Coronavirus Australia live news: Christian Porter slams Victoria’s sick pay as ‘job killing tax’
Australia’s preferred vaccine, the Oxford AstraZeneca jab, also appears to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus, eagerly awaited stage-three data shows.
- Porter slams Victoria’s ‘job killing tax’
- Albanese backs Palaszczuk on borders
- $5m sick pay scheme for Victoria
- ‘No regrets’ for SA’s lockdown on a lie
- Masks at the ready as Vic eases rules
Welcome to our live coverage of the nation’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic. Christian Porter has attacked Victoria’s $5m sick pay scheme for insecure workers as a tax on business. Anthony Albanese has backed Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s decision to keep her borders closed to NSW.
Robyn Ironside 11.30pm: Heat on Premier as border opens
The reopening of the NSW-Victoria border has triggered renewed calls from the travel industry for Queensland to clarify its position to allow people to make holiday plans.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will not update her borders policy again until next Monday, creating an anxious wait for those hoping to travel to Queensland ahead of Christmas.
The state is closed to “hot spots” including Greater Sydney, Victoria and 20 local government areas in South Australia. Queensland previously set a benchmark of 28 days without community transmission, which Victoria is expected to reach in coming days. NSW has recorded more than two weeks without any locally acquired cases and it has now been a month since the state had an unlinked case.
AFP 10.45pm: Seven dead after drinking hand sanitiser
Seven people have died and two are in a coma after consuming diluted hand sanitiser in Russia’s Far East republic of Yakutia.
A statement published by Russian investigators said a group of nine locals fell violently ill in the village of Tomtor after consuming diluted hand sanitiser that they had purchased at a local shop.
Investigators said they found an unlabelled five-litre cannister at the scene. Tests of its contents revealed that it contained 69 per cent methanol, an industrial non-drinking type of alcohol.
The first three victims died on the spot, while six others were flown by medical aircraft to the regional capital Yakutsk. Four died in hospital.
Doctors were fighting to save the lives of the remaining two — a 48-year-old woman and a 32-year-old man, both of whom are in a coma and on ventilators, health authorities said on Monday.
Yakutia’s health authorities banned the sale of the methanol-based hand sanitiser.
A criminal case has been launched over the “infliction of death by negligence”.
The consumption of alcohol substitutes due to their cheap price is not uncommon in Russia’s poorer regions.
In 2016, more than 100 people were poisoned in Siberia’s Irkutsk region after consuming a hawthorn-infused bath lotion, and 78 of them died.
Although alcohol consumption in Russia has waned in recent years, purchases spiked after authorities imposed lockdown in March.
At the time, the Yakutsk governor imposed a week-long ban on alcohol sales in the city and several nearby districts.
READ MORE: Heat on holdout Premier as border opens
David Ross 10pm: Quarantine scheme at breaking point
The NSW hotel quarantine scheme has been beset with thousands of incidents, with 169 security guards sacked and at least four overseas arrivals absconding from facilities, confidential government operational updates show.
Minutes of an October 30 meeting between NSW government officials and security company representatives also show a looming crisis in the quarantine program with contractors warning they are unable to reliably extend beyond 820 daily deployments.
As Gladys Berejiklian pushes to expand the quarantine scheme to international students and other migrants, documents show NSW Police predicting that 1200 deployments per day may be needed.
AFP 9.15pm: EU regulator could approve vaccines ‘late 2020, early 2021’
text
Europe’s medicines regulatorsays it could approve the first coronavirus vaccines late this year or early next, as it evaluates the most promising candidates.
The clarification came on Monday after EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said last week that the watchdog could give the green light for vaccines tested by Pfizer-BioNTech and by Moderna before the end of next month.
“It is difficult to predict timelines for the authorisation of vaccines precisely at this stage, as the data are still coming in and the rolling reviews are currently ongoing,” the European Medicines Agency said in an emailed statement.
“Depending on how the evaluation progresses, EMA could indeed be in a position to conclude evaluation for the most advanced candidates towards the end of this year or the beginning of next.”
READ MORE: Oxford vaccine goes to top of class
AFP 8.30pm: Eurozone economy in ‘steep downturn’, says key survey
Eurozone economic activity plunged this month, a key survey showed on Monday, due to a resurgence of lockdowns across Europe as the second wave of the coronavirus tightened its grip.
“The eurozone economy has plunged back into a severe decline in November amid renewed efforts to quash the rising tide of COVID-19 infections,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at IHS Markit.
The firm’s closely watched PMI index plummeted to 45.1 points from 50.0 points in October, well below the key 50-point level which indicates growth.
READ MORE: Sick pay for casuals ‘a job-killing tax’
Bruno Waterfield, Rhys Blakely, Charles Bremner 7.45pm: Anger as European ski resorts open
European leaders and health officials have lambasted the decision of some ski resorts to open, saying winter sports enthusiasts risked causing a third wave of the virus.
David Nabarro, a British official and the World Health Organisation’s envoy to Europe, made the warning in Switzerland, which has the highest infection rate on the continent but where ski resorts will stay open over Christmas and new year. He said that European governments had mounted an “incomplete” response to the pandemic that could drive another wave before a vaccine could begin to be administered.
“They missed building up the necessary infrastructure during the summer months, after they brought the first wave under control,” he told the Swiss Solothurner Zeitung newspaper. “Now we have the second wave. If they don’t build the necessary infrastructure, we’ll have a third wave early next year.”
Mr Nabarro criticised Switzerland’s decision, which allows resorts to open as long as skiers wear masks while on lifts. “Once the infection rates sink, and they will sink, then we can be as free as we want,” he said. “But right now? Should ski resorts open?”
Ski seasons in the rest of Europe remain in doubt. In France President Emmanuel Macron will address the nation on Tuesday on the easing of lockdown restrictions across the country.
No decision has been made on whether resorts will be able to open but on Friday the tourism minister admitted that the industry would need to know by the second week of next month if it will be able to open in time for Christmas. Some resorts opened in Italy last month, before fresh restrictions closed them again days later.
Austrian slopes were also closed last month after briefly reopening. Several Austrian resorts are still planning to open with a nationwide lockdown expected to be eased on December 6.
Criticism of the move to reopen ski resorts was echoed on Sunday by the Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who said travel to Alpine winter sports would be banned to prevent a repeat of the first wave of the coronavirus, which began last year with people returning from European ski slopes.
“You don’t need to be a virologist to know that the holidays come with a big risk,” he said. “The last thing we want is a third wave of infections at Christmas.”
The Times
READ MORE: America’s unfolding double tragedy
Jacquelin Magnay 7pm: Oxford vaccine ‘90pc effective and blocks transmission’
Australia’s preferred vaccine, the Oxford AstraZeneca jab, is up to 90 per cent efficacious, and as well as protecting people from the effects of COVID-19, it also appears to reduce the transmission of the coronavirus, stage-three data shows.
