Coronavirus Australia live news: Trump calls Morrison about Australia’s attendance at G7
Donald Trump has taken time out from dealing with the US riots to ring Scott Morrison about attending this year’s G7 meeting.
- Gyms, community sport gets green light in NSW
- Authorities ‘deeply sorry’ for miner’s false positive
- Sex still off the menu in UK
- Miner ‘didn’t have coronavirus’
- Push to scrap penalty rates
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis.
Donald Trump has taken time out from dealing with the US riots to ring Scott Morrison about attending this year’s G7 meeting, scheduled for September. The family of Nathan Turner, who the Queensland government wrongly assumed had died from COVID-19, has received an apology amid an uproar over the handling of the case.
AFP 8.15pm Former world leaders urge G20 to hold virus summit
A group of current and former world leaders has called on the G20 to convene an urgent summit to tackle the coronavirus pandemic and provide a “strongly co-ordinated global response”.
The collective of more than 230 former world leaders, and top global health experts and economists said the G20 must unite around a multi-trillion dollar plan to face what they said was an “unprecedented global crisis”.
Noting poorer countries are most at risk, they demanded the developed world release 76 nations from debt payments, double the World Bank’s emergency aid fund and honour billions of dollars committed to COVID-19 vaccine efforts.
“The time is right for G20 leaders to hold a second meeting to... agree to a more strongly coordinated global response to the health, economic and social emergencies we face,” they said in an open letter to world leaders released on Tuesday.
The G20, an international forum bringing together the world’s largest economies, held an emergency video-conference summit in late March but is not due to gather again until November.
“The consequences of not acting now would be felt for the rest of the decade,” added the signatories, including former British prime minsters Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, Helen Clark, of New Zealand, and former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon.
“Without action from the G20, the recession caused by the pandemic will only deepen, hurting all economies and the world’s most marginalised and poorest peoples and nations the most.” The group noted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had estimated developing countries would need £2 trillion ($3.6 trillion) to overcome the crisis.
READ MORE: Jacinda Ardern blasts Black Lives Matter protesters over virus risk
Peta Bee 7.10pm Boom in cycling as the post-lockdown commute
Everyone seems to have taken to two wheels in recent weeks, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has predicted we are entering “a new golden age for cycling”. Here’s how to get the most from your post-lockdown commute.
Read the full story here
The Economist 6.30pm Religious rows return as lockdowns ease
From Deagu in South Korea to Qom in Iran, Mulhouse in France and Sacramento in California, places of collective worship have often been accelerators of coronavirus contagion. Months later, with lockdowns starting to ease in the rich world, some religious groups have been loudly demanding a return to normality, and complaining that their needs have been forgotten.
Read the full story here
Agencies 5.45pm Virus deaths reach 375,000 as Latin America struggles
The global death toll from the coronavirus topped 375,000 on Tuesday as the disease continued to tear through Latin America.
Healthcare systems across Latin America risk being overwhelmed by the illness, the World Health Organisation said, as fatalities from the disease in hard-hit Brazil neared 30,000.
The pandemic has now infected at least 6.2 million since erupting in China late last year.
Four of the 10 countries across the globe with the greatest number of new coronavirus infections are in Latin America, WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan said.
Brazil, Peru, Chile and Mexico are suffering the highest daily increases, but numbers are also on the rise in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Haiti.
The region has logged one million cases and recorded more than 50,000 deaths, with Brazil accounting for more than half of those cases and close to 60 per cent of the fatalities.
READ MORE: How to avoid the speedbumps of cycling
Ashleigh Wilson 5.00pm: Donors throw Carriageworks a lifeline
A philanthropic lifeline of $1.65m will be used to revive operations at Carriageworks under a deal brokered by administrators over the future of the ailing Sydney arts venue.
In their administrators’ report, sent to creditors on Monday, KPMG’s Phil Quinlan and Morgan Kelly have detailed the financial problems at Carriageworks that stunned the nation’s arts community last month.
While coronavirus restrictions led to an immediate collapse in revenue, the administrators also identified three underperforming creative projects from last year that had already eroded the bottom line.
READ MORE: Full Carriageworks story here
Matthew Denholm 4.50pm: Tassie pushes for travel bubbles with safe states
Tasmania is further advancing potential interstate travel “bubbles” with other states that have coronavirus under control, including high-level talks this week with South Australia.
The Australian first revealed the move towards specific border deals with like-situated jurisdictions on May 16, with Premier Peter Gutwein nominating Adelaide and Perth for potential direct flights to Tasmania, bypassing Sydney and Melbourne.
On Tuesday, Mr Gutwein, announcing a relaxation of coronavirus restrictions, revealed he had since held discussions with SA Premier Steven Marshall, including as recently as Monday night.
