Coronavirus Australia live updates: New cluster emerges at aged care facility, Investigators revealed Tasmanian cluster dinner link
Nine staff and residents at an aged-care facility in western Sydney have tested positive for COVID-19 after a worker continued to care for residents despite showing symptoms.
- New cluster emerges at aged care facility
- Investigators revealed Tas cluster dinner link
- Police admit mistakes with social distancing fines
- CMO retracts ‘illegal’ dinner party claim
- Premier calls in police to probe dinner party
- Calls for Ruby Princess royal commission
- Trump: ‘I’ll make call on reopening US’
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Nine staff and residents at an aged-care facility in western Sydney have tested positive for COVID-19 after a worker continued to care for residents despite showing symptoms. The source of Brendan Murphy’s retracted comments regarding an ‘illegal dinner party’ of health workers he linked to an outbreak has been revealed. Police have admitted to mistakes as they enforce social distancing laws. Scott Morrison says it’s too early to lift the lockdown.
Imogen Reid 9.09pm: New cluster emerges at aged care facility
Nine staff and residents at an aged-care facility in western Sydney have tested positive for COVID-19 after a worker continued to care for residents despite showing symptoms of the virus.
NSW Health revealed a female health carer worked six shifts at the Anglicare Newmarch House in Caddens, which was placed in lockdown on Saturday after she tested positive.
A further five staff members and four residents have since contracted the virus.
Another four residents of the Greystanes Disability Services complex in nearby Jamisontown and six staff have been isolated as the same health carer also worked two shifts at that facility while infectious.
A statement issued by Anglicare Sydney on Monday revealed it was advised by the NSW Public Health Unit late on Saturday a staff member who had been working at Anglicare’s Newmarch House had tested positive for coronavirus.
Anglicare said they were also advised on 12 April that a resident tested on 10 April returned a positive result and that they were waiting for the result for a second patient.
An Anglicare spokeswoman said: “All residents in the home are in self-isolation in their own rooms. Staff who have been in close contact with either the resident or affected staff member are self-isolating at home, self-monitoring for symptoms, and will be tested if they show any symptoms.”
The federal government released strict guidelines for COVID-19 outbreaks in residential care on March 13, a week after an employee at BaptistCare’s Dorothy Henderson Lodge in Sydney’s Macquarie Park was confirmed to have contracted the virus. Six residents have since died.
READ MORE: Fear of deadly surge at aged-care homes
Richard Ferguson 4.10pm: Tassie ‘dinner party’ link spread by locals
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy first heard about an “illegal dinner party” of health workers he prematurely linked to a major coronavirus outbreak from Tasmanian health investigators.
Professor Murphy has retracted comments he made to a New Zealand parliamentary committee earlier today blaming 49 cases in Tasmania’s north-west on health workers breaking social distancing rules.
Deputy chief medical officer Paul Kelly said in Canberra that his superior first heard the dinner party theory from investigators on the ground.
“Whilst this possibility had previously been mentioned to him (Professor Murphy) following initial investigations, he was informed that the contact tracing was not yet confirmed and that such a dinner party had not occurred,” Dr Kelly said.
“So he has retracted that statement or clarified that statement in relation to that.
“In terms of the ongoing investigation in north-west Tasmania, surveillance is part of that, these things are taken onboard and if it’s just a rumour they’ll discount it. As Professor Murphy has done as well now.”
Professor Murphy was earlier slapped down by Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein and the Nurses Federation for mentioning the dinner party rumour in the New Zealand briefing.
READ MORE: Murphy retracts ‘dinner party’ link to Tasmanian cluster
Elias Visontay 3.59pm: We’re in a much better place: Deputy CMO
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has welcomed consistent new infection numbers as full-scale testing resumes after Easter, thanking Australians for adhering to social restrictions over the long weekend.
Dr Kelly reiterated that Australia’s infection curve had flattened, but said the lifting of social restrictions would require “a very difficult and balanced decision that needs to be made by a government”.
He said September would represent the end of the six-month window the government has mentioned as the length of social restrictions, but said it was only “an indicative time”.
“To be honest we’re in a much better place than I thought we would be at this point. So how that translates into the future is still a crystal ball thing. And we need to take onboard our improving modelling, our improving epidemiological understanding of this virus.”
On Australian research into COVID-19 immunity, Dr Kelly said: “Most other countries in the world are still concentrating on the very sick people in their hospitals, in their intensive care units. Whereas we have an opportunity now to look more broadly across society and really get a sense of how many people may have been exposed to the virus and how many of those have developed immunity.”
“What we don’t know yet is how long that immunity lasts. We don’t know whether a vaccine will come and when or how successful that vaccine may be in giving lifelong immunity.”
He also said health authorities “are very much interested” in smartphone app technology and had begun investigating apps to assist in coronavirus contact tracing.
READ MORE: Apple, Google detail COVID plans
Victoria Laurie 3.45pm: Healthcare workers to join vaccine trial
At least 2000 healthcare workers in Western Australia will help test whether existing BCG vaccines against tuberculosis can reduce their chance of COVID-19 infection or lessen the severity of symptoms.
Frontline staff in three of the state’s biggest hospitals will receive BCG vaccinations at the same time as getting their annual influenza shot, with around 500 staff at Perth Children’s Hospital lining up for inoculations this week.
Around 750 staff each from Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital and Fiona Stanley Hospitals will also participate in the randomised clinical trial, which is being led nationally by Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Victoria. It will recruit another 2000 participants at sites in Melbourne.
Health Minister Roger Cook said the trial will test if BCG vaccine, which is known to boost immunity against a range of infections, has a similar effect on COVID-19.
READ MORE: How brilliant Boris captured heart of a nation
Victoria Laurie 2.58pm: Single new case recorded in WA
Western Australia has recorded a single COVID-19 positive case overnight, as well as three new cases among foreign crew members from the Artania cruise ship still docked in Fremantle.
It brings to 527 the number of coronavirus cases in WA, with the new cases affecting individuals between the ages of 31 and 58.
The state’s total number of cruise ship-related cases stands at 209, with the Ruby Princess responsible for 53 cases and 75 for the Artania.
Health Minister Roger Cook says the single new West Australian case is welcome, but he has also flagged “more widespread and aggressive testing” of the general population in coming days.
READ MORE: Back to work, school top priority: PM
Lachlan Moffet Gray 2.35pm: Ten per cent of Ruby Princess crew test positive
More than ten per cent of the crew aboard the Ruby Princess have tested positive for coronavirus, with NSW Health confirming on Tuesday that 128 of the roughly 1040 crew members on board have contracted the disease.
Of the 128 confirmed cases, 69 are symptomatic and 59 are asymptomatic, although NSW Health said all symptoms are mild, “with many close to recovery.”
NSW Health also said 11 crew members remain in Sydney health facilities, having been removed from the ship over the past few weeks after exhibiting serious symptoms.
No further deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours, although 32 patients are in ICU with 19 requiring the assistance of ventilators.
The Health Department also revealed that two close contacts of a health care worker at the Anglicare Newmarch House aged care centre in the western Sydney suburb of Caddens are exhibiting symptoms, one being a resident of the facility who has tested positive, and the other contact’s status pending results.
Thirty one staff and 66 residents have been isolated, while four residents of the Greystanes Disability Services complex in the suburb of Jamisontown and six staff have been isolated as the COVID-19 positive healthcare worker attended two shifts at the facility while potentially infectious.
READ MORE: Cruise line in frame for virus ship fallout
Elias Visontay 2.25pm: Treasurer rules out special Virgin rescue package
Josh Frydenberg has ruled out a Virgin-specific rescue package for the embattled airline, insisting any further government intervention to assist struggling airlines will be sector wide.
The Treasurer said talk of Virgin’s collapse was “speculating about the future and nobody knows where those issues will end up”.
Mr Frydenberg also acknowledged a projected rise in unemployment was “very concerning” but said Australia cannot preference economic action “ahead of the medical advice”, saying “to do so would be dangerous and unrealistic”.
