Coronavirus Australia live news: Push for Daniel Andrews’ chief of staff to front hotel quarantine inquiry
Daniel Andrews’ chief of staff could be questioned on bungled hotel quarantine as Victoria confirms Melbourne school students can return by the end of October.
- Push for Premier’s staffer to front inquiry
- Covid concerns, closures beckon on Sydney beaches
- All Victorian kids back to school in weeks
- Victoria records 9 cases, 0 deaths
- Trump leaves hospital
- Trump on track for early discharge
- Budget vaccine assumption ‘very big ask’
Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. There’s a push for a key staffer for Daniel Andrews’ to be questioned on bungled hotel quarantine. Victorian schoolchildren will all be back at school by the end of October as the state records nine new cases and zero deaths. Donald Trump left hospital temporarily after doctors said he could be released on Tuesday.
Rachel Baxendale 10.45pm: ‘Mystery’ Victorian cases set a reopen challenge
Victoria’s 13 most recent coronavirus “mystery” cases are spread across 12 different postcodes across Melbourne, highlighting the challenge the city faces in meeting the thresholds set by the Andrews government for the next stage of reopening.
From October 19, Melburnians are set to be released from stay-at-home restrictions — in place since July 7 — that currently see them confined to their homes and allowed to leave only for permitted work, medical care, essential shopping, exercise and public outdoor gatherings of up to five people from up to two households for up to two hours.
Under the Andrews government’s roadmap, this can happen only if Melbourne reaches a threshold of a 14-day daily average of fewer than five cases, with fewer than five cases with an unknown source in the fortnight.
On Monday, the first day of that fortnight, Melbourne’s 14-day daily average was 11.6 and eight new cases were reported.
Greg Brown 10.15pm: Albo vows to set up disease control centre
An Albanese government would establish a dedicated agency to help Australia respond to future pandemics.
Anthony Albanese has vowed to establish an Australian centre for disease control (CDC) if he were elected prime minister, as he labelled Scott Morrison’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic as “too slow, too reactive and too unco-ordinated”.
“We can’t be left playing catch up again,” the Opposition Leader said. “We can’t afford another Ruby Princess, or another tragic disaster in aged care. Our health, our lives and our economy all depend on us getting our response to future pandemics right.”
The agency would house experts to monitor threats; prepare the health and aged-care sectors for future outbreaks; ensure there was enough stock of medical equipment; run regular pandemic preparedness drills; and work with other countries on a regional and global strategy.
Labor says Australia is the only wealthy country without a CDC equivalent.
AFP 9.45pm: Paris bars to shut: police chief
Bars in Paris and its nearest suburbs will be shut from Tuesday to contain the spread of COVID-19, the capital’s police chief said on Monday.
Restaurants will remain open provided they respect new safety measures, Didier Lallemant told a news conference.
READ MORE: Dude, where’s my car(park)?
Patrick Commins 9.15pm: Debt of $1 trillion is merely the start
Australia’s debt burden will push beyond the $1.1 trillion debt ceiling expected in Tuesday’s COVID-19 budget, with one of the nation’s leading economic analysts saying it will continue to rise to 70 per cent of GDP — or $1.4 trillion — by the middle of the decade.
As revealed by The Australian, Tuesday’s budget will confirm that the federal deficit will peak at just over $210bn in this financial year, accompanied by a lift in the debt ceiling to beyond $1.1 trillion, or 55 per cent of GDP – the highest level since 1958, according to IMF data.
But UTS professor Warren Hogan said the Morrison government would be forced to spend and borrow more over the coming five years to prop up the economy through the aftermath of the COVID-19 recession, predicting the debt to GDP ratio will grow to 70 per cent of national output by the middle of the decade.
This suggests a gross debt burden of $1.4 trillion.
“Unless we have a miracle recovery, history tells us it (the debt level) will be more,” Professor Hogan said.
AFP 8.45pm: Ireland on brink after health chiefs call for lockdown
Ireland is on the cusp of a nationwide lockdown after government experts recommended ramping up coronavirus restrictions to curb a surge of new cases.
The National Public Health Emergency Team recommended on Monday that all of Ireland move to the highest level of COVID-19 restrictions, mirroring those issued during the original lockdown in March.
Coalition government leaders were to meet the chief medical officer to discuss the matter later on Monday.
But the recommendation leaves the government — already faltering since coming to power in June — in a difficult position.
In the past it has largely followed official health guidance over the infection, enacting some of the strictest international travel restrictions in the EU.
If Dublin refuses to enact new restrictions and the decision results in further infections and deaths, the government will be perceived as wholly to blame.
However the prospect of returning to a nationwide lockdown is likely to prove politically difficult, publically unpopular and economically devastating.
In Israel a second coronavirus lockdown was initiated in September after 1692 deaths and 265,086 cases, according to official figures.
In Ireland, there have been 1810 deaths from the virus but just 38,032 cases to up to Sunday.
The Republic’s daily death toll from the virus remains low after peaking at 77 in April.
However, the nation is in the midst of a resurgence of new infections. Dublin and the northwest county of Donegal are already enduring localised restrictions to stem new outbreaks.
READ MORE: Mecca reopens for Saudi pilgrims
Chip Cutter 8.15pm: Road warriors ponder life without business trips
For almost 17 years, Atlanta healthcare technology sales executive Eric Goldmann has spent nearly every week on the road working.
He took his last flight in mid-March and is still adjusting to life on the ground.
In the era of virtual meetings, more clients cancel on him with little notice, something that rarely happened when he travelled to see them. On Zoom, he finds it harder to sniff out what he calls the “anti-sponsors” who could derail a deal.
Goldmann, 42, pines for the pleasures of business travel. After flying for so long, he could almost recite the schedules of his favourite airport club lounge bartenders and gate agents. He had honed preferred running locations on the road (Tampa’s waterfront) and found favourite restaurants (Sandro’s, an Italian spot in New York).
Even the delays and indignities of travel take on a rosier hue in the pandemic. Goldmann is wistful for the days when he would watch passengers fume at gate agents and storm through airports, ploughing over passers-by in a mad rush to reach a gate.
“I miss everything associated with travel,” he says.
