Coronavirus Australia live news: Victorian health chief flags tougher restrictions as NSW Crossroads Hotel cluster grows
Further restrictions in Victoria ‘need to be considered’, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says, adding: ‘We can’t rule anything out.’
- Two deaths in Victoria: national toll now 110
- Australia’s grim new milestone: 10,251 cases
- ‘Hundreds’ will be hospitalised in next few days
- Victoria records 270 new cases
- Palaszczuk adds Sydney hot spots to list
- If we need to go further we will: Berejiklian
- Dannii Minogue exempt from hotel quarantine
Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The deaths of a Victorian man and woman have brought the national toll to 110 as the Australia reaches a grim new milestone of more than 10,000 coronavirus cases. The number of COVID-19 cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster in southwestern Sydney has been revised up to 28 as Victoria recorded its worst positive test rate ever with 270 new cases. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has declared parts of Sydney a COVID-19 hotspot — meaning tighter quarantine rules for anyone entering from those areas from midday today.
Angelica Snowden 11:15pm: Crossroads case genomically linked with Victoria
A coronavirus cluster originating at a pub in Sydney’s southwest has been genomically linked to Melbourne cases, deepening concerns the outbreak could continue to worsen in NSW.
The case of a man from the Blue Mountains who visited the Crossroads Hotel in Casula on July 3 is genomically linked with the coronavirus outbreak in Victoria, Nine Newspapers reported.
On Tuesday, the number of cases linked with the pub rose to 30.
Four NSW cases have been linked with a genomic cluster in Victoria, Nine reported.
Three other cases include a man who drove his caravan from Melbourne to southeast Sydney on July 7, a woman from Albury who drove to Melbourne, and one of her close contacts.
Other cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel outbreak are still being genomically sequenced.
Yoni Bashan 9.20pm: Andrews lockdown not for us, says NSW
The NSW government has committed itself to avoiding a “Daniel Andrews-style lockdown” of the state to deal with rising cases of COVID-19 transmission, with the Victorian government’s policy being regarded as an economic catastrophe that will cripple businesses and jeopardise ongoing JobKeeper support from the federal government.
Read the full story here
Rosie Lewis 8.55pm: Decimated industries’ plea to retain JobKeeper
Industries decimated by COVID-19 have seized on the six-week lockdown in Greater Melbourne to declare the full $1500 rate of JobKeeper must continue beyond September, amid calls from government MPs to target the program towards sectors most harmed by the pandemic.
Read the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 8.30pm: Grim warning for intensive care wards
A man in his 30s and four people in their 40s were among 26 people in intensive care in Victoria with COVID-19 on Tuesday, as the state’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton warned that he expected “a couple of hundred” people to be hospitalised with the virus in the coming days.
Read the full story here
Andrew Mo 7.50pm: Map of Melbourne in crisis
AFP 7.50pm: Britain makes masks mandatory in shops
Facemasks will be compulsory in shops and supermarkets in England from next week, the government said on Tuesday, in a policy U-turn.
The new legislation will come into force in England on July 24, after weeks of wrangling from ministers about their effectiveness.
“The Prime Minister has been clear that people should be wearing face coverings in shops and we will make this mandatory from July 24,” Boris Johnson’s office said.
“There is growing evidence that wearing a face covering in an enclosed space helps protect individuals and those around them from coronavirus.”
People who fail to cover their face risk a fine of up to £100 ($181) with enforcement to be carried out by the police.
READ MORE: How to stay resilient in the pandemic
AFP 7.15pm: California rolls back reopening
California has drastically rolled back its reopening plans as coronavirus cases surged across dozens of US states and the World Health Organisation warned that too many nations are mismanaging their pandemic response.
Read the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 6.30pm: Significant increases across Melbourne
Tuesday’s local government area data for Victoria’s COVID-19 reveals significant increases all over Melbourne, and even in the regions.
The worst increases were in the hotspot areas of Hume, in Melbourne’s outer north, the City of Melbourne and Moonee Valley, which are home to housing commission towers in the inner northwest, Wyndham in the outer southwest and Brimbank in the outer west.
But significant increases emerged much further afield, including in southern and eastern suburbs.
Of the 32 locked-down LGAs in metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire, 21 have at least 10 active cases, and 11 of those have at least 50 active cases.
There are also 32 active cases in regional areas outside the lockdown, up from just seven a week ago.
These are all over the state, from six active cases in Greater Geelong, to four in Greater Bendigo, three each in Golden Plains, Bass Coast and Baw Baw, two each in South Gippsland, Moorabool and Greater Shepparton, and one each in Latrobe, Campaspe, Macedon Ranges, Swan Hill, Warrnambool, Surf Coast and East Gippsland.
They come after a fortnight of school holidays, which was extended for a week this week for Prep to Year 10 students, before they return to home schooling next week.
