Coronavirus Australia live news: immunity may vanish within months, study finds, as NSW pub cluster spreads
After three months only 16.7 per cent of people who recovered from coronavirus had high levels of neutralising antibodies, and after 90 days some had no detectable antibodies, a study has found.
- NSW debates tougher restrictions, fines for rogue pubs
- Search for NSW pub cluster’s patient zero
- NSW pub cluster grows to 21, multiple venues exposed
- Sydney casino reveals positive test
- Victoria records 177 new cases
- Florida has record daily tally
Welcome to The Australian’s rolling coverage of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Pubs and hotels that breach COVID safety protocols will face heavy penalties and group bookings will be reduced under a tightening of restrictions being considered by the Berejiklian government this evening. Multiple venues across Sydney including Star casino have been exposed to infection as Casula pub cluster grows to 21 and the search for patient zero — the source of the NSW outbreak — continues. Sydney’s Star casino has revealed a positive Covid case from early July. Victoria has recorded 177 new cases, amid a warning that two infected travellers from Victoria attended five NSW venues. Australian scientists are on track to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine this year, with the start on Monday of human trials of the prototype drug.
AFP 10pm: Worst Mideast downturn in 50 years: IMF
The IMF has sharply lowered its Middle East and North Africa economic forecast, to its lowest level in 50 years, over the “twin shock” of the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices.
The region’s economy will contract by 5.7 per cent this year, and shrink by as much as 13 per cent in countries torn by conflict, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund warned.
The economic malaise will see poverty and unemployment rise, stoking social unrest, and send budget deficits and public debt surging, it said.
In its regional economic outlook update, the IMF projected the economies of the Middle East and North Africa to contract by 5.7 per cent this year, 2.4 percentage points lower than its April forecast.
The projection is the lowest in over 50 years, according to World Bank data, and comes after the region posted modest growth last year.
“The region has been facing a crisis like no other — a twin shock that affected the normal functions of their economies during the confinement measures,” Jihad Azour, director of IMF Middle East and Central Asia Department, said on Monday.
READ MORE: Nursing homes feel the pain of fresh outbreak
AFP 9.20pm: Immunity may disappear within months: study
Patients who recover from coronavirus infections may lose their immunity to reinfection within months, according to research released on Monday that experts said could have a “significant” influence on how governments manage the pandemic.
In the first study of its kind, a team led by researchers from King’s College London examined the levels of antibodies in more than 90 confirmed virus patients and how they changed over time.
Blood tests showed even individuals with only mild COVID-19 symptoms mounted some immune response to the virus.
Of the study group, 60 per cent showed a “potent” viral response in the first few weeks after infection.
However, after three months only 16.7 per cent had maintained high levels of COVID-19-neutralising antibodies, and after 90 days several patients had no detectable antibodies in their bloodstream.
READ MORE: It’s the economy, Covid
AFP 8.45pm: Patient received blood from donor with coronavirus
A patient in Hong Kong received blood from a donor who later tested positive for the coronavirus, authorities said on Monday.
Officials were scrambling to trace what happened to the blood after it emerged a man who donated on July 5 was later found to be carrying COVID19.
“The blood transfusion service has been tracing the blood he donated and for now found that a patient in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital received a platelet transfusion,” said Lau Ka-hin, from the city’s Hospital Authority.
It was unclear whether the 35-year-old male recipient had contracted the virus.
“The patient who received the transfusion has been transferred to an isolation ward and is being tested as the hospital continues to follow up on the case,” Mr Lau said, adding the patient had an ongoing chronic condition.
READ MORE: Lockdowns are unsustainable, Liberal MPs say
Jamie Walker 8.15pm: Millions of vaccine doses coming
Drug-maker CSL will produce millions of doses of Australia’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine as it is being tested to speed up an anticipated rollout.
Read the full story here
Imogen Reid 8pm: AHA boss defends pubs
NSW Australian Hotels Association has defended the COVID-19 safety records of pubs and clubs.
AHA director John Green said the Crossroads Hotel had complied with public health orders. “As it stands one person from a group must register their details and those details can also be recorded via the online booking system,” he said.
Mr Green said the Association has provided its members with sufficient information to implement a COVID-19 safety plan, which includes a contact tracing register. However, he said the systems venues use vary.
“Some use a QR code, some use a booking system, some use an SMS service, and some, particularly in rural NSW, use a manual entry,” he said.
He added that while only one person from each group is required to provide their details, he some venues were taking down the details of every patron.
READ MORE: AFL star Bachar Houli urges Muslim community to get tested
Ewin Hannan 7.50pm: Notice period for industrial action extended
The maritime union will be required to give five days’ notice of industrial action at Hutchison Ports, after the Fair Work Commission ruled the COVID-19 pandemic had tipped the balance in favour of extending the standard three-day notice period.
The commission accepted the evidence of the company’s witnesses that the COVID-19 environment was “making an already difficult task of moving containers, almost impossible”.
Hutchison told the commission that there were “less wheels on the road in terms of transportation and that this exacerbates the delay that would ordinarily be occasioned by industrial action”.
The commission said a feature of the COVID-19 environment was that most companies had reduced capacity to withstand loss or damage as a result of protected industrial action being taken against the major stevedores.
“Those services are important to end users who may be awaiting the contents of delayed containers,” it said.
“This is particularly of concern in circumstances where such contents may include supplies of goods and materials to assist in stopping the spread of the COVID-19 virus or supplies destined for hospitals, aged care facilities, schools and providers or other front-line services.”
The union offered to exclude COVID-19 materials from protected industrial action.
“While the (union) is to be commended for offering this undertaking, for reasons associated with the difficulty of ascertaining the contents of containers, and the time it would take to identify and marshal them, this does not mitigate the impacts of the industrial action so that on balance, the circumstances cease to be exceptional,” the commission said.
“I am satisfied that the exceptional circumstances in the present case justify a longer notice period.”
READ MORE: Coronavirus ‘attacks a range of organs’
Angelica Snowden 7.50pm: Refugee guards stood down over Crossroads party
The Refugee Action Council has claimed that up to 30 Serco security guards have been stood-down from their duties at Sydney’s Villawood detention centre after they attended a function at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, southwest Sydney.
Up to 50 guards attended a party at the hotel — which is now the site of a COVID-19 outbreak and linked with 21 cases — on the weekend of July 4, according to a statement on the group’s website.
The Australian Border Force said in a statement: “Staff employed at VIDC who have recently been to the Crossroads Hotel are following advice from NSW Health and all are currently self-quarantining.”
Serco has been contacted for comment.
READ MORE: ‘Millions of vaccine doses’ coming
Helen Trinca 7.15pm: We may have to live with pandemic: Paul Davies
One of the world’s leading scientists, Paul Davies, says we may have to live forever with COVID-19, putting out “spot fires” when they occur.
Speaking in Sydney, where he has been stranded by the pandemic, the US-based academic, author and broadcaster, said the two key exit strategies from the crisis – elimination plus a vaccine; and herd immunity – were not certain of success.
Read the full story here
Angelica Snowden 6.40pm: Star Casino fined $5000
The Star Casino will be fined $5000 this week for breaching COVID-19 public health orders after patrons were “mingling between groups” while consuming alcohol on Saturday night.
The fine is the second to be handed down by Liquor & Gaming NSW after punters were caught defying social distancing rules in large crowds outside the Golden Sheaf Hotel in Double Bay.
The news came after NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant confirmed that a confirmed COVID-19 case linked with an outbreak in Sydney’s southwest also attended the Star City Casino on July 4.
Dr Chant said her understanding was that the person had no symptoms when they attended the venue “and may well have not been infectious”.
