Coronavirus Australia live news: PM wishes Donald Trump ‘speedy, full recovery’
Scott Morrison has sent a private message to US President Trump as he and First Lady Melania recover from coronavirus.
- Morrison’s private message to Trump
- Trump’s doctor provides update
- Trump, Melania test positive
- Tasmania to open borders
- Kiwis free to travel to NSW, NT
- ‘First I’ve heard of border opening’
- Queensland opens to NSW on Nov 1
- Victoria records 7 new cases, 2 deaths
Welcome to rolling coverage of the continuing coronavirus pandemic. The Physician to the President says he expects Donald Trump to continue ‘carrying out his duties without disruption’ after he the First Lady tested positive to COVID-19. Tasmania is set to open its borders to Covid free states and territories. New Zealanders will be able to travel to NSW and the Northern Territory from October 16 . Gladys Berejiklian says the first she heard of Queensland opening to NSW was via the media.
AFP 1.15am: Trump ‘has mild symptoms’: White House
Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows on Friday said that the US President has “mild symptoms” after testing positive for COVID-19.
“The President and the First Lady tested positive for COVID-19,” he told CNN. “They remain in good spirits.
“The president does have mild symptoms and, as we look to try to make sure that not only his health and safety and welfare is good, we continue to look at that for all of the American people.”
First Lady Melania Trump tweeted that she also has mild symptoms.
Thank you for the love you are sending our way. I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good. I am looking forward to a speedy recovery.
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) October 2, 2020
AFP 9.05pm: Pompeo tests negative for Covid
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday he has tested negative for the coronavirus after President Donald Trump announced he had been infected and was in quarantine.
“I’m feeling fantastic,” Pompeo told reporters travelling with him to Dubrovnik, Croatia, the last stop on a mini European tour.
Pompeo said he was tested “about 30 minutes ago” just a few hours after Trump’s announcement and added it was the fourth time he had been tested during the past two and a half weeks.
The American top diplomat said he has not interacted with the president since the Abraham Accords were signed in Washington on September 15 when Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognised Israel.
“We are praying for the president and First Lady that they’ll have a speedy recovery,” he said.
During his brief stay in the southern Adriatic resort, Pompeo is to meet Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic and Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic Radman.
The talks will focus notably on the purchase of fighter jets and abolishing of visas for Croatian travellers to the US, Croatian officials said earlier
Read more: Pompeo hails ‘historic’ border talks
Rachel Baxendale 7.30pm: DHHS confirms quarantine hotel staff link to aged care
The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed a person who contracted coronavirus while working in the Andrews government’s overhauled hotel quarantine program between July 27 and late August was also working at an aged care facility.
“One hotel quarantine staff member thought to have acquired COVID-19 in an aged care facility was working shifts at the facility and the Grand Chancellor Hotel,” DHHS confirmed late on Friday.
On August 2, the Andrews government stopped hundreds of thousands of workers from going to work with its Stage Four lockdown, in a bid to suppress the spread of coronavirus.
Yet subcontractors working in its own hotel quarantine program, more than a month after that program had been linked to Victoria’s deadly second wave of coronavirus, were being allowed to move between that sensitive setting and aged care, which by August 2 had 1177 active coronavirus cases.
7.00pm: Morrison’s private message to Trump
Scott Morrison has sent a private message to US President Trump on Friday afternoon wishing him a “speedy and full recovery” following news of Donald Trump’s coronavirus diagnosis.
Mr Trump and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive after close aide Hope Hicks also returned a positive result.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also sent his well wishes via Twitter.
Wishing my friend @POTUS @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS a quick recovery and good health. https://t.co/f3AOOHLpaQ
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 2, 2020
David Swan 6.33pm: Nearly 20,000 Amazon staff had COVID
Amazon said on Thursday said more than 19,000 of its workers have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the first time so major a US employer has disclosed such data.
The company said the number of positive cases is below what it expected. Amazon, which months ago began to build its own labs for testing, has tested thousands of employees since March and said it would be conducting 50,000 tests a day by November.
Based on the infection rate of the general population, Amazon said it would have expected 33,952 positive cases among a workforce of more than 1.3 million in the US. Instead, it said 19,816 employees have tested positive or been presumed positive. The number includes employees at Whole Foods Market, which Amazon owns.
Robyn Ironside 5.50pm: Qantas opens bookings for New Zealand flights
Qantas has moved quickly to grab the lion’s share of the New Zealand market, following the announcement Kiwis will be able to travel to New South Wales and the Northern Territory from October 16 without having to quarantine.
Within hours of the Deputy Prime Minister’s announcement, Qantas added six flights between Auckland and Sydney, and four flights from Christchurch to Sydney. Jetstar will operate three services from Auckland with all of the flights to start on October 16.
Passengers won’t get any bargains with Qantas charging $880 one way from Auckland to Sydney and $875 for Christchurch-Sydney. Return trips are priced at $680 and $650 respectively.
It will be the first overseas flights Qantas has flown since late March, other than government-subsidised repatriation flights.
Prior to COVID, New Zealand was Australia’s second biggest source of visitors, and demand to travel to New South Wales and the Northern Territory was expected to be significant.
No direct flights to Darwin were scheduled, but New Zealand passengers could fly from Sydney to Darwin or Alice Springs.
Virgin Australia was also looking to reintroduce short-haul international services but was expected to wait until two-way traffic was permitted between Australia and New Zealand.
Australians are still banned from travelling overseas with international borders closed until at least December 17.
READ MORE: Trans-Tasman bubble to open on October 16
Robert Gottlibesen 5.20pm: Trump’s Covid diagnosis muddies US election
As soon as Wall Street learned that President Trump has acquired the COVID-19 virus the share futures market slumped. The virus threatens to make the election process to select the 46th president of the US even more uncertain.
Prior to Trump going down with the virus, in the wake of the chaotic US presidential election debate, three clear sharemarket scenarios had emerged tied to the election result.
Now the new uncertainties will be superimposed on those original scenarios.
4.16pm: US President’s doctor provides Covid update
US President Donald Trump’s personal doctor has released a statement after the 74-year-old and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.
