Coronavirus Australia live news: Cedar Meats staff return to isolation
The Melbourne abattoir at the centre of the largest covid cluster in Victoria has sent staff back into isolation as another employee tested positive for coronavirus.
- Vic’s worst-hit aged care home evacuated
- Doctor in ICU, 1000 infected health workers
- NSW records 21 cases
- Tighter restrictions expected
- Victoria records 627 new cases
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Victoria's worst-hit nursing home has been evacuated. A doctor in his 30s is battling the virus in intensive care as the total number of infected health workers passed 1000 in Victoria on Friday. The state faces tighter restrictions as it records 627 new cases and eight more deaths. In NSW, the Sydney cluster has taken NSW cases to 21.
Angelica Snowden 9.55pm: 16 locations on alert in QLD
Sixteen locations in and around Brisbane are on alert after Queensland records its latest COVID-19 case on Friday.
A 27-year-old man from Bellbird Park in Brisbane’s southwest has contracted the virus after visiting a Madtongsan Korean restaurant in Sunnybank around the same time as one of the two Queensland teens who lied about their travel to Victoria.
Queensland Health said the alert had been issued for the locations “in relation” to the latest case.
âš ï¸ Public Health Alert âš ï¸
— Queensland Health (@qldhealthnews) July 31, 2020
A Public Health Alert has been issued for locations in the West Moreton and Brisbane South area in relation to today’s (31 July 2020) confirmed case of #COVID-19.
For more information: https://t.co/aCkkAzw6Zu pic.twitter.com/iTLFFheXNe
The alert urges anyone who visited the location to monitor for symptoms and to get tested immediately if any symptoms are developed.
Locations under alert:
Caltex (Goodna)
Sleeman Sports Complex (Chandler)
Garden City Shopping Centre (Mount Gravatt)
K Mart at Garden City Shopping Centre (Mount Gravatt)
JB HiFi at Garden City Shopping Centre (Mount Gravatt)
MOS Burger at Garden City Shopping Centre (Mount Gravatt)
Chatime Garden City (Mount Gravatt)
Café 63 (Redbank Plains)
Bunnings (Springfield)
Bunnings (Oxley)
Boulevard tennis and basketball courts (Springfield Lakes)
Nando’s (Kenmore)
Caltex (Wacol)
Richlands Medical Centre Richlands Plaza (Richlands)
SNP Collection Centre (Forrest Lake)
Rachel Baxendale 9.35pm: New coronavirus case sends Cedar Meats back into isolation
The Melbourne abattoir at the centre of the largest coronavirus cluster in Victoria’s first wave of infections has again been forced to send all staff into isolation, after being alerted on Friday that a worker had tested positive for the virus.
Cedar Meats, in the western Melbourne suburb of Brooklyn, was linked to 111 cases of COVID-19 in workers and their close contacts in April and May - with no new cases made public since May 22.
The Australian has confirmed a Cedar Meats worker has now tested positive amid Melbourne’s much larger second wave of infections.
“Cedar Meats received a phone call today from the public health team at the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to alert us that one of our staff had tested
positive for COVID-19,” a Cedar Meats spokeswoman said late on Friday.
“The staff member had last worked on site on Wednesday 22 July, 2020.
“We have followed DHHS’ advice and had all close contacts of that staff member tested on site today at our premises in Brooklyn.
“We have asked all of our staff to isolate until further notice, as per government guidelines. Our main priority is our staff’s health and wellbeing.
“We will continue to follow the advice of DHHS as we await the results of the testing undertaken today.”
The nine-day delay between the last day the staff member worked on site and DHHS
notifying Cedar Meats of the positive test is cause for deep concern if the worker was infectious around the time they last attended work at the Brooklyn abattoir.
If that is the case, it would indicate either a delay in the worker being tested after the onset of symptoms, or a delay in DHHS’s contact tracing process, or both - showing little has been learnt from the original Cedar Meats cluster.
When the first known Cedar Meats case was detected on April 2, DHHS contact tracers took “at face value” the worker’s claim that he had not attended work for four weeks.
When a second positive case emerged more than three weeks later, authorities similarly accepted that workers’ claim that he did not have any close contacts at work, even though he was working in a boning room with dozens of others, many of whom went on to test positive as the cluster rapidly ballooned.
There are now more than half a dozen other abattoirs and smallgoods manufacturers with active coronavirus clusters including Bertocchi Smallgoods in Thomastown, in Melbourne’s north, with 134 cases, Somerville Retail Services in Tottenham, one suburb over from Cedar Meats in Brooklyn, in Melbourne’s west, with 106 cases, JBS abattoir in Brooklyn, with 84 cases, the Australian Lamb Company in Colac, in southwest regional Victoria, with 68 cases, Golden Farms Poultry in Breakwater, in central Victoria, with 13 cases, Diamond Valley Pork in Laverton North, also in Melbourne’s west, also with 13 cases, and Don KR smallgoods in Castlemaine in central Victoria with 10 cases.
Angelica Snowden 7.45pm: NT declares Brisbane a hotspot
The Northern Territory government has declared Queensland’s capital city Brisbane and nearby locales Ipswich and Logan City as coronavirus hot spots.
Anyone who travels to the NT from the three hot spots must undergo a mandatory two-week hotel quarantine at their own expense under the new rules.
Advice from the NT government’s website has urged anyone who has visited a coronavirus hotspot to cancel any plans to visit the territory immediately. The NT has just two active COVID-19 cases.
Effective 12.01am on Saturday, the new rules will come into force.
Angelica Snowden 7.20pm: NSW publican blasted for COVID breach
A pub in regional NSW has been blasted by police and fined for breaching COVID-19 health orders it’s licensee “claimed to not speak English” when questioned by officers.
A pub at Temora, which was fined $5000 and its licensee $1000, are among three incidents and six Penalty Infringement Notices (PINs) for non-compliance with COVID-19 Public Health Orders in the last 24 hours.https://t.co/Q8k5ZMUP2D
— NSW Police Force (@nswpolice) July 31, 2020
When officers visited the pub on Hoskins Street in Temora — a regional NSW town about 420km south west of Sydney — they found no sign-in book.
