Coronavirus Australia live news: Urgent rush to trace 1000 virus contacts in Victoria
Authorities expect the elevated numbers of new cases to continue for some days in Victoria, as people flood testing stations across Melbourne.
- BLM protester among 16 new Vic cases
- Palaszczuk: we should be concerned
- NSW watching Victoria spike closely
- International travel ‘will forever change’
- Victoria spike threatens domestic travel
Welcome to coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. The live blog has wrapped up for the night. Victoria has confirmed 16 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, including a fourth Black Lives Matter protester, with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian advising against Melbourne travel. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says “everyone should be concerned” about the level of community transmission in Victoria, and won’t say whether it’ll delay Queensland’s border reopening. There are fears that Victoria’s infection spike will prevent the planned lifting of domestic travel restrictions. The news comes as a leading carrier warns the pandemic will forever change the nature of global corporate and leisure travel.
Associated Press 10.15pm: Greece loses 99% of travel revenue
The restrictions on travel and business imposed to stem the coronavirus’s spread wiped out nearly all travel revenue for Greece in April, according to Bank of Greece figures.
Provisional figures show travel receipts stood at €7m ($11.4m) in April, compared with €544m in the same month last year, or a drop of 98.7 per cent, Greece’s central bank said on Monday.
“The fall in travel receipts resulted from a 96.2 per cent decline in inbound traveller flows and a 62.2 per cent decrease in average expenditure per trip,” the Bank of Greece said in a statement.
Greece’s economy depends heavily on tourism, which directly and indirectly accounts for around 20 per cent of annual gross domestic product. After an early lockdown imposed in early March kept coronavirus deaths and serious illnesses at low levels, the country is now reopening to visitors from abroad, with the government hoping to salvage what it can from the lucrative summer tourist season.
READ MORE: Disadvantaged areas the new virus hotspots
AFP 8.30pm: Pandemic still accelerating: WHO chief
The novel coronavirus pandemic is still accelerating and its effects will be felt for decades, the World Health Organisation’s director-general said on Monday.
“The pandemic is still accelerating,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told told an online conference organised by Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
“We know that the pandemic is much more than a health crisis, it is an economic crisis, a social crisis and in many countries a political crisis. Its effects will be felt for decades to come.”
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Rachel Baxendale 8pm: Chefs steamed up over Andrews’ backflip
Small business owners in Victoria are irate after the Andrews government gave them less than 48 hours notice that a relaxation of restrictions which would have allowed up to 50 patrons in hospitality venues from Monday would not go ahead.
Instead, they will be allowed no more than 20 patrons until at least July 12.
TV chef Shane Delia, the owner and founder of the Maha group of restaurants, hit out at what he termed a “pathetic double standard” which saw the state government endorse a Victoria Police decision not to fine any of the 10,000 people who attended a Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne‘s CBD almost a fortnight ago, while threatening restaurants who let 21 patrons through their doors with on-the-spot fines of $9,913.
“People have a right to protest and express themselves and the (BLM) cause is absolutely justified, but we’ve also got a broader responsibility to the Australian public based on the sacrifices that everybody has made,” Mr Delia said.
“My grandmother passed away three weeks ago and I couldn’t even attend her funeral, and then to see tens of thousands of people putting it all at risk, and now we’re bearing the brunt, it just makes me so angry.”
Read the full story here
AFP 7.15pm: Five soccer players positive after 16,000 watch game
Five players from Serbian club Red Star Belgrade have tested positive for coronavirus after playing a match attended by 16,000 people, the club said on Monday.
The announcement came 12 days after Red Star played a derby match with Partizan Belgrade in front of a crowd of around 16,000 people, the largest gathering of that kind in Europe since the beginning of the pandemic.
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Brent Read 5.30pm: Melbourne Storm move to Sydney
The Melbourne Storm will relocate to Sydney amid concern that the latest outbreak of COVID-19 in Victoria could sabotage the NRL competition.
The NRL confirmed on Monday night that the Storm’s game against the Warriors on Friday night would be relocated to Jubilee Stadium and Melbourne players and officials would remain in Sydney afterwards.
It is understood Melbourne players have been informed of the developments. The NRL’s Project Apollo team made the decision to ensure the health and safety of the players, staff and wider community given the spike in COVID-19 cases in Victoria.
All Storm players and football staff will undergo COVID-19 tests to ensure no risk to the competition prior to Friday night’s game.
NRL acting chief executive Andrew Abdo thanked the Storm club, players and staff “for putting the game ahead of their personal circumstances”.
“What I’m most proud about this year is that every obstacle we have faced the game has banded together to reach an outcome in the best interests of the overall competition,’’ he said.
“It was important to take decisive action not only in the best interest of our players and staff, but the broader community. We have shown that if there is even the slightest risk of infection we won’t hesitate to reschedule or relocate games.”
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Associated Press 5.15pm: Fears South Korea is losing control of second wave
The mayor of South Korea’s capital fears the country is losing control over a virus resurgence and said Seoul will reimpose stronger social distancing measures if the daily jump in infections doesn’t come below an average of 30 over the next three days.
“If Seoul gets penetrated (by the virus), the entire Republic of Korea gets penetrated,” Park Won-soon said on Monday in a televised briefing, referring to South Korea by its formal name.
He also lamented the complacency of citizens in social distancing, citing an increase in public transport usage that he says has been approaching last year’s levels in recent weeks.
Citing research by health experts, Mr Park said the country could be reporting as much as 800 new cases a day a month from now if it fails to stem current trends in transmissions. He said the basic reproduction number of virus carriers, which measures the number of infections caused by an individual, has reached nearly 1.8 for the period between April 30 and June 11. Any number above 1 indicates a growing epidemic.
In a separate briefing, Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, acknowledged the country is going through a second wave of the virus, following a surge in late February and March centred around the southeastern city of Daegu.