NEW memorandum from White House physician Dr. Sean Conley: pic.twitter.com/cKdARHd9wh
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) October 2, 2020
Physician to the President Sean Conley said that he expects Mr Trump will continue “carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering”.
“This evening I received confirmation that both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus,” he said.
“The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.
“The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our country’s greatest medical professionals and institutions.
“I will keep you updated on any future developments.”
READ MORE: Donald Trump, Melania test positive to Covid
Rachel Baxendale 3.45pm: Breakdown of the numbers in Victoria
The cumulative number of coronavirus cases in Victoria since the pandemic began has actually increased by eight on Friday to 20,191, despite only seven new cases, due to the reclassification of a previously reported case.
There have now been 4273 cases in Victoria since the pandemic began where contact tracers have been unable to identify a source of infection, with no increase since Thursday.
Of 20,191 people who have had coronavirus in Victoria since the pandemic began, 19,068 have recovered – an increase of 34 since Thursday.
Of 261 active cases in Victoria on Thursday, 256 are in people from metropolitan Melbourne, three are in people from regional Victoria, and the residential locations of the remaining two are under investigation.
Of the total number of cases since the pandemic began, 18,797 have been in people from Melbourne, while 1192 have been in those from regional Victoria.
There have been 9625 cases in men (an increase of two since Thursday) and 10,550 in women (an increase of four since Thursday).
The total number of cases in health workers has increased by three since Thursday, to 3547, although the number of active cases in health workers decreased by five to 40.
There is one case linked to residential disability accommodation – in a staff member. This is the same number as on Thursday.
There are 111 active cases of coronavirus linked to Victorian aged care facilities as of Friday – 24 fewer than on Thursday.
As of Friday there have been 636 coronavirus deaths linked to aged care facilities in Victoria, including both deaths reported in the 24 hours to Friday.
The aged care outbreaks with the highest numbers of active cases as of Friday and deaths if any as of September 8 (the most recent date for which data is available) are:
– 32 active cases linked to Estia Keilor in Melbourne’s outer northwest – the same as Thursday (46 total). It is understood this cluster began when a resident returned from being treated for an unrelated condition at Footscray Hospital, having contracted coronavirus;
– 14 active cases linked to Opal Hobsons Bay Altona North in Melbourne’s southwest – down from 15 on Thursday (46 total);
– 13 active cases linked to Edenvale Manor Keilor East, in Melbourne’s outer northwest – down from 14 on Thursday (23 total);
– 10 active cases linked to Embracia Moonee Valley in Melbourne’s northwest – down from 19 on Thursday (80 total, 5 deaths);
– Eight active cases linked to BaptCare Wyndham Lodge Community Werribee in Melbourne’s outer southwest – down from 10 on Thursday (260 total, 18 deaths);
– Five active cases linked to Doutta Galla Woornack, in Sunshine, in Melbourne’s west – down from seven on Thursday (60 total);
– Five active cases linked to Mercy Place Parkville in Melborune’s inner north – down from seven on Thursday (104 total, 14 deaths);
– Three active cases linked to Churches of Christ Care Arcadia in Essendon, in Melbourne’s northwest – down from four on Thursday (22 total, one death).
Non-aged care outbreaks with the highest numbers of active cases on Friday include:
– 11 active cases linked to The Butcher Club outbreak involving a worker at the butcher’s shop at the Chadstone shopping centre and a household in Frankston, both in Melbourne’s southeast – up from eight cases on Thursday (total cases: 11);
– Seven active cases are currently linked to the Springvale shared accommodation outbreak in Melbourne’s outer southeast – up from four active cases on Thursday (total cases: 8 – up from five on Thursday);
– Four active cases linked to the Casey community outbreak involving at least seven households in Melbourne’s outer southeast – down from six active cases on Thursday (total cases: 45);
– Three active cases linked to Footscray Hospital in Melbourne’s inner west – the same as Thursday (total cases: 20);
– Three active cases linked to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne’s inner southeast – the same as Thursday (total cases: 11)
READ MORE: Queensland opens borders to NSW
3.40pm: Seeking safe haven, gold catches fire
Gold has caught a safe-haven bid after President Trump caught COVID and entered a two week quarantine period.
After initially extending its intraday fall to 0.9pc as the US dollar rose against risk currencies and commodities. spot gold bounced from $US1889.93 to $US1905 in the space of 20 minutes.
While the US dollar index (DXY) remains relatively buoyant near 94.00, the combination of economic risk from a lack of agreement on new US fiscal stimulus and geopolitical risk from the incapacitation of Mr Trump could now see gold extend its recent bounce off the 100-day moving average at $US1854.
Paige Taylor 3.30pm: McGowan defends strict border policy
West Australian premier Mark McGowan has sought to assure critics that he will bring down the state’s border eventually and on health advice after he was lashed for advancing an economic argument against opening up the state to other states and territories.
Mr McGowan on Thursday said WA would lose jobs if the state’s hard interstate border came down. On Friday he stressed that the health of residents and the health of the economy were linked.
He said his state was doing well economically because it had virtually eradicated coronavirus. The only cases of the virus in WA currently were a handful of overseas arrivals in quarantine and cargo ship workers, also in quarantine. WA has not recorded a case of coronavirus in the community for 176 days.
Mr McGowan told reporters on Friday that if WA had rushed to open its borders, as people wanted his government to do, the virus would have come back and there would have been illness, death and economic devastation. Instead, Mr McGowan said, WA was enjoying very good health outcomes, personal freedom to move around the state and a strengthening economy.
“In Victoria they have lockdowns everywhere. In NSW they have a four square metre rule and they have all sorts of restrictions on the things people can do,” Mr McGowan said.
“Queensland is today celebrating that people can stand up and have a drink as though that is some great achievement.
“We have been able to do all those things and more for months and months and months and what’s more our economic future is very very bright: the strongest job vacancies of anywhere in Australia by a long long way. The strongest trading economy of anywhere in Australia by a long long way and the best health outcomes continuing of anywhere in Australia by a long way.”
