Coronavirus Australia live news: Trade Minister hits back at China’s ‘joke’ jibe
Simon Birmingham condemns China’s ‘cheap politics’ after its embassy derided Australia’s success in securing an inquiry as ‘a joke’.
- China’s premise for barley tariffs ‘false’
- NFF chief slams China’s ‘devastating’ hit
- Trump takes unproven virus drug
- Success in vaccine human trials
- Student faces criminal prosecution
Welcome to live coverage of Australia’s continuing coronavirus crisis. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has slammed China’s embassy after it derided Australia’s success in securing a COVID-19 inquiry. US President Donald Trump has given the WHO an ultimatum on funding and US membership. Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has slammed China’s excuses for imposing tariffs on barley farmers.
Agencies 10.15pm WHO states agree to independent probe
World Health Organisation member states have agreed to an independent probe into the UN agency’s COVID-19 response as US criticism mounted over its handling of the pandemic.
Countries taking part in the WHO’s annual assembly, held virtually for the first time, adopted a resolution by consensus calling for an “impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation” of the international response to the crisis, including a probe of WHO actions and “their timelines pertaining to the COVID-19 pandemic”.
READ MORE: Beautiful one day, broken the next
Angelica Snowden 7.35pm NSW travel ban to be lifted
NSW residents will be able to holiday anywhere within the state from June 1.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro is expected to announce the shift with Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Wednesday morning.
The news comes after calls from Ms Berejiklian for states including Western Australia and Queensland to reopen borders and allow national travel to boost the economy.
Only two coronavirus cases were confirmed in NSW on Tuesday after 5300 tests.
READ MORE: Palaszczuk sorry but firm on border bans
Agencies 7.20pm China: Trump ‘shirking responsibility’ to WHO
Beijing has accused Donald Trump of shirking responsibility to the World Health Organisation, after the US President threatened to pull out of the UN health body.
Mr Trump, who said he would permanently freeze funding to the WHO if it could not prove independence from Beijing, aims to “smear China” and “shirk responsibility” over its international obligations to the organisation, foreign ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday.
Mr Trump has threatened to pull the US out of the WHO, accusing it of botching the global coronavirus response and of being a “puppet of China”.
He has been locked in a bitter spat with Beijing, alleging it covered up the initial outbreak in central China late last year before the disease unleashed death and economic devastation across the planet.
More than 317,000 people have died of COVID-19 out of nearly 4.8 million infections worldwide, and governments are scrambling to contain the virus while seeking ways to resuscitate their hammered economies.
With more fatalities and cases in theUS than any other country by far, Mr Trump has blamed the WHO for not doing enough to combat its initial spread.
READ MORE: We’re washing less, but is it healthy?
Paul Garvey 5.50pm WA border closed ‘for months to come’: Premier
Western Australia’s border will remain closed for “months to come”, Premier Mark McGowan says.
“It might inconvenience the NSW Premier and some people from the eastern states but, frankly, I don’t give a damn,” he said on Tuesday.
Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham echoed the calls of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian for an immediate reopening of interstate borders, but Mr McGowan noted that Mr Birmingham’s own home state of South Australia backed keeping borders closed.
“The South Australian government, I note, has a similar approach to the West Australian government, as does the Northern Territory, and you might note that the Northern Territory and South Australia have very low rates of infection just like Western Australia,” he said.
“Our borders with the east are an important part of our defence mechanism against the introduction of the virus into our state and we will keep them up for as long as is necessary.”
Mr McGowan said there would be no rush to ease those border restrictions, urging West Australians to holiday in their home state.
“I expect the borders with the east will stay up for months to come. I know the NSW Premier is unhappy, I know Mr Birmingham is unhappy, but, frankly, bad luck, we are doing the right thing by the people of WA.”
READ MORE: Housing industry faces 500,000 job losses
Richard Ferguson 4.55pm: Birmingham hits back as China row deepens
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has slammed China’s Embassy in Australia for calling the nation’s success in securing a global investigation “nothing but a joke”, saying Australia will not engage in cheap politicking with the communist nation.
A spokesman for Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jengye said earlier in the day there would be no “independent international review” as Australia wanted because the investigation will be led by the World Health Organization.
Senator Birmingham later said he would not stoop to political attacks over COVID-19, pointing out it has led to the loss of Chinese lives and jobs.
“Australia is not going to engage in cheap politicking over an issue as important as COVID-19,” he told Sky News.
“COVID-19 has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of people around the world, including Chinese lives. It’s caused economic devastation with the loss of millions of jobs including Chinese jobs
“And we think these issues ought to be considered seriously. Our engagement through the World Health Assembly has been to seriously engage with other parties around the globe.
“I would have thought the appropriate response from China’s Ambassador in Australia would have been to welcome those outcomes.”
READ MORE: No place for China’s bullying
Agencies 4.30pm: Virus crisis hits private health cover
The coronavirus has taken a massive chunk out of Australia’s private health insurance industry, AAP reports.
But an expected plummeting of insurance claims never eventuated, the peak industry group says.
New figures show the virus’ impact on the stock market saw the industry lose nearly $300 million in income in the March quarter.
The Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority says this resulted in negative profits.
In the year ending March 2020, insurers profits were down nearly 30 per cent. Health funds have promised to pass on savings resulting from the cancellation of elective surgeries under coronavirus restrictions.
Private Healthcare Australia chief executive Rachel David says funds wouldn’t know how much money they had saved until June.
Total claims were down 2.42 per cent in the March quarter compared with the December quarter.
A scheduled rise in premiums in April was frozen for six months to help members cope with the economic fallout of the coronavirus.
READ MORE: 100 COVID-19 victims
Patrick Commins 4pm: Subsidies pump up youth wages
Workers under 20 that have managed to keep their jobs have seen wages jump an impressive 17% since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold in mid-March. Read more here
Rachel Baxendale 3.35pm: Vic treasurer blames Australia for barley tariffs
Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas says China’s imposition of an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley is a consequence “of the way that the federal government have conducted themselves”. Read more here
Will Swanton 3.25pm: A lockdown-inspired sporting debate
The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in more TV watching than ever, and one of the standout shows has been The Last Dance, featuring NBA great Michael Jordan. In turn, that documentary series has sparked debate about the greatest athlete of all time. Read more and cast your vote here
Lachlan Moffet Gray 3pm: Newmarch House’s statement about latest death
Anglicare Sydney has issued a statement about the latest death at its aged
“This morning, a resident of Newmarch House who had tested positive for COVID-19 passed away. The family and all relevant authorities have been contacted.
“Our deepest sympathies go to the resident’s family as they grieve the loss of their loved one.
“We are devastated at the passing of this well-loved member of the Newmarch House community.