Active confirmed cases of COVID-19 by LGA as of Tuesday, with net increase since Monday in brackets:
Hume (outer north): 246 (+24)
Wyndham (outer southwest): 231 (+22)
City of Melbourne: 211 (-6)
Moonee Valley (northwest): 195 (+17)
Brimbank (outer west): 153 (+26)
Moreland (north): 97 (+9)
Whittlesea (outer north): 70 (+6)
Melton (outer northwest): 58 (+7)
Maribyrnong (inner west): 52 (+9)
Banyule (northeast): 51 (+9)
Darebin (north): 51 (+9)
Yarra (inner northeast): 47 (+6)
Hobsons Bay (inner southwest): 32 (+6)
Whitehorse (east): 29 (+5)
Casey (outer southeast): 29 (+3)
Manningham (east): 24 (+7)
Boroondara (east): 23 (+5)
Monash (southeast): 21 (-1)
Stonnington (inner southeast): 20 (+2)
Port Phillip (inner south): 17 (-2)
Mitchell (central regional Vic, north of Melb): 12
Cardinia (outer southeast): 8 (+4)
Nillumbik (outer northeast): 8 (+4)
Maroondah (outer east): 8 (+1)
Glen Eira (east): 6 (+2)
*Greater Geelong (southwest regional Vic): 6 (+1)
Knox (outer east): 6
Greater Dandenong: (outer southeast): 5 (+2)
Yarra Ranges (outer east) 5 (+1)
Bayside (southeast): 5
Kingston (southeast): 5
*Greater Bendigo (central regional Vic): 4
*Golden Plains (western regional Vic): 3 (+3)
*Bass Coast (southeast regional Vic): 3
*Baw Baw (eastern regional Vic): 3
Frankston (outer southeast): 3
Mornington Peninsula (inner regional, southeast): 2 (+1)
*South Gippsland (eastern regional Vic): 2 (+1)
*Moorabool (western regional Vic): 2
*Greater Shepparton (northern regional Vic): 2 (-1)
*Latrobe (eastern regional Vic): 1 (+1)
*Campaspe (northern regional Vic): 1
*Macedon Ranges (central regional Vic): 1
*Swan Hill (northwest regional Vic): 1
*Warrnambool (southwest regional Vic): 1
*Surf Coast (southwest regional Vic): 1
*East Gippsland (east regional Vic): 1
Interstate: 3
Unknown: 38 (+5)
TOTAL: 1803 (+191)
*Denotes LGAs outside the Melbourne metropolitan/Mitchell Shire lockdown
Source: Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
Angelica Snowden 6.10pm: Crossroads outbreak rises to 30
The outbreak linked with the Crossroads Hotel has risen to 30 after another two men were diagnosed with coronavirus.
The two men aged in their 20s came forward for testing after they learned that a confirmed case from the pub in southwest Sydney visited the Planet Fitness Gym at Casula, NSW Health said.
NSW Health directed anyone who attended the gym between July 4 and Lats Friday to immediately self-isolate and come forward for testing.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said it was vital that anyone who attended the gym on those dates monitor themselves for symptoms.
“We now have three confirmed cases associated with this gym and we are identifying the close contacts of these new cases to ensure they are also isolating and getting tested,” Dr Chant said.
NSW Health said testing was available at the Crossroads Hotel carpark, Victoria Park in Picton, hospitals in Liverpool, Fairfield, Campbelltown and Bowral and the Ash Road Sporting Complex at Prestons.
READ MORE: ‘Years of reform in weeks’
Angelica Snowden 5.10pm: Police shut down first pub for COVID safety breaches
The Lake Jindabyne Hotel has become the first venue in NSW to be temporarily shut down by police following “serious concerns” about behaviour that breached COVID-19 public health orders.
The venue — about half an hour away from popular ski destinations including Perisher Blue and Thredbo — was issued with a $5000 fine earlier on Tuesday.
Police said in a statement the maximum penalty for contravening a public health order is a fine of up to $11,000 and/or six months imprisonment.
“Between Tuesday 5 May 2020 and Saturday 11 July 2020, police issued a premises in Jindabyne with three formal and several informal warnings relating to intoxication levels and public health and safety issues, including large groups of people failing to social distance,” a NSW Police statement said.
“About 7.30pm on Saturday 11 July 2020, officers from Monaro Police District attended the premises and forced closure of the venue.”
A post from the Lake Jindabyne Hotel on their Facebook page said “looking after our community is a top priority” and “we are proud to be a COVID safe venue”.
The venue was closed for 72-hours and has since “been spoken to by police regarding their COVID-19 safety plan”.
Monaro Police District Commander, Superintendent Paul Condon, said police will continue to work with businesses in relation to their COVID-19 safety plans and provide advice and guidance.
“The safety of the Snowy Mountains community is paramount, and we will continue to take action against those businesses that choose to ignore ministerial directions,” Superintendent Condon said.
“When we launched Operation Snow Safe last month, we made it clear to the community that this season will not be business as usual,” he said.
Police said investigations are continuing in relation to other offences under the Liquor Act.
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Rachel Baxendale 5.05pm: Extra 111 Victorian cases with unknown source
Victorian health authorities have added a stunning 111 COVID-19 cases to their tally of cases with an unknown source in the past 24 hours, highlighting the immense amount of community transmission with which they are grappling.
Cases are only added to this tally once the contact tracing process has been completed.
There have now been 752 coronavirus cases with no identified source since the pandemic began, including 451 in the fortnight to Tuesday.
Of Victoria’s total 4224 cases, 1803 are active, while 2395 people have recovered from the virus.
The number of cases in public housing remains the same on Tuesday as it was on Monday, with 242 cases in North Melbourne and Flemington, and 32 in Carlton.
“Investigations are continuing into if and/or how these cases are linked,” the department said.
Rachel Baxendale 4.55pm: Two deaths in Victoria: national toll now 110
A man in his 80s and a women in her 80s have become Victoria’s latest COVID-19 fatalities, bringing the state’s coronavirus death toll to 26.
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services confirmed the deaths, both of which occurred in hospital, late on Tuesday afternoon.
There have now been four COVID-19 deaths in Victoria in four days.
The national death toll is now 110.
A man in his 30s and four people in their 40s are among 26 people in intensive care in Victoria with COVID-19.
There are eight people in their 60s in Victorian ICU, representing the most common age bracket, while the oldest people receiving intensive care are a man and a woman in their 80s.
Of the 26 in ICU, 11 are women and 15 are men.
Victoria recorded 270 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to Tuesday, and its worst rate of positive tests ever.
