Coronavirus Australia live news: Experts call for second China probe; France could block vaccine supply
Global virus experts demand another investigation into the source of COVID-19, amid concern China had too much control over the last.
- Call for fresh Wuhan probe amid interference fears
- France could block vaccine to Australia
- Airline crew positive in Vic quarantine
- Italy explains Aussie vaccine block
- WHO report set to be published
- PM urges Andrews to accept travellers
- Ship ban sinks cruise hopes
International virus experts are demanding another investigation into the source of COVID-19, amid concerns China had too much control over the last. In an open letter, academics from across the globe, including the Australian National University, called for an “unrestricted international forensic investigation”.
Signatories said there were a range of issues with the first investigation, including investigators lacking skills to investigate whether the virus originated in a laboratory or research-related accident, a lack of mandates or access to data, and a heavy reliance on assurances from Chinese counterparts rather than independent investigation.
The WHO will publish the report of its investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic next week.
It came as France threatened to join Italy in bocking vaccine shipments to Australia, determined to have its contracts with drug makers honoured.
Meanwhile, the Victorian government confirmed the new cases recorded in hotel quarantine on Saturday is an airline crew member.
Locally made AstraZeneca vaccines will be rolled out in late March after Scott Morrison declared the program was on track.
Here is how Saturday unfolded:
Agencies 8.50pm: Paraguay protests erupt over handling of virus
Protestors angry over the Paraguay government’s handling of the coronavirus crisis clashed with police late Friday, with shops ransacked and cars set on fire.
Police fired tear gas and rubber bullets as clashes in the center of the capital Asuncion left around 20 injured, according to AFP estimates.
Protestors rallied earlier outside the Congress building to demand the resignation of President Mario Abdo Benitez.
Health Minister Julio Mazzoleni, who has been under attack from lawmakers, including some from the ruling party, and by health worker unions, submitted his resignation, which he made public on Friday after a meeting with the president.
On Thursday, the Senate adopted by 30 votes out of 45 a resolution calling for Mazzoleni to step down.
The coronavirus epidemic is expanding in Paraguay and officials admit the threat is grave.
“We are in a critical situation,” said health ministry spokesman Hernan Martinez.
“Let’s avoid crowds. It is the only thing that can save us from the collapse of healthcare.”
As of Friday, Paraguay had 165,811 cases and 3278 deaths.
Rebecca Le May 6.10pm: ACT records first variant cases
The ACT has recorded its first cases of the more contagious South African COVID-19 strain in two returned travellers who are in hotel quarantine.
Health authorities confirmed the active cases on Thursday, saying the men, one aged in his 40s and another aged under 20, had tested negative before travelling to Singapore so likely contracted the virus while in transit from overseas to the ACT.
On Saturday, they said genome sequencing showed both travellers had been infected with the South African variant but were well and had been moved to a separate area of the hotel for further care and support.
The pair are unrelated.
Meanwhile, the other 144 passengers who were on the federal government-facilitated Singapore Airlines repatriation flight and disembarked in Canberra are in mandatory hotel quarantine and all returned negative day one testing results.
Additional testing has been arranged to take place on Saturday.
A further 31 people who were on the flight flew on to Sydney, where they are also in hotel quarantine.
“ACT Health is continuing to liaise with NSW Health authorities and Singapore Airlines about the two cases to support other contact tracing efforts.”
NSW recorded three new active cases in returned overseas travellers on Saturday but no new locally acquired cases for the 48th consecutive day.
One of the 56 cases being treated for the virus in the state is in intensive care but does not require a ventilator.
ACT COVID-19 update (6 March 2021)
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) March 6, 2021
â—¾ï¸ Cases today: 0
â—¾ï¸ Active cases: 2
â—¾ï¸ Total cases: 120
â—¾ï¸ Recovered: 115
â—¾ï¸ Lives lost: 3
â—¾ï¸ Test results (past 24 hours): 703
â—¾ï¸ Negative tests: 175,243
â—¾ï¸ Total COVID-19 vaccinations: 1,949
â„¹ï¸ Information source https://t.co/YGW9pOHG3epic.twitter.com/rURXRetUmc
Jess Malcolm 5.20pm: Green badges, concerts: Israel reaps reward of mass vaccination
Israel is enjoying the benefits of its massive vaccination campaign, with hundreds of people packed into a stadium for the first of four concerts organised by the Tel Aviv council.