“We are continuing to provide the best level of care possible to our residents and we appreciate the ongoing support of the Commonwealth and NSW Governments.
“There have been no new positive diagnoses of COVID-19 of residents at Newmarch House since 30 April 2020.”
READ MORE: Electric vehicle sales sink
Rachel Baxendale 2.15pm: A closer look at Victoria’s latest cases
Of Victoria’s seven new cases on Tuesday, one was linked to the Lynden Aged Care facility in Camberwell, one to the Hammond Care facility in Caulfield, one to a returned overseas traveller in hotel quarantine, and one to the outbreak at Melbourne abattoir Cedar Meats.
There have now been 100 cases linked to the Cedar Meats cluster, including 64 staff and 36 close contacts.
Three of Victoria’s seven new cases on Tuesday remain under investigation. There were no further cases linked to the McDonald’s Fawkner outbreak, with the total number of cases in that cluster remaining at 12.
READ MORE: ‘Renewables key to emissions target’
Lachlan Moffet Gray 2pm: Poll reveals virus conspiracy theories
One in eight Australians believe Microsoft founder Bill Gates is somehow responsible for the coronavirus and the 5G wireless network is to blame for spreading the disease, according to a Essential poll of 1073 Australians
The same number of people believe the pandemic is being used to force people into getting vaccinations.
One in five people believe the media and government are exaggerating the death toll to scare the population.
Two in five think the virus was engineered and released from a lab in the Chinese city of Wuhan, which the prime minister has repeatedly said there is no evidence to support.
The same proportion of people rejected the theory, while a quarter are unsure.
An overwhelming majority of respondents (77 per cent) said the outbreak in China was much worse than reported in official statistics from Beijing.
With AAP.
READ MORE: Australia moves to torpedo 5G myth
Lachlan Moffet Gray 1.45pm: ACT no-case coronavirus count reaches 16
The ACT remains coronavirus free, recording no coronavirus cases for its 16th consecutive day. The number of confirmed cases in the Territory remains at 107, 104 of which have recovered and three of which have died.
The ACT and South Australia are the only coronavirus-free jurisdictions on mainland Australia.
READ MORE: The race for a vaccine
Rachel Baxendale 1.30pm: Victoria nursing homes in lockdown
Four Melbourne nursing homes are in lockdown, as seven new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Victoria in the past 24 hours.
It was previously reported that there were six new cases, with the Department of Health and Human Services subsequently clarifying that this was due to the duplication of a previously reported case, which meant the total number of cases recorded in Victoria has risen by six on Tuesday, to 1573.
The detection of the duplication follows two duplicate reports identified on Monday.
Tuesday’s seven new cases include a single case of coronavirus in a resident of the Lynden Aged Care facility in Camberwell.
“The resident was diagnosed at a metropolitan hospital, where they are being treated,” DHHS said. “Residents and families are all being informed and we’re working closely with the facility to ensure appropriate public health actions have been taken, including isolation, quarantine, cleaning and contact tracing.
“Close contacts have been ordered into home quarantine and all residents and staff at the home will be tested.”
The department said a single case of COVID-19 had also been identified in a resident of the Hammond Care facility in Caulfield.
“A subsequent test has since come back negative,” DHHS said. “As per the policy of the public health team, even when a subsequent test result comes back negative the case is still managed as though it is a positive. Both aged care facilities will remain closed to visitors for 14 days as a precaution.”
Today’s cases in aged care facilities follow an inconclusive test in a resident at the Villa Maria Aged Care facility in Bundoora on Monday, which was followed by a negative test.
That facility remains in lockdown with the inconclusive test being treated as a positive, despite the subsequent negative result.
A fourth aged care facility, MiCare Overbeek Lodge in Kilsyth, has also gone into lockdown on Tuesday, awaiting test results on a resident who is showing symptoms of coronavirus.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 1.15pm: Trump warns WHO to lift its game
US President Donald Trump has given the World Health Organisation 30 days to commit to “major substantive improvements” in its structure and organisation or it will permanently freeze all funding to the body and “reconsider” the US’s membership in the organisation.
In an open letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Mr Trump accused the organisation of repeated failings in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying unless it can “demonstrate independence from China,” the President “cannot allow American taxpayer dollars to continue to finance an organisation that, in its present state, is so clearly not serving America’s interests.”
This is the letter sent to Dr. Tedros of the World Health Organization. It is self-explanatory! pic.twitter.com/pF2kzPUpDv
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 19, 2020
In the last two-year accounting period, the US has provided 15 per cent, or US$893 million, of the organisation’s budget.
Some of the grievances outlined by Mr Trump in the letter include the WHO allegedly ignoring early warnings concerning the virus - including from Taiwan; making misleading claims of the infectiousness of the virus; protesting against the US placing a ban on arrivals from China for political reasons; delaying the declaration of the pandemic; and failing to support an independent inquiry into the origins of coronavirus until recently.
“It is clear the repeated missteps by you and your organisation in responding to the pandemic have been extremely costly to the world,” Mr Trump said.
READ MORE: Stardust Jacinda dines out on virus ratings
Lachlan Moffet Gray 12.45pm: Australia records 100th coronavirus death
A 93-year-old-woman has become Australia’s 100th coronavirus death after passing away from coronavirus this morning.
Alice Bacon was a resident at Anglicare’s Newmarch House Aged Care Centre, making her the 17th resident to die of coronavirus at the facility and the 19th to die since the outbreak of coronavirus in the centre on March 11.
Her daughter, Mary Watson, told Nine that her mother was positive when she was last tested on Friday but a post-mortem examination would confirm whether she had it at the time of her death.
The infection has spread to 34 staff and 37 residents, including those who have died.
READ MORE: Newmarch House nightmare exposes fatal flaws
Jared Lynch 12.35pm: Growers scramble before barley piles up
Australian barley growers are bracing for a financial hit of at least $500m a year as they scramble to find alternative international markets for their grain after their biggest buyer China imposed a punitive 80 per cent tariff.
Barley growers were expecting a bumper 12 million tonne crop this year following significant rainfall which broke three years of drought.
But now 60 to 70 per cent of that barley is looking for another market, after the People’s Republic of China imposed the high tariffs, which will cruel its trade with Australian barley growers.
READ MORE: Growers scramble before barley piles up
Richard Ferguson 12.28pm: Chinese embassy blasts inquiry success ‘a joke’
China’s Embassy in Australia has labelled the Morrison Government’s claims of success in securing a global review into coronavirus “nothing but a joke”.
The ABC reports that a Chinese Embassy spokesman said there would be no “independent international review” as Australia wanted because the investigation will be led by the World Health Organization.
“The draft resolution on COVID-19 to be adopted by the World Health Assembly is totally different from Australia’s proposal of an independent international review,” the spokesman told ABC News.