The eagerly awaited results showed both good and disappointing news: the 90 per cent rate was achieved with a two-dose regime, the first of which was only half-strength.
Australia has an agreement to buy and manufacture 33 million doses of the vaccine, and manufacture has already begun with the first batches being rolled out by the new year.
While the adjusted first dose proved highly effective, when researchers gave volunteers the two doses at full strength, the efficacy rate plunged to 62.4 per cent. This is well below the standards set by rival vaccines Moderna and Pfizer BioNTech, both of which showed nearly 95 per cent effectiveness.
Using the two studies together, the Oxford vaccine is considered 70.4 per cent effective, but unlike the other vaccines, it can be stored in a fridge, meaning the logistics of distributing it are easier and safer.
Oxford researchers said on Monday there were early indications the vaccine could also reduce virus transmission from an observed reduction in asymptomatic infections.
Professor Andrew Pollard, Director of the Oxford Vaccine Group said: “These findings show that we have an effective vaccine that will save many lives. Excitingly, we’ve found that one of our dosing regimens may be around 90 per cent effective and if this dosing regimen is used, more people could be vaccinated with planned vaccine supply.
More than 24,000 volunteers in the UK, Brazil and South Africa have been part of the Oxford trial, which uses a viral vaccine (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) — a weakened version of a common cold virus genetically changed so that it is impossible for it to grow in humans.
The latest results add to the peer-reviewed earlier stage one and two trial results, which show the vaccine induces strong antibody and T-cell immune responses across all age groups, including older adults, and has a good safety profile.
The researchers said there were no hospitalised or severe cases in anyone who received the vaccine and — crucially — the vaccine can be easily administered in existing healthcare systems, stored at fridge temperature (2C-8C) and distributed using existing logistics.
While the half-dose first shot may initially complicate manufacture of the vaccine, it also means the first shots can be rolled out quicker.
Professor Sarah Gilbert, Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford, said:
“The announcement today takes us another step closer to the time when we can use vaccines to bring an end to the devastation caused by SARS-CoV-2. We will continue to work to provide the detailed information to regulators. It has been a privilege to be part of this multi-national effort which will reap benefits for the whole world.”
James Hall 6.30pm: Sutton faces grilling at quarantine inquiry
Victoria chief health officer Brett Sutton has been grilled over the state’s handling of the destructive second wave of the coronavirus.
The parliamentary inquiry focused on contract tracing and the testing regime in Victoria, assessing how the health department responded to the pandemic.
Dr Sutton said authorities began to be overwhelmed in their efforts to trace infections in the community when the state was recording 200 new cases a day at the end of May.
“When you get to hundreds of cases, at that kind of level of 200 or more cases per day, it starts to really challenge your ability to get to all of that timely information for close contrasts … within that critical time period,” Prof Sutton told the inquiry.
“When you get to very, very high numbers it does degrade your ability to get on top of it.”
When reflecting on the state’s handling of the second wave, Prof Sutton said the greatest frustration was the lack of national support mechanisms to trace cases when clusters emerged.
He said the health department was struggling to keep up with administrative responsibilities.
“Additional support has been straightened out, and it’s run much more smoothly,” Prof Sutton told the inquiry.
He said South Australia was able to call upon multiple jurisdictions for help handling its outbreak last week but enough hadn’t been done to help Victoria during its second wave.
— NCA Newswire
John Stensholt 6pm: Plunging coal price puts a dent in profits
Falling coal prices have put a big dent in the profits — and potentially the fortune — of one of Australia’s biggest private coal miners, Chris Wallin.
The financial results of the Queensland billionaire’s QCoal took a large hit in the 2020 financial year, according to documents just lodged with the corporate regulator. Read more here
Lachlan Moffet Gray 5.30pm: Sharemarket surges to nine-month high
The local sharemarket closed at an intraday low on Monday after it reached its highest point since February on the back of strong growth from the energy sector and continued positive sentiment from vaccine developments.
The benchmark S & P/ASX 200 Index closed up 22 points, or 0.34 per cent, at 6561.6, after falling from the day’s high of 6594 points - its highest point in eight months and three weeks.
But with the index up 10.7 per cent over November, it is still on track for its best month in its 20-year history.
The broader All Ordinaries Index is also close to beating its previously monthly growth record of 13.6 per cent set in March of 1988 after it lifted by 0.47 per cent to close at 6772 points - up 10.4 per cent this month to date.
Yoni Bashan 5pm: Berejiklian ‘stayed at work after COVID test’
Gladys Berejiklian told colleagues she was awaiting COVID-19 test results while working in parliament last week — a potential breach of health guidelines requiring residents to self-isolate until they are confirmed negative — sources say.
The NSW Premier refused to answer questions about precisely what happened after she took tests on Tuesday as a precaution due to the loss of her voice.
On the day of the test, last Tuesday, the state government handed down its long-awaited pandemic budget.
Ms Berejiklian’s office has insisted she had no virus symptoms and undertook the test out of an abundance of caution. She told others she did not return to work until she received negative test results.
However, two well-placed government sources have confirmed to The Australian that Ms Berejiklian attended meetings with colleagues while awaiting the test results.
The Australian asked the Premier’s office numerous times what time she undertook the test, when she received her results, and whether she attended any meetings during the intervening period. These questions were not answered.
One official familiar with the matter said Ms Berejiklian was still waiting for her results well into the afternoon on Tuesday, by which time she had met with numerous colleagues through the day.
“She definitely had the test during the day and continued to be in parliament against the (NSW Health) advice of her own chief medical officer,” the official said.
READ the full story
Ken Thomas 4.45pm: Biden picks trusted diplomat for Secretary of State
President-elect Joe Biden intends to nominate Antony Blinken to serve as Secretary of State, turning to a trusted diplomat and foreign-policy adviser to oversee his work to rebuild U.S. relationships around the globe, according to people familiar with the decision.
Mr. Blinken served as Mr. Biden’s top foreign-policy adviser during his presidential campaign after roles as deputy secretary of state during President Obama’s second term and as national security adviser to Mr. Biden while he served as vice president.
The announcement of Mr. Blinken’s selection is expected by Tuesday at the latest, people familiar with the selection said. Mr. Biden said last week that he had also settled on a pick for Treasury secretary.
Mr. Blinken’s ties to Mr. Biden date back nearly two decades, beginning when he served as staff director of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee while Mr. Biden served as a U.S. senator representing Delaware. Mr. Blinken also worked on Mr. Biden’s 2008 presidential campaign.
READ the full story
Will Glasgow 4.20pm: China takes aim at SAS, ABC kids’ show
China has added the alleged murder of Afghans by SAS troops and culturally insensitive ABC children’s programming to its list of grievances with Australia.
Since late last week, China’s highly regulated internet has filled with commentary about the Australian Defence Force’s inquiry into alleged war crimes by special forces in Afghanistan.
