Coronavirus Australia live updates: Virus-hit Ruby Princess leaves our shores
The Ruby Princess cruise ship, responsible for 21 deaths and at least 600 cases of COVID-19, has been guided out of Port Kembla.
- Banks forced to fill the gap on JobKeeper pay
- 500,000 Aussies seek $3.8bn in early super
- Why you need to sign up to app
- Road to recovery: battle looms over jobs, taxes
- WHO chief should go if powers expanded: Dutton
- New death but low increase ‘good news’
Welcome to live coverage of the continuing coronavirus crisis.
The Ruby Princess cruise ship, responsible for 21 deaths and at least 600 cases of COVID-19, has been guided out of Port Kembla. Nearly half a million Australians have sought early access to their super savings, Josh Frydenberg has revealed. Scott Morrison has declared Australians can help nurses and doctors by downloading the soon-to-be-released app. As the number of new cases continues to plummet, attention has turned to the economy and the level of government intervention needed to avoid mass job cuts. In Australia, a new death in Victoria brings the national toll to 75 but NSW and Qld hail low increases.
Matthew Denholm 8.25pm Hopes rise after no new cases in Tasmania
Tasmania did not record any new cases of coronavirus on Thursday, fuelling hopes a significant outbreak in the state’s northwest may be nearing an end.
The state’s total remains at 205, of which 118 have been in the northwest.
A decision is expected on Friday as to whether a hard lockdown in the region will be eased after Sunday.
READ MORE: How we halt the contagion
Imogen Reid 5.20pm: Ruby Princess leaves Australian waters
The coronavirus-riddled Ruby Princess cruise ship has been guided out of Port Kembla by tug boats, performing a water salute as it leaves Australian waters five weeks after it arrived in Sydney.
The ship has been responsible for 21 deaths and at least 600 cases of COVID-19 across Australia.
Bye-bye Ruby Princess. Staff cheering, waving & thanking Australia as they finally start their journey home. The deadly debacle will go down as one of the worst moments in the coronavirus crisis. @9NewsSyd pic.twitter.com/D2QZzi7rmp
— Tiffiny Genders (@tiffgenders) April 23, 2020
A banner has been tied to the back of the Carnival cruise liner thanking the people of the Illawarra region who donated supplies to 500 crew members stuck on board.
Marine Traffic data indicates the Ruby Princess is heading for Manila in the Philippines.
Over 300 crew members were disembarking the ship on Thursday to be taken to Sydney Airport where they are due to fly home to the Philippines in the evening.
About one in 10 coronavirus cases throughout Australia are linked to the ill-fated cruise ship.
READ MORE: Stokes avoids hotel quarantine
Chris Griffith 4.26pm: Wuhan Labs hacked, says Australia expert
An Australian cyber security expert says the Wuhan Labs in China have been hacked in what appears to be a deliberate attack on health organisations.
“I’ve had credible sources tell me that people have used the credentials that were leaked on Twitter and Facebook to access the labs”, says Robert Potter, CEO and founder of online security firm Internet 2.0, in an interview with The Australian.
Mr Potter was quoted in a story today in The Washington Post which said nearly 25,000 email addresses and passwords had allegedly been dumped online belonging to The World Health Organisation, the US National Institute of Health, Gates Foundation and other bodies.
Speaking to The Australian, Mr Potter says he believed around 10 to 15 credentials (username/password sets) for China’s Wuhan Labs had been leaked.
4.19pm: Fourth resident dies at Sydney nursing home
A fourth resident has died at a western Sydney nursing home where more than 40 people inside the facility were diagnosed with coronavirus.
The 79-year-old woman died at Newmarch House early Thursday morning. This follows the death of a 92-year-old woman on Tuesday at the facility, following the earlier deaths of a 93-year-old man and 94-year-old man. The state’s death toll now stands at 34.
Five new cases of COVID-19 were reported in NSW on Thursday for the second consecutive day, meanwhile, taking the state’s toll to 2976 with 21 people in intensive care.
AAP
READ MORE: China blamed for spreading virus panic
Ewin Hannan 4.01pm: Low-paid at risk from inadequate virus protocols
One in five workers are reporting that they do not have appropriate social distancing protocols in the workplace, with young workers and the low-paid the most impacted.
The ACTU said the new research suggested many Australians were being placed at risk of contracting Covid-19 in the course of their work and that many workplaces, without direction to apply the hierarchy of control, had not adequately addressed the risk.
Almost 30 per cent of workers aged 18 to 35 years old and 47 per cent of workers earning less than $15,600 said their workplaces had not implemented proper social distancing.
Forty three per cent of workers needing personal protective equipment to keep them safe from COVID-19 in their workplace said they did not have it. Workers on fixed-term contracts (63 per cent) and casuals were most likely not to have it.
ACTU assistant secretary Liam O’Brien said the crisis was again highlighting gaps in the workplace safety arrangements in many businesses.
“Social distancing, PPE and cleaning protocols are not just essential in our health care system, every workplace needs to ensure that workers are safe and have access to every possible safety strategy.
READ MORE: China’s Wuhan Labs hacked
Rosie Lewis 3.31pm: Banks forced to help struggling businesses
Banks will be forced to prioritise lending to Australian businesses struggling to pay their workers while they wait to receive the government’s JobKeeper payments.
Scott Morrison on Thursday revealed he was concerned by the increasing number of stories about distressed businesses unable to pay their staff until the $130bn program kicks in next month.
Under the scheme, employers must pay their employees at least $1500 a fortnight before receiving their first JobKeeper payment in the first week of May. Once the payments start flowing in for eligible businesses, they can be backdated to 30 March.
“We need those turnaround times (for businesses to access bridging finance) to improve,” the Prime Minister said.
“These banks know their customers. They know these businesses. They work with these businesses, they are there to stand by these businesses in their time of greatest need and that is now. So they know their history. They know their trading performance. They know what they are capable of doing. When it comes to the JobKeeper arrangements, they are very straightforward when it comes to businesses impact on their turnover.”
READ MORE: Can we keep it together?
Paige Taylor 3.24pm: Billionaire Stokes excused from hotel quarantine
Billionaire Kerry Stokes and his wife, Christine, were excused on medical grounds from two weeks of forced quarantine in a Perth hotel room when they flew in from the US recently, the couple’s spokesman says.
While West Australians returning from overseas and interstate must wait out 14 days of coronavirus quarantine in one of three city hotels, Mr and Mrs Stokes were able to go directly to their home in the riverside suburb of Dalkeith to self isolate.
The Stokes landed in their hometown of Perth on April 8 on a private plane from the US. They had reportedly been locked down in a house they own in Colorado.
Courtney Walsh 2.52pm: AFL chief hints at further season delay
A decision on when the AFL season will resume could be delayed until next month as the league continues negotiations with government authorities.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan remains hopeful of providing a detailed outline as to how a return to football will look next week.
But he conceded on Thursday the intricacies presented by COVID-19 and the differences in regulations on a state-by-state basis may lead to a further delay until consensus is reached.
“What I will make clear is that we are working to (a timeline),” he told Triple M radio.
“It will hopefully be in the next couple of weeks, but things change with governments and health officers, but we are optimistic of a return to play timeframe in coming weeks, whether it is the last week of April, first week of May, or thereabouts, (to announce) we are going forward.”
AFL fixtures boss Travis Auld said on Wednesday the option of using hubs as a starting point for the season was looming as the most likely option.
McLachlan said the AFL was investigating the merits of each state, with the prospect three separate hubs could be used.
“The first port of call is that the states actually want us to set up there and we work through the logistics from there,” he said.
“There are a wide range of options. I doubt we will be playing in every state or territory, but we are looking at every possibility.”