The 270 cases come from 21,995 tests processed on Monday, meaning the positive test rate is 1.23 per cent.
This compares with a previous high of 0.9 per cent on Sunday, and 0.77 per cent on Friday, when the state recorded its worst ever daily increase of 288, from a record 37,588 tests processed
Asked whether restrictions would be tightened beyond the current Stage Three stay-at-home orders if Victoria’s COVID-19 caseload does not plateau, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said “all options are on the table”.
Currently people in 32 local government areas across Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire may only leave their homes for work or study, exercise, medical care and essential shopping.
“I think we’ve got this week to really assess the effectiveness of the restrictions that have been in place now for just on a week,” Professor Sutton said.
“But we would have an expectation that those numbers are plateauing if those restrictions are doing what they need to be doing, but we’d also have to dig down to exactly what might be the barriers to not turning the corner, if that’s the case.
“Is it people not following the restrictions and it becomes a compliance and enforcement and education and awareness issue? Or is it the fact that there’s a significant workforce, essential or non-essential workers, that we need to re-examine how to manage the risk for them.”
READ MORE: NRL players in lockdown, move to Qld considered
Rachel Baxendale 4.30pm: Further restrictions possible in Victoria: Sutton
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says further restrictions are possible in Victoria.
“Further restrictions need to be considered. We can’t rule anything out if there aren’t sufficient mechanisms to drive down transmission,” he said.
“We would do the minimum required, because we know how much of an imposition it is on businesses, on people’s lives, but if it’s required to reduce transmission, then it has to be in play.”
Professor Sutton said a COVID-19 elimination strategy should be considered if and when the state can significantly lower its case numbers.
Asked what an elimination strategy would look like in Victoria, as opposed to the current suppression strategy and increasing case numbers, Professor Sutton said: “I don’t know that we’d have to do anything differently.”
“If we can head towards very low numbers, then elimination becomes something for consideration.
“I think we’re on the wrong side of the curve now to really be talking about the nitty-gritty of elimination, but if we can drive numbers down to single figures, then we should have that further consideration about whether it’s feasible and what it would look like.”
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Angelica Snowden 3.40pm: More than 10,000 cases: milestone we didn’t want
Deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd says Australia has passed a “national milestone” with more than 10,000 COVID-19 cases being diagnosed in the country.
“Today we are reporting that 10,251 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19,” Dr Coatsworth said.
“This is in the context of the global pandemic where over 13 million people have been reported as being diagnosed with COVID-19 and with over 571,000 deaths having been reported right around the world,” he said.
284 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Australia in the past 24 hours.
Victoria is the location of 270 of the new cases.
NSW recorded 13 overnight — two of those overseas acquired and 11 locally acquired cases.
Professor Kidd said the six-week period of Victoria’s return to stage 3 lockdown should reduce transmission of COVID-19 in the state.
“The six-week period is three incubation cycles of COVID-19 and we saw the first time that we went into lockdown right across the country that this was the length of time that was required to dramatically suppress transmission of the virus occurring across the country,” he said.
“Clearly that will be monitored over time and the decision as to whether that date is extended is obviously a decision for the Victorian Government.”
He said states and territories reported the COVIDSafe app was “useful” and confirmed 6.5 million Australians have downloaded it.
“The reports that we’ve had from the State and Territories is that the app is useful, it is picking up cases that the contact tracers are also picking up,” he said.
“It is picking up the people who may have been standing beside you on public transport, the people who may have been with their back to you when you were in a restaurant or cafe, the people who may have been standing in a queue with you at the supermarket or elsewhere.”
He also said the app was useful for multicultural communities because it has been released in a number of foreign languages including Arabic, Vietnamese, Korean, Cantonese and Mandarin.
READ MORE: Youth jobs recover after virus lockdown hit
Angelica Snowden 3.25pm: Man busted with drugs trying to cross border
A man has been busted with ice in a car which “smelled of cannabis” overnight after attempting to cross into NSW from Victoria.
NSW Police said they intercepted the Albury man driving a white Hyundai Excel while enforcing the border closure of Wodonga Place, South Albury about 10.45pm on Monday night.
When they stopped the car officers noticed the passenger a — 39-year-old — appeared to be drug affected and the car smelled of marijuana.
Police searched the vehicle and allegedly found methylamphetamine hidden in a cigarette packet.
While police were searching the vehicle, the man allegedly attempted to throw a coffee cup containing methylamphetamine into a nearby bin.
The Albury man was arrested and taken to Albury Police Station. He was charged with supply prohibited drug.
The man was refused bail to appear in Albury Local Court on Tuesday, where he was granted conditional bail by the court to reappear in September.
Police said he was also given directions under the Public Health Act to self-isolate for 14 days.
READ MORE: How to stay resilient in the pandemic
Jared Lynch 3.10pm: Beef exports to China halt as workers test positive
Australia’s biggest meat packer has halted its exports to China after two of its workers at its Melbourne abattoir tested positive to coronavirus.
JBS Australia temporarily stopped sending meat to China from July 13, according to China Customs, which didn’t give further details.
It comes after China banned exports from four of JBS’s abattoirs in Queensland in May, and Australia’s ambassador to China threatened a boycott of Australian products over the Morrison government pushing for a global independent probe into COVID-19 at the World Health Assembly, warning: “Maybe the ordinary people will say, ‘Why should we drink Australian wine? Eat Australian beef?’.”
But JBS’s decision to suspend exports to China appears more related to the coronavirus pandemic than the recent trade tensions that have flared between China and Australia.
A COVID-19 infection has been reported at a JBS facility in Brooklyn, about 7km from Melbourne and nearby Victoria’s previous coronavirus epicentre, Cedar Meats.