READ MORE: Tax relief for small businesses
Robyn Ironside 3.20pm: Joyce: Trans-Tasman bubble ‘best news for industry’
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has declared the announcement of a trans-Tasman bubble with New South Wales and the Northern Territory as the “best news the industry has had in months”.
“It’s great for the family and friends who can be reunited and for people needing to travel for a job,” Mr Joyce said.
“It means we’ll be able to get more planes back in the sky and more of our people back to work.”
Both Qantas and Jetstar were expected to offer flights within days inline with the timeline outlined by Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack.
“New Zealand was Australia’s second biggest source of visitors before the pandemic. It’s obviously about to go straight to number,” said Mr Joyce.
“Opening borders as part of evolving how we manage the pandemic has been a difficult issue and the federal government has shown important leadership on this. It’s a huge positive for a lot of people and a lot of sectors.”
Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said the move would give the “entire industry an injection of hope”.
“We applaud the federal government for driving this through,” Mr Culbert said.
“Pre-COVID New Zealand was Sydney Airport’s second busiest passenger route behind the US. We’ve been preparing for the ramp up of international passengers from the day restrictions came in and we’re looking forward to giving our kiwi cousins a safe and warm welcome from October 16.”
Australian Tourism Industry Council chief executive Simon Westaway said the bubble was “a real positive” and begged the question as to why some state borders were still not open.
“We’ve got instances of COVID in the community now in the very low hundreds right across the country; vast parts of the country haven’t recorded any recent cases and we’ve got to open up the rest of Australia as quickly as possible,” Mr Westaway said.
“The virus can’t be eradicated but that doesn’t mean you close down the visitor economy.”
READ the full story here
Cameron Stewart 3.15pm: Trump, First Lady test positive for virus
Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive to COVID-19 after the president’s close aide Hope Hicks tested positive for the coronavirus.
Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020
The shock news of Hicks’ diagnosis forced the president to pause his election campaign as he awaits test results and as his aides determine if he can carry out his daily tasks as president and hit the campaign trail with only weeks until the November 3 poll.
“Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a small break, has just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible,” Mr Trump tweeted. “The First Lady and I are waiting for our test results. In the meantime, we begin our quarantine process.’
Ms Hick, a senior White House adviser, travelled with the president on Air Force One to and from the presidential debate in Cleveland on Wednesday (AEDT) this week and also on the Marine One helicopter on the return trip from a Trump rally in Minnesota on Thursday. She tested positive the following day.
READ the full story here
Rachel Baxendale 3.05pm: Victoria case linked to hospital cluster
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has linked one of the state’s seven new cases on Friday to a cluster at the Sunshine Hospital in Melbourne’s west, but the remaining six new cases are still under investigation.
UPDATED: The drive-through Screening Clinic has reopened as of 1215 AEST. https://t.co/RX5kfqITut
— Peninsula Health (@PeninsulaHealth) October 2, 2020
The following Melbourne local government areas have new coronavirus cases on Friday:
– Hume (outer north): 1
– Melton (outer northwest): 1
– Monash (southeast): 1
– Moreland (north): 1
– Wyndham (outer southwest): 1
The local government area for the remaining two new cases on Friday is still “under investigation” according to DHHS.
Locations recently added to the DHHS “high risk” list of places visited by positive cases include:
– Woolworths Abbotsford, in Melbourne’s inner east, where a customer shopped on Saturday between 12pm and 12:15pm, as well as on Monday, between 1pm and 1:15pm;
– Leo’s Fine Food and Wine Supermarket in Glen Iris, in Melbourne’s southeast, where a customer spent 20 minutes, including waiting in a queue for 3-5 minutes between 2pm and 2:20pm on Saturday;
– Galbally Reserve in Hughesdale, in Melbourne’s southeast, where a person walked around for an hour on Sunday;
– Narambi Station Reserve in Mornington, in the outer southeast, where a person went for a walk between 1pm and 2pm on Saturday;
– Victoria Gardens Coles, in Richmond, in Melbourne’s inner east, where a customer shopped for about 15 minutes between 1pm and 2pm on Tuesday;
– Brandon Park Coles in Wheelers Hill, in Melbourne’s east, where a customer shopped for an hour between 1:30pm and 2:30pm on Sunday.
READ MORE: Cops move on hotel virus fears
Richard Ferguson 2.55pm: Tasmania to open borders to COVID free states
Tasmania will open its borders to COVID-free states and territories on October 26.
Premier Peter Gutwein said on Friday that all states apart from NSW and Victoria will be allowed in without quarantining. He signalled NSW residents may also be allowed in and will determine its status in the next week.
“It’s important that we start moving towards welcoming back interstate visitors as it plays a vital role in growing our economy, providing jobs for Tasmanians,” he said in Hobart.
“But we must be prepared for this step and we spent the time while our borders have been restricted to take the necessary actions to be comfortable and confident in our ability to respond to cases and outbreaks if they occur stopping today.
“I can confirm that based on advice from the state control and public health, our plan is to reopen our borders to safe and low risk COVID states from the 26th of October.
“At this stage, low-risk states include South Australia, Western Australia, Queensland, the two territories, Northern Territory and the ACT, and New South Wales is looking very promising as well.
“But we will continue to keep New South Wales under advisement for the next week or so, but their progress has been very positive.”
READ MORE: Support for recovery blueprint
Paige Taylor 2.35pm: WA tourism sector lashes McGowan over border
The head of Western Australia’s struggling tourism sector has criticised WA premier Mark McGowan’s claims that “we will lose jobs” if the state’s border comes down.
Mr McGowan told reporters on Thursday that bringing down the state’s hard border would mean high-earning West Australians – who were accustomed to travel – would spend their money on holidays in other states. This, he said, was behind calls for WA to ease restrictions that currently ban most people entering WA from other states and territories.
“The other states want us to open the border so that WA tourists will flood east not so that people from the east will come here,” he said.
The McGowan government has heavily promoted the state to its residents during the pandemic and Perth residents have flocked to regional beauty spots.
But Tourism Council WA chief executive Evan Hall furnished figures Friday showing the state’s own residents had not come close to making up for the loss of visitors from interstate since WA closed its borders. In WA, there was a $214 million decline in the value of domestic tourism, or a drop of 26 per cent, in the month of July 2020 compared with July 2019 figures, according to the latest national visitor survey results.
