Coronavirus Australia live updates: Ruby Princess cruise ship passenger dies in Sydney
Scott Morrison has asked Australians to ‘stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary’ as he extended the virus shutdown.
- Andrews to push for tighter limits
- NSW virus cases increase by 149
- Minister: avoid Centrelink offices
- Spain: ‘forgotten elderly’ found dead
- UK lockdown looms as deaths skyrocket
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. In Australia, it’s predicted more than a million Australians may be forced onto welfare due to coronavirus lockdowns. Australia’s death toll has risen after a passenger aboard cruise ship the Ruby Princess died in hospital.
Angelica Snowden 11.19pm: SBS newsroom to reopen
The SBS newsroom in Sydney will reopen on Wednesday after it was evacuated because an employee tested positive to coronavirus.
It is understood that some staff feel uncomfortable about returning to the office, but they are being told it will be open as normal.
In a statement, SBS said an “employee based in the Sydney newsroom has tested positive for COVID-19”.
“As a result of social distancing measures implemented by SBS, this staff member has had minimal contact within the office and with other employees,” a spokesman said in a statement.
“We have comprehensive business continuity plans, our technology and resources are in place to ensure employees can work flexibly, where feasible,” he said.
The staff member was last in the office on Friday 20 March and immediate close contacts were identified and asked to self-isolate.
It is understood that management does not believe they can facilitate remote working arrangements for all of their staff and continue to produce news, radio and online bulletins.
The statement confirmed that the newsroom was “thoroughly cleaned a number of times since Friday” and the area where the employee worked was immediately closed for “additional sanitation”.
“SBS is strictly complying with health and safety advice and protocols in response to this matter.”
10.10pm Latest measures to fight COVID-19
● From midnight on Wednesday food courts in shopping centres will only be available for takeaway food.
● Auctions and open-house inspections are banned.
● Outdoor and indoor markets are banned while rules around major food markets will be addressed by states and territories.
● Personal services such as beauty therapy and tattoo parlours (but not health-related physiotherapy) are banned.
● Hairdressers and barbers can continue but must strictly manage social distancing and restrict the amount of time a patron can be in the premises to no more than 30 minutes.
● Amusement parks and arcades, and indoor and outdoor play centres must close.
● Bootcamps and personal training must be limited to 10 peoeple.
● Galleries, museums, libraries and swimming pools must close.
● Weddings can continue to be conducted where it is just the couple the celebrant and two witnesses, no more than five people.
● Funerals are limited to no more than 10 people.
● It is safe to send children to school up to the end of the term. But some pupil-free days will be needed to plan distance learning. Schools will reopen after the term break with a mix of distance learning and in-school learning for all “essential workers”.
● PM to meet with teachers and other sector representatives about keeping schools open and protecting staff.
● Everyone who still has a job is an essential worker.
● The official “do no travel” warning will turn into an outright ban on overseas travel, with some exceptions such as aid workers and compassionate travel.
● New offence of profiteering and seeking to export goods overseas, relating to such things as medical supplies and masks.
AAP
Greg Brown 9.23pm Morrison expands shutdown
Scott Morrison has asked Australians to “stay at home unless it is absolutely necessary” as he extended the shutdown to food courts at shopping centres, urged people against hosting barbecues and flagged criminal penalties for hosting house parties.
The Prime Minister emerged from the bipartisan national cabinet by urging Australians against attending outdoor events in groups of as little as 10 people.
Weddings can have no more people than the couple being married, the celebrant and witnesses. Funerals can have no more than 10 people at the service.
All real estate auctions and open house inspections will be cancelled
Mr Morrison also put a ban on beauticians, tanning salons, waxing salons, nail salons, tattoo parlours and massage parlours.
Amusement parks, arcades are also banned, as are museums, libraries, historic sites and community galls.
Hairdressers and barber shops can remain open but must strictly manage social-distancing measures
He urged people to work from home if they could but there was no formal ban on working from an office.
Schools will remain open after the term holiday break at the end of the week.
Fitness bootcamps were limited to 10 people, while yoga and barre groups were discouraged under the new rules.
Jacquelin Magnay 9.07pm Talks to bring ventilators from Britain
Australian officials are in talks with British counterparts to obtain any excess ventilators from ramped-up production facilities in the UK.
The British have organised an emergency consortium of more than a dozen aerospace, carmaking, technological and Formula One companies to dramatically boost production of the ventilators, needed by intensive-care patients in the coronavirus pandemic.
A source close to the consortium said taht while “the UK is the number one priority, others are to get some as well”.
“If we have too many ventilators, that is a great problem to have as not everyone in the rest of the world has the manufacturing capacity we have,’’ he added.
READ MORE: Johnson orders Britons to stay home or face fine
Will Glasgow 8.42pm China to end Hubei quarantine
The extraordinary two-month quarantine of the central Chinese province of Hubei — where the COVID-19 pandemic began — will end early on Wednesday.
From midnight (3am, AEDT) traffic will be allowed to pass through Hubei.
But in a sign of the Chinese government’s caution about a second outbreak in the province of 60 million people, traffic in and out of Hubei’s capital, Wuhan, will be blocked until April 8.
Figures released by the Chinese government reported no new cases of COVID-19 in Wuhan in the four days to Sunday.
However, the independent Chinese news outlet Caixin has reported that these figures do not include “silent carriers”, patients who have tested positive to infection by COVID-19 but have no physical symptoms.
“It’s not possible at the moment to tell if transmission has stopped,” a member of Wuhan’s infectious disease prevention and control team was quoted as saying by Caixin.
READ MORE: China hides one third of cases
Angelica Snowden 8.17pm Queensland cases climb to 397
Queensland has a further 78 cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 397.
Most of the cases are travellers who recently returned from overseas or those who had contact with them, Queensland Health said on Tuesday night.
The metro north of the state has 111 cases, with 79 in the Gold Coast and 46 in the Sunshine Coast.
READ MORE: The drug helping coronavirus patients
Angelica Snowden 8.17pm Bank swamped with requests to delay mortgage payments
The Commonwealth Bank is being inundated with requests for home loan deferral payments, CEO Matt Comyn says.
“I saw personally in branches the number of customers coming and requesting financial assistance,” Mr Comyn told the ABC’s 7.30 program on Tuesday night.
“We’ve received and granted more than 15,000 home loan deferral payments.”
The CEO said the bank was working with the government, on the back of the banking royal commission, to provide “flexibility for small businesses”.
“We deserve to be judged by our actions, not words,” he said. “The Commonwealth Bank cannot be successful if Australia isn’t,”
“We are 100 per cent focused and stand alongside the government and all financial institutions in trying to support as many viable businesses across this particularly challenging period of time.”
The bank would consider expanding it’s freeze on home loan payments to credit cards and business loans and overdrafts, he added.
READ MORE: CBA reaches out for call centre staff from Qantas, Virgin
Ewin Hannan 8.07pm Up to 20,000 casino jobs lost
Up to 20,000 casino employees will be left without work due to shut-downs caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the United Workers Union says.
“Hundreds of casual workers at Crown, and at casinos around the country, have already lost all work,” the union’s casinos director, Dario Mujkic, told The Australian.
“In total that’s potentially around 8000 Crown Melbourne workers affected and more than 20,000 nationally across all casinos.
“United Workers Union is continuing to negotiate with Crown to provide workers an ongoing source of income to help them get through this crisis.
“Right now our focus is to secure at least two weeks’ pay for every worker, including casuals, to provide some immediate assistance and give everyone time to plan next steps.”
READ MORE: Fear is fine. Confusion is unforgivable
Matthew Denholm 7.25pm Tasmanian cases climb to 36
Tasmania has confirmed eight more cases of coronavirus, taking the state’s tally to 36.
“Seven of the cases are from Southern Tasmania; the other case is from Northern Tasmania,” Public Health director Mark Veitch said on Tuesday night.
“Public Health Services has commenced contacting these people to investigate their movements, and to identify and contact any of their close contacts, so that these people can be placed in self-quarantine.”
READ MORE: It’s not whether you can access super but if you should
Joseph Lam 7.08pm Uni confirms second case
A second student has tested positive for coronavirus at the University of Technology Sydney.
Senior vice-president Andrew Parfitt confirmed the student attended a single class on March 11 and three classes the following day.
“Both of our confirmed student cases so far have been second-year students in the health faculty, but there is no evidence they are linked in any way,” he said.
“Six of our staff are considered to have been in close contact with the student. They have all been notified and are now in self-isolation.”
Mr Parfitt has said while the second case may be unsettling, teaching spaces visited by the student have been cleaned to standards set by NSW Health.
READ MORE: Aussie’s Bollywood-assisted miracle escape from India
Paige Taylor 7.02pm Pandemic reaches remote Kimberley
Coronavirus has reached the remote Kimberley region of Western Australia, where half the approximately 34,000 residents are indigenous.
Two people who live in the far north Kimberley are among 35 newly diagnosed cases in WA, state Health Minister Roger Cook said on Tuesday.
He revealed the new cases shortly after the McGowan government closed the state’s borders and announced it would soon ban travel between regions inside WA.
Authorities are desperate to slow the spread of COVID-19 to regions and especially to the state’s vulnerable Aboriginal population. Indigenous Australians are known to be at higher risk than the general population partly because of complex health problems.
A child aged four and a child aged 10 were among the 35 people diagnosed with COVID-19 since Monday. They are from the same family and are believed to have been infected by “a known contact”.
Mr Cook said eight of the 35 latest cases were people who had been aboard the Ruby Princess, the cruise ship that controversially disembarked thousands of passengers at Sydney’s Circular Quay. By late Tuesday, at least 140 COVID-19 cases had been linked to the ship. A further four people among the 35 new cases of COVID-19 in WA were from the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship.
The McGowan government will now begin testing for COVID-19 in nursing homes, boarding schools, defence facilities and other places where more than one person reports a respiratory illness of any kind.
READ MORE: China hides one third of cases
Ewin Hannan 6.55pm Employers and unions win bid to save hospitality jobs
Hospitality businesses will be able to cut employee hours and send workers on leave at half pay with 24 hours notice after a ground-breaking agreement was approved by the Fair Work Commission.
