Coronavirus Australia live news: Newmarch resident tests ‘weak positive’ for Covid
A positive case of COVID-19 has been detected at Newmarch House more than two months after health authorities declared the facility’s deadly outbreak was over.
- I’ll lose election before border backdown: Palaszczuk
- Regional Victoria on cusp of reopening
- NSW, Victoria testing numbers fall
- Victoria tally lowest since June
- ‘Much more needs to be done’
- Businesses cane ‘drop in ocean’ lifeline
- Andrews unveils $3bn business support
Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she is willing to lose the upcoming state election to keep people safe. With regional Victoria on the brink of reopening, Victoria and NSW testing numbers are at their lowest in weeks. As Victoria records 35 new cases, Nick Coatsworth says much more needs to be done to bring down mystery cases. Victorian businesses have attacked Daniel Andrews’ $3 billion coronavirus lifeline as a “drop in the ocean.”
Imogen Reid 11.45pm: Virgin head office jobs face axe
Virgin Australia has warned its recovery plans have been “severely impacted” by Victoria’s COVID-19 and ongoing border closures, informing staff the airline was likely to make up to 250 head office positions redundant.
In a note to staff on Monday, Virgin chief executive Paul Scurrah said the aviation industry was “in the midst of the worst crisis” it had ever faced.
“Our cash management throughout this period is absolutely critical,” Mr Scurrah wrote.
“One of our largest costs is labour, and with much less transitionary work required as the administration process is coming to an end and without the revenue coming through the door, we simply cannot justify the number of team members who are currently stood up.”
Read the full story here.
Kieran Gair 9.35pm: Newmarch confirms new Covid case
A positive case of COVID-19 has been detected at Newmarch House in western Sydney more than two months after health authorities declared the facility’s deadly outbreak was over.
A resident at Anglicare’s 102-bed facility in Kingsoowd returned a “weak positive” on Monday after showing mild respiratory symptoms.
“With the support of NSW Health, we are currently determining if there is a positive case of COVID-19 at Newmarch House,” a spokesman said in a statement late on Monday night. “Already as a precaution, we have implemented protocols and infection control procedures. We have notified residents and families.”
NSW Health said the resident’s “weak positive” could reflect a past infection.
“It is not uncommon for patients who have recovered from past infection to have a positive result. These patients are not infectious, and do not represent a risk to the community,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
“A cause for this resident’s symptoms, unrelated to COVID-19, has been identified and is being managed.”
In a blistering independent report released last month, infectious diseases expert Lyn Gilbert found a “vicious cycle” of staff shortages and inadequate protective gear had exacerbated a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility that led to the deaths of 19 residents.
Seventy-one cases of coronavirus among residents and staff were recorded in the outbreak, which began on April 11 and was declared over on June 15.
Read the full story here.
Imogen Reid 8.45pm: Newmarch in midst of new scare
Newmarch House is in the midst of a new scare as the aged-care centre works to determine a possible new case of COVID-19.
The Anglicare-run aged care centre in Western Sydney was the site of one of Australia’s deadliest outbreaks of the virus more than two months ago, where 71 residents and staff became infected and 17 residents tragically died.
“With the support of NSW Health, we are currently determining if there is a positive case of COVID-19 at Newmarch House,” Anglicare said in a statement.
“Already as a precaution, we have implemented our protocols and infection control procedures.
“We have notified residents and families.”
Read more: Release Newmarch report now: ALP
Rosie Lewis 8.25pm: Extend telehealth or people will suffer
Bulk-billed telehealth services must immediately be extended or patients and medical professionals will be put at risk, Australia’s psychologists have warned.
With bulk-billed telehealth consultations due to end on September 30 after being rolled out at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, psychologists have joined with doctors in appealing to the Morrison government to make an announcement on whether they will continue.
There were 29.6 million Medicare-eligible telehealth services delivered between March 13 and September 9 to 10.4 million Australians. That resulted in $1.52bn paid in Medicare benefits.
“We want telehealth to continue … especially in Victoria, people are being asked to stay home and everyone is trying to comply with that,” Australian Association of Psychologists executive director Tegan Carrison said. “It’s for protecting psychologists as well as our community. We have psychologists and their families with health concerns. We’re basically asking them either risk yourself or your family by providing this face-to-face care or risk the mental health of your clients by not being able to provide the service they require.”
Read the full story here.
AFP 7.45pm: Busan film festival cut back, delayed
The Busan International Film Festival, Asia’s biggest gathering of its kind, will be reduced to a fraction of its usual scale with several sections moved online because of the coronavirus pandemic, organisers said Monday.
The event normally sees a host of stars and industry figures from across Asia and further afield, including some from Hollywood, descend on the South Korean port city for 10 days of critical consideration and financial deal-making.
But South Korea — which largely overcame an early coronavirus surge with extensive tracing and testing — has seen several clusters in recent weeks, raising concerns of a second wave and prompting authorities to tighten social distancing measures last month.
Those curbs are being temporarily eased in the greater Seoul area, officials announced at the weekend, but Busan organisers said they had no choice but to cut back on the festival — which will also be delayed by two weeks.
“We agonised over whether we should go ahead with hosting the event,” festival chairman Lee Yong-kwan told reporters.
And he hinted that it could still be cancelled altogether if Korea’s traditional Chuseok harvest festival triggers a new surge in infections.
Andrew Mo 7pm: Victoria up 35 cases in 24 hours
Imogen Reid 6.29pm: SA could open its border to NSW, ACT tomorrow
South Australia Premier Steven Marshall could announce a reopening of borders with NSW and ACT as early as tomorrow depending on the advice of the transition committee.
“The numbers are looking really good again today in NSW,” Mr Marshall said on Monday.
“It’s obviously a decision that the transition committee will give the government advice on, but if they give us the advice tomorrow, we’ll be very quick to open that border.”