The country has been reporting about 40 to 50 new cases per day since late May, mostly from the Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of South Korea’s 51 million people live.
READ MORE: ‘Doomsday virus forecasts have failed’
Paige Taylor 4.25pm: WA moves into phase four virus restrictions
Western Australians will return to a version of pre-pandemic life this weekend except the state’s borders will remain closed.
WA premier Mark McGowan announced that at midnight on Friday there will no longer be restrictions on the number of people who can gather indoors or outdoors. A ban on large scale music festivals remains in place for now. People will be able to stand up and mingle in pubs and bars and restaurants and licensed premises will no longer be required to sign customers in. Unseated performances will be permitted at venues such as concert halls, live music venues, bars, pubs and nightclubs. Gyms can operate unstaffed, but regular cleaning must be maintained and the state’s only casino gaming floor will reopen.
For WA’s major sport and entertainment venues, a 50 per cent capacity rule will apply.
The McGowan government made the announcement on Monday as health authorities confirmed there were just three cases of coronavirus in WA, all of them residents from overseas who went directly to hotel quarantine.
Western Australians must continue to keep up physical distancing where possible and good personal hygiene to better protect themselves and the general health of the community, the McGowan government said in a media release.
And WA businesses will be expected to ensure their COVID Safety Plans are updated and continue to be implemented.
Depending on infection rates locally, the state’s current 2sqm rule for social distancing will be abolished on Saturday, July 18 (effective from 11.59pm Friday, July 17).
But there is now date for the final phase, in which WA’s border comes down.
“Western Australia is ready take another giant step out of COVID-19 restrictions,” Mr McGowan said.
“Our phased approach has allowed us to get more Western Australians back to work and into more social and recreational activities, as together we continue to kick-start WA’s economy.
“It’s because of the incredible effort of all Western Australians that we’ve been able to reach each phase and continue to lead the states in relaxing restrictions.
“I wish we could remove them all at once, but we need to be responsible and follow the health advice - it has allowed us to progress this far already.
“I will not risk the health of Western Australians and the potential damage to our economy, which is rebuilding now after the closures at the height of the pandemic.
READ MORE: Family get-togethers spreading contagion
Matthew Denholm 4.09pm: Tasmania reviews social distancing rules
Tasmania is reviewing the 4 sqm per person rule for businesses and indoor spaces, as business groups demand the requirement be immediately scrapped – or else state borders reopened.
Premier Peter Gutwein told The Australian he was seeking expert health advice on the 4sqm rule ahead of announcing on Friday a fresh tranche of restriction easing and more clarity on open borders.
“In regards to the 4 sqm rule, Tasmania is taking advice from our public health officials, based on national advice,” Mr Gutwein said.
With 20,000 jobs lost due to COVID-19 in a state heavily reliant on tourism, Mr Gutwein has come under growing pressure from tourism and business groups, as well as the Labor opposition, to adopt a clear position on borders.
Ahead of talks with Mr Gutwein on Tuesday, the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry told The Australian if borders were not reopening soon, there was no reason to keep the 4 sqm rule.
“It seems illogical to have restrictions still in place in Tasmania,” said chamber chief executive Michael Bailey. “Either we open the borders in a limited way and maintain restrictions, or we keep the border closed and release restrictions on Tasmanians.”
Tasmania has not recorded a new coronavirus case since May 16 and has no active cases, while many businesses struggle to open or to make a profit while complying with the one person per 4 sqm rule.
Mr Bailey said having both the rule and the border closure “in play at the same time” was “the worst of both worlds”.
Mr Gutwein said he was “very concerned” about Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus cases and would continue to put health considerations first.
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Rachel Baxendale 3.54pm: Authorities don’t attribute H&M cluster to protest
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says he does not attribute a cluster of four COVID-19 cases so far linked to the H&M store at Northland shopping centre in Melbourne’s north to the Black Lives Matter protest, despite two of the infected H&M staff members having attended the rally.
The 10,000-strong protest went ahead on Saturday June 6, after the Andrews government advised people not to attend, but backed a Victoria Police decision not to fine attendees.
A protester in his 30s was confirmed on June 11 to have become infectious within 24 hours of attending the rally, and on June 15 Victoria’s health department confirmed a case reported the previous day was linked to a second person who had attended the protest, and was not believed to be related to the first protest case.
Last Thursday June 18 the department confirmed a third person who attended the rally had tested positive, with no known links to the other two protest cases, and had worked at the H&M store while infectious.
On Saturday, a second H&M staff member who was a close contact of the first confirmed H&M case and had not worked while infectious was confirmed as having the illness.
On Monday, the department confirmed a further two new cases linked to H&M: one in a household contact of the staff member whose test result became known on Saturday, and another in a staff member “who did not work at the store while infectious”.
“This staff member attended the Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne on Saturday 6 June but is not thought to have acquired the infection from the protest,” the health department said in a statement.
Asked whether the H&M cluster is considered part of a Black Lives Matter protest cluster, Professor Sutton said: “No, it’s not. No.”
“The H&M cluster is clearly a cluster where there’s been transmission between staff there,” Professor Sutton said.
He said two of the staff had attended the rally, “but the acquisition is obviously going to be from H&M, because that’s whether the known contacts were, the known positive contacts.”
However, Professor Sutton said the department had not been able to trace where the first infected H&M employee had caught the virus.
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Rachel Baxendale 3.14pm: 1000 close contacts of Victoria’s active virus cases
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said there were more than 1000 close contacts of Victoria’s 125 active coronavirus cases who had been identified by the state’s health department.
“There are over 100 active cases, and when there are that many active cases, we expect that there’ll be over 1000 close contacts,” Professor Sutton said.
He said he expected the elevated numbers of new cases to continue for some days.
