Coronavirus Australia live news: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews cleared to return to work
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will return to work at the end of the month after his doctors revealed his broken back had largely healed.
- Andrews cleared to return to work
- How NSW, Queensland have dodged latest outbreak
- ‘Call it out’: Virus plea for Victorians
- New Vic case ‘likely linked to Kappa’
- Victoria records one new local case
- Vaccination ‘key to Singapore travel bubble’
- Hotel quarantine boss resigns
- Surgery resumes without visitors
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews will return to work at the end of the month after his doctors revealed his broken back had largely healed. Experts have claimed how NSW and Queensland have so far avoided outbreaks despite an infected Victorian couple’s road trip. Victorian authorities still don’t know the source of a new local case but Jeroen Weimar says there are clues it’s linked to Melbourne’s Kappa outbreak. Mr Weimar urged Victorians to put pressure on anyone experiencing symptoms ‘in the nicest possible way’.Victoria has recorded one new local case, on the state’s second day of freedom from lockdown.
Ellie Dudley10.04pm:Delta contained, but fresh fears over Kappa’s spread
As Victoria recorded one new case of Covid-19 on Saturday, fresh fears emerged surrounding the expanding Kappa variant outbreak and unknown mystery cases.
While state health authorities have still not linked Saturday’s case to its original source, Chief Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said there were “strong reasons” to believe it was connected to the Kappa outbreak.
The Kappa variant of the virus originated in India, and came to Australia through a Victorian who stayed in a South Australia quarantine facility and then travelled to Melbourne.
The specific strain is associated with clusters in the City of Whittlesea, Port Melbourne, the Arcare aged care facility and Reservoir.
It is also the variant carried by two Victorians who travelled through regional NSW to Queensland.
“These are branches of the same fundamental outbreak,” Mr Weimar told reporters on Saturday.
“(The) new case which emerged late last night, we have strong reasons to believe they were connected to the wider Kappa outbreak.”
While Mr Weimar was confident genomic sequencing would prove the connection between the new case and existing ones, he said the detection of small numbers of mystery cases was “concerning”.
“My personal view is that there are certainly more cases out there,” Mr Weimar said.
“I think we’re talking about very small numbers, but we need to track them down because as we have seen, if we let them linger and build.
“We have seen how infectious this Kappa variant can be in certain settings, we really want to get on with the problem.”
Meanwhile, the Delta variant, which caused an outbreak in west Melbourne, has been “well contained”, Mr Weimar said.
Mr Weimar added he was “a little bit concerned” testing numbers were starting to drop, and encouraged Victorians to “call (people) out in the nicest way possible” if they present symptoms.
Neither NSW or Queensland recorded new locally acquired cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, despite fresh warnings due to the pair of infectious Melburnians who travelled to the Sunshine Coast.
However, people in the regional centres of Gillenbah, Forbes, Dubbo, Coonabarabran and Moree are to remain on high alert, NSW Health said.
Anyone who works or resides in the towns have been asked to remain vigilant for the onset of cold symptoms, and be tested if they arise.
READ MORE:Lockdown escapees’ virus mystery
John Ferguson8.34pm:Andrews cleared to return to work
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews will return to work at the end of the month after his doctors revealed his broken back had largely healed.
Mr Andrews announced on Saturday night he would return to work on June 28 after further scans confirmed he was healing well.
His back brace will be removed and his six broken ribs are still healing.
Mr Andrews fell down stairs on the Mornington Peninsula in early March before work.
He said in a statement on Saturday night: “This week I had another round of scans and a meeting with my care team at the Alfred and got some good news.
“The broken vertebra has almost fully healed and they’re letting me take off the back brace that I’ve had to wear for the last three months.
“The six broken ribs will take a while longer to finish healing and doctors tell me that between the ribs and getting used to not having the brace on, the next couple of weeks will be a painful adjustment.
This week I had another round of scans and a meeting with my care team at the Alfred and got some good news.
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) June 12, 2021
I've been given the all clear to return to work soon.
On Monday 28 June I'll be back to work – and back to getting things done. I can't wait. pic.twitter.com/6hDeGqvii2
“But overall, I’m feeling good and I’ve been given the all clear to return to work on Monday 28 June. I’m looking forward to it.
“I want to thank (my wife) Cath and the kids and the nurses, doctors, ambos and physios for all of their care.
“I’m grateful to James Merlino for stepping in to lead the government and the state through a really difficult time – he’s done an amazing job.
“And finally, a special thanks to the tens of thousands of Victorians – especially all the kids – who’ve sent cards and letters and emails. Your kindness and concern is the best medicine – thank you so much!
“Being Premier is a great honour.
