Coronavirus Australia live news: Andrews’ aged-care claims don’t stack up; Outbreak spreads across Melbourne, regions
Premier Daniel Andrews’ suggestion that a large proportion of Thursday’s 723 new coronavirus cases in Victoria are linked to aged-care facilities has not been borne out by the figures.
- Face masks mandatory statewide as Victoria hits 723 cases
- NSW records 18 new cases
- Queensland records 3 new cases
- Virus infection ‘takes mere minutes’
- Teen shoplifting mission ends in cluster
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Victoria’s Premier has issued a grim lockdown warning if people continue to work while sick, as local government area data paints a disturbing picture. The state today registered 13 deaths and broke case number record by more than 200 as further restrictions are introduced in regions. Queenslanders have been warned to brace for more cases after two teens tested positive after travelling to Melbourne via Sydney. The pair allegedly travelled to Melbourne this month on a shoplifting mission to steal luxury handbags.
Natasha Robinson 9.15pm: Vaccine test clear for more volunteers
A COVID-19 vaccine that has been developed by Adelaide scientists has been shown to be safe in phase 1 trials, and has generated an immune response.
Jacquelin Magnay 8.45pm: World championships called off
The World Athletics Cross Country Championships, due to be held in Bathurst next March, will be postponed or cancelled.
Uncertainty about the pandemic has forced organisers to “postpone the event to a future date to be determined’’.
Organisers struggled over how to leave 500 athletes in hotel quarantine for two weeks with little exercise before moving them to Bathurst in the NSW central west.
READ MORE: Working from home ‘a threat to output’
Caroline Overington 8.30pm: Desperately seeking people to save others
Recruitment agencies across Australia are desperately seeking to fill thousands of jobs in aged-care centres and hospitals.
Angelica Snowden 8.10pm: Man in his 50s dies in Victoria
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed a man in his 50s died from the coronavirus in Portland, a city on the southwest coast of Victoria.
The latest death will be reflected in a tally on Friday.
The news comes after 13 people died overnight.
READ MORE: Building approvals hit eight-year low
Will Pavia 8.40pm: Hotel for Hollywood hellraisers closes
For nearly 90 years Hollywood actors hoping to raise hell discreetly have checked in to Chateau Marmont, the great white castle that rises from a hill above Sunset Boulevard.
The director Shawn Levy described it as a “club house for people too rich and famous to belong to clubs, a bolt-hole, a trysting place, a recovery room, a hideaway, an opium den, an atelier, a last resort”.
Now the hotel will be no more. Andre Balazs, proprietor of the Chateau Marmont, plans to convert the establishment into a private club by the end of the year, reserved for fee-paying members.
The hotelier, who took over in 1990, said the pandemic had brought forward an idea that he had been considering for several years. “There is something to be said for knowing people,” he told The Wall Street Journal. “You can chat with them, you know where they have been.”
Guests at the Chateau Marmont have long counted on the discretion of the management and the idea that they were in the company of fellow celebrities who would not alert the press to scenes of debauchery.
The director Nicholas Ray reportedly held auditions in his bungalow there for Rebel Without a Cause, pursuing an affair with a very young Natalie Wood and watching the young James Dean leap through a window in his efforts to secure the lead role.
Carly Simon was pursued by Warren Beatty there, and one of the hotel lifts was implicated in a rumoured tryst between Scarlett Johansson and Benicio del Toro. Del Toro responded by pointing out that “the Chateau Marmont only has eight floors,” and “I would still be struggling out of my leather jacket by the second floor”.
John Belushi died at the hotel from an overdose.
Angelica Snowden 7.20pm: Woolworths urges customers to wear masks
Woolworths will “strongly encourage” shoppers in all NSW and ACT stores and some Queensland stores to wear face masks from Monday amid “increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases in NSW”.
The advice will be applied to stores in “hotspot” areas in Queensland, with customers being encouraged to wear masks from Friday.
The advice applies to Woolworths, Metro, BWS, Big W, ALH Hotels and Dan Murphy stores.
The new advice is in addition to the mandatory requirements for face coverings in all of Victoria. The entire state is expected to wear masks from Monday, moving into line with orders now in place across Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire.
“Even though wearing a face covering is not mandatory in NSW, ACT or Queensland, as the largest private sector employer with stores in almost every community, we feel it’s important we lead the way in helping reduce community transmission of COVID-19,” Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said.
“Masks and face coverings are a highly visible symbol of the persistence of COVID-19.
“By encouraging and role modelling their use, it will further support the steps we need to collectively take to stop the spread of the virus and keep our team and customers safe.”
Face coverings are being provided to all Woolworths Group team members.
READ MORE: Businesses on course for more Queensland border closure pain
Angelica Snowden 7pm: Potts Point cluster spreads
A coronavirus cluster linked to an inner-Sydney restaurant is growing after a infected patron visited a Fitness First gym and Woolworths store.
Fitness First in St Leonards in Sydney’s lower north shore had to be temporarily shut after a member with COVID-19 visited the gym on Monday between 9am and 10.30am.
“The club is currently undergoing a process of deep cleaning in addition to the increased daily cleaning that has been taking place since the club reopened in June,” a Fitness First spokesperson said.
NSW Health issued a public health alert over the new case, and said patrons and staff at the gym at the same time must self-isolate. People who took part a group class at the same time do not need to isolate but should monitor for symptoms.
The same customer visited a Woolworths store in Crows Nest on the same day after visiting the gym, which is 750m away.
A Woolworths spokesman said NSW Health advised that “the risk to customers and team members is low”.
The latest case dined at The Apollo restaurant in Potts Point on Saturday. The venue was linked with four new cases on Thursday.
Other Sydney venues had to be closed for cleaning after infected people visited them.
They include:
• Matinee Coffee in Marrickville on Sunday between 8am and 9am.
• Tan Viet restaurant in Cabramatta on July 23 from midday to 2pm.
•Harpoon and Hotel Harry in Surry Hills on Sunday from 2.15pm to 11pm in the indoor dining areas.
READ MORE: Desperately seeking people willing to risk lives to save others
AFP 6.40pm: German economy shrinks by record 10.1pc
The German economy shrank by a record 10.1 per cent in the second quarter of 2020 because of the coronavirus impact, official data showed on Thursday, the biggest decline in the country’s post-war history.
Federal statistics agency Destatis said “the historic decrease” quarter-on-quarter was worse than any seen during the financial crisis of 2008-2009.
The pandemic had led to “a massive slump” in both exports and imports, it said, but noted that government spending had increased from April to June.
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Rachel Baxendale 6.26pm: Andrews’ aged-care claims don’t stack up
Premier Daniel Andrews’ suggestion that a large proportion of Thursday’s 723 new coronavirus cases in Victoria are linked to aged-care facilities has not been borne out by the figures.
Only 10 per cent of Thursday’s new cases have been linked to aged-care residents and staff.