“Australia’s been well served by having two major airlines operating in the domestic market. But Virgin and Qantas are both publicly listed companies, both with substantial shareholders,” Mr Frydenberg said.
“I know that obviously that sector has been very badly hit by the impact of the coronavirus and in both cases they continue to talk to their key shareholders about the road ahead.”
“We will support the aviation sector but we’re doing so with a sectoral wide approach,” he said, pointing to announcements that equally support the continuation of limited domestic flights between capital cities.
Mr Frydenberg also said the government has “no plans to change the GST”.
“We’re the party of lower taxes..Of course there will be a debt burden that will be left to pay for years to come. But we will approach those issues in the considered way that we have done in the past.”
He also said there had been more than 800,000 businesses register for the $130 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy, and that it was expected to help six million Australian workers. However he said Treasury modelling was unable to predict exactly how many casuals who have worked for their employer for less than 12 months would miss out on the $1500 a fortnight payment, saying the modelling on analysed the legislation that was passed last Wednesday.
READ MORE: Extended recession ahead: QBE
Remy Varga 1.55pm: Vic police admit mistakes with social distancing fines
Victoria Police deputy commissioner Shane Patton says officers are human and will make mistakes when enforcing new social distancing laws introduced to stop the spread of the coronavirus.
“We’re human, we’re not going to get everything right all the time and we’ll make mistakes,” he said on Tuesday.
“We made a mistake to issue to a person an infringement from a social media posting and that was withdrawn.
“We’re happy to admit when we get it wrong and that’s why I put in place a whole range of processes.”
Mr Patton sent an email out to sergeants of Monday urging caution when using their discretion to issue infringements to ensure it aligned with community expectations.
“We don’t have to use a sledgehammer to do this,” he said.
“We can do it through giving appropriate warnings to the public, appropriate guidance.”
Mr Patton said Victoria Police were issuing hundreds of warnings a day.
He said it was difficult for the social distancing laws to be prescriptive of every situation.
“The stay at home directions, the restricted activity directions, we’ll work through them and try and work through them as best we can,” he said.
“But none of those could be absolutely prescriptive for every scenario someone finds themselves in through these unprecedented times.”
Mr Patton announced that he will now review every infringement issued for breaches of social distancing to ensure commonsense is being applied.
“So on a daily basis when we review these, if some of those [fines] aren’t properly issued or they don’t pass that commonsense test, they will be withdrawn,” he said.
“We’ll adopt that approach effective from today.”
Mr Patton stressed Victoria Police weren’t weren’t issuing fines “for the fun of it”.
READ MORE: We got it wrong: Qld police review 496 fines
Angelica Snowden 1.40pm: CMO backtracks on ‘illegal dinner party’ claim
Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Brendan Murphy has walked back statements he made to a New Zealand Parliamentary Committee on Tuesday morning that blamed a cluster outbreak of coronavirus in two Tasmanian hospitals on an “illegal dinner party” hosted by healthcare workers.
The North West Regional and Private Hospitals in Burnie, Tasmania, have been closed by the state government for a deep clean after an outbreak of coronavirus at the facilities spread to at least sixty other people.
The region has been placed in lockdown and thousands of healthcare workers and their families have been placed in self-isolation.
On Tuesday morning Dr Murphy told his New Zealand Counterparts that 49 of these cases were linked to an “illegal dinner party” hosted by healthcare workers in the region.
Just hours later he issued a retraction, now saying there is no confirmation that such an event took place.
“This morning in discussions with a New Zealand Parliamentary Committee, I referred to the suggestion that a dinner party may have been the source of some of the transmission in the North West Tasmania cluster of cases,” the statement read.
“Whilst this possibility had previously been mentioned to me following initial investigations, I am now informed that the contact tracing has not confirmed that such a dinner party occurred.”
Tasmanian officials are continuing their investigations.
READ MORE: How brilliant Boris captured hreat of nation
Angelica Snowden 1.35pm: ACT’s coronavirus halts: no new cases
Health authorities in the ACT say no new cases have been reported in the last 24 hours.
The territory is sitting on 103 COVID-19 cases in total.
Health authorities also reported no further deaths, with the total remaining at two.
More than one quarter of the territory’s cases have recovered and been released from self isolation.
Nationally only 28 new cases of coronavirus have been reported today as the rate of new infections continues to flatten.
Elias Visontay 1.30pm: Albanese calls for more support for embattled Virgin Australia
Anthony Albanese has backed calls for the government to significantly step up its support for Virgin Australia, saying maintaining two major airlines is “a major challenge for our country” due to COVID-19.
The Opposition Leader’s comments come after Virgin Australia announced earlier on Tuesday it will go into a trading halt for the second time since the outbreak of coronavirus, following a board meeting on Monday night of its international shareholders.
“We have directly and indirectly some 15,000 people that are dependent upon Virgin Australia. “Our two airline system in Australia has served the country well. And today’s announcement of support for some flights (between capital cities) will not go anywhere near enough to what is actually required to ensure that the two airline system in Australia will be able to continue in the future,” Mr Albanese said.
“I’m particularly concerned about the idea being floated that somehow we can just get rid of cabotage, that arising out of a crisis in which all Australians have been reminded of the importance of Australia being able to control our own destiny, least of all in transport areas, that we would give up the right to determine who flies here in Australia must be Australian based domestic airlines, as is consistent with what happens just about everywhere in the entire world.
“The idea that a new airline will just step in if Virgin isn’t able to continue and take up that position is frankly a fantasy and we need to recognise that that is the case. So today I say to the government, stop the bits and pieces support, provide support for our airline industry, if that needs equity injections to ensure that that government investment by taxpayers is protected, then the government should go down that route.”
Mr Albanese also renewed Labor’s calls on Josh Frydenberg to expand eligibility for the $130 billion wage subsidy scheme to casuals who have worked for their employer for less than 12 months, and to more in the arts and entertainment industry.
On the Ruby Princess fiasco, Mr Albanese said: “there will be time for an appropriate inquiry at a very high level into this debacle”, which comes after Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie raised the idea of a royal commission into the handling of the cruise ship’s docking in Sydney.
READ MORE: Virgin goes into another trading halt
Wally Mason 1.25pm: No special treatment for NRL: PM
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the NRL won’t be given any “special arrangements” to aid their ambitious plan to recommence the season in May.
Morrison welcomed the NRL’s efforts to restart the suspended season after the shutdown due to the coronavirus pandemic, but warned against doing so hastily.
“I like the ambition. I like they are trying to get the show back on the road in some way,” Morrison said on Tuesday.
“It will be subject to health advice and there will be no special arrangements.”
Morrison’s comments cast serious doubt over the likelihood of the Warriors being granted an exemption to enter Australia.
READ MORE here.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 1.20pm: New Zealand’s deadliest day with four more deaths
New Zealand has experienced its deadliest day today, recording four coronavirus deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total toll to nine.
Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said three of the deaths were residents of the Rosewood Rest home in Christchurch, where a cluster outbreak of the virus has already killed three residents.
The fourth death was a Wellington man in his 70s who was admitted to hospital with the virus on March 22 and has been in ICU for an extended period, Dr Bloomfield said.
Despite the death, the country recorded just 8 confirmed new cases of the virus, and nine probable, leading Dr Bloomfield to declare that “I think it is clear we are past the peak under this alert level.”
The country has 1366 confirmed cases of the virus.
This week Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and her COVID-19 government committee will decide whether to peel back the level four alert level restrictions that have been in place since March 25.
The restrictions are far harsher than anything enacted in Australia, except perhaps in north west Tasmania, with all non-essential businesses and workplaces outside of supermarkets and pharmacies ordered to close.
Details on what “level three” will entail is due to be released on Thursday, but Ms Ardern said New Zealanders shouldn’t expect a drastic removal of restrictions.
“Take nothing as a given,” she told AM radio on Tuesday.
“We have made no decisions around our movements, but what I can tell you is that we won’t jump levels. We will transition through them when we come to move through them.”
