Coronavirus Australia live updates: Australia lacks the equipment for nationwide testing, says Murphy; national toll rises to 35
Australia lacks the equipment for nationwide testing, says Chief Health Officer Brendan Murphy, but the curve is flattening.
- Three latest victims were on Ruby
- NSW toll rises to 16, national toll 34
- Dutton warns against dodgy home test kits
- Infection curve may dip ‘within weeks’
- Five-year-old dies in Britain
- New cases slow, but battle not over
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Three of the latest victims of the virus were passengers on board the Ruby Princess, while Deputy Chief Medical Officer says Australia’s infection curve could begin to dip “within weeks”.
Paige Taylor 7.53pm Man held for ‘sneaking out of quarantine hotel’
A man is in a police lock-up and faces a fine of up to $50,000 for sneaking out of quarantine in a Perth hotel, according to West Australian police.
WA Police arrested and charged the man, 35, on Sunday for allegedly breaching self-quarantine requirements on several occasions, putting the community at risk of coronavirus.
WA’s hard-border closure begins at midnight (3am on Monday, AEST) when only essential workers and people who have been granted an exemption on compassionate grounds can drive and fly in from other states and territories. In recent weeks anyone has been allowed to come to WA provided they self-isolate for two weeks.
“The man is an interstate traveller from Victoria who arrived in WA on 28 March 2020,” a WA Police statement said.
“He was required under the Emergency Management Act to self-quarantine for 14 days (until 13 April 2020) and he was provided a room at a Perth hotel for this purpose.”
Police claim the man sneaked out of the hotel on numerous occasions. He wedged open a fire exit door at the hotel to enable him to leave and re-enter the property without being seen by staff, police claim. He then used public transport to travel within the metropolitan area.
He was taken into custody and has been charged with two counts of failure to comply with a direction.
“The man remains in custody as he was refused bail on the basis that he will likely continue or repeat the offence, which endangers another person’s safety,” police said.
Australian citizens who land in Perth from overseas cannot be turned away under WA’s new hard-border policy but they will be taken to a hotel for two weeks of quarantine. Foreign nationals who arrive on international flights will be turned back.
READ MORE: Police issue $78k in fines at Rochedale car rally
Keiran Gair 7.35pm Two Ruby Princess crew members in Sydney hospital
Two male crew members from the Ruby Princess cruise ship who tested positive for COVID-19 are being treated at St Geroge Hospital in Sydney’s southeast after arriving at Port Botany shortly after 3pm on Sunday.
The men were ferried from the cruise ship to the wharf on a lifeboat and were met by NSW paramedics and police.
NSW Police said up to 200 of the 1040 crew members on board the vessel are displaying symptoms, while 16 crew members are confirmed to have returned positive results for COVID-19.
READ MORE: Boris plays his trump card: The Queen
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.30pm Ruby Princess passenger dies in Brisbane
A Queensland man who was a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship has died of coronavirus, bringing Australia’s death toll to 35.
Queensland health confirmed the death of the 78-year-old man at Prince Charles Hospital, in Brisbane’s north, in a statement on Sunday night. He is the fifth Queenslander to die from the coronavirus.
Since docking in Sydney on March 19, the Ruby Princess has been linked to 11 deaths and more than 620 cases of coronavirus across Australia.
READ MORE: NSW police launch criminal probe into Ruby Princess debacle
Keiran Gair 6.42pm Ruby Princess crew member in Sydney hospital
A male crew member from the Ruby Princess cruise ship who tested positive for COVID-19 is being treated in a Sydney hospital after arriving at Port Botany shortly after 3pm on Sunday.
#RubyPrincess has just dropped off more sick crew.
— Paul Garrett (@PaulGarrettAU) April 5, 2020
This ship should be brought into Port now and the crew given the medic help they deserve. #auspol #nswpol #Covid_19australia #COVID19au pic.twitter.com/j5s6gzYSMl
The man was ferried from the cruise ship to the wharf on a lifeboat and was met by NSW paramedics and police officers.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said there were still about 200 crew members on board showing COVID-19 symptoms.
READ MORE: NSW police launch criminal probe into Ruby Princess debacle
David Murray 6.25pm Police issue fines worth $77,372 at car rally
Queensland police have issued 58 COVID-19 infringement notices at a Brisbane car rally, in a dramatic escalation of social-distancing enforcement.
The fines — worth a combined $77,372 — were issued to drivers and passengers aged between 17 and 30 who gathered at a warehouse carpark at Rochedale in the city’s south on Saturday night.
Some of the people attending the rally tried to flee and became bogged.
Footage from cameras on the bodies of police shows officers approaching people in their cars and asking if they were aware of restrictions on movement due to the coronavirus crisis.
Each person was issued with a $1334 fine for failing to comply with a COVID-19 direction issued by the Chief Health Officer.
“Are you aware of the home confinement rules in relation to the coronavirus?” one officer asks.“As of Friday morning a person must not leave their place of residence except for obtaining food, getting medical treatment, doing physical exercise, going to work, visiting a terminally ill relative, providing care to an immediate family member, attending court, going to an educational institution.”
When one person agrees that they thought they were going to a car show, an officer replies: “I don’t think that’s in the list of thing to do for COVID-19.”
Another officer says: “Unfortunately, I’m going to have to issue you all a fine tonight. So it’s a $1300 fine per person.”
Apart from the rally, Queensland police had issued only 39 other fines for breaches of Chief Health Officer directions by 5.30am on Sunday.
Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski, the state disaster co-ordinator, said blatant disregard for the health directions put lives at risk.
“This is all about safety, about saving lives, about stopping the spread of COVID-19. We all, every single one of us, must do our bit. We are in this together,” he said.
“It is inexcusable what happened at Rochedale last night and such blatant disregard for the lives of Queenslanders will not be tolerated.”
READ MORE: Lockdown could be mother of invention
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.35pm South Australian cases hit 409
The number of coronavirus cases in South Australia has increased by two, bringing the state’s total to 409 cases, Acting Chief Medical Officer Dr Michael Cusak says.
The two new cases are people aged in their 40s and 60s. A total of 120 of the state’s cases are from cruise ships and 19 people are receiving treatment for the virus in the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Nine of those patients are in intensive care, with seven in critical condition. Two are women and seven are men, aged from 52 to 77.
Dr Cusak said investigations were still being carried out over the cluster of cases that originated at Adelaide airport among Qantas and Jetstar baggage handlers.
The cluster at the airport has increased by three cases, to 28, of whom 17
are baggage handlers and 11 are secondary contracts including families, Dr Cusak said.
“It is important that anyone who is sick with symptoms of coronavirus (and) has been at the airport, including in the terminal building or the car park in the last two weeks, they should selfisolate and present for testing.”
Dr Cusak said he was “pleased” over the drop in the number of new cases to two, but added that fewer cases tend to be diagnosed over the weekend.
Dr Cusak said 38,863 had been tested for coronavirus in South Australia — a high that could explain why the state has the second-highest per capita figure of confirmed cases, behind NSW.
READ MORE: Google tracking shows how Australians’ behaviour has changed
Elias Visontay 6.08pm Health chief rules out nationwide testing
Chief Health Officer Brendan Murphy has said Australia does not have the testing capabilities to implement nationwide testing for COVID-19, as the infection rate plummets.
The rise of just 139 cases nationally on Sunday had continued the trend of flattening the curve, but warned the focus must now shift to preventing community transmission ahead of Easter, Professor Murphy said.