“I think we always see cases that reflect transmission that was happening a week or two weeks ago, so even though we’re stepping up very early, the kind of actions that we know should mitigate the risk, we’ll probably see an increase in cases or at least we’ll see steady numbers for some days to come before hopefully we can turn it around,” Professor Sutton said.
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Richard Ferguson 3.06pm: No reason for Melbourne spike to affect other states: CMO
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has declared all states except Victoria are still able to roll back their coronavirus restrictions, as he backed in the Victorian response to the new outbreak.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has warned people in her state not to travel to Melbourne as six local government areas face stricter lockdowns to contain a new outbreak.
Professor Murphy said there was no reason for the Melbourne spike to affect other states, amid concerns the growing number of cases will affect the re-opening of the national economy.
“Unless they have got cases in their state I don’t see any reason for them to change their plans,” he said in Canberra.
“I think there is a lot of luck in this. Both New South Wales and Victoria have been our concerns in terms of community transmission. Community transmission has been present in both of those states.
“New South Wales have, very fortunately, been in a much stronger position in recent weeks. It is not really possible to say why they have managed to bring community transmission under better control than Victoria.”
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Rachel Baxendale 2.50pm: Roving testing squads to hit the ground in Victoria
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos announced a raft of measures aimed at boosting testing and community engagement in Melbourne’s COVID-19 hotspots.
This includes a testing blitz at two schools linked to clusters in Melbourne’s outer west: Keilor Downs Secondary College and Albanvale Primary School, where children, teachers and their families will be tested regardless of whether they are showing symptoms.
A separate pop-up clinic opened on Monday morning in Keilor Downs, with another set to open in Sunshine, and the hours of the Deer Park drive through testing centre have been extended to weekends.
In Melbourne’s outer southeast, a a pop-up drive through clinic is being established in Dandenong.
Roving testing squads are also set to hit the ground in Brimbank, in Melbourne’s outer west, and Cardinia in the outer southeast.
“We’ll be heavily promoting the locations of all these additional testing sites as well as the existing ones in all of these hotspot LGAs,” Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said.
“I do want to emphasise to the community broadly, as we do have community transmission still in Victoria, people should get tested even if they have very, very mild symptoms.”
A community engagement team of 50 people is set to start door-knocking in Brimbank and Cardinia from Monday.
“They will be people who will be clearly identifiable as public health officials, will be able to provide the community in those hotspot locations with more information and advice about symptoms, about testing locations, and about the financial support that is available to people if they are identified as a close contact and need to be quarantined,” Ms Mikakos said.
“We have been concerned that some people may be taking some risks with their health and with the health of others by still going out into the community even though they might have gone for a test, they haven’t yet received a test result, or may have been identified as a close contact.
“If you go and get tested, you must stay at home until you receive your test result. Typically in recent weeks, that’s now come down to around about a two day turnaround, so we ask people to take this very seriously because you could be infectious and could be spreading the virus to others in the community.”
Ms Mikakos said the Department of Health and Human Services had also devised a “community engagement strategy” for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
“This is designed to make sure that we are reaching our public health message to everyone in our state, and everyone is aware about the risks and their obligations,” she said.
“We’re going to focus on shopping centres and train stations as well, and as I said they will be door-knocking that will happen, and they will be roundtables with many multicultural communities in those hotspot areas.”
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Rachel Baxendale 2.08pm: Vic Health Minister welcomes travel warnings
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos welcomed advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee that people avoid travelling to and from certain local government areas which have been identified as coronavirus hotspots, but warned community transmission was also taking place in other parts of the state.
The LGAs the AHPPC listed include Hume (with 11 active cases on Monday, up two since Sunday), Casey (nine active cases), Brimbank (11 active cases, up one since Sunday), Moreland (six active cases, up one since Sunday), Cardinia (five active cases, down one since Sunday) and Darebin, (four active cases, up one since Sunday).
It is not clear why they have not also listed Maribyrnong, in Melbourne’s inner west, which has seven active cases including two new ones on Monday, and Whittlesea, on Melbourne’s northern outskirts, which has six active case, including one new one on Monday.
Ms Mikakos said the AHPPC advice was aimed at preventing the spread of the virus further afield in Australia.
She said the warnings were “advisory in nature”, but that Victorian authorities were concerned about community transmission in the listed LGA hotspots.
“In the legal directions that have come in today, we have not issued stay-at-home directions for those hotspot areas, but of course we don’t rule anything out,” Ms Mikakos said.
“We know that some areas in our community have had higher case numbers in recent weeks, and that’s particularly being spread through family scenarios, extended family members coming together, visiting each other and spreading the virus across their family members, but also the risk there is that the family members can transmit that virus to workplaces, to school settings and other locations.
“I want to emphasise that whilst we have identified a number of local government areas as hotspots ... we do have very low numbers of community transmission in many local government areas, particularly across Melbourne, so I want to stress to Victorians, just because you don’t live in a hotspot local government area does not mean that your area is without risk, and everybody should still be complying very closely with all the public health advice.”
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Rebecca Urban 2.03pm: MP blames BLM protest for virus resurgence
A federal politician based in one of Melbourne’s coronavirus hotspots has blamed the Victorian government’s handling of the Black Lives Matter protest for a resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the state, saying that the 30,000-strong gathering signalled to the broader community that it was acceptable to relax social distancing behaviours.
“It flicked the switch,” La Trobe MP Jason Wood told The Australian.
“My background is policing, so I knew that when the Premier made those comments — that they weren’t going to be charging those who attended — that everyone else would put their guard down.
“Straight after the protest we observed that things around here almost returned to normal; people were getting out and about a lot more.”
Mr Wood’s federal electorate of La Trobe straddles the Cardina and Casey municipalities — two of Victoria’s identified COVID-19 hotspots. Four individuals who attended the Black Lives Matters protest in early June has since tested positive but health officials claim there is no evidence of transmission at the event.