If made, the decision would mean anyone returning to SA from NSW or the ACT would skip the 14 day quarantine period. The meeting is scheduled to take place on Tuesday morning.
“It could be tomorrow – but again, I don’t want to pre-empt it, because we still want to look at all that data,” Mr Marshall said.
“I can guarantee there’s no decision that’s been made yet.”
READ MORE: Abbott blasts border ‘lunacy’
Rachel Baxendale 6.10pm: $290m to support sole traders in Victoria
The Andrews government has unveiled a $290m package to support sole traders, assist businesses in Melbourne’s CBD, and help hospitality businesses adapt to enabling patrons to eat and drink in adjacent outdoor areas such as footpaths, laneways and parks.
The package comes in addition to a $3bn business support package announced on Sunday, which included $1.7bn in payroll tax deferrals, and brings the total amount of pandemic-related business support from the Andrews government to more than $6.3bn.
This compares with more than $27bn spent by the federal government on JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments to Victorians.
The $290m package includes an “outdoor eating and entertainment” fund to provide $87.5 million to councils and businesses outside of Melbourne’s CBD to enable COVID-safe outdoor dining over summer.
Another $58 million will go towards grants of up to $5,000 to help hospitality businesses pay for the practical items to make the plan work, such as umbrellas, outdoor furniture, screens and other equipment.
The grants will be available to licensed and unlicensed cafés, restaurants, pubs, bars and clubs with a payroll of less than $3m, with more than 11,000 businesses eligible to benefit.
Funding of $29.5 million will be provided to local councils to help them implement swift and streamlined permit, enforcement and monitoring processes to support expanded outdoor dining.
Under the Andrews government’s roadmap for reopening, this will be permitted in Melbourne after October 26, but only if Victoria can achieve a 14 day daily average of fewer than five coronavirus cases and no cases with an unknown source over that period.
Metropolitan and regional city councils will be eligible for up to $500,000 in assistance, while rural councils will be eligible for up to $250,000 in funding, which can be passed on to businesses in the form of reducing or waiving permit fees or invested in infrastructure such as streetscaping and lighting.
A separate $100m fund will go to the City of Melbourne to assist more than 16,500 businesses which employ more than 479,000 people, with grants available to help them move outdoors and hold COVID-safe events.
Small and medium CBD businesses will be able apply for $30 million worth of grants to pay for equipment, convert spaces like rooftops and courtyards into hospitality zones and remodel internal layouts to allow for the better flow of patrons, while a further $30 million will support COVIDSafe events and cultural activities to attract visitors back to the CBD, and $40 million will go towards providing physical improvements to the CBD streetscape, which could include wider footpaths, bollards and street planter boxes.
Another $100m will be set aside for a sole trader support fund, providing grants of $3,000 to eligible sole traders working in sectors of the economy that will continue to be affected by restrictions, such as media and film production, creative studios, outdoor entertainment and in private museums and galleries – as well as gym owners.
To be eligible for a grant, sole traders must be a tenant or licensee in a commercial premises or location and operate in a sector of the economy that is restricted, heavily restricted or not opening until at least October 26.
READ MORE: Gottliebsen – Andrews shaky as party counts numbers
Imogen Reid 4.25pm: NSW clampdown: 20 the private limit, or everyone pays
Anyone who attends a private gathering of more than 20 people in NSW will risk being hit with a $1000 fine as changes to the Public Health Order are rolled out as the weather warms up.
“Coming into the warmer months, and with end-of-year festivities around the corner, it’s only natural that people will have additional reasons to want to gather and get together,” NSW Police’s commander on coronavirus operations Assistant Commissioner Tony Crandell said.
“These amendments aim to ensure that an increase in expected gatherings doesn’t mean an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Pre-existing restrictions, like the limit on numbers at outdoor gatherings, remain in place
The new changes, which came into effect at midnight last night, give police the power to fine every person who attended the event that broke the 20-person cap. Before today, authorities could only fine the host of the gathering.
“NSW Police will continue to work with the community to ensure compliance to all restrictions under the Public Health Order,” Mr Crandell said.
“While the vast majority of people within NSW are doing their part, we will continue to target those who don’t.”
READ MORE: How virus may forever transform homes
Imogen Reid 4.25pm: Health care workers urged to watch ‘burn out’
Chief Nursing Officer Alison McMillan has urged Australia’s nurses and healthcare workers to seek support if they find themselves struggling during the pandemic.
She said she did not want to see the country’s frontline workers “burn out” while treating Australia’s COVID-19 patients.
“We need to remind everyone out there that our healthcare professionals, if they are feeling stressed or are struggling, it is a strength in calling out and saying you are finding it difficult to deal with this situation, and to seek out the help that is necessary, whether through a support program or an employee support program, or one of the many mental health programs provided online and by the phone support,” Ms McMillan said.
“We need to look after each other.”
READ MORE: Doctors warn over lack of screening
Rachel Baxendale 3.30pm: More than 175 anti-lockdown protesters fined
Two men who travelled more than 5km from their Melbourne homes to buy burgers from a shopping centre and at least 176 people who participated in Sunday’s illegal anti-lockdown protest at the Queen Victoria Market are among 346 people fined by Victoria Police for breaching coronavirus restrictions in the 24 hours to Monday.
The fines include 25 $200 fines for failing to wear a face covering, and 46 $1652 fines for breaching Melbourne’s curfew, which from Monday night runs from 9pm to 5am (it previously started at 8pm).
As a result of 13,105 checks on vehicles at designated checkpoints, police issued 23 fines.
Police conducted 2782 spot checks on people at homes, businesses and public places in the 24 hours to Monday, with 426,516 spot checks conducted since March 21.
READ MORE: Mass arrests as protesters go bananas
Shae McDonald 3.30pm: ‘I’ll lose election before border backdown’: Palaszczuk
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she is willing to lose the upcoming state election to keep people safe.
Responding to what she described as “relentless” attacks on her government and chief health officer’s border measures, Ms Palaszczuk said she made no apologies for decisions that had been made.
