Coronavirus Australia live news: We have to make this work, says Andrews, as Victoria shuts all ‘non-essential’ business
Daniel Andrews says Victoria’s new stage-four restrictions must work, because ‘there is no stage five’.
- What business are closing in Victoria: FULL LIST
- 13 deaths , 429 new cases for Victoria
- Victoria to shut all ‘non-essential’ businesses
- NSW records 13 cases, 4 in quarantine
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis.
Only essential services supplying medical needs, food, power and communications will be permitted to remain open under new Stage 4 coronavirus restrictions announced by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews today. Read the full list of closures HERE. It comes as 13 more people died and 429 new coronavirus cases were detected, with Victorians now adjusting to an 8pm curfew.
READ MORE HERE.
Charlie Peel 11.30pm: Calls for change to exempt loophole
Annastacia Palaszczuk will call on the other states to scrap a loophole that allowed a consular official to enter the country and travel on a domestic flight while infected with COVID-19.
Adam Creighton 11.05pm: Elderly fears over wealth, not health
Elderly Australians are more than three times as concerned about the impact of the recession as they are about their personal health, according to analysis by a top consulting firm that suggests compliance with health measures could drop as people “grow weary” and “emotional strain” mounts.
Yoni Bashan 10.30pm: Symptoms fail to trigger race to isolate
NSW residents showing COVID-19 symptoms are sometimes waiting more than three days to self-isolate, and health officials have raised concerns that community attitudes should improve to curtail the risk of further transmission.
Rachel Baxendale 10pm: Victorian parliament back to work
Victorian parliament’s upper house will sit on Tuesday, despite Speaker Colin Brooks cancelling the week’s sittings in the lower house, citing the advice of the Chief Health Officer.
Legislative Council MPs confirmed late on Monday the sitting would proceed from noon on Tuesday, following extensive negotiations between government, opposition and crossbench MPs.
READ MORE: On the ‘crazy floor’, people were going nuts
Greg Sheridan 9.30pm: Extreme measures needed to beat vicious enemy
The state of emergency and extreme lockdown in Victoria is the right strategy for this horrible moment in the fight against COVID-19, and consistent with all international evidence.
Josh Zumbrun 8.50pm: US at loggerheads over jobless benefit
US Democrats and Republicans remained at odds in weekend negotiations on a new coronavirus economic relief package, including aid to replace the federal $US600-a-week ($842) boost to unemployment benefits that expired on Friday.
David Rose 8.25pm: Protesters spreading coronavirus: Bibi
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has accused large crowds of protesters who gathered outside his official residence of trying to “trample on democracy” and claimed that they could be “incubating” coronavirus.
AFP 8pm: Merkel government blasts Berlin protests
The German government on Monday condemned “unacceptable” violations of coronavirus restrictions after tens of thousands — many with no masks — took to the streets of Berlin to protest the measures over the weekend.
“The images we saw this weekend were unacceptable,” Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer said on Monday, adding that protesters who failed to wear masks or respect social distancing rules had “exploited their right to demonstrate” and were “in no way justified”.
READ MORE: Frisky young Europeans put gains at risk
Kellie Southan 7.35pm: Map of active cases
Rachel Baxendale 7.10pm: Case numbers by local government area: full list
Just four Victorian local government areas recorded double-digit increases in coronavirus case numbers on Monday — compared with 14 on Sunday — but the pattern remains concerning, amid steady increases in areas with previously low levels of COVID-19.
Semi-rural Mornington Peninsula is the only local government area in greater Melbourne with fewer than 46 active cases of coronavirus.
All the other 30 metropolitan Melbourne LGAs have at least 46 active cases, compared to Mornington Peninsula’s 18, and 17 of them have at least 100 active cases.
Brimbank, in the outer west, with 749 active cases and a net increase of 15, and Wyndham, in the outer southwest, with 744 and a net increase of 16, have the highest caseloads in the state.
Casey, in the outer southeast, had a net increase on Monday of 23 active cases to 297, while Darebin in the north had a net increase of 10 to 165.
A swathe of local government areas in Melbourne’s middle and outer northeast, east and southeast recorded net increases of seven or eight cases.
In regional Victoria there was a net increase of 29 cases, including nine new cases in Macedon Ranges, eight in Greater Geelong, four in Greater Bendigo, two each in Hepburn, Moorabool and Glenelg and one each in Colac-Otway and Mount Alexander.
There are now 384 active cases across 32 local government areas in regional Victoria.
Active confirmed cases of COVID-19 by LGA as of Monday, with net increase since Sunday in brackets:
Brimbank (outer west): 749 (+15)
Wyndham (outer southwest): 744 (+16)
Hume (outer north): 488 (-9)
Whittlesea (outer north): 452 (-3)
Melton (outer northwest): 399 (+9)
Moreland (north): 369 (-1)
City of Melbourne: 300 (+8)
Casey (outer southeast): 297 (+23)
Moonee Valley (northwest): 229 (+8)
Maribyrnong (inner west): 191 (-6)
Greater Dandenong: (outer southeast): 183 (+7)
Yarra (inner northeast): 178 (+7)
Darebin (north): 165 (+10)
Banyule (northeast): 136 (-7)
Yarra Ranges (outer east) 132 (+5)
*Greater Geelong (southwest regional Vic): 106 (+8)
Hobsons Bay (inner southwest): 102
*Colac-Otway (western regional Vic): 89 (+1)
Monash (southeast): 84 (+5)
Boroondara (east): 69 (+8)
Kingston (southeast): 67 (+7)
Whitehorse (east): 65 (-1)
Glen Eira (east): 62 (+4)
Nillumbik (outer northeast): 60 (+7)
Port Phillip (inner south): 53 (+1)
Stonnington (inner southeast): 53 (-1)
Manningham (east): 52
Frankston (outer southeast): 50 (+8)
Cardinia (outer southeast): 47 (+8)
Maroondah (outer east): 47
Knox (outer east): 46 (+1)
Bayside (southeast): 46
*Macedon Ranges (central regional Vic): 28 (+9)
*Greater Bendigo (central regional Vic): 26 (+4)
*Mitchell (central regional Vic, north of Melb): 26 (-1)
Mornington Peninsula (outer southeast): 18 (+1)
*Moorabool (western regional Vic): 15 (+2)
*Glenelg (western regional Vic): 13 (+2)
*Ballarat (western regional Vic): 11
*Golden Plains (western regional Vic): 10
*Latrobe (eastern regional Vic): 9
*Horsham (western regional Vic): 7
*South Gippsland (eastern regional Vic): 5
*Baw Baw (eastern regional Vic): 4 (+1)
*Mount Alexander (central regional Vic): 4 (+1)
*Mansfield (northeast regional Vic): 4
*Surf Coast (southwest regional Vic): 4
*Bass Coast (southeast regional Vic): 4
*Loddon (northwest central regional Vic): 3
*Hepburn (central regional Vic): 2 (+2)
*Northern Grampians (western regional Vic): 2
*Swan Hill (northwest regional Vic): 2
*Pyrenees (western regional Vic): 1
*Queenscliffe (southwestern regional Vic): 1
*Greater Shepparton (northern regional Vic): 1
*Murrindindi (northeast central regional Victoria): 1
*Ararat (western regional Vic): 1
*Campaspe (northern regional Vic): 1
*Southern Grampians (western regional Vic): 1
*West Wimmera (western regional Vic): 1
*Wodonga (northeast regional Vic): 1
*Warrnambool (southwest regional Vic): 1
*East Gippsland (east regional Vic): 1
Interstate: 13
Unknown: 157 (+5)
TOTAL: 6489 (+167)
*Denotes regional Victorian LGAs
Source: Victorian Department of Health and Human Services
Eli Greenblat 6.55pm: Myer stores to close
The nation’s biggest department store Myer will close its historic Melbourne CBD store as part of the forced shut downs now enforced by the state government to battle the COVID-19 pandemic, and is hoping consumers will turn to online shopping.