The agreement between the United Workers Union and the Australian Hotels Association to make significant changes to the industry award is designed to help businesses stay open and save jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
National employers and unions are also holding urgent talks to try to get agreement on similar changes to the restaurant and clerks awards.
The UWU and the AHA jointly applied to the commission on Tuesday to vary the Hospitality Award and allow employers to reduce hours of employees and direct them at short notice to take leave at half pay for the next three months.
AHA chief executive Stephen Ferguson said the agreement could be extended beyond June 30 and he expected the changes to stay in place for the duration of the pandemic.
He said commission president Iain Ross had commended the AHA and the union for working cooperatively rather than being in conflict.
Read the full story here
Tessa Akerman 6.40pm Councils weigh rates freeze
Melbourne councils are considering putting rates on hold during the coronavirus shutdown, but are determined to continue with essential services such as waste collection and support for the homeless.
The City of Melbourne has fast-tracked plans for a rates hardship policy, which may include deferment or waiver of rates for ratepayer properties.
The council has also announced it will halve rents for eligible tenants in council-owned building for three months and suspend fees for Food Act registrations and street trading permits for three months.
Essential service such as waste and recycling, services to older people, homelessness services and animal management will continue.
Darebin Council, in Melbourne’s north, is also having discussions around rates but is continuing with essential services.
Mayor Susan Rennie said services such as waste collection and meal deliveries will continue as normal as will monitoring of parking infringements.
Port Phillip council, which circles around the bay and includes St Kilda, has announced it will continue with many essential services including a community bus, waste collection and in-home care, meals service and support for people experiencing homelessness.
The council has closed maternal and child health centres, replacing face-to-face home visits and in-centre appointments with telephone or electronic consultations.
READ MORE: State borders: What’s open and what’s not
Christine Lacy 5.34pm Tough times in Toorak as caviar is discounted
Coronavirus is hitting Toorak hard. They’re selling caviar at 25 per cent off.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s declaration that only essential services remain open saw the Village of Melbourne’s most affluent suburb eerily quiet at lunchtime on Tuesday.
Normally packed cafes and restaurants are either closed or offering scaled-back takeaway menu options in last ditch attempts to generate revenue and pay the bills.
But at fine-food purveyor Simon Johnson there’s recognition the good life can roll on, even if it is behind the heavy front doors of the suburb’s myriad faux chateaux.
The retailer has caviar on sale at a quarter off its usual price and foodie porn cookbooks at 40 per cent off.
Village dining institution Romeo’s of Toorak is open but empty, its shingle out front now spruiking “free local delivery and pick-up”. Outside on the street the footpath is deserted save for the odd shopper hunting down essentials.
Across unusually quiet Toorak Road the local gym, the recently renovated Toorak Club, is bolted shut, with a notice on its window indicating that “membership fees will be frozen and we won’t be collecting fees or direct debits until we can re-open.” Conscionable conduct, but a medium-term path to financial ruin.
At Haigh’s Chocolates, one of 14 family-owned stores across Australia employing more than 500 people, the doors are open and shelves packed ahead of next month’s Easter festival of chocolate over consumption.
But thanks to COVID-19 the retailer is no longer taking cash in favour of “card payments only”.
“Thankyou for your understanding,” a sign reads, alongside pump action hand sanitizer that’s also front and centre on the counter.
Around the corner and up the road at the 136-year-old Royal South Yarra Lawn Tennis Club the clubhouse doors are locked and manicured grass and bagged clay courts are deserted.
Five minutes drive to what is also one of Melbourne’s most prestigious and exclusive clubs, the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, the clubhouse has been closed since Monday.
“This is a difficult time for us all,” president Peter Carew said.
Paige Taylor 5.15pm WA ban on travel between regions
West Australians will soon be banned from moving around the state for anything other than essential travel as the McGowan Labor government seeks to isolate outbreaks.
COVID-19 has been detected in the state’s southwest and goldfields but the vast majority of cases are in Perth.
WA has nine regions, but under the crackdown Perth and the Peel region immediately to the south would be counted as one single region.
WA premier Mark McGowan said: “We are currently going through the drafting process to do this to ensure that we stop non-essential travel between regions”.
“This is a difficult thing, but I think we need to do it there will no doubt be some complaints,” he said.
WA, the Northern Territory and South Australia each closed their borders on Tuesday. Anyone entering those states or the NT from now on must selfisolate for 14 days. In WA, this could mean being forced into designated accommodation near the border for two weeks.
READ MORE: China hides one third of cases
John Durie 5pm What is an essential retailer?
What is an essential retailer? That is a question exercising the minds of a few people around town, because potentially, a negative definition could decimate the near term prospects of high flyers like JB Hi Fi and Wesfarmers.
The government has already said supermarkets, bottle shops and pharmacists are essential and it is assumed Bunnings is as well because it supplies the construction market.’
But how about Target and Kmart or Big W and Good Guys?
Read John Durie’s full column here
Ewin Hannan 4.52pm Employers and unions in bid to save hospitality jobs
Hospitality employers and unions will make an emergency application to the Fair Work Commission that would allow businesses to cut employee hours and send them on leave at half pay with 24 hours notice until June 30.
The historic application by the United Workers Union and the Australian Hotels Association seeking significant changes to the industry award is designed to help businesses stay open and save jobs during the coronavirus pandemic.
The application applies to the hospitality industry and includes hotels; motor inns and motels; boarding establishments; health or recreational farms; private hotels, guesthouses, serviced apartments; caravan parks; ski lodges; holiday flats or units, ranches or farms; hostels, or any other type of residential or tourist accommodation.
It also includes wine saloons, wine bars or taverns; liquor booths; resorts; caterers; and some restaurants.
Read the full story here
Rebecca Urban 4.48pm 74pc of NSW kids stay home
Three-quarters of NSW students were absent on Tuesday, as a majority of parents heeded a state request to keep children at home.
Official figures from the NSW Education Department showed average student absences across schools increased from 40 per cent on Monday to 74 per cent on Tuesday.
Students are expected to continue studying online at home until the end of the term.
READ MORE: The drug helping coronavirus patients
Rachel Baxendale 4.43pm Cancellation of all non-essential services flagged
The cancellation of all non-essential services will be up for consideration when national cabinet meets on Tuesday night, Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says.
Asked whether manufacturing could be shut down, Professor Sutton said there was “critical manufacturing and non-essential manufacturing”.
“That’s also for HPPC (Health Protection Principals Committee) and national cabinet to consider including today.
“All of the potential non-essential and essential services are up for consideration.
“There’s obviously a view that essential services need to continue, but everything else is for consideration by national cabinet.”
READ MORE: Permits, checkpoints for Queensland border crossings
Adeshola Ore 4.41pm SBS newsroom evacuated after positive test
SBS’s Sydney newsroom has been evacuated for cleaning after a staff member tested positive to coronavirus.
Staff at other parts of the broadcaster have been permitted to stay in their offices, as management did not believe they classified as close contacts of the infected employee.
“The employee was last in the office on Friday 20 March. Immediate close contacts have already been identified and are self-isolating, and we are continuing a more comprehensive tracing exercise,” a statement said.
The newsroom is expected to reopen on Wednesday, March 25.
READ MORE: Handy gadgets for isolation
Rachel Baxendale 4.33pm Minister warns of horror
Victoria will not have enough ICU beds and “many thousands” of people will die in the state under modelling of a worst-case coronavirus scenario.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said the state Health Department had modelled mild, moderate and severe scenarios.
“We are looking at many thousands of lives lost,” she said. “I’m not saying that to scare the community. This is modelling, but modelling is projections. It is no set destiny. It is in all of our hands.
“We can all work together to reduce the number of deaths.
Ms Mikakos said authorities were expecting coronavirus cases to peak in Victoria in May or June.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the modelling showed “half the population or more” catching coronavirus in Victoria.
“There is absolutely the potential for millions of Victorians to become infected, which means, you know, potentially hundreds of thousands per day at the peak of this epidemic,” he said.
Victoria currently has 476 intensive care beds and 1000 ventilators, with another 2000 ventilators on order.
READ MORE: Aussie’s Bollywood-assisted miracle escape from India
Ben Packham 4.24pm Wong demands evacuation flights for stranded Aussies
Labor has demanded the Morrison government provide evacuation flights to get hundreds of thousands of stranded Australians travellers home, amid rising anxiety among tourists and expats over the closure of international borders due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Opposition foriegn affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said it was time for the government to provide some clarity and support for Australians trapped overseas.
The call follows days of scant information from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the failure of Foreign Minister Marise Payne to make a comprehensive statement on the matter.
Qantas and Virgin will cease international commercial operations next Monday, while the schedules of airlines across the world have been thrown into chaos by border closures and coronavirus-induced cancellations.
Senator Wong said Labor was urging the government to “follow the lead of other countries in providing direct support to bring stranded Australians home, including subsidised and assisted departures where commercial options are not viable”.
She said the government also needed to be honest with Australian travellers and their families through “clear and active communication”.
“Australians overseas and their families are deeply worried for their safety and welfare,” Senator Wong said.
READ MORE: War couldn’t stop parliament, so why should COVID-19?
Rebecca Urban 4.17pm Kids better off at school: Singapore Education Minister
Singapore’s Education Minister, Ong Ye Kung, has defended the nation’s decision to reopen schools after the term break, pointing to growing scientific evidence on the minimal impacts of the coronavirus on children.
“With the virus being around for several months now, there is a body of scientific evidence showing that COVID-19 does not affect the young very much as compared to adults,” Mr Ong wrote on the Ministry of Health’s Facebook page.
“Neither is there evidence to show that the young are vectors or spreaders of the virus. The reverse appears to be the case, where the young get infected by adults at home.
“Indeed, for the small handful of our students … who were infected, every single one caught it outside of their schools.”
Mr Ong said it “may not be a bad idea” for children to spend the bulk of their day in school “where lessons and activities are arranged such that they mingle only with their classmates, who are less susceptible to the virus than adults”.
