Coronavirus Australia live updates: Wrestle with lockdowns’ econmic impact; ‘Youngest death by far’ a wake-up call; ‘Stop partying’, says health minister
As 13 nations call for co-operation to lessen the economic impact of the pandemic, NSW Health Minister blasts young people for continuing to party.
- World wrestles with lockdowns impact
- Youngest death a ‘wake up call’; Stop partying
- Man dies amid nursing home outbreak
- Ruby Princess victim’s family sues for $1m
- China admits Wuhan deaths under-reported
- Queensland promises $200m for Virgin
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. As four more Australians died, including another cruise ship passenger, nations worldwide are grappling with easing lockdowns amid growing economic hardship. Meanwhile, the youngest death in Australia should be a ‘wake up call’, said the DCMO, and the NSW Health Minister urged them to stop partying.
Debbie Schipp 10.55pm: Nations debate easing lockdown as hardship grows
As unemployment rises and many around the world face the first rent payments after losing their jobs, governments are wrestling with when and how to ease restrictions designed to control the coronavirus pandemic. Mandatory lockdowns to stop the spread of the new virus, which has so far infected more than 2.2 million people and for which there is no vaccine, have brought widespread hardship.
In a joint statement Saturday, a group of 13 countries including Canada, Brazil, Italy and Germany called for global co-operation to lessen the economic impact of the pandemic.
“It is vital that we work together to save lives and livelihoods,” they said. The group, which also includes Britain, France Indonesia, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, South Korea, Singapore and Turkey, said it was committed to “work with all countries to co-ordinate on public health, travel, trade, economic and financial measures in order to minimise disruptions and recover stronger.” The countries emphasised the need to maintain “air, land and marine transportation links” to ensure the continued flow of goods including medical equipment and aid, and the return home of travellers.
It came as NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard slammed younger people for whom the message just wasn’t sinking in.
NSW Health figures revealed that people under 40 represented 1238 of the total 2936 cases in NSW and most are in the 20-29 years age bracket.
“You have to get the message guys, this is not the time for partying,” Mr Hazzard said.
“It is not the time for hanging out in large groups. We are serious about the message and that is stay safe and stick to the rules, stick to the 1.5m social distancing.”
Meanwhile the contaminated cruise ship Artania left Perth and Australian waters after coronavirus killed two of its passengers and a crew member. and warnings came that the chances of the virus-riddled Ruby Princess cruise ship leaving NSW waters on Sunday as originally planned are “remote” according to NSW Police. There are now 162 crew on-board who have tested positive for coronavirus, which is an additional nine cases since Friday.
Worldwide, most governments remain cautious, even as the economic toll rises. Public health experts warn that easing shutdowns must be accompanied by wider testing and tracing of infected people to keep the virus from coming back.
Singapore, which has been held up as a model for other nations after taking strong measures to clamp down on the virus, reported a new daily record of 942 infections Saturday that saw its total surge to 5992.
In Africa, the pandemic is only just getting underway. The continent now has more than 1000 coronavirus deaths.
The official death toll in the US has topped 35,000, with more than 700,000 confirmed infections.
Protesters fed up with the economy-strangling restrictions have taken to the streets in several US states. — AP
READ MORE: Trump appears to back virus protests
9.50pm: Tasmania cases rise as state braces for aged care outbreak
Four more coronavirus cases have been confirmed in north west Tasmania as the state braces for a possible aged care outbreak.
The state’s total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases is now at 188 after four men tested positive in the last 24 hours.
They are aged between the 30s and 70s and three of them are healthcare workers who have worked at either the North West Regional Hospital or the North West Private Hospital.
The fourth man is a close contact of a confirmed case.
Meanwhile, tests are being processed through the night for 500 residents and staff of three nursing homes.
Everyone at East Devonport’s Melaleuca Nursing Home, Ulverstone’s Eliza Purton Home and Coroneagh Park in Penguin was tested on Friday after a healthcare worker who had done shifts in all three facilities tested positive for the virus.
Premier Peter Gutwein said on Saturday to brace for an outbreak across the homes and that families of those being tested would be ‘waiting with bated breath’. Tests are being processed overnight and the results are expected to be made public on Sunday.
Tasmania will triple its COVID-19 testing capacity in coming weeks. — AAP
READ MORE: Daily case numbers crash in hard-hit states
9.10pm: Queen cans 94th birthday plans amid pandemic
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth will not celebrate her 94th birthday in any special way and has asked that there be no gun salutes to mark the occasion because it would not be appropriate while the country battles a deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Britain is at or near the peak of an outbreak in which more than 14,000 people have already died — the fifth highest national death toll of a pandemic linked to at least 150,000 deaths worldwide.
