Coronavirus Australia live news: WA Premier Mark McGowan backs down over virus ship
A contrite Mark McGowan has conceded WA’s health department was in fact informed of three sick crew on board the Al Kuwait before it berthed at Fremantle.
- McGowan backs down over virus ship
- NSW freezes wages for 410,000 workers
- 30-year-old Queensland man dies
- PM: Closed borders bad for economy
- Virus spikes in abattoirs
- Palaszczuk enlists ‘Labor star’
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Mark McGowan has conceded WA’s health department was in fact informed of three sick crew on board the Al Kuwait before it berthed at Fremantle. The ACTU president has attacked moves by NSW to freeze public service wages for 12 months. Scott Morrison calls on state leaders to justify closing borders, saying it was never national cabinet advice.
Associated Press 8.10pm Cyprus to cover costs for virus-hit tourists
Cyprus is pledging to cover all costs for anyone testing positive for the coronavirus while on holiday on the eastern Mediterranean island nation, according to a letter obtained by The Associated Press news agency on Wednesday.
The Cypriot government says it will cover lodging, food, drink and medication for COVID-19 patients and their families. Patients will only have to pay for the taxi ride to the airport and the flight back home.
A 100-bed hospital will cater exclusively to foreign travellers who test positive. About 112 intensive care units equipped with 200 respirators will be reserved for critically-ill patients. A 500-room “quarantine hotel” will be reserved for patients’ family members and other close contacts.
The pledge came in a five-page letter dated Tuesday that was sent out to governments, airlines and tour operators outlining strict health and hygiene protocols that the government is enacting to woo visitors to the tourism-reliant country.
The letter, signed by Cyprus’ foreign affairs, transport and tourism ministers, boasts that the country has one of the lowest coronavirus ratios per capita in Europe after having tested more than 10 per cent of its population.
International air travel to Cyprus begins on June 9, initially from 19 countries, with passengers required to undergo a COVID-19 test three days prior to departure. That measure will be lifted on June 20 for 13 countries, including Germany, Finland, Israel, Greece and Norway.
Officials say travel will be expanded to more countries depending on a constant evaluation of their infection rates.
READ MORE: How to lose the lockdown pounds
AFP 6.50pm France halts hydroxychloroquine use
French doctors are no longer allowed to use hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 cases, according to new government rules announced on Wednesday, after two French advisory bodies said the drug could pose serious health risks.
Use of the drug, normally a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, has proven controversial after some prominent doctors and even US President Donald Trump began backing it during the coronavirus outbreak, despite a lack of sufficient trials on its effectiveness
READ MORE: Australia’s youngest coronavirus victim identified
AFP 5.45pm South Korea’s biggest jump in cases in seven weeks
South Korea reported its biggest jump in coronavirus infections in seven weeks, driven by a fresh cluster at an e-commerce warehouse on Seoul’s outskirts, as millions more pupils went back to school.
The country has been held up as a global model in how to curb the virus and has rushed to contain new infections as life returns to normal.
But officials announced 40 new cases Wednesday — taking its total to 11,265 — with most new infections from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area.
It was the largest increase since 53 infections were announced on April 8. An outbreak at a warehouse of e-commerce firm Coupang in Bucheon, west of Seoul, caused 36 cases, the KCDC added.
“It is suspected that the basic regulations were not enforced at the warehouse,” said Vice-Health Minister Kim Gang-lip.
But officials said the possibility of parcel recipients being infected was low. Social distancing rules have been relaxed in South Korea and facilities such as museums and churches have reopened while some professional sports — including baseball and soccer — started new seasons this month, albeit behind closed doors.
More than two million students returned to classes on Wednesday, as part of the phased reopening of schools.
The country endured one of the worst early outbreaks of the disease outside mainland China, and while it never imposed a compulsory lockdown, strict social distancing had been widely observed since March.
But it appears to have brought its outbreak under control thanks to an extensive “trace, test and treat” program.
READ MORE: Used car sales rebound driven by people seeking alternatives to buses, trains
AAP 5.10pm Trans-Tasman bubble push gathers pace
The Australian and New Zealand governments will receive a blueprint on safely reopening their shared international border as soon as next week.
A working group of officials and experts, including government personnel, airports and airline representatives, co-ordinated by the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum, will produce the blueprint by “early June”.
Group co-chair Margy Osmond said the goal was to provide the basis for the resumption of safe travel.
“We are poring over every detail and aspect,” she said. “We have an opportunity now to work together to show how we can support tourism on both sides of the Tasman and do it safely.” While the report will go to governments soon, neither Australia nor New Zealand is committing to a timeline on the re-establishment of regular travel.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has pledged to “consider” the travel in July as part of the third and final step of his COVID-19 roadmap.
His New Zealand counterpart, Jacinda Ardern, is eager to move “as soon as it is safe to do so” and called the establishment of the bubble “a core plank in our economic recovery”. “Neither country wants to see cases imported from the other,” Ms Ardern said.