“(Discussions with Mr Marshall were) about looking at the option of a direct link into Adelaide,” he said. “And there is certainly interest around the country in ensuring when it’s safe to do so, borders can come down, and we can start to travel again.”
The ACT has also suggested a travel bubble with Tasmania. Mr Gutwein conceded there “wasn’t a clear answer” to the question of how to stop New South Wales residents using Canberra as a “backdoor” to his state.
READ MORE: Read the full Tasmania story here
John Durie 4.17pm: Bolter Cyrus makes Virgin final round
Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital have been appointed as the the two final candidates for Virgin short-listed to bid for Virgin Australia.
The Australian understands BGH Capital, which is led by Ben Gray and Robin Bishop and partly backed by Singapore’s Temasek, was told shortly after 3.30pm that its bid had been unsuccessful. Arizona based cut-price airline investor Indigo’s bid is also understod to ahve missed out.
READ MORE: Full Virgin story here
Agencies 4.05pm: Hong Kong cluster fears over new cases
A cluster of nine coronavirus cases has raised concerns in Hong Kong over renewed local transmission in a city that has been one of the most successful in keeping the pandemic under control, Reuters reports.
The first two cases in the cluster - a husband and wife - were confirmed on Sunday.
Since then four neighbours, two of the wife’s work colleagues, and a fire department medical officer who had sent the woman to hospital have been confirmed to have been infected. None had been abroad recently.
“We are very concerned about this cluster of nine,” Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam told her weekly news conference on Tuesday, before an executive council meeting. The infected woman is a night-shift worker at a Kerry Logistics warehouse, where she labels food items imported from Britain, local media reported. The government was expected to extend a ban on group gatherings larger than eight later on Tuesday. It was due to expire at the end of Thursday, and has been extended several times for two-week periods.
The limits on the size of gatherings prompted police to reject for the first time an application of the annual vigil tens of thousands of Hong Kong people traditionally hold in a downtown park to commemorate pro-democracy protesters killed in and around Beijing’s Tiananmen Square 31 years ago.
READ MORE: Cater: Ruthless pursuit of power will subsume Hong Kong
Richard Ferguson 3.30pm: JobSeeker benefits double in three months
The number of Australians on JobSeeker unemployment benefits have nearly doubled in the past three months, social services bureaucrats have revealed.
More than 1.64m Australians are now on the dole — an increase of 300,000 in the past month and up 825,000 since February.
Social Services deputy secretary Shane Bennett told the Senate’s COVID-19 committee that Treasury has assumed 1.7m Australians would be on JobSeeker by September.
“If you were to look at the difference ... you will see that the growth has stabilized and in some payments it has fallen away,” he said.
“The growth is consistent with the other commentary of what’s happening out there in the economy.”
READ MORE: Sloan: Can we handle the baggage?
Ben Packham 3.06pm: Trump calls Morrison about G7 summit
Donald Trump has taken time out from dealing with the US riots to ring Scott Morrison about attending this year’s G7 meeting, scheduled for September.
The Prime Minister told Mr Trump he would be pleased to attend this year’s summit, which follows Australia’s participation in last year’s G7 meeting at the invitation of France.
Mr Trump has also flagged Australia’s ongoing participation in an expanded G7 with Russia, South Korea and India.
The Prime Minister’s office said Mr Morrison told Mr Trump that Australia’s participation in the summit for the second year in a row would “give Australia another significant opportunity to promote our interests during highly uncertain times in the global economy”.
“It’s important for Australians that we are there,” Mr Morrison’s spokesman said.
The leaders discussed the “distressing” situation in the US, and “efforts to ensure it would be resolved peacefully”.
READ MORE: Morrison awaits call up to G7
David Rodgers 2.38pm: Reserve Bank keeps cash rates steady
The Reserve Bank has left its cash rate and other policy tools unchanged after its June board meeting.
RBA Governor Phillip Lowe said the Board decided to maintain current policy settings, including the targets for the cash rate and the yield on 3-year Australian Government bonds of 25 basis points.
READ MORE: RBA keeps cash rates steady
Agencies 2.23pm: Ardern slams NZ protesters over virus risk
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has scolded thousands of New Zealanders for breaking coronavirus restrictions at Black Lives Matter protests, AAP reports. New Zealand has just one active case of COVID-19, a 50-something Aucklander currently in isolation, and will achieve elimination of the disease this week without the discovery of another positive test.
On Tuesday, health officials reported their 11th straight day without a new case of the deadly virus.
Ms Ardern’s coronavirus response has insisted on strict social distancing and caps on gatherings.