READ MORE: Back to work, school top priority: PM
Rachel Baxendale 1.10pm: One infection can become 400, health minister warns
Victoria’s Health Minister has warned that one COVID-19 infection can result in 400 within a month if people are allowed to mix within the community, seeking to justify the state’s extension for a month from Sunday of its state of emergency and associated social distancing restrictions.
“If we have 200 people walking around the community that could be 80,000 people in one month, so I ask the community for their understanding and their cooperation as we go forward in responding to the COVID-19 process,” Jenny Mikakos said.
Victoria currently has approximately 200 people who are in self-isolation and yet to recover from coronavirus.
“I’m grateful to the overwhelming majority of Victorians who are doing the right thing,” Ms Mikakos said.
“That has meant that we are seeing a slowing down of new cases, but it’s not all over yet, so I ask the community to continue to follow the rules and the public health messages and stay home.
“We are of course planning about what the timing and what the restrictions lifting and restrictions might be applied, but now’s not the time to be doing that.
“At his point we have just extended the declaration of a state of emergency for a further four weeks, so we are asking all Victorians to continue doing the right thing.”
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Lachlan Moffet Gray 1pm: SA nurse working with virus patients tests positive
A nurse working with coronavirus patients at the Royal Adelaide Hospital has tested positive for COVID-19, SA health has confirmed.
The nurse — a female in her 20s — became symptomatic on April 10, was tested on April 12 and returned a positive test on Monday.
At least 23 close contacts have been ordered into self-isolation, including two doctors and 20 other RAH staff members but SA Health says patient care at the facility will not be compromised.
SA has not released any additional case confirmations as of noon Tuesday, and has recently experienced a dive in the growth rate of the virus, recording an increase of two on Monday and none on Sunday.
There have been 431 cases confirmed in the state, 14 of which are in hospital and six in the ICU at RAH.
Despite an observable flattening of the curve, state health authorities have flagged a continual increase in testing rates and the Royal Adelaide Show has been cancelled for the fifth time in its 181 year history.
The renowned agricultural show which was slated for early September was cancelled for public health reasons, Royal Agricultural and Horticultural Society of SA chief John Rothwell said on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Business confidence collapses
Agencies 12.50pm: China approves early human tests for two vaccines
China has approved early-stage human tests for two experimental vaccines to combat the new coronavirus that has killed over 100,000 people and infected more than two million worldwide. State media Xinhua has reported the vaccines are being developed by a Beijing- based unit of Nasdaq-listed Sinovac Biotech, and by the Wuhan Institute of Biological Products, an affiliate of state-owned China National Pharmaceutical Group.
In March, China gave the green-light for another clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine candidate developed by China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences and HK-listed biotech firm CanSino Bio, shortly after US drug developer Moderna said it had begun human tests for their vaccine with the US National Institutes of Health.
READ MORE: WHO warns on tobacco industry role in vaccine
AAP 12.40pm: Social restrictions must remain during winter: expert
One of Australia’s leading infectious disease experts believes coronavirus travel and social restrictions should remain in place throughout winter to prevent a fresh outbreak. And other measures may need to continue for up to two years. Peter Collignon from the Australian National University said the timing of the global pandemic meant the country had dodged the worst of COVID-19. “If you look at any respiratory virus, they transmit much more readily in winter,” he said. Professor Collignon expects an uptick in coronavirus cases as more people retreat inside and the weather cools.
“All the factors aren’t clear but what’s beyond doubt is viral infections, respiratory infections are more common in winter and early spring.” He believes rules rolled out since March had helped flatten the curve of coronavirus infections.
Australia has shut down its borders, returned visitors have been quarantined, hospitality businesses have been closed and social gatherings dramatically curtailed.
“All those things that are pretty drastic and put a million people out of work, we’re going to have to continue mostly till the end of winter,” Professor Collignon said.
He pointed to America and Europe, where winter saw many coronavirus cases go unrecognised initially. — AAP
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Rachel Baxendale 12.30pm: CHO open to police talks on social distancing
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer says he is “very open” to speaking with police to clarify his social distancing directives, after the state’s deputy commissioner wrote to police yesterday warning inconsistency and a lack of discretion in enforcing lockdown laws was eroding confidence in Victoria Police. Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton on Monday wrote to police, urging them to only issue fines for the most blatant and deliberate breaches of social distancing laws.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said he was happy to help clarify the rules for police, after infringement notices were issued and then withdrawn to an L-Plater having a driving lesson with her mother, a shiftworker washing his car at a legally open car wash, and a family who had posted photographs of a holiday which occurred a year ago.
“I’m very open to having ongoing conversations with the Deputy Commissioner or the Commissioner of Police to clarify any of those matters,” Professor Sutton said. “If police have any confusion about what the policy intent is, or about what the directions say, then our legal team and I am available to clarify that. Police have also been clear that if they have been applying findes in areas where they shouldn’t have then they will walk them back, and I think that’s appropriate.
“But the policy intent is pretty clear, it is if you can stay home, you must stay home, so I hope people have that front and centre in their minds and I think if you follow that one rule, then you’re not going to go wrong.”
Asked whether it was appropriate that funerals are being conducted in the presence of armed, uniformed police, Professor Sutton said the issue was “a matter for police”.
Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton said the 99 fines issued for social distancing breaches came after Victoria Police received 1,500 calls and 350 online reports by the public.
“We issue literally hundreds of warnings everyday,” he said.
READ MORE: $1600 fine withdrawn for L-plater
Angelica Snowden 12.15pm: Cluster of cases in Tasmania rises to 66
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein told reporters on Monday that he had to take the “extreme measure” of a two-week lockdown of the North West Regional Hospital and North West Private Hospital after more than 40 healthcare workers tested positive to COVID-19.
The cluster of cases linked with the north-west region outbreak is now up to 66.
“This is serious and we need to get on top of it and that is why we have taken the steps that we have to initially take over the North West Private Hospital,” he said. “To then move to close both the North West Private and the North West Regional Hospital, to put between 4,000 and 5,000 people into quarantine on the north-west coast.”
Australian Medical Assistance Teams and the Australian Defence Force are on their way to Tasmania to help set up a makeshift hospital in Burnie to help curb the spread of the virus.
READ MORE: Tougher quarantine amid Tas virus outbreak
Richard Ferguson 12pm: Labor calls on PM to take stake in Virgin
Labor has called for Scott Morrison to take a stake in Virgin, warning the airline may collapse within a week otherwise. Following Virgin’s trading halt, the opposition has firmed up its position on the government partly nationalising the airliner to ensure there are two major aviation carriers in Australia.
Opposition infrastructure spokesman Catherine King told Sky News that a government equity stake would protect both Australian jobs and competition. “If we don’t do something soon, this company will fall,” she said. “What you want to do is allow the government to take an equity stake now and that stock would be sold down and realised later when the company is in a profitable position later. It would potentially benefit the taxpayer in two ways: one, by keeping competition in the aviation sector and ensuring prices are kept down. And two; it would ensure 10,000 workers here in Australia remain employed.”
READ MORE: Virgin Australia in trading halt amid rescue hopes
Rachel Baxendale 11.40am: Victoria fast-tracks recruitment of paramedics
The Andrews government has moved to fast-track the recruitment of 120 extra paramedics amid the coronavirus pandemic. Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said the new ambos would hit the ground from next month, having had their commencement dates brought forward from next financial year. “This means Ambulance Victoria will have the resources it needs to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and flu season, while still providing the very best care to all Victorians, no matter what their condition is,” Ms Mikakos said.
“The boost will also increase capacity in Ambulance Victoria’s specialist areas, including the secondary triage service, where expert nurses and paramedics assess and provide advice to less serious cases.”
Ambulance Victoria has started the selection process and is aiming to recruit 60 staff in May and June. Victorian Ambulance Union secretary Danny Hill welcomed the announcement, but warned the COVID-19 pandemic represented a significant challenge for the new recruits who would be entering the job at a difficult time.
“The VAU have already advised the Minister’s office that sufficient numbers of clinical instructors need to be available to properly train and support the new graduates,” Mr Hill said.