“I cannot wait to get back to work, fit and healthy – and getting things done.”
The Australian revealed this week that Mr Andrews was being urged by friends to make a public statement about his recovery.
This was amid intense speculation about what had happened when he fell at the holiday home.
Victoria has been awash with rumours – non substantiated – about what happened when he fell.
They have included wild claims that senior Victorian business people were present.
Mr Andrews is likely to respond to these when he returns to work.
READ MORE:Ambulance Victoria release details about Daniel Andrews’s fall
Frances Vinall5.15pm:How NSW, Queensland have dodged latest outbreak
A Melbourne couple infected with Covid-19 travelled from Victoria to Queensland making multiple stops in NSW, but the two northern states have seemingly avoided outbreaks.
The couple, who were moving interstate because of the husband’s new job, entered Queensland on June 5 after a four-day road trip staying at hotels, visiting cafes, and even going to the cinema in Dubbo and hot springs in Moree in NSW.
So far, no further cases have been detected from their interactions, despite the fact both were believed to be infectious with the Kappa strain of the virus at the time.
Murdoch University Professor of Immunology Cassandra Berry said it was “good news” and that the most likely reason was that the couple luckily were not shedding the virus as much as some others do.
“Not everyone who get the virus is equally contagious,” she said.
“People shed the virus at different levels depending on a lot of factors — their genetics, how ill they are, how severe the disease it, how much the virus is growing in their upper respiratory tract.”
She added that the virus was more likely to spread in busy environments with lots of people rushing around.
This is because body heat and movement keeps saliva droplets suspended in the air for longer, Professor Berry explained.
Ellie Dudley4.01pm:Covid infections dive in France
France is experiencing a massive decline in COVID-19 infections, falling below 5000 per day for the first time since August 2020.
The Covid-ravaged nation recorded 3871 new cases on Friday, along with 69 fatalities.
More than 5.5m coronavirus cases have been recorded in France since the beginning of the pandemic, along with 109,000 deaths.
READ MORE:Infected man’s horror act
Angela Shanahan3.34pm:Lockdowns, right or wrong, must be learned from
As Victoria emerges from another lockdown, there has been an interesting and definite shift in the focus of commentary critical of lockdowns.
Last year sustained criticism of the Andrews government for the lapses in hotel quarantine was perfectly justified, but that did not affect the necessity of last year’s long lockdown in Victoria.
As much as people didn’t like it, nor the government that has presided over it, the rates of infection in Melbourne, obtained from epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws, which I published in a column last year, proved the lockdown response to be the correct one.
The Victorian government’s health advice was proved right despite the blatant ideological criticisms of the lockdown as a “dictatorial response” or an “economic disaster”. What is puzzling is that the virulent critics didn’t see 800 deaths as a foreboding of what might have occurred if Melbourne had opened too soon.
Ellie Dudley 1.45pm:‘Call symptomatic people out for testing’
Chief Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar has directed Victorians to call people out “in the nicest possible way” when they present COVID-19 symptoms.
Mr Weimar’s plea comes as the latest push by the Victorian government to continue to boost the state’s testing numbers.
“If you are being served by people who are symptomatic, call them out in the nicest possible way,” he told reporters on Saturday.
“If you have employees coming to work who are symptomatic, send them to get tested immediately.”
Ellen Ransley1.35am:After the floods: snakes, mozzies, sewage
As thousands of Victorians evacuate ahead of major flooding on Saturday, the state’s emergency services are urging residents to think ahead, with other risks waiting for them once the waters recede.
Everyone in the Traralgon Creek area has been ordered to evacuate and travel to a safe location away from the flooding, with up to 15mm forecast for the catchment during the day.
But, sewage, asbestos, mosquitoes, snakes and live powerlines are among the biggest risks waiting for flood victims in the clean-up.
The Victoria SES is on standby to assist during the flooding and the aftermath but a spokesman said everyone had their own role to play once the dangers had passed.
READ the full story
Ellie Dudley1.00pm: Foley reminds Victorians not to go to NSW for AFL
Martin Foley has reiterated Victorians should not travel to NSW for the Queen’s Birthday long weekend AFL match.
“General restrictions apply to all Victorians. A number of exemptions have been provided, granted by both NSW and Victorian authorities,” Victoria’s Health Minister said.
“As a general proposition, travel from Victoria into other jurisdictions is not permitted. With the exception of the bubbles along the border with Victoria and NSW and other arrangements that are in place.”
He added that some “players” and “clubs” have received an exemption from NSW Health before travelling north.
Mr Foley also defended the state government’s decision to enforce mask-wearing outside.”
