Coronavirus: Morrison announces $1.3bn for apprentices; F1 team members tested ahead of Australian Grand Prix
Scott Morrison will fund $1.3bn in wage subsidies for apprentices, as F1 team members are tested for coronavirus ahead of the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
- $1.3bn for apprentices
- F1 members tested
- Suspected Westpac cases
- Unions demand paid coronavirus leave
- Italy travel ban imposed
- UK health minister tests positive
- Melbourne GP Italian contingent
- Dark Mofo cancelled
- Coachella delayed
Hello and welcome to The Australian’s live coverage of the coronavirus crisis. Australia will place a travel ban on Italian visitors from 6pm on Wednesday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has announced as it is revealed that Britain’s junior health minister has tested positive to the virus. Meanwhile, unions want urgent laws to guarantee paid leave for coronavirus-affected workers, Tasmania’s popular mid-winter festival, Dark Mofo, has been cancelled and the world’s highest-grossing music festival, Coachella, has been delayed.
David Ross 9.54pm: First Geelong case reported
The first case of COVID-19 has been reported in Geelong, one of Victoria’s major cities, after a woman in her 20s tested positive.
The woman recently travelled to multiple locations in the United States, becoming unwell on February 29, the day she flew back to Melbourne.
Contact tracing by health authorities has deemed a Coles supermarket in Waurn Ponds a public exposure site.
People who visited the supermarket between the hours of 8.45am and 5pm on Friday March 6 and 1pm and 6pm on Saturday March 7, should be aware of the COVID-19 signs and symptoms.
Ewin Hannan 8.19pm: Telstra employees guaranteed leave
Thousands of Telstra employees unable to work from home will be guaranteed up to 14 days paid leave if forced into isolation by the coronavirus or required to care for children affected by school or childcare centre closures.
More than 90 per cent of Telstra’s 29,000 workers are currently able to work from home and the company said it would ensure remaining employees would be able to access up to two weeks’ paid leave if impacted by the outbreak.
The policy changes are largely aimed at technicians in the field as well as store and contact centre employees.
Permanent Telstra employees currently receive 15 days sick or carers leave which is cumulative annually. Under the policy, the leave balances of affected employees will be topped up if required.
Casuals will get access to up to 14 days leave paid at their base rate - no casual loading - if they are unwell, have carer’s responsibilities or are in quarantine or self-isolation.
Casuals, who make up 30 to 40 per cent of Telstra’s retail workforce, will also be paid if a store or workplace closes and they were rostered to work.
“This is an unprecedented situation,” a Telstra spokesman said. “One that requires us to step up, be there for our people and give those who need it most the support and reassurance to get through this difficult time.”
Richard Ferguson 7.06pm: Government won’t grind to halt: PM
Scott Morrison has promised the business of government will not grind to a halt if he or other senior federal officials succumb to the coronavirus.
The administration of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Donald Trump has both been hit by officials either testing positive for the disease or going into self-isolation after coming into contact with a patient.
The Prime Minister said the mildness of coronavirus in most people mean he trusts his government will continue to run smoothly if he is directly impacted.
“The normal processes apply whether it’s myself, the Deputy Prime Minister (Michael McCormack), or the Chief of the Defence Forces (Angus Campbell),” he said.
“These are not things that will bring government to a halt, quite the contrary.”
In Britain, UK health minister Nadine Dorres tested positive for coronavirus and is now in self-isolation.
In the US, incoming White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and other senior Republicans - including Texas Senator Ted Cruz - are in quarantine after shaking hands with a coronavirus-positive person at the Cpac conference.
Richard Ferguson 6.42pm: PM announces $1.3bn for apprentices
Scott Morrison will fund $1.3 billion in wage subsidies for apprentices as part of Thursday’s coronavirus economic stimulus package.
The Prime Minister told Sky News that 117,000 apprentices would be supported by the federal government to ensure there were few job losses at small firms with 20 or less employees.
“If you were there (at work) on March 1, we want to ensure you continue to work through the course of this virus,” he said.
“That will cost about $1.3bn and that is about keeping people in jobs ... and keep them in training, so their skills development is not interrupted.”
The government is set to unveil a wider economic stimulus including one-off cash payments.
Mr Morrison on Wednesday announced a separate $2.4bn health response.
Stephen Lunn 6.17pm: Three F1 team members tested for virus
At least three Formula 1 team members are in self-isolation after undergoing tests for coronavirus ahead of the Australian Grand Prix event starting in Melbourne tomorrow, The Australian has confirmed.
