Coronavirus Australia live news: Victoria arrests soar as locals get restless amid restrictions
As restrictions interstate are eased, arrests spike in Victoria as its residents look to challenge lockdown laws.
- Vic arrests soar amid lockdown
- ‘No business as usual until crisis over’
- Virus spreads among White House
- Hunt welcomes NSW easing
- Global cases near four million
Welcome to Sunday’s live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis.
Arrests in Victoria have spiked as locals look to challenge restrictions imposed by Premier Daniel Andrews .
Reuters 8.05pm German cases spike days after restrictions eased
New coronavirus infections are accelerating again in Germany just days after its leaders loosened social restrictions, raising concerns the pandemic could once again slip out of control.
The number of people each sick person now infects — known as the reproduction rate, or R — had risen to 1.1, the Robert Koch Institute for disease control said on Sunday. When it goes above 1.0, it means the number of infections is growing.
Chancellor Angela Merkel, bowing to pressure from leaders of Germany’s 16 federal states to restart social life and revive the economy, announced on Wednesday measures that included more shop openings and a gradual return to school.
At the same time, she launched an “emergency brake” to allow for the reimposition of restrictions if infections pick up again.
Karl Lauterbach, a Social Democrat legislator and professor of epidemiology, warned that the new coronavirus could start spreading again quickly after seeing large crowds out and about on Saturday in his home city of Cologne.
“It has to be expected that the R rate will go over 1 and we will return to exponential growth,” Lauterbach said in a tweet.
“The loosening measures were far too poorly prepared.” The Robert Koch Institute said on Sunday the confirmed number of new coronavirus cases had increased by a daily 667 to 169,218, while the daily death toll had risen by 26 to 7395.
Meanwhile, Switzerland’s central bank chief said the coronavirus crisis was costing the Swiss economy up to $US17bn ($26bn) each month.
The head of the Swiss National Bank, Thomas Jordan, said the pandemic had left the economy functioning at just 70-80 percent of its normal level.
“You have to go back to the oil crisis of the 1970s to find such a collapse of growth,” he told the Tamedia group in an interview published by several Swiss papers on Sunday.
READ MORE: Arrests at anti-lockdown protest
Reuters 6.55pm Russian cases jump 11,000 in one day
Russian authorities says they have recorded 11,012 new cases of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 209,688. Russia’s coronavirus task force says 88 people died in the past day, pushing the national death toll to 1915.
Russian coronavirus cases overtook French and German infections this week to become the fifth-highest in the world.
READ MORE: They couldn’t put out the fire
AFP 5.45pm Fears of second wave in South Korea
South Korea’s capital has ordered the closure of all clubs and bars after a burst of new cases sparked fears of a second coronavirus wave, and President Moon Jae-in urged the public to remain vigilant.
The nation has been held up as a global model in how to curb the virus, but the order from the Seoul mayor on Saturday followed a new infection cluster in Itaewon, one of the city’s busiest nightlife districts.
More than 50 cases have been linked to a 29-year-old man who tested positive after spending time at five clubs and bars in Itaewon last weekend.
“Carelessness can lead to an explosion in infections,” said Seoul mayor Park Won-soon, adding the order would remain in effect indefinitely.
Gyeonggi province — which surrounds Seoul with a population of around 12 million people — also ordered more than 5700 entertainment facilities to suspend operations for two weeks starting Sunday.
With about 7200 people estimated to have visited the five establishments, health authorities have warned of a further spike in infections and have asked those who went to any of the venues to get tested.
Of the 34 new infections reported on Sunday, 24 were tied to the Itaewon cluster, according to the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
READ MORE: Melbourne police make arrests at anti-lockdown protest
Lachlan Moffet Gray 4.30pm Birmingham slams Labor push for more spending
Minister for tourism, trade and investment Simon Birmingham has criticised the Labor party for lobbying for uncapped additional expenditure by saying the government’s JobKeeper and JobSeeker programs should be extended beyond September.
The JobSeeker program subsidises employee wages to the tune of $750 a week and the jobseeker unemployment rate has been doubled from its pre-coronavirus amount to $550 a week.
“I think the Labor Party have failed to establish clear principles,” Mr Birmingham said on Sunday. “The Labor Party at every juncture find more people who they think should be eligible for longer periods of time at great expense.”
Labor should wait for a review of the programs slated for June before taking a position on whether they should be extended, Mr Birmingham added.
“We announced there would be a review around JobKeeper and that review will take place at the timeline the government announced at the outset,” he said.
“We also have been clear around the principles that support would be targeted, proportionate and temporary.”
READ MORE: China threat to put tariffs on Australian barley ‘concerning’
Lachlan Moffet Gray 4.10pm Call for independent probe into pandemic’s origins
An independent investigation into the origins of the pandemic in China is a public health imperative, Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy says, but he defended Beijing’s efforts in providing data on the coronavirus.
“We want to understand how this virus became so readily transmitted from human to human,” Dr Murphy said.
“We have seen lots of what we call zoological viruses in the past.
“We have seen avian flu, we have seen SARS, we have seen MERS. But almost none of them developed this capacity to spread rapidly from human to human like coronavirus.”
The Chinese medical and scientific community has been “readily sharing information” with Australia, Dr Murphy added.
“I think they will continue to do so, they are reporting to the WHO, as are we.”
A detailed mental health plan designed to tackle escalating suicide rates would be provided to the National Cabinet for discussion on Friday, he said.