“A close look to the draft itself can easily come to such a conclusion. All those who know the consultation process which led to the resolution understand this.
“To claim the WHA’s resolution is a vindication of Australia’s call is nothing but a joke.”
Foreign Minister Marise Payne on Monday said mechanisms within the WHO could undertake an independent review, despite earlier calling for another body to lead the investigations.
“It (WHO leading a COVID-19 review) strikes me as a bit poacher and gamekeeper,” she told the ABC last month.
READ MORE: Xi backs down on coronavirus inquiry
Olivia Caisley 12.10pm: Albanese questions trade deal impact to farmers
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has questioned the details of the China-US trade deal - struck after an extended standoff between the two superpowers - declaring Canberra should pursue whether the agreement has put Australian farmers at a disadvantage.
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham on Tuesday said he would aggressively pursue alternative markets for barley farmers now locked out of China by 80 per cent tariffs amid Scott Morrison’s calls for an investigation into the origins of the coronavirus.
“(We) should be pursuing with the US what the circumstances are behind the agreement between China and the US for China’s access to US agriculture and whether that has disadvantaged Australia,” Mr Albanese said on Tuesday. “And we should be pursuing that on behalf of our farmers.”
The Morrison government is prepared to go to the World Trade Organisation over the barley dispute, but the process would likely take years.
The tariff is expected to all but end the shipment of Australian malting barley to China with farmers expected to instead sell the product as lower-value feed for cattle and plant other crops instead.
Mr Albanese lashed China’s decision as “extraordinary” and said Labor supported taking action at the WTO to hold China to account.
He said there was nothing remarkable about the Morrison government suggesting there should be an inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, declaring “of course” there should be an investigation.
READ MORE: Right to stand up to bullying Beijing
Matthew Denholm 11.55am: Gutwein looks to July border announcement
Tasmania Premier Peter Gutwein hopes to announce in July when he will lift the state’s border restrictions.
Mr Gutwein on Tuesday said naming a date for easing quarantine restrictions on arrivals now “just would not make commonsense”.
“It is far too early to set a date (for border restrictions to ease) – we need to work through this sensibly and responsibly,” he said.
“Because what we don’t want to have is the devastating consequences that would occur if we had a second wave.
“If we can continue to follow the rules … I would expect that in July we would be able to set a date for when our borders will come down, but that will depend on public health advice at the time.”
The state government also announced a rent relief scheme to provide up to $2000 to people struggling to pay their rents, with an expected cost of $1.5 million.
Tasmania recorded no new cases of COVID-19 overnight, however it is unclear if two deaths in the past few days are linked to virus.
Public Health Director Mark Veitch said the two people aged in their 60s had tested positive to the virus in March but also had other underlying life-threatening conditions.
Both deaths occurred at the North West Regional Hospital, where a COVID-19 outbreak linked to 12 deaths in recent months is thought to have started.
Dr Veitch said the Coroner would determine the two people’s cause of death and they had not yet been added to the state’s total of 13 coronavirus fatalities.
The state had seen 226 confirmed cases, with 15 still active.
READ MORE: Selective reopening of borders
Rachel Baxendale 11.51am: Victoria records six new cases overnight
Victoria has confirmed six new cases of COVID-19 overnight, according to Health Minister Jenny Mikakos.
The new cases bring the state’s total to 1573, of whom 1454 have recovered.
There have been no deaths in recent days, with the state’s death toll steady at 18.
The Department of Health and Human Services has identified 165 cases it has been unable to link to overseas travel or other known cases, indicating community transmission.
There are 11 people in Victorian hospitals with COVID-19, including five in intensive care.
More than 358,000 tests have been processed in Victoria.
There are 1573 confirmed cases of #COVID19 in Victoria & sadly 18 deaths. 165 cases may be community transmission. 11 people are in hospital, inc 5 in ICU. 1454 people recovered, >358,000 tests processed. Our message: even if you have mild symptoms, get tested #springst
— Jenny Mikakos MP #StayHomeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) May 19, 2020
Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen is due to provide more detail on today’s cases at a press conference at 12:30pm.
READ MORE: Cluster boosts the numbers
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.45am: NZ closing in on ‘eradicating’ virus
New Zealand has confirmed no new cases of coronavirus on the eve of the launch of the “digital diary” coronavirus tracking app, similar to Australia’s COVIDsafe application.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said that although the state recorded no new cases, four people who returned from Uruguay with the virus had been added to the country’s toll - but have since recovered - bringing the total number of cases to 1503.
The number of people who have died of the disease in New Zealand remains at 21 and just 45 cases remain active, a sign New Zealand is moving towards its previously stated goal of “eradicating” the virus.
Key to that end will be the coronavirus “digital diary” app, which will support numerous private-sector apps developed for the same purpose instead of supplanting them, like the COVIDSafe app has done in Australia.
The app is a placeholder for a more advanced app being developed, keeping a simple log of the location history of the user for reference in the event that they contract coronavirus.
“It’s just in case, in the future if you find yourself with COVID-19, you’ve got an easy reference to tell where you’ve been over a period of time,” Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said on Monday.
“This is just simply a tool that aids contact tracing.”
READ MORE: Virus drives population lift
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.36am: Leave border call with each state: Albanese
Anthony Albanese has endorsed letting the states decide when they should reopen their borders to domestic travel, saying the decisions to keep the restrictions is in line with health advice.
“No one wants any restriction to be in place for one day more than necessary,” the federal opposition leader told reporters on Tuesday.
“But state governments are making decisions based upon the health advice.
“I haven’t been critical of any of the state governments, be they New South Wales, where we’re now, or any of the other states.
“They’ll make their decisions based upon the advice they receive.”
Queensland, WA, Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory have all instituted strict border controls to manage the spread of coronavirus in their states and have said they will be among some of the last restrictions to be eased, to the chagrin of NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and tourism Minister Simon Birmingham, who say the domestic tourism industry is a crucial component of Australia’s economy.
On Monday Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Queensland border may not reopen until September, although her Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said if the southern states go a number of weeks without a new case, the border could reopen in July.
READ MORE: Young to suffer in pandemic fallout
Rosie Lewis 11.20am: Queensland’s federal MPs call for border reopening
A growing number of federal Coalition MPs in Queensland have called for the state’s borders to reopen before September, warning the lengthy time frame would damage tourism and local businesses.
Resources Minister Keith Pitt said Queenslanders were concerned about how long the state’s borders would remain shut.
“The feedback I’ve received from the public would indicate people want us to take the best health advice possible but they’re concerned how long that time frame (on the border closure) might drag on,” Mr Pitt said.
