Coronavirus Australia live updates: Ruby Princess claims 12th life; Christian Porter firm on excluding casuals
Another passenger from the Ruby Princess has died, bringing the death toll from the cruise ship to twelve and the national death toll to 40.
- National death toll hits 40
- Ruby Princess docks with 200 displaying symptoms
- UK PM Boris Johnson hospitalised
- US braces for its ‘9/11 moment’
- Queen addresses nation on coronavirus
- Morrison’s approval rating skyrockets
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis. Christian Porter is standing firm amid calls to expand the $130b wage subsidy to casuals. The cruise ship at the centre of a criminal investigation, the Ruby Princess, has docked at Port Kembla, south of Sydney with 200 crew members displaying COVID-19 symptoms. Today it claimed its 12th victim as Australia’s death toll rose to 40.
Matthew Denholm 10.45pm Hospital closed to visitors as staff test positive
A further two staff members at a Tasmanian hospital have tested positive for coronavirus, forcing authorities to close it to visitors and divert some emergency cases more than 100 km.
Advice from authorities on Monday night was contradictory about the total number of cases at Burnie’s North West Regional Hospital. It was either five or six, in addition to a patient who has also tested positive.
Chief Medical Officer Tony Lawler said the NWRH would close to visitors, as would nearby Mersey Community Hospital, at Latrobe, where another health worker has tested positive.
In addition, patients from the Devonport area would be transported to the Launceston General Hospital, “to reduce the workload on the NWRH while staff are managing the current outbreak”.
Imogen Reid 7.55pm Disability nurse dies in Victoria
A 54-year-old healthcare worker has been identified as one of the latest victims to die from coronavirus in Victoria.
Sumith Premachandra, who worked as a disability nurse, died at Dandenong Hospital on Sunday.
His daughter, Sharyn, said the hearts of her family “are broken into a million pieces” in a gut-wrenching post she shared to her Facebook page on Monday.
“Our beautiful father, Sumith, passed away peacefully yesterday at 12:22pm with us by our side,” she said.
“He was the most charismatic, kind-hearted, generous, hilarious, lovable, godly and caring man you would ever meet.
“Our dad was a disability nurse, a healthcare worker on the frontline, but for those of you that aren’t taking COVID-19 seriously, it may be hard not to see your friends and family at the moment but you can choose to isolate now or potentially live with the heartbreak of losing them forever.
“Daddy, we love you more than anything, we will miss you everyday for the rest of our lives.”
READ MORE: Laws create a muddle lane: L-plater fined $1600
Imogen Reid 7.55pm Toll at aged-care home hits six
Another resident at BaptistCare’s Dorothy Henderson Lodge has died from coronavirus.
The victim, a 90-year-old man, is the sixth resident from the Macquarie Park facility to die from the virus, taking the NSW death toll to 19 and the national total to 41.
In a statement released by BaptistCare on Monday, CEO Ross Low said it was “nothing short of heartbreaking to have another resident lose their life to this virus”.
“I have been on the phone this afternoon with the resident’s family, and I grieve with them in their loss. Our residents are not just numbers; they are beloved individuals in our care and the very reason we exist,” he said.
“Our care staff and those who are part of Dorothy Henderson Lodge are doing their very best caring for our residents as they would their own family.”
Dorothy Henderson Lodge has 16 residents and five staff who have tested positive for coronavirus, with the total number of cases at 21.
READ MORE: Writers to document life in the time of COVID-19
Matthew Denholm 7.18pm Tasmanian cases rise to 89
Tasmania has confirmed three new cases of coronavirus, taking the state’s total to 89.
“Two of the cases are women, one is a man; one is from southern Tasmania, and two are from the northwest,” Director of Public Health Mark Veitch said on Monday night. “Two are aged in their 50s, one is in their 80s.”
Earlier, health authorities and police were trying to “aggressively track and trace” an outbreak of COVID-19 at a major public hospital in Tasmania’s northwest.
Four cases of coronavirus had been recorded among health workers at Burnie’s North West Regional Hospital, as well as one patient.
“An investigation is underway which will obviously include the identification of contacts, both in the community and within the hospital,” said Premier Peter Gutwein.
Mr Gutwein did not rule out regional lockdowns and warned retailers, particularly large hardware stores and big box retailers, that they would be shut if they failed to comply with the 4sq m per person rule and allow orderly outdoor queues.
He said he was also contemplating closing Hobart’s weekend farmers’ market but had agreed to talks with the Hobart City Council and health advisers before making a final decision.
READ MORE: Lockdown L-plater cops fine lesson for driving with mum
Ben Packham 6.58pm: Morrison’s ‘warm discussion’ with Indian counterpart
Scott Morrison has spoken with Indian counterpart Narendra Modi about the coronavirus pandemic that threatens to spark a humanitarian catastrophe in the world’s second most populous nation.
The “warm discussion” included talks on Australia’s and India’s responses to the crisis, and the “post-virus recovery”.
They resolved to stay in touch as the world works towards a treatment and a vaccine for the virus.
According to the World Health Organisation, India has reported 3374 coronavirus cases and 77 deaths. But the true figures are believed to be far higher.
India - with more than 1.3bn people - has one of the world’s lowest testing rates, and there are fears of a major outbreak in the country.
Australia, which has one of the world’s highest testing rates, has reported 5795 coronavirus cases and 39 deaths.
In India, people have been ordered to remain indoors until the crisis has passed, but the shutdown sparked an exodus from major cities as migrant labourers head to their native villages, potentially spreading the virus across the country.
Mr Modi apologised for the impact lockdown last week, saying there was “no other way” to stop the spread of the virus.
Joe Kelly 5.10pm: JobKeeper ‘never designed for universities’
Assistant Finance Minister Zed Seselja has told The Australian that changes making it easier for charities to access the $1500 a fortnight JobKeeper payments were never designed for universities.
The statement — clearing up confusion on Monday morning about whether universities were eligible for the new concession — is certain to spark a clash with the higher-education sector which is being hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The 15 per cent decline in the turnover threshold is aimed at charities like the Salvation Army and Catholic Social Services Australia,” Senator Seselja said. “This supports charities that are expected to have a significant increase in demand for their services.”
“Non-Government Schools and Universities are eligible for the JobKeeper Payment. However, they will need to meet the turnover threshold of 30 per cent for those with an annual turnover of less than $1 billion.”
READ MORE: Universities not eligible for $2bn bailout
Remy Varga 4.55pm: L-plater cops $1652 for driving lesson with mum
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton says he’s satisfied a $1652 social distancing fine issued to a 17-year-old because she was undertaking a driving lesson with her mother was legal, after the state’s Chief Health Officer backed the infringement.
But Mr Patton said the fine will still be reviewed to see if police discretion should be used.
Sharee Reynolds and her daughter Hunter, 17, called 3AW on Monday morning to say they would challenge the fine, which was issued as they drove from their home in the bayside Melbourne suburb of Hampton to Frankston on the weekend.
Sharee said the officer told them they were too far from home.
Read more here.
Angelica Snowden 4.40pm: NSW social isolation police fines near 100
NSW police have issued nearly 100 fines for breaking the state’s strict social isolation rules in under two weeks.
Police say 98 infringements have been issued since March 17 in a bid to crack down on people flouting the rules that aim to stop the spread of coronavirus.
One recent example includes a 65-year-old woman who returned to Australia from Indonesia. She left her home and visited seven different retail stores in a day before her two week quarantine period ended.
Another saw a 32-year-old man and a 31-year-old woman both fined $1000 after they were caught by police twice outside their home in South Kempsey on the mid north coast without a reasonable excuse”.
The man told police they were “bored” when asked why they did not comply.
The news comes after NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian today said social distancing restrictions may be relaxed if the number of COVID-19 cases continues to slow.
“Everyday we are able to review how NSW is going and there is a chance down the track that we can lift the restrictions,” Mr Berejiklian said.
“What we don’t want to have to do is go harder and that is certainly something I don’t want to do,” she said.
READ MORE: Crackdown on lockdowns
Elias Visotnay 4.30pm: ‘This is not just an old person’s disease’
Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has revealed there are Australian COVID-19 patients in their 30s without pre-existing medical conditions who are in intensive care beds in hospitals, warning: “this is not just an old person’s disease”.
Dr Kelly also reiterated authorities were now most focussed on preventing community transmission, which he said accounts for about 8 per cent of Australia’s 5795 confirmed cases.
As of Monday afternoon, there are 96 Australians in intensive care units, 35 of who are on ventilators.
“I would stress that some of those people that are in intensive care are relatively young, so in their 30s. So this is not just an old person’s disease,” Dr Kelly said on Monday afternoon.
“That is why we need the whole of the population to continue to take this seriously.
“Those relatively young people ... don’t have risk factors, and so that’s an important point.
“Most of those are the more vulnerable people in our society, for example older people, those with chronic illnesses. But as has been seen around the world so far, the more cases you get the more likely it is that you will find people without any vulnerability to start with and relatively young people having this disease very severely, and this is a wake-up call for all of us.”
“Our low mortality rate and our low percentage positive in our testing shows me that we are actually finding people early in this disease, isolating them and breaking those chains of transmission that spread through the whole population.”
Dr Kelly also urged Australians to register for the regular flu (not COVID-19) tracking network, to allow authorities to have better data of hotspots of respiratory diseases around Australia.
He also urged Australians not to wear surgical grade masks given shortages for medical professionals: “Please don’t wear those masks, leave them for the people that really need them.”.
While the US has recommended citizens wear makeshift cloth masks, Australia was in a “very different situation in terms of the number of cases in the community” he said, and warned those wearing masks could give people a false sense of security.
AAP 4.10pm: Lifeline for Aussies stranded in South America
Australians in South America have been thrown a lifeline after the government organised special commercial flights to rescue travellers stranded by the coronavirus.
Australians in Peru will be able to book for an 🇦🇺 Government-faciliatated commercial âœˆï¸ to Australia this Wednesday out of Lima, Cusco & Iquitos. Details on how to buy tickets are being emailed to registered travellers. A further flight will be confirmed soon. @dfat @embauslima
— Marise Payne (@MarisePayne) April 6, 2020
The first flight will depart from the Peruvian city of Cusco for Chile’s capital Santiago before travelling on to Melbourne.