This is part of the country’s gradual easing of restrictions, including reopening shopping malls, gyms, swimming pools, hotels and some cultural facilities.
In most cases, the return to normality has mostly been reserved for people who have been fully vaccinated, under its “green badge” scheme.
Israel is among the world leaders in COVID-19 vaccinations per capita. More than half of the country’s nine million-strong population have already received the two recommended doses of the Pfizer vaccine.
“Since a majority of the population has already been vaccinated … we can finally open up our cultural and leisure activities,” said Eytan Shwartz, a spokesman for the Tel Aviv municipality.
“I hope that soon we will be able to fill up the (Bloomfield) stadium.”
Jess Malcolm 4.40pm: Call for new Wuhan probe amid fears of Chinese interference
Global experts are calling for another investigation into the origins of COVID-19, amid concerns of Chinese interference with the last one.
Academics from around the world have penned an open letter, demanding “unrestricted international forensic investigation”.
The letter aims to raise public awareness that half of the joint team convened by the WHO was made up of Chinese citizens. It holds concern that these members may have limited “scientific independence.”
Signatories said there were a range of issues with the first investigation, including investigators lacking skills to investigate whether the virus originated in a laboratory or research-related accident, a lack of mandates or access to data, and a heavy reliance on assurances from Chinese counterparts rather than independent investigation. “Because we believe the joint team process and efforts to date do not constitute a thorough, credible, and transparent investigation, we call on the international community to put in place a structure and process that does,” the letter read
“Finding the origins of SARS-CoV-2 is critically important to both better addressing the current pandemic and reducing the risks of future one.
“Unfortunately, well over a year after the initial outbreak, the origins of the pandemic remain unknown.”
The group is calling for a new team to be established, made up of experts from various fields, and who have uncontrolled access to all sites, including the wet markets in Wuhan.
READ the full story here.
Jess Malcolm 3.50pm: Disneyland to reopen one year after Covid forced closure
California is relaxing COVID-19 restrictions to allow Disneyland, theme parks and outdoor stadiums to reopen from April: more than a year after COVID forced its closure.
The move to welcome guests comes sooner than expected, following a sharp decline in infection rates and pressure from operators.
The state health department said ballparks, stadiums and mega-attractions including Disneyland, Universal Studios and Magic Mountain to reopen from April 1, at reduced capacities.
“California can begin gradually and safely bringing back more activities, especially those that occur outdoors and where consistent masking is possible,” state health secretary Mark Ghaly said in a statement.
Theme parks had originally bristled at restrictions they considered too strict, where they were originally set to be the last to reopen.
Orange County, where Disneyland is located, currently remains in the strictest purple tier, as does neighbouring Los Angeles county, where several other major tourist attractions are based.
Jess Malcolm 3.50pm: Logjam over as Biden’s COVID relief package passes
After a nine-hour logjam, the US Democrats have come to an agreement on the $1.9 trillion stimulus bill for President Joe Biden’s massive COVID-19 relief package.
Negotiations in the evenly divided Senate halted the chamber’s action until late on Friday night, with concern mounting that Democratic unity was fraying.
The impasse was over the amount of duration of supplemental unemployment insurance benefits for unemployed people during the pandemic.
Senator Joe Manchin was the biggest opponent, threatening to side with Republicans who offered a counter-proposal that they say would save $128 billion.
In the end he agreed on a compromise that reduced the jobless benefits back to $300 but extended the program to September 6.
The decision came against a backdrop of strong recent US economic data that showed the world’s largest economy may finally be healing.
Recent economic results included better-than-expected hiring in February, as businesses battered by the pandemic began recruiting employees again.
Payrolls jumped by 379,000 last month, which was almost double the expectations, as well as the unemployment rate down to 6.2 per cent.
READ MORE: Biden’s Trump-like fabrication on Covid
Jess Malcolm 3.30pm: Apes at US zoo given COVID-19 vaccines
Nine apes at San Diego Zoo have become the first non-human primates given COVID-19 vaccinations.
Four orangutans and five bonobos were given two doses each of an experimental vaccine created specifically for animals by a veterinary pharmaceutical company.
The jabs were carried out after eight gorillas in the same zoo contracted the virus from staff in January.
“After a troop of eight western lowland gorillas got sick in January, San Diego Zoo staff received experimental COVID-19 vaccines to give to great apes in their care,” tweeted Zoetis, the pharmaceutical company.