In line with government health advice, Myer will close stores in metro Melbourne from Wednesday night.
When Myer stores shut from the end March to the end of May, the retailer experienced strong demand online. Myer will require team members to work on online orders during the next shutdown.
Myer team members not working will continue to be paid through the JobKeeper program.
“During this time, myer.com.au will be available to our customers 24/7 across our full range, with a reduced delivery fee and relaxed returns policy in place; as well as our contact-free Click and Collect service at selected stores,” a spokesman for Myer said.
“Having closed stores earlier this year, and just operating online, we saw unprecedented demand through our online store, as well as through our contact-free Click and Collect service — and we expect the same again.
“As such, we are well prepared and ready to meet the needs of our Melbourne customers online during this period with a great range, across all categories, all in one place.”
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Rachel Baxendale 6.45pm: Largest clusters outside aged care
Rapidly growing clusters at two of Melbourne’s biggest hospitals are of greatest concern. The number of active cases in healthcare workers rose by 57 cases in the 24 hours to Monday, from 649 to 706.
Victoria’s large non-aged care clusters on Monday:
Hospitals
A total of 71 cases have been linked to Melbourne Health Royal Park Campus, up from 40 on Saturday and 54 on Sunday.
St Vincent’s Hospital, in Fitzroy, is now linked to 30 cases, up from 15 on July 21.
Abattoirs and smallgoods
A total of 148 cases have been linked to Bertocchi Smallgoods in Thomastown, in Melbourne’s north, up from 142 on Sunday.
Somerville Retail Services abattoir in Tottenham, in Melbourne’s west, has been linked to 129 cases, up from 127 on Sunday;
A total of 86 cases have been linked to JBS abattoir in Brooklyn, in Melbourne’s west, up from 85 on Sunday.
The number of cases linked to Australian Lamb Company in Colac, in southwest regional Victoria, has risen to 77, up from 72 on Sunday.
A total of 20 cases have been linked to Colden Farms Poultry in Breakwater, in central Victoria, up from 14 on Saturday.
Logistics and warehouses
A total of 36 cases have been linked to the Woolworths Distribution Centre in Mulgrave, in Melbourne’s southeast, up from 35 on Sunday.
A total of 31 cases have been linked to the Linfox warehouse in Truganina, in Melbourne’s outer west, up from 26 cases on Sunday.
Schools
A total of 185 cases have been linked to Al-Taqwa Islamic College in Truganina in Melbourne’s outer west — the same number as Sunday.
The number of cases linked to Catholic Regional College in Sydenham, in Melbourne’s outer northwest, has risen to 21, up from 18 on Sunday;
Public Housing
A total of 310 cases are residents of previously locked down public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington, in Melbourne’s inner northwest, up from 308 cases on Sunday,
A total of 67 cases are residents of public housing towers in Carlton, in Melbourne’s inner north —the same number as Sunday;
READ MORE: Investment to hit lowest level for 20 years
Ewin Hannan 6.35pm: Pandemic leave inadequate: McManus
Unions have declared the federal pandemic leave payment was inadequate and would leave most full-time workers required to self-isolate financially worse off.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus said while the federal leave was a step forward, the $1500-a-fortnight payment was equivalent to the minimum wage and the average wage was double this amount.
Calling for full wage replacement, Ms McManus said the decision to make workers call an 1800 number and navigate another system was a further unnecessary barrier.
“We need a new, temporary, paid leave entitlement so that working people will not lose wages or risk their job to isolate or get tested when they need to,” she said.
“This payment will mean that nearly all full-time workers who are forced to rely on it will take a pay cut while they isolate. This will mean that a financial penalty still remains, this just weakens our COVID-19 defences.
Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive James Pearson welcomed the federal support.
“We applaud larger businesses that are providing paid pandemic leave, but small businesses could not take it on,” he said.
“ACCI made it clear that if pandemic payments were legislated and financially backed by the government, they needed to come directly from the government, be it state or federal, and not through the payroll system.
“Even with reimbursement, small businesses couldn’t afford to keep writing cheques.”
READ MORE: Pressure builds on aged care providers
Rachel Baxendale 6.15pm: Age breakdown of Victorian deaths
A man in his 40s and five men in their 50s are among 136 people who have so far died in Victoria with coronavirus.
There have also been nine people in their 60s, 32 in their 70s, 54 in their 80s and 35 aged 90 or more.
The deaths include those of 59 women and 77 men.
READ MORE: Woolies workers walk off the job over virus concerns
Rachel Baxendale 6.08pm: Child under nine with virus in ICU in Victoria
Those in Victorian intensive care wards with coronavirus on Monday included a child under nine, a person in their 20s, two in their 30s, two in their 40s, seven in their 50s, 12 in their 60s, eight in their 70s and two in their 80s.
Those in hospital but not in ICU included a child under nine, two people aged 10-19, 13 in their 20s, 15 in their 30s, 10 in their 40s, 30 in their 50s, 45 in their 60s, 63 in their 70s, 137 in their 80s and 66 aged 90 or above.
There were 416 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus on Monday, including 35 in intensive care.
READ MORE: PwC forecasts ‘tough 6 months ahead’
Rachel Baxendale 6.02pm: 79 Victorian aged care facilities hit by virus
As of Sunday, there are 1089 active cases of coronavirus across 79 Victorian aged care facilities.
There have been 1301 cases across 106 facilities since the pandemic began.
Of the total number of aged care cases since the pandemic began, 642 have been in residents, 544 have been in staff, and 115 have been in other close contacts.
There have been 77 coronavirus deaths in Victoria linked to aged care facilities - up from 69 on Sunday.
This represents 57 per cent of Victoria’s total death toll of 136 since the pandemic began.
All of these deaths have occurred since July 5.
The largest aged care clusters include:
- 139 cases linked to St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Fawkner, in Melbourne’s north, up from 136 on Sunday. This includes 84 residents, 43 staff (+2) and 12 others (+1);
- 130 cases linked to Heritage Care’s Epping Gardens facility in Melbourne’s north, up from 122 on Sunday This includes 78 residents (+1), 46 staff (+7) and six others;
- 106 cases linked to Estia Health in Ardeer, in Melbourne’s west - the same number as on Sunday. This includes 50 residents and 56 staff;
- 101 cases linked to Kirkbrae Presbyrterian Homes in Kilsyth, in Melbourne’s outer east - the same number as on Sunday. This includes 45 residents, 41 staff and 15 others;
- 88 cases linked to Estia Health in Heidelberg, in Melbourne’s northeast, up from 87 on Sunday. This includes 25 residents (+1), 47 staff and 16 others;
- 65 cases linked to the Glendale aged care facility in Werribee, in Melbourne’s outer southwest, up from 62 on Sunday. This includes 33 residents (+3), 23 staff and nine others;
- 63 cases linked to the Menarock Life Aged Care facility in Essendon, in Melbourne’s northwest - the same as on Sunday. This includes 20 residents, 25 staff and 18 others;
- 61 cases linked to Aurrum aged care facility in Plenty, in Melbourne’s outer northeast, up from 56 on Sunday. This includes 42 residents (+4), 15 staff (+1) and four others;
- 58 cases linked to Outlook Gardens aged care facility in Dandenong North, in Melbourne’s outer southeast - the same as on Sunday. This includes 22 residents, 28 staff and eight others;
- 55 cases linked to BaptCare Wyndham Lodge in Werribee, in Melbourne’s outer southwest, up from 54 on Sunday. This includes 28 residents and 27 staff (+1);
There have also been new cases linked to the following facilities that previously had none in the 24 hours to Monday:
- Lilydale Lodge Aged Care Facility in the Yarra Valley northeast of Melbourne;
- Estia Health Aged Care Facility in Glen Waverley in Melbourne’s southeast;
- BlueCross The Boulevard in Mill Park, in Melbourne’s north.