READ the full story here.
Rachel Baxendale 2.26pm: A couple of hundred at least headed for hospital
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has warned he expects at least “a couple of hundred” people to be hospitalised with coronavirus in the state in coming days.
Professor Sutton welcomed the fact that 270 new cases on Tuesday was lower than the peak of 288 cases last Friday, but said there was no room for complacency.
“I warned that we can’t be complacent about numbers on a day-to-day basis,” Professor Sutton said.
“It’s not as high as our biggest single day, but we haven’t turned the corner yet.
“I hope to see that this week, but there are no guarantees.”
Professor Sutton said the state’s 1803 active cases represented “a really significant number of people with coronavirus”.
“It does mean that in the next fortnight, we’re going to see a number of these people who will require hospital,” he said.
“There’s often 10 to 20 per cent of all coronavirus infections who require hospitalisation, so that’s a couple of hundred individuals at least that will require hospitalisation in the next couple of weeks.
“GPs have a really critical role in looking after these current individuals with coronavirus.
“I would just say to them please be in touch and make an assessment of the clinical needs of those individuals.
“If people are deteriorating, now is the time to make an early referral or linkage with acute care or our tertiary care system, because they’ll want to see these patients early, they’ll want to be on top of clinical management early with dexamethasone or Remdesivir or whatever therapy that might be available to them, but it’s important to see these patients early if they’re deteriorating so that they can avoid the worst outcomes: intensive care or death.”
There are now 85 patients in Victorian hospitals with COVID-19 — up from 15 a fortnight ago and 35 a week ago.
More concerningly, there are now 26 patients in intensive care — up from just two a fortnight ago and nine a week ago.
Of the 26, 21 are on ventilators.
“That’s a measure of the fact that we’re going into a phase where a lot of our current cases will be deteriorating,” Professor Sutton said.
Where Victoria’s cases are
Of known Victorian clusters on Tuesday:
– 147 cases have been linked to Al-Taqwa Islamic College in Truganina, in Melbourne’s outer west, up from 142 on Monday;
– 28 cases have been linked to Menarock Aged Care in Essendon, in Melbourne’s northwest, up from 26 on Monday;
– 14 cases have been linked to Brunswick Private Hospital in Melbourne’s inner north, up from 11 on Sunday;
– 13 cases have been linked to Estia Health aged care in Ardeer, in Melbourne’s west, after the company confirmed two staff members had tested positive on Monday;
– 11 cases have been linked to Lamanna supermarket in Essendon, up from six on Monday;
– 14 cases have been linked to Somerville Meats retail services in Tottenham, in Melbourne’s west, up from 12 on Monday;
– Nine cases have been linked to Cenvic Construction Riverina Apartments in Footscray in the inner west, up from eight on Monday.
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Rachel Baxendale 1.36pm: Andrews, PM detail roles for ADF staff to help in Victoria
Scott Morrison and Daniel Andrews have released a joint statement confirming the deployment of a further 1000 Australian Defence Force personnel to Victoria to help the state battle its COVID-19 crisis.
The Prime Minister and Premier said that since Mr Andrews had accepted Mr Morrison’s offer of the troops on Sunday, the Andrews government had been working with Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp to determine their best use.
Due to the evolving nature of the situation, an open “Request for Assistance” model will be in place with scope for further ADF to be deployed, based on need.
Roles will include:
– State Control Centre planning, logistics and intelligence reporting
– Public health response focusing on contact tracing data management and analysis, information flow as well as the allocation and tracking of tasks and the onboarding staff to undertake interviews
– Support for supply and logistics to ensure physical care packages such as food and toys and other essential supplies are provided to public housing residents
– Support focusing on testing in metro, regional/rural and tourist locations
– Assisting relevant agencies with community engagement focusing on community awareness and outreach, particularly in high risk areas as well as critical infrastructure and regional workplaces
– Partnering with Ambulance Victoria paramedic response crews to expand Ambulance Victoria’s response capabilities by providing personnel to act as a second crew member that can support paramedics at scenes and drive back to hospital
– Compliance checking to support Victoria Police’s enforcement of the Chief Health Officer’s stay at home orders
– Surge capacity as required in relation to vehicle checkpoints
“It is expected this will see the current contingent of over 400 personnel remain in Victoria for at least the duration of the Stage 3 restrictions set to conclude on Wednesday 19 August,” Mr Andrews and Mr Morrison said.
“The extra 1000 ADF personnel will begin to deploy in coming days and it is expected this will continue over the next four weeks”
Mr Morrison said the federal government would continue to work with Victoria to support the state’s response to the virus.
“We will help Victoria with whatever it takes to save lives and to save livelihoods,” the Prime Minister said.
“Our highly trained ADF personnel will work alongside state authorities to surge support for Victoria to ensure they get the backing they need to help respond to the situation. This is a serious situation facing not just Victoria, but the whole country.”
Mr Andrews thanked the commonwealth and other states for their continued support and collaboration to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
“This is a public health bushfire – just as we help out other states in summer, help is coming from across the nation now, including Australian Defence Force personnel in addition to the strong support provided over recent months – and we are grateful for that,” the Premier said.
“As all Victorians work together to follow the rules they should be assured we have a massive team working around the clock to keep every Victorian family safe.”
At the request of the Victorian government, the commonwealth through the national cabinet last week also agreed to extend the cancellation of all scheduled international passenger airline services to Victoria until further notice.
Mr Andrews earlier said he had a long conversation with Mr Morrison on Monday night, following communication over the weekend.
“I’m very grateful to him for that standing offer: whatever we need, we get,” Mr Andrews said.