Thursday’s COVID-19 press release from the Department of Health and Human Services shows 73 of the new cases have been linked to aged care facilities, and 47 have been linked to healthcare workers.
That means there are 603 new cases on Thursday not associated with either of those settings.
Mr Andrews on Thursday said there had been 913 active cases linked to aged care facilities, but DHHS has updated this figure to 877.
On Wednesday, the figure was 804, hence the increase on Thursday of 73.
Asked to account for the jump in new cases on Thusday, Mr Andrews said pointed to aged care, saying: “I’m loathe to go into too much detail, because I frankly don’t want it to be read as a criticism of any one sector,” he said.
“The point that I make is that there are a number of positive cases in aged care, and therefore they are being reflected in these numbers.
“That’s one point. The other issue around targeted testing, where there’s been significant outbreaks, the more outbreaks you have, the more testing you do, and you will find cases. “That number is not - there’s not 700-plus community transmission cases. The community transmission number will be but a fraction of that.”
In fact the number of cases for which DHHS contact tracers have been unable to identify a source rose by 280 on Thursday, to a total of 1698 - an increase of 1397 since July 1.
This does not include a whopping 3529 cases which remain under investigation.
There are currently 5385 active cases of COVID-19 in Victoria, with a total of 9998 cases since the pandemic began.
READ MORE: Macquarie staff return to offices ‘voluntary and phased’
Angelica Snowden 6.19pm: Woolies encourages NSW shoppers to wear masks
Woolworths will “strongly encourage” shoppers in some NSW stores to wear face masks, amid news the entire population of Victoria must don the coverings from Monday.
In a statement on their website, Woolworths said the new advice would cover Woolworths, Metro, BWS, Big W and Dan Murphy stores.
“If toilet paper was the symbol of the first phase of COVID, then masks are symbolic of this phase,” the statement read.
“With face masks fast becoming part of everyday life in Victoria (and indeed in many parts of Europe and the United States), it feels prudent to prepare for the same in NSW.”
Customers who visit stores in the local government areas of Fairfield and Liverpool will be strongly encouraged to wear a face covering. The statement said a “close eye” would be kept on other areas as the situation evolves.
According to the NSW Health website there are 30 COVID-19 cases in Fairfield and 34 in Liverpool.
They said staff have also been issued with the same advice and have been provided with face masks.
READ MORE: Airlines’ tie-up allowed to continue
Matthew Denholm 6.08pm: Woman charged after refusing hotel quarantine
A Tasmanian woman has been charged and taken into custody after allegedly repeatedly refusing to stay in her quarantine hotel room, being disruptive and even throwing food.
Tasmania Police said the 59-year-old woman from the northwest town of Penguin was on Thursday charged with “failing to comply with the lawful requirement or direction of an emergency management worker”.
“The woman returned to Tasmania on the Spirit (of Tasmania ferry) after travelling in country Victoria today (Thursday),” a police statement said. “She was transported to Launceston by bus where she allegedly caused a number of issues before being placed into mandatory quarantine at the Best Western Hotel, Launceston.
“Shortly after 11am, police were called to the … hotel after the woman had allegedly become abusive and aggressive and was refusing to stay in her room. Police gave her advice in relation to quarantine and left shortly after.
“Just after 2pm police were again called to the Best Western in relation to the same woman. She was allegedly again refusing to stay in her room, being disruptive and throwing food. Police gave the woman a formal direction to quarantine. However, she continued to refuse.
“The woman was arrested … and charged … and has been detained to appear in an out of hours court session in the Launceston Magistrates Court.”
READ MORE: Jack the Insider — Be very afraid: the stupid are out there
Rachel Baxendale 5.42pm: Victoria’s LGA data paints a disturbing picture
Far from indicating that Victoria’s record 723 new cases can be attributed to a handful of clusters, Thursday’s local government area data paints a more disturbing picture, with the state’s net increase of 546 active cases spread across Melbourne and parts of regional Victoria.
Wyndham, in Melbourne’s outer southwest, recorded the highest net increase in active cases of any LGA on Thursday with 69, joining Brimbank in the outer west as the second LGA to surpass 600 active cases.
Brimbank now has 651 active cases, with a net increase of 48 on Thursday, while Wyndham has 601.
Melton, in the outer northwest, had a net increase of 59, Whittlesea in the outer north 40, Casey in the outer southeast 37, and Hume in the outer north 36.
Colac-Otway, where most cases have been linked to an outbreak of 64 cases at the Australian Lamb Company abattoir in the southwest regional Victorian town, recorded a net increase of 22 active cases for a total of 76.
The nearby regional centre of Greater Geelong recorded a net increase of 15 active cases to 59.
There were also double digit net increases in active cases in Moreland, in Melbourne’s north, with 20, Darebin in the north with 15, Maribyrnong, in the inner west, and the City of Melbourne, each with 14, Greater Dandenong in Melbourne’s outer southeast with 12, and Yarra Ranges in the outer east, and Cardinia in the outer southeast, each with 10.
Victoria now has 255 active cases of COVID-19 across 28 regional Victorian local government areas, not including the locked down Mitchell Shire, up from 195 active cases across 26 LGAs on Monday - a net increase of 60 active cases.
When the Melbourne and Mitchell Shire lockdown was imposed on July 9, there were 14 active cases across six LGAs in regional Victoria.
The Andrews government on Thursday moved to ban residents of the neighbouring southwest regional Victorian LGAs of Colac-Otway, Greater Geelong, Surf Coast, Moorabool, Golden Plains and the Borough of Queenscliffe from having visitors at their homes.
There are four active cases in the Surf Coast LGA, up one since Wednesday, 12 in Moorabool and eight in Golden Plains, both steady since Wednesday, and none in the Borough of Queenscliffe.
Outside this area, there were sharp increases in the regional areas of Greater Bendigo, in central Victoria, which recorded a net increase of seven active cases to a total of 18, and Glenelg, in the isolated far southwest corner of Victoria, which also had a net increase of seven active cases to a total of 13.