On Wednesday, New Zealand recorded another day without new COVID-19 cases; just one case has been found in the past 10 days.
That has allowed Ms Ardern to relax gathering restrictions, with caps of 100 on all social engagements to come into force from Friday.
“We now have some of the loosest restrictions of the countries we compare ourselves to ... the opening of bars and restaurants,” she said.
“What we’re hoping to do is be free of almost all restrictions altogether within four weeks.” Australian deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said of the bubble: “It would be a wonderful thing for us to have that if it goes forward. I think it is certainly feasible to do so in the not too distant future”.
READ MORE: Poor countries can’t afford lockdowns as outbreaks accelerate
Angelica Snowden 4.20pm: WA matter resolved with Premier’s retraction
Dr Kelly said Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan retracted comments in which he accused the federal government of not informing WA authorities about a coronavirus-ridden sheep ship.
“Mr McGowan has retracted partially that statement earlier today that he does understand that the case was that the appropriate people in his government were informed at an appropriate time and so that’s been resolved,” Dr Kelly said.
“The six sailors by the way are not severely unwell, they are in hotel quarantine, safely for them, safely for the public of WA and the other sailors onboard are being monitored for their own health,” he said.
Dr Kelly said there was a “large number of ships” coming to Australia with small crews.
“We do, of course, want to continue trading with the rest of the world and that’s really important,” he said.
“So we do have a fairly large number of ships coming with rather small crews and no passengers into Australian waters and we have a process in relation to that which has worked well this time and I’m very confident with how that is working.”
He also said it was a concern that two school students in Sydney’s eastern suburbs tested positive to COVID-19 after an earlier outbreak in backpackers around Bondi.
The possibility of a ‘trans-Tasman’ bubble edged closed as well after Dr Kelly confirmed “preliminary discussions” with health authorities in New Zealand earlier this week.
READ MORE: Ruby Princess passenger tests positive 10 weeks after disembarking
Geoff Chambers 4.03pm: Swan reignites class war campaign
Wayne Swan has reignited Labor’s class war campaign against business in an ALP fundraising drive, declaring “democracy is under threat from big money and authoritarian leaders and we need your help”.
Ahead of the unions sitting down with business groups next week to begin talks over industrial relations reform, Mr Swan told ALP members they were “fighting against vested interests with deep pockets” putting him at odds with Anthony Albanese’s calls to end Labor’s class war attacks.
“We’ve got a big task ahead of us because we’re fighting against vested interests with deep pockets who will use this pandemic to drive down wages and conditions, and to ignore the environment,” the ALP national president said.
The former treasurer asked ALP members to help fund “the advertising and campaigning we need to do to hold the government to account”, and claimed credit for the government’s COVID-19 stimulus package.
“But we can’t rest now and just hope for the best. Democracy is under threat from big money and authoritarian leaders, and we need your help to fight back,” he said.
“We’re up against vested interests with deep pockets, but we’ve got something they don’t have – millions of Australians just like you who will work together to fight for a fairer Australia. I hope we can count on your support in the weeks, months and years ahead.”
READ MORE: Albanese, Chalmers must fix Labor’s poor reputation for fiscal skill
Angelica Snowden 3.56pm: Queensland death a reminder to all: Deputy CMO
Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says a 30-year-old Queensland man who was diagnosed with COVID-19 after he died was suffering from a respiratory illness for three weeks beforehand.
“It is by far our youngest death so far from COVID-19 and it is a reminder firstly that this is a serious illness and whilst it does affect older people and people with chronic illness, it can affect anyone and it can affect people severely,” he said.
The man’s body was found in the Blackwater region and Dr Kelly said the coroner would investigate his death.
“How it came to be in Blackwater, quite an isolated area inland from Rockhampton in Queensland is a matter of conjecture,” he said.
“I know that the Queensland Health authorities are looking into that and we will wait for their advice.”
He said it was a concern that there was no clear link with a previous COVID-19 case and that community transmission “of some sort” was likely involved.
Dr Kelly also said the man had other medical issues.
“We haven’t had many people in rural areas in any state and so at this point in the pandemic it is a concern,” he said.
The man was only tested for COVID-19 following his death, and a second coronavirus test will be conducted.
Dr Kelly confirmed that there are 500 active cases of coronavirus in Australia and that 103 people have now died from COVID-19.
READ MORE: Aged care nurse suspected source of fatal infection
Eli Greenblat 3.50pm: Trans-Tasman bubble may expand, slowly
The chief executive of the third biggest airport in Australasia says opening a trans-Tasman travel bubble would allow both countries to use their success in tackling COVID to springboard into economic recovery.
But despite the strong desire of neighbouring Pacific nations to be part of the bubble plan, a successful initial implementation would be needed before expanding it to other countries, business leaders heard on Wednesday.
Speaking at the trans-Tasman Business Circle, Auckland Airport CEO Adrian Littlewood said the two countries could actually benefit from the slow emergence of global travel, becoming more attractive in the eyes of international tourists who viewed the countries as safe due to their success in suppressing the coronavirus and their quality public health systems.
