Coronavirus Australia live news: Six test positive at Batemans Bay in first outbreak for regional NSW
Six people have tested positive for COVID-19 on the NSW south coast in an outbreak health authorities say is linked to the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club.
- Health Minister says masks ‘necessary’
- Masks to be made compulsory in Victoria
- Victoria records 363 new cases, three deaths
- NSW warned of virus risk
- JobKeeper to be extended
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Health Minister Greg Hunt says the compulsory wearing of masks in Victoria is necessary. The order was made after it recorded 363 new cases of coronavirus and three more deaths overnight. Meanwhile, the government will reassess support for particular JobKeeper recipients and a Sydney house party has cost guests a total of $60,000 in fines.
Imogen Reid 10pm: Six test positive on NSW south coast
Six people have tested positive for COVID-19 on the NSW south coast in an outbreak health authorities say is linked to the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club.
The Southern NSW Local Health District confirmed on Sunday that six people had tested positive in Batemans Bay after two infected patrons dined at the club.
“In addition to the two people who were infectious with COVID-19 and were dining at the Bistro, a further six people associated with the club have been diagnosed as positive with COVID-19,” the spokesperson said.
Staff and customers who visited the club last Monday, Thursday and Friday have been told to self-isolate for 14 days and to get tested for coronavirus.
It is the first outbreak to occur in regional NSW.
Simon Benson 9.40pm: PM’s word: $1m loans guaranteed
Scott Morrison will offer guaranteed loans of up to $1m to about 3.5 million small businesses in a major ramp-up of stimulus as the government prepares to reveal that the economic outlook has deteriorated on the back of the Victorian COVID-19 outbreak.
Read the full story here
Matthew Denholm 8.55pm: Nation’s bounty could wither on the vine
The impact of COVID-19 on seasonal labour and airfreight poses a rising threat to the nation’s spring and summer harvests, with growers seeking measures to stop crops rotting.
From Northern Territory mango plantations to Tasmanian cherry orchards, there is increasing concern about worsening seasonal labour shortages and diminished airfreight volumes as peak harvests approach.
Read the full story here
Max Maddison 8.20pm: Airbnb bookings soar
The number of holidaymakers taking trips in their own state has exploded as COVID-19 restrictions ease in some parts of the country even though international borders remaining closed.
Read the full story here
AFP 8pm: Merkel warns EU summit could end with no deal
An EU summit to agree a huge coronavirus economic rescue package could collapse without a deal, German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned on Sunday, as bickering leaders began a third day of talks.
The 27 leaders have argued for two days over the scale and rules for the package, with the Netherlands leading a band of “frugal” allies in demanding lower budgets and tougher conditions for handouts.
Arriving for what she said was probably the “decisive” day of the extraordinary summit, Ms Merkel said there were still many divisions among the leaders.
“I still can’t say whether a solution will be found,” she said. “There is a lot of good will... but it may also be that no result will be achieved today.”
David Murray 7.25pm: Crime gangs ‘a threat to aviation’
Federal police have warned of an increased risk of organised crime groups paying or blackmailing aviation staff for their security cards and inside information.
The AFP is concerned the pandemic has made sacked or stood-down airport and airline workers more vulnerable to being targeted by crime syndicates, as reduced air travel disrupts traditional drug trafficking operations and leads to a spike in prices.
“It is likely criminal groups will take advantage of a perceived shift in the focus of police and border authorities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,’’ said AFP commander Krissy Barrett.
“Airline and airport staff may possess the necessary skills, expert knowledge, sensitive access, diversion expertise and contacts to assist organised crime groups with their criminal ventures.”
Read the full story here
Emily Ritchie 7.15pm: Victorians in a panic to cover up before deadline
A burst of face mask panic buying saw many Victorians spending their Sunday in long queues before mask-wearing becomes compulsory in the state on Wednesday.
Read the full story here
AFP 6.50pm: HK leader says spike ‘critical’
Hong Kong’s leader said Sunday that coronavirus was spreading out of control in the city as she announced a record daily high of more than 100 cases and ordered new social distancing measures.
“I think the situation is really critical and there is no sign the situation is being brought under control,” chief executive Carrie Lam said.
Peta Bee 6.30pm: Is it safe to go back to the gym?
You might be itching to get back to full fitness, but your body will need time to adjust to a new regimen.
