. A government source who confirmed unofficially that a new case had been detected did not know if the patient had been in contact with the community. But the source said the risk of broader transmission had been deemed by experts to be very low. Health Minister Natasha Fyles will address the media shortly.
READ MORE: Strewth - Green and gold rona
Peter Craven 9.26am: Buck stops with Premier Andrews
The preposterous and culpable inefficiency in maintaining quarantine at Victorian hotels is Daniel Andrews’s responsibility, Peter Craven writes. It should never have been contracted out.
READ MORE: Peter Craven’s full commentary on Daniel Andrews here
Max Maddison 9.12am: Nightclub distancing rules ‘no bungle’
South Australian Health Minister Stephen Wade says social distancing regulation that requires nightclub revellers to choose between dancing or drinking wasn’t a “bungle”.
After an uptick in cases in South Korea were traced back to nightclubs in Seoul, Mr Wade said the decision, which requires people with drinks to be seated, was based on “real problems we’ve seen around the world”.
“This is not a bungle. This is a clear public health measure. We’ve seen in Seoul, for example, that night clubs were the source of their second wave,” Mr Wade told ABC Breakfast News.
“We need to accept that nightclubs, where you’ve got dancing and alcohol, a large number of adults in close proximity is a risk, it needs to be managed … This is not a wowser approach.”
Despite SA quarantine measures involving private security guards, Mr Wade said hotels were supervised by police “24/7”.
“We’ve kept an eye on what’s been happening in Victoria to make sure our systems are robust. It’s really important that, as we saw in Victoria, the risk of transmission from quarantine is there. We need to make sure that we minimise it,” he said.
READ MORE: Empty nesters rescue flightless young
Anthony Piovesan 9.04am: Guard blows lid on hotel virus disaster
A security guard has blown the whistle on a serious lack of training at Melbourne’s quarantine hotels, which has been identified as the source of the city’s second outbreak of coronavirus.
The guard, identified only as George, broke a gag order to appear on the Today show this morning, where he revealed he received only five minutes of training before being tasked to one of Melbourne’s quarantine hotels.
“And that was the PPE and everything, the box and dice and then we were sent up to your level,” he said.
His training was conducted by the head of the company’s carpark management, but George said the real problem was security companies hiring subcontractors to work at a much cheaper rate than regular guards.
“Every hotel quarantine has subcontracting happening and that’s the way the companies are making money out of this,” he said.
When questioned if this was happening at Melbourne’s Stamford Plaza and Rydges hotels, George replied: “Definitely.”
He also said security guards were only given one face mask and one glove to use for an entire shift.
A government spokesperson confirmed to Today that subcontractors were used “in some instances”.
The revelations come as Melbourne wakes to a divided city this morning with about 30,000 residents living in 36 Melbourne suburbs placed in lockdown in a desperate attempt to flatten the curve.
Victoria recorded 73 new coronavirus cases yesterday, with the Stamford Plaza outbreak continuing to grow.
Two new cases were linked to the cluster on Wednesday, taking the total to 31. One is a security guard in quarantine and the other is a household contact of a confirmed case. All cases were close contacts tested while in quarantine.
NCA Newswire
READ MORE: ‘We’re no longer all in it together’
Max Maddison 8.50am: Albanese defends Andrews over hotel security
Anthony Albanese has defended the Victorian government’s use of private security companies to manage hotel quarantine, despite claims security guards let guests fraternise and charged the government for shifts they didn’t work.
The Opposition Leader said the claims were “pretty extraordinary”, and said the measures taken by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, asking for a full investigation by a former judge, were “appropriate”. However, he rejected the notion that Mr Andrews was to blame for the issues.
“I don’t think Daniel Andrews was on the security himself personally,” Mr Albanese told Sky News.
“Look, the fact is, private security firms are used for a range of measures. That shouldn’t be beyond the capacity, of these firms who are responsible, if these firms breached, what is essentially, a contract. It’s an extraordinary breach if these suggestions are proven to be fact.”
READ MORE: Localised lockdown ‘won’t be the last’
Max Maddison 8.05am: ‘Throw the book at quarantine hotel operators’
Victorian authorities should “throw the book” at hotel quarantine operators that contributed to the resurgence of Melbourne coronavirus cases if the allegations are upheld, says Health Minister Greg Hunt.