Australia had 5687 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Sunday, with 34 deaths. About 2000 Australians had fully recovered from the virus.
A total of 91 Australians are in hospital intensive care units suffering from COVID-19, with 33 patients on ventilators.
“That is probably the lowest rise we’ve had for a few days and it does tend to continue the trend we’ve seen of flattening of the curve,” Professor Murphy said.
“We’re increasingly confident that if people continue to adhere to what we’ve been asking them to do we can prevent a situation like we’ve seen in many other countries of the world.
“I may sound like a broken record at times but community transmission is what worries me most of all. About 10 per cent of our cases across Australia are those cases where there is no known contact with another case. They’ve appeared from the community. Those are the reason we have brought in the social-distancing measures and all of those measures to stop the spread.
“Easter is a time when people normally travel, get together and have social gatherings and we’re asking you not to do that.”
On testing, Professor Murphy said testing criteria had been broadened so that “in areas where there are community transmission, anyone with a flu-like illness or respiratory illness can get tested”.
However, he ruled out nationwide testing and testing of asymptomatic Australians, explaining that the number of people with flu-like symptoms was expected to rise going into winter and there would not be enough testing kits to cope with a broader testing criteria.
General practices in some areas are conducting sentinel testing — testing anyone who comes in with a flu-like illness or respiratory cases — but that could not be replicated nationally, Professor Murphy added.
“We cannot go hell for leather because we just don’t have the test kits and nobody in the world would have the test kits to do that,” he said..
“Unfortunately we can’t test everybody across the country with flu-like illnesses. We’re coming into winter. But as the testing is expanded to meet the needs we still have one of the highest testing regimes in the world. One of the highest proportions of our population has been tested and one of the lowest positivity rates.
“There wouldn’t be availability of testing kits to test the whole community. The whole world is very keenly acquiring testing kits. We’re doing a lot. We’ve managed to secure very large numbers of testing kits to meet our high testing rate. There is no evidence at the moment about testing asymptomatic people. The only situation where we think it might be valuable at the moment is in an agedcare outbreak, because we’ve found some agedcare residents can have asymptomatic infections.”
Asked when the National Cabinet would release updated COVID-19 modelling to the public, Professor Murphy said leaders would consider the modelling on Tuesday.
READ MORE: UK’s virus adviser calls for way out of COVID-19 lockdown
Paul Garvey 5.53pm State prepares to close border
Western Australia is just hours away from an unprecedented hard closure of its borders as part of the state’s COVID-19 response.
Only individuals with an exemption, such as healthcare, emergency and freight workers, will be able to enter WA from midnight (3am AEDT).
Premier Mark McGowan said he understood that the closure would cause a great deal of frustration for many people, but he refused to apologise for the move.
“Brexit has taken four years, and we’ve put borders in place in the space of one week,” he said.
The closure came as the state confirmed another 17 cases of COVID-19, taking the total to 453. Nine of those new diagnoses involved people who had travelled overseas, including one from the Ruby Princess cruise ship. Three have been in contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19, while the cause of infection for the remaining five are still under investigation.
Another 56 patients have officially recovered since yesterday’s update.
He said that while the infection numbers in recent days were encouraging, restrictions on movement into and around the state would persist for months.
“I know it might seem like COVID-19 has been going on for a long period of time now, but unfortunately we’ve only just started our battle here in Western Australia,” he said.
“It’s encouraging to see the low number of new cases, but that’s all the more reason for us to stay on course … We are still heading into the storm, not out of it.”
READ MORE: More beaches closed
Lachlan Moffet Gray 3.35pm Random ID checks in rural areas
Random ID checks will be conducted on people in rural areas of NSW throughout the Easter holidays to ensure people from the greater Sydney area are not travelling unnecessarily, Police Commissioner Mark Fuller says.
“Country New South Wales has been spared this at the moment ... I think we owe them some isolation,” he said in Sydney on Sunday.
“We will be stopping people, and if you don’t have a good reason to be where you are, you could face a $1000 fine.”
Police would not endorse tracking coronavirus cases via mobile phones, Commissioner Fuller, said, adding he wanted to retain public support as tension grows in the community over the way some aspects of social-distancing policy is enforced.
“I’m not asking for any more measures around tracking people, to be honest with you. I know Singapore and other countries have used it well. Maybe (it’s) a great strategy for when this is over and (we) open our borders to international travellers — maybe that’s a really good position for it.
“But I think at the moment we’re in a challenging space around isolation and police powers and the community coming on the journey. We don’t want to lose them either. Community policing is so important to us.”
READ MORE: Doctor slams hotel quarantine
Lachlan Moffet Gray 3.05pm Police probe to focus on Carnival crew
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has announced a criminal investigation into the events that led to the Ruby Princess cruise ship being allowed to disembark thousands of passengers in Sydney last month.
A total of 622 passengers have tested positive for coronavirus and 10 have died, including three in NSW overnight.
The investigation comes after it emerged that the NSW government was aware that passengers on board were showing coronavirus-like symptoms when the ship berthed on March 19, and that they could be tested for the virus and receive results within hours.
Speaking to the press on Sunday, Commissioner Fuller said a criminal or coronial investigation was needed to work out if cruise line operator Carnival Australia was transparent in its advice to NSW Health and the Port Authority.
“The key question that remains unanswered — and a criminal or coronial investigation will need to be conducted — was Carnival crew transparent in contextualising the true patient and crew health conditions relevant to COVID-19?” he said.
Read the full story here
Lachlan Moffet Gray 2.55pm Police chief announces Ruby Princess probe
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has announced an investigation into the conduct of cruise line operator Carnival Australia in the wake of the Ruby Princess coronavirus scandal.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 2.40pm Democracy a casualty of slimmed-down Parliament: Labor
Shadow spokesman for Industrial relations Tony Burke has slammed the government’s decision to minimise the occasions on which Parliament sits until August, saying that there has never been a more important time for democratic scrutiny to be applied to new policy.
“There has never been a time where the meeting of the Parliament has been more important,” Mr Burke said to reporters on Sunday.
“What the government should be doing is scheduling regular sittings of Parliament during this time... When you push $200 billion through the door in the space of six months with legislation drafted only days before it gets introduced and go through all of its stages, mistakes will happen.
“We need to have the Parliament sitting regularly to be able to deal with those errors.”
Identifying perceived errors in the government’s flagship $130 billion wage subsidy JobKeepers program, Mr Burke said the policy needed to be amended to address issues relating to casual workers.
“As far as casuals are concerned, we get a whole lot of perverse outcomes with the 12 month rule that the government is currently imposing,” he said.
“There will be workplaces for example where a casual has only turned up once a fortnight, that has been regularly employed.
“They would see themselves by the government ‘s own explanation receive a massive multiple of what they would already, -- ordinarily earned so that goes up to $1500.
“Beside them will be a worker who has, is a casual, has a shift every day and is reliant on that shift every day for five days a week...(but) If they have only been there for eight months, they will be ineligible.
“There will be casual teachers for example who have been working as casuals for, as teachers, for five years but have been working as casuals in the private sector and therefore do not have 12 months with one school. They are going to be ineligible.”
Mr Burke also said that the government needs to clarify if a business that forces an employee to take their existing leave entitlements can still claim a subsidy on their behalf, saying the scheme needs to be a wage subsidy, not a “balance sheet subsidy.”