“When officers asked the licensee to provide advice regarding his COVID-19 Safety Plan, he claimed to not speak English,” NSW Police said in a statement.
“No steps had been taken by the business to comply with COVID-19 Public Health Orders.”
Police also said they issued fines to people who arrived in NSW from Victoria who failed to self-isolate under strict interstate travel rules.
In one incident a 26-year-old woman was fined for leaving an apartment in Bondi after she arrived in Sydney from Victoria on Wednesday.
She left the apartment on Thursday to apply for a visa at a nearby embassy - but it was found this was not a valid reason to enter NSW and she did not have a permit to enter. She was fined and sent back to Victoria.
In another incident a group of three Malaysian nationals had been going to pick fruit at local farms in Griffith - a regional city over 500km west of Sydney - after they arrived from Victoria.
The men — aged 22, 28 and 34 — did not self-isolate as required, although they did have an exemption permit to enter NSW.
All three were issued with a $1000 fine.
READ MORE: ‘Your super doesn’t belong to them’
Remy Varga 5.46pm: Victorian DHHS employee tests positive for virus
A Victorian DHHS employee has tested positive for the coronavirus.
A spokesman said the staff member worked at the DHHS headquarters at 50 Londsdale Street before he became unwell but not when infectious.
“The staff member worked at 50 Lonsdale Street before becoming unwell, but was not infectious at the time,” he said.
Victoria has recorded 627 new cases of #coronavirus (#COVID19) in the last 24 hours. More information: https://t.co/Ukfpsg6dBO #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/4vABJHCMsc
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) July 31, 2020
“He did the right thing, got tested on the same day he developed symptoms, and has been isolating since.
The spokesperson said all appropriate health measures, including contact tracing, had been undertaken.
“While DHHS staff are working from home where possible, the Department’s offices remain open to the essential staff who are working around the clock to find and contain coronavirus,” he said.
READ MORE: Gates takes swipe at ‘outrageous’ Musk
Remy Varga 5.35pm: Male GP in his 60s in serious condition
A male GP in his 60s in serious condition is battling the coronavirus at the Royal Melbourne Hospital, a spokeswoman confirmed.
It comes as an emergency doctor in his 30s from Northern Health is treated in intensive care
READ MORE: NSW backs down on COVID-19 testing for truckies
Remy Varga 4.50pm: Hotel quarantine inquiry set for explosive opening
The inquiry into the bungled hotel quarantine program will first hear from an infectious disease expert who described Victoria’s health department as the “worst-funded and dysfunctionally organised in the nation”.
When public hearings start on Thursday, Professor Lindsay Grayson, who is the director of infectious diseases at Austin Health, is due to give evidence first.
On July 6, Professor Grayson said the “Health Department has been squeezed over and over by Treasury, who seem to see it as nothing but a burden” in an opinion piece published in The Age.
Other witnesses to be called are Ben Howden, who is director of The Doherty Institute’s microbiology diagnostic unit, as well as Dr Charles Alpren, who is an epidemiologist with Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Service.
The topics due to be examined are the nature of COVID-19, infection control, epidemiology and contact tracing as well as genomic testing.
An inquiry spokesperson clarified on Friday that while the Victorian government has repeatedly called the inquiry a “judicial inquiry” it considers itself a board of inquiry.
“The Inquiry considers itself a Board of Inquiry as per the Order in Council that appointed the Hon Jennifer Coate AO,” she said.
“Calling it a judicial inquiry is also acceptable (see Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018)”
READ MORE: Revered Republican dies from Covid
Stephen Lunn 4.30pm: Victoria’s hardest hit nursing home evacuated
The Victorian nursing home hardest hit by coronavirus is being fully evacuated on Friday after six workers brought in to replace quarantined staff tested positive to COVID-19.
Around 30 remaining residents of St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Fawkner, many with dementia, were being moved into hospitals around Melbourne, Australia’s chief nursing and midwifery officer Alison McMillan said on Friday.
St Basil’s is now linked to 124 cases of coronavirus, including staff and residents.
Ten days ago all its staff members were removed at once, as either COVID positive or a close contact and immediately sent into quarantine. They were replaced by a supplementary staff but six have now themselves contracted the virus.
“Staff that came to help in that difficult time ten days ago, have now unfortunately tested positive,” Ms McMillan said.
Ms McMillan said they recognised the risks associated with moving vulnerable residents, including those with dementia, into hospital, and family members were being kept informed.
READ MORE: Slums infections spark calls for action
Angelica Snowden 4.25pm: ‘See what happens’ over wider mask order
After all Victorians were told to mask up from Sunday at midnight, Professor Kidd said authorities would “see what happens” over the coming weeks to determine how effective the measure was at reducing community transmission.
“The compulsory mask wearing has only been in place for a week and so we need to give that some time to have its impact,” he said.
Professor Kidd would not indicate whether the stage three lockdown in Victoria would be extended, but said authorities want to see “no community transmission”.
“Clearly what we are aiming for is to see no community transmission occurring across Australia and this of course is the situation in a number of the states and in the Northern Territory at this time,” he said.
“We would like to see the rest of the country move back to that position of having no community transmission taking place.”
There have been 2884 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in Australia in the last seven days and only one per cent of those cases were overseas acquired.
READ MORE: ACM to close printing sites
Remy Varga 4.15pm: Doctor’s ICU admission ‘deeply concerning’
Australasian College for Emergency Medicine President John Bonning said it was “deeply distressing” a doctor in his 30s, who he described as an emergency medicine trainee, had contracted the coronavirus.
“This is a deeply distressing development and our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the doctor concerned, their family, friends and colleagues, as they are with all healthcare workers affected by this terrible virus,” he said. “We are all hoping for their recovery.”
A spokesman for Northern Health confirmed an emergency doctor in his 30s was battling the coronavirus in ICU on Friday.