READ MORE: How I became part of Sweden’s herd immunity plan
Lachlan Moffet Gray 4.05pm Murphy pans protesters’ ‘silly misinformation’
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has slammed protesters in Melbourne who claimed 5G could be behind the spread of coronavirus, calling the theory “silly misinformation”.
“I have unfortunately received a lot of communication from these conspiracy theorists myself,” Dr Murphy said on Sunday, “It is complete nonsense. 5G has got nothing at all to do with coronavirus.
“Similarly, I understand people have the right to protest, but they should not be breaching those social distancing rules and if they are, they should be held to account.”
Dr Murphy also said business owners had a duty to turn away customers who exhibit flu-like symptoms as restrictions ease.
“All of us over our lives have been on occasions wanting to soldier on with a cold and a fluke, a flu like illness,” he said. “We cannot do that anymore. And if one of your colleagues or an employee or a client turns up, you have every right to say, ‘Go away. I am not going to let you in. I am not going to treat you’.”
The commonwealth will meet with state governments on Monday to discuss public transport as usage rates increase with people returning to work. Dr Murphy encouraged employers to to help reduce commuter crowds.
“As well as asking those who are working from home to continue working from home for the time being...we are also keen for employers and employees to look at staggered start
and finish times,” he said.
READ MORE: Residential investment property’s darkest hour
Lachlan Moffet Gray 3.55pm Protect vulnerable and go home, Murphy warns
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy says Australia’s curve is continuing to flatten despite “a little blip” related to outbreaks at the Cedar Meats Abattoir in Melbourne and the Newmarch House aged-care centre in Sydney, and has urged Australians to act responsibility as coronavirus restrictions begin to ease.
Australia has 6941 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 14 people across the country on ventilators.
Dr Murphy emphasised that Australians have to practice “personal responsibility” as restrictions ease to protect those vulnerable to coronavirus.
“We have lost 97 lives in Australia, and you can see on the death slide here, just how the deaths are focused in the older age group,” he said.
“So it is those of us who are mobile, active adults who are not in that vulnerable group
who have to do what we have to do to protect the older people and those with chronic conditions.”
Dr Murphy said as regulations are eased, Australians must practice common sense.
“So if you are going to a shopping centre to buy something, go and buy something, but don’t hang around the shopping centre for half-an-hour mingling for no purpose,” he said.
“Go home. If you are arriving at a shopping centre and you find a crowd at an escalator not wanting to practise social distancing or crowding together, don’t go in.
“Leave. Come back later.”
READ MORE: Secret group of scientists, billionaires planning COVID-19 Manhattan Project
Rachel Baxendale 3.45pm: Arrests spike amid Victoria restrictions
Victoria Police issued 72 fines in the 24 hours to 11pm on Saturday and 61 during the same period on Friday, compared with just 13 on Thursday, in a sign more Victorians are willing to break lockdown laws as they see them being relaxed interstate.
Every other state and territory has detailed a relaxation of restrictions in response to a three-stage plan handed down by national cabinet on Friday, but Premier Daniel Andrews is waiting until Monday to announce Victoria’s plan.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos refused to give any details of what Monday’s announcement is likely to include at a press conference on Sunday.
“That’s why the Premier’s not here. He will be making those announcements tomorrow, and I’m very much looking forward to that,” Ms Mikakos said.
Police conducted 841 spot checks at homes, businesses and non-essential services on Saturday, issuing 72 fines.
They have conducted 41,651 spot checks since March 21.
Among those fined were five people from different addresses travelling in a vehicle together to get food, eight people gathered drinking alcohol at a private residence, and multiple people committing criminal offences including theft, drug related offending and graffiti.
READ MORE: My role in Sweden’s herd immunity experiment
Rachel Baxendale 3.30pm: New cases linked to Melbourne abattoir
The number of COVID-19 cases linked to Melbourne abattoir Cedar Meats has risen to 76, after Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos confirmed one additional case on Sunday.
The case is among 10 new cases confirmed in Victoria on Sunday, including one case detected in an overseas traveller in hotel quarantine, and eight cases where the origins are still under investigation.
Of those eight cases, one has been detected in a healthcare worker at the Kyabram & District Hospital in Victoria’s north.
Ms Mikakos said there had been no increase since Saturday in cases with no known link to overseas travel or other infections, with the number of community transmission cases steady at 157.
There have been no Victorian deaths linked to COVID-19 in recent days, with the state’s death toll steady at 18.
Seven people are in hospital with the virus, including six in intensive care.
Victoria has now had a total of 1487 cases of COVID-19, 1346 of which are no longer active.
Of the state’s 118 active cases, the origins of 23 remain under investigation.
Among those 23, are 20 which have been detected since the Andrews government’s testing blitz began on April 27.
So far, 150,000 tests have been conducted as part of that blitz.
Ms Mikakos said the 20 cases with no links to clusters or other cases may not have been identified were it not for the blitz, because the people were often either asymptomatic or had very mild symptoms.
“This is why it is important that people take even the most mild of symptoms very seriously,” she said, citing the example of a worker at Grant Lodge Aged Care in the western Victorian town of Bacchus Marsh who tested positive last week.
“Action was able to be taken in that nursing home to prevent an outbreak there,” Ms Mikakos said.
READ MORE: AOC talks up 2032 Olympics bid
Agencies 2.45pm: Gloves set to come off as parliament resumes
The state of bi-partisanship that has dominated federal politics faced with the coronavirus pandemic could come to an abrupt halt when parliament resumes on Tuesday, albeit in its reduced format, AAP reports.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will kick-off the three-day sitting week by delivering a statement on the economic and budget outlook.