It’s a time of reflection for hardened road warriors. As the pandemic drags, some of them are questioning whether they will ever fully return to their old lives.
AFP 7.45pm: EU chief self-isolating
The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen says she will self-isolate for a day after learning she had met someone infected with COVID-19.
“In accordance with regulations in force, I’m therefore self-isolating until tomorrow morning. I’ve tested negative on Thursday and am tested again today,” she tweeted on Monday.
READ MORE: Trump’s hospital suite more like a fine hotel
David Ross 7.15pm: Mayor happy for chance to test measures on Bondi crowd
Waverley Council Mayor Paula Masselos says she wants to keep Sydney’s Bondi Beach open despite crowds on Monday.
Ms Masselsos said she was delighted with how many people hit the iconic beach in the eastern suburbs because Monday was the first chance to test control measures.
“As the public health orders change and as we get more experience with the summer to see how it’s going, there may be a need to tweak it just a little bit,” she told the ABC.
“But this long weekend has shown that so far we’re absolutely spot-on with our plan.”
“It’s really going to be about how we can manage capacity on our beaches and people have had some time now to habituate around the COVID environment.”
READ MORE: Media’s hysteria over Trump’s Covid
Rachel Baxendale 6.34pm: 77 active virus cases linked to Vic aged care
There are 77 active cases of coronavirus linked to Victorian aged care facilities as of Monday - 14 fewer than on Sunday.
As of Sunday there had been 640 coronavirus deaths linked to aged care facilities in Victoria, with no new deaths reported in the 24 hours to Monday.
The aged care outbreaks with the highest numbers of active cases as of Monday and deaths (if any) as of September 8 (the most recent date for which data is available) are:
- 28 active cases linked to Estia Keilor in Melbourne’s outer northwest - a decrease of one since Sunday (47 total). It is understood this cluster began when a resident returned from being treated for an unrelated condition at Footscray Hospital, having contracted coronavirus;
- 11 active cases linked to Opal Hobsons Bay Altona North in Melbourne’s southwest - the same as on Sunday (46 total).
- 11 active cases linked to Edenvale Manor Keilor East, in Melbourne’s outer northwest - down from 12 on Sunday (23 total);
- Eight active cases linked to Embracia Moonee Valley in Melbourne’s northwest - down from 10 on Sunday (80 total, 5 deaths);
- Four active cases linked to BaptCare Wyndham Lodge Community Werribee in Melbourne’s outer southwest - down from seven on Sunday (260 total, 18 deaths);
- Two active cases linked to Doutta Galla Woornack, in Sunshine, in Melbourne’s west - down from five on Sunday (60 total);
- Two active cases linked to Mercy Place Parkville in Melborune’s inner north - the same as on Sunday (104 total, 14 deaths).
Non-aged care outbreaks
Non-aged care outbreaks with the highest numbers of active cases on Monday include:
24 active cases linked to The Butcher Club outbreak involving a worker at the butcher’s shop at the Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne’s southeast - up from 20 cases on Sunday (total cases: 20);
Six active cases linked to the Springvale shared accommodation outbreak in Melbourne’s outer southeast - the same as on Sunday (total cases: 8);
Six active cases linked to the Electra Park Medical Centre in Ashwood, in Melbourne’s southeast - the same as on Sunday (total cases: 6);
Four active cases linked to The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne’s inner southeast - the same as on Sunday (total cases: 12)
Three active cases linked to the Casey community outbreak involving at least seven households in Melbourne’s outer southeast - the same as on Sunday (total cases: 45);
Three active cases linked to Western Health Sunshine in Melbourne’s west - the same as on Sunday (total cases: 3).
Will Pavia 6.29pm: Trump’s hospital suite looks more like a fine hotel
The presidential suite at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center contains an intensive care unit and room for a head of state to live and work alongside his own physician and his chief of staff.
U.S president Trump isn’t staying in any old hospital room. Walter Reed Hospital has a six-room presidential suite just for the commander in chief that includes an intensive care unit, a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, & a dining room with a crystal chandelier. pic.twitter.com/QQVhFYjzLJ
— Richard Southern (@richard680news) October 3, 2020
The present occupant, who moved in on Friday evening, appears to have no complaints about the facilities. “I think it’s the finest in the world,” President Trump said in a video message posted to his Twitter account on Saturday night, in which he appeared to be seated at the end of a conference table.
While the hospital is run by the Department of Defence, the presidential suite on the south side of the complex is under the control of the White House and features a secure conference room and related communications facilities.
Rachel Baxendale 5.40pm Vic by the numbers: three news cases linked to clusters
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services has linked three of the state’s nine new cases on Monday to clusters, with five cases still under investigation.
Late on Monday DHHS confirmed a case reported in Greater Shepparton in northern regional Victoria had been determined to be a false positive following an inconclusive result and further testing.
Of the three cases linked to clusters:
– One has been linked to a cluster at the Butcher Club butcher’s shop in the Chadstone shopping centre in Melbourne’s southeast which now totals 24 cases, all of which remain active. Three previously reported cases have also now been added to this cluster;
– One has been linked to Corrigan Produce Farms in Clyde North, in Melbourne’s outer southeast. This is the first time DHHS has publicly mentioned this cluster;
– One has been linked to Coles Williamstown, in Melbourne’s southwest. This is the first time DHHS has publicly mentioned this cluster;
The following local government areas have new coronavirus cases on Monday:
– Casey (outer southeast): 4
– Greater Dandenong (outer southeast): 1
– Hobsons Bay (southwest): 1
– Hume (outer north): 1
– Whittlesea (outer north): 1
The 24 cases linked to the Butcher Club butcher’s shop at Melbourne’s largest shopping centre Chadstone, in the city’s southeast, are spread across 15 suburbs and one regional Victorian town, including suburbs in Melbourne’s outer northwest.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the cluster included seven staff members, nine family or household members and three customers, although he did not have details for all 24 members of the cluster, which emerged last week.
The department of Health and Human Services has released details of the suburbs in which all 24 positive cases live.
While the majority are in Melbourne’s southeast, there is one case in Kilmore, north of Melbourne, as well as cases in Melton, Caroline Springs and Pascoe Vale in Melbourne’s northwest, and Abbotsford in the inner east.