Active confirmed cases of COVID-19 by LGA as of Thursday, with net increase since Wednesday in brackets:
#Brimbank (outer west): 651 (+48)
Wyndham (outer southwest): 601 (+69)
#Hume (outer north): 428 (+36)
Whittlesea (outer north): 392 (+40)
Melton (outer northwest): 312 (+59)
#Moreland (north): 302 (+20)
#City of Melbourne: 290 (+14)
Casey (outer southeast): 223 (+37)
#Moonee Valley (northwest): 220 (+6)
Yarra (inner northeast): 170 (+12)
#Maribyrnong (inner west): 163 (+14)
Greater Dandenong: (outer southeast): 144 (+12)
Banyule (northeast): 144
Darebin (north): 118 (+15)
Yarra Ranges (outer east) 90 (+10)
Hobsons Bay (inner southwest): 79 (+1)
%*Colac-Otway (western regional Vic): 76 (+22)
Monash (southeast): 65 (+2)
Whitehorse (east): 60 (+1)
%*Greater Geelong (southwest regional Vic): 59 (+15)
Kingston (southeast): 57 (+1)
Boroondara (east): 55 (+4)
Stonnington (inner southeast): 51 (+8)
Port Phillip (inner south): 46 (-2)
Glen Eira (east): 45 (+5)
Knox (outer east): 44 (+3)
Maroondah (outer east): 42 (+4)
Manningham (east): 41 (+3)
Nillumbik (outer northeast): 41 (+2)
Frankston (outer southeast): 38 (+7)
Bayside (southeast): 37 (+6)
Cardinia (outer southeast): 35 (+10)
*Greater Bendigo (central regional Vic): 18 (+7)
Mitchell (central regional Vic, north of Melb): 18 (+4)
*Macedon Ranges (central regional Vic): 14 (+3)
Mornington Peninsula (outer southeast): 14 (+2)
*Glenelg (western regional Vic): 13 (+7)
%*Moorabool (western regional Vic): 12
*Ballarat (western regional Vic): 10
%*Golden Plains (western regional Vic): 8
*Horsham (western regional Vic): 7
*Latrobe (eastern regional Vic): 6
%*Surf Coast (southwest regional Vic): 4 (+1)
*Bass Coast (southeast regional Vic): 3 (+1)
*Baw Baw (eastern regional Vic): 3
*South Gippsland (eastern regional Vic): 3
*Mansfield (northeast regional Vic): 2 (+1)
*Northern Grampians (western regional Vic): 2 (+1)
*Mount Alexander (central regional Vic): 2
*Loddon (northwest central regional Vic): 2
*Swan Hill (northwest regional Vic): 2
*Corangamite (southwest regional Vic): 1 (+1)
*Murrindindi (northeast central regional Victoria): 1 (+1)
*Ararat (western regional Vic): 1
*Campaspe (northern regional Vic): 1
*Southern Grampians (western regional Vic): 1
*West Wimmera (western regional Vic): 1
*Wodonga (northeast regional Vic): 1
*Warrnambool (southwest regional Vic): 1
*East Gippsland (east regional Vic): 1
Interstate: 10
Overseas: 1
Unknown: 72 (-4)
TOTAL: 5385 (+546)
*Denotes LGAs outside the Melbourne metropolitan/Mitchell Shire lockdown
#Denotes LGAs with postcodes locked down from 11:59pm on July 1
Source: Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
% Denotes “Geelong corridor” LGAs banned from having household visitors from 11:59pm on July 30
Jack Paynter 5.07pm: 800 vehicles sent packing from NSW
Only one in every 750 vehicles has been turned around without a permit at the NSW-Victorian border as police praised the compliance of local communities.
NSW Police Superintendent Paul Smith provided an update on the border closure on Thursday and said officers had helped more than 600,000 vehicles cross the border since July 8.
He said only about 800 had been turned around without a valid reason to enter the state, while one man had been charged and three others handed fines for noncompliance.
It comes as a Melbourne man was charged with breaching the coronavirus public health order and possessing a prescribed restricted substance after flying into Sydney without a valid reason to be in NSW.
The Roxburgh Park man, 21, allegedly lied about having children and failed to comply with police direction to return to Victoria and was arrested.
“There's still some fools coming through,” Supt Smith said.
“There is no exemption, you need a permit to get into NSW, you need a reason to go with it. If you haven’t you will be turned around. If you don’t turn around you’ll be either given an on-the-spot fine or arrested.
READ MORE: Inside Melbourne’s COVID-19 craziness
Angelica Snowden 4.20pm: ‘Clear’ transmission chains in NSW give Kelly confidence
Despite the source of six new COVID cases in NSW being investigated, Acting chief medical officer Paul Kelly says information to date about how the virus has spread in NSW has been “very clear”.
“It’s very clear how those transmission chains have worked,” he said.
“The outbreak at the Crossroads Hotel and represented areas around south-western Sydney and even those diagnosed further afield were traced back to that very quickly and the initial outbreak.”
He said authorities expected to have much more information about the new cases under investigation tomorrow.
“A new cluster that’s formed in and around Potts Point is similarly connected through very contact tracing to particular venues,” he said.
“That’s supported by wide testing and tracing down those chains of transmission.
“I have a lot of confidence in the New South Wales system.”
Professor Kelly only conceded a “small number” of aged care facilities are “seeing difficult times” when asked if authorities could have done more to better prepare them to manage coronavirus outbreaks.
“We’ve learnt from a couple of large outbreaks in Sydney in the first wave and we have introduced that training,” he said.
“Could we have done more? Well, we’re seeing those difficult times now in a few, a small number I must say, of aged care facilities in Melbourne and that is not at all to downplay the seriousness of that for the individuals in those settings.”
The Australian revealed on Wednesday just one in five aged-care workers across the nation completed the federal government’s personal protection training module.
He would not speculate how effective the WA border closure would be at halting COVID outbreaks other than to say when people stop moving, the virus stops moving.
“In terms of why certain states are experiencing this epidemic quite differently to Western Australia, again, it’s well known about the issues with hotel quarantine,” he said.
After Olivia Winnie Muranga, 19, was publicly identified as one of a pair of teenagers who lied to police about their travels in Victoria and returned to Queensland, Professor Kelly said he was not in favour of “naming and shaming”.
“Although I must say that their actions were rather reckless and they’ve led to a large amount of — of mental concern and worry, and other effects in the wider population in the southern part of Brisbane,” he said.
“So it’s not only those two that have been affected but, look, I’m not in favour of naming and shaming.”
READ MORE: Care training flaws revealed
Tessa Akerman 4.15pm: Celebrate differently: Sutton’s appeal to Muslim community
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has released a YouTube video asking Muslims to celebrate Eid al-Adha differently this year to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Usually a time of prayers and gatherings, Professor Sutton asks Muslims to celebrate with the people they live with.
Eid al-Adha is one of Islam’s biggest and begins Thursday evening and finishes Monday evening.
Angelica Snowden 4pm: Community transmission, aged care ‘major concern’: Kelly
Acting chief medical officer Paul Kelly says Australia has reached a new “unfortunate record”, recording 747 coronavirus cases across the country.
The majority of the new cases — 723 — are Victorian with the most cases recorded in greater Melbourne, the Mitchell Shire and some rural areas too.
NSW recorded 18 new cases, two of which are overseas-acquired.
The rest are locally-acquired and mostly linked with a confirmed case or are a contact, with a couple still under investigation.
In Queensland, there was one overseas-acquired case and three locally-acquired cases.
South Australia recorded one new case which was locally-acquired as well.
Western Australia also recorded one overseas-acquired case.
Professor Kelly said of “major concern” is ongoing community transmission in Victoria and in particular outbreaks in aged care facilities.