“We all know at this time of year Queensland is usually overrun with what’s colloquially known as Mexicans, people from Victoria, NSW and others, there’s no doubt that will have a large impact on the tourism economy.
“The Commonwealth is taking the best available health advice but it’s entirely a matter for the premier to make decisions about the border.”
Nationals frontbencher Michelle Landry, who represents the central Queensland seat of Capricornia, declared September was “far too long” to wait to open the borders in the state, where regional businesses were “really struggling”.
“Before the positive COVID-19 case in Rockhampton (last week) we had none for a couple of weeks. Areas to the west have had no cases. The Queensland Labor Party really do not understand the regional areas. We need businesses to open and get the economy moving,” Ms Landry told The Australian.
Her Liberal frontbench colleague Luke Howarth, the member for the Brisbane seat of Petrie, said his constituents supported the border closure at the moment but felt the September timeline for reopening was “too far away”.
He wanted domestic tourism to be encouraged in Queensland.
“I think we’ll see the border open a little sooner than September, based on current health results,” Mr Howarth said.
“We should open it as soon as possible and the Premier should be doing everything to open up ASAP. We shouldn’t be letting international tourists from New Zealand into Brisbane without first opening the NSW border. We should be able to travel domestically in Australia first before we open up internationally.”
READ MORE: When hype is hope: the vaccine race is on
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.05am: Active cases in NSW steady at 416
NSW Health has updated the state’s official coronavirus figures, with the number of active cases remaining steady at 416 after the diagnosis of two new cases in the past 24 hours cancelled out two cases that have recovered.
NSW has the most active cases of any jurisdiction in the country, with Victoria having around 110, Queensland 12, Tasmania 20, WA 3 and the Northern Territory, 2.
South Australia and the ACT are coronavirus-free, meaning there are just over 560 active cases in the country, against a total confirmed case toll of 7062.
NSW Health said that 101 of the state’s active cases are being treated by NSW Health, including five people in ICU, two of which are on ventilators.
Across the state 371,185 tests have been carried, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian urging residents to present for testing if they have any symptoms of the virus, and particularly if they live in the Hills or Penrith regions of Sydney.
READ MORE: Distancing on transport ‘too hard, too dangerous’
Richard Ferguson 10.58am: Birmingham seeks alternative markets for barley
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham will aggressively pursue alternative markets for barley farmers now locked out of China by 80 per cent tariffs.
The Morrison government is prepared to go to the World Trade Organisation over the barley dispute, but the process would likely take years.
Senator Birmingham said on Tuesday that Australian trade offices around the globe had been ordered to push more for barley exports in their respective host countries.
“We’re going to work damn hard with those barley-producers to make sure we find alternative markets for them, to make sure that when this year’s crop is harvested, they’re able to get it out onto the world market as they always do so successfully,” he said in Adelaide.
“It provides some opportunities. We have sent a message to our trade and diplomatic posts around the world to make sure that they continue their efforts, as they do, to find new market opportunities for Australian farmers.”
READ MORE: China pulls trigger on tariffs
Rachel Baxendale 10.42am: Victoria announces $350m universities package
The Andrews government has announced a $350 million package to support Victorian universities with capital works, apple research and research partnerships as they struggle with reduced international student numbers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Higher Education Minister Gayle Tierney said the capital works projects would involve new technology and infrastructure enabling universities to conduct new research, commercialise intellectual property and create high-value jobs.
The government will also offer universities payroll tax deferrals valued at about $110m.
Ms Tieney said she expected universities to use the funding to retain as many staff as possible.
She also called on the federal government to provide “long term sustainability” to the higher education sector through access to loans or grants to universities, increased funding caps for domestic students, JobKeeper payments to university staff and better support for the international student sector.
“Today’s announcements are to help reduce the number of job losses. It is not the solution. The fact of the matter is that the federal government needs to step up for it to have significant impact in this area,” Ms Tierney said.
“In terms of industrial relations, again, that is a matter between the federal government and universities, but what we can say, as a state government is that we’re trying to do whatever we can to help protect jobs in the sector, and to keep the sector running during a very difficult time.
“I would encourage questions of the federal government about their funding levels so that we can try and eradicate job losses.”
READ MORE: Uni staff cop pay cuts to save jobs
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.40am: Labor calls for childcare scheme rethink
Opposition spokesperson for early childhood education Amanda Rishworth has implored the government to “rethink” ending the $1.6 billion free childcare scheme in June.
The funding was authorised in April to provide temporary free child care to families so they can manage changing commitments amid the coronavirus pandemic and ensure the sector does not financially struggle in areas where children are being pulled out of placements.
Now the government is considering ending the scheme by June 26, but Ms Rishworth says a “snapback” could hurt families and providers.
“Just to snap back to the old system could equally cause a headache for both providers and for families,” she told Sky News on Tuesday.
“We know that families are doing it particularly tough at the moment and we know prior to this pandemic we had one of the most expensive childcare systems in the world.
“To assume we can just snap back without having a good look at affordability for families, and indeed about accessibility for families, is going to be a problem.”
Ms Rishworth said the government should examine alternative ways of transitioning back to a co-payment model while families impacted by the coronavirus crisis look for work.
“We haven’t gone back to business as normal, despite demand for childcare going back up,” she said.
READ MORE: $3bn childcare provider rescue plan worked
Sarah Elks 10.30am: ‘We’d love to have you … just not yet’
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has apologised to the people of NSW and Victoria for stopping them from travelling to Queensland, but insisted she would “not put Queenslanders’ health at risk” by reopening the border.
Ms Palaszczuk said she would review the border closure at the end of each month, and if everything went to plan, people would be able to travel within Queensland by July 10.
But she said she was following Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young’s advice that NSW and Victoria needed to record two incubation periods – or four weeks – of zero cases for the border to reopen, because of the presence of community transmission in those states.
“I will not put Queenslanders’ health at risk, full stop,” Ms Palaszczuk told parliament.
“I apologise to the people of NSW and Victoria, we would love to have you to Queensland, but not at this stage.”
The government’s written road map also sets July 10 as the prospective date for interstate travel to resume, but Ms Palaszczuk on Monday said it would be more likely September, shocking the tourism industry.
Opposition leader Deb Frecklington used parliament to accuse Ms Palaszczuk of giving “confusing mixed messages” on the border plans.
READ MORE: Border bans will wipe out tourism jobs
Richard Ferguson 10.20am: China’s premise for barley tariffs ‘false’
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has slammed China’s excuses for slapping tariffs on barley farmers, especially claims the exporters benefit from Murray-Darling Basin support.
Barley farmers are set to lose their $600m Chinese market completely as 80 per cent tariffs make business in the communist nation almost impossible.
Mr Littleproud said in Toowoomba that the Chinese review’s claims Murray-Darling support counted as a subsidy. Most of the barley in Australia is produced in Western Australia.