Locations recently added to the DHHS “high risk” list of places visited by positive cases include:
- White Line Tyres in Benalla, in northeast regional Victoria, after an infectious positive case attended the premises for 90 minutes between 12 noon and 3pm last Wednesday September 30. The same case, who is linked to the Chadstone cluster, also visited Oddfellows Cafe in Kilmore, north of Melbourne, between 7am and 10am the same day. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the person was a Melbourne resident who was in regional Victoria for a permitted reason, but declined to say what that reason was. It remains illegal for Melbourne residents to eat in at regional Victorian cafes and restaurants, even if they are in the area as a permitted worker;
- Leo’s fine Food & Wine Supermarket Glen Iris, in Melbourne’s southeast, after a case shopped there between 12 noon and 2:20pm on Saturday September 26. This comes after the store was previously named as a high risk location after a separate case visited on the same day between 2pm and 2:20pm, shopped for 20 minutes and spent 3-5 minutes waiting in a queue;
- Aldi West Footscray in Melbourne’s west, after a case shopped there between 12 noon and 12:15pm on Friday September 25.
The cumulative number of coronavirus cases in Victoria since the pandemic began has increased by 10 since Sunday to 20,219.
This is due to the reclassification of two previously reported cases which are now being counted as positives, and of a false positive linked to Greater Shepparton, in northern regional Victoria, which has now been removed from Victoria’s tally for Monday.
There have now been 4275 cases in Victoria since the pandemic began where contact tracers have been unable to identify a source of infection - an increase of one since Sunday.
The two most recent mystery cases have been in the following postcodes:
- 3046: Glenroy, Hadfield, Oak Park, in Melbourne’s northwest;
- 3147: Ashburton, Ashwood, in Melbourne’s southeast;
Both were from tests processed on Thursday.
Of 20,219 people who have had coronavirus in Victoria since the pandemic began, 19,126 have recovered - an increase of 25 since Sunday.
Of 227 active cases in Victoria on Monday, 223 are in people from metropolitan Melbourne, and three are in people from regional Victoria.
Of the total number of cases since the pandemic began, 18,825 have been in people from Melbourne, while 1194 have been in those from regional Victoria.
There have been 9643 cases in men (an increase of two since Sunday) and 10,563 in women (an increase of nine since Sunday). The increases include reclassifications and the Shepparton false positive.
The total number of cases in health workers is 3541 - an increase of three since Sunday, with the number of active cases in health workers decreasing by three to 29.
There is one case linked to residential disability accommodation - in a staff member. This is the same number as on Sunday.
READ MORE: Used car prices soar under COVID
David Ross 5.35pm 16,000 virus cases ‘missed’ for contact tracing in UK
Almost 16,000 cases of COVID-19 have been missed from the official tally in the United Kingdom due to a technical glitch that left thousands of close contacts uncontacted.
Public Health England said the 15,841 cases of people who tested positive to COVID-19 between 25 September and 2 October were left out of the UK’s daily case count due to a technical glitch at a lab processing tests.
Confirmed cases were contacted, but their close contacts were not traced, potentially allowing further unchecked spread of the virus in the already hard hit country.
The issue was identified on 2 October.
More than 502,000 Britons have tested positive to COVID-19
READ MORE: I was ‘too fat’ when I got Covid: Johnson
David Ross 5.20pm Economy was teetering before Covid: Albanese
Labor Leader Anthony Albanese has defended branding the economic downturn the “Morrison recession”, saying the prime minister had to “accept responsibility for leading the government”.
Mr Albanese, speaking on the ABC, said the economy was already teetering towards an economic slump pre-pandemic and the government needed to accept its role in failing to drive economic activity.
“We entered this period from a position of weakness. Last year, wages were stagnant. The growth was below trend, consumer demand was low, productivity was going backwards, business investment was in decline,” he said.
“The government didn’t have a plan and was relying upon the Reserve Bank’s multiple decreases in interest rates to stimulate the economy. It is the government that said, of course, the budget was back in black. We know it wasn’t the case.”
But Mr Albanese refused to commit Labor to supporting or opposing the moves by the government to bring forward stage-3 of its tax cuts package.
“We chose to be defined by what we were for rather than what we were against,” he said.
Mr Albanese said Labor had pushed for economic support and anti-COVID measures the government opposed before being forced to accept.
“We, of course, were arguing, early on for issues like wage subsidies when the Prime Minister was dismissing them,” he said.
“We were arguing for a cautious approach on borders when the Prime Minister was saying it was OK for people to come into Australia without so much as a temperature test, when they arrived at Sydney and Melbourne International Airports.”
He said the government was again making a “bold call” in baking into its budget papers the expectation of a vaccine for COVID-19.
“I’m wary of taking the government’s spin as fact. That’s what we see at this stage in the cycle. But certainly if it is the case that that’s been done in order to make the figures look better in the out years, then that should be called out,” he said.
Mr Albanese said tomorrow’s budget needed to “bake in” reforms and “not just back to what was there”.
“There is an opportunity from this position that we find ourselves in, the recession, to not just go back to what was there, but to think about how we can build a better future for the long term. That means baking things in. Baking in reform,” he said.
“But one of the concerns I have is the apprenticeship announcement whereby you have 100,000 eligible for this subsidy, joint payment, from the government and from the businesses employing the apprenticeship, but it will only last for 11 months. The fact is apprenticeships are four years.”
He said welfare payments should not go back to $40 a day.
“We know that isn’t enough to live on. We will be examining the budget to see how it deals with the issue of fairness,” he said.
“Women and young people have been particularly adversely affected, disproportionately, by this recession and we want to examine how it has an impact on lifting up and providing opportunity for women and young people.”
READ MORE: What’s he on? Trump’s unproven drugs treatment
Rachel Baxendale 4.15pm: Push for Premier’s staffer to front hotel inquiry
The Victorian opposition has written to the hotel quarantine inquiry asking that they call Premier Daniel Andrews’ chief of staff to give evidence over whether it was her who communicated to then police commissioner Graham Ashton that a decision had been made to use private security guards rather police or ADF personnel to guard hotel guests.