“We also advised that he was largely contained within his group and really did not interact with anyone else,” she said.
Acting Director of Compliance for Liquor & Gaming Dimitri Argeres said patrons must be seated to drink or be served alcohol to comply with COVID-19 public health orders.
“There is a risk of COVID transmission if people are mingling while under the effect of alcohol,” Mr Argeres said.
“The Star was aware of its obligations to establish and enforce their COVID-19 Safety Plan as we have visited twice over the past two weeks and provided information and advice on what they should be doing.
“The fine follows a third inspection on the weekend where we witnessed further breaches of the COVID-19 Safety Plan.”
The authority warned that businesses could face fines of up to $55,000 and a further $27,500 penalty for every day an offence continues.
They also warned that individuals face a fine of up to $11,000, six months imprisonment, or both.
READ MORE: Chinese virologist ‘fled territory to tell truth’
Angelica Snowden 6.10pm: Quarantined travellers say police released them early
Returned overseas travellers isolating in a Sydney hotel say they were released from quarantine early by NSW police.
One returned traveller who stayed at the Amora Hotel in the CBD said that a group of 120 people were first told their quarantine would end on July 14.
Instead, he said they were abruptly informed about 6pm on Sunday that they must leave the hotel on July 13 but that they needed to spend another night in isolation at a different hotel.
“I asked the police if I was free to walk out amongst the populace, but they said we would have to isolate at a hotel,” he said.
”We are not criminals, we are Australians coming home.
“It’s one thing to go through the 14 day isolation, but shouldn’t it be communicated to the people that you changed the playing rules.”
The man who returned from the UK on a flight on July 1 said there was “poor communication” with the returned travellers and that their early release was “handled poorly”.
He said “it was a bit totalitarian” to be told he — along with the other guests — would be “escorted from the premises” by 10am on Monday.
“But we were informed by police that wherever we go or whatever we do we would have to isolate for 24 hours but that defeats the purpose,” he said.
“Why weren’t we told the exact times so that we could organise our relatives to pick us or catch flights.”
He said he raised the issue with NSW Police officers who guarded the guests and made a complaint with NSW Health.
Police officers said NSW Health had changed their quarantine policy last week that required travellers to remain in quarantine for between 13 and 21 days.
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said at a press conference on Monday that instances of returned overseas travellers departing hotel quarantine earlier than 14 days was a matter for police.
“There are a small range of exemptions that are in place where people are given exceptions, but it is a very small group,” Dr Chant said.
“Police can probably best answer that question, in terms of any leave beforehand,” she said.
The NSW Government website confirmed if a returned overseas traveller tests negative to COVID-19, they must remain in a hotel for the quarantine period from the first day of arrival in NSW.
According to the website, quarantine will end when the sooner of the following conditions are met: “at least 14 full days have passed and, as a result of testing, the Chief Health Officer (or delegate) is satisfied that you do not pose a risk of infecting any other person with COVID-19” or “24 full days have passed”.
The Amora Hotel was contacted but did not want to respond to The Australian’s request for comment.
NSW Police have also been contacted for comment.
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Rachel Baxendale 5.40pm: Stage Four restrictions not ruled out in Victoria
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has refused to rule out having to tighten restrictions beyond the current Stage Three stay-at-home rules across metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire.
“We’re not there yet, but I can’t rule out that we have further limits placed on people’s movement. I certainly can’t rule that out,” Mr Andrews said.
Currently more than five million Victorians in the lockdown areas are allowed to leave their homes for essential shopping, work and study they can’t do at home, exercise and to seek medical care.
Mr Andrews said any bolstering of restrictions was “not a settled matter at all” and was in the hands of Victorians.
“If you don’t want a Stage Four, if you don’t want this lockdown to last a moment longer than the six weeks that I’ve indicated, then please follow the rules,” he said.
“Do the right thing by your family, your community, and every family.
“At the same time, though, let’s not lose sight of the fact the vast majority of Victorians, to whom I’m so grateful, are doing the right thing, and you can see it in shopping centres, on the freeways, in lots of different ways, in people wearing masks. It is a very, very impressive thing.
“It makes you proud to think that Victorians are sticking together and Victorians know and understand that this is something that affects and impacts all of us.
“The key point is we’ve just got to stay the course, otherwise those sorts of options will be our only options.
“This is in our hands. It’s a very, very complex, cunning, clever enemy that we’re all fighting, but we can get there if we stay the course, and if we acknowledge that all of us have a really important part to play in that.”
READ MORE: Children back home for school
Rachel Baxendale 5.20pm: Errors may be made: Andrews on isolation texts
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews claims text messages sent in error by the state health department to people in quarantine involved excessively “cautious” advice, but people who received the messages have said otherwise.
The Herald Sun reported on Monday Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services wrongly told people in quarantine they were free to leave isolation before their two-week period was completed.
The department said they were unaware how many people had received the incorrect advice which was due to a “data entry error.”
The messages sent on Sunday told some Victorians they were no longer in quarantine, seven days ahead of their isolation period ending.
One Melbourne woman, who was in quarantine with her daughter after he partner tested positive last Wednesday was told on Sunday she was “no longer in quarantine”.
Asked what was being done to boost contact tracing teams battling to contact 1612 active COVID-19 cases and thousands more close contacts, Mr Andrews said: “It’s a very big team, and they’re making contact with an even larger number of people each and every day, and from time to time, human errors will be made.”
“That’s not the example that I had cited to me,” Mr Andrews said of the instance of people being told they were no longer in quarantine before their fortnight was up.
“It was in fact the other way around, where people were given more cautious advice than they probably should have been given, but look, it’s a big team now.
Pressed again on the text messages, Mr Andrews maintained they had contain more, rather than less cautious advice.
“The report I had was that it was the other way around. People were told that they were negative but that they should stay at home,” he said.
“It’s a small number (of messages sent in error). I’m not entirely sure of the exact number, but it’s in the order of 100-odd. I think that was the last report I got.
“Of course we apologise for any convenience, but when you’re dealing with that many people in such a fast moving and dynamic environment, I’m sure Victorians can appreciate that sometimes somebody will attach the wrong spreadsheet to a text message, and a small number, in the scheme of things, of errors may be made. That’s part of a massive logistical effort.”
The Australian has heard reports of interstate contact tracing teams only being given lists of close contacts they needed to call very late in the day, meaning they were unable to make contact until the following day.
Asked whether contact tracing teams were playing catch-up, Mr Andrews said: “I wouldn’t describe it like that at all.”
“It’s not simple work. If it were, this would be a very different challenge, not just here, but right across the world, just as New South Wales, for instance, at the moment, are having to make contact with thousands of people from one night at one pub, we are having to contact thousands and thousands of people each and every day.”
READ MORE: Frontline’s dual strains of worry
Yoni Bashan 5.05pm: EXCLUSIVE: NSW debates tough rules for rogue pubs
Pubs and hotels that breach COVID safety protocols will face heavy penalties and group bookings will be reduced from 20 people down to 10 people under a tightening of restrictions being considered by the Berejiklian government this evening.
Cabinet ministers are currently in a closed-door meeting discussing the introduction of harsh penalties for businesses that do not abide strictly enough with COVID-19 safety and hygiene regulations.
The discussions have been brought forward following the recent outbreak of community transmissions in southwestern Sydney, along with images of long, densely-packed queues outside some larger venues that were circulated on social media.
One of these venues, the Golden Sheaf Hotel in Sydney’s Double Bay, has since committed to lifting its standards of security and social distancing protocols.
Since July 1 there has been no upper limit on the number of people allowed inside a venue in NSW, provided that patrons are separated by a ‘one person per four square metre’ rule.
