Coronavirus Australia live news: Botched Victorian hotel quarantine program cost $195m
Along withrecommendations, interim report into Victoria’s disastrous quarantine scheme reveals its whopping cost.
- $195m cost of bungled quarantine
- Quarantine hotel interim report released
- ‘Significant’ changes coming for Victoria
- Outbreak fears for NSW
- No new cases, deaths in Victoria
- Mutation may render vaccine obsolete
- Lockdown turns London into ghost town
- Meal-ticket plan to get economy cooking
Welcome to our live coverage of Australia’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic. The cost of Victoria’s bungled hotel quarantine program has been revealed as the inquiry into it hands down its interim report. An outbreak in the NSW Southern Highlands has closed two schools, as Daniel Andrews flags a further easing of restrictions for Victoria. And health experts fear a mutation passed from mink to humans in Denmarks could spark a new pandemic.
The Times 6.06pm: UK PM ‘to get things open by Christmas’
Mass Testing could end the need for two weeks of self-isolation, Boris Johnson said as he exhorted an “anxious, weary and fed-up” nation to follow lockdown rules.
The Prime Minister limited his room for manoeuvre to extend restrictions beyond four weeks on the first day of the England-wide lockdown, saying he had “no doubt” that “we will get things open again before Christmas”.
Holding out the prospect of rapid mass testing being piloted in Liverpool as a “real way forward through the crisis”, Mr Johnson said in Downing Street: “People will have as normal a Christmas as possible.”
Sir Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, who appeared alongside the prime minister, was more cautious. He said only that the period of four weeks was sufficient to show whether hospital admissions had levelled off or fallen as a result.
Mr Johnson said: “The advice I have received suggests that four weeks is enough for these measures to make a real impact. So these rules will expire, and on December 2 we plan to move back to a tiered approach. There is light at the end of the tunnel. These are difficult times. While it pains me to have to ask once again for so many to give up so much, I know we can get through this.”
Critics noted, however, that Mr Johnson stopped short of ruling out another extension. He ducked a question on whether he would be willing to force through another lockdown with Labour votes in the Commons.
Under pressure to reassure his backbenchers, the prime minister insisted the measures were “time limited”. He said that they were not a “repeat of the spring” in which a lockdown initially imposed for three weeks continued for more than three months.
While scientists say the lockdown can do no more than delay rising case numbers, Mr Johnson said that “technical advances” such as rapid tests would allow a less restrictive approach.
READ MORE: Inquiry recommends hotel quarantine governance body
Heidi Han 5pm: ‘Enjoy our lifestyle’: Birmingham’s message to China
Opening with “Nihao” (Hello) and closing with “Xiexie” (Thanks) in Mandarin, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has sent a passionate and inviting message directly to Chinese consumers via the country’s social media platforms.
Hailing the two countries’ $250 billion worth of trade and a long-established trade history dating back to sea cucumber merchants in the 1700s, Senator Birmingham invited consumers from our largest trade partner to “enjoy a piece of our fantastic Aussie lifestyle”.
“We know Chinese consumers value our high quality product, safety and reliability. And in return we value your custom,” Mr Birmingham said in a prerecorded video message that included subtitles in Mandarin and was published via Austrade’s official social media accounts.
“Whether you enjoy Aussie cereals in milk for breakfast, wearing our fashions, benefiting from our health products, or enjoy our entertainment, you can trust that we put quality first.”
Amid a reported potential ban of Australian exports worth $6bn a year from entering China, Mr Birmingham said our trade remained strong “despite the challenges we’ve all experienced this year”, without mentioning the unfolding trade tension between the two countries.
The message was part of Austrade’s campaign to promote Australian products during the China International Import Expo, which opened this week in Shanghai. Over 180 Australian businesses participated in this year’s marquee event.
“They will be showcasing our fantastic food, great wine, high quality health supplements, natural cosmetics, and other technologies that are in demand all over the world,” Mr Birmingham said.
READ MORE: China denies trade ban reports: Birmingham
Rosie Lewis 4.43pm: WA government hails High Court ‘victory’ over Palmer
The West Australian government has declared “victory” after Clive Palmer lost his High Court challenge against its hard border, but a leading constitutional lawyer says the court’s orders aren’t a “clear cut acceptance” of the states’ ability to impose border closures.
Attorney-General Christian Porter also on Friday said there was “nothing to celebrate about hard borders” and encouraged WA to proceed with the reopening of its border, which is due to be significantly eased from next weekend.
Mr Palmer, who lives in Queensland and has business interests in WA, commenced High Court proceedings in May after he was unsuccessful in applying for an exemption to enter Western Australia.