“We are working calmly and methodically with them (China),” he said on Tuesday.
“The premise of their argument, saying that we have subsidised farmers through farm household allowance – which is a social security payment – and through programs with the Murray-Darling Basin – are false.
“The reality is most of Australian barley isn’t produced in the Murray-Darling Basin or under irrigated purposes.”
READ MORE: China pulls trigger on barley tariffs
Sarah Elks 10.15am: Dick announces pre-election ‘mini-budget’
New Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick has announced he will deliver a coronavirus fiscal and economic review in September, before the October 31 state election.
Former Queensland Treasurer Jackie Trad cancelled the state’s budget planned for April 28 due to coronavirus, and it was not clear when there would be a financial update before the poll.
Mr Dick told parliament there would be a COVID financial and economic review delivered in September, following the format of the usual mid-year fiscal and economic review delivered in December.
He said in place of the usual budget estimates process, he would appear before the parliament’s economics committee in the interests of “transparency”.
READ MORE: Trad to nominate for South Brisbane
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.14am: US death toll passes 90,000
The US has officially passed the 90,000 death rate, pressing into the upper reaches of an estimation of the maximum number of deaths US President Donald Trump earlier this month gave as an estimate.
According to Johns Hopkins University statistics, 90,309 individuals have died in the US due to coronavirus and just over 1.5 million have had the disease.
During a televised Town Hall on May 4 Mr Trump revised his earlier estimation of 65,000 deaths, saying the toll could reach as high as 100,000.
“We’re going to lose anywhere from 75, 80 to 100,000 people. That’s a horrible thing,” Mr Trump said, revising an earlier estimate from April of 65,000 deaths.
However, Mr Trump has continued to prosecute the case for reopening the country, tweeting “REOPEN OUR COUNTRY” on Monday evening.
REOPEN OUR COUNTRY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2020
Despite opposition to the country reopening from some state governors, all 50 states except Connecticut have relaxed stay-at-home orders to differing extents.
On Tuesday California governor Gavin Newsom said that professional sports could resume in“first week or so of June without spectators and modifications and very prescriptive conditions”.
New York, Texas, Florida and Arizona have also given professional sports the go-ahead.
READ MORE: Trump self-prescribes unproven treatment
Sarah Elks 10.05am: Palaszczuk laments ‘heartbreaking’ border closure
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says it was “heartbreaking” to close the state’s border, knowing it would hurt the state’s $12bn tourism industry.
Ms Palaszczuk said she would commit $50m to help the state’s “iconic” tourism businesses, including theme parks, survive the crisis, after tourism operators warned of being wiped out if the border was not reopened until September.
The Premier has batted away criticism from NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian for insisting the border remain closed for months.
She outlined to parliament what she called a “measured, sensible approach” to help the state’s struggling economy recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Ms Palaszczuk said the government would spend more than $50bn on infrastructure over four years, including a $400m accelerated works program to build roads and bridges, and seal pavements across Queensland.
More than $200m would be spent – through councils – on projects in 2020-21, and a new $70m round of Building Our Regions would be launched. Ms Palaszczuk also promised an extra $100m for small business grants, and a new forum for business and industry to report to the Premier on the economic recovery.
Queensland recorded zero new coronavirus cases overnight, and Ms Palaszczuk said the state had “dodged a tsunami” of coronavirus deaths, with initial forecasts predicting 30,000 Queenslanders could die from the virus.
Six have died and 1039 coronavirus patients have recovered.
There are just 12 active cases of coronavirus in the state now, down from 280 a month ago, with 158,641 coronavirus tests carried out.
READ MORE: Businesses sink as bolted gates keep interstaters at bay
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.45am: Two Melbourne aged care facilities shut down
Two more aged care facilities in Melbourne have been shut down after residents tested positive for coronavirus.
Lynden Aged Care in the eastern suburb of Camberwell informed families of residents last night that the facility would enter lockdown after a resident tested positive, a staff member at the facility told The Australian.
The contact tracing of residents and staff will begin today.
HammondCare in Caulfield, a dementia care facility also on Monday had a patient test positive for coronavirus.
The centre entered lockdown and the resident has been tested again this morning, returning a negative result.
Senior Nurse at HammondCare, Angela Raguz, told Melbourne radio station 3AW that despite this, the lockdown needed to remain in place.
“We have treated it as positive and have put in place all of our outbreak management plans,” she told Neil Mitchell.
“We are now investigating and the Department of Health is investigating.”
The facilities have not been officially confirmed by the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services.
It comes as a resident at the Villa Maria Aged Care Facility in Bundoora on Monday returned an inconclusive result, forcing the resident into isolation and all staff and other residents to undergo testing, the DHHS said in a statement.
READ MORE: Families race to get loved ones out
Rosie Lewis 9.10am: Border closure a ‘parochial political weapon’
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud, a senior Nationals Queensland MP, has accused premier Annastacia Palaszczuk of using the state’s border closure as a “parochial political weapon” ahead of the October election.
While the cabinet minister said he had concerns earlier on in the pandemic about exposing regional Australia to COVID-19 and people from capital cities, Mr Littleproud said we understood the virus much better now and had good contact tracing.
“We’ve hit a tipping point where circumstances have changed to two months ago, we should be fluid enough to deal with that,” Mr Littleproud told The Australian.
“What I fear is they (the Queensland government) may just cherrypick the parts of advice that the Queensland medical officer gives. We should look at this from a national perspective. The AHPPC (Australian Health Protection Principal Committee) needs to be listened to and understood.
“I have fears that Palaszczuk is using this is a parochial political weapon leading up to the state election – to say ‘look how good we’ve done’ rather than ‘how do we come out of this’.”
The AHPPC, comprised of all state and territory chief medical officers and chaired by national Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy, has never recommended closing state borders.
Deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly on Monday night said Queensland’s border closure didn’t make sense.
Ms Palaszczuk said the border was more likely to reopen in September, due to concerns about community transmission in NSW and Victoria, despite national cabinet agreeing to a possible July date for all interstate travel to restart.
READ MORE: Border bans to wipe out tourism jobs
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.30am: Home learning units cease as schools return
NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell has said home learning units relied upon by students for the last few months will cease with the return to face-to-face learning, although anyone who is ill must stay home.
“If you are unwell, if you are a teacher, if you are a student … you should stay home,” Ms Mitchell said.
“If there are prolonged absences due to illness then of course there are provisions schools could make.”
Although excursions and school assemblies will not be permitted at this stage, Ms Mitchell said physical education classes and sport days could continue, “but at this point it will be non-contact sports only.”
Ms Mitchell also said that aside from the five day delay of the commencement of the HSC, the exam will proceed as usual.