Cabinet is considering the introduction of COVID safe squads to enforce social distancing in some instances. Heavy penalties for non-compliance is also being discussed, an official said, along with other measures.
These include restrictions on large bookings, to reduce them from 20 people to 10, and measures that will require all patrons to record their details on entry to a venue, rather than just one person on behalf of their party.
Business would also be strongly encouraged to register as COVID-safe; this is currently optional and, for now, unlikely to be made mandatory, though this will also be discussed. Registering as COVID-safe allows patrons to comment in real-time on a venue’s commitment to hygiene and safety.
A decision is expected by 7pm.
READ MORE: Not OK: punters defy social distancing
Rachel Baxendale 4.55pm: Victoria still ‘working through’ 1000 ADF roles
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said his government was still “working through” the exact roles that will be played by 1000 additional ADF personnel being deployed to Victoria to help with the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Andrews accepted Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s offer of the troops over the weekend.
“We’re in constant discussions about whether it be commonwealth public servants, ADF staff, anybody that can assist us, regardless of what uniform they wear, in the current challenge that we face,” Mr Andrews said.
“We’ve got a number of requests that are outstanding, that is we’re just slowly, gradually working up to fulfil those requests that were made some time ago.
“That does take time. You can’t stand these things up in a matter of hours.
“We’ve got ADF, you’ve seen them out there. They’re doing a fantastic job alongside Victoria Police, alongside all of our emergency services as well as our public health team.
“In terms of the exact deployment, the nature of that and how quickly those 1000 staff will get here, I’ll have to come back to you on that.
“That’s still being worked through by people like (Emergency Management Victoria), the public health team, my department and others, and of course the (Victoria Police) Chief Commissioner’s got a direct role in that.”
READ MORE: ADF on COVID war footing
Rachel Baxendale 4.45pm: Low-paid casual workers being hit by virus: Sutton
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said clusters in public housing, aged care facilities and abattoirs showed the state’s second wave of COVID-19 infections was hitting low-paid workers and other vulnerable people.
“We know that pandemics can really shine a light on social inequality and economic inequality,” Professor Sutton said.
“People who have more insecure work and are really obliged to come to work, obviously, are more likely to turn up with mild symptoms, so it is a challenge and we have to reach into all of those community members in order to understand how best to support them for the things that we know that will work, the isolation and quarantine.
“It really is critically important not to come to work even with the mildest of symptoms.”
Professor Sutton stressed that $1500 hardship payments were available for people who could not attend work due to testing positive to COVID-19 or having to isolate as a close contact.
“I hope that gets really broadly broadcast because that’s an important thing for everyone to understand, that you shouldn’t feel obliged to come to a workplace with mild symptoms and there are really significant consequences for outbreaks in some of those sensitive settings,” he said.
Premier Daniel Andrews said there were people who had to make the “very difficult choice”, between “what’s good for public health and the survival of their own family from an economic point of view.”
“They look at their bank balance and they can’t say no to shift, they can’t say no to the boss, and they’ll go to work even though they have mild symptoms, or perhaps worse than that,” Mr Andrews said.
“In order to avoid anybody having to make that choice, in order to ensure that everyone can put public health first, (there’s) that $1500 no-questions-asked hardship payment, if you don’t have sick pay, if you don’t have another opportunity, another avenue to have your income essentially guaranteed during a period of illness, during the period that you have to isolate.”
Mr Andrews said “many hundreds” of $1500 payments had already been made.
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Rachel Baxendale 4.30pm: Breakdown of active Victorian cases: steady net increases
Monday’s local government area data shows steady net increases in COVID-19 cases in LGAs across Melbourne.
The LGA with the highest net increase was Melton, in the outer northwest, with 17 cases, followed by Moonee Valley in the inner northwest with a net increase of 15 and Wyndham in the outer southwest and Moreland in the inner north with a net increase of 13 cases each.
Of 32 LGAs in the lockdown zone, 21 of them have at least 10 cases of COVID-19, and all have at least one.
Three have more than 200 cases, namely the City of Melbourne, Hume in the outer north and Wyndham, while Moonee Valley, and Brimbank in the outer west, have more than 100.
There are 27 cases outside the metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire Stage Three lockdown zone, up from 23 on Sunday and 15 on Saturday.
These include five cases in Greater Geelong, four in Greater Bendigo, three each in Bass Coast, Baw Baw and Greater Shepparton, two in Moorabool and one each in Campaspe, Macedon Ranges, Swan Hill Warrnambool, South Gippsland, Surf Coast and East Gippsland.
Remy Varga 4.15pm: AFL star reveals mother’s battle with coronavirus
Aussie rules star Bachar Houli has revealed his mother is battling the coronavirus in intensive care as he urged people to undergo testing for the highly contagious virus.
Posting a video to his Facebook page on Monday, Houli said his mother was currently undergoing “heavy treatment”.
“Her current state is a mixed one … God knows best her situation,” said the visibly emotional Houli.
“What burns and what hurts truly is the fact no one from her family can go and visit her.”
Houli said he didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for him but instead wanted to share his story in the hopes it changed minds and attitudes towards the coronavirus.
“The reality is it [COVID-19] is out there and I am experiencing it right now within my family,” he said.
“Please I urge you for the sake of Allah to please get tested.”
As a current player for the Richmond Tigers, Houli said he’d been tested more than 30 times.
“It tickles a little bit, it doesn’t hurt,” he said.
“It’s a very, very quick procedure.”
Houli implored the Muslim community to remember the support it had received from the state of Victoria.
“They allow us to practice our religion freely, so we should be grateful for this,” he said.
“And all they want from us, from me and you, is to follow protocols as best as we can. So please, go get tested.”
READ MORE: Virologist ‘fled territory to tell truth’
Angelica Snowden 3.55pm: NSW extends testing hours, considers extra cluster test facility
Amid reports of long waiting times to get a coronavirus test at the Crossroads Hotel pop up clinic, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant says opening hours would be extended tonight and another testing facility could be opened up too.
Dr Chant has also recommended wearing a mask in circumstances where people cannot socially distance, although the “first line of defence” was staying home at the first sign of any symptoms.
“When you are wearing a mask, it is important that it covers your nose and mouth, that you don’t continually adjust it, and that you discard it safely and do not touch the front of the mask and contaminate surfaces,” she said.
Dr Chant also did not rule out recommending another lockdown to the Premier of NSW. She said her focus was on “getting high rates of testing”.
Dr Chant said if any new cases emerge that are not linked with known cases or the Crossroads Hotel authorities may need to take more severe action.
“If we see any emergence of cases that are not linked to either known cases or the Crossroads attendance on those days, then obviously that will lead us to reflect on additional measures,” she said.
“At this stage all of the cases that have been notified, to date just before coming into this press conference, all cases have been able to be linked to either the crossroads or another known case.”
“I would love to see the testing rates hit that 20,000 every day this week,” she said.
“I challenge the community to come forward.”
READ MORE: Nightclub queues risk second wave
Angelica Snowden 3.35pm: Search for patient zero as multiple Sydney venues impacted
A number of other Sydney venues have also been impacted after cases linked with the Casula pub visited the establishments. Some include:
Murray Downs Golf Club (July 4 and July 5)
The Canterbury Leagues Club (July 4)
Highfield Caringbah (July 5)
Merimbula RSL (July 6) On July seven, breakfast at the
Waterfront Cafe at Merimbula (July 7).
On the Star City Casino case, NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said her understanding was that the person had no symptoms when they attended the venue “and may well have not been infectious”.
“We also advised that he was largely contained within his group and really did not interact with anyone else,” she said.
