Coronavirus Australia live news: Aus Open crisis worsens amid fifth case
A third flight of players to Melbourne for the Australian Open will be forced into a strict 14 day quarantine after a fifth case of Covid emerged.
- Players warned after ‘low-level’ quarantine breach
- Four virus cases now connected to Australian Open
- Berejiklian slams Andrews over tennis, borders
- Six new community cases in NSW
- Tournament will proceed: Aus Open tennis boss
- Qld releases quarantined guests
- More tennis stars quarantined
Welcome to live coverage of Australia’s response to the continuing coronavirus pandemic.
As a fifth Covid case is found after Australian Open charter flights, quarantine chief warns players of 'zero tolerance’ after ‘low-level’ lockdown breaches. NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has slammed Victoria on border ‘inconsistencies’, as NSW remains banned but overseas tennis players are allowed in. Despite 47 players in lockdown after, tennis head Craig Tiley is adamant the tournament will proceed.
Rhiannon Down 10.50pm: Wave of cases reaches possible peak in the US
New COVID-19 case numbers in the US have fallen below 200,000 for the time in a fortnight.
On Saturday 198,218 Americans tested positive for the virus, in numbers not seen since January 4, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Some 3,286 deaths were reported in the country on Saturday, down from 3,802 from Friday though the numbers remained on par with figures from a week ago, when 3,254 died.
More than 23,500 Americans were in intensive care on Saturday, according to the Covid Tracking Project, the country’s 18th day in a row above 23,000.
The hospitalisation rate has also declined after they peaked on January 6 at more than 132,000.
Courtney Walsh 10.02pm: Third flight of Aus Open players quarantined
A third flight of players to Melbourne for the Australian Open will be forced into a strict 14 day quarantine.
An alert to players who flew from Doha on January 16 notifying them that a passenger infected with COVID-19 was on their plane was sent late on Sunday night.
Chief Medical Officer Dr Carolyn Broderick was scheduled to discuss the matter with the players at 9.45pm.
But it means the players, who arrived in Melbourne on Saturday morning, will join the 47 Australian Open participants already forced to quarantine for the next fortnight without being able to train in the five hour daily window they had been initially allowed.
Richard Ferguson 9.50pm: Uni students head back to COVID-safe campus
Hundreds of thousands of university students are set to head back to campus for in-person classes, as the nation’s higher education sector tries to put a difficult year of all-online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic behind it.
Most Australian universities told The Australian they will be bringing students back to campus for tutorials and classes in semester one, opening up university-based facilities and working where they could to restore in-person lectures.
While last week’s Brisbane lockdown and clusters in Sydney have left many universities in a bracing position to go back to online modules — which were plagued with problems and complaints — there is a significant effort to restore university life and to give students a COVID-normal campus experience.
Rhiannon Down 9.05pm: Pandemic sparks major decline in migration
The pandemic has sparked a major decline in global immigration cutting the number of migrant by about 30 per cent, according to a United Nations report.
About two million fewer people migrated between 2019 and 2020, with two thirds of them living reading in just 20 countries.
The US remained the most popular country for immigrants with 51 million registered foreign national migrants living in the country in 2020.
Germany followed with 16 million, Saudi Arabia with 13 million, Russia with 12 million and the UK had nine million.
India had the world’s largest diaspora with 18 million Indians finding new homes all over all the world.
Rhiannon Down 8.26pm: Tennis player shares message of gratitude
Tennis star Artem Sitak has shared a message of gratitude from hotel quarantine, thanking Australian Open organisers for their tireless work and acknowledging Australians stranded abroad.
The Russian-born New Zealander was placed into two weeks of quarantine after a flight attendant on the same plane tested positive for coronavirus.
In a video message recorded from his hotel bed and shared on Instagram, the tennis player said he had been prepared for the risk considering the “very strict rules of Australian government regarding the virus”.
“They did mention if someone tests positive on the flight it’s going to be up to the health authorities to isolate all the flyers or just isolate compartments of the plane,” he said.
“Of course in our case where the flight attendant tested positive the whole flight has to be quarantined.”
He went on to acknowledge the thousands of Australians stranded overseas and unable to get home, and his fortunate position to be able to compete internationally.
“I think we need to put some things in perspective,” he said.
“A lot of Australians right now cannot get home because of the restrictions and all that and we as foreigners over a thousand people are here in Australia.
“We’re going to be competing in a grand slam, earning a lot of money, and the amount of work Tennis Australia put into organising all this is absolutely insane.”
READ MORE: Open slather as social media missives inflame scrutiny
Rhiannon Down 7.56pm: Man ‘bit officer after mask order’
A man has been arrested after he allegedly bit a police officer in a scuffle that erupted after he refused orders to wear a face mask.