Chief Justice Susan Kiefel said Western Australia’s Emergency Management Act, which authorises the “closing the border” directions, complied with the constitution when considered in the context of a plague or epidemic.
Read the full story here.
4.06pm: Urgent alert for 14 NSW suburbs
Health authorities have issued an urgent alert for 14 suburbs, four more than were on the list just one day ago.
The new Sydney suburbs are considered areas where the virus is likely spreading among the community undetected, based on recent cases and wastewater findings.
Anyone who lives in the following areas is urged to get tested at the first sign of the mildest symptom: Catherine Field, Leppington, Gledswood Hill, Varroville, Denham Court, West Hoxton, Hoxton Park, Middleton Grange, Horningsea Park, Carnes Hill, Edmondson Park. Prestons. Busby, Miller.
Read the full story here.
Matthew Denholm 3.29pm: Tasmania’s path to a COVID-safe Summer
Tasmania will further relax COVID-19 restrictions ahead of summer, allowing “vertical drinking” at outdoor venues and Christmas parties with up to 40 guests.
Premier Peter Gutwein also on Friday announced Tasmanians returning from Victoria would be able to quarantine at home, rather than in government-run hotel isolation.
He also flagged potentially bringing forward – from December 1 – the abolition of all quarantine requirements on arrivals from Victoria.
Arrivals from all other jurisdictions can already travel to Tasmania without undergoing quarantine, with NSW the latest to be included in the open-border policy from Friday.
Mr Gutwein said from next Friday, November 13, drinking alcohol while standing up in outdoor areas of pubs would be allowed.
A subsequent review would determine if or when vertical drinking would be allowed at indoor venues.
As well, cafes, pubs and restaurants would be required by law to keep a record of patrons’ names, telephone numbers and time of visit.
Mr Gutwein said a further legal requirement would prevent venues using this information for any purpose other than to provide it to public health officials for contact tracing.
The limit on family gatherings at home would rise from 20 to 40, not including resident family members, allowing for bigger Christmas parties.
READ MORE: New suburbs under virus alert
Richard Ferguson 2.30pm: China denies export ban: Birmingham
China denies it has any plans to ban Australian exports worth $6bn a year from entering the Communist nation, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham says.
The Global Times, a state-controlled tabloid, made the extraordinary claim in a report called “Australia nervous at losing Chinese market”, part of a package of stories about the country’s biggest trade fair, which opened on Wednesday.
Senator Birmingham said on Friday the reports of a widespread ban were “unsubstantiated rumours” despite a slew of trade issues with Beijing in months.
“Chinese authorities have denied some of the rumours of instructions being given to businesses to ban Australia’s imports into Australia,” he said in Adelaide.
“We welcome those commitments and statements from Chinese authorities that these rumours do not have validity.
“What we hope to see is that, given the denials from Chinese authorities, they work as effectively as possible to help, where there are regulatory issues, resolve them in a timely way.”
READ MORE: Find a market other than China, exporters warned
Rosie Lewis 1.50pm: US reaches grim COVID record: 123,085 new cases
The US has smashed it’s daily COVID case tally by more 20,000 after the country reported 123,085 new infections.
A tally by the Johns Hopkins university revealed 99,660 new cases of the virus were reported on Wednesday – Thursday’s tally beat that record by 23,425 cases.
There were also 1,226 more deaths reported.
Deaths remained lower than their worst levels in the US spring but Thursday was also the third day in a row that fatalities were above 1,000.
More than 9.6 million people have been infected and 234,000 have died in the US during the pandemic, by far the highest tolls in absolute terms globally.
The new record came as US President Donald Trump, who survived a bout with COVID-19 in October and insisted the virus would “disappear,” was fighting for his political life on Thursday with vote-counting from Tuesday’s presidential election ongoing.
Coronavirus cases have surged across the country since mid-October and in a bid to avoid crowds, more than 100 million voters cast their ballot by mail or in person before Election Day — the highest ever number of early voters.
The final election results have been partly delayed by the high number of mail-in ballots, which Trump alleged without evidence are fraudulent.
The pandemic has also slammed the US economy, fuelling a historic contraction in growth and tens of millions of job losses. — AFP
READ MORE: Palmer loses WA border bid
Rosie Lewis 1.35pm: ‘We need to work with China’: ‘concerned’ McGowan
A “very concerned” Western Australian premier Mark McGowan has called on the Morrison government to engage and “work constructively” with China amid escalating trade tensions, warning Australians’ standards of living may suffer.
Mr McGowan declared he could be pro-China and pro-America while pointing out there were very few other markets for iron ore, Australia’s largest export with the biggest ports in WA.