Read the full story here
Heath Parkes-Hupton 6.05pm: Man sneaks out of quarantine to smoke
A returned traveller’s nicotine cravings will cost him a day in court after he allegedly wrestled with police when caught trying to sneak out of hotel quarantine for a cigarette.
The Queensland man, 28, is set to be charged with resisting police and failing to comply public health orders after the fiery incident about 2.35am on Sunday.
Police will allege in court the man was undergoing his mandatory 14-day quarantine at the InterContinental Hotel in Macquarie St, Sydney, when he tried to leave his room.
Security allegedly advised him to return to his room but the man got into a lift in an attempt to flee the Circular Quay hotel. That is when police stepped in.
“After a short, physical struggle with officers, the man was restrained and returned to his hotel room,” NSW Police said in a statement.
The man had arrived in the country on Friday.
He will be issued with a court attendance notice upon his release from quarantine at the end of this month.
READ MORE: JobKeeper recipients to face review
Kellie Southan 5.30pm: State breakdown of infections
READ MORE: How coronavirus has changed the world order
AFP 5.05pm: Global death toll passes 600,000
The new coronavirus pandemic has claimed more than 600,000 lives worldwide, a tally by the news service Agence France-Presse showed on Sunday.
A total of 600,523 deaths were recorded globally out of 14,233,355 cases, a count based on official data showed, including 205,065 deaths in Europe — the worst-affected continent.
The virus is spreading rapidly in Latin America — the region with the second-most recorded deaths — where 160,726 people have died.
The US is the country with the most deaths with 140,103, followed by Brazil (78,772), Britain (45,273), Mexico (38,888) and Italy (35,042).
The number of deaths linked to COVID-19 has doubled in just over two months, and more than 100,000 new deaths have been registered in the three weeks since June 28.
READ MORE: Princess Beatrice wears Queen’s gown for secret wedding
Rachel Baxendale 4.35pm: The breakdown of Victoria’s case surge
Active confirmed cases of COVID-19 by LGA as of Sunday, with net increase since Saturday in brackets:
Wyndham (outer southwest): 340 (+32)
#Hume (outer north): 300 (+23)
#City of Melbourne: 299 (+10)
#Brimbank (outer west): 252 (+12)
#Moonee Valley (northwest): 225 (-9)
#Moreland (north): 158 (+21)
Whittlesea (outer north): 148 (+22)
Banyule (northeast): 124 (+14)
Melton (outer northwest): 124 (+14)
Yarra (inner northeast): 105 (+18)
#Maribyrnong (inner west): 82 (+9)
Darebin (north): 80 (+2)
Casey (outer southeast): 70 (+8)
Hobsons Bay (inner southwest): 59
Whitehorse (east): 45 (+2)
Manningham (east): 36 (+4)
Boroondara (east): 35 (+3)
Stonnington (inner southeast): 35 (+2)
Greater Dandenong: (outer southeast): 33 (+12)
Monash (southeast): 31 (+1)
Port Phillip (inner south): 27 (-1)
Glen Eira (east): 17 (+2)
Cardinia (outer southeast): 15 (+2)
Kingston (southeast): 14
Mitchell (central regional Vic, north of Melb): 14 (-4)
Knox (outer east): 13 (+4)
Maroondah (outer east): 12 (+2)
*Greater Geelong (southwest regional Vic): 11 (+5)
Nillumbik (outer northeast): 10
Frankston (outer southeast): 9 (+3)
Bayside (southeast): 9 (+2)
*Ballarat (western regional Vic): 8
Mornington Peninsula (outer southeast): 8
Yarra Ranges (outer east) 7 (+1)
*Colac-Otway (western regional Vic): 5 (+3)
*Horsham (western regional Vic): 4 (+1)
*Greater Bendigo (central regional Vic): 4
*Macedon Ranges (central regional Vic): 4
*Golden Plains (western regional Vic): 4
*Latrobe (eastern regional Vic): 3 (+1)
*Moorabool (western regional Vic): 3
*Baw Baw (eastern regional Vic): 3
*Glenelg (western regional Vic): 2 (+1)
*Greater Shepparton (northern regional Vic): 2
*South Gippsland (eastern regional Vic): 2
*Bass Coast (southeast regional Vic): 2
*Swan Hill (northwest regional Vic): 1
*Surf Coast (southwest regional Vic): 1
*East Gippsland (east regional Vic): 1
Interstate: 4
Unknown: 37 (+7)
TOTAL: 2608 (+229)
*Denotes LGAs outside the Melbourne metropolitan/Mitchell Shire lockdown
#Denotes LGAs with postcodes locked down from 11:59pm on July 1
Source: Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
Staff Reporters 4.25pm: Qld Premier pressures NSW on border ‘move’
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she’ll write to her NSW counterpart Gladys Berejiklian to again request border checkpoints be moved south along the Tweed River.