“A Northern Hospital ED Doctor has tested positive to COVID-19 and is currently receiving care in the Northern Hospital ICU and is in a stable condition,” he said.
“Out of respect for the patient and family we cannot provide further comment.”
READ MORE: Covid-safe bubble gets a boost
Angelica Snowden 4.05pm: No move to mandate masks in NSW
Professor Kidd would not budge on whether masks should be mandated in Sydney hotspots and only said people should wear masks in areas of community transmission.
“We are working very closely with the authorities in NSW and supporting measures put in place in NSW,” he said.
“We are seeing increasing numbers of community transmission, occurring in a number of areas across Sydney and also some other areas in NSW.
“We will support the NSW government in the decisions they make.”
After Woolworths announced on Thursday they would “strongly recommend” the use of face masks in stores across NSW, the ACT and hot spots in Queensland Professor Kidd said customers should wear facemasks if they feel “comfortable”.
“If you find yourself in areas where physical distancing may be difficult and as we know, supermarkets can be one of those places where large numbers of people are coming together and there may be times where it might be difficult to physically distance from others,” he said.
READ MORE: Joyful return of live music
Angelica Snowden 3.55pm: Deputy CMO warns ‘difficult weeks to come’
Deputy chief medical officer Michael Kidd has warned there will be “more difficult weeks to come as we continue to live with COVID-19” but said “things will get better”.
Professor Kidd made the comments on Friday after confirming the country’s second worst day of COVID-19 infections.
“The level of new diagnoses remains concerning,” Professor Kidd said. “Eight days ago, we had over 500 cases reported for the first time in the trend continues to be upwards,” he said.
“Additional measures” could be needed to bring the Victorian outbreak under control, after the state recorded 627 new cases on Friday Professor Kidd said.
651 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded overnight across Australia.
In addition to the 21 cases reported in NSW, one case was reported in Western Australia which was overseas acquired.
Another was recorded in South Australia which was locally acquired and related to interstate travel.
Queensland also recorded one new case which is currently under investigation.
READ MORE: NSW backs down on truckie testing
Angelica Snowden 3.45pm: Sydney outbreak linked to Orange infection
A coronavirus case linked to a known outbreak in Sydney has reached another regional hub in NSW, the Western NSW Local Health District has confirmed.
The COVID-19 case – which was included in the 21 new infections reported earlier on Friday – is isolating in the regional city of Orange.
In a statement, the local health district said although the case is currently in Orange they have a residential address outside of the health district.
“There is no need for concern in the Orange community,” the statement said. “The Public Health Unit has contacted all close contacts.”
The news came after a cluster of cases in another part of regional NSW – Batemans Bay – remained at eight.
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Remy Varga 3.30pm: Source of 550 Victoria cases investigated
Of Victoria’s 627 new cases recorded on Friday, 77 are linked to outbreaks or complex cases while 550 remain under investigation.
Currently, 1792 of Victoria’s 5743 cases of COVID-19 may indicate community transmission, an increase of 94 from Thursday.
The number of coronavirus cases in the local government of Wyndham in Melbourne’s far southwest has jumped by 70, bringing the total number of active cases to 601.
The LGA has the second highest number of cases followed by Brimbank in Melbourne’s northwest, which recorded seven additional cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total to 658.
As well, the LGA of Whittlesea in Melbourne’s far north recorded 43 new cases, bringing the total of active cases to 435.
READ MORE: ATO eyes business ‘miracles’
Remy Varga 2.35pm: Doctor in ICU, 1000 infected health workers
A doctor in his 30s is battling the coronavirus in intensive care as the total number of infected health workers passed 1000 in Victoria on Friday.
A Northern Health spokesman in Victoria confirmed the young doctor had contracted the disease.
It comes as the state recorded its second-worst day of infection, with 627 new cases and eight deaths.
Victorian Daniel Andrews says Victoria faces new restrictions as the state’s rolling seven day average for daily increased to 482, and the death toll to 112.
Ewin Hannan 1.40pm: COVID pandemic claims hundreds of printing jobs
Australia’s largest printing company, Ovato, is seeking to slash the redundancy entitlements of hundreds of workers by 70 per cent ahead of cutting up to 300 jobs.
Ovato on Friday confirmed that it wanted to cut 250 to 300 jobs and was trying to reduce redundancy payments by applying to the Fair Work Commission to terminate an enterprise agreement covering 850 workers.
But Ovato chief executive Kevin Slaven denied the company wanted to cut the base wage rates of continuing employees, “despite them being significantly above award”.
Under the enterprise agreement, Ovato workers made redundant are entitled to four weeks’ pay for every year of service and the entitlement is uncapped.
The average length of service is 14 years, meaning most workers would get a redundancy of about 56 weeks.
But if they were forced back to the award, workers would only be entitled to up to 16 weeks’ redundancy pay.
Mr Slaven said Ovato, like many businesses across the country, had experienced a significant revenue reduction due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We are currently running at around 60 per cent of where we were pre-Covid,” he said.
“JobKeeper and the recently announced extension has been of great assistance to us and our staff but it doesn’t alter the fact we will need to adjust the size of our workforce to survive as a smaller business through this period.”
He said the expired enterprise agreement was “reflective of a prosperous past, not the current economic reality we face and our current redundancy scales across all of our business need to better reflect this”.
He said the company’s goal was to “reshape our business to position ourselves to get through this challenging period, preserving as many jobs as possible”.
“An essential part of that is being able to reseize our business quickly, which the legacy conditions of our nominally expired EA currently make impossible,” he said.
“Any insinuation from the AMWU that we are looking to cut wages is simply wrong … our focus is on negotiating more appropriate redundancy scales so we can reseize and save as many jobs as possible.”
READ MORE: ACM to close three printing sites
Remy Varga 1.30pm: CBD construction site shut down after 12 positive virus tests
A construction site in Melbourne’s CBD has been shut down for deep cleaning after 12 people tested positive for the coronavirus.