“If all we do is lose national income, well that means that our standard of living for all of us across the country will go down. I just urge some economic sense and rationalism across Australia,” Mr McGowan said.
“I just say to the commonwealth government, we need to engage, we need to work constructively. We can have a great alliance with the United States and a great friendship and trading relationship with China. There is no inconsistency in the two things.”
Mr McGowan said the last three years under Malcolm Turnbull’s and Scott Morrison’s prime ministerships had been “difficult” for the Australia-China relationship and the losers would be potentially hundreds of thousands of Australians who could lose their jobs.
“Since 1972 we’ve engaged with China. They have a different system of government, different system of politics, they have many things that are different but we’ve had an engagement process — social, cultural economic – and we’ve gotten on well for 47 of the last 50 years,” he said.
“I’m very, very keen that we continue to have a good relationship that was developed and continued by Gough Whitlam, Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke, Paul Keating, John Howard and beyond.
“My concern out of all of this is the people who suffer are cray fisherman, small businesses, wine makers, businesses in regional towns that have wineries in them, the tourism industry, people who work in mining, they’re the ones who suffer.
“I’m very concerned, I’m very concerned for the whole country.”
READ MORE: Find a market other than China, exporters warned
Ewin Hannan 1.12pm: Botched hotel quarantine cost blows out to $195 million
Victoria’s botched hotel quarantine program has cost taxpayers about $195 million, the Coate inquiry’s report reveals.
It says the Andrews Government originally allocated $80 million to the emergency accommodation program
The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions spent about $133.4 million to June 30,
which the inquiry said showed the “considerable cost involved in securing hotel rooms, engaging security guards and acquiring specialised cleaning services”
The Department of Health and Human Services spent about $51.288 million to September 16 while the Department of Justice and Community Safety spent about $10.9 million to September 30.
“On any measure, the cost of the Hotel Quarantine Program until the end of September 2020 has been considerable,” the report says.
READ MORE: Police probe iso hotel security firm
Remy Varga 12.30pm: Quarantine inquiry recommends 24-hour police presence
A hotel quarantine governance body should be established to ensure accountability for the program and Victoria Police should have a 24-hour presence at every facility, the hotel quarantine inquiry has recommended.
Chair former judge Jennifer Coate has further recommended records and notes of all meetings be kept, with the onus on the responsible minister to make sure they are informed by their officials.
“The responsible Minister ensures that the Quarantine Governing Body provides regular, timely and accurate reports to the Minister as to the operation of the Quarantine Program … including all aspects of the entire Quarantine Program, including full and accurate reports as to compliance, monitoring and risks measured against the Purpose.”
The hotel quarantine interim report released on Friday further recommends that any onsite manager ensures staff understand their roles and responsibilities.
“The Site Manager ensures that all personnel on-site understand to whom they report and all lines of reporting and accountability on-site,” said the recommendations.
Ms Coate further recommended Victoria Police have a 24/7 presence at every quarantine facility, and that returning travellers quarantining at home be monitored “using smart phone technology and the use of ankle or wrist monitoring systems”.
As well, state officials running the program should keep electronic records, not paper, to ensure the timely sharing of information as well as co-operating fully with the Commonwealth.
Ms Coate said it was regrettable additional material had been received after public hearings finished, which delayed the original November 6 reporting deadline.
“This additional, potentially significant material has resulted in the need to delay delivery of the Final Report while further inquiries are conducted,” she said.
“How and why this delay occurred will be addressed in the Final Report.”
Ms Coate further recommended a contact tracing unit be embedded at each quarantine facility, with returned travellers to be tested at the direction of the Chief Health Officer.
READ MORE: Resort’s $500k for quarantining no one
Remy Varga 11.47am: Direct flights between Melbourne, NZ to start
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says direct flights between Melbourne and New Zealand will start from Monday.
Mr Andrews said he wrote to Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday morning confirming Victoria would be involved in the travel bubble arrangement.
“Once we’ve got that reboot of hotel quarantine … taking into account of course the detailed advice the board gives us … We’ll be able to have flights landing in Melbourne again from right across the world.”
He said flights to and from New Zealand would leave from Melbourne Airport in Tullamarine in the city’s far northwest.
READ MORE: Meal-ticket plan to get economy cooking
Angelica Snowden 11.34am: Outbreak in NSW’s Southern Highlands closes two schools
A COVID outbreak in the NSW Southern Highlands region has closed down two schools, after the state recorded four new locally transmitted coronavirus cases and another five in hotel quarantine.