Ms Palaszczuk said on Sunday she had been working on the letter to Gladys Berejiklian over the weekend on a plan the Queensland government believes will relieve traffic chaos for border communities, The Courier Mail reports.
But the Premier wouldn’t say more about her request until she sends the letter on Monday.
“We have previously requested at an operational level if it could be moved to the Tweed River,” Ms Palaszczuk said. “That is purely a matter now for the NSW Premier.
“I’m not going to comment on it any further until I’ve been able to send that letter and have a discussion with her.”
Ms Palaszczuk last week revealed she had floated the idea several months ago but it had been “rejected” by the NSW government several months ago.
“I put that to NSW and they rejected it,” she said on Friday. “This was right from the very beginning, to make the Tweed River the border, so those border communities could go backwards and forwards, and that was rejected.”
READ MORE: Leaders warn of lockdown hit
Ben Wilmot 4.10pm: Houses pulled from auction as sales stall
Melbourne vendors are pulling houses off the market while lockdown rules are in force, but some other states are seeing signs of stabilisation. Read more here
Richard Ferguson 3.55pm: JobKeeper recipients face review
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the next phase of JobKeeper will take place in an economic environment better than the government originally feared. Read more here
Staff Reporters 3.35pm: Good news from WA over coronavirus cases
Western Australia has reported no new cases of COVID-19. There are now only 24 active cases in the state, all in hotel quarantine.
WA Health said 518 West Australians presented to clinics on Saturday and 493 had undertaken virus testing. The state’s total stands at 651, with 618 having recovered from the virus.
Staff Reporters 3.15pm: Super Netball season relocates to Qld
The Super Netball season, involving up to 60 matches, including finals, will move to Queensland.
The state’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said all six interstate teams would relocate to Queensland from Sunday.
blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
@SuperNetball is moving to Queensland 🙌ðŸ‘
For the rest of the 2020 season, all six interstate teams will play up to 60 games in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns and Townsville.#sports #qldjobs #covid19australia@NetballAust @katejonesqld pic.twitter.com/6oWAYilkOl
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) July 19, 2020
The Collingwood Magpies, Melbourne Vixens, Adelaide Thunderbirds, Giants Netball (Sydney), NSW Swifts, West Coast Fever (Perth) will join Queensland teams the Firebirds and Sunshine Coast Lightning.
Matches will be played in Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Cairns and Townsville.
The Palaszczuk government will reportedly provide $2.2 million to support Netball Australia to move the players.
READ MORE: Covid raises stakes in US election
Imogen Reid 2.45pm: Youth justice centre goes into lockdown
Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre in Victoria has gone into lockdown after an education co-ordinator working at the facility tested positive for coronavirus.
The Department of Justice and Community Safety confirmed the new case today and said contact tracing was being conducted to identify any close contacts.
The centre is being deep cleaned while staff members close to the worker have been sent home to isolate.
Christine Kellett 2.10pm: Hunt says mask edict ‘about saving lives’
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has backed Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ decision to make mask-wearing mandatory from Wednesday, saying it is now necessary to save lives in the state.
Three more Victorians died overnight and new cases jumped to 363, up from 217 on Saturday.
“We are sorry that it has reached this point for all those who were affected. But this is about saving lives and protecting lives,” Mr Hunt said.
The Health Minister said the Commonwealth was extending extra support to Victoria to tackle the second wave, including help with contact tracing, mobile testing for aged care homes and supplying more than a million masks for disability and aged care workers.
The Commonwealth will also increase the number of ADF personnel in Victoria to more than 1400 to enforce border control, isolation and testing.
“But perhaps most importantly, in providing support, assistance and rigour in the contact tracing program,” Mr Hunt said, praising the “Herculean effort” of contact tracers in NSW.
“That is being done at the request of Victoria after the Commonwealth’s offer, and it is being done to make sure that a standard of each case every day is met. There can be no compromise on that standard.”