READ MORE: Acting NRL boss: focus on May 28 launch
2.22pm: New questions on how virus arrived in US
A pair of newly reported deaths in California have challenged the longstanding timeline of the coronavirus pandemic, raising new questions about when and how the virus first arrived in the US and the costs of the nation’s lack of preparation earlier in the winter.
The first US death from the coronavirus took place in early February, according to a county in the San Francisco Bay Area, nearly three weeks earlier than US health authorities had previously realised.
Officials in Santa Clara County said they learned Tuesday that a 57-year-old woman who died on February 6 and a 69-year-old man who died on February 17 had Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. Officials couldn’t determine exactly how they picked up the virus, as neither had been to China or another overseas virus hot spot.
Previously, the first known US deaths from Covid-19 involved two people in the Seattle area who died Feb. 26. Both had been residents at a Kirkland, Wash., nursing home that was the scene of the first serious US outbreak.
“None of these cases had a significant travel history,” Sara Cody, Santa Clara County’s health officer, said at a press conference. “We presume that each of them represent community transmission.”
Dow Jones
READ MORE: Why cash hoarding is rising
Angelica Snowden 2.04pm: Nursing home staff ‘still struggling to cope'
Anglicare says staff at Newmarch House are still struggling to care for residents even though Health Minister Greg Hunt “insisted” they accept support, including additional staff, yesterday.
It was revealed in a statement that staffing levels at the facility near Penrith are still short by one third.
“The staff shortage at Anglicare’s Newmarch House continued yesterday with at least one-third of the staffing needs still to be met despite the efforts of Anglicare, third party staffing agencies and the Commonwealth Government,” a statement read.
Families of residents have continued to publicly express concern for their loved ones at the facility.
In response, Anglicare said strict hygiene processes means it takes “five times longer” to address the needs of residents.
“Because of the need to dress in full personal protective equipment, continue our stringent hygiene regime, and maintain social isolation while providing care it takes our staff at least five times longer to deliver the care our residents and their families expect.”
In the statement, CEO of Anglicare Sydney Grant Millard welcomed feedback and thanked families for highlighting issues.
“We appreciate and understand why families are upset, frustrated and disappointed,” Mr Millard said in a statement.
He said a Webinar was scheduled for later today to update families on how Anglicare is managing the “crisis”.
“This will be an opportunity for families to hear what we are doing jointly to get on top of this crisis,” said Mr Millard.
Representatives from the Department of Health are also expected to join.
READ MORE: ‘We were concerned’: Ruby official
Victoria Laurie 1.52pm: Minister flags easing of some WA restrictions
Coronavirus cases in Western Australia remain at 546 after there were no new cases reported for a second day in a row.
The state has 81 individuals who are still COVID-19 positive, but only 24 patients in hospital and five in intensive care.
Health Minister Roger Cook says the state is in line with low figures across the nation, where overnight there were 5 new cases in New South Wales, and one each in South Australia and Tasmania.
Testing of individuals in WA is continuing at a rate of 1000 a day, and random testing is being conducted of patients presenting with respiratory infection.
Minister Cook flagged that the state’s second zero result for new cases could lead to easing of some restrictions as early as next week.
WA public schools will resume classroom teaching when term two begins on 29 April. Parents may opt to keep their children at home, but Minister Cook said he hoped most would allow their children to resume learning in school.
He said he was disappointed that some private schools in WA have opted to remain closed and teach online for the first weeks of term two, except for children in special circumstances.
READ MORE: ‘Reckless’ head lashed for school return plan
Angelica Snowden 1.41pm: No new coronavirus cases in the ACT
No new cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the ACT in the past 24 hours.
ACT Health said that 93 people have now recovered from the virus.
As the territory’s total COVID-19 held steady at 104 infections, ACT Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman announced it would widen testing criteria over the next two weeks.
ACT #COVID19 update (23 April 2020): There have been no new cases recorded in the past 24 hrs. The total is still 104.
— ACT Health (@ACTHealth) April 23, 2020
A total of 93 cases have recovered. There is 1 COVID-19 patient at The Canberra Hospital. The number of negative tests is 7,263 â„¹ï¸ https://t.co/YGW9pOHG3e pic.twitter.com/aMoOEPABCN
“From tomorrow if you present to our testing services with COVID-19 symptoms, even if you haven’t travelled overseas recently or been a close contact of a confirmed case, you will be tested,” Dr Coleman said in a statement.
“The ACT continues to be in an excellent position and we now have capacity to test people from groups that are less likely to have come into contact with COVID-19,” she said.
READ MORE: Stimulus package big mistake: Abbott’s economist
Cliona O’Dowd 1.36pm: Aussies seek $3.8bn in early access super
Nearly half a million Australians have sought early access to their super savings as part of the federal government’s coronavirus rescue package, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has confirmed.
The Australian Taxation Office approved 456,000 applications for early access to super between Monday and Wednesday at 12pm, totalling $3.8bn, Mr Frydenberg said.
“Those applications are now with the superannuation funds for their payment over the next five days,” he said.
The average withdrawal was $8000, he added.
Up to 1.5 million workers are expected to dip into their super as part of the support package, with younger workers more likely to take part in the scheme, according to Industry Super Australia.
READ MORE: PM lobbies world leaders for virus probe
Angelica Snowden 1.10pm: No rise in domestic violence figures during pandemic
Domestic violence has not increased during the COVID-19 pandemic but it’s possible that victims cannot safely report while in isolation with perpetrators, NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research says.
A report released by the agency has revealed that in March this year, 2678 incidents of domestic violence were recorded by NSW Police.
This is equivalent to the same reporting period in March last year, when police recorded 2632 incidents.
“It is possible the figures are stable because isolation strategies have affected the willingness or ability of people experiencing domestic violence to seek assistance from police,” the report says.
There have been concerns domestic violence could rise in response to the unprecedented social isolation measures sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.
The report warned that domestic violence may still increase and that figures will continue to be monitored while social isolation measures remain in place.
READ MORE: Isolation heightens risk of domestic violence
Rosie Lewis 12.58pm: Environmental approals jump in March quarter
There has been a dramatic increase in projects receiving environmental approvals on time, Scott Morrison has revealed.
While in the December quarter 19 per cent of projects were approved on time, that jumped to 87 per cent in the March quarter.
“We’re looking to be at 100 per cent by the end of June,” the Prime Minister said.
“Ensuring that we’re moving quickly through approval processes and providing that certainty for business investment and the regulatory arrangements that are in place, that will be a key part, a key part of the economic recovery strategy.”
Environment Minister Sussan Ley will have more to say on this later today.
READ MORE: Bring on income tax cuts: Costello
Rosie Lewis 12.50pm: Australia to ‘reconnect’ with NZ first
New Zealand will “undoubtedly” be the first country Australia “reconnects” with, Scott Morrison says, provided the government is confident the public’s safety will not be put at risk.
The Prime Minister did not put a timeline on when travel between the two nations would restart but said it was something being worked through patiently.
Mr Morrison did not offer a view is to whether the NRL could restart at the end of May, saying it would depend on health advice at the time.
He also said it was a matter for the NSW government, not the commonwealth.
“What we are seeking to do is focus on those activities that are more low-health-risk and more high-economic-value. My priorities are to get kids back to school, to get people back to work,” Mr Morrison said.
“In terms of the broader social restrictions that are overseen by the states, I think there is a reasonable expectation from the public - based on the tremendous patience and discipline that they’ve shown - that they will get some relief on those fronts as well. I welcome, for example, the decision taken by the Queensland government overnight in regards to funerals (allowing 20 people to attend instead of 10).”
READ MORE: Life’s golden now, but pets’ crisis starts soon
Rosie Lewis 12.40pm: PM backs Dutton in spat with China
Scott Morrison has defended Peter Dutton over a public spat with China after the Home Affairs Minister demanded transparency from the Communist country over the origins of the coronavirus.