Both of those rules were flouted at rallies in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch on Monday.
Ms Ardern said that was unfair to Kiwis who had abided by the rules, including those who had postponed weddings or funerals.
“They had breached the rules. It was not right,” Ms Ardern said. “Many New Zealanders have sacrificed an enormous amount and we continue to expect that of our team for everyone.
“I need to keep asking the team of five million to stay together so that we can reach the finish line.” New Zealand’s protests included powerful hakas and were conducted peacefully. Ms Ardern, who gained an international profile for her response to the Christchurch mosque shootings last year, agreed with the anti-racism message but not the method.
“I absolutely understand the sentiment behind them, what they are standing for and what they are standing against,” she said.
“All I ask is that while we’re in a pandemic in New Zealand and while we try to keep one another safe, that we find other ways at this point in time to express that solidarity.” Less than four months before an election, lessening societal restrictions is now at the heart of New Zealand’s public debate.
An Oxford University study shows New Zealand’s regulations are among the lightest of anywhere in the developed world, behind only Japan and Taiwan. Still, both Ms Ardern’s coalition partner NZ First - led by populist firebrand Winston Peters - and the opposition National Party have called for an end to restrictions, arguing they restrain business.
Ms Ardern has signalled a review on June 8, with a potential easing to baseline restrictions next week.
READ MORE: Trump vows to dominate US streets
Max Maddison 2.14pm: S Korea tests solution for nightclubs
South Korea has begun testing on a quick response (QR) code system at nightclubs, restaurants and churches after the initial scheme of manual data collection proved too difficult.
After several clusters appeared across the country, including a number of late night venues, health authorities have struggled to trace attendees due to handwritten visitor logs which were often false or incomplete.
QR systems are unique barcodes which can be scanned by people on their phones once they’ve entered a venue.
Starting from June 10, visitors to a range of venues - includings karaoke bars, indoor gyms and indoor standing concert halls - will be required to use a one off, personalised code which will be scanned at the door.
Personal information will be stored in a database for four weeks by the Social Security Information Service before it is automatically deleted, according to the country’s Ministry of Health and Welfare.
READ MORE: Bain firms as Virgin favourite
Max Maddison 1.29pm: Fauci ‘hasn’t spoken to Trump for two weeks’
Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top public health expert, hasn’t met or spoken with US President Donald Trump in over two weeks.
In a tweet, Jim Sciutto, the Chief National Security Correspondent for CNN, said Mr Fauci told him that his last interaction with Mr Trump had been on May 18.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of NIAID & member of Coronavirus Task Force, tells me he has not spoken or met with President in 2 weeks & his contact w/Trump has become much less frequent. Their last interaction was May 18, during teleconference with the nation’s governors.
— Jim Sciutto (@jimsciutto) June 1, 2020
This follows an interview with Mr Fauci on science and medicine news website StatNews on June 1. When asked whether he and Mr Trump spoke often, Mr Fauci said their interactions had occurred less frequently over the past month.
“No … So I was meeting with him four times a week back, a month or so ago,” Mr Fauci said.
“But as you probably noticed, the task force meetings have not occurred as often lately. And certainly my meetings with the president have been dramatically decreased.”
READ MORE: Trump vows to dominate streets with force
Agencies 1.24pm: Singapore ends two-month virus lockdown
Singapore has begun allowing activities that “do not pose high risk of transmission” to resume after two months of lockdown, despite reporting the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in East Asia.
Some offices and factories resumed operations on Tuesday, children went back to school, and places of worship opened their doors. But restaurants cannot yet cater to dine-in customers and recreation facilities such as gyms and cinemas remain closed for now.
Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said on Monday that the relaxation will likely prove “a big relief to all” but one that is “certainly not without its risks”.
The tiny but wealthy city-state, an investment and trade hub whose seaport and airport rank among the world’s busiest, has diagnosed 35,292 cases of the new coronavirus, more than any country in East or Southeast Asia except for China. Most of the cases are among foreign migrants confined to dormitories, though the related death toll, at 24, is one of the world’s lowest.
AAP
READ MORE: Singapore’s blind spot on coronavirus exposed
Ben Packham 1.02pm: Five Eyes plan to develop critical technology
Five Eyes foreign ministers have discussed new plans to develop critical technologies and trusted supply chains for key products, amid rising tensions between the West and China.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne participated in the talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, UK Foreign Secretary Domonic Raab, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters, and Canadian Foreign Minister François-Philippe Champagne on Tuesday morning.
Senator Payne said the online meeting on “global challenges” included discussions on “critical tech and supply chains”, and Hong Kong autonomy.
The coronavirus and “safeguarding against future crises” were also discussed.