Around 20 workers from the Multiplex Premier Apartments site in Melbourne’s CBD, referred to as “The Beyonce” site, have been ordered to undergo testing for the coronavirus and self-isolate.
A CFMEU spokeswoman said an onsite testing bus offered coronavirus tests to asymptomatic workers as a further safety measure.
“The health and safety of our members is of the utmost priority and we strongly condemn
any behaviour that does not follow the appropriate measures put in place to protect our
workers and the wider community,” she said.
READ MORE: Transit boost to ‘COVID-safe’ travel bubble
Remy Varga 1.20pm: 50 non-mask wearers fined in 24 hours by Vic police
Victoria Police have fined more than 50 people for refusing to wear a face mask in the last 24-hours.
There have been 124 infringement notices issued by Victoria Police over public health violations.
These include three-men from Clayton eating lunch together in public in Melbourne’s CBD, 12 people gathered around a fire at an address in Frankston and five males drinking alcohol together at a reserve in Casey.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said 53 of the 124 fines were for failing to wear a face mask when leaving home for one of the four approved reasons.
“Many of these fines were issued to people who had no reason to not be wearing a mask, and refused to accept a mask offered by police or PSOs.”
In the last 24-hours Victoria Police have checked almost 21,000 vehicles at lockdown zone checkpoints on main arterial roads as well as conducting 5,068 spot checks on homes and businesses.
Since March 21, Victoria Police have conducted a total of 193,740 spot checks.
READ MORE: Maskless Victorians to cop $200 fine
Adeshola Ore 1pm: ACT warns residents against travel to Sydney
ACT has advised its residents not to travel to travel to Greater Sydney.
ACT Health said people should only travel to the region for essential reasons.
“We do not issue this advice lightly – but it is a recognition of the fact that the risk to Canberrans of contracting COVID-19 in Greater Sydney, and potentially bringing it back to the ACT with them, is currently higher than we would like,” a statement read.
“We are asking Canberrans to continue exercising the good judgment they have shown during the pandemic thus far and to respect this advice.”
The territory has reported no new cases overnight, with the total number of cases remaining at 113.
READ MORE: St Basil’s let Mum down
Remy Varga 12.20pm: These numbers are too high: blunt Premier
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has wrapped up Friday’s press conference with a blunt message: “These numbers are too high.”
“Thousands of people are working very hard and I’d ask all Victorians join us in that effort,” he said.
“Because that’s what will keep those numbers lower than what they would otherwise be, meaning there is less spread, less tragedy and less families having to plan funerals.”
Remy Varga 12.15pm: ‘Better to be naked with mask than no mask’
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said he thinks the embrace of mask wearing in Melbourne has been fantastic.
“I think people understand that it’s a small intervention to make,” he said.
“There might be people who feel it’s a constraint on their liberty and need to protest — I’d rather see them naked with a mask than not have a mask on.”
READ MORE: ‘Disturbing’: Victorians ignoring Andrews
Adeshola Ore 12.05pm: COVID clusters escalate across Sydney
The Thai Rock Wetherill Park cluster has now risen to 94 cases, while the Potts Point outbreak has grown to 19.
A total of twenty cases are associated with the funeral gatherings cluster and three with Mounties in Mount Pritchard.
NSW Health has released updated times that cases were infectious while at the Mounties. Anyone who attended the club at the following times must get tested and self-isolate for two weeks, regardless of if they return an initial negative test result.
Wednesday 22 July – 7pm to midnight
Thursday 23 July – 12.01am to 3am and 8.30pm to midnight
Friday 24 July – Midnight to 3am, 11am to 3:30pm and 7pm to midnight
Saturday 25 July – Midnight to 3am
NSW Health has also confirmed that the Everlearn Childcare Centre in Prestons will reopen on Monday after a suspected case tested negative to the virus.
Eight people are now in intensive care in NSW, with half requiring ventilation. In total, 102 COVID-19 positive people are being treated by NSW Health.
There were 25,318 tests conducted yesterday compared with 27,147 in the previous 24 hours.
READ MORE: Workng from home ‘threat to output’
Remy Varga 12.00pm: Andrews deflects hotel blunder queries
Daniel Andrews has deflected questions on the botched hotel quarantine program that is believed to be linked to most if not all cases of the coronavirus in the state.
“I am not going to sit here and pretend to be running a judicial inquiry,” he said.
“It is being run by a former judge.”
Former judge Jennifer Ann Coate AO is overseeing an inquiry into the botched hotel quarantine program.
Adeshola Ore 11.50am: NSW records 21 cases, 6 linked to restaurant
NSW has reported 21 new cases of coronavirus, with six linked to the The Apollo restaurant in Potts Point.
Three of today’s cases are linked to the Our Lady of Lebanon cluster and another two are associated with the funeral gatherings cluster.
A further two cases are linked to the Thai Rock Wetherill Park outbreak and two are associated with the Mounties Club in Mount Pritchard
There are two infections in returned travellers in hotel quarantine and one case was acquired in Victoria.
Two cases remain under investigation. One case is linked to a known case that is under investigation.
READ MORE: Pandemic panic ‘threat to flights’
Remy Varga 11.35am: ‘One in four people not home when isolating’
Daniel Andrews has criticised people who have not remained at home while they are self isolating.
Mr Andrews said ADF door-knockers had discovered about one in four coronavirus positives were not self isolating.
“There were more than 130 visits, so around one-in-four-people cannot be found at home,” he said.
“There will be a multitude of reasons for that.”
He said the 130 cases had been referred to Victoria Police.
“It’s not acceptable,” Mr Andrews said.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has revealed one in four people who test positive for COVID-19 in his state are not isolating at home when ADF personnel visit.https://t.co/eeO43K4LYK
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 31, 2020
Mr Andrews also said he and Prime Minister Scott Morrison both understood the road to economic recovery could not be embarked upon until the number of coronavirus cases fell.
“In my discussions with the Prime Minister last night there is a complete acknowledgment that there can be no economic recovery until we deal with this public health challenge,” Mr Andrews said.