A second journey will start in Peru’s capital Lima and stop in Iquitos en route to Melbourne.
Demand is expected to outstrip the number of seats available after more than 400 Australians registered with the consulate to get on the next plane home.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne has signalled another flight would be arranged in coming days.
In an email to Australians in Peru, the Australian consulate said a seat would cost $2550 a person.
READ MORE: Pay cuts at McGrath
Angelica Snowden 3.47pm: Japan to declare state of emergency
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will declare a state of emergency as early as Tuesday in a bid to stop the coronavirus spreading across the country, the Yomiuri newspaper reports.
The cumulative number of infections has topped 1000 in Tokyo alone.
Mr Abe will likely announce his plans to declare the emergency on Monday, the paper said, while Kyodo news agency said new measures would likely come into force on Wednesday.
Pressure had been mounting on the government to make the move as the pace of infections continues to accelerate – particularly in the capital – even though it remains slow for now compared with the United States, countries in Europe and China, where thousands have died.
Declaring an emergency would give governors in severely affected regions legal authority to call on people to stay home and businesses to close, but not to impose the kind of lockdowns seen in other countries.
In most cases, there are no penalties for ignoring requests, and enforcement will rely more on peer pressure and respect for authority.
More than 3500 people have tested positive and 85 have died in Japan from the COVID-19 disease associated with new coronavirus, according to public broadcaster NHK.
Reuters
READ MORE: Swedes told to brace for thousands of deaths
Ewin Hannan 3.50pm: Two Sydney wharfies test positive, 17 isolated
Two employees at Hutchison Ports Australia have tested positive for COVID-19 and 17 workers who were in potential close contact with the duo at the company’s Port Botany terminal have been placed in self-isolation.
Work at the terminal has been at a standstill since last Friday, with the Maritime Union of Australia accusing the company of allowing the site to operate when it knew the first worker had tested positive to coronavirus.
But HPA chief executive officer John Willy said on Monday that the company had been given the “all-clear” by health authorities after establishing the two positive cases were “not workforce transmissions”.
The company said it worked with the NSW Health Department and the employee in a contact tracing exercise to determine who may have been in close contact with the infected employee.
While no close contacts were confirmed, 17 staff were categorised as possible close contacts and instructed to self-isolate on full pay for 14 days.
The second employee reported to HPA on Sunday that he had tested positive to COVID-19. The employee was told by NSW Health the infection period commenced on March 29, and the worker has not been at the terminal during the infectious period.
Mr Willy said SafeWork NSW had not imposed any operating restrictions at the terminal.
“The only thing the company has not revealed to staff – or the union – are the identities of infected employees for privacy reasons,” he said.
“What we all know as people living in affected Australian communities is that COVID-19 is with us for some time and HPA has been well prepared to manage this ongoing situation in order to keep critical supplies including medicines and other essentials flowing to the Australian public.”
MUA assistant national secretary Warren Smith said the female worker who tested positive had performed six shifts in the terminal since March 24.
He said Hutchison refused to share potential exposure and contact information with the workforce or the union, “further risking workplace and community transmission due to company inaction”.
“It’s like Hutchison are not part of this community crisis and global pandemic. They just want to work away like it’s business as usual,” he said
Mr Smith said the union believed approximately 30 wharfies at Hutchison were currently in isolation due to COVID-19.
“The MUA fears the figures may be much higher as the union has received calls from concerned workers who identified their exposure to the infected worker but have been omitted from NSW Health follow-up,” he said.
“Places like change rooms were also excluded as a potential source of transmission.
“The methodology that Hutchison Ports had used to identify potential COVID-19 contact has been denied to workers and the union.”
READ MORE: Wharfies warn of unsafe ships in NT
Remy Varga 3.30pm: Victoria widens its coronavirus testing critera
Victoria is broadening the testing criteria for COVID-19 as the number of travellers returning to the state declined.
It comes as confirmed cases suspected to be transmitted through the community increased by 13, bringing the total to 88.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said the testing would be extended to those aged 65 and over, primary and secondary teachers, childcare workers, as well as firefighters who are emergency medical experts suffering from a fever and/or acute respiratory infection.
READ MORE: Chef fights back with ‘business of the future'
Paige Taylot 3.10pm: 40th Australian death another Ruby Princess passenger
Another former passenger from the Ruby Princess has died from coronavirus, bringing the death toll from the cruise ship to twelve and the national death toll to 40.
The 84-year-old man and died at Royal Perth Hospital in WA overnight.
West Australian Health Minister Roger Cook announced the man’s death at a press conference in the southeastern Perth suburb of Jandakot, describing it as very sad news and extending condolences to the man’s family.
All four people who have died from coronavirus in WA have been cruise ship passengers.
The first, 78-year-old James Kwan, died after being evacuated from the Diamond Princess in Japan. The second was Ray Daniels, 73, who had returned from the Celebrity Solstice when he collapsed at home in Perth’s north and died within 48 hours. The third person to die from COVID-19 in WA was a German man — not an Australian resident — who was evacuated from the coronavirus-infected Artania at Fremantle Port last week.
Ruby Princess has been the source of some 620 infections.
There were seven new cases overnight, bringing the total of infected people in WA to 460. Six of the seven new cases involved cruise ships, and the seventh was related to overseas travel.
The cruise ships involved were the Costa Victoria, Sun Princess and the Artania. The Artania case was of a person who had been taken off the ship and was in isolation in a hotel.
The new cases were aged between 41 and 79 years. There are 58 people in hospital in WA, and 18 in ICU.
The Director General of Health Dr David Russell Weisz says the incidence of influenza-type illnesses presenting to emergency departments has gone down.
READ MORE: Police launch criminal probe into Ruby Princess
Ben Packham 3.05pm: Aussie media ‘defaming ‘ Chinese companies
The Chinese Embassy in Australia has accused media organisations of “defaming” Chinese companies who bought up medical supplies in Australia to send back to China earlier in the COVID-19 crisis.
In a move that has been widely condemned Chinese property developers purchased tonnes of medical equipment in January and February to send to the virus epicentre of Hubei province – including now scarce personal protective wear – before Australia triggered its emergency coronavirus response.
But the Embassy hit back at criticism of the companies, saying it was “no different” to the actions of Australian firms, including Fortescue Metals Group, Rio Tinto and BHP, now trying to source medical equipment in China. Read more here.
Tim Dodd 2.57pm: Frydenberg clarifies uni bailout
Major universities were expecting a massive coronavirus bailout worth over $2 billion this morning after a late night tweet from Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Sunday announced that the government would increase access for registered charities to its $130 billion JobKeeper scheme.
The JobKeeper legislation we are introducing into Parl on Wed will see charities registered with the ACNC eligible for JobKeeper Payment if they have a turnover decline of 15% or more. This will apply to all registered charities, including those with a turnover of more than $1b.
— Josh Frydenberg (@JoshFrydenberg) April 5, 2020
But the Treasurer misspoke. In an illustration of the perils of governing by tweet, this morning it turned out that Mr Frydenberg hadn’t mentioned a key caveat in his statement which apparently applies. The decision to relax access to JobKeeper for charities does not include universities.
Read more here:
Angelica Snowden 2.55pm: I’ll share what I have: Kyrgios offers help
Australian tennis player Nick Kyrgios has offered to share food or essential supplies with anyone who has fallen on tough times amid the coronavirus pandemic in an Instagram post.
The controversial tennis player urged people not to be “afraid or embarrassed” to contact him for supplies.
“If ANYONE is not working/getting an income and runs out of food, or times are just tough ... please don’t go to sleep with an empty stomach,” he said in a post.
“I will be more than happy to share whatever I have.”
Earlier this year Kyrgios showed his charitable side after he pledged to donate $200 per ace he served to raise money for bushfire relief and urged more people to travel locally after the devastating fires.
READ MORE: Queen's message for Australia
Oliver Moddy 2.45pm: Brace for thousands of deaths, Swedes told
Stefan Lofven, Sweden’s Prime Minister has told the country to steel itself for thousands of deaths after 2300 doctors and academics criticised its laissez-faire approach to the pandemic. Read more here.
Rosie Lewis 2.40pm: ‘Holes’, but Lambie, Hanson back JobKeeper
Key Senate crossbenchers Jacqui Lambie and Pauline Hanson have declared their support for the Morrison government’s $130bn JobKeeper package but One Nation wants to ensure new businesses are also offered support.
Senator Hanson, the One Nation leader who holds two crucial votes in the Senate, said the JobKeeper payments appeared to provide a lifeline to many employees and employers.
“Any assistance at this point in time is better than none,” she said.
Senator Hanson said she would not stand in the way of the majority of Australian workers getting the “much needed” $1500 fortnightly payments but wanted new businesses to qualify for the scheme.
“I do have my concerns for many new businesses who started within the past 12 months and whose workers won’t qualify for the payment. This is something I would hope the government will rethink before the vote on Wednesday,” she said.
More than 1 million casual workers who have not been with the same employer for at least 12 months cannot access the scheme.
While most employers must show the Australian Taxation Office their turnover has reduced by 30-50 per cent compared to the same time last year because of the coronavirus, the tax commissioner will have discretion to consider the cases of businesses that only began operating in the last 12 months.
Independent Tasmanian Senator Lambie said the government’s support package “has all sorts of holes in it but it’s going some way to where we need to get to”.
“I’m not going to stand in the way. Right now, nobody’s getting the help they need. If this doesn’t pass, that remains the case,” Senator Lambie said.
“I’m not going to let the perfect be the enemy of the good by blocking help to those who need it, simply because there’s more help that’s needed than what is being offered. I’ll be supporting the legislation but that doesn’t mean it’s pens down from here.”
Senator Lambie said she would try to be part of a new Senate parliamentary committee that would scrutinise the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis “to make sure no one falls through the cracks”.
Labor has committed to supporting the JobKeeper package even if they payments are not delivered through its preferred mechanism of the Fair Work Commission.
With Labor’s support, the government does not need to win over the Senate crossbench to pass the legislation but the government is due to brief One Nation about the payments on Tuesday.