Patient zero who sparked the Casula cluster has not yet been identified and it is “premature to speculate”, Dr Chant said.
“Investigations are ongoing as to the source, it is very important we investigate this thoroughly, before disclosing what we think is the origin,” she said.
“We are awaiting further testing results, I expect those results to be in the next few days, at that point we can update you.”
She said authorities were investigating whether any of the cases connected with the cluster are linked with travellers from Melbourne.
She said there is a “hypothesis” that patient zero came from Victoria but that authorities were trying to remain “open minded”.
The Crossroads Hotel had a COVID safe plan and contact tracers accessed contact details from the records the hotel had kept, Dr Chant confirmed.
Dr Chant said the “issue of implementation is something we need to look at” in regards to the hotel’s COVID safe plan, but that they had co-operated with health authorities.
The COVIDSafe app has not been a “major feature” of contact tracing.
The Crossroads Hotel is frequently visited by freight drivers and is on one of the main transit routes between Sydney and Melbourne.
Amid reports of long waiting times to get a coronavirus test at the Crossroads Hotel pop up clinic, Dr Chant said opening hours would be extended tonight and another testing facility could be opened up too.
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Rachel Baxendale 3.20pm: Victoria has 641 cases with no identified source
There have now been 641 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Victoria with no identified source, including 360 in the fortnight to Monday.
Victoria’s number of known active cases has risen by 1291 in that time, to 1612 cases on Monday.
Of the 3967 cases since the pandemic began, 2392 people have recovered from the virus.
There have been 3552 cases in metropolitan Melbourne and 293 in regional Victoria, and 2100 cases in men and 1856 in women.
More than 1,148,300 tests have been processed.
There have now been 242 COVID-19 cases confirmed in public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington in Melbourne’s inner northwest, up from 237 on Sunday.
An additional 32 cases (up from 28 on Sunday) have been confirmed in public housing towers in Carlton, in the inner north.
Victoria’s Department of Health and Human Services said investigations were continuing into “if and/or how” the North Melbourne/Flemington and Carlton cases were linked.
READ MORE: Nursing home surge in Vic infections
Angelica Snowden 3.10pm: NSW pub cluster hits 21, multiple venues exposed
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant has confirmed an additional seven COVID-19 cases have been linked with the Crossroads Hotel at Casula in NSW to noon today, taking the total number of people linked with the outbreak to 21.
Dr Chant said that 10 of those people had physically visited the pub in Casula in Sydney’s south west. A further 11 people were identified as close contacts of those cases.
“There were 14 new cases of COVID-19 diagnosed on the 24 hours to 8pm last night. Bringing the total number of cases for New South Wales to 3303,” Dr Chant said.
“An additional seven cases have been reported to noon today, linked to people at the hotel,” she said.
Dr Chant revealed that one of the cases, now linked with the Crossroads Hotel, also attended a nearby gym.
The gym is Planet Fitness, which is located in Casula, and the person attended that facility on July 6 – July 10.
The gym confirmed in a statement that it was closed for cleaning on Sunday night after a member tested positive to COVID-19.
Dr Chant also revealed that another person who visited the pub also attended the Star Casino on July 4 after 8pm.
READ MORE: How do I avoid COVID-19? Your questions answered
Rachel Baxendale 2.55pm: Al-Taqwa students ‘entitled’ to school return
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says VCE students at Al-Taqwa College, whose 14-day COVID-19 quarantine period ends on Thursday, have an “entitlement” and are safe to return to school.
The cluster linked to the Islamic school in Truganina, in Melbourne’s outer west, reached 142 cases on Sunday, including 28 staff, 76 students, 16 close contacts and 22 cases under investigation.
Professor Sutton said last week that many of the infected students had been “older students”, but Victoria’s health department has not responded to repeated requests for information on how many of the infected students were in Years 11 & 12.
The entire school community of 2150 students and 320 staff went into quarantine on June 3, six days after the department first became aware of a case in a teacher, meaning the fortnight of quarantine ends on Thursday for those who have not tested positive or been exposed to a positive case in the previous two weeks.
While Prep to Year 10 students will be home schooled from next Monday in Victoria’s lockdown area, Year 11 & 12 students are already back in the classroom, although Al-Taqwa College remains closed.
“For Al-Taqwa College, clearly for those who went into quarantine more than 14 days ago, they have an entitlement and they are safe to return,” Professor Sutton said.
“But there will be family outbreaks where close contacts have become positive, where their quarantine period is basically extended, when you have a new positive case, you’ve been re-exposed to coronavirus as a close contact, then as a student, your quarantine period only ends 14 days after you have been isolated from an infectious individual, so not all students will have an entitlement to return, but I think that the great majority will have gone through the quarantine period.”
Professor Sutton said he did not have updated figures for Monday on how many new cases there had been linked to the Al-Taqwa cluster.
The cluster, which is Victoria’s second-largest, is also linked to the state’s largest outbreak, in housing commission towers in Melbourne’s inner northwest, which reached 237 cases on Sunday.
Families who live in the towers attend Al-Taqwa College.
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Rachel Baxendale 2.30pm: Victoria ‘may not have hit a peak’
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said that while 177 new cases on Monday was lower than recent previous days, it was not cause for complacency.
Monday’s 177 new cases and 22,943 tests processed reflect a 0.77 per cent positive test rate — very slightly higher than the 0.76 per cent rate on Friday, when there was a record 288 new cases and a record 37,588 tests processed.
Monday’s positive test rate is down on the rates over the weekend, which were 0.79 per cent for Saturday, and 0.90 per cent for Sunday.
“I’m not going to be complacent about today’s number,” Professor Sutton said. “It’s great that it’s lower than our peak, but it may not be our peak yet.
“I would like to see a week of decreasing numbers before I come and say that I’ve got greater comfort about the direction we’re going in.”
Professor Sutton said he hoped the lower number was a “good sign” as a reflection of actions people took a week or more ago, before all of Melbourne went into lockdown last Wednesday night.
“That’s a small bit of optimism in today’s numbers,” he said.
Professor Sutton said Victoria’s COVID-19 numbers were currently revealing “four or five new outbreaks” every day.
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Sarah Elks 2.10pm: Qld police catch Victorian border breakers
Six Victorians in a mini-van have been fined for trying to enter Queensland with false border declarations, after being intercepted on the Gold Coast on Sunday.
Queensland Police said they intercepted the minivan – carrying a 19-year-old male driver, two 19-year-old women, and three men aged 18, 23 and 28 – initially on Saturday night when the six passengers were refused entry at the M1 border control checkpoint.
“On Sunday, officers intercepted the same van on Stuart Street in Coolangatta around 2pm,” the QPS said.
Police have fined six Victorian travellers $4,000 each after attempting to enter Queensland with false declarations. https://t.co/cc29mEVwSB pic.twitter.com/3VlkGR2dNK
— Queensland Police (@QldPolice) July 13, 2020
“After speaking with the 19-year-old male driver it will be alleged the same group were attempting to cross the border with declarations falsely claiming they had not been in Victoria in the previous 14 days.”
They were all fined $4003 for failing to comply with the COVID-19 border direction, and were turned around.
In the past three days, since the border opened, more than 850 people have been refused entry to Queensland.
Police say three penalty infringement notices have been issued to nightclubs because of failing to ensure social distancing last weekend.
Deputy police commissioner Steve Gollschewski said the actions of the Victorian six to deliberately create fraudulent border declarations were “selfish” and a worry.
“Over all, the attitude of the people coming through has been commendable,” he said.
“It’s a very costly exercise … if you’re coming out of Victoria, and you’ve been there in the past 14 days … do not come to Queensland.”