“What has been revealed in the ADF report obviously violated International Law. They are deliberate war crimes,” Su Hao, the founding director of the Centre for Strategic and Peace Studies at the China Foreign Affairs University, writes in the state-controlled Global Times.
Mr Su says the “international community should join hands to criticise such crimes” and not allow the US to “cover up” the bad behaviour of its ally.
“The West claims they are maintaining the order, but what they actually do is to make order more chaotic,” he writes.
READ the full story
Rachel Baxendale 3.40pm: Andrews defends huge budget spend
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has cited record low interest rates, the “one in 100 years” pandemic, and the need to invest in long term infrastructure as he defends the state budget set to be handed down on Tuesday, which will put Victoria on a trajectory to net debt of $154.8bn by 2023-24.
Asked whether he was concerned the grandchildren of the current generation would be left to pay off the debt, Mr Andrews said his government was following Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe’s advice to invest, with three year government bonds at 0.2 per cent.
“Borrowing costs are extremely low. Now’s not the time to try and run surpluses. Now’s not the time to have a budget approach that fundamentally ignores that (the coronavirus pandemic) is a one in 100 year event,” Mr Andrews said.
“I’ve been very clear for months now that we would use the strength of the Victorian budget to protect household budgets, and that’s by creating confidence, demand, jobs, and making sure that we’re building projects that matter. So there will be substantial borrowings, there will be substantial deficits.
“This is a one in 100 year event, and the only way that that debt will be repaid, the only way that families will get through this, and businesses, is if we get the economy growing again and that’s what tomorrow’s budget is all about: a big plan for jobs, as well as in the main, borrowing not just to deal with the fact that revenue has been hit really hard, but borrowing to build the things that our children and grandchildren will benefit from.”
Mr Andrews listed a $5.3bn social housing package forecast to create 40,000 jobs, $869m in mental health initiatives and a $2.2bn investment in early works on the suburban rail loop as key initiatives from which future generations would benefit.
READ MORE: COVID offers opportunity
Ewin Hannan 3.25pm: Porter slams Victorian job killing tax’
Christian Porter has attacked the Andrews Government’s proposal to provide sick and carers leave to casual workers as a job killing tax on Victorian business.
“The central problem with the Victorian proposal is it seems to start with a small, government-funded pilot and intends to finish with what would be a massive tax on Victorian businesses who would be forced to pay for both a 25 per cent additional loading in wages to compensate for casuals not receiving sick leave and then having to pay for an industry levy to fund sick leave as well,” Mr Porter said.
“After Victorian businesses have been through their hardest year in the last century, why on earth would you be starting a policy that promises to finish with another big tax on business at precisely the time they can least afford any more economic hits?
Mr Porter said the proportion of employees who were casual had remained largely unchanged for almost 25 years leading into the COVID pandemic.
“The better policy approach is to strengthen the ability of workers to choose to move from casual to permanent full or part-time employment if that is what they want to do,” he said.
“It must surely be a better approach to let people have greater choice between casual and permanent employment than forcing businesses to pay a tax so that someone can be both a casual employee and get more wages as compensation for not getting sick leave - but then also tax the business to pay for getting sick leave as well.
“That would be a business and employment-killing approach.”
READ MORE: JobKeeper saved 700,000 jobs: RBA
Anne Barrowclough 2.55pm: Biden raises Ardern’s ‘extraordinary leadership’
Joe Biden has praised Jacinda Ardern’s “extraordinary leadership” in a phone call between the two leaders.
The New Zealand Prme Minister said on Monday she had called the US president-elect to congratulate him on his win. In an Instagram post, Ms Ardern said the pair discussed climate change, Covid-19, and trade in the region.
She said Mr Biden “remembers fondly” his visit to New Zealand in 2016 and she looked forward to speaking to him again.
AFter the conversation, Mr Biden’s transition team released a statement saying he had praised Ms Ardern’s leadership in dealing with the pandemic and the Christchurch massacre, as well as a working mother and role model.
He said he had expressed his intention to strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
There's been a phone call between @JoeBiden and @jacindaardern. pic.twitter.com/HH5joE3q6p
— Steve Herman (@W7VOA) November 23, 2020
Ms Ardern later told reporters she had offered the president-elect advice in managing COVID-19 from New Zealand’s own experience, and said that the virus was his “number one priority”.
Ms Ardern said Mr Biden had told her he felt a connection to the region through his own time in New Zealand, and his uncle’s military service in the pacific.
READ the full story
Perry Williams 2.20pm: Battery booms gathers pace
AGL Energy plans to build a 200 megawatt battery at its Loy Yang A coal plant in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, the latest in a string of giant batteries set to help ease the power grid to renewables from the current coal base.
The power giant has laid out a 850MW battery storage target by 2024 including plans to build a 250MW battery at South Australia’s Torrens Island to back up the state’s wind and solar supplies.
The Loy Yang battery will sit alongside the coal station, which supplies 30 per cent of Victoria’s power needs and is due to operate until 2048.
AGL chief executive Brett Redman said increasing investment in batteries mirrored the rush to solar a decade ago.
“Ten years ago a lot of the things we talk about today in terms of batteries and storage - we had the same conversations about solar ten years ago in that it looked difficult, it looked expensive, where would it go, what kind of operational issues would we have,” Mr Redman told a business conference on Monday.
READ the full story
Patrick Commins 1.45pm: JobKeeper saved 700,000 jobs: RBA
The Morrison government’s JobKeeper program saved 700,000 Australians from the dole queue during the darkest depths of the COVID-19 recession, a new report from the Reserve Bank of Australia finds.
The RBA paper found that one in five of the 3.5 million workers who received the $1500 a fortnight wage subsidy would have lost their jobs were it not for the wage subsidy measure.
“Without JobKeeper, employment would have fallen by twice as much as it did,” report authors James Bishop and Iris Day wrote.
The study – titled How Many Jobs Did JobKeeper Keep? – is the “first to rigorously estimate the contribution of JobKeeper to stemming employment losses during the first few months of the scheme”, the RBA economists said.
READ the full story
Richard Ferguson 1.25pm: Albanese defends Queensland border intransigence
Anthony Albanese has backed Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s decision to keep her borders closed to NSW, as Victorians finally fly into Sydney Airport.
Monday 23 November – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) November 22, 2020
• 0 locally acquired cases, 3 cases acquired overseas
• 14 active cases
• 1,196 total confirmed cases
• 1,326,061 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,172 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/t9R4QiUqZT
Ms Palaszczuk and Western Australian premier Mark McGowan are still refusing to open their borders to NSW and Victoria despite the low coronavirus numbers in each state and Scott Morrison’s plea for states to open up before Christmas.
The Opposition Leader said in Sydney Airport on Monday that he trusted Ms Palaszczuk to make the right decision on borders.
“I reckon Annastacia Palaszczuk’s doing a great job,” he said.