Lachlan Moffett Gray 2.15pm: Greg Mortimer ship cases worsen
The number of people with coronavirus aboard the Greg Mortimer cruise ship, which is moored off the coast of Montevideo, Uruguay, has hit 81.
The ship, which has at least 95 Australian passengers on board, left Chile on March 15 for an Antarctic cruise. After a passenger developed symptoms, the ship was denied entry into ports at Chile and the Falkland Islands before being received by Uruguay
The operator of the ship, Aurora Expeditions, has said two crew members and one passenger that they consider “high-risk” have been disembarked to be treated in a non-ICU medical facility.
A further three people are in hospital.
The remaining patients, 45 people who have tested negative and 90 yet to receive results remain on board the ship, with results anticipated within the next day.
A spokeswoman for Aurora expeditions said aside from the three people removed from the ship, all other COVID-19 positive individuals were asymptomatic and “not found to be unhealthy or require health status monitoring at this stage”.
She said the company was working to establish charter flights home for the passengers who have tested negative.
“This has been extraordinarily complicated given most commercial routes have stopped and the majority of airlines have discontinued flying and access to charter planes is difficult,” she said.
“The advice from the authorities is that everyone who can leave, must leave. The disembarkation and country exit path will not be available on an ongoing basis. As you know, our aim is to disembark everyone who is able to travel.”
The spokeswoman said a plan was being developed with the Uruguayan health ministry to develop a way to get COVID-19 positive passengers and crew out of the country when possible.
READ MORE: Job applicants swamp Telstra
Victoria Laurie 2.11pm: Calls for police investigation over Artania
Operators of the German cruise ship Artania should be investigated for gross negligence in sailing on to numerous ports for nearly six weeks after the Diamond Princess was quarantined on February 4 at Yokohama with 252 coronavirus cases.
Former head of WorkSafe WA CEO Neil Bartholomaeus says WA Police should investigate whether the operators broke applicable laws for continuing to carry passengers on the Artania after the threat of coronavirus was known.
The Artania remains in Fremantle after 53 passengers and crew were hospitalised, and one passenger died due to a Covid-19 outbreak. Around 400 crew members remain on board under strict isolation, amid fers there will be other Covid-19 cases.
“NSW police are conducting investigations of the Ruby Princess and West Australians deserve similar attention to justice.”
He says Worksafe WA successfully prosecuted an employee in charge of a fishing vessel that sailed into Cyclone Bobby in 1995 without attention to weather warnings, adversely affecting the safety of the crew.
“Similarly, now, cruise ship operators have sailed into viral storms infecting crew and passengers and must be investigated for their actions and the consequences,” he said.
“The deadly consequences of ignoring the precedent of the Diamond Princess should have been foreseeable by the operators of the Artania,” he said.
The captain of the Artania says the decision to pick up passengers in Sydney when the pandemic was in full flight was a decision by the company, not the ship’s crew.
The ship’s operator has been contacted for comment.
Remy Varga 2.09pm: Victoria coronavirus update at 2.30pm
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos and state Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton are due to give an update on the coronavirus pandemic at 2.30pm AEST.
Sarah Elks 2.04pm: Premier’s warning over Easter travel
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned Queenslanders not to be tempted to travel to beaches or go to holiday homes this Easter weekend.
“What we don’t want to see is mass movements of people to other parts of our state,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“It’s not the time to pack up and take your family to the beach for a holiday. There is no holiday this year.”
She said Queensland parliament could return as soon as next week, to pass an omnibus bill to deal with outstanding coronavirus issues, if the national cabinet came up with legislation to deal with commercial tenancies.
Ms Palaszczuk said there were a number of cruise ships off the coast of Queensland, but as far as she knew, all only carried crew and none had any coronavirus cases on-board.
The Australian reported on Friday that Queensland had allowed 77 cruise ships into its waters since late January, but no coronavirus cases had passed through the state’s ports onto shore.
Sarah Elks 1.57pm: 139 fines issued in Qld for virus breaches
Queensland Police have issued 139 fines to people for “non-essential travel,” failing to properly social distance in parks, and breaching quarantine orders, including 19 infringements to people who went to a big car rally in Brisbane on the weekend.
Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll warned the state’s beaches would be “heavily patrolled” this weekend, and anyone who was not from the local area would be told to leave and possible fined.
At the NSW, 23,000 vehicles have been stopped since the closure was tightened on Friday, with 532 vehicles turned around. Only Queensland residents, or people with a valid permit, are allowed through.
Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the state would be expanding its testing regime for coronavirus, to include anyone who is presenting with symptoms in Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and Cairns, to measure community transmission.
Dr Young said there were 32 cases that authorities could not trace back to another case in those three regions. 12 of the other Queensland cases were contracted interstate, while the majority were acquired overseas, with others from contact with the overseas-acquired case.
READ MORE: Police issue $78k in fines at car rally
Elias Visonta y 1.28pm: Porter stands firm on excluding casuals
Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter is standing firm amid calls to expand the eligibility of the $130 billion wage subsidy to include an estimated one million casual employees who have not worked for the same business for 12 months.
Mr Porter said casual work in some sectors had been growing as a result of COVID-19, and he also pointed out that the goal of the JobKeeper scheme - to keep an employee connected with an employer during the pandemic - would not be achieved for an employee who has worked with several different employers over the last twelve months.
Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke and Australia Council of Trade Unions Secretary Sally McManus have called for casuals who have worked less than 12 months with their employers to be brought into the scheme, ahead of a paired-back sitting of parliament on Wednesday when the legislation is voted on.
“There is work for casuals in some sectors, it’s growing and we have seen that,” Mr Porter said.
He also said he will meet with his opposition counterparts on Monday night to discuss draft changes to the Fair Work Act the government is proposing as a mechanism to introduce its $130 billion wage subsidy scheme.
Mr Porter fired back at the opposition for objecting to changes to the Fair Work Act, with Labor, and union leaders, in favour of pursuing the $1500 a fortnight JobKeeper scheme via the Fair Work Commission.
Elias Visontay 1.26pm: Labor not opposed to wage bill: Burke
Opposition industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke has criticised Christian Porter’s comments about Labor’s cooperation over the $130bn wage bill as “hysterical, stupid nonsense”.
“Porter’s claims that Labor is opposed to the Job Keeper package is unhinged,” Mr Burke tweeted.
Porter’s claims that Labor is opposed to the Job Keeper package is unhinged. We called for it for weeks while gov ruled it out. He’s now claiming we will vote against amendments that haven’t even been drafted yet. It’s hysterical, stupid, nonsense. #auspol @SkyNewsAust @abcnews
— Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) April 5, 2020
“So late last night we receive draft legislation and the section amending the Fair Work Act is left blank. Then Christian Porter goes into the media today claiming Labor has made a decision on words that haven’t been written.
“This is the second day in a row where Christian Porter’s behaviour has been appalling,” he said.
Responding to Mr Burke, Mr Porter said it was not plausible to implement the JobKeeper scheme without changing the Fair Work Act.
“Labor suggested, I think in the words of Tony Burke, their view is that that should be done by the commissioner, the Fair Work Commission. Now, the difficulty with that is that would require changes to 121 modern awards, an unknown, but high percentage of 11,000 enterprise agreement. And four million Australians who are under agreements, some tied to awards, some not tied to awards. That process, if it could be done, would take weeks, if not months, to complete.
“That would be ridiculous. That is an argument about process... What appears to be happening now is that people all agree that there have to be changes to allow the $1500 payments to flow and save jobs but some people would prefer it be done a more complicated way through the Fair Work Commission. I simply find that extraordinary.”
Mr Porter said the Australian Council of Trade Unions - who are also opposed to Fair Work Act changes - was being consulted on Monday, and that the government would discuss the changes with Labor on Monday night.
Sarah Elks 1.18pm: $20m for Qld hospital workers’ accommodation
Queensland has recorded 14 new cases of coronavirus as Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced nearly $20m in funding for hotel rooms for hospital workers.
Ms Palaszczuk said the relatively small increase - taking the state’s total to 921 - was encouraging, but not reason to relax.
She said 18,000 people had registered for the Care Army, to volunteer to support elderly Queenslanders during the pandemic.
Health Minister Steven Miles said of the 921 Qld cases, 743 were active, 173 had recovered, 43 were being treated in hospital, 12 in ICU, including 10 people on ventilators.
More to come
Angelica Snowden 12.47pm: No new ACT cases in 24 hours
The ACT reported no new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.
The territory has a total of 96 cases with seven being treated at Canberra hospitals.
The Acting ACT Chief Health Officer Vanessa Johnston said the halt in new cases was positive but said Canberrans could not be complacent, especially ahead of the Easter long weekend.
“Stay home this Easter, do not travel down the coast or interstate or organize large family gatherings,” Dr Johnston said in a statement.
“The steps we take now will lessen the impact on our health system when community transmission does start to occur here in Canberra,” she said.
READ MORE: Bonfire of humanity in New York
Angelica Snowden 12.43pm: AFP recruits busted for Canberra party
Australian Federal Police recruits have been scolded by their own colleagues for holding a party on Friday night and violating strict social distancing rules.
ACT Police attended the “internal gathering” at the AFP residential training college in Canberra and have handed the matter on to the AFP to investigate.
“The AFP is aware of an internal recruit gathering at the AFP College on the evening of Friday 3 April 2020,” a spokesperson said.
“The AFP expects its members to comply with the law and relevant health directions. Any identified alleged breaches in behaviour by AFP recruits will be deemed totally unacceptable and will be subject to disciplinary actions.”
A video of the party was published by the ABC after a neighbour filmed the gathering.
The college is a training facility located in Barton, a central suburb of Canberra and close to the AFP Headquarters.
The AFP said recruits at the college were “fully briefed” on social distancing requirements and are “isolated as much as possible under the current environment at the College and designated AFP training areas”.
The AFP would not confirm how many recruits were involved in the party.
Rosie Lewis 12.36pm: Goodstart ‘relieved’ over childcare legislation
Goodstart Early Learning has hailed the government’s “solution” that will enable its 665 childcare centres to access the $1500 fortnightly JobKeeper payments, after Josh Frydenberg announced the eligibility threshold for charities would be lowered.