NSW Police said officers approached the 43-year-old man at about 3pm on Saturday after he was spotted on the train from Gosford to Woy Woy, north of Sydney, without wearing a mask.
Police allege he refused orders to don a mask and became aggressive and attempted to punch officers.
Capsicum spray was deployed to subdue him.
“It’s alleged the man punched a constable before he was wrestled to the floor and bit the constable twice on his stomach area and finger, causing lacerations and bruising,” a police spokesperson said.
He was arrested and allegedly hit out at officers again on the platform.
“He was taken to Gosford Police Station where he was charged with not wear fitted face covering in public transport/taxi etc, fail to comply with a direction, resist officer in execution of duty, and assault police officer in execution of duty cause actual bodily harm,” the spokesperson said.
The man will front Woy Woy Local Court on February 11.
The constable who was bitten was taken to Gosford hospital for treatment.
Abhaya Srivastava 7.33pm: India out to vaccinate 300,000 a day
India has kicked off one of the world’s largest coronavirus vaccination drives, desperately hoping to end a pandemic that has killed more than 150,000 of its people.
India aims to vaccinate about 300 million of its 1.3 billion people by July with frontline workers, people over 50 and those deemed high risk first in line.
On day one about 300,000 people were due to be vaccinated with Covishield, developed by AstraZeneca and made by India’s Serum Institute, or the homegrown Covaxin.
Covaxin is still in clinical trials and recipients on Saturday had to sign a consent form that stated that the “clinical efficacy … is yet to be established”.
Kieran Gair 7.00pm: Border blue as Berejiklian slams ‘inconsistency’
Gladys Berejiklian has sharply criticised her Victorian counterpart for refusing to reopen the border with NSW, after Daniel Andrews allowed more than 1000 elite tennis players and their support staff to fly into Melbourne from around the world for next month’s Australian Open.
In a rare critique of the Victorian Premier’s leadership, Ms Berejiklian said the decision to push ahead with the international grand slam event despite the risk of a COVID-19 outbreak highlighted “inconsistencies” in Mr Andrews’s approach to border restrictions.
“I can’t understand why the border was closed in the first place and why the attitude of certain governments is what it is,” she said on Sunday.
“There isn’t anywhere in Australia that’s currently being designated a hotspot. So why shouldn’t people be able to return home?”
Jacquelin Magnay 6.20pm: Stranded families not positive about negative test rule
All international arrivals into Australia are to produce expensive negative COVID-19 tests for family members as young as five before boarding flights from Friday, adding thousands of dollars to overstretched and unemployed stranded Australian families trying to get home.
The government is to clarify its new rules demanding Australians produce a negative test within 72 hours before leaving. The rules, announced 10 days ago, haven’t been introduced across the board yet because obtaining the tests in a timely manner in some locations is difficult.
But it is understood that major departure points such as London, Los Angeles and Frankfurt will require the ‘‘gold standard’’ polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test through certified private providers that cost between $300 to $580 for one test by the end of this week.
Staff writers 5.40pm: One new virus case recorded in WA
WA has recorded one new case of COVID-19 in hotel quarantine, with a woman in her 30s testing positive after returning from overseas.
The state has now had a total of 887 coronavirus cases, 864 of whom have recovered.
Debbie Schipp 5pm: How to practice in Aus Open quarantine
Amid furore over four positive tests from chartered Australian Open flights and hard lockdowns for 125 players, staff and officials flown in for the tournament, one player has found a way to keep his skills sharp.
Here’s Marcelo Arevalo hitting up: with the help of a mattress against a wall:
No court, no problem for Marcelo Arevalo during #AO2021 quarantine 🔥🎾💪 #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/xohZtF7GYf
— Samuel Begg - Tennis (@samuelbegg) January 17, 2021
Remy Varga 3.25pm: Tennis players busted for ‘low level’ quarantine breach
COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria Commissioner Emma Cassar has warned there is “zero tolerance” for international tennis players breaching hotel quarantine rules.
Ms Cassar said one male international player had already been busted opening his door to try and speak to a fellow player.
In another example, Ms Cassar said a man shouted some of his fellow detainees to UberEats and opened his door to “praise himself for his efforts”.
“It is really low level but dangerous acts that we just can’t tolerate,” Ms Cassar said.
Players face fines of $20,000 or being transferred to a complex care hotel where they will be under guard by Victoria Police and not allowed out to train.
Ms Cassar said the majority of tennis players were following quarantine rules.
“There are a small few who are testing our procedures and we would encourage them to remain in their rooms,” she said.
Ms Cassar said training had been delayed because a number of test results had yet to be processed, which were expected to be in by 3.30pm.
Everyone who tests positive is transferred to a health hotel set up at the Holiday Inn.