“There will also need to be adequate supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) to ensure the new recruits are not exposed to COVID-19 patients.”
READ MORE: ‘Stick to protocols’ as nurse gives number
Angelica Snowden 11.30am: Premier calls in police to investigate dinner party
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein has branded claims about “illegal dinner party” of hospital workers that allegedly lead to a major coronavirus outbreak as “rumour’’, but he has called on police to investigate the matter.
Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy linked the cluster of 49 COVID-19 cases in Burnie with a dinner party that forced the closure of two hospitals and left up to 5000 Tasmanians quarantined.
“I want to deal with one matter that has made the media this morning,” the Premier said.
“I spoke to Brendan Murphy, a short while ago. To be frank, Brendan was commenting on a rumour,” he said. “At this stage… our contact tracing has not identified a dinner party of health workers.”
Mr Gutwein said that it was however a serious allegation and confirmed that police will investigate it. “I’ve asked the Tasmania Police to investigate this matter, and that will be started today,” he said.
The Premier reported six new COVID-19 cases since yesterday. He said all of them were in the north-west and all related to the North West Regional Hospital outbreak. There are now 150 confirmed cases in the state.
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Rachel Baxendale 11.20am: Victoria dramatically expands testing criteria
Victoria has today significantly expanded its testing criteria for COVID-19, in what Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says will give the state the “widest testing criteria in the nation”.
Anybody who has a fever or acute respiratory symptoms can now be tested at any of Victoria’s 40 public screening clinics, as well as at pop-up GP clinics across the state.
WA and Queensland have also made testing available to anyone with symptoms, but only at a limited number of locations, while NSW requires a clinician to judge a patient’s symptoms worthy of testing. Ms Mikakos said that as the number of returning overseas travellers decreased, the focus of testing needed to move to eradication of community transmissions.
“This will also help us to determine how we respond in terms of the (social distancing) restrictions going forward,” Ms Mikakos said. “We need to be confident that we’ve got community transmission under control before we will consider lifting those restrictions.
“Now’s the right time for us to be taking a new phase of testing, and to do this more open-ended testing, really honing in and tracking down every single person, who potentially could have COVID-19.”
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said he hoped the new testing regime would “find whatever is out there in terms of cases that might not have been detected to date.”
“I don’t think numbers will be huge, because I think people are doing the right thing and I think we are driving numbers down, but I would really hope that if there are cases out there that haven’t been detected up until now, that these broadened testing criteria allow us to find those cases, because that means that they can be isolated and their close contacts can be followed up, and that will drive cases down to zero, so that’s the rationale of widened testing,” Professor Sutton said.
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Angelica Snowden 11am: Ruby Princess probe only began a week ago
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the criminal investigation into the Ruby Princess fiasco has been ongoing for one month, but NSW Police confirmed the investigation formally began one week ago. At a press conference this morning, the Premier said the investigation would take another five months out of an expected six in total.
“We are one month into it so it will be in about five months time,” she said. However, NSW Police confirmed to The Australian that their investigation formally began on April 5.
In a statement sent last Thursday NSW Police confirmed an investigation was launched “earlier in the week” when detectives boarded the cruise ship on April 8 to speak to crew members and seize its black box.
“Earlier this week, NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller announced the commencement of a criminal investigation into the communications, actions, and other circumstances that led to the docking and disembarking of the vessel at Sydney Harbour on Thursday 19 March 2020,” the statement said. “About 7pm yesterday (Wednesday 8 April 2020), strike force detectives boarded the vessel to conduct inquiries, which included speaking with crew members, as well as gathering and seizing the voyage data recorder (black box) and other items of interest to the investigation.”
READ MORE: Ruby Princess kitchen ‘feeds a further fiasco’
Richard Ferguson 10.55am: Murphy links Tassie outbreak to ‘dinner party’
Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy has linked a major Tasmanian coronavirus outbreak to an “illegal dinner party” of hospital workers. An outbreak in Burnie has forced the closure of two hospitals, left up to 5000 Tasmanians quarantined in their homes and put the state’s health system under intense pressure.
In video footage broadcast in New Zealand, Dr Murphy is seen telling a New Zealand health committee that the 49 cases were mostly linked to workers who failed to self-isolate and gathered together.
“You have to be prepared for further outbreaks. We thought we were doing really well in the last week and then we had a cluster of 49 cases in a hospital in Tasmania,” he said.
“But most of them went to an illegal dinner party of medical workers.”
Dr Murphy was appearing on Tuesday before the Epidemic Response Committee, a select committee set up to run in the place of parliament, which has been suspended under New Zealand’s lockdown.
The dinner party link has been circulating on social media and Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein denied the allegations at a press conference this week.
READ MORE: Tasmanian hospital closures force 5000 into quarantine
Agencies 10.40am: Global COVID-19 cases pass 2 million mark
The number of confirmed cases of the new coronavirus has passed the 2 million mark globally, as countries that have already had the worst of it begin to look to toward restoring normal life.
A tally from the US-based Johns Hopkins university shows the number of reported cases worldwide has roughly doubled since April 2, while the global death toll stands at 119,483.
New York state’s 671 new deaths marked the first time in a week that the daily toll dipped below 700. Almost 2000 people were newly hospitalised with the virus, though once discharges and deaths are accounted for, the number of people hospitalised has flattened to just under 19,000. Italy’s day-to-day increase in new COVID-19 cases was one of the lowest in weeks, bolstering a generally downward trend. That brought Italy’s known cases to nearly 160,000. The day-to-day death toll, 566, however, was up, from the 431 new deaths.
READ MORE: Trump: I’ll decide when we reopen
Richard Ferguson 10.20am: Berejiklian: keep national cabinet after crisis
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says it is worth considering keeping the national cabinet as a permanent fixture after the coronavirus pandemic.
“That is an issue for the Prime Minister and my colleagues to consider, but it is definitely worth considering,” she said in Sydney.
Scott Morrison told The Australian on Tuesday that his preference is for the national cabinet to become a permanent decision-making body to manage the federation.
West Australian Labor Premier Mark McGowan has argued the COVID-19 leaders’ model should replace the Council of Australian Governments.
Queensland Labor Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has also voiced her approval of keeping national cabinet.
READ MORE: Crisis cabinet to outlast pandemic
Rachel Baxendale 10.15am: BBQ, party-goers among Easter fines
Four people having a barbecue at a Brighton Beach bathing box and ten at a backyard party in the Bendigo suburb of Strathdale have been among those issued with $1,652 social distancing fines by Victoria Police over the past 24 hours.
Police have issued 99 fines since yesterday, as a result of conducting 507 spot checks at homes, businesses and non-essential services.
Since March 21, Victoria Police have conducted a total of 20,933 spot checks.
Other examples of breaches in the last 24 hours include four people gathering together outside shops in the southeastern Melbourne suburb of Baxter after visiting friends, multiple instances of private gatherings at residential properties, and 10 people at a home in the outer eastern Melbourne suburb of Montrose with multiple cars coming and going.
READ MORE: We got it wrong: Queensland police review fines
Adeshola Ore 10.05am: NSW ramps up tenant, landlord mediation
The NSW Treasurer has said the state government will ramp up mediation services for tenants and landlord disputes over the next six months.
It follows the announcement of the government’s six-month package that includes a freeze on applications for forced residential evictions due to financial disadvantage.
The NSW Finance Minister is encouraging people to get advice on the raft of new packages announced.https://t.co/2tEzEkUkm8
— 2GB 873 (@2GB873) April 13, 2020
Dominic Perrottet said both parties would also be able to lodge disputes with NSW Fair Trading if they had been impacted by wrongdoing.
“It’s focused on preventing tenants from being evicted from circumstances outside their control,” Dominic Perrottet told 2GB on Tuesday morning.
“The reality is if you are a tenant and your circumstances have not materially changed you have an obligation to pay your landlord.”
“Right now we need to work together and the reality is for landlords, there are not a lot of tenants lining up at your door.”