“I got in touch with a lot of businesses last week and people were really excited about opening up a bit more, getting their employees back to work,” he said.
“People are really quite annoyed.”
In a message posted to Facebook, Mr Wood urged Cardinia and Casey residents to “please take extra precautions”.
“I am frustrated along with everyone else on how Victoria is going backwards,” he said.
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Gerard Cockburn 1.54pm: Early superannuation payments near $16bn
Early release of super claims are forecast to surpass the $16bn mark, with a new wave of requests expected to hit the country’s superannuation sector in the coming 2021 financial year.
Weekly figures released by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority show $15.9bn has been siphoned from the country’s near $3 trillion retirement pool, from workers claiming financial hardship because of the coronavirus pandemic.
As at 14 June, 2.3 million fund members had applied for withdrawals through the federal government’s COVID-19 support measure, each requesting on average a payment of $7486.
READ MORE: Early superannuation payments near $16bn, says APRA
1.51pm: Interactive: where Melbourne’s clusters are
Max Maddison 1.37pm: WA unlikely to reopen borders amid Vic case surge
Western Australia is unlikely to open its borders to travellers while Victoria battles a surge in coronavirus cases.
Speaking to Perth radio 6PR, Premier Mark McGowan said the outbreak of cases, which saw another 16 cases reported today, had given him “ second thoughts”.
“Particularly because this community spread in Victoria has now been going on for about a week and they can’t track it down,” Mr McGowan said.
“They’ve actually shut down parts of their economy they had reopened. So that’s the risk - if you get the virus back you then have to start shutting down again.”
He also shot down suggestions of a travel bubble between WA, South Australia and the Northern Territory, saying based on commonwealth advice, WA would breach the constitution if it opened up to some jurisdictions but not all.
WA only has three active cases of coronavirus, all of which are in hotel quarantine.
With AAP
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Sarah Elks 1.28pm: Queensland revises negative COVID-19 test figures
Queensland has conducted nearly 40,000 more COVID-19 tests than it has previously disclosed.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said a private provider had changed its reporting software, which revealed it had done an extra 38,500 negative tests than thought.
The state’s testing tally is now 323,895.
“Notifications of test results to patients were not impacted,” Dr Young said.
“Positive testing results were not affected.”
“I’d like to remind every Queenslander that if you have any Covid-19 symptoms, no matter how mild, you should get tested immediately.
No new COVID-19 cases were identified in Queensland overnight, total cases remain at 1066, with just three active.
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Max Maddison 1.27pm: WHO records larges single day virus increase
The World Health Organisation has recorded the largest single day increase in cases of COVID-19.
In a statement, the WHO said 183,020 cases were reported across a 24 hour period, driven primarily by Brazil with 54,771, then followed by the US and India.
The outbreak has spread to developing countries, particularly in Latin America and the Carribean, which has over 2m recorded infections.
Globally, the United Nations health agency has recorded 8,708,008 cases and 461,715 deaths.
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Rachel Baxendale 1.22pm: Latest Victorian LGA coronavirus data
These are the active confirmed cases of COVID-19 by LGA with change since yesterday in brackets:
(Note that the City of Melbourne figures are primarily due to hotel quarantine)
City of Melbourne: 26 (+3)
Brimbank (outer west): 11 (+1)
Hume (outer north): 11 (+2)
Casey (outer southeast): 9
Maribyrnong (inner west): 7 (+2)
Cardinia (outer southeast): 5 (-1)
Moreland (north): 6 (+1)
Whittlesea (outer north): 6 (+1)
Darebin (north): 4 (+1)
Mooney Valley (northwest): 3
Knox (outer east): 3
Maroondah (outer east): 3
Greater Dandenong (outer southeast): 3
Wyndham (outer southwest): 2 (+1)
Boroondara (east): 2
Glen Eira (southeast): 2
Monash (southeast): 2
Melton (outer northwest): 3 (+1)
Bayside (southeast): 2
Latrobe (Gippsland, eastern regional Vic): 1 (+1)
Port Phillip (inner south): 1 (+1)
Stonnington (inner southeast): 1
Nillumbik (outer northeast): 1
Whitehorse (east): 1
Yarra (inner northeast): 1
Mornington Peninsula: 1
Campaspe (northern regional Vic): 1
Manningham (outer east): 1 (-1)
Interstate: 3 (-1)
Unknown: 4 (-7)
TOTAL: 125
Vic totals for the last 7 days with number in hotel quarantine in brackets:
Monday: 16 (4)
Sunday: 19 (4)
Saturday: 25 (1)
Friday: 13 (1)
Thursday: 18 (6)
Wednesday: 21 (15)
Tuesday: 9 (2)
READ MORE: ‘Doomsday coronavirus forecasts have largely failed’
AAP 1.09pm: NSW Premier advises against Melbourne travel
The NSW Premier has slapped down suggestions of a hard border with Victoria amid an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the state but has advised against travel to Melbourne or its outer-suburban hotspots.
Victoria confirmed another 19 coronavirus cases on Sunday and 16 on Monday, taking to 176 the number of new cases over the past eight days. Most new Victorian cases came from family gatherings.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has persistently criticised interstate travel restrictions imposed by states including South Australia and Queensland - however Deputy Premier John Barilaro on Monday said NSW was watching the Victorian situation closely and didn’t rule out some travel restrictions. But Ms Berejiklian later on Monday told reporters she would not agree to border closures with any of NSW’s neighbour states.
She nevertheless advised against travel to Melbourne for the time being, particularly its six current coronavirus hotspots - the local government areas of Hume, Casey, Brimbank, Moreland, Cardinia and Darebin.