The numbers are likely to be scary taking into account an already predicted jump in the unemployment rate to 10 per cent in the June quarter, the expected slump in economic activity and the hundreds of billions of dollars spent to help shield the nation from the worst of the pandemic.
Mr Frydenberg’s statement comes on a day when he was supposed to deliver his 2020/21 budget, but this been pushed back to October because of the pandemic. Finance Minister Mathias Cormann will also make the statement to the Senate. The government will also aim to ensure the privacy of Australians who download the COVIDSafe contact tracing app through legislation.
Speaker Tony Smith could announce a date for the Eden-Monaro by-election after the seat was vacated by Labor’s popular Mike Kelly because of ill health.
Whether the coalition will have sorted out its candidate - after a week of farce that has seen Nationals and Liberals throwing their hats in the ring only to take it out again within hours - remains to be seen.
But question time could get back to its rowdy best as Labor drags up further revelations over the so-called sports rorts scandal and further scrutiny of Energy Minister Angus Taylor and the mysterious download of the Sydney council’s travel arrangements.
“I think when the issues in front of us have been how to get through the pandemic, there’s been an understandable moment of national unity,” Manager of Opposition Business Tony Burke told ABC television on Sunday. “But right now, we really need to get back to scrutiny.”
READ MORE: Infection cases ‘weeks earlier than first thought’
Staff Reporters 2pm: Victoria says testing blitz helping path to recovery
The Victorian government’s COVID-19 testing blitz has seen more than 150,000 people undergo testing as the state waits for restrictions to ease, AAP reports.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said on Sunday there had been an increase of 10 coronavirus cases since Saturday, one of which is from the Cedar Meats outbreak and another a person currently quarantining in a hotel.
The 10 new cases brings Victoria’s total to 1487.
Ms Mikakos congratulated Victorians for getting tested in such large numbers, but gave no indication as to when restrictions would lift.
READ MORE: China’s latest threat ‘deeply disturbing’
Kieran Gair 1.30pm: Anti-vaxxer fined $1000 over unauthorised protest
A self-employed cosmetic nurse and prominent anti-vaxxer has described her treatment by NSW Police as “unlawful” and “inhumane” after she was arrested for allegedly taking part in an unauthorised protest against coronavirus restrictions in Sydney’s CBD.
Renee Altakrity, 36, was fined $1000 by NSW Police after she joined a group of about 40 people to protest the NSW government’s COVID-19 stay-at-home orders outside NSW Parliament on Macquarie Street at about 3.30pm on Saturday.
The mother-of-three on Sunday accused police of encroaching “on her rights” after she was “manhandled” into a police van and taken to Surry Hills Police Station for failing to comply with a direction relating to COVID-19 social distancing restrictions.
“Unlawful, inhumane - shame on you all,” she wrote on Facebook. “I held my integrity even when you ripped my son from my arms.”
The vision of the incident was captured by bemused onlookers and was later uploaded to YouTube by the ‘Exercising my Rights’ group who claim the government has used “unreliable data” to strip people of their “basic liberties” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Altakrity, who was wearing a sign that read “If you don’t know rights, you don’t have any. Magna Carta”, refused multiple orders to move on by police and was issued an infringement notice on Saturday afternoon.
In the footage, Ms Altakrity refuses to give her name to a group of officers and attempts to walk away from police but is brought back and eventually loaded into a waiting police van while her four-year-old son can be heard screaming “leave mummy alone”.
“I don’t know how you guys are going home in honour tonight and trying to infringe me with a notice which I don’t consent to because we’re doing nothing wrong,” she told the group of officers in the video.
“You guys should be here holding the signs with us, defending us. I don’t consent to what you’re doing,” she said, as a female officer repeatedly asked for her name. “We’re doing nothing wrong...We’re not acting in aggression...Am I under arrest?,” Ms Altakrity responded.
NSW Police said Ms Altakrity told officers she was “exercising” and continued to argue and resist police despite being told to move.
“Officers moved the group on after explaining they were not authorised to protest and were also not complying with social distancing regulations”, a NSW Police spokeswoman said.
“Officers moved the group on after explaining they were not authorised to protest and were also not complying with social distancing regulations.”
Ms Altakrity is a prolific sharer of conspiracy theories on Facebook and has garnered a following among like-minded people on social media who support her numerous posts seeking to link the COVID-19 pandemic to Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates and 5G technology.
Police said the woman’s son was removed and placed in the care of a relative and that the Department of Family and Community Services had been notified.
A 34-year-old man was also arrested and taken to Surry Hills Police Station where he was charged with failing to comply with a direction made in relation to COVID-19.
READ MORE: Scramble to contain outbreaks
Lachlan Moffet Gray 12.40pm: Last active ACT case recovers
The ACT can once again claim to be coronavirus-free after its last active case - a young woman who had recently returned from overseas - made a full recovery.
The young woman was diagnosed on May 3 and was the sole new case in the Territory since April.
The ACT has recorded 107 coronavirus cases since the pandemic first reached Canberra in March. 104 have made a full recovery while three have died.
ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman thanked the community for their efforts to reach zero active cases for a second time but reminded Canberrans that they need to be mindful that the pandemic is still ongoing.
“For the second time in 8 weeks we are able to record no active cases and this is thanks to the continued efforts from the community to flatten the curve and limit the spread of the virus,” Dr Coleman said.
“However, we still need to play our part to prevent a new wave of COVID-19 cases in the ACT.
“If you have flu-like symptoms, or believe you have symptoms then please get tested at one of our testing facilities such as the walk-in facility at Weston creek or the drive-through testing at EPIC Showground.