Minister Champagne’s office said: “The ministers agreed that a shared priority would be to ensure the stability of supply chains, as well as the procurement of personal protective equipment and medical supplies.”
The coronavirus crisis has made the hardening of key supply chains an urgent priority for nations across the world.
There is also growing momentum in democratic countries against Chinese technology companies including Huawei and ZTE participating in 5G networks.
The UK is pitching a new “D10” grouping that would include G7 nations plus Australia, South Korea and India, which would co-operate on developing new digital technology to compete with Chinese 5G products.
READ MORE: Scales have fallen from Five Eyes partners over China
Brendan Cormick 12.54pm: V’landys wants crowds back at races
Racing NSW chief executive Peter V’landys wants crowds back at the races — beginning with owners — as early as next week and he is holding talks with the state government in a bid to make it happen.
V’landys said on Tuesday morning it would come down to risk analysis and he believes the risk surrounding COVID-19 is now extremely low.
“We’re meeting with government about crowds returning on July 1 but we’re looking at bringing back owners as early as next week. We believe the facts and figures will justify our position,” V’landys said on Melbourne radio station RSN.
READ MORE: V’landys wants crowds back at races
Max Maddison 12.18pm: Community sport, gyms given green light in NSW
If you’re in NSW it’s time to dust off the footy boots and the barre outfits, after Deputy Premier John Barilaro announced that community sport will recommence on July 1, while gyms will reopen on June 13.
Although community sports will initially be only for junior sports 18 years and under, Mr Barilaro said this was important to get “some level of normality as we enter winter”.
However, to the pleasure of many gym owners, venues will be allowed up to 100 people.
“As of June 13, we are going to allow gymnasiums, fitness centres and studios like dance studios to be open, giving a couple of weeks’ notice, so that’s exciting for those businesses,” Mr Barilaro said.
“That will be capped at 10 people per class, maximum of 100 per venue. That will give them the ability to make sure they get some level of scale.
“This does, in one way, nearly capture every area that we haven’t looked at previously, giving the economy an opportunity to rebound, an opportunity for people to start their businesses again, and as they say, you build summer bodies in winter, and that’s what we’re doing today.”
READ MORE: The weight is over: gyms to open as limit lifted
Eli Greenblat 12.10pm: Woolies thanks staff with shares, credit
Woolworths will reward more than 100,000 of its staff, around half its total workforce, with a mix of shares and credit to spend at its stores as a “thank you” payment for their work this year, including during the coronavirus pandemic.
The bonus comes after staff faced angry shoppers and panic buying as the health crisis broke, and was flagged by chief executive Brad Banducci when the supermarket giant handed down its third quarter result. It also comes after Woolworths last year admitted underpaying 5700 workers.
READ MORE: Woolies rewards staff in ‘extraordinary’ year
Eli Greenblat 12.06pm: Takeaway, toys help set online sales record
The massive shift by consumers to shopping online during the coronavirus pandemic has seen the biggest ever monthly gain on the NAB Online Retail Sales Index since the internet shopping barometer began almost a decade ago, with takeaway food, games and toys leading the surge.
The index showed a 16.2 per cent gain on a month-on-month basis for April, the biggest jump in online sales growth over a month since the index began in 2012.
In year-on-year terms, the growth in the accelerated by 58.5 per cent compared to April 2019, which also set a record.
READ MORE: Coronavirus brings record jump in NAB online sales index for April
Max Maddison 12pm: Cluster grows at Melbourne quarantine hotel
Updates figures from Victoria Health has seen an additional 10 positive coronavirus cases in the previous 24 hours.
Four of those cases are linked to the outbreak at the quarantine hotel Rydges on Swanston in Melbourne – bringing the total number from this outbreak to 12. The remaining cases are all close contacts of existing cases.
As a result of the outbreak, health authorities have relocated travellers into another hotel to ensure they can be looked after, as most staff and contractors working at the hotel have been required to self-isolate
Nine people remain in hospital, with two in intensive care units.
The total number of cases in Victoria sits at 1663: 1382 in metropolitan Melbourne; 234 in regional Victoria; while several cases remain unclear.
READ MORE: Beer’s back, and with it hope for jobs
Max Maddison 11.50am: New NSW cases all returned travellers
New South Wales Health has revealed six new cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed, with all six travellers returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
In a statement, NSW Health said while there were still 72 active cases of coronavirus, only one patient remained in an intensive care unit and didn’t require a ventilator.
However, despite the lack of community transmission, the department reiterated that the virus “is likely circulating among people in the community with mild symptoms”.