“While the legislation won’t be introduced into parliament until Wednesday, we are very relieved that once it is passed, we will be able to continue to support families in our centres across the nation,” Goodstart CEO Julia Davison said.
“The Treasurer and the Minister for Education (Dan Tehan) have worked hard in recent days for our centres and our families to ensure they found a solution of us and we thank them for their support.
“Access to the JobKeeper payments is vital as it will ensure that we can trade through this very difficult time.”
There were concerns Goodstart’s centres and 16,000 workers would not be eligible for the $1500 fortnightly payments because the not-for-profit has an annual turnover of more than $1bn and under previous rules would have to show its turnover had reduced by at least 50 per cent before qualifying for the scheme.
It now only needs to show its turnover has declined by 15 per cent.
READ MORE: Free childcare in $3bn family relief package
Remy Varga 12.34pm: Two more deaths in Victoria
Two more Victorians have died from the coronavirus, bringing the state’s death toll to 10.
The total number of confirmed cases of the disease has also increased by 23 to 1158.
Victoria’s Department of Health said yesterday a man in his 50s died in hospital while a woman in her 80s died at home.
There are 88 confirmed cases of the disease which may have been acquired through community transmission.
There are 45 people with COVID-19 in hospital, including 11 in intensive care.
More than 57,000 tests have been conducted to date and the ages of the confirmed cases ranges from babies to the elderly.
Angelica Snowden 12.28pm: Fitzsimmons won’t forget fire victims in new role
The incoming Resilience Commissioner for NSW, Shane Fitzsimmons, promises that people devastated by bushfires and drought will not be forgotten as he heads up a new disaster recovery agency in the state.
The current NSW RFS Commissioner will retire from the volunteer firefighting service and start his new role in early May and said people who were hit by drought have also been impacted by the worst fire season in the state’s history.
“And now they have got the separation and the isolation as a result of the COVID outbreak,” Mr Fitzsimmons said.
Sarah Elks 12.15pm: Ekka cancelled due to virus
The Ekka has been cancelled due to coronavirus, only the third time in its 143-year history the Royal Queensland Show will not be held.
RNA chief executive Brendan Christou said the decision about the August event was to be made in June, but the decision was brought forward as it became clear restrictions would not be lifted.
Mr Christou said the decision was also influenced by Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s announcement that the showgrounds could be used as a field hospital, in the extremely unlikely event all public and private hospitals are overwhelmed.
The Ekka has previously been cancelled due to the Spanish flu in 1919 - when the Bowen Hills site was first used as a field hospital - and in 1942 when the grounds were used as a WW2 staging depot.
READ MORE: Supermarkets limit in-store shoppers for Easter
Jacquelin Magnay 11.55am: Australians to ‘rise to the challenge’: Queen
The Queen says she is confident that Australians will “rise to the challenge” of the coronavirus pandemic after a summer of devastating bushfires.
Elizabeth, 93, said people across the Commonwealth were experiencing a profound and rapid change to their lives, the pain of lost loved ones and an understandable concern about the future.
“Whilst it can be difficult to remain hopeful in such challenging times, especially following the summer’s devastating bushfires and recent flooding, I am confident that the stoic and resilient nature of the Australian people will rise to the challenge,” she said in a separate statement on Monday after she gave a historic television address to Britain and Commonwealth nations.
“I extend my sincere admiration to the many Australians who work tirelessly to help those affected, provide essential services for their fellow citizens, and continue to care for the most vulnerable.
“You will remain in my prayers in the coming months, with the resolute knowledge that with hard work, faith and unity, we will rise to the challenges ahead and ensure the health and vitality of all Australia’s communities. I send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all.”
READ MORE: Queen makes deeply personal historic address
Elias Visontay 11.23am: Porter to meet with Labor amid JobKeeper row
Attorney-General Christian Porter will meet with opposition counterparts on Monday night to discuss draft changes to the Fair Work Act the government is proposing as a mechanism to introduce its $130 billion wage subsidy scheme.
Mr Porter fired back at the opposition for objecting to changes to the Fair Work Act, with Labor, and union leaders, in favour of pursuing the $1500 a fortnight JobKeeper scheme via the Fair Work Commission.
Earlier on Monday, opposition industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke criticised Mr Porter’s comments about Labor’s co-operation as “hysterical, stupid nonsense”.
“Porter’s claims that Labor is opposed to the Job Keeper package is unhinged,” Mr Burke tweeted.
“So late last night we receive draft legislation and the section amending the Fair Work Act is left blank. Then Christian Porter goes into the media today claiming Labor has made a decision on words that haven’t been written.
“This is the second day in a row where Christian Porter’s behaviour has been appalling,” he said.
Responding to Mr Burke, Mr Porter said it was not plausible to implement the JobKeeper scheme without changing the Fair Work Act.
“Labor suggested, I think in the words of Tony Burke, their view is that that should be done by the commissioner, the Fair Work Commission. Now, the difficulty with that is that would require changes to 121 modern awards, an unknown, but high percentage of 11,000 enterprise agreement. And four million Australians who are under agreements, some tied to awards, some not tied to awards. That process, if it could be done, would take weeks, if not months, to complete.
“That would be ridiculous. That is an argument about process … What appears to be happening now is that people all agree that there have to be changes to allow the $1500 payments to flow and save jobs but some people would prefer it be done a more complicated way through the Fair Work Commission. I simply find that extraordinary.”
Mr Porter said the Australian Council of Trade Unions – who are also opposed to Fair Work Act changes – was being consulted on Monday, and that the government would discuss the changes with Labor on Monday night.
“Now that is as good as we can do and be consultative through the union movement who have been very helpful with this process but that is as good as we can do in the timing that we have. Some people would like more time. I’m one of them, but that’s as good as we can do in the circumstances.
“We’ve not got to the drafting point yet, but Labor have been very firm that they say that the changes that need to be made to make the $1500 payments lawful should happen through some staged process in the Fair Work Commission which the government says is untenable. So if you support only the Fair Work Commission making the $1500 payments lawful, you can’t be supporting the bill, because the bill says it has to happen through the Fair Work Act.”
Mr Porter also said the planned changes would have a sunset clause of six months, and explained why the eligibility definition would not be expanded to include casual workers who had been with an employer for less than 12 months.
“There is work for casuals in some sectors, it’s growing and we have seen that,” Mr Porter said.
He also said if a casual employee has worked with several different employers over the last twelve months, the goal of the JobKeeper scheme to keep an employee connected with an employer would not be achieved.
READ MORE: Banks ready to fill JobKeeper gap
Sarah Elks 11.13am: Gold Coast beaches closed ahead of Easter
Popular Gold Coast beaches will be closed to stop Brisbane daytrippers from flocking there over the Easter long weekend.
Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said Surfers Paradise, the Spit and Coolangatta beaches would be shut from midnight tomorrow.
“Do what the Premier is asking, stay in your suburb,” Mr Tate said.
“I will absolutely close more if people say, ‘this is not for real’.”
“The curve is starting to flatten, this is not the time to relax and let it bounce back. We’ve just got to kill it off.”
READ MORE: Crackdown looms over beaches mutiny
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.05am: Details of NSW’s latest deaths
NSW Health has released further information about the two most recent deaths in the state, revealing that one was a resident of an aged care home in Sydney’s southwest.
The victim, an 86-year-old man died in Liverpool hospital and was a resident of the Opal Care aged care facility in the suburb of Bankstown.
There are now five cases associated with the facility – two residents and three staff.
The other death announced on Monday was an 85-year-old man, who also died in Liverpool hospital. He was not a resident of an aged care home, but was a close contact of a previously confirmed case, NSW Health said.
The department said 249 people were receiving treatment for coronavirus, with 40 of those in ICU, 22 of which require ventilators.
Of the state’s 2637 confirmed cases, 1605 acquired the virus overseas, 595 acquired it through a known case or cluster, 397 have contracted it from an unknown local source and 56 are still under investigation.
The revelation of two new deaths this morning increased NSW’s coronavirus death toll to 18 and Australia’s to 37.
READ MORE: Social restrictions slowing the spread
AARON TILLEY 10.56am: I really messed up, Zoom CEO admits
For many business leaders, the coronavirus pandemic has been a struggle to survive. For Eric Yuan, chief executive of Zoom, the challenge has been how to manage breakneck growth. And lately, it hasn’t been going well.
In the space of a month, the Silicon Valley videoconferencing business he founded nine years ago has gone from an enterprise-software provider little known outside the business world to a near-ubiquitous social lifeline for homebound Americans and, most recently, the subject of complaints about privacy problems and harassment on its platform.
The whiplash has left Mr Yuan trying to appease upset users and figure out what went wrong — and rethinking a company culture that for nearly a decade was focused on ease of use.
“If we mess up again, it’s done, I thought a lot last night,” he told The Wall Street Journal in an interview Friday, after what he said was a sleepless night.
Among the privacy features Mr Yuan now promises is an option for end-to-end encryption to safeguard conversations, he told the Journal. Zoom had previously advertised such a feature, but security experts discovered the underlying technology provided a lesser level of data protection. The full-encryption feature won’t be ready for a few months, Mr Yuan said.
The Wall Street Journal
READ MORE: Zoom CEO: ‘I really messed up’ on privacy amid coronavirus crisis
Rosie Lewis 10.41am: Goodstart eligible for JobKeeper payments
Goodstart Early Learning, Australia’s largest childcare provider, will be able to access the JobKeeper payments after the Morrison government lowered the threshold for charities.
There were concerns Goodstart’s 665 centres and 16,000 workers would not be eligible for the $1500 fortnightly payments because the not-for-profit has an annual turnover of more than $1bn and under previous rules would have to show its turnover had reduced by at least 50 per cent before qualifying for the scheme.
But Josh Frydenberg on Sunday night announced charities registered with the national regulator, as Goodstart is, would be eligible if they have suffered a 15 per cent decline in turnover as a result of the coronavirus.
His office on Monday confirmed Goodstart would now be eligible for JobKeeper income.