“People must also continue to practise good hand and respiratory hygiene and maintain physical distancing requirements. Doing this is helping to protect our most vulnerable community members.”
READ MORE: Virus infecting people ‘weeks earlier’
Lachlan Moffet Gray 12.35pm: Queensland records two new cases
Queensland has recorded a further two cases of coronavirus overnight as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced a cabinet reshuffle in the wake of treasurer Jackie Trad’s resignation.
One of the cases is located in Brisbane’s metro south and another in Cairns. The case located in Brisbane south is linked to a cruise ship while the one in Cairns is still being traced.
Two cases detected last week were revealed to be false positives, meaning the state’s case tally remains at 1045.
Twenty cases remain active, eight of which are in hospital and three in ICU.
Ms Palaszczuk outlined a cabinet reshuffle made due to Deputy Premier and treasurer Jackie Trad’s resignation, handing out her previous portfolios to different politicians and ensuring the government enters October’s state election on steady ground.
Health Minister Steven Miles was named the new Deputy Premier, infrastructure minister Cameron Dick was granted the role of treasurer and innovation minister Kate Jones was appointed the state development portfolio.
Minister for fire and emergency services Craig Crawford was handed Ms Trad’s old portfolio of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships while Gladstone MP Glenn Butcher will join the cabinet as a second minister for the regions - the minister for regional development and manufacturing.
READ MORE: Jackie Trad stands aside
Paige Taylor 12.30pm: West Australians told: go back to work
West Australians are being told to go back to work.
The McGowan Labor government has announced the most significant windback of pandemic restrictions of any state. From May 18, cafes and restaurants to reopen for up to 20 customers at once. The number of people permitted at a gathering that is not work will increase from 10 to 20 in WA, and the state will permit non-contact community sport for up to 20 people.
The state’s nine regional boundaries have been reduced to four, allowing Perth residents to again travel to the state’s southwest and the Great Southern.
WA premier Mark McGowan has announced the changes will begin from May 18.
“Western Australia now needs to get moving and get our economy going again,” Mr McGowan said.
Mr McGowan said more restrictions would be lifted in four weeks, pending medical advice.
Western Australia’s border with South Australia and the Northern Territory will remain closed, and Mr McGowan said it would likely be the last restriction lifted.
READ MORE: Secret scientists group planning virus Manhattan Project
Lachlan Moffet Gray 12.05pm: WA moves to greater easing
Western Australia has revealed a four-phase roadmap to recovery, with restrictions on businesses, public gatherings, internal travel and recreational activities to drop away over the coming months, starting from May 18.
Premier Mark McGowan said the state’s proven track record in suppressing the coronavirus pandemic allows his government to move more ambitiously to relax restrictions than his eastern counterparts.
Mr McGowan said the state is currently in phase one of the plan after restrictions on public gatherings of up to ten people, open homes, outdoor recreational activities display villages and schools were lifted two weeks ago.
Phase two will begin on Monday May 18th when the limit on indoor and outdoor non-work functions will be lifted to 20 people, workers will be encouraged to return to their workplaces and restaurants and cafes will be able to serve up to 20 patrons with the four square metre per person rule applying.
“This also includes dine-in meal services within pubs, bars, community clubs, hotels and
the casino,” Mr McGowan said, adding that he will ask councils to relax limits on alfresco dining so that businesses with limited outdoor space could operate profitably.
The limit on weddings and funerals will be lifted to 20 people, 30 if outdoors, and religious services will be permitted to resume with 20 attendees. The number of people allowed to participate in non-contact community support will also increase to 20, including activities in public swimming pools.
All businesses seeking to reopen in the phase will have to complete a COVID-19 safety plan.
Internal travel restrictions will also be relaxed
“The number of regional borders within WA will reduce from 13...down to only four,” Mr McGowan said.
“The new regional borders will allow travel between the south-west, Great Southern Wheatbelt, Perth and Peale regions.
“They will allow for travel between the midwest, Gascoyne and Pilbara regions. They’ll allow for travel within the entire Goldfields, Esperance areas. The restrictions on the remote communities across the Kimberley, Pilbara and Goldfields will remain in place.”
Mr McGowan said phase three would occur about four weeks after the implementation of phase two, with details yet to be finalised, but likely to include an increase in the number of people allowed to gather or dine-in at restaurants and cafes, as well as further restrictions on travels and the reopening of gyms and beauty salons.
Phase four will be detailed at a later point and will likely include a relaxation of WA’s hard border with the rest of the country, which will be the last restriction to go.
“I do want to stress one point - Western Australia’s hard border with the rest of Australia will remain in place,” Mr McGowan said.
“And will likely be the final restriction that we lift. Our hard borders and our isolation have worked to our advantage, and we must keep it that way.”
WA has 552 confirmed cases, 536 of which have recovered. Nine people have died.
READ MORE: Humanity can defeat new threats
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.25am: ‘No business as usual until pandemic is over’
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed the state will ease coronavirus restrictions on Friday, allowing outdoor gatherings of up to ten people, allowing cafes and restaurants to reopen to serve ten patrons at a time, permitting visitors of five people to a household, - including children - to a household at one time.
However, she warned: “We will never have business as usual until the pandemic is over.”
Places of worship will be allowed to host services with up to ten attendees, weddings will be allowed up to ten people present and the number of mourners at a funeral will be 20 for indoor services and 30 for outdoor services.
Outdoor exercise and play equipment will also be reopened, as will outdoor pools - but Ms Berejiklian warned people to use these facilities with caution.