Following a national cabinet meeting on March 27, at which the decision was made to force all return travellers to Australia to spend a fortnight in hotel quarantine, Mr Ashton sent a text message to his Australian Federal Police counterpart Reece Kershaw at 1.12pm, asking why AFP would not have the role of guarding people at the hotels.
Four minutes later, Mr Ashton texted Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Chris Eccles: “The suggestion is that Victorian arrivals are conveyed to a hotel somewhere where they are guarded by police for 14 days. Are you aware of anything in this regard??”
But at 1.22pm Victoria’s then top cop texted Mr Kershaw again, saying: “Mate my advice is that ADF will do passenger transfer and private security will be used.”
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Ed O’Donohue said on Monday the issue of who advised Mr Ashton that private security would be used was “central” to the investigations of the inquiry.
“Was it the Premier’s Chief of Staff? Was it the Police Minister’s Chief of Staff, was it a deputy secretary within DPC?” Mr O’Donohue said.
“Anyone who has information relevant to that central question must come forward, and we submit to the board of inquiry, they should pursue this issue vigorously.
“The question of who signed off, and who authorised private security remains the most significant outstanding question before the board of inquiry, and we say must be answered before the inquiry completes.”
Mr O’Donohue said the inquiry should also seek phone and other communication records which could answer the question of who advised Mr Ashton of the decision to use private security.
In his testimony to the inquiry, Mr Ashton said he couldn’t remember where he “got that advice from”.
Asked whether he was suggesting Mr Andrews‘ Chief of Staff Lissie Ratcliff had given the advice to Mr Ashton, Mr O’Donohue said: “I don‘t know who made that decision, but I do know you would only be a small cohort of people who would pick up the phone to the chief commissioner of Victoria Police and give an instruction or give a direction about a decision of government that had been made, and that to me is an identifiable group, and that group should be tested about their interaction with the chief commissioner on that day.”
Mr Andrews earlier said he was not aware of any reason why the inquiry could not or would not call Ms Ratcliff to give evidence, but that it was not a matter for him.
“No, I’m not, but at the same time, that is a matter that is so far from being a matter for me,” Mr Andrews said.
“Who they call is entirely a matter for them — entirely.
Mr Andrews disputed that Ms Ratcliff had a key decision-making role as his Chief of Staff.
“I don’t know that she has a — as you put it then — a key decision-making role,” the Premier said.
“She supports me and other ministers in the government through the team that she leads. She’s not a decision-maker.
“Those decisions are made by people who are not working in a private office, really significant decisions, I mean, not day-to-day stuff, they’re made by people who are sworn and are accountable for that.”
Mr Andrews said he did not accept that if he really wanted to get to the bottom of who was responsible for putting private security guards in hotel quarantine, he would have established a royal commission, with greater powers to call witnesses and subpoena evidence than a board of inquiry.
Asked whether he would support Ms Ratcliff giving evidence to the inquiry, Mr Andrews said: “Anyone can be called by the inquiry and that’s entirely a matter for them, entirely a matter for them, and I think we run the risk of getting quite close to a series of hypotheticals and a commentary on an independent process that I don‘t believe is appropriate.”
READ MORE: High cost of bypassing accountability
David Ross 4.14pm: Budget will see ‘bad situation get worse’: Chalmers
Labor opposition treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers has struck out at tomorrow’s Budget saying it would see a “bad situation” get “even worse” due to the decisions of the government.
“We can’t allow the only legacies of the recession to be a lost generation and more than one trillion in debt racked up by this government,” he said.
“It can’t be another budget that indulges the governments ideological obsessions at the expense of working people.”
“The decisions taken by Josh Frydenberg have made the economic recession deeper than it needs to be.”
He said the expected debt and deficit that would be announced tomorrow demonstrated the “inconsistency and hypocrisy” of past attacks by members of the government on Labor.
“This is a party that said that a tiny fraction of that was a debt and deficit disaster and a debt higher than one trillion is manageable.”
READ MORE: How Covid makes this Budget different
Rachel Baxendale 2.45pm: Classroom return not quick enough: O’Brien
Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said all school students should be returning to the classroom for the start of Term Four next week.
“Every single day our kids are out of the classroom is a day they’re at risk of falling behind, and to keep that until the end of October before Years Eight, Nine and 10 can get back inside a classroom is just too long,” Mr O’Brien said.
“These kids have had a really tough year. They deserve the chance to finish it off on a positive note. They should all be back in the classroom for the first week of Term Four.”
READ MORE: Hotel quarantine worker was infectious
Anton Nilsson 2.35pm: Covid concerns, closures beckon on Sydney beaches
Sydneysiders are flocking to beaches, raising social distancing fears and placing a Covid-safe summer at risk.
People are being warned that Sydney beaches are nearing capacity and they should make “alternate plans” as hot weather attracts massive crowds.
Officials are considering limiting access to Bondi, Coogee and other eastern suburbs beaches as they are “nearing capacity” on the sweltering Labour Day holiday.
“If people continue to come to Bondi Beach and crowds grow further, restricted access to the sand is likely to be implemented within the next hour 2-3pm”, Waverley Council wrote in an alert at 1.30pm.
Just half an hour earlier Randwick Council warned that “many of our beaches” were approaching capacity.
“So please make alternate plans if you’re heading to our coastline,” the council tweeted at 1pm.
NEWS: Bondi Beach is nearing capacity. If you haven’t left for the beach already, please rethink your trip and check capacity later. Read more here: https://t.co/PgaPZTtb6x pic.twitter.com/TI91fkbbPZ
— Waverley Council (@WaverleyCouncil) October 5, 2020
Large crowds have hit Sydney’s sands as a top of 31C was forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology.
Waverley Council beach ambassadors have been patrolling the sands at Bondi to ensure revellers maintain social distancing amid the coronavirus pandemic.
There have also been reports of people being ushered away from North Bondi due to potential overcrowding.
Live Traffic Sydney posted on Twitter this afternoon that Cronulla Beach and all other beaches in the Shire were nearly full at 12.30pm.
READ the full story here.
Remy Varga 1.15pm: Suicide numbers slightly down in Victoria on last year
The number of suicides recorded in Victoria in 2020 has decreased by four compared to the same period last year.