“We would recommend nobody travel to those hotspots and certainly the Victorian government and Victorian health experts have also suggested to people living in those hotspots not to travel around,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We said from the beginning, once you start easing restrictions, we will expect case numbers to go up.
“I appreciate what Victoria is going through but don’t assume that it won’t happen in NSW or anywhere else ... it can happen very quickly, just with a couple of cases, a couple of instances of people spreading the virus unintentionally.” Mr Barilaro earlier declined to reject interstate travel restrictions and admitted Victoria’s spike in COVID-19 cases was “worrying” and “a real threat”. NSW reported two new cases of coronavirus over the 24 hours to 8pm on Sunday, one in a hotel-quarantined traveller.
The other case was in a man in his 30s from southwest Sydney, with the source of his infection still unknown.
“He’s not travelled recently or attended any mass gatherings recently ... he’s well and isolating at home,” NSW Health’s Dr Jeremy McAnulty said in a video statement on Monday.
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Richard Ferguson 1.04pm: ‘COVID hasn’t gone anywhere’: Morrison
The Victorian spike in coronavirus cases shows why the nation cannot be complacent in the fight against COVID-19, Scott Morrison says.
The chief medical officers have advised Australians not to travel to and from six local government areas in Melbourne, following several family outbreaks of coronavirus.
The Prime Minister said in Sydney that localised outbreaks were always expected even as the nation comes out of lockdown.
“This is, as the Premier said - a wake-up call. Australia has fared incredibly well compared to the rest of the world,” he said in Sydney.
“But that cannot be cause for complacency. COVID hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s still out there. And it can still take hold.
“And so, we can’t be complacent about it, and we certainly aren’t, as governments all around the country.”
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Rachel Baxendale 12.06pm: Two new Vic cases part of H&M cluster
Of Monday’s six new cases linked to known outbreaks, two new cases are part of a cluster at the H&M store in the Northland shopping centre in Melbourne’s north.
There have now been four cases linked to H&M Northland.
The first case linked to H&M Northland was in a staff member who attended the Black Lives Matter protest on June 6.
A second staff member was confirmed to have COVID-19 over the weekend.
Of today’s two new H&M cases, one is in a household contact of the staff member who tested positive on Friday, while the other is in a staff member who the health department says did not work at the store while infectious.
“This staff member attended the Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne on Saturday 6 June but is not thought to have acquired the infection from the protest,” DHHS said in a statement.
“The H&M store has undergone a deep clean and contact tracing is continuing.”
A further two cases have been linked to a cluster of contractors who worked at Melbourne’s Stamford Plaza quarantine hotel, taking the total in that outbreak to 14.
Two more cases have also been linked to Albanvale Primary School in Caroline Springs, in Melbourne’s west, taking the total in that cluster to three.
Monday’s new cases are in a household contact of the initial case, who is a teacher, and in a second teacher, who worked while infectious between June 15 and 17.
The school has been closed and the health department is investigating links to a Keilor Downs family outbreak given some students at the school are close contacts of that family.
Monday’s sixth new outbreak-linked case is in a toddler who attended the Great Beginnings Nursery childcare centre in Reservoir, in Mebourne’s north.
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Rachel Baxendale 11.48pm: Victoria confirms 16 new virus cases overnight
Victoria has confirmed 16 new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, including a fourth case in a person who attended the Black Lives Matter protest in Melbourne’s CBD 16 days ago.
Two cases have now also been linked to the workplace of two of those protesters.
Five previously confirmed cases in Victoria have today been reclassified, taking Victoria’s number of cases to 1847 — a net increase of 11 since Sunday, despite the 16 new cases on Monday.
Of those cases, six are linked to known outbreaks, four are in recently returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine, five were detected through routine testing and one is under investigation.
There have now been 222 COVID-19 cases in Victoria with no established link to other known cases or overseas travel -- an increase of 12 since Sunday.
There are currently 125 known active cases in Victoria.
Victoria’s death toll remains 19, with no recent deaths.
Alarmingly, there are now nine people in hospital, up from just four a few days ago, including two in intensive care.
Of Victoria’s 1847 cases, 1701 have recovered.
More than 667,000 tests have been processed, including 6,300 since Sunday.
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Max Maddison 11.30pm: NSW records two coronavirus cases in 24 hours
NSW Health is investigating the possibility of community transmission, after the state recorded two cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
As at 8pm Sunday 21 June 2020, there have been 2 new cases of COVID-19 diagnosed, bringing the total number of cases in NSW to 3,151.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) June 22, 2020
One new confirmed cases is a returned traveller in hotel quarantine . pic.twitter.com/E7lSIXH1Q1
In a statement, NSW Health said a man in his 30s from south-western Sydney tested positive, however, the source and timing of his infection was currently uncertain. The other case was a returned traveller in hotel quarantine.
The additional cases brings NSW’s total confirmed cases to 3,151, with 46 active cases
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Sarah Elks 11.10am: Final bids lodged for sale of Virgin Australia
The final bids have been lodged today for the sale of troubled airline Virgin Australia.
The Queensland government ordered state-owned Queensland Investment Corporation to give “commercial advice” on the sale, with the view the government could piggy-back on one of the final two bids to own a stake in the airline, which is based in Brisbane.
QIC chief executive Damien Frawley told a parliamentary committee the final bids were lodged this morning, and the process was subject to detailed confidentiality agreements.
“We’ve had strong engagement with (Virgin’s) administrators and all bidding parties, including the final two bidders,” Mr Frawley said. “We have been pleased with the engagement so far and will continue to actively pursue the state’s objectives.”
The final two bidders are US-based private investment firm Bain Capital and global investor Cyrus Capital Partners.
READ MORE: Virgin bondholders’ recapitalisation plan to throw spanner in the works
MAX MADDISON 10.50am: Virus cases in Beijing continue to build
The resurgence of coronavirus cases in Beijing has continued to build, despite Chinese health authorities insisting that the outbreak of COVID19 cases was under control.