“I would dispute that wearing masks is a lower value intervention,” Mr Foley said.
“It is a low-cost but high-value intervention.”
Mr Foley said wearing a mask was “somewhere between 15 and 20 times” more impactful “both indoors and outdoors.”
“We certainly support the arrangements that are in place,” he said.
Ellie Dudley12.55pm:Mystery cases ‘may cause wider outbreaks’
The detection of small numbers of mystery cases is “concerning”, as it indicates there are more undetected cases in the community, Chief Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar says.
Small numbers of cases can “linger and build”, causing larger outbreaks, he said.
His assertion comes after one new mystery case was reported in Melbourne on Saturday.
“My personal view is that there are certainly more cases out there,” Mr Weimar said.
“I think we’re talking about very small numbers, but we need to track them down because as we have seen, if we let them linger and build.”
“We have seen how infectious this Kappa variant can be in certain settings, we really want to get on with the problem.”
READ MORE: Aussie tourist roads lead to the Kimberley
Ellie Dudley 12.40pm: ‘Strong reasons’ to believe new case linked to Kappa outbreak
Chief Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said there are “strong reasons” to believe the new case is connected to the “Kappa” outbreak of COVID-19.
The Kappa variant of the virus originated in India, and came to Australia through a Victorian who stayed in a South Australia quarantine facility and then travelled to Melbourne.
The specific strain is associated with infections in the City of Whittlesea, Port Melbourne, the Arcare aged care facility, Reservoir and the two Victorians with the virus who travelled from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast.
“These are branches of the same fundamental outbreak,” Mr Weimar told reporters on Saturday.
“(To the) new case which emerged late last night, we have strong reasons to believe they were connected to the wider Kappa outbreak.”
Mr Weimar said it was “early days” but the “basic information” health authorities received from the man last night point to connections with the Kappa outbreak.
“In terms of proximity of residents, there is close adjacency in terms of were he lives and other cases live,” he said. “There are also other early indications of overlap in social places (with Kappa cases).”
Ellie Dudley 12.30pm:Mystery remains over source of new Vic case
Victoria’s Health Minister Martin Foley has confirmed health authorities still don’t know the source of a new locally acquired case of COVID-19 in Melbourne’s CBD.
“Our team will continue their investigations today, as to the acquisition source of that case, which came in very late last night,” he told reporters on Saturday.
“This case has done all the right things. From our initial interviews, the individual recognised they had symptoms, got tested, and had a test result, all within the same day, that is, yesterday.”
Mr Foley said health authorities are also continuing to investigate the movements of a pair of infectious travellers who drove from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast this week.
As winter commences, Mr Foley has urged Victorians who come forward for testing, and not dismiss symptoms as “just something that happens.”
“As we have learned over the course of this past 18 months of pandemic, we need to respond to the systems of coronavirus, however mild, as soon as we detect them,” he said.
READ MORE: Surgery to resume, but without visitors
Ellie Dudley 12.00pm:Victoria update on new case at 12.15pm
Victoria’s Health Minister Martin Foley and Chief Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar will provide a COVID-19 update at 12.15pm.
Their announcement follows one new locally-acquired case that was recorded across the state on Friday.
Ellie Dudley11.55am:The Queen honours leaders of UK vaccine rollout
The Queen has used her birthday honours list to salute workers at the forefront of England’s COVID-19 vaccine roll out, which has been credited with reversing the country’s dire pandemic circumstances.
Sarah Gilbert of the University of Oxford and former head of the UK Vaccines taskforce Kate Bingham were recognised with damehoods in the list published late Friday (local time).
Professor Gilbert was praised for her work in the development of the AstraZeneca vaccine, while Bingham was lauded for the country’s highly successful vaccine procurement program.
Of the 1129 people who received honours, 62 per cent were recognised for their community work, with nearly a quarter recommended for their triumphs during the pandemic, the AP reports.
25-year-old Rhys Mallows was awarded a British Empire Medal for his work repurposing Mallows Bottling, a Welsh firm, to produce more than one million hand sanitiser bottles.
He estimates that around 81 million hands have been sanitised.
Amika George, 21, was the youngest recipient, acknowledged for founding the FreePeriods campaign, and later given an Order of the British Empire for services to education after campaigning against period poverty.
Ellie Dudley 11.45am:Zimmerman: high time to bring Biloela family home
The family of Tamil refugees detained on Christmas Island should be permitted to stay in Australia, says Federal Liberal MP Trent Zimmermann.
The Murugappan family have been kept on Christmas Island since 2019, after Australian Border Force officials removed them from Biloela, the regional Queensland town they called home.