There have been 530 self harm deaths in the state as of September 30, according to data released by Victoria’s Coroners Court on Monday,
As well, the number of suicides among males under the age of 18 in 2020 is already equal to the total of 2019, with 13 deaths recorded.
But the report notes that “this does not necessarily mean there is an increasing suicide trend among young males.”
“Suicide is very rare in this age group and random fluctuation is therefore expected.”
It comes following reports of increasing mental health problems among Victorian children under lockdown.
If you need help, contact Lifeline 13 11 14
READ MORE: Despairing doctor’s plea to Andrews on lockdown
Sarah Elks 12.05pm: Queensland to sign $200m deal with Virgin
Queensland will today sign a $200m deal with embattled airline Virgin to keep its headquarters in the state but cannot guarantee there will not be further job cuts.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Treasurer Cameron Dick confirmed the deal would be finalised today with Bain today, for the $200m previously announced.
A 10 per cent slice of that will be direct equity in the company, and the rest will be loans and other financial support.
Ms Palaszczuk said: “the deal will be signed off … this is absolutely important for Queensland”.
Mr Dick said it was imperative the deal was signed before caretaker mode started on Tuesday, ahead of the October 31 election, because the LNP Opposition has flagged it opposes the arrangement.
Mr Dick would not say whether Virgin had promised there would be no further job cuts under the deal.
However, he said the state’s return on investment would be seven per cent.
READ MORE: Push to seal Virgin deal
Robert Gottliebsen 11.45am: High cost of bypassing cabinet
The mistakes that caused Australia’s biggest industrial disaster, Victorian hotel quarantine, can be traced back to one fundamental disastrous decision — the replacement of cabinet accountability with a new untried system of government decision-making.
At the essence, the deaths of hundreds of people plus enormous economic damage was caused by the deliberate abandonment in the pandemic of 30 or 40 years of tried and proven cabinet procedures.
My commentaries on the emergency power grab and the possible prosecution of senior politicians and public servants under Occupational Health and Safety laws, plus evidence given at the Coate inquiry, have prompted senior political figures to come forward with the truth.
This has helped me to detail how the disastrous decision to bypass cabinet accountability unfolded and we now have a better understanding of why so many ministers and public servants at the Coate inquiry kept saying “I don’t know”.
There have been at least two recent examples where prime ministers in Canberra tried to bypass cabinet accountability — the ALP’s Kevin Rudd and the Coalition’s Tony Abbott. But on each occasion the government politicians of the day in both parties did their duty and replaced their leader. The Victorian government politicians, inexcusably, did nothing and while the virus has now been controlled via severe clamps and many of the errors rectified, full cabinet accountability has not been restored.
That means the state still faces dangers that do not exist in other properly administered states.
READ Robert’s full article here
Sarah Elks 11.40am: Queensland has just 6 active cases
Queensland has recorded another day of zero COVID-19 cases, with just six active patients in the state.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk tweeted the results as she made a pre-election announcement at the Boeing facility at Wacol, west of Brisbane.
Monday, 5 October – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) October 5, 2020
• 0 new confirmed cases
• 6 active cases
• 1,160 total confirmed cases
• 1,131,427 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,148 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/hBXxZuQASj
The state has a total of 1160 confirmed cases, and has conducted more than 1.13m tests.
1148 patients have recovered.
Queensland will be the site to finish off Boeing’s unmanned autonomous aircraft.
Boeing president Brendan Nelson said it was the most “significant investment of its type that Boeing has ever taken outside of the United States”.
“And the first military aircraft built in this country in more than half a century.”
READ MORE: Budget faces big jobs test
Imogen Reid 11.15am: NSW hits ten-days with zero community transmissions
NSW has reported its tenth straight day with no new cases of COVID-19 community transmission.
NSW Health said a returned overseas traveller in hotel quarantine tested positive to the virus in the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday night, taking the total number of cases in the state to 4,046.
In a statement released today, the health authority said testing numbers had dropped and is urging people to come forward for testing.
“NSW Health is appealing to the community to come forward for testing right away if you have even the mildest of symptoms like a runny nose, scratchy throat, cough, fever or other symptoms that could be COVID-19,” the statement said.
“If people don’t come forward and get tested, we can’t keep the pandemic at bay.
“This is particularly important with school holidays and increased movement of people around the state.”
READ MORE: Quick recovery could change narrative
Imogen Reid 11.10am: Third wave could hit US as winter descends
Alarming new data suggests the United States could be hit by a third wave of COVID-19 as it heads into winter, despite President Donald Trump saying the country is “rounding the final turn” on the pandemic.
Cases have risen to 45,300 a day, a 32 per cent increase, indicating a resurgence of the virus that is expected to hit the Midwest, which has surpassed the West in cases with new clusters occurring in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
“The latest information is that 90 per cent of the country has not yet been exposed to the virus,” Dr Tom Inglesby, director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health said.
“The virus hasn’t changed and has the capacity to spread if given a chance.”
Dr. Jon Samet, dean of the Colorado School of Public Health said the “behaviours of individuals” are likely to have triggered the surge in cases.
“Given that these are rural areas, behaviours of individuals are likely to be a dominant diver: not adhering to distancing and not wearing masks,” Dr Samet said.
“Checking across mask orders in these states, there is a wide range. I suspect adherence to use of masks is lower in these rural countries than in urban areas, as in Colorado by anecdotal reports.”
The study also found there has been a change in the COVID-19 age demographic.
“In part of the Midwest, the rise is being driven by young adults who seem to have gotten the coronavirus in universities,” Dr Inglesby said.
Experts are concerned the third wave could surpass the first two in severity due to the colder weather which will force people to spend more time indoors, where viruses are more easily transmitted by aerosols.
“We are concerned that there could be a holiday spike with severity depending on where the epidemic curve is positioned before the start of the season in later November,” Dr Samet said.
READ MORE: Mask-wearing Trump in hospital drive-by
Rebecca Urban 11.00am: All Victorian kids back to school end of October
All Victorian school students will be permitted back on school campuses by the end of October, with the state government confirming dates for Years 7 to 10 students across metropolitan Melbourne to return.