“No one wants to see restrictions in place but restrictions have made Queenslanders safe.
“I want to be able to travel and I want Australians to travel. I know Annastacia Palaszczuk does too.”
READ MORE: Covid offers opportunity
Angelica Snowden 1.20pm: Albanese meets with Andrews
Anthony Albanese has travelled to Victoria to meet with Premier Daniel Andrews on the first day NSW lifted borders with the state.
Sat down for a (socially distanced) meeting with @DanielAndrewsMP on the first day the borders opened up to Victoria. pic.twitter.com/VoXSMDedMS
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) November 23, 2020
The federal Labor leader tweeted he met with Mr Andrews for a socially distanced discussion on Monday.
“This has been one hell of a year, especially for Victorians,” Mr Albanese tweeted.
“This year we’ve had a major health challenge dealing with the coronavirus. But now we also have a massive economic challenge ahead of us,” he said.
“We need strong leadership and a lot of building if we’re to emerge on the other side of this pandemic ... Daniel Andrews’s $5.3 billion social housing package is a great start.”
It comes after NSW opened the border to Victoria, allowing one of the formerly busiest air routes in the world to resume once again.
Mr Albanese earlier tweeted he had a “welcome reception” at Sydney airport on his way to Melbourne.
Welcome reception from â¦@destinationnswâ© at â¦@SydneyAirportâ© for 1st arrivals from Melbourne- I’m headed to Vic to meet â¦@DanielAndrewsMPâ© and â¦@PeterKhalilMPâ© âœˆï¸ pic.twitter.com/9EI6T3KXix
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) November 22, 2020
“Welcome reception from Destination NSW and Sydney Airport for 1st arrivals from Melbourne,” Mr Albanese tweeted.
“I’m headed to Vic to meet Daniel Andrews and Peter Khalil.”
Angelica Snowden 1.00pm: SA reports one new Covid case
Health authorities in South Australia remain “very concerned” about a coronavirus outbreak, despite reporting just one new COVID infection on Monday.
The state’s chief health officer Nicola Spurrier said the latest case was detected in a person in quarantine.
“This is a case linked to the Parafield cluster but fortunately this person has been in quarantine since early last week and in fact has already had two negative tests,” Dr Spurrier said.
“So she is part of the extended family group and had been part of a family gathering but she has been in quarantine since Monday,” she said.
Dr Spurrier confirmed 27 cases are now linked with the Parafield cluster.
Aside from one man in his 30’s, no one else has been hospitalised and are “relatively well”.
“We still remain very concerned about this cluster and it is important that we still continue to maintain our testing regime in South Australia,” Premier Steven Marshall said.
“Also hand hygiene, physical distancing and the wearing of masks when we cannot physical distance,” he said.
“We are still not out of the woods yet.”
READ MORE: Australian Open decision to come this week
Peter van Onselen 12.50pm: Super wars just getting started
The Coalition wants to use the recently released Retirement Income Review to justify a halt on the compulsory super rate rising. It is currently pegged at 9.5 per cent, but it is due to lift to 10 per cent before continuing to rise to 12 per cent by 2025.
Government MPs – who enjoy a super rate of 15.4 per cent by the way – think that 9.5 per cent is enough for everyone else, even though the rise is already legislated and was also an election commitment.
The real target for many within the Coalition, however, is compulsory super more broadly. They would like to see it become optional, such that people can use their super for everything from a deposit on a home to a salary top up for other purposes. In essence they have a problem with the compulsory nature of super. Liberals finding liberalism in one policy sphere when they can’t seem to find it in so many other policy spheres most of the time.
READ the full story
Richard Ferguson 12.25pm: Birmingham slams China ambassador
The Morrison government has hit out at China’s embassy in Canberra for escalating tensions between the trading partners, accusing the Asian superpower’s ambassador to Australia Cheng Jingye of launching “threats of coercion.”
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham on Sunday slammed Mr Jingye and the Chinese embassy, after the leaking of an embassy document listing 14 grievances against the federal government, parliament and the Australian media last week.
Mr Cheng threatened boycotts of Australia’s agricultural products, international education system and tourism industries in April over Scott Morrison’s pursuit of a global independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19, which has been followed up by heated rhetoric and a series of trade attacks against Australia by Beijing authorities.
Senator Birmingham said Mr Cheng and the embassy in Canberra had not helped to ease tensions and, despite the embassy’s grievances, the federal government would continue to act in Australia’s national interest.
“I certainly don’t think that a number of the actions from China’s embassy in Australia have been particularly helpful this year. Comments of the ambassador at the start of the year that essentially were threats of coercion,” Senator Birmingham told Sky News.
READ the full story
James Hookway 12.15pm: Covid effect prices out locals in Western Isles
Few places are farther from the beaten track than the wind-lashed Outer Hebrides off Scotland’s northwest coast. But they are also now the prize in a tug of war over who should be able to live there.
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, a surge of buyers have bought up many of the available houses, far from COVID-19 hot spots on the British mainland such as Glasgow or London. Many homes overlook sites such as Luskentyre Beach or the prehistoric standing stones at Callanish.
Local leaders say new arrivals could be a lifeline for the fragile communities that have long struggled to reverse declining populations.
But younger islanders worry the influx is pricing them out of the market – and, ultimately, the places where they grew up and their families still live.
READ the full story here
Angelica Snowden 11.50am: ‘Some premiers making up advice as they go’
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has confirmed the last mystery case of coronavirus occurred about four weeks ago.
“The last unlinked COVID-19 case in New South Wales was a person who reported onset of illness on the 24 October and is associated with the Hoxton Park cluster,” Dr Chant said.
It means NSW has met Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s demand the state must achieve 28 days without community transmission before she considered relaxing border restrictions.
“I just ask other premiers to exhibit some compassion as I know when I visit communities and people come up to me and burst into tears when they think about the fact that they can’t see their relatives,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
“Some state premiers are making up advice as they go,” she said.
Angelica Snowden 11.45am: More NSW restrictions lifted this week
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has indicated a number of COVID-19 restrictions will be relaxed this week.
“All going well New South Wales will continue to announce easing of restrictions this week so we want to make sure we keep the community coming along with us on this journey,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Today is a significant day with a number of easing of restrictions and QR codes becoming compulsory and then during the week I want to foreshadow that unless some major unexpected event occurs, we will be announcing further easing of restrictions … especially given how well New South Wales has been doing with community transition,” she said.
She urged NSW residents to not let “their guard down” after a number of COVID-19 restrictions eased on Monday.
Up to 500 people can now gather at outdoor religious gatherings with a limit of one person per two square metres if attendees are seated.
A group of 30 singers can now perform together too, up from five.
“My strong message to the people of New South Wales is please let us not let our guard down, we have come too far to let complacency get the better of us,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We’re doing very well but it is more important than ever before for us to move forward together in a COVID-safe way, especially as we are easing restrictions and today,” she said.