“If it means I have to lose the election, I will risk all that if it means keeping Queenslanders safe,” she said on Monday.
“I will always stand up for what I believe to be right in this state.”
However, she promised her government would do more to accommodate people trying to get in and out of the state on compassionate grounds.
“I understand it is a difficult time and we are going to do better,” she said, adding more staff were being recruited to handle requests.
Ms Palaszczuk said the sunshine state was not the only one that had been “inundated” with people wanting exemptions.
“But for some reason Queensland seems to be singled out,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said if she lost the election because of the decision to keep the state’s borders closed until it was safe to reopen, then “so be it”.
“I will stand on my record, I will hold my head up high and I will stare down those people who are trying to tear Queensland apart, because we have a track record of our economy going strong, because we have put in place a good health response,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said while Victorians remained in lockdown, Queenslanders were largely going about their lives as normal.
“I’m not going to risk that, why would anyone risk that?” she asked.
The premier singled out Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Queensland Opposition Leader Deb Frecklington, accusing them of using the COVID-19 pandemic for political purposes.
It came after Mr Morrison pleaded with Ms Palaszczuk to allow a young woman to attend her father’s funeral.
One of the man’s other daughters has since slammed the prime minister for turning the family’s grief into a ‘circus’.
Ms Palaszczuk also issued a word of advice to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to focus on the issues in her own backyard before she continued her attacks about the border closure with her state.
“Perhaps she better deal with her own koala management plan,” she said, adding her government had implemented its own without tearing itself apart.
Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young is now being flanked by police after it was revealed she had been the subject of death threats.
Ms Palaszczuk said it was not right one of the country’s best medical professionals was being targeted for giving advice.
“Dr Young is one of the most professional women I have ever met,” she said.
“Her advice has kept Queensland safe during this pandemic.”
READ MORE: Abbott blasts border ‘lunacy’
Rachel Baxendale 1.40pm: ‘Too early’ for answers on Boxing Day Test, Aust Open
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says it is “too early” to be able to determine whether premier Melbourne summer sporting events such as the Boxing Day Test and Australian Open will have crowds.
The Andrews government’s reopening road map stipulates that gathering sizes in Victoria be limited to no more than 50 outside and 20 inside until the state has experienced 28 days with no active cases of coronavirus, and no outbreaks of concern in any other state or territory in Australia.
Asked whether events such as the Boxing Day Test, which begins on December 26, and the Australian Open, which begins on January 18, would have crowds this summer, Mr Andrews said: “It’s too early for us to be able to determine whether they will have crowds.”
“It’s too early for us then also to determine how big any crowd might be. That’s certainly our aim,” the Premier said.
Mr Andrews said his government had been in discussions with the Melbourne Cricket Club and Australian Open team, as well as organisers of less prominent events.
“We just have to work through each of those event by event, venue by venue. So that isn’t finished yet, and the other point is that it’s really hard for us to predict where virus numbers will be, and what risks do we have to deal with in just a few weeks’ time let alone months.”
Mr Andrews said both major events would like be different to normal in 2020-21, with players, coaches and officials obliged to quarantine.
“Teams coming from overseas, players coming from overseas, coaches, officials, they’re all going to have to quarantine,” Mr Andrews said.
“It’s not going to be an ordinary summer from that point of view, but we’ll get as many people as we can get there, provided it’s safe.
“We don’t want one event, as important as those events are economically, and also for a sense of normality for people – the Australian Open tennis is a big feature of every summer, it’s a really big event for us, but we don’t want one event to necessarily set us back and cause us a problem.”
Mr Andrews said he did not believe there was a risk Melbourne could lose the events.
“I don’t think so. I think we’re in productive discussions with both the Australian Open and also the Boxing Day test, all the people involved there,” he said.
“We’re in very productive discussions with the cricket people about (the Boxing Day test).
“We want the event here. It’s where it’s best played. We just have to work out what a safe crowd would be, and it’s just too hard to say now what that number is, and what the nature of that would be. There’ll come a time when we’ll be able to have more to say about that.”
Sports Minister Martin Pakula said the MCG had an agreement with Cricket Australia for the Boxing Day Test to be played at the MCG until 2022, with discussions ongoing with the International Cricket Council over extending the arrangement, amid a bid from South Africa to take over hosting the event.
READ MORE: Watching slow-cooked death of culture I love
Rachel Baxendale 1.15pm: Regional Victoria on cusp of reopening
There are now 1075 active cases of coronavirus in regional Victoria – a decrease of 82 since Sunday, and down from a peak on August 11 of 7880.
The number of active cases in regional Victoria is now 47, down from 52 on Sunday, with no new cases on Monday.
Colac-Otway, in southwest Victoria, has the highest number of active cases of any regional Victorian local government area, with 23 active cases on Monday, down from 26 on Sunday.
The 14 day daily average number of new cases is now 3.9 in regional Victoria and 54.4 in metropolitan Melbourne, down from 4.1 for regional Victoria and 56.9 for Melbourne on Sunday.
As of Sunday, there had been 99 cases in metropolitan Melbourne and five in regional Victoria in the previous fortnight with no known source of infection.
In order for regional Victoria to be released from stay-at-home restrictions and hospitality businesses to open to up to 10 patrons, the 14 day daily average needs to be below five, with no cases with an unknown source over that period.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said regional Victoria was likely to reach that threshold on Tuesday.
“They need that 14-day period with no cases of unknown acquisition, no mystery cases,” Professor Sutton said on Monday.
“At the moment that 14-day period includes three mystery cases, but they will drop off as that 14- day period moves into tomorrow.”
Regional Vic is reopening a bit more today – incl social bubbles, visitors & staged return of school. Small steps towards ‘COVID Normal’. Hopefully regional Vic will be able to move through the roadmap faster, so our businesses and communities can start to recover. https://t.co/dlb5lIZ7I2
— Regional Cities VIC (@regionalcities) September 14, 2020
Premier Daniel Andrews said the falling case numbers in regional Victoria were “testament to the hard work and absolute determination of regional Victorians to not only get these numbers low but to keep them low”.