While intrastate visitor spending grew by $72 million, this was not enough to compensate for the $286 million lost from the lack of interstate visitors. This does not include the $193 million lost from the lack of international visitors, Mr Hall said.
This was partly because interstate visitors spent more than intrastate visitors on hotels, tours, experiences, and transport, and Western Australia needed interstate tourism dollars to save jobs at the Airport and in airlines, city hotels, bus and coach companies, and tourism businesses providing services to interstate guests.
“Without a doubt, we will save more jobs with interstate tourism than without, and we will save more tourism businesses with interstate workers than without,” Mr Hall said.
“Western Australian visitors have saved regional accommodation and hospitality businesses after months being shut down; however tourism businesses cannot be sustained without interstate visitors and workers.
“Regional tourism businesses are facing extreme difficulties securing local staff, which means in many cases they cannot meet capacity demands or offer the service that visitors expect.”
Queensland will open its interstate border to New South Wales from November 1, and Tasmania is expected to open up during October.
“As other States open their borders so they can save tourism jobs through interstate tourism, Western Australia is at a competitive disadvantage,” Mr Hall said.
“Queensland is a direct competitor to WA and is now taking bookings for family reunions, Christmas holidays and winter getaways in 2021. We expect they will see a flood of interstate arrivals as families reunite over Christmas.”
READ MORE: Battle to open national cabinet
Anthony Piovesan 2.30pm: Shock claims over infected butcher
Brett Sutton has faced fresh claims that a butcher shop where workers became infected with COVID-19 was allegedly still trading despite being linked to an outbreak at the time.
A journalist questioned the Chief Health Officer on why the Butcher Club was open and trading on Wednesday, after the DHHS provided an update where two of that day’s 13 cases were linked to the Butcher Club at Chadstone.
“I was at Chadstone on Wednesday. That butcher was still trading? Should it have been?” the reporter asked.
To which Prof Sutton said: “As soon as cases are identified, linked to settings, they are shut down, cleaned and the close contacts are told to quarantine.”
An outbreak at Chadstone Shopping Centre has grown to 11 cases. Picture: Ian Currie/NCA NewsWire
An outbreak at Chadstone Shopping Centre has grown to 11 cases. Picture: Ian Currie/NCA NewsWire
The journalist pressed: “But I was there Wednesday. We knew Wednesday that the Butcher Club was linked to a concern there at Chadstone and cases at Chadstone. I saw it. It was still open, trading.”
Prof Sutton replied: “Yeah. I don’t know what the specific details (are) that were known at that time, but when an individual identifies they have worked at a work setting, and there are contacts in that work setting, that’s when it is shut down.”
READ the full story here
Anne Barrowclough 2.05pm: Ardern pours cold water on travel bubble
Jacinda Ardern has poured cold water on Kiwis’ hopes for quarantine free travel to Australia, making it clear that New Zealanders who travelled to NSW and the Northern Territory would still have quarantine for 14 days on their return.
Earlier today, the NZ Prime Minister said Australia’s plans to open its borders to Kiwis might be “their prerogative”, but New Zealand was still not ready for quarantine-free travel from
“I want New Zealanders to keep in mind that even if Australia [opens up its borders for New Zealanders], that doesn’t mean they won’t have to go into quarantine on return. In fact, at this stage they will,” Ms Ardern told reporters.
”In our view, we are not ready to have quarantine-free travel with Australia. They have a very different strategy to us, and so they’re making that decision and that is their prerogative, but for now, we of course have to keep New Zealanders safe.”
READ MORE: Trump isolates after aide tests positive
Richard Ferguson 1.45pm: ‘Shearers, fruit pickers might come and find love’
Australians will not yet be allowed to travel to New Zealand under the first stage of the trans-Tasman bubble, but Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack says that could change.
Mr McCormack also welcomed agricultural and shearers in New Zealand to come to Sydney and the Northern Territory to work here.
“If Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister in New Zealand, wants to have Australians going to New Zealand, then that will be up to her and New Zealand as to how those arrangements can be put into place and under what conditions they can be put into place,” he said.
“The Northern Territory and New South Wales, very much open. We welcome those New Zealanders coming here.
“And it could well be that indeed some may avail themselves of this because we’ve got work to be done in agriculture ... they might even come over here and find love.
READ MORE: Queensland opens to NSW
Richard Ferguson 1.40pm: Bubble to free up quarantine spots
Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack says the first stage of the trans-Tasman travel bubble will free up more than 300 spots in hotel quarantine.
Mr McCormack said in Canberra that any state or territory which agrees to the national definition of a COVID hotspot will be allowed to participate. Queensland and WA do not currently agree.
“The establishment of quarantine free travel to Australia from New Zealand will free up space, and this is a really important point for around an additional 325 passengers a week to enter quarantine in Sydney,” he said.
“So that by freeing up those 325 places, that means that more Australians from more destinations overseas can indeed then fill that 325 vacancies, so this trans- Tasman bubble means that there are going to be more places open for more Australians to come home from abroad.
“If Queensland were to agree to this definition, around an additional 250 quarantine places could be freed up allowing Australians from other world locations to arrive in Brisbane along with uncapped flights from New Zealand.”
READ MORE: ‘Happy hour begins’
Richard Ferguson 1.30pm: Trans-Tasman bubble to open on October 16
New Zealanders will be able to visit Sydney and the Northern Territory from October 16.
Deputy Prime Minister McCormack said in Canberra that New Zealanders – who do not live in a NZ COVID hotspot – will be able to visit without having to quarantine.
“They are welcome to come to the Northern Territory, welcome to come to New South Wales, and this is the first stage in what we hope to see as a trans-Tasman bubble between the two countries stopping not just that state and that territory,” he said.
“And I know that NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and I know that the Chief Minister of the Northern Territory Michael Gunner welcome this indeed.
“I have just gotten off the phone with Chief Minister Gunner who says the fish are biting and the beers are cold and he wants to see as many of his New Zealand cousins and friends as possible.”