“That’s an important thing. The notion that if I need something, I can ask on behalf of all Victorians and the answer from the Prime Minister will be yes, that’s a great comfort and something that makes the task, not easy, but just a little bit easier to manage.”
Mr Andrews said one of the “most important” and “novel” roles ADF personnel would play, would be in the establishment of paramedic response crews with one Ambulance Victoria member and one ADF member.
“That will be a general-duties ADF person who can support the inevitable number of paramedics who will finish up having to quarantine, having to isolate, having to be furloughed because of exposure or the potential exposure,” Mr Andrews said.
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Adeshola Ore 1.32pm: Aged care home linked to hotel cluster in lock down
A NSW aged-care home is in lockdown after a COVID-19 positive man, linked to the Crossroads Hotel outbreak, visited the facility.
There are now 28 cases of COVID-19 linked to the south-western Sydney pub in Casula.
NSW health authorities said the man visited the Prestons Lodge residential aged-care facility during his infectious period. He later tested positive to the virus.
No other cases have been identified at the venue, but further investigations and contract tracing is underway.
Rachel Baxendale 1.25pm: Ambos seconded to Victorian tracing team
About 200 Ambulance Victoria staff members have been seconded to the state’s public health team, with that number expected to increase in coming days and weeks.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the initiative was aimed at boosting Victoria’s contact tracing team, and making use of a skilled workforce with clinical experience who may not be able to be out on the road, in some cases due to having to quarantine following contact with positive cases.
“Where there are off-roster paramedics who have all those skills and bring all those wonderful qualities to their work, but can’t be out on the road for various reasons, it makes sense for us to call upon them as our task gets bigger and bigger,” Mr Andrews said.
The Premier also confirmed the recruitment of staff from private companies including Medibank, Telstra, Qantas and Jetstar.
“This is about making calls, taking calls, all of that follow-up work,” he said.
“As the task grows, the team needs to grow as well.”
Mr Andrews said his government was also training staff from the big banks as a contingency, “not to use right now, but in the event for either fatigue management or if the task continues to grow, for them to be potentially deployed in some weeks’ time.”
“That’s just good forward planning,” he said
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Adeshola Ore 12.53pm: The 77 Sydney suburbs on Queensland ban
Queensland health authorities have declared 77 NSW suburbs to be coronavirus hot spots due to a growing cluster in south-western Sydney.
Non-Queensland residents who have visited or live in Liverpool and Campbelltown will be barred entry from the state. Queenslanders who have visited the hot spots must undertake a two-week hotel quarantine period, at their own expense.
The suburbs affected are:
Campbelltown suburbs
Airds, Ambarvale
Bardia, Blair Athol, Blairmont, Bow Bowing, Bradbury
Campbelltown, Claymore
Denham Court
Eagle Vale, Englorie Park, Eschol Park
Gilead, Glen Alpine, Glenfield
Holsworthy
Ingleburn
Kearns, Kentlyn
Leumeah, Long Point
Macquarie Fields, Macquarie Links, Menangle Park, Minto, Minto Heights
Raby, Rosemeadow, Ruse
St Andrews, St Helens Park
Varroville
Wedderburn and Woodbine
Liverpool suburbs
Ashcroft, Austral
Badgerys Creek, Bringelly, Busby
Carnes Hill, Cartwright, Casula, Cecil Hills, Cecil Park, Chipping Norton
Denham Court
Edmondson Park, Elizabeth Hills
Greendale, Green Valley
Hammondville, Heckenberg, Hinchinbrook, Holsworthy, Horningsea Park, Hoxton Park
Kemps Creek
Len Waters Estate, Leppington, Liverpool, Luddenham, Lurnea
Middleton Grange, Miller, Moorebank, Mount Pritchard
Pleasure Point, Prestons
Rossmore
Sadleir, Silverdale,
Voyager Point
Wallacia, Warwick Farm, Wattle Grove and West Hoxton
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TESSA Akerman 12.48pm: Evacuate aged care facility, Shorten urges
Bill Shorten has called for an aged care facility in his electorate to remove all the residents with nearly half testing positive to COVID-19, saying he would want a family member removed regardless of whether they tested positive or negative.
“I’m shocked and really horrified to discover that between 26 and 31 cases of COVID-19 have been detected … at this facility,” he said outside Menarock LIFE in Essendon.
“I think the facility needs to evacuate everyone. There’s been 13 or 14 residents who have tested positive out of 35 residents.”
Mr Shorten said the virus had a mortality rate of 30 to 50 per cent among highly vulnerable populations like those in the facility.
“I understand that it’s difficult to self-isolate in this facility, that people share bathrooms,” he said.
“I understand that many staff have tested positive. I think this facility just needs to evacuate because we saw what happened at Newmarch in Sydney and I’m worried that we could see more people die here, perhaps because we haven’t acted when we can now.”
Mr Shorten called out people on social media who comment that old people “just die” or “die anyway”.
“I say grow up and get your head out of your bottom,” he said.
“This is not right, I do not want to see people die when we’ve got the opportunity to prevent them.
He said all options were on the table regarding the facility and the priority was to just make the residents safe.
“The nurses, the medical staff, the government authorities are doing everything that they can. I just think in this case – let’s learn the lessons of northern Italy, let’s learn the lessons of New York, let’s learn the lessons of Newmarch,” he said.
“Let’s just evacuate the facility, the numbers are not that big and we can make sure everyone is safe.
“If we can stop people dying, that’s our obligation.
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Wally Mason 12.41pm: NRL weighs relocating entire comp to Queensland
The NRL is exploring the option of relocating the entire competition to Queensland as fears of a COVID-19 outbreak in NSW heighten.
Clubs have been told of an emergency phone hook-up at 3pm on Tuesday with the NRL to discuss the developing situation.
