Coronavirus Australia live news: Eradication ‘not aim’, despite Mikakos tweet; trans-Tasman bubble possible before Christmas
Daniel Andrews disputes tweet from former health minister Jenny Mikakos, says suppression remains aim, and digs in on masks.
- Andrews digs in on masks for all
- Eradication ‘not aim’, despite Mikakos tweet
- Vic testing numbers lowest since June
- Trans-Tasman bubble ‘possible before Christmas’
- No new NSW cases
- Pubs with no cheer left out in the cold
- Zero cases in Queensland
- Freedom still weeks away for Melbourne
Welcome to our rolling coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Daniel Andrews says a suppression strategy remains his aim for Victoria, despite his former health minister tweeting about being closer to “eradication”. And he’s standing firm on masks for all — even regional Victorians. Jacinda Ardern is considering travel to and from some Australian states as Michael McCormack pushes for open borders. Jenny Mikakos’ abrupt resignation has rocked the Labor party leaving questions surrounding Premier Daniel Andrews loyalty.
Rosie Lewis 10.30pm: Welcome back Kiwis plan for November
New Zealanders and Australians living across the Tasman would be allowed into the country without quarantining from November under a tourism industry “restart” plan, as Jacinda Ardern considers a state-by-state “travel bubble” before Christmas.
The tourism restart task force, which comprises representatives from the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tourism Australia, Flight Centre, Tourist Accommodation Australia and other business leaders, has agreed to a revised timetable to reopen parts of their decimated sector.
Obtained by The Australian, the plan calls for all state border closures to be removed by December 1 and people from New Zealand would fly into Australia in November without any restrictions. Australians would be able to go to New Zealand without quarantining in a hotel by January or February.
Dasl Yoon, Joyu Wang 9.50pm: Travellers taking flights to nowhere
Never mind the security protocols, long lines and cramped seats. Some people miss air travel so much they’re taking flights to nowhere, spending a few hours in the sky only to circle immediately back home.
Japan’s All Nippon Airways offered about 330 tickets on a 90-minute Hawaii-themed flight through a lottery system. More than 50,000 applied. Similar flights are being considered or already offered in Singapore, Brunei and South Korea.
Qantas Airlines put together a seven-hour flight that passes over the country’s landmarks, such as the Great Barrier Reef, at low altitudes. Qantas warned that window seats were expected to sell quickly. All 134 tickets, including $3787 business class seats, were gone within 10 minutes.
The flights are a workaround for restrictions — stiffer across Asia than in Europe or the US — requiring many air travellers to go into multiweek quarantines after a flight, sometimes enforced by mobile-tracking apps and penalties for disobeying.
Olivia Caisley 9.20pm: Aged-care watchdog gave no fines, despite complaints
The aged-care watchdog failed to issue a single fine or warning despite receiving more than 2000 complaints from April to June this year, of which 340 were directly related to infection control.
Complaints to the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission soared in the months between Victoria’s first and second waves, increasing by almost 50 per cent on the previous quarter: 2119 complaints were recorded by the commission between April and June, with the majority stemming from infection control, lack of family consultation and communication concerns.
The commission can threaten providers with sanctions such as having their funding or ¬approval withdrawn if they fail to heed warnings to improve their services, but not a single notice was issued over the period.
The sector has faced the highest death toll from the COVID-19 pandemic, with 654 Australians losing their lives while in aged care.
Richard Ferguson 8.50pm: Veto push risks uni deals
Major deals with Oxford, Cambridge and other top British universities will be jeopardised by Scott Morrison’s push to have the final say over the higher education sector’s arrangements with foreign entities, the UK equivalent to the Group of Eight claims.
The Russell Group of leading British universities is backing a submission by the Go8 into a parliamentary inquiry on the Foreign Relations Bill, with sandstone institutions calling it a threat to research partnerships, academic freedom and the Australian economy post-COVID.
The intervention of the Russell Group, whose 24 British members including Oxford and Cambridge dominate the world’s university rankings, is the biggest hit yet from a global ally against the Prime Minister’s intention to scrutinise state government, local government and university deals with other countries and bring them into line with the national interest.
Adam Creighton 8.18pm: Elimination strategy ‘will cost us $319bn’
The cost of trying to eliminate the coronavirus from Australia is more than annual government spending on defence, education,health and social security combined, according to new economic modelling released by a free-market think tank.
From June this year to the middle of 2022, the “elimination strategy” being pursued by state and federal governments willcost $319bn, equivalent to 23 per cent of GDP, the report, Medical Capacity: An Alternative to Lockdowns, has estimated.
“Put another way, the cost is the equivalent to 2.2 times the total annual value of Australia’s entire healthcare and socialassistance industry,” the report, written by research director Daniel Wild and Institute of Public Affairs associate AsherJudah, concluded.
The report comes amid debate about the proportionality of Victoria’s ongoing lockdown, which is set to last at least anotherthree weeks, and ahead of the federal government’s budget, expected to reveal the biggest deficit since the 1940s.
“The consequences of the lockdowns could be likened to a form of aggressive asset stripping where the political class andelites appeared to have been empowered and grown wealthier at the expense of an ever more precarious middle-class,” Mr Wildsaid.
“Lockdowns have brought about one of the greatest regressive transfers of wealth and power in Australia’s history,” he added,pointing to evidence that the impact of the lockdowns had weighed more on younger Australians.
AFP 7.45pm: Rebound and reflection in Wuhan as a million lives lost
As the coronavirus claimed its millionth life, people in Wuhan expressed sadness on Monday at the global impact of the pandemic — more than nine months after it emerged in the central Chinese city.