Players who test negative will be allowed to train outside their rooms from tomorrow.
Remy Varga 2.45pm: Four virus cases now connected to tennis
A broadcaster travelling from Los Angeles to Melbourne for the Australian Open has tested positive for the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases linked to the sporting event to four.
The number of close contacts sent into hard quarantine has soared to 125, including 62 from a flight from Los Angeles and 63 from a flight from Abu Dhabi.
COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria Commissioner Emma Cassar said all four had received negative rests before boarding the flight.
She said there were now three cases linked to the flight from LA, including a coach and flight crew member as well as the broadcaster.
READ MORE: Open slather as social media missives inflame scrutiny
Blake Antrobus 1.53pm: Anti-mask protesters storm Sydney Westfield
Dozens of protesters could face police action after marching through a shopping centre in Western Sydney, demanding the NSW Government lift their face mask mandate.
Children were sighted among the crowd of about 100 people as they stormed the Westfield centre in Parramatta on Saturday, erupting in bizarre chants of “No more masks” and “I would rather be a human than a slave.”
Some carried signs claiming coronavirus was a scam while others declared they would “not be muzzled”.
Under Greater Sydney’s current coronavirus restrictions, masks are mandatory in shopping centres and supermarkets, aged care centres, places of worship, indoor entertainment and on public transport.
The State Government has also recommended wearing a mask in other situations when social distancing is not possible.
Fines of up to $200 apply for disobeying public health orders without a valid excuse.
A spokeswoman for NSW Police confirmed to NCA Newswire officers had attended the shopping centre and were “conducting inquiries to identify any possible breaches”.
READ MORE: Herd immunity muddies the waters
Lucy Bannerman 1.25pm: Covid trauma ‘stays with you’
Ashley Boffa is having a breather. She has peeled off the full face mask that has pressed a deep crease down her cheek, and is sitting in the “rest and recoup” room for staff. Some chat. Others just sit alone, looking a little bit shell-shocked.
Usually she’s a physiotherapist, but now she is one of thousands summoned to the front line from all parts of the health service to care for the onslaught of coronavirus patients threatening to overwhelm intensive care.
“I cried when I got the call,” says Ms Boffa, 33, who was at home with her two-year-old son when it came. She spent enough time watching patients die alone during the first wave, comforting them when their families could not, that it took all her nerve to walk back into the intensive care unit, the pandemic’s last-chance saloon that is steadily expanding across an entire floor of Epsom General Hospital in Surrey.
“The first time, you just went with it. This time you know what you’re getting in for,” says Ms Boffa, who found herself having panic attacks well into the summer. She fears they will come back.
“If I let myself go into it, I’ll probably burst out crying. Everybody is so stretched. This time so many people are just exhausted. It’s a big thing to do again, but you’re doing it to help people.”
After the first surge she took part in group counselling, and thinks it might be healthy to have some one-to-one sessions once this is all over — though the end still feels a long way off.
“I think a lot of people didn’t deal with how they were feeling last time. They got through it and just put it under the carpet, thinking, OK, it’s done. I’m just ticking along at the moment, trying to be OK,” she smiles, steeling herself and picking up her mask. Break’s over. It’s time to go back.
Read the full story here.
Kieran Gair 12.35pm: Berejiklian slams Andrews over tennis, borders
Gladys Berejiklian has criticised her Victorian counterpart Daniel Andrews for refusing to reopen the border with NSW despite allowing more than 1000 elite tennis players and their support staff to fly into Melbourne for the Australian Open.
In a sharp critique of the Victorian premier’s leadership on Sunday, Ms Berejiklian said Mr Andrews’ decision to push ahead with the international tennis event “highlights inconsistencies” with the state’s tough border restrictions.
“I can’t understand why the border was closed in the first place and why the attitude of certain governments is what it is,” she said. “There isn’t anywhere in Australia that’s currently being designated a hotspot. So why shouldn’t people be able to return home? And why shouldn’t Australians be able to move around freely. I have always been arguing for that and I think this international event highlights the inconsistency of that.”
As NSW recorded six locally-acquired cases of community transmission on Sunday, close to 1200 international tennis players and their support staff, including two people who tested positive to COVID-19, had arrived in Melbourne ahead of next month’s Australian Open.
On Saturday, Mr Andrews rejected criticism from Qantas boss Alan Joyce after he accused the premier of hypocrisy for letting in tennis players while denying Victorians the right to come home.
Victoria closed its borders to Sydney and central coast residents just before Christmas in response to the northern beaches outbreak, and then to wider NSW before New Year’s Eve, causing massive disruption and traffic chaos as holidaying Victorians rushed to get home before the border closed.