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AFP 5.35pm: Duterte locks down 27 million Filipinos
More than 27 million people in the Philippines — about a quarter of the population — will go back into lockdown on Tuesday after overwhelmed health workers warned the country was losing the battle against the coronavirus.
Since the beginning of June, when much of the country emerged from one of the world’s longest stay-at-home orders, confirmed infections in the archipelago have increased fivefold, surging past 100,000.
The new restrictions announced by President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday (AEST) apply to the capital, Manila, and four surrounding provinces on the main island of Luzon.
For the next two weeks, public transport, including the ubiquitous jeepney minibuses, will be halted and domestic flights grounded to try and slow the spread of the virus, which has killed more than 2000 people in the country.
People have been ordered to stay home unless they need to buy essential goods or exercise outdoors.
Only a limited number of businesses will be allowed to operate and restaurants will be permitted to do take-aways only.
“We really fell short. Nobody anticipated this,” Mr Duterte said, as he rejected calls for Health Minister Francisco Duque to be sacked.
“Nobody expected that thousands will get sick on a single day.”
The move comes after 80 medical associations representing tens of thousands of doctors on Saturday called for Mr Duterte to tighten virus restrictions as hospitals, unable to cope with the influx of patients, turned people away.
The Philippines announced a record 5032 new infections on Sunday. More than 5000 medical workers have contracted the virus, including 500 in the past week, health department figures show. A total of 38 have died.
READ MORE: It’s a bitter pill, but let’s have a tighter lockdown
Rachel Baxendale 5.10pm: Stage four must work, Andrews warns
Daniel Andrews says Victoria’s new stage-four restrictions must work, because “there is no stage five”.
The Victorian Premier acknowledged the restrictions on industries and workplaces announced on Monday would be “an imperfect process”.
“The decision of which column to put millions of Victorian jobs — millions of Victorian workers — could never be clear cut, and, as much as we’d like one, there is no playbook when it comes to a pandemic,” he said in his press release spelling out the new restrictions.
“But what is clear is that if we don’t do this now, if this doesn’t work, then we’ll need a much longer list of complete shutdowns.
“It’s hard to imagine what a stage five might look like, but it would radically change the way people live, not just rules on when and where you can go shopping — but restrictions on going shopping at all.
“This will be hard. It’ll be frustrating. It’ll be confusing. For a lot of workers and their families, it’ll be heartbreaking. But the only way to get people back to work and businesses back open is by making these tough decisions — and by Victorians abiding by them.
“We have to make this work. Lives and livelihoods are counting on it.”
Asked about his mention of “stage five”, Mr Andrews said he was not foreshadowing a move to even harsher restrictions.
“The reason stage five is mentioned is because there is no stage five,” he said.
“It doesn’t work. Otherwise, we will have to develop a set of rules that will even further limit people’s movement.
“I don’t want to get to a situation where we’ve got to take those steps.
“You can be polite and not talk about those matters, but that’s not the way that I operate. I’m being frank. I’m being direct. I’m making it clear to people.
“We all have to follow these rules. We all have to accept that this is the reality we’re now confronted by. We have to make this work. Because we’re, at best, uncertain what the next steps would be.”
READ MORE: Jobs recovery faltering
Richard Ferguson 4.50pm: Morrison announces $1500 pandemic leave
Scott Morrison will introduce a pandemic leave disaster payment to ensure people affected by coronavirus can go into isolation knowing they will have money to live on.
Workers who have to isolate for 14 days and have exhausted their sick leave will get a $1500 payment to cover the fortnight in quarantine.
“They will principally be made to those on short-term visas — those who are not permanent residents or citizens of Australia who otherwise wouldn’t have accessed commonwealth payments,” the Prime Minister said in Canberra on Monday.
“The Victorian government will continue to provide that support.
“We will make sure that everyone else who finds themselves in this situation and they don’t have that leave available to them through their sick leave because it’s been exhausted will get a $1500 payment for that fortnight.
“People can actually access the payment multiple times if, unfortunately, they’re in a position where they have to self-isolate as a direct requirement on multiple times.”
Pandemic leave payments will only be available in Victoria for now, but will be extended to other states if they enter a period of disaster.
“There are other payments available under the JobSeeker program already to persons who find themselves in this situation,” Mr Morrison said.
“There is already a payment the Victorian government makes in relation to the period between when you take your test and when you get your test results back.
“That’s already in place. So what we’re seeking to do is supplement support.”
Pandemic leave will continue until Victoria is no longer in a state of disaster, the Prime Minister added.
Rachel Baxednale 4.42pm: Industry changes will be enforceable
Daniel Andrews said the industry changes would be enforceable, foreshadowing announcements to come on Tuesday regarding penalties for breaching new restrictions.
“The onus will be on employers to make sure they’re doing the right thing by their workers, including ensuring those with symptoms — and potentially the virus — do not come to work.”
He said industries considered “grey areas” would be administered by the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions Industry Coordination Centre.
“I understand this will have real and heavy consequences for a number of businesses, workers and their families,” the Vicorian Premier said on Monday.
“We’ll do everything we can to lighten that load.
“For those businesses that suffer significant losses or need to close as a result of the current restrictions, we will provide support through our expanded Business Support Fund.
“Businesses in regional Victoria can apply for a $5000 grant while those in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire can apply for up to $10,000 in recognition of spending longer under restrictions.”
READ MORE: Stage 4 restrictions: what you can and can’t do in Victoria
Rachel Baxednale 4.40pm: Andrews flags workers’ permits
Daniel Andrews has foreshadowed a new permit system for essential workers to assist police in enforcing Victoria’s curfew and stage-four restrictions.
“We’ll have some more announcements to make this week about a permit system where people will have a piece of paper that says, ‘This is where I work, this is what I do,’ so that for the purposes of enforcement, curfew, all of those things, we don’t want to be putting people into that really challenging situation where they have to explain themselves even when they don’t really need to,” the Victorian Premier said on Monday.
“That’s going to be a simple, common-sense process, and we’ll have more to say about that soon.”
“As it is now, the curfew obviously does apply — 8pm to 5am every day — and giving care, getting care or going to and from work, or being at work, they’re the only reasons to be out.
“Police will be stopping you. They will be asking those questions.
“They’ll do it respectfully, and they’ll be very fair in these early days in that they’ll probably err on the side of — you know, it is early — but the time will come when that gets turned off, and anyone who stops and doesn’t have a lawful reason will get fined.”
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Mathew Denholm 4.35pm: Tasmanian travel bubble on hold
Tasmania has postponed plans for a travel bubble with South Australia, Western Australia and the Northern Territory, due to the worsening COVID-19 situation interstate.
Premier Peter Gutwein on Monday afternoon announced the quarantine-free travel arrangement with other low-COVID jurisdictions, due to start on Friday, was on hold.
Mr Gutwein said the bubble would now not occur before August 31.
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Dennis Shanahan 4.25pm: ‘High risk’ business subject to seven pages of conditions
A series of industries considered “high risk” for COVID-19 — including meat processing, warehousing, aged care, building, freight and cold storage — will be allowed to operate under strict conditions in the new Stage 4 restrictions in Victoria.