The Prime Minister said he did not believe the attacks from Chinese officials towards Mr Dutton augured badly for China’s engagement in an international investigation into the pandemic.
“The Minister for Home Affairs has set out the situation well. Australia is perfectly entitled to set out positions that are totally consistent with the principles and values that we have as a country,” Mr Morrison said.
“We are a transparent, open nation, and when it comes to issues of public health, we would only seek the good faith participation of any country that would find itself in that situation. We had a virus originate out of Wuhan in China.
“What’s important is that we work together in a transparent way. The World Health Assembly is coming up in May. There are opportunities to pursue that matter there and that’s our first port of call.
“I’ve obviously shared my views, as has the Foreign Minister, with other like-minded countries about the need for a transparent process here and for a fair dinkum look at how these rules are working.”
Mr Morrison said Australia’s purpose in pushing for an independent investigation into the coronavirus was simple: “We’d like the world to be safer when it comes to viruses.
“It seems like a pretty honest ambition that I’m sure most people in the world would agree with. So it would be great if we could achieve that and that’s the spirit in which we’re pursuing this and I would hope that any other nation, be it China or anyone else, would share that objective.”
READ MORE: Workers reel from using faulty masks
Rosie Lewis 12.30pm: Help nurses, doctors and download app: PM
Scott Morrison has declared Australians can help nurses, paramedics and doctors by downloading the government’s soon-to-be-released coronavirus tracing app and vowed the encrypted data it took from Australians would not be accessed by his government.
“The commonwealth government has no access whatsoever to the information in that data store. None. Zero. Zip. Nothing. That information can only be unlocked by the health officer at the state and territory level in direct communication with the person from who has contracted the coronavirus in releasing that information into the data store,” the Prime Minister said.
“It’s got one job. Just one job. We’re not having it do other jobs. It will never do other jobs. It’s for a time-limited period. It has the specific job of helping public health officials help you. Help them help you.”
Mr Morrison said there would be a “strong communications campaign” as the government attempts to convince at least 40 per cent of the public to download and use the tracking app.
States have also been asked to conduct their own communications campaigns.
READ MORE: Government’s contract-tracing app explained
Angelica Snowden 12.24pm: Beauty industry prepares for staggered reopening
Some cosmetic procedures, like anti-wrinkle injections and dermal fillers, will start up again after the Anzac Day long weekend.
President of the Cosmetic Physicians College of Australasia Michael Molton said medical practices offering cosmetic procedures “voluntarily” closed down in early April after they decided social distancing requirements to halt COVID-19 could not be followed.
“Nobody is going to say from the government, yes you can go and get your botox done now,” Dr Molton said.
“So the profession has to act responsibly and work out a consensus that meets the necessary restrictions and protocols that protect the public.”
Dr Molton said “dedicated” medical facilities but not beauty salons are preparing to open after the Anzac Day long weekend in a “graded” way and with a limited set of procedures available.
“Things like lip fillers will be out because obviously it’s too close to where community transmission comes from,” he said.
But some laser procedures, cosmetic injections, dermal fillers to other areas of the upper face, and migraine treatment will resume.
“My particular clinic has been closed since the shut down (on April 1),” he said.
“Yesterday we went down to the clinic for the first time and there are about 250 emails from people asking when we will be open.
“So the demand is there.”
Dr Molton said members of the Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons and dermatologists are drafting a set of protocols to define the circumstances under which the cosmetic procedures could resume.
These include the use of personal protective equipment, asking patients about COVID-19 symptoms before they arrive, temperature testing and having distance markers on the floor.
The news comes after the national cabinet issued its first easing of restrictions by lifting bans on many elective surgeries with category two and some category three procedures able to go ahead after the Anzac Day weekend.
Scott Morrison declared “we are already on the road back” to reopening society, as he unveiled a “gradual restart” to elective surgery, including IVF procedures, joint replacements, eye procedures and endoscopy and colonoscopy procedures.
READ MORE: Take care with this home beauty routine
Matthew Denholm 12.20pm: Tasmanians warned to brace for longer hard lockdown
Northwest Tasmanians have been warned to brace for a continuation of the region’s hard lockdown following further coronavirus cases and lower than desired testing levels.
Premier Peter Gutwein on Thursday flagged a decision on whether to continue the region’s harder lockdown would be announced on Friday, but warned residents to prepare for another week of tough restrictions.
“I would specifically urge northwest parents to be thinking about how they might manage their children next week if they are at home, if we aren’t able to lift the additional restrictions,” Mr Gutwein said.
While it had been one week since the last confirmed COVID-19 case outside of the northwest of the state, four new cases were confirmed in the stricken region overnight.
These cases bring the total number of cases in northwest Tasmania to 118, with most being healthcare workers at Burnie’s North West Regional Hospital and North West Private Hospital.
The northwest has tougher restrictions than elsewhere in the state, including a shut-down of non-essential retail and tougher policing of limits on movement and gatherings.
Mr Gutwein also warned Tasmanians that while statewide restrictions were due to expire on May 15, some would continue beyond this date and that “normal life” would not resume for some time.
Statewide there were 205 cases as of Thursday afternoon but a further case was expected to be confirmed imminently.
READ MORE: Tasmania goes it alone on key virus measures
Rosie Lewis 12.15pm: Big four banks set up finance hotlines
The big four banks have established new hotlines for customers to call so they can receive bridging finance before the JobKeeper payments kick in next month, Josh Frydenberg has announced.
There will be dedicated hotlines for businesses to use and then pay their staff ahead of receiving Jobkeeper money.
Banks have also agreed to expedite the processing of bridging finance applications, which will be taken to the front of the queue.
“Our message today is if you are a business or a not-for-profit operation that is eligible for the JobKeeper payment, as required, you need to pay your staff ahead of receiving the money from the Tax Office. Go to your bank, ring their hotline, ask for that support, and that support will be forthcoming,” the Treasurer said.
More than 900,000 businesses have registered their interest in receiving JobKeeper payments.
The ATO has approved 456,000 applications for Australians to access their superannuation early, totalling $3.8bn of withdrawals. People can draw up to $10,000 each and the average withdrawal has been $8000.
The ATO has paid out $3bn to 177,000 businesses employing 2.1 million Australians, as part of the government’s cashflow boost measures.
The $750 cash payments for welfare recipients have gone to 6.8 million people totalling $5.1bn.
READ MORE: Stimulus package big mistake: Abbott’s economist
Rosie Lewis 12.07pm: Banks must step up to ensure quick finance: PM
Mr Morrison says he’s concerned some businesses have had trouble accessing finance from their banks, urging the institutions to “stay up to the mark” and ensure quick turnaround times.
“These banks know their customers. They know these businesses. They work with these businesses, they are there to stand by these businesses in their time of greatest need and that is now,” the Prime Minister says.
“They know their history. They know their trading performance. They know what they are capable of doing.”
There have been nearly 600,000 JobSeeker applications since the coronavirus pandemic hit – more than the government normally processes in a year.
READ MORE: Queensland tenants able to negotiate rent deductions
Rosie Lewis 12.00pm: ‘Good progress’ on road back: PM
Scott Morrison says there has been “good progress” in obtaining testing kits, personal protective equipment and respirator supplies one week in to a four-week timeframe before the country considers lifting some social distancing restrictions.
Warning we could not afford to be complacent, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the country was “on the road back” to a “COVID-safe economy” as surveillance, sentinel testing, and “industrialising” contact-tracing capabilities are bolstered.
READ MORE: Sunlovers and businesses rejoice with Bondi beach to reopen
Olivia Caisley 11.50am: Borders won’t open in next 3-4 months: CMO
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has said while it is “very hard” to estimate the timeframes for relaxing COVID-19 measures, he doesn’t expect Australia to open its borders in the next three to four months.