“The HSC examination, the timetable, was announced last Friday. It will be five days later to give students a bit more time … but the HSC is going on as normal,” she said.
Ms Mitchell also said independent and Catholic schools who have not already returned to full-time learning will follow public schools “in the next week or so.”
READ MORE: $3bn childcare rescue package ‘worked’
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.25am: Two NSW cases from returning travellers
NSW has confirmed two coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours out of 5300 tests, both in returned travellers currently in hotel quarantine
It brings the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 3078.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said five people were being treated in state ICUs, with two on ventilated assistance.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said she wanted daily testing rates to remain around the 8000 mark going forward.
“We really need to get those numbers up every day of the week, during the week and on weekends,” she said.
“Now that we’re easing restrictions, it’s really, really important. For anyone with the mildest symptoms, and especially people living in those hot spots, if you look at the heat map, or if Dr Chant talks about areas where there’s a number of cases that we’re concerned with, especially around community-to-community transmission, we’re urging people to come forward and get tested.”
READ MORE: The elite savour serenity as costs mount
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.15am: All NSW schools to reopen next week
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed that all schools in NSW will return to full-time face-to-face learning from Monday May 25.
Ms Berejiklian called the decision a “relief for everybody,” and said “from now on we never want to see a situation where all schools are closed,” but warned that it would be common for schools to temporarily close for cleaning and contract tracing.
“But I do say it will be common, common for schools to be shut down temporarily,” Ms Berejiklian told reporters on Tuesday.
“It will be common for a specific area to be on high alert. It will be common for a
particular school to take extra measures if there’s a community breakout in that community with cases. And we just have to accept that.”
NSW Education minister Sarah Mitchell said that a return to face-to-face learning does not necessarily mean a return to normality, with assemblies and excursions still out of the picture.
Ms Mitchell also said that staggered drop off and pick up times may remain in some school locations and non-essential visitors will remain barred from school grounds.
“We expect students to attend, it will be a normal school week from next week,” said Ms Mitchell.
READ MORE: Young to suffer in pandemic fallout
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.10am: Birmingham: States should open borders
Trade minister Simon Birmingham has said the federal government will continue lobbying Australian states to open their borders for internal travel, with the tourism industry crucial to restarting the nation’s economy.
Queensland, WA, South Australia, Tasmania and the Northern Territory have all imposed restrictions on non-essential travel into their jurisdictions and have all said that these restrictions will be among the last to be eased, citing the higher number of coronavirus cases in NSW and Victoria.
On Monday Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said that, concerning the state border, she would rely on the advice of her Chief Health Officer, who said she wanted to see a period of several weeks without new cases in the southern states.
Mr Birmingham said states should start to open up to domestic travel sooner.
“States who’ve got border controls in place, assuming we’ve continued to see very low rates of transmission of COVID-19, ought to be looking at opening up their borders, and I’ll continue to have those conversations with my State and Territory counterparts,” he told Today.
“Health comes first but we also have to get people back into jobs, the economy flowing and tourism employs 1 in 13 Australians.
“We need people moving across this country again when it’s safe to do so.”
READ MORE: Border bans to wipe out tourism jobs
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.50am: NFF chief slams China’s ‘devastating hit’ to farmers
National Farmers’ Federation chief Tony Mahar has slammed China’s decision to impose tariffs of 80 per cent on Australian barley exports as “a significant and devastating hit” for Australian farmers struggling after years of drought and in the wake of the past bushfire season.
“Finally we get, by and large, really good conditions for a great crop this year,” Mr Mahar told ABC News on Tuesday.
“And talking to farmers last night when this broke, about 11 o’clock, some farmers were finishing off their last planting of barley, and now we wake up and we see this tariff of 80% applied.
“A significant and devastating hit to the Australian agriculture industry. It was really looking forward to a bumper year.”
China imposed the tariff of 80 per cent on Australian barley exports to stop the alleged dumping of cheap barley on their domestic market, something Mr Mahr called “completely unsubstantiated.”
“There are numerous reports and evidence that suggests Australian farmers get very little, if any, subsidies from government on a global scale,” he said.
“And the ones that they do, are allowed under WTO rules. So, completely unsubstantiated.
“The industry went to a great deal of trouble to respond to the concerns put forward by the Chinese government, provided them to our government, and still we see these measures put in place.”
Mr Mahar said that although the barley decision was 18 months in the making, Australia must establish whether the tariffs were politically motivated by Australia’s global push into an independent inquiry into coronavirus.
“This is what we need to find out. We’ve put our facts on the table. The Chinese government has put their facts on the table.
“And now what we’ll be asking government to do, demanding government to do, is to take this to the umpire, and that is the World Trade Organisation.”
However, Mr Mahar said the deliberation with the WTO would take many years and in the interim Australian barley farmers would have to find new markets for their crop.
READ MORE: Tariff trigger pulled
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.40am: Barley tariff will hit Chinese too: Birmingham
Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has called the Chinese government’s decision to hit Australian barley exports with an 80 per cent tariff “deeply disappointing” and warned it will have adverse effects for both Australians and Chinese people.
“It’s a deeply disappointing decision particularly for Australian barley farmers,” Mr Birmingham told Today on Tuesday.
“Frankly it will be disappointing for many Chinese breweries and other consumers in China of Australian barley. They’ll pay a price through higher barley prices there, or through substandard product they’ll get from other countries.”
Mr Birmingham said that communication from his Chinese counterpart was still substandard, with the Australian government being made aware of the decision through the Chinese government’s official notification.
“This is a decision that reflects on the Chinese Government,” Mr Birmingham said.
“We’ll analyse all the details of it thoroughly and reserve all our rights in terms of how we appeal, how we respond.
“China can, at any stage, choose to lift these duties, and we’ll certainly continue to try to engage with them to convince them that they should do so.
The move, which was made to stop the alleged dumping of cheap barley on the Chinese market and could cost Australian barley farmers up to $500 million in lost income.
READ MORE: China pulls barley tariff trigger
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.30am: Berejiklian update at 8.00am AEST
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will address the media at 8am AEST, where she expected to detail plans for students in NSW to return to school full-time from May 25.
The press conference can be viewed live and in full above.
David Rogers 7.15am: ASX to open sharply higher on vaccine hopes
US stocks rallied on hopeful developments about a potential coronavirus vaccine, recovering ground following the biggest weekly percentage drop in nearly two months.
Markets have rebounded sharply from their late March lows and have been particularly sensitive to any developments suggesting progress toward a vaccine for the virus.
Investors cheered after drugmaker Moderna said its experimental coronavirus vaccine induced immune responses in some of the healthy volunteers who were vaccinated in a clinical study. The results offer a positive sign about its capabilities to protect people against the new coronavirus.