From now on all businesses in Sydney must have a QR code check in system.
READ MORE: Gladys slams other states
Angelica Snowden 11.30am: 16 days of no new local cases for NSW
NSW has recorded no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 for the 16th straight day in a row, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says.
Five cases were reported in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
NSW recorded no new cases of locally acquired #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) November 23, 2020
Five cases were reported in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine. A previously reported case has been excluded after further investigation. pic.twitter.com/aG6K7FQoRM
NSW Health also confirmed the source of the recent Moss Vale cluster was identified and linked with an outbreak in Liverpool.
“Intensive work involving epidemiological and genomic analysis and antibody testing indicate that the five cases in the Moss Vale cluster and the 13 cases in the Liverpool private clinic cluster are linked by an additional two people who had contact with both clusters,” a NSW Health statement read.
“Genomic analysis also shows that the viral RNA across the Liverpool and Moss Vale cases is identical.”
READ MORE: Travel reboot off to flying start
Angelica Snowden 11.25am: SA residents ‘deserve answers’ on pizza bar lie’
South Australia premier Steven Marshall says residents deserve answers about why a medi-hotel worker lied about working at a pizza bar, sending the state into a strict lockdown.
“There is an investigation under way at the moment,” Mr Marshall told the ABC.
“We think the people of South Australia deserve some answers on this and we will look at every opportunity for there to be ... consequences for this person because it is really important that when a public health official asks you questions you provide them with accurate information otherwise lives can be at stake,” he said.
The medi-hotel worker initially claimed he had caught the virus from a Woodville Pizza Bar pizza box.
It sparked fears of widespread community transmission across the state and led to the implementation of a swift, six-day lockdown.
The lockdown was wound back on Saturday, three days early, after it was revealed the man was in fact also an employee of the shop.
Mr Marshall would not comment on whether the worker - a Spanish national - did not confirm he worked at the pizza shop due to concerns his employment was unlawful.
“There has been a lot on that… I don’t want to add to that because there is an investigation underway now,” he said.
Mr Marshall also said he has written to the Australian Health Protection and Principal Committee to call for national standards to be implemented on whether or not hotel quarantine workers should be employed elsewhere.
“We think there needs to be a nationally consistent approach to this,” he said.
“Some people are suggesting this would reduce risks… let’s get the advice from the health experts.
“If we have to make any corrections there we will do it immediately.”
With NCA Newswire
READ MORE: PM pushes equitable vaccine rollout
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.20am: Early super withdrawals reaches $35.2bn
The amount of superannuation withdrawn early under the COVID-19 early super release scheme has reached $35.2bn, with just over a month to go until the scheme expires.
With the amount of payouts over the past 10 weeks amounting to just $2.2bn, it is likely the scheme will not hit the $42bn total withdrawal estimation set by Treasury when the scheme was extended from September to December 31.
The average amount paid out under the scheme is $7553, with fund members who applied for a second withdrawal on average requesting $8319.
4.7m applications have been made under the scheme.
Jack Paynter 11.15am: Andrews announces $5m scheme for insecure workers
Casual workers will be given sick and carers pay to stay home under a $5 million trial funded by the Victorian government.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced the two-year trial on Monday morning where he said the coronavirus pandemic had exposed one of the weaknesses in the nation’s economy.
He said employees in insecure work were too often forced to choose between a day’s pay – that put food on the table and paid their rent – and their health.
During Victoria’s second wave, employees going to work sick because they couldn’t afford to take a day off was credited with helping accelerate the spread of the virus.
“Insecure work is toxic. Insecure work isn’t just bad for those who work under those conditions, it’s bad for all of us and we pay a price for the fact that so many people – particularly those who work in public facing jobs – do not have sick leave,” he said.
“You don’t want to be served in a restaurant by someone who is sick. You don’t want your elderly parent or grandparent to be cared for in a private aged-care facility by someone who’s sick.”
The trial will be introduced in late 2021 or 2022 and be completely government funded with no cost to employers.
But Mr Andrews said if the pilot was introduced permanently there would be some sort of levy on employers introduced in the future.
Casual workers would be required to obtain a medical certificate to be eligible for up to five days sick or carers leave that would see them receive the minimum wage, which is just under $20 an hour.
READ MORE: Grand Slam a no-go ‘if we can’t train in iso’
Richard Ferguson 11.05am: Albanese: Watts ‘consistent with my views’
Anthony Albanese says Labor powerbroker Murray Watt’s embrace of coal and gas is consistent with his own views, as he ramps up pressure on Scott Morrison to adopt a net zero emissions timeframe.
The Australian revealed on Monday that Senator Watt - one of the Opposition Leader’s allies - will reset the party’s approach to coal and gas and declare the ALP “treasures” every job created in the mining sector in a major speech on Monday.
Mr Abanese said on Monday that Senator Watt’s speech was consistent with his views, but focused on the Labor powerbroker’s view on the feasibility of a new coal-fired power station.
“Murray Watt’s speech is perfectly consistent with what I’ve been saying,” he said in Melbourne.
“Murray Watt knows, for example, in Queensland that the $4 million that’s been given for a feasibility study for a new coal-fired power plant won’t actually go anywhere. T
“That’s $4 million given to the proponents of a project that everyone knows won’t go ahead but they’re doing it on the basis of culture wars.”
Mr Albanese also said he would always work to improve the working conditions of miners.
When asked about the future of minerals exports, Mr Albanese said that was largely in the hand of trading partners, as the world moves closer toward a net zero emissions target in 2050.
“Those (minerals market) decisions will be made in Tokyo, in Washington, in Beijing, in places that receive our minerals. What Australia has to do is to ensure that we have a trajectory for zero net emissions by 2050.”
READ MORE: Labor mines for votes in coal and gas
Angelica Snowden 10.50am: Melbourne airport ‘at 40 per cent’ use by December’
Melbourne airport CEO Lyell Strambi says about 20 per cent of normal activity will return in December after the border opened between NSW and Victoria on Monday.
He said the airport could see up to 40 per cent of normal activity by the end of the month.
“It has actually been remarkable looking round this morning and walking around the airport, in Victoria, we don’t have to wear masks outside now,” Mr Strambi told Sunrise.
“We have done a lot ourselves to prepare the airport and make sure it is right,” he said.
“Travel is very safe and there has not been a case in an airport, it’s a very safe way to get around.”
READ MORE: Alcohol, drug use surges
Angelica Snowden 10.40am: SA businesses ‘in shock’ over lockdown backflip
South Australian businesses are “in shock” after the state government backflipped on its strict lockdown, the state’s Australian Hotels Association chief Ian Thorne says.
“We were given 10 hours last Wednesday to shut out the entire hospitality industry, some 5000 plus venues and we are left with a legacy… of very severe conditions that made no business in hospitality and South Australia viable,” Mr Thorne told Sunrise.