“If we close schools, many will not stay home, but may run around in the community and mingle with a lot more people, exposing themselves to more risk.
Singapore is one of the few countries to keep schools open throughout the COVID-19 outbreak. School re-opened on Monday following the March holiday break.
READ MORE: London calling: you’re too slow, Australia
Adeshola Ore 3.41pm Give Kiwis welfare, Ardern urges Morrison
Jacinda Arden has called on Scott Morrison to allow New Zealanders in Australia to access welfare benefits during the coronavirus outbreak.
The New Zealand Prime Minister said she had raised the issue with with her Australian counterpart.
“I have specifically sought: Could we have a short-term exemption? Just for these exceptional circumstances to be supported,” she said on Tuesday.
“Not least because it will encourage compliance at a time when we need everyone to be self-isolating.”
New Zealenders living in Australia are not eligible for social services payments.
READ MORE: Aussie’s Bollywood-assisted miracle escape from Mumbai
Deborah Cornwall 3.59pm Legal measures alarm Bar Association
The NSW Bar Association has expressed “great concern” over the unprecedented emergency COVID-19 measures to be pushed through NSW parliament on Tuesday, including a proposal to allow pre-recorded evidence in criminal trials.
Association president Tim Game says while the association backed most of the government’s Legislation Amendment (Emergency Measures) Bill 2020 , it remained opposed to the use pre-recorded evidence and granting government new broad regulation-making power over the criminal justice system.
Pre-recording evidence, he said, was “inconsistent with the fundamental concept of a criminal trial where evidence is led in support of a prosecution case, and is tested on that basis.
“There are no safeguards to ensure the integrity of the process by which evidence is taken remotely,’ Mr Game said.
He said while it would “justifiable” to adopt this approach where a witness was at “significantly greater risk than others in the community from the virus”, relying on evidence that could not be properly tested posed a “substantial risk of unfair outcomes.”
He said the association also believed there was no “present necessity” for government to give itself the proposed broad regulation-making power over the criminal justice system.
READ MORE: Hidden sign you might be infected
Rosie Lewis 3.50pm Start ‘triaging’ Centrelink queues: Shorten
Bill Shorten has urged the Morrison government to begin “triaging” Australians waiting in long Centrelink queues and set up a separate hotline for new welfare recipients who have lost their jobs from the coronavirus crisis.
“It is not sufficient for Government Services Minister Stuart Robert to fail to have the myGov website and Centrelink shop fronts prepared for foreseeable demand, to confect a story (later retracted) about a hostile denial of service attack on the site and then flippantly say ‘my bad’ about the whole mess,” Mr Shorten, the opposition’s government services spokesman, said.
“There are constructive things the government can do to ease these problems and reduce and ‘triage’ these queues. They should reinstate some of the more than 4000 experienced and trained workers cut in recent years and deploy them to the Centrelink shop fronts and phone lines to deal with the surge of inquiries.
“They should start speaking to those standing in the queues and start triaging and referring customers to online or phone services where appropriate. They could be giving them the paperwork in advance of reaching the counters.
“A one-page form could be distributed to those standing in lines at Centrelink — customer reference numbers could be issued there and then and identity checks could be undertaken later over the phone. But applicants’ intent to claim would be lodged and the applicants would be eligible for backpay.
“Separate hotlines should be established for new Centrelink customers and those seeking to obtain a CRN to use online. There should be an ability to register for a callback from Centrelink (rather than staying on hold indefinitely).
“Clear instructions as to what the identity requirements are should be broadcast on government platforms and on the automated hotline recording so people can be ready in advance.”
READ MORE: Small business wage subsidies only a temporary fix
Adeshola Ore 3.41pm Temperature checks for ANU students
ANU has begun rolling out temperature checks for residential students at its colleges as a response to the coronavirus outbreak.
The Canberra university is also rostering the use of communal spaces and enforcing a 1.5m distance between students.
“Students must also keep the time they spend in shared dining spaces to less than 45 minutes,” a spokesman said.
The university paused teaching this week and will resume remote learning next week, but some residential students are choosing to remain on campus.
“We advised any students in residences who want to return home they are welcome to do so. Our residences will remain open for any student who continues to want to live on campus.”
The spokesman said 1000 students had chosen to leave the campus accommodation.
READ MORE: Trumps vows to ease restrictions
Paul Garvey 3.34pm Aussies stranded in pandemic epicentre
Dozens of older Australians are being bused straight into the European epicentre of the coronavirus crisis amid calls for the government to expedite a flight home for the stranded travellers.
Passengers on board the Costa Luminosa have been ordered to disembark the cruise ship at Savona in Italy and are now on their way to Rome, where they have been told they will have to spend two weeks in quarantine.
The 39 Australians on board were among those screened for coronavirus symptoms before they were ordered to leave the ship. Those passengers who have shown signs of the virus — believed to include several Australians — have been ordered to remain on board.
Italy has been the country hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, with its official death toll now exceeding that of China and its health system overwhelmed.
An estimated 3000 Australians are stranded on 30 cruise ships around the world.
Bree Ridley — whose grandparents Jim and Maxine, who are both in their late 70s, were on board the Costa Luminosa — said she feared they were facing a “death sentence” by heading into Italy.
She said she had been assured by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that they would be flown back to Australia. But there had been conflicting messages from authorities about whether the stranded Australians would need to spend the full two weeks in quarantine in Rome, she added.
“We are desperate for them to get a flight,” she said.
“It doesn’t seem likely that in two weeks time there will be any commercial flights. I can’t believe our government has even allowed this to happen, I’m shocked they haven’t sent a charter flight earlier.”
A spokeswoman for DFAT said Costa Cruises had assured Australian officials it would arrange travel back home for Australian passengers.
“DFAT is ready to provide consular support to those Australians on board when they disembark the vessel,” she said.
READ MORE: Secret CEO group calls for lockdown
Rebecca Urban 3.28pm HSC subjects may be reduced
The HSC could be condensed into a reduced number of subjects, exams could be delayed and university entrance requirements could be softened, as NSW education officials consider the impact of the coronavirus on senior school students.
The Australian understands that the board of the NSW Education Standards Authority met on Tuesday to discuss the disruption to Year 12 students undertaking the HSC.
Many independent schools have sent students home and are now providing remote online learning. State schools remain open but the NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell has asked parents to keep students home if they are able. Absentee rates have been high in recent weeks.
NESA is expected to issue a statement regarding the 2020 format of the HSC imminently.
READ MORE: Prisoners released early
Rachel Baxendale 3.25pm Retired nurses, paramedics called back into action
More than 100 nurses and paramedics are undergoing refresher courses to come back to work and help the Victorian health system cope with the coronavirus epidemic, state Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says.
Fresh from an hour-long meeting the the Australian Medical Association and nurses’ and paramedics’ unions, Ms Mikakos said the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation had put the call out to nurses who had not recently worked in the profession to “come back on the tools”.
“That call-out has already resulted in more than a hundred nurses who will be picking up to do refresher training and get the practising certificates that they need so that they can assist us in that important task,” Ms Mikakos said.
“I’m also very grateful to the Victorian ambulance union, who has put a similar call out to retired paramedics, and they too have had a significant increase in retired paramedics who have contacted them, and they too will be prepared to go back onto the tools, to go back into the ambulance vehicles and assist Victorians in their time of need.
“I would encouraged any other healthcare worker who has retired, who hasn’t been practising for some time to assist us in these challenging times.
“They can contact their union as the first point of contact. They will then contact us and we’ll be sharing that information with health services, because we want to ensure, of course, that we have coverage across the entire state and particularly make sure that the needs of rural and regional Victoria are addressed as well.”
READ MORE: Race to reach borders as states close down
Joseph Lam 3.15pm Virgin closes lounges
One of Australia’s largest airlines has announced the temporary closure of its airport lounge network in response to new social-distancing laws.
Virgin Australia group announced the closure on Tuesday, citing stricter laws on social distancing and entertainment venues by the federal government.
The operator has confirmed coronavirus cases on 21 Virgin flights, including inbound flights to Sydney from Los Angeles and Maroochydore as well as outbound routes to Hobart and Auckland.
The airline suspended all international flights and has cut domestic flights by up to 50 per cent until June.
For more information click here.
READ MORE: Hidden sign you might be infected
Amos Aikman 3.07pm APY Lands cut off from nation
South Australia’s remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands will cut themselves off from the rest of the nation from Tuesday afternoon.
The indigenous body managing the region was the first in Australia to introduce strict new entry rules last month to combat the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
APY general manager Richard King said the COVID-19 pandemic had created potentially fatal consequences for APY residents from outside contact.
APY will control all access points to the APY Lands from 4pm.
“Any essential services providers that hold a permit to enter the APY Lands will be required to quarantine and not have contact with Anangu while on the lands,” a statement said.
“There will be exemptions of entry to the lands for health, emergency services and policing personnel, with strict guidelines in place to monitor and manage this.”
There have been no known COVID-19 cases among APY Lands residents.
READ MORE: Borders close on the Sunshine State
Richard Ferguson 2.50pm: Treasurer rejects wage subsidy plan
Josh Frydenberg says a UK style wage subsidy will not be part of the third coronavirus rescue package, arguing using tax and welfare measures will get money out quicker and cover more people affected by the downturn.
Trade unions have ramped up calls for the government to adopt British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s decision to subside up to 80 per cent of workers’ wages at businesses forced into hibernation.
The Treasurer on Tuesday said that Treasury have advised against the UK wages model and that the third package will continue to focus on using existing mechanisms.
“We had a look at the UK experience and they made it clear they are using a new system here. We are using our existing tax and transfer system,” he told Sky News.
“It has not been Treasury’s advice to adopt the UK model ... in terms of the speed and the efficiency of the response, using the existing tax and welfare system is much more optimal.
“The UK model, for example, doesn’t cover sole traders. We have more than a million sole traders - under our coronavirus supplement (through Centrelink) you can see sole traders access that full $550 if their income falls below $1086 a fortnight.”