While the hard border with NSW currently remains in place, Mr Andrews indicated on Saturday that travel restrictions would likely be whittled down to a selection of local government areas in western Sydney within the next “couple of days”.
Asked about whether Mr Andrews had contacted her about the easing of border closures between the states, Ms Berejiklian said: “He’s not been in touch with me at all, but I also say that should have occurred quite a while back because we don’t have a hot spot in NSW.”
Ms Berejiklian again contrasted her decision to shut the border to Victoria only when it was approaching hundreds of cases a day, with Victoria’s decision to close the border when NSW had only a handful.
“I think everybody would agree that closing a border of such significance is a really big deal,” she said. “I stress that we waited until Victoria had in excess of I think 180 cases a day after we announced the border closure.”
Thousands of Victorians are trapped in NSW because they are in areas designated as red zones and they can only return to their home state if they are granted a special exemption from Victorian health authorities.
READ MORE: Airlines demand end to premiers’ border wars
Natasha Robinson 12.05pm: Australia seeks urgent detail on vaccine death reports
The Federal government is urgently seeking more information from Norway after health authorities in the Scandinavian nation reported multiple deaths in patients over 80 who received the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Norway has adjusted its advice on the Pfizer vaccine following the deaths of 23 patients shortly after receiving the vaccine. But it says there is very little risk associated with the vaccine other than for those who are extremely frail.
“It may be a coincidence, but we aren’t sure,” Steinar Madsen, medical director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency (NOMA), told The British Medical Journal. “There is no certain connection between these deaths and the vaccine.”
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has asked the Therapeutic Goods Administration to seek more information on the deaths from the Norwegian medical regulator. Foreign Minister Marise Payne will also task the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with seeking advice directly from the Norwegian government.
READ the full story here.
Agencies 11.55am: Biden to sign inauguration day order on pandemic
President-elect Joe Biden will sign executive orders on Inauguration Day next week to address the pandemic, the ailing US economy, climate change and racial injustice in America, a senior aide said Saturday.
“All of these crises demand urgent action,” his incoming chief of staff Ron Klain said in a memo to the new White House senior staff, adding that Biden will sign “roughly a dozen” orders after he is sworn in on Wednesday.
“In his first ten days in office, President-elect Biden will take decisive action to address these four crises, prevent other urgent and irreversible harms, and restore America’s place in the world,” Klain added.
The US is fast approaching 400,000 dead from the COVID-19 crisis and logging well over a million new cases a week as the coronavirus spreads out of control.
The economy is ailing, with 10 million fewer jobs available compared to the start of the pandemic and American consumers and businesses are struggling to stay afloat.
Biden this week unveiled plans to seek $1.9 trillion to revive the economy through new stimulus payments and other aid, and plans a blitz to accelerate America’s stumbling Covid vaccine rollout effort. — AFP
READ MORE: FBI warns of more violence
Remy Varga 11.45am: More than 21,000 Vic permit applications in 24 hours
There have been more than 160,000 applications to enter Victoria received since the state began its traffic light permit system on January 11.
Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said this included 21,571 applications received in the last 24 hours, which she said was around 14 every minute.
When asked why the state government didn’t trust Victorians to isolate at home, Ms D’Ambrosio said everyone understood the need to be COVID-19 safe.
READ MORE: Red-light rule traps thousands
In order to reduce the significant public health risk posed by coronavirus (COVID-19), all areas in Australia have been designated a zone.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 16, 2021
🟢 ‘green zone’ (low -risk for transmission)
🟠‘orange zone’ (moderate risk for transmission)
🔴 ‘red zone’ (high risk for transmission) pic.twitter.com/GMEOgN6mlt
Remy Varga 11.35am: Tennis quarantine rules ‘were clear’: D’Ambrosio
State Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said nearly 50 tennis players in hard quarantine will have gym equipment in their rooms.
She said the rules around being designated a close contact had been clear, following some complaints from the players.
“These steps have been known and we’re taking them because we want the Australian Open to continue.”
There are 47 players in hard quarantine after positive cases were detected on two flights.
Players who were not on these flights are still allowed to leave their hotel rooms for five-hours of training a day.
Ms D’Ambrosio flagged COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria would front the media later on Sunday.
READ MORE: Open hostility: ‘I would have stayed home’
Kieran Gair 11.20am: Hospital staffer worked three shifts possibly infectious
A staff member who worked three shifts at Concord Repatriation General Hospital last week is also among the six locally acquired cases reported to 8pm last night.
NSW has recorded nine new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours: six reported locally and three reported in hotel quarantine.
“They (the hospital worker) are now in isolation but worked three shifts at the hospital in the cardiology and radiology wards while potentially infectious on the twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth of January,” NSW Health said. “The person’s role involves minimal contact with patients. They wore a face mask during each shift.”