One of the orangutans vaccinated, named Karen, has already made medical history in 1994 as the first in the world to undergo open-heart surgery.
The gorillas were not vaccinated as it is assumed they have developed antibodies following their infection earlier in the year.
It was the first known case of natural transmission of the virus to great apes, and was suspected to have occurred because of contact with an asymptomatic staff member.
Jess Malcolm 2.40pm: WA records two new virus cases from overseas travellers
WA has recorded no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, following 501 tests.
It recorded two new cases from overseas travellers.
One is a returned traveller already in hotel quarantine. The second case is a historical case associated with an international flight crew member, who is no longer in Australia.
WA Health said it is monitoring three active cases in the state.
To date, 6616 West Australians have received the COVID-19 vaccine.
Jess Malcolm 2.30pm: France could block vaccine shipments to Australia
France is threatening to block COVID-19 vaccines to Australia, following Italy’s decision to hoard doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on Friday.
French health minister Olivier Véran said he “understood” the Italian government’s decision and indicated that France “could do the same”.
“Believe me, the more doses I have, the happier I am as a health minister,” Mr Véran said in an interview with French TV station BFMTV.
He added that France and the rest of the EU are determined to have their contacts with drug makers enforced.
The European Union defended Italy’s decision to stop a large shipment of vaccines destined for Australia, saying the decision was not targeting Australia but that it was done to ensure its member countries had enough doses as per its agreement with the drug company.
READ MORE:EU blocks vaccine shipment to Australia
Jess Malcolm 2.00pm: UK nurses ready to strike over ‘pitiful’ pay rise offer
Nurses in the UK are preparing to strike amid growing anger for the government’s proposed one per cent pay rise.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN) held an emergency meeting, where members voted to initiate a £35m ($AU63m) fund to support nurses facing a loss of earnings during the period.
The RCN called the wage rise “pitiful” arguing for 12.5 per cent instead.
The opposition party has called the NHS “heroes” saying they deserve more money, but the UK government has insisted a one per cent pay rise is “what’s affordable”.
Nurses in the UK currently earn the lowest minimum full-time salary, similar to what newly employed drivers, housekeeping assistants and domestic support workers earn.
Jess Malcolm 1.00pm: US spends $1bn on long term Covid
The United States has announced it will spend $1 billion to investigate the long term health effects of COVID-19.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) will fund researchers to study ‘long COVID’, tracking people’s recovery that can last for weeks or months.
The announcement comes as the scientific community starts to recognise the impact of the infection and understand why it occurs.
Fatigue, fever, shortness of breath, as well as neurological conditions such as anxiety, depression and lack of concentration are some of the cited long term symptoms of COVID-19.
In some cases, these symptoms appear weeks after the initial infection and linger for months.
Some of the main goals of the study are to better understand the disease, and also investigate what makes some people more vulnerable than others.
“We do not know yet the magnitude of the problem, but given the number of individuals of all ages who have been or will be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the public health impact could be profound,” NIH director Francis Collins said.
READ MORE:Covid curtain traps unskilled workers
Jess Malcolm12.50pm: Nurses working multiple hotels ‘concerning’
Victorian Transport Minister Ben Carroll has called reports of nurses working across multiple Melbourne COVID-19 quarantine hotels “concerning”.
A whistleblower has revealed nurses have been required to fill shifts across nine quarantine hotels last month due to staff shortages, according to Nine newspapers.
This would mean a breach of the state government rules, and the claim has been backed up by rosters and emails.
In a press conference this morning, Mr Carroll said it would be a matter for COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria, but confirmed that nurses working across multiple sites is “prohibited”.
“It is concerning,” Mr Carroll said. We know first-hand that one of the primary reasons we have hotel quarantine and the strictest guidelines in place is that people work at the one facility and not across.
“I’m very happy to know that it’s being followed up.”
READ MORE: COVID curtain traps unskilled workers
Jess Malcolm12.35pm:Airline crew positive in Vic quarantine
The Victorian government has confirmed the new case recorded in hotel quarantine on Saturday is an airline crew member.
Yesterday there were no local cases and 1 case in hotel quarantine reported. 14,814 test results were received. Thank you to those who got tested - #EveryTestHelps.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) March 5, 2021
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/De90SMenFv
The recorded case initially came as a surprise, considering Victorian government is not currently taking any overseas arrivals
The government said the case is normal, with airline crew members coming in for outbound flights and freight.
The person will now quarantine for 14 days.