READ MORE: For once, government better than the people
Ben Packham 2.35pm: Penny Wong cleared after virus test
Labor frontbencher Penny Wong says her coronavirus test has returned a negative result.
She took the test on medical advice after feeling unwell on Monday.
“Consistent with advice to all Australians, as a responsible precaution I self-isolated and did not attend the Senate, pending medical advice.
“Following medical advice, I was tested for COVID-19. That test has been returned negative.”
She said she would return to Adelaide from Canberra as soon as she was feeling well enough to travel.
READ MORE: Boris delivers stern warning
Rachel Baxendale 2.25pm: Victoria’s hospitalisation rate doubles
The number of Victorians hospitalised with coronavirus has doubled in 24 hours, the state’s health Minister Jenny Mikakos has confirmed.
Briefing the media alongside Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton, Ms Mikakos said 64 people new cases of COVID-19 had been confirmed yesterday, bringing the state’s total to 411.
The new cases included 36 males and 27 females (with one more case under further investigation), who were aged from pre-school age to their late 80s.
Of the 411 diagnosed, 113 have recovered from the illness.
More than 25,850 have so far been tested.
The Health Minister warned of the exponential increase in cases overseas, which now total 378,000 worldwide.
“The first hundred thousand cases it took the international community three months to get to those first hundred thousand cases,” Ms Mikakos said.
“The second hundred thousand cases occurred in 12 days, and the third hundred thousand cases in three days, so that just reinforces the point that the speed at which coronavirus is spreading in the international community is very, very fast, and that is also occurring in Australia.”
Ms Mikakos said 41 cases had been confirmed across regional Victoria, with one in Mildura, in the state’s far northwest, which has prompted the opening of Victoria’s 27th screening clinic at the Sunraysia Community Health Centre.
READ MORE: An unexpected win for the elderly
Adeshola Ore 2.15pm: ACT updates coronavirus cases
ACT Health has recorded another seven cases of coronavirus, all from overseas travel.
The new cases are two males and five females, aged between 21 and 75 and were all from overseas travel.
ACT Health said it was conducting contact tracing of those who travelled on public transport with one of the confirmed cases.
There are now 39 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the ACT, with three currently in hospital. There have been 2,780 negative COVID-19 tests in the territory.
READ MORE: Shutters go up in Queensland
Lachlan Moffet Gray 1.55pm: Australia records another virus death
A woman passenger of the Ruby Princess cruise ship has died of coronavirus. She is NSW’s seventh death and the nation’s eighth.
NSW Health confirmed the death in a press release on Tuesday.
The woman, who was in her 70s, was taken to hospital when it docked in Sydney on Thursday, March 19. She died there on Tuesday morning.
“This patient was one of the initial three passengers who were confirmed to be COVID-19 positive following testing of retained specimens from on-board the Ruby Princess,” NSW Health said.
NSW Health also revealed that There had been a further three positive cases at Dorothy Henderson Lodge, bringing to a total of 11 residents and five staff testing positive for COVID-19.
There have been 107 cases diagnosed in NSW from the Ruby Princess and 26 cases interstate.
“It should be noted, no cases of COVID-19 had been identified by doctors on board before docking,” NSW health said.
“Five people who had displayed influenza-like illness were tested in Wellington, New Zealand on 14 March, and all were negative for COVID-19.”
A simple message on the Ruby Princess: fix the cruise crisis and test every person.
— Jodi McKay (@JodiMcKayMP) March 23, 2020
The Government let 66 cases of COVID-19 on the Ruby Princess into the community last week, and potentially thousands more are exposed.
This cannot happen again – we have a pandemic.
Additionally, There are 13 cases in NSW linked to the Ovation of the Seas which docked in Sydney on March 18, and seven cases diagnosed in NSW who were on-board the cruise Voyager of the Seas which disembarked on 18 March.
The NSW government has been criticised for allowing passengers to disembark the Ruby Princess before the results of pending coronavirus tests of passengers and one member of the crew were received.
Two active cases of COVID-19 has also been revealed in teachers at Normanhurst West Public School in Thornleigh on Sydney’s north shore.
The cases were confirmed on March 21 and 23.
Close contacts at the school have been identified and are being contacted placed in self-isolation. The school will remain closed today.
There has also been one additional case from a University of Sydney rugby match on March 14.
“The second case resides in the ACT and ACT Health are conducting the interviews and contact tracing,” NSW Health said.
“The second case had been identified as a close contact of the first, and had been in self-isolation.”
There are currently 12 COVID-19 cases in NSW Intensive Care Units and of those cases, 8 require ventilators at this stage.
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Lachlan Moffet Gray 1.30pm: Latest worldwide death toll revealed
There are now 378,601 confirmed cases of coronavirus worldwide and just over 16,500 deaths, according to John Hopkins university. Almost 100,100 people have reportedly recovered from the illness, over half of these being in China as the epicentre of the crisis moves from east to west.
Illustrating this point, China’s National Health Commission on Tuesday reported just 78 cases of coronavirus in the country, 74 of which it said were imported cases. In the virus’s place of origin, Wuhan, just one new case was recorded. The country has 81,498 confirmed cases, nearly 60,000 of which had recovered and 3153 that have died.
In Italy, almost twice as many have died of coronavirus - but the man known as coronavirus patient number one has been discharged from hospital.
The 38-year-old, known only as Mattia spent 18 days in intensive care fighting the illness, but has recovered.
The US has a total of 43,901 confirmed cases, third only to China and Italy. More than 500 have died.
The African continent, previously nearly untouched by the virus, now has at least 1400 confirmed cases over 34 countries and at least 40 confirmed fatalities.
— With AP
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Craig Johnstone 1.10pm: Qld Premier delivers blunt ‘stay away’ message
Queensland will be closed to visitors and holiday makers from midnight on Wednesday, with police stationed at airports and permits issued to workers needing to cross the border.
The Sunshine State, whose economy is heavily reliant on interstate tourism, will be effectively closed to tourists as the state government pulls out all stops to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
BREAKING: We’re unveiling a $4 billion relief package for Queenslanders in response to coronavirus.
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) March 24, 2020
âž¡ï¸ $2.5B to support our workers and businesses
âž¡ï¸ $300M for Queensland households, including $200 off utility bills
âž¡ï¸ $1.2B to strengthen our health system#qldjobs #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/0AtlV0uwFC
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced all borders in Queensland would be closed from midnight on Wednesday, insisting that people need to “stay close to home” for the foreseeable future.
She said contact tracing of people who have contracted the virus and then visited Queensland would be too difficult to carry out.
“Queenslanders should stay in Queensland, people from NSW should stay in NSW,” she said. “Do not come to Queensland for a holiday.”
READ MORE: Confidence crashes amid jobs gloom
1pm: Border scramble on in earnest
A drone shot of the huge traffic jam at the WA border taken by my ABC colleague @rhi_stevens @abcperth @ABCRural @abcnews pic.twitter.com/hRemHeijm4
— Jarrod Lucas (@jarrodl17) March 24, 2020
Lachlan Moffet Gray 12.55pm: MyGov website crashes again
The MyGov website has crashed for a second day following widespread angst on Monday when over one hundred thousand Australians attempted to claim benefits online.
Earlier Tuesday morning federal government services minister Stuart Robert offered a mea culpa over claiming the website’s failure was the result of a cyber attack, admitting the site was simply not prepared for the amount of traffic it received.
The minister said the site’s capacity had been expanded by 20 per cent, allowing it to juggle 75,000 concurrent sessions as compared to just 55,000 on Monday.
However, he was unable to offer a firm commitment that the site would not crash again, urging Australians who may be unable to access MyGov or a centrelink call centre operator to try again later in the day.
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Elias Visontay 12.50pm: Leaders discuss stage 2 national restrictions
The Prime Minister, state and territory premiers and health officials are still deciding how and when they will beef up isolation restrictions as part of the next stage of national measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Mr Hunt said while the newly formed National Cabinet had not yet decided on specific timelines or rules, the “general direction” of upcoming isolation requirements - when Australia moves from stage one to stage two national restrictions - will be focused on “spending more time at home”,
“The general direction obviously is about people spending more time at home, obviously keeping the distance.
“These ideas ... of house parties, they’re out. They are out. Let me be absolutely clear on that.
“This was stage one (the current restrictions announced on Sunday). It is not the last stage. I think I should be very upfront and honest about that. Right as we speak, those next stages are being designed and the timing and the implementation measures for it are being carefully considered. There are a series of gradations here, about progressive social isolation, where we believe that is required.”
Mr Hunt also bluntly told Australians who test positive for COVID-19 to “go straight home” amid reports some confirmed cases are buying medical and other supplies immediately after receiving a diagnosis.
“If you are diagnosed and given a positive test, go straight home,” Mr Hunt said at a press conference on Tuesday..
“I am staring down the barrel of the camera and saying, go straight home. There are many means to ensure that you are provided with both medical care, critical supplies and medical supplies through the pharmacy at home, home delivery program, which we have stood up and which is now operating for a week.”
Mr Hunt also said the government will be sending text messages to Australians as part of its public awareness campaign. The information campaign has so far been criticised for its visibility, speed and clarity.
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Yoni Bashan 12.35pm: Prisoners to walk free for ‘health, safety’
Sweeping legislative amendments will be introduced into NSW parliament this afternoon that will allow low-risk prisoners to be released from jail and police to be empowered to issue fines for suspected breaches of self-isolation protocols.
NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman said the measures were needed for the “health and safety of the people of NSW.’’
The proposed amendments, which make small but significant adjustments across a number of portfolios, will allow police to act on breaches of public health orders, including returning those found to be non-complying to their homes or “place of quarantine”.
Prisoners are set to be granted conditional release to parole if they’re deemed eligible by the NSW Corrective Services Commissioner, with those considered vulnerable or low-risk to be given priority.
Serious offenders will not be eligible for release, Mr Speakman said in a statement.
“Any conditional release would be subject to strict parole conditions,” the statement said.
NSW Health will be given more flexibility to use private health facilities, and the incoming legislative changes are also expected to streamline the establishment of State Vaccine Centres to “better manage the flu season”.