Ceremonial gun salutes, in which blank rounds are fired from various location across London, are typically used by the royal family to mark special occasions such as anniversaries and birthdays.
The Queen’s birthday is on April 21.
The Queen was keen that no special measures were put in place to allow gun salutes as she did not feel it appropriate in the current circumstances, a royal source said.
It is believed to be the first such request in the Queen’s 68-year reign. Britain is in its fourth week of a national lockdown, with businesses forced to close and citizens ordered to stay at home.
Earlier this month, the country’s longest-serving monarch made an exceptional address to the nation, promising “Better days will return.” Buckingham Palace last month said a parade to celebrate the Queen’s official birthday, which is celebrated in June, would not go ahead in its traditional form in light of restrictions on social gatherings. – Reuters
READ MORE: Crisis could usher in new era of big government
Christine Kellett 5pm: WA Premier blasts mine worker’s Bali holiday
WA Premier Mark McGowan has slammed a Rio Tinto contractor who took a holiday to Bali in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, only to bring the disease back to Australia.
WA recorded three new cases overnight, two of them crew members from the now-departed Artania cruise ship.
But the third, Mr McGowan said, was a person who had travelled to Bali in March and had tested positive during screening by the mining giant before returning to work.
“I just find that quite irresponsible,” Mr McGowan told reporters on Saturday.
“It makes me quite angry that these people now come home and cause problems for us.
“I don’t know the specifics of this case … (but) I’m angry that they did that.
READ MORE: Demand for truth on COVID-19’s origins
Adeshola Ore 4.30pm: Man dies amid NSW nursing home outbreak
A 93-year-old male resident at Newmarch House has become the aged-centre centre’s first coronavirus fatality following an outbreak.
NSW Health confirmed on Saturday there were 30 people with COVID-19 at Anglicare’s Western Sydney facility, including 10 staff and 20 residents.
In a statement, Anglicare said the man was suffering multiple serious health issues.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the grieving family through this very distressing time,” Anglicare said.
On Friday, the NSW Chief Health Officer said every staff member and resident would be tested, even those who had already tested negative.
The death brings Australia’s death toll to 69.
Adeshola Ore 4.14pm: Tasmanian outbreak ‘will be brought under control’
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says he is confident health authorities in Tasmania will bring under control a serious coronavirus outbreak in the state's north west that claimed another life overnight.
Professor Kelly said health workers were travelling to Tasmania to respond to the cluster in Burnie that has forced the closure of two hospitals and many remaining businesses.
“There are nurses that are travelling as we speak across Bass Strait to assist in that effort in relation to the aged-care facilities,” he said.
On Friday, Tasmania’s Premier Peter Gutwein confirmed that a healthcare worker with COVID-19 had worked at three aged care facilities.
Professor Kelly said almost 500 tests had been conducted on residents at the facilities.
On the government’s controversial virus tracking app set to be released in the coming weeks, Professor Kelly stressed it would not be mandatory.
“This is absolutely voluntary addition to work we already do as a routine in public health measures.”
READ MORE: ‘My story of surviving COVID-19’
Adeshola Ore 3.40pm: ‘Youngest COVID-19 victim by far’
Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer says a 42 year-old Filipino man who died from COVID-19 on the Artania cruise ship while docked in Fremantle is the youngest person to die in Australia from the virus.
The man was one of about 400 men and women, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines, who crewed the vessel as COVID-19 broke out during an around-the-world voyage that began last December when the Artania sailed from Germany. The ship has departed Fremantle this afternoon.
Professor Paul Kelly stressed that the virus could impact younger people as well.
“It is a reminder to us that this is not just an old person’s disease. We are all in this together for a reason,” he said.
“While it is true to say that the majority of cases — over 80 per cent — are mild, some of them can be very severe.
“We still have 55 people across Australia in intensive care right now, some of those have been ventilated, some of them extremely sick, and now this young man has passed away.
“So that’s a really stronger reminder for us why we are taking this disease seriously and why indeed, the whole world is taking this pandemic so seriously.”
Earlier, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard slammed younger people for whom the message just wasn’t sinking in.
NSW Health figures revealed that people under 40 represented 1238 of the total 2936 cases in NSW and most are in the 20-29 years age bracket.
“You have to get the message guys, this is not the time for partying,” Mr Hazzard said.
“It is not the time for hanging out in large groups. We are serious about the message and that is stay safe and stick to the rules, stick to the 1.5m social distancing.”
Professor Kelly said over 400,000 COVID-19 tests had been conducted nationally, making Australia a “major testing country for coronavirus.”