He said there were people in hotel quarantine across Queensland, from Cairns to Roma to Brisbane.
READ MORE: NRL clubs caught in Covid scare
Rachel Baxendale 1.40pm: ‘Worry’ over Melbourne aged care cluster
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said he was “worried about” the cluster of 26 cases at Menarock Aged Care — Victoria’s largest aged care cluster so far.
“I am worried about it. I think it’s a reasonably even split between staff and residents who have been infected at Menarock, but again I’d have to go into the detail reporting, the Chief Health Officer media release this afternoon,” Professor Sutton said.
“It is a concern. I think we’re still having success in as much as the vast majority of our aged care cases have been single staff members or sometimes multiple staff members without residents becoming infected, but they are all at-risk, settings, and we need to be really mindful of doing rapid lockdowns, the outbreak squads go out on the same day and they do very broad testing of all the residents to identify cases early.
“This is the biggest one in aged care in Victoria to date.”
Professor Sutton said some residents had been transferred to “acute care”.
“Some of them have been transferred to hospital for their care,” he said. “Obviously that’s both because they are at risk of very significant consequences, but also because it helps to manage the outbreak in those settings.”
Ambulances have visited the Essendon facility this afternoon.
READ MORE: Premier’s hubris X-factor in virus spread
David Ross 1.15pm: Sydney casino positive sparks contact tracing
Sydney’s Star casino in Pyrmont said it had been informed by NSW Health that a patron who visited The Star Sydney on the evening of Saturday, July 4 had returned a positive test for COVID-19.
“The Star is working closely with NSW Health to respond to this information, including the conduct of contact tracing (which includes staff members),” Star said in a statement to ASX. The Star said since its reopening on June 1 it had continued to operate in accordance with its COVID-Safe Plan, including distancing measures and hygiene and cleaning measures across the property including extensive intra-day cleaning and a daily comprehensive clean during a property shutdown between 6am and 10am.
READ MORE: Mall vacancies hit 20-year high
Rachel Baxendale 1.05pm: Aged care home part of Melbourne clusters
An aged care home with 26 COVID-19 cases is among several clusters with new cases on Monday.
The cases have been confirmed at Menarock Life Aged Care in the northwestern Melbourne suburb of Essendon, and are more than double the 11 cases linked to the facility yesterday.
Other clusters with new cases on Monday include:
– A cluster of six cases (up from four on Sunday) linked to the Lamanna supermarket in Essendon, in Melbourne’s northwest;
– A cluster of 12 cases (up from 11 on Sunday) at Somerville Meats retail services in Tottenham, in Melbourne’s west. The facility is closed;
– A cluster of eight cases (up from six) linked to Cenvic Construction Riverina Apartments in Footscray in the inner west;
– A cluster of 13 cases (up from 12) linked to Glendale Aged Care Facility in Werribee, in Melbourne’s outer southwest, including that of 90-year-old great-grandfather Alf Jordan, who died of COVID-19 last week;
– A mega-cluster of 144 cases (up from 142) at Al-Taqwa College in the outer western suburb of Truganina, including 28 staff, 76 students, 18 close contacts and 22 cases under investigation;
– Two cases at the Japara Central Park Aged Care facility in Windsor, in Melbourne’s inner southeast.
READ MORE: Nursing home cluster revealed
Adeshola Ore 12.50pm: 5 million masks will be sent to Victoria
Health Minister Greg Hunt has confirmed five million face masks will be deployed to Victoria from the national stockpile.
Of the five million, one million will be allocated for frontline healthcare workers.
Mr Hunt urged Australians in COVID-19 hot spots to wear masks if they are unable to safely socially distance.
Mr Hunt began a press conference on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula on Monday afternoon wearing a surgical mask, describing them as “part of our national defence network.”
The remaining four million masks will go to Victoria’s aged-care homes.
Mr Hunt said the 1,000 Australian Defence Fence personnel en route to Melbourne was in addition to the 350 already assisting the state’s police force enforce the six-week lockdown.
“This is to help Victorians and help contain the virus. The rules will include isolation testing, follow up and checkpoint control.”
READ MORE: Chinese virologist fled to ‘tell truth’
Kieran Gair 12.37pm: Long wait for test at Sydney hotspot
Long queues of cars are forming outside a pop-up testing clinic at the Crossroads Hotel in Southwest Sydney as panicked locals flock to get tested after the number of cases linked to the pub grew to 13.
Some people who had joined the queue outside the Casula pub on Monday morning said they had been waiting for more than four hours to get tested.
Retirees John and Heather Abernethy said they had arrived at 8am on Monday to get tested at the pub’s pop-clinic, but by 12.30pm they had still not answered a questionnaire or being seen by a healthcare worker.
“We were here last Monday for lunch and heard on the news last night that they wanted everyone to get tested,” Ms Abernethy, 69 said. “At our age you can’t be too careful.”
The couple, who both downloaded the COVIDSafe App in April, said they had received “no correspondence” from health authorities.
“Neither of us received an alert or notification on the app, so it makes me wonder if it’s even working,” Mr Abernethy, 68, said.
Ten new cases detected in the last 24-hour reporting period were community transmissions, with each case linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster which ballooned to 13 on Monday.
The Picton Hotel and Planet Fitness Casula have been closed after cases linked to the Crossroads cluster visited their facilities, indicating NSW could be entering a worrying new phase of contagion fuelled by community transmission.
Lauren Creamer, who visited the pub last Monday, said staff had not asked patrons to sign in or for their email address and mobile number.
“I was at the Crossroads Hotel on July 6,” she said. “I dined there for an hour. The place was packed and they did not take my name or number down.”
One nurse at the pub pop-up clinic on Monday, who asked not to be named, said he had been called away “from a desk job” last week and worked a 17-hour shift at the clinic on Friday to help NSW Health deal with the increased demand for testing that is sweeping southwest Sydney.
READ MORE: Hunt for truckies at risk of COVID-19
Sarah Elks 12.20pm: Queensland records new case, warning issued
Queensland just one new case of COVID-19 overnight, increasing the total number of active cases to four.
The new case is a woman in her 30s from the Sunshine Coast who had returned from overseas and was in hotel quarantine when she was diagnosed.
Queensland Health said the total cases were now 1071.
Queensland authorities are also warning of an outbreak from a popular pub in Sydney, frequented by interstate drivers.
“Anyone who has travelled through New South Wales and stopped in at the Crossroads Hotel between 3 and 10 July is urged to immediately get tested for COVID-19 and quarantine for 14 days,” Queensland Health says in a statement.
“The hotel is situated in Casula in Southern Sydney on the Hume Highway and is very popular with freight drivers.”
READ MORE: Victorian border cheats ‘selfish’
Yoni Bashan 11.40am: Labor MP in isolation after visiting cluster hotel
A NSW Labor MP has gone into self-isolation after both he and his wife attended the Crossroads Hotel in the southwestern Sydney, the venue at the centre of Sydney’s latest novel coronavirus cluster.
Anoulack Chanthivong, who represents the seat of Macquarie Fields, said he ate dinner at the venue on July 6 and was contacted by NSW Health via an automated message on Sunday night to undergo testing.
He received the message about 48 hours after a public health alert about coronavirus infections were first detected at the venue, by which time he had already volunteered for the test.
He said neither he nor his wife have symptoms of the virus and both are still waiting on the results.
“It was a quiet evening, not that many people there, and based on the updated advice from (NSW chief health officer) Dr Kerry Chant I’m now in self-isolation,” he told The Australian.
Mr Chanthivong said he had made an electronic booking online, meaning his details would have been available to health officials, despite the delay in contact.