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant urged residents to get tested for COVID-19 due to concerns the virus is still circulating in the community undetected, as the state recorded 12,764 tests to 8pm Saturday night.
“It is critical that we get those testing rates up very high so that we can detect these unrecognised chains of transmission,” Dr Chant said on Sunday.
“I’m particularly calling out for testing in the areas of Bankstown, Lidcombe, Auburn, Berala, and Wentworthville.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the six new locally acquired cases are “close contacts” of a western Sydney case reported yesterday, who is believed to be linked to the Berala BWS cluster in the city’s west.
“The cases are all very close to Berala and investigations are underway,” Ms Berejiklian said. “We’ll have the genomic testing this afternoon to confirm that they are part of that cluster.”
“Just to put things into perspective, the Crossroads outbreak took up to four months to quash. We’re only a month after the initial outbreak we had just before Christmas. We’re doing really well.”
Seven other staff members at Concord Hospital have also been identified as close contacts of the western Sydney case reported on Saturday. They are self-isolating and have all tested negative for COVID-19 to date.
“Staff who have been identified as casual contacts are being notified by the public health unit and are undergoing testing,” NSW Health said. “There is no ongoing risk to staff or patients.”
NSW Health said anyone who went to the Wentworthville Medical and Dental Clinic at 122/128 Station Street, Wentworthville, and was in the dental, physio and imaging waiting room on Friday 15 January between 11.30am and 1.15pm is a close contact who must immediately get tested and self-isolate for 14 days, regardless of the result. People in other areas of the clinic at that time should monitor for symptoms and immediately isolate and get tested if they appear.
Anyone who was at Auburn Centrelink at 5-9 Macquarie Road, Auburn, on Thursday, 14 January between 3pm and 4.15pm should monitor for symptoms and if they appear, immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
Anyone who travelled on a number of T2 line train services between Warwick Farm and Auburn on Thursday 14 and Friday 15 January must also monitor for symptoms and if they appear, immediately get tested and isolate until a negative result is received. Details of service times are available on the NSW Government website.
NSW recorded six new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. All six new cases are close contacts of the western Sydney case reported yesterday. pic.twitter.com/s9YrtVmRsf
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 17, 2021
Emily Kowal 11.05am: Six new local NSW: possible Berala cluster link
New South Wales has recorded six new cases of community transmission, in the 24 hours until 8pm on Saturday.
It ends a run of days of zero transmission for the state.
All six new cases are close contacts of a person from western Sydney who tested positive yesterday.
A staffer from Concord Repatriation General Hospital is one of today’s new cases, says NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant, although the worker’s role involves ‘minimum patient contact’.
Courtney Walsh 10.50am: Open hostility: ‘I would have stayed home’
Tennis players and staff are incensed, claiming they were told that spacing on Australian Open charter flights would alleviate the prospects of lockdown in Australia when they travelled to take part in the tournament.
READ the full story here.
Actually, no we didn‘t. We made our decision to come here from rules that were sent to us. Then we arrived and received an information/rule book with more/new rules that we did not know about. https://t.co/WSnpmENk1r
— Belinda Bencic (@BelindaBencic) January 16, 2021
Joseph Lam 10.25am: Centrelink joins NSW COVID-19 list
A Western Sydney Centrelink has become the latest venue visited by a confirmed COVID-19 case.
NSW Health has called anyone who visited Auburn Centrelink, about 20km from the CBD, during the exposure times to monitor for symptoms and to get tested and isolate immediately should they occur.
– Auburn Centrelink, 5 – 9 Macquarie Road, Auburn: Thursday January 14 from 3pm to 4.15pm.
READ MORE: Medical clinic added to alert list
NSW Health has been advised of a new venue in western Sydney and several public transport services used by a confirmed case of COVID 19 while potentially infectious. pic.twitter.com/euXUohJPW0
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 16, 2021
Remy Varga 10.20am: No new locally-acquired cases in Victoria
Victorian Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio says of the seven cases acquired overseas detected on Sunday, three were related to the Australian Open.
She said this included two “non-playing participants” and a member of the flight crew.
There are no new locally-acquired cases in Victoria.
Victoria has recorded 11-straight days of zero community transmission.
Courtney Walsh 10am: Tennis to proceed despite player lockdown
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley is adamant the tournament will progress as scheduled from February 8 despite the turmoil associated with 47 players being locked into quarantine isolation on Saturday.
But he conceded there could be a significant adjustment to the opening week of tournaments as Tennis Australia deals with the unfolding COVID-19 crisis that has seen players who arrived in Melbourne on two flights locked down.
“We are reviewing the schedule leading in to see what we can do to assist these players,” he said.
“Obviously it is not what we wanted to happen. That is why we took the mitigating measures but we are in this situation, we have to deal with it.