Beijing reported 22 new domestically transmitted cases on Sunday, with three suspected cases and three asymptomatic cases. The fresh infections bring the number of cases to 227 since the outbreak began, with the source of infections linked to the wholesale Xinfadi food market.
The outbreak includes another hotspot at the PepsiCo food-processing plant, with production being halted after at least one employee tested positive for coronavirus. Authorities wouldn’t confirm the number of confirmed cases linked to the plant.
All the infectious cases are currently being treated in hospital.
READ MORE: China’s miracle crumbles
Max Maddison 10.35am: Local Melbourne Mayor in dark about warning
The Mayor of a Melbourne COVID-19 hotspot said he only heard about the recommendation discouraging people from visiting his shire last night and via the media.
Jeff Springfield, the Mayor of Cardinia Shire which has had six confirmed cases of coronavirus, said he hadn’t had any direct information from the Daniel Andrews Victorian government.
“The first they heard of it was last night when the media contacted me for comments and thoughts, directed me to the AHPPC website. We haven’t had any direct contact with them yet, just the statement they released yesterday,” Mr Springfield told television program ABC News.
While Mr Springfield said believed the recommendation needed to focus on individual suburbs, rather than entire shires, he said communication “needs to happen first”
“Naming individual suburbs, because the Shire as a whole, it is too big to say one shire. We are right on the border of the Dandenong ranges, and, you know, one shire can’t be the same as another,” he said.
Up to six coronavirus hotspots in Melbourne have been listed for isolation but it is unclear whether local lockdowns could be imposed. The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee on Sunday said Victorians should avoid travelling across the local government areas of Hume, Casey, Brimbank, Moreland, Cardinia and Darebin.
The panel of chief health officers says outbreaks have been identified, and people are strongly discouraged travelling to and from those areas until control of community transmission has been confirmed.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos will speak later on Monday morning. On Sunday she announced Victoria had recorded 19 new positive cases, which brought the state’s infectious cases to 1836. She also announced a state of emergency extension of four weeks until July 19. Victoria’s case numbers are the highest they have been in more than two months. The AHPPC said 83 per cent of new coronavirus cases recorded in Australia in the past week were reported in Victoria.
More than half of the new cases since the end of April have come from family members spreading it to their relatives. — With AAP
READ MORE: Family get-togethers spreading contagion
AAP 10.15am: NSW watching Victoria situation: Barilaro
The NSW deputy premier has refused to rule out limiting interstate travel from Victoria as the Garden State’s COVID-19 cases climb. Victoria confirmed another 19 coronavirus cases on Sunday, taking to 160 the number of new cases in the state over the past week.
Despite Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s persistent criticism of interstate travel restrictions imposed by the likes of South Australia and Queensland, Deputy Premier John Barilaro said NSW was watching the Victorian situation closely. He didn’t reject the idea of interstate travel restrictions and admitted Victoria’s spike in COVID-19 cases was “worrying” and “a real threat”.
“Maybe some sort of limits around travel, but maybe not closing the border as a whole ... it’s more about who’s coming across the border and what we will do about it,” Mr Barilaro told the Seven Network on Monday.
Ms Berejiklian last week rejected any suggestion of restricting movement between NSW and Victoria, labelling domestic border closures “artificial”. She also said restrictions were thwarting movement, business and family reconnection as the state’s unemployment rate hit 6.4 per cent. NSW reported five new cases of coronavirus over the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday, all of which were in hotel-quarantined travellers.
No COVID-19 patients are currently in intensive care in NSW. — AAP
READ MORE: Anti-Covid drug may be ready in Australia by the end of the year
SARAH ELKS 9.40am: Queensland economy has suffered a ‘hammer blow’
Queensland Treasurer Cameron Dick says the coronavirus pandemic has been a “hammer blow” to the state’s economy that will take years — not months — to recover from.
Mr Dick said it was estimated the first wave had cost the Australian economy $95bn, with Queensland taking a near-$20bn hit. Any second wave would cost Australia $25bn this year alone, which Mr Dick said would be a $4.8bn blow to Queensland.
In the last two months, 168,000 Queenslanders have lost their jobs.
“Employment goes up by the stairs and comes down by the elevator, and that’s what we’ve seen,” Mr Dick said. “We spent five years creating 250,000 jobs, and 168,000 Queenslanders lost their jobs in two months. That gives you an idea of the depth and the gravity of this pandemic. This will not be resolved in months.”
He said Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had kept Queenslanders safe through the coronavirus crisis, but Opposition leader Deb Frecklington would put the state at risk because “she has no judgement”.
READ MORE: Gottliebsen — The dangers of a second coronavirus wave
SARAH ELKS 9.20am: Queensland records zero new cases overnight
Queensland has recorded zero new cases overnight, with just three active cases of coronavirus across the state.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the result was “terrific news,” and the state’s total stood at 1066.
Ms Palaszczuk and Treasurer Cameron Dick are in Spring Mountain in Greater Springfield today, promoting the government’s extended $5000 first homeowner’s grant, to help boost the economy out of the COVID-19 crisis.
Ms Palaszczuk says “everyone should be concerned” about the level of community transmission in Victoria, and won’t say whether it’ll delay Queensland’s border reopening.
Queensland at the weekend declared most of Melbourne “hot spots,” meaning anyone who travels from those places into Queensland would have to quarantine for two weeks.
The latest coronavirus update for Queensland. https://t.co/ly4o1sVyAG #7NEWS https://t.co/wmRxfS3aBz
— 7NEWS Brisbane (@7NewsBrisbane) June 21, 2020
The state’s road map states the provisional border reopening date is July 10, but that will be confirmed with a decision at the end of the month.
Ms Palaszczuk said Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young would be looking closely at the Melbourne situation when making the border decision.