READ MORE: Ventures sinking despite lifelines
Craig Johnstone 9.50am: Palaszczuk: Keep national cabinet going into future
Queensland Premier Annasatcia Palaszczuk has praised the national cabinet, joining other premiers in saying it should continue after the country has dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The cabinet was an example of “unprecedented co-operation and decision making”, she said.
She congratulated Prime Minister Scott Morrison for the way he was chairing the cabinet meetings and how he was “listening to the states”.
“Why would you not capture that and keep it going in the future,” she said.
READ MORE: Crisis cabinet to replace COAG
Elias Visontay 9.45am: Lambie calls for inquiry into Ruby Princess
Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie has called for a royal commission into responsibility over the Ruby Princess fiasco, as pressure mounts for an independent inquiry into the handling of the cruise ship’s docking in Sydney.
Labor MP Jason Clare also backed calls for an independent inquiry to establish responsibility over the decision to allow Ruby Princess passengers to disembark and spread the virus around the country, saying “heads should roll”.
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, Senator Lambie said the COVID-19 outbreak that had forced Tasmania’s north west into lockdown - suspected to be linked to the Ruby Princess - was threatening businesses in the state.
“If you don’t have small businesses running, you’ve got a pretty dead economy.
“Me playing the blame game isn’t going to help any of us, I’m more worried about the economic impact this is going to have”.
Asked about the NSW Police investigation into the Ruby Princess, Senator Lambie said: “I would like to see what comes out of the investigation on that. But certainly if that investigation is not going to do the job and is not going to get the job done, absolutely it will need to go to a royal commission to make sure that this doesn’t happen in the future.”
“I don’t think, with the debacle over the Ruby Princess, that the actual country and the politicians have called the shots on that very early on and didn’t do the right thing.”
Speaking later on Sky News, Mr Clare said “if you don’t check people when they get off a cruise ship, then it can cause all sorts of mayhem. And we’re witnessing that in Tasmania right now”.
“There’s got to be some sort of independent inquiry, whether it’s whether it’s a royal commission or the independent inquiry that the New South Wales Government is talking about. We’ve got to get to the bottom of this.”
“Failure is an orphan here, and we’ve got half a dozen different organisations that are state or federal level, that should have pulled their finger out and stopped people and checked their temperatures when they got off that ship. They didn’t do it and as a result people are dying and people are getting sick.”
“The government beats its chest and says how good they are at border protection. Well, they did a bad job here and as a result, we’re seeing bad results.”
“One in 10 people that have got the virus are linked back to that ship and one in three people that have died are linked back to that ship. We need an independent inquiry to work out what happened and who’s responsible and heads should roll to be honest,” Mr Clare said.
READ MORE: Cruise line in frame for Ruby Princess fallout
Charlie Peel 9.35am: $28m mental health package for Queenslanders
Queensland will roll out a $28 million package to support people with mental health issues brought on by the COVID-19 health and economic crisis.
It comes as the state’s tally of confirmed cases of the virus rose by 11 to 998.
More and more Queenslanders will be calling out for help as we continue to find our way through this unprecedented time. My government will deliver a $28 million to support mental health, alcohol and drug services and other non-government organisations.#mentalhealth #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/Gfs9ZuYnBC
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) April 13, 2020
Health Minister Steven Miles said 11 people across the state were in intensive care because of the virus.
There have been 74,013 tests conducted since COVID-19 was first detected in Queensland and testing criteria were widened last week to include anyone with respiratory symptoms in the Brisbane, Gold coast and Cairns areas where community transmission levels were highest.
“Testing rates continued right through the weekend, so it’s not the case the low numbers at the weekend represent a reduction in testing,” Mr Miles said.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the government’s new mental health funding will go towards supporting mental health, alcohol and drug services and other non-government organisations.
“More and more Queenslanders will be calling out for help as we continue to find our way through this unprecedented time,” she said.
Mr Miles said the restrictions brought in to prevent the spread of the virus would have an effect on people’s mental health.
“We know the impact of this virus and the measures we have to put in place to prevent its spread won’t just be physical, they will be mental and emotional too,” he said.
Chief Health Officer Jeanette Young said the broadened testing criteria were confined to Brisbane, the Gold Coast and cairns but could be widened if there was more community transmission of the virus.
“At the moment in Queensland there is very limited community transmission,” she said.
READ MORE: Troy Bramston writes: For crisis, noone led like Roosevelt
Simon Benson 9.30am: Virgin in second trading halt amid lifeline call
Virgin Australia will go into a trading halt this morning following a board meeting last night of its international shareholders.
It is understood the airline alerted the ASX this morning of its decision to suspend trading for the second time in a fortnight.
It comes as the Morrison government comes under increasing pressure to help the airline stay afloat and maintain a competitive airline market for when the Covid crisis lifts.
Virgin Australia chief executive Paul Scurrah spent the Easter weekend calling federal government ministers and opposition frontbenchers in a bid to secure support ahead of a cabinet meeting today that could decide the debt-heavy airline’s future.
Just over a year into the job, Mr Scurrah is fighting to keep Virgin afloat and has asked for a $1.4bn loan facility from the government to get through the coronavirus crisis.
READ the full article here.
Robert Gottliebsen 9.20am: Virus help doesn’t always mean a handout
With the basic JobKeeper rules now established we are going to see the demand for specific industry “rescue” packages escalate.
The three areas where there will be greatest intensity will be industry superannuation funds, airlines and NSW farmers seeking water. In each case the government needs to look at what other alternatives are available.
The industry superannuation funds request to the government or Reserve Bank for loans to cover liquidity may gather pace now that the JobKeeper rules will limit the coverage of the scheme.
f the numbers wanting to withdraw $10,000 before June 30 and $10,000 in the first quarter of 2021 increase then industry superannuation funds that have members concentrated in industries that are hit hard need to be able to retain the balance of their funds: the percentage invested in each category remains the same.
READ the full article here
Angelica Snowden 9.05am: NSW schools stay online in Term Two
Term Two for NSW schools will continue to be delivered online until further notice, as the NSW Premier said discussions into “what term two of school might look like” were ongoing.
The Premier said Health officials and NSW Government are talking on a daily basis about how the rest of the school term would operate.
“We suspect that if there are any changes to term two it won’t happen straight away,” she said.
“It will be a couple of weeks into term two.”
The Premier hinted that restrictions could be relaxed moving forward, but said that would have a significant impact on society.
READ MORE: Teachers resisting return to classrooms
Angelica Snowden 8.55am: Ruby probe ‘may take six months’
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she expects the police investigation into the Ruby Princess to take six months.
Police have already spent one month investigating the debacle, meaning it is expected to be completed in five months.
The Premier said that NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller confirmed crime stoppers had received hundreds of calls about the Ruby Princess.
She said her government would seek legal advice before committing to a commission of inquiry if the results from the police investigation could not be released.
“We will not be leaving a single stone unturned,” she said.
“We already have the police inquiry. We already have the coroner looking at this issue.”
Mr Fuller said he would be happy to release the findings of the criminal investigation.
“I am happy to release all of the information and the findings,” he said.
“I have no issues with that.”
READ MORE: Ruby kitchen ‘feeds further fiasco’
Rachel Baxendale 8.50am: Victoria cases rise by only 10
Victoria’s number of coronavirus cases has risen by just 10 on Tuesday, to 1,291 - 1,118 of whom have recovered.
There have been no deaths in the past 24 hours and the state’s death toll remains at 14.
There are 40 Victorians in hospital with COVID-19, of whom 15 are in intensive care.
A total of 71,000 Victorians have been tested for the virus.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos praised Victorians for the “exemplary behaviour” over the Easter long weekend, saying their cooperation had helped to limit the spread of COVID-19.
READ MORE: Plea for blood to sustain supplies
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.45am: Fauci attempts to mend rift with Trump
The White House’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci has used Tuesday’s press briefing to attempt to mend the rift between himself and President Trump, taking the opportunity to clarify statements he made on Monday which suggested the President’s “push back” on social distancing recommendations cost lives.
Addressing his use of the word “pushback,” Dr Fauci said: “That was a wrong choice of words.