“Until we deal with this public health emergency it’s incredibly difficult in fact almost impossible for us to see businesses recover and survive.”
He said all governments were working together to drive down the state’s record numbers of the coronavirus.
“I would hope that there was some comfort for Victorians to know that both governments are working very closely together,” he said.
He said he did not know how long any future restrictions would last for with experts analysing the data.
READ MORE: Truckie test fuels new panic buying fears
Remy Varga 11.25am: Victoria faces new restrictions: Andrews
Mr Andrews confirmed he held talks with Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Thursday night, saying they had a “very good talk about where we find ourselves.”
He said with Victoria’s current numbers, it may well be the case that “further steps” would be required but said he would not be making any announcements on further restrictions right now.
Mr Andrews said Victoria was collaborating with the Commonwealth to analyse transmission data.
He said he shared a “strong partnership” with Mr Morrison and expected to speak to the PM again on Friday.
Mr Andrews said the data presented today would be relevant to Wednesday, which marked the halfway point of Victoria’s six week lockdown.
“We have data that marks the halfway point and we have numbers that are too high,” he said.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said stage-three restrictions had reduced the spread of the highly contagious disease but said the spike in cases was “dispiriting”.
“As the Premier said, we can’t sit with 400-500 cases a day,” he said.
Victoria recorded 627 cases on Friday after recording 723 on Thursday.
READ MORE: Andrews slams virus denier
Remy Varga 11.10am: Eight people die in Victoria, toll now 112
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says eight more people have died of the coronavirus, bringing the state’s death toll to 112.
Among the deceased are two men in their 50s while four of the deaths can be linked to aged care, he said.
There are now 347 people in hospital, with 37 in ICU and 928 active cases in aged care settings.
Mr Andrews said door knocking teams had uncovered 130 people not at home when they were meant to be self isolating.
ADF personnel along with public health workers have been checking on every positive coronavirus case.
Mr Andrews said the 130 cases had been referred to Victoria Police.
“It’s not acceptable,” Mr Andrews said.
READ MORE: Aged residents left for dead in crisis state
David Murray 11.00am: New Queensland case linked to illegal teen travellers
Queensland has recorded a new coronavirus case – a man who attended a Korean restaurant at the same time as one of the young women who lied about their travel to Victoria. There are also fears for an aged care facility.
Health officials said on Friday the new case was a 27-year-old man from Bellbird Park southwest of Brisbane who dined at the Madtongsan IV restaurant in Sunnybank on July 23 with his wife, his wife’s sister and three other people.
The group of six was seated at a table adjacent to a young woman with COVID-19 who was this week charged by police with serious criminal offences after travelling to Melbourne and lying about it on her return.
The 27-year-old man’s wife and another person from the group of six people at the restaurant work at the Bolton Clarke aged care facility at Pinjarra Hills in Brisbane’s west.
Residents at the facility are being confined to their rooms while health authorities nervously await test results which will show if two women have contracted the coronavirus.
Initially, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young had said the 27-year-old man was related to someone who attended the restaurant.
However, the health department and Health Minister Steven Miles have since clarified that the man dined at the restaurant.
“Queensland Health can confirm that the 27-year-old man from Bellbird Park was at the Madtongsan IV Restaurant in Sunnybank on July 23,” a spokeswoman said.
“Along with five others who are being COVID-19 tested, they dined on a table adjacent to one of the recently identified cases who returned from Victoria.”
Bolton Clarke Chief Operating Officer David Swain said the two workers who had been at the restaurant had last worked at the aged care facility on July 28.
“Both took immediate action to undergo testing and self-isolate when they became aware they had been at one of the restaurants identified in health alerts,” Mr Swain said.
“We continue to closely monitor the health and wellbeing of our residents. We are further increasing our protection measures with all staff wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) and following strict designated areas of care (cohorting).
“Under the advice of Queensland Health, all residents in our Pinjarra Hills community are now receiving care in their rooms until further advice. In addition, our Pinjarra Hills community is not open to visitors.
“We will continue to work with Queensland Health to reduce any potential risk.
We are committed to sharing the latest information to residents, families and our people and will continue to provide updates regularly, including through a dedicated phone line, online briefings and additional team members on site to support resident and family communication.
“Families who have any questions are encouraged to call us on 1300 22 11 22.”
Olivia Winnie Muranga and Diana Lasu travelled to Melbourne and returned with coronavirus under falsified border crossing passes, police say.
They have been charged, along with a third woman who does not have the virus, with fraud and breaching the Public Health Act by allegedly providing false or misleading documents when they returned via Sydney on July 21. They face up to five years’ imprisonment.
The Madtongsan IV Korean restaurant at Market Square Sunnybank was one of 11 venues confirmed by Queensland Health as having been visited by Ms Muranga or Ms Lasu after their return to the state.
Mr Miles released a statement on Facebook.
“Today a 27 year old man (P4) has been diagnosed with COVID-19,” Mr Miles said.
“He had dinner with his wife (P2) and her sister (P3) at the Madtongsan IV restaurant in Sunnybank at the same time as a young woman (P1) who was diagnosed earlier in the week (23 July).
“P2 and P3 are currently being tested and are in quarantine.
“P1 was one of the young women who had been to Melbourne and were charged yesterday by police. She had been co-operating with police.
We’ll keep you updated as our contact tracers follow all possible links.”
READ MORE: Popular premier but poll party postponed
Adeshola Ore 10.55am: Person arrested for lying at Queensland border
Queensland police have arrested a person for lying to officials at the border with NSW this morning, as authorities prepare to shut the state off from Sydneysiders tomorrow.
It comes a day after police charged three Brisbane women with fraud for allegedly providing falsified border crossing passes. The women who returned from Melbourne, two with coronavirus, now face up to five years in jail.
Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewsk said one person had tried to pull the same trick at Coolangatta on Friday. They were travelling from Fairfield in Sydney, where residents are banned from entering Queensland.
“We gave them a penalty notice and asked them to turn around,” he told Channel 7.
“It’s still happening. This one was a level of criminality that concerned us, so we have taken the measure putting it before the courts.”