A breakdown of the 3104 confirmed cases to date shows the majority of cases have originated overseas (1799), while 865 cases have been locally acquired from contact with a confirmed case and/or known cluster.
READ MORE: ‘We have workers to plug the skill gap’
Tessa Akerman 11.44am: Man to face Victoria’s first judge-only trial during pandemic
An alleged armed robber will be the first person in Victoria to face trial by judge alone after the County Court ruled parliament intended trials to continue during the COVID-19 crisis despite the suspension of jury trials.
Koori man Lionel Combo, 21, is charged with attempted armed robbery and armed robbery over an alleged incident with a co-offender at a 7-11 in February last year.
He admits the attempted robbery but contests the armed robbery. The trial was originally listed for trial 25 May with the two alleged offenders and the police officer in charge of the case expected to the be only witnesses called,
Both defence and prosecution requested the trial be heard without a jury.
Mr Combo is currently serving a sentence for a prior offence with a 20-month non-parole period which will expire by March.
Chief Judge Peter Kidd said the man’s rescheduled trial was unlikely to be heard until March or April and if he was sentenced before being released on parole, the man would get the benefit of concurrency in sentencing.
READ MORE: Builders’ blitz on penalties and casual shifts
Max Maddison 11.38am: $66m shot in the arm to race for vaccine
Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced $66 million investment in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine and treatment.
Speaking at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Mr Hunt said Australia was at the forefront of research that was vital to containment and flattening the curve.
“This funding is about saving lives and protecting lives and it’s part of our dual process of containment and flattening the curve and increasing the ability of our health system to respond, in particular in relation to the containment,” Mr Hunt said.
In addition, Mr Hunt said that while border controls remained vital, Australians should be confident that the current systems were working as planned.
“And of those 8 cases in the last 24 hours, 5 came through the hotel quarantine system. In other words, what that shows is that our border controls remain absolutely vital to protecting Australia,” he said.
“Our transmission rates within the community are minimal. We see some occasional cases in other states, but very, very few. Victoria is the only state that has had any and each of the states and territories are responding in their way and in their time according to the national baselines.”
READ MORE: Ex-Digger raises his hand for vaccine jab
Matthew Denholm 11.20am: Eased restrictions brought forward in Tasmania
Tasmania has brought forward a second stage of COVID-19 restriction easing, allowing people to visit their shacks and go camping and drinking in pubs over the long weekend.
Premier Peter Gutwein on Tuesday said restrictions due to be eased on June 15 would instead be softened from 3pm Friday, allowing Tasmanians to more fully enjoy the Queen’s Birthday break.
As from 3pm Friday, as well as allowing overnight camping and shack visits, pubs, clubs and eateries will be able to have up to 40 patrons.
Pubs will be able to serve alcohol without food, while gyms and boot camps will be able to cater for up to 20 people. Outdoor community sport will resume.
“I think this is a fantastic outcome and a great opportunity,” Mr Gutwein said, following confirmation the state had enjoyed 17 days without a new coronavirus case.
Stage 3 easing would also be brought forward, with a date to be set later.
READ MORE: Premier won’t be pushed to reopen border
Max Maddison 11am: Premier plays down false positive test result
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has played down concerns surrounding Nathan Turner’s false positive result.
Speaking in Townsville, Ms Palaszczuk added to the earlier apology from state Health Minister Steven Miles.
“Of course we are very sorry for the distress that the family is going through at the moment and has experienced, and to the people of Blackwater, thank you very much for co-operating and we have to take the advice of health at the time and that rapid response was deployed,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
However, she cited false positive results in other states, and said because coronavirus was still a “whole new virus”, the government had to act in the circumstances.
“We have to take the health advice at the time and if we don’t act, and it ends up being worse then we would be negligent for not acting, so I really thank the community for their understanding, and once again express my sympathies to the family for the loss of their loved one.”
READ MORE: No second wave on state horizon
Olivia Caisley 10.34am: Tourism industry’s 24hrs to ‘turn back on’
Australia’s largest regional accommodation provider has hit out at Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk for failing to consult on her surprise plan to reopen intrastate travel, saying the sector was given 24 hours notice to “turn back on”.
G’DAY Group chief executive Grant Wilckens, whose company manages Discovery Holiday Parks, endorsed the resumption of intrastate travel in the sunshine state but said it was disappointing the already struggling sector did not receive more warning before Sunday’s announcement.
“We were given just 24 hours to turn back on and we need to get staff back, safety signage in place, all that kind of thing – there’s a lot of work to be done and businesses that could have been ready just weren’t,” Mr Wilckens said.