Pride at the city’s resilience in the face of the calamity is tinged with sadness at the mounting death toll elsewhere.
“One million people dead, maybe relatively speaking in terms of the total global population it’s not a lot,” said Hu Lingquan, a scientist and Wuhan resident.
“But these are actually all real people’s lives. Every person has a family.”
As the global death toll hit one million — and with resistance to the threat of new lockdowns building from London and Madrid to Melbourne — China has been celebrating its emergence from the virus.
The economy is bouncing back, with factories re-opened and consumers returning to shops.
Wuhan, the central Chinese city and ground zero of the virus, has flaunted its rebound with packed pool parties and bustling amusement parks.
But those optics have played badly across a world still struggling to control the virus spread and economic fallout, while demanding accountability from China for the causes of the outbreak.
The virus was felt sharply in the city of 11 million with 50,340 confirmed cases and 3,869 deaths — the most infections and fatalities in China.
Beijing has also stirred doubt into the Wuhan outbreak origin story, prodding outrage from worst-hit nations.
“From China’s point of view they’ve really done badly,” said Mr Hu. “Maybe they never really comprehended how serious this thing is.”
The World Health Organisation warns the toll will keep rising until an effective vaccine is found and distributed globally.
“When the outbreak began, I didn’t imagine the death toll could be this high,” Wuhan resident Guo Jing said.
“It has exceeded a lot of people’s expectations, and it continues to rise.”
READ MORE: Qld COVID trio face court, given bail
AFP 7.15pm: Beijing passes law to protect medical whistleblowers
Beijing’s city government will protect “non-malicious” medical whistleblowers under a new law, passed months after a Chinese doctor was punished for sounding the alarm at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.
China’s leaders suffered a rare wave of public outrage after ophthalmologist Li Wenliang died of the disease in Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus first emerged late last year.
He had attempted to warn authorities about the new infection but was instead reprimanded for “spreading rumours”.
Other medical whistleblowers in Wuhan later told Chinese media they were punished by government officials for discussing the outbreak without permission from superiors.
The new Beijing law, which came into effect from Friday, states that anyone whose tip-offs are later verified would be rewarded, and suffer no penalties.
But the regulations do not cover anyone “fabricating or deliberately disseminating false information” about developing public health emergencies, according to a government notice on Saturday.
The new legislation is similar to a public health emergency law passed by Shenzhen municipal government in last month, which also vows to protect “non-malicious” whistleblowers from legal consequences — the first of its kind in China.
Since the initial outbreak in January, Chinese authorities have waged a crackdown on COVID-19 rumour-mongering, investigating and detaining hundreds across the country.
READ MORE: Take an ‘awe’ walk to boost mental health in pandemic
Geoff Chambers 6.42pm: Empty nursing home costing $56,000 a month
Australian taxpayers have been slugged an average of $56,400 per month to keep open a 40-bed nursing home in regional Victoria which has had no residents or staff on-site since the start of the year.
The Australian can reveal that federal Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck’s unprecedented intervention to stall the permanent closure of the DP Jones aged-care facility in Murchison was extended throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since November last year, at least $564,000 has been allocated from the Health Department budget to stop the facility’s administrator, SV Partners, selling the nursing home, which was forced shut after racking up debts of between $3m and $4m.
6.29pm: Where the active virus cases are in Victoria
Rosie Lewis 5.45pm: Porter backs stevedore’s application to FWC
The Morrison government will intervene to support major stevedore Patrick’s urgent application to the Fair Work Commission to stop industrial action by the Maritime Union of Australia, warning the union’s behaviour during the COVID-19 recession was “simply unforgivable”.
Patrick declared the MUA’s work bans and stoppages at four ports around the country was causing “significant damage to the Australian economy” with millions of dollars lost each day.
In its application to the commission, Patrick said industrial action had occurred since late last month after the union rejected its draft enterprise bargaining agreement that included guaranteed payrises of 1.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent over four years.
Wharfies employed by Patrick can earn up to $172,000 at Port Botany in Sydney for working 198 days a year.
Rachel Baxendale 4.35pm: Monday cases all linked to aged care, health services
All five of Victoria’s new coronavirus cases on Monday have been linked to aged care facilities or health services.
The Department of Health and Human Services says two of the cases were linked to health services, although no detail has been provided of which health services.
The other three cases have been linked to clusters at the following facilities:
— Kalyna Delahey, in Melbourne’s outer northwest. This facility has now been linked to 109 cases, and as of September 8 had been linked to 17 deaths;
— Opal Hobsons Bay in Melbourne’s inner southwest. This facility was linked to one case last Monday, more cases last Tuesday and Friday and another three cases on Sunday, but had not been linked to any cases or deaths as of September 8.
— Embracia Moonee Valley in Melbourne’s northwest. This facility was linked to two cases last Monday, and more cases last Tuesday. As of September 8, it had been linked to 46 cases and five deaths.
The following local government areas have new cases on Monday:
— Brimbank (outer west): 1
— Casey (outer southeast): 1
— Glen Eira (southeast): 1
— Moonee Valley (northwest): 1
— Wyndham (outer southwest): 1.
Of 20,149 people who have had coronavirus in Victoria since the pandemic began, 18,942 have recovered - an increase of 41 since Sunday.
Of 359 active cases in Victoria on Monday, 350 are in people from metropolitan Melbourne, while nine are in people from regional Victoria.
Of the total number of cases since the pandemic began, 18,757 have been in people from Melbourne, while 1192 have been in those from regional Victoria.
There have been 9610 cases in men and 10,525 in women.
The total number of cases in health workers has increased by four since Sunday, to 3527, although the number of active cases in health workers decreased by four to 60.