Commissioner Gollschewski said police issued 14 fines at the border with NSW on Thursday.
From 1am on Saturday, anyone who has travelled from Greater Sydney will be banned from entering Queensland.
READ MORE: Queensland teens under police protection
Staff writers 10.45am: Victoria doctor in his 30s in ICU with virus
A doctor in his 30s is in ICU in a Victoria hospital after contracting coronavirus.
The doctor, who worked in the emergency department doctor at the Northern Hospital, was admitted to an intensive care unit with coronavirus last night, the Herald Sun reports.
READ MORE: Aged care staffing shortage flagged
Remy Varga 10.30am: Andrews to give update at 11.00am AEST
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will provide an update on the state’s coronavirus crisis at 11.00am AEST after 627 new cases were recorded on Friday.
It comes after Prime Minister Scott Morrison held talks with Mr Andrews on Thursday night over the state’s soaring numbers, The Australian understands.
Adeshola Ore 10.18am: Sydney, Brisbane residents ‘should wear masks’
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd says Australians should consider wearing masks in areas with community transmission of coronavirus, such as Sydney and Brisbane.
On Thursday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced that masks would be mandatory across the entire state from Sunday. Previously, masks were only required for residents in the lockdown regions of Metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.
“We do have community transmission occurring in parts of New South Wales, particularly in suburbs in Sydney,” Professor Kidd told the ABC.
“We have had community transmission just yesterday reported in suburbs in Brisbane … I think people should be considering wearing masks, but particularly in those areas where we have community transmission.”
READ MORE: Maskless Victorians to cop $200 fine
Adeshola Ore 10.15am: Cormann: more measures needed in Victoria
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has flagged that Victorians could face further restrictions after the state recorded its highest number of daily coronavirus cases on Thursday.
The state reported 723 new cases of COVID-19 and 14 deaths yesterday.
Sky News contributor @peterswitzer says the extent of the lockdown in Victoria will cause house prices to fall fast due to reduced confidence. https://t.co/d6gdea3nbf
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) July 31, 2020
Senator Cormann said more measures would be needed to “ring fence” outbreak areas.
“The Prime Minister and the premier will continue to work closely to do whatever needs to be done to get on top of this crisis,” he told Sky News.
“Until such times as the numbers come down we need to find better ways to get on top of this.”
READ MORE: Treasury paints bleaker picture as Victoria worsens
Rachel Baxendale 9.40am: Victoria records 627 cases in second highest spike
Victoria has recorded its second-highest ever daily increase in coronavirus numbers, with 627 new cases on Friday, following Thursday’s record of 723.
There are also expected to be at least half a dozen deaths in today’s figures – down from 14 on Thursday.
The 627 new cases will see Victoria’s rolling seven day average for daily increases rise to 482, up from 436 on Thursday, and the previous high of 417 on Tuesday.
READ MORE: PM, Andrews discuss next step
Adeshola Ore 9.30am: Qld border closure appropriate: Cormann
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann says Queensland closing its border to Greater Sydney is appropriate, despite the economic pain it will cause.
From 1am Saturday, Queensland will be shut to Sydneysiders in response to a rise in community transmission of coronavirus.
Senator Cormann said the decision would come with an economic cost, but was important for “the health of our population.”
“We want to ensure that we contain the spread of the virus. When you have these scenarios with community transmission of course you have to take these measures,” he told Sky News.
Mr Cormann said last week’s economic update was already out of date, as the government had predicted.
“We said at the time that there was significant uncertainty in terms of the domestic and global health and economic outlook.”
READ MORE: Mask era will make us ready for our close-up
Adeshola Ore 9.25am: PM: No suggestion Andrews will refer power
Scott Morrison there has been no contemplation of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews referring his power to the commonwealth.
Victoria recorded its worst day since the pandemic began on Thursday, with 723 new cases and 14 deaths.
Earlier on Friday, Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith called on the state government to refer his power to Canberra to deal with the COVID-19 outbreak, saying the public had lost confidence in him.
“Those sorts of things haven’t been in contemplation,” Mr Morrison told 2GB radio.
“We are always ready to support them with all the requests they have made and further offers.”
“We’ve got 1500, almost, ADF personnel on the ground in Victoria supporting the efforts.”
READ MORE: Six nurses from one ward test positive
Adeshola Ore 9.15am: Nursing home stabilising: PM
Scott Morrison says the situation at a nursing home in Melbourne’s north where coronavirus victims were left in their bed for hours is “stabilising.”
The Australian has reported that several deceased residents at Epping Gardens nursing home were left in their beds for up to six hours.
“We’re heading to that stabilised position in Epping Gardens,” the Prime Minister told 2GB radio.
“There were a couple of cases when the centres themselves were overwhelmed. We had the entire staff that had to be stood down.”
Mr Morrison said there was a “big difference” between Newmarch House, where 19 residents died from coronavirus, and the situation in Victoria.
“In Newmarch, the staff weren’t all stood down … but there wasn’t a community outbreak around Newmarch,” he said.
“When you’ve got the level of community outbreak that we’ve seen in Victoria, then it gets into every workplace.”
“The level of community outbreak and community transmission in Victoria is the great challenge down there, and there is still a lot of work to do and we are not on top of it yet.”
READ MORE: Virus victims left deceased in beds
Remy Varga 8.52am: Andrews ‘blindsided’ by state’s outbreak
Scott Morrison spoke with Daniel Andrews last night to discuss the path ahead for dealing with the crisis.
It is understood the Prime Minister will continue his pledge for as many resources as Victoria needs and it is possible to provide.
The federal government is worried that there is a wide, systemic problem in Victoria that has gone undetected.
Despite the angst between the governments, the relationship between Mr Morrison and Mr Andrews has not deteriorated, sources said. There had been regular discussion between the two leaders in the past week.
The Australian also understands that Mr Andrews was blindsided by the sharp increase in the numbers. There had been a genuine belief Victoria was starting to address the issue and the numbers would start to drop off.