“Everyone should be concerned (about Victoria)…we don’t want to see a second wave,” she said.
Asked whether Queensland would consider opening to all other states except Victoria, Ms Palaszczuk said the Prime Minister Scott Morrison did not want that.
“I’m quite sure we’ll be discussing it at National Cabinet on Friday,” she said.
“There is a lot of active community transmission happening in Victoria and I hope Victoria can get this community transmission under control.”
READ MORE: Abattoir blunder comes back to haunt Daniel Andrews
David Rogers 9.15am: ASX set to fall amid coronavirus jitters
Australia’s share market is set to fall alongside regional markets amid coronavirus jitters.
Friday night S&P/ASX 200 futures relative to fair value pointed to a 0.3pc rise even as the S&P 500 fell 0.6pc on worsening infection rates in several US states.
But with the virus accelerating globally over the weekend, S&P 500 futures fell as much as 1pc this morning, and the Australian dollar dipped 0.5pc.
S&P 500 futures have pared their fall to 0.2pc and AUD/UD is just 0.1pc below Friday’s NY closing level now.
The US reported the most cases since June 8 with a rapid increase in Florida, Texas and Arizona, and California reported its highest daily infection rate to date.
Victoria re-entered a state of emergency and a global increase in coronavirus cases hit a single-day record according to the WHO, with a 183,000 rise led by Brazil and the US.
Focus turns to RBA Governor Lowe’s panel participation on the Global Economy and COVID 19 from 0900 AEST.
FOLLOW THE LATEST MARKET MOVES IN OUR TradingDay blog
MAX MADDISON 8.50am: How to wear a medical mask correctly
While wearing face masks has been shown to be effective, the most valuable preventive measure is maintaining social distancing, say the Deputy Chief Medical Officer.
Speaking to ABC News, Dr Nick Coatsworth said following current health advice — maintaining distance, washing hands, downloading the app and staying at home when you’re sick — was more valuable in the Australian context than wearing a mask.
“There has been some evidence around the world that masks can be effective in preventing the transmission of the virus but in what we call high prevalence areas where there is lots of community transmission, where you’re likely to encounter someone with the virus, that is where masks can be of value,” Dr Coatsworth said.
In response to a question about whether current health advice could change, Dr Coatsworth said he would “leave it open” for people who found themselves in situations where it was difficult to socially distance.
“Keeping in mind that wearing a mask is also something that needs to be done properly and well. You can’t keep it on your face and touch it and eat lunch with it and I am not making light of those things,” he said. “If you want to wear a mask, you need to do it in the right way.”
READ MORE: Widespread mask use may avert virus waves
MAX MADDISON 8.30am: Cost of second wave would be ‘catastrophic’: Plibersek
Opposition Education Minister Tanya Plibersek has implored people to listen to official health advice.
Speaking to ABC News, Ms Plibersek said the cost of a second wave would be “catastrophic”.
“It is not about opinions at a time like this. It is about what our health experts advise us. I would advise the Victorian Government and the New South Wales Government and the Federal Government to work cooperatively, based on the best medical advice,” Ms Plibersek said. “I think the one thing we can say for certain is that people can’t relax, they can’t believe for a moment that this health crisis is over.”
Ms Plibersek said all the measures to mitigate the spread of the virus — such as washing hands and staying home if you are feeling ill — were as important now as they were a few months ago.
READ MORE: Editorial — Victorian outbreaks must not risk nation’s recovery
MAX MADDISON 8.05am: Victorian restaurants ‘given no time to plan’
The “knee jerk” decision to reinstate restrictions in Victoria will mean “many businesses won’t last”, says Wes Lambert, the CEO of the Restaurant and Catering Industry Association.
Mr Lambert said there had been “zero consultation” before the decision was made on Saturday after an outbreak of coronavirus cases across several hotspots.
“We are speculating that many businesses won’t last. They were holding out today to reopen with 50 allowed in each dining area. They just won’t be able to reopen with just 20,” Mr Lambert told Today on Nine.
‘It certainly was a knee-jerk reaction to a situation that has happened in family clusters.”
The decision will cost businesses “millions of dollars” in bookings and lost produce, Mr Lambert said. “We understand that the health authorities do have to follow certain guidelines. However, without consultation there was no planning, and not enough time for the hospitality industry to really react to this. It’s certainly chaos this week,” he said.
READ MORE: Victoria has reached tipping point on virus
Max Maddison 7.50am: Protests ‘made people think pandemic was over’
The decision to allow the Black Lives Matter protest to go ahead created “frustration and fatigue”, says Dr Tony Bartone, President of the Australian Medical Association.
Dr Bartone said the rally, which saw tens of thousands of people gather in capital cities throughout the nation, contributed to people thinking the pandemic was over.
“That has created that frustration and that fatigue, which has prematurely allowed people to think that it is over,” Dr Bartone told Channel 7’s Sunrise.
“If there is one message, one message that everybody needs is that what’s happening in Victoria can happen anywhere if we don’t heed the message from the authorities.”
Dr Bartone said while the nation had done “extraordinarily well” to flatten the curve, people needed to continue following health advice and ensure they remained “vigilant in our approach to prevention”.
READ MORE: Adam Creighton — call to abandon ‘failed’ health forecast models
Victorians have been warned their state is at a 'tipping point' with COVID-19 cases climbing dramatically over the weekend.
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) June 21, 2020
AMA President Dr Tony Bartone joined Kochie with a warning for all Australians.
More on this story: https://t.co/LOXmTbjb3F pic.twitter.com/gkvfBhkNm8
Max Maddison 7.30am: ‘Handshakes, hugs must stop until virus defeated’
The Deputy Chief Medical Officer has downplayed fears about a resurgence of coronavirus infections in Victoria.