There are four cases linked to residential disability accommodation - all of them in staff.
There are 182 active cases of coronavirus linked to Victorian aged care facilities as of Monday - 27 fewer than on Sunday - despite three of Monday’s five new cases being linked to aged care.
As of Monday there have been 624 coronavirus deaths linked to aged care facilities in Victoria, including all three deaths reported in the 24 hours to Monday.
The 10 active aged care outbreaks with the highest cumulative total numbers of cases as of Monday and deaths as of September 8 (the most recent date for which data is available) are:
260 cases and 18 deaths linked to BaptCare Wyndham Lodge Community in Werribee, in Melbourne’s outer southwest;
220 cases and 35 deaths linked to Epping Gardens in Epping, in Melbourne’s north;
140 cases and 20 deaths linked to Kirkbrae Presbyterian Homes in Kilsyth, in Melbourne’s outer east;
132 cases and 11 deaths linked to BlueCross Ruckers Hill in Northcote, in Melbourne’s inner north;
127 cases and 20 deaths linked to Twin Parks in Reservoir, in Melbourne’s north;
124 cases and eight deaths linked to Cumberland Manor in Sunshine North, in Melbourne’s west;
122 cases and 17 deaths linked to Japara Goonawarra in Sunbury, in Melbourne’s outer northwest;
121 cases and 10 deaths linked to Estia in Heidelberg, in Melbourne’s northeast;
109 cases and 17 deaths linked to Kalyna in Delahey, in Melbourne’s outer northwest (an increase of one case since Sunday);
108 cases and 23 deaths linked to Glendale in Werribee, in Melbourne’s outer southwest;
The following two large aged care clusters no longer have active cases:
216 cases and 44 deaths linked to St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Fawkner, in Melbourne’s north;
166 cases and 17 deaths linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Ardeer, in Melbourne’s west;
Non-aged care outbreaks with the highest numbers of active cases on Monday include:
11 active cases linked to the Casey community outbreak involving at least seven households in Melbourne’s outer southeast (total cases: 44) - the same numbers as Sunday;
Nine active cases linked to Footscray Hospital in Melbourne’s inner west - down from 12 active cases on Sunday (total cases: 20);
Seven active cases linked to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne’s inner southeast (total cases: 11) - the same numbers as Sunday;
Five active cases are currently linked to the Springvale shared accommodation outbreak in Melbourne’s outer southeast (total cases: 5). The same numbers as when this cluster was first confirmed on Friday;
READ MORE : Qld COVID trio face court, given bail
Ewin Hannan 3pm: Key points on private security guards
What counsel assisting the hotel quarantine inquiry say about private security guards, the ADF and who was in charge of the program.
Use of private security guards.
“Astonishingly”, the question of who decided on the use of private security guards is still unable to be answered.
Use of private security was not really a decision but a conclusion arrived at by a “creeping assumption” over a couple of hours.
Victoria Police’s preference that private security be the first line of enforcement was a substantial contributing factor to the creeping consensus.
No accountability has been accepted by ministers, secretaries or any officials for the decision.
Use of Australian Defence Force personnel
Federal offer of ADF assistance should have been made known to Daniel Andrews by his departmental secretary Chris Eccles.
But it was not open to find that the ADF should have been engaged, and no criticism should be made of operational decisions not to use ADF at hotels.
Who was in charge
The Department of Health and Human Services was the control agency responsible for the hotel quarantine program.
The Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions had a substantial role but DHHS was in control.
Emergency poorly managed by DHHS primarily because it did not sufficiently bring its health expertise.
READ MORE: Vic hotel scheme ‘responsible for 768 deaths’
Rachel Baxendale 2.00pm: Suburban Dan Murphys, Woolies on ‘high risk’ list
A Dan Murphy’s liquor store in the outer southeastern Melbourne suburb of Doveton, as well as the Woolworths and Continental Mart supermarkets in Springvale, also in the southeast, are among new locations added to the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services “high risk” coronavirus list on Monday.
DHHS says a positive case visited the Dan Murphy’s between 12:30pm and 3pm on Sunday, spending 45 minutes there.
UPDATED: High risk locations
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) September 28, 2020
📠Doveton Dan Murphy
📠Springvale Woolworths
📠Springvale Continental Mart
Full list: https://t.co/tkawOvqIid
The locations on this list are not a current risk to the public - you may continue to visit them in line with current restrictions. pic.twitter.com/MyR7zlCm9h
A positive case also visited Springvale Woolworths during the same time period on Sunday, spending 15 minutes shopping there, and nearby food store Continental Mart, where they spent 20 minutes shopping.
The full DHHS list of high risk locations is available here, although the Doveton and Springvale sites on Sunday are the only exposure periods listed since last Wednesday September 23.
READ MORE: The man with the power to probe the ‘don’t knows’
Rachel Baxendale 2.00pm: Masks will stay, even in isolated regional Vic
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has dismissed calls for compulsory mask wearing to be scrapped in regional Victoria in situations where people can easily socially distance, such as when they may be hiking or fishing alone.
The calls came from Bill Tilley, the state Member for Benambra which takes in Wodonga and Victoria’s far northeast.
Mr Tilley told The Australian he agreed masks were necessary in any situation where people were coming into contact with others, but believed “common sense” should prevail when they were out and about with no people nearby.
“It makes sense for people to still need to wear masks when they’re doing their shopping in town, but if someone’s going fishing by themselves, it’s just common sense that it’s not serving any health purpose, and particularly as we’re getting into warmer weather, it’s uncomfortable” Mr Tilley said.
Mr Andrews dismissed the call, saying he believed masks offered significant health benefits for “very low cost”.