READ MORE: Tourism sector given 24hrs to ‘turn back on’
Max Maddison 10.06am: Distancing cuts risk by 82pc: study
One metre of social distancing between people reduced the risk of COVID-19 transmission by 82 per cent, with each additional metre doubling the relative protection, says a University of New South Wales biosecurity expert.
In a piece featured in prestigious medical journal The Lancet, Professor Raina MacIntyre addresses the safety implications of social distancing and face masks.
The research discussed by Professor MacIntyre showed in both health care and community settings, one metre of physical distance between people a reduction in risk of 82 per cent, with every additional metre of separation doubling the relative protection.
“The research in The Lancet shows that risk can be further reduced by the use of face masks,” said Professor MacIntyre.
“Chu and colleagues reported that masks and respirators reduced the risk of infection by 85 per cent.”
READ MORE: Weaker corona theory rejected
Max Maddison 9.43am: Queensland needs ‘big, bold projects’: Frecklington
Queensland needs ambition again, says state opposition leader Deb Frecklington, but won’t be drawn on whether she would have opened the state’s borders.
Speaking on 4BC this morning, Ms Frecklington said while she didn’t have access to the same medical information as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, she criticised the government’s shifting position on when the state’s borders would open to interstate tourists.
“Businesses require certainty and confidence to keep going,” Ms Frecklington told host Neil Breen.
“The Queensland tourism industry relies so heavily on southern tourists for our tourism dollar.”
In addition, Ms Frecklington said Queensland required some “big, bold projects”.
“A rail project isn’t enough to kick start Queensland. That’s why I’ve talked about the need for a second M1, to build the new Bradfield scheme.”
READ MORE: See you in court, Palaszczuk told
Max Maddison 9.20am: Nine new cases recorded in Victoria
Victoria has reported nine new reported cases of COVID-19, with two people in the intensive care unit, says Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos.
Speaking at a press conference this morning, Ms Mikakos said Victoria currently had 79 active cases. In addition, there had been another case of community transmission since yesterday, bringing the total number to 169.
Ms Mikakos also said Victoria will be increasing the nurse and midwife to patient ratio, with a new bill put to parliament expected to deliver an additional 500 nursing and midwife positions.
READ MORE: China-linked staffer’s corona conspiracy
Craig Johnstone 9.10am: Authorities ‘deeply sorry’ for miner’s false positive
Health Minister Steven Miles has apologised to the family of Nathan Turner, the Blackwater miner who the Queensland government wrongly assumed had died from COVID-19.
“To them I am deeply sorry,” he said.
The state coroner confirmed last night that Mr Turner did not in fact have the virus, sparking a political uproar over the Palaszczuk government’s handling of the case.
The government has been using Mr Turner’s death as a reason for refusing to lift border restrictions despite the harm being done to the Queensland economy, particularly the tourism industry.
Mr Miles insisted the government’s ability to control the spread of the virus depended on responding rapidly to any positive tests.
“We have to treat have to treat every positive test as if it is a positive case,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mr Miles said Queensland health authorities had detected one new case of COVID-19, with five cases remaining active across the state,
The new case involved another traveller returning from overseas, a 41-year-old woman who recently travelled through Africa.
READ MORE: ‘Youngest victim’ did not have virus
Max Maddison 8.20am: Nurses to protest pay freeze at NSW parliament
Nurses are set to rally together and protest the New South Wales government’s proposed pay freeze, joining paramedics in the fight.
Along with demonstrations outside the offices of 15 MPs across the state, members of the NSW Nurses and Midwives’ Association will protest outside state parliament later today.
In response to a nurse who called into 2GB, NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said he would be happy to meet protesters outside parliament.
On Monday, NSW paramedics began a ban on collecting patient billing information and have launched industrial action over the decision to freeze wages.
READ MORE: Berejiklian freezes pay of 400,000 NSW public servants
Max Maddison 7.48am: RBA should consider negative rates: Westpac
The Reserve Bank of Australia should drop interest rates into negative territory to encourage local businesses to invest, says Westpac chief economist Bill Evans.
In addition to pumping business savings into investment, Mr Evans said negative interest rates would push down the Australian dollar, making our exports more competitive in global markets.
While RBA governor Phillip Lowe has reiterated that negative rates are “highly unlikely”, several central banks across the world have already moved into uncharted territory in a bid to fuel economic growth.
“A serious case can be made for the RBA to consider further cuts and entering negative territory for the cash rate if it becomes apparent that the economy is deteriorating even more than is currently expected,” Mr Evans told The Sydney Morning Herald.
READ MORE: Trading Day: Markets rise on factory recovery signs
Max Maddison 7.32am: ‘Unions doing their job, but no union for unemployed’
New South Wales Treasurer Dominic Perrottet has defended his decision to implement a public sector pay freeze, saying while the union is doing its job, there’s no union for the thousands of people out of work.