Students in Year 7 will return to school on October 12 and Years 8 to 10 from October 26, Education Minister James Merlino announced on Monday morning.
The announcement provides certainty for those secondary students who had not previously been provided with a return date.
Term 4 has commenced in Victoria but only VCE students are permitted access to metropolitan campuses this week for assessment purposes, including the General Achievement Test, which will be held on Wednesday.
Mr Merlino also confirmed that no schools across the state were currently closed due to COVID-19 and the GAT would have a “clear run”.
“This is the light at the end of the tunnel; this is certainty,” he said.
READ MORE: States ‘must spend more to boost economy’
Rachel Baxendale 10.50am: Victoria has 227 active cases, decrease of 14
Victoria now has 227 known active cases of coronavirus – a decrease of 14 since Sunday.
Sunday was the first day since August 15 when the number of active cases had not fallen, having been steady on Saturday and Sunday at 241.
Of nine new cases on Monday, three have so far been linked to known clusters, while six remain under investigation.
Two previously reported cases have been reclassified.
There have been no deaths reported in the 24 hours to Monday, with Victoria’s coronavirus death toll steady at 806.
There are 30 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus on Monday, including three in intensive care, of whom two are on ventilators.
This compares with 31 in hospital on Sunday, including three in intensive care, of whom one was on a ventilator.
The health worker cases include those of 15 aged care workers, 13 nursing staff and a medical practitioner.
READ MORE: Infected worker moved between jobs
Imogen Reid 10.45am: NT may reopen to Victoria from Nov 2
The Northern Territory could be reopening its borders to visitors travelling from regional Victoria as early as November 2.
It comes after Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the borders could be closed into 2022 during the election campaign in August 2020.
However, Mr Gunner said on Monday that Victoria was “on the cusp” of controlling its second wave, and regional Victorians could travel to the territory as early as November 2, “if all goes well.”
The move would mean mandatory hotel quarantine would be revoked for anyone travelling from the area.
Mr Gunner said regional Victoria’s 14-day average of 0.3 was “next to nothing” and prompted the NT’s decision to reopen.
READ MORE: NT closed to Victoria indefinitely
Rachel Baxendale 9.37am: Andrews to address media at 10.30am
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to address the media at 10:30am alongside Deputy Premier and Education Minister James Merlino.
Imogen Reid 9.20am: Alec Baldwin, Jim Carrey parody debate on SNL
Jim Carrey has made his Saturday Night Live debut as Joe Biden in a hilarious skit that parodied last week’s disastrous US Presidential debate.
Joining Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump, the pair wasted no time taking on the roles as the presidential candidates, with the “debate” descending into a screaming match.
“Chris Wallace is mean, the economy is mean. It keeps losing jobs, which is mean to me,” Baldwin’s Trump said.
He then called the COVID-19 pandemic a hoax.
“And that statement won’t come back to haunt me later this week,” he said.
Meanwhile, Carrey’s Biden tried to control his anger by breathing into a brown paper bag and muttering to himself.
“Look man, I’m a nice guy, but if you give any more guff tonight, I’ll rip your face off like a mad chimp,” Carrey said.
“The country’s counting on you Joe. Just stand here and look lucid.”
Maya Rudolph also made a cameo appearance as Senator Kamala Harris, joining the debate to tell Trump to stop being mean to Biden.
“You look at me, Donald. You do not treat my Joe like that,” she said.
“He’s a nice boy.”
Next, Biden pulled out a television remote to pause Trump.
“Sorry, but I think I needed a break,” Carrey’s Biden said.
“Let’s bask in the Trump-less-news.”
The show, which returned for its 46th season after the coronavirus pandemic paused production, was hosted by Chris Rock who joked about Trump’s hospitalisation after his positive diagnosis.
“President Trump is in the hospital from COVID, and I just want to say that my heart goes out to COVID,” he said.
READ MORE: Winding path could put Pompeo in Oval Office
Rachel Baxendale 9.10am: Victoria records 9 cases, zero deaths
Victoria has recorded nine new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Monday, and no deaths.
Yesterday there were 9 new cases & no deaths reported. In Metro Melbourne, the 14 day rolling average is down from yesterday & the number of cases with unknown source is the same. Info: https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz #COVID19VicData pic.twitter.com/1ypK2G52Vh
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) October 4, 2020
It is only the second time no deaths have been reported since July 13, with Victoria’s death toll steady at 806.
All but 19 of these deaths have occurred as a result of the state’s second wave of coronavirus cases, sparked by breaches in the Andrews government’s hotel quarantine program.
The nine new cases on Monday follow twelve cases on Sunday, eight on Saturday and seven on Friday, as well as five new cases last Monday, which represented a three and a half month low.
Melbourne’s 14 day daily average number of new cases is now 11.6, down from 11.9 on Sunday and 20.3 last Monday.
This compares with a 14 day daily average of 0.3 in regional Victoria – up from 0.1 on Saturday and 0.2 on Sunday.
As of Sunday there were three known active cases left in regional Victoria, including one new one in the Mitchell Shire, immediately north of Melbourne, and 241 statewide.
There have been 13 cases with an unknown source of infection in metropolitan Melbourne in the most recent fortnight for which this statistic is available – up from 11 on Saturday.
Regional Victoria has had no unknown source cases over the same fortnight, which spans September 19 to October 2.
Melbourne is set to move to its next step of easing restrictions on October 19, provided the state reaches a threshold of a 14 day daily average of fewer than five cases, with fewer than five cases with an unknown source over that fortnight.
This would see stay-at-home rules relaxed for the first time since July 7, and hospitality businesses able to reopen to predominantly outdoor service, subject to density limits and a limit of 10 people per group.
The reopening road map does not allow hospitality businesses to have up to 20 patrons indoors and 50 outdoors until the state has had 14 days with no new cases.
Melburnians are currently under stay at home restrictions allowing them to leave home only for permitted work, medical care, essential shopping, exercise and public outdoor gatherings of up to five people from up to two households for up to two hours.
READ MORE: Aggressions rises amid financial stress
Anne Barrowclough 9.00am: Trump returns to hospital
Donald Trump has returned to hospital after going for a drive in his motorcade to “give a little surprise” to his supporters.