“I know they’re not pleasant to wear, particularly if you’re like (me) and you wear glasses, it’s challenging, but that’s nothing.” he said.
“I mean compared to everyone being locked in their homes and people needing machines to breathe? I reckon I can deal with some foggy glasses.
“I think that Bill needs to just have a look at the broader context and it is significant benefit, low cost.”
Asked if it was really necessary for someone in regional Victoria to be wearing a mask while going for a walk by themselves in circumstances where they may be the only person in a square kilometre, Mr Andrews said: “What’s the issue? Seriously, what’s the issue? Why is it such a massive issue?”
Told that the issue was that wearing a mask served no health purpose if people weren’t coming into contact with another human being, Mr Andrews said: “Well that’s an esoteric debate, isn’t it?”
“Maybe there’ll be a time when we have the luxury of having those sorts of debates,” he said.
“You wear a mask because it’s of some benefit. How much benefit? It’s always difficult, and as I’ve said many times, you can’t break down all the things we’ve done and have an absolute percentage benefit that’s attributed to each one. I think they play an important part.
“There’ll come a time when they’re not needed, and when that time comes, then people won’t have to wear them.”
READ MORE: ‘Pakula should have been briefed on private security’
Rachel Baxendale 12.35pm: Eradication not aim, despite Mikakos tweet
Former Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos has tweeted that Victoria is “well on the way to eradication” of coronavirus, prompting Premier Daniel Andrews to deny that his suppression road map is in fact an eradication strategy by stealth.
“I am saddened to see more lives lost, my sympathy to their families,” Ms Mikakos tweeted during Mr Andrews’s daily press conference.
“But I’m so pleased to see how low the numbers are. I’m so proud of Victorians and so grateful for the sacrifices made to get us to this point. We are well on the way to eradication.”
I am saddened to see more lives lost, my sympathy to their families. But I’m so pleased to see how low the numbers are. I’m so proud of Victorians and so grateful for the sacrifices made to get us to this point. We are well on the way to eradication. â¤ï¸ https://t.co/wThKTZgRTd
— Jenny Mikakos #StayHomeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) September 28, 2020
Asked whether eradication had become the aim of Victoria’s lockdown, Mr Andrews said: “No, it’s not. I’ve answered this question many, many times.”
“That is not the strategy. The strategy is to suppress this virus and that’s the National Cabinet decision,” Mr Andrews said.
Ms Mikakos’s tweet comes after she was photographed leaving her house during the Premier’s press conference on Sunday.
READ MORE: Labor heart bleeding over Mikakos ‘sacrifice’
Rachel Baxendale 12.00pm: One more mystery case in Vic
The number of cases for which contact tracers have been unable to establish a source of infection has risen by one since Sunday, to 4274 since the pandemic began.
The number of active cases in regional Victoria is nine – the same number as on Sunday.
There are 182 active cases in aged care, down from 209 on Sunday – representing 50.7 per cent of Victoria’s total 359 active cases on Monday.
There are 60 active cases in health workers, including those in aged care and disability, down from 64 active cases on Sunday.
This includes four active cases in staff associated with residential disability accommodation.
READ MORE: A2 sales hit by Victoria lockdown
Ellen Ransley 11.30am: Queensland Covid trio face court
The women health authorities have blamed for Queensland’s most recent COVID-19 clusters have fronted court for the first time, accused of misleading police upon their return to the state.
Diana Lasu, Olivia Muranga and Haja Timbo were charged with fraud and providing false or misleading documents in July after they allegedly flew into Brisbane, having spent time in Melbourne, deceiving authorities about where they had been.
The trio appeared briefly in Brisbane Magistrates Court on Monday, in front of a large media contingent.
Their matters were heard separately, with Lasu and Muranga’s matters adjourned until October 28, while Timbo’s matter will be heard on October 21.
The women remain on bail and are not required to attend court next month if they are legally represented.
Lasu and Muranga contracted COVID-19 while in Victoria in July and infected at least three other people and sparked numerous contact tracing alerts.
The third woman did not contract the virus.
READ the full story here.
David Ross 11.15am: No NSW cases for second day in row
NSW has again reported no new cases of COVID-19 after 6353 tests over the weekend.
This is the second day in a row NSW has had no new cases both in quarantine hotels and in the community.
NSW Health is treating 63 people for the virus, with three people in ICU after suffering severely from the infection.
No new cases of #COVID19 were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, with the total number of cases in NSW remaining at 4,029.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 28, 2020
This is the second day in a row that NSW has had no new cases, either locally acquired or in hotel quarantine. pic.twitter.com/gDNvt9VVJ5
But NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian cautioned people to stay vigilant and not be lulled “into a false sense of security”.
“While we are doing well as a state, I’m incredibly proud of everyone involved, we can’t let complacency set in,” she said.
“The last time we relaxed the Victorian situation unexpectedly arose.”
It comes as NSW opened a pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic in the state’s popular tourism hot spot Byron Bay.
The new clinic will be open for the next two weeks, except for Sunday 4 October.
The opening of the clinic comes as NSW has entered the school holiday period which NSW Health fears may lead to the seeding of the virus in regional locations by travellers from Sydney.
Anyone with a runny nose, scratchy throat, cough, fever or other symptoms that could be COVID-19 is encouraged to come forward to get tested.
The mystery case of COVID-19 that surfaced last week in a man in Campbelltown has yet to be linked to any known clusters.
Genomic testing is underway on the man’s case, with Ms Berejiklian saying NSW Health “hadn’t given up on finding a link”.