READ MORE: America ‘leading world’s COVID-19 response’
Paige Taylor 3.15pm: Contaminated Artania leaves Australian waters
The Swiss-owned cruise ship Artania is leaving Australian waters after coronavirus killed two of its passengers and a crew member.
The MV Artania was on an around-the-world trip that left from Germany in December 2019 when it arrived at Fremantle south of Perth on March 25 seeking medical help. The ship had been due only to dock for fuel and supplies but people fell ill after the ship left Sydney.
Since then more than 70 people have been taken from the ship into Perth hospitals. Two passengers from Germany in their 70s died and then a 42-year-old crew member from the Philippines became ill in quarantine and died on Friday.
The ship’s departure leaves two ships in Australian waters – the Ruby Princess, which now has a coronavirus death tally of 21, and the Caledonian Sky which is anchored off Darwin with 63 crew who are reported to have completed quarantine and are well.
The Australian has been told that all 411 people on-board the Artania have completed isolation either on the ship or in Perth hotels where they had been taken in March and early April by Australian Border Force. The ship has been cleaned and Ausmat has deemed those on-board fit to travel. They are mostly crew. The vast majority of passengers – around 800 Europeans – flew home on mercy flights to Frankfurt on March 29 in an operation co-ordinated by the Australian and German governments. There were no Australians on-board.
The Artania is expected to sail to Indonesia and the Philippines to take crew home before returning to Germany.
Track the ship here.
yep, she's definitely leaving!#Artania #Perth pic.twitter.com/PSwk5wJXd0
— Shelleyâš“ (@wheresshelly) April 18, 2020
Agencies 2.15pm: Minister’s ‘absolute assurance’ on virus tracking app
A federal government app to track people who have been in contact with a coronavirus case will be available in the next couple of weeks.
Trying to allay concerns over privacy, Government Services Minister Stuart Robert insisted there will be no surveillance involved in connection with the app.
It will simply digitise what health workers do now to try and trace anyone who has been in contact with COVID-19 case.
“Covid Trace … will be available in the next week or two for Australians to use,” Mr Robert told reporters on the Gold Coast.
“All Australians can have absolute assurance, from the privacy right the way to the security, right the way to the individual elements, the bits and bytes of the code, that the app is simply a health app for individuals voluntarily use to help us trace those who may have been close to someone who has been infected by the virus.”
AAP
Adeshola Ore 1.55pm: 30 corona cases at one NSW aged-care facility
NSW health authorities have confirmed another case of coronavirus at the Anglicare Newmarch House aged-care facility.
There are now 30 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at the Western Sydney facility, including ten staff.
NSW Health said visitors restrictions are in place and contract tracing is underway.
Ewin Hannan 1.30pm: Law firm courting a fight on cost cuts
Thirteen leading law firms are seeking the ability to reduce the hours of employees, direct them to take annual leave at half pay and potentially have them take unpaid leave during a close-down, citing the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision by the firms to apply to the Fair Work Commission for significant changes to the Legal Services Award has angered unions, which have accused them of trying to ram through the changes without proper consultation with employees.
The joint application has been made by Corrs Chambers Westgarth, MinterEllison, Hall & Wilcox, Johnson Winter & Slattery, Arnold Bloch Leibler, Maddocks, Ashurst, Wotton + Kearney, Herbert Smith Freehills, Gilbert + Tobin, Allen & Overy, Gadens, and Clayton Utz.
Read the full story here.
Emily Ritchie 12.47pm: Chance of Ruby Princess leaving ‘remote’
The chances of the controversial Ruby Princess cruise ship leaving NSW waters tomorrow as originally planned are “remote” according to NSW Police.
There are now 162 crew on-board who have tested positive for coronavirus, which is an additional nine cases since Friday.
“We are still working through getting the results and testing all the crew, so we are yet to get to the point that we can say the crew are well enough to travel,” Assistant Commissioner Webb said on Saturday.
“I think the chance of it leaving tomorrow is remote, because we are putting the health of the crew first and we want to make sure that in conjunction with all the parties involved, we want to make sure the condition of those people on that ship makes it safe for them to travel.”
Ms Webb said towards the end of next week was a more likely time frame for the ship to leave Australia.
There are now 13 crew members in health facilities across NSW, with just over 1000 crew members still on-board.
READ MORE: Timeline of tragedy aboard the Ruby Princess
Emily Ritchie 12.45pm: ‘Nothing more than pathetic grubs’
People who spit and cough at public officials are “nothing more than pathetic grubs” says NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard, after another incident of police being spat at in the state overnight.
“For people who do that, they are nothing more than pathetic grubs,” Minister Hazzard said on Saturday.