“A reduced threshold at which a charity is considered to be substantially affected by the coronavirus, as compared to businesses and other not-for-profits, will support a sector which is expected to have a significant increase in demand for its services,” the Treasurer said.
The government’s $1.6bn childcare overhaul, which will see parents receive free care and providers receive 50 per cent of their recent fee revenue up to the childcare subsidy hourly rate cap, begins on Monday.
READ MORE: Free childcare in $3bn family relief package
Remy Varga 10.23am: Victoria Police issue over 100 fines in 24 hours
More than 100 fines have been issued in the past 24 hours by Victoria Police for social distancing violations.
Officers have conducted 983 spot-checks at homes, businesses and non-essential services across the state as part of Operation Sentinel, which is the 500-strong COVID-19 Taskforce.
This brings the total of spot checks conducted since March 21 to 14,275.
A Victoria Police spokesman said 108 fines have been issued in the past 24 hours.
A 17-year-old girl has said she was fined $1600 for non-essential travel on the weekend after her mother took her out for a driving lesson.
Sharee Reynolds and her daughter Hunter called 3AW on Monday morning to say they would challenge the fine, which was issued as they drove from their home in the bayside Melbourne suburb of Hampton to Frankston.
“I don’t feel that it was the right decision by the police person,” Sharee told 3AW.
“If they felt that it was wrong a warning would have sufficed for that particular incident, and giving the fine to a 17-year-old was really quite ridiculous.”
Sharee said the officer told them they were too far from home. The drive from Hampton to Frankston is around 36 minutes.
READ MORE: Queen makes deeply personal historic address
Angelica Snowden 10.17am: Trump spruiks treatment criticised by health officials
Donald Trump says he “hopes” to see the COVID-19 curve flatten in the next few days before spruiking a possible treatment that health authorities have criticised.
The US President said that over 3000 military personnel and public health officers have been sent to coronavirus hot spots including New York, New Jersey, the Connecticut area and Long Island.
“In the days ahead America will endure the peak of this terrible pandemic,” Mr Trump said.
“Our warriors in this life and death battle are the incredible doctors, nurses and health care workers on the frontline of the fight.
“We hope we are seeing a levelling off in the hottest spots. We will see over the next few days, we will see what happens.”
In the press conference, the president said the drug hydroxychloroquine has been “stockpiled” to help treat the symptoms of COVID-19.
The drug, used to treat malaria and other auto-immune diseases, has repeatedly been touted by the president as a viable way to treat the virus.
But the nation’s coronavirus advisor and infectious diseases doctor Dr Anthony Fauci said there is no evidence to support the use of hydroxychloroquine to treat coronavirus.
“In terms of science, I don’t think we can definitively say it works,” he told CBS’s Face the Nation.
“The data are really just at best suggestive. There have been cases that show there may be an effect and there are others to show there’s no effect.”
But Mr Trump said there are “powerful signs” that the drug could be used.
“It’s a powerful drug for malaria and there are some very strong signs that it works on this and in the meantime it’s been around a long time and also works very powerfully on Lupus,” he said.
Australia, like the United States, has sourced hydroxychloroquine for trial, with Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly on Saturday saying the drug may be used to treat coronavirus after clinical trials are conducted.
“At the moment it is an experimental drug, and there are some clinical trials that have started in Australia and elsewhere in relation to this,” Dr Kelly said.
“Some early work done in France is positive, but very preliminary, so to answer your question specifically, those drugs are aimed to be part of controlled clinical trials, to make sure that this drug is safe to use and is effective.”
Mr Trump said the US had stockpiled 29 million doses of hydroxychloroquine and that they are available at pharmacies.
He added 1,670,000 Americans have so far been tested for COVID-19.
READ MORE: Eating in an 8.8bn boost
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.14am: Burke hits back at Porter over Jobkeeper
Opposition spokesman for Industrial Relations Tony Burke has taken to Twitter to hit back at Attorney-General Christian Porter for branding Labor “mad” for expressing objections to aspects of the Jobkeeper wage subsidy program.
On Monday Mr Porter said Labor’s position on the $130 billion scheme was unworkable given the truncated legislative process amid the coronavirus crisis.
“What Labor and Tony Burke are saying is wait until we’ve had an opportunity to change 121 awards, an unknown percentage of 11,000 enterprise agreements, and an unknown percentage of the individual contracts that apply to 4 million other Australian workers before the $1500 payments could float,” Mr Porter told ABC RN.
“I have rarely heard a more mad position.
“What we’re doing on Wednesday in less than 48 hours is pushing $130 billion worth of lifeboats out to Australian workers, 6 million of them, and Labor’s position is to argue about ideology and process and say we should wait what might be weeks to try and do it another way. I think that’s mad.”
Mr Burke on Monday called the Attorney-General’s behaviour “appalling”, posting: “Porter’s claim that Labor is opposed to the job keeper program is unhinged.”
Porter’s claims that Labor is opposed to the Job Keeper package is unhinged. We called for it for weeks while gov ruled it out. He’s now claiming we will vote against amendments that haven’t even been drafted yet. It’s hysterical, stupid, nonsense. #auspol @SkyNewsAust @abcnews
— Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) April 5, 2020
“We called for it for weeks while gov ruled it out. He’s now claiming we will vote against amendments that haven’t even been drafted yet. It’s hysterical, stupid, nonsense.
“So late last night we receive draft legislation and the section amending the Fair Work Act is left blank. Then Christian Porter goes into the media today claiming Labor has made a decision on words that haven’t been written.
“Yesterday he claimed unions were supportive of the wage subsidy being used to run down leave because of an application in the FW Commission that started before the wage subsidy was announced.”
Mr Burke’s Labor colleagues Andrew Giles and Penny Wong have also taken to social media to express their frustration over Mr Porter’s comments.
The contempt shown here for our parliament, and our democracy is truly shocking. https://t.co/SXqquh9V3v
— Andrew Giles MP (@andrewjgiles) April 5, 2020
So disappointing that Christian Porter has decided to throw the switch to partisanship. https://t.co/JEJePeUtub
— Senator Penny Wong (@SenatorWong) April 5, 2020
READ MORE: How hard will coronavirus hit you?
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.57am: Four new cases in Tasmania
Tasmania has confirmed four new cases of coronavirus overnight, one of which is associated with the Ruby Princess, bringing the total number of cases in the state to 86.
Premier Peter Gutwein said two of the new cases are connected to a cluster outbreak at the North-West Regional Hospital in Burnie, where a health worker and a patient have tested positive for the virus in addition to the three other cases linked to the facility.
“An investigation is underway, which will obviously include the identification of contacts both in the community and within the hospital,” Mr Gutwein told reporters on Monday.
“It will look at the risk to staff, patients and visitors to the hospital. We are throwing additional resources at this.”
Director of Public Health Dr Mark Vietch said 40 of the state’s coronavirus cases were in the south of the island, 20 in the north, 19 in the north west as well as three interstate residents who were diagnosed in Tasmania.
He also said that four of the five cases at the North West hospital were staff, while one was a patient.
“There were two cases diagnosed on Friday, one case diagnosed on Saturday, and two cases on Sunday. And they had onset between 30th of March and fourth of April. Four of those cases are healthcare workers at the hospital,” Dr Vietch said.
READ MORE: Supermarkets limit in-store shoppers for Easter
Rosemary Neill 9.56am: Pandemic time capsule for the national collection
It will become a national time capsule of the coronavirus pandemic, and it started with a fridge.
On Monday, the National Museum of Australia is launching an innovative social media initiative allowing Australians to record their stories of “what they’re going through’’ during the coronavirus pandemic, and these personal stories will become part of the Canberra museum’s collection.
The uploaded stories, videos and images will also potentially be included in a pandemic exhibition the museum is planning to mount after the health crisis ends. NMA director Mat Trinca said: “None of us can quite believe the time that we’re living through, and we (museum staff) need to record it. The intention will be to hold this content (of pandemic stories) as a digital object that represents this moment which has overwhelmed us all, and which clearly is going to be something that resounds in our history for a long time.’’
READ MORE: A pandemic time capsule for the national collection
Kieran Gair 9.55am: Ruby Princess docks with 200 displaying symptoms
The cruise ship at the centre of a criminal investigation, the Ruby Princess, has docked at Port Kembla, south of Sydney.
At least 200 of the 1040 crew members currently on board the vessel are displaying symptoms of COVID-19, while 16 crew members are confirmed to have returned positive results.
The ship has become the largest single source of COVID-19 cases in NSW — with more than 620 cases — and 11 associated deaths, about a third of the country’s total.
A criminal investigation announced on Sunday will determine whether Carnival Australian officials withheld critical information about suspected cases of COVID-19 on-board the cruise ship before almost 2700 passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney last month.
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller on Monday confirmed the Ruby Princess had docked at Port Kembla to facilitate the easy removal of ill crew members and restocking of the ship’s supplies.
“The ship itself will dock at Port Kembla. The reason we need to dock it is because of the regular supplies that need to go on the ship,” Mr Fuller said in Sydney.
With Lachlan Moffet Gray
READ MORE: Ruby Princess docks at Port Kembla, 200 crew displaying symptoms
Kieran Gair 9.33am: Bondi Beach drive-through testing clinic opens
The first drive-through COVID-19 testing clinic will open in NSW today at Bondi Beach in the Sydney’s east.
The clinic will operate from 9am to 4pm daily in Park Drive North, Bondi Beach car park, for motorists to be tested from the comfort of their own vehicle.
The clinic will be run by NSW Health and St Vincent’s Hospital.
The drive-through clinic is in response to Waverley Council’s new-found status as home to both the highest number of COVID-19 cases and the highest number of locally transmitted cases in NSW.
It comes after a pop-up testing clinic was opened at High Tide Room at Bondi Pavilion last week.
“The drive-through clinic is another way the community can help slow the spread of this deadly virus,” said Paul Masselos, Mayor of Waverley.
“I urge people with symptoms or who meet the testing criteria to visit either of the clinics and speak to nurses.”
Bondi, which is part of the Waverley Council area, has taken a heavy hit form the virus, with the suburb accounting for 123 of the region’s 174 cases.