The man in his 50s, who lived in a supported care facility with two other people, has underlying health conditions and is in the ICU at Campbelltown hospital.
The man’s housemates and staff working at the facility have been tested for the virus are in isolation.
READ MORE: New battlefront on Queensland border
David Ross 10.50am: Mikakos address ‘widely’ distributed
Former Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos, who resigned on Sunday, has tweeted that her home address has been “widely” distributed.
Dear media, I won’t be doing interviews at my home. Please respect my privacy and safety. When I want to speak to you I’ll call you. As for the people who have distributed my home address widely I have no words.
— Jenny Mikakos #StayHomeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) September 28, 2020
In a tweet sent at 10am this morning, shortly before Victorian premier Daniel Andrews stumped up for his daily press conference, Ms Mikakos said she would not do interviews at her home and called for privacy.
“Dear media, I won’t be doing interviews at my home. Please respect my privacy and safety. When I want to speak to you I’ll call you. As for the people who have distributed my home address widely I have no words,” she said.
READ MORE: COVID hotels run like no one watching
Rachel Baxendale 10.45am: Vic testing numbers lowest since June
Victoria’s five new cases of coronavirus on Monday come after 6,807 tests were processed in the preceding 24 hours – the state’s lowest daily number of tests processed since June 22.
However, Monday’s positive test rate is 0.07 – the lowest positive test rate since mid June.
The five new cases represent the lowest daily number of new cases since June 12.
Victoria’s number of active cases is now 359 – the lowest number of active cases since June 30, and a decrease of 40 active cases since Sunday.
Premier Daniel Andrews said all five cases were linked to known outbreaks, but did not say which outbreaks these were.
One previously notified case has been reclassified, meaning the cumulative number of cases since the pandemic began has only increased by four.
Three new deaths reported in the 24 hours to Monday bring Victoria’s coronavirus death toll to 787.
The deaths include those of a man in his 60s, a woman in her 80s and a man in his 90s.
All three were linked to aged care.
There are 49 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus on Monday, including eight in intensive care, of whom four are on ventilators.
This compares with 51 in hospital on Sunday, including nine in intensive care, of whom five were on ventilators.
READ MORE: Victoria must wait weeks for freedom
Sarah Elks 10.10am: Queensland records zero cases
Queensland has recorded zero new cases of COVID-19 overnight, with eight active cases currently.
Monday, 28 September – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) September 27, 2020
• 0 new confirmed cases
• 8 active cases
• 1,157 total confirmed cases
• 1,099,835 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,141 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/LNQTsuGYGC
The state has had 1157 total confirmed cases, and nearly 1.1m tests have been conducted.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the state government is “very concerned” about the winding back of JobKeeper today.
Treasurer Cameron Dick said JobKeeper was sustaining families and individuals.
“They need to be extremely cautious about the impacts of this …(economists) are saying this could have a significant impact on unemployment,” Mr Dick said.
He said Queensland had forecast a rise in unemployment because JobKeeper was coming off.
READ MORE: Alleged cross border fail
Rachel Baxendale 9.45am: Andrews to address media at 10.30am
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to address the media at 10:30am.
The press conference comes as Victoria recorded its lowest daily increase in coronavirus cases since June 12 on Monday, with five new cases.
It also follows the resignation over the weekend of Health Minister Jenny Mikakos, after Mr Andrews attributed responsibility for the bungled hotel quarantine program to her and her department in evidence before the hotel quarantine inquiry on Friday.
Melburnians received a small reprieve on Sunday with the dumping of the Andrews government’s controversial curfew ahead of a legal challenge being heard in the Supreme Court this morning, as well as public outdoor gatherings of up to five people from up to two households now being allowed, and childcare and a staged return to school when Term Four begins on October 5.
Approximately 130,000 workers are also now able to return to their jobs.
However, any release from stay-at-home restrictions or opening of hospitality businesses will have to wait until at least October 19, and is contingent on a 14-day daily average of fewer than five cases, and fewer than five unknown source cases over that fortnight.
READ MORE: Victoria takes first step out of nightmare
David Ross 9.30am: Marles: PM relegates himself to sidelines over borders
Deputy federal Opposition Leader Richard Marles has said the federal government has “relegated” itself to the sidelines in the ongoing border closures.
“From day one I don’t understand how the commonwealth goes about its business without thinking it has something to do with this,” he said on Sky.
“I don’t reckon John Howard would have been as comfortable relegating himself to the sidelines as Scott Morrison and his government have.”
“What we have is a complete lack of leadership from Scott Morrison.”
He said the move to scale back the extent of the JobKeeper support payment came despite the economic recovery not yet taking place.
“There’s a whole load of people in Victoria. There is no prospect of getting employment in their old occupations and yet that money is going to be removed when there is a lot of pain in the economy,” he said.
“Today is not a day when we’re going to welcome a whole lot of people into work.”
READ MORE: Manufacturing vision drives blueprint for future
David Ross 9.10am: Infected crew still on ship off WA
The West Australian government is working to get additional infected crew members off a manganese bulk carrier sitting off the coast of Port Hedland.
Nine crew are still on the ship after 12 were put into quarantine in Port Hedland two days ago. Two of the crew in quarantine have so far tested positive for COVID-19.
The crew are being held at a hotel in Port Hedland.
READ MORE: Walk yourself happy
Rachel Baxendale 8.40am: Victoria cases drop to five, 3 deaths
Victoria has recorded its lowest daily number of new coronavirus cases since June 12, with five new cases in the 24 hours to Monday.
There have been three deaths reported over the same period.