“That’s proof positive that this is not a theoretical exercise, it’s a strategy that’s working, and to see regional Victoria down to 3.9 cases, that means they are on the cusp of taking the next step, all things being equal,” Mr Andrews said.
“There’s just a couple more days we need to get through, but we are very pleased to think that we’ll be able to essentially take those big steps, but safe steps, towards opening regional Victoria up.”
“Can I again just remind regional Victorians, the rules have changed, that’s a good thing, that’s a reflection of low numbers, but the rules still need to be followed.”
Mr Andrews said he would have more to say in coming days about plans for reopening regional Victorian workplaces, as well as Victoria Police plans to bolster the border between Melbourne and regional Victoria.
Under the Andrews government’s reopening road map, Melbourne is set to stay under stay-at-home restrictions with a curfew until at least October 26, with a reprieve dependent upon reaching the threshold of no cases with an unknown source for 14 days, and a 14 day daily average of no more than five new cases.
“We’ll have much more to say in coming days about … some other messaging around testing and some of the maintenance work that will need to be done to keep an accurate picture, particularly as regional Victoria opens up, to deal with the inevitable cases, the inevitable outbreaks that will be a feature for many months to come, but having got the numbers low, then we are absolutely confident that we can keep the numbers low,” Mr Andrews said.
Any “inevitable” outbreaks will delay further reopening according to the Andrews government’s road map, with public gatherings of up to 50 people outdoors and up to 20 indoors, including in hospitality venues, not permitted until there have been no cases for 14 days statewide.
Patron limits will continue to apply until the state has had 28 days with no new cases.
READ MORE: Early super drain slowing
Stephen Lunn 12.50pm: Keating: ‘Super won’t cover aged care’
Paul Keating would have pushed to introduce a “longevity levy” to help fund the lives of Australians 80 and over had he won the 1996 election, the aged care royal commission has heard.
The former prime minister told the commission he was concerned about how to look after an ageing population, and had mulled over adding a further levy on employers beyond superannuation to help fund the old age of Australians.
“I was interested in the 80 to 100 cohort, the unprovided for, (who) never had a mention in policy anywhere,” Mr Keating said.
“I had intended that we would address the longevity issue in some way in the middle 1990s and that may have been in my thinking then a longevity levy.
“Had I succeeded in winning the 1996 election then we probably would have had a longevity levy,” he said.
Read the full story here
Dennis Shanahan 12.30pm: Abbott slams heartless border ‘lunacy’
Tony Abbott has blasted the heartless and “bureaucratic bloody-mindedness” of the Queensland state border closure and quarantine zealotry from his own enforced international quarantine in a Sydney hotel.
While the former prime minister fully supported the “health security” two-week enforced stay in a designated quarantine hotel after his return from Britain, he described the Queensland refusal to allow people from NSW across the border without permission or quarantine as “a moonbeam from the larger lunacy”.
Mr Abbott, unlike Hollywood star Tom Hanks, who was granted an exemption from the normal overseas quarantine scheme to enter Queensland and is serving his isolation in a luxury resort at Broadbeach, was put straight into a standard quarantine hotel in Sydney with other passengers.
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 12.05pm: Victoria mystery cases rise by six
The number of cases in Victoria where contact tracers have been unable to identify a source of infection has increased by six on Monday to 4291, after falling for eight days straight from a peak of 4370 on September 5.
In order to be released from stay-at-home and curfew restrictions by October 26 under the Andrews government’s reopening road map, Melbourne needs to have 14 days with no cases with an unknown source.
As of Sunday, there had been 99 cases in metropolitan Melbourne and five cases in regional Victoria in the previous fortnight with no known source.
The number of active cases in health workers on Monday is 176 – the same number as on Sunday. This number includes aged care and disability workers.
The number of active cases linked to aged care facilities on Monday is 513, down from 572 on Sunday.
There are 10 cases linked to residential disability accommodation, including six staff and four residents – the same number as on Sunday.
READ MORE: Davos reset plan has more holes than Swiss cheese
David Ross 11.40am: NSW testing rates fall
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian warned the low numbers recorded in the state on Monday shouldn’t be taken as a sign of victory against the virus, noting lower testing over the weekend and continued declines in overall community testing.
“The weekend testing rates always tend to be lower,” she said.
“Back in March, we were pleading to get over 8,000 tests a day.”
Sunday saw only 9,316 tests reported in the 24-hour reporting period, significantly lower than the 14,426 in the previous 24 hours.
Even this is a decline on recent weeks, with 20,852 conducted on Tuesday last week.
READ MORE: No time for petty spats in NSW
Rachel Baxendale 11.35am: Victoria testing numbers fall
There were 8937 tests processed in Victoria in the 24 hours to Monday, taking the number processed since the pandemic began to 2,497,710
This compares with 9316 tests processed in NSW in the 24 hours to Monday.
The 8937 tests represent the lowest daily number of tests processed since June 23, except for last Tuesday’s 8704 tests.
The positive test rate for Monday is 0.34 per cent, up from a more than two month equal low of 0.24 per cent on Sunday, which was the lowest positive test rate since June, but well down from the record of 3.73 per cent on August 2.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews acknowledged the lower number of tests.
“These are essentially Saturday’s numbers. Not great weather, obviously the numbers are down each weekend anyway,” Mr Andrews said.
“We would always want more people – the highest percentage possible of symptomatic Victorians to come and get tested.
“We don’t want a situation where … not enough tests being done for us to have confidence that we have a clear picture of how much virus is out there.
“We don’t want any steps in this safe and steady road map to be deferred or to be compromised.
“It is important that each and every Victorian comes forward and gets tested.