Aged care, both governments believe, remains the serious threat with significant further fatalities now expected. There also are growing concerns about the spread into regional areas.
Scott Morrison said his relationship with all Australian premiers was “strong.”
“I know they’ve been a few stories out and about which have tried to exaggerate some tensions, but I can tell you everyone is picking up the phone and talking to each other.”
“My job is quite straightforward and that’s to work with everyone I possibly can to keep Australians safe … wherever that is.”
With John Ferguson
READ MORE: PM, Andrews discuss path ahead for Victoria
Adeshola Ore 8.40am: Mistakes made in aged care handling: Minister
Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck says mistakes have been made in Victoria’s handling of coronavirus outbreaks in its aged-care homes.
The Australian has reported that coronavirus victims were left dead in their beds for several hours at a nursing home in Melbourne’s north this week. On Thursday, out of 14 deaths in Victoria 10 included nursing home residents.
“We have a really severe shortage in Victoria. That’s why we have organised with other states to send nurses into Victoria,” he told Channel 9.
Senator Colbeck spoke to more than 100 families impacted by Victoria’s aged-care crisis on a Zoom call last night.
“It was pretty grim … they were obviously upset, they were distressed.
“They’re going through a traumatic time. The least I can do is give them a couple of hours to listen to their concerns and try and help work them through the resolution.”
READ MORE: Coronavirus victims left dead in their beds for hours
Adeshola Ore 8.22am: Queensland holding its breath over potential outbreak
Queensland Police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski says he is holding his breath to see if COVID-19 cases emerge after two Brisbane women travelled to Melbourne and returned with the virus.
The 19-year-old women who allegedly falsified border crossing passes are facing up to five years in jail after being charged by Queensland police.
Steve Gollschewski said he was “extremely disappointed and very worried” for the Queensland community.
“Holding our breath a bit to see what the tests come out as over the next couple of days,” he told Channel 9.
Commissioner Gollschewski said it was difficult to independently verify where people declare they have visited, but that police had identified the case based on “good old police detective work.”
READ MORE: Virus trio’s alleged link to crime syndicate
Adeshola Ore 8.11am: All NSW cases linked to Victorian strains: Chant
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant says all of the state’s COVID-19 cases are linked to strains circulating in Victoria.
On Thursday, the Thai Rock Wetherill Park outbreak rose to 89 cases of coronavirus, while the Potts Point cluster grew to eleven.
“We believe the link is between the Thai Rock at Wetherill Park and Potts Point,” Dr Chant told 2GB radio.
“We are awaiting further genomic sequencing to see how that’s further linked to The Apollo.”
Health authorities were able to locate “patient zero” for The Crossroads Hotel cluster in Casula, but the source of other outbreaks have not been identified.
READ MORE: Anti-malarial drug trials abandoned
Adeshola Ore 8.02am: Inner-city Sydney pub closed for cleaning
An inner-city Sydney pub has been closed for cleaning after a COVID-19 positive person visited the venue last week.
In a Facebook post, Darlo Bar said the person attended the venue on Sunday between 12pm and 2pm.
“NSW Health have advised that this is a relatively low-risk case, however we took the decision to close the Darlo Bar immediately to undertake a deep clean in line with our own strict COVID safe protocols,” the post read.
On Thursday, NSW recorded 18 new coronavirus cases overnight, including six with unknown sources.
READ MORE: Solution will be found in our DNA
Adeshola Ore 7.46am: F1 driver Sergio Perez tests positive
Formula One driver Sergio Perez has tested positive for coronavirus and will miss this weekend’s British Grand Prix. The organisers say the event will still go ahead as planned.
Perez and some of his Racing Point teammates were self-isolating ahead of the race at Silverstone after the Mexican driver’s initial test came back as inconclusive.
His Racing Point team said he was in “good spirits” and will continue to self-isolate.
The 30-year-old is the first Formula One driver to test positive to the virus.
READ MORE: Metre still running on flying taxis
Adeshola Ore 7.23am: Victoria needs federal intervention: state opposition
Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith has called for the state government to refer its power to the federal government to control its COVID-19 outbreak, warning it is on “the brink of a catastrophe”.
The state recorded its highest number of coronavirus cases and its deadliest day on Thursday, with 723 new infections and 13 deaths.
“I’m calling on Daniel Andrews to refer his power over this emergency to Canberra because no one’s got any confidence in this bloke anymore to be able to manage this crisis,” he told 2GB radio.
“We need a federal intervention and we need it now because Victoria is on the brink of a catastrophe.”
Of Thursday’s 14 new deaths in Victoria, 10 were from nursing homes in the state, taking the total to 59 aged care deaths since the “second wave” began this month.
“This is just criminal negligence. It’s scandalous. Brendan Murphy, who’s done a wonderful job for the whole country, he warned Andrews, he told him: ‘Clear out the hospitals, cancel elective surgery, you’re going to need some space, you’re going to need some room, it’s going to get into the nursing homes if you don’t act’. What did Andrews do? Nothing.”
READ MORE: Maskless Victorians to cop $200 fine
Stuart Parker 7.15am: Woolworths encouraging mask use in NSW, ACT
Woolworths is “strongly encouraging” customers and staff in the NSW and ACT to wear face masks from August 3.
In Queensland, customers and staff in hot spot areas will also be strongly encouraged to wear face coverings from tomorrow.
The guidance is for Woolworths Supermarkets, Woolworths Metro Food Stores, BIG W, Dan Murphy’s, BWS and ALH Hotels.
This is in addition to the mandatory requirements for face coverings in all of Victoria.
Woolworths Group CEO Brad Banducci said: “Even though wearing a face covering is not mandatory in NSW, ACT or Queensland, as the largest private sector employer with stores in almost every community, we feel it’s important we lead the way in helping reduce community transmission of COVID-19. We’re asking our teams to lead by example, and this includes our Group Executive Team.”