He urged Australians not to lose hope in the second wave.
“I want to give that sense that amid the darkness, there are lights of hope. Clear and real and visible. Because we know that we can do this because we’ve done this before. “
READ MORE: Russia hits back over virus hacking claims
Christine Kellett 1.40pm: Man charged with fleeing quarantine to smoke
NSW Police have charged a Queensland man for attempting to flee hotel quarantine in Sydney’s CBD.
Police say the 28 year-old man was caught leaving his room at a hotel on Macquarie Street for a cigarette about 2.35am on Sunday.
Security guards allegedly asked him to return but refused and headed for the lifts. He was intercepted by police and a after a struggle, he was restrained and returned to his room, police said. He has been charged with failing to comply with the Public Health Act Order.
It follows an incident in Schofields, in Sydney’s north west, overnight, when 60 people at a house party were each slapped with $1000 fines for taking part in a mass gathering.
READ MORE: The next phase of the retail apocalypse
Kieran Gair 1.19pm: NSW commuters warned of public transport risk
NSW Transport Minister Andrew Constance has warned commuters to avoid public transport in an effort to reduce the chance of another COVID-19 outbreak in Sydney.
As thousands of students prepare to return to school on Monday, Mr Constance said commuters who travel on public transport are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19.
“The state’s at a critical juncture and there’s no room for complacency we are in the middle of a pandemic that can kill,” he said.
“Be very mindful of the inherent risk of commuting (and) if you can work from home please do so.”
Mr Constance urged people to consider “active” forms of transport, such as walking and cycling, in a bid to avoid overcrowding on buses and trains, particularly in the CBD.
“If you can please re-time your day. If you have the ability to walk, cycle, or drive, please take those options.”
READ MORE: Explainer — When is it safe to travel?
Caitlin McCabe 12.45pm: Why masks are a powerful weapon in COVID fight
Face masks are emerging as one of the most powerful weapons to fight the novel coronavirus, with growing evidence that facial coverings help prevent transmission — even if an infected wearer is in close contact with others.
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said he believes the pandemic could be brought under control over the next four to eight weeks if “we could get everybody to wear a mask right now.”
His comments, made Tuesday with the Journal of the American Medical Association, followed an editorial he and others wrote there emphasising “ample evidence” of asymptomatic spread and highlighting new studies showing how masks help reduce transmission.
The research Dr. Redfield cited included a newly published study suggesting that universal use of surgical masks helped reduce rates of confirmed COVID-19 infections among health-care workers at the Mass General Brigham health-care system in Massachusetts.
Read the full story here.
Kieran Gair 12.15pm: Three new NSW infections a mystery
NSW has recorded 18 new cases of COVID-19 to 8pm on Saturday night, including three people who have no identified links to clusters.
The total number of cases associated with the Crossroads Hotel cluster is 45, including 14 people who attended the hotel on July 3, one who attended on July 5, and 30 who are linked to the cluster but who did not attend the hotel.
Here’s a breakdown:
The 18 new cases reported to 8.00pm include:
• One person linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster and attended Planet Fitness gym Casula
• Four people who attended the Thai Rock Restaurant in Stockland Mall Wetherill Park, and a
close contact of a case who was there
• Two people who are members of the same household that involved two cases reported
yesterday
• One close contact of a previously reported case
• Three people (including two in southern Sydney and in one in South Western Sydney) who
have no identified links to known clusters
• One person remains under investigation
• Five people who are overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
READ MORE: Alan Kohler — Government’s cash spray is easy, not right
Christine Kellett 11.55am: NSW records another rise in new cases
NSW has recorded 18 new cases of coronavirus overnight, a rise from the 15 recorded on Saturday and 13 recorded on Friday.
18 new cases of #COVID19 have been diagnosed in NSW between 8pm on 17 July and 8pm on 18 July.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 19, 2020
For the latest list of COVID-19 locations, visit: https://t.co/pqkRdfh3cR pic.twitter.com/oU1z0IXBdU
READ MORE: NSW transmission rate now higher than in Victoria
Stephen Lunn 11.35am: Victoria to impose more nursing home limits
Visits to Victorian nursing home residents will be restricted to carers only, and with a limit of one hours per day, the state government has announced.