NRL powerbrokers have spent the past 48 hours investigating the potential of relocating each club in a bid to keep the season alive.
As it stands, the NRL remain confident Sydney-based clubs will be allowed to enter Queensland despite the heightened travel restrictions put in place on Tuesday.
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PATRICK COMMINS 12.31pm: Young unemployed regaining lost jobs
Close to eight in 10 of the jobs lost by young Australians in the depths of the COVID-19 crisis had been regained by late June, as youth unemployment and the industries which typically employ them traced a sharp, if incomplete, recovery.
Workers aged under 20 bore the brunt of the coronavirus crisis, with close to a quarter of payroll jobs held by young Australians disappearing over the month to mid-April.
But by the end of June this deficit had reduced to around 5 per cent, the latest payroll jobs and wages data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed.
Wages paid to this group are now up by 12 per cent as eligible casual and part-time employees enjoyed a boost to income from the government’s massive JobKeeper wage subsidy program.
Big employers of under-20s – businesses in the accommodation and food services and retail trade sectors – also saw further increases in payroll jobs through the month of June, of 8.9 per cent and 1.6 per cent.
Nonetheless, the employment picture in the hospitality industry remains bleak: there are still 20 per cent fewer jobs than before the virus took hold.
And despite the continued recovery in jobs for young people, the ABS report showed the overall rebound from the lows of mid-April stalled over the week to June 27.
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Adrian McMurray 12.16pm: SA delays border reopening to NSW, ACT
Plans to reopen the South Australian border with NSW and the ACT have been shelved, amid a growing COVID-19 cluster in the eastern state.
While South Australia has recorded no new cases in the fortnight to Monday, SA Premier Steven Marshall told reporters the surge in cases in NSW — with 28 now linked to the Crossroads Hotel outbreak — meant Monday’s planned reopening would now be pushed back.
“We don’t want to go backwards … we don’t want to have to put additional restrictions in place,” Mr Marshall said.
#BREAKING July 20 border reopening date called off for NSW and ACT @abcadelaide pic.twitter.com/DpHCofGsMV
— Isabel Dayman (@IsabelDayman) July 14, 2020
The decision followed a meeting of the state’s Transition Committee, which will meet again on Friday to consider a revised border reopening.
Victorians are not permitted to enter SA, but NSW and ACT residents can still visit SA provided they undergo a 14-day self isolation period.
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Yoni Bashan 11.41am: Crossroads cluster grows as more cases confirmed
The number of COVID-19 cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster in southwestern Sydney has been revised up to 28 following additional community transmissions recorded overnight.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said 13 new cases had emerged in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday night, with three of these cases linked to overseas travellers.
The remaining individuals have all been linked to the Crossroads Hotel – three of the cases involved people who physically attended the venue and the remaining seven are close contacts.
“This situation is evolving,” Dr Chant told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday, adding that one of these cases had recently worked at a Casula Kmart. Another recent case visited the Prestons lodge residential aged care facility, which has since been placed into lockdown.
Earlier NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said pubs and hotels that have a capacity of 250 people or more will now be patrolled by a full-time marshal to ensure COVID safe guidelines are adhered to.
As revealed by The Australian on Monday, the government has moved to implement new measures for licensed venues following reports of lax compliance. The measures will include restrictions on group bookings, limiting them from 20 people down to 10 people, and the introduction of COVID-safe marshals to patrol at-risk venues.
Ms Berejiklian said venues that have a capacity of fewer than 250 people will be patrolled by a COVID-safe marshal “at peak times”. The hotels industry would also mandate more stringent measures around implementing COVID-safe guidelines.
“We know from the health advice … that indoor activity where people aren’t seated is a huge health risk because it increases the chance of transmission,” Ms Berejiklian said.
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Rachel Baxendale 11.05am: Victoria records 270 new cases
Victoria has recorded 270 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to Tuesday, and its worst rate of positive tests ever.
The 270 cases come from 21,995 tests processed on Monday, meaning the positive test rate is 1.23 per cent.
This compares with a previous high of 0.9 per cent on Sunday, and 0.77 per cent on Friday, when the state recorded its worst ever daily increase of 288, from a record 37,588 tests processed.
Victoria now has 1803 active cases – representing an increase of 1422 in the past fortnight.
There have now been 4224 cases in the state since the pandemic began.
A total of 1,107,352 have now been conducted.
Of Victoria’s 270 new cases on Monday, 28 have so far been linked to known outbreaks, with the remaining 242 under investigation.
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David Swan 10.58am: COVIDSafe app an expensive dud: Shorten
Labor’s government services spokesman Bill Shorten has slammed the government’s COVIDSafe app, after it was revealed Victoria and New South Wales have had no contacts identified through the app, despite it being branded by Prime Minister Scott Morrison as the nation’s ticket to freedom.
“Labor gave support in principle if the app could help make us safer, but I have to say it looks like an expensive dud, another IT bungle,” Mr Shorten told Sky News last night.
READ the full story here
Adeshola Ore 10.42am: Kmart store closed after worker tests positive
A Kmart store in Casula, two and a half kilometres away from the Crossroads Hotel, has been closed for deep cleaning after a staff tested positive to coronavirus.
The COVID-19 outbreak at the Crossroads Hotel has now been linked to 21 confirmed cases of the virus.
In a Facebook post, Casula Mall, where the Kmart store is located, said the employee tested positive on Monday. It added that the employee and other store staff were now in isolation.
“Throughout the centre our focus remains on regular and diligent cleaning, we also undertook a further deep clean of the general mall which included all key areas such as hard surfaces, food courts and bathrooms,” the post read.