Dr Nick Coatsworth said the spread of the virus was currently still confined to “four or five” different outbreaks, with the number of cases still relatively small.
“We’re all concerned about the outbreaks, keeping in mind that whilst the numbers are higher in the past five days that remains still a small number compared to the population,” Dr Coatsworth told host Ben Fordham on Sydney radio 2GB.
Dr Coatsworth also encouraged people to alter their behaviour when interacting with people, saying handshakes and hugs would need to stop until the virus was defeated.
“We’ve got to stop that virus moving from one person to another. The way we behave can’t change,” he said.
READ MORE: Editorial — Victorian outbreaks must not risk nation’s recovery
Max Maddison 7.10am: Tennis star Dimitrov tests positive for coronavirus
Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov has apologised “for any harm he might have caused” after he tested positive for COVID-19.
In a post on Instagram, Dimitrov, ranked 19 in the world, revealed that he had been tested in Monaco, a week after playing in the Serbian and Croatian legs of the Adria Tour, where he had close contact with world no.1 Novak Djokovic and no.7 Alex Zverev.
“I want to reach out and let my fans and friends know that I tested positive back in Monaco for Covid-19. I want to make sure anyone who has been in contact with me during these past days gets tested and takes the necessary precautions,” Dimitrov said.
“I am so sorry for any harm I might have caused. I am back home now and recovering. Thanks for your support and please stay safe and healthy. GD.”
The final of the Adria Cup has been cancelled.
READ MORE: Essendon waits for tests to gauge viral damage
Max Maddison 6.40am: MP sceptical only three virus cases linked to rally
Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith says he’s “sceptical” that only three cases have been connected to the Melbourne Black Lives Matter protest.
Mr Smith said while only three cases had been linked to the rally, the protesters were likely to live in outbreak hot spots like Moreland and Darebin.
“This protest has done one of two things: It’s spread the virus, or it said to everyone else ‘there’s no big problem here, this thing is finished’,” Mr Smith told Ben Fordham on Sydney radio 2GB.
“I know the government is saying there’s only three cases connected to the protest. But I’m sceptical.”
Responding to a question about Daniel Andrews blaming the outbreak on Victorian families gathering in large numbers, Mr Smith said the Victorian Premier was an “idiot”.
“This is the bloke that let ten thousand people protest in Melbourne … and two weeks later he doesn’t think there’s a connection to another outbreak,” he said.
READ MORE: Hotspot state threatens to stall virus recovery
Max Maddison 6.30am: Global coronavirus cases approaching 9 million
Global cases are swiftly approaching 9 million, according to Johns Hopkins University, as Brazil surpassed a million cases and the US saw a resurgence in infections.
With the total number of confirmed cases at 8,857,137, the US has 2,269,463 of those cases, representing over a quarter. It has also seen two days with over 30,000 cases in a row, sparking fears of a second wave of infections.
Brazil recorded 54,700 cases in one day — a global record. The South American country has 1,032,913 cases, while the death toll also passed 50,000.
Confirmed cases in India continued to climb, with 15,400 infections recorded overnight - a daily record for the South Asian country.
READ MORE: Chinese researchers in phase-2 virus test
Lisa Allen 5.15am: Pandemic ‘will forever change international travel’
The COVID-19 pandemic will reshape the global corporate and leisure tourism sector with long-haul airline passengers far more cautious about selecting their carriers.
“The travel rebound will take years,” Qatar Airways chief strategy and transformation officer Thierry Antinori told The Australian from Doha
“People will be more conscious about the reliability of the airline that they use. There’s a lot more cautiousness to flying and we need airlines that provide good service to customers. Customers want reliability.”
■ EXPLAINER: When can you travel overseas?
Qatar was the single biggest carrier into Australia in April, operating 44.5 per cent of flights, well ahead of Air New Zealand, which was the second-largest carrier operating at nearly 5 per cent of flights, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics data.
Read the full story here.
John Ferguson 5am: Victorian spike puts border reopenings at risk
A spike in COVID-19 cases in Victoria has sparked fears that a second wave of infections could slow down the national economic recovery and prevent the planned lifting of travel restrictions.
Queensland is reviewing when to reopen its borders after Victoria recorded nearly 100 new COVID-19 cases in five days, while NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian sought emergency briefings about the spike on Sunday.
Victoria recorded a further 44 infections over the weekend — and only five from overseas travellers returning to the country — with the state government reimposing restrictions on family gatherings, and postponing plans to increase the number of patrons in restaurants and cafes from 20 to 50 from Monday.
The rise in Victorian cases — in sharp contrast with other states which have recorded few if any new infections in the past week — comes as the World Health Organisation warns the pandemic is entering a “new and dangerous phase” as people tire of lockdowns.
Read the full story, by John Ferguson and Rachel Baxendale, here.
Agencies 4.45am: Italy weighs up WHO’s new isolation advice
Italy’s Health Ministry is asking government advisers to evaluate new World Health Organisation recommendations saying that people with COVID-19 can come out of isolation before they test negative for the coronavirus.
The WHO last week said patients who spent 10 consecutive days in isolation with symptoms can be released if they are then symptom-free for at least three days. People who don’t develop COVID-19 symptoms can stop isolating 10 days after they first test positive, according to WHO’s revised guidelines.
Previously, WHO recommended ending the isolation of infected people only after they twice tested negative on samples taken 24 hours apart. The change is significant given that many countries are grappling with how to deal with thousands of people who are technically infected with the virus but may not still pose a transmission risk to others.
READ MORE: Cases hit 2 million in Latin America
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‘Pressure from above’: ABC executive pushed by Buttrose
Christopher Oliver-Taylor was under pressure to sack Antoinette Lattouf after Ita Buttrose made clear she was ‘deeply unhappy’ with action taken on the stand-in radio host, the Federal Court has heard.