Dr Murphy told an inquiry into the government’s response to the crisis on Thursday the one exception could be New Zealand, but at this stage such an arrangement was “quite speculative”.
Dr Murphy said the government was concerned about a second wave of infections, as has occurred in Singapore, and said any relaxing of physical distancing measures would require stronger public health measures to counterbalance the risk.
While health officers are “certainly not considering large-scale gatherings” Dr Murphy said small-scale gatherings may be allowed if measures were relaxed.
The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee has also been asked to consider “community sport and some retail shops”.
READ MORE: Eradication possible as new cases plummet
Olivia Caisley 11.32am: CMO rubbishes pandemic drill rumour
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has thrown cold water over assertions Australia had not completed a pandemic drill in a decade, declaring the rumour “completely untrue”.
Dr Murphy said the last pandemic drill was conducted with NSW Health in May last year when health workers responded to a scenario based on a theoretical outbreak on a cruise ship docked in Sydney.
Asked why then the government had “got it so wrong” when it came to responding to the Ruby Princess debacle, Dr Murphy said that some “regretful” decisions were made.
About one in 10 coronavirus cases throughout Australia are linked to the ill-fated cruise ship.
“In retrospect there were some decisions that were made that everyone regrets … Clearly, there were mistakes made. Everyone was doing their best in tricky and tense times at what was probably the peak of the outbreak. Let’s not blame anybody but wait and see (the outcome of the NSW special commission of inquiry).”
Previously under questioning from Labor Senator Kristina Keneally, Dr Murphy defended NSW Health’s assessment of the Ruby Princess as low risk.
“It had only been to New Zealand and back, and New Zealand was not a high-risk country,” he said. “I think everyone was quite surprised there had been a significant COVID-19 outbreak onboard.”
Dr Murphy also argued that most of the infections from the Ruby Princess “would’ve happened whether or not it disembarked, because they were contracted on the ship”.
But he conceded “if disembarkation had occurred into a more structured quarantine, there may have been less community transmission”.
READ MORE: Doctor says passengers should not have disembarked Ruby Princess before testing was complete
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.15am: Paramedic spreads virus to colleagues, patients
NSW Health has confirmed a number of health workers and hospital patients who were in close contact with a NSW Ambulance paramedic who has been diagnosed with coronavirus.
The paramedic, who worked out of the Liverpool Superstation in south west Sydney, is currently being treated in hospital, NSW Health said in a statement - one of the 219 cases currently being treated by NSW Health.
Of these 219, 21 are being treated in ICU units, with 15 requiring ventilators.
NSW Health also said that the Sydney Adventist Hospital has activated “complete infection control strategies” after a nurse employed there tested positive for the virus, and asserts that there is “no ongoing risk to other patients or staff”.
READ MORE: Public patients get priority as elective surgery resumes
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.00am: Government intervention is an essential: Albanese
Anthony Albanese has fired the opening salvo in the battle over how the economy should be managed in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic, saying significant government intervention will be required to avoid massive job losses.
“What we need to make sure is that arising out of this crisis, we don’t have the government go to the bottom drawer and say, ‘What we need is labour market deregulation. What we need is more tax cuts for people who don’t necessarily need it’,” the Opposition Leader said.
“What we need to do is to make sure that we continue to support those working people who’ve provided support for our national economy at this critical time.”
Pointing to the construction industry as an example, Mr Albanese said if the government does not act, job losses will be severe.
“The Master Builders have reported a 40 per cent decline in the number of builds that are anticipated into the future, that are currently on the books,” the Labor leader told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
“What that means is that hundreds of thousands of jobs - particularly new apprenticeships and skilled work - is under threat as we come out of this crisis.
“The Prime Minister has said that we’ll have snapback. The truth is that that won’t occur … It (the economy) needs government support, and we’ve been reminded during this crisis that government intervention is an essential component of how we deal with our economy.”
Opposition spokesman for housing Jason Clare said the construction industry’s steep decline will impact thousands of tradies and small businesses and declared the industry key to the economy’s recovery.
“The result is, according to people in the housing industry, that instead of building 160,000 homes this year, that they were predicting they’d do, they might be building as few as 100,000 homes this year.
“If that happens, thousands of Australians who work in the housing industry could lose their job. That’s bad for them, it’s bad for their families, it’s bad for the whole country, and it’s bad for the economy.
“Housing is an important way to crawl our way out of this crisis.”
READ MORE: Return to sender — economists’ letter is gibberish
Olivia Caisley 10.40am: Safety hasn’t been compromised: CMO
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy tells a Senate inquiry into the government’s response into the coronavirus pandemic there were 10 million P2 masks in the national stockpile in December last year.
During the horror bushfire season 3.5 million were used, but that was stopped once the government realised the significance of the pandemic.
Dr Murphy says that while there were concerns about how long the personal protective stocks would last “at no stage have we ever been in a position where I have felt any safety has been compromised by a lack of PPE (personal protective equipment).”
He says Australia’s medical stockpile also includes radiological and nuclear antidotes.
READ MORE: Eradication possible as new cases plummet
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.32am: Cuomo’s nephew tests positive to COVID-19
The 14-year-old son of CNN host Chris Cuomo, brother of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has tested positive for coronavirus
The diagnosis was confirmed by Chris’s wife, Cristina Cuomo, who posted on Instagram that she was working hard to get Mario Cuomo through the virus.
“My heart hurts more than my head over his infection,” she said.
“The virus does not discriminate. While kids are more resilient, they can suffer same severity of symptoms,” adding that Mario’s sense of taste and smell had disappeared.
New York State, which recently confirmed it would look at lifting lockdown in parts of the state over the coming weeks, has 251,690 confirmed cases of the virus and 14,828 deaths.
READ MORE: US second wave to be ‘even more dire’
Olivia Caisley 10.30am: CMO proud of government’s response to crisis
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy has kicked off his response to the coronavirus committee, declaring he is very proud of the way the government has handled the crisis and is happy to be subject to questioning.
Dr Murphy told the first public hearing on Monday the government was first notified of “a cluster of pneumonia cases” in Wuhan, China on New Year’s Day.
They received the information from World Health Organisation counterparts and “watched the issue closely over the first week.”
“But around the 19th and 20th January that all changed,” Dr Murphy said. “There was very clear evidence coming from China there was significant human to human transmission, which was a gamechanger.”
Dr Murphy tells the committee Australia was one of the first countries to declare coronavirus as a disease under the Biosecurity Act because the government “recognised the pandemic potential of the virus”.
Labor Senator Katy Gallagher asks when Dr Murphy initiated “more formal” government briefings in regards to the virus.
Dr Murphy said that the government’s response moved into a “very different mode” on January 19.
READ MORE: Tasmania to go it alone on key virus measures
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.15am: NRL return all down to Palaszczuk: Dutton
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has placed responsibility of the resumption of the NRL on Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk’s shoulders, saying that a decision from the Premier to grant exemptions on the state’s travel ban for league players would help the Australian Border Force decide whether the NZ Warriors could be granted entrance to the country.
Although the season is set to continue on May 28, the NRL is working out how to navigate internal and international travel restrictions to allow teams to play against one another, with teams currently unable to enter Queensland and the NZ Warriors, Australia.
“It’s a complex picture and everyone wants to see the NRL start up again … getting the NRL up and started is, I think, a very important part of the next step we take.”
“The Border Force commissioner has discretion to let people in,” Mr Dutton said in reference to the NZ Warriors being allowed to enter the country despite Australia’s ban on all international arrivals.
“We just need to look at what is reasonable in the circumstance, obviously New Zealand is a very low risk country for us.
“If the Warriors were to come into NSW, or wherever it was, Queensland, they would have to go through two weeks of isolation like anyone else.