Richard Ferguson 1.10pm: Trans-Tasman bubble to be confirmed today
The Morrison government is set to announce a travel bubble arrangement with New Zealand as early as today, The Australian understands.
Sydney and Adelaide are set to be the first airports receiving New Zealanders who will not have to undergo a fortnight of hotel quarantine.
Reports have emerged that the travel bubble may be only one way with New Zealanders allowed into Australia, but not the other way around.
Mr Morrison flagged at his National Press Club address on Thursday that he wanted New Zealand tourists to come to Australia, even if Australians could not enter.
“I hope very soon to see New Zealanders coming and holidaying in Australia,” Mr Morrison told the National Press Club in Canberra.
“I can’t tell you Australians will be able to holiday in New Zealand, but that’s their problem. I’m happy for Kiwi tourists to come here and spend money in NSW and South Australia. They’re very, very welcome.”
READ MORE: Trans-Tasman bubble deal within days
David Ross 12.55pm: Small business welcomes tax back move
Council of Small Business Organisations Australia CEO Peter Strong has welcomed the government’s moves to allow businesses to claim back some of the tax they paid before COVID hit.
“If you’re a business and you’ve been a successful business, you’ve made good profits, you’ve paid your taxes, done all those sorts of things, and now, due to no fall of your own, you’re actually making losses and you’re struggling, this means you can do a loss carry back and cash flow, which is the King and queen of small business,” he said on ABC.
“This is good news. For the medium and larger businesses, it is not bad news either because we need to get the money back into the economy.”
Mr Strong said the move would go to keeping businesses in business and allow them to trade out of the downturn.
“I would hope, given the development of vaccines, et cetera, that in two or three years, we’ll see all these businesses that have been successful for a long time go back and be successful again and pay tax,” he said.
“One of the interesting things about this is to use it, you got to have paid tax in the previous year. So those businesses that have on the cusp or haven’t paid tax, or made sure with their accountant that they haven’t paid tax, they’ll get no benefit from this.”
David Ross 11.55am: ACT relaxes restrictions further
The ACT will relax restrictions across the territory on Friday 9 October, boosting event and venue capacities, as part of its Canberra Recovery plan.
As of 9am next Friday all gatherings can host 200 people and hospitality venues with total usable space between 101 and 200 square metres can have a maximum of 50 guests.
Large indoor venues will be allowed ticketed and seated events of up to 50 capacity or 1000 people, so long as there is a COVID safe plan.
Stadiums will be allowed 50 per cent capacities, while enclosed outdoor venues with tiered seating and grandstands can take 50 per cent capacity or up to 1000 ticketed guests.
Cinemas will now be allowed up to 50 per cent capacity or 200 guests.
The ACT chief health officer Dr Kerryn Coleman flagged a further relaxation of restrictions including allowing one person per two square metres, with a final decision by next week.
“We understand these are the most significant changes we have made to the Public Health Directions in a number of weeks and we want to give businesses as much notice as possible to ensure they are ready to move once new Directions come into effect,” Dr Coleman said
“In making these changes, I urge all businesses to move to electronic recording of contact details, where possible, to better assist our contract tracing efforts if needed. And I strongly encourage businesses, venues and facilities to register to use the free Check In CBR app.
READ MORE: Time to wind back stimulus
Rachel Baxendale 11.45am: Victoria has 261 active cases
Victoria now has 261 active cases of coronavirus – a decrease of 28 cases since Thursday.
Of seven new cases reported in the 24 hours to Friday, only one has so far been linked to a known outbreak, while six remain under investigation.
The cumulative total number of cases since the pandemic began has increased by only six cases, due to the reclassification of a previously notified case.
Two deaths reported in the 24 hours to Friday have brought Victoria’s coronavirus death toll to 802.
The latest deaths include those of a woman and a man in their 80s, both of whom were aged care residents.
There have now been 636 coronavirus deaths linked to Victorian aged care facilities.
There are 38 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus on Friday, including four in intensive care, of whom three are on ventilators.
This compares with 38 people in hospital on Thursday, including six in intensive care, of whom three were on ventilators.
There were 12,550 tests processed in the 24 hours to Friday, bringing the total number processed in Victoria since the pandemic began to 2,722,218.
The positive test rate for Friday is 0.06 per cent – the lowest positive test rate since early June, and down from a peak of 3.73 per cent at the height of the second wave in August.
It compares with 0.10 on Thursday, and 0.07 on Monday and Wednesday.
There are 111 active cases linked to aged care facilities on Friday, representing 42.5 per cent of Victoria’s total 261 active cases on Friday, and down from 135 active cases linked to aged care on Thursday.
There 40 active cases in health workers including aged care and disability workers on Friday, down from 45 on Thursday.
There are just three active cases in regional Victoria – the same number as on Thursday.
READ MORE: ‘No evidence’ curfew helped virus
Richard Ferguson 11.20am: Palmer: Premier’s border stance shows I’m right
Businessman Clive Palmer claims Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan’s assertion there is no economic benefit to opening up to COVID-safe states shows his court battle to open WA is the right course.
The WA Premier said on Thursday there would be no benefit in opening to COVID-free territories like South Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory as people would leave WA for other jobs and tourism opportunities.
Mr Palmer said in a statement that Mr McGowan should open to COVIDsafe states now and maintained he expected to win his case in the High Court.
“I have always maintained that Mark McGowan closed the borders for economic reasons. He wants to separate WA from the rest of Australia,’’ Mr Palmer said.
“There is no reason why WA should not immediately open its borders to the states where the virus is under control … He doesn’t want Australia united.
“I’m confident that when this issue gets to the High Court the borders will be opened so we can trade between States again and get the Australian economy moving.”
READ MORE: Pandemic’s ‘lasting benefit’ to economy
David Ross 11.10am: Recommendations to improve care ‘too late’
Opposition aged care spokeswoman Julie Collins has called on the government to take seriously the recommendations released today to fix the aged care system.
“The recommendations are calling for, particularly infection control experts to be on the ground, to ensure that facilities and staff understand what is required. It’s calling for more staff immediately,” she said.