“The Australian Open is going ahead and we will continue to do the best we possibly can do to ensure those players have the best opportunity.”
Any hopes of the delayed summer of tennis running smoothly were dashed when some passengers on two of the 17 charter flights bringing players to Melbourne recorded positive tests.
Victoria’s chief medical officers ruled that everyone on those planes from Los Angeles and the Middle East would be required to serve a strict fortnight of quarantine in isolation.
This means the players affected will no longer be able to train or practise in the five hour window Tennis Australia, government and health authorities and tour officials had agreed to in order for the Australian summer to progress.
Many of those caught up in the situation are incensed, claiming they were advised that the spacing on planes would alleviate the prospects of them being identified as close contacts to a positive case.
Tiley said it is clear medical authorities are reacting to the threat posed by the UK-variant of COVID-19, which is far more contagious.
Tennis Australia is in discussions with the players now in quarantine. Tiley said there are plans to move exercise equipment into the rooms of affected players on Sunday to give them a chance to maintain their fitness, if not their form.
He said none of the players had been ruled out of competing in the first week of events in Melbourne, though it is doubtful many will take up the option given the risk of injury.
The initial stages of the Test series between Australia and India provides an example of what can occur to athletes exiting quarantine, with a number of cricketers experiencing soft-tissue injuries.
“They have not been ruled out. It is entirely up to the players on what type of preparation they are going to get,” Tiley told the Nine Network.
“This is not an ideal situation. In the pandemic right now, it is not an ideal situation for anyone, and we have to make sure the community stays safe.”
#AusOpen update... pic.twitter.com/buIRzjfXmG
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 16, 2021
Remy Varga 9.55am: ‘I was fine when I boarded plane’: Covid-positive coach
Victoria has recorded 11-straight days of zero community transmission, while seven cases acquired overseas have been detected.
It comes after a positive case on a flight carrying Australian Open players was detected on Saturday, bringing the number of tennis stars placed into a hard quarantine to 47.
The nearly 50 players will not be allowed to leave their room — even to train.
2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu’s coach Sylvain Bruneau identified himself as the positive case on the second flight in a statement, saying he had no idea how he contracted the virus.
“I am deeply sorry to share that I have just tested positive for COVID-19 upon arrival here in Melbourne, after travelling from Abu Dhabi on flight EY8004,” he said.
“I have followed all the safety protocols and procedures, including testing negative within 72 hours before the flight departure and felt perfectly fine when I boarded the plane.”
“I am extremely saddened and sorry for the consequences now on everyone’s shoulders sharing my flight.
“The rest of my team is negative and I sincerely hope that any further disruption is kept to a minimum.”
State Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio is due to speak at 10am.
Yesterday there were 0 new locally acquired cases reported and 7 new cases in hotel quarantine. Thanks to all who were tested – 11,023 results were received.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) January 16, 2021
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#EveryTestHelps #StaySafeStayOpen #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/rNuvtYV0rR
Joseph Lam 9.50am: Overseas travellers ‘our biggest threat’: Hunt
Greg Hunt says the biggest COVID-19 threat to Australia comes from outside its border, telling the country more cases are “inevitable”.
The Federal Health Minister on Sunday compared the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic in Australia to that internationally, declaring that the nation was doing well.
“It’s important to understand that our real challenge, our real threat, is international — not domestic,” he said.
“There will be more cases. It could be today with the announcements from the states. And that’s inevitable.”
From a Commonwealth point of view, Mr Hunt said there were no remaining hot spots in Australia, with the lifting of the Greater Brisbane definition being lifted federally.
“Over the course of the last three days and in Australia, we have had one case of community transmission. Around the world, there have been over 2.2 million cases,” he said.
In three days in Australia there have been 40 new cases: 39 of them in hotel quarantine.
Christine Kellett 8.39am: New Sydney virus alert for public transport, Centrelink
NSW Health has added a western Sydney Centrelink office and several public transport routes to its list of Covid health alerts.
Anyone who visited Auburn Centrelink on Macquarie Road between 3-4.15pm on Thursday, January 14 must monitor for symptoms, and if they occur, get tested and isolate immediately for 14 days.
Anyone who used the following train services is urged to do the same:
NSW Health has been advised of a new venue in western Sydney and several public transport services used by a confirmed case of COVID 19 while potentially infectious. pic.twitter.com/euXUohJPW0
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) January 16, 2021
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Courtney Walsh 8.10am: Social media inflames Aus Open anxiety
Attend enough tennis tournaments and it becomes clear that when a player is not carrying a racquet, more often than not they will have a mobile phone in hand.
On winning Wimbledon as a teenager, Maria Sharapova headed to the stands, grabbed her dad’s phone and attempted to call her mum with the rest of the world watching.