“Frontline staff are there to look after us and none of these people deserve to have that sort of behaviour and neither do their families. Just stop, it’s crazy, it is absolutely insane.”
NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Karen Webb said officers stopped a 31-year-old man on a motorbike in Bexley in southern Sydney for traffic offences on Friday night who proceeded to allegedly spit and cough at police.
“It was very disappointing,” Assistant Commissioner Webb said.
“That person is now before the courts, he was charged with PCA, drink-driving, and some vehicle offences and for spitting at police.”
Assistant Commissioner Webb said such instances of health-related violence towards police caused much trauma for officers and their families.
“It is very traumatic, it is traumatic and that is why this health order around public officials is so important,” Assistant Commissioner Webb said.
“Because my peers and public officers working at the frontline are putting their lives ahead of other people during this time, and to have someone spit or cough at them puts them in no doubt a lot of stress while they wait to see what the results are of either the person that coughed or spat, whether they are positive, and what that means for them if they are. But just the fear that creates, it is abhorrent to think that someone would spit another person.”
Adeshola Ore 12.30pm: ACT’s sixth day in a row with no cases
The ACT has recorded its sixth consecutive day with no new coronavirus cases.
The territory has 103 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 88 people who have recovered.
ACT Chief Health Officer Dr Kerryn Coleman warned against complacency, despite the curve flattening.
“This weekend, please only go out for essential reasons, comply with the rules of physical distancing and practice good hand and respiratory hygiene,” she said in a statement.
“This is not the time to travel to the coast, interstate or gather in large groups with family and friends.
One COVID-19 patient is in hospital, while the others are self-isolating at home.
The territory’s death toll remains three.
READ MORE: Daily case numbers crash in hard-hit states
Emily Ritchie 12.25pm: Two more die in NSW, one linked to cruise
Two more people have died from coronavirus in NSW overnight, one a Queensland resident, taking the state’s death toll to 27.
NSW Health representative Dr Jeremy McAnulty said an 83-year-old Queensland man, who will be counted in his state’s toll, died in Royal Prince Alfred Hospital after returning from South America on the Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship.
A 58-year-old woman died in Tamworth Hospital and her case is under investigation as the source of her infection is not yet known.
Their deaths take the national death toll to 68.
There were 10 new positive cases identified in the 24 hours from 8pm Thursday to 8pm on Friday in NSW from over 5000 tests.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said there had been 160,454 people tested for the virus in NSW, 157,518 of those testing negative.
“That’s a big positive we need to focus on,” Minister Hazzard said.
“We are so proud of the community coming forward to be tested, and thank them for listening to the message on social distancing.”
There are currently 25 people in intensive care in NSW hospitals, 18 of which require ventilation.
Minister Hazzard announced $25 million in government funding would be made available for research into coronavirus testing and a potential cure.
Minister Hazzard said some people in the age group of 20-29 year olds were still yet to “get the message” about the importance of social distancing.
“For some reason, the 20 to 29 -year-olds, you have to get the message, guys, but this is actually not the time for partying, it is not the time to be hanging out in large groups,” Mr Hazzard said.
“We are serious about the message and that is, stay safe and stick to the rules. Stick to the 1.5m social distancing. We have had people as young as their late 20s and early 30s across the country to have ended up in our ICU units. So just take it seriously, please.”
READ MORE: Katrina Grace Kelly — Our old way of life is gone
Adeshola Ore 11.50am: AMA boss warns against easing restrictions
The Australian Medical Assocation’s WA President has warned against a premature easing of lockdown restrictions, despite Scott Morrison flagging some states could begin lifting measures within weeks.
Dr Andrew Miller said despite the low cases in Western Australia, the full extent of the virus remained unknown.
“We need to know the degree to which the disease is really prevalent in the community in asymptomatic ways before we do too much,” he told the ABC on Saturday.
“We don’t have a vaccine. We don’t have an effective treatment for it yet and at any moment we could get an outbreak.”
Western Australia has confirmed 541 cases of COVID-19, including seven deaths.
READ MORE: Trent Dalton’s tales from the bunker
Adeshola Ore 11.40am: Queensland man dead as state records more cases
An 83-year-old Queensland man who was a passenger on the Celebrity Eclipse cruise ship has become the state’s sixth coronavirus fatality.
He died of the virus while quarantined in Sydney.
There are now 1,014 confirmed cases of the virus in Queensland, including six deaths.
The state’s health minister, Dr Steven Miles said the low number of active cases highlighted that social distancing measures were working to slow the spread of the virus.
“We only have 271 active cases. It reminds us that the efforts we are all going through has already saved the lives of dozens of Queenslanders,” he said.