“This needs to be done in the next eight weeks. The government needs to ensure that it deals with it and that it ensures that people have the resources they need to do the job.”
Ms Collins said recommendations to improve care quality came too late.
“We should already have a very high level of care in residential aged care that is consistent right across the country,” she said.
“Labor has also been very clear, from the very outset when the Government made reforms, with the complaints and the quality commission together that the regulator didn’t have the powers or the resources it needs to do what it has been tasked to do and do it well.”
She said the lack of visits by the aged care regulator were telling of the poor oversight across the sector.
“We saw that the regulator didn’t do any checks during the first three months of COVID-19. It has, since that time, been trying to make up for it. But when it only visited a small proportion of facilities in Victoria, where we have had significant outbreaks, it has clearly not got the powers or resources to do what is being asked of it,” she said.
She said the government clearly had not planned for outbreaks in aged care after its earlier experiences in NSW.
“The Government is responsible for aged care in Australia. It funds it, it regulates it and what we have seen for over 667 families is an absolute tragedy. It is also a tragedy for all those people with loved ones still in residential aged care today who are terrified that there is going to be an outbreak in their facilities where their loved one is,” she said.
“It is not good enough. The Government has been there for seven years. Its first two years it ripped billions of dollars out of aged care and then it called a royal commission.”
READ MORE: Urgent call to fix ‘deplorable’ homes
Agencies 11.00am: Trump aide Hope Hicks tests positive
Hope Hicks, one of President Donald Trump’s closest aides, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
Ms Hicks, who serves as counsellor to the president and travelled with him to a Wednesday rally, tested positive on Thursday, according to an administration official who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private health information. She is the closest aide to Mr Trump to test positive so far.
Ms Hicks travelled with the president multiple times this week, including on Marine One, the presidential helicopter, for a Minnesota rally Wednesday, and aboard Air Force One to Tuesday night’s first presidential debate.
READ MORE: Boorish Trump let Biden off the hook
Rachel Baxendale 10.50am: Andrews, Vic A-G address media at 11.30am
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to address the media at 11:30am, alongside Attorney-General Jill Hennessy.
The press conference comes as the Andrews government faces pressure over coronavirus infections in its overhauled hotel quarantine program, and after workers from cleaning and catering company Spotless were replaced by police mid-shift on Wednesday amid infection control concerns.
Ms Hennessy’s Department of Justice and Community Safety took over responsibility for hotel quarantine from the Department of Health and Human Services in late June, after clusters at two hotels sparked a deadly second wave of coronavirus, which has so far killed 783 people.
READ MORE: Battle to open National Cabinet
David Ross 10.45am: Berejiklian: ‘First I’ve heard of border opening’
Gladys Berejiklian has welcomed the news the Queensland border will reopen to NSW as of 1 November, but noted the first she heard of it was via the media.
“This is the first I’ve heard of it, I would welcome that with open arms if that is the case I’m ecstatic about that,” she said.
“I would have liked it to happen sooner.”
READ MORE: Tax relief to get small business moving again
David Ross 10.30am: NSW records 4 cases in travellers
NSW has reported four new cases of COVID-19 in travellers in hotel quarantine.
No cases of community transmission have been reported across the state, in what is the seventh day in a row of no infections.
But NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian warned it was important to maintain vigilance in the face of the continued dearth of infections.
“We can’t afford to be complacent, we know how contagious this virus is,” she said.
Three of the returned travellers diagnosed with COVID-19 were from overseas, however one was from Victoria.
There have now been at least 90 interstate acquired cases of COVID-19 of the total 4042 cases in NSW.
NSW Health reported 11,343 tests in the 24 hour reporting period, down on the previous reporting period but still within the target rate from the state government.
In recent days NSW Health has launched new testing facilities in regional areas of the state to cope with an influx of holidaying families in a bid to stop the potential seeding of the virus.
NSW Health is treating 48 cases of COVID-19, including two in ICU.
READ MORE: Pandemic pain persists for big oil
Sarah Elks 9.55am: Queensland opens border to NSW
Dancing will return to Queensland on November 1, and happy hour from this afternoon, as long as the state doesn’t record any more community transmission.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has released a new roadmap for relaxing restrictions, announcing Stage 5 would happen from November 1, allowing gatherings of up to 40 people in homes.
The new roadmap also confirms Deputy Premier Steven Miles’ statement on Thursday that the border will reopen to all of NSW from 1am on November 1, provided there have been 28 days of no unlinked cases in NSW.
It will remain closed to Victoria, until that state also has community transmission under control.
The Palaszczuk Government has launched a clear plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions during October, November and December.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) October 1, 2020
Also on November 1, up to 40 people would be able to dance at weddings.
Mr Miles said from 4pm today, happy hour would return to Queensland, when people would be allowed to stand in bars.
From December 1, Stage 6 will kick in, in which 50 people would be allowed to gather in homes, and unlimited dancing would be allowed at weddings with a COVID-safe plan.
The new roadmap comees into place the day after the October 31 state election
Queensland has recorded two new cases overnight, two maritime crew members in their 20s and 30s who have been on a ship off the Queensland coast. They are now being treated in hospital in Brisbane.
There are now six active cases in the state.
READ MORE: Queensland strategy to deal with fires, flood, pandemic
Rachel Baxendale 9.05am: Victoria records 7 new cases, 2 deaths
Victoria has recorded seven new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Friday, and two deaths.
The seven cases represent the second-lowest daily increase since the peak of Victoria’s second wave, following Monday’s three and a half month low of five.
Yesterday there were 7 new cases & the loss of 2 lives reported. Our thoughts are with all affected. The 14 day rolling average & number of cases with unknown source are down from yesterday as we move toward COVID Normal. Info: https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz… #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/ioyBBX5IgQ
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) October 1, 2020
They also follow 15 new cases on Thursday, 13 on Wednesday, and 10 on Tuesday.
The two deaths bring Victoria’s coronavirus death toll to 802.
All but 19 of these deaths have occurred as a result of the state’s second wave of coronavirus cases, sparked by breaches in the Andrews government’s hotel quarantine program.