The Victorian Government has prepared a seven-page guide to what will be allowed to operate and what will be closed with exhaustive details and prohibitions.
All retail food outlets will be able to operate and industries servicing health and aged care will continue.
Rachel Baxednale 3.55pm: Stage Four to double number of Victorians stood down
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the new industry restrictions would result in an additional 250,000 Victorians being stood down from their jobs.
“Just to put that into some context, this speaks directly to why these changes are so important,” Mr Andrews said.
“We estimate we have about 500,000 people working from home.
“We know there is about 250,000 people stood down in one form or another and this will add a further 250,000 in rough numbers.
“We will get a clearer sense of that as a week unfolds.
“But that is essential: the one million workers who are not travelling to and from work every day.
“When you add in a million students together with teachers and staff, that is when you are radically, dramatically changing the number of people moving around the community, and therefore, the number of points at which the virus can be transmitted from one person to another.”
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Rachel Baxednale 3.50pm: Abattoirs, construction ‘pilot light phase’
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews described the move to limit industries such as abattoirs and construction as a “pilot light phase: not being turned off completely but … dramatically reducing the number of people they have working for them and their output over the next six weeks.”
“This is a very difficult decision to make, a very challenging decision to make and I know there will be substantial pain that comes from that but unless we have literally hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people at home, and not going to work, so hundreds of thousands of less movements around the community eat and every day, we will not pull this virus up, we will not see the number reduce,” Mr Andrews said.
Warehousing and distribution centres in Melbourne will be limited to no more than two-thirds the normal workforce allowed onsite at any one time.
On major construction sites “the absolute minimum (staffing levels) required for safety, “but no more than 25 per cent of the normal workforce” will be allowed onsite.
Workplaces which continue to operate will be required to mandate extra personal protective equipment as well as staggering shifts and breaks, communicating health declarations and providing support for sick workers to ensure they stay home.
“To give one example, workers in abattoirs will be kitted out in full PPE – gowns, masks and shields – more akin to what a nurse would wear. They’ll also be subject to routine testing” Mr Andrews said.
Rachel Baxednale 3.30pm: Retail, admin and manufacturing to close in Vic
Retail and administration businesses and some manufacturers will be shut down in Victoria for at least the next six weeks, under the Andrews government’s Stage Four restrictions.
Announcing the measures on Monday afternoon, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the changes, in addition to the previous restrictions, would mean about 1 million fewer Victorians would be moving around the state for work.
The population of greater Melbourne is about 5.2m, while the population of Victoria is about 6.5m.
Mr Andrews announced three lists: businesses which will remain open unimpeded, those which will close, and those which will continue to operate under “significantly different” conditions.
Supermarkets, grocery stores, bottle shops, pharmacies, petrol stations, banks, newsagencies, post offices and all organisations involved in the frontline response to coronavirus will remain open.
Retail, some manufacturing and administration businesses must close from 11:59pm on August 5, unless they have specific circumstances that mean they need longer to shut down safely.
Retail stores will be permitted to operate contactless ‘click and collect’ and delivery services with strict safety protocols in place, and hardware stores such as Bunnings can remain open onsite, but only for tradespeople.
The abattoir industry — which has been at the centre of at least half a dozen large COVID-19 clusters – will be forced to scale back production by a third and comply with restrictions on the number of workers allowed onsite, based on the minimum required to operate safely.
Mr Andrews said he expected this would see the workforce scaled back by two-thirds.
“Unlike other changes, and recognising the risk these sites have posed here and around the world, this will apply to abattoirs in Melbourne and across the state,” he said.
All open businesses and services, including food production, waste collection and supply chain logistics businesses — where much coronavirus spread has been occurring – will have to enact a “COVIDSafe plan”.
Mr Andrews said that plan would be focused on safety, prevention and response in the event that coronavirus is linked to the workplace.
READ THE FULL LIST HERE
Rachel Baxednale 3.15pm: 13 more deaths equal Victoria’s deadliest day
Victoria has equalled Thursday’s grim record of 13 deaths, with another 13 deaths from coronavirus in the 24 hours to Monday, bringing the state’s death toll from the virus to 136 — 116 of which have occurred since July 5.
There have been 429 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Monday, with the total number of cases since the pandemic began now at 11,937.
Of the 429, only 36 cases have so far been linked to outbreaks or complex cases and 393 remain under investigation.
The 13 deaths include those of a man in his 60s, two men and a woman in their 70s, two men in their 80s and five women and two men in their 90s.
Eight of the 13 new deaths are linked to known outbreaks in aged care facilities.
There have now been 2031 cases for which contact tracers have been unable to find a source of infection, including 1730 since July 1 and 69 since Sunday.
There are now 6489 active cases are currently in Victoria.
As of Monday, there are 416 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus, up from 385 on Sunday.
Of these, 35 are in intensive care, down from 38 on Sunday.
Since the pandemic began in Victoria, 5111 people have recovered from the virus
More than 1,676,953 tests have been processed – an increase of 25,000 since Sunday.
This represents a 1.72 per cent positive test rate – a significant decrease from Sunday’s record of 3.73 per cent.
There have now been 10,976 cases in metropolitan Melbourne and 703 are in regional Victoria, up from 10,643 cases in Melbourne and 661 in regional Victoria on Sunday.
Total cases include 5877 men and 5962 women
There are currently 706 active cases in healthcare workers, and there have been 1195 cases in Victorian healthcare workers since the pandemic began, up from 649 active cases and 1115 since the pandemic began on Sunday.
There are 1089 active cases linked to aged care facilities, up from 1053 on Sunday.
READ MORE: Covid coma: state of disaster
Richard Ferguson 2.55pm: Opposition ups pressure on JobKeeper changes
Anthony Albanese has called on Scott Morrison to revisit the planned changes to JobKeeper wage subsidies for September, warning a reduction in payments could hurt workers.
JobKeeper is due to reduce from $1500 to $1200 a fortnight next month as part of the scheme’s extension.
The Opposition Leader wants the government to consider both the reduction and tougher eligibility rules for businesses in the second phase of JobKeeper.
“It’s very clear that a range of businesses who did okay in June won’t be doing okay in the September quarter,” Mr Albanese said in Sydney.
“It’s also very clear that a reduction in support will lead to real hardship as well. This is a case particularly for Victoria, but also for other sections of the community. A number of people were left behind when JobKeeper was announced.
“We want to make sure that more people are not left behind as a result of the changes that have been announced by the Government, and they should revisit that announcement.”
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Amos Aikman 2.45pm: Uluru, national park closed after blockade protest
Parks Australia will close Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park for 23 hours and probably longer in response to a blockade by locals established over concerns about the possible spread of coronavirus to vulnerable Aboriginal communities.
A spokeswoman released a statement saying the park “will be closed from 1.30 today until at least 12pm tomorrow as all parties continue to work towards a resolution on this matter.”
“Parks Australia is committed to being part of a collective response that minimises the risk of COVID-19 to staff, visitors and residents within the Mutitjulu and Yulara communities and at Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
Stringent measures have already been put in place by the Northern Territory government and Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia,” the statement said.
“We are continuing to work with the Mutitjulu Community Aboriginal Corporation, Northern Territory Government and Voyages to reach agreement on additional health and visitor screening measures within the Yulara township, at Ayers Rock Airport and departure points, which complement the measures we have already put in place within Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.”
It comes after residents of Mutijulu, a community in the shadow of the rock, blocked the UKTNP entry gate on Monday after not all the passengers arriving on a Jetstar flight from Brisbane, a declared COVID-19 hotspot, were required to undergo quarantine.