#COVID19VicData: Yesterday there were 5 new cases & the loss of 3 lives reported. The 14 day rolling average is down in Metro Melb, stable in regional Vic, and the no. of cases with unknown source stable as we move to COVID Normal. More info: https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz#COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/Lu5XDcXFkI
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) September 27, 2020
READ MORE: Victorian MPs caught in own trap
David Ross 8.35am: O’Brien hits at ‘sledgehammer’ restrictions
Victorian opposition leader Michael O’Brien has hit out at the Victorian restrictions as a “sledgehammer” rather than a targeted approach.
“The question is have there been unnecessarily hurt people, have we unnecessarily closed businesses?,” he said, speaking on ABC RN Breakfast.
“Every Victorian was effectively locked up from 8pm or 9pm that was not a decision taken on the advice of the chief health officer or even the chief of police.”
He said despite the resignation of Jenny Mikakos no one had yet come forward to bear the blame for the failure of the hotel quarantine.
“They’re also responsible that our contact tracing has been third rate compared to NSW, which prolonged the effect of the second wave,” he said.
“The premier has been trying to make up lost ground by being overly restrictive.”
He warned without a strong contact tracing system in Victoria the risk of a resurgence of COVID-19 would loom large.
“Despite the premier’s protestations that Victoria contact tracing is now up to standard the fear in government that it’s not if you don’t have adequate contact tracing an outbreak can become a massive problem.”
“They’ve had six months to get this right and they haven’t done that yet.”
READ MORE: Andrews dismisses resignation calls
David Ross 8.20am: Melbourne Lord Mayor: spring has sprung in city
Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp said she was optimistic about the possibility of economic activity returning to the CBD.
“We need to be optimistic about these steps forward and, look, spring has sprung in Melbourne and we are preparing to swing those doors open in three weeks time,” she said on the Today Show.
“It is important we keep advocating on behalf of those hospitality businesses, for them to be able to welcome guests inside. The context still has to be safer and we understand with the COVID-safe plans the industry is working so hard to make sure that their venues can welcome people as though restrictions ease.
“We know that as we prepare to open the city we will be trialling some things and we need to make sure that we are all in the right mindset for trying things if they don’t work and improve and keep moving forward.
“We need to reactivate our city and this economy as safely but as quickly as we can, and we need to be prepared and have that right mindset moving forward.”
READ MORE: Active Vic cases drop below 400
David Ross 8.10am: Rolling Mikakos ‘not the answer’
Strategic health consultant and former senior adviser to Paul Keating, Professor Bill Bowtell has said it was important to understand how mistakes had been made in the Victorian and NSW responses to COVID-19, but warned the rolling of Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos was not the answer.
“It is very important in our democracy that people understand that they are accountable and if they make mistakes then we need other people to take their positions,” he told the Today show.
“But, one person going and another person coming in is not quite the point. What we do have to look at is if the structures are wrong, if the advice has been wrong, then it is in all of our interests that those structures and that advice is changed.
“We are getting on top of this one at the moment, but a virus can come from nature at any time, at anywhere.”
READ MORE: Victoria’s zombie government
David Ross 8.00am: Victoria ‘going for elimination, not control’
ANU epidemiologist and infectious diseases specialist Dr Sanjaya Senanayake has said it was clear Victoria was going for elimination of COVID-19 despite the government earlier saying it was looking at “control”.
“Victoria is not doing that. It is looking for periods of no cases for at least 14 days before they start to talk about going to the final step and then no cases for 28 days before going to COVID-normal,” he told the ABC.
“So they’re trying to live without the virus, which on the one hand, is very attractive because the whole eastern seaboard has eliminated COVID.”
Dr Senanayake said the move by the Victorian government to return young children to school as part of the next staged step of reopening was low-risk.
“When we first learnt about kids and COVID at the start of this outbreak, it was all very weird because we thought: this is a respiratory infection, kids should be getting this and should be driving transmission in the community and it doesn’t seem to be happening,” he said.
“I think when you’ve got low background community transmission, which hopefully we will have by October 12 in Metropolitan Melbourne, it would be reasonable for those very young kids to go back to school.”
READ MORE: Mother of all bust ups between Mikakos, Andrews
Anne Barrowclough 7.50am: trans-Tasman bubble ‘possible before Christmas’
Travel between New Zealand and some Australian states might be possible before Christmas, NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has said.
A trans-Tasman bubble has been under discussion for some months but hopes that it would be open in time for the September school holidays were dashed by Victoria’s second wave of cases.
However Ms Ardern told NZ radio on Monday morning that she would consider a state by state bubble, using Australia’s ‘hot spot’ approach under which Australians could travel interstate if a region was not deemed a hot spot.
“We did suggest it would be up to them, but if they did move state by state, that might free things up a little sooner,” Ms Ardern said.
Asked if state bubbles could be open before Christmas, Ms Ardern replied: “It is possible, what we’d need to be assured of is when Australia is saying they have a hotspot [in one state] that the border around that hotspot means that people aren’t able to travel into the states where we are engaging with, with trans-Tasman travel.
She added: “We’ve got a strategy of having a Covid-free country, that’s our ongoing goal and way of operating, and other states have actually operated like that too, like Queensland.”
New Zealand’s deputy prime minister Winston Peters said he was hopeful for the launch of a travel bubble to some Australian states.
“We have never given up hope on the bubble plan. We have worked on it very staunchly for a long time and the real issue is whether or not we can ensure that the protocols work for both countries,” he said on the Today Show.
“It is very important that we get our tourism back on track as fast as we possibly can.
“New South Wales, and of course you have Tasmania with an excellent record, so has Queensland. But it is over to the authorities to ensure that it happens both ways, otherwise, you will drain us of our wealth with no commensurate repayment on the other way back.”