“We will continue to work publicly and privately to make sure that a scheme that has been going to be established for the right reasons also has outcomes that match those reasons,” Mr Burke said.
READ MORE: Coronavirus will kill ideology in politcs
Tess Livingstone 2.20pm: Archbishop compares COVID-19 to last days of Jesus
The head of Australia’s largest Catholic archdiocese, Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli, has compared the upheavals of COVID-19 to the “chaotic chronology’’ of the last days of Jesus on Earth in his Palm Sunday Mass.
“In this disorienting time of coronavirus which is imposing such change on our lives are we not being called back to trust in what matters?’’Archbishop Comensoli said.
“Our optimism for technologically enhanced lifestyles and unfettered progression have proved to be woefully fragile and inadequate in the face of this world engulfing contagion. Simpler realities, less optioned lifestyles and greater stewardship of one another and our common home and more intentional relationships … these seem to be the locations in which we will find ourselves once more. Similarly, gestures of tenderness and closeness, courageous signs of service and care witnesses to trust and hope these are the signs of our stillness in the storm.’’
Last week, in an interview with a Rome-based magazine, Archbishop Comensoli said Australia could face scenes reminiscent of those in northern Italy if the COVID-19 pandemic worsened.
READ MORE: Beranrd Salt — April may well be our darkest time
Kieran Gair 2.05pm: Police to be deployed to supermarkets
Police officers will be deployed to major supermarkets this week after Woolworths and Coles pledged to dramatically increase social distancing measures ahead of the Easter rush.
Woolworths and Coles will limit the amount of customers in-store from Monday and security guards will be asked to conduct head counts to help combat the spread of COVID-19.
“Traditionally, the Thursday in the lead up to Easter is one of our busiest times in-store. We ask our customers to pre-plan their Easter shopping to avoid the usual Thursday spike in numbers,” Woolworths Supermarkets Managing Director Claire Peters said on Saturday.
The supermarket chain plans to limit customers in-store for social distancing between customers and it depended on the size of the store, Ms Peters said.
Competitor Coles is also introducing measures to help authorities battle the spread of the virus.
“Team members will be at store entrances to provide assistance and let you know when it is OK to come in,” chief executive Steven Cain said. “We’re limiting how many customers can be in the store, so we may ask you to queue when you arrive.”
The new measures will be rolled out from Monday with security and police expected to manage the queues at peak times and enforce the 1.5m social distancing rules.
Australians with a disability, meanwhile, are being prioritised for home food and grocery deliveries.
More than 340,000 National Disability Insurance Scheme participants will receive an individual code via SMS or email giving them access to priority home delivery.
David Murray 2pm: Queensland Premier threatens to close markets
Queensland’s Premier has threatened to close down farmers markets if they fail to manage crowds, as she took aim at people still failing to practice social distancing.
Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Sunday she would shut markets if there was a repeat of the crowded scenes at Saturday’s Jan Powers Farmers Markets in New Farm.
“Yesterday we saw crowds at markets and, guys, it’s not on,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“If I see that again, they’re going to be shut down immediately.
Coronavirus pandemic hits Australia. Social distancing rules come in. People pack Bondi Beach. Everyone hits the roof. We’re not that stupid in Queensland right?
— Leighton Smith (@LeightonESmith) April 4, 2020
WRONG. Jan Powers Powerhouse Farmers’ Markets in New Farm, Brisbane this morning. WTF!? 🤬👎 pic.twitter.com/DL8LJIfznr
“So I’m going to be talking to the Police Commissioner and if that happens again they’re going to be shut down because people are not observing social distancing.”
Markets were “not a chance to go down for an outing”, she said.
“You should only be going down there if you intend to purchase fresh produce. I’m giving my last warning.”
"If I see that happen again, they'll be shut down immediately" says @AnnastaciaMP. She's unimpressed at crowds at some fresh food markets in Brisbane yesterday @abcnews @abcbrisbane pic.twitter.com/xH1pTLrYPv
— Jessica van Vonderen (@jessvanvonderen) April 5, 2020
Keiran Gair 1.25pm: More Sydney beaches closed after large crowds
Northern Beaches Council has closed a number of beaches including Manly, North Steyne, Queenscliff, Freshwater, Mona Vale Palm Beach.
The council said “large gatherings” had forced lifeguards to close beaches and warned more will close if people don’t follow the government’s strict social distancing rules.
READ MORE: ‘Authoritarian edicts too much to bear’
Lachlan Moffet Gray 1.05pm: First case of suspected community transmission in ACT
Health Authorities in the ACT are tracking what could be the first case of community transmission of coronavirus in the territory announcing on Sunday three new confirmed cases of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the total to 96.
The new cases consist of two men and one women, aged between 25 to 55,. The department would not reveal which of the new cases may have contracted the virus locally, but say they are working to establish a source.
The Health Department also said there are six coronavirus patients in hospital, while 28 have recovered and the remaining patients are recovering at home.
READ MORE: Doctor slams hotel quarantine ‘disaster’
Lachlan Moffet Gray 12.50pm: US suffers most fatal day yet
At least 1,324 coronavirus deaths were recorded in the US on Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University, making it the most fatal day for the country so far, beating Friday’s record of 1094 deaths.
The total number of deaths in the US is now 8,476, with more than a quarter of these occurring in New York State, the epicentre of the pandemic in North America.
Among the deaths was New York Police Department officer Lt. Pierre Moise, the tenth member of the NYPD to die of the virus, as concerns increase for the wellbeing of police officers who are enforcing lockdown in New York City.
On Friday almost 20 per cent of the department’s 35,000 uniformed officers were off sick, while 1775 have already tested positive for the coronavirus.
On Saturday New York received a planeload of ventilators from China, after the Chinese government facilitated a donation from Alibaba co-founders Jack Ma and Joseph Tsai.
The planeload of 1000 ventilators won’t be enough to meet New York City’s needs, with New York State governor Andrew Cuomo earlier in the week ordering hospitals elsewhere in the state to provide 20 per cent of unused ventilators to the national guard for retribution in the city’s overrun hospital.
Earlier on Saturday (Sunday, Australian time), President Donald Trump continued to offer assurance that lockdown measures will soon be lifted, despite forecasting the likelihood of increasing deaths, telling reporters “This country was not designed to be closed.”
“The cure cannot be worse than the problem,” he said.
READ MORE: Democrats forced to move convention
Lachlan Moffet Gray 12.30pm: NZ cases top 1,000 but ‘measures working’
New Zealand now has more than 1000 confirmed coronavirus cases after Director General Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced the diagnosis of a further 87 people overnight.
The increase of the case count to 1039 comes amid one of the harshest nationwide lockdown measures in the southern hemisphere, with all non-essential businesses forced to close and non-essential travel banned on Wednesday March 25.
Almost two weeks on, new clusters continue to be identified with Dr Bloomfield on Sunday announcing the discovery of two more clusters, bringing the total to 12.
The largest cluster, a Marist College in Auckland, is responsible for 66 cases in New Zealand.
Despite the continuing growth in cases, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said New Zealand’s harsh measures have been producing beneficial results.
“Our case rate and death toll is well below other comparable countries,” she said on Sunday.
“Yes, we had the benefit of time because our distance and because our early border and mass gathering measures also made a difference there.
“Going hard and going early appears though to be going well for us.”
She urged the nation to steady their resolve, praising most of the country, but singling out rule-breakers as idiots.
“While compliance has been generally strong, there are still some I would charitably describe as idiots,” she said, referring specifically to a man who filmed himself coughing on people at a supermarket in Christchurch.