Mr Trump wore a black face mask and waved to the crowds, as his motorcade rolled past before returning to the Walter Reed military hospital near Washington.
“We’re going to pay a little surprise to some of the great patriots that we have out on the street,” Mr Trump said in a video posted to Twitter shortly before his appearance.
“I’m about to make a little surprise visit.”
READ MORE: President given steroids, oxygen
Imogen Reid 8.55am: NSW set for 10th consecutive day with zero cases
Health Minister Brad Hazzard has revealed NSW is heading for its tenth day in a row with zero new COVID-19 infections, but warned complacency could be the state’s undoing.
“I would anticipate … that we will see here in NSW our tenth day of no community transmission,” Mr Hazzard told Channel 7 this morning.
“It’s looking good but of course the community needs to take this seriously.
“Complacency could turn this thing upside down very quickly.”
Mr Hazzard said until there is a vaccine or treatment “we need to treat everybody as if they potentially have the virus.”
READ MORE:
Anne Barrowclough 8.25am: Trump leaves hospital in motorcade
Donald Trump has left hospital after suggesting on Twitter that he would visit his supporters on the street outside Walter Reed Medical Center, in “a little surprise.”
Mr Trump left hospital in a motorcade, wearing a mask and waving to the crowds.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 4, 2020
In his video, he said he had learned a lot about coronavirus by “going to school, this is the real school, this isn’t the read the books school.” He added: “I get it, I understand it.”
READ MORE: Quick recovery could change narrative
Imogen Reid 8.00am: McCormack: leaders must ‘play their part’ on budget
Michael McCormack has called on Australia’s states and territories “to play their part” by contributing to the huge infrastructure spend backed in the October 4 budget.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the expectation was for state premiers to get on board with infrastructure plans both in metropolitan areas and regional areas to create more jobs following the COVID-19 downturn.
“We’re going to make sure that this $7.5 billion of new spending for existing projects and new projects, we get them built, we get those workers onsite and it also benefits right throughout those local economies,” Mr McCormack said.
“It means we are backing people’s jobs, we’re backing people’s livelihoods.”
Mr McCormack said he is hopeful a COVID-19 vaccine will be available early next year, despite concerns the budget could be thrown out if a treatment does not get approved.
“We’re very confident that every effort is being made by the world’s experts to bring about this vaccine. It’s not just Australia, it’s right across the world,” he said.
“We have the best people available doing the right thing. Let’s hope that this happens.
“We’ve made sure we have backed our economy whilst putting first and foremost the health outcomes. We have done that all the way through. We’ve put $314 billion on the systems to make sure that we got the right health outcomes, to make sure we push the economy as best we should.”
READ MORE: Infected worker moved between jobs
Imogen Reid 6.30am: Global coronavirus cases approach 35 million
COVID-19 cases around the world are approaching 35 million, with the total number of global infections reaching 34,999,377 on Sunday.
According to the John Hopkins University tracker, over one million people have died after contracting the virus, and the toll will continue to rise as new figures are reported throughout the week.
Healthcare workers in India are scrambling to contain the virus as the country’s death toll becomes the third highest in the world, overtaking Russia. The number of people who have died from COVID-19 in India has reached 101,782, while the country’s caseload is 6,549,373.
Nine neighbourhoods in New York City could be heading for lockdown because of rising case numbers, the mayor said on Sunday.
Mayor Bill be Blasio said he would shut schools and non-essential business for two to four weeks in areas where new coronavirus clusters have been identified.
If the shutdown is approved by governor Andrew Cuomo, about 100 schools and 200 private schools will be closed down and students will return to remote learning.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said he plans to shut non-essential businesses as well as schools in nine neighborhoods identified as coronavirus clusters, starting on Wednesday https://t.co/2G2lAGAIbw pic.twitter.com/1yVPHYHkSm
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 4, 2020
Nine US states have recorded reported increases in COVID-19 infections over the last seven days, mainly in the upper midwest and west as the colder weather forces people to stay indoors.
Ireland reported 364 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking the total number of infections in the country to 38,032.
Ireland’s National Public Health Emergency Team reportedly had a last-minute meeting on Sunday following growing concerns of the rising number of infections and levels of hospitalisation.
In Russia, the number of new cases passed 10,000 for the first time since May on Sunday, with 10,499 additional infections. The country’s death toll also reached 21,358 with 107 deaths reported in the past 24 hours.
READ MORE: Shutting the door on one Covid fear
Staff writers 6.05am: Trump on track for early discharge from hospital
President Trump’s doctors said his condition was improving and he could be discharged from the hospital as soon as Monday (Tuesday AEST), but they also acknowledged that his oxygen levels have dropped twice, most recently on Saturday and said he was taking a steroid typically recommended for those with serious cases.
After days of contradictory information from doctors and advisers, the president’s physician, Dr Sean Conley, again briefed reporters Sunday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, saying his condition “continues to improve.” But he also said Mr. Trump’s symptoms have been serious at times and acknowledged trying to provide an “upbeat” assessment a day earlier.
Dr Conley said the president experienced two drops in oxygen levels. In the first, late Friday morning, Mr. Trump’s oxygen saturation dropped below 94%, and he received supplemental oxygen for about an hour. He experienced a high fever at the time, Dr Conley said, but he didn’t specify what his temperature was. The president’s oxygen level also dropped on Saturday, his physicians said
Dr Conley didn’t offer a clear answer when pressed about whether Mr. Trump required supplemental oxygen on Saturday, saying: “I’d have to check with the nursing staff. I don’t think — if he did, it was very limited.” He also declined to elaborate on what the doctors’ examinations of the president’s lungs had found. The White House didn’t immediately respond to follow-up inquiries.
Raising additional questions about Mr. Trump’s condition, the president’s doctors said he had been treated with dexamethasone. The generic drug is a commonly used steroid that has been shown to help severely ill COVID-19 patients.
The Wall St Journal
READ MORE: Prognosis unknown for Trump, campaign, US
Jacquelin Magnay 6.00am: Boris: I was too fat when I got virus
Britain faces a “very tough winter” amid “bumpy months’’ to Christmas and beyond, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned.