“We still have confidence in that number and the trend. (Testing) numbers steadily increased throughout last week as they do each week.”
READ MORE: Open up, this isn’t wartime: CEOs
Rachel Baxendale 11.20am: New cases take Victoria total to 19,872
Victoria’s 35 new coronavirus cases on Monday have taken the number of cases since the pandemic began to 19,872.
The cumulative total has risen by 37 since Sunday.
We expect this will be attributed to a reclassification of previously reported test results in the Chief Health Officer’s Monday afternoon press release.
There have been seven deaths in the 24 hours to Monday, but the death toll has risen by only six, due to the duplication of a previously reported death
This is not the first time Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has managed to duplicate the reporting of a death, with the reporting of another previously duplicated death corrected on August 10.
The state’s death toll from coronavirus is now 729, with all but 19 of these deaths due to Victoria’s second wave of the pandemic, sparked by breaches in the Andrews government’s hotel quarantine program.
The seven most recent deaths include those of a man in his 70s, a woman and a man in their 80s, and three men and a woman in their 90s.
All seven were linked to aged care.
As of Monday there are 122 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus, of whom 12 are in intensive care, and seven are on ventilators.
This compares with 116 people in hospital on Sunday, including 11 in intensive care, of whom five were on ventilators.
READ MORE: Revisit modelling to open economy
David Ross 11.10am: NSW records four new cases
Four new cases of COVID-19 have been found in NSW after testing, bringing the state total to 3,981.
Three of the four were returned travellers in hotel quarantine, while one was linked to a known case or cluster.
The new case is a close contact of a previous case who attended the Eastern Suburbs Legion Club in Waverly. This person had been in self-isolation while infectious.
Two cases linked to the club were identified on Sunday.
Four new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 3,981.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 14, 2020
Of the four new cases:
• Three are returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine
• One is locally acquired and linked to a known case or cluster pic.twitter.com/hliQQbysqv
The latest figures are some of the lowest in NSW in recent days after weeks of cases linked to the growing CBD and Concord and Liverpool hospitals.
Six people remain in ICU being treated for COVID-19 while 81 are being treated.
The new cases come as NSW Health issued warnings for KFC Concord at 307 Concord Rd, Concord, on 6 September between 1pm and 1:20pm.
Anyone who attended this venue at this time is considered a casual contact and must monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop. After testing, they must remain in isolation until a negative test result is received.
READ MORE: Ballet rises from the dead
Shae McDonald 10.50am: ‘You may never recover from COVID’
“COVID-19 affects every single cell in the body.”
That was the blunt message from Queensland’s chief health officer on Monday in a bid to help more people understand why such tough measures remain in place to stop the spread of the virus.
Dr Jeannette Young said coronavirus was no longer considered a respiratory disease.
“That might be how it’s transmitted in the main, but it’s not flu,” she said.
Dr Young said while the influenza virus would kill a small number of people each year, most would survive and completely recover.
“That’s not the case with this disease,” she said.
“We’re seeing more and more people who get this infection who don’t fully recover.”
Queensland man Richard Misior contracted COVID-19 in March while aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
Dr Young said she believed the reason some people were opposed to the tough restrictions was because they didn’t understand the long-term impacts the disease could have.
“That’s been possibly a failing in getting that information out to people,” she said.
VIDEO: The long-term effects of coronavirus on the body
“It affects every single cell in the body and leaves long-lasting problems for different organs in the body, whether that be the heart, the kidney, the brain or the lungs.”
The world-renowned Mayo Clinic states COVID-19 has been shown to damage the heart muscle, even in mild cases, which could increase the risk of heart failure or other complications later in life.
It can also cause strokes, seizures and Guillain-Barre syndrome, and could increase the risk of Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
Guillain-Barre is a rare disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves, resulting in paralysis.
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David Ross 9.50am: Wilson warns of Victoria lockdown misery
Liberal MP Tim Wilson has warned there will be a “long tale of human tragedy” that would follow the Victorian lockdown.
“I think there’s been too much blindness on behalf of our government on the consequences,” he said, speaking on Sky.
Mr Wilson supported the call from Victorian opposition leader Michael O’Brien for a Royal Commission to investigate the pandemic response in Victoria.
“There’s no doubt this could happen again,” he said.
He said, in particular, the closure of the Melbourne Airport needed to be looked at given the numbers of Australians stranded overseas.
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David Ross 9.20am: Positive case at KFC Concord
Warnings are being sounded after a known case of COVID-19 visited the KFC Concord at 307 Concord Rd, Concord, on 6 September between 1pm and 1:20pm.
Anyone who attended this venue at this time is considered a casual contact and must monitor for symptoms and get tested immediately if they develop. After testing, they must remain in isolation until a negative test result is received.
The KFC Concord is open today.
This comes after a cluster of COVID-19 linked to Concord and Liverpool hospital swelled last week after being sparked by a staff member who contracted the virus after treating a COVID-19 case.
Many of the new cases of COVID-19 in NSW have been linked to known clusters.
Two cases yesterday were known household contacts of a previously reported case linked to the Eastern Suburbs Legion Club cluster in Waverly and both had been in self-isolation while infectious.
There were also two new cases that were household contacts of a previously reported case linked to the St Paul’s Catholic College Greystanes cluster; both had been in self-isolation while infectious.
READ MORE: The silence is deafening
David Ross 9.00am: Langton calls on Rio to follow BHP
Noted Indigenous anthropologist Marcia Langton has continued eviscerating Rio Tinto for its role in the destruction of the Juukan Gorge caves in May.
Professor Langton called on the mining giant to follow BHP in going above the letter of the law and putting a halt to all potential site destructions over which it currently held permits.
“Rio needs to adopt the stance that BHP has adopted and go above the letter of the law and cease and desist from destroying sites of significance,” she said on ABC Radio National this morning.
“We need other mechanisms to make sure traditional owners and native title holders are not just consulted but negotiated with to say no to destroying sites of great religious significance.”