READ MORE: Trans-Tasman travel bubble may expand to Pacific, but won’t be rushed
Paul Garvey 3.30pm: ‘Wake-up call’: McGowan backs down over virus ship
A contrite West Australian premier Mark McGowan has conceded his state’s health department was in fact informed of three sick crew on board the Al Kuwait sheep ship before it berthed at Fremantle port.
Mr McGowan on Wednesday afternoon said there had “clearly been some errors made all round” in the handling of the ship by both state and Commonwealth authorities, but was particularly “disappointed” that an email to the state’s Department of Health did not raise red flags.
Federal agriculture minister David Littleproud released emails this morning sent by his department to WA authorities, which detailed high temperatures detected in three of the ship’s crew. The email also said that there was “no concern for COVID-19 on board”.
The information was received several hours before a Fremantle pilot and a trainee went aboard the vessel to help it berth. The pilot and trainee, who were wearing PPE, are now self-isolating after six crew were confirmed to be infected with coronavirus.
Mr McGowan said the email from the Department of Agriculture “plainly should have” caused concern within the health authorities.
“If there is a lesson to be learnt here, it is that we cannot let our guard down,” Mr McGowan said.
“I hope this serves as a wake-up call to everyone.”
After criticising federal authorities yesterday, Mr McGowan said he had spoken to Mr Littleproud this morning and had agreed to work “cooperatively and constructively” with federal agencies.
He said he and Mr Littleproud had had an “extremely friendly” conversation and agreed on the need for better communication between state and federal agencies.
“These are highly stressed times … We need to learn from our mistakes,” he said.
Of the remaining crew on board, 27 will be removed and sent to a Perth hotel for quarantine while the remaining 15 will remain on board as a skeleton crew.
READ MORE: ‘Red flags missed’ on crew members
Agencies 2.35pm: Quarantine hotel worker tests positive
A staff member at a Melbourne hotel hosting quarantined travellers is among the state’s latest eight coronavirus cases.
The Rydges on Swanston worker has been diagnosed with COVID-19, the health department said on Wednesday.
The cause of the infection is under investigation and the hotel has been shut to the public. The hotel refused to comment to AAP.
The hotel is being used by a small number of returned overseas travellers observing their quarantine, the department said.
Household close contacts of the employee have been told and put into quarantine, while the hotel undertakes a deep clean.
Victoria’s total recorded cases now stands at 1618.
Two of the fresh cases have been detected in staff at Lynden Aged Care home in Camberwell, bringing the total cases at the facility to three. Staff and residents at the nursing home are having more testing for COVID-19. The centre has been in lockdown since May 19.
Among the newest cases, one was in hotel quarantine and four were picked up during routine testing.
In Victoria, there could be 183 confirmed cases of coronavirus acquired through community transmission.
Eight people are in hospital with four patients in intensive care. So far, 1539 people have recovered in Victoria and 19 people have died. More than 200,000 COVID-19 tests have been done since May 11.
AAP
READ MORE: Show us science for closures: minister
Agencies 1.30pm: Call for answers over first SA case in three weeks
The South Australia opposition has called on the state government to reveal more details behind the state’s first coronavirus case in almost three weeks, AAP reports.
A woman in her 50s tested positive for the virus after arriving in Adelaide from Victoria by plane, becoming SA’s 440th confirmed infection.
She had recently travelled to Australia from overseas and was given a special exemption to fly to SA despite only spending a week in quarantine.
Opposition health spokesman Chris Picton said the case raised many questions, including whether or not a test should have been conducted before she was allowed to travel to Adelaide and how many people she had contact with. He said the government should also reveal how many exemptions had been granted.
Revealing details of the case on Tuesday, Chief Public Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said the woman had been given an exemption to travel to SA as part of compassionate arrangements in place.
The woman has now been placed in isolation in Adelaide and a number of people she came into contact with are being tracked down, including those on the same flight.
READ MORE: Unions out to remove IR hoops
Agencies 1.15pm: China denies virus came from ‘wet market’
Chinese scientists say potential sources, a wet market or a laboratory, have failed to show links with the source of the pandemic. Read more here
Imogen Reid 12.55pm: School students the new cases recorded in NSW
Two students from NSW, aged 10 and 12, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 yesterday, are the only new cases recorded in the state in the past 24 hours.
NSW Health said the students came into contact with almost 100 students and teachers from Waverley College and Moriah College – both in Sydney’s eastern suburbs – before the schools went into lockdown.
The 12-year-old from Waverley College came into close contact with 44 students and 10 teachers from his school, while the 10-year-old pupil from Moriah College came into contact with 28 students and 3 teachers.
The state’s total number of cases is 3089 after five cases were excluded from the tally.
READ MORE: Forget the virus, how’s the weather?