NSW has reported four new cases of locally transmitted COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Five cases were also reported in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 4,265. pic.twitter.com/tXUiFAzjEr
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) November 6, 2020
NSW Health said the source of one locally acquired case is being investigated. The remaining three cases are close contacts of that case.
“Today’s new locally acquired cases are in the Southern Highlands area. Contact tracing and further investigations are underway,” NSW Health said in a statement.
“One of the new cases attended Moss Vale Public School, and another of the new cases attended Southern Highlands Early Childhood Centre.”
Close contacts of the latest cases are being identified in the region, located about 130km south of Sydney.
The total number of cases in NSW is now at 4,265.
There were 17,492 tests reported to 8pm last night compared with 18,466 in the previous 24 hours.
READ MORE: NSW records four local cases
Remy Varga 11.28am: ‘Significant’ changes coming for Victoria
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says he will make “significant announcements” about the further easing of restrictions for the state as well as unveiling a plan for the rest of November.
He said the announcements would cover “expansions” of the limits on hospitality and retail trade as well limits on movement.
“This Sunday we will make really significant announcements about taking further steps around 25kms [and] the ring of steel around regional Victoria,” he said.
“So expansions in different settings, whether its bars, cafes, restaurants, cafes.
“We’ll also map out for Victorians what the rest of November looks like, some further steps we hope to take after this Sunday … that’s all on track.”
Mr Andrews said the state’s one-week of zero cases didn’t mean Victorians could relax, urging people to get tested and remain vigilant against the virus.
READ MORE: No Victorian COVID cases in a week
Sarah Elks 11.24am: There’s nothing stopping Gladys calling me: Premier
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says there’s nothing stopping her NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian from calling her about borders, but says she won’t review the closures until the end of the month.
Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland recorded zero new cases of COVID-19 overnight, with the total remaining at eight active patients.
She said Queensland’s border bans – which still lock out people who have been in Victoria or greater Sydney – would only be reviewed at the end of the month and not more frequently.
“That’s what we’ve decided to do, and it gives people certainty,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
On speculation she would lock out the rest of NSW again at the end of the month, Ms Palaszczuk said “I’ve never said that”.
“We’ll take the advice of Dr Young, our Chief Health Officer has stood Queensland in very good stead … what’s encouraging, is the results we’re seeing in Victoria, as they open up more we’ll be watching that very closely over the next couple of weeks,” she said.
She said the early signs in Victoria had been “very encouraging” and Queensland could reopen to Victoria “if it continues with these really good results”.
Ms Berejiklian went on morning television on Thursday, accusing Ms Palaszczuk of not ringing her back about the borders, after she texted on Sunday to congratulate Ms Palaszczuk on her election victory.
Ms Palaszczuk texted back on Wednesday after Queensland’s victory in the State of Origin with a word: “Queenslander!”
But Ms Palaszczuk denied she had not called Ms Berejiklian back.
“I’m always happy to speak to Gladys, she has my phone number, but it’s a bit misleading for her to go and tell the media that she’s phoned me when she did not phone me,” she said.
“State of Origin, everyone’s allowed to have a bit of – if you can’t have a bit of fun with State of Origin, every NSW and QLD Premier has had bets, and talked about the State of Origin.
“Obviously NSW was a little bit upset that the mighty Maroons won.”
Ms Palaszczuk declined to say whether Ms Berejiklian had asked her about borders in the Sunday text message.
She said Clive Palmer’s failed High Court case against Western Australia was encouraging, and proved Queensland’s border closures were constitutional.
READ MORE: Palmer loses WA border bid in High Court
Angelica Snowden 11.20am: ACT eases rules around large gatherings
Up to 500 people will be able to gather for indoor events and patrons will be able to have a drink while standing outside in the ACT as the territory moves to further ease COVID restrictions.
The new limit on gatherings, which will increase from 200 next Friday, will apply to each “usable space”.
📢 Subject to the COVID-19 situation remaining stable, the ACT will be further easing Stage 3 COVID-19 restrictions from 9am Friday 13 November 2020 â„¹ï¸ More information on the latest changes here 👉 https://t.co/yEPwRXPPxl pic.twitter.com/F1AO3vcNzW
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) November 5, 2020
Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman said she was confident the territory would be able to continue “opening up in a COVID safe way”.
“The change to allow eating and drinking while standing in outdoor spaces reflects the considerable evidence that outdoor spaces present a lower risk of transmission of COVID-19 compared to indoor spaces,” Dr Coleman said.
She flagged restrictions could be further eased ahead of the summer holidays.
“We know businesses and the community more broadly want to know more about restrictions over summer and the festive season,” she said.