READ MORE: Backpackers bristle over targeted coronavirus tests
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.19am: NSW testing areas expanded
Director of Health Prevention at NSW Health Dr Jeremy McAnulty has announced the expansion of testing in areas where there has been significant community transmission of COVID-19.
The areas NSW Health are targeting are Port Macquarie, Manning, Lake Macquarie, Macquarie Park, Ryde, Nowra, Dee Why, Waverley, Woollahra and Manly, Dr McAnulty said at a press conference on Monday.
“So people with symptoms of acute respiratory infection, so cough, shortness of breath, sore throat or fever – go talk to their GP or go to a clinic for testing,” he said.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian also on Monday announced that NSW residents will be able to study some TAFE courses for free to encourage people to upskill amid the pandemic.
Twenty-one courses will be offered as part of the scheme, with students able to complete them from home.
“It means people can start preparing for when these difficult times are over,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Through TAFE New South Wales, if you pop onto their website, you can actually acquire how you can do one of these courses from home and get qualified over a short period of time.”
The free courses include eMarketing for Small Business, social media skills, writing and presentation skills, computing skills and administration skills.
READ MORE: Ruby Princess docks at Port Kembla
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.14am: Scotland’s CMO resigns after holiday home visit
Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer has resigned after it was revealed she violated lockdown measures by visiting her second home twice during the coronavirus pandemic.
Catherine Calderwood, her husband, and children visited their holiday home in the town of Earlsferry, Fife, last Friday and on the previous weekend, violating her own advice of avoiding all non-essential travel.
Sad to see Catherine Calderwood resign tonight as CMO. Everything I saw or heard about her since taking up the role was very positive. But this was a monumental blunder. Unbelievable. She had to go. Do what I say, not what I do never works. https://t.co/oqlgOay2Zm
— John Morrison (@JoMoMMS) April 5, 2020
Initially insisting that the visits were for the purposes of checking the home, a report in the Scottish Sun revealed that the family took walks on a local beach with their dog.
Ms Calderwood buckled to public scrutiny and resigned on Sunday.
“People across Scotland know what they need to do to reduce the spread of this virus and that means they must have complete trust in those who give them advice. It is with a heavy heart that I resign as chief medical officer,” she said in a statement.
READ MORE: Crackdown looms over beaches mutiny
Kieran Gair 8.50am: Union official says ship’s sick crew ‘must disembark’
A top Union official says the NSW government has a duty to allow sickened crew on the Ruby Princess to disembark and be treated in the state’s hospitals.
Mich-Elle Myers, from the Maritime Union of Australia, said the 1040 crew members should undergo isolation in NSW, while the 200 that are showing symptoms of COVID-19 should be treated at hospitals in Sydney.
Ms Myers said today would be a “test of our humanity” and urged NSW Health to set up a “makeshift hospital” at Port Kembla if they must.
Today is a test of our humanity. When #RubyPrincess berths in Port Kembla we must triage crew. Crew get either isolated, medical treatment but all come off. Ship then sterilised & minimum safe manning back to sail her. #covid19aus #nswpol #auspol pic.twitter.com/7fH74UFYkC
— Mich-Elle Myers (@MichMyersMUA) April 5, 2020
“Crew get either isolated, medical treatment but all come off,” Ms Myers tweeted.
“Health crew should be flown home on chartered flights. She should have come into Sydney so this could have happened.”
NSW Police said the vessel may remain at Port Kembla, south of Sydney, for up to 10 days.
The crew, however, would not be allowed to disembark unless in an emergency approved by the NSW Police Commissioner.
The berthing of the ship will be conducted under strict health and bio security guidelines a and will not lose a risk to employees, police said in a statement.
READ MORE: Bored? Lockdown could see a new renaissance
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.40am: US releases guidelines for homemade face masks
The US Centre for Disease Control has released official guidelines on how to manufacture cloth face masks at home, following the recent updating of its coronavirus guidelines to recommend the use of masks for all people in public, regardless of health status or age.
The US, like many other coronavirus-stricken countries, is experiencing a shortage in personal protective equipment, including masks, with the Washington Post reporting on April 1 that the nation’s emergency stockpile of medical equipment was almost depleted.
Take action to slow the spread of #COVID19 by wearing a cloth face covering in public spaces, keeping at least 6 feet of physical distance, & frequently washing your hands.
— CDC (@CDCgov) April 5, 2020
Make a cloth face covering from a t-shirt, scarf or cloth napkin. Learn more at https://t.co/bihJ3xEM15. pic.twitter.com/IVZklVYUtS
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump banned the export of N95 surgical masks to Canada in order to reserve national stockpiles for American medical workers.
The updating of CDC guidelines to recommend widespread mask usage among the general public has instigated the World Health Organisation and the Australian Medical Association to consider issuing similar advice if the scheme proves effective.
READ MORE: Cameron Stewart — Us faces its ‘Pearl Harbor’ moment
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.25am: Ill Ruby Princess crew to be removed at Port Kembla
NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has confirmed the Ruby Princess is to dock at Port Kembla to facilitate the easy removal of ill crew members and restocking of the ship’s supplies.
“The ship itself will dock at Port Kembla shortly. The reason we need to dock it is because of the regular supplies that need to go on the ship,” Mr Fuller said in Sydney on Monday.
“Taking sick crew off at sea is a complex and dangerous task. So the ship will be docked at port. We have used Port Kembla extensively over the course of this operation to refuel and resupply ships.”
There are currently 1040 crew members on board, with at least ten being treated in NSW hospitals for coronavirus. 200 crew members have been tested for coronavirus by Aspen medical, with the results yet to be released to the public.
On Monday, Aspen medical founder Glenn Keys said it would be possible to treat crew members with coronavirus on board the ship, if the situation required it.
“The ship has been very good with spreading them out so there’s enough room. There’s fresh air and everything they need so they can be treated,” he told RN breakfast.
NSW Police on Monday released a statement saying the ship could remain at the NSW port for up to ten days.
“It is believed the vessel may remain in place for up to 10 days, but the crew will not disembark unless in an emergency and approved by the NSW Police Commissioner,” the statement said.
“She will also be refuelling and restocking provisions, as required for her home journey.
The berthing will be conducted under strict health and biosecurity guidelines and will not pose a risk to employees at the port or the broader community.”
READ MORE: Criminal investigation into Ruby Princess debacle
Elias Visontay 8.20am: Opposition’s wages subsidy objection ‘mad’ — Porter
Industrial Relations Minister Christian Porter has branded the federal opposition as “mad” over its objection to the legislative mechanism the government is pursuing to roll out the $130 billion wage subsidy, accusing Labor of arguing about “ideology and process” at the expense of workers’ income.
Mr Porter reaffirmed the government’s intention to make changes to the Fair Work Act when a pared-back parliament sits on Wednesday, also throwing cold water on speculation the eligibility criteria for the JobKeeper scheme would be expanded to cover casual workers who had worked for an employer for less than 12 months.
Labor and Australian Council of Trade Union Secretary Sally McManus have been vocal in their opposition to changes to the Fair Work Act, instead calling for the $1500 a fortnight payment to be achieved via the Fair Work Commission.
“What Labor and (opposition industrial relations spokesman) Tony Burke are saying is wait until we’ve had an opportunity to change 121 awards, an unknown percentage of 11,000 enterprise agreements, and an unknown percentage of the individual contracts that apply to 4 million other Australian workers before the $1500 payments could float. That’s what they’re saying,” Mr Porter said.
“I have rarely heard a more mad position. What we’re doing on Wednesday in less than 48 hours is pushing $130 billion worth of lifeboats out to Australian workers, 6 million of them, and Labor’s position is to argue about ideology and process and say we should wait what might be weeks to try and do it another way. I think that’s mad.”
Mr Burke labelled Mr Porter’s comments “hysterical, stupid nonsense”.
Porter’s claims that Labor is opposed to the Job Keeper package is unhinged. We called for it for weeks while gov ruled it out. He’s now claiming we will vote against amendments that haven’t even been drafted yet. It’s hysterical, stupid, nonsense. #auspol @SkyNewsAust @abcnews
— Tony Burke (@Tony_Burke) April 5, 2020
“This is the second day in a row where Christian Porter’s behaviour has been appalling. Yesterday he claimed unions were supportive of the wage subsidy being used to run down leave because of an application in the FW Commission that started before the wage subsidy was announced.
“At every turn Porter has come to me seeking co-operation for the operation of the Parliament. The dishonesty from him this morning is disgusting.”
READ MORE: Police issue $78,000 in fines at car rally
Yoni Bashan 8.10am: Two more fatalities pushes NSW virus death toll to 18
NSW has reported its lowest number of COVID-19 cases overnight, but health officials say this might be accounted for by lower testing rates generally seen over weekends.
Yesterday, two more people — an 86-year-old man and an 85-year-old man — died as a result of COVID-19.
Dr Jeremy McAnulty, Director of Health Prevention at NSW Health, said 57 new cases were recorded as of 8pm on Sunday.
The figure marks a sharp decline on the previous day’s number of 87 cases, and a significant drop on the highs recorded above 200 cases a week ago.
Dr McAnulty said it was “too early to make too many assumptions” about whether the state’s curve was flattening.
“We do have to be cautious about the numbers; testing was down and it tends to go down over the weekend,” he said.
“We need to look at trends over days and weeks and we need to make sure testing rates are high enough that we are finding people that need to be found,” he said.
Cumulatively, there have been 2,637 cases confirmed in NSW. Eighteen people have died from the virus.
Dr McAnulty said the latest deaths were close contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases, but were not cruise ship passengers.
“They’ve been close contacts of other people who have been confirmed,” he said.
READ MORE: Struggling new mums swap health hotline
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.05am: Year 12 push to 2021 an ‘outlier option’ — Tehan
Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan will discuss the option of pushing year 12 into next year with his state counterparts at a meeting of the country’s education ministers on Tuesday.
On Sunday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews suggested holding some HSC exams in 2021 to relieve pressure on the education system. However, Mr Tehan said that was “an outlier option”.
“That is in a worst-case scenario and the hope is that we will be able to get everyone through this year because we want all of Year 12 to be able to realise dreams of going to university, vocational education, or employment,” he told Sunrise on Monday.