The warning comes after reports emerged of taxpayers being charged for shifts never worked, with the government being billed for more guards than were on duty. Some guards were also reported to have slept with returned travellers who were in quarantine.
While highlighting the success of the hotel quarantine system in bringing 60,000 Australians home, Mr Hunt said if correct, there had been an “unacceptable set of breaches” at two hotels which needed to “be dealt with”.
“If those claims are correct, then that is completely and utterly unacceptable, and we would encourage the Victorians authorities to throw the book at them, either individuals or if there’s any systematic inappropriate action at those that are responsible for it,” Mr Hunt told Sky News.
“What we are seeing is a large number of cases because of the genomic history which have clearly come from these hotel quarantine systems. Many Victorians are going into lockdown again today, in part, the hotel quarantine system has been a contributing part of that.”
READ MORE: Migrant numbers high in shuttered suburbs
Lisa Allen 7.52am: Sunshine state inundated with booking requests
Travel giant Helloworld has been inundated with booking requests for Queensland’s hotels, flights and day tours as the Sunshine State’s tourism sector starts reviving under the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
“They are booking from the Gold Coast to Port Douglas,” Helloworld chief executive Andrew Burnes said.
NSW’s Hunter Valley wine district was also popular with Sydney-siders seeking a weekend away while island holidays were finding favour with NSW and South Australian tourists who were booking Queensland’s recently renovated Hayman Island which reopens on September 1 or the nearby Hamilton Island.
“We are expecting a lot of bookings for Queensland out of NSW and South Australia and we are expecting a lot from Victoria when there’s certainty,” Mr Burnes told The Australian on Wednesday.
Australian and New Zealand tourists are also among the cut of international tourists allowed to visit EU countries. Visitors from 15 countries, but not the US, Russia or Brazil, are allowed to visit the EU bloc from this week in a bid to help revive Europe’s need for tourism revenues. But Aussies will still require an exit permit and a lengthy quarantine on return.
READ MORE: Domestic travel deals of the week
Max Maddison 7.41am: Berejiklian braces for another NSW outbreak
Gladys Berejiklian is preparing NSW for the possibility of another outbreak, saying there’s “no doubt in my mind” that the state will experience a spike in cases.
Maintaining her stance on keeping the Victorian border open, Ms Berejiklian said she was backing hotspot communities to “stick to the rules” and follow the restrictions put in place by the Victorian government. But she warned an uptick in cases was likely.
“I hate to state the obvious that there is no doubt in my mind that during the course of the pandemic, we will get a spike. It is about how you deal with it,” Ms Berejilian told Seven’s Sunrise.
“Keeping the borders open is the right thing to do — name health advice to say otherwise.”
Despite the uptick in cases continuing to spread, Ms Berejiklian also welcomed Victorians who weren’t from hotspots to head north and visit NSW.
Victorians who aren’t from hotspots are “welcome to New South Wales because there are vast parts of Victoria which haven’t had a single case it’s the pandemic started, similar to New South Wales,” she said.
READ MORE: For economy’s sake, NSW won’t shut down
Max Maddison 7.26am: Tourism hit to Australia could reach $156bn
Global tourism expenditure could plummet US$3.3tn (A$4.77tn), or 4.2 per cent of the world’s GDP, according to a recently published UN report.
Covid-19 and Tourism, published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, highlighted Australia could lose US$108.37bn ($156.71bn), or 6 per cent of GDP, if there’s a 12-month standstill in international tourism.
Even in the “moderate” scenario, which international tourism stops for four months, Australia suffers a 2 per cent fall in GDP, or a loss of US$37.15bn (A$53.71bn).
With parts of the economy closing down to counter a resurgence in cases, the US stands to bear the brunt from the coronavirus-enforced travel shutdown, incurring a US$538bn ($778.22bn) loss, or 3 per cent of GDP, in the worst case scenario.
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Ben Packham 7.20am: Beijing militarisation, pandemic threats to Australia
Australia must be ready to fight a conventional war at short notice as growing threats eliminate past assumptions of a 10-year “strategic warning time” before a major attack, the Morrison government says.
A new Defence white paper update says more assertive behaviour by major powers, including Beijing’s militarisation of the South China Sea and coercive “grey zone” activities, present immediate challenges to Australia.