Construction of such spaces will also be exempt from routine development approvals, in order to speed up building.
Other changes will see Retail Trading Act amended so supermarkets can stock their shelves throughout the Easter long weekend and ANZAC day. The amendments will also protect staff from being compelled to work on those days, unless they choose to do so.
More than 100,000 Working With Children Check clearances are also expected to expire within the next six months. The amendments will extend these clearances for teachers and medical staff to “prevent any disruption to services because of COVID-19”.
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Elias Visontay 12.30pm: 54 million face masks on the way
Health Minister Greg Hunt has announced that several coronavirus response measures, including the delivery of key medical supplies, are running ahead of schedule.
Mr Hunt said 175 respiratory clinics had opened since the outbreak break, with another 31 expected to open over the next week.
He said 1.5 million masks had arrived over the last couple of days, with an expectation of 54 million masks being made available in Australia by the end of April as a result of ramped up local production.
“I’m now advised that in fact 30 million of those will be in the country within the next two weeks, ahead of schedule, which I think is important,” Mr Hunt said.
He said the promising supplies of masks would allow the government to meet its commitment to supply 5 million PPE masks to general practitioners.
Mr Hunt said that 97,000 testing kits have arrived in Australia, and that another 100,000 had been secured. 147,000 tests have so far been carried out in Australia.
“This boosts our capacity and then in addition to that, and this is very important to our doctors in general practice settings and other health workers in that general practice setting, we have ordered 1.5 million point-of-care tests and they will be provided as is appropriate as they arrive.”
On ventilators, Mr Hunt said “currently there’s a standing capacity of 2,000 ventilators through the ICU beds”.
“We are looking to double that, using existing arrangements and stock currently available to 4,000. More than that, today work is being done, led by the Chief Scientist Alan Finkel in conjunction with others on Australian production which could add an additional 5,000 invasive and non-invasive respiratory and ventilator units to the Australian capacity. That is still to be finalised but I want to give you the forward plan.”
Those comments come after Minister for Industry Karen Andrews said animal ventilators, sleep apnoea devices and anaesthetic machines were being investigated to be repurposed into human ventilators.
READ MORE: Hidden sign you might be infected
Elias Visontay 12.10pm: Australia at ‘global forefront’ on testing
Health Minister Greg Hunt warned “the full force of the law” will be brought down upon Australians responsible for “disturbing reports of abuse” towards health professionals.
Mr Hunt also announced Australia was at “the global forefront” of expansive testing for COVID-19.
“There have been some disturbing reports of abuse, whether it’s towards receptionists and practice managers, whether it’s towards nurses or doctors,” Mr Hunt said.
“This cannot be allowed to happen. It is rare, it is unusual, but nevertheless, those reports are real and I would say to everybody - our doctors and nurses, our receptionists, our health workers, our allied health workers, are our heroes in the months to come.
“If we take care of them, they can take care of us and those who breach these rules in terms of safety and abuse will have the full force of the law brought down upon them.”
Mr Hunt said 147,000 COVID-19 tests had been carried out in Australia, and that this was above South Korea on a per capita basis.
“On a per capita basis on the advice from the National Incidence Centre, that means we now have 557.9 approximately tests per 100,000 or greater than 0.5 per cent of the population. This is on the advice I have, higher than even (South) Korea, which has done a magnificent job with their testing on a per capita basis. Australia is at over 557 per 100,000, Korea 549, UK 117, USA, 22, Austria, 265, France, 54.
“So along with Korea and Singapore, we are at the global forefront in terms of the breadth and width of our testing.”
Of the 147,000 tests carried out in Australia, Mr Hunt said about 1.2 per cent of had returned a positive result for COVID-19.
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Adeshola Ore 11.55am: Pedestrian crossings encourage social distancing
NSW Transport has launched automated pedestrian crossings in Sydney’s CBD twenty-four hours a day to help slow the spread of coronavirus.
Automated pedestrian crossings were already in operation in the area, for high traffic times between 7am-7pm.
Don’t push the button: Automated pedestrian crossings will be progressively rolled out from today in the Sydney CBD. #COVID19au pic.twitter.com/YZHVphPvGV
— Andrew Constance MP (@AndrewConstance) March 22, 2020
“This means pedestrians do not have to push the button at signalised crossings to safely cross the road in the CBD,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
“Public safety is a priority for Transport for NSW during the coronavirus outbreak.”
NSW Transport is reminding all members of the public to regularly wash their hands, sneeze into their elbow and practice social distancing.
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Rosie Lewis 11.50am: Centrelink rules eased, more staff added
Social Services Minister Anne Ruston says up to 150,000 Australians who have lost work from the coronavirus crisis should be able to use the myGov site at any one time, amid pressure over the government’s preparation for a startling number of job losses.
The Minister insisted people who had never been on Centrelink before would now be able to provide proof of identity over the phone without showing any documentation, as she urged Australians not to attend shop fronts.
“Yesterday, the changes came into place which require you only to provide proof of identity over the phone, so you can ring up any of our Centrelink call centres, you can say, identify yourself, we will not require you to provide any physical demonstration,” Senator Ruston said.
“We will only require you to actually advise us and we’ll take your word for it, understanding these are exceptional circumstances and we don’t want people attending Centrelink sites in person.
“They will then give you a validation that says, yes, you are who you say you are on the basis of what you’ve said, and then you can go online and register through myGov, or equally, if you don’t want to do that, you can remain on the phone and do your registration on the phone.”
MyGov’s capacity was at 55,000 concurrent users on Monday, leading to website crashes and significant delays as 98,000 people tried to access the site at 9.40am.
Senator Ruston said she had been advised that had increased to 150,000 concurrent users on Tuesday.
“Yesterday, we put another 5000 (call centre) people on to meet the demand. This is an unprecedented situation. It is moving very rapidly. It is moving unpredictably and we are doing everything that we can to make sure that we keep ahead so that we can minimise the impact that we are seeing on Australians,” she said.
READ MORE: Tougher measures ‘life or death’
Richard Ferguson 11.40am: Labor claims win on new rescue package
Anthony Albanese has claimed credit for major changes to the Morrison government’s coronavirus economic rescue package, including boosted support for students.
After negotiations late last night with Labor, the government moved to give the $550 coronavirus payment to people on Youth Allowance and Austudy.
Finance Minister Mathias Cormann has also extended his powers to urgently fund “unforeseen expenditure” from $1.2bn to $40bn. Mr Albanese claims that Labor secured that higher amount, after the government wanted it to be only $20m.
“It was a good thing that the package was improved. And we made three major improvements. The first was the extension of the Coronavirus Supplement to Austudy, Abstudy and Youth Allowance payments,” Mr Albanese said.
“Secondly, we provided a mechanism which will result in the minister being able to
change the taper rates for taxation arrangements. What that will do essentially is to make sure that the cut-off period will go from $48,000, where it is now, to around about $75,000. That’s important in terms of providing that tax relief.
“On Sunday, when we had the meeting (with the government), we proposed an arrangement for the finance minister’s prerogative, which is there at the moment, for $1.2 billion in grants ... What the Government was proposing was to increase that to $20 billion. We wanted that figure to be higher, of $40 billion.
“We have put forward constructive suggestions, just as we did in the bushfire crisis. The fact that many of them have been adopted is a good thing.”
READ MORE: Confusion at the border
Jill Rowbotham 11.25am: Toilet paper only, engineers warn
Toilet paper shortages brought on by panic buying during the coronavirus outbreak have prompted a warning from waste water engineers about the dangers of using substitutes such as tissues, paper towels and wipes, which could compromise sewerage infrastructure.
“It’s really important that people only flush toilet paper down the toilet and not the alternatives,” UWA’s Anas Ghadouani from the school of engineering and Oceans Institute said.
“Paper towels are made to be thicker and more hardy, that’s what you want in a paper towel as you don’t want them to break down, so if used [as toilet paper] they can block the sewerage system.”
Tissues have the other problem – they are so light they float – a danger to underground pumps, and although baby wipes were flushable “they block up pipes more than anything else”.
According to Professor Ghadouani, the way the system works is that flushed waste goes into the sewerage network via a pipe angled down to allow flow with gravity, so blockages cause waste content to rise again, back up to the toilet bowl.
“Don’t put pressure on our systems,” he said.
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Paige Taylor 11.15am: Cruise ship refuels under watchful eyes
Police and Australian Border Force officers will oversee the refuelling of Swiss cruise ship Magnifica south of Perth today to make sure no passengers or crew disembark.
MSC Magnifica sailed into Fremantle before dawn after crisis talks involving Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Australian Defence Force chief Angus Campbell, Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton and West Australian premier Mark McGowan.
Mr McGowan told reporters on Monday that he had been advised 250 of the ship’s 1700 passengers had “upper respiratory illnesses”.
But as high-level planning took place to provide medical care for the ill, the cruise ship company denied any of its passengers had flu-like symptoms.
In a statement, Magnifica said there was no evidence that any of its passengers had COVID-19. “The cruise vessel Magnifica will make a refuelling stop ... but no passengers or crew will be disembarking,” the McGowan government said in the statement late on Monday.
“Over the past 24 hours the vessel had provided inconsistent advice to both the State and Federal Governments, about the health of its passengers and its intentions around disembarkation.
“MSC Cruises now advises that all passengers and crew are ‘well’ or don’t suffer from any ‘respiratory diseases’.
“WA Police and Border Force will be at the port tomorrow morning to monitor the refuel exercise. In this environment we cannot take risks and we will always put the Western Australian community first.”
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Victoria Laurie 11.10am: Race on to beat border closures
Thousands of travellers are racing against the clock to get home before South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland close their state borders.
West Australians have until 1.30pm (WST) today to cross into WA before strict coronavirus measures will see anyone attempting to return facing a two-week self-isolation, some possibly at border points. Freight transport is exempt.
In South Australia, the borders will close at 4pm (ACST). As soon as the news broke, 27-year-old Elizabeth Farrant (Ed: Pic) and her dog Judd set out from Adelaide, where she works in the disability sector, to cross the Nullarbor and reach her family in Perth.