Still, the results are preliminary. Many vaccines fail to pass muster, even after showing positive signs in early testing.
Moderna shares jumped about 20 per cent, pulling up the broader market.
READ MORE: Trading Day: Markets surge on vaccine hopes
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.10am: Constance: Responsibility key in transport safety
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has told Sydneysiders: “There has to be a degree of self-responsibility” under the state’s new coronavirus-safe transport regime after reports emerged of NSW Transport informing bus drivers they do not have to enforce new passenger limits on their vehicles.
On Monday Mr Constance announced that a standard Sydney bus would only be permitted to carry a maximum of 12 passengers and a train carriage, 32, in a bid to prevent overcrowding on Sydney’s heavily-used public transport network as people begin to return to work as coronavirus restrictions ease.
But on Tuesday the Sydney Morning Herald reported that bus drivers have been told by state transit that they should inform passengers once the limit has been reached, but they cannot be refused entry to the vehicle and social distancing should not be enforced by the driver.
Furthermore, the report says that bus drivers are being told not to leave schoolchildren at a bus stop under any circumstances.
Mr Constance told Today on Tuesday that the new scheme would depend on the good sense of the public.
“We want a work force to be safe, commuters to be safe,” Mr Constance said.
“There has to be a degree of self-responsibility. If people see packed transport, don’t do it.
“We have no option at the moment. We normally carry 2.2 million a day. We will have to keep it to the 600,000 mark to keep it safe.”
The NSW Government is encouraging people to either drive, walk or ride a bike to work and is establishing more than 10 kilometres of extra bike paths in the CBD, as well as pop up car parks at Moore Park and potentially Sydney Olympic Park.
Green dots on public transport will inform commuters where they can sit so social distancing is enforced.
“It is not perfect, it can’t be when you need to commute with tens of thousands of people around you every day,” Mr Constance said.
“There’s restrictions and limitations everywhere with this. We’ve got to try and work with it and make it as plausible as possible.”
NSW Transport has been contacted for comment.
READ MORE: Young to suffer in pandemic fallout
Agencies 6.45am: Trump taking unproven malaria drug to battle virus
Donald Trump has told reporters he is taking a malaria drug to lessen symptoms should he get the new coronavirus, even though the drug is unproven for fighting COVID-19.
President Trump said he had been taking the drug hydroxychloroquine for a week and a half. “I take it because I hear very good things” about it, Mr Trump said at the White House on Monday local time.
Mr Trump has repeatedly touted the drug as a coronavirus treatment, even as the Food and Drug Administration has cautioned against its use outside of hospitals or in clinical-trial settings.
Mr Trump told reporters he has repeatedly tested negative for coronavirus and that “so far I seem to be OK” after taking the drug. He said he had consulted with the White House doctor about using it.
Pres. Trump added that he has tested negative for COVID-19. https://t.co/7FNYcqUENC
— ABC News (@ABC) May 18, 2020
The drug has the potential to cause significant side effects in some patients including serious heart problems, and has not been shown to combat the new coronavirus.
Mr Trump said his doctor did not recommend the drug to him, but he requested it from the White House physician.
“I started taking it, because I think it’s good,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot of good stories.”
READ MORE: Trump: Obama sent spies after me
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.35am: Trump tweets support for Australia’s probe push
US President Donald Trump has enthusiastically backed Australia in the push for an independent inquiry into the origin of coronavirus, retweeting an AAP Newswire/SBS Early Tuesday morning about how at least 116 countries are supporting the push.
We are with them!” the president wrote above a link to the story.
We are with them! https://t.co/H7DRHXPJYb
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 18, 2020
Mr Trump’s tweet will likely add to rising tensions between the US and China, even though Chinese President Xi Jinping relented on the opposition to the inquiry on Monday night.
China also revealed last night it was slapping punitive tariffs of more than 80 per cent on Australian barley imports, one week after they imposed a ban on meat imports from four Australian processing plants.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison led global calls for the COVID-19 probe and a resolution is expected to be approved in the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
The African Group’s 54 member states will co-sponsor the motion, joining 62 other countries including New Zealand, the European Union’s 27 members, Russia, Indonesia, India, Japan, Britain and Canada.
The draft resolution does not mention China, but calls for an impartial, independent and comprehensive evaluation of the international response to the pandemic.
Mr Trump and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have ramped up public criticism of China’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mr Pompeo has said there was a “significant amount of evidence” the virus originated from a laboratory in Wuhan, China, but has also admitted the evidence could be wrong.
Australia and many other nations maintain that the most likely origin of COVID-19 was a wildlife wet market in Wuhan.
READ MORE: China pulls trigger on tariffs
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.20am: French schools open, close as cases rise
European countries once suffering under daily death tolls in the high three digit range are seeing some of the lowest daily death rates in months, encouraging governments to slowly reopen – but a cluster outbreak of cases at newly-opened French schools threatens to disturb the best-laid plans.
On Monday Spain’s overnight death toll was 59, the lowest figure in two months, according to the government. France had 131 new coronavirus deaths, and the UK, 160.
A third of French schoolchildren have returned to classrooms in the wake of low case growth – but there has been a worrying flare-up of about 70 COVID-19 cases linked to schools, the government says.
Some lower grades in schools were opened last week and a further 150,000 junior high students went back to the classroom on Monday as coronavirus restrictions were loosened by the government.
But French Education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer sounded the alarm on Monday, telling French radio RTL the return has put some children in new danger of infection.
He said the affected schools are being closed immediately. French media reported that seven schools in northern France were closed.
Blanquer did not specify if the 70 cases of COVID-19 were among students or teachers.
Given that the incubation period for the virus is several days, people are “likely” to have been infected before the reopening of the schools, he said.
France reopened about 40,000 preschools and primary schools last week, with classes capped at 15 students.
About 30 per cent of children went back to school, Blanquer said. The government has allowed parents to keep children at home.
French authorities have reported at least 142,411 people infected with the coronavirus and 28,108 deaths.
READ MORE: UK finally to close borders after 34,000 dead
Anne Barrowclough 6.05am: Royals cancel traditional swan census
The Royal family has cancelled the annual Swan Upping ceremony on the River Thames over the coronavirus.
The swan census, a tradition that dates back to the 12th century, usually takes place over five days in July along the section of the river from Sunbury to Abingdon, west of London.
The ceremonial count draws crowds who watch the Swan Uppers, dressed in scarlet uniforms and rowing traditional skiffs, as they measure, weigh and check the swans. The Queen also joins the census, watching on from a steam launch.
David Barber, the monarch’s Swan Marker, said: “Although not unexpected, it is of course disappointing that members of the public and local schoolchildren will not be able to enjoy Swan Upping this year.