Mebourne’s 14 day daily average number of new cases is now 12.8, down from 15.6 on Thursday and 25.1 last Friday.
This compares with a 14 day daily average of 0.2 in regional Victoria – down from 0.3 on Wednesday.
As of Thursday there were just three known active cases left in regional Victoria, and 289 statewide.
There have been 14 cases with an unknown source of infection in metropolitan Melbourne in the most recent fortnight for which this statistic is available – down from 19 on Thursday.
Regional Victoria has had no unknown source cases over the same fortnight, which spans September 16 to September 29.
As of Monday, Victoria’s 9pm to 5am curfew no longer applies, public outdoor gatherings of up to five people from up to two households are allowed, childcare has resumed for parents who are not permitted workers, and school students are set to begin a staged return to the classroom when Term Four resumes on October 5.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Sunday that the next step of easing restrictions for Melburnians will be brought forward to October 19, provided the state reaches a threshold of a 14 day daily average of fewer than five cases, with fewer than five cases with an unknown source over that fortnight.
This would see stay-at-home rules relaxed for the first time since July 7, and hospitality businesses able to reopen to up to 20 patrons indoors and 50 outdoors.
READ MORE: New cluster tied to butcher’s shop
Richard Ferguson 9.00am: WA Premier ‘running economic protectionism’
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has blasted Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan’s assertion there is no economic benefit to open borders as protectionist and anti-constitutional.
The WA Premier told The West Australian on Friday there would be no benefit in opening to COVID-free territories like South Australia, the ACT and the Northern Territory as people would leave WA for other jobs and tourism opportunities.
“’The other states want us to open the border so that West Australian tourists will flood east, not so that people from the east will come here,” Mr McGowan said.
“All this is for very self-interested reasons because we have higher incomes, we have people that are more used to travelling and therefore we’ll have more tourists go from Western Australia to the east.”
Senator Cormann – the leading West Australian in the federal cabinet – said Mr McGowan was denying other Westerners their Consititutional right to travel and do business in other states.
“Mark McGowan yesterday was running an economic protectionist argument in favour of continued state border closures. Economic state protectionism is explicitly prohibited in the Australian constitution,” he told Sky News.
“The people of Western Australia deserve to know that if zero active cases and zero community transmission in South Australia and the Northern Territory are not good enough to restore the freedoms Australians are entitled to – the Premier has to explain that to the people.
“What is enough? What are the objective, predictable criteria to let Western Australians enjoy their freedoms, as Australians, guaranteed under the Constitution.”
READ MORE: Pandemic’s ‘lasting benefit’ to economy
David Ross 8.10am: Aged care report ‘too mild, lets government run narrative’
Monash University Health Law and Ageing Research Unit head professor Joseph Ibrahim has slammed the report into aged care, calling it “too mild” and calling out the government for making its submissions late.
“It gives the government the last word, It allows them to run the narrative,” Professor Ibrahim said on ABC RN breakfast.
“(The government) should have been far better prepared in what they were going to say and when they were going to say it.”
“They behaved in a manner which is not consistent with respect to the commission or the courts.”
“I think that the Royal Commission has missed an opportunity to highlight the neglect in the sector.”
He said the comparisons in the report of the experience in Australian aged care to that of the UK rather than better performing countries like Hong Kong, Denmark, or New Zealand were invalid.
Australia is uniquely situated as an island continent; our ability to control the virus is far far greater than it is in the Americas or Europe,” he said.
READ MORE: New cluster tied to butcher’s shop, household
David Ross 7.55am: Dutton: We’ll come down hard on bad aged care operators
Home affairs minister Peter Dutton has squared off with Labor deputy leader Richard Marles over the government’s response to the outbreak of COVID-19 in aged care.
“Everyone is sorry for the situation in aged care and it has been that way for a long time and in fact, it was one of the first acts that Scott Morrison did when he came into the leadership of the government, he called for this Royal Commission because nobody was happy with the band-aids that had been applied for well over a decade or two,” Mr Dutton said on Nine’s Today.
“There are a vast majority of good operators but we need to apply pressure to those not suitable in the industry to exit and provide additional support for those delivering a good service.
“The vast majority of aged care providers are good people, doing the right thing, providing a good service, but where they are not, we want to come down hard on those people.”
But Richard Marles said the government was continuing to deny its role in providing governance in aged care.
“More needs to be done but the starting point is for the Commonwealth to take responsibility,” he said.
“The Commonwealth is actually the body or the tier of government which is responsible for this. This is a real indictment on them.
“This is a report which is looking at how this sector has responded to coronavirus and it describes the situation during coronavirus under this government as being deplorable. It makes the heart of the recommendations about failure of infection control.”
Mr Marles also said the government had shirked its responsibilities for national borders.
“The internal borders of our nation have something to do with the Commonwealth Government. All we are seeing here right is one Premier having a fight with another Premier rather than the Federal Government getting involved and providing leadership in respect of our internal borders, something which must have something to do with the Commonwealth Government,” he said.
“This Prime Minister from day-1 should have had a plan in relation to this and brought Premiers along with him, but he is incapable of bringing along anyone with him because this is a guy who does not engage in cooperation.”
But Peter Dutton once slammed Queensland for its border closures, saying Annastacia Palaszczuk kept moving the goalposts and when the borders would open.
“I think all of this is being done for politics, and on the eve of an election and that’s why people are upset,” he said.
“If you are sitting in traffic this morning waiting to get across the border to see a medical specialist or a loved one and you are coming from an area where there has not been a single case, you can understandably be angry about it and that’s why the Premier is being called out.”
READ MORE: Safe visits for elderly would be fine result
Rachel Baxendale 7.35am: Andrews downplays police replacing quarantine workers
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has sought to downplay revelations that hotel quarantine floor monitors from cleaning and catering company Spotless were stood down mid-shift and replaced with police on Wednesday amid infection control concerns, claiming the overhauled program is “changing and evolving”.
Victoria ceased receiving international arrivals in late June, as it emerged that a second wave of coronavirus cases now linked to at least 781 deaths, more than 18,000 infections and a crippling three month lockdown had been sparked by infection control breaches at two of the Andrews government’s quarantine hotels.