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Agencies 10.38am: NFL’s Redskins cave in on name change
The Washington Redskins confirmed Monday the team is changing its name following pressure from sponsors over a word widely criticised as a racist slur against Native Americans. — AFP
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Robyn Ironside 10.34am: Qantas sweetens deals for frequent flyers
Qantas has announced new measures to get people back onto aeroplanes in the wake of the “setback” in Victoria.
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Jacquelin Magnay 10.28am: Gin palace: Queen’s plan to recoup losses
The Queen is known to be a quiet fan of a gin cocktail, and now her own garden at Buckingham Palace is providing essential ingredients for a quiet lunchtime tipple, and helping overcome a COVID-19 hole in the royal finances.
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Nick Evans 10.17am: Price slump hits Australian coal miners
Prices received by major Australian coal producers slumped in the June quarter as the coronavirus crisis hit home.
Whitehaven Coal says the prices it received for its Australian coal sales held up well against plunging price benchmarks, with the company winning a premium for its thermal coal in the June period.
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Anne Barrowclough 10.09am: NZ opposition leader in shock resignation
New Zealand’s opposition leader has resigned suddenly, throwing the party into disarray just 10 weeks out from a general election.
Todd Muller, the leader of the National Party, stood down early on Tuesday morning, after only two months in the job.
Mr Muller, who took over as National leader from Simon Bridges in May, said in a statement:
“It has become clear to me that I am not the best person to be leader of the Opposition and leader of the New Zealand National Party at this critical time for New Zealand.
READ the full story here
Glenda Korporaal 9.58am: ‘Hypocrisy’: China challenges HK stance
A Chinese government spokeswoman has hit out at Australia’s ‘blatant double standards’ after comments by Alan Tudge.
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Charlie Peel 9.29am: Queensland declares NSW postcodes hot spots
Less than a week after the border reopened, residents from parts of Sydney will be prevented from entering into Queensland without a two-week quarantine period.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced on Monday morning that the local government areas of Liverpool and Campbelltown would be declared “COVID-19 hot spots” from midday.
The declaration would effectively prevent people living in those areas, or who have recently travelled through them, from entering into Queensland.
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BREAKING: From midday, New South Wales local government areas of Liverpool and Campbelltown will be declared COVID-19 hotspots. @StevenJMiles #COVID19Aus pic.twitter.com/uW9EiVWy4R
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) July 13, 2020
The state, which has recorded no new cases of the virus in the past 24 hours, has seen an influx of visitors from NSW since the border reopened on Friday.
Many of the travellers are families seeking the warmth of Queensland during the winter school holidays.
The border remains closed to Victorian residents and fines apply for anyone found to have falsified border passes and not declaring recent travel through Victoria.
Queensland police fined six Victorian travellers on the weekend after they tried to enter with false border declarations on the Gold Coast.
The group, travelling in a minivan, was refused entry on the highway on Saturday night.
The following day, police intercepted the van in Coolangatta.
The group, including two 19-year-old women and four men aged 18, 19, 23 and 28 years old, were fined $4,003 for failing to comply with the COVID-19 Border Direction.
They were again refused entry.
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Samantha Bailey 9.16am: Record number of mortgage holders refinance
A record number of mortgage holders refinanced in May, as Australians overhaul their household outgoings amid the coronavirus crisis.
According to the latest ABS data, the number of mortgage holders who refinanced jumped 30 per cent from April to May.
Of those who refinanced, 64 per cent switched lenders, which was a record proportion, according to analysis by comparison website Finder.
The total value of these refinanced home loans exceeded $15.1 billion in May, up 26 per cent from the previous high of $12 billion in April.
“As budgets are stretched, a record number of people are deciding to get a better deal on their largest investment,” said Finder insights manager Graham Cooke.
“While the value of houses may well drop in the next year, the mortgages on them will not.
“Historically low interest rates and a lack of investor spending are a double whammy to banks, but a boon for mortgage holders.”
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Cameron Stewart 8.47am: South China Sea claims ‘unlawful’
The Trump Administration has stepped up its confrontation with China by formally declaring most of its disputed territorial claims in the region to be illegal.
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Erin Lyons 8.35am: Fears truck driver is Crossroads patient zero
There are fears a truck driver could be “patient zero” in the COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney’s southwest.
Twenty-one cases of the disease have been linked to the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, the majority of whom attended the popular pub on July 3 or are close contacts of those who did.
NSW chief medical officer Kerry Chant confirmed on Monday that authorities were considering the possibility a truck driver could be the source of the Crossroads Hotel outbreak.
“This is called the Crossroads Hotel for a reason. It’s on a popular route,” she told reporters.
She said the hotel was on a main transit route and health authorities were working with other states and territories to ensure they were aware of the cluster. Freight companies have been informed.
“Investigations are ongoing as to the source. It’s very important we investigate this thoroughly before disclosing what we think is the origin,” Dr Chant said.
NSW Health is awaiting test results, which should be available in the coming few days, that will help authorities determine the source.
“(It’s) a pivotal part of the investigation as to whether these cases can be linked to any travellers from Melbourne because that gives us comfort we are not missing another avenue of transmission,” Dr Chant said.
“We are looking very hard to establish the source, the initial index case, but it’s premature to speculate. We need specialised genetic testing of the virus strains.”
Deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth said the pub was frequented by truck drivers and he warned them to remain vigilant and not to stop if they have symptoms. If they did develop symptoms, they should get tested.
He also said people who had left NSW but went to the hotel between July 3 and 10 should also get tested.
Dr Coatsworth said this included truck drivers “because that is a particular venue that is also frequented by people who do transnational freight driving”.
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Adeshola Ore 8.18am: Mingling ‘understandable but not acceptable’
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has backed NSW’s plans to tighten restrictions on pubs.