“The nature of the hypothetical question was if in fact we had mitigated earlier, could lives have been saved? And the answer to the question, as I always do and I’m doing right now, is yes.”
Dr Fauci said the first time the recommendation of social distancing was made, the President listened intently.
Dr Fauci’s earlier comments clearly riled the President, who earlier on Tuesday retweeted a junior Republican politician using the “firefauci” hashtag.
However, the White House has since released a statement describing the idea that the President might fire Dr Fauci “ridiculous.”
Speaking at the Press Conference, President Trump said he would not fire Dr Fauci.
“I’m not firing him,” President Trump said.
“No, I like him. I think he is terrific
“Not everybody is happy with Anthony...Not everybody is happy with everybody.”
READ MORE: Every US state now deemed a disaster
Elias Visontay 8.35am: Hunt: Long way to go before lockdown lifted
Health Minister Greg Hunt has thanked Australians for adhering to social restrictions and limiting travel over the Easter long weekend, but warned: “We’ve got a long way to go” before measures can be lifted.
Mr Hunt said movements on roads were about 12 per cent of what they normally are during the Easter period, and that as of Tuesday morning, there were 6,366 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Australia with 61 deaths.
“We need to stay the course. And we need to do this for a very real reason, that it saves lives and protects lives...The curve really is flattening, but it hasn’t stopped,” Mr Hunt told ABC TV.
“Outbreaks could take lives, they could overwhelm the health system if they were left unchecked, that’s why we still have a considerable period of time of difficult restrictions. But at the same time, we’re planning that road out.
“We’ve got a long way to go. But we are making progress on a scale far, far faster than any of us had dared hoped only a month ago.”
Mr Hunt also said there was “a very real likelihood” COVID-19 arose from a wet market in Wuhan, which he described as “unfathomable”. He said Australia would make its concerns about wet markets known to international authorities.
READ MORE: ‘Messing with nature behind spread’
Angelica Snowden 8.25am: 7,000 Aussies return from overseas
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said that 7000 Australians have returned to Sydney from overseas.
Of those returned travellers, Mr Fuller said 3000 have returned home.
He is expecting 100 to return today, which is down by a third from the same time last week.
The Commissioner said 55 COVID-19 infringements tickets were issued overnight, but said that there were “high levels of compliance” up and down coastal areas that would normally be busy over the Easter Weekend.
Mr Fuller confirmed that one crew member was taken off the Ruby Princess after they contracted appendicitis.
READ MORE: Sewerage analysis to flush out infection
Elias Visontay 8.20am: ‘Start looking at road out of crisis’
Industry Minister Karen Andrews says revamping Australia’s manufacturing sector is important for protecting both jobs and sovereignty, as health authorities grapple to secure critical medical supplies Australia relies on from overseas.
Ms Andrews said any policies to grow local manufacturing will focus on encouraging vocational study, and that she was “not talking about government subsidies at all”.
She said future manufacturing growth should be high quality and “add value”, and should focus on the space industry, technology, pharmaceuticals, defence industry and food manufacturing.
“It is important that we do start looking at the road out of this. What is Australia going to look like post COVID(-19)? And quite frankly it’s going to be very different to what it was six months ago,” Ms Andrews told ABC Radio National.
“I think that there’s a greater recognition now of the fact that in a time of crisis which we’re experiencing now, overseas supply chains can be quite difficult to navigate.”
Ms Andrews said Australia’s “very strong manufacturing sector” had demonstrated its ability to repurpose equipment to pivot towards producing masks and other COVID-19 related health supplies as well as product shortages resulting from the pandemic.
She said future manufacturing growth should be high quality and “add value”, and should focus on the space industry, technology, pharmaceuticals, defence industry and food manufacturing.
“It’s very difficult for us to compete on a cost basis because we have high wages here so it’s difficult for us to compete with low wage nations.
“I think we will still be a free trading nation (after COVID-19) but we’re going to have to look at what we need to do to make sure that in a time of crisis, we are able to support ourselves.”
READ MORE: Plan for jobless to peak at 10pc
Angelica Snowden 8.15am: Same day texts for negative virus tests
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced a same day text to confirm negative COVID-19 results.
The Premier said this will allow people to leave self-isolation quickly if they return a negative result.
She said if a positive result is returned, Health Authorities will need to get in contact.
“That is a huge step forward in NSW,” she said.
“Shortly service this service will be available in the NSW Service App.”
The Premier said 1.7 million people have now signed up to the app that updates users on the state’s latest COVID-19 statistics and health advice.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant confirmed seven new coronavirus cases overnight.
The state’s total is 2870 and no further deaths were reported in the past 24 hours.
READ MORE: Young shoulder the burden in war
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.00am: Queensland ‘flattening curve’ with 11 new cases
Queensland is seeing a definite flattening of the curve, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said, revealing that the state has recorded just 11 new cases of coronavirus in the last 24 hours - and just 35 over the Easter weekend, bringing the state’s total to 998.
“We have had 11 positive cases overnight, so we are definitely seeing the flattening of the curve in Queensland,” she told Today on Tuesday.
“What a remarkable result. Thirty five over the Easter long weekend, 11 tonight, so we are really going well in terms of flattening the curve.”
Ms Palaszczuk said that approximately 75,000 tests have been carried out in Queensland, and that testing regimes will be ramped up in areas like Cairs and the Gold Coast, where there has been evidence of community transmission.
The Premier also compared the battle to flatten the curve as a “marathon,” and ruled out endorsing a roll-back in social distancing guidelines.
“The World Health Organization just said this morning too, that it is very important how you ease those restrictions,” she said.
“I don’t think now is the time for complacency. Everyone is doing a great job. But we’ve only just gone into this stay at home and social distancing.
“It’s only been working for two or three weeks. This is a long haul. It is a marathon.”
Queensland Health said that one of the cases visited an early learning centre at Jimboomba, south of Brisbane, necessitating the closure of the facility.
An endorsement of the return of the NRL was also ruled out, with the Premier entrusting the decision to health authorities, saying the State of Origin could be played later in the year if it is safe to do so.
READ MORE: ‘Stick to protocols’ as nurse gives numbers
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.45am: You have to draw the line somewhere: PM
Scott Morrison has expressed sympathy for the thousands of Australians put out of work following revelations by Treasury that the nation’s unemployment rate may hit 10 per cent, and again refused to expand the Jobkeeper wage subsidy program to casuals who have been with their employers for less than 12 months and foreign workers.
“It is a serious impact on our economy. It’s impacting people’s livelihoods. It’s impacting people’s livelihoods. It’s heartbreaking,” the Prime Minister told Today.
“’(But) you’ve got to draw the line somewhere. That’s what the JobSeeker is for. For those who aren’t eligible for JobKeeper, then we’ve doubled the rate of JobSeeker.
“They also get our access to things like rental assistance and an arrangement of other benefits, which means they are certainly not forgotten.”
The Prime Minister did not endorse a potential commission of inquiry into the Ruby Princess fiasco, saying “we have to work through the crisis” and appeared to rule out a government bailout of struggling airline Virgin, insisting that the government will only provide sector-wide assistance to aviation companies.
Mr Morrison for a second time expressed his disapproval of the re-opening of live-animal “wet markets” in parts of China.
COVID-19 is thought to have originated at a wet market in the city of Wuhan, which prompted a temporary closure of the popular wildlife meat trade.
“It’s unfathomable frankly. We need to protect the world against potential sources of outbreaks of these types of viruses. It’s happened too many times,” Mr Morrison said.
“I’m totally puzzled by this decision.”
READ MORE: Champion of the left has plaudits for PM
Angelica Snowden 7.40am: Berejiklian to give virus update at 8.00am
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will hold a press conference on the coronavirus pandemic in her state at 8am AEST.
The Premier is expected to update the public on the number of COVID-19 cases in the state, and will be joined by the Police Commissioner, the NSW Chief Health Officer, and Minister for Customer Service.