Michael McKenna 12.45pm: Police question nurse over Qld virus death
A nurse, who this month contracted COVID-19 and continued working at a central Queensland aged care facility while feeling unwell, is the suspected source of the infection of a 30-year-old man who died from the virus Tuesday night in Blackwater. Read more here
Victoria Laurie 12.30pm: Littleproud, WA premier clash over sheep ship
Federal Agriculture minister David Littleproud says his department was told that three sick crew members were on board a sheep ship docking in Fremantle last Friday, but they were not suspected of having COVID-19. He said WA health authorities were told, but that the state had not acted until three days later.
He was responding to Premier Mark McGowan accusing federal authorities of a lack of warning about the ship’s arrival, and the fact that six crew members had since tested positive for COVID-19. Mr McGowan has claimed the information, which was not sent to the Fremantle Port Authority, was only revealed by a “word of mouth” alert from a port worker.
The infected crew members have been taken off the ship for isolation in a Perth hotel. Around 43 other crew members remain on board.
The Maritime Union of Australia says the incident highlighted regulatory failures that allowed the Ruby Princess to dock in Sydney and trigger the nation’s largest COVID-19 cluster.
MUA National Secretary Paddy Crumlin said it pointed to a lack of co-ordination between federal and state agencies. “Information not passed on in a timely manner to the port workers that came into direct contact with crew members on the vessel demonstrates that the lessons of the Ruby Princess debacle still haven’t been learnt.”
But Mr Littleproud said the ship was allowed to dock because there was no indication of COVID-19 outbreak. “No-one left the ship, and anyone that went on the ship was in protective clothing.”
He said Australian Border Force became concerned on Sunday that crew members may have symptoms, and ABF also notified the WA public health emergency centre in Perth.
“It wasn’t until Monday that WA health officials boarded the boat and started to test,” Mr Littleproud said. “My department has acted within the protocols,” he said.
The ship Al Kuwait is due to load 56,000 sheep for export to the Middle East, as part of WA’s lucrative live export trade. A livestock industry spokesman said the exporters were waiting to hear if the ship will be cleared to leave once the infection had been cleared up, or whether a second vessel would need to be hired.
The vessel’s livestock supplier Mike Gordon, from Perth-based Rural Export and Trading, said the company was working closely with WA health authorities.
READ MORE: The Force is with us again
Staff Reporters 12pm: Union attacks wage freeze as insulting, terrible
ACTU president Michele O’Neil has condemned the move to freeze public service wages for 12 months as “terrible”.
NSW NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian announced the decision this morning. Ms O’Neil said it was an insult to thousands of essential workers.
“I’m shocked by that,” she told Sky News. “That decision really does fly in the face of the very amazing work the public sector in all states has done. To think that health workers, nurses, firefighters, police, ambos and thousands of other workers are being thanked by getting a pay freeze, is a terrible decision by the NSW premier.
“Of course I agree there needs to be extra money spent on frontline services, but not at the expense of taking money out of the pay packets of the very people who’ve got us through this crisis.
“That’s a false economy. It’s bad for the economy and for small business … I think (Gladys Berejiklian) has got the fundamentals wrong.”
READ MORE: Andrews digs in on China links
Imogen Reid 11.45am: NSW freezes wages for 410,000 workers
NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced there will be a 12-month wage freeze for those who work in the state’s public service.
The premier added that during that period nobody would be forced out of a job if they worked for the NSW government.
“All 410,000 employees will have the choice to remain in the NSW public service. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the literally hundreds of thousands of employees who don’t work for the NSW Government,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“And today’s announcement is about keeping all of our employees safe, keeping all of our employees in jobs. Every single one of them. But also, making sure that we can support all of our citizens throughout NSW in the best way possible.”
Ms Berejiklian said the decision is not taken lightly, and hopes it is an opportunity for the Parliament, unions, and stakeholders to “come together”.
“I am urging everybody to come together. Please, let’s not descend into the normal political talk that we have. Let’s not descend into the normal obstacles that are faced when governments try to do the right thing.
“I’m calling everybody to come together to support the government in this,” she said.
“As difficult a decision as it is, and of course, we’ll have every opportunity to negotiate with all of our stakeholders once the agreement, once the 12-month period is completed.”
READ MORE: Premier enlists Labor star in border row
Imogen Reid 11.20am: Extended Sydney Biennale to reopen
Operators of the 22nd Biennale of Sydney have announced the event will reopen with extended dates following NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s decision to lift restrictions prohibiting museums and galleries from operating.
In a statement, organisers of the contemporary art festival titled NIRIN, which was previously scheduled to begin in March, said the event would relaunch on June 16 and present more than 700 artworks from 101 artists and 36 different countries until September 6.
“The free contemporary art exhibition presented over greater Sydney was previously scheduled to conclude on 8 June 2020.”
Due to the coronavirus pandemic the exhibition closed just 10 days after opening to the public. Barbara Moore, the CEO of the Biennale, said the new dates of the event would give people the chance to “enjoy some of the best contemporary art from around the world.”