READ MORE: Restrictions a blow for banks, construction
Rachel Baxednale 2.35pm: Premier to detail Victorian shutdown at 3.15pm
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to address the media at 3:15 to outline an extensive shutdown of Victorian workplaces and industries deemed non-essential.
The state has spent the first day of the Stage Four lockdown on tenterhooks, waiting for word of which jobs and businesses are likely to be affected, with little indication from the Premier’s office of when a press conference would be held.
At 2.30pm Mr Andrews’s media team sent out an alert for the 3:15pm press conference.
Dennis Shanahan 2.20pm: Victoria to shut all ‘non-essential’ businesses
The Victorian Cabinet has proposed sweeping industrial and business closures and leaving only essential services operating to supply medical needs, food, power and communications to implement its draconian Stage 4 coronavirus restrictions.
The Andrews’ Cabinet has considered proposals to close down most construction sites, leaving only uncompleted residential sites and works necessary for safety open.
Vast parts of manufacturing and industry will also close although mining and farming will be allowed to continue work, especially agriculture and aquaculture food suppliers.
The Victorian Cabinet has considered leaving abattoirs open to secure supplies of fresh meat but Daniel Andrews has publicly questioned whether butchers will be allowed to operate.
Abattoirs in Victoria have proved to be COVID-19 hot spots.
Manufacturers not involved in medical production, including masks and protective clothing as well as medicines and “paper products” — toilet paper – for household use face closure.
Road, rail and air transport will remain open as well as wholesale warehouses and motor vehicle repairers.
Banking and communication services are deemed essential to be kept running as is pest control and building cleaning services.
Special services helping the vulnerable and elderly, and funerals as already announced, will be able to continue.
But all gambling and brothel services face closure and there is expected to be a new ban on recreational fishing.
Daniel Andrews is expected to announce the full details of the Cabinet this afternoon.
READ MORE: Will tighter lockdown work? It did in NZ
Ewin Hannan 2.05pm: Unions, big business align in paid pandemic leave push
Big business and the union movement have joined forces to urge the Morrison Government and affected states to urgently fund a national pandemic leave scheme to combat the spike in COVID-19 workplace transmissions, particularly in Victoria
In a letter to Attorney-General, Christian Porter, Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott and ACTU secretary Sally McManus said the Victorian outbreak showed there were insufficient measures in place to enable workers who should not be at work to stay home.
“The recent outbreaks in Victoria have highlighted that there are still a number of workers who are attending work whilst infectious or at risk, which is accelerating the rate of community transmission,” they wrote.
“This is both harmful to the health of the community and disruptive to businesses that are now closing in increasing numbers following workplace transmission.”
They said the cost of isolation for many workers without adequate sick leave could be “particularly burdensome”, while not all businesses can afford the cost of paid pandemic leave.
Acknowledging efforts by the Victorian Government to introduce its own leave scheme, they said the mechanisms available to state governments to effectively implement and administer such a scheme were inadequate and “consequently we have seen minimal take up over recent weeks”.
Under the proposal, the Federal Government, together with relevant States, would urgently fund a national paid pandemic leave scheme consistent with the entitlement recently granted to aged care workers by the Fair Work Commission.
Based on the JobKeeper approach, employers would be reimbursed for paying the leave to affected employees.
“Unions and business have shown an extraordinary level of co-operation and we welcome the opportunity to jointly discuss this scheme with you and work together to suppress this wave of infections,” they said.
READ MORE: Lockdown costs will be ‘enormous’
Imogen Reid 1.55pm: SA moves on tough restrictions after two new cases
SA Premier Steven Marshall has announced a number of new restrictions which will be implemented at midnight on Tuesday, after two new positive COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours.
As of tomorrow night, the number of people who can be at home gatherings will drop from 50 to 10 and drinking in licensed premises will be restricted to seated consumption, with or without food.
“I also need to make it very clear that we, because we are on high alert here in Australia and high alert here in South Australia, are looking very closely at the moment at the density arrangements of our licensed venues,” Premier Marshall said.
“We don’t have anything to announce today but we are going to be looking at this very carefully.”
Mr Marshall said he will be assessing the numbers who attend football matches in SA and the amount of people who can visit fitness studios.
“What is very important is that we act swiftly, we listen to the expert advice and that we stay in front of the game here in South Australia,” he said.
“Every single thing that we do is done to keep the people of South Australia safe during this coronavirus pandemic.”
Of the state’s two new cases, one is a male in his 50s who is known to be a close contact of a previous case — a woman in her 20s who was announced yesterday.
“This man had been advised by CDCB to quarantine which is great,” SA Chief Medical Officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said.
“This person does have some respiratory symptoms and is generally pretty well but to be absolutely on the safe side he’s been isolated in a medi-hotel.
“That particular person has one close contact who will be tested and then isolated.”
SA has recorded nine new cases in the past 10 days.
READ MORE: Stage 4: what you can and can’t do
Imogen Reid 1.25pm: Global infections top 18m, deaths near 700,000
The number of global coronavirus infections has passed 18 million, with 18,017,556 confirmed cases, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker.
The number of deaths is approaching 700,000, with the toll sitting at 688,351.
READ MORE: Masks in the home next, White House warns
Imogen Reid 1.10pm: Sydney gym, yoga studio join contact tracing list
A gym and yoga studio in Sydney have undergone contact tracing after they were visited by people who were infectious with COVID-19.
Fitness First at Rockdale in the city’s south was visited by a positive case on 27 July from 11.25pm to 12.30pm, while a person who was infectious with the virus attended a yoga studio in the beachside suburb of Bondi on 23 July from 12.15 to 1.15pm.
Both cases are linked to the Apollo Restaurant cluster at Potts Point and contacts have been identified.
READ MORE: State of disaster resorts to desperate Covid measures
Amos Aikman 1.00pm: Access to Uluru blocked amid tourist virus fears
Residents of Mutitjulu, a community in the shadow of Uluru, are blockading access to the world-famous attraction over fears about a resumption of tourist flights bringing deadly coronavirus.
The Australian understands the protest began on Monday morning after passengers aboard a Jetstar flight from Brisbane were allowed to disembark and not everyone went immediately into quarantine.
Scenes via a video call showed cars parked across the road at the entry point to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.
Local leader Craig Woods told The Australian he was disappointed relations between the community and other stakeholders had soured to such a point.
“This is far worse than betrayal — we are being threatened,” he said.
“It’s a threat to people’s health.”
He stressed that the message was not ‘don’t come to Uluru altogether’ but rather ‘don’t come without doing 14 days elsewhere first’. But Mr Woods said locals were prepared to block access to the park to everyone indefinitely if Parks Australia, Voyages Indigenous Tourism (which runs the nearby Ayers Rock Resort) and Jetstar did not take their concerns seriously.
Dorothea Randall, another local leader, said the message from a community perspective was: “the gate is closed”.
READ MORE: More than 1m tap super twice
Rachel Baxendale 12.55pm: Victoria parliament cancelled until September
Victorian parliament has been cancelled until September, following Premier Daniel Andrews’s declaration on Sunday of a State of Disaster, and as the state begins six weeks of curfews and Stage Four lockdown.
State parliament was due to sit from Tuesday to Thursday, for the first time since June, and the first time since Mr Andrews conceded a high proportion of Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus cases had been genomically linked to breaches in his government’s bungled hotel quarantine program.
Mr Andrews was noncommittal when asked on Sunday whether he still expected parliament to sit on Tuesday.
“That’s still a matter that’s being worked through,” he said.