Ms Ardern said there were no plans to further tighter lockdown restrictions.
Of the 1039 cases, ten are in hospital and one is in ICU. One person has died of coronavirus.
READ MORE: Tough measures working: PM
Lachlan Moffet Gray 12.20pm: Tasmania healthworker, liner child 2 new cases
A health care worker is one of two additional coronavirus cases confirmed in Tasmania overnight, bringing the state’s total to 82 as the state government announced a postponement of legislative council elections due to the pandemic.
The second case is a child who was travelling with a family member on the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship.
Premier Peter Gutwein said the diagnosis of the employee at the Northwest regional hospital was being taken “very seriously” and advised against travel to coastal communities ahead of the Easter holidays, saying diligence is the only way the “fortress Tasmania” project will work.
“Just simply don’t go and put those coastal communities at risk,” he said.
“I have spoken to a couple of mayors over the last 24 hours whose municipalities are on the coast, and in the main they tell me that their communities are doing the right thing, but they don’t want a flood of people over Easter into those communities.”
Mr Gutwein said holidaymakers on boats will be unable to leave the municipality of their residential address to protect the vulnerable coastal communities.
“If you are on a boat, you will be restricted to launching that boat within the municipality within which your primary residential addresses are listed for the purposes of the stay-at-home restrictions.
“So if you live in Launceston and you have a shack in Bridgeport, and your primary
residence for the purpose of the stay-at-home restrictions as Launceston, you cannot launch a boat outside of the Launceston municipality,” he said.
Tasmanian attorney general Elise Archer said the 2020 legislative council elections for the divisions of Huon and Rosevears will be postponed to some point before the council sits again in August over health concerns relating to the voting process.
“In these unprecedented circumstances, the powers under the Public health act, specifically section five, allows for the elections to be deferred,” she said.
“The government believes that the elections should not be put off indefinitely, to ensure people in the two divisions of Huon and Roseveres have proper representation.
“It is our aim to hold these elections before the council is due to sit again on 25 August this year.
“Should public health circumstances require a further deferral of the election, then a further notice would need to be considered at that time.”
Around 53,000 Tasmanians would have voted at the election, originally set for May 2.
READ MORE: 100 hospital staff isolated
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.50am: Three latest victims ‘likely’ acquired infection on Ruby
Three more passengers from the Ruby Princess cruise ship have died in NSW overnight after contracting the novel coronavirus.
The latest fatalities bring the total death toll from the luxury liner to ten but NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard has continued to defend his department’s handling of the scandal, saying he feared its reputation was being unfairly tarnished.
“I have concern ... that those who are our brightest and our finest and our most committed public health officials are in some way being diminished or criticised,” Mr Hazzard told a press conference on Sunday morning.
He said he was unaware as to whether a review of the scandal being conducted by NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller would result in any criminal charges.
“I don’t know whether it is a criminal investigation...I don’t know, I have no idea,” he said.
“But it is an investigation being undertaken by the police commissioner in his capacity as the broadscale COVID-19 Commissioner.”
Mr Hazzard denied being concerned that in the event of a criminal investigation either himself, or the NSW Health department would be implicated in any way, saying: “I have concern, as I said yesterday, that those who are our brightest and our finest and our most committed public health officials are in some way being diminished or criticised.”
The Health Minister also denied knowing the results of the coronavirus testing of the Ruby Princess crew conducted by Aspen healthcare, saying that information may become apparent later in the day.
“I don’t know the answer. Look, Aspen has been working with, I think, Border Force and the other agencies,” he said.
“But I think I saw as I was coming here that the police commissioner has put a notice out saying he is doing an interview this afternoon, so maybe he will have some more knowledge.”
Mr Hazzard also again urged people not to go for holidays within the state of NSW, saying regional and rural hospitals do not have the capability to care for coronavirus patients.
“Our regional hospitals are very good regional hospitals, but they are not set up generally, there are some, with ICUs, so most regional hospitals do not have intensive care units,” he said.
“You can’t actually expect to be ventilated if you get really sick. You can’t expect to be having what they call extra membrane oxygenation, basically oxygenating your body.”
He urged all holidaymakers in rural areas to “go home.”
READ MORE: Ruby doctors told officials of COVID-19 cases
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.25am: Three people in 30s on ventilators in ICU
NSW Health’s Dr Jeremy McAnulty has revealed further information about NSW’s most recent four deaths, telling reporters on Sunday that they were all men, of 91, 80, 76, and 61 years of age and from Port Macquarie, Westmead and Hornsby respectively.
Despite the most recent victims being of an older age, Dr McAnulty emphasised Mr Hazzard’s earlier point on the importance of young people taking coronavirus seriously, revealing that the plurality of cases are people in their twenties, and that three people in their thirties were in need of ventilated breathing assistance in ICU.
“The older people and people with underlying health problems, cardiac or chest or immune problems, are most prone to getting severe disease and requiring intensive care and ventilation, but younger people are getting infected as well,” he said.
“The biggest single age group is people in their 20s, we are seeing the largest numbers. And in fact, we have seen also three people who were ventilated in intensive care in their 30s.”
“So it is a really important message, that young people need to be aware that they are not immune from getting severe disease, and they have an important role to play in preventing transfer of the infection to their loved ones.”
Dr McAnulty said that of the 2580 confirmed cases, 1566 were acquired overseas, 578 from unknown confirmed case or cluster, 380 locally acquired without direct contact to case or cluster, and 56 still under investigation.
The four most recent deaths were acquired from outside NSW, Dr McAnulty said.
READ MORE: What coronavirus does to your body
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.15am: NSW toll rises to 16, national toll 34
Four more people in NSW have died of coronavirus, with NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard revealing on Sunday that the state’s death toll has hit sixteen, with the number of deaths in Australia now 34.
The latest NSW deaths are all men aged 90, 80, 76 and 61.
Mr Hazzard said the state’s campaign against coronavirus was providing some positive results, with only 2,580 cases confirmed in the state out of 120,000 total tests carried out - a positive rate of just over two per cent and an increase in new cases of only 87 overnight.
Despite the progress being made against the virus, Mr Hazzard warned young people not to assume the virus was unable to harm them, noting that a quarter of the state’s cases are under the age of 29.
“For those young people, I keep hearing messages that young people think this isn’t going to affect them,” he said.
“I want to make some very clear points. It can affect young people, and it
is currently affecting young people. Out of the 2580 cases that we have in New South Wales at the moment, there are 565 people under the age of 29.
“That’s 26 per cent, that’s about a quarter of all the cases in New South Wales are people under 29. And in fact, there’s 105 cases of under 19.”
“Take it seriously is my message to young people. Take it very seriously.”
Mr Hazzard also revealed 39 patients are in ICU, with 23 in need of ventilators and slammed people who have shown abusive behaviour towards health care workers, as well as Australians trying to go on a “sneaky holiday”.
READ MORE: Australia, you’ve changed
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.00am: Vic healthworkers to get ‘hotels for heroes’
The Victorian government will spend $20 million to provide “hotels for heroes”, offering to pay the cost of a hotel room for healthcare workers who have to self-isolate in the event they either contract COVID-19 or suspect they have contracted the illness, with Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday noting that health workers belong to a high-risk category.
The move comes as the number of cases in Victoria increased by twenty overnight, bringing the state’s total to 1135.