“It is always a great opportunity for the young people who attend to learn about mute swans, and see first-hand the health checks we carry out on every single family of swans along the river.” The queen owns all Britain’s unmarked swans and they are counted and measured every year in a ceremony that dates back to 1186.
READ MORE: Border bans to wipe out tourism jobs
Jacquelin Magnay 5.15am: Moderna vaccine successful in human trials
A coronavirus vaccine being developed by the US company Moderna has shown early promise and an “important first step”, the company has reported.
In a statement following the phase one trial in humans, the candidate vaccine, called mRNA-1273, appears to generate an immune response similar to those who have been previously infected by coronavirus and recovered.
The news sent Moderna’s share price skyrocketing 40 per cent, especially as the other highly rated vaccine prospect, the UK’s Oxford candidate, was revealed just hours earlier to have had no immunity response in monkey trials although it may have some therapeutic effect in stopping pneumonia.
But the phase one Moderna trial, based in Massachusetts, has shown the vaccine is safe for fit young healthy adults and brings about an immune response in those people.
The trial involved eight people who received different amounts of the candidate vaccine.
Those who received low (25 micrograms) or middle dose (100 micrograms) of two injections of the vaccine showed no effects. Only one person who received 100 micrograms reacted to the vaccine with some redness at the injection site. Others who received one higher dose (250 micrograms) of the vaccine experienced fever but no life threatening reactions.
It appears the company will persist with ongoing trials using 50 micrograms.
“These interim Phase 1 data, while early, demonstrate that vaccination with mRNA-1273 elicits an immune response of the magnitude caused by natural infection starting with a dose as low as 25 microgram,” Moderna’s chief medical officer Tal Zaks said.
“People who received two doses at the 25 microgram level developed binding antibodies at levels consistent with those seen in the blood of people who have recovered from COVID-19 infection.”
Meanwhile the volunteers who received two doses at 100 microgram had binding antibody levels that “significantly exceeded” the levels seen in the blood of coronavirus patients.
The candidate vaccine also prevented viral replication in the lungs of mice in preclinical testing, the company said.
A phase two trial involving 600 volunteers has already been given the go-ahead by the US Food and Drug Administration. Phase Three testing of thousands of people will begin in July and the company is already increasing capacity to manufacture the vaccine.
However, even if the trials are successful and the vaccine is deemed effective, especially in elderly people, the vaccine is unlikely to be made widely available for another 12 months.
Summary of our SARS-CoV-2 #vaccine (mRNA-1273) interim Phase 1 data. Read more: https://t.co/aIq34ullAh #mRNA pic.twitter.com/BVbYuWTkOy
— Moderna (@moderna_tx) May 18, 2020
READ MORE: Oxford vaccine fails animal trials
Jacquelin Magnay 5.10am: Macron, Merkel propose €500bn virus recovery fund
French president Emmanuel Macron and German chancellor Angela Merkel have proposed a €500bn slush fund for struggling European Union countries to help recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Mrs Merkel backed down on earlier German opposition to a non-repayable grant scheme available to poorer EU countries, saying “because of the unusual nature of the crisis, we are choosing an unusual path.” However the money on offer is half of the €1 trillion fund some countries had been pushing for.
Nonetheless, the announcement will come as a relief to southern states like Italy and Greece which will be able to draw down the moneys on the financial markets and the fund will end two months of bickering over aid packages.
“What is sure is that these €500 billion will not be repaid by the beneficiaries,” Mr Macron said on Monday, the money being added to future EU budgets.
However The Netherlands, which had rejected an earlier mutualised plan for “coronabonds”, still has to approve the scheme before it can be implemented.
Mrs Merkel and Mr Macron said the recovery fund would help the EU’s “technological sovereignty” by ensuring top EU companies could keep pace with their counterparts, particularly in the US and China.
The fund also may be able to borrow money in the name of the EU — a first for joint EU debt.
READ MORE: Adam Creighton — While elite savour serenity, costs mount
Michael McKenna 5am: University student threatened with criminal prosecution
A student activist facing expulsion from the University of Queensland is being threatened with criminal prosecution over his handling of documents relating to the institution’s public response to anti-Beijing protests on campus.
Drew Pavlou faces a disciplinary hearing on Wednesday following his protests and social media posts criticising UQ’s ties with Chinese government institutions and of the ruling Chinese Communist Party’s record on human rights.
The 20-year-old philosophy student, who organised a campus protest last July in support of Hong Kong’s independence movement, received a letter from UQ lawyers last week accusing him of contempt of court over his intended use of internal emails in his defence at the disciplinary hearing. The emails are understood to have been provided by UQ under subpoena, brought by Mr Pavlou, in a separate court action he took against China’s consul-general in Brisbane, Xu Jie, after the diplomat issued a statement condemning the protests as “anti-China separatist activities”.
Read the full story here.
Simon Benson 4.45am: China finally embraces independent virus inquiry
China’s President Xi Jinping has pledged $US2bn ($3.1bn) to support the world’s COVID-19 response, committed to making a vaccine a “global public good” and — after weeks of opposition and threats of economic retaliation — embraced the independent inquiry into the virus that Australia had been championing.
Speaking over videolink at the beginning of the World Health Assembly meeting on Monday night, Mr Xi said China supported a “comprehensive evaluation” of the global response to the coronavirus pandemic after it had been brought under control, insisting that China had “always had an open, transparent and responsible attitude”.
The virus commitment — and China’s repositioning on the inquiry — came after more than 120 countries agreed to support an independent inquiry, the promotion of which by the Australian government has been sharply opposed by Beijing.
Read the full story, by Simon Benson and Will Glasgow, here.
Charlie Peel 4.30am: Tourism jobs at risk over border travel bans
Australia’s $80bn domestic tourism industry is facing collapse if state borders remain closed throughout the lucrative winter holiday season, with operators fearing inflexible travel restrictions will cripple the market for years to come and cost tens of thousands of jobs.
Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia — states that draw enormous numbers of tourists from May to September — have signalled it is possible their borders won’t reopen before the end of winter, adding to industry concerns that millions of ¬potential holiday-makers will abandon plans to travel interstate.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk stunned the tourism sector on Monday by declaring that Queensland’s border reopening “would look more positive towards September”.
Read the full story, by Charlie Peel and Sarah Elks, here.
More Coverage
Labor’s migration target to be overshot by 100,000
With arrivals outstripping expectations and departures less than anticipated, economists and immigrations experts say Labor will oversee a net migration intake as high as 495,000.
How retail umpire mediated a row while on Ukraine mercy mission
Food Code’s Chris Leptos spends his days arbitrating disputes between suppliers and supermarkets, but after hours he’s part of an international group helping to ease the plight of Ukrainians.