“I can’t confirm where we’re going to get to on that, but I certainly want to if we can have a sitting of some sort, but that’s a matter of discussion between the parties and ultimately the presiding officers will also have to make some decisions based on the advice of the Chief Health Officer, but we’re in a different phase now and I think everything’s going to look different.”
Early on Monday afternoon, Speaker Colin Brooks wrote to Legislative Assembly members telling them he was postponing the parliamentary sitting.
“You will recall that the most recent sitting of the house motion set tomorrow 4th August as the next scheduled sitting day,” Mr Brooks wrote.
“The motion included a provision that if, in my opinion the next scheduled sitting or a rescheduled sitting should not proceed on the basis of health advice, I must consult with the Leader of the House and the Manager of Opposition Business to delay the next meeting and set a future day and hour to meet.
“I have today received advice from the Chief Health Officer that leaves me with no doubt that this week’s sitting should be delayed.
“The advice points to our responsibility to the health and safety of those working in the parliament, the parliament’s responsibility to analyse and respond to proposed new workplace directions and to play our part in preventing the transmission of COVID-19 between Melbourne and regional Victoria.
“I have consulted with the Leader of the House and the Manager of Opposition Business and have set Tuesday 1 September 2020 as the next sitting day.
“This is not a decision that has been taken lightly and I can assure members that the parliamentary departments will continue to work hard to position the house for its return.”
READ MORE: Woolies workers walk off job over virus concerns
Hannah Moore 12.15pm: Baby among four family virus cases in Wagga Wagga
A baby is among four new coronavirus cases in Wagga Wagga with the child, its parents and grandmother believed to have contracted the virus in Melbourne.
The family, a 52-year-old woman, her son and daughter-in-law, who are both in their 20s, and the child, have been self-isolating since returning from Victoria and are not believed to have infected anybody else with the virus.
These cases are in addition to 13 more from across NSW announced on Monday morning, as Premier Gladys Berejiklian called for residents to be on “extra high alert”.
READ MORE: Virus worries speed property price falls
Remy Varga 12.10pm: 172 fines in 24 hours as Victoria police crack down
A Sunshine man playing Pokemon Go in Melbourne and a birthday party at a short-term accommodation rental in Point Cook are among the 172 fines issued by Victoria Police in the last 24-hours.
As well, an additional 27 people have been fined for refusing to wear a mask.
Other examples of breaches include a man from Keilor attempting to drive to his holiday home on the Surf Coast, a women at Southern Cross Station attempting to travel to Bendigo.
As well, two men were found at a fast food outlet in Hobsons Bay after staying overnight at a friend’s house in Altona.
Victoria Police issued 22 fines at vehicle checkpoints and conducted 4,366 spot checks on businesses, homes and individuals.
Under stage-four restrictions, Melburnians are only allowed to leave their homes for one-hour of exercise a day and to purchase essentials such as groceries and medicine.
Both must be performed within a 5km radius of one’s home.
Melburnians are allowed to visit the homes of others to provide care or to see romantic partners.
Further restrictions on work are expected to be announced today with remote learning reintroduced for the foreseeable future.
READ MORE: The punters are not happy, Dan
Ewin Hannan 11.55am: Woolies workers walk off job over virus concerns
More than 240 Woolworths workers at a Melbourne distribution centre supplying Dan Murphy’s and BWS stores have stopped work after an employee reported positive to COVID-19.
The United Workers Union is demanding all of the workers are tested for coronavirus while the Laverton site is shut down for 72 hours for a deep-clean.
READ the full story here.
Imogen Reid 11.45am: Liberal MP calls for Andrews to resign
Victorian Liberal MP Tim Smith has blasted Premier Dan Andrews and his government, accusing them of having “blood on their hands” and failing the people of Victoria.
“People are dying because of their total and utter criminal negligence with regards to hotel quarantine and their inability to perform basic contact tracing over the last couple of weeks,” he told 2GB’s Ben Fordham this morning.
“This is an unimaginable debacle for the people of Victoria, and indeed Australia.”
Mr Smith said Victorian’s will realise the severity of the situation when they are left “watching the AFL grand final in Brisbane, the spring racing carnival has been cancelled and the tennis Australian Open is held somewhere else.”
“I think it will really strike home just what a long term disaster, economic and reputational disaster this is for Melbourne,” he said.
“This is 20 per cent of this nation’s population and economy and we have been reduced to virtually a third world country.”
Mr Smith went on to call for Premier Andrews to resign.
“We are so sick of this man … we’re just so utterly sick of him. In the name of God, would he just go,” he said.
READ MORE: Lockdown should spark debate, not hysteria, fear
Yoni Bashan 10.50am: NSW records 13 new cases in ‘critical’ week
NSW has recorded thirteen new cases of the novel coronavirus overnight, four of which include individuals in hotel quarantine.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the state was “holding the line” against transmission of the virus and reiterated her messages warning against complacency.
There were 12 new cases announced on Sunday, 17 cases on Saturday and 21 cases on Friday.
Ms Berejiklian urged residents to be on “extra high alert” and to wear masks in crowded places to avoid the state experiencing a Victoria style disaster.
“The next few weeks are absolutely critical for NSW,” she said.
READ MORE: Tabcorp braces for $1bn hit
Charlie Peel 10.25am: Palaszczuk lashes consular travel loophole
Annastacia Palaszczuk will call on the other states to scrap a loophole that allowed a consular official to enter the country and travel on a domestic flight while infected with COVID-19.
The man, aged in his 20s, flew into Sydney from overseas on Friday before he transferred to a Jetstar flight bound for the Sunshine Coast.
Under normal circumstances, travellers returning to Australia are required to undergo a two-week hotel quarantine at their point of entry, but the man was granted permission to fly straight to Maroochydore under a national exemption for consulate staff.
He was tested for the virus when he arrived in Queensland and the result later came back positive.
He is now at his home in Toowoomba for the mandatory two-week quarantine period and was the state’s only recorded new case of the virus in the 24 hours to Sunday morning.
His wife is also in quarantine.
The Queensland Premier on Monday said the exemption posed a risk to the preventive measures in place to stop the spread of the virus and said she would raise the issue at the next national cabinet meeting.
“I think now is the time for national travellers to definitely go into mandatory hotel quarantine,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I don’t think the time is right now for those exemptions.
“That is going to be a matter for the chief health officers around the country to look at.
“I want to put that on the agenda for national cabinet.”
Ms Palaszczuk said the risk was unacceptable given the sacrifices that have been made to try to prevent a second wave of the virus coming into Queensland from other states and from overseas.
“I don’t think we need any elements of risk while we are dealing with the global pandemic and if we can close off any of those loopholes, it will keep everyone safe,” she said.
We just want to maintain the lifestyle we love here in Queensland.”
READ MORE: Coronavirus worries speed property price fall
Imogen Reid 10.05am: Berejiklian to provide update at 10.30am
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will provide an update on coronavirus in her state at 10.30am AEST. You can follow the press conference live above.
Imogen Reid 9.55am: Sydney inner-west church closed over 2 positive cases
A Catholic church in Sydney’s inner-west has closed for deep cleaning after being notified two people that attended mass have since tested positive for coronavirus.
A man and a woman attended St Brigid’s Church in Marrickville for Vigil Mass on Saturday July 25 at 5pm.
In a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday, the parish said NSW Health had advised that the couple was deemed low risk as they were not infectious at the time they attended the church.
“As a precautionary measure, our church was closed today [Sunday] until further notice and will undergo a deep clean tomorrow [Monday], in line with NSW Health guidelines,” the statement read.