“We recommend wiping it down, using your discretion,” she said on Sunday. “Councils may take up the opportunity to have extra provisions. Those of us who are extra cautious might continue to choose not to use any outdoor equipment.”
Ms Berejiklian said that although outdoor gatherings and indoor dining can resume, social distancing must be maintained and the four square metre per person rule still applies.
”For the first time since lockdown what this means is you can leave the home for recreational purposes,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“A gathering of 10 people might be physical training, sitting down in a park, might be having some type of gathering outdoors.
“Please make sure even when you’re with close friends or relatives that don’t live with you in the same household you maintain social distancing.”
Ms Berejiklian said the reason for delaying the easing of restrictions on Friday was to give residents of NSW time to understand what the new regulations entail.
The announcement comes as NSW in the last 24 hours detected just two new cases out of 9500 tests, a result Ms Berejiklian called “outstanding.”
One of the new cases was a returned traveller and the other was an attendee at an “outpatient unit”, in Sydney, the close contacts of which have been identified.
There are now 3053 confirmed cases in NSW. 105 people are being treated by NSW Health for the virus and seven people are on ventilated support in ICU.
Ms Berejiklian said that the new regulatory regime would only work if people maintain vigilance and continue to present for testing.
“We know as the colder months come on board, flu-like symptoms are likely to increase. Don’t assume it’s the flu. Assume it’s the virus,” she said.
“Every time you leave the house, you have to assume you have the virus or somebody you’re going no contact with as the virus.
“That is the only way we will keep this deadly virus at bay.”
READ MORE: Five Eyes allied to crack corona
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.55am: Coronavirus spreads in White House
Two senior US government officials are in self-quarantine after coming into contact with an individual at The White House who has tested positive for coronavirus.
Centres for Disease Control and Prevention head Robert Redflied will be working from home for the next two weeks, according to a CDC spokesperson, after a “low-risk exposure” on Wednesday to a person at the presidential residence who has contracted the virus.
The Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration Stephen Hahn has also entered self-quarantine, an FDA spokesman told news agency Reuters.
“As Dr Hahn wrote in a note to staff today, he recently came into contact with an individual who has tested positive for COVID-19,” the spokesperson said.
“Per CDC guidelines, he is now in self-quarantine for the next two weeks.”
Dr Hahn has been tested for coronavirus and received a negative result, but will remain in quarantine as a precaution.
US political news website Politico reported that Dr Hahn came into contact with Katie Miller, who is Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary and wife of immigration advisor Stephen Miller.
Mrs Miller tested positive for coronavirus on Friday.. A naval officer dispatched as a valet to President Trump also last week tested positive for coronavirus, necessitating President Donald Trump and Mr Pence to be tested with a rapid-result method.
The pair returned negative results but are now being subjected to daily coronavirus tests. A personal assistant of President Trump’s daughter and White House senior advisor Ivanka Trump has also tested positive for coronavirus, but has reportedly been working from home for several months and has not come into contact with Ms Trump in a number of weeks.
READ MORE:
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.50am: Hunt won’t rule out early end to wage subsidy
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has not ruled out a premature end to the government’s Jobkeeper wage subsidy scheme and increased Jobseeker unemployment plan before its planned end date of September, saying the scheme will be there “as long as they are needed.”
On Sunday Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell said a review of the schemes was “slated for June” and that the federal government was seriously considering removing Jobkeeper and the expanded Jobseeker in July when most of the country will move into step three of the reopening process, which will see most activity return to normal with minimal restrictions.
Mr Hunt said the review in June was already planned and the dual income support schemes will remain in place if they are still warranted.
“Josh (Frydenberg) and the PM have said there will be a review - but that was set out right from the beginning,” Mr Hunt said.
“We’re following what we’ve said we will do, we have got protections in place.
“Those supports are there for as long as they are needed for the course of the legislative period.”
READ MORE: Golden chance to stimulate industry
Rachel Baxendale 10.45am: Victoria schools set for staggered return
An end to home schooling is finally in sight for Victorian parents, with Premier Daniel Andrews set to announce a staggered return from the last week in May tomorrow.
Students in Years 11 and 12 and Preps and Grade Ones will be among the first to return to schools, the Sunday Herald Sun is reporting.
A spokeswoman for the Andrews government declined to confirm the return to school, but told The Australian the government had been “pretty clear we’re making an announcement about this tomorrow.”
Gatherings of up to 10 in homes and outside, and a resumption of intrastate travel and of AFL training, are also expected to be announced this week, with the AFL season set to return as early as June 10.
Students in the oldest and youngest year levels are regarded as having had their education most adversely affected by home learning, and will therefore be among the first to return to the classroom.
Students in other year levels are expected to follow progressively.
Victoria’s number of coronavirus cases has risen by 10 since Saturday to 1,487.
It is not yet known what proportion of the new diagnoses have been linked to a cluster at Melbourne abattoir Cedar Meats, which on Saturday was responsible for 75 cases.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos is due to address the media at midday.
More than 145,000 Victorians have been tested for coronavirus since the Andrews government began its push for 100,000 tests on April 27.
READ MORE: Business straining at the leash
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.30am: Just 12 new cases in all Australia
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says just 12 new cases of coronavirus were recorded overnight - with NSW and Victoria the only jurisdictions to record new coronavirus cases.
Two of the cases were from NSW and ten from Victoria.
“We’ve seen overnight 12 new cases in Australia,” Mr Hunt told Sky News on Sunday.
“And six jurisdictions with zero cases.”
Mr Hunt said that while the rest of the world battles a much more widespread outbreak of coronavirus, it is unlikely Australia will ever see zero new cases due to returning travellers.