"We listened to the health advice"
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) November 22, 2020
South Australia's Premier @Marshall_Steven is refusing to compensate businesses or ease more restrictions after it was revealed the state's COVID lockdown was sparked by a lie.
More on this: https://t.co/sVIJGfdx5T pic.twitter.com/pq0nB3d31U
He said although the lockdown ended at midnight on Sunday - three days earlier than expected - tough rules which limit the number of patrons in venues to 100 people were still in place.
“A suburban hotel with a capacity of 600 or 700 people can only have 100 people, which means the majority of staff that would be working there will not be engaged,” he said.
“If this goes on until December 1… (there will be) a significant economic impact on everyone in hospitality.”
READ MORE: Iso hotel workers face second jobs ban
Agencies 10.30am: Staten Island ‘serious problem’: Cuomo
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has warned that coronavirus cases are rising so quickly in parts of Staten Island the New York City borough may see the closure of nonessential businesses and a ban on mass gatherings later this week.
“Staten Island is a serious problem,” Mr Cuomo said at a Sunday press conference. Some neighbourhoods on the island, including Tottenville and Bay Terrace, have positivity rates of more than 5 per cent, he said. That surge is on track to trigger the state’s highest lockdown measures.
Hospitals in Staten Island are already feeling the weight of Covid-19 patients, Mr Cuomo said. “We are running into a hospital capacity issue.” Other areas of New York City and throughout the state may also see additional restrictions this week unless they can rein in rising Covid-19 cases, the added.. Upper Manhattan may enter the “yellow zone” this week with infection rates, which would trigger a limit on gatherings to 25 people.
AFP
READ MORE: Melbourne opens up as new challenges emerge
Anne Barrowclough 9.55am: Trump ally tells him: end lawsuits
One of Donald Trump’s staunchest allies has called on him to concede the election, telling the ABC the president’s legal team was a “national embarrassment.”
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie said Mr Trump had failed to provide any evidence of fraud and it was time to put the country first.
Listen, I’ve been a supporter of the president, I voted for him twice but elections have consequences and we cannot continue to act as if something happened here that didn’t happen,” Mr Christie said on “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
“They allege fraud outside of the courtroom but when they go inside the courtroom they don’t plead fraud and they don’t argue fraud. You have an obligation to present the evidence, the evidence has not been presented.
“If you have got the evidence of fraud, present it,” he added, slamming efforts by Mr Trump’s lawyers to smear Republican governors who haven’t gone along with his false claims of voter fraud.
“Quite frankly, the conduct of the president’s legal team has been a national embarrassment,” he said.
Georgia will conduct another recount of its presidential ballots following a Trump campaign request on Saturday, but the recount is extremely unlikely to change the results.
READ MORE: America’s unfolding tragedy
Angelica Snowden 9.25am: Border closures ‘devastating’ for families
Consequences of border closures have been “devastating” for families dealing with life threatening medical issues, Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie says.
The comment came amid news a Queensland family was refused entry back into the state after their three-year-old son died in a Melbourne hospital.
Leah and Morgan Collins moved to Melbourne so their son, Thomas, could receive treatment from the Royal Children’s Hospital before a second wave of COVID-19 slammed borders shut, the Herald Sun reported.
After receiving brain surgery in an attempt to treat Severe Combined Immunodeficiency, it was clear the young boy would not survive and doctors said the family could return home to Queensland to spend time with their son and family.
But the Queensland government “twiddled it’s thumbs” too long, the Herald Sun reported.
“It is not fair… I don’t know what stopped this family from being able to take their baby home and be able to do this in their own home for 14 days and to have the comfort of their own surroundings and support network,” Senator Lambie told the Today program.
“(Annastacia Palaszczuk) has made some bad decisions about some of those people,” she said.
“We had the father who had the cancer as well earlier on. It has been devastating… this has been a real bugger-up this one.
“It has been devastating.”
The family were offered to do two weeks in quarantine but if their son died while the room, they would not be able to leave.
“I’d think as Queensland residents we’d be able to go back in but the exception we were given meant that if he passed away we would have had to spend a remainder of the two weeks in that room,” Mrs Collins said.
“Queensland Health really just didn’t come to the table.”
READ MORE: Pizza worker’s devices seized
Angelica Snowden 9.03am: Border town jubilant as restrictions lift
Albury mayor Kevin Mack has welcomed free travel between NSW and Victoria, saying emotion was “high” as the border between the two states lifted.
“There is a bit of elation but more so relief,” Mr Mack said.
“I was here at midnight and a lot of emotion was going on … just fantastic,” he said.
JUST IN: Families and friends have been reunited for the first time in 4 months after the hard border between NSW and Victoria came down. #9Today pic.twitter.com/WLfLwHdXjT
— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) November 22, 2020
The economic consequences of the border lockdown on Albury — a town in NSW which sits on the border with Victoria — may not be realised until the end of the year, Mr Mack said.
“Being stopped from crossing the border we are talking about 14,000 to 20,000 traffic movements crossing the border every day,” he said.
“The economic impacts, we truly won’t know what they are until the end of the year probably but we are probably losing $1 million a day easily.
“And there is also the mental health aspect and a lot of people have missed out on major family moments in their life, funerals, and reunification for birthdays and things like that.”
READ MORE: New rules a Christmas gift to Victorians
Rachel Baxendale 9am: Victoria records 24th straight no-infection day
Victoria has recorded its 24th straight day with no new cases of coronavirus.
Just one active case remains in the state.
The numbers come after 7,261 tests were conducted in the 24 hours to Monday — down from more than 17,000 tests conducted during the middle of last week.
Yesterday there were 0 new cases and 0 lost lives reported. 1 active case remains. 7,261 test results were received. More detail: https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz#EveryTestHelps #StaySafeStayOpen #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/oENuOjjWca
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 22, 2020
READ MORE: Alcohol, drug use surges during pandemic
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.45am: Qantas prepares for 100% demand in New Year
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says he believes demand for domestic routes will reach 60 per cent by Christmas and 100 per cent in the New Year as regular flights between Sydney and Melbourne resume.
In just 24 hours, Qantas and Jetstar had sold 25,000 seats on the Melbourne to Sydney route and many stood-down workers have returned to work — although up to 8,000 could still be out of a job.
“We’re seen massive demand already occurring,” Mr Joyce told RN Breakfast on Monday.
“Today, some people who haven’t worked since March are going to be on aircraft for the first time"@Qantas boss Alan Joyce on the resumption of the busy Sydney to Melbourne air route.
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) November 22, 2020
More on this story: https://t.co/dCLrW8uNTs pic.twitter.com/3L1s7QUoq3
Jetstar CEO Gareth Evans said demands for domestic flights were increasing as border restrictions began to fall across the country and regular flights between Sydney and Melbourne resumed today.
“We had a sale that we launched in the middle of last week and we sold 120,000 fares in the first 24 hours,” Mr Evans told ABC News Breakfast on Monday.