Australian Minister of Trade and Tourism, Simon Birmingham, said at the weekend a trans-Tasman bubble was possible, but would be initially limited to travel to and from the South Island because of the recent Auckland cluster.
READ MORE: Behind South Korea’s success against COVID
Geoff Chambers 7.35am: McCormack’s push for open borders
Michael McCormack is pushing state and territory leaders to remove COVID-19 border closures and get more planes in the air, as the federal government moves to protect key domestic routes in the budget.
Ahead of the October 6 budget, the Deputy Prime Minister on Monday will announce an extension of regional and domestic aviation subsidies to support vulnerable regional travel hubs and jobs in the tourism and aviation sectors.
The expansion of the domestic and regional aviation network support programs, which have provided $150m in assistance since April 17 under a $1.3bn federal aviation package, will be demand-driven and focus on driving economic growth ahead of welfare-support measures being phased-out.
The Morrison government is finalising contracts with airlines, which will see funding increase by hundreds of millions, to meet the shift in demand as the bulk of coronavirus restrictions ease before Christmas.
The Transport Minister urged the states and territories to “do their bit” and said “planes in the air mean jobs on the ground”.
“We acknowledge the disruption caused by current border arrangements has made life difficult in the aviation industry, with cancelled flights, refunds and passenger frustration,” Mr McCormack said.
“Uncertainty affects the ability of airlines and airports to plan for recovery and undermines consumer confidence, which amounts to a significant cost to industry and ultimately the Australian economy.
“The federal government is doing our bit by underwriting these flights to maintain minimum connectivity, now we need the states and territories to do their bit too as we again encourage the continued easing of border restrictions.”
READ the full story here
David Ross 7.15am: Nasal spray reduces Covid by 99.97 per cent
A Melbourne-based biotech company Firebrick Pharma has demonstrated a nasal spray it developed reduced detectable coronavirus by 99.97 per cent, the AFR reports.
The spray is now entering phase three clinical trials but has not been approved by any global regulators for human use.
The nasal spray was originally developed as a measure to combat the common cold.
The spray’s developer Dr Peter Molloy said the spray would need to be used frequently to be effective as it did not have a long residual effect.
Dr Molloy has flagged he was hoping to receive permission from the Therapeutic Goods Administration to make the spray available in special conditions for healthcare workers at risk of exposure to COVID-19.
READ MORE: Wuhan’s makeover – parties in, wet markets out
David Ross 7.10am: Get planes back in the air: McCormack
Nationals leader and deputy prime minister Michael McCormack has called for border restrictions to be eased.
“We need to get planes back in the air. Planes in the air means jobs on the ground,” he said on the Today show on Monday.
“We want to get those planes up, flying again not just for the jobs in the aviation sector but people want to travel. As we head into the warmer months they want to be able to go on holidays in Australia.”
Mr McCormack said expanding contact tracing would assist in reopening the borders, mopping up whatever cases of COVID-19 surfaced.
“What we want to see is the ability to obviously track and trace. What we want to be able to see is that coronavirus is handled right across the nation,” he said.
“Continuing to have tight border closures is hurting, particularly regional areas.”
Mr McCormack said the government was in discussion to bring in New Zealanders and Pacific Islanders to assist the agriculture sector, which was struggling to access critical labour.
“we are also looking at making sure we can get shearers in because the wool clip obviously needs to happen,” he said.
“There are jobs out here. We need to get people into these areas. That’s why we are continuing with support mechanisms for our aviation sector, but Australians in those capital cities need to know there are jobs out in the regions.”
READ MORE: Sydney airport four years from pre-pandemic levels
David Ross 7.00am: Global toll to pass 1 million today
The spread of the global pandemic is set to surpass a grim milestone with more than 995,465 officially recorded deaths since the start of the outbreak, with the real toll likely far greater already.
COVID-19 cases in the United States have now passed 7m, with New York recording 1000 cases for the first time since June.
India is fast approaching 6m and is likely to reach and surpass the US in the coming weeks.
The spread of the virus in India has seen it overtake Brazil in recent weeks as the pandemic gained speed across the subcontinent.
The change of season across the northern hemisphere has sparked concern as countries are recording second wave peaks despite the coldest months not yet arriving.
Medical experts note the virus poses its greatest risk in indoors settings.
Several more countries are looking at lockdowns as cases of the coronavirus surge, with others now enter their first weeks of renewed restrictions.
Israel now enters its second week of lockdowns after the government imposed movement and gathering restrictions across the country ahead of the Yom Kippur holiday.
International travel and prayer attendance has been limited and almost all businesses have been told to shut for the next two weeks. Restaurants are only allowed to serve takeaway meals.
Israel has recorded 231,026 cases of COVID-19, confirming 3926 new cases yesterday.
Several areas of Wales have now entered lockdowns, following similar moves in England, as cases remain growing unchecked.
UK government data shows 5692 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed yesterday, in a slight decline from recent days and a peak on September 26. A total of 434,969 cases have been confirmed.
British prime minister Boris Johnson has called for COVID-19 testing to 10m tests a day by 2021.
France’s health minister Oliver Véran told the media on Sunday the country was facing a new viral hit as cases have surged past 10,000 for several days in a row.
“We have been warning for several weeks now that we have not defeated the epidemic,” Mr Véran said.
“The virus has not disappeared. The Epidemic has picked up again.”
Several French cities have gone into lockdowns, restricting public gatherings to no more than 10 people.
READ MORE: Boris torn with Britain at breaking point
Susan Bailey 6.45am: Airport ‘four years from pre-pandemic traffic’
Domestic travel will underpin a recovery in passenger numbers for Sydney Airport with international travel not expected to return in a meaningful way until at least the middle of next year.