“We have encouraged our parish staff and Passionist community to be tested and to isolate until their tests results are back.
“This is simply for the purpose of good practice, as it seems we have entered into the COVID-19 second wave.”
It comes as the state’s health authority issued a warning to anyone who visited two licensed premises in the Hunter Region last week to get tested after positive COVID-19 tests were confirmed.
Patrons who visited the Hotel Jesmond on July 29 between 7.30pm and 9.30pm or Wallsend Diggers on July 30 between 7.30pm and 9.30pm should be tested immediately.
READ MORE: Sydney to Hobart race sailing against the wind
Rachel Baxendale 9.35am: Victoria records 429 cases, new lockdowns start
Victoria has recorded 429 new coronavirus cases on Monday, as the state spends its first day in Stage Four lockdown.
The Australian also understands a double digit number of people have died with coronavirus in the state in the 24 hours to Monday.
While 429 would have been a record a fortnight ago, it is significantly below Thursday’s record of 723, as well as 627 on Friday and 671 on Sunday.
It also brings Sunday’s record seven-day average of 518 down to 504.
Premier Daniel Andrews is due to address the media later today regarding the shutdown of certain businesses and workplaces.
Mr Andrews’ office says his press conference is likely to be held “after lunch”.
READ MORE: Curfew kicks in, leaving streets deserted
Imogen Reid 9.15am: No new cases in Queensland, 12 still active
Queensland reported zero new infections overnight, with just 12 active cases remaining in the state.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed that all 105 residents in the Bolton Clarke aged care home in Pinjarra Hills have been tested and have all returned negative results.
The Premier thanked Chief Health Officer Doctor Young for meeting with the families of the residents yesterday, and said the state government will continue to monitor the situation.
“Of course these measures are being put in place in protecting our most vulnerable, so we will continue to monitor that situation over the week,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk said she has been in contact with the NRL over concerns social distancing restrictions were breached at the Sunshine Coast Stadium during a match at the weekend. She said she has been assured action will be taken to ensure it will not happen again.
“We’ve been contacted by the NRL this morning, and the Storm themselves are saying they want to reduce the number of people to that Stadium by 1000,” she said.
“We want people to adhere to social distancing. That is incredibly important.
“The majority were seated, not moving around, but having said that I want to commend the NRL for taking that very swift action and letting my office know that they will be reducing the numbers by 1000.”
The state’s Health Minister Steven Miles said the next week will be critical and urged anyone experiencing symptoms to come forward for testing.
“We can still expect to see some ongoing cases, so please, everyone needs to be careful,” he said.
“If they develop any symptoms at all, they should come forward and get tested and isolate themselves until they get the result of that test, to maintain social distancing as much as they possibly can, and everyone, please, reconsider whether you need to travel to Victoria or that hot spot in New South Wales, Metropolitan Sydney, or overseas.”
READ MORE: Criminals ‘using virus to rort and defraud’
Imogen Reid 9.05am: DCMO ‘hopeful of quick decline in Victoria’
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd said he is hopeful the levels of community transmission in Victoria will quickly decline over the next six weeks and expects to see a drop in cases within a fortnight.
“Hopefully we will see a very quick decline in the number of daily infections,” Professor Kidd told the Today show.
“You have to remember that the infections that we are seeing today are people who have been infected in the last week or so, so it does take a week or two before we will start to see a decline in infections.”
Professor Kidd said the impact on the mental and physical health of residents during a lockdown is a huge concern and is one reason NSW has not decided to implement tougher restrictions.
“These measures are not taken lightly and as we have seen in Victoria, these are very serious measures with serious consequences,” Professor Kidd said.
“But if they are necessary in order to save many, many lives, then this is what we have to do.”
Addressing the issue of crowd control at sporting events, particularly at the Melbourne and Newcastle’s game at the Sunshine Coast Stadium at the weekend, Professor Kidd said even though it looks like many people were there “it is a much more controlled environment than we may see, for example, if people are crowding in other venues, into supermarkets, or other spaces.”
“Everyone who is there has a ticket so we know everyone who is there. All of those people can be contacted if needed,” he said.
“Everyone has their assigned seats … groups of people are not mixing with others.”
READ MORE: How companies can maintain trust
Imogen Reid 8.40am: Ardern kicks trans-Tasman bubble into the distance
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has once again dashed hopes for a trans-Tasman travel bubble to open up between New Zealand and Australia any time soon, blaming the developing situation in Victoria.
Ms Ardern said Australia would need to have 28 consecutive days with zero community transmission, something she believes will not be possible in the upcoming months.
Speaking to RNZ, Ms Ardern said the Victoria’s outbreak was a “major step back for trans-Tasman travel.”
“Obviously this is going to be some time away now,” she said.
“Anywhere where we have COVID-free travel they have to be free of community transmission for a period of time – that will be some time for Australia.
“It will be on the backburner for several months.”
The New Zealand Government has previously discussed the possibility of approving travel with Australia’s individual states and territories, but said they needed to be satisfied that restrictions on interstate travel were strictly enforced.
READ MORE: Will tighter lockdown work? It did in NZ
Imogen Reid 8.00am: Trump tweets on Victoria’s state of disaster
Donald Trump has commented on Victoria’s lockdown on Twitter, reposting a tweet reporting the state's crisis to criticise US media.
Big China Virus breakouts all over the World, including nations which were thought to have done a great job. The Fake News doesn’t report this. USA will be stronger than ever before, and soon! https://t.co/pZwjvgmVTO
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 2, 2020
“Big China Virus breakouts all over the World, including nations which were thought to have done a great job,” the President said.
“The Fake News doesn’t report this. USA will be stronger than ever before, and soon!”
However, one user pointed out in a comment that the US was leading the world in the number of people who have succumbed to the virus, with the death toll passing 150,000.
Another said: “Trump is fighting Tik Tok harder than COVID,” while one commented: “Donald Trump is literally celebrating the fact that COVID-19 is breaking out all over the world because he thinks it makes his horrific handling of the virus in America look less horrific.”
Since the beginning of the pandemic, the US has reported more than 4,657,000 positive cases of coronavirus.
The New York Post reported on the president’s tweet, saying: “President Trump tweets about troubling COVID-19 outbreak in Australia.”
READ MORE: Consular official travels with virus
Imogen Reid 7.45am: Two Adelaide schools shut after infected woman visits
Two Adelaide schools have been shut down over links to a positive case of COVID-19.
Thebarton Senior College in the city’s west and Roma Mitchell Secondary College in Adelaide’s north will be closed today for deep cleaning, while authorities conduct contact tracing.
It comes after a woman in her 20s attended both schools while infectious. She attended Roma Mitchell College for an after-hours education course.
Chief public health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier said there is “some potential” of community transmission.
READ MORE: Shoppers’ mad dash for meat and veggies
Staff writers 7.20am: Victorian businesses to hear which can continue
Daniel Andrews will announce on Monday which Victorian businesses will be able to continue to operate amid fears the state’s stage four lockdown will wreak havoc on the nation’s economy, with up to $9bn potentially wiped from budget forecasts and hundreds of thousands of jobs lost.
Food and beverage retailers will stay open and hospitality venues still be able to offer takeaway services, with announcements expected on Monday about which other businesses and industries will be able to trade as essential services.
A limited number of abattoirs are expected to continue as others come online to maintain meat supplies if they are hit by outbreaks, the Herald Sun reports.
Urban Development Institute of Australia state chief executive Danni Hunter said the construction sector was trying to convince the government that work should continue if it was safe to do so.