“I think that would be right and it would be good to hear from the Queensland Premier as to what her position would be.
“We just need to better understand that and then we can work through what the next steps will be for the Warriors.”
READ MORE: NRL focused on broadcast deal in 48 hours
Olivia Caisley 10.13am: Senate inquiry into virus handling begins
Labor Senator Katy Gallagher has kicked off a Senate inquiry into the Morrison government’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
Senator Gallagher said the seven senators working on the inquiry were “determined to provide the accountability, scrutiny and transparency the Australian people deserve”.
Australia’s chief medical officer Brendan Murphy and Department of Health secretary Caroline Edwards up for first for questioning.
The Senate committee is chaired by Labor’s Katy Gallagher and government senator James Paterson is deputy.
The inquiry will look at health measures put in place to slow the spread, the economic cost of the government’s plan and the path out of the health crisis.
READ MORE: Reforms can push us out of the shadows: Lowe
Lahclan Moffet Gray 10.00am: WHO chief should go if powers expanded: Dutton
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has slammed the World Health Organisation’s leadership and said it was his view that if the WHO was granted additional investigative powers, Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus should not remain in charge.
When asked if he agrees with a statement to that effect by 2GB host Ray Hadley on Thursday, Mr Dutton said: “I agree with that, I think the culpability problem is very real and very tangible.”
“The prime minister has had discussions with leaders around the world, including President Trump, about this very issue … he’s been very forthright in establishing Australia’s position.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping is a strong supporter of Dr Tedros and advocated for his rise to the top of the WHO.
In recent days Scott Morrison has been lobbying his global counterparts to support an expansion to the powers of the WHO or another investigative body so that it can enter countries to probe disease outbreaks of international concern.
Mr Dutton also offered a stern rebuke to the Chinese embassy official that told China’s Global Times Newspaper that Mr Dutton’s “pitiful” rhetoric on China exposed Australia’s “ignorance and bigotry”.
“They may think somehow that’s undermining my credibility … I just don’t get why they can’t answer the questions if there is nothing to hide.
“We can’t allow this pandemic to occur again and we can’t allow the Chinese government to not be transparent.”
Mr Dutton said he did not want his tough rhetoric towards the Chinese government to convey a sense it was OK to discriminate against people of Chinese heritage in Australia.
“I think it’s important that we make a couple of points here, the first is I’ve seen reports of people of Asian extraction in Australia. … being targeted in the streets … that is just not on.
“I have zero tolerance for any of that behaviour, but I have big problems with the way the communist party has conducted itself.”
Mr Dutton also raised concern over cyber activity that has been spreading misinformation about coronavirus via mass text messages, singling out Russia as a possible perpetrator.
“We know the Chinese and others, Russia, North Korea, for example, is involved in cyber activity – there are some reports now – perhaps it’s Russia, I don’t know, that there is a misinformation campaign designed to scare people.”
READ MORE: Dutton caught in US ‘information virus’, China claims
Cameron Stewart 9.45am: All eyes on Georgia as ‘guinea pig’ state
Georgia was very much on Donald Trump’s mind when he called the state’s Governor Brian Kemp to discuss Mr Kemp’s decision to reopen major parts of Georgia’s economy while coronavirus infections in his state are still rising.
The US President says he told Kemp that he disagreed with what he was doing. “It’s just too soon … I told the Governor that I disagree with his decision but he has to do what he thinks is right,” Mr Trump said.
READ MORE: All eyes on Georgia as ‘guinea pig’ state
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.30am: Vic death brings national toll to 75
A man in his 60s has died of coronavirus in Victoria, bringing the state’s death toll to 16 and Australia’s toll to 75.
There are now 1,337 confirmed cases of #COVID-19 in Victoria. Sadly, a man in his 60s has died in hospital taking the number of people who died in Victoria from #COVID19 to 16. My thoughts are with his family #springst 1/2
— Jenny Mikakos MP #StayHomeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) April 22, 2020
“My thoughts are with the family,” Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said on Twitter.
The news came as Victoria confirmed just one new case of coronavirus in the past 24 hours, bringing the state’s total to 1337.
1251 of these cases have recovered, 27 are in hospital and 10 are in ICU.
READ MORE: Public patients priority in elective surgery
Angelica Snowden 9.25am: No infected crew on Ruby
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant has confirmed there are no crew members on the Ruby Princess cruise ship with an active COVID-19 infection.
“We have removed the people with infection off the ship and they are currently residing in health facilities,” she said.
The coronavirus-stricken Ruby Princess cruise ship will sail out of Australian waters today, leaving a wave of devastation behind her.
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) April 22, 2020
More on this story: https://t.co/iSn80cqU9Z pic.twitter.com/WVyg4WVCQN
They will not be able to return home until they are not infectious.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys said he is confident the Ruby Princess will leave Port Kembla this afternoon.
He said over 300 people crew members from the Philippines will be repatriated home today.
Roughly 550 crew remained onboard to sail the ship back to the US.
READ MORE: Doctor faces up to Ruby debacle
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.20am: Small increase ‘good news for Queensland’
Queensland has confirmed two further cases of coronavirus, a low increase that premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has said is “good news for Queensland.”
“We know the sources of those two confirmed cases as well. That takes our total to 1026 and of course, we have conducted more than 90,000 tests across Queensland,” Ms Palaszczuk told reporters on Thursday.
Ms Palaszczuk also announced additional funding to mental health service Lifeline and veteran support service Legacy.
“Lifeline has seen an unprecedented number of calls during this trial, during COVID-19 and they are receiving around 24,000 calls this week. So it is up quite
substantially … Of course we want to support Lifeline during this period, so we will be allocating $3.5 million to assist Lifeline during this time,” she said.
“In the lead up to Anzac Day too, we have been approached by Legacy. Legacy does outstanding work in the local community, providing services to families of former or serving soldiers who pass away, and we will be allocating $1 million to Legacy as well.”
“I think everyone would agree with me that these are extremely worthy organisations that deserve government support during this time.”
READ MORE: Queensland on notice for credit squeeze
Angelica Snowden 9.15am: Two new cases at stricken aged care home
Of the five new cases in NSW, Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant confirmed twowere recorded at the Newmarch House aged care facility.
She said an additional staff member and resident tested positive to the virus overnight.
There are now a total of 44 people linked with that cluster in Sydney’s west, including 15 staff and 29 residents.
Dr Chant also said that a nurse from the Sydney Adventist Hospital tested positive to COVID-19.
A paramedic from the Liverpool Ambulance superstation is being treated at hospital after contracting COVID-19.
READ MORE: Dirty sheets in Newmarch House
Angelica Snowden 9.10am: Berejiklian ‘didn’t know’ Ruby hearings date
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she “found out when everybody else did” that public hearings started yesterday as part of the special inquiry into the Ruby Princess.
She said the only notification she got about the start of the public inquiry was passed on to her verbally after a live stream of the hearings began.
“I want the answers as much as anybody but I will not have anybody interfering in the process,” she said.
“Could you have imagined if he tried to contact anybody and told us? That would have been highly inappropriate.”
Commissioner of the inquiry, Bret Walker SC, advised in a statement late on Wednesday that the inquiry would be urgently brought forward ahead of the ship’s departure today.
The Premier said she had no extra information about the start of the inquiry.
“As far as I know it was a public hearing,” she said.
“It would have been inappropriate for him to advise me of any other public disclosure he made,
“It is a matter for him as to how he conducts the inquiry.”
READ MORE: Cops seek answers from Ruby Princess
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.00am: Government ‘incredibly cautious’ over lockdowon lift
Eradicating coronavirus in Australia is a possibility “being looked at at the moment”, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd said, if efforts to suppress the disease continue to be successful.