NSW Health has been asking for anyone who attended the Crossroads Hotel between July 3 and July 10 to undergo testing.
The total number of cases linked to the venue, located in the Sydney suburb of Casula, remains unclear. NSW Health released figures on Monday stating five new cases had been discovered, and a spokesman said a number of Australian Defence Force personnel who had been at the pub are also in isolation, though none have tested positive.
Mr Chanthivong said one complication with the testing remained its efficiency; he spent several hours in a lengthy queue with other residents to receive his test, some of whom left due to the long waiting period.
“I think it’s important to expand the testing, but also make it efficient too. You can expand it but what if you have to wait three or four hours in the queue? And if you’re an older Australian, standing on a footpath for a long period of time, that may discourage people,” he said.
NSW Health originally called on people who attended the Crossroads hotel on the evening of Friday, July 3, to undergo testing but this was later expanded to encompass the entire week.
Mr Chanthivong said such messaging needed to be consistent and clear, particular in the southwestern Sydney region, which was home to culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
“The more times you change the messaging, it creates uncertainty for people, and that’s not effective in the way we deliver our public health messages.
“Southwest Sydney is a very diverse community, so we want to make sure we make our language very clear.”
READ MORE: Quarantine text message error exposed
Adeshola Ore 11.27am: Picton Hotel closed after link to outbreak
The Picton Hotel in Sydney’s south-west has been closed for cleaning after a case linked to the Casula outbreak visited the pub.
It comes amid growing fears the virus is quickly spreading beyond the original cluster.
NSW Health said the confirmed case visited the hotel’s gaming room on July 4, 9 and 10.
The cluster at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula is now linked to 13 cases of COVID-19.
READ MORE: COVID strategy clarion call from business chiefs
Rachel Baxendale 11.15am: Victoria records 177 new cases
Victoria has recorded 177 new cases in the 24 hours to Monday, bringing the state’s total number of active cases to 1612, and total since the pandemic began to 3967.
Of the 177, 25 have been linked to outbreaks, one was in hotel quarantine, while the remaining 151 are under investigation.
Monday’s 177 positive results come after 22,943 tests were processed on Sunday, meaning there was approximately one positive result for every 129.6 tests conducted.
This is actually a slightly worse outcome than the state’s record 288 new cases on Friday, when 37,588 tests were conducted, resulting in one positive result for every 130.5 tests taken.
There have now been a total of 1,148,357 tests conducted in Victoria since the pandemic began.
As of Monday, there are 72 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus, of whom 17 are in intensive care.
This compares with 57 in hospital on Sunday, of whom 16 were in ICU.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Hutton said of Monday’s new case numbers: “It’s great that it’s lower than our peak, but it may not be our peak yet.”
READ MORE: Frontline’s dual strains of worry
Adeshola Ore 10.57am: Infected Victorians attended several NSW venues
The Victorian Department of Health has confirmed two of the state’s COVID-19 cases attended several venues across NSW.
NSW Health is urging anyone who attended the following venues at these times to monitor themselves for symptoms of the virus and get tested if they present:
– Cook @ Kurnell – July 5, lunch
– Highfield Caringbah- July 5, dinner
– Merimbula RSL – July 6, dinner
– Waterfront Café Merimbula – July 7, breakfast
– Murray Downs Golf Club – July 4 and 5
READ MORE: Fears NSW ‘on path to Victoria’
Richard Ferguson 10.52am: Post-JobKeeper support ‘demand-driven’
Josh Frydenberg says the post-JobKeeper phase of income support will be “demand-driven” and will be rolled out across the nation, and not just in states hit hard by COVID-19 second waves.
As Victoria’s cases continue to balloon and more community transmission is detected in NSW, the Treasurer said the next phase – to be outlined next week – will be targeted but not state-specific.
“It will be governed by the same principles that have defined our economic measures to date, namely that our support will be targeted, it will be temporary,” he said.
“it will be designed based on existing systems and it will also be demand driven.
“We’ve gone for a national approach as opposed to state-specific approaches and that continues to be the pathway that we have set and we will follow on.”
READ MORE: Cash splash blows out by $600m
Adeshola Ore 10.29am: Crossroads Hotel cluster in NSW grows
NSW Health has confirmed there are 13 cases of COVID-19 linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster in Casula.
The latest case is a man in his 20s who dined at the south-western Sydney pub on July 3.
The state recorded an additional 14 cases of the virus overnight, including four returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
Two NSW residents acquired the virus in Victoria and have been isolating since their return.
Eight cases reported today include five linked to the Crossroads Hotel, four of which were reported yesterday in the media. NSW Health said none of the cases appeared to be the likely source of infection at the hotel. The other three are close contacts of cases who were at the hotel. They are all in isolation.
14 new cases of #COVID19 were diagnosed in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 3,303.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 13, 2020
8 cases counted today include five who attended the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, and 3 are contacts of cases who were at the hotel. They are isolating. pic.twitter.com/DzhfeeeAJw
One case linked to the outbreak visited the Picton Hotel during their infectious period, attending the pub’s gaming room on July 4, 9 and 10. The hotel is now closed for cleaning.
NSW Health can confirm a number of ADF personnel who attended the Crossroads Hotel are self-isolating. None of these people have tested positive.
NSW has now recorded 3,303 confirmed cases of the virus.
READ MORE: WHO inquiry won’t visit Wuhan lab
Adeshola Ore 10.19am: Additional cases linked to Sydney hotel cluster
NSW’s Chief Health Officer says there have been additional cases linked to a coronavirus outbreak at Crossroads Hotels, in Sydney’s south west.
A Casula gym, one kilometre away from the pub, has been shut for deep cleaning after a member tested positive to the virus.
Ms Chant said health authorities had not confirmed the source of the infection.
“We do have some linkages to Melbourne but we need to do some further diagnostic testing to nail this confirmation,” she told 2GB radio on Monday morning.
Anyone who attended the pub between July 3 to July 10 is being urged to undergo a COVID-19 test and self-isolate for two weeks.
NSW Health announced an additional four cases linked to the hotel on Sunday, taking the confirmed total to nine.
Ms Chant confirmed that a small number of ADF personnel had attended the Crossroads Hotel and were in isolation. She said none of the employees are unwell or showing signs of the virus.
READ MORE: Children (and parents) back home for school
Rachel Baxendale 10.05am: Victoria accepts additional 1000 troops
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has accepted Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s offer of an additional 1000 ADF troops to help the state battle its massive second wave of coronavirus cases.
“We offered a further ADF support of up to 1000 people, as many as they need frankly,” the Prime Minister told Sydney’s 2GB radio.
“That’s being rolled across, the Premier accepted that. I wrote to him on Saturday.
“We’re all working together.”
Known active cases in Victoria reached 1484 on Sunday, with 273 new cases.
The Premier is due to address the media alongside Mental Health Minister Martin Foley at 11am.
With Richard Ferguson
READ MORE: Fears NSW ‘on path to Victoria’
Adeshola Ore 9.58am: Sydney pub outbreak link to ADF base
The Australian Defence Force has confirmed that 12 personnel are in isolation after visiting a Sydney pub at the centre of a new coronavirus outbreak.
The test results for the employees of the Wagga Wagga base are pending, but they are required to self-isolate for fourteen days.
NSW Health has confirmed there are nine COVID-19 cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel in Casula.
An 18-year-old staff member was among four new cases at the establishment identified on Sunday
READ MORE: Sydney gym shuts after positive coronavirus test
Richard Ferguson 9.47am: PM expects high number of cases ‘for some time’
Scott Morrison expects to see a high number of new coronavirus cases in Melbourne for some time yet, as the national effort continues to suppress the Victorian outbreak.