Dr Miles confirmed 22 people in the state were in hospital for COVID-19 treatment. Of this group, nine people are in ICU, with seven requiring ventilators.
READ MORE: Law firms in fight over cost cuts
Emily Ritchie 11.25am: Two more deaths push death toll to 67
Two more people have died from coronavirus overnight, one in Tasmania and another a Queenslander who died in a Sydney hospital, authorities say.
In Tasmania, the death toll is at eight after another fatality linked to the coronavirus outbreak in the state’s northwest.
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said a 74-year old man who was a COVID-19 patient at the Mersey Community Hospital in the state’s northwest died from the virus overnight.
There were an additional four cases confirmed in the state in the past 24 hours, two of which were healthcare workers and a former patient at the North-West Regional Hospital, and the fourth is a close contact of a previous case.
These were all located in the northwest of the state, where a small outbreak is currently being addressed.
“I know that the measures we have put in place in terms of the quarantine on the north-west coast have appeared to be extreme but they are necessary and I’m confident that these four new positive cases were all in quarantine, all in isolation,” Premier Gutwein said.
There are now 184 active positive cases of the virus in Tasmania, with 68 people recovered.
Mr Gutwein said social distancing restrictions across the state would remain in place until May 15 with additional restrictions in the state’s north-west until Sunday next week. Restrictions will continue to be reviewed.
The state’s Health Minister Sarah Courtney said 500 tests from patients and workers at aged care facilities in the northwest had been received late on Friday by the Royal Hobart Hospital laboratory and they would be urgently tested for the virus.
READ MORE: China admits Wuhan deaths 50 per cent higher
Adeshola Ore 11am: Labor Senator backed after hosting Airbnb guests
Labor MP Jason Clare has backed his colleague Deborah O’Neill after it was revealed she hosted guests at her Airbnb property during coronavirus lockdowns.
The Daily Telegraph reported the Labor NSW Senator had guests stay at her property on the Central Coast in early April, despite a ban on non-essential travel.
Mr Clare stressed that his colleague had flagged she would only accept essential workers at the property going forward.
“I’m sure that Deborah O’Neill is not trying to break the law,” he told the ABC on Saturday.
“She knows you need to comply with the law and the law applies to everyone, whether you’re a member of parliament.”
READ MORE:
Emily Ritchie 10.35am: Virus tracing app won’t be mandatory: PM
The coronavirus contact-tracing app which is currently under development will not be mandatory, according to Scott Morrison.
The Prime Minister on Saturday said the application’s use would be voluntary to help health workers trace people in the community who had come into contact with COVID-19 in order to identify hotspots of virus transmission.
He said downloading the app would not be mandatory, but strongly encouraged.
“We will be seeking the co-operation and support of Australians to download the app to help our health workers, to protect our community and help get our economy going again,” Mr Morrison tweeted.
The App we are working on to help our health workers trace people who have been in contact with coronavirus will not be mandatory.
— Scott Morrison (@ScottMorrisonMP) April 18, 2020
The Morrison government has previously implied the app would be voluntary to begin with, but didn’t rule out eventually making it compulsory for all Australians.
The app, which is expected to be ready within weeks, will use data from people’s phones to tell health authorities who has been in close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case, and who may need to be tested.
The government has said 40 per cent of Australians would need to sign up to the app for it to have enough data to function properly.
Contact-tracing apps are being developed by several countries around the world.
They typically use Bluetooth or satellite location data to record who a person has been in close proximity to.
That information can then be used to notify app-users if someone they have met becomes ill with COVID-19, and declares their status in the app.
Many governments are still working on solutions to the potential privacy issues posed by such apps.
READ MORE: ‘Monumental’ task to reach tracing app target
Adeshola Ore 10.28am: Queensland Minister defends Virgin bailout push
Queensland’s Development Minister Cameron Dick has appealed to the federal government to co-ordinate a national funding response for Virgin Australia.
It follows the Queensland government offering the struggling airline $200 million to help survive the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Dick said state and territory funding would provide a lifeline to the company’s employees.
“The people who work for Virgin are good people, pilots, flight attendants, ground crew,
cabin staff, they do a great job for our state and our nation,” he said.
Mr Dick confirmed the state funding was contingent on the airline’s headquarters remaining in Queensland and the company restructuring its debt.
He underlined the importance of competition in the aviation sector, saying it kept “the air fair.”
READ MORE: Alan Kohler — Debt, inflation better than anarchy
Adeshola Ore 9.50am: Victoria records 17 more cases
Victoria has recorded a further 17 cases of coronavirus, bringing the state’s total to 1,319.
The state’s Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said nine of the new cases were from people in mandatory quarantine. Of these, seven were from the Greg Mortimer cruise ship.