Mr Johnson, in a candid interview on the BBC on Sunday, also said he was “too fat’’ when he contracted the virus back in April, resulting in his hospitalisation in intensive care, and added that the pandemic was “a teachable moment’’ for Britain to address obesity.
The Prime Minister denied rumours he was suffering long Covid, saying those suggestions were balderdash, drivel and nonsense.
“I can tell you I’m fitter than several butchers’ dogs,” he said.
In recent months Mr Johnson has lost more than 6 kgs and undertakes rigorous training sessions with a personal trainer.
He added: “If I may say so, this is a teachable moment for our great country because we are one of the greatest places on Earth but, alas, as a nation we are slightly too fat.
“We are fatter than virtually anybody else in Europe, apart from the Maltese for some reason, and we need to think about this.
“I don’t wish to cast any aspersions on my Maltese friends.”
Mr Johnson was asked if the fast food loving US President Donald Trump – currently in hospital with coronavirus – should reduce his intake of cheeseburgers, he replied: “This is an important point, obesity – I’m not making any comment on President Trump – but obesity, since you mention cheeseburgers, is one of the problems that this country needs to address.’’
But Mr Johnson said there was no doubt the UK faced a difficult time ahead in the lead up to Christmas dealing with rising cases of coronavirus. This is although deaths continue to be a fraction of what occurred in April and May.
He said: “Clearly we’ve put a lot more load back on the risk factor in that we’ve got schools back, we’ve got businesses back, we’re moving again in a way that they weren’t during the lockdown in March and April.
“But we’ve managed to keep hospital admissions much, much lower than they were in that period, we’ve managed to keep the death rate down, although we need to make sure we keep it down.
“The balance is how do you ensure that places across the country continue to fight the virus effectively while keeping the economy going.
“In all candour, it’s going to continue to be bumpy through to Christmas, it may be bumpy beyond.”
He said that by the Northern hemisphere spring, (after Easter) scientific developments would mean a “different world’’.
He said he didn’t want to get people’s hopes up “unnecessarily’’ for a vaccine. The Tory party separately announced that plans were afoot to use the military to distribute any viable vaccine to health care workers, the elderly and most vulnerable first.
The UK has imposed local lockdowns to address spikes in cases in regional areas, resulting in a confusing maelstrom of rules between neighbourhoods. As well, there has been a 10pm curfew on pubs because, he said, “people get more convivial as the evening goes on’’.
Mr Johnson has been caught out not knowing particular rules of a city while conducting local media interviews in the past week.
He said people needed to “behave fearlessly but with common sense.”
The UK has also been beset with an overwhelmed test and trace system, with more than 12,000 new cases announced on Saturday, although some were from results earlier in the week.
Richard Ferguson 2.05am: Budget vaccine assumption ‘very big ask’
Josh Frydenberg’s budget assumes a COVID-19 vaccine becomes a reality next year despite warnings that any approved drug may not be widespread or effective enough to return the country to a pre-pandemic open state.
The budget forecasts on Tuesday are set to factor in the timing and rollout of a vaccine, even though other Treasury predictions – such as the July 23 economic statement – have been blown away.
COVID-19 experts on Sunday said a vaccine would likely only be available to 20 per cent of the population at most in the early stages, and it was not clear if it would be as effective as preventive treatments to other diseases such as measles or the flu.
Mr Frydenberg told Sky News the government was working hard on securing a vaccine and it was ultimately a factor in his budget considerations.
“We have factored in those issues related to the vaccine and those will be available on budget night,” he said on Sunday. “We have worked hard with international counterparts to secure the vaccine for Australia.
“The budget takes into account the possibility that (the development of a vaccine next year) is the case.” Health Minister Greg Hunt said last week he was confident Australia could have access to a vaccine as early as January. The federal government has also set up arrangements with two developers of a potential vaccine – the University of Queensland and the University of Oxford – and Prime Minister Scott Morrison has repeatedly said he aimed to offer the vaccine to all Australians.
Read the full story here.
Kieran Gair 1.45am: Come back to work call to public servants
NSW public servants who fled the CBD almost six months ago as COVID-19 swept across Sydney are being urged to return to the office in a bid to “fire up the economy” after the state recorded its ninth consecutive day of zero locally acquired coronavirus cases.
The turning point for the country’s most populous state suggests unencumbered travel between NSW and Queensland is a step closer, with NSW now a third of the way to meeting Annastacia Palaszczuk’s threshold of 28 days with no community transmission.
The milestone bolsters the case for a trans-Tasman bubble by Christmas, with Victoria the only Australian state or territory still recording locally acquired coronavirus cases.
Queensland last recorded a locally acquired case on September 15, while in South Australia and Western Australia community spread was last detected in early April.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Treasurer Dominic Perrottet said on Sunday public servants should begin returning to work in a “COVIDSafe way” to help “stimulate city-based businesses” crushed by the exodus of white-collar customers.
“The health and safety of the people of NSW has always been our No 1 priority; however, we are also focused on firing up the economy,” Ms Berejiklian said.
Read the full story here.
Richard Ferguson 1.30am: Subsidy boost to create 100,000 apprentices
The nation’s peak building lobby is warning more support is needed to make Scott Morrison’s hopes of a post-pandemic trainee boom a reality after the government unveiled a new wage subsidy for 100,000 apprentices.
In an extension of current wage support, the government will pay 50 per cent of the wages of any trainee taken up from Monday through to next September. The scheme will be available for any apprentice no matter the size of the business they work for.
Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said on Sunday the scheme would help young people leaving school facing a volatile jobs market.
“My message to businesses out there, small, medium or large, is: as of tomorrow if you sign up a new Australian apprentice or trainee you will be eligible for the 50 per cent wage subsidy through to 30 September next year,” she said.
Read the full story here.
More Coverage
Albanese apologises for ‘unkind’ Tourette slur in parliament
The PM has issued an apology to disabled Australians after being slammed for using Tourette syndrome to mock shadow treasurer Angus Taylor during QT.
Albanese apologises for ‘unkind’ Tourette slur in parliament
The PM has issued an apology to disabled Australians after being slammed for using Tourette syndrome to mock shadow treasurer Angus Taylor during QT.