Senior doctors in Victoria are concerned that the double whammy of coronavirus infections in healthcare workers and rising COVID-19 hospital admissions could undermine the health system’s capacity to cope.
The Prime Minister said on Monday the elevated numbers will continue, but praised the national team of contact tracers trying to help suppress the virus in Melbourne.
“The lockdown that they’ve put in place will take its effect but it obviously won’t happen immediately,” the Prime Minister told Sydney’s 2GB radio.
“We’d be expecting some continued case numbers at those elevated levels for some time yet.
“Everyone’s working together and there’s a big logistical effort to track down those people … it’s a real national effort.”
READ MORE: Frontline’s dual strains of worry
Adeshola Ore 9.44am: Enrolments rise as childcare payments end
Education Minister Dan Tehan says enrolments have risen at early childhood centres, as the federal government’s free childcare program ends today.
The scheme, which began in April, gave families a three-month reprieve on paying for childcare, to ease the burden on essential workers and families facing financial hardship.
But parents in lockdown in Melbourne will have their gap fees for childcare waived if they do not attend. Childcare centres will also be able to claim subsidies for children not in attendance.
“It won’t cost the parent anything for not having their child at home. And we’ll continue to monitor the situation in Melbourne,” Mr Tehan told the ABC on Monday morning.
“But for the rest of the country, obviously as the economy continues to open up, we’ve seen demand for places increases. And that’s why we’ve moved back to the old system, but with transition arrangements in place.”
Parents who have lost their job as a result of COVID-19 are eligible to apply for a financial hardship payment, which is paid for a maximum of thirteen weeks.
From next Monday, childcare centres will be ineligible for the federal government’s JobKeeper – the first sector to be cut off from the wage subsidy program.
READ MORE: Childcare sector waits to see if attendance will drop as childcare subsidy returns, free care ends
Sarah Elks 9.26am: ‘Large scale’ vaccine rollout by mid-2021
University of Queensland scientists believe they could have a COVID-19 vaccine ready for “large scale roll out” by the middle of next year, if human trials starting today go well.
UQ Professor Paul Young said there could be emergency doses ready before that.
Professor Young said his team was working around the clock, in shift work, to get to this point – the most advanced vaccine-development team in the world.
“There have been multiple milestones, but this is a big one,” Professor Young said.
The university has partnered with drug manufacturer CSL to ensure any successful vaccine would be ready to be made as soon as regulatory approval was given.
READ MORE: Adelaide vaccine trial begins
Sarah Elks 9.08am: Human vaccine trials begin in Queensland today
Queensland will today begin clinical trials on a COVID-19 vaccine, as the state records one new case of coronavirus.
As reported by The Australian today, University of Queensland will begin human trials today and the first data will be available by September.
State Development Minister Kate Jones said 120 people would be involved in the human clinical trials, and said the scientists were working around the clock every day to develop the vaccine.
The Queensland government has put $10m towards the vaccine development at the university.
Health Minister and Deputy Premier Steven Miles said it was a “momentous day” and Queensland’s scientists were leading the world.
“We have one additional case here in Queensland overnight, a returning traveller from the United States, they were in hotel quarantine, normally a resident of the Sunshine Coast,” Mr Miles said.
Mr Miles said “our greatest concern now” was the pub at Casula in NSW, because it was a popular stopping point for truckies travelling the Hume Highway.
“Anyone who has been to the Crossroads Hotel between the 3rd and the 10th of July should go and get tested,” he said.
Police are now asking people at the Queensland border whether they have been to the hotel on those dates, and urging them to get tested.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the police were “very concerned” about images of people not properly socially distancing at nightclubs.
Ms Palaszczuk said there would be fines for nightclub owners found to have breached their “COVID Safe” plans.
She said a van full of young people from Victoria had been fined for trying to enter Queensland.
“It’s not on, you will be caught and you will be fined,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
READ MORE: Human trials of Australian vaccine begin today
Erin Lyons 9.00am: Sydney gym closes as member tests positive
A Sydney gym has closed its doors and will undergo a deep clean after a member tested positive for COVID-19.
Planet Fitness in Casula, just a kilometre away from the Crossroads Hotel, took to Facebook to confirm the news and urged anyone who may have attended the gym — particularly between 9am and 11am Thursday and 4pm and 6pm Friday — to get tested.
“The member has not been at the club since Friday 10 July, and is in quarantine,” the gym’s letter to members said.
“We are taking the precautionary measures of closing this location … and to ensure the uncompromised safety of our members.”
The letter said staff were in self-quarantine and it would follow advice from the NSW Health Department.
It is not yet known whether the case is related to the outbreak at the Crossroads Hotel, which has reported nine cases of COVID-19.
NSW chief medical officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed on Sunday an 18-year-old pub staffer was among the nine people.
He is one of four new cases identified on Sunday afternoon linked to the establishment.
A woman in her 50s, who is a close contact of the worker, has tested positive, as well as woman from southwest Sydney who had dinner at the hotel on July 3.
NWK News
READ MORE: Containing spot fires vital to living with virus
Adeshola Ore 8.33am: Treasurer defends PM’s NRL attendance
Josh Frydenberg has defended the Prime Minister’s attendance at an NRL game on Saturday, as Melbourne completed its first weekend of a six-week lockdown.
Photos of Scott Morrison at the Panthers-Sharks game were met with some criticism, with social media users saying it was inappropriate for Mr Morrison to attend a match during a pandemic.
“The Prime Minister has been working extremely hard for a long period of time and good on him for being passionate, not just about his country but about his footy,” Mr Frydenberg told 2GB radio on Monday morning.
“We are living in one country at two different stages.”
READ MORE: Morrison shows his true colours at footy
Adeshola Ore 8.15am: Frydenberg tight-lipped on JobKeeper
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has remained tight-lipped on which industries could continue with JobKeeper.
“We know where we’re going, that’s for certain and we know it’s going to support those who need it,” he told 2GB radio on Monday morning.
The government’s second phase of income support will flow through the bank accounts of low-income Australians from Wednesday.
“At a time of great difficulty, five million Australians will get this $750 including pensioners, veterans, eligible concession card holders,” he told 2GB radio on Monday morning.
The Treasurer will give a budget update on July 23 and is expected to outline the next phase of income support.
READ MORE: Running in Covid circles prolongs agony
Adeshola Ore 8.00am: 10,000 exemptions for border town residents
NSW Police Minister David Elliot says 10,000 exemptions have been permitted for border-town residents to move between the state and Victoria.
The border between the two states closed last week in response to the surge in community transmission in Victoria. Border town residents and people who need to cross state lines for work and health reasons are eligible to apply for an exemption pass.
“People need to know this isn’t a punishment. We can issue exemptions, they have been issued, and hopefully that will soften the burden to those border economies,” he told 2GB radio on Monday morning.
Mr Elliot said 650 NSW Police and 350 defence personnel were deployed at the border.
READ MORE: End this lockdown madness
Cameron Stewart 7.50am: Trump hopes hit by red swing state surge
Donald Trump’s re-election hopes are being hit by the surge in coronavirus cases across must-win states in the south and west as infections in the key battleground of Florida topped 15,000 for the first time.
The 15,299 new cases in Florida was the highest number daily recorded by any US state during the pandemic, including New York, came as the nation recorded more than 60,000 new infections for the third straight day.
“This is an American failure,” said Joseph Kanter, regional medical director for the Greater New Orleans area. “We’re five months into this epidemic and we can’t figure it out.”
A new CBS poll shows that the surge in virus cases in the key Republican states of Florida, Arizona and Texas is now hurting the president politically with two-thirds of voters in these states saying their state reopened too early because of political pressure from the president.