Professor Langton said she regarded the destruction of the ancient caves as “a cultural property crime” and reparations were due to the traditional owners of the land.
She also called on the Senate inquiry into the destruction of the caves to be extended to ensure it could hear from the traditional owners of the Juukan gorge, who have not yet been heard from.
“I don’t believe they received enough assistance to make the case and in this day and age when we’re all in zoom meetings how can that be the case? it’s not plausible,” she said.
She said if Rio did not learn hard lessons from this experience it risked its ongoing operation in Australia.
“Without Australian board members who actually have a commitment to the cultural values to operate Rio Tinto simply won’t be allowed to operate where it has applications to open new mines,” she said.
READ MORE: Push for Rio to focus on Australia
Rachel Baxendale 8.40am: Lowest daily tally since June 26
Victoria’s tally on Monday is its lowest number of new coronavirus cases since June 26, with 35 cases in the 24 hours to Monday.
There have been seven deaths reported over the same period, bringing the state’s coronavirus death toll to 730, all but 19 of which have occurred as part of Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus cases, sparked by breaches in the Andrews government’s hotel quarantine program.
The 35 new cases follow 41 new cases on Sunday and 37 new cases on Saturday, and represent the lowest daily increase since 30 cases on June 26 – more than 11 weeks ago.
The new cases take the raw statewide 14 day daily average to 63.4, and the 7 day daily average to 48.3.
Taking into account reclassified cases for all of the past fortnight other than today, Melbourne’s 14 day daily average is 56.4.
From Monday Melburnians are experiencing a very slight easing of restrictions, which will see the 8pm to 5am curfew instead begin at 9pm.
Exercise has been extended from one hour to two, and single people are now permitted to visit one other nominated person.
In regional Victoria, where there is no curfew, outdoor gatherings have been expanded from a maximum of two to include up to five people from two households.
In order for Melbourne to move to the second step of relaxing coronavirus restrictions by September 28, the 14-day daily average needs to reach 30-50.
This would enable public outdoor gatherings of up to five people from up to two households, the resumption of childcare, and a staged return to the classroom for Prep to Grade Two and VCE students.
For the third step, which would see Melburnians released from a stay-at-home lockdown and a curfew by October 26, the statewide 14-day daily average needs to fall below five cases, with no more than five cases, with no more than five cases with an unknown source over that entire period.
Sunday’s 14 day daily average was 56.9 for Melbourne and 4.1 for regional Victoria, with 99 cases with an unknown source in Melbourne over the past fortnight, and five in regional Victoria.
READ MORE: Left-wing media ‘fuelling panic’
David Ross 8.30am: Victoria numbers ‘in right direction but still too high’
As Victoria recorded 35 new cases and seven deaths. Commonwealth deputy chief medical officer, Dr Nick Coatsworth says the Victorian lockdowns were having the desired effect in stamping out the coronavirus in the state but much more needed to be done to bring down mystery cases.
#COVID19VicData for 14 September, 2020.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) September 13, 2020
Yesterday there were 35 new cases reported and 7 lives lost. Our thoughts go out to all those affected.
More information will be available later today. pic.twitter.com/jApb1qnkTW
“That light at the end of the tunnels growing bigger by the day. But 20 cases yesterday that have as yet been unlinked. That is still too high,” he said.
“I think the trend overwhelmingly is in the right direction. We’re coming down off the second wave now in Victoria. It will be important to see a trend of the mystery cases. If we can keep those heading down towards single digits, that will be a good indicator of progress.”
Dr Coatsworth said NSW was proof the state could be largely open to other states and get on top of new cases as they cropped up.
“There is a state in New South Wales that is relying and relying effectively on test, trace and isolate and has and has managed to keep numbers down for over a month. That may be the way of the future,” he said.
David Ross 8.10am: Keneally: international borders commonwealth responsibility
Labor shadow minister for immigration and citizenship Kristina Keneally has branded attacks on Queensland over border closures an attempt to muddy the waters on international arrival caps that have left 25,000 Australians stuck overseas.
Ms Keneally said Peter Dutton’s remarks that he would like to see international arrival caps doubled a failure to grasp the powers of the Commonwealth over international arrivals.
“I missed the memo where we decided that international borders and quarantine were a state responsibility. They are a Commonwealth responsibility, they are Peter Dutton’s responsibility to ensure citizens can cross the border and come home,” she said.
“The Commonwealth government has quarantine facilities, they have them in the NT and Christmas Island.”
Ms Keneally noted the efforts of the Commonwealth early in the pandemic to quarantine families returning from Wuhan as proof it could take action.
She said the Morrison government had spent the better part of two weeks using border closures as “a political football to beat up on the Queensland government” and that they had used the plight of the Prendergast family to score points.
“The Prendergast family has come out and demanded an apology,” she said.
“I’m not criticising any state premier Labor or Liberal. They are all making decisions based on medical advice.”
She said the PM was playing political games picking on Labor premiers but ignoring the same restrictions by members of his own party.
“It’s time for this government to stop playing partisan games and do its job,” she said.
READ MORE: Paused vaccine trial back on track
David Ross 7.40am: AMA chief backs Young over ‘toxic’ criticism
The head of the Australian Medical Association’s Queensland branch has called out “toxic” criticism of the state’s chief health officer Jeanette Young.
AMA Queensland president Dr Chris Perry said the message was “back the chief health officers and chief medical officers. They seem to have the information. And fortunately, our jurisdictions are largely following them.”
Dr Perry, speaking on the Today show, noted the criticism of Dr Young had reached the point where she now had police guarding her house.
“She has had to have extra help with sorting through the applications for quarantine exemptions. She was getting over 100 per day and she was trying to deal with it herself. So working from 5 in the morning until 9 or 10 at night, it was quite hard work,” she said.
“So it has been quite stressful and it hasn’t been helped by cowardly people threatening to take the life of a woman.”
Dr Perry said he thought the border closures were justified.