Senior sources confirmed that the three team members, two from the Haas team and one from McLaren, were tested for the virus on Wednesday after exhibiting symptoms, and the results are expected to be known Thursday morning, the first day of the Grand Prix event.
“If they are positive, then there will be contact search down, and then anyone who they’ve had close contact with will be put into isolation,” one source said.
“This will have an impact on the event. But how big an impact, we just don’t know.”
The teams are understood to have returned to their hotels and have been isolated pending the outcome of the tests.
Australian Grand Prix Corporation chief executive officer Andrew Westacott said his organisation “has been informed of three team personnel presenting for precautionary testing, who have all subsequently been self-isolated.”
“The AGPC is monitoring the situation in conjunction with Formula One and [world governing body] FIA” Mr Westacott said.
Meanwhile, Daniel Ricciardo has pulled out of a scheduled Renault team media conference over fears he might be exposed to the coronavirus.
Ricciardo and teammate Esteban Ocon were due to take questions from reporters after they unveiled Renault’s new livery for the 2020 season at the Albert Park circuit on Wednesday, but were withdrawn by team officials at the last minute.
“Our drivers were supposed to be with us for this event but due to the situation we’ve excused them for the occasion ... I hope you understand why we are taking such measures,” team principal Cyril Abiteboul said.
With AAP
Craig Johnstone 6.08pm: New virus cases in Queensland, SA
Popular Brisbane nightclub Fridays has been drawn into the coronavirus crisis as Queensland Health officials work to track down who had contact with a 22-year-old man who has tested positive to the virus.
Officials also confirmed two more coronavirus cases in Queensland, a 32-year-old Gold Coast woman who recently returned from the United States and a 31-year-old man who has a close relationship with her.
Health officials are contacting people who with the 22-year-old male carrier on the University of Queensland campus.
They are also urging anyone who attended Friday’s Riverside from 6pm last Friday to 11pm Monday who becomes unwell to contact them.
Meanwhile, two new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in South Australia, with two men who recently travelled overseas testing positive.
SA Health chief medical officer Nicola Spurrier says the men, one aged in his 60s and the other aged in his 70s, presented to a virus testing centre last Tuesday with the positive results confirmed on Monday.
It is believed one man had travelled to Italy and Austria and the other to Southeast Asia.
There are now 137 cases of coronavirus in Australia.
4.40pm: Four days of no new cases in NZ
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has rejected the need for an Australia-style cash splash to boost New Zealand’s health capacity as the coronavirus outbreak grows. New Zealand has now gone four straight days without a positive test. AAP reports.
Five Kiwis, with links to Iran or Italy, have contracted the disease, with a further two New Zealand nationals with family ties to those cases listed as ‘probable’ cases.
All are in self-isolation and do not require hospitalisation. Those transmission rates, from more than 330 tests, make New Zealand one of the least-affected developed countries in the world.
Max Maddison 4.10pm: Suspected cases force Westpac HQ deep clean
Three employees with suspected cases of COVID-19 have forced Westpac to deep clean two floors at its Kent Street, Sydney, headquarters.
It is understood that the employees had developed flu-like symptoms after returning from countries significantly impacted by coronavirus.
In a statement, a spokesman said the bank was currently taking precautions, but workers would return on Thursday morning.
“Westpac is currently taking precautions in relation to [three] employees with suspected cases of COVID-19 at its Sydney head offices. Anyone who has come into close contact with these employees, as well as those who work on the same floor, are now at home,” the bank said in a statement.
“We are supporting impacted employees and any potentially affected floors are undergoing extensive cleaning which is in line with health authority guidelines during this time.”
3.55pm: Man rescued from rubble of fallen coronavirus hotel
A man was pulled out alive after being trapped for 69 hours under the rubble of a collapsed virus quarantine hotel in southeastern China in which at least 27 other people died and two remain missing.
The official Xinhua News Agency said the man was sent to hospital immediately after being rescued late on Tuesday afternoon.
A 10-year-old boy and his mother had been rescued around midnight Monday after being trapped for 52 hours. The condition of all three survivors remains unknown.
3.35pm: Half the world’s countries now infected
More than half the countries in the world now have confirmed cases of the coronavirus, which for most people causes mild illness. In European countries, Italy is the hardest hit with more than 10,000 cases. France, Spain and Germany have more than 1000 each, AP reports.
The outbreak has also grown in the Middle East, with Iran the hardest hit at more than 8000 cases.