He said six of Victoria’s new coronavirus cases were residents of aged care facilities, bringing the total number of infected residents to 456 out of 5,000 active cases in Victoria.
Professor Kelly also confirmed a further 58 new aged care staff members contracted COVID-19.
READ MORE: Queensland border system ‘broken’
Remy Varga 3.40pm: Premier urges people to avoid ‘deniers' rally
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews urged people not to attend a rally at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance on Friday, saying it was not a lawful reason for someone to leave their home under stage-three restrictions.
“This is incredibly serious,” he said.
“Every time somebody doesn’t do the right thing, every time somebody contributes to the spread of the virus, then that means another family will be having to plan a funeral, it’s just the maths of this.”
READ MORE: Virus denier rally has police on alert
Remy Varga 3.30pm: Lockdown longer if sick keep going to work: Andrews
As Victoria entered the second half of a six-week lockdown on Thursday, state Premier Daniel Andrews said it was too early to know if the restriction period would be prolonged or cut short.
“One day’s data is not a trend and that’s been borne out today so I can’t tell you where we’re going to be in another three weeks,” he said.
“What I can say though is if people continue to go to work when they’ve got symptoms or going to work when they’re getting their test results …. That’s just going to see these numbers to continue to grow and restrictions will have to stay on.”
It came as Victoria recorded its worst day authorities have found Victorians breaching orders and attending work when meant to be in isolation are responsible for the biggest spread.
Face coverings will be mandatory in regional Victoria from Monday after the state saw a record 723 new cases today, and 13 deaths, bringing the state’s total COVID-19 death toll to 105.
Of the 13 deaths, 10 are believed to be linked to the aged-care sector.
The horror numbers came after elderly and frail residents were relocated from aged care homes to hospitals after widespread outbreaks in the sector.
ADF personnel along with public health teams have begun door knocking every single positive coronavirus case in Victoria.
Mr Andrews denied the public health team was under resourced at the start of the pandemic, saying no one could have anticipated the coronavirus.
“The notion that our public health professionals are not very well equipped, well supported and highly skilled, I think is simply wrong,” he said.
When asked about the latest incident of a person being fined over refusing to wear a mask, Mr Andrews said everyone should follow the public health laws.
“This not about human rights, this is about human life,” he said.
“This is not about some obscure nonsense you’ve read on a website. There are rules. There are laws in place and everyone should follow them.
Mr Andrews described the recent spate incidents involving coronavirus sceptics as “appalling” and the majority of Victorians were doing the right thing.
“Not only is it wrong, it’s not particularly smart,” he said.
“Because Victoria Police are out there and they’re doing their job well. They’re fair and reasonable but these are serious issues. Very, very serious issues.”
READ MORE: Inside Melbourne’s COVID-19 craziness
Remy Varga 2.55pm: Majority of Victorian cases ‘linked to workplaces’
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says of regional Victoria’s 255 active cases, 159 had occurred in Colac-Otway, Greater Geelong, Surf Coast, Moorabool, Golden Plains and the Borough of Queenscliffe.
Describing the six Victorian LGA areas as “Geelong plus” Mr Andrews said the vast majority of those were linked to workplace outbreaks, but there was a concerning number of cases linked to homes.
“If this was not in people’s homes and we did not have that source of transmission and those mystery cases as well, then we could be solely focused on large workplaces at high risk workplaces,” he said.
“But when the advice comes in and says there is community transmission down in the corridor, there are household chains of transmission as well, then this is exactly the right to step to take.”
A coronavirus outbreak at the Australian Lamb Company in Colac on July 22 has since soared to 51.
The outbreak prompted Jason Schram, the mayor of the city of 11,000 people, 150km southwest of Melbourne, to call for a short lockdown to contain the spread.
Mr Andrews denied he was ignoring the voices of people on the ground when asked by a reporter on Thursday.
“We work with local communities, we work with stakeholders, we work with everybody who is impacted by this,” he said.
“This is the public health advice and that’s exactly the basis on which we act.”
READ MORE: It’s one degree of separation – ‘lock us down’
Remy Varga 1.55pm: How Victorian regions are affected
From Friday, residents of the local government areas of Colac-Otway, Greater Geelong, Surf Coast, Moorabool, Golden Plains and the Borough of Queenscliffe will no longer be able to visit people or have visitors.
But residents will still be allowed to have dinner at restaurants.
Mr Andrews said while it may feel counterintuitive, transmission data indicated people kept their distance less when in their homes than in a venue.
“People are not necessarily keeping their distance in their family homes, it’s a natural thing you let your guard down,” he said.
“Hugs and kisses and handshakes – not necessarily adhering to the protocols that are a feature of hospitality, cafes, pubs being open: They are supervised environments, they are regulated environments.
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Remy Varga 1.46pm: Door knockers find positive person out at work
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said teams of ADF personnel and public health workers had knocked on hundreds of doors of positive tests of the coronavirus.
He said on one occasion, the coronavirus positive person was out at work.
“They weren’t home but a family member was,” Mr Andrews said.
“The family member helpfully pointed out that that person – a positive coronavirus case – was in fact at work.”
He said there were other instances where people were not clear on what they were required to do.
Mr Andrews pleaded with people to stay at home, saying workplace transmission was driving Victoria’s record high numbers of COVID-19.
“The key point here is that too many people are still going to work when they have symptoms,” he said.
READ MORE: ADF doorknocking to find dodgers
Remy Varga 1.34pm: Face mask breachers ‘want likes on social media’
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said there had been an “alarming” number of incidents over the weekend where people had deliberately breached the Chief Health Officer’s direction on face masks.
“Thankfully this selfish behaviour is an exception and the vast majority of people are doing the right thing to protect the health and safety of our community,” he said.
“However, the behaviour of those who blatantly choose to disregard the rules on the insistence their human rights being breached is alarming.
“Worse yet, it seems these people are more interested in notoriety and getting likes on social media than the health and wellbeing of their fellow Victorians.”
Mr Nugent said people who refused to wear face coverings faced fines of $200 as well as arrest if they subsequently failed to comply with a directive to provide proof of identity.
READ the full story here
Adeshola Ore 12.49pm: PM backs Victorian regional restrictions
Scott Morrison says Victoria’s record number of 723 coronavirus cases today are “very concerning.”
The Prime Minister said he supported the extension of measures for regional Victoria.
“We have now been in this lockdown for some weeks, and we are not getting the results we would hope for,” he said.
“They will come at an impact to the economy – we understand that. But, equally, not containing these outbreaks will have that effect also.”
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Charlie Peel 12.42pm: Parliament cleaned after school visit
Queensland’s Parliament House has undergone a “deep clean” and staff have been directed to take leave after a visit by about 90 students from a school where a woman with COVID-19 works as an after school carer.
The woman, 22, is the sister of one of the 19-year-old women who contracted the virus after attending an illegal house party in Melbourne before returning to Queensland and falsifying travel declarations.