And the government, in conjunction with the federal government, will fund aged care workers to ensure they are working in one facility only.
Aged care facilities are again becoming one of the biggest concerns in the state’s second wave outbreak, with 30 facilities currently having cases.
The stat’e chief health officer Brett Sutton on Saturday revealed 405 frontline health workers had been diagnosed with coronavirus, with outbreaks in three more nursing homes in Ballarat, Bendigo and Edithvale.
READ MORE: Greg Sheridan — Victorian government’s four stupid COVID mistakes
Stephen Lunn 11.25am: Masks to be mandatory in Victoria from Wednesday
Victorians will be wearing face masks into the future, Premier Dan Andrews says as the state imposes mandatory mask wearing outside for millions of people.
The Victorian government is imposing mandatory face covering for all people in Metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire from Wednesday midnight, and urging people to wear them immediately.
From Thursday, the fine for not wearing a mask will be $200.
Those under 12 and children while they are in school don’t need to wear them, but they will on the way to and from school.
The advice comes from the state’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.
“People will be wearing masks for a long time into the future,” Mr Andrews said.
The Premier said no particular type of face covering was being mandated: “Even a scarf will do”.
READ MORE: Why mask-wearing is gaining ground
Stephen Lunn 11.07am: Victoria records 363 cases, three more deaths
Mask wearing will be made compulsory in Victoria after it recorded 363 new cases of coronavirus in 24 hours, another spike from the 217 detected yesterday. Three more people have died, two men and a woman, all in their 90s, taking the state’s death toll to 38.
Only 36 of the new cases are linked to known outbreaks, with more than 330 from an unknown source.
Premier Dan Andrews said the total number of active cases now sat at 2837, with 130 people in hospital, including 28 people intensive care.
Wearing masks outside will be mandatory for millions of people in Melbourne from midnight Wednesday.
The Andews government will fine people outside without masks $200.
The government, acting on the advice of the chief medical officer, has urged those in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire to start wearing masks outside immediately.
But it will give people time to access masks, meaning the mandatory requirement won’t come in until midnight Wednesday.
Laine Sainty 10.30am: Victorian Premier’s dig at ‘Brighton Karen’
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has made a subtle dig at a Melbourne woman who shot to social media fame after telling a reporter she was sick of walking the same streets and declaring “I’ve done all of Brighton”.
The woman appeared in a Nine News broadcast this week, interviewed about new coronavirus restrictions banning unreasonable travel for exercise as she walked with a friend at The Tan in Melbourne’s CBD.
“Well, you get sick of walking the same streets,” she said. “You know, I’ve done all of Brighton.”
The Premier said: “I’ve got a very clear message to every single Victorian, particularly some of those featured in social media: whether you’re in Broadmeadows or Brighton, stay at home means stay at home,” he said.
“And if walking your local streets is boring, well, being bored is much better than being in intensive care. That’s my clear message.”
Read full story here
Richard Ferguson 9.50am: Union will back new flexible workplace rules
ACTU president Michele O’Neill says the trade union will continue to support new flexible workplace rules if JobKeeper support remains at a high level and is time-limited.
The trade unions are resisting calls from within government and business to make new industrial relations rules brought in last March to become a permanent fixture.
Ms O’Neill told the ABC the current wage subsidy for $1500 a fortnight per worker was the right level, and she was happy to consider more flexible work arrangements if the program is extended for six months.
“We think that the level is right, but we will look at what the government announces and discuss what’s needed to ensure that those workers get JobKeeper, that they’re subsidised and they stay connected to their jobs,” she said on Sunday.
“(The ACTU would support flexible arrangements) for people getting JobKeeper and for that time, a time limited period while they’re getting the JobKeeper support.”
.@MicheleONeilAU questions why parliament can't adapt to working during the pandemic like other workers. Also, with the new JobKeeper plan this week .... "it will be a full month before there's any scrutiny or debate about what that means for working people. " #Insiders. #auspol pic.twitter.com/8FEoRsEic2
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) July 18, 2020
In response to those wanting more permanent IR reform, Ms O’Neil said the current Fair Work Act provides flexibility for employers.
“We’ve actually got an extraordinarily good system in terms of a combination of protection for workers as well as flexibility that exists in our Fair Work Act, well before the changes to do with JobKeeper,” she said.
“It also exists in many awards and many agreements. And there’s a real willingness by
working people to work with the people that they work for, their employers, to find a way through this.