The Associated Press has learned Washington state’s governor will ban gatherings and events of more than 250 people in virtually the entire Seattle metro area to try to contain the coronavirus outbreak. The nation’s total has passed 1000.
South Korea is reporting a cluster of new viral infections at a Seoul insurance company.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday reported 242 new cases of coronavirus infection from 24 hours ago, bringing its total to 7755. The country has 60 virus deaths.
4 more cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed, bringing the number of confirmed cases in NSW to 65.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) March 11, 2020
New cases:
•Three women who have returned from Italy together.
•A man (70s), who is a contact of a resident from Dorothy Henderson Lodge.
Read more: https://t.co/OGsBuk27P3 pic.twitter.com/XuIbxQmDTp
3.10pm: NSW cases hit 65, now 133 in Australia
Four new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in NSW on Wednesday afternoon, taking the state’s total to 65, AAP reports.
The new COVID-19 patients include three women in their 20s and 30s who recently returned from Italy together.
The fourth — a man in his 70s —- is a contact of a resident at the Dorothy Henderson Lodge nursing home where two residents had already died of the virus.
There are now 133 cases of coronavirus across the country. More than 9000 people have been tested in NSW alone, the country’s worst affected state. Three Australians have died.
Rebecca Urban 3.05pm: Now 22 Victorian cases as second Melbourne teacher tests positive
A second teacher at Melbourne’s Carey Grammar has contracted the coronavirus, the school has confirmed.
Carey Principal Johnathan Walter confirmed the diagnosis in an email to parents on Wednesday afternoon.
“At 1.30pm today, we received official notification that a second staff member (staff member B) has been diagnosed with coronavirus (COVID-19),” Mr Walter wrote.
“This individual had previously been identified as having had close contact with the initial confirmed case of COVID-19 (staff member A) at Carey.
“The two staff share an office and work in proximity to each other.”
It is the second case of patient-to-patient transmission within the state and is thought to have originated in the US, coming to Australia via United Airlines flight. It brings the total number of cases in Victoria to 22.
Carey Grammar is closed for the remained of the week and has also cancelled weekend sporting events.
“I appreciate that this is disturbing news for us all as it signals an escalation of the spread of the virus within our community,” Mr Walter said, calling on the school community to “continue to support each other as we work to bring students back on site as soon as possible”.
Elias Visontay 2.35pm: Labor blasts six-week wait for fever clinics
Labor has accused the government of complacency over it’s $2.4 billion medical response package to the coronavirus, saying it’s “not good enough” that fever clinics as part of the plan won’t be rolled out for another six weeks.
The opposition also criticised a lack of clarity on whether phone calls to GPs would be funded and called for GP video calls to be extended to all age groups beyond the elderly, as they responded to the Government’s package.
“The fact is, whilst we welcome any initiative by the Federal Government, it is of some concern that they are saying that today’s announcements are demand-driven,” Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday.
“Leading doesn’t mean following demand. And that’s the concern here.
“There’s a real concern with the provision of personal protection equipment, which is in short supply, including masks and other equipment to keep those people providing these tests safe and to keep those people who enter the medical centre here safe as well,” he said from a press conference at a medical centre in Western Sydney.
Mr Albanese said Labor would welcome and support any actions the government takes in relation to coronavirus, but would continue to provide suggestions on further action it wanted to see.
Chris Bowen, opposition health spokesman, criticised the government over a lack of clarity in it’s messaging.
“The package announced today by the Government is good, but not good enough in our view, given the size of the challenge facing the Australian people,” Mr Bowen said.
“We give them bipartisan support for every action taken. But that does not mean we won’t, as a responsible Opposition, call for more.
“It’s good that the telehealth rebate has been introduced. But Labor had called for a much broader telehealth rebate.
“We want people being able to call their doctor and for that to be covered under Medicare bulk-billing. What the Government’s announced today is only in relation to elderly Australians and some subsets of vulnerable people.
“It would make much more sense to have that much more broadly available. Also, the Government must urgently clarify whether this covers telephone consultations or not.
“The Prime Minister on Twitter this morning said that it did. That’s not evident in the announcement in the detailed documents. That refers to Skype and video conferencing. And with all due respect, not everybody has Skype and video conferencing available to them, particularly as this bulk-billing rebate has been at this stage made available primarily only to elderly Australian.”
Mr Bowen also said he was “very concerned” about the timeline the government has set to open about 100 fever clinics.
“The first Australian diagnosis of COVID-19 was the 29th of January … to be announcing the fever clinics today, which they flagged some weeks ago. And now saying it might be up to six weeks before some open, I don’t think that’s good enough.