The announcement that a public sector pay rise would be frozen for 12 months has come under fire, but Mr Perrottet said on 2GB this morning that with many people out of work and more likely to follow once JobKeeper payments ended in September, his concern was protecting jobs.
“The unions are doing their jobs. But our job as government is to represent 8 million people across our state,” Mr Perrottet.
“I’ve never seen lines outside Centrelink before and I never want to see them again.”
The 2.5 per cent pay rise freeze is set to save the NSW government $3bn, and the government has assured public sector employees there will be no job losses.
READ MORE: Ex-minister eyes corona comeback
Max Maddison 7.15am: Spain records no new deaths for first time since March
For the first time since March, Spain has gone 24 hours without a death from COVID-19.
The Iberian country has been ravaged by the virus, with 240,000 confirmed cases and 27,127 deaths. On March 3, Spain recorded its first two deaths.
Speaking to a news conference, emergency health response chief Fernando Simon said the development is “very, very encouraging”.
He also said there had only been 71 new infections over the past 24 hours.
READ MORE: Japan set to open for Aussie visitors
Max Maddison 6.52am: Credlin questions viability of building stimulus
Peta Credlin has questioned whether the federal government’s $4bn cash for renovations stimulus is a viable solution.
“It sounds great, the taxpayer is going to fix your patio … clean your garden. But it’s $4bn of government money,” Credlin said on 2GB.
Speaking to Ben Fordham, Tony Abbott’s former chief of staff said clearing current debt levels would take 35 years in net debt terms, meaning most children would live with a debt burden until their adult lives.
She also said she hoped politicians didn’t “dumb down” the policy and explained the plan, including all its complexities, to voters.
READ MORE: Renovation rescue for tradies’ jobs
Agencies 6.37am: Sweden to launch inquiry into virus handling
Sweden will launch an inquiry into the country’s handling of the pandemic before the northern summer, Prime Minister Stefan Lofven has said in a newspaper interview amid growing criticism over nursing home deaths and the lack of testing.
Lofven had previously said a commission would be appointed once the crisis was over but was under pressure to act sooner.
“We need to take an overall approach to see how it has worked at national, regional and local levels,” Lofven told Swedish daily Aftonbladet in an interview.
“We will make a decision for a commission before the summer,” he said.
Sweden has taken a more liberal approach to combating the virus than its neighbours and has left most schools, restaurants and businesses open, relying on voluntary measures focused on good hygiene and social distancing to stem the outbreak.
More than 4000 people in Sweden, roughly half of them nursing home residents, have died in the pandemic, a per capita rate many times higher than in other Nordic countries, all of which imposed tighter restrictions. While the mortality rate over the course of the outbreak has been lower than in some countries that opted for hard lockdowns, such as Italy and the UK, Sweden had the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in Europe relative to the size of the population through parts of May.
Testing for the disease has also run well below the level in other Nordic countries, reaching only a third of the government’s target of 100,000 tests per week, sparking criticism from opposition parties.
Sweden reported eight more deaths due to the coronavirus on Monday. The Public Health Agency said it had recorded 4403 coronavirus-related deaths and about 37,800 infections.
Reuters
READ MORE: Sweden takes the big coronavirus risk for none of the economic gain
Agencies 6.01am: Fresh Ebola outbreak in Congo
DR Congo reported a fresh Ebola outbreak in its northwest on Monday, the latest health emergency for a country already fighting an epidemic of the deadly fever in the east as well as a surging number of coronavirus infections.
The 11th Ebola outbreak in the vast central African country’s history comes just weeks before it had hoped to declare the end of the 10th in the east.
Health Minister Eteni Longondo said that “four people have already died” from Ebola in a district of the northwestern city of Mbandaka.
“The National Institute of Biomedical Research (INRB) has confirmed to me that samples from Mbandaka tested positive for Ebola,” Longondo told a press conference on Monday.
“We will send them the vaccine and medicine very quickly,” he said, adding that he planned to visit the site of the outbreak at the end of the week.
AFP
READ MORE: Ebola drug leads treatment race
Agencies 5.30am: Virus cases in French hospitals dip as nation reopens
The French health ministry says people should continue taking protective measures against the coronavirus even as cases in hospitals and intensive care continue to fall.
As France readies for a second phase of easing restrictions from Tuesday, with parks, bars, restaurants and beaches expected to reopen, the ministry said “good news should not make us forget the danger of the virus”.