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover More expressed the importance of reviving the art sector to boost the state’s economy.
READ MORE: Time to court overseas students
Agencies 11am: Trump eyes July 4 celebration despite concerns
The White House said Tuesday that President Donald Trump remains committed to holding a Fourth of July celebration in the nation’s capital even as Democratic lawmakers from the region — one of the hardest hit by the coronavirus — warn that the area will not be ready to hold a major event, AP reports.
White House spokesman Judd Deere reiterated that Trump wants to hold an Independence Day celebration after members of Congress wrote on Tuesday to Defence Secretary Mark Esper and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt to raise their concerns about the safety of such an event.
Trump in April said that because of the coronavirus, the event would likely have to be smaller than last year’s “Salute to America” event on the National Mall that drew tens of thousands.
Last year’s July Fourth event featured tanks, a military flyover and a Trump speech at the Lincoln Memorial.
Under recommendations by the DC mayor’s Reopen DC task force, large gatherings are prohibited during the first phase of reopening. In Phase Three, gatherings would cap at 250 people, with physical distancing.
Large gatherings, like the Independence Day event, would not occur until the District enters Phase Four, “when a vaccine or other cure has been widely administered, or the disease has effectively disappeared.”
AP
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Imogen Reid 10.35am: ‘Protocols observed’ around infected WA ship
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud has backed the department’s handling of the United Arab Emirates sheep ship moored in Fremantle harbour, where six crew members have tested positive to coronavirus.
Mr Littleproud says officials had complied with quarantine protocols set out by the Western Australian government and no-one had boarded the boat, the Al Kuwait, without wearing personal protective equipment.
“With respect to the Al Kuwait boat … no one has left the boat without medical attention being provided to them,” he said. “No one went onto the boat unless they were wearing protective equipment. Everyone who has come into contact with the Al Kuwait has undertaken that.”
Mr Littleproud said that on May 20 the boat’s master notified the department that three of their crew members were feeling unwell but were not symptomatic of the virus.
“From then on, as the boat came in, and was docked on 22 May, at 10.39am, we notified WA Health, in fact, their public health emergency operations centre, we had been notified less than an hour earlier there had been someone that presented themselves with symptoms of COVID-19,” he said.
“It is not for the department of agriculture to make medical assessments. We look after plants and animals.”
READ MORE: Itching to fly — can you afford to scratch
Michael McKenna 10.20am: ‘Unfolding situation’ over Queensland death
Qld Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says the diagnosis of COVID-19 in a 30-year-old man found dead in Blackwater had only been made after he died.
There had been no prior cases of COVID-19 in the Blackwater region, and the man had not left the town since February and had not travelled overseas.
It is the seventh COVID-19 related death in Queensland. The man’s partner is also unwell, but has tested negative to COVID-19.
READ MORE: Flightless economy to land with a thud
Remy Varga 10am: Vics to work from home until at least end of June
The number of cases of the coronavirus in Victoria has risen by eight, the state premier has confirmed.
Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Wednesday the Victorian government wanted people to continue working from home until at least the end of June.
“The chief health officer is particularly concerned about literally hundreds of thousands of Victorians returning to work in a physical workplace,” he said.
READ MORE: The coal hard facts on economy
Imogen Reid 9.40am: 30-year-old Queensland man dies
A 30-year-old man with a complicated medical history who showed COVID-19 symptoms has died in Queensland overnight, taking the state’s total number of coronavirus related deaths to seven.
Queensland’s health minister, Steven Miles, says the man tested positive for the virus after his death.
“Late yesterday afternoon, the Queensland ambulance service was called to a home in Blackwater, there they found a man who was deceased, he was later tested for COVID-19 and that test was positive,” he said.
“The paramedics and police officers who attended the scene are now in quarantine and we thank them for the assistance they provided to this man and his partner.”
BREAKING | A 30 year old man from Blackwater in central Queensland has died from Covid-19. pic.twitter.com/lBNLlcCzqO
— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) May 26, 2020
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said: “If anyone is sick in Queensland, please stay home. Do not go to work. But also too, if you’re showing any symptoms I urge you to go and get tested.”
“There will be fever clinics set up at Blackwater and also at Emerald and if anyone has any flu-like symptoms, we urge you in these two communities to please go and get tested.”
Queensland’s chief medical officer, Dr Jeannette Young, said the man’s partner came home from work yesterday around 4:30pm and found him unresponsive. An ambulance was called and the man was declared dead at the scene.
Contact tracing is now being undertaken by the state’s health authority.
READ MORE: Red flags ‘missed’ on crew members
Imogen Reid 9.25am: Nursing home staff test positive
Two staff members at an aged care home in Camberwell in Victoria have tested positive for COVID-19, a week after a resident was diagnosed with the virus.
The Lynden Aged Care centre has been into lockdown since the first case was confirmed last week. However health authorities revealed the two staff members were not originally considered close contacts of the resident and are unable to track how they contracted coronavirus.
It comes as a second resident at Hammond Care in Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs returned both positive and negative results.