“We are continuing to monitor and assess the COVID-19 situation and will release further detail on any further restriction changes in the coming week to enable people to forward plan.”
The ACT clocked up 100 days of no new COVID cases until October 22 when a diplomat returned to Canberra and tested positive to the virus while in quarantine.
READ MORE: Baby bump is influencer’s new secret weapon in lockdown
Remy Varga 10.55am: Interim hotel quarantine report tabled at noon
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says the interim hotel quarantine report will be tabled at noon on Friday.
He told reporters on Friday he had not yet read the report and would work on a response to any policy recommendations over the weekend.
“I’m not promising Sunday, I’m not promising Monday,” he said.
“Getting this right is much better than doing this quickly.”
READ MORE: Resort’s $500k for quarantining no one
ANGELICA SNOWDEN 9am: Berejiklian v Palaszczuk — Round II
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she is “over the personal stuff” with her counterpart in Queensland and has again called for borders between the two states to open.
Ms Berejiklian said she would no longer comment on a text exchange between herself and Annastacia Palaszczuk after the Queensland premier ended days of silence with a message about the State of Origin.
“On Sunday night I said ‘look forward to working with you on the border’ now that’s pretty clear isn’t it,” Ms Berejiklian told 2GB on Friday. But she did not get a reply until Wednesday, when Ms Palasazczuk sent her a message which said “Queensland — a great game”.
“I’m not going to comment anymore because it’s not about me and her,” she said.
“It’s about people who can’t see their families, businesses who are shut down and it’s really serious,” she said. “I’m over the personal stuff to be honest I just want it fixed.”
Ongoing tensions between the premiers come after The Australian revealed the NSW Government would consider handing out $100 restaurant vouchers to Sydney households to repair the shattered hospitality industry as part of their budget plan.
She would not confirm the exact measures treasurer Dominic Perrottet was considering as part of the budget but said: “we get how tough it is for everyone at the moment”.
“We get what a stressful year everybody has had and how tough it is for small businesses so we are hoping in the budget we can take care of everybody who has been going through those difficult times.
“If we did go down that path … it would be a positive thing.”
The NSW state government also announced a $250M package designed to encourage businesses from interstate and overseas to relocate to NSW.
“In relation to the initiative I announced yesterday we know businesses in other states have been complaining and coming to us saying we are sick of lockdowns, we are sick of border closures,” she said. “We want to come to NSW and we are creating an incentive for that to happen.”
READ MORE: Meal-ticket plan to get economy cooking
Remy Varga 8.35am: No new coronavirus cases again in Victoria
Victoria has achieved one week of no new cases and no new deaths, with zero cases and deaths recorded on Friday.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to hold a press conference at 10am (AEDT).
Another day of double zero. Yesterday there were zero new cases and zero lives lost. The 14 day average is 1.3 and there are 2 cases with an unknown source. More info here and also later today: https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/YuOYkv9tlq
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 5, 2020
Angelica Snowden 8am: Dutton admits concern over China trade impasse
Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton says he is “concerned” about trade tensions with China amid a threatened ban on exports worth $6bn a year, but the move was “not a decision for the Australian government”.
Mr Dutton said the government needed to “make sure” it could resolve issues with China after about 20 tonnes of lobster was left on a tarmac in Shanghai Pudong airport.
“If you are a seafood harvester or a fisherman … you are very worried if you’ve got stock perishing on the tarmac in China,” Mr Dutton said.
“We need to make sure that we can work through issues with China and China has said before they are open and free in terms of their trade.
“We will work with China and we want to make sure that those markets remain open but in the end it’s not a decision for Australian government.”
Over a dozen wine exhibitors at China’s premier trade fair have had products stopped by customs since last week, crushing confidence in the future of the $1.2bn trade.https://t.co/v2JWGdc3ra
— The Australian (@australian) November 4, 2020
Labor deputy leader Richard Marles said the government was not doing enough to manage the relationship with China, after it threatened to ban Australian wine, lobster, copper, sugar, timber and coal exports through the state-controlled newspaper, the Global Times.
“The Abbott/Turnbull/Morrison government were talking a lot about how good they were at doing trade work that we need really to be hearing from them right now about how they’re going to fix it,” Mr Marles said.
“We are seven years down the path of this government and there is not a single personal relationship with substance that exists between anybody in this government and anyone in the Chinese government,” he said.
READ MORE: Find markets other than China, exporters warned
Angelica Snowden 7.30am: Vaccine trial results expected ‘later this year’
AstraZeneca is on track to deliver the results from its stage three COVID-19 vaccine trial “later this year”.