“We’ve been dealing with this since January. It’s now March. And we would like to see those fever clinics up and running more quickly than the six-week time frame that’s being given. And of course, if they do manage that, it will have a big tick from us. But it’s not good enough to wait another six weeks.”
James Glynn 2.35pm: Big stimulus or don’t bother
The Australian government should either deploy a big fiscal stimulus package to offset the impact of the coronavirus or it shouldn’t even bother, former Australian Treasury Secretary Martin Parkinson says.
In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mr Parkinson urged concerted stimulus, saying that if not the government risks having to top it up at later on. Read more here.
2.35pm: Cases pass 1000 in US
Alarming clusters of the coronavirus swelled have on both coasts of the US, with 70 cases now tied to a biotech conference in Boston and infections turning up at 10 nursing homes in the hard-hit Seattle area. Presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden abruptly cancelled rallies because of worries about the virus, and New York’s governor announced he is sending the National Guard to scrub public places and deliver food in a New York City suburb that is at the centre of the nation’s biggest known cluster of infections.
At least 24 people have died in Washington from COVID-19, most in the Seattle metro area. Nineteen of the deaths are linked to one suburban Seattle nursing home and authorities in King County said the virus has spread to at least 10 long-term care facilities
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker declared a state of emergency as cases statewide jumped by 51 from the day before, to 92. Of that number, 70 are now connected to a meeting held last month by biotech company Biogen at a hotel in downtown Boston.
Baker said the state of emergency will give him greater authority to take such actions as shutting down large events, gaining access to buildings or stockpiling protective gear.
The moves came as the battle to stop the virus from spreading intensified.
More schools and universities sent students home, while conferences and other events were cancelled. The United Nations announced it would close its New York headquarters to the public and suspend all tours.
The virus has infected more than 1000 people in the US and killed at least 29, with one state after another recording its first infections in quick succession.
Rebecca Urban 2.30pm: Melbourne Jewish festival cancelled
An annual street festival celebrating Melbourne’s Jewish community has been cancelled amid fears the coronavirus is nearing a pandemic stage.
In One Voice, held on the streets of Elsternwick, typically attracts about 8000 people annually.
Organisers announced on Wednesday that the March 15 event would not proceed as a result of the spread of the virus.
“We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of the community, responding to advice from health authorities and given the continued spread of infection and the risk large events may pose, this year’s festival has been postponed,” the festival committee announced.
The decision comes after St Kilda’s Yeshiva-Beth Rivkah Colleges closed after a teacher contracted COVID-19 and four families with ties to the school were exposed to the virus via a flight from Los Angeles.
Patrick Commons 2.05pm: Economists count coronavirus costs
Economists continue to factor in mounting damage from the virus, which has killed three Australians so far.
NAB on Wednesday downgraded its GDP growth forecast for the first quarter of the year, and now expects the economy to contract by 0.3 per cent, against prior prediction of a 0.1 per cent fall. The economy will grow by 0.3 per cent in the June quarter, the bank’s economists said.
Citi, too, issued a more pessimistic update to its growth estimates, saying the economy will shrink by 0.25 per cent over the first three months of 2020, versus an earlier forecast of a 0.1 per cent fall. The economy will stagnate in the June quarter, Citi said, after previously expecting growth of 0.4 per cent.
NAB chief economist Alan Oster said the duration of the disruption from the coronavirus will determine whether Australia avoids a technical recession over the first half of the year.
“Our judgment is the risk has to be that the virus will be a problem for longer and hence there are downside risks,” Mr Oster said.
Westpac’s Bill Evans earlier this week predicted Australia will suffer its first recession in nearly three decades over the first half of 2020.
It will be interesting to see whether any of these predictions change following the release of the government’s fiscal stimulus package tomorrow.
David Penberthy 1.57pm: SA fast-tracks projects to boost economy
A raft of major infrastructure projects will be brought forward under a $350 stimulus package unveiled by the South Australian Government to stem the economic impact of the coronavirus.
Premier Steven Marshall has opted against tax cuts with treasury coffers having already taken an unforeseen hit by the summer’s bushfires on Kangaroo Island the Adelaide Hills, the cost of which to the Budget remains unknown.
Instead, the Premier announced he will fast-track millions of dollars of spending on major infrastructure and maintenance projects including road and hospital upgrades and new tourism infrastructure.
He will also expand the Economic and Business Growth Fund to award state funding to projects meeting certain criteria, including the ability to start works within a short period of time, being labour-intensive, and requiring the significant local purchasing of materials, services and supplies.