The federal government has been widely criticised for the handling of the family, especially after three-year-old Tharnicaa Murugappan was diagnosed with sepsis this week.
“I think it is time that we brought them back from Christmas Island and that we do look at providing them a long term future in Biloela,” Mr Zimmermann told the ABC.
Mr Zimmermann said he had spoken to Immigration Minister Alex Hawke and hopes he “looks favourably” on a request for an exemption.
“It very much has to be an exception to the rule because we don’t want to start people risking their lives coming by boat,” he said.
He added there are “strong compassionate grounds” and an “outpouring” of support from the Australian people which should see the family returned to Biloela.
READ PETER VAN ONSELEN: Arguments against Biloela family don’t pass the sniff test.
Ellie Dudley11.10am:NSW records no new local cases
NSW has recorded no new cases of COVID-19, despite two infected travellers driving through multiple of the state’s regional centres.
One case was recorded in an overseas arrival, who is currently isolated in hotel quarantine.
A total of 19,304 tests were conducted in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, up from 18,525 the day prior.
WATCH: Dr Christine Selvey provides a #COVID19 update for Saturday 12 June 2021https://t.co/H6KfCv3Jfm
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 12, 2021
NSW administered its highest-ever number of vaccines in one day, with 16,288 jabs administered on Friday.
The total number of vaccines delivered throughout the state is now 1,672,607.
People in the regional towns of Gillenbah, Forbes, Dubbo, Coonabarabran and Moree are to remain on high alert, after a pair of infected travellers visited while road tripping from Melbourne to the Sunshine Coast.
Anyone who works or resides in the above areas has been asked by NSW Health to remain vigilant for the onset of cold symptoms, and be tested if they arise.
READ MORE: Lockdowns must be learned from
Ellie Dudley10.35am: UK records highest Covid numbers since Feb
The UK has recorded its highest number of COVID-19 infections since February.
Some 8125 new cases were recorded across the country on Friday, the majority of which are of the Delta variant first identified in India, government figures show.
The highest daily total since February 26, local health authorities are frantically trying to control the new variant, which is considered to be around 40 per cent more transmissible than previous strains.
England is expected to come out of lockdown on June 21, but the new spike in cases could delay the reopening.
Another 17 COVID-19 related deaths were announced on Friday, taking the total for the country to 127,884.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce on Monday, following the G7 summit, new social distancing measures.
READ MORE:EU to threaten Boris with trade war
Ellie Dudley9.35am: Investigation as Victoria records one new local case
Victoria has recorded one new local case, on the state’s second day of freedom from lockdown.
Investigations are underway by the state’s health department to track the origin of the case.
A total of 15,110 tests were conducted across the state on Friday, down from 17,604 the day prior. Victoria also recorded three cases that had been acquired overseas and are currently in hotel quarantine.
One new locally-acquired case was notified to the Department yesterday. Investigations are underway into the acquisition source. Full case, testing and vaccination numbers are being re-verified and will be available shortly. #COVID19Vic
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 11, 2021
Meanwhile, two Thomastown petrol stations have been added to a list of potential exposure sites as the latest venues of concern in Melbourne’s outbreak.
Victoria’s Department of Health issued a warning for all people who had visited the following places at the stipulated times to get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
– Thomastown: AMPOL, Cnr of Dalton Rd and Wood St, June 5, 10.45am-11.25am
– Thomastown: BP Thomastown, 72 Keon Parade, May 28, 10.00am-10.35am
A shopping centre in Heidelberg, in Melbourne’s north east, has also joined the list.
Anyone who visited the following venue should urgently be tested and isolate at home until they receive a negative result.
– Heidelberg: Coles, Warringal Shopping Centre, Burgundy St and Rosanna Rd, June 7, 4.20pm-5.20pm
Check https://t.co/SQ5trZH2NI for the latest information about exposure sites, dates, times, and health advice.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 11, 2021
Check https://t.co/WZI0U7Tsqu for information about where to get tested. [4/4]
Anne Barrowclough 9.10am:Qld records zero local cases
Queensland has reported zero new local cases, days after a Melbourne couple fled lockdown to travel to the Sunshine Coast.
There is one new case in hotel quarantine. It brings the total number of active cases.
Saturday 12 June – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) June 11, 2021
• 0 new locally acquired cases
• 1 overseas acquired cases
• 14 active cases
• 1,642 total cases
• 2,688,547* tests conducted
Sadly, seven people with COVID-19 have died. 1,603 patients have recovered.#COVID19pic.twitter.com/lpWsbocygR
Adeshola Ore7.30am: Vaccination key to travel bubble with Singapore
Tourism and industry groups are urging the federal government to fast track a quarantine-free travel bubble between Australia and Singapore, after Scott Morrison and his Singaporean counterpart confirmed the scheme will include a pilot program for students.