“But we can fight to find every case,” Mr Hunt said.
“That’s why the testing regime is so important.
“All of this means we are achieving things beyond what anybody had dared hoped or talked about six, eight weeks ago.”
There are now 6939 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia, while 97 people have died.
Mr Hunt said 100 million masks had been imported into Australia throughout the pandemic and the nation’s ventilator capacity had been tripled to 7,500.
READ MORE: As medicos prepare for tsunami, freak wave hits
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.15am: Hunt: We support EU move on probe
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has said the government supports a European Union motion calling for an independent investigation into the origins of coronavirus in China.
“We support the EU motion which includes an independent investigation, regulatory work on wet markets and also the potential for independent inspection powers,” Mr Hunt told Sky News on Sunday.
Australia has led a global effort for an independent inquiry into the virus’s origin, to the annoyance of Chinese government officials.
Mr Hunt also said the decision to close the border to China against the wishes of the World Health Organisation was one of the most important decisions ever made by an Australian government.
“Our most important decision perhaps throughout the entire time of the course of the virus was the closure on the 1st of February of the borders with China,” he told Sky News.
“We believe we made not just the right decision but one of the most important decisions made by an Australian government in decades.”
READ MORE: How China rewrote virus history
Kieran Gair 9.50am: Surprising drop in domestic violence reports
NSW police data has revealed a substantial decline in reports of domestic violence during April, despite the implementation of social distancing measures that experts feared would fuel violence at home.
Domestic violence-related assaults in NSW were similar to that recorded in the same period last year, however, incidents decreased from 2408 in April 2019 to 2194 in April this year.
In a significant victory for police anti-violence advocates, domestic-related homicides have dropped by 50 per cent so far this year.
As of Monday May 4, there were four domestic-related homicide incidents in NSW this year, compared to the same time last year in which 11 domestic-related homicide incidents had been recorded.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said the data was “heartening” but said the state still had a long way to go.
“Make no mistake, the fact that we have a single DV homicide incident indicates we have a long way to go, but I am relieved to see the figure has not increased during COVID-19 and has in fact dropped,” Commissioner Fuller said.
READ MORE: Mutant strain of virus spreading
Richard Ferguson 9.45am: Labor to try and wind back worplace relations changes
Labor will try this week to wind back controversial workplace relations changes made by the Morrison government to give employers more flexibility during the coronavirus pandemic.
The changes made last month allow employers and employees to change enterprise agreements within 24 hours, instead of the usual seven days.
Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke said the changes could force permanent changes to people’s pay and working conditions after the pandemic passes, and he is confident the Senate will wind back the new rules.
“We’ll be trying to disallow it. I hope, procedurally, we’ll be able to get to that point this week in the Senate,” he told ABC News.
“This is a really dangerous change the government’s made, and it flies in the face of the co-operation that the union movement has been showing the government during this period.
“If you think about it in real terms - an employer at the beginning of your shift can give you proposed changes to your enterprise agreement. At the end of your shift, you can send it off to your union or whoever it is, to get some advice.
“First thing the next day, you have to show in a vote of hands the changes. And these aren’t just changes where you say, it’s only changes for six months ... that could be made can be permanent changes to your pay and conditions. It’s a massive overreach from the Government.
They shouldn’t have done it. And I’m very hopeful that we’ll get that knocked out in the Senate this week.”
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Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.40am: Spain’s death toll lowest since March
Spain will on Monday begin easing lockdowns for half the country as its daily death toll fell to lows not seen since March.
On Saturday the country, which has the fourth-highest death toll of any nation, recorded just 179 deaths, down from 229 on Friday.
The result has emboldened the government to press on with easing some of the world’s strictest restrictions which currently have the country on near-complete lockdown.
From Monday, 51 per cent of the nation’s population will be able to travel around their region and attend concerts and movies while gathering in groups of up to ten people.
They will also be able to attend restaurants and bars, who can seat people at a reduced capacity, and museums and gyms will open after being closed for two months.
The easing restrictions apply in the lesser-affected cities and towns only - so Madrid and Barcelona do not make the cut.
Spain has 222,857 confirmed cases of the virus and 26,299 deaths.
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Richard Ferguson 8.50am: AFL to return ‘pretty soon’
Health Minister Greg Hunt expects the AFL to return “pretty soon” as reports emerge that the Australian Rules tournament could return by early June.
The Sunday Herald Sun reports that the AFL is preparing to launch its revival with a bumper fixture on June 11, a week earlier than originally planned.
Mr Hunt told Sky News that the AFL had provided a clear plan to re-opening safely.
“I want to see community sport back, the AFL back, the NRL back, netball back,” he said.
“The AFL ... they have worked incredibly well in laying out a pathway, consulting with the players, consulting with the health authorities.
“(AFL chief executive) Gill McLachlan said to me: ‘We will not proceed unless we have the clear indication that it is safe and it has the endorsement and support of the medical officers.
“I think we will have the footy back pretty soon. I’ll leave the dates to the particular states that are reviewing the plans.
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Richard Ferguson 8.35am: Hunt: People free to debate Andrews’ lockdown
Health Minister Greg Hunt has welcomed NSW’s moves towards re-opening the economy this week, and said people should be free to debate Victoria’s slower pace.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced in the Sunday papers that her state will allow five visitors to a home, outdoor gatherings of 10, and the limited re-opening of restaurants and cafes at the end of the week.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will reveal the next steps for his state on Monday, as he comes under increasing pressure to loosen the nation’s tightest coronavirus restrictions.