READ MORE: Vaccine roll out behind schedule
Jess Malcolm12.30pm:Qld, SA record no new cases
Both Queensland and South Australia have recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19.
South Australian COVID-19 update 6/3/21. For more information, go to https://t.co/mYnZsGpayo or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/dA0NvCIxWE
— SA Health (@SAHealth) March 6, 2021
In South Australia, there were 2,394 tests conducted in the state yesterday. There were also no new cases recorded in hotel quarantine. There are currently three active cases in the state.
In Queensland, there were 6,438 tests conducted in the state yesterday. There were three cases recorded in hotel quarantine. There are currently 24 active cases in the state.
Saturday 6 March – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) March 5, 2021
• 0 new locally acquired cases
• 3 overseas acquired cases
• 24 active cases
• 1,348 total cases
• 1,991,846 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,316 patients have recovered.#covid19pic.twitter.com/F84HaN5ibg
Jess Malcolm 12.15pm:Epidemic preparedness chair backs Howard Springs
Chair of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations Jane Halton has backed the decision to expand Northern Territory’s Howard Springs quarantine facility.
The centre is set to double its capacity next month, meaning thousands of stranded Australians will soon be able to fly home.
“Howard Springs was a mining camp and in its day it actually accommodated more than we are currently thinking about for quarantine,” Ms Halton said.
“Howard Springs is ideally placed, it has the accommodation and will be upgraded to deal with the extra returnees, so it will do a great job.”
Ms Halton cited the facility’s proximity to an airport, and a hospital means it is an ideal place for quarantine.
“It is really very well positioned to provide the kind of safe and effective accommodation you need when you are in quarantine.”
READ MORE: Top end sees off COVID-19
Jess Malcolm11.45am:Covax to distribute 14.4 million doses
Covax will distribute 14.4 million COVID-19 vaccine doses to 31 countries next week, as part of the humanitarian push for poorer nations to have equitable access to vaccines.
The Covax global facility shipped more than 20 million doses to 20 countries as the scheme took off this week.
WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan reiterated the importance of global access to vaccines, but said wealthy countries were still leaving others behind in the vaccination rush.
“This is encouraging progress, but the volume of doses being distributed through Covax is still relatively small.”
He said the first round of allocations only covered between two and three per cent of the population in recipient states, “even as other countries make rapid progress towards vaccinating their entire population within the next few months”.
He called for vaccine production to be urgently ramped up, including through linking manufacturers with rival companies that have spare capacity.
READ MORE: Vaccines program ‘on track’
Jess Malcolm 11.30am: No new cases in NSW
NSW has recorded another day of no new locally acquired cases, following over 5,000 tests.
This is the 48th consecutive day without a locally acquired case.
There were three new cases recorded in hotel quarantine.
NSW recorded no new locally acquired cases of #COVID19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night; the 48th consecutive day without a locally acquired case.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) March 6, 2021
Three new cases were acquired overseas, bringing the total number of cases in NSW since the beginning of the pandemic to 5,018. pic.twitter.com/nc1NwXe4Ma
NSW Health thanked the community for their “excellent response” in coming forward for testing and following public health advice.
Jess Malcolm 10.15am:Italy defends blocking vaccine to Australia
Italy has defended blocking a shipment of coronavirus vaccines to Australia, saying the action towards a less affected country was legitimate while it was facing “unacceptable” delivery delays.
Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio insisted the decision “was not a hostile act” towards Australia, claiming the blockade was carried out under European Union rules.
Mr Di Maio said the threat from the more contagious UK variant of coronavirus sweeping across Italy and other parts of Europe was another reason for the decision.
“As long as there are these delays, it is right for European Union countries to block exports to countries which are not vulnerable,” he said.
The Italian government said on Thursday that it had blocked the export of 250,700 doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine meant for Australia, blaming the shortage of jabs in virus-hit Europe.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the absence of that one shipment would not affect Australia’s rollout of the AstraZeneca vaccine that started on Friday.
But Mr Morrison said he would ask Brussels to review the decision, the first under an EU scheme that began in January.
READ MORE:How the West can be lost and then won
Jess Malcolm 10.00am:Full WHO report on Wuhan set to be published
The World Health Organisation will publish the report of its investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 15.
The report was originally due to be published in two states: an initial summary in February followed by the full text. However they will both now be released at the same time.
“I know that many member states are eager to see the report of the joint WHO-led study on the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and of course so am I,” WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech to the UN.