However, the Grand Chancellor and Brady hotels in Melbourne’s CBD have more recently been set up as quarantine centres to house vulnerable, largely coronavirus-positive people who cannot isolate at home, under the management of the Department of Justice and Community Safety, with assistance from Alfred Health, Corrections Victoria, Victoria Police and Spotless.
The Grand Chancellor ceased being used as a quarantine hotel on September 14 and the Brady was replaced by the Novotel South Wharf on Tuesday.
Late on Wednesday a DJCS spokeswoman confirmed that Spotless staff at the Novotel “health hotel” had been replaced mid-shift by Victoria Police members.
READ the full story here.
David Ross 7.15am: Swan: Aged care system starved for years
ALP national president and former treasurer Wayne Swan has branded the Australian aged care system a “tragedy” and said the system had been starved of funding for years under the current government.
“There’s not been enough staff or training and no infection control and so many unnecessary deaths. I think it can be fixed but we have had neglect for a long time,” he said on Nine’s Today.
“That is why there’s an existing aged care royal commission. As a nation, we have to resolve to fix this. And it can be fixed. There’s a clear pathway. It does require good regulation, strict regulation and adequate funding. It is not rocket science and we ought to get on with it.”
Mr Swan also said the recent attacks from the government on the Queensland border restrictions were uncalled for.
“The Queensland Government have followed the same course the whole time. It might suit the Liberal Party and others to throw rocks at the government but the one thing they can’t really do is to distract attention from the fact that from day one they have followed the health advice and the consequence is a safe community and a strong economy,” he said.
READ MORE: Urgent call to fix ‘deplorable’ homes
David Ross 7.00am: Cases surge across Europe
Cases of COVID-19 continue to surge across European countries, with several countries reimposing broader lockdowns.
Spain’s capital Madrid has been plunged into a deeper lockdown after the city became Europe’s worth-hit hotspot.
The city had already been under limited suburban lockdowns, but the Spanish central government has now ordered the city and nine nearby towns to shut bars and cafes.
Residents will only be able to travel for work, school, medical visits or shopping.
People will be unable to travel between or out of the municipalities under lockdown.
Data from the John Hopkins COVID-19 tracker shows Madrid has recorded 238,423 cases of the virus since the start of the pandemic.
The new restrictions also loom large for the rest of the country, with any municipality in Spain of at least 100,000 inhabitants that records more than 500 cases per 100,000 people in the past 14 days to be hit.
Poland is also imposing restrictions across its worst-hit areas, with the government announcing bars and restaurants to close by 10pm.
The Polish government has published a list of red and yellow zones which would have even more severe restrictions, including several major cities in the country.
Poland recorded 1552 new cases yesterday, adding to its total of 91,514.
The outbreak across Europe has also hit Italy again, with the country recording more than 2000 cases a day despite being the original epicentre of the first wave of COVID-19.
However, death rates remain low since the peak on March 28.
Several cities in France remain under restrictions aimed at clamping down on COVID-19 cases, with bars and restaurants to shut early.
But France’s health minister has warned that if the situation in the capital Paris did not improve in the coming days the government would look to place the city under maximum alert and close all bars and restaurants by Monday.
Data from the French department of health shows several cities un-hit by significant caseloads of COVID-19 were now seeing a significant run-up in new infections.
However, cities of Marseille, Bordeaux and Nice are all seeing some improvements in the slowing of new infections.
But the true extent of the viral hit across the world remains unclear, hampered by testing and governments actively underreporting case numbers.
Global cases of COVID-19 stand at least 34.11m and deaths at 1.01m.
READ MORE:
Remy Varga 5.15am: ‘No proof curfew was effective in stopping virus’
A senior Victorian Health bureaucrat has told a court there was no evidence a curfew in isolation was effective in stopping the spread of the coronavirus and has contradicted Premier Daniel Andrews’s claim it was introduced as an enforcement measure to help police.
Associate professor Michelle Giles, a senior medical adviser in the Department of Health and Human Services, said she had asked the government for evidence about the effectiveness of curfews before signing a public health order enforcing them, but the paper she was sent did not mention curfews in isolation or the benefits of a 5km travel limit.
Professor Giles acted briefly as deputy public health commander and signed public health orders involving the Melbourne curfew: “There is no evidence the curfew in isolation is effective, but I didn’t consider the curfew in isolation.”
Professor Giles said she disagreed with Mr Andrews’s comments that the curfew was introduced as an enforcement measure to assist Victoria Police. “I actually considered the curfew in relation to public health,” she said. “I don’t agree with those comments, particularly the law enforcement one.”
Read the full story here.
Stephen Lunn 5am: Urgent call to fix ‘deplorable’ aged care homes
The aged care royal commission has criticised “deplorable” infection control regimes at some nursing homes, found a “traumatised” workforce, and recommended an urgent funding injection to bring in new staff in the wake of more than 660 coronavirus deaths in the sector.
In a special report, the royal commission called for a new national COVID-19 plan for nursing homes and said the federal government needed to ensure the urgent deployment of infection prevention and control experts in every facility to prevent more deaths during the coronavirus pandemic.
It also said immediate measures needed to be put in place to let families visit their elderly relatives, and said existing restrictions had “tragic, irreparable and lasting effects which must immediately be addressed” because of their toll on residents’ physical and emotional health.
Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck accepted the report’s six recommendations — including for the establishment of a national aged care plan and an immediate funding increase — with a commitment to an additional $40.6m for the sector.
Read the full story here.
Rosie Lewis 4.45am: Deal for NZ travel bubble ‘within days’
Scott Morrison is preparing to announce deals with state governments to kickstart the trans-Tasman “travel bubble”, with Sydney and Adelaide set to be the first airports receiving New Zealanders who will not have to undergo a fortnight of hotel quarantine.
Government sources said an announcement was expected before next week’s budget after the Prime Minister and his Kiwi counterpart Jacinda Ardern discussed plans as recently as Tuesday.
The Morrison government will need to reach agreement with each state about how the travel bubble will work and is talking up NSW and South Australia being the first cab off the rank because their borders are completely open.
Read the full story here.
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