“Every state has closed borders to an extent, even NSW. So Queensland, they have got quite a lot of freedom. The restaurants are open. Maybe not at full capacity because of the restrictions but the economy is booming,” he said.
“Do we have more people at funerals or more COVID funerals? I spent a week ago talking to a friend of mine in intensive care in Melbourne. He could barely get two words out in a breath. It is heartbreaking.”
READ MORE: Doctors warn over lack of screening
David Ross 7.30am: Joyce lashes border closures
Nationals politician Barnaby Joyce has struck out against the Queensland border closures saying border closures were “driving our economic nose into the dirt”.
Speaking on Seven’s Sunrise program Mr Joyce said it was “a sham” and people were upset by the inconsistent application of restrictions between celebrities and everybody else.
But Labor’s Joel Fitzgibbon said the focus on Queensland was deflecting attention from Australia’s “biggest border closure” – the international border.
“Scott Morrison is in control of that. The controversies are well and truly extend into his administration,” he said.
“We have difficulties in South Australia, difficulties in Tasmania, they are simply not getting the publicity that Queensland is receiving. Why is Queensland receiving so much publicity? Because they have an election next month.”
But both were united in their support of NSW Nationals leader John Barilaro who threatened to torpedo the state government last week over legislation concerning tree clearing and protecting koala populations.
“If you want to look at silly politics, look at the summer we have just had as a result of the policies made in the cities that affect farmers and land clearing the end in disaster and then and up killing koalas because all the trees going down,” Mr Joyce said.
Mr Fitzgibbon encouraged John Barilaro “for finally breaking ranks and saying he is mad and not going to take it anymore”.
READ MORE: Positive case closes parliament
Rosie Lewis 7.15am: Queensland CHO asked permission for Hanks to enter
Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young wrote a letter to federal authorities giving the state’s support for the arrival of Hollywood actor Tom Hanks.
With the Morrison and Palaszczuk governments in a war of words over who was responsible for clearing the way for Hanks to arrive in Queensland, The Australian has obtained a letter of endorsement for Hanks’ entry on behalf of the state government.
She wrote that the state government backed Hanks and 11 other international visitors for the filming and production of an Elvis Presley biopic produced by Australian director and screenwriter Baz Luhrmann.
Writing to Australian Border Force chief commissioner Michael Outram, Dr Young wrote that “Queensland both supports and is willing to accommodate the cast and crew in Queensland”.
“I understand that in order for you to consider an exemption to allow these persons to enter Australia you require confirmation that Queensland supports their entry into our state to resume production,” Dr Young wrote to ABF Commissioner Mike Outram.
Hanks was controversially allowed to quarantine in a resort of his choice when he arrived in Queensland last week. At the weekend Peter Dutton, the Minister responsible for Border Force, attacked Queensland for allowing Hanks in, while others seeking entry for a funeral were turned back.
READ the full story here
David Ross 6.55am: Dastyari – country should cough up for Victoria
Former Labor senator Sam Dastyari has come out in support of the Victorian lockdowns saying calls to reopen sooner were unhelpful.
“Frankly they should play it safe in Victoria. But it is hurting business down there and the rest of the country is going to have to cough up and pay for it,” he said.
“This idea that Victoria’s out there on its own at the moment, the State Government got together $3bn, that’s not enough.
“So when the budget comes down in a week or so the rest of the country should be getting levied, should be getting taxed to pay for what’s happening in Victoria.”
Mr Dastyari said the rest of the country was suffering economically and branded the Queensland border closures “just a stunt” but warned attacks on Anastasia Palaszczuk would do nothing.
“They think going out there and bashing the government, let’s not pussyfoot around this, it actually helps Palaszczuk, when they come out and bash her for being too tough on the borders,” he said.
“She’s not going to change. She’s not going to back down.”
READ MORE: Palaszczuk risk in swing seats
David Ross 6.45am: Global infections spike to record levels
The World Health Organisation reported an ignominious record single-day rise in global COVID-19 cases on Sunday, after 307,930 tested positive.
The United States still leads the world in confirmed infections, followed by India and Brazil.
The outbreak of the virus in many other countries is much worse by per-capita measures, with Qatar, Bahrain, and Aruba the worst-hit nations.
Global cases stand at 28.84m with the real toll likely much higher.
The outbreak in the USA, where cases had been declining spiked to 45,523 new cases on Sunday.
Data leaked to the BBC suggests the real death toll in Iran is likely double the official toll of 23,000 amid accusations the government there has been hiding the viral hit.
Israel will reimpose a new nationwide lockdown as coronavirus cases in the country surge and deaths have passed a grim milestone.
The three-week lockdown comes after deaths passed 1,100 and new cases surged to 4,000 a day.
The lockdown measures announced will be the most severe in Israel since the first lockdown, which ran from late March until early May.
Israelis will be limited to within 500 metres of their homes, with the exception of travelling to work, pharmacies, or supermarkets.
No more than 10 people will be allowed to meet indoors, while groups will be limited to 20 outdoors.
This comes after the COVID-19 outbreak spread to Israel’s near neighbours in the Gaza Strip.
Schools and shopping centres will close, places of worship will be shut, and businesses cannot accept customers.
The new lockdown comes as the country approaches the start of the Jewish holiday season which analysts fear would further spread the virus.
Infections in Israel have now passed 153,000 as the global toll continues to surge apace.
But a new surge in cases of COVID-19 sees new lockdown measures imposed in the United Kingdom in a bid by the government to stamp down infections from a high of almost 3000 a day.
The UK has reimposed limits on gatherings to no more than six people, with fines for those breaching the rules.
Religious services will be limited, while pubs and shops are limited to no more than six customers.
But France, where 10,561 new cases were reported on Sunday, has been making efforts to avoid imposing a new lockdown by boosting testing and toughening measures around hot spots.