The pharmaceutical company made the announcement in its third-quarter results report after vaccine trials were temporarily paused in September after a trial participant fell unexpectedly ill.
“Results from late-stage trials are anticipated later this year,” the report read.
Our ongoing efforts to combat #COVID19 have generated enormous pride across AstraZeneca, each of us playing a crucial role in delivering on our commitments. Amidst the pandemic we’ve progressed our pipeline as we continue to always follow the science. https://t.co/AlEm9TLCC2 $AZN pic.twitter.com/XfIKBpPIbn
— AstraZeneca (@AstraZeneca) November 5, 2020
“Data readouts will be submitted to regulators and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.”
The company reported in partnership with the University of Oxford that it continued to recruit participants into the global clinical trials of the vaccine with 23,000 participants across trials in the UK, Brazil, South Africa and the US.
Chief Executive Officer Pascal Soriot said the company had “advanced their vaccine collaboration with the University of Oxford”.
“In the fight against COVID-19 … and are launching Phase III trials for our long-acting antibody combination for the prophylaxis and treatment against COVID-19 for people who need an immediate defence or whose weaker immune systems mean they are less likely to benefit from a vaccine,” Mr Soriot said.
“We continue to progress in line with our expectations and maintain our full-year guidance, which is underpinned by the strategy of sustainable growth through innovation.”
AstraZeneca is so confident in the efficacy of its COVID-19 vaccine that it will begin production in Australia from next week, Scott Morrison has revealed. https://t.co/p4WZqGSoZZ
— The Australian (@australian) November 5, 2020
READ MORE: Australian vaccine production to start next week
Jacquelin Magnay 7am: Mutation may render COVID-19 vaccine obsolete
A “very, very serious” mutated version of coronavirus has been found in mink farms in northern Denmark, prompting an urgent cull of millions of minks and an emergency lockdown of 280,000 residents of areas north of Jutland.
Scientists have warned that the new mutation could spark a new global pandemic and render current vaccine developments obsolete.
Danish prime minister Mette Fredicksen said the coronavirus mutation could impact the effectiveness of vaccines currently in development and warned “the eyes of the world are upon us” as she announced new emergency measures.
So far, 11 people in northern Jutland and one in Midtsjælland have been detected with the mutated strain of COVID-19 that appears to have been transmitted from mink to humans.
“From tonight, citizens in seven areas of north Jutland are strongly encouraged to stay in their area to prevent the spread of infection,” Ms Frederiksen said, announcing a “total closure” including a travel ban in or out of the region and immediate closure of bars and restaurants.
“We are asking you in north Jutland to do something completely extraordinary.”
She cited a government report which said the mutated virus weakened the human body’s ability to form antibodies, potentially making the current vaccines under development for COVID-19 ineffective.
We are aware of reports from #Denmark of a number of people infected with coronavirus from mink, with some genetic changes in the virus. We are in touch with the Danish authorities to find out more about this event. #COVID19
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) November 5, 2020
SSI director of infectious diseases, Professor Kåre Mølbak, warned: “The worst-case scenario is that we would start off a new pandemic in Denmark. There’s a risk that this mutated virus is so different from the others that we’d have to put new things in a vaccine and therefore it would slam us all in the whole world back to the start.’’
Read the full story here.
Angelica Snowden 6.45am: Virus forces new lockdowns throughout Europe
Governments across Europe are attempting to halt a deadly second wave of coronavirus with fresh lockdowns which won’t shatter their economies, as the UN General Assembly moves to hold a special meeting in December to co-ordinate international efforts against the virus.
FRANCE
Paris will outlaw night-time food deliveries and alcohol sales to prevent people gathering at some restaurants and grocery stores despite a new coronavirus lockdown.
Several prominent doctors have warned that the latest lockdown, which allows a range of stores to stay open as well as schools, will not be enough to slow the outbreak fast enough.
New daily cases topped 50,000 last week, far above the limit of 5,000 that President Emmanuel Macron said was his goal when he last week announced the new lockdown, which will be in effect until at least December 1.
“The situation is very serious,” health minister Olivier Veran said amid a surge in COVID-19 cases since last month which have pushed hospitals to the brink.
“The second wave is here and it is violent.”
BREAKING: France reports record 58,046 new coronavirus cases
— BNO Newsroom (@BNODesk) November 5, 2020
Mr Veran said new cases in the past 24 hours had topped 58,000, with the government trying to stop the spread of COVID-19 without obliterating business.
The overall French death toll from the virus now stands at 38,674, with 4,089 people in intensive care, out of 6,400 beds currently available nationwide.
ITALY
The Italian government has been accused of penalising some regions with its “red zones” while being too lax towards others.