She is an employee of YMCA Chatswood Hills Outside School Hours Care in Springwood, Brisbane, which is run from Chatswood Hills State School.
When the woman tested positive for the virus on Wednesday afternoon, the school announced it would be closed on Thursday.
But the diagnosis only came after three groups of about 30 students from Chatswood Hills State School visited Parliament House on Wednesday.
In a message to press gallery journalists on Thursday, Speaker Curtis Pitt revealed the possible transmission.
“There is a chance, however remote, that students from that school have come into contact with the worker from the YMCA Chatswood Hills Outside School Hours Care,” Mr Pitt said.
“Any staff that have had direct contact with this school tour have been instructed to take leave, not to attend the precinct and get tested for COVID-19.
“In addition, last night a certified deep clean took place in the precinct of any area where that tour may have visited including toilets. There are no other school tours this week.”
Mr Pitt said Queensland Health had not said any of the students had tested positive to the virus and that it was only a “very remote possibility” that transmission had occurred.
“However, the Parliamentary Service have taken these steps to ensure the safety of people who work on the precinct and people who visit it,” Mr Pitt said.
ADESHOLA ORE 12.29pm: Warnings issued for new NSW suburbs of concern
NSW Health has issued a new health warning for people in several suburbs in response to the growing number of community transmission cases.
Anyone in the following areas is urged to get tested if they have even the mildest symptoms of the virus:
Potts Point area
Carnes Hill shops
Prestons
Bonnyrigg
Wetherill Park
Mt Pritchard
Bankstown City Plaza
Cabramatta
Perisher
NSW Health has recently started a research program to test sewage for traces of COVID-19 across the state. Initial samples collected at the Perisher sewage treatment plant on Wednesday 22 July 2020 returned a positive result for the presence of COVID-19. Further sampling and analysis is required to assess the significance of this initial positive result. The positive sewage result can be due to shedding of the virus by someone who may have previously had the illness, with the virus ‘shedding’ through their system for up to four weeks later.
While no cases of COVID-19 have been identified in Perisher or Thredbo to date, it’s important that anyone who was in this area get tested if they have even the mildest of symptoms.
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Mackenzie Scott 12.07pm: Queensland Covid teens went to illegal Victorian party
Two teens who tested positive to coronavirus in Queensland are believed to have attended an illegal party during their trip to Victoria before returning home.
The pair and another friend, who also went on the Melbourne trip, attended a party with 20 to 30 other people which was shut down by local police after reports of a disturbance.
Queensland deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said Victorian authorities took action against all in attendance, with each reveller accounted for.
As reported in The Australian today, it is understood the pair — one of whom was named as Olivia Winnie Muranga — are under investigation over an attempted theft of Bottega Veneta handbags at a high-end store in Melbourne, with suspicions they travelled interstate specifically to shoplift the goods and sell them.
READ the full story here
Adeshola Ore 12.01pm: NSW records 18 cases, six from unknown sources
NSW has recorded 18 new coronavirus cases overnight, including six with unknown sources.
Four of the new cases are linked to the Apollo restaurant in Potts Point and another four are connected to the Thai Rock Wetherill Park outbreak.
Two cases are returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
18 new cases of #COVID19 have been diagnosed in NSW between 8pm on 28 July and 8pm on 29 July.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 30, 2020
For the latest list of COVID-19 locations, visit: https://t.co/6PUOQ3J3tO pic.twitter.com/U5hRi2lOV2
Today’s cases bring the total number of cases in NSW to 3547.
There were 27,147 tests conducted compared with 18,543 in the previous 24 hours.
The Thai Rock Wetherill Park outbreak has reached 89 COVID-19 cases, while the Potts Points cluster has risen to eleven.
Crossroads Hotel in Casula remains linked to 57 cases, while the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club is associated with eight cases. There are 20 associated with funeral clusters in the south-western Sydney region.
NSW Health has confirmed that a preschool in south-western Sydney has shut due to a possible case of coronavirus in a child.
Everlearn Childcare Centre in Prestons is closed today while cleaning and contact tracing is underway. The test results are pending.
The childcare centre is in addition to several schools that have been closed today. Fort Street High School in Petersham, Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary School in Bossley Park and Freeman Catholic College in Bonnyrigg are non-operational today.
NSW Health has released new times that infectious people attended the Mounties at Mount Pritchard. Anyone who attended the club from 6pm Wednesday 22 July to 3am on Saturday 25 July must isolate and get tested regardless of symptoms, but stay isolated for a full 14 days
There are 100 cases of coronavirus being treated by NSW hospitals, with five in intensive care and one person requiring ventilation.
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Patrick Commins 11.41am: 75pc of Victorian firms to remain on JobKeeper
Treasury Secretary Steven Kennedy says he now expects three quarters of Victorian firms will remain on JobKeeper beyond September and that the government should be “open to responding” to the deteriorating situation in that state when determining how the eligibility tests were to be applied for firms applying for the wage subsidy beyond the initial six-month term.
Dr Kennedy told the Senate COVID committee that “had the Victorian circumstance not emerged we would have expected far fewer firms in Victoria to flow through to the second JobKeeper because of the reapplication of the eligibility test”.
“In our latest estimates we now think at least 75 per cent of Victorian firms will stay on JobKeeper because of the circumstances they find themselves in compared to other states.”
He said he advised government “to be open to responding to those circumstances as they emerge”.
“The rules are yet to be made for the full application of JobKeeper, and as the government makes those rules it has to keep that (the deteriorating situation in Victoria) in mind.”
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Remy Varga 11.08am: Face masks to be mandatory throughout Victoria
Face masks will be mandatory across Victoria from Monday after the number of coronavirus cases soared and 13 new deaths recorded.
Currently they are only mandatory in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says 13 people have died from the coronavirus as he confirmed the record high 723 number of COVID-19 cases on Thursday.
The state’s death toll now stands at 105.
Mr Andrews said it is believed 10 of the deaths are connected to aged-care outbreaks.
From Friday, residents of the local government areas of Colac-Otway, Greater Geelong, Surf Coast, Moorabool, Golden Plains and the Borough of Queenscliffe will no longer be able to visit people or have visitors.
But residents will still be allowed to have dinner at restaurants, with the renewed restrictions in response to community transmission.
Mr Andrews said of regional Victoria’s 255 active cases, 159 had occurred in Colac-Otway, Greater Geelong, Surf Coast, Moorabool, Golden Plains and the Borough of Queenscliffe.
Describing mandatory mask wearing as “essentially stage four for Melbourne”, Mr Andrews said the statewide face covering order was about keeping numbers low.
“In very basic terms, we need to jealously guard those low numbers,” he said.
Current exemptions from mask wearing in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, including for strenuous exercise, will apply to the regions.
Victoria Police will enforce the mandatory face mask wearing in regional Victoria with breaches carrying fines of $200, Mr Andrews confirmed.