READ MORE: Flying where some fear to tread
Staff writers 6.30am: Businesses cane lifeline as ‘drop in the ocean’
Victorian businesses have attacked Daniel Andrews’ $3 billion coronavirus lifeline as a “drop in the ocean,” saying easing restrictions sooner was the only way to escape “economic armageddon”.
The plea came as Mr Andrews extended Victoria’s state of emergency and disaster orders with Melbourne in lockdown until October 26.
Top restaurateurs, small business leaders, the Australian Hotels Association and the Australian Industry Group told the Herald Sun they were disappointed with the long-awaited support.
But it won praise from industry heavyweights including Crown and the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Restaurateur Chris Lucas, who owns Melbourne restaurant Chin Chin, said the grants of up to $30,000 were a “drop in the ocean” for some businesses.
“It’s economic armageddon,’’ he said. “Some businesses have not been operating since March. A lot of these have debts of hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Australian Hotels Association president David Canny said: “Some people will be really happy — but for others it is just scraping the surface.”
READ MORE: Salesforce to the rescue in Victoria
win Hannan 6.00am: Andrews unveils $3bn business support
Tens of thousands of struggling Victorian employers will receive cash grants, payroll tax relief and cashflow support under $3bn in assistance hailed by Daniel Andrews as the biggest package of business support in the state’s history.
Declaring the “massive investment” was necessary given the COVID-19 challenges facing business, the Victorian Premier said grants of $10,000 to $30,000 would flow to thousands of companies while employers with payrolls of up to $10m would have payroll tax bill deferred by 12 months at a cost of $1.7bn.
“It is an unprecedented set of challenges that businesses face,” Mr Andrews said. “We want to get to the other side and we want to make sure that, yes, we have protected lives but we have also protected livelihoods.”
Industry groups broadly welcomed the support but ramped up calls for a faster easing of restrictions while the restaurant sector and the union movement urged the retention of a higher JobKeeper rate in Victoria.
READ the full story here
Jacquelin Magnay 5.45am: Stranded Aussies advised; couchsurf or homeless shelter
Sammy Wood is 27 weeks pregnant and should be most excited about the impending birth of her first born, a boy.
Instead she has been anxiously alternating between tears and phone calls, racking up more than $500 in phone bills to a Qatar Airlines call centre in the Middle East since a 10.39pm email dropped into her inbox last Thursday.
Wood and her partner, Andy, have been two of the thousands of Australians bumped off flights as they have tried to get back home ever since the imposition of strict caps on the numbers of arrivals into Australian cities. Australian officials have suggested the couple should “couch surf” when they become homeless in less than a fortnight.
“Look at me,” said Wood. “I can barely roll off a couch. Who wants a pregnant woman or a family with a newborn in their lounge room?”
The airlines are now working through all their bookings until the end of October, culling all but about 30 passengers a flight to avoid bumping people off at the last minute.
The Australian High Commission in Britain has sent staff to Heathrow to help passengers turned away at the last moment, but this help is mainly restricted to providing lists of local homeless shelters that may be able to provide short-term emergency housing.
READ The full story here
Angelica Snowden 2.05am: Young Australians hit the bottle
Young Australians say they have been drinking significantly more alcohol than usual during the COVID-19 pandemic, more so than older generations, and are being encouraged to curb the new habit.
Data from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation has revealed 41 per cent of Australians aged between 18 and 34 reported drinking more than usual during the COVID-19 lockdown, compared to 29 per cent of middle-aged Australians and 13 per cent of people aged over 55.
Alcohol and Drug Foundation spokeswoman Laura Bajurny said the increase in alcohol consumption was a result of a combination of “boredom” and an “undercurrent of uncertainty” about the future.
Read the full story here.
Greg Brown, Rachel Baxendale 1.50am: Victoria’s road map revision ‘unlikely’
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has deemed as “unlikely” any revision of his reopening road map, despite calls for the plan to be redone.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt seized on a report in The Weekend Australian on Saturday in which University of Melbourne epidemiologists, whose work was used as the basis for the road map, urged the Andrews government to “keep refining the models” in coming weeks to ensure that “trade-offs between lives affected and livelihoods lost” are balanced appropriately.
Under the Andrews government’s plan, Melburnians will remain under stay-at-home and curfew restrictions until at least October 26 — a date Mr Andrews said on Sunday was “unlikely” to be brought forward.
Reopening on that date is dependent on Melbourne reaching a 14-day daily average of fewer than five coronavirus cases, with no cases with an unknown source in that period.
R ead the full story here.
AFP 1.45am: South African economy may shrink 7pc
South Africa’s Finance Minister Tito Mboweni warned Sunday the economy could shrink by more than the 7 per cent forecast by policymakers and the central bank for 2020, adding that public finances are “overstretched”.
The economy of Africa’s most industrialised nation contracted by more than half in the second quarter of this year, an unprecedented decline caused by anti-coronavirus restrictions.
Looking ahead, there is a “risk that the actual GDP outcome for 2020 could be lower than previously thought,” Mboweni wrote in the local Sunday Times newspaper.
The Treasury and central bank expect the economy to contract by 7.2 and 7.3 per cent respectively this year, after the country went into a strict lockdown in March already in recession.
Mboweni noted that public finances, already in an “unsustainable position” before the pandemic, were now “overstretched”.
“The reduction in economic activity in the second quarter has flowed through to lower tax revenue,” the Minister wrote, adding that emergency tax relief to keep households and businesses afloat would compound the loss.
Government is expected to fall short of more than 300 billion rand ($18 billion) in tax revenue – over six per cent of GDP – Mboweni said, forcing the heavily indebted country to “borrow even more”.
But he also promised reforms to climb out of the hole, writing “we must be bold in confronting what has impeded economic growth and the progress of our nation.” He wrote that one of government’s priorities would be to ensure “adequate and reliable electricity”, backed by a commitment to unlock private investment in the public sector.
Read more: In the world’s coronavirus blind spot, fears of a silent epidemic
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