Strained supply chains, the economic impacts of the pandemic, water and food insecurity and state fragility also pose growing threats, the paper says.
The new assessment comes amid a warning from Defence Minister Linda Reynolds that China’s push for greater influence in the Indo-Pacific has “deeply unsettled the region”.
Senator Reynolds will declare in a speech on Thursday that China’s actions in the region have inflamed strategic tensions.
“We have supported China where that pursuit advances mutual interests in security, prosperity and stability,” she will say.
READ MORE: Full story – Australia must be up for conventional war
Max Maddison 7.00am: Global cases pass 10.5m, US nears 2,700,000
Global confirmed cases of coronavirus passed 10.5m, with deaths standing at least 512,689, according to Johns Hopkins University tracker.
Tracking official government data, the number of confirmed cases stands at 10,538,577, still led by the US with 2,658,324 cases.
The US recorded another 44,766 cases yesterday, with the resurgence of infections forcing states to reimpose shutdowns across the country. Californian Governor Gavin Newsom has closed down bars and indoor dining in 19 counties, while Miami-Dade, a county in Florida, decided to close down its beaches ahead of the July 4 weekend celebrations.
Brazil posted another 33,846 cases overnight, taking the country’s total to 1,402,041 cases, and 59,594 deaths.
Daily confirmed cases in South Africa are hovering around 7,000, as the country grapples with increasing infections and a dire economic situation. Health authorities have reported 151,209 cases, and 2,657 deaths since the virus was first reported 117 days ago.
READ MORE: CEOs prepare for second wave
Rachel Baxendale 5.55am: Guards slept with quarantined guests, tenders waived
The security companies that oversaw Victoria’s bungled coronavirus quarantine regimen were handed contracts without a formal tender process as the government rushed to implement a national cabinet decision to lock down returning overseas travellers.
The Australian has confirmed three private security firms — MSS, Unified and Wilson — were given the contracts without having to qualify through a formal tender process after national cabinet ordered mandatory hotel quarantine on March 28.
The decision contrasted with that of NSW, which used police rather than private security contractors. It was also at odds with the national cabinet recommendation to use police or defence personnel. The Australian has also confirmed that the private security operators used subcontractors in some instances to enforce the hotel quarantine regimen in Victoria.
The Herald Sun reports on Thursday that some security firms allegedly exploited the pandemic by using fake names for non-existent workers and paid workers in cash, long a scourge in the security industry. It also claims that some hotel guards slept with guests, security personnel wore personal protective equipment for up to eight hours without changing it, guards shook hands and shared lifts in a major breach of regulations and some of them had just six hours of infection control training and were caught sleeping on the job.
READ the full story here
Didi Tang 5.40am: New swine flu strain could trigger next pandemic
A new strain of swine flu with the potential to trigger a pandemic in humans has been discovered, according to research.
Named G4, it is descended from the H1N1 strain that caused a pandemic in 2009, a study in the American science journal PNAS shows. The strain has “all the essential hallmarks of being highly adapted to infect humans”, according to the authors, who are from Chinese universities and the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention in China.
The researchers found that 10 per cent of 338 swine workers had tested positive for the virus, especially in the 18 to 35 age group, an indication that the virus “has acquired increased human infectivity”. The study found that 4.4 per cent of the general population appeared to have been exposed.
READ the full story here
Patrick Commins 5.30am: Cracks appear in home building
Housing approvals have “finally cracked” after initially showing resilience to the effects of the pandemic, with a collapse in the number of apartment blocks given the go-ahead driving a 16 per cent plunge overall.
The number of monthly new units approved — a notoriously volatile number — dropped 35 per cent in May to an 11-year low, seasonally adjusted figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveal.
House approvals, a better indicator of underlying demand, were also soft, dropping by 4.4 per cent in May to be down 0.4 per cent over the year.
READ the full story here
Sydney beaches closed after return of ‘mystery balls’
Beaches across Sydney’s north will be closed ‘until further notice’ as the EPA works to identify the cause of debris that has washed ashore.
Teen, 13, charged with attempted murder after Ipswich stabbing
A 13-year-old boy charged with attempted murder could be one of the first major tests of Queensland’s new tough youth crime laws.