“As you know, at this time in Australia, we are in the suppression phase where we are trying to drive down new diagnoses to as close to zero as we possibly can,” Mr Kidd told Sunrise on Thursday.
“But whether this will lead to actual eradication or elimination of the virus in Australia still remains to be seen.”
Mr Kidd said the government is being “incredibly cautious” in its consideration of lifting restrictions on the economy and individuals and said that the timeframe for rolling them back has not changed.
“As you know, we now have three more weeks of the current restrictions in place and then the National Cabinet will be meeting to determine what further lifting of restrictions we can see both at a national level and across the states and territories,” he said.
Mr Kidd also said that getting Australia’s children back into school is “an absolute top national priority”, but conceded that how “this rolls out in each individual state and territory” depends on each state and territory.
READ MORE: Desire for company drives pet waitlist
Richard Ferguson 8.55am: Labor won’t back ‘let it rip for market forces’
Anthony Albanese has cast doubt on Scott Morrison’s attempts to get unions and business to work together for post-pandemic economic reform, saying he will not back a “let it rip for market forces” approach to recovery.
The Opposition Leader – pointing to a stoush over industrial relation award changes last week when the JobKeeper package was passed – said he would wait to see what Mr Morrison outlines before he supports a broader reform package.
“The Prime Minister needs to outline what that agenda is. Last week, we saw workplace regulations changed without any consultation or reference with the trade union movement, the Labor Party or the community,” he told Sky News.
“I look at what people do, not just what they say.
“I hope some of the spirit that’s been around during the recent period – whether it’s listening to science, whether it’s having respect for unions – I hope that does continue from the government beyond this crisis.
“What we shouldn’t have – as soon as we’re through this crisis – is a let it rip market forces approach, whereby it’s working people who once again have it to bear the brunt of that change.”
The Australian understands the Morrison government will not rush to a reform agenda and will first seek to build a new consensus for reform around business, unions and the community.
The national cabinet, which was established in response to the coronavirus crisis, is also being considered by some as a potential longer-term vehicle for co-operation between the states and the commonwealth on broader tax reform and deregulation.
READ MORE: Bring on tax cuts: Costello
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.45am: Trump praises states for lifting lockdown
US President Donald Trump has lauded individual states for beginning to lift coronavirus restrictions and has downplayed the risk of a “second wave” of the disease in a country that is already the world’s worst-hit, with 846,982 confirmed cases of the illness and 47,349 deaths.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on Thursday Australian time, Mr Trump said that “more states will soon be in the position to gradually and safely reopen,” before moving to attack the media for mischaracterising remarks made by the Centre for Disease Control’s Director Dr Robert Redfield, who warned that a second wave of coronavirus could combine with influenza and be “more difficult” to manage.
Mr Trump downplayed the threat of coronavirus returning in a second wave.
“If it comes back though, it wont come back in the form that it was, it will be coming back in smaller doses we can contain,” he said.
“Now, if we have pockets, little pockets here, it’s going to be put out … it’s also possible it won’t come back at all.”
When asked by members of the media as to why the government was ordering hundreds of thousands of ventilators to be manufactured if they anticipated the virus to decline in seriousness, Mr Trump replied: “We have to have them for other reasons – something else could come,” before accusing the media of not giving him credit for solving a shortage in the crucial medial device.
“You say, Trump was slow,” she said.
“We weren’t slow.”
READ MORE: Second wave ‘even more dire’ for US
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.30am: Nursing home staff to be shored up
Minister for Aged Care Richard Colbeck has sympathised with the families of residents at the beleaguered Anglicare Newmarch House aged care facility linked to 42 cases of coronavirus, saying he would be “very distressed” if he had a relative there, but assured that the federal government is taking appropriate action to assist as 55 staff members have been forced into isolation.
“The report that I received last night was that we are very close to being back to the staffing levels that we want,” Senator Colbeck said, referring to a number of measures taken to shore up staffing levels, including the recruitment of an emergency response team from Aspen healthcare, a healthcare provider that conducted COVID tests on the Ruby Princess.
“We will be putting additional resources there over and above normal level, so that we can bring the situation back to where it should be. We can provide the care.”
Senator Colbeck also said the government would work with residents and their families to keep them updated.
“We are conducting a forum with the residents and their familiar families today so they can understand what is happening inside.
“I have had conversations with the NSW Health minister yesterday to ensure that we are working closely together with NSW Health.
“We are throwing everything we possibly can at this because we need to restore the situation quickly.”
READ MORE: Dirty sheets in aged care home
Angelica Snowden 8.15am: NSW: 5600 tests, five new cases
NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant confirmed NSW recorded 5 new cases of COVID-19 overnight out of 5600 tests.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it was “one of the best results we have had”.
She said Sydneysiders should also interpret the return to school as a positive sign.
“Children going back to school on May 11 should be a strong signal to everybody that we are achieving what we hoped to achieve from the restrictions, that schools going back is the first positive sign of us being able to resume a level of activity,” she said.
“I look forward to updating the community on further updates on that into the future.”
READ MORE: Grocery grab drives retail record
Angelica Snowden 8.15am: ‘Phase wet markets out methodically’
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said Australia’s Chief Veterinary officer believes wet markets may need to be phased out.
Mr Littleproud said science would ultimately decide if wet markets should be phased out.
“We want to do that in a calm, methodical way,” he said.
“If we can’t (mitigate transmission of disease) then we need to as global citizens together with those nations that have these wet markets to phase them out in a way that protects their food security.”
Mr Littleproud said of the G20 Agriculture Ministers he was the only one to raise a crack down on wet markets at a meeting last night.
“There is a real risk to human health and to biosecurity,” he said.
“We will continue to work with our G20 agricultural partners but we also intend to engage with the World Health Organisation for Animal Health.”
“They would be the independent body that could go an work within these wildlife and wet markets and make sure they get the science to help them get the information we need.”
Mr Littleproud defended the timing of calls to close down wet markets during the coronavirus pandemic, saying that Australians can “chew gum and walk at the same time”.
READ MORE: Leaders lobby for review of origins
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.10am: Littleproud: no backing down on wet markets
Federal Agriculture minister David Littleproud says he will not back down on pushing for the World Health Organisation to investigate “wet” wildlife markets in China, despite his global counterparts showing limited interest in the idea.
The coronavirus is believed to have originated from a wet market in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
The federal government has stepped up its calls for greater scrutiny on wet markets, where the coronavirus pandemic is believed to have originated.https://t.co/hul93zkHVb
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) April 22, 2020
Speaking to Sunrise on Thursday, Mr Littleproud said at a digital G20 meetings of agricultural ministers on Wednesday he was an “outlier” on the issue, but he doesn’t “intend to take a backward step on this.”
“I’m asking the World Organisation of Health to go in and understand these wildlife markets,” he said.
“We’ve got to understand not all wet markets are bad. It’s when exotic life is added, which is what has happened in this case as the Chinese officials have identified.
“There are many of these around the world. It only makes sense, the world has become smaller, we are part of a global community, that we come together and do the right thing to protect one another … As part of the global community, we need to lead it and we need to expect the rest of the global community come with us.”
READ MORE: China’s coronavirus culpability
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.55am: Berejiklian: NSW schools plan responsible
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is defending the decision to stagger the return of children to schools and said allowing children one day of face-to-face learning a week from May 11 is responsible policy, and not influenced by the NSW Teachers Federation.
“The union has had its view but we vigorously oppose it,” Ms Berejiklian told 2GB on Thursday, adding that more face-to-face days for students may be added as the term progresses.
“I think the union’s position would be to have the children remaining online and we don’t think that is viable.
“We need to make sure we transition back properly."https://t.co/gKis60ah3A
— 2GB 873 (@2GB873) April 22, 2020
“NSW is the only major state that will have kids going back to school in term two.”