At the Scala in Milan, gloom reigned after the prestigious opera house was forced to cancel its opening night next month, and non-essential shops served their last customers before a lockdown on Friday set to affect more than 16 million people.
Lombardy, which includes Milan, was designated “high-risk” this week, along with fellow northern regions Piedmont and Val d’Aosta, and Calabria in the south, under a new colour-coded scheme drawn up by Rome.
The #coronavirus cases in Italy
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) November 5, 2020
(accumulative counting) pic.twitter.com/sYTZtYC12h
Southern regions Puglia and Sicily were designated orange, or medium-risk, and will face less restrictive measures, while the rest of Italy was yellow.
All of Italy is facing a new night curfew from Friday.
“It’s a slap in the face for Lombardy,” the region’s president Attilio Fontana said.
Some on the already quiet streets of Milan, Italy’s financial and fashion capital, said a new lockdown would change little.
“My customers are very scared, very scared,” hairdresser Francesco Puccio told AFP.
“Last week I only had two clients per day, sometimes even just one, so there’s no real advantage for me in staying open. There’s nobody out and about anymore, the offices are empty,” he said.
Another 445 new coronavirus deaths were recorded on Thursday, taking the total toll to more than 40,000. There were another 34,505 new cases, taking the total to almost 825,000.
The Dec. 7 season premiere at Milan's La Scala opera house, a gala event that is one of Italy's cultural highlights, is being canceled after a rash of coronavirus infections among musicians and chorus members.https://t.co/MfZZuv2K6T
— ABC 7 Amarillo (@ABC7Amarillo) November 5, 2020
UNITED NATIONS
The UN General Assembly will hold a special session focused on international co-ordination of the coronavirus pandemic from December 3-4 in New York.
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had was frustrated about the lack of co-ordinated approach to fighting the pandemic, whether it was initially on closures, the vaccine or long term development challenges.
I am inspired every day by the dedication and talent of my @UN colleagues around the world.
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) November 4, 2020
They show the spirit of the United Nations – the spirit of service for the common good.
That spirit has fueled us for 75 years, and will guide us through the pandemic & beyond. #UN75 pic.twitter.com/D17PQIBA9e
Leaders will be able to submit five-minute prerecorded statements to be broadcast in the General Assembly Hall.
In-person appearances by world leaders are unlikely, given New York State’s required 14-day quarantine period for international visitors.
Agencies 5am: Lockdown turns England cities into ghost towns
City centres reverted to ghost towns as England’s 56 million people entered a second coronavirus lockdown overnight (AEDT), amid scepticism that the stringent curbs will work to arrest the worst death toll in Europe.
World-famous tourist destinations such as London’s Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square were deserted, and normally bustling cities including Manchester and Liverpool likewise fell quiet.
In the hours before the lockdown took effect at midnight, some revellers clashed with police outside packed pubs, including in parts of London and the northern city of Leeds.
Miles-long traffic jams also developed as motorists sought to escape the British capital.
Last weekend, Prime Minister Boris Johnson abandoned a recently introduced system of regional curbs and announced an England-wide shutdown, after dire warnings that hospitals could soon be overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases.
The Bank of England unveiled an extra £150 billion in economic support, on top of new Treasury measures to subsidise the wages of furloughed workers until March 2021.
The package gives “absolute certainty that we’ll do whatever it takes” to support jobs, Mr Johnson’s spokesman told reporters.
But while opinion polls suggest overall public backing for the revived stay-at-home policy, concerns are mounting about the impact on the economy and mental health.
A sizeable minority of 34 MPs from Johnson’s ruling Conservative party rebelled against the new measures on Wednesday during a vote in parliament. Another 18 abstained, including his predecessor Theresa May.
From today, national restrictions are in force in England.
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) November 5, 2020
Click below for all you need to know.
https://t.co/shgzOurdZC pic.twitter.com/teu59b57Vd
Mr Johnson, adamant the lockdown will end on December 2, is pinning his hopes on an ambitious new program of Covid testing to detect and isolate infected people, starting with a citywide trial launching in Liverpool on Friday.
But so far, despite government spending of £12 billion on testing programs, researchers say that most members of the public are failing to isolate or report their contacts fully. — AFP
Coronavirus press conference slide (5 November 2020)
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) November 5, 2020
🔵 COVID-19 hospital inpatients in Englandhttps://t.co/NFaq7udoGy pic.twitter.com/mFNBukRySD
READ MORE: Green light for vaccine production
Yoni Bashan 4.30am: Meal-ticket plan to get economy cooking
The NSW government would hand households $100 restaurant vouchers in a bid to boost the state’s post-coronavirus pandemic economy, under a budget plan under serious consideration by Treasurer Dominic Perrottet.