“But we don’t need, and can’t see a justification for, for changes that reduce people’s hours and consequently, their pay, without agreement in businesses that are not still suffering.”
READ MORE: Online virus deniers put lives at risk
Agencies 9.30am: Doc who survived COVID bewildered by public disregard
Dr. Michael Saag spends much of his time treating patients fighting for their lives and working with colleagues who are overwhelmed and exhausted by the relentless battle against the COVID-19 pandemic.
But he enters a different world when he walks out the door of his Alabama clinic: one where many don’t wear masks, keep their distance from others or even seem aware of the intense struggle being waged against a virus that has cost about 140,000 lives nationwide and made so many — including the doctor — seriously ill.
The disconnect is devastating.
“It’s a mixture of emotions, from anger to being demoralised to bewilderment to frustration,” Saag said.
For Saag, the fight is personal. In early March, both he and his adult son came down with the virus after a trip to Manhattan when the epidemic was raging there. First came a cough, followed by fever, a headache, body aches and what Saag called “fuzzy thinking,” or an inability to concentrate. During eight suffocating nights, Saag wasn’t sure whether he’d survive without a ventilator. It never came to that. He is now fully recovered and feels closer than ever to the people he treats.
Read the full story here.
Richard Ferguson 8.30am: Government considers move away from flat JobKeeper rate
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says the next phase of JobKeeper will take place in an economic environment “better” than the government originally feared.
Josh Frydenberg is reportedly considering a move away from the flat $1500 rate of wage subsidies toward sliding payments.
Ahead of the Treasurer’s economic statement on Thursday, Senator Cormann said it will be appropriate to reassess which businesses still need support.
“Clearly the situation is now better than it was at the end of March. The situation is better than what we feared would be the case now,” he told Sky News.
“There will be adjustments to the program to ensure it is appropriate for the next phase.
“When we first designed the program back in March, speed was of the essence.
“As we get to the end of September, clearly it is going to be important to reassess which businesses still should be receiving this support.”
READ MORE: JobKeeper set to be extended
Agencies 7.50am: WHO posts second daily record for new virus cases
The World Health Organisation is again posting a single-day record of new confirmed coronavirus cases. It announced 259,848 new cases on Saturday.
The WHO on Friday posted more than 237,000 confirmed cases around the world. The back-to-back records come as many nations struggle with new waves of infections after loosening lockdown restrictions.
Data compiled by Johns Hopkins University show more than 14 million cases worldwide since the start of the pandemic, with nearly 600,000 deaths.
AP
READ MORE: Greg Sheridan — Coronavirus has changed the world order
Christine Kellett 7.15am: Sydney partygoers fined $60,000 for gathering
NSW Police say they will issue $1000 COVID infringement penalty notices to 60 people who attended a house party in Sydney’s north west overnight.
Officers were called about 11.30pm to a home in Nottingham Street in Schofields that had been booked via an online rental site.
Sixty people at the property were in breach of the Public Health Act, which restricts gatherings to a 20-person limit.
Police intend to issue up to 60 COVID infringement penalty notices (PINs) after officers were called to a party at Schofields overnight.
“Assistance was sought from neighbouring commands from Mt Druitt, Hawkesbury, Blacktown, The Hills and Nepean, as well as the Police airwing, PolAir, a team from the Dog Unit, and OSG officers from North West and South West Metropolitan Regions, to manage the crowd many of whom were intoxicated,” NSW Police said in a statement.
“OC spray was deployed when a brawl broke out inside the home involving 15 people, and officers entered the building.”
Thirty people were arrested for refusing a move-on direction and will be issued with additional fines.
Australia’s chief medical officer yesterday warned NSW residents — particularly in Sydney’s west — faced a greater risk of infection than those in Melbourne, where renewed lockdowns are in place.
READ MORE: Most-liveable city a shadow of its former self
Agencies 6.15am: As US cases surge, hospitals swamped
A fast-rising rising tide of new coronavirus cases is flooding emergency rooms in parts of the United States, with some patients moved into hallways and nurses working extra shifts to keep up with the surge.
Patients struggling to breathe are being placed on ventilators in emergency wards since intensive care units are full, officials say, and the near-constant care they require is overtaxing workers who also are treating more typical ER cases like chest pains, infections, and fractures.