But it could be four years before Sydney Airport’s passenger numbers return to the pre-COVID experience.
That’s the assessment by brokerage Macquarie Equities which has warned that even if a COVID vaccine is available by later this year this will not be a “silver bullet” for air travel.
The comments follow a collapse in passenger numbers at Sydney Airport this year, as the pandemic grounded air traffic around the world.
Industry superannuation funds are also closely watching the pace of recovery at Sydney Airport, given many own significant stakes in airports including Melbourne and Brisbane.
The comments follow Sydney Airport’s latest figures released this month which shows in August domestic passenger numbers were down 96 per cent on the year and international travellers were off 97 per cent.
Macquarie’s base case is a recovery in passengers starting in November with traffic averaging about 50 per cent of the June half 2019 volumes, as domestic borders — particularly the border with Queensland — start reopening and domestic tourism drives activity.
READ the full story here
Natasha Robinson 5.50am: Doctors alarmed at emergencies drop off
The incidence of cases of chest pain and stroke at emergency departments has fallen markedly during the COVID-19 pandemic, with fears sufferers may be experiencing disability in isolation from healthcare providers.
Doctors are baffled as to whether the decreased incidence of stroke in emergency departments means fewer people are suffering them, or whether people are having strokes in the same numbers but not seeking care.
A paper published in the Medical Journal of Australia found that at four Western Sydney hospitals, there was an overall 25 per cent decrease in the number of presentations at emergency departments. At the same time, mental health presentations and substance misuse had risen by almost a quarter.
The study analysed triage and separations data for the period between March 29 and May 31 in 2019 and 2020 in the four hospitals with EDs in the Western Sydney Local Health District.
READ the full story here
Remy Varga 5.30am: Pubs with no cheer left out in the cold
Industry bodies warn Victoria risks losing hundreds of pubs, bars and clubs after the state government failed to include the sector in a suite of industries allowed to return to work ahead of schedule.
Australian Hotels Association (Victoria) president David Canny said businesses were taking on an unsustainable level of debt, which was jeopardising the security of more than 50,000 jobs.
“We are, and have always been, strongly committed to the health and safety of our patrons and staff,” he said.
“But we need to be able to operate in a financially viable way, much like others in the retail sector.”
Announcing 27,000 Victorians would be able to return to work ahead of schedule, the revamped road map unveiled by Daniel Andrews on Sunday did not bring forward scheduled easing for pubs, clubs and bars.
According to modelling prepared by the Burnett Institute, easing all restrictions now would see the chance of a coronavirus third wave increase by 41 per cent.
Read the full story here.
Rebecca Urban 5am: Freedom still weeks away for Melbourne residents
Melbourne remains three weeks away from a substantial easing of coronavirus restrictions that would allow the multi-billion-dollar hospitality and retail industries to reopen, prompting Scott Morrison to urge a faster lockdown exit and improved contact tracing.
Five million Melburnians still cannot leave home without limitations, even after the curfew has been lifted, with Premier Daniel Andrews’ “safe and steady” strategy a blow for many businesses.
The Prime Minister said it was important that Victoria do more in the weeks ahead to safely ease restrictions, noting that at similar case levels, NSW remained fundamentally open and “COVIDsafe” because of its world-class tracing facility.
Mr Morrison urged Victoria to review its current trigger of five daily cases to move to the third step, and zero new cases for the final step.
Read the full story, by Rebecca Urban and Remy Varga, here.
John Ferguson, Rebecca Urban, Damon Johnston 1.35am: Party shows its anger at Daniel Andrews’ ‘betrayal’
The crushing way Jenny Mikakos’s political career ended has rocked the Labor caucus and provoked widespread anger about her treatment.
Senior party sources across factions have attacked Daniel Andrews for having failed to stand by his former health minister, who on Saturday resigned from cabinet and parliament.
The Premier said on Sunday he had not spoken to his former minister, despite having been political friends for many years.
Socialist Left sources said his treatment of Ms Mikakos had come after a falling out with another former senior Left figure, Gavin Jennings.
“It’s come down to trust and there is not a lot of trust when it comes to Andrews,’’ a senior Left source said. “The way he has treated his own people has been a total disgrace.”
While Ms Mikakos was not a popular figure among many right-wing MPs, a senior Labor figure said the “ritual killing” of Ms Mikakos via the Premier’s hotel quarantine statement was “incredibly messy”.
“It doesn’t look great when the minister in charge of the pandemic necks herself in these circumstances,” the source said.
“This hasn’t been a bridge building exercise, it’s been a bridge destroying exercise.”
Read the full story here.
Jennifer Oriel 1.25am: Covid hotels run like no one was watching
Lying is native to politics. If you did not realise it before watching the inquiry into Victorian Labor’s disastrous COVID-19 quarantine scheme, you will now. The Victorian government led by Daniel Andrews is so mired in lies that truth is a distant memory.
One by one, the Labor team denied responsibility for the hotel quarantine scheme. Yet its poor governance led to a second COVID-19 outbreak that resulted in hundreds dying. If there is one good thing that has come from the public health disaster, it is that the media has united to uncover the truth. Journalists from The Australian, Fairfax, Sky News and The Guardian braved social media mobs to probe what went wrong in Victoria during the crisis. The thankless task has uncovered a series of poor leadership decisions, systemic incompetence and systematic denials of truth by the Andrews government.
The hotel quarantine inquiry led by former judge Jennifer Coate has had only minimal impact thus far. It has been less a revelation of truth than an insight into the character of Victorian Labor and lying as a political art.
Read the full story here.
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