“This is all about securing jobs and keeping local businesses’ doors open,” Mr Marshall said.
“We simply will not sit back and allow the economy to be put on ice. Our top priority, along with the health, safety and wellbeing of all South Australians, is to ensure our economy is well-positioned to not only withstand the impact of bushfires and coronavirus, but to emerge stronger and more resilient as a result.”
Ewin Hannan 1.43pm: Unions demand two weeks paid coronavirus leave
Unions have demanded the government urgently legislate to provide a guarantee of two weeks paid leave for all workers directly impacted by the coronavirus.
The ACTU said the new laws should underwrite two weeks of paid leave for all permanent, casual and contract workers affected, including employees forced into isolation and workers impacted by company closures or downturns.
A meeting of the ACTU executive in Merimbula on Wednesday heard there had been different employer responses to the outbreak, ranging from paid leave for workers needing to self-isolate through to companies taking shifts from casual workers or sending employees home without pay.
The resolution calls on the government to provide support “for employers, especially small business, in our collective efforts to respond” to coronavirus.
ACTU secretary Sally McManus said workers should know that if they have to self-isolate they will not be financially penalised.
“If working people are forced to choose between going to work sick or being able to pay their bills and feed their families then we are creating a disaster scenario for public health,” she said.”
“While the national employment standards provide 10 days sick leave for ongoing employees there are many workers who will not be able to spend two weeks in self-isolation and keep their household income at their current levels.
“In addition to those who will lose out because they have to self-isolate many employers are standing down workers and considering letting people go due to the economic impacts of COVID-19.”
She said the government needs to urgently legislate the additional entitlements.
“If the government underwrites two weeks of paid leave for all workers who are under threat from the economic impacts of COVID-19 that will stimulate the economy and help alleviate the impact on working Australians,” she said.
“Some businesses are already committing to doing the right thing by their employees, and they should be congratulated, but we know some employers won’t support their workers, and for some small businesses they simply do not have the capacity to keep people on during this pandemic.
“By creating a special leave provision, the government will be able to provide support for workers, their families and communities, confidence to business to operate during the pandemic and ensure that small business can stay afloat and not lay off their workers.”
Amos Aikman 1.40pm: AMA welcomes $2.4 billion, warns more may be needed
Australian Medical Association president Tony Bartone has welcomed the Morrison government’s $2.4 billion boost to health funding to help fight coronavirus but warns more may be needed if the virus spreads fast.
“We are trying to delay the inevitable uptick in reported cases, which will then place a significant burden on the entire health system,” Dr Bartone said.
“At the moment we are now ramping up that surging capacity, identifying how we can best deal with that uptick in caseload.”
“By being better prepared, we are hopefully going to smooth out the transition of that eventual next phase when we have to then deal with and mitigate the consequences of a widening spread of COVID-19 in the community.”
Dr Bartone described the government’s package as “a good start”.
“It’s important to note that the hospital system was under stress before this began,” he said.
“If we’re able to significantly contain the virus in its early phase, that’s the spread of the virus in the community, and we’re able to spread that load over a much longer, softer period of time in terms of the impact on the health system, then the announcement today will go a very long way towards meeting a lot of that demand.”
Although slowing the spread of the virus was vital to containing the financial cost of the outbreak, Dr Bartone does not support lockdowns or bans on mass gatherings yet.
“The immediate threat is about identifying and isolating any particular cases,” he said.
“We don’t need to go to lockdown measures today, nor tomorrow, nor next week.”
Dr Bartone said it was possible that if the virus continued to spread for a long time, virtually the entire population could be exposed.
“It really does depend on how rapidly that spread through the community occurs. The slower it goes, yes, ultimately, the entire population will be potentially exposed,” he said.
“If we can contain it until a vaccine arrives in 12 months or so, we will then be able to vaccinate a significant part of the population.”
Children, who tend to develop mild or no coronavirus symptoms, could be particularly useful in building herd immunity.
“Once they (children) have considerably become part of the equation, they will reduce the spread in the community,” Dr Bartone said.
Asked if Australia could face a similar situation to Italy, where doctors in an overburdened health system have been forced to choose which patients to treat, he said that would only happen if authorities failed to plan.
“We can never be 100 per cent sure that it won’t, but clearly the more we do in containment and in preparation, the more likely we are to manage our way through this crisis when and if it does hit,” he said.
Dr Bartone said it was up to Victorian health authorities to provide advice surrounding the Australian Grand Prix but added that anyone with