Ms Berejiklian said the decision to stagger students emanates from concern the coronavirus could spread during busy pick-up and drop-off periods.
“What we know is evident is that drop-offs and pick-ups … is where the virus is likely to be spread,” she said.
“This is the whole reason why we need to make sure we transition back properly … we don’t want to be in a situation where schools need to keep opening and closing.”
Ms Berejiklian refused to be drawn as to whether she tried to find out exactly who gave the authorisation for the Ruby Princess to disembark passengers at Sydney before several coronavirus tests of ill patients were finalised, saying the state government “needs to be arms length from this process” in reference into the special commission of inquiry into the debacle.
Ms Berejiklian also did not give a time frame on when social distancing restrictions will be lifted in NSW, but said we will be living with coronavirus for at least a year and said plans were underway to cut red tape and “expedite development” to bolster the economy once restrictions are lifted.
“We are going through this as soon as possible to make sure we have jobs on the ground,” she said.
READ MORE: PM to push for tax reform
Angelica Snowden 7.35am: Berejiklian to update on virus at 8.00am AEST
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will provide an update on the coronavirus pandemic in her state at 8am AEST.
She will be joined by the Chief Medical Officer and Police Deputy Commissioner.
The press conference can be watched live above.
Angelica Snowden 7.30am: Ruby Princess set to leave today
Police Deputy Commissioner Gary Worboys says the Ruby Princess is on schedule to leave Port Kembla today.
Mr Worboys said the crew’s departure along with the ship would not hinder the criminal investigation into decisions that lead to almost 3,000 passengers disembarking without proper COVID-19 testing.
“Crew members have had the opportunity to participate in that process,” he said on Sky News.
“Not all of them have been spoken to but that doesn’t mean we can’t speak to them in the future.”
He said Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has been “firm but fair” in his approach to repatriating crew members.
Mr Worboys said anyone who wanted to come off the Ruby Princess must have organised a way home to ensure no additional pressure is placed on the NSW Health system.
He said a large group of crew members from the Philippines will be repatriated today.
READ MORE: Ruby doctor faces up to questioning
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.20am: Lambie: Leave school opening up to states
Tasmanian Senator Jacquie Lambie has said the decision to reopen schools across the nation should be up to state premiers, rejecting federal government policy and the advice of the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, who assert it is safe for children to return to school.
“I would rather hear what my premier of Tasmania has to say rather than the Prime Minister over this,” Senator Lambie told Today on Thursday.
“No disrespect to the Prime Minister, but every state and Territory is dealing with the best way they can and I think it should be up to the state leaders … I wouldn’t feel confident as a mother with a child at school unless it was actually our Tasmania Premier saying ‘I think it is time to go back’.”
Tasmania has been battling a coronavirus outbreak linked to hospitals in the north west of the state as instances of the virus in other states decline considerably, with the exception of the cluster outbreak at NSW’s Anglicare Newmarch House aged care facility, which is linked to at least 42 cases of the disease.
The aged care facility has also been hit with allegations of neglect of residents by the families of those in its care.
Senator Lambie said the ongoing Royal Commission into the aged care sector should turn its attention to the embattled facility.
“We have a Royal Commission going on investigating what is going on in our aged care system, and this is going on and I think that – I think my main question is was this also going on before hand, before the coronavirus actually hit?”
“That is very, very worrying circumstances, but I would suggest that the Royal Commission get in there, get on top of it and work out what is going on very, very quickly.”
READ MORE: Teachers defy science on safety
Angelica Snowden 7.00am: Virus trending up in Africa, S America, East Europe
COVID-19 will stalk the planet for a long time to come, the World Health Organisation said on Wednesday, warning that most countries were still in the early stages of tackling the pandemic.
WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the pandemic was stabilising in Europe but case numbers are trending upwards in other parts of the world.
“Most of the epidemics in western Europe appear to be stable or declining,” he said.
“Although numbers are low, we see worrying upward trends in Africa, Central and South America, and eastern Europe.”
Europe saw its death toll climb to another grim milestone of 110,000, while Italy, the hardest hit country behind the United States, saw its fatalities top 25,000.
UK
The British government came under sustained criticism Wednesday for its slow response to the crisis as its chief medical adviser warned that social distancing measures may have to stay in place for the rest of this year and beyond.
The government reported that 759 more hospital patients with the virus had died since the previous day, taking the country’s total to 18,100.
In Europe, the UK is behind only Italy, Spain and France in virus-related deaths.
The actual death toll is potentially thousands more since the British government does not include in its daily updates the people who died in care homes or other settings outside hospitals.
Daily figures for reported deaths suggest the UK is going through the peak of its virus outbreak, a view that Health Secretary Matt Hancock supported.
The nation hit its highest reported daily death toll in hospitals of 980 on April 10.
France
France on Wednesday reported 544 more deaths from COVID-19 in hospitals and nursing homes over the last 24 hours, but registered new falls in the total numbers of coronavirus patients.
The total toll from the epidemic in France has now risen to 21,340, top health official Jerome Salomon told reporters, while adding that there were now 365 fewer coronavirus patients in hospital and 215 fewer in intensive care compared with the day earlier.
The number of patients suffering with COVID-19 in intensive care in France has now fallen every day for two weeks in a row.
Spain
Spain’s parliament has approved a proposal to extend the country’s state of emergency for a further two weeks, through May 9.
The state of emergency was declared on March 14, granting the government extraordinary powers to maintain a lockdown to help control the coronavirus outbreak.
Spain will further relax its confinement rules next Monday when it lets children under 14 years old out for walks with a parent. Factory and construction workers have already been allowed back to their jobs.
The confinement has helped slow the daily contagion rate increase from more than 20 per cent to fewer than two per cent.
Spain has had over 21,000 deaths due to COVID-19.
Italy
Deaths in Italy related to the coronavirus pandemic topped 25,000 on Wednesday.
The number of dead and new positives continue to plateau for Italy, the first western country to be hit by the crisis.
The civil protection agency reported 437 people had died with the virus in the last 25 hours, a 1.7% increase in the death toll to 25,085.
The number of positive cases rose 1.5% to 183,857.
Pressure on health services continued to ease, with fewer people both hospitalised and in intensive care.
READ MORE:
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.45am: Singapore passes 10,000 cases in second wave
Singapore has passed 10,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus, despite efforts by the city-state to contain a second wave of the disease.
Singapore’s Ministry of Health reported 1016 new cases on Wednesday alone, bringing the total to 10141 and marking the third consecutive day more than 1000 infections have been diagnosed.
967 of the new cases were discovered among migrant workers who live in worker dormitories, with 21 dormitories now earmarked by the government as isolation zones.
As of 22 Apr, 12pm, we have confirmed and verified an additional 1,016 cases of COVID-19 infection in Singapore. Breakdown: 0 imported, 17 cases in the community, 32 Work Permit holders residing outside dorms & 967Work Permit holders residing in dorms. https://t.co/5vV7dsiWoN
— Ministry of Health (@sporeMOH) April 22, 2020
The city state also reported its 12th death attributable to coronavirus, an 84 year old woman who died at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital on Tuesday.
READ MORE: Solitary Ramadan as Muslims forced to stay home
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.30am: US confirms first cases of COVID-19 in cats
The US has confirmed their first case of coronavirus in pets after Centre for Disease Controls officials on Wednesday confirmed that two cats have contracted the disease.
Both cats are from separate homes in New York State, which contains more than 250,000 of the US’s 839,836 cases, as well as 14,828 deaths. They are the second and third feline to contract the illness in the state following the diagnosis of a tiger at the Bronx zoo earlier this month.
Both cats were from homes containing people who exhibited symptoms of coronavirus.
The CDC has recommended people not let their pets interact with people or other animals outside of the home, but urged against panic.
“We don’t want people to panic. We don’t want people to be afraid of pets,” or to rush to test them en masse, Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh told AP.