“That’s 25 times the normal rate of sale. So we know that there’s confidence there to travel when border restrictions are removed.
“For us, we are now looking to a positive future rather than the difficult months that we’ve had over the last nine.”
The first quarantine-free flights between Sydney and Melbourne in 138 days will land this morning after the border between the two states reopened overnight.@SamanthaBrett and @NathanJCurrie have the latest. pic.twitter.com/Qbom8Obapl
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) November 22, 2020
READ MORE: Victoria records 24th zero-virus day
Angelica Snowden 8.40am: Mid-2021 international travel ‘depends on vaccine’
Labor MP Joel Fitzgibbon says recent comments from the government that overseas travel may be possible by mid-2021 is “raising expectations” when ministers have “no idea” how effective a COVID-19 vaccine will be.
“You do wonder as we go into what could be an election year whether the (government) is thinking or talking with the election in mind rather than the reality of what is ahead of us,” Mr Fitzgibbon told Sunrise.
“I have always been an under promise and over delivered kind of person.”
Federal MPs @Barnaby_Joyce and @FitzHunter talk about when international travel could resume and the Labor party's position on mining and agriculture. pic.twitter.com/nuxjsmFgPs
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) November 22, 2020
Mr Fitzgibbon’s comments came after tourism minister Simon Birmingham on Sunday said overseas travel would not be “impossible” but “challenging” by the middle of 2021.
Nationals MP and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce said overseas travel depended on how effective a vaccine would be.
“There is some commentary that if you have a big influx of people in Australia we will not be able to control another COVID-19 outbreak,” My Joyce said.
“I think it has a long way to go yet.”
“Welcome back Victoria, we missed youâ€. Signs at @SydneyAirport as first flights due to arrive into NSW this morning @sunriseon7 @7NewsSydney pic.twitter.com/pV7yg45PhZ
— Samantha Brett (@samanthabrett) November 22, 2020
READ MORE: Editorial — Melbourne opens up as new challenges emerge
Angelica Snowden 8am: Melbourne Lord Mayor welcomes eased restrictions
Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Sally Capp says she is “delighted” COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria are easing today, with masks no longer compulsory outdoors and some workers returning to the CBD.
“It is quite extraordinary and we are delighted and although it looks gloomy in Melbourne today … we have sunshine on the inside given all of the restrictions that have eased,” Ms Capp told Channel 9’s Today.
From today, masks are only mandatory outdoors, homes can welcome 15 visitors and cafes and restaurants and pubs can welcome up to 300 patrons subject to density limits.
Ms Capp said she expected about 120,000 extra people a day to come into the city as restrictions eased.
“I think one of the reasons that the 25 per cent return of CBD workers is important is that it will start to test our public transport systems,” she said.
“It does mean that people can come in as workers and see how clean the city is, and it also means they can return to their workplaces and really sort out all of those logistics to make sure that things like social distancing, for example, can be adhered to.”
Statement on further easing of restrictions in Victoria: pic.twitter.com/NKnwxC81er
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) November 21, 2020
Ms Capp said she was confident Victorians would continue to respect existing social distancing requirements and COVID rules to ensure there is not another lockdown.
“When I walk around town people are really being very respectful of the restrictions because they know that another outbreak could mean that all of our businesses close again, all of the aspects of Melbourne like the NGV which is reopening today would be closed again, and nobody wants to see that.”
Just to reiterate:
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) November 22, 2020
Inside Bunnings = mask
Bunnings carpark if you can keep 1.5m apart = no mask
In the Bunnings sausage sizzle line = mask
Onions = on top of the sausage
I can't be clearer than that.
READ MORE: Daniel Andrews rings in the changes for Victoria
Angelica Snowden 7.30am: ‘Welcome back Victoria, we missed you’
The hard border between Victoria and NSW to halt the spread of a second COVID-19 wave has finally fallen after four months, with non-stop flights between Melbourne and Sydney operating from Monday.
Arrival and departure boards at Sydney’s airport have celebrated the return of visitors from the south with “Welcome back Victoria, we missed you” messages.
It is great to see @SydneyAirport & @Qantas coming back to life this morning â¤ï¸â¤ï¸ pic.twitter.com/VwNq6DYDxa
— Hayley P (@hayleyp79) November 22, 2020
A hard border lockdown between the two states ended one minute after midnight on Monday along with border checkpoints and entry permits.
In NSW, no locally acquired cases of coronavirus have been reported for 15 days. In Victoria, there have been no cases of community transmission for 23 days.
The first flight from Melbourne arrived in Sydney just before 7.30am today.
There are 34 Qantas and Jetstar flights from Melbourne to Sydney scheduled today, with flights between the two cities set to operate every half-hour from 7am.
Virgin will operate four trips from Melbourne to Sydney today.
READ MORE: Australian travel reboot off to a flying start
Angelica Snowden 7.10am: Thanksgiving poses fresh new problem for US
As the US continues to battle a second wave of COVID-19 with nearly 200,000 new daily infections, concerns are mounting the virus will spread further with Thanksgiving around the corner.
Overnight, there were 191,033 new infections reported across the US, with 1,853 deaths.
The US Centre for Disease Control prefaced a warning against travel for the holiday with news that more than one million cases of COVID-19 were reported across the country in the previous seven days alone.
“As cases continue to increase rapidly across the United States, the safest way to celebrate Thanksgiving is to celebrate at home with the people you live with” the CDC said on its website.
“Gatherings with family and friends who do not live with you can increase the chances of getting or spreading COVID-19 or the flu.”
ALERT: #COVID19 cases are rapidly rising across the U.S. As we begin to spend more time indoors closer together, the virus can spread more easily. Do your part: #WearAMask over your mouth & nose. Stay 6ft from others. Wash your hands. Stay home if you can. https://t.co/DmfPOAPMjW pic.twitter.com/LP0H8LmSsf
— CDC (@CDCgov) November 21, 2020
President-elect Joe Biden last week said public health officials he had consulted recommended Thanksgiving gatherings of five people, and certainly not more than 10.
“Let’s save lives,” Mr Biden said.
“I just want to make sure that we’re able to be together next Thanksgiving, next Christmas.”
Thanksgiving warnings followed record hospitalisations for the 12th straight day as the coronavirus pandemic rages. The country has now recorded more than 12 million cases in total.
This afternoon, @KamalaHarris and I met with @SpeakerPelosi and @SenSchumer to discuss how we’ll get this virus under control, deliver much-needed relief, and build back better than before.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) November 21, 2020
We’re getting right to work for the American people. pic.twitter.com/jbeNpsimdj
There were 83,227 people hospitalised with the disease as of Saturday, according to the Covid Tracking Project. The US has set records for hospitalisation every day since November 10, according to the project’s data. — with AFP
READ MORE: Second wave forces rethink in Germany, Sweden
Angelica Snowden 6.40am: G20 leaders commit to fair vaccine distribution
G20 leaders have insisted they will “spare no effort” to ensure the fair distribution of coronavirus vaccines worldwide and support poor countries whose economies have been ravaged by the crisis.