Last weekend, 112 Australians and New Zealanders from the cruise ship arrived in Melbourne from Uruguay on chartered flight.
The state’s death toll remains at 14.
READ MORE: Five weeks that shook the world
Adeshola Ore 9.30am: ‘No point flying if no one is on the plane’
Liberal MP Andrew Laming has resisted calls from Virgin Airline for a federal government rescue package.
It comes as the Queensland government offered $200 million to bail out the struggling airline. Virgin has also asked for a $1.4 billion loan from the federal government to assist it during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr Laming said the federal government would not provide financial handouts to the company unless it was based on economic evidence.
“We can’t be distributing taxpayers money purely on the whim of what is a claim for over $1 billion unless it makes a difference,” he told ABC on Saturday.
“There’s no point flying if there’s no one on the plane. There’s no point flying if there is nothing to do at the other end.”
“Aviation only gets going when people want to get moving again.”
READ MORE: Funds baulk at calls to bail out Virgin
Adeshola Ore 9.15am: Woolworths announces more COVID-19 changes
Woolworths has removed more product limits, as shelves begin to slowly fill back up after weeks of panic-buying.
In an email to customers, the supermarket giant said it had removed buying limits of canned vegetables, canned legumes, canned tomatoes and most baby products.
Restrictions still apply to hand sanitiser, pasta and toilet paper.
“Another 1.5 million units of hand sanitiser will come in this week, plus another 500,000 packs of pasta. These are big quantities but with demand still high, supply will remain patchy in parts,” CEO Brad Banducci said.
READ MORE: Unravelling the deadly mysteries of COVID-19
Christine Kellett 8.45am: Another Ruby Princess passenger dies
The family of a 64-year-old American man who died from coronavirus after the fateful Ruby Princess voyage is now suing the cruise line for gross corporate negligence.
Chung Chen died in California on April 4 after returning home to the US with coronavirus contracted on board the ship, his lawyer claims. Mr Chen’s wife and daughter also contracted the virus on the trip and are suing Carnival Cruise Lines for more than $US1 million.
Lawyer Debi Chalik told the ABC Mr Chen, along with other passengers, were assured it was safe to cruise because there had been no major outbreak of coronavirus in Australia, despite the escalating pandemic.
She has also told US media passengers were delayed for six hours from boarding the ship while it underwent a deep clean without being told why.
“They were apparently trying to clean the ship and have it ready to sail out again, despite the widespread infection that became apparent when on the earlier sailing, approximately 200 passengers and crew members showed symptoms of the virus.
“(The company’s) decision to sail largely goes against what a responsible cruise line would do,” Ms Chalik told the ABC on Saturday, saying Mr Chen’s family were now suffering “significant trauma.”
“You go on a dream vacation and you don’t expect to come home ill and then lose your husband and father.”
Ms Chalik said the company had been forced to quarantine two cruise ships in its fleet after earlier journeys over coronavirus outbreaks — including the disastrous Diamond Princess cruise through Asia — but still opted to proceed with the Ruby Princess trip from Sydney to New Zealand.
“They sailed on March 8th knowing there was a great risk of exposing their passengers to a deadly virus.”
READ MORE: Timeline to tragedy aboard the Ruby Princess
Agencies 8.30am: Long-lost skills now in demand
Industrial sewing skills almost extinct in Australia’s fading fabric manufacturing industry are suddenly in demand as local companies respond to the need for face masks.
Among those who never expected their skills from another era would make them hot property are three Afghani refugee sisters.
Fatima, Tayebeh and Tahereh were recruited a month ago by a Victorian company Jada Blinds Supplies to be sewing machinists.
It is the first time in their six years in Australia that they have had full time employment.
They learned to use industrial sewing machines under slave-like conditions as girls living in Iran.
“They’ve got amazing skills,” owner of Australian Face Masks James Farren said.
Along with one other machinist they are making up to 1000 face masks a day, but Mr Farren hopes to hire more staff to get daily production to 5000. “There’s more demand than we would be able to fulfil,” he said. Until February, the family-owned Carrum Downs factory had been supplying custom cut blinds and curtains to Bunnings, Spotlight and others.
But the onset of coronavirus social distancing restrictions saw demand for its services drop, putting the 25-year-old business in strife.
By early March, Mr Farren was convincing his parents to keep financially afloat by temporarily making face masks.
It wasn’t easy to get started, as there was none of the required fabric available in Australia.
READ MORE: Peter van Onselen — Why it’s essential we get this right
Brent Read 8am: NRL given the green light to re-start comp on May 28
The NRL has been given the green light for a May 28 start by its broadcast partners and discussed an extended season that stretches potentially into November, but any decision on money will have to wait until next week when negotiations resume with Foxtel and the Nine Network.