“Of course, as the pandemic takes its course, we will have to be flexible and adjust … Often it will depend on the course of the pandemic in each jurisdiction.”
READ MORE: Network boom as we phone home
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.58am: $5 million in funding to support regional journalism
The federal government has released $5 million in funding to support regional journalism to “help keep local communities informed” following the closure of several independent titles amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Communications minister Paul Fletcher said the government would release the money from the regional and small publishers innovation fund so “money is available as quickly as possible to help publishers keep journalists in jobs and local communities informed”.
Media Release: Critical funding for public interest journalism in COVID-19 https://t.co/afoVnXl2NT #auspol pic.twitter.com/GV4UCWLDjL
— Paul Fletcher (@PaulFletcherMP) April 5, 2020
“Many media organisations, particularly those in regional areas, are facing significant financial strain due to the community’s necessary response to COVID-19,” Mr Fletcher said.
“As we face these unprecedented challenges together, the media’s role in producing quality news and providing Australians with timely and accurate information is crucial.
“This provides critical support at a time it’s needed most.”
The closure of independent regional newspapers like the Sunraysia Daily in Mildura have left their communities with only the ABC covering the area while more than 60 local communities have lost print coverage after News Corp suspended print publication of News Local titles.
READ MORE: Jennifer Oriel — Love lives on ice in winter of disconnect
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.50am: Wages subsidy plan Australia’s ‘Dunkirk moment’
Christian Porter has played down the possibility of 1.1 million casual workers who have been with their current employer for less than a year being allowed to access the $1500-a-fortnight Jobkeeper subsidy, saying the enhanced JobSeeker payment will be sufficient.
“The definition of casual that we have used is in essence from the Fair Work Act and talks about a systemic connection to an employer for 12 months — and keep in mind,
there is no limit on how many hours you have need to have worked, it is just the connection to the employer,” he said.
“But the scheme has to be seen in working with tandem with the very large increases that have occurred with the Jobseeker payment, effectively doubling the old rate of Newstart, so these are working in tandem and parallel together.”
Comparing the flagship $130 billion wage subsidy program to Dunkirk, Mr Porter said there simply wasn’t time to negotiate the finer details of the plan before implementation.
“Ultimately, this is our Dunkirk moment for Australia, right? We have $130 billion worth of lifeboats, we have to push out to 6 million workers in the Australian economy,” he said.
“We can argue definitions and some of those will get refined, and we have
already seen charities change somewhat in terms of eligibility, but we cannot be doing what people like Tony Burke in the Labor Party are doing and saying that we should wait for changes to award systems … I mean, that is crazy stuff!
“This is happening within 48 hours and lifeboats are being pushed out within 48 hours.”
READ MORE: 360,000 sign up for early super release
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.35am: Ruby Princess mistakes ‘must be held to account’
NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet has said that anyone implicated of wrongdoing in the upcoming investigation into the Ruby Princess fiasco should face consequences.
Speaking to Sydney’s 2GB on Monday, Mr Perrottet said he sympathised with community anger over the incident in which 2700 people were allowed to disembark the ship before 15 coronavirus tests of passengers were received, resulting in more than 600 cases of coronavirus and 11 deaths.
“I agree that people have the right to be angry and clearly mistakes were made,” Mr Perrottet said.
“What is most important right now is that an investigation is underway. There is no doubt that once the investigation takes place, those who have made mistakes should be held to account.”
Acknowledging that the investigation may harm the popularity of the Coalition government, the treasurer said the investigation will still be given all the resources it needs as to “get to the bottom of it.”
Mr Perrottet also said that harsh social distancing measures enforced under section 10 of the public health act may not see out their full 90-day term if circumstances change.
“These restrictions are temporary … What I think we should be looking at is monitoring the current health situation, and if we have the capacity to pull back those restrictions, we should.”
Also addressed was the six-month moratorium on evictions by landlords, with the treasurer saying a method will be worked out to ensure tenants who have not materially suffered amid the pandemic will still pay rent.
“If someone’s circumstances haven’t changed, then neither have their obligation to pay rent to their landlord,” he said.
“There will be circumstances where the tenants may be struggling and may need a reduction in their rent, and the landlord may need to provide that.
“We are still working through those details.”
READ MORE: Criminal investigation into Ruby Princess debacle
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.15am: Bronx zoo tiger tests positive for coronavirus
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City is the first confirmed case of a big cat contracting COVID-19, the New York Post reports.
The Wildlife Conservation Society, which is based at the zoo in the city’s north, confirmed on Sunday that a four-year-old tiger contracted the disease, with other close tiger contacts exhibiting symptoms.
Bronx Zoo tiger tests positive for coronavirus https://t.co/Sr2JXb4Ghu pic.twitter.com/oWrcBro8pl
— New York Post (@nypost) April 5, 2020
“Nadia, a 4-year-old female Malayan tiger at the Bronx Zoo, has tested positive for COVID-19,” the group said.
“She, her sister Azul, two Amur tigers, and three African lions had developed a dry cough and all are expected to recover.”
The Wildlife Conservation Society is temporarily closing the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo, and New York Aquarium effective March 16, 2020. Please visit our website for details. https://t.co/gaMwdNMnmv pic.twitter.com/CV2LbOQNsO
— Bronx Zoo (@BronxZoo) March 15, 2020
READ MORE: Graham Richardson — How world fell victim to a perfect ambush
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.05am: Wages subsidy plan ‘still has anomalies’ — Fitzgibbon
Shadow spokesperson for agriculture and resources Joel Fitzgibbon has reiterated Labor’s support for the government’s $130 billion JobKeeper wage subsidy program, but said issues relating to casual workers need to be ironed out before the bill is passed on Wednesday.
“It is a good package and the government has made the point, it has been done in a hurry and there will be anomalies and inconsistencies,” Mr Fitzgibbon told Sunrise on Monday.
“You might have a casual worker who has been working for four days a week but only for the last 10 months, but yet another casual that has been working for the same employer for three years but only working a day or week over three years by receiving the full $1500. Now, that is a problem.”
Appearing on the same panel, Nationals MP for New England Barnaby Joyce said the government could not forget the cost involved with seeing the economy through the coronavirus pandemic.
“It will never stop but also you have to realise that after this is over with half a trillion
worth of debt there is debt on top, it has to be paid back and financed,” he said.
“You have to be diligent, you can’t just fulfil every requirement. The nation will put itself in a very bad position if it does that.”
The government is under pressure to expand the JobKeeper wage subsidy to include visa holders, council staff and casual workers who have been with an employer for less than 12 months.
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) April 5, 2020
MPs @Barnaby_Joyce and @Fitzhunter joined Kochie and Nat to discuss. pic.twitter.com/vewwHRbOxL
READ MORE: Banks offer lifeline to workers, businesses
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7am: Ruby Princess set to dock at Port Kembla
The Ruby Princess is set to dock in Port Kembla south of Sydney, according to ship tracking maps.
The ship is to be the subject of a NSW Police criminal investigation into how the cruise liner, which is connected to more than 622 coronavirus cases across Australia and 11 deaths, was allowed to disembark 2700 passengers while awaiting the test results of 15 people when it arrived in Sydney on March 19.
Today is a test of our humanity. When #RubyPrincess berths in Port Kembla we must triage crew. Crew get either isolated, medical treatment but all come off. Ship then sterilised & minimum safe manning back to sail her. #covid19aus #nswpol #auspol pic.twitter.com/7fH74UFYkC
— Mich-Elle Myers (@MichMyersMUA) April 5, 2020
Around 1056 crew members remain on board. More than 200 crew have been tested for coronavirus by Aspen medical, with results yet to be released.
READ MORE: Crimiinal investigation into Ruby Princess debacle
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.50am: Pope’s Palm Sunday mass live streamed to faithful
Coronavirus continues to disrupt daily life around the world, with the Pope for the first time celebrating a Palm Sunday Mass virtually in a near-empty St Peter’s Basilica, the service live streamed to the world’s one billion or more Catholics.
Placed next to the crucifix was an Byzantine icon of Mary, said to protect the city of Rome from the plague in the sixth century and cholera in the 19th.
Palm Sunday in One Minute: #PopeFrancis celebrates Mass and prays the Angelus in an empty St. Peter's Basilica.https://t.co/7QGi39clPX pic.twitter.com/xewrkHpRK1
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 5, 2020
In his homily, Pope Francis said Jesus’s message on this day was “Do not be afraid, you are not alone.”
“The drama we are living through pushes us to take seriously what is serious, not to lose ourselves in unimportant things; to rediscover that life has no sense unless you serve others.”
Seven employees of the Vatican have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Pictures of #PopeFrancis' Mass on #PalmSunday, which was live-streamed to faithful around the world in a sign of his closeness to those suffering from the Covid-19 pandemic. #coronavirushttps://t.co/wXKSwcob9F pic.twitter.com/8nhwofq1sp
— Vatican News (@VaticanNews) April 5, 2020
In Russia, the defence ministry has hit out at Italian newspaper La Stamper, accusing it of “Russophobia” for suggesting that the donation of masks and medical equipment by the eastern European country to Italy last week was “useless”. Russia has 5389 confirmed cases of the virus and 45 deaths.
Leo Varadkar, the prime minister of the Republic of Ireland, has pledged to work one day a week as a doctor in the country’s public health service, reassuming his previous career as a junior doctor as the number of cases in his country approaches 5000 with more than 150 deaths.
He is one of 50,000 ex-medical practitioners in the country who have heeded the government’s call to re-enrol to assist the crisis.
In Pakistan, twenty thousand Islamic pilgrims have been quarantined with the government searching for tens of thousands more after 250,000 people attended the Tablighi Jamaat Islamic missionary movement south of Lahore last month.
Forty preachers at the event have tested positive. India’s health minister has suggested that the country’s coronavirus infection count would be doubling every seven days, not every four days, if the event — which attracted tens of thousands of Indian Muslims — was not held.
READ MORE: US cities brace for spike in cases
Jacquelin Magnay 6.25am: ‘Precautionary step’ — Johnson admitted to hospital
Britain’s prime minister Boris Johnson has been admitted to hospital for tests, after suffering coronavirus for almost ten days.