“The team is working on its final report as well as an accompanying summary report, which we understand will be issued simultaneously in the week of the 15th of March.
“Rest assured that when the reports are ready, we will ask the expert team to share the reports with member states ahead of their release, and to brief you on the findings.”
The international investigation took place in Wuhan in January, and wrapped up last month. The team of scientific experts spent four weeks visiting sites linked to early cases.
Early reports from experts said they believed the disease originated in baths and could have been transmitted to humans via another mammal.
Although the mission to Wuhan failed to identify the source of the virus, the experts were dismissive of the theory that it leaked from a virology laboratory in the city at a press conference before leaving China.
However, when the team leadership returned to Geneva, the WHO said that, “all hypotheses remain open”.
READ MORE:WHO scraps interim report
Jess Malcolm9.45am:Victoria records no new cases
There were no new locally acquired cases recorded in Victoria, following nearly 15,000 tests.
There was 1 new case reported in hotel quarantine.
There are currently six active cases in the state.
Yesterday there were no local cases and 1 case in hotel quarantine reported. 14,814 test results were received. Thank you to those who got tested - #EveryTestHelps.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) March 5, 2021
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/De90SMenFv
Finn McHugh9.35am:Government behind vaccination targets
The federal government remains well behind its initial COVID-19 vaccination targets nearly a fortnight into its rollout.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in January he “anticipated optimistically” 80,000 Australians would be vaccinated every week at the beginning of the rollout, before the effort was “scaled up”.
But almost two weeks after the first vaccine was administered, only 71,867 Australians have been immunised, including 20,814 residents across 241 aged care facilities.
Health Minister Greg Hunt insisted mid-February the government remained “on track … for all the milestones we’ve set”, including a target to reach four million vaccinations by early April.
But Labor acting health spokesman Chris Bowen said the government faced an uphill battle to meet that threshold.
“Australia has a long, long way to go in the vaccine rollout and it will only become longer if supply of the vaccines doesn’t arrive,” he told NCA NewsWire.
READ the full story
Jess Malcolm9.25am:Global death toll falls by 7 per cent
The global COVID-19 death toll has dropped by seven per cent over the past week, however the rate of new cases has remained stable.
The decrease largely happened in North America, where the number of deaths dropped by a fifth.
In Asia, the number of deaths decreased by 18 per cent, while in Africa the deaths dropped by 14 per cent.
European saw a four per cent drop in its toll, but still mourned 22,795 deaths.
This is due to the success of the global vaccination campaign which is reducing the spread and seriousness of new infections.
However, the World Health Organisation has voiced fears that further waves of the coronavirus pandemic could be on the way if people think the rollout of vaccines around the globe means the crisis is over.
“I really am very concerned that … we think we’re through this. We’re not,” WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference.
“And countries are going to lurch back into third and fourth surges if we’re not careful.”
READ MORE: Biden called off air strike at last minute
Agencies8.45am:New Moderna vaccine set for human trials
The first human study to test Moderna’s new vaccine targeting a concerning COVID-19 strain is slated to begin as early as next week and will enrol up to 210 people, according to an online federal database of clinical trials.
The Phase 1 trial, estimated to start March 10, is being sponsored by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and will be conducted at four research locations in the US, according to a summary posted Friday. Moderna has previously said it could seek US regulatory authorisation for the variant-targeted vaccine in the third quarter if results are positive.
The study will test whether the new vaccine can safely induce immune responses in healthy adults that are likely to protect against the coronavirus variant first identified in South Africa. This variant, with mutations in the crucial spike protein on the surface of the virus, appears to be more capable of evading the immune-system antibodies generated by the original COVID-19 vaccines.
Moderna has said that while lab tests showed that its original vaccine – authorised for use in the US in December – still provides protection against the virus variant that spread in South Africa, its potency was reduced and the company decided to develop a modified vaccine as a precaution.
Dow Jones
READ MORE:Row over plans for airport quarantine
Agencies7.30am:Roland Garros confident of May-June return
Roland Garros chiefs says they are confident the Grand Slam event will return to its traditional May-June slot this year while being able to “maximise the number” of fans.
Last year’s tournament was switched unilaterally from spring to September-October as the coronavirus sent the sport into a five-month suspension.
When the clay court showpiece was eventually staged, health protocols saw a daily limit of only 1,000 fans allowed onto the Roland Garros site.