Ms Berejiklian’s update can be watched live above.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.20am: PM pours cold water on easing restrictions
Scott Morrison has poured cold water on the idea of the National Cabinet relaxing lockdown measures for “many weeks”, saying although the curve appears to be flattening, it is too soon to presume the crisis is over.
State and federal governments are under pressure to ease social distancing rules to stem Australia's skyrocketing unemployment rate.@HumanHeadline and @SharriMarkson joined Nat to discuss this Hot Topic. pic.twitter.com/eBryOmoUCT
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) April 13, 2020
“We can’t be complacent. We have seen what happened in Singapore most recently and Sweden and other countries,” the Prime Minister told Sunrise.
“If you take your eyes off this thing, he gets away from you so we do need to understand what the prerequisites are and the things we need to achieve before we can start to ease some of those restrictions.
“We will be having the discussion on Thursday and a lot of scientific work is being put into that and we have looked into the experience of other countries and we are hopeful that at some point, we are hopeful that at some point, we can move from the phase we are currently into a new phase, but I do want to caution Australians that we’re not in that phase yet...and we’re many weeks away from being in a phase like that”.
PM tells @sunriseon7 an extra 700,000 Australians would be unemployed without the government’s wage subsidy. With it, Treasury expects 1.4 million will be out of work in June quarter
— Olivia Leeming (@olivialeeming) April 13, 2020
Mr Morrison says the government’s first priority is to reopen workplaces, particularly in struggling regional areas, rather than recreational facilities or re-permitting travel.
“I think, but we need to get our construction industry going, our infrastructure programs, Manufacturing industries. Our agricultural sector,” the Prime Minister told Sunrise.
“We have finally seen some rain and we are seeing some activity in the rural sectors.
“(But) We’re creating great health risks as well, so it is a great trade-off of getting the best value out of restrictions you can lift and at the same time, not putting the health situation at greater risk.”
Mr Morrison also said the country can’t let “failures” like the Ruby Princess incident and the North West Regional Hospital outbreak in Tasmania drag the country down.
“There are going to be some failures along the way and we can’t have ourselves get dragged down by those,” he said.
“We have to learn from them quickly and we have to get on with it because the problems
we face today and tomorrow will be there, and we can’t spend all of our time just going over those issues.”
Mr Morrison also refused to take a position on the NRL’s potential return in May, but gave a general warning to Australians not to “get ahead” of themselves.
I” noticed the plans they have to bring it back, and I like the
people are planning to try get Australia back to normal, but obviously, all of these things will be subject to the health advice and the health clearances that are necessary,”
“That is certainly what we’re doing as a National Cabinet, whether it is on the economy or health or any of these issues, we have to look forward to the other side, because there is another side.
“But we have to be careful not to get ahead of ourselves.”
READ MORE: Adam Creighton writes: Damaging overreaction to unremarkable virus
Angelica Snowden 7.15am: WHO chief insists: Trump supports us
The head of the World Health Organisation says he believes Donald Trump is “supportive” of the UN health agency.
Just days after the US President launched repeated criticism of the agency and threatened funding cuts amid the COVID-19 outbreak, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus says he hopes US funding will continue - and said WHO’s relationship with the US is “very good.”
Mr Tedros did not elaborate, and did not respond to a question at a Monday news briefing in Geneva about the possible impact of a US funding cut.
WHO officials used the briefing to reiterate the agency’s insistence that countries should not be too quick to ease control measures aimed to fight the outbreak.
Mr Tedros said evidence shows the disease linked to the novel coronavirus outbreak is 10 times deadlier than the 2009 flu pandemic, and “the way down is much slower than the way up.”
The WHO plans on Tuesday to issue “updated strategic advice” for countries that are considering lifting control measures, including six criteria to consider before doing so.
READ MORE: WHO an expensive lame duck
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.10am: Shorten supports Virgin bailout
Shadow spokesman for government services and former Labor leader Bill Shorten has said the government should bail out struggling airline Virgin, labelling the idea that another airline will automatically take its place a “fantasy.”
“I think we’re in a real risk of Virgin going into administration within the next two weeks,” Mr Shorten told Today on Tuesday.
“That’s 10,000 direct jobs and 6000 contractors. This fantasy that if we let Virgin go to the wall, that some foreign airline will come to Australia, is a fantasy...It will take 10 years to rebuild a second airline.”
Mr Shorten rebuked the suggestion that a government bailout of Virgin would lead to cries for assistance from other industries, saying the airline is a crucial piece of national infrastructure.
“An airline is not a coffee shop. It took 10 years to get Virgin to where it is,” he said.
“Going straight back to the bottom and starting again I think will be a long-term mistake.”
READ MORE: Virgin CEO in eleventh-hour Canberra loan lifeline call
Angelica Snowden 7.05am: UN peacekeeping missions suspended until June
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has suspended the deployment and rotation of UN peacekeeping troops and international police in its 13 global peacekeeping missions until June 30 to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
The UN has about 85,000 soldiers and police serving in missions in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Europe.
UN peacekeeping chief Jean-Pierre Lacroix made the announcement on Monday and said “we don’t want to be part of the problem.
“We want to be on the safe side. We want ... to not in any way contribute to the spread of the virus,” he said.
Mr Lacroix said the secretary-general’s guidance provides for exceptions, and any new deployments will be quarantined before and after arrival for 14 days.
UN Undersecretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khare said there have been 12 cases of COVID-19 in UN peacekeeping missions, but only three among uniformed personnel and all were treated in the countries where they serve.
READ MORE: PM pressures WHO over wet markets
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.00am: NRL has opportunity to lift spirits: Barilaro
NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has thrown his weight behind the NRL returning in the near future, saying the game of rugby league “has an opportunity to lift spirits as a nation.”
The sporting code, which is attempting to resume its 2020 season by May 28, has been criticised for seeking to resume a contact sport during the coronavirus pandemic - but Mr Barilaro says it can be done responsibly.
"NRL has an opportunity to lift the spirits of the nation"
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) April 13, 2020
NSW Deputy Premier @JohnBarilaroMP explains why he's backing plans to resume the footy season next month, despite health officials saying doing so would be "premature."
Latest updates: https://t.co/NkVFH2ldL2 pic.twitter.com/2pLNQ6U5oI
“I have said consistently that I’m happy to work with the NRL in relation to how they would manage their health and as an employer, the obligations to look after the well-being of their players,” Mr Barilaro told Sunrise on Tuesday.
“As we see the flattening of the curve, an extremely great job, we have seen Australians follow the rules and cases in decline.
“There is a view from government that there may be an opportunity to lift restrictions.”
Conceding that it is ultimately the decision of state health authorities as to whether the game continues, Mr Barilaro said he would make the case to “mad Manly fan” NSW health minister Brad Hazzard.
“For those who don’t know, the NRL chose to shut the game down, they have to put in place that process that will protect players involved,” he said.
“That is why my job is to sit down and work with them. It will take the health experts to sign off on it.”
Angelica Snowden 6.55am: France lockdown to last until May
French President Emmanuel Macron says lockdown will continue until May and Italy is considering easing restrictions with increasingly fewer cases being recorded.
UK
The British government’s chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance has warned that the UK’s daily death toll from coronavirus will likely rise this week before plateauing for two to three weeks, and then declining.
Mr Vallance said at the government’s daily press briefing that the UK is tracking behind Italy, the European country with the highest death toll from COVID-19.
Earlier, government figures showed that another 717 people who tested positive for the coronavirus had died in hospital, taking the British total up to 11,329.
Although that was the third straight daily decline in the daily death toll, Prof. Vallance’s comments suggest that the numbers may have been artificially depressed over the four-day Easter holiday weekend.
With Italy seemingly on the other side of the peak, there are growing expectations that the UK could end up being the European country with the most coronavirus- related deaths.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, said the government did “not expect to make any changes” to the lockdown measures in place when it assesses the situation this week.
France
French President Emmanuel Macron announced the extension of France’s strict lockdown until May 11. France has been in lockdown for four weeks since March 17.
Mr Macron said he saw “hopeful signs” as the spreading of the virus in the country appears to be stabilising.