ARL Commission chair Peter V’landys held closed-door talks with Foxtel chief executive Patrick Delany and Nine Network boss Hugh Marks on Friday morning, the outcome a closely guarded secret after the trio agreed to keep their high-level talks in house.
Even the NRL hierarchy have been kept in the dark. Further talks are scheduled for early next week, an indication that key issues still need to be resolved.
It is understood money is the most significant one, the parties yet to agree on what the broadcasters will pay for the remainder of the year given the NRL will supply a shortened season.
Read the full story here.
Agencies 7.30am: NSW senator confirms she had guests stay at Airbnb
Senator Deborah O’Neill says all future bookings for her coastal NSW Airbnb property have been cancelled, except for those by essential workers, amid a report that guests stayed there this month.
A spokeswoman for the federal politician confirmed to The Daily Telegraph that guests stayed at the Central Coast home from April 6-8.
Senator O’Neill said all bookers were informed that occupants must comply with the COVID-19 changes to the law.
The senator later told the newspaper “unless someone is an essential service worker, all future bookings have been cancelled”.
Non-essential travel to regional towns in NSW has been banned to kerb the spread of coronavirus.
NSW Liberal MP Don Harwin resigned from his post as arts minister and was fined $1000 this month after it was revealed he had moved to his Central Coast holiday home. — AAP
READ MORE: Secret brains trust plotting way out of coronavirus lockdown
Agencies 7am: ‘It’s a myth that life goes on as normal in Sweden’
Sweden’s strategy to tackle the coronavirus is similar to that adopted by many other countries even though it has not been put into lockdown, two cabinet members say.
“It is a myth that life goes on as normal in Sweden,” Foreign Minister Ann Linde said.
Sweden has drawn international attention over not introducing a lockdown and — unlike several neighbouring countries — not closed restaurants or bars. Guests must be served sitting at tables, with a safe distance from each other.
“Many people stay at home and have stopped travelling, many business are collapsing, unemployment is expected to rise dramatically,” she added. “There is no full lockdown of Sweden but many parts of Swedish society have shut down.”
Lena Hallengren, minister for health and social affairs, said where Sweden differed was that it had not closed kindergartens and schools from years 1-9, and people had not been forced to stay at home. She said the government’s aim was to limit the spread of infection and ensure that healthcare services remained available.
Hallengren conceded that “the high numbers of infected people at the homes for elderly care is … one of our major concerns”.
It was not clear why the infection had spread there, she said. The Public Health Agency has estimated that about a third of Sweden’s virus-related deaths have been in care homes.
The agency had by Friday recorded about 13,200 coronavirus cases and 1,400 COVID-19 fatalities. — DPA
Seeing some "Sweden's outcomes aren't actually *that* bad compared to other countries" sentiment.
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) April 17, 2020
But here's the thing: Sweden's deaths are still increasing at a pretty sharp rate (though note week vs. weekend reporting issues) which is NOT true in most of the US and Europe. pic.twitter.com/LLjNucYx7q
READ MORE: How we’re bunkering down and Stayin’ Alive
Lisa Shumaker 6.15am: China admits Wuhan death toll higher than reported
The number of deaths linked to the coronavirus has reached 150,000.
The first death came in the central Chinese city of Wuhan on January 9. It took 83 days for the first 50,000 deaths to be recorded and just eight more for the toll to climb to 100,000.
It took another eight days to go from 100,000 to 150,000.
The death toll is still far short of the so-called Spanish flu, which began in 1918 and is estimated to have killed more than 20 million people by the time it petered out in 1920.
China, confirming long-held suspicions, acknowledged overnight that the coronavirus death toll in the one-time epicentre city of Wuhan was higher than reported, adding 1290 fatalities to total more than 4600.
China has just announced a doubling in the number of their deaths from the Invisible Enemy. It is far higher than that and far higher than the U.S., not even close!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
In Italy, Spain, Britain, the United States and elsewhere, similar doubts emerged as governments revised their death tolls or openly questioned the accuracy of them.
Authorities say that almost everywhere, thousands have died with COVID-19 symptoms — many in nursing homes — without being tested for the virus, and have thus gone uncounted.
Spain’s 17 autonomous regions have been ordered to adopt uniform criteria on counting the dead. The country has recorded more than 19,000 deaths but the system leaves out patients who had symptoms but were not tested before they died.
In Italy, where the official toll has climbed past 22,000, a government survey of about one-third of the country’s nursing homes indicated that more than 6000 residents had died since February 1. It was unclear how many were a result of COVID-19.