In Texas, Dr. Alison Haddock of the Baylor College of Medicine said the current situation is worse than after Hurricane Harvey, which swamped Houston with floodwaters in 2017. The state reported a new daily record for virus deaths Friday and more than 10,000 confirmed cases for the fourth consecutive day.
“I’ve never seen anything like this COVID surge,” said Haddock, who has worked in emergency rooms since 2007. “We’re doing our best, but we’re not an ICU.”
Patients are waiting “hours and hours” to get admitted, she said, and the least sick people are lying in beds in halls to make room for most seriously ill. In Florida, another state that is seeing surging case numbers, hospitals say they are in desperate need of remdesivir — a medication that has been shown to shorten average hospitalisation times — to treat the coronavirus patients who are filling up beds.
On Saturday, Florida reported more than 10,200 new cases of the virus and 90 additional deaths.
READ MORE: Cameron Stewart — Americans lost in a tragic kingdom
Max Maddison 5.25am: NSW’s transmission rate higher than Victoria’s
Acting national Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has warned the potential for virus transmission is higher in NSW than Melbourne, as he urges people to avoid large gatherings.
With the reproduction rate, or R effective rate, currently at 1 in Victoria — a result of ongoing lockdowns — he said the risk of infection was higher across Sydney, where people were facing fewer restrictions.
Professor Kelly said the R rate was about 1.4 in NSW.
“People are more mobile (in Sydney) they are mixing in greater numbers,” he said yesterday.
Coronavirus cases in New South Wales have risen by 15 overnight bringing the state’s total to 3361.
NSW Deputy Chief Health Officer Jeremy McAnulty said a record number of 27,702 tests were completed on Friday, including 3000 in Sydney’s southwest suburbs.
He said five of the new cases were known contacts of people who had been directly or indirectly linked to the Crossroads Hotel in Casula.
Four were detected in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, one was linked to the new cluster at the Thai Rock restaurant in Wetherill Park, while five cases remained under investigation.
Dr McAnulty said since 8pm on Friday an additional case had been linked to the Planet Fitness gym at Casula, bringing the total number in the cluster to six, all of who had attended in the evening on July 8.
He said the number of cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel was 45.
“The concern is recently is that we have become complacent,” Dr McAnulty said yesterday.
“We think it’s OK to gather around, come close together, but it’s not, we’re still at risk.
“What’s happened in Victoria, what’s happening with these cases is we need to make sure all those measures remain in place to protect us all.”
In Victoria yesterday, an additional 217 new cases were announced — a major drop from the 428 cases announced on Friday. Eleven of the new cases are linked to known outbreaks and the rest are under investigation. Victoria has currently 2608 active cases of COVID-19.
While admitting relief at the lower number of new cases, Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said 217 new cases as still “a figure that would have shocked us all a month ago.”
“We need to remember it is still a high number and there will be a number of people hidden in this number today who will require hospitalisation or intensive care in days to come,” Dr Sutton said.
READ MORE: Federal parliament canned over COVID-19
Jack Paynter 5.15am: Coronavirus cases mount at Woolworths sites
Workers at two Woolworths distribution centres in Melbourne’s southeast have been offered overtime shifts before they were told about positive coronavirus cases at the warehouses.
Despite the company having all employees’ mobile numbers to send texts offering extra work, staff said they had been left in the dark about multiple virus cases at the Mulgrave sites and relied on colleagues and media reports to keep them informed.
Two more positive cases were confirmed in contractors working at Woolworths’ Melbourne National Distribution Centre on Saturday morning, taking the total to four, while there has also been one case at the adjacent Produce Distribution Centre.
It is understood two more produce staff also received a positive test result on Saturday afternoon.
Read the full story here.
Simon Benson 5am: $70 billion JobKeeper scheme to be extended
The $70 billion JobKeeper scheme is set to be extended beyond September, with Josh Frydenberg flagging an extra round of economic support in next week’s economic statement.
The Treasurer told the Australian that the Victorian Covid crisis would deliver another economic shock and threatened to undermine the broader national economic recovery.
“It is clear the economy will need further economic support and we will continue to do what it takes to keep businesses in business and Australians in jobs,” Mr Frydenberg said.
Mr Frydenberg will next Thursday hand down the first major fiscal and economic statement since the pandemic with the second wave outbreak in Victoria over the past fortnight poised to stall the economic recovery.
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