Mr Hunt’s state and federal Liberal colleagues in Victoria have been ramping up their attacks on Mr Andrews’ reluctance to wind back lockdown rules despite increased testing, tracing, and a flattening of the curve.
The Health Minister did not directly criticise the Victorian Premier, but said people were free to criticise his government’s approach.
“We are achieving things beyond anything we would have hoped for six or eight weeks ago,” he said on Sunday.
“It’s up to each of the premiers, each of the chief ministers, to set the speed for their own states. It’s perfectly appropriate for people to debate that. That’s a fundamental part of the democratic process.
“Clearly NSW and Victoria will make their statements ... they have now indicated a very clear intention to follow that (three-step) roadmap and that’s incredible for Australians.”
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Agencies 8.15am: NSW to ease restrictions from Friday
Cafes and restaurants will be allowed to re-open for up to 10 patrons and five people will be able to visit another person’s home under an anticipated easing of coronavirus restrictions in NSW.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian is expected to announce the changes on Sunday to come into play on Friday, a full week after Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed a three-stage plan to ease lockdown measures across Australia.
It’s up to individual states and territories to decide when they act. Currently, two adults from the same household, along with their dependent children, can visit another home in NSW under the existing COVID-19 restrictions.
“The changes will allow NSW to fire up the economy, while allowing more personal freedoms,” Ms Berejiklian told The Sunday Telegraph.
The new relaxing of restrictions to be announced by the premier will also allow 10 guests at weddings, 20 people at indoor funerals, and 30 at outdoor funerals, The Sunday Telegraph reported.
Religious gatherings and places of worship can also welcome up to 10 people. Outdoor equipments including gyms and playgrounds can be used with caution, with people encouraged to sanitise the equipment, and swimming in outdoor pools will be allowed.
Travel to regional NSW is still off the table.
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Agencies 8.00am: Global cases near four million
Global cases of coronavirus are nearing four million, with deaths rising to over 275,000 according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
More than 1.3 million people have recovered. The US has the highest case toll at 1.29 million and the highest death toll at 77,280. Spain has the highest number of cases in Europe at 222,857 and 26,299 deaths. Italy has 217,185 cases and 30,201 deaths. The UK has 212,629 cases and 31,316 deaths, the highest death toll in Europe. Russia suffered another spike of more than 10,000 cases overnight to bring its case tally to 198,676 and 1,827 fatalities. France has 176,202 cases and 26,233 deaths. Germany has 170,643 cases and 7,510 deaths.
China, where the disease was first reported late last year, has 83,976 cases and 4,637 deaths.
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Agencies 7.30am: Virus warning system as UK eases restrictions
Boris Johnson is expected to unveil a coronavirus warning system when he outlines his plans to gradually ease Britain’s lockdown while dropping the “stay home” slogan.
The prime minister will instead tell the country to “stay alert, control the virus and save lives” when he outlines his “road map” to a new normality during an address to the nation on Sunday evening local time (Monday AEST).
Mr Johnson is planning to tell workers who cannot do their jobs from home to begin returning to their workplaces while following social-distancing rules. It is understood that a warning system administered by a new “joint biosecurity centre” will detect local increases in infection rates, with the view to locally alter restrictions in England.
With the alerts ranging from green in level one to red in level five, Mr Johnson is expected to say the nation is close to moving down from four to three. The Times is also reporting that Mr Johnson would announce on Sunday that passengers arriving at airports and ports, including Britons returning from abroad, would have to self-isolate for a fortnight.
On Monday, the government will publish a 50-page document outlining the full plan to cautiously re-start the economy to MPs.
The shift in messaging will come amid concerns that workers may not wish to resume their roles after the firm instructions to “stay at home, protect the NHS, save lives”.
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Agencies 6.55am: Obama: Trump’s handling of crisis ‘chaotic disaster’
Barack Obama has launched a scathing attack on Donald Trump’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic, calling it an “absolute chaotic disaster.”
In a leaked web call with former members of his administration, Mr Obama also said the Justice Department’s decision to drop charges against Michael Flynn, the former Trump national security adviser who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in the Russia probe, endangers the rule of law in the US.
In the audio, first obtained by Yahoo News, Mr Obama urges former staffers to join him in rallying behind Joe Biden as he prepares to take on Trump in the November presidential election.
The US leads the world in the number of coronavirus infections, at nearly 1.3 million, and deaths, with more than 77,000.
Mr Trump has been criticized as essentially abdicating any leadership role in guiding the country through one of its worst crises in a century, leaving states on their own to grapple with the pandemic and even bid against each other to obtain critical medical equipment on the open market or abroad.
The US Ppresident has also been blasted as putting his own political interests before human life by aggressively pushing states to reopen their devastated economies without a clear blueprint for how to do it safely.
“What we’re fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy -- that has become a stronger impulse in American life,” Mr Obama told his former staffers.
“It’s part of the reason why the response to this global crisis has been so anemic and spotty,” Obama said.
“It would have been bad even with the best of governments. It has been an absolute chaotic disaster when that mindset -- of ‘what’s in it for me’ and ‘to heck with everybody else’ -- when that mindset is operationalised in our government,” he said.
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Anne Barrowclough 6.45am: Pop-up bike lanes, bus only streeets when UK reopens
Pop-up bike lanes and cycle and bus-only streets are among measures to be introduced in the UK as part of a £2bn package to get Britain back to work without breaking social distancing restrictions.
With the London underground shifting a thousand passengers every two minutes, the government faces a challenge in getting the transport network running again.