The Prime Minister also flagged that the travel bubble would focus on mutual recognition of digital vaccination certificates. Ahead of his departure to the G7 summit in the UK, Mr Morrison met Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong. He confirmed the city-state would be next in line for a travel bubble with Australia, after two-way travel resumed with New Zealand in April.
The commencement date will be linked to vaccination and transmission rates, with Mr Lee saying it would require the “majority” of the Australian population to be inoculated. Singapore has vaccinated more than one-third of its population, but less than 3 per cent of Australians are fully vaccinated.
READ the full story
Anne Barrowclough7.20am:Charles: use pandemic thinking for climate action
Prince Charles has called on world leaders to use the same mobilisation seen during the pandemic to fight climate change.
The Prince of Wales was joined at the G7 summit in Cornwall by the Queen, the Duchess of Cornwall, and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in their first meeting with world leaders since the start of the pandemic.
Addressing the summit, the prince said in 2014 wind power was considered too expensive to make a real difference to the British power grid, but now it was a vital part of the grid, thanks to the co-operation of government and business.
“Only through government and business coalition can we once again literally put the wind in our sails and win the battle against climate change across all sectors, from agriculture to aviation, from fossil fuels to fashion,” he said.
READ MORE: PM, Biden set ties for rising Sino challenge
Staff reporters7.05am:Qld nightclub raided, closed over ‘multiple’ breaches
A major Queensland live music venue has reportedly been raided and shut down over alleged ‘multiple breaches’ of COVID-19 rules.
Sunshine Coast venue NightQuarter, recently awarded Best Regional Venue at the 2021 Queensland Music Awards had its live music space shut down overnight by the Sunshine Coast Public Health Unit, the Courier Mail reports
Health officers and police raided the venue on Friday night and ordered the closure.
It followed complaints about alleged Covid-19 breaches at a Spacey Jane concert last weekend.
A notice issued to NightQuarter operators Ian Van der Woude and partner Michelle Christoe accused the venue of failing to comply with dance floor density regulations and failing to ensure patrons remained in assigned seats.
It was ordered to close immediately ‘until the end of the declared public health emergency’ or approved controls were put in place.
Josh Beckerman 6.50am:Novavax vaccine ‘may protect against variants’
Novavax Inc. has reported favourable preclinical and clinical data for Covid-19 vaccine candidate NVX-CoV2373, including against variants originally identified in South Africa and the UK.
Novavax said: “These data suggest that not only could one booster dose of this variant-directed vaccine potentially provide a robust, protective immune boost after vaccination against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus, but also the potential to provide broad protection against various virus strains if used as a primary vaccine regimen.” Novavax shares were down 2 per cent after hours to $205.77.
The Wall St Journal
Ewin Hannan7am:Suspended hotel quarantine boss resigns
Suspended Victorian quarantine hotel boss Matiu Bush has resigned while under investigation for infection control breaches and the hiring of two fitness trainers from a gym he promoted to $100,000-a-year jobs in the troubled program.
Mr Bush agreed to quit in the wake of Covid-19 Quarantine Victoria deciding his hiring of the gym trainers, revealed by The Australian in late May, should be part of “wide-ranging” investigation into his conduct. Mr Bush was directly involved in the hiring of Functional U gym owner Alex Cheong and one of its trainers, Christine Yap, as hotel site leads and he featured prominently in a Facebook video promoting the gym.
The broadened inquiry was examining Mr Bush’s “recruitment processes”, including whether he declared any potential conflict of interest in relation to his links to the gym and, in particular, Mr Cheong.
Read the full story, by Ewin Hannan and Damon Johnston, here.
Rachel Baxendale6am:Surgery to resume but without visitors
The Andrews government has succumbed to pressure from medical professionals and agreed to allow elective surgery to resume in Melbourne hospitals from Tuesday, but hospital patients still face an ongoing ban on visits from loved ones due to coronavirus restrictions.
News that there had been no new community-acquired cases of coronavirus in Victoria on Friday also renewed calls for a relaxation of rules that prevent Victorians from having guests in their homes or driving more than 25km until at least next Thursday.
Health authorities warned that the current outbreak was not over, pointing to recent unlinked clusters and coronavirus detections at four Victorian sewage treatment plants where there are no known active cases.
The decision to allow elective surgery follows calls from patients and medical professionals, who highlighted what they saw as a double standard that has allowed Melburnians to go to a restaurant or get their nails done, but not have a medical procedure in a sterile environment with vaccinated doctors and nurses.
Read the full story here.
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