She says she felt relieved to reach the WA border only a few hours’ ahead of that state’s closure. Queues at petrol stations across the Nullarbor were long, she said, and busy roadhouse staff told her they had not seen such heavy traffic for months.
Caravans are parked at every rest stop, including holiday-makers hastily trying to leave WA and cover thousands of kilometres in time to reach Queensland’s borders before they close at midnight on Wednesday.
From Wednesday night on, anyone entering Queensland from the air or by road will be forced to isolate themselves for 14 days, except freight carriers and essential services.
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Amos Aikman 11.05am: NT announces another case amid tight controls
The Northern Territory has confirmed its sixth case of deadly coronavirus. The patient is understood to be a 75-year-old man who was self-isolating after recently from overseas.
A statement issued by health authorities said the man had “followed the recommended health protocols, and there is no community spread of the virus at this time.”
Paul Garvey 11am: WA Treasurer pulls pin on retirement plans
Western Australia’s highly regarded treasurer has reversed his decision to quit politics, citing the coronavirus crisis.
Ben Wyatt shocked Western Australians last month when he announced he would retire at next year’s election. He had been touted as a potential future premier and was lauded by WA premier Mark McGowan as the best treasurer in Australia.
The decision is another blow to the political fortunes of Hannah Beazley, the daughter of former federal Labor leader Kim Beazley. Ms Beazley had already been pre-selected to replace Mr Wyatt in his safe seat after failing to win the seat of Swan at last year’s federal election.
Mr Wyatt said in a statement that WA was facing a health and economic crisis that had never been seen before.
“The world has changed dramatically in just one month. As the Premier has warned, the economic consequences of the COVID-19 crisis are going to be dire,” he said.
“I know the recovery is going to be a significant task, one of which I am determined to be a part of. I want to serve my state in its time of need.”
Mr Wyatt’s previous decision to retire had been influenced by his wife’s recent health battle and a desire to spend more time with his young children.
The treasurer said he wanted to acknowledge his family and thank them for their understanding “in these unusual circumstances”.
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Rachel Baxendale 10.50am: Quarantine breakers ‘will be in serious trouble’
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has warned people that if they fail to observe quarantine requirements, they’ll be in “considerable trouble”, as a 500-strong taskforce of police gets to work enforcing social-isolation protocol.
“People have got to take this seriously. That’s why there’s 500 police in a special coronavirus squad who have been stood up, and they’re not mucking about,” Mr Andrews told Triple M.
“The fines are really significant, up to $20,000 for people who do the wrong thing.
“If you’ve come back from overseas - and there are thousands of people who in the last week have come home from being away - they have got to quarantine at home.
“If the police knock on your door and you’re not home, well you’re in considerable trouble.”
Mr Andrews said the people could be arrested and detained under the public health and wellbeing act.
“We can take all sorts of extreme measures, and I’d really hope that we didn’t have to get to that,” he said.
“If people don’t want to take my word for it, turn your TV on, have a look at Italy, have a look at Spain, have a look at France, have a look at what happens when this gets away from you because, if you like, people didn’t take it seriously.”
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Adeshola Ore 10.35am: Beachgoers flout restrictions
Groups of people at Sydney’s Coogee Beach are ignoring the site’s closure and defying government leader’s warnings to practice social distancing and avoid large gatherings.
Photos show hundreds of people walking along the beach in groups.
Over the weekend, beaches across Sydney, including Coogee and Bondi, were closed after thousands flocked to the shorelines.
The federal government has banned outdoor gatherings of over 500 people and continues to urge people to maintain a 1.5 metre distance between other people.
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10.25am: A-League suspends season
The A-League has become the final Australian sporting domino to fall due to the coronavirus pandemic, with the competition halted immediately, AAP reports.
FFA chief executive James Johnson announced the decision on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after Newcastle defeated Melbourne City 2-1 at McDonald Jones Stadium.
Johnson said the remainder of this year’s season has been postponed, effectively halting the game at all levels in Australia.
With only a few rounds remaining before the finals, the postponement decision will be reviewed on April 22.
With all domestic and international football across the country now suspended, Johnson admitted the financial impacts will be drastic.
“We will feel this. We will feel the financial pressure on the game at all levels,” he said. “The game will survive ... will we need to make changes? Be different? I say yes.”
— AAP
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Matthew Denholm 10.05am: Tasmanian MP in lockdown
A Tasmanian minister is in self-isolation as the state considers moving to a hard lockdown.
Sports and Recreation Minister Jane Howlett is in self-isolation until Thursday, as a precaution, but Premier Peter Gutwein said he did not have any concerns for the rest of his cabinet.
Ms Howlett and her chief of staff recently attended a ministerial meeting in Townsville, with the staffer informed by north Queensland health authorities on Monday that he had sat next to an infected person on a flight.
Mr Gutwein said Ms Howlett had no symptoms and so would not be tested for coronavirus. She would be past the 14 day period for the virus to show by the end of Thursday. “I don’t have concerns for any other member of my cabinet,” he said.
The Premier also revealed on Tuesday morning that a “hard lockdown” – where only essential services remained open – was under consideration. “Moving to a hard lockdown is being contemplated,” he said.
He apologised to “tens of thousands” of Tasmanians who lost their jobs as a result of the shutdown of hospitality venues on Monday.
“It breaks my heart to have to take the steps that we took yesterday,” he said. “To all those who lost their jobs … I am very, very sorry.”
He urged all other Tasmanians to ensure these “sacrifices” were not in vain, by complying with any self-isolation requirements and practising social distancing.
The state had 28 confirmed coronavirus cases as of Tuesday morning but no evidence of community transmission.
Health authorities revealed they had already expanded testing of the virus to include people who travelled from interstate and reported symptoms.
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Rachel Baxendale 9.50am: Andrews to push for more shutdowns
Ahead of another meeting of state, territory and federal leaders at national cabinet on Tuesday night, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews indicated he would push for further action to limit the spread of coronavirus.
“What I wanted out of Sunday night’s national cabinet meeting was that we take a very, very big step, and we did that,” Mr Andrews told Triple M on Tuesday morning.
“Pubs and clubs, all the other venues that have been closed, indoor sporting centres, gyms, it’s a long list and it’s very disruptive, and you saw the queues at Centrelink offices yesterday, that gives you a sense of just how significant this is.
“No one would ever take the decision lightly to essentially end the jobs of that many people. That should give everyone a really clear sign just how important this is.
“But national cabinet meets again tonight. It’s called Step One for a reason. It was a very big step, but there will be a Step Two. There might even be further steps beyond that.
“So we will be pushing for us to do everything that we can do to contain the spread of the virus.”
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Rachel Baxendale 9.45am: Victoria Premier: Many at risk
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said it will be every patient needing an ICU bed, and not just those with Coronavirus, who will be at risk if the health system gets swamped.
“Every day, people have heart attacks and strokes and car accidents and need urgent cancer surgery, and on that basis they need intensive care as well,” Mr Andrews told Triple M.
“If you’re a young, healthy person who thinks you’ve got a sniffle and it’s all going to be fine, no, many people will need intensive care because of this virus, and many other people every day need intensive care, so if the system gets swamped, we all finish up paying a price for that.”
Mr Andrews said Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton had told him of his concerns for younger people, as well as the elderly, during a long conversation last night.
“It’s his view that this is not just about frail, elderly people, as important as they are, it’s people in their thirties and forties, and there is international evidence that in other countries where this is really running rampant, people have died much younger, much younger,” Mr Andrews said.
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Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.30am: NRL positive, despite blow
NRL chief Todd Greenberg says the league will “certainly survive” the suspension of the 2020 series due to the coronavirus pandemic, vowing to leave no club behind.
“Well, we’ll certainly survive, we have a little in the kitty,” Mr Greenberg told 2GB on Tuesday morning. “It wont take us far, which is why we have to have an expectation across the industry that we have to reset our cost base.
“We’re going to do everything we can to keep them (the clubs) afloat – Peter (V’landys) and I said from the outset that no one will be left behind.
“We will come out the other side, I have no doubt we will get there.”
Mr Greenberg said that yesterday he placed all staff at NRL headquarters on extended leave and closed the building, and that players would have to take a pay cut. “It depends how big that cut will be,” Mr Greenberg said.
Mr Greenberg revealed on Fox League Morning earlier on Tuesday that the decision to cancel the season was because of advice from a medical professional.
“Her view to us was that the trends that are now being seen in our country aren’t dissimilar to what was seen overseas,” Mr Greenberg said.
“When you see some of the reports we’ve seen from Europe ... or the United States, there’s no doubt we’re not immune to it, and the trends here are heading in the same direction.”
Mr Greenberg also said he would today discuss the implication of the season’s cancellation on their broadcast partners, Nine Entertainment Company and Foxtel.
Foxtel is owned in part by Newscorp, publisher of the Australian.
READ MORE: Postpone Olympics now, Gosper demands
Elias Visontay 9.20am: Animal ventilators may be used
Animal ventilators, sleep apnoea devices and anaesthetic machines in Australia could be repurposed into invasive ventilators to cope with a shortfall in global supply and predicted increase in Australian demand for the machines.
Minister for Industry Karen Andrews announced the measures were being investigated as part of a shift to local production of ventilators, personal protective equipment and other medical supplies, while the government waits to receive orders for ventilators and testing kits placed internationally.
Ms Andrews also said one Australian pharmaceutical company was ramping up production of hand sanitiser by a factor of five, to produce 90,000 bottles per day.
“We need to be able to produce some ventilators here in this country,” Ms Andrews told ABC Radio. “Those discussions have already started and we’ll be ramping those up to make sure that we can convert existing equipment so for example, sleep apnoea machines potentially could be converted.
“Anaesthetic machines can potentially be repurposed. And of course what’s in the vets can potentially be repurposed for ventilators. So we are leaving no stone unturned to make sure that we’re getting as many ventilators as we can.”
Ms Andrews also said the Australian Defence Force had begun working with local manufactures to help repurpose what they produce to help fill medical supply shortages, including personnel who helped double the capacity of a Shepparton surgical mask factory by “replicating” its existing machinery.