Back in 2004, that was a first for the All England Club. But it is now very much the norm.
Almost every player has a social media account, using as many platforms as they carry racquets to express their views and promote and sell their brands to millions of fans.
On their arrival into Australia on Friday, the initial post by the majority of participants entering hotel quarantine was one of gratitude for an opportunity to play again.
Dual-Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka offered a sentiment shared by most when stating;
“Made it to Melbourne. Thank you everyone so much for making it happen. I can only imagine how many hours of work and compromise it took for us to be here.”
But twitchy Twitter fingers, as Tennis Australia found on Thursday when dealing with the fallout of Tennys Sandgren’s missives, can prove a double-edged sword.
There were two positive COVID-19 tests on Santiago Gonzalez’s flight to Melbourne from LAX and everyone on it will have to quarantine for two weeks. pic.twitter.com/mS510fWiOJ
— Tumaini Carayol (@tumcarayol) January 16, 2021
When assessing the pending arrivals of more than 1200 players and coaches to Australia this week, a senior tennis official expressed quiet confidence in all but one area. The use of social media accounts.
Months of painstaking negotiations with government and health officials has those involved in ensuring the Australian Open will occur convinced the COVID-19 protocols will hold.
The regulations are by far the strictest any tennis player will have faced since the tour resumed last August, a period that includes the US and French Opens.
But policing those social media accounts, which can spark a fire that is often difficult to put out, is another matter.
Read the full story here.
Agencies 7.25am: Migration down 30 per cent due to pandemic
The coronavirus pandemic has slowed global migration by nearly 30 per cent, with around two million fewer people than predicted migrating between 2019 and 2020, according to a UN report.
Some 281 million people were living outside their country of origin in 2020. The report, entitled “International Migration 2020,” showed that two-thirds of registered migrants lived in just 20 countries, with the United States at the top of the list, with 51 million international migrants in 2020.
Next came Germany with 16 million, Saudi Arabia with 13 million, Russia with 12 million and Britain with nine million.
India topped the list of countries with the largest diasporas in 2020, with 18 million Indians living outside their country of birth.
Other countries with a large transnational community include Mexico and Russia, each with 11 million, China with 10 million and Syria with eight million.
In 2020, the largest number of international migrants resided in Europe, with a total of 87 million.
Nearly half of international migrants resided in the region they came from, with Europe accounting for the largest share of intra-regional migration. Seventy per cent of migrants born in Europe live in another European country.
Refugees account for some 12 per cent of all international migrants, the report said, with around 80 per cent hosted in low- and middle-income countries
– AFP
READ MORE: Phoenix of hope rises from pandemic’s ashes
Emily Cosenza 7am: Twenty extra flights to bring Aussies home
The Australian government has committed to chartering 20 repatriation flights for citizens stranded overseas after Emirates’ sudden suspension of services to the east coast.
Acting Federal Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham said the government would orchestrate the additional services from “priority areas” around the world.
“We’ve been mindful that many Australians have sought to come home, partly as result of our COVID success and partly through the normal operations of people coming and going from the country,” Mr Birmingham said on Saturday.
“These facilitated flights will be bring Australian’s home over and above the caps that have been agreed by national cabinet … transporting people into Howards Spring in the Northern Territory, Canberra or Tasmania locations that are willing to work above those caps on case-by-case basis.
“The capacity that Emirates was able to use within the cap will be allocated to other airlines, ensuring that there are still as many tickets, as many seats, into Australia after Emirates’ decision as there would have been beforehand.”
READ MORE: Stranded family face homelessness if they can’t return
Agencies 6.30am: Mass anti-mask rally grips Austrian capital
Around 10,000 people rallied in the Austrian capital on Saturday to protest coronavirus restrictions, calling on the government to resign, Austrian police said.
With the Alpine country currently in its third lockdown since March in a bid to bring the pandemic under control, and with non-essential shops, concert halls and theatres, sports centres and schools all closed, the protesters’ anger was directed at Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, as well as at the media.
“The numbers of deaths we’re being given, that’s rubbish. I don’t want to end up like China where you don’t have any right to do anything,” one woman who gave her first name as Gabi told AFP.
Brandishing banners proclaiming: “You’re the disease. We’re the cure” and waving Austrian flags, most of the demonstrators refused to wear masks or respect social distancing rules, including far-right politician and former deputy chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache.
A counter-demonstration organised by the far-left comprising a crowd of around 500, according to police estimates, also took place, denouncing “anti-mask lunacy”.
Austria, which has a population of 8.9 million, has reported a total 7,053 deaths from COVID-19 since the outbreak of the pandemic.