“The Government is going to provide $20 million to purchase a range of hotel rooms so that front-line healthcare workers, indeed, anyone across the public health system who
has a public facing role who tests positive or has to isolate because they may be positive to COVID-19, we’ll put them up in a hotel room - no cost to them,” he said.
“This will be a matter of their choice. Many will choose to avail themselves of that hotel room option because they might live with older people. They might live in a share house with a range of other workers.
“So we don’t think that if you have COVID-19, or you have to isolate because you may have COVID-19, principally because of the work you’re doing, we don’t think that it’s fair that you would have to go and self isolate in a hotel room, and potentially, potentially incur very significant expense.”
Health minister Jenny Mikakos said the scheme may potentially benefit up to 8000 healthcare workers, not just nurses and doctors.
“So cooks and cleaners, doctors and nurses, all of those dedicated health professionals who have that front-line patient contact that might be exposed to coronavirus, will be able to spend time separately to their families to make sure that they can keep their families safe as they recuperate and get back to the front-line,” she said.
“We anticipate that this program may support potentially up to about 8,000 healthcare workers.”
The Premier also warned Victorians to abide by social distancing rules, expressing his disappointment that Victorian police have had to hand out 142 fines to residents disobeying strict rules introduced on Monday.
“For those, sadly, who are not doing the right thing - you will be caught,
you will be punished, because you are putting lives at risk,” he said.
“Stay at home, protect our health system and save lives. That’s what this is all about.”
READ MORE: What coronavirus does to your body
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.55am: Qld to produce 60,000 face masks a day
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has expanded the state’s capacity for face masks, revealing 60,000 N95 surgical masks will be produced every day in Brisbane for use by health authorities and essential personnel.
The announcement comes as the amount of cases in the state increased by seven to 907, with 119 of those cases linked to cruise ships.
“We know there is a huge international demand at the moment for face masks and they will be making the P-95 face masks here and pull production will be up and running in eight weeks,” Ms Palaszczuk said on Sunday from manufacturing firm Evolve Group’s Queensland facility.
Queensland Manufacturing Minister Cameron Dick said the move was just one step in expanding the capacity of the state to produce its own personal protective equipment.
“We started with hand sanitiser. We’re moving now into face masks and we’re working with other companies to stand up production of other important equipment that our
front-line workers need in Queensland,” Mr Dick said.
“This is a Queensland first. Our Government will be supporting the company as it looks to produce up to 60,000 face masks a day. That means this factory will have the capacity, when at full production, to produce more than 20 million face masks for our state each year.”
Ms Palasczuk also lambasted people in her state for ignoring social distancing rules, saying she will have “no choice” but to shut fresh food markets and other outdoor places if the rules are not better observed going forward.
“Yesterday we saw crowds at markets and, guys, it’s not on,” she said.
“If I see that happen again, they’re going to be shut down immediately. So I’m going to be talking with the Police Commissioner and if that happens again, it’s going to be shut down because people are not observing social distancing from each other.”
READ MORE: Paul Kelly writes: ‘Team Australia’ our new normal, for now
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.45am: Hazzard to give NSW virus update
NSW health minister Brad Hazzard and the state health department’s Dr Jeremy McAnulty will give an update on the coronavirus pandemic in the state at 11am AEST time.
The press conference is likely to be dominated by the issue of the Ruby Princess, following reports in the Sunday Telegraph that the NSW Port Authority backflipped on a decision not to allow the coronavirus-stricken ship to berth in Sydney on March 19.
The press conference can be viewed live on The Australian’s rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
READ MORE: NSW health chiefs defend handling of cruise ship outbreak
Elias Visontay 10.40am: McManus calls for wage subsidy expansion
Union chief Sally McManus will recommend Labor, Greens and the crossbench oppose changes to the Fair Work Act if the government pursues legislative changes to introduce its $130 billion wage subsidy, as cooperation between unions and the government over COVID-19 support appears to hit a snag.
The Australian Council of Trade Unions Secretary also heralded the “extraordinary moment” when the government announced the wage subsidy last week, but said she wanted to see it expanded so that casuals who had worked for less than 12 months, and anybody who “reasonably expected” to be working will be covered.
“We’re worried that if you change the rights of workers unfortunately some employers might abuse that,” Ms McManus told ABC’s Insiders.
Her comments, in favour of implementing the wage subsidy via the Fair Work Commission, comes after a major dispute arose between the Morrison government and Labor over the same issue.
Ms McManus said she had worked to make changes to awards affecting millions of workers in “about a week”, which proved the subsidy could “happen by cooperation, not by legislation”, also saying “not every instrument needs to change, not every enterprise agreement”.
“There’s lots of industries at the moment that aren’t affected, or are actually doing well under this crisis because they’ve got a lot more business. You think about all of the utilities still working. There’s no need to change those agreements and if you have it imposed on workers, well then some employers unfortunately might take advantage of it.
“So we believe everything can be done without changing the current system. Remember the Fair Work Act is workers’ rights. Just don’t tinker with those workers’ rights, we can make this happen.”
READ MORE: Split over $130bn wage rescue
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.25am: Vic parents to get free kindergarten
Parents in Victoria will be able to send their children to preschool, or sessional kindergarten, for free during term two of the school year under a $45 million scheme that will keep the sector viable during the coronavirus pandemic.
The extra funding will help keep preschool and kindergarten services afloat as the number of children attending the institutions drop and ensures parents in economic strife do not have to worry about paying fees, said Victorian Education Minister James Merlino.
“We’re making sure Victorian children can still go to kinder and get an early childhood education during this difficult period, without parents worrying about fees,” he said on Sunday.
“This will save jobs, save kinders and save families hundreds of dollars.”
Up to 15 hours of kinder care a week will now be free at community based, local government based and school based providers under the scheme.
READ MORE: Quilty eager to draw us out
Agencies 10.20am: China records 30 new virus cases
China has recorded 30 new coronavirus cases, up from 19 a day earlier as the number of cases involving travellers from abroad as well as local transmissions increased.
The National Health Commission said in a statement on Sunday that 25 of the cases reported on Saturday involved those who entered the country from abroad, compared with 18 such cases reported a day earlier.
The mainland has now reported a total of 81,669 cases, while the death toll has risen by three to 3329.
Reuters
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.55am: Dutton warns against dodgy home test kits
Peter Dutton has warned Australians against using imported “home” coronavirus testing kits that could pose a serious risk to public health.
On Sunday the home affairs minister revealed that a number of these kits have been intercepted by the Australian Border Force over the past few weeks, and said their usage could undermine the work of health professionals by providing false negatives.
“Inaccurate results could prevent people from seeking the medical help they need, or alternatively, discourage people who should be self-isolating from doing so,” Mr Dutton said in a statement, adding that the Therapeutic Goods Administration has not approved the test kids as medical devices.
“Our ABF officers at the border are on alert for any unauthorised or homemade COVID-19 products and they will continue working day and night to ensure these dangerous goods don’t make it into Australian households and communities,” Mr Dutton said.
The ABF intercepted 200 test kits that originated from China in Perth on March 16 and subsequently identified a further 89 kits across the country that originated from Hong Kong.
Mr Dutton said the only approved tests for COVID-19 in Australia are laboratory based tests or tests that can be used by health professionals at the point of care such as in hospitals or clinics.
READ MORE: Hibernation versus elimination
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.40am: Queen to give rare address to Britain
The Queen is set to address Britain on Sunday (Monday AEST) for only the fifth time in her 68-year reign in order to praise the “self-discipline” of the nation and the bravery of frontline health workers.