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Charlie Peel 10.45am: Queensland Covid teens may face further charges
Police are considering laying further charges against one of the teenagers who travelled to Melbourne and returned with coronavirus after she refused to detail her movements since coming back to Brisbane.
Deputy Police Commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the 19-year-old had been uncooperative with police and health authorities and would not tell them where she had been since returning on July 21.
It has prevented health officials from conducting contact tracing and prompted a universal call for anyone with symptoms of illness to get tested for the virus.
One of her two travelling companions, who has also tested positive for the virus, has provided a detailed list of her movements in Brisbane.
The third girl has not tested positive for the virus, however a sister of one of the 19-year-olds has.
READ the full story here
Angela Seng 10.32am: Queensland records three additional cases
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced there were three additional cases in Queensland today.
Two of the cases were linked to the Apollo Restaurant in Potts Point, a known COVID-19 hotspot — the pair chose to self-isolate.
The remaining case was a recently returned traveller from the United States.
The Premier said today’s cases were unrelated to yesterday’s reported cases of the teens who crossed the border illegally into Brisbane from Melbourne via Sydney. As well as a known close contact of the young women.
“We need to make sure that everyone is doing the right thing. If you are sick do not go to work,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“We really want people to come and get tested if they are in the Brisbane area and if they have any symptoms whatsoever.”
These latest cases bring the total of active COVID-19 cases to 11 in Queensland and the total number of cases to 1082.
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Adeshola Ore 10.31am: 600,000 vehicles cross Victoria-NSW border
More than 600,000 vehicles have crossed the border from Victoria into NSW since it was closed on July 8.
NSW Police said one person had been charged and three people had been issued Penalty Infringement Notices for breaching Public Health Orders at the border.
Residents of border towns and those travelling for health and employment reasons are permitted to cross the state lines.
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Adeshola Ore 10.21am: Pizza restaurant closed in Sydney’s inner west
A pizza restaurant in Sydney’s inner west has been closed after a customer tested positive for COVID-19.
The infected person dined at Frank’s Pizza Bar in Camperdown on Sunday between 6pm and 8pm.
In a Facebook post, the restaurant said it had been informed by NSW Health that the venue was at a “low risk”.
NSW reported 19 new cases of coronavirus on Wednesday, with two in hotel quarantine.
The remaining confirmed cases were all linked to outbreaks from a Bankstown funeral home, the Thai Rock restaurants in Wetherill Park and Potts Point, the Apollo restaurant in Potts Point, and the Crossroads Hotel at Casula.
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Mackenzie Scot 9.50am: Police seize phones of Queensland Covid teens
Queensland Police and health authorities are analysing the mobile phones of the state’s two COVID-19 positive teens amid concerts they have not disclosed all their movements since returning from Victoria.
Two schools, a shopping centre and several restaurants and bars remain closed for cleaning after being visited by at least one of the pair since their July 21, with Queensland authorities expecting to carry out tests on hundreds of people today who were at those locations.
Two girls plus one of their immediate family members are the first three cases of the virus in the community since May.
Queensland authorities said they were deeply concerned the pair – who face criminal prosecution after lying about their prior travel to Melbourne on return to their home state – may have already begun to spread the virus through the community.
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 9.24am: Victoria hits new record with 723 new cases
Victoria has broken its previous record for coronavirus cases by almost 200, confirming 723 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Thursday.
The previous record was 532 cases on Monday — the only other time the daily number of new cases had exceeded 500 until today.
The new record comes a week after masks became mandatory for everyone leaving their homes in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire, and three weeks after these areas were locked down.
The new number takes Victoria’s rolling seven-day average on Thursday to 436 cases, after it dipped to 390 on Wednesday from the previous record of 417 on Tuesday.
Sadly the number of coronavirus deaths in Victoria in the 24 hours to Thursday is also expected to exceed the previous record of 10 on Monday.
There were 804 active cases of coronavirus in aged care facilities in Victoria on Wednesday, amid the evacuation of residents of a number of these nursing homes to hospital.
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Lilly Vitorovich 9.18am: ABC Breakfast presenters self-isolating
ABC’s News Breakfast television show, which is recorded in Melbourne, has had a coronavirus scare.
The show’s hosts, Michael Rowland and Lisa Millar, plus weather presenter Nate Byrne are self-isolating at home as floor manager Joe awaits his COVID-19 test result.
The decision follows the discovery on Wednesday that Joe’s wife Laura had tested positive for the coronavirus.
The hosts have been replaced by Ben Knight and Madeline Morris Thursday morning.
Morris told viewers on Thursday morning that “ABC management has decided that the team that worked closely with Joe should self isolate for the moment.”
Knight said the trio will “hide themselves away for a few days”.
“This is, we should point out, the system working. This goes above and beyond what the mandatory requirement of the health department is. But the ABC just wants to take a bit of extra precaution for the well being of others who work here, and of course in the interest of public safety,” he said.
Rowland, who tweeted the news on Wednesday night, and Millar appeared via video on News Breakfast on Thursday morning. Rowland said he was “tossing and turning” during the night, adding “it was a lot to take in” on Wednesday.
“Things moved very, very quickly and full credit to the ABC for taking quick and decisive action once we learnt Laura, Joe’s wife, had coronavirus,” he said.
Millar says viewers have been writing in and thanking them for being “overly cautious” and for “going above and beyond”.
Morris says the ABC has been “so careful”, noting that staff have been split into two teams during the coronavirus crisis.
7.30 host Leigh Sales has a studio set up at her home for the same reason, Rowland said.
David Ross 9.15am: Insurers on hook for pandemic test case
Insurers are likely to face large financial payouts if an upcoming court case over business interruption insurance moves ahead, legal experts say.
The Australian Financial Complaints Authority is expected to bring forward a case on the matter in coming weeks that would see a legal test of pandemic carve-outs in policies offered by major insurers.
The battleground is likely to centre around the wording of many business interruption policies that reference the 1908 quarantine act, according to lawyers closely involved in cases.
Josh Mennen, Maurice Blackburn’s principal lawyer in superannuation and insurance practice, said the insurance industry had “caused the issue for itself” by failing to update or properly draft contracts that reflected current legislation.
READ the full story here
Adeshola Ore 9.04am: Bondi surf club remains shut after cluster link
Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club remains closed after four members of its members visited the Apollo restaurant last Thursday – linked with a COVID-19 outbreak.
The club’s president said a number of its members had visited the Greek restaurant in inner Sydney last Thursday. Three of them have returned negative test results, but the club remains shut while they wait for the last test result.
A pop up COVID-19 testing clinic is located just under 100m away from the surf life saving club.
NSW Labor MP Marjorie O’Neill, whose electorate includes Coogee, said there were now active cases in eastern Sydney.
“There has been 2 new cases in the Coogee electorate, associated with the postcodes 2026 – Bondi and 2031 – Randwick,” she said in a Facebook post.
Meanwhile, an inmate at a maximum-security prison in Sydney has tested positive to coronavirus.