– AFP
READ MORE: Millions to make our national day safer
Staff reporter 5.25am: Queensland releases guests quarantined in Brisbane
The Queensland Government last night began releasing quarantined travellers from The Westin hotel in Brisbane City, after they were initially advised they could spend up to 28 days in hotel quarantine as authorities worked to contain the Hotel Grand Chancellor COVID-19 cluster.
State chief health officer Jeannette Young said those caught by the Hotel Grand Chancellor cluster who had already served a fortnight in quarantine but initially expected to restart their quarantine period would be released from Saturday night.
Onlookers still inside The Westin clapped from balconies as Paddington, Brisbane, grandmother Ali Sherry was reunited with her daughter Sarah Crowley and 17-month-old granddaughter Zara who had returned home from South Africa, The Sunday Mail (Qld) reported.
They will be staying in Brisbane as they work to get Mrs Crowley’s partner a visa to return to Australia.
“Super relived would be the main feeling,” Mrs Sherry said. “We’re so glad Queensland Health came to their senses.”
Dozens of family members have gather outside The Westin while police facilitated people to leave hotel quarantine one at a time.
As many as 420 people associated with the Hotel Grand Chancellor – including staff, returned travellers and close contacts – were expected to leave quarantine, permitting they met health criteria, a Queensland Health spokesman said.
Read the full story at The Sunday Mail.
Joseph Lam 5am: Rival Gulf airline exploits Emirates cancellations
Less than 24 hours after Emirates cancelled flights from the UK to Australia’s east coast, Qatar Airways has taken to Twitter to showcase its “global connectivity during both good and bad times.”
Emirates yesterday cancelled flying into Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, saying its decision to suspend the flights was for “operational reasons’’, believed to be the ridiculousness of flying a 360 seat A380 with fewer than 30 passengers. It will now only continue its flights into Perth.
Fury as another airline halts flights to Australia .https://t.co/DThePIgWhR
— Jacquelin Magnay (@jacquelinmagnay) January 15, 2021
Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham said 20 extra repatriation flights would be issued to help the 38,000 Australians who are still stranded overseas return home.
State-owned Middle Eastern airline Qatar Airways, however, used the news to promote its work to assist with the repatriation of Australians.
“We have been one of the few airlines to never stop services to Australia during the pandemic helping repatriate over 180,000 Australians and international travellers,” one tweet said.
#QatarAirways has demonstrated its ongoing support for customers and the Australian 🇦🇺 trade by continuously operating services throughout the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/My5I8MuBhZ
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) January 16, 2021
“#QatarAirways operates 23 weekly flights to #Adelaide, #Brisbane, #Melbourne, #Perth and #Sydney maintaining our long-term commitment to support Australian passengers and exporters with global connectivity during both good and bad times,” read another.
Several Facebook users in a group for Australians stranded in the UK were quick to weigh in on the tweets, with many applauding the airline for its continued service.
#QatarAirways operates 23 weekly flights to #Adelaide, #Brisbane, #Melbourne, #Perth and #Sydney maintaining our long-term commitment to support Australian passengers and exporters with global connectivity during both good and bad times. pic.twitter.com/r4nHffYhsa
— Qatar Airways (@qatarairways) January 16, 2021
One commenter wrote, “I’m going to have a strange sense of loyalty to qatar [sic] after this,” while another said, “I’d fly with Qatar every single time now. The only carrier helping people get home and a great airline too”
But some were a little more sceptical.
“That’s a big corporate ‘up yours’ if ever I saw one,” wrote one commenter.
READ MORE: Fury as another airline cancels
Courtney Walsh 4.45am: Women’s champ Sofia Kenin joins tennis quarantine
Reigning Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin will be among players unable to train during quarantine after another COVID flare.
A total of 47 players have been forced into lockdown as a result of the Abu Dhabi flight. Two passengers — one believed to be a coach — also returned COVID-19 positive tests on an earlier charter flight from Los Angeles that arrived in Melbourne on Friday.
Make them stop and stare 😎 pic.twitter.com/eDow0TEmtv
— Sofia Kenin (@SofiaKenin) January 16, 2021
Players competing in the WTA event in Dubai, which included several leading contenders for the Australian Open tennis, were on a flight that included 23 participants from the 64 passengers on board.
“One positive COVID-19 test has been returned from a passenger on a charter flight into Melbourne from Abu Dhabi in the past 24 hours,’’ a Tennis Australia statement says.
“There were 64 people on the flight, including 23 players.
“All passengers from the flight are already in quarantine hotels and the positive case, who is not a player and had tested negative before the flight, has been transferred to a health hotel.
The 23 players on the flight will not be able to leave their hotel room for 14 days and until they are medically cleared. They will not be eligible to practise.’’
READ MORE: Under-fire Open in disarray as more tennis arrivals test positive
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