“Getting Britain moving again without overcrowding our public transport represents an enormous logistical challenge,” Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said.
Mr Shapps said even if the transport network was running at full capacity, the two-metre social distancing rule would cut capacity to one in 10 and people had to think about how and when they travelled.
Mr Shapps said that outside London, half of all journeys are under five km and “if cycling increased by five per cent, it would mean eight million fewer car journeys, nine million fewer rail journeys and 13 million fewer bus journeys”.
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Agencies 6.20am: Musk threatens to quit California over restrictions
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has threatened to pull the company’s factory and headquarters out of California in an escalating spat with local officials who have stopped the company from reopening its electric vehicle factory. On Twitter, Mr Musk also threatened to sue over Alameda County Health Department coronavirus restrictions that have stopped Tesla from restarting production its factory in Fremont south of San Francisco.
Frankly, this is the final straw. Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately. If we even retain Fremont manufacturing activity at all, it will be dependen on how Tesla is treated in the future. Tesla is the last carmaker left in CA.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 9, 2020
“Frankly, this is the final straw,” he tweeted. “Tesla will now move its HQ and future programs to Texas/Nevada immediately.” He wrote that whether the company keeps any manufacturing in Fremont depends on how Tesla is treated in the future.
Mr Musk has slammed the stay-home order since the company’s April 29 first-quarter earnings were released, calling the restrictions fascist and urging governments to stop taking people’s freedom.
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Jacquelin Magnay 5.30am: Pandemic may have begun well before January
Scientists have begun narrowing down how the coronavirus is spreading, and also pinpointing when it first began transmission around the world — and it’s earlier than first thought.
University College London’s Genetics Institute have screened the genomes of more than 7500 viruses from infected patients around the world.
“Phylogenetic estimates support that the COVID-2 pandemic started sometime around October 6, 2019 to December 11, 2019, which corresponds to the time of the host jump into humans,” lead researcher Francois Balloux said.
Researchers say people were getting infected around the world at least weeks, if not months, before the first reported Chinese cases in January and February. The genetic code of the virus was first released by Chinese researchers on January 5.
As #SARSCoV2 is a recent human pathogen, it may not be perfectly adapted to its host and we may expect some mutations beneficial to the virus to increase in frequency. Virus don't 'benefit' from hurting their host but more transmissible lineages will increase in frequency.
— Prof Francois Balloux (@BallouxFrancois) May 9, 2020
(6/11)
Read the full story here.
Staff writers 5.15am: Government ramps up plans to restart economy
On Tuesday, when Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was due to release the federal budget, he will instead deliver an economic statement to parliament that may outline more of the government’s thinking on how and when an economic recovery could follow the coronavirus shutdown.
The budget was put back to October when COVID-19 outbreak took hold.
That statement in a one-day sitting of the House of Representatives will come against the backdrop of the US reporting a huge spike in its unemployment rate to nearly 15 per cent in reaction to COVID-19 pandemic, the worst result since the Great Depression.
The faster we get Australians safely back to work, the stronger the Australian economy will be.
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) May 6, 2020
As I said on @sunriseon7, for every week the #COVID19 restrictions remain in place, we lose $4 billion worth of economic activity. pic.twitter.com/PoHiTSAYBs
The Australian Treasury is predicting official unemployment in this country will peak at 10 per cent, restrained by the $130 billion JobKeeper initiative.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders agreed on Friday to a three-step plan to restart business and community activities. However, the states and territories are set to move through the three stages at different speeds, depending on their health situation and local conditions. Treasury says it is possible to restore 851,000 jobs in coming months if things go to plan.
Our 3 step roadmap to a COVIDSafe Australia with our aim to get through these steps and get Australia working again in July this year.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) May 8, 2020
States and territories will set their own pace and decide the timings for each step.#covidsafe #COVID19Aus #coronavirusaustralia pic.twitter.com/qRGq8SJWZp
The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry says regional and interstate travel restrictions need to be lifted as soon as is practicable to breathe life back into regional and urban economies.
The Business Council of Australia has also set up a series of expert working groups, headed by some of the country’s top executives, to identify practical and achievable solutions to create jobs and boost the economy.
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Colin Brinsden 5am: Labor calls for release of JobSeeker modelling
Federal Labor is calling on the Morrison government to release modelling of the economic impact of reducing the JobSeeker payment back to $40 per day. The JobSeeker payment — formally called Newstart — was doubled to $1100 per fortnight in response to an anticipated spike in the unemployment rate in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the government has flagged this increase will only be for six months. Labor’s spokeswoman for families and social services Linda Burney wants to see the modelling for the impact of reducing this coronavirus supplement. She said last week the Department of Social Services estimated some 1.7 million Australians will require unemployment support by September.
“Yet the prime minister has been insistent that he will ‘snapback’ the JobSeeker payment back to $40 per day for millions of Australians on September 24,” Ms Burney said in a statement on Sunday.
She said this was the equivalent of ripping almost $1 billion a fortnight from household budgets.
“This sudden stop will have a significant impact on the Australian economy,” she said. — AAP
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He can bat, man: Superhero Smith deserves a cape
A day after boy wonder Sam Konstas lit up the Boxing Day Test with an innings of youthful, blissful exuberance, Smith was Batman, a more serious character, wooing the masses with an innings of card-carrying superhero authority.
Islamic leaders condemn alleged attack against sheik
Leading Islamic bodies have condemned an alleged attack on prominent Sydney sheik and Muslim Vote convener Wesam Charkawi, criticising the NSW and federal Labor governments’ ‘silence’.