“There’s no evidence that pets are playing a role in spreading this disease to people.”
Earlier in the week New York governor Andrew Cuomo committed to reopening the state on a region by region basis, in co-ordination with neighbouring states, but urged caution.
“This is no time to act stupidly,” Mr Cuomo said on Tuesday.
“More people are going to die if we are not smart … We make a bad move, it’s going to set us back,” he said.
Overall, governors in 17 states have committed to regional co-ordination to reopen their economies during the coronavirus outbreak – but none are in the South, where leaders are going it alone, just as they did in imposing restrictions.
As questions about when and how to ease virus-control measures becomes increasingly politically charged, governors in the Deep South have resisted any appearance of synchronisation, instead driving home their message that each state must make its own decision.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp, an ally of Donald Trump, plans to have many of his state’s businesses up and running again as soon as Friday. Fellow Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that most businesses will begin resuming operations as soon as next week.
“We’re trying to take, where we can, our destiny into our own hands,” said Governor Kemp, who has been one of the region’s most aggressive so far, allowing gyms, bowling alleys, tattoo parlours and other businesses to reopen Friday, if owners follow social-distancing and hygiene requirements. Restaurants can bring back dine-in service and movie theatres can reopen by Monday.
States are safely coming back. Our Country is starting to OPEN FOR BUSINESS again. Special care is, and always will be, given to our beloved seniors (except me!). Their lives will be better than ever...WE LOVE YOU ALL!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 22, 2020
These actions have been lauded by President Trump, who tweeted his support on Wednesday.
READ MORE: Curve not just flattened, it’s heading south
Anne Barrowclough 6.20am: PM tears up over lockdown toll
Scott Morrison has fought back tears talking about the toll coronavirus has taken on Australian families.
Appearing on Sky TV’s Paul Murray Live, Mr Morrison became emotional about the difficulties people have had to face due to the strict social distancing measures put in place across the country.
“There have been so many hard things,” the Prime Minister said.
“That one that really tears me up is how many people have had to deal with loved ones who’ve passed away and go through funerals with so few people there.”
Under lockdown rules, no more than 10 people can attend funerals and weddings. Describing such an expericne as “just horrible,” Mr Morrison tried to reassure viewers that “good days” would return.
“We need … Let’s look forward to good days, mate. They’re going to come. They’re going to come,” he said.
“I don’t want to keep a restriction in place a second longer than we have to,” he added.
READ MORE: Bondi to reopen, but please don’t come
Courtney Walsh 6.00am: Kyrgios hits back at Federer tennis plan
Roger Federer believes the coronavirus lay-off should prompt a discussion about a merging of the men’s and women’s tours — but it seems Australian star Nick Kyrgios doesn’t agree.
Amid increased collaboration between the ATP and WTA Tours in recent weeks and also the other ruling bodies of tennis, Federer tweeted it was possible the sport could emerge from the current crisis in a stronger position if co-operation could be achieved.
Just wondering…..am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men’s and women’s tennis to be united and come together as one?
— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) April 22, 2020
“Just wondering…..am I the only one thinking that now is the time for men’s and women’s tennis to be united and come together as one?” he wrote.
“I am not talking about merging competition on the court, but merging the two governing bodies (ATP and WTA) that oversee the men’s and women’s professional tours”.
However, world no.40 Kygrios was quick to return serve on Twitter, questioning whether players other than Federer would support a merge.
Did anyone ask the majority of the ATP what they think about merging with the WTA and how it is good for us?
— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) April 22, 2020
“Did anyone ask the majority of the ATP what they think about merging with the WTA and how it is good for us?” Kyrgios said.
READ the full story here
Agencies 5.40am: Boeing to lay off 10 per cent of workforce
Boeing plans to reduce the workforce in its civil aviation unit by 10 per cent to cut costs as the coronavirus causes a crisis for airlines.
The lay-offs would impact the unit manufacturing the 787 and 777 long-haul aircraft as well as the troubled 737 MAX, the sources said.
A Boeing spokesman said the company is offering “voluntary lay-off” programs to try to avoid future cuts, but did not confirm the size of the planned reductions.
READ MORE: D-Grade Virgin hits rock bottom
Agencies 5.15am: WHO director defies calls for his resignation
The World Health Organisation chief says he hopes the United States will reconsider its freeze in funding for his agency and vowed to keep working on “saving lives” despite calls for his resignation from some US lawmakers.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he hoped the US believed WHO was “an important investment, not just to help others, but for the US to stay safe” amid the coronavirus outbreak.
WHO declared #COVID19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020, when there were less than 100 cases, and no deaths, outside of #China. pic.twitter.com/sszevdIC4A
— World Health Organization (WHO) (@WHO) April 22, 2020
President Donald Trump last week announced a temporary halt to funding for the UN health agency from the United States — its biggest donor — alleging a WHO cover-up and missteps handling the outbreak.
Overnight, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated some of the US allegations, while other US officials said the halt involved new funding and was expected to continue for 60 to 90 days.
It is alarming that @YouTube now relies on the @WHO’s biased recommendations to decide what video content to take down.
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) April 22, 2020
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The @WHO gave inaccurate information about the spread of the virus, still parrots Chinese propaganda, and fought @realDonaldTrump’s China travel ban. pic.twitter.com/eTG9JG2eRs
A group of Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives last week suggested that Trump condition any voluntary US contributions to the WHO this year on Tedros’ resignation.
Asked about whether he was considering that, Tedros said: “I will continue to work day and night because this is a blessed work, actually, and responsibility saving lives, and I will focus on that.”
President @realDonaldTrump at the tree planting ceremony in recognition of Earth Day and Arbor Day: "We continue to mourn the precious souls who have been lost†due to the #Coronavirus pic.twitter.com/Si1AnUPWPg
— Team Trump (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TeamTrump) April 22, 2020
READ MORE: Scott Morrison lobbies world leaders for virus probe
Yoni Bashan 5am: Ruby Princess doctor admits surprise at disembarkation
The Ruby Princess’s chief doctor has admitted she was surprised the cruise ship was allowed to dock and disembark passengers in Sydney before testing for the coronavirus had been completed, a move that has been linked to 19 deaths and more than 700 infections.
Speaking on the first day of a special commission of inquiry into Australia’s worst coronavirus infection fiasco, Ilse Von Watzdorf said if it had been her decision, she would have waited before allowing passengers to leave.
The decision to allow the ship to dock and disembark 2674 passengers on March 19 was ultimately responsible for about 10 per cent of the infections in Australia.
The ship had been graded “low risk” by an expert panel of NSW Health officials in the days leading up to its arrival.
Read the full story here.
Stephen Lunn 4.45am: Unions warn of health risks if schools return
Teachers’ unions are
defying explicit advice from the nation’s most senior health officials that attending school is safe as they resist students returning to classrooms, sparking confusion among parents.
With more than a million primary and secondary students beginning term two across the nation, unions have warned state governments a return to school creates significant COVID-19 health risks to teachers and the broader school community.
The campaigns in Queensland, South Australia, NSW and Western Australia directly contradict advice to Scott Morrison from the nation’s Chief Medical Officer and the advice from state medical officers that a return to school is safe for students and teachers.
The exceptions are Victoria and Tasmania. In Victoria, the state’s Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, has urged that students be educated from home for the duration of the second term.
Read the full story here.
Rise of local terror demands better from our leaders
The scourge of anti-Semitism in Australia has become a runaway train that now demands a radically escalated counter-terror mindset from federal and state governments, police and spy agencies.
Weak government response means anti-Semites are winning
The Albanese government must now assume Australia’s Jewish community is under active terrorist attack and set up an Operation Sovereign Borders-type multi-agency campaign to combat the deadly rise of anti-Semitism.