In Britain, with an official count of about 14,600 dead, the country’s statistics agency said the actual number could be around 15 per cent higher. Others think it will be far more.
The official death toll in New York City — the hotspot of the US — soared by more than half earlier this week when health authorities began including people who probably had COVID-19 but died without being tested. Nearly 3800 deaths were added to the city’s count. — REUTERS
I know this is hard.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 16, 2020
I wish I could say this will be over soon, but I can’t.
We must make decisions based on the science and the data.
Human lives are at stake.
READ MORE: Bernard Salt — Nature’s weapon of mass destruction
Matt Sedensky 5.15am: Donald Trump rallies supporters against governors
A day after laying out a road map for gradually reviving economic activity, US President Donald Trump urged his supporters to “LIBERATE” three states led by Democratic governors.
“LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” “LIBERATE MICHIGAN!” “LIBERATE VIRGINIA,” Mr Trump tweeted as he also lashed out at New York Governor Andrew Cuomo for criticising the federal response.
LIBERATE MINNESOTA!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
LIBERATE MICHIGAN!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
LIBERATE VIRGINIA, and save your great 2nd Amendment. It is under siege!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
Cuomo “should spend more time ‘doing’ and less time ‘complaining’,” he said, adding: “Less talk and more action!”
Governor Cuomo should spend more time “doing†and less time “complainingâ€. Get out there and get the job done. Stop talking! We built you thousands of hospital beds that you didn’t need or use, gave large numbers of Ventilators that you should have had, and helped you with....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
Cuomo ridiculously wanted “40 thousand Ventilatorsâ€. We gave him a small fraction of that number, and it was plenty. State should have had them in stockpile!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
Responding to pleas from some governors for help in ramping up testing for the virus, Trump put the burden on them, tweeting: “The States have to step up their TESTING!”
The States have to step up their TESTING!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 17, 2020
Yesterday, the president detailed a three-step set of guidelines for methodically easing the restrictions over a span of several weeks in places that have robust testing and are seeing a decrease in COVID-19 cases, assuring the nation’s governors: “You’re going to call your own shots.”
But some governors made it clear they were not ready to break out the road map, saying they badly need help from Washington in expanding testing.
Large-scale testing is a massive undertaking.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 17, 2020
We need the private sector to work with government to meet this enormous challenge.
And we need the federal government to act.
Mr Cuomo, whose state is the most lethal hot spot in the nation and is still seeing more than 600 deaths a day, accused the federal government of “passing the buck without passing the bucks.”
“The federal government cannot wipe its hands of this and say, ‘Oh, the states are responsible for testing.’ We cannot do it. We cannot do it without federal help,” the governor said. — AP
New York is still seeing about 2,000 COVID hospitalizations per day.
— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) April 17, 2020
If people tell you the pandemic is "over" — they're wrong.
READ MORE: In these times, the world can rely on the Americans
Brad Norington 5am: ABC health broadcaster bids for government contract
A company co-founded by prominent ABC health broadcaster Norman Swan, the No 1 public critic of Scott Morrison’s coronavirus strategy, was bidding to win the contract for a government-funded media campaign to educate GPs across the country on COVID-19.
Dr Swan is executive director and co-founder of Tonic Health Media, a private company that unsuccessfully pitched last month for work funded by the federal government to produce educational videos about coronavirus for GPs.
He is best known as host of ABC Radio National’s The Health Report and has appeared frequently on flagship ABC TV programs recently as the face of the national broadcaster’s COVID-19 coverage.
Read the full story here.
Robyn Ironside 4.45am: Will Queensland’s $200m for Virgin prompt bailout?
The Queensland government has moved to ignite a rescue bid for Virgin Australia, offering $200m towards a bailout in the belief it will entice other states to come forward to back the nation’s second airline.
The $200m — offered on the condition Virgin maintains its Queensland headquarters where 5500 people are employed — is well short of the $1.4bn sought by the airline but is designed to increase pressure on the Morrison government to reverse its refusal to provide an assistance package.
While the Palaszczuk government believes other states will pitch in to ensure a competitive aviation sector, State Development Minister Cameron Dick challenged the federal government to step up and back Virgin, which has suspended trading in its shares pending negotiations about its financial future.
Read the full story here.
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Age of Albanese: Labor landslide sets party up for two terms
Anthony Albanese has claimed a historic second election victory in a sweeping result that has left the Coalition devastated.
Defeated Liberals now brace for leadership and policy war
Three frontrunners emerge as next leader of the Liberal Party, MPs prepare for an internal battle, after Peter Dutton led the Coalition to one of its biggest electoral drubbings.
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