State governors and city mayors in several of those states and cities where the outbreak is worst are now moving to reimpose restrictions including by closing bars and restaurants – moves which will stunt their economic recovery and which will further hurt the president politically.
The CBS poll shows two in three voters in the sunbelt states of Florida, Arizona and Texas – each won by Mr Trump in 2016 – said the fight against the virus was going badly in their state. The poll found that support for Mr Trump’s Democratic rival Joe Biden in these states was increasing with Mr Biden enjoying a 6 point lead in the must-win state of Florida with Mr Biden now level with Mr Trump in Arizona and just one point down in Texas which has not voted for a Democrat presidential candidate since Jimmy Carter in 1976.
Mr Trump would need to win all of these three states – as well as the Midwestern swing states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan – to repeat his 2016 victory in the November election.
READ the full story here.
Anne Barrowclough 7.40am: Federal MP self-isolates after Crossroads Hotel visit
Federal MP Anne Stanley has entered self isolation after visiting the Crossroads Hotel in Casula.
Last week I had dinner at the Crossroads Hotel at Casula. I have followed today’s medical advice from NSW Health and I have been tested and am now in 14 days self-isolation.
— Anne Stanley MP (@AnneWerriwa) July 12, 2020
If you also visited the Crossroads… https://t.co/gU0mw611eB
The Labor MP for Werriwa announced on Twitter and Facebook that she had been tested for the virus and gone into 14 days self-isolation, and urged others who had been to the pub to do the same.
READ MORE: Disease research gets $45m injection
Adeshola Ore 7.10am: Returning travellers charge ‘gets balance right’
NSW Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres says the state’s decision to charge all returning travellers for hotel quarantine is a fair process that shares the costs of the program.
Mr Ayres said the $3,000 international arrivals, including Australian citizens, will be required to pay for hotel quarantine does not cover security and transport from the airport.
“The cost recovery is not covering everything, it’s really just covering the accommodation and food service we put into place,” he told 2GB radio on Monday morning.
“We think we’ve got the balance right. It sends the message to people coming home that they will need to cover some of those costs and we get to keep the most important frontline defence we have available, our hotel quarantine program.”
Mr Ayres said that Australians overseas had almost four months to return home since Scott Morrison urged all residents to fly home in late March.
READ MORE: Fears NSW on same path as Victoria
Adeshola Ore 6.50am: WHO reports worst daily increase of 250,000
The World Health Organisation reported a record increase in global COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with the total rising by more than 230,000. The biggest increases were in the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa. The global tally of coronavirus cases is approaching 13 million.
In the US, Florida reported more than 15,000 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, as the growing outbreak forces authorities to close some businesses and beaches. The state’s daily increases are now surpassing the highest daily tally reported by any European country during the pandemic.
Florida’s Walt Disney World resort reopened on the weekend amid the surge of infections. Disney’s Hollywood Studios are expected to open on July 15. Visitors are required to wear masks and adhere to other safety measures.
South Africa is set to reimpose a ban on the sale of alcohol and a night time curfew to ease pressure on the country’s hospitals as coronavirus cases surge. The country went into a hard lockdown in late March and delayed a surge in infections, but restrictions have since eased due to fears for its struggling economy. Family visits and social activities will also be banned under the current measures. South Africa has the highest number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa.
Thai researchers are planning to begin human trials of a potential coronavirus vaccine in November. Thai company BioNet-Asia is preparing its facilities for large-scale manufacturing if the trials are successful. There are no approved vaccines for the virus that causes COVID-19, but 19 candidates are being trialled globally. China is currently leading the race with a vaccine by Sinovac Biotech.
Globally, there are 12.8 million coronavirus cases and more than 566,000 deaths.
READ MORE: Mask wearing gains ground in second wave
Kate King 6.20am: Florida confirms record 15,299 new cases
New coronavirus infections topped 15,000 in Florida on Saturday, the largest one-day increase in any state since the start of the pandemic, while dozens of states around the country were reporting steady climbs in new cases as well.
The number of daily infections in the US surpassed 60,000 for a third consecutive day on Saturday, after reaching a record of more than 66,000 cases the previous day, data compiled by Johns Hopkins University showed. The US has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, with nearly 3.25 million, according to Johns Hopkins.
The 15,299 new cases in Florida represented an uptick of about nearly 5,000 over Friday’s numbers. The state, which has seen a surge in cases in recent weeks, hadn’t topped 12,000 new cases in any day since the start of the pandemic.
California, Texas, and Arizona reported near-record daily COVID-19 cases on Saturday.
While the surges in recent weeks have been most pronounced in those four states, others across the country were beginning to see significant rises in new infections, too. Case counts in 13 others — Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia — were up more than 20% in the past week, according to Johns Hopkins. Thirty-two states had increases of at least 10% in the past week.
The Wall St Journal
READ MORE: Trump relents, dons face mask
Jamie Walker 5.55am: Australian vaccine trial starts today
Australian scientists are on track to deliver a COVID-19 vaccine this year, with the start on Monday of human trials of the prototype drug.
Only a handful of the 180-odd vaccines in development around the world have reached this critical stage of testing, putting the promising University of Queensland immuniser in the top tier of contenders from the US, Britain and China.
UQ’s “molecular clamp” technology has the added advantage of being a platform vaccine that could be recalibrated to address future pandemics.
Volunteers will receive the drug for the first time in Brisbane on Monday to confirm it is safe for people and capable of generating a base-level immune response.
The scientists had sought 120 volunteers for the phase-1 clinical trial, but were stunned when more than 4000 came forward.
One of the lead researchers, Paul Young, said the human testing followed extensive evaluation of the candidate drug in laboratory animals in Australia and the Netherlands.
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Rosie Lewis 5.45am: Childcare sector waits nervously for attendance
The childcare sector is nervously watching how families respond to the end of free childcare from Monday, as some industry leaders warn attendance may drop.
The government’s childcare relief package was switched off on Sunday and replaced by the pre-coronavirus childcare subsidy, with centres again charging parents for their services.
Childcare workers will also stop receiving the $1500 fortnightly JobKeeper payments from next Monday.
Instead, childcare centres will receive 25 per cent of their fee revenue from the government until September 27 as a “transition payment” and the activity test will be eased until October 4 so eligible families whose jobs have been impacted by COVID-19 can access up to 100 hours per fortnight of subsidised care.
The Australian Childcare Alliance said the model was not perfect but, in the midst of the pandemic, appeared fair and flexible. Alliance vice president Nesha Hutchinson said a majority of families did not fear going “back” to the pre-COVID system.
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Kieran Gair 5.30am: Fears Sydney ‘could be on Victoria path’
Health officials are racing to test thousands for coronavirus in Sydney’s southwest after Gladys Berejiklian conceded on Sunday that NSW could be on a similar “path to Victoria” in the wake of a jump in new cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster.
Ms Berejiklian said the virus could be “bubbling under the surface” in southwest Sydney amid reports the Casula pub is the site of a growing cluster that could rival the state‘s last outbreak at Penrith’s Newmarch House which killed 17 people.
Nine new cases linked to the pub are now confirmed — five of whom attended the venue on July 3, and four of their close contacts. The four new cases reported on Sunday included an 18-year-old male employee at the hotel who had worked on July 3, and had continued to work for “several days” after he was likely exposed to the virus.
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Call to defund ‘cohesion’ group
One of Australia’s most influential Muslim community groups, the Lebanese Muslim Association, was one of many organisations listed to hold a rally for Palestine and Lebanon alongside extremist organisation Hizb ut-Tahrir.