The measure — to be the centrepiece of the state budget later this month — has been costed at roughly $500m and will be targeted for use at cafes, restaurants, pubs and other hospitality venues, three officials with knowledge of the discussions told The Australian on Thursday.
The vouchers would not be redeemable for the sale of alcohol and would be provided to residents overt the age of 18.
Households with more than two people would be eligible to receive the full payment, while single person households would receive $50 under the plan, officials said.
Mr Perrottet declined to answer questions about the measure, but a spokesman said the budget would have a “very strong focus on creating jobs, boosting the economy and keeping the community safe from COVID-19”.
The measure has already been signed off by the government’s Expenditure Review Committee — chaired by Mr Perrottet — but not put to cabinet, The Australian understands.
The hospitality sector remains one of the most heavily impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic because of a dramatic decline in foreign tourists, domestic border closures and seating limitations that have caused revenues to slump and workers to be laid off.
The stimulus payment, devised by Restaurant & Catering Australia, is based on a similar scheme deployed in Britain known as “Eat Out to Help Out”.
Restaurant & Catering Australia submitted the proposal to state and federal governments in August; NSW would be the first to implement the scheme.
“NSW has the digital infrastructure and service delivery capability to deliver this program quickly and with high customer satisfaction, similarly to active and creative kids vouchers,” said chief executive Wes Lambert, referring to programs that boosted youth participation in the arts and sport.
Read the full story here.
Rosie Lewis 4.15am: 42,000 builders tipped to lose jobs
Construction of houses and apartments will not return to peak pre-pandemic levels until the middle of the decade, new analysis shows, with an estimated 42,000 jobs to be lost this year across the industry, mostly in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
The first Australian construction market report to be published in a year shows construction work will decrease by 3.2 per cent this financial year, from $232bn in 2019-20 to $225bn, as the COVID-19 pandemic causes many builders to hold or defer new projects.
The Australian Construction Industry Forum report expects residential building to reach the bottom of the current downturn by June next year and experience a “fairly mild” medium-term rebound.
Residential construction projects, which were worth $26.7bn in the last year, will not approach 2018-19 levels of more than 200,000 dwellings built annually until 2025-26.
“It is ‘stop’ and ‘go’ with more ‘stop’ for the building and construction industry this fiscal year,” said the chairman of ACIF’s construction forecasting council, Bob Richardson.
“Cash is king in a time of uncertainty and many planned building projects are on hold or deferred indefinitely. We haven’t seen much growth in new major projects to make up for the work being finished now. The pipeline of new projects in some sectors is drying up.
“On balance, the contractions outweigh the areas of growth.”
ACIF expects there will be 18,000 construction job losses in Victoria and 9000 job losses in NSW this financial year compared to 2019-20. In Queensland, there will be 7000 fewer construction jobs in 2020-21.
Read the full story here.
David Ross 4.05am: Police probe hotel security firm
One of three private security firms involved in the bungled Victorian quarantine scheme — and now contracted for similar work in Sydney — is being investigated by the NSW Police Force’s security licensing directorate and faces possible loss of its master security licence.
NSW police confirmed the move after an investigation by The Australian had found Unified Security was awarded large contracts by the NSW government despite being linked to a string of failed ventures that have gone bankrupt owing taxpayers millions of dollars.
NSW police said following extensive inquiries into undeclared changes of ownership and close associates to the business, proceedings had been commenced that may see its licence revoked.
“The NSW police and partner agencies are also taking appropriate steps to ensure this action does not impact on the delivery of operations to the hotel quarantine program,” a spokeswoman said.
The Victorian government has paid $30m to Unified Security for its work across Melbourne’s hotel quarantine scheme, the failure of which is largely blamed for the state’s second COVID-19 wave that resulted in 800 deaths and weeks of strict restrictions.
Unified was selected to provide guards despite it not being a preferred Victorian government supplier and even though past companies linked to the two men behind the business — David Millward and Luigi Trunzo — have collapsed owing millions in unpaid taxes.
Read the full story here.
‘Trauma’ guide for judges to go woke
Judges should be ‘trauma-informed’ when dealing with Indigenous defendants, and recognise the ‘clear moral and ethical guidelines’ offered to Muslim defendants, a new guidebook says.
CFMEU reprieve for ‘rip your head off’ rep
CFMEU administrator Mark Irving has decided to keep employing Joel Shackleton, despite him being charged by police with threatening to kill an owner of an Indigenous labour hire company.