Parklea Correctional Centre is now in lockdown, with staff advised to wear masks, after it reported its first case of COVID-19.
The inmate is understood to have arrived from Victoria, before being transferred to Parklea on Monday.
Visitors to all NSW prisons were banned in March as part of the state’s coronavirus restrictions.
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Courtney Walsh 8.58am: Barty opts against playing US Open
Australian champion Ash Barty has opted against travelling to America for the US Open to be held next month.
The world No 1, who has been practising in Brisbane, has been weighing up whether to head to New York given the current coronavirus crisis.
A member of her close knit team fell ill with pneumonia a couple of years ago and Barty was determined not to put their health at further risk.
“My team and I have decided that we won’t be travelling to the US for the Western and Southern Open and the US Open this year,” she said.
“I love both events, so it was a difficult decision, but there are still significant risks involved due to Covid 19 and I don’t feel comfortable putting my team and I in that position.
“I wish the USTA all the best for the tournaments and look forward to being back in the US next year.”
The world No 1 is still to determine whether she will defend her Roland Garros title at the rescheduled French Open, which will be held in late September.
“I will make my decision on the French Open and the surrounding WTA European tournaments in the coming weeks,” she said.
A recent decision by the WTA Tour to protect the rankings of players who opt against playing in the current climate means Barty will not be penalised in terms of losing ranking points for not competing.
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Adeshola Ore 8.46am: Border closure ‘not on expert medical advice’
Health Minister Greg Hunt says Queensland’s decision to close itself to Sydneysiders is “not the advice of medical experts.”
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced the new restrictions after two teenagers — who returned to the state on July 21 from Melbourne, via Sydney — became the first people with Covid to be in the community since May.
“It’s a decision for the premier so I’ll let the Queensland premier explain that, but it hasn’t been the advice of the national medical expert panel,” he told 2GB radio.
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Agencies 8.43am: Drastic drop in numbers as annual Haj begins
The sacred haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia has begun with some 10,000 Muslim faithful allowed, instead of the roughly 2.5 million that attended last year.
Pilgrims were brought in small batches into Mecca’s Grand Mosque, walking along paths marked on the floor, in sharp contrast to the normal sea of humanity that swirls inside its walls.
Even with efforts in place to contain the virus, it has killed more than 660,000 people around the world and total infections are approaching 17 million. — AFP
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Adeshola Ore 8.17am: ‘Massive task’ in stabilising Victorian cases
Health Minister Greg Hunt says Victoria is facing a “massive task” in stabilising its COVID-19 cases.
The federal government has deployed AUSMAT teams to co-ordinate Victoria’s coronavirus response. The state has now recorded more than 950 cases of the virus across 87 aged-care homes.
“Victoria has a massive task, we’ve stepped in, we’re helping them,” he told 2GB radio.
“We know this comes with an immense human cost once this disease is out in the community … We’re stepping in as a country to help one state that is facing a profound challenge.”
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Adeshola Ore 8.04am: ‘Checkpoint Eve’ ordered to face court
A Victorian woman who went viral after filming herself boasting for not stopping at a COVID-19 checkpoint has been ordered to face court for breaching the public health order.
Victoria Police confirmed they smashed a car window to arrest Eve Black on Wednesday, after she filmed herself dodging a checkpoint last week.
A police spokesperson said she was arrested after she refused to speak to them, wind down her window or step out of her vehicle. She has been released and issued with a court summons for traffic-related offences, failing to produce a licence, names and address and breaching the Victorian Chief Health Officer’s order.
In a video posted on Facebook, Ms Black appears to dodge a police roadblock by refusing to answer the police officer who asks her reason for travelling. She also refuses to wind down her window, and responds by asking “Have I committed a crime?”. The police officer then waves her through the checkpoint.
In a Facebook post, she later wrote “I regret nothing. I’m just tired of the abuse and threats. Wake up, sleeper.”
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Ellen Ransley 7.35am: Queenslanders told: Brace for more cases
Queenslanders are being told to brace for more COVID-19 cases to be confirmed today after three women tested positive to the potentially deadly virus yesterday.
Speaking on ABC radio this morning, Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles said government-funded hotel quarantine “wouldn’t have made a difference” in this case.
Mr Miles said hundreds of people had been tested yesterday after two 19-year-olds returned to Queensland from Melbourne via Sydney and continued to work and socialise throughout Brisbane’s southside for up to eight days.
Late Wednesday afternoon a close contact of the women tested positive. The 22-year-old works at YMCA Chatswood Hills Outside School Hours Care at Springwood, which was closed for cleaning. It’s the second school to close after Parklands Christian College, where one of the original infected women works as a cleaner.
Scores of people lined up outside the College yesterday for COVID-19 testing.
The results are expected to be confirmed later this morning, but Mr Miles said he was bracing for the worst.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we had further cases,” he said.
“The next 48 hours are crucial … we need everyone who has concerns to check the times and dates listed on Queensland Health and go and get tested.
“That’s the best thing for them and it helps our health response.”
Mr Miles said he wanted to reassure concerned Queenslanders that police were scrutinising how the women got through the border and were treating it as a criminal investigation.
“It appears they (the police) have been given false information,” he said.
“It’s only a few weeks ago we changed the law to have jail time as a possibility of lying on a border declaration pass and people thought it was overkill … but now it’s proved an important measure.
“We need to make sure a strong signal is sent, there’s a big penalty for lying.”
Mr Miles said people needed to be honest with their border declaration passes.
“I don’t want to see people sick or dying, or our health workers overrun with cases like they have been in Victoria,” he said.
Anyone who visited the following places at the designated times are being urged to immediately self-quarantine and phone 13 HEALTH.
Parklands Christian College – Park Ridge – 9.30am to 6pm, July 22 and 23
Madtongsan IV Restaurant – Sunnybank – 7 to 9pm, July 23
Heeretea Bubble Tea Shop – Sunnybank – 9.25pm, July 23
YMCA Chatswood Hills Outside School Hours Care – Springwood – All day, July 23 and 24
Primary Medical and Dental Practice – Browns Plains – 3.30 to 3.50pm
Thai Peak Restaurant – Springfield – 6.30 to 9pm, July 26
Cowch Dessert Cocktail Bar – Southbank – All times, July 27
P’Nut Street Noodles – Southbank – All times, July 27
African Grocery Shop – Woodridge (Station Rd) – All times, July 28
Primary Medical and Dental Practice – Browns Plains – 12.25 to 12.30pm, July 28
Chatime Grand Plaza – Browns Plains – All times, July 28.
Anyone on-board the following flights are also being urged to contact Queensland Health, if they haven’t been already.
VA683 Virgin Australia – Melbourne to Sydney – July 21
VA977 Virgin Australia – Sydney to Brisbane – July 21
In response to the outbreak, QLD Health have extended the operating times of some Fever Clinics, and urge anyone with even mild symptoms to get tested.