The address, due to be broadcast at 8pm GMT 5am AEST) is described as a “deeply personal” message in which the 94-year-old monarch will reflect on her own personal struggles in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and urge the nation to go about their lives in “good-humoured resolve” like their forebears did in times of crisis.
Speaking about the challenges ahead, she will say: “I am speaking to you at what I know is an increasingly challenging time. A time of disruption in the life of our country: a disruption that has brought grief to some, financial difficulties to many, and enormous changes to the daily lives of us all.
“I hope in the years to come everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. And those who come after us will say that the Britons of this generation were as strong as any. That the attributes of self-discipline, of quiet good-humoured resolve and of fellow-feeling still characterise this country.”
The message will also include a thank you to those on the frontline of the NHS and those in essential roles and will recognise the pain felt by the friends and families of the 4,313 Britons who have already died from the virus.
The message was recorded at Windsor Castle where the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, 98, are staying for the foreseeable future.
The message was filmed with the utmost caution in order to strictly observe social distancing rules.
Apart from the annual Christmas address, the Queen rarely speaks to the nation in such a formalised manner.
The last time she gave a televised address was at the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. Previously, she did so during the Gulf War in 1991, on the eve of Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997 and on the death of the Queen Mother in 2002.
READ MORE: It’s lonely at the top as nation locks down
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.30am: Cruise ship Aussie in hospital in Miami
An Australian is one of four passengers rushed to hospital after the coronavirus-stricken Coral Princess cruise ship docked in Miami Florida on Saturday, following the death of two passengers before arrival.
Miami Mayor Carlos Gimenez told reporters that The Australian man will be treated in Larkin Community Hospital.
“There are two people who will be transferred to Larkin,” he said.
“One is American. One is Australian...there are two Americans who will be transferred to a hospital in Tampa.
“We originally had six, but apparently two passed away on the way in.”
The Coral Princess, operated by Princess Cruises, had seven of the 1020 passengers contract coronavirus and five of the 878 crew as it cruised around South America, with the ultimate destination of Buenos Aires on March 19.
As the pandemic took hold of the world, multiple countries denied entry to the cruise liner until Mayor Gimenez consented to allowing the ship to dock at Port Miami, on the condition that Princess arrange for charter flights for all well foreign nationals.
READ MORE: Baffling explanation for Ruby Princess debacle
Elias Visontary 9.25am: Littleproud praises ‘brave’ liner biosecurity officers
Agriculture minister David Littleproud has defended the role of “brave” biosecurity officers who handed out COVID-19 information sheets to passengers disembarking the Ruby Princess cruise ship in Sydney.
Mr Littleproud said the officers “put their hand up” to enter often infectious vessels and planes, and that they take medical advice from experts.
“Let me make it clear that biosecurity officers that are involved in any of the actions around COVID-19, none of those personnel have medical qualifications,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News.
“They are not medically trained, they do not make medical assessments, they do not make medical recommendations.
“These brave men and women put their hand up to be the first ones to enter, whether it be ships, or planes to go on and to hand out the messages and to make sure that people understood their responsibilities and under COVID-19, to handout face masks where required, and to actually take those that were showing symptoms and to isolate them into quarantine areas where then state health officials would then go and treat them.
“Biosecurity personnel that were out there have been the ones that have bravely put their hand up to be at the front line. They don’t have any medical expertise but they’ve done it to serve the nation and to do what they have been asked to by those that have the medical degrees and profession that would give us and the nation the best advice.”
READ MORE: Mammoth operation to send cruise ships home
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.20am: Spain set to surpass Italy as new epicentre
Spain has surpassed Italy in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases and is set to become the new epicentre of the pandemic in Europe as the daily death toll in Italy begins to slow.
On Sunday, Spain had 124,870 confirmed cases of the virus to Italy’s 124,632. Although the number of active cases is still higher in Italy, Spain is preparing to extend its nation-wide lockdown by 15 more days to April 26 to further reduce the growth of the disease.
In the last 24 hours the country’s death toll rose by 809 to 11,744 - considerably less than Friday’s toll of 932 and Thursday’s 950, according to the Spanish Health Ministry.
Spain is still runner-up to Italy for total fatalities, with the Mediterranean nation’s death toll increasing by 682 on Saturday to pass 15,000. However, the daily rate of infections and deaths have fallen to the point where packed intensive care units are seeing some relief, with 74 ICU beds in use over the past day nationwide.
Civil protection chief Angelo Borrelli said the dip in ICU saturation was “important news because it allows our hospitals to breathe.”
Nevertheless, officials say the emergency is still very much under way, and that the infection curve remains at a plateau, not yet beginning its hoped-for decline.
READ MORE: UK urged to consider ‘herd immunity’
Elias Visontay 9.00am: Infection curve may dip ‘within weeks’
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth has foreshadowed that Australia’s already flattening COVID-19 infection curve could begin to dip “within weeks” if efforts to trace the contacts of community transmission cases are effective.
“Well we’ve all seen the images out of Italy and the United States...it could have been a lot worse if (Australia’s) measures hadn’t started taking effect, particularly the restrictions on our travelers have been the major point of impact so far,” Dr Coatsworth told Sky News.
“Now it’s about making sure that some 10 per cent of cases that we don’t have known contacts within the community, the so called community cases, that those cases are found, that those Australians are put into quarantine, and that the contact tracing to find out who they may have transmitted to is as effective and as efficient as possible.
“If we do that, then we would hope that within weeks, to a few months, we might actually see a dip in the curve as well.”
Dr Coatsworth said testing was beginning to treat Australian COVID-19 patients with repurposed medications, including those traditionally used to treat malaria, parasitic infections, and HIV treatments.
However he said that as widespread clinical trials had not yet produced evidence of how effective the medications are, none have emerged as a “silver bullet” for doctors treating coronavirus.
Dr Coatsworth also said 10 million surgical masks have arrived in Australia in the last eight days. Personal protective equipment supplies are improving to a level that authorities are now considering whether they can expand which types of healthcare workers they can offer masks to.
“There is enough personal protective equipment in this country right now,” he said.
“In fact we’ve taken in the past eight days the delivery of 10 million surgical masks. So whilst we have to be cautious about our supply lines, in a pandemic everybody’s looking for these masks, but 10 million is a substantial number, and we’ve got our modelers looking at this as we speak to see whether we can offer more of our healthcare workers surgical masks.”
On the timeline for social isolation restrictions, Dr Coatsworth said “it is far too soon” to know when measures will be lifted.
“There are three possibilities, that the restrictions get relaxed, that they have to continue in the current form, or they have to be more stringent. And we actually don’t know yet which one of those we have to do.
“It wouldn’t be advisable to give Australians any other advice, other than ‘you are doing a fantastic job, we have to keep it up’, and as soon as we know which of those possibilities we have to go down we will let the Australian public know”
Christine Kellett 8.30am CSIRO to begin clinical trials
The CSIRO is ready to begin clinical trials on a COVID-19 vaccine, the ABC reports.
Professor Trevor Drew, the CSIRO’s Director of the Australian Animal Health Laboratory said scientists, including those from private companies, had been working on developing a vaccine for months, since the Chinese government released genetic sequencing of COVID-19 at the beginning of the outbreak. However, he said it would not be rushed.
“We do have to be quite careful in how we interpret the data,” Professor Drew said.
He also cast doubt on the rush to blame the endangered pangolin as the species to blame for the virus spreading from animals to humans.