Hammond Care has contacted the families expressing their confusion over the unusual outcome and have in turn decided to place the facility into lockdown until early next week.
They are awaiting a third test result from a second resident, an 84-year-old woman, who also returned conflicting results.
READ MORE: Ruby passenger tests positive
Richard Ferguson 9am: IR reform ‘not reheating’ 1980s Accords
Scott Morrison has brushed off comparisons of his pursuit of a post-COVID industrial relations compact to the Hawke-Keating Accords of the 1980s, saying his plan is a new process.
“This isn’t some reheat of a process done by a former Labor government. It’s not an Accord, it’s a new process,” he told ABC radio.
“It’s about bringing people together on things like how we deal with casualisation and full-time work, how we can ensure people get paid properly.”
The Accords between the then-Labor government and the ACTU in the 1980s and early 1990s were more direct negotiations between Bob Hawke and the unions around wage demands and social benefits, with employers largely separate from the process.
The Prime Minister will set up working groups of unions and employers’ groups to lead reform of workplace rules by the October federal budget on five specific industrial issues, with ideas being led by workers and employers rather than the government.
READ MORE: Industrial peace accord for post-crisis growth
Tim Dodd 8.35am: States set to miss out on student influx
Universities in Queensland and Western Australia stand to miss out on an influx of thousands of international students in the next few months because their state governments are declining to take a plan to national cabinet for the return of international students.
It is understood the federal government will back a push by the NSW, Victorian and South Australian governments to bring in a few thousand students in a pilot program that will precede the anticipated large-scale return of international students in first semester next year.
But the Palaszczuk government in Queensland and the McGowan government in WA, which both face upcoming elections, have not come forward with detailed proposals to restart the admission of international students even though both states earn billions from education exports. In 2018-19 international students pumped $5.4bn into the Queensland economy and $2bn into the WA economy. Queensland’s election will be held on October 31 and the WA election is in March next year.
READ MORE: Queensland, WA unis to miss out on student influx
Agencies 8.10am: Berejiklian: There will be a second wave
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has denied claims NSW has defeated coronavirus, saying reports that NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said the virus was effectively contained were taken out of context.
Asked on Sky News if she believed there would be a second wave of the virus, Ms
Berejiklian agreed. She also said NSW school closures would be the “new normal” under coronavirus easing, after two private schools in Sydney’s eastern were closed for cleaning following positive cases among students.
The closures of two Sydney schools due to confirmed coronavirus cases won’t be the last, the NSW Premier has warned. @GladysB believes COVID-19 outbreaks are likely to become regular occurences as restrictions continue to ease. #7NEWS https://t.co/26eB7S346H
— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) May 26, 2020
Waverley College and Moriah College both confirmed on Tuesday the schools had closed after students tested positive to COVID-19, as the state recorded just two new cases.
Waverley College, where a Year seven boy tested positive, was evacuated within 90 minutes of learning about the case, a spokeswoman told AAP. The school, which reopened last Monday, is undertaking deep cleaning and will advise parents about its restart date after hearing from NSW Health. Moriah College closed about midday after it received confirmation from NSW Health a pupil, who was on campus on May 21, had tested positive to COVID-19. The college, which started bringing students back on May 7, said in a statement it had activated its evacuation plan and hoped to reopen for face-to-face teaching from next week.
Ms Berejiklian on Wednesday encouraged anyone connected to the schools to seek testing and said the source of the respective cases remained unknown. She said case numbers across the state are very low and denied jumping the gun in returning to classrooms so quickly.
READ MORE: We have defeated virus: Chant
Richard Ferguson 8.00am: Wage subsidy extension ‘not part of IR reform’
Scott Morrison has rebuffed union demands to extend JobKeeper and JobSeeker as part of a new industrial relations compact, saying Australians cannot live on borrowed money.
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus has called for the government to extend wage subsidies past September and commit to the current higher rate of welfare benefits, as she agrees to be part of the five government working groups on reforming workplace rules.
But the Prime Minister said JobKeeper and JobSeeker would not be part of the union-business process, and that extending them could dull the economy.
“These aren’t the issues that are part of the five areas we’ve set out. The government will make decisions on JobSeeker and JobKeeper,
“They are temporary measures … we can’t have Australians living on borrowed money for a protracted period of time. It dulls the economy and it doesn’t get it moving again.”
READ MORE: Morrison echoes Hawke on IR
Richard Ferguson 7.50am: PM: Keeping borders closed no good for economy
Scott Morrison has called on the states to justify keeping their borders closed, warning they were hurting the economy and tourism businesses.
In his strongest rebuke yet on state borders, the Prime Minister said the closing off of states like Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania was never the advice of national cabinet.
“The expert medical advice at a national level never recommended internal borders,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not good for the economy, especially as you go into the school holiday season. Those businesses need that support.
“Those individual states, they’ll have to justify those decisions themselves. It wasn’t something that came out of national cabinet.”
Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham in The Australian on Wednesday called on all states with closed borders to release their scientific advice.
READ MORE: Palaszczuk enlists ‘Labor star’ in borders war
Anne Barrowclough 7.20am: No IR reform, no jobs creation: PM
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has reiterated his call for unions and business leaders to “put down their weapons,” to develop a new consensus on industrial relations reform.
Mr Morrison told Sunrise on Wednesday employees and employers had a once in a lifetime opportunity to make structural change across the board.
“We have got to,” he said. “Our economy hasn’t seen this since the Great Depression. If you’re going to come out of this stronger, which I believe we can, these are things that many have placed in the too hard basket for a long time.
“We need to take this opportunity in the national interest and not their own specific interest and be able to put those things aside and get the country moving again. If you don’t do it, we won’t see those jobs come.
People have to put down their weapons and focus on creating jobs. This industrial relations process has been a very combative field and we have employees and employers on opposite sides and they haven’t joined across,” he said.
Asked whether ACTU boss Sally McManus was sceptical about the idea of reform, he said:
“I think we are both realistic and we are approaching it in good faith. I welcome all of the support on all sides of this debate to actually get behind this. We may have different opinions in all areas of policy but I think we all believe that we need to get people back to work”.
READ MORE: Peace in the time of Corona
David Rogers 6.50am: Wall St reopens, ASX set to fall
The New York Stock Exchange has reopened the trading floor although with plexiglass shields and far fewer traders.
US stocks rose on optimism about economies reopening and the potential development of a coronavirus vaccine.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.2 per cent. The S&P 500 added 1.2 per cent, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.2 per cent.
After a two-day rally which added 5.1 per cent to the local market, the ASX is set to fall in early trade. At 6am (AEST) the SPI futures index was down 69 points, or 1.2 per cent.
Investors were cheering signs of economic activity resuming faster than expected across parts of the US and elsewhere in the world. Restaurant bookings and spending on hotels and airlines appears to be picking up in the US, coinciding with a decline in the daily number of new infections.
READ MORE: Trading Day live blog
Agencies 6.30am: Andrea Bocelli had virus
Renowned Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli has said he caught coronavirus, describing the experience as “a nightmare”.
Bocelli, who has been blind since age 12, raised spirits in Italy during the pandemic, which has killed nearly 33,000 people, by singing alone in Milan’s Duomo on April 12, a month after testing positive for the virus.
“It was a tragedy, my whole family was contaminated,” he told journalists at a hospital in Pisa where he had gone with his wife to donate their plasma for COVID-19 research.
The blood plasma will be used by scientists hoping to develop treatments. “We all had a fever – though thankfully not high ones – with sneezing and coughing,” Bocelli said.
“I had to cancel many concerts … It was like living a nightmare because I felt like I was no longer in control of things. I was hoping to wake up at any moment,” he said.
READ MORE
Jacquelin Magnay 6.15am: Virus spikes in abattoirs around world
The coronavirus outbreak at Cedar Meats in Victoria has been mirrored around the world, with worrying spikes of cases emerging in abattoirs and food production factories in France, Ireland, Germany, the United States and Britain.
Health officials in various counties are keeping a close eye on coronavirus outbreaks associated with abattoirs and food processing. The outbreak in a cargo ship off Fremantle is another mystery.
Three workers at the Cranswick food company in Wombwell, South Yorkshire died from coronavirus and another four have been hospitalised, the company announced this week. The company, which employs over 1,300 employees at Wombwell, said it had introduced additional measures to “protect both the physical and mental wellbeing of our people”.
Such is the concern in Germany, more than 20,000 meat workers in North Rhine-Westphalia and Scheswig-Holstein have been tested for coronavirus and a new law is being passed in the Bundestag to prevent sub-contracting of the work to poorly paid Romanian and other Eastern European workers who live in densely packed conditions in caravans and temporary cabins.
Clusters of coronavirus have already broken out in the Westfleisch slaughterhouse in Lower Saxony, with 151 of 200 workers testing positive and 13 workers hospitalised, following on from outbreaks in meat factories in Coesfeld where 260 workers have been infected, as well as cases in West Fleisch, Oer-Erkenschwick and Bad Bramstedt.
Another outbreak at Muller Fleisch in Baden Wuttermberg, has seen more than a quarter of its 1100 employees testing positive over the past month, although around 150 are already back at work.
German Labour Minister Hubertus Heil has demanded stricter oversight and heavy fines for what he said was a “shady’’ slaughtering industry; often criticised for cramped communal living and exploitation of its workers.
“These grievances are a problem even without a pandemic. But during the coronavirus crisis they have become a dangerous health risk for employees and the entire population,” Mr Heil said.
While scientists have yet to pinpoint the particular conditions that are fuelling the meat processing spikes, officials are looking at unavoidable close working conditions on production lines and the very cold indoor conditions, often with intense airconditioning to protect the meat, which allows the virus to flourish. Abattoir and poultry workers are also labouring and breathing more heavily than office workers, which could spread the virus more easily to those nearby – akin to other known super spreader outbreaks already seen in nightclubs, apre-ski bars and among excited football crowds.