As the pandemic rages in Europe and the US, the club of the world’s richest nations adopted a unified tone on the challenges ahead during a virtual summit hosted by Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman said the “spirit of co-operation” was needed now “more than ever to face the impact of the pandemic and create a prosperous future for the people of the whole world”.
I congratulate The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and HRH Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on an unprecedented and successful summit. The #G20SaudiArabia will go down in history for its role in combatting the pandemic and mitigating the global economic fallout. pic.twitter.com/zxJABzcKVj
— Reema Bandar Al-Saud (@rbalsaud) November 22, 2020
“We have mobilised resources to address the immediate financing needs in global health to support the research, development, manufacturing and distribution of safe and effective COVID-19 diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines,” the G20 leaders said in the statement.
“We will spare no effort to ensure their affordable and equitable access for all people.”
However, the final communique did not spell out how the massive cost of the exercise would be underwritten.
While richer nations plan their vaccination programs, with the US expecting to launch in early December, experts warned developing countries faced hurdles that could deny billions the first proven protection against the virus.
The initiatives taken by France are now on the G20 agenda. Climate, access to vaccines for all, the fight against inequalities, African debt relief: important advances thanks to a united European front. We are moving forward, together! pic.twitter.com/EUfISXJA7O
— Emmanuel Macron (@EmmanuelMacron) November 22, 2020
Calls are mounting for the G20 to help plug a $4.5-billion funding gap in the so-called ACT-Accelerator, a mechanism led by the World Health Organisation that aims to ensure access to tests, treatments and vaccines for all.
In a comment echoed by other leaders, French President Emmanuel Macron said Saturday that the coronavirus crisis was “a test for the G20”, stressing there “will be no effective response to the pandemic unless it is a global response”.
There were 232,897 cases of coronavirus diagnosed across Europe on Sunday as the continent continues to battle a deadly second wave of the virus.
It compared with 6,827 cases recorded in Africa and 5,814 cases in the western pacific according to the World Health Organisation. — with AFP
#G20 Leaders conclude the #G20RiyadhSummit on November 22, 2020, with a Leaders' declaration. #G20RiyadhSummit Declaration: https://t.co/7vDcQhC1hF pic.twitter.com/Q4wxARVbOg
— G20 Saudi Arabia (@g20org) November 22, 2020
READ MORE: Jeremy Lawson — COVID-19 offers a chance to address social problems
Jacquelin Magnay 5.35am: UK to slash coronavirus quarantine to 5 days
Besieged British prime minister Boris Johnson is to announce a dramatic shift in England’s quarantine measures later today (AEDT), cutting the number of days in isolation from two weeks to just five days.
In a boost to international travel, Mr Johnson is to introduce a five-day quarantine at home rule, with travellers able to break the quarantine after having a negative coronavirus test on day five.
Hi folks, quick update from me. Still self-isolating and working from my office in Downing St, leading on our response to the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/jtgLwVCUaU
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) November 21, 2020
Until now, only travellers coming from a handful of countries were able to avoid England’s two-week quarantine at home rule. The latest adjustment will help re-establish London’s hub for business and reinvigorate the decimated airline and travel industry.
Mr Johnson will also announce that the current England lockdown will be eased on December 2 in favour of tighter tier systems, in which regional measures will be introduced according to the current rate of COVID-19 infections. However, he faces a backbench rebellion in Westminster with scores of MPs opposing any restrictions.
70-strong Covid Recovery Group of Tory MPs have just published letter to PM warning they won’t support his plan for new tiered restrictions “if it cannot be shown that they are saving more lives than they cost†& have asked for “full cost benefit analysis to be published†👇 pic.twitter.com/edHF6S6wFz
— Beth Rigby (@BethRigby) November 22, 2020
Read the full story here.
David Penberthy 4.50am: ‘No regrets’ over SA’s lockdown on a lie
Steven Marshall says he has no regrets about plunging South Australia into lockdown and that he had “no choice” but to act on the advice of police and health chiefs — even though it later emerged the state’s response was based on a lie.
The South Australian Premier hit back at criticism from business leaders about the handling of the lockdown, saying the impact on jobs and the economy would have been “absolutely devastating” if a second wave had taken hold.
Mr Marshall told The Australian there would be no immediate resumption of international flights into SA, saying their suspension until November 30 would continue as the state’s quarantine hotels remained at capacity.
He also dismissed suggestions politicians had abrogated too much of their authority to unelected officials.
“The alternative approach where politicians override the advice of health officials is playing out in the US and parts of Europe right now,” he said.
“I understand the frustration — everyone was inconvenienced by this and a lot of businesses were affected as a result — but we had to act on the basis of the information we had at the time.”
SA’s six-day lockdown ended in drama and farce when it emerged on Friday that a coronavirus-infected worker at a quarantine scheme hotel had falsely claimed he had bought a pizza from the Woodville Pizza Bar at the centre of the cluster when he really worked a second job there.
Read the full story here.
Tessa Akerman 4.45am: Masks at the ready as Vic eases rules
As of today, Victorians can enjoy the outdoors without a face mask, but must carry one at all times in case of sudden inability to social distance.
Premier Daniel Andrews unveiled a raft of new steps for Victoria’s COVID normal on Sunday, including the need to wear a mask if waiting in line for a snag at Bunnings, but not while walking across the car park.
“If you are outside in the open now, and you believe you can keep your distance from people, you do not need to wear it,” Mr Andrews said.
“But carry it with you, because those circumstances can change.”
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton stressed the importance of carrying the “insurance policy” at all times, saying it probably decreased transmission by about one-quarter and helped Victoria reach its COVID numbers two to three weeks early.
Professor Sutton said anti-mask attitudes in America, particularly in North and South Dakota, had seen high transmission rates and an overwhelmed health system.
Read the full story here.
Robyn Ironside 4.30am: Australian travel reboot off to a flying start
After four months of next to no flying activity, what is traditionally Australia’s busiest air route, Melbourne-Sydney, will roar back into life in the “start of the restart” for the aviation industry.
The reopening of the NSW border to Victoria will see a welcome 42 flights a day between Melbourne and Sydney, up from just four.
The services will carry about 8000 people a day between the cities, still a long way from the route’s pre-COVID peak of 25,000 travellers a day.
But for Melbourne Airport CEO Lyell Strambi, it’s “the start of the restart”, the day he’s been anticipating since Victoria’s second wave struck in July and borders slammed shut.
“We were down to less than 1 per cent of our normal activity level,” Mr Strambi told The Australian.
“Now it’s going to feel enormous when in December we reach about 33 per cent of our normal activity level.”
Read the full story here.
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