Ms Andrews also sought to reassure Australians that empty supermarket shelves were the result of restocking issues and not supply issues, and that while “hoarding” was still taking place, Australians had begun shifting to different product categories to panic buy.
She noted panic buying of ventolin was “easing”, less than a week after the government introduced a one unit buying limit and proof of need for the devices.
In the past week, the Queensland and Victorian state governments have announced laws to override delivery curfew times set by local councils for supermarket trucks, in an attempt to help restock shelves.
READ MORE: The price to pay for cashing out super
Rachel Baxendale 9.15am: Victoria cases top 400
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the numbers in his state would continue to “go up and up, particularly if some in the Victorian community don’t start taking this seriously.”
Victoria has had 56 new Coronavirus cases confirmed overnight, bringing the total in the state to 411.
“Yesterday I spoke very frankly, and again today it’s important that I let you know that there are people out there who are not distancing, who are continuing to live their lives as normal,” Mr Andrews told Triple M on Tuesday.
“This is deadly, and if it continues to spread because people don’t do the right thing, then people will die.
“That’s not very pleasant for breakfast radio, but that’s what’s at stake here, and we’ve just got to get that message out to every single Victorian.
“We are all in this together, and nurses are working hard, doctors are working hard, all of us in positions of authority are working hard to deal with this and to try and be ready for it, and so too, Victorians have to work hard to keep their distance, to clean their hands, to cough into the crook of their arm, and to not go out and live life as if it were just something that you could ignore. This is not to be ignored. It’s a really, really significant issue.”
READ MORE: Unspeakable pain on our streets
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9am: Robert apology: ‘My bad’
Stuart Robert has offered a massive mea culpa over Monday’s Centrelink fiasco, admitting he jumped the gun in declaring the crash of the Mygov website was linked to nefarious cyber attacks.
“After a couple of weeks of some quite serious cyber activity at 9.40am (on Monday) we had some serious spikes,” the federal Government Services Minister told 2GB.
“Then of course we investigated and I should have probably waited for the results of the investigation before jumping the gun.”
Mr Robert said it was “my bad” that the Mygov website was not prepared for the huge spike in people applying for unemployment benefits, admitting that the enormity of the decision made by the national cabinet on Sunday night could have seen “possibly a million” put out of work overnight.
The minister said the site’s traffic capacity has been increased by 20 per cent, from 55,000 concurrent users to 70,000, with capacity due to expand even further.
However, assurances that the site would not crash again today could not be made, with Mr Robert advising claimants to “use Mygov or try a bit later on” if they were unable to get through to someone at a Centrelink call centre, or if Mygov crashed once again.
Centrelink call centre hours have been expanded from 8am to 8pm on weekdays and 9am to 5pm on weekends, with Mr Robert saying the government was “rapidly” seeking to expand the hotline to 24 hours a day operation.
READ MORE: Jobless urged to work on land
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.55am: NSW at ‘critical state’
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the state is at a “critical state” in relation to coronavirus after the state’s chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant revealed a further 149 COVID-19 cases overnight, bringing the total to 818 as of Tuesday morning, 174 of which were instances of community transmission of the virus.
Ms Berejiklian said: “We need to make sure the spread stops”, and committed to ramping up compliance measures to ensure those that have been ordered into self-isolation stay in lockdown.
“We are ramping up our compliance. We’re making sure that people are followed up. If they’re supposed to be in self-isolation and they’re not, there are harsh penalties and we’ll enforce that. We have to take this seriously,” Ms Berejiklian said.
If you’re self-isolating, stay in self-isolation. That includes contacts, direct contacts of people who have been diagnosed with the virus. If you are under those instructions, please, please follow those instructions. Do not go out into the community. The quicker we stop the spread, the more handle, the more control we’ll have over this virus.
“We have had an increase – a substantial increase – in the number of cases again overnight. I don’t want to see that number going up as rapidly.”
Anyone refusing to comply with self-isolation orders in NSW can be hit with fines up to $11,000 or six months’ prison time.
READ MORE: School bell rings for ... lockdown
Elias Visontay 8.45am: SA warns of police crackdown
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has warned police will carry out “random checks” of anyone entering South Australia to ensure they are complying with self isolation requirements.
Mr Marshall said police would be stationed at border crossings and airports to take contact details and the address where those entering South Australia plan to self isolate, so they can carry out the random checks.
Police in Victoria have already started doing this.
“We’re taking this extraordinarily seriously,” Mr Marshall told Sky News.
His comments come as South Australia recorded 34 new cases of COVID-19, the state’s single biggest one day rise. There are now 134 confirmed cases in South Australia.
“The next step for us is to implement all of these border closures. We know they are very damaging for businesses in our state but they are necessary.
“We’re imploring people to take these restrictions very seriously.
Mr Marshall also criticised “blase” behaviour of those flouting social distancing and self isolation requirements, including a group of American travellers to South Australian wineries who had all contracted the virus.
“We didn’t know they were infected when they came in,” he said.
Mr Marshall said “devastating scenes” outside Centrelink offices could be addressed, announcing he had been told by the federal government that 5000 new Centrelink office staff will be hired to cope with the influx of demand.
READ MORE: Union seeks ‘risk’ rise for key staff
Yoni Bashan 8.20am: Huge overnight increase in NSW virus cases
The number of COVID-19 cases in NSW substantially increased overnight, with the premier issuing a warning that non-compliance with self-isolation protocols will be punished by steep penalties.
Figures released this morning reveal there are now 818 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in NSW, a one-day increase of 149 cases. The number of people in Intensive Care Units has also increased, from six patients to 13 patients.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said 425 cases of the virus were acquired overseas, but local transmissions were also rising.
As of 23 March 2020, the following facilities will be restricted from opening:
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) March 23, 2020
For information and advice on COVID-19 for communities and businesses in NSW visit: https://t.co/x2JTGgNoNZ pic.twitter.com/beLqZzDnuf
“It is essential that anyone who has returned from overseas since the requirements to self isolate — we urge you to comply,” Dr Chant said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned that enforcement of self-isolation would begin to increase.
The penalty for breaches currently stands at an $11,000 fine and/or six months in prison.
“We’re ramping up compliance,” Ms Berejiklian said. “We have to contain the spread. I don’t want to be another example of a jurisdiction that didn’t do what it needed to do at the right time.”
Tough new restrictions from midday to keep the community safe. pic.twitter.com/DW64ejt01Y
— Gladys Berejiklian (@GladysB) March 22, 2020
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Elias Visontay 8am: Roberts ‘blame shifting’ attacked
Tanya Plibersek has lashed Minister for Government Services Stuart Robert for trying to “blame” a MyGov website failure on hackers before backflipping to acknowledge it actually crashed due to a surge in traffic.
On Monday, Mr Robert held a press conference at parliament house to declare the MyGov website – the portal used to access Centrelink online – had crashed because of a targeted attack from hackers, insisting it was a common occurrence on government sites.
However in question time a few hours later, Mr Robert acknowledged it had crashed as a result of 98,000 visitors attempting to access the site, well above the website’s capacity for 55,000 visitors.
It is understood that average traffic at any one time to the MyGov website before coronavirus was about 6000 visitors.
“The Government should surely have planned better for this,” the opposition education spokeswoman told ABC TV. “They are unprecedented days, but when you’re making a new benefit available, surely having the staff available to help people sign up to the new benefits and making sure that the computer system doesn’t crash is absolutely fundamental.
“And if it does crash, for goodness sake, we’ve got a minister pretending it was a hacking job. The fastest way the government can lose trust of Australians is not to be frank about this stuff.
“You need to have a government that takes Australia into its confidence and says, ‘Yeah, sorry, we stuffed up. We didn’t have a computer system that was capable of dealing with the demand’. And be up front in a way like that, instead of what Stuart Robert did yesterday (Monday), which is try and blame someone else for his own mistakes.
Ms Plibersek also criticised the government for not being clear on school closures, and predicted it will be likely “there will be widespread closures of schools for all but essential workers” in the coming months.
READ MORE: Stranded get Centrelink lifeline
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.45am: Abbott backs total shutdown
Tony Abbott has endorsed the idea of a “complete” shutdown to stop the further spread of coronavirus while praising Scott Morrison for the government’s response to the crisis.
Speaking to 2GB’s Alan Jones from self-isolation, which he entered after returning from Japan on Sunday, Mr Abbott said a complete shutdown of society was the wisest strategy.
“What we need to do is have a very complete shutdown now to do everything we humanely can to prevent the spread,” Mr Abbott said.
“The more complete the shutdown, the shorter it has to be...the more complete it is now, the more likely it is to be short-lived.”
The former prime minister also said it was the responsibility of government to ensure that Australian people and businesses come out the other side of the shutdown intact.
Despite the Australian federal government not yet endorsing the idea of a total lockdown similar to what is occurring in other countries, Mr Abbott praised Scott Morrison for his response efforts.
“I think our response has been better because our system has been thinking deeply about this for many years. No response will be perfect, but I think our response has been much better because Australian officials have been thinking about this since the late 1990s.
“I think Scott Morrison is doing very well in this unprecedented crisis.
“We’ve got to prepare for the worst, hope for the best, and we’ve got to keep working together.”
READ MORE: Hotels could ease hospital load
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.30am: Expanded telehealth on the way
The Australian Medical Association has announced it will work to expand telehealth consultations to all GPs and other Medical Professionals by the end of this week.
It comes as Australia’s guidelines for testing for COVID-19 will be changed this week to drop the overseas travel component, according to deputy chief medical officer, Paul Kelly.
AMA president Dr Tony Bartone told Today on Tuesday that they were hoping all patients would be able to chat remotely with their doctor by the week’s end.
“The big benefit will mean that people don’t have to go out and about to clinics,” he said. Dr Bartone said phone or computer consultations wouldn’t replace face-to-face ones for those who needed them, but it would allow for enhanced public safety by separating potentially infected coronavirus patients from vulnerable people.