“We’ve proven that there have been very low numbers of cases in the building industry, and if there are they’ve been dealt with effectively and swiftly to make sure sites can reopen and workers are safe,” she told the Herald Sun.
READ MORE: $9bn and thousands of jobs at stake
Imogen Reid 7.00am: ‘We’re at war, Victorians on front line’
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says he is devastated by the worsening situation in Victoria, declaring the state “at war” and “every Victorian is on the front line”.
“Last night’s news that we will be hit with stage four restrictions, curfews, school closures and more constraints on people’s movement is going to hit Victorians really hard,” Mr Frydenberg said on Sky.
“We can’t afford holes in our defence, and that’s why everyone needs to follow these new rules.
“Just a few people can endanger many and that’s the harsh reality of what we find ourselves in Victoria.”
The new #COVID19 restrictions announced today have hit Victorians hard.
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) August 2, 2020
This is a really challenging time, but we will get through this by working together & following the rules.
Stay safe. Stay strong. pic.twitter.com/OqWrwCGvYO
Mr Frydenberg said he understood why the move into Stage 4 restrictions was necessary after the state’s cases continued to soar and was responsible for 98 per cent of Australia’s new infections recorded on Sunday.
He said the impact from the tougher restrictions in Victoria would see the $3.3 billion hit to the economy increase, the effects of which he said would be updated in the October budget.
Mr Frydenberg said JobKeeper alone will continue to inject around $100 million a day into the Victorian economy, and is expected that over 900,000 residents will continue to remain on the wage scheme until October.
“That is a working assumption, and will depend on the clarification about which industries will be allowed to continue to operate,” he said.
“This is a massive kick in the guts for Victorian businesses. We all want to get to the other side of the coronavirus, no one wanted to see the new cases increase as they have, so everyone recognises that we must try to do everything to get this under control.
“Last night’s news was very tough but Victorians are tough as well and everyone is now going to try to stem the tide of new cases.”
Addressing whether the Federal Government will fund a fully-paid pandemic leave for Australians, Mr Frydenberg told the ABC the Attorney-General would continue to assess the situation, while discussions with relevant stakeholders and state jurisdictions take place.
“We are looking at this issue of pandemic leave. The Attorney-General is talking to the relevant stakeholders about it and of course we’ll have discussion, as well, at a state government level and the Prime Minister’s made those points very clear,” he said.
“Some major businesses, and I know Wesfarmers is one of the those, who have already introduced 14 days of paid pandemic leave and in the case of Victoria, the government has announced a $1,500 payment for those people who don’t have leave available to them, but are forced to isolate because they have either contracted the virus or been in contact with someone who has.”
READ MORE: Freedom the first casualty in anxious city
Imogen Reid 6.35am: No guarantee of economic help for hard hit Americans
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows says he is not optimistic politicians will come to an agreement on a deal to provide economic relief to those hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 150,000 Americans.
He said Democrats were blocking moves to reach a decision to provide federal unemployment benefits in the short term.
“I’m not optimistic that there will be a solution in the very near term,” Mr Meadows said on Sunday.
“We continue to see really a stonewalling of any piecemeal type of legislation that happens on Capitol Hill. Hopefully that will change in the coming days.”
New York governor Andrew Cuomo said the state’s COVID-19 figures on Sunday are “the lowest number since we began,” with the only three deaths reported and 556 people hospitalised.
Meanwhile, at least 40 passengers and crew from Norway Cruises have been infected with COVID-19 while authorities scramble to trace the passengers from two recent Arctic voyages.
Four crew members on the MS Roald Amundsen were hospitalised on Friday, while the remaining crew were quarantined on the ship. Of the passengers, 178 were allowed to disembark before anyone had been tested, prompting an urgent operation to locate them and contain the spread.
India’s Interior Minister Amit Shah has been admitted to hospital after catching the virus, becoming the most senior politician in the country to test positive for the disease.
Mr Shah, 55, who heads a ministry that has been at the forefront of managing the virus, said he was tested after experiencing symptoms of COVID-19.
Vietnamese authorities are struggling to track the origin of the new coronavirus outbreak that originated in the central city of Danang and has infected around 200 people.
The country reported 34 new cases on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections to 620.
Globally, there have been more than 17.8 million people infected with the virus, while the total number of COVID-19 deaths is more than 679,000.
With agencies
READ MORE: Plea to let in overseas students
Staff writers 6.25am: NSW residents asked to mask up
NSW residents are being asked to wear masks in crowded areas and reconsider non-essential travel to avoid a Victorian style state of disaster.
From Monday, new rules “strongly recommend” mask wearing in supermarkets, shops, places of worship and on public transport.
Hospitality and retail staff who have regular contact with customers are also being asked to wear masks.
Businesses will be able to enforce mask use as a condition of entry.
READ MORE: Lockdown costs ‘will be enormous’
Rachel Baxendale 5.10am: Victoria’s mystery coronavirus cases now exceed 760
Announcing Victoria’s six-week stage-four lockdown and curfew on Sunday, Premier Daniel Andrews highlighted 760 active cases where contact tracers had been unable to find a source of infection as “the most important number”.
In many ways, this number alone underplays the challenge Victoria faces in getting on top of the virus. As Mr Andrews acknowledged, 598 of Victoria’s 671 new cases on Sunday remain under investigation, among 3163 unknown unknowns.
The 760 active cases represent the known unknowns, and are among 1962 cases for which contact tracers have been unable to establish a source since the pandemic began.
There have been 5125 Victorian cases that either remain under investigation or for which contact tracers have not found a source, representing 44 per cent of the 11,557 cases in the state since the pandemic began.
Read the full story here.
Rachel Baxendale 5am: State of disaster declared as Victoria enacts curfew
Melburnians will spend the next six weeks under the strictest curfew in Australia’s history, with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews slapping new restrictions on the city’s residents after conceding that his government’s existing strategy had failed to curtail the deadly sweep of the coronavirus across the state.
As Mr Andrews declared a state of disaster and implored Victorians to take a “collective responsibility” to stopping the march of COVID-19, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the move to stage-four restrictions laid bare the seriousness of the situation and “shock and awe” tactics were needed to get the message out loud and clear.
Announcing the move that will inevitably send businesses to the wall and cost tens if not hundreds of thousands of jobs, with profound economic implications for generations to come and the nation as a whole, Mr Andrews said he had been left with no options other than the introduction of extreme measures. “If we were to pursue (the previous) strategy with a view to driving down numbers to a very low containable level where we could reopen, it would likely be the end of the year before we were able to reopen,” he said.
Read the full story here.
Tessa Akerman 4.45am: Panic buying takes hold ahead of new restrictions
Anxious Victorians rushed to supermarkets on Sunday ahead of the tightening of restrictions with meat selling like hot cakes as shoppers stocked up freezers and pantries.
Under the new restrictions, only one person per household is allowed go to the supermarket each day and shopping for food and necessary supplies will only be allowed within 5km of your home or at the nearest available supermarket.
Purchasing limits on dried, frozen and fresh food are also being reintroduced by major supermarkets.
On Sunday queues stretched through the carpark at bulk-foods chain Costco in Ringwood in Melbourne‘s far northeast while the Docklands’ store had the lines for the checkout running 30 deep.
Read the full story, by Tessa Akerman and Remy Varga, here.
Crisafulli government accused of inflating state debt projections
Rating agency S & P Global has accused the Queensland government of exaggerating the state’s debt position for political point scoring.
ABC executive in dark on Lattouf posts until Anderson emailed him
Christopher Oliver-Taylor, who decided to sack Antoinette Lattouf, only became aware of her anti-Israel views when alerted to her social media posts by David Anderson in the hours after her first shift.