In worrying developments, Mr Johnson, 55, was on Sunday night taken to hospital, Downing Street has confirmed.
Downing Street said Mr Johnson “continues to have persistent symptoms of coronavirus” and was taken to a London hospital as a “precautionary step” on the advice of his doctor.
His spokeswoman said: “The prime minister remains in charge of the government and urged people to follow its social distancing advice.’’
Mr Johnson was first reported to have developed coronavirus symptoms nine to ten days ago and in subsequent morale boosting video messages he has appeared feverish and increasingly unwell.
Mr Johnson’s health has become a concern as in many acute coronavirus cases, it appears patients appear to be recovering around a week or so after having the virus before being hit with a sudden and severe bout of pneumonia and breathing difficulties.
Mr Johnson has been isolating alone at 11 Downing Street, his government residence while his pregnant fiancee Carrie Symonds, 38, moved to the prime minister’s rural retreat, Chequers in Buckinghamshire.
Ms Symonds tweeted on Saturday that she too had been sick.
Being pregnant with Covid-19 is obviously worrying. To other pregnant women, please do read and follow the most up to date guidance which I found to be v reassuring: https://t.co/JPvIDeB3l6
— Carrie Symonds (@carriesymonds) April 4, 2020
“I’ve spent the past week in bed with the main symptoms of coronavirus,” she said.
“I haven’t needed to be tested and, after seven days of rest, I feel stronger and I’m on the mend.”
Hours after Mr Johnson revealed he had coronavirus on March 28, the heath secretary Matt Hancock tested positive as did the chief medical officer Dr Chris Whitty. Since then another two members of the Cabinet, and even the Downing Street photographer Andrew Parsons, have shown coronavirus symptoms and are currently self isolating.
READ MORE: Archbishop compares COVID-19 to last days of Jesus
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.20am: US told to brace for ‘Pearl Harbor, 9/11 moment’
As the number of confirmed cases worldwide reaches 1,252,265 and the number of deaths passes 68,000, US Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams has warned the country to brace for the “hardest and the saddest week of our lives” as the US rapidly closes in on Italy and Spain as one of the worst-affected countries in the world, recording at least 9420 deaths as of Monday.
“This is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly … this is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment,” Dr Adams told Fox News on Sunday.
At least 636 people died of the virus in the last 24 hours, a decrease from the more than one thousand that died on Saturday. The virus has reached all fifty states and has killed in each one of them, except Wyoming.
The nation’s top infectious disease specialist Dr Anthony Fauci said it would take a week or more for the curve of new infections to begin to flatten, telling CBS news “to say we have it under control … would be a false statement.”
“We are struggling to get it under control — it is going to be a bad week,” he said.
US President Donald Trump has also reiterated the severity of the week ahead, but has still refused to stringently enforce social distancing in states that have not instituted lockdowns, like South Carolina and Iowa.
“We have a thing called the constitution, which I cherish,” he said on Sunday.
“Now in some cases we’ll supersede, it depends on the individual state that you’re talking about. If I saw something wrong, if I saw a massive outbreak, of which there’s not, I would come down very hard.”
Kristi Noem, 48, the governor of South Dakota, said that the state and national constitutions “prevent us from taking draconian measures much like the Chinese government has done”.
In an effort to bolster the nation’s dwindling medical supplies, President Trump has banned the export of N95 protective masks to Canada, infuriating the conservative premier of Newfoundland, Dwight Ball, who said Canada was always willing to help the US.
“To say that I’m infuriated by the recent actions of President Trump of the United States is an understatement,” Ball said on Sunday.
“I cannot believe for a second that in a time of crisis that President Trump would even think about banning key medical supplies to Canada,” adding that the town of Gander, Newfoundland hosted more than 6000 passengers stranded during the 9/11 attacks.
“Newfoundland and Labrador will never give up on humanity,” he said.
“We will not hesitate for one second if we had to repeat what we did on 9-11. We would do it again,” Ball said.
Canada has 14,426 confirmed cases of the virus and 277 deaths.
READ MORE: Cameron Stewart — Bonfire of humanity in New York
Jacquelin Magnay 5.35am: Queen’s virus broadcast reflects on wartime message
In a deeply personal address to the Commonwealth, Queen Elizabeth II has drawn on Britain’s wartime spirit, including a radio address she made 80 years ago to distraught evacuated children during the Blitz and also to the lines made famous by Dame Vera Lynn, “We’ll meet again”, reassuring citizens there was a future beyond coronavirus.
The Queen recorded the three-and-a-half minute address several days ago from Windsor Castle, where she is with her husband, 98-year-old Prince Philip, and just two staff.
The Queen referenced her first address to the nation as a 13-year-old with her younger sister Margaret.
Her Majesty The Queen addresses the UK and the Commonwealth in a special broadcast recorded at Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/HjO1uiV1Tm
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 5, 2020
“It reminds me of the very first broadcast I made, in 1940, helped by my sister. We, as children, spoke from here at Windsor to children who had been evacuated from their homes and sent away for their own safety. Today, once again, many will feel a painful sense of separation from their loved ones. But now, as then, we know, deep down, that it is the right thing to do.”
The Queen, 93, wearing a green dress, also praised the work being done throughout the Commonwealth by essential workers.
“Across the Commonwealth and around the world, we have seen heartwarming stories of people coming together to help others, be it through delivering food parcels and medicines, checking on neighbours, or converting businesses to help the relief effort.
“And though self-isolating may at times be hard, many people of all faiths, and of none, are discovering that it presents an opportunity to slow down, pause and reflect, in prayer or meditation.”
The Queen then finished her speech — only the fifth outside of the annual Christmas address in her 68 year reign — by invoking a cultural war reference to bolster the spirit of the Commonwealth nations, all battling the coronavirus pandemic.
“While we have faced challenges before, this one is different. This time we join with all nations across the globe in a common endeavour, using the great advances of science and our instinctive compassion to heal. We will succeed — and that success will belong to every one of us.
“We should take comfort that while we may have more still to endure, better days will return: we will be with our friends again; we will be with our families again; we will meet again. But for now, I send my thanks and warmest good wishes to you all.”
“I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service†- Princess Elizabeth, 1947.
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) April 5, 2020
Her Majesty, Head of the Commonwealth, made a lifelong commitment to its service on her 21st birthday.
Read in full: https://t.co/iAHUFtPVX1 pic.twitter.com/cuZUfpsdwE
READ MORE: Good-humoured resolve will overcome, Queen says
Jacquelin Magnay 5.30am: Scotland’s chief medical officer ignores own advice
Do as I say, don’t do what I do. In the latest top level embarrassment surrounding the coronavirus pandemic, Scotland’s chief medical officer was forced to apologise after ignoring her own official advice and twice visiting her family’s rural retreat.
Dr Catherine Calderwood said her actions were “a mistake and human error” and that were “no excuses” but the Scotland First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has refused to accept her offer of resignation.
The embarrassing gaffe came after a Sunday newspaper, the Scottish Sun, published photographs of Dr Calderwood at her country home in Fyfe, more than an hour’s drive from her usual residence in Edinburgh. This was despite her own advice that people had to stay inside and only travel for essential medical, shopping or work reasons.
Read the full story here.
Jacquelin Magnay 5.15am: Italy records lowest virus death rate in a fortnight
In encouraging signs from Italy, the coronavirus death rate on Sunday was the lowest daily death toll in a fortnight and continues a downward trend.
Italian officials have been bolstered by the numbers, with 525 deaths being the smallest daily increase since March 19. Another good sign was a fall in intensive care patients by 61.
“The curve has reached a plateau and begun to descend,” said Silvio Brusaferro, head of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Italy’s health institute. “It is a result that we have to achieve day after day. We have various indicators, including those on deaths. The number of new cases is decreasing and we expect that deaths will also go down.
“The expectation is that in the next few days we will see this trend decrease again. If this is confirmed, we need to start thinking about the second phase and keep down the spread of this disease.”
Italy has had 15,887 deaths and coronavirus infections have reached 128,948 since the first known case six weeks ago. The drop comes after more than four weeks of intense isolation measures across the country.
In the daily press conference Angelo Borelli, head of the Civil Protection department, said “Don’t lower our guard, stay at home, only go out for proven needs”.
Italian government officials were preparing for an ‘’exit strategy’’ to begin easing measures later this month including a continuation of social distancing using face masks, and exhaustive testing and tracing of any coronavirus positive cases.
Mr Borelli said intensive care numbers continued to fall and there were 3977 coronavirus patients in hospital while another 58,320 were in home isolation.
Mr Borelli urged the use of masks saying they avoid spreading the infection. He said with ramped up production the entire country will be soon supplied with masks.
READ MORE: States preparing for winter surge
Simon Benson 5am: Morrison records highest net satisfaction rating in years
Australians have rallied behind Scott Morrison in a surge of support for his leadership and management of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Prime Minister recording the highest approval ratings for a national leader in more than a decade.
An exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian shows universal support for the government’s $130bn wage subsidy plan as anxiety in the community continues to rise over the economic toll and the level of debt with which the nation will be saddled.
The flight to certainty amid the crisis has produced an unprecedented turnaround in support for a prime minister, with Mr Morrison recording the highest satisfaction rating since Kevin Rudd at the height of the global financial crisis in 2009.
Read the full story here.
Yoni Bashan 4.45am: Criminal investigation held into Ruby Princess debacle
A criminal investigation into the Ruby Princess fiasco will determine whether Carnival Australia officials withheld crucial information about suspected cases of COVID-19 on-board the cruise ship before almost 2700 passengers were allowed to disembark in Sydney last month.
Health officials revealed on Sunday that a further four people linked to the vessel had died from coronavirus at the weekend, as NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller announced a formal criminal inquiry — to be headed by homicide detectives — into the circumstances surrounding the ship’s arrival.
The number of coronavirus fatalities associated with the Ruby Princess stands at 11, almost a third of the national death toll of 35. More than 600 infections across Australia have been traced to the ship, making it the single largest outbreak of the virus anywhere in the country.
Read the full story here.
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