Orion Springfield Central Shopping Centre western car park (pop up clinic) – open 9am – 4pm – Thursday 30 July-Sunday 2 August
Parklands Fever Clinic (school community testing) – open 9am – 7pm – Wednesday 29 July, Thursday 30 July
QEII Hospital Fever Clinic – open 8am – 8pm – Wednesday 29 July – Friday 31 July
Logan Hospital Fever Clinic 8am-9pm Wednesday 29 July – Thursday 30 July
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Adeshola Ore 7.23am: Two Sydney Catholic schools confirm cases
Sydney Catholic Schools has confirmed coronavirus cases at Freeman Catholic College Bonnyrigg Heights and Mary Immaculate Catholic Primary in Bossley Park.
Both south-west Sydney schools will now be closed until August 10, with students undertaking at-home learning.
The schools have undergone cleaning and contact tracing is underway.
“The safety and wellbeing of staff and students is our key priority at all times, as such we will continue to work closely with NSW Health to ensure that all necessary heath advice is adhered to,” a statement read.
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Adeshola Ore 6.54am: US congressman who spurned masks tests positive
US Republican Congressman Louie Gohmert, who refused to wear a mask during the coronavirus pandemic, has tested positive for COVID-19, raising concerns that other members of Congress may also have been exposed.
A US representative from Texas, where coronavirus cases have surged since the state lifted restrictions, Mr Gohmert said he tested positive in a pre-screening at the White House and would now self-quarantine. Nearly 150,000 people in the United States have died of coronavirus, and almost 4.4 million have tested positive.
France has reported its highest daily number of new coronavirus infections in more than a month. The country recorded 1392 COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, fuelling fears of a second wave. In a statement, the country’s health authority said all COVID-19 indicators, excluding the number of people in intensive care, showed “an increase of viral circulation”. France has now recorded 185,196 confirmed cases of the virus and has the seventh-highest death toll in the world.
Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam has warned the city is on the brink of a large-scale outbreak of the coronavirus and urged people to stay indoors as much as possible as strict new measures to curb the disease’s spread came into effect on Wednesday.
The new regulations ban gatherings of more than two people, close dining in restaurants and make the wearing of face masks mandatory in public places, including outdoors. These are the toughest measures introduced in the city since the outbreak.
Globally, there have been more than 16.8 million people infected with the virus. The number of COVID-19 deaths is more than 662,000.
With agencies
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Jessica Halloran 6.45am: Tokyo 2021 to go ahead, with or without vaccine
Olympics boss John Coates says the Tokyo Games will go ahead with or without a COVID-19 vaccine.
Coates, who is chairman of the Tokyo Co-ordination Committee and also the Australian Olympic Committee chief, says preparing these Games has been one of the most challenging experiences of his lifetime.
He has been working around the clock with International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach to ensure the Tokyo event goes ahead this time next year.
Read the full story here.
Eli Greenblat 6.15am: Airports in Australia, NZ face ‘difficult climb’
Australia and New Zealand’s airport assets face a cash squeeze over the next year and a “slow and difficult climb” out of the deep hole created by the COVID-19 pandemic with a rebound in tourism and traffic flows not likely until 2022, says a report from ratings agency S&P Global Ratings.
The new report warned the outlook for the sector was negative as airport traffic recovery would hinge on domestic policies and travel, with international traffic key for earnings quality.
In the meantime there will be a cashflow squeeze, albeit with sufficient liquidity for the next 12 months, as a prolonged recovery looms given a second wave of infections, government actions, consumer behaviour, and the weak economic outlook.
Read the full story here.
John Ferguson 5.45am: Tests fears in nation’s ground zero
Residents of Australia’s coronavirus pandemic ground zero have fallen well behind testing levels of other local government areas that have suffered sharply fewer cases.
Brimbank, near Melbourne Airport, has surged through 600 active cases for the first time, making it the most dangerous area in Australia to live during the second Victorian wave.
But new statistics obtained by The Australian show that Brimbank, which accounts for almost one in 10 of all Victorian COVID-19 infections this year, sits at sixth on the top-10 testing list across Victoria.
This raises serious questions about how far the virus might have spread in Melbourne’s northwest and west.
Read the full story here.
Natasha Robinson 5.15am: Infection ‘takes minutes’ in presence of cougher
People may be at risk of contracting coronavirus if they spend just a few minutes in a small room with an infected person with a high viral load who is coughing.
A paper by researchers from the Swiss Centre for Occupational and Environmental Health found that even individuals with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 can have large amounts of virus in their sputum, and if those individuals are breathing and coughing in small, poorly ventilated rooms, there is a high risk of transmission of the disease even after a few minutes.
The study may have implications for contact-tracing guidelines, which generally specify that close contacts of an infected person are deemed to be those who have spent 15 minutes or more in a room with the COVID-19 case.
Read the full story here.
Michael McKenna 5am: Teen shoplifting mission ends in virus cluster
Two teenagers who tested positive to coronavirus in Queensland allegedly travelled to Melbourne this month on a shoplifting mission to steal luxury handbags.
As fears rose that the 19-year-old women had triggered Queensland’s first community-transmitted cluster in months — with a sister of one of the pair also testing positive late on Wednesday — it emerged they were wanted by Victoria Police.
It is understood the pair are under investigation over an attempted theft of Bottega Veneta handbags at a high-end store in Melbourne, with suspicions they travelled interstate specifically to shoplift the goods and sell them.
The teenagers already face criminal charges in Queensland after they allegedly failed to declare their trip to Victoria and gave false personal details on state border declaration forms, after flying back to Brisbane via Sydney on July 21.
Read the full story here.
Remy Varga 4.45am: Virus deniers selling crystals as ‘protection’
Coronavirus deniers are trying to make a profit out of the pandemic, selling crystals as protection against 5G radiation as well as pushing branded merchandise.
The Australian can also reveal that 99% Unite is pushing a distressing theory that the families of deceased coronavirus victims are lying about the cause of death of their loved ones in exchange for money from the Victorian government.
It comes as viral conspiracy theorist Eve Black was arrested in dramatic scenes on Wednesday after she refused to co-operate with Victoria Police over a July 23 incident in which she filmed herself passing through a lockdown zone checkpoint.
Co-leader of 99% Unite, Raphael Fernandez, is selling Shungite, a black crystal, to ward off EMF, which conspiracy theorists believe is emitted by 5G towers and can cause symptoms of the coronavirus.
“This amazingly powerful rock is a tool for 5G/ Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth/ EMF protection, physical healing and work performance,” the cryptocurrency enthusiast said in a Facebook post.
Read the full story here.
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Jews ‘a death cult’: more slurs engulf restaurant scene
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Crisafulli dodges ‘please explain’ on nuclear
LNP leader David Crisafulli has been unable — or unwilling — to say why he opposes federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s nuclear power policy as Queensland’s pre-polling booths open.