“Our desire is to be able, in accordance with the decisions of the government and with the extremely ambitious and rigorous application of a very well-crafted health protocol, to organise Roland Garros on the dates scheduled, from May 17 to June 6 (qualifying included),” said Amelie Oudea-Castera, the French Tennis Federation’s (FFT) new director-general.
“With the highest possible number of spectators which will be allowed by the authorities.” She added: “We are working on different scenarios. No idea is taboo, we want to achieve the best compromise between sports and health.
“The objective is to maximise the limit with regard to what the circulation of the virus and the progress of vaccinations will allow us to do.”
READ MORE: What to do in Thredbo outside ski season
John Ferguson6.30am: PM urges Andrews to accept travellers
Scott Morrison has urged Victoria to reopen the state to international plane arrivals but Daniel Andrews has resisted pressure to name a start date.
Victoria has been debating several options for dealing with hotel quarantine that include potentially further delaying a restart after the most recent five-day lockdown.
But the Prime Minister declared on Friday that Victoria had committed to national cabinet to resume international fights into Melbourne as soon as possible.
The Weekend Australian has been told relations between Victoria and the federal government have been increasingly fractious and that the state would not be pushed into making a decision it was not ready to execute.
Victoria still favours a form of regional hotel quarantine, modelled in part on the Northern Territory’s Howard Springs centre, with talks centred around a project on greenfields land near Avalon Airport outside Geelong.
There are also increasing concerns about the future of city-based hotel accommodation, with an expectation of a sharp shift back to business models that are not predicated on housing international arrivals.
This could lead to significant amounts of hotel stock being removed for quarantine use.
“There is no real trust between the two governments. Morrison’s people spend their lives backgrounding against us, so there is not much goodwill,” a senior Victorian government source said.
READ the full story
Stephen Rice6.15am: Incoming ship ban sinks cruise hopes
Anger is mounting in Australia’s cruise industry at the failure of the federal government to lift a ban on incoming ships that would allow domestic cruises to restart.
The three-month extension of the international travel ban announced by Health Minister Greg Hunt on Tuesday has dashed the hopes of tour operators that foreign-flagged vessels could begin cruising again in Australian waters.
While a few small vessels are operating in the Kimberley, most domestic operators rely on ships currently overseas and are waiting for permission to set sail for Australia. Some operators, such as the Australian-owned Aurora Expeditions, were hoping to start cruises to Tasmania, the Ningaloo Reef and the Kimberley as early as June, but the company’s ship, Greg Mortimer, is stuck in Spain awaiting permission to depart for Australia.
Ponant has Kimberley cruises planned from late April that are now in doubt.
“We are hopeful that small expedition ships will soon receive approval to recommence operations within Australian waters exclusively for Australians during that period,” said Ponant’s chair of Asia Pacific operations Sarina Bratton.
In announcing the extension of the entry ban, Mr Hunt noted that the government continued to work closely with the cruise industry “to develop a framework for the staged resumption of cruise ships in a manner that is proportionate to the public health risk.”
But sources in the industry told The Australian it was “inexcusable” that the government had failed to exempt foreign-flagged vessels desperately needed so that tens of thousands of jobs in the sector could be saved.
The industry has been working towards a staged recovery, building up from small local cruises to voyages in COVID-safe “bubbles” in New Zealand and the Pacific before full international travel resumes.
“That’s all been shot down, there is still no pathway,” the source said.
READ the full story
Greg Brown6.00am:Vaccine roll out ‘on track’ despite EU block
Locally made AstraZeneca vaccines will be rolled out from March 22 after Scott Morrison declared the COVID-19 inoculation program was on track despite Italy blocking a shipment of 250,000 doses to Australia.
The Prime Minister said locally made vaccines gave “us sovereignty over our vaccination program” after the EU approved Italy’s request to block AstraZeneca vaccines coming to Australia through the controversial export control mechanism.
. “We have been able to secure our supplies, and additional supplies for importation, both with Pfizer and AstraZeneca, which means we can continue the rollout of our program,” Mr Morrison said in Sydney after a meeting of national cabinet.
“So, I want to assure Australians that we’ve been able to secure those vaccines. This particular shipment was not one we’d counted on for the rollout, and so we will continue unabated.”
When asked about whether he was concerned about “vaccine nationalism” in Europe, Mr Morrison said it was important that contracts were honoured.
“It’s important that the vaccines not only reach across Europe and North America, but particularly in the developing world as well,” he said.
READ the full story
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