The low socio-economic conditions of workers, living and working so closely with many others and travelling to work often in company-provided buses is also being looked at, as well as any, reluctance to report or quarantine at the first sign of illness out of fear of losing wages.
British MP Geraint Davies said meat plant workers in England and Wales were more than five times more likely to die from coronavirus than an average worker according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
READ MORE: Minister quits over Boris aide
Jacquelin Magnay 6.00am: UK approves ebola drug to treat virus
Britain has approved the used of the ebola drug remdesivir to treat COVID-19 patients.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the drug ‘’is probably the biggest step forward in the treatment of coronavirus since the crisis begun’’. However it has taken Britain, which has 37,000 deaths across the country, several weeks longer to approve the drug, compared to some other countries.
The US’s FDA approved remdesivir on May 1 while Japan’s ministry of health approved it on May 8.
In Australia, remdesivir is reported to be used for compassionate use in some hospitals.
Scientific trials show the drug could enhance people’s recovery from coronavirus by as many as four days.
Mr Hancock said: “This is probably the biggest step forward in the treatment of coronavirus since the crisis begun.
“These are early steps but we’re determined to support the science and back the projects that show promise. As you can understand, we’ll be prioritising the use of this treatment where it can provide the greatest benefit.’
The drug’s approval comes as the UK has recorded 37,048 dying from coronavirus, an increase of 134 deaths in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile the furore surrounding the prime ministerial chief Adviser Dominic Cummings continues to fester.
Mr Cummings has insisted he acted within the law to travel to Durham at the end of March where he isolated with his family for two weeks suffering coronavirus symptoms. He was then also seen on April 12 near Barnard Castle, half an hours drive away from the Durham property. He said he was testing his eyesight to see if he was well enough to drive back to London. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has backed Mr Cummings.
But around 40 Tory MPs have demanded Mr Cummings’ resignation. Douglas Ross, the junior minister for Scotland, resigned because he wanted to support constituents who did not get to “say goodbye to loved ones”. Mr Ross said he could not “in good faith tell them that they were all wrong and one senior adviser to the government was right”.
Mr Hancock said at the daily press conference that he would review penalties issued to people who had been fined for travelling for child care reasons during the lockdown.
READ MORE: Aussies stick with malaria drug trial
Yoni Bashan 5.15am: ‘We have defeated the virus’, top official says
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant believes the state is unlikely to face another major wave of COVID-19 infections this year, with the virus effectively contained and transmission rates reduced to nearly zero.
In a private briefing with NSW politicians on Tuesday, Dr Chant said the likelihood of a second wave occurring in NSW would be low, despite the coming easing of social restrictions from Monday, which will test the state’s ability to maintain its low infection rates.
But she said this would be contingent on people abiding by strict social-distancing protocols and best hygiene practices.
NSW has recorded barely a handful of new cases each day this month, according to data disseminated by NSW Health. As of 8pm on Monday, two new cases had been recorded, both incoming travellers who were undergoing mandatory 14-day quarantines in a Sydney hotel.
Read the full story here.
Craig Johnstone 5am: Palaszczuk enlists Mike Kaiser for border defence
Mike Kaiser, once dubbed one of the “most gifted’’ political strategists Labor has produced, has been employed as a consultant to Annastacia Palaszczuk’s government, tasked with advising on its COVID-19 response as the Queensland Premier launches a parochial defence of her border closures.
Mr Kaiser, a former Queensland ALP secretary and chief of staff to two Labor premiers, has been conducting stakeholder research on the state’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
A central plank of the government’s response — the border closures with other states, potentially until September — has thrust Ms Palaszczuk into the national headlines, as she has been accused of politicking by Morrison government ministers.
And in a winter that will be devoid of State of Origin contests, last week she engaged in a political brawl with her NSW counterpart, Gladys Berejiklian, declaring: “We’re not going to be lectured to by a state that has the highest numbers in Australia.”
Read the full story here.
Geoff Chambers 4.45am: ‘Weapons down’ as government, unions unite
Scott Morrison, business leaders and the unions have agreed to “put their weapons down” in developing a new consensus on industrial relations reform, in a bid to end three decades of political deadlock and reignite the economy.
The government, which jettisoned its Ensuring Integrity Bill as a peace offering to the unions, will bring together ACTU and business representatives from next week, ahead of finalising who will take part in the Prime Minister’s five workplace reform working groups.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus, who met with Mr Morrison last week, joined industry groups including the Business Council of Australia, Master Builders Australia, Australian Industry Group and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in pledging support for the reform process.
Delivering a headland speech on Tuesday that outlined the government’s JobMaker economic plan, Mr Morrison set a September deadline to negotiate and agree on delivering significant changes to the industrial relations system before the October 6 budget.
Read the full story, by Geoff Chambers and Ewin Hannan, here.
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