“If I was a betting man, I would say pangolins are not involved,” he said.
Agencies 8.15am: Five-year-old dies of COVID-19 in Britain
Britain on Saturday reported a record 708 daily deaths from COVID-19, including a five-year-old child, who is thought to be the country’s youngest victim.
The health ministry said 4,313 people who tested positive for the virus in hospital had died, while there were 41,903 confirmed cases by Saturday, up 3,735.
The toll has been steadily increasing by more than 500 deaths a day this week and the country is bracing for an expected peak in the next week to 10 days.
A total of 637 of the latest deaths were in England, the National Health Service (NHS) said.
“Patients were aged between five years and 104 years old. 40 of the 637 patients (aged between 48 and 93 years old) had no known underlying health condition,” it said in a statement.
The NHS said it would not be giving further information about the five-year-old patient at the request of the family.
A 13-year-old boy from London, Ismail Mohamed Abdulwahab, died last week, days after testing positive for COVID-19. His family said he had no underlying illnesses.
Senior minister Michael Gove told a daily briefing that the teenager’s mother and siblings were now showing symptoms.
I have written to all leaders of opposition parties to invite them to work together at this moment of national emergency. pic.twitter.com/HgEsMo3DO2
— Boris Johnson #StayHomeSaveLives (@BorisJohnson) April 4, 2020
The overall death toll now included seven healthcare professionals, he added. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is in self-isolation after developing mild symptoms of the disease, ordered a three-week lockdown of the country on March 23 to try to cut infections. Mr Johnson’s pregnant partner Carrie Symonds has also developed symptoms.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has warned against any relaxation in social distancing, saying: “If we do, people will die.”
Imperial College London epidemiologist Neil Ferguson, who is advising the government, told BBC radio on Saturday a peak was expected around the Easter weekend.
“We still think things will plateau but we’ll be at quite high levels of infection for weeks and weeks rather than seeing quite a rapid decline as the type seen in China,” he said.
Agencies 8am: National snapshot: NSW remains worst hit
* Confirmed cases in Australia: 5548. NSW is the worst hit with 2493 as of Saturday night.
* Australian deaths: 30 (12 in NSW, eight in Vic, three in Qld, three in WA, two in Tas, two in ACT).
* 287,000 people have been tested
* The number of global coronavirus cases has passed one million.
Agencies 7.45am France to begin clinical trials on antibodies treatment
France is to begin clinical trials involving transfusions of blood plasma from coronavirus survivors into patients who have severe symptoms in a bid to treat the illness, the institutions involved said Saturday.
Drugmakers are racing to develop a vaccine and treatment for the pandemic, which has killed over 60,000 people since the coronavirus first emerged in China in December.
Plasma, the fluid in blood teeming with antibodies post-illness, has already proven effective in small studies to treat infectious diseases including Ebola and SARS.
The French trials are to start on Tuesday, according to a joint statement from the Paris hospital authority AP-HP, the national medical research institute INSERM, and the national blood service EFS.
“This clinical trial involves the transfusion of plasma from patients who have recovered from COVID-19, containing antibodies against the virus, and who could transfer this immunity to a patient suffering from COVID-19,” it said.
“The plasma of the people who have recovered contains these antibodies that their organisms have developed. These antibodies could help patients in an acute stage of the disease to fight the virus.”
The trials will involve 60 patients in Paris hospitals, half of whom will receive the plasma from the persons who have recovered.
READ MORE: COVID-19 ‘elite’ — why outcomes are better in some countries than others
Agencie s 7.15am: Trump warns toughest virus weeks ahead
President Donald Trump says the United States is heading into what could be its “toughest” weeks as coronavirus cases swell nationwide and warned states not to inflate their needs for critical medical equipment.
“There will be a lot of death, unfortunately. There will be death,” Mr Trump said in a sombre start to his Saturday briefing on the pandemic.
“We’re going to be adding a tremendous amount of military to help,” Mt Trump said. He added that 1000 military personnel were being sent to New York City, including military doctors and nurses.
The goal was to stay several days ahead of critical medical needs in each state. But he also suggested that states were asking for more medical supplies than they really needed.
“The fears of the shortages have led to inflated requests,” Mr Trump said. Louisiana officials have said New Orleans is on track to run out of ventilators by next week. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose state is at the epicentre of the national pandemic with over 113,700 confirmed cases, has pleaded for ventilators for days and lambasted what he has said is insufficient help from the federal government. New York is poised to get more than 1100 ventilators from China and Oregon.
Mr Trump also revisited a familiar message, saying he wants to get the economy up and running as soon as possible. At one point during the unfolding outbreak, Trump said he had hoped to open up businesses by Easter, April 12. He later acknowledged that was not possible, ceding the month of April after seeing rising death toll projections.
“We have to vanquish the virus as quickly as we can. ... We have to get back to work,” he said.
The number of people infected in the US has exceeded 300,000, with the death toll climbing past 8100; more than 3500 of those deaths are in New York. Much of the country is under orders to stay home, including professional sports leagues that were among the first to clamp down in the pandemic.
READ MORE: Conservatives ride big government in tough times
Agencies 7am: ‘Infected’ man charged with spitting at police
A man who allegedly spat in the face of a police officer while claiming to be infected with the coronavirus has been arrested on the NSW south coast. Police said the 37-year-old Nowra man punched a senior constable in the face and then spat at the injured officer during a struggle about 8.30am on Saturday. The man, who faces charges including assaulting and intimidating police, was refused bail and is due to appear in Nowra Local Court on Sunday.
READ MORE: What coronavirus does to your body
Christine Kellett 6.45am: Ruby Princess docking decision overturned
The NSW Port Authority initially denied the infected cruise ship Ruby Princess permission to dock at Sydney’s Circular Quay but the decision was overturned after a series of “panicked” late night phone calls.
The Sunday Telegraph reports cruise ship staff who called for ambulances to meet the ship needed to take precautions because it was possible two passengers had been swabbed for COVID-19 and might have it. A health log obtained by the newspaper shows the Ruby Princess had at least 17 passengers on board with temperatures over 38C when it sought permission to dock at Sydney Harbour on March 18.
Despite initially denying the the ship entry, the NSW Port Authority then overturned its own decision after a series of calls between the ship and NSW Ambulance officers, and the cruise liner came into port about 2.30am on March 19, before 2700 passengers and crew were allowed to disembark. The ship is now considered the single biggest source of coronavirus spread in Australia and seven people are dead.
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard and chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant faced intense questioning yesterday over why NSW Health officials allowed passengers to disembark despite some displaying respiratory illness and without awaiting COVID-19 testing. Dr Chant said officials believed it was only a flu outbreak on board and decision making could have been “wiser” in hindsight.
A NSW Police investigation into the debacle is underway.
READ MORE: Baffling explanation for cruise fiasco
Agencies 6am: Battle not over, despite slowdown in new cases
Australians have been urged not to get carried away as the rate of new coronavirus cases slows, with the deputy chief medical officer insisting the health crisis is not over.
There were 5544 cases of COVID-19 across the country as of Saturday, with the death toll rising to 30 after a woman in her 70s died in Victoria, and the death of a man in his 80s — later confirmed to be the father-in-law of Labor MP Ged Kearney — at Canberra Hospital.
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said the daily rate of case increases is less than they were a week ago, and reflect measures taken to stop the spread of the virus.