“What we can do is really triage what needs to come in and what doesn’t need to come in and thereby ensure that the people that are in there actually need to be there,” he said
READ MORE: Closures risk $10bn wipeout
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.10am: Minister: Don’t queue at Centrelink
Families and Social Services Minister Anne Ruston says the government is preparing for a surge in Centrelink applications “for weeks” but claims “I don’t think anybody expected or could have prepared for the fact it was such an accelerated demand that came” on Monday, when tens of thousands of out-of-work Australians tried to claim unemployment benefits, causing lines hundreds of metres long at physical Centrelink locations and for the MyGov website to crash.
Ms Ruston said she sympathised with those who had lost their jobs, but urged people who didn’t need to make a claim immediately to wait a few days.
“What we are calling for is that if people don’t actually need to go to Centrelink or contact Centrelink .... please, don’t call,” she told Today on Tuesday.
“If you are new, coming on to payment, but you’ve got some sort of leave entitlement, you don’t need a claim just yet, could you hold off for a few days until you do need to.”
Ms Ruston also said she was unsure why it was falsely claimed the MyGov website crashing was linked to a cyber attack and apologised to frustrated claimants.
“I’m unsure what the technical aspects were of what happened yesterday. I know the Australian Signals Director investigated it.”
“I’m apologising for what happened yesterday to the Australian public, who were seeking the support of Centrelink.”
The minister said no-one should line up at Centrelink today unless they have no internet.
“Unless you don’t have a phone or you don’t have internet access, or – you can ring up or you can go online.”
“So we’d be seriously encouraging people to do that. We actually don’t want people lining up. Social distancing would say we don’t want them in a group.
“So if you can at all avoid going to Centrelink today, that would be great.”
READ MORE: Our biggest test since WW2
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.45am: ‘Tokyo Olympic Games will not start on July 24’
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be delayed, according to IOC member Dick Pound, who told newspaper USA Today that “the games will not start on July 24.”
The 2020 Olympics have been a controversial issue as the coronavirus pandemic escalated, with the IOC stubbornly insisting the games would go ahead as planned until Monday, when it conceded it would consider delaying, but not cancelling, the games.
Exclusive: 2020 Tokyo Olympics will be postponed, likely to 2021, veteran IOC member Dick Pound says https://t.co/bNSJvxDhBN
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) March 23, 2020
Major Olympic competitors Australia, New Zealand and Canada also flagged on Monday that they would not participate in any games that went ahead in the next few months.
“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Mr Pound was quoted as saying in USA Today.
“The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
The Olympic Games were originally planned for July 24-August 9, but will now likely take place in 2021.
AOC CEO Matt Carroll addressed the media following today's announcement that we're encouraging athletes to work towards #Tokyo2021 â–¶ï¸â–¶ï¸â–¶ï¸ https://t.co/TUpywuKJLp#TokyoTogether #Tokyo2020 #Covid_19australia
— AUS Olympic Team (@AUSOlympicTeam) March 23, 2020
READ MORE: Five-ring circus ends as Olympics and NRL roll over
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.30am: Tragedy in Spain as ‘forgotten elderly’ found dead
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases around the world is now 367,457, with 16,113 confirmed deaths. Just over 100,000 have recovered from the disease, with more than half of these being in the epicentre of the crisis, China’s Hubei province.
The World Health Organisation said the outbreak was accelerating, but insisted “we can change the trajectory of this pandemic.” AP reported that 1.5 billion people — or one-fifth of the world’s population — is in lockdown.
The crisis has not yet peaked in Europe. In Spain, soldiers deployed to disinfect and run nursing homes have reported finding the corpses of the forgotten elderly in their beds, the Spanish defence minister said.
“During some of its visits, the army has seen some totally abandoned elderly people — even some who were dead in their beds,” defence minister Margarita Robles told the Ana Rosa TV program on Monday.
The country saw the number of deaths shoot up by almost 25 per cent yesterday, from 1720 to 2206, with the number of cases increasing from 28,572 to just over 33,000.
In Italy, where the number of new cases has decreased for a second consecutive day, videos are emerging of Italian authorities desperately urging people to comply with social distancing requirements.
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has tested negative for coronavirus. She was tested after it was discovered a doctor who gave her a vaccine was infected with COVID-19.
Two former passengers on a cruise ship have died in Japan, becoming the ninth and tenth fatalities from the Diamond Princess.
Shutdowns around the world are only escalating, with Canada’s most populous province, Ontario, ordering the closure of all non-essential businesses.
Iran has reported another 127 coronavirus-related deaths, bringing its toll to 1812 amid 23,049 confirmed cases.
China’s foreign ministry said the US was “completely wasting the precious time” Beijing had won in attacking the global coronavirus outbreak that originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
The number of new cases in the country continue to flatline, with the National Health Commission announcing just 39 new cases of the virus on Monday.
Also revealed was that Wuhan, the city where COVID-19 originated, has now gone five consecutive days without a new infection, showing the effectiveness of draconian travel restrictions that are slowly being relaxed around the country. On Monday, there were reports of people in Wuhan leaving their homes for the first time in weeks. In Beijing, the city had its first traffic jam in many days.
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Agencies 6am: Senator worked for six days after virus test
US senator Rand Paul was tested a week ago for the novel coronavirus, but continued working at the Capitol because he “felt that it was highly unlikely” he was sick since had no symptoms of the illness, he said.
Paul, who announced yesterday he had tested positive for coronavirus, also said he did not have direct contact with anyone who tested positive for the virus or was sick.
Paul’s is the first case of COVID-19 in the US Senate and it’s raised fears about further transmission of the virus among senators, including some who are in their 70s and 80s.
Statement from Senator Rand Paul: https://t.co/L3dA7FkReg
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 23, 2020
“Since nearly every member of the US Senate travels by plane across the country multiple times per week and attends lots of large gatherings, I believed my risk factor for exposure to the virus to be similar to that of my colleagues, especially since multiple congressional staffers on the Hill had already tested positive weeks ago,” Paul said in a statement overnight (AEDT).
Thank you Mr. President! https://t.co/GIsaQTbgQU
— Senator Rand Paul (@RandPaul) March 23, 2020
“For those who want to criticise me for lack of quarantine, realise that if the rules on testing had been followed to a tee, I would never have been tested and would still be walking around the halls of the Capitol.”
Current federal guidelines would not have called for him to get tested or quarantined, Paul said. “It was my extra precaution, out of concern for my damaged lung, that led me to get tested,” he said.
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) March 23, 2020
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Jacquelin Magnay 5.15am: UK lockdown looms as deaths skyrocket
British prime minister Boris Johnson is expected to announce in a national address in the coming hours a near-lockdown of the United Kingdom after the country experienced nearly 50 more deaths in the past 24 hours.
A current spell of sunny weather coupled with school closures raised the alarm that social distancing measures were being ignored as people swamped the reduced Tube service to flock to parks and other beauty spots.
These are the people who are saving lives.
— Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) March 23, 2020
Stay at home, protect the NHS, and save lives. #StayHomeSaveLives https://t.co/KGihWbNHTX
While shops, clubs, restaurants and gyms were forced to close several days ago, further closure of non-essential businesses and social isolation measures are expected to be announced.
Mr Johnson will chair the Cobra emergency meeting at 5pm London time and make a national address at 7pm (6am AEDT).
At least 46 people died in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll in the UK to 335.
Earlier today the UK government introduced a Coronavirus Bill containing some draconian measures, including £1000 fines for ignoring police instructions.
Health Secretary @MattHancock has called on the public to "respect" doctors and nurses "on the frontline of the NHS" by sticking to government advice on social distancing during the #COVID19 pandemic.#KayBurley
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 23, 2020
Read more about #coronavirus: https://t.co/f6NWyucvoN pic.twitter.com/6HfhVowNSk
Health minister Matt Hancock said he hoped all of the measures would not need to be used. But he warned: “We will do whatever it takes to beat this virus” and insisted the bill, meant to be in place for two years, was “proportionate to the threat we face”.
READ MORE: Troy Bramston — ‘London calling, you’re too slow’
Geoff Chambers 5am: One million Australians may be forced onto welfare
More than a million Australians could be forced on to welfare by lockdowns to combat the coronavirus, which Scott Morrison warned had plunged the country into an economic crisis not experienced since the Great Depression.
Thousands of people queued at Centrelink offices around the country on Monday as the shutdown of much of the hospitality sector put more than 300,000 jobs in jeopardy.
The fallout from the coronavirus pandemic deepened with the NRL suspending its 2020 season, Olympic organisers preparing to postpone the Tokyo Games and Queensland becoming the latest state to lock down its borders.
Global shares and commodities plunged, with Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 share index diving 8.6 per cent to 4402.5 points — its lowest point since November 2012 — before closing down 270.6 points or 5.6 per cent at 4546.
Ahead of the passage of nearly $84bn in stimulus measures late on Monday night by a skeleton parliament and with MPs not due to sit again until August 11 to comply with strict social distancing rules, the Prime Minister conceded “many thousands of Australians” would lose their jobs.
Read the full story here.
Our health professionals will be at the frontline of our fight against #coronavirus over the next few months. A heartfelt thank you from all Australians for everything you are doing, and will do.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) March 23, 2020
We are doing everything we can to #flattenthecurve to ease the burden on you. pic.twitter.com/JdKbEM4jfl
READ MORE: Scott Morrison — ‘A test like at no time since World War II’
5.15am: Italy records smaller increase in cases for second day
Officials say Italy has recorded a smaller day-to-day increase in new coronavirus cases for the second straight day.
Data released by Italy’s Civil Protection agency overnight (AEDT) showed 4,789 new cases from a day earlier, nearly 700 fewer than the figure reported Sunday. The number of deaths also did not rise by as much. There were just over 600 registered on Monday compared to 651 on Sunday.
Italy has been anxious to see the day-to-day figures for new cases drop as it health system struggles to keep up with the world’s largest outbreak after China.
Health authorities have said it will be a few more days before they will know if Italy is at the beginning of a positive trend. — AP
READ MORE: Scott Morrison — ‘A test like at no time since World War II’
Additional reporting: Matthew Denholm, Yoni Bashan, Jacquelin Magnay
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