READ MORE: Mask era will make us ready for our close-ups
Adeshola Ore 7.06am: Limit scope of essential workers to control spread: AMA
Australian Medical Association president Tony Bartone says Victoria needs to limit its scope of essential workers to control its coronavirus outbreak. On Thursday, the state marked a grim milestone, with a record 723 new cases.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said that “about 80 per cent” of the country’s new infections since mid-May are being driven by workplace transmission.
“Our definition of essential industries really needs to be tightened up. We need to actually move further and quicker on restrictions … Unfortunately the numbers really underpin that there is still a lot of work to be done,” Dr Bartone told Channel 9.
He said he was in “disbelief” when he read Victoria’s numbers yesterday, which included 14 deaths.
“Obviously the end result of this will mean that more Victorians will end up in hospital, more Victorians will end up in ICU and unfortunately there will be a continuing death toll that comes out of this.”
READ MORE: Aged residents left for dead in virus state
Anne Barrowclough 6.55am: Families of US victims launch lawsuits against employers
Families of US coronavirus victims who believe their loved ones caught lethal cases of the disease at work have launched the first wave of lawsuits against their employers, in a move that highlights the risk of reopening workplaces.
Walmart, Safeway and Tyson Foods, along with some healthcare facilities are being sued for gross negligence or wrongful death. Victims’ families claim companies failed to protect workers from the virus and should compensate their relatives.
Survivors of the virus are also suing employers to have medical bills paid for and to cover the loss of future earnings, the Wall St Journal reports.
Employers say they took steps to combat the virus including requiring staff to wear masks and screening them for symptoms. Some also point out the workers can’t prove they caught the virus at the workplace or somewhere else.
READ MORE: Pandemic panic ‘a threat to flights’
Adeshola Ore 6.50am: Brazil President’s wife tests positive
Brazil’s first lady Michelle Bolsonaro has tested positive for coronavirus, after her husband spent two weeks in quarantine with the virus. The announcement comes days after President Jair Bolsonaro said he had recovered from the virus and had resumed work. The president’s office said Ms Bolsonaro was in good health.
Mr Bolsonaro has faced criticism for his handling of the pandemic as Brazil has surged to become the country with the second-highest number of infections and deaths in the world, after the United States. The far-right president has compared the virus to a “little flu” and has fought to end state and local stay-at-home measures to contain it, arguing the economic fallout could be worse than the disease itself.
Spain reported its biggest daily jump in coronavirus cases since its lockdown ended on Thursday. The country topped more than 1000 new infections for the second consecutive day. Spain’s health ministry’s data showed the country recorded 1229 new infections. Despite the rise in cases prompting Britain to impose a quarantine on travellers from Spain, the government has denied the country is facing a second wave. The government’s most senior coronavirus expert, Fernando Simon told a press conference “a second wave would be when we have uncontrolled, widespread community transmission”.
The World Health Organisation has warned that young people enjoying holidays and becoming complacent is driving a fresh surge in COVID-19 cases. A spike in cases in parts of Europe, the United States and Asia has forced some countries to impose new measures. In a news briefing in Geneva, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said “we’ve said this before and we’ll say it again: young people are not invincible”.
Globally, more than 17.2 million people have been infected with COVID-19. There have been more than 669,000 deaths.
With agencies
READ MORE: Trump suggests delaying US election
Charlie Peel 5.15am: Teens under police guard … for own protection
The Brisbane women who travelled to Melbourne and returned with coronavirus under falsified border crossing passes are facing up to five years in jail after being charged by Queensland police.
Olivia Winnie Muranga and Diana Lasu, both 19 and from Brisbane’s southside, remain in the Princess Alexandra Hospital under police guard, partly for their own protection, police have confirmed.
The pair and another woman, aged 21, who does not have the virus, were charged on Thursday with fraud and for breaching the Public Health Act by allegedly providing false or misleading documents when they returned via Sydney on July 21.
The maximum penalty for the fraud charge is five years’ imprisonment, while the border declaration breaches can lead to fines of up to $13,345.
All three are due to appear in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on September 28.
Read the full story, by Charlie Peel and Mackenzie Scott, here.
Natasha Robinson 5am: Virus vaccine test clear for more volunteers
A COVID-19 vaccine that has been developed by Adelaide scientists has been shown to be safe in phase 1 trials, and has generated an immune response in human subjects.
The vaccine developed by Flinders University professor Nikolai Petrovsky is the first candidate to clear phase 1 trials in Australia, and one of only a handful that have progressed beyond the first phase of human trials in the world.
Forty volunteers were dosed with the vaccine, dubbed Covax-19, this month. While definitive study results are yet to be published, Professor Petrovsky said safety data from the phase 1 trial of the vaccine had been provided to the study’s ethics committee, which had approved further testing in more volunteers, including the elderly, children and cancer patients.
Read the full story here.
Jared Lynch 4.45am: Victims ‘left dead in beds for hours’ at home
Coronavirus victims were left dead in their beds for several hours at a nursing home in Melbourne’s north this week, with the revelation coming as the health crisis in Victoria threatened to spiral out of control after a large spike in the number of COVID-19 related deaths and infections across the state.
Senior doctors told The Australian that a number of deceased patients were left in their beds for about six hours at Epping Gardens nursing home. The claim was confirmed by another senior health source who has been providing assistance at the facility in recent weeks.
“We are risking becoming bed-blocked and the system will not be able to re-open for acute business unless a solution is presented to resettle and provide quality care to the residents,” one doctor said.
The Australian Defence Force has been called into Epping Gardens, which has been linked to 90 COVID-19 infections and six deaths, after the number of staff caring for residents plummeted to a ratio of one to 13, underlining the pressure the aged-care sector is facing to care for elderly residents during the pandemic.
Read the full story, by Jared Lynch, Stephen Lunn and Remy Varga, here.
Additional reporting: Adeshola Ore
Ex-CFMEU official ‘should face prosecution’ over transfer of $3m
Corruption buster’s explosive report recommends legal action against four former CFMEU officials.
At-fault judges ‘cannot be sued’
The High Court has overturned a landmark case that had allowed a judge to be personally sued.