Starting from May 11, schools will reopen “progressively”, he said.
French health authorities have reported a drop in numbers of people in intensive care for the fifth straight day.
The country registered 574 deaths over the past 24 hours in hospitals and nursing homes, bringing the total number of deaths from COVID-19 to 14,967 since the outbreak began in France.
Italy
Italy’s day-to-day increase in COVID-19 cases is one of the lowest in weeks.
Authorities announced on Monday there were 3,153 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours - bringing Italy’s overall toll of known cases to nearly 160,000.
The day-to- day death toll, 566, up from the 431 new deaths registered on Sunday.
Italy’s head of infectious disease department at the national health institute Giovanni Rezza said cases registered on Monday reflect contagion from some time ago.
The number of new cases are “diminishing, slowly diminishing,” Mr Rezza told reporters.
On Tuesday, Italy, which, with more than 20,000 fatalities, has Europe’s highest death toll, starts a sixth week of national lockdown.
Some slight easing of restrictions are about to take effect in some sectors, such as permission to allow stores selling necessities for newborns or stationery items to reopen.
The lockdown will last at least through May 3, under the latest government decree.
Spain
Spanish authorities have let some workers begin returning to their jobs, but Health Minister Salvador Illa says the government will move carefully on allowing others to end their self-isolation amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Illa said officials will proceed with “the utmost caution and prudence ... and always based on scientific evidence” in easing restrictions.
“We’re in no position to be setting dates” about when isolation might end, he told a Madrid news conference Monday.
Spain, a country of 47 million people where the death toll officially attributed to the coronavirus is 17,489, is carrying out some 20,000 tests a day and plans to increase that number.
READ MORE: Aussies witness the pain of Spain
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.30am: Killer virus ‘very good at what it does’: Cuomo
The number of coronavirus deaths in New York State has passed 10,000, Governor Andrew Cuomo confirmed overnight (AEST), while one in every 100 residents has contracted the virus.
“This virus is very good at what it does. It is a killer,” Governor Cuomo said during a press conference, adding there was good news in hospitalisation figures which had flattened to less than 19,000.
“The worst can be over, and it is over unless we do something reckless,” Governor Cuomo said.
“And you can turn those numbers on two or three days of reckless behaviour.”
Despite the stern warning, Governor Cuomo and his counterparts from neighbouring eastern states have announced a plan to re-open the economy — albeit in a way that is “guided by experts, data and science,” and “not in a political way”.
BREAKING: NJ, NY, CT, PA, DE, and RI have formed a regional advisory council to help guide our re-opening once the #COVID19 emergency has passed.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) April 13, 2020
We cannot act on our own. We must be smart & tactical in how our region comes out of this, or else we’ll be right back to square one. pic.twitter.com/fZeOk3GBca
The COVID-19 Regional Advisory Council will feature an economic development official and public health officer attached to each state governor to advise them on sensible steps.
The move to return to normalcy despite the increased death toll comes a day after the White House’s top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci admitted lives would have been saved had the US government ordered social distancing sooner.
The remarks — and President Trump’s retweeting of a minor Republican Congressional candidate’s comment with the hashtag #FireFauci — raised speculation that President Donald Trump may move to dismiss Dr Fauci.
Sorry Fake News, it’s all on tape. I banned China long before people spoke up. Thank you @OANN https://t.co/d40JQkUZg5
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 12, 2020
However, the White House moved quickly to quash the speculation, with spokesperson Hogan Gidley releasing a statement saying: “The media chatter is ridiculous. President Trump is not firing Dr Fauci.”
“This media chatter is ridiculous - President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci...It was Democrats and the media who ignored Coronavirus...†pic.twitter.com/KCmvnnO23B
— Hogan Gidley (@hogangidley45) April 13, 2020
554,849 Americans have contracted coronavirus while 21,942 have died.
READ MORE: ‘Messing with nature behind spread of virus’
Agencies 5.40am: Singapore records biggest daily jump in virus cases
Singapore’s health ministry has confirmed 386 more cases of coronavirus infection in the city-state’s biggest daily jump, taking its total to 2918. The country, which is under partial lockdown to try to curb a recent surge in infections, also reported its ninth death from the disease yesterday.
A large number of the new cases are linked to outbreaks in migrant workers’ dormitories.
Singapore has quarantined thousands of workers in dormitories after they were connected to several cases of the COVID-19 respiratory disease. To date, a total of 586 people have fully recovered from the infection, the health ministry said. — REUTERS
READ MORE: Scott Morrison pressures WHO over Chinese wet markets
Agencies 5.15am: Trump promises he’ll make call to restart economy
President Donald Trump asserted that he was the ultimate decision-maker — not governors and local leaders — for determining how and when to reopen the coronavirus-stricken country.
Mr Trump is anxious to restart America’s battered economy as soon as the end of the month, but has met with criticism that the plan may cost lives.
Though he abandoned his once-held goal of rolling back regulations by Easter Sunday, Mr Trump has been itching to reopen a battered economy that has plummeted as businesses have shuttered, leaving millions of people out of work and struggling to obtain basic commodities.
For the purpose of creating conflict and confusion, some in the Fake News Media are saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2020
Taking to Twitter overnight (AEDT), Mr Trump said some were “saying that it is the Governors decision to open up the states, not that of the President of the United States & the Federal Government. Let it be fully understood that this is incorrect...it is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons.”
....It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue. A decision by me, in conjunction with the Governors and input from others, will be made shortly!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 13, 2020
Mr Trump last month put in place nationwide recommendations that most Americans stay home and distant from one another in order to slow the spread of the virus. But his guidelines, scheduled to expire at the end of the month, have little force — unlike actions of governors and local leaders that carry fines or other penalties, and in some jurisdictions extend out into the early summer.
The President has also promised to unveil a task force of White House, state and local officials, business executives, economists and health officials as he explores how to reopen businesses without reversing progress. — AP
READ MORE: Editorial — WHO an expensive lame duck
Yoni Bashan 5am: Ruby Princess fiasco deepens after galley revelation
The private medical company overseeing the Ruby Princess cruise ship fiasco allowed meals for its 1000 crew members to be prepared in the luxury liner’s galley for weeks, despite warning signs that the kitchen remained the likely epicentre of the vessel’s COVID-19 infections.
The Australian has learned Aspen Medical, the independent contractor appointed by the federal government to manage the quarantined ship, allowed food to be prepared on the ship until Saturday, when an order was made to start serving pre-packaged meals taken on to the ship from the shore.
The order was made because of the risk of transmission posed by preparing food in the kitchen, named on Monday by NSW Police Commissioner Michael Fuller as the most likely source of the coronavirus outbreak on the ship.
The fallout from the Ruby Princess continues to ripple around the country, with two Tasmanian hospitals forced to shut down and relocate patients because of infections caused by passengers.
Read the full story here.
Geoff Chambers 4.45am: National cabinet may replace COAG after pandemic
Scott Morrison has signalled his preference for the national cabinet to become a permanent decision-making body to manage the federation, with West Australian Labor Premier Mark McGowan arguing the COVID-19 leaders’ model should replace the Council of Australian Governments.
The Prime Minister said through the national cabinet — formed in response to the coronavirus pandemic — the “federation had been more responsive and more co-ordinated than we’ve seen in many years”.
National cabinet, established at a COAG leaders’ meeting in Sydney on March 13, will hold its 13th meeting on Thursday. In a four-week period, unprecedented co-operation between federal, state and territory governments has been reached on major COVID-19 reforms, including economic and rent relief measures, implementation of social and border restrictions, and collaboration on education, health and aged-care policy settings.
Read the full story here.
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Crisafulli’s $50m anti-crime canoe camps
Children who wag school will have their phones confiscated and be sent on taxpayer-funded camps to canoe and learn coding under a Liberal National Party plan to drive down youth crime rates in Queensland.
Pro-Gazan pianist and MSO open to mediation
Jayson Gillham is suing the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in the Federal Court, with a trial likely to be scheduled in March next year if mediation fails.