But he urged against thinking Australia was through the crisis, insisting we were “definitely” not.
It comes as Health Minister Greg Hunt said the government is providing $220 million to upgrade a CSIRO biosecurity research facility in Geelong to assist testing for a potential COVID-19 vaccine.
In Queensland, five men have been charged for non-essential travel to a remote community in the north of the state. And Victorian citizens continue to flout coronavirus restrictions, with police slapping yesterday 25 more people with fines. — AAP
READ MORE: Janet Albrechtsen — Labor tone deaf to the working class
Dominic Sanda 5.45am: Five cruise ships to be sent to home ports
A police operation to return five cruise ships to their home ports has been undertaken in Sydney as the NSW government faces increased scrutiny over its handling of the Ruby Princess coronavirus scandal.
The Spectrum of the Seas and the Radiance of the Seas departed for their home ports on Saturday afternoon after fuel, food and medical supplies were loaded on board.
More than 600 crew members, who are foreign nationals, were moved between the two ships during the operation in Sydney Harbour.
A third ship, the Celebrity Solstice, entered the harbour on Saturday afternoon with another two — Voyager of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas — expected to follow.
Another 780 crew will be moved between the boats before all three depart. Superintendent Steve Hegarty described it as the “largest peace time maritime operation” undertaken in Sydney Harbour.
It comes as NSW Labor called for the state’s Health Minister Brad Hazzard to resign over the Ruby Princess scandal, with the opposition labelling it “one of the greatest health disasters” in NSW history.
The NSW Government is responsible for the Ruby Princess debacle - emails reveal they knew of the #coronavirus risk but allowed 2700 people to leave the boat anyway. This is a scandal and there MUST be accountability for it. @australian #nswpol #auspol https://t.co/o8wC09RZWU
— Troy Bramston (@TroyBramston) April 3, 2020
Mr Hazzard on Saturday backed staff who allowed the Ruby Princess cruise ship to disembark in Sydney despite knowing results from onboard swab tests would be known within hours.
More than 600 passengers onboard have since tested positive for COVID-19, including 351 NSW residents. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller is investigating the handling of the saga.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases increased by 104 on Saturday, bringing the state’s total to 2493. — AAP
EXCLUSIVE: Explosive emails obtained by The Weekend Australian show NSW Health officials dismissed any concern about the health of passengers aboard what is now the nation’s biggest source of COVID-19 infection.https://t.co/Iocj5N02n5
— The Australian (@australian) April 3, 2020
READ MORE: Revealed — Ruby Princess told officials of COVID-19 illnesses
Marnie Banger 5.30am: Third Tasmanian hospital worker becomes infected
Staff and patients at a hospital in Tasmania’s North West may need to be tested for coronavirus after a third worker at the facility was confirmed as having the virus.
The woman in her 20s, who works at North West Regional Hospital in Burnie, was one of two fresh cases of COVID-19 in Tasmania confirmed on Saturday evening.
The other was a girl from Tasmania’s north, with the latest cases bringing the total number in the state to 82. Two staff members at North West Regional Hospital had already been confirmed as having the virus on Friday.
Tasmanian Chief Medical Officer Professor Tony Lawler said an investigation had begun to identify and contact anyone who had close interactions with the woman, who is aged in her 20s.
Earlier, the state’s deputy premier Jeremy Rockliff said an investigation was also underway into how North West Regional Hospital staff had contracted the virus. He also urged people not to be complacent.
“We must continue to do everything we can to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our community. This means staying home. Staying at home will save lives,” he said. — AAP
READ MORE: What coronavirus does to your body
Agencies 5.15am: China sends 1000 ventilators to New York hospitals
New York is poised to get more than 1100 ventilators from China and Oregon as it scrambles to line up more breathing machines for the sickest coronavirus patients, state governor Andrew Cuomo says.
The Chinese government and billionaires Jack Ma and Joseph Tsai, the co-founders of the online marketplace Alibaba, facilitated a gift of 1000 ventilators that would arrive later this week, Cuomo said.
We finally got some good news today.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 4, 2020
The Chinese government helped facilitate a donation of 1,000 ventilators that will arrive in JFK today.
I thank the Chinese government, Jack Ma, Joe Tsai, the Jack Ma Foundation, the Tsai Foundation and Consul General Huang.
He said the state of Oregon had volunteered to send 140 more breathing machines. In addition, the NBA is contributing 1 million surgical masks.
NEW: The @NBA is contributing 1 million desperately needed surgical masks for New York's essential workers in collaboration with @nyknicks, @BrooklynNets and China's Consul General Huang Ping.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 4, 2020
New York thanks you.
We are beyond grateful for this gift of critically needed PPE.
Cuomo had said on Thursday that the state’s stockpile of ventilators would be exhausted in six days if the number of critically ill coronavirus patients kept growing at the current rate.
New York is the pandemic’s US epicentre, with more than 113,700 confirmed cases as of Saturday morning.
More than 3500 people have died across the state and about 15,000 coronavirus patients are hospitalised.
More than 4100 are in intensive care — many, if not all, of them needing ventilators.
Coronavirus-related illnesses killed 630 people in the past day in New York, Cuomo said on Saturday, in the worst 24 hours yet for the US state. The United States has the world’s highest number of known cases of COVID-19, the flu-like respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. — AP
We’re going to get through this because we are #NewYorkTough. @convictsnyc pic.twitter.com/gA8tz6mIHB
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 4, 2020
READ MORE: UK urged to consider ‘herd immunity’
Agencies 5am: Trudeau calls for Trump co-operation on N95 masks
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Canada would not bring retaliatory or punitive measures against the United States after the Trump administration announced it would prevent the export of N95 protective masks.
Mr Trudeau said he will speak to President Donald Trump in the coming days. He said his officials were having constructive conversations with American officials.
Mr Trump announced late Friday he would prevent the export of N95 protective masks to ensure they were available in the US.
“We know it is in both our countries interests to co-operate,” Mr Trudeau said, noting that Canada shipped gloves and testing kits to the US, while materials for the N95 masks originated in Canada. Canadian nurses also cross the bridge in Windsor to work in the Detroit medical system everyday.
READ MORE: Will Glasgow — hibernation vs elimination
Staff writers 4.45am: ‘Don’t let figures become nameless statistics’ — MP
Federal Labor MP Ged Kearney has revealed that her father-in-law is the 30th Australian to die from coronavirus.
Ms Kearney posted a message on Facebook on Saturday night urging people to maintain vigilance in order to curb the virus spread.
She said her partner’s 82-year-old father, Mike, had passed away suddenly seven days after being admitted to hospital.
“You see that 30th person was Mike, my father in law. My partner Leigh’s much loved and loving father,” Ms Kearney wrote.
“He was 82 years old, and had done his best to isolate. In fact I believe he only went outside a couple of times in the whole month to shop.
“We actually teased him because he had bought 5kgs of rice and 10 tins of chic peas and 10 cans of tomatoes — for just him and his lovely wife Wendy. Panic buying we said! But of course it was the right thing to do.
“He became ill quite suddenly, was admitted to hospital and 7 days later he died.”
READ MORE: Greg Sheridan — Coronavirus will kill ideology in politics
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Food Code’s Chris Leptos spends his days arbitrating disputes between suppliers and supermarkets, but after hours he’s part of an international group helping to ease the plight of Ukrainians.
Pesutto in last-ditch race to save role
Embattled Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto is facing a likely spill motion next week as foes mull how to engineer a bloodless coup.