The NSW state government will today announce a reduction on group booking numbers at pubs, from 20 to 10 people.
“In some of the pubs, clearly the evidence is that instead of maintaining distance, some people have been huddling together. It’s understandable, but it’s still not something that’s acceptable at this point,” Mr Hunt told 2GB radio on Tuesday morning.
It follows a coronavirus outbreak at Crossroads Hotel in Casula, which on Monday grew to 21 cases.
Mr Hunt said the situation at the hotel was a “containable outbreak.”
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Adeshola Ore 8.05am: If we need to go further we will: Berejiklian
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned further measures may be enacted on venues to curtail the state’s outbreaks. Ms Berejiklian has confirmed pubs and hotels will be restricted to 300 patrons regardless of the venue size.
The Australian has reported that the NSW cabinet on Monday night decided to cut from 20 to 10 the number of patrons who could book in a group at pubs. The Premier is expected to make an official announcement on the measures later today.
“If we need to go further we will,” Ms Berejiklian told 2GB radio on Tuesday morning.
“We cannot have people mingling, we cannot have people letting their guard down and unfortunately that’s what’s happening all too frequently for our liking and the evidence shows.”
Ms Berejiklian said restrictions would stay in place for at least three to four weeks.
She said some of the new measures were put forward by the Australian Hotels Association.
“The industry has recognised that we need to do everything we can to reduce those high-risk activities,” she told Channel 7.
“What they told us is when you have more than 10 in a group booking in a pub or hotel setting people are mingling and they should not be mingling.”
Victoria recorded 177 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, while NSW reported another rise in community transmissions from a cluster forming out of the Crossroads Hotel, including a case at The Star casino near the CBD.
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Adeshola Ore 7.27am: Dannii Minogue exempt from hotel quarantine
Australian pop star Dannii Minogue’s has been granted an exemption from mandatory 14-day hotel quarantine after returning from the United States, Channel 7 reports.
The Queensland government has granted her and her 10-year-old son, Ethan an exemption on medical grounds. The pair will instead spend two-weeks in self-isolation at a Gold Coast private residence.
From Monday, the number of international arrivals into Australia was halved to ease the strain on the country’s hotel quarantine system.
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Adeshola Ore 7.20am: Crossroads pub ‘didn’t stuff up’
The Crossroads Hotel in Casula is now linked to 21 cases of COVID-19. Patrons who visited the hotel last week say they were not asked to sign in and provide contact details. But the AHA’s director John Green said the pub “didn’t stuff up at all” and had contact-tracing in place.
“What I’m told at Crossroads is a large number of people there were actually based on online bookings so they were complying with the health order in getting that” he told 2GB radio on Tuesday morning.
“I know they have already gone back to recording the details of every patron.”
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Adeshola Ore 6.50am: ‘Public enemy No 1’: WHO’s blunt warning
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the coronavirus pandemic will worsen if countries do not adhere to strict health precautions.
“Let me be blunt, too many countries are headed in the wrong direction, the virus remains public enemy number one,” WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual briefing from the UN agency’s headquarters in Geneva.
“If basics are not followed, the only way this pandemic is going to go – it is going to get worse and worse and worse.”
As cases surge in California, the state has announced a rollback of the state’s reopening plans. Governor Gavin Newsom ordered a statewide closure of indoor restaurants, wineries, cinemas, zoos and bars. In 30 of the worst-hit counties, businesses will also be required to close indoor fitness centres, hair salons and malls. California is currently recording about 8000 new cases of COVID-19 each day.
The state’s largest school districts, Los Angeles and San Diego, have announced online learning will resume when schools return in the coming weeks. US President Donald Trump, who is seeking re-election in November, has demanded schools open for face-to-face learning across the country.
India, the country with the third highest number of infections, has been contending with an average of 23,000 new infections each day since the beginning of July.
Globally, there are more than 12.9 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 570,000 deaths.
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Jamie Walker 6.15am: ‘Millions of vaccine doses’ coming
Drug-maker CSL will produce millions of doses of Australia’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine as it is being tested this year to speed up an anticipated rollout.
The company is in discussions to produce “hundreds of millions” doses of the drug in 2021, assuming clinical trials are successful and it is approved by Australian and international regulators.
The decision by the country’s most valuable listed company to push the button on manufacturing came as the vaccine was given to people for the first time in phase-I clinical testing. The University of Queensland scientists behind it said on Monday the immuniser could be ready for emergency use in the new year.
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Rebecca Urban 6.00am: Cluster college operates like club
The Islamic college at the centre of one of Victoria’s largest coronavirus clusters operates under an informal governance structure typically employed by small sporting clubs and preschools, and is run by a veteran educator who serves as both principal and chairman of the board.
Omar Hallak founded Al-Taqwa College in 1986 as a primary school with just 25 students and it has grown to be one of the largest schools in Melbourne’s west, educating more than 2100 students from prep to Year 12.
The independent school, which receives in excess of $25m a year in state and federal funding, is closed in the wake of an outbreak of COVID-19, which has infected 142 staff, students and community contacts.
With Rachel Baxendale
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Helen Trinca 5.45am: ‘We may have to live with pandemic forever’
One of the world’s leading scientists, Paul Davies, says we may have to live forever with COVID-19, putting out “spot fires” when they occur.
Speaking in Sydney, where he has been stranded by the pandemic, the US-based academic, author and broadcaster, said the two key exit strategies from the crisis – elimination plus a vaccine; and herd immunity – were not certain of success.
“The best compromise, which I think we will end up with, is we take measures but it doesn’t go away totally, and you put out spot fires when they occur,” Professor Davies said. “We may have to live with that forever.”
READ the full story here.
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