The ministry said in a daily update that 31 coronavirus deaths were recorded in hospitals in the past 24 hours, taking the total to 18,506 since March 1. It said fatalities from nursing homes would be updated on Tuesday. The ministry said there were still 14,288 cases in hospital on Monday, a slight drop from 14,322 on Sunday, compared with 16,798 a week ago. The number of cases in intensive care stood at 1302, with nine new cases since Monday, compared with 1609 a week ago.
Since the start of the outbreak, 101,739 people have been hospitalised in France with COVID-19, the ministry said.
Reuters
READ MORE: France anger as Sanofi says US to get virus vaccine first
Jacquelin Magnay 5.15am: ‘End of lockdown’, but sex off the menu
Boris Johnson has encouraged barbecues in backyards for up to six people if they socially distance, but having sex is now an offence if it involves people from different households, the latest British regulations dealing with coronavirus state.
In the first easing of coronavirus measures in three weeks, people can now see up to five others (up from one) as long as it’s outside.
Barbecue visitors are advised to bring their own chair and cutlery for any backyard soiree and they can only enter the house to use the toilet. Visitors are banned from helping to clear plates or washing up.
From today, in England, you will be allowed to meet up to five friends in public outdoor places or in your garden. This will be a moment of joy and relief for many.
— Boris Johnson #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) June 1, 2020
Please remember to keep 2 metres away from those you don’t live with, and wash your hands regularly.
But having sex unless it’s with someone in your regular household is prohibited and people have been told they are not allowed to stay overnight at any property unless it is their usual residence.
“Close contact with people from other households means a much higher risk of transmission, and according to the scientific advice, we cannot safely allow people to see people they don’t live with indoors without the risk that the virus will spread,” the government regulations state.
“We recognise how difficult this is for people — particularly those who live alone and we are keeping this under constant review.”
#Coronavirus press conference slides (1 June 2020)
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) June 1, 2020
🔵 Testing and new cases (UK)
🔵 Data from hospitals
🔵 People in hospital with COVID-19 (UK)
🔵 Daily COVID-19 deaths confirmed with a positive test (UK)
Datasets and statistical notes:https://t.co/T8Jgr6h7MD pic.twitter.com/eAViplXoJ9
Downing Street downplayed the new police powers, saying: “The police do not have the power to enter people’s homes under the regulations. They cannot enter your home unless they expect serious criminal activity is taking place there.”
The new rules, which came into place on Monday, have been interpreted by many as the “end of lockdown” which coincides with 70 days since Mr Johnson ordered “you must stay at home”.
The latest regulations also ban the use of paddling pools, outdoor pools, outdoor gym equipment and playgrounds. But elderly people will be allowed to go outside for the first time in 10 weeks.
Over the past few days, bolstered by unseasonably warm and dry weather, many people have been flocking to beauty spots and the coast, pre-empting their first taste of freedom for months.
READ MORE: Beer’s back, and with it hope for jobs
Michael McKenna 5am: Queensland miner ‘did not have coronavirus’
The Queensland miner who was deemed to be Australia’s youngest COVID-19 fatality did not have the virus, the coroner has concluded.
The state’s Chief Medical Officer, Jeannette Young, who said last week she believed Nathan Turner had COVID-19 despite one of two tests being negative, said the coroner had found he did not have the virus.
“On May 27, a post-mortem test on a man from Blackwater returned positive for COVID-19 and his partner confirmed he had been unwell with flu-like symptoms for a number of weeks … The coroner tonight advised that further tests have returned negative for COVID-19. He is yet to determine the man’s cause of death,” Dr Young said.
Read the full story here.
Ewin Hannan 4.45am: Construction industry push to scrap penalty rates
Construction employers are pushing to scrap Saturday penalty rates and cut casual shifts to as few as two hours, warning that up to one-third of businesses in the industry could shut down if conditions do not improve in the next year.
The bid to apply changes to “restrictive” industry awards for the rest of 2020, however, is being resisted by powerful construction unions, who have accused businesses of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to attack workers.
The standoff between builders and unions comes as the Morrison government prepares to seek consensus for industrial relations changes and industry groups demand a minimum-wage freeze for the nation’s low-paid workers be imposed for 12 months.
As The Australian revealed on Monday, the government is also attempting to stave off a collapse in the construction industry, contemplating a major stimulus package that could include direct cash grants for home renovations.
Read the full story, by Ewin Hannan and Patrick Commins, here.
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Corrupt former minister Nuttall dies at 71
Corrupt former Queensland Labor Minister Gordon Nuttall has died aged 71.
‘Baffling’: Victoria Police backflip on Israel advocate gag order
Israel advocate Zara Cooper has claimed a win over Victoria Police after they backflipped on a controversial intervention order made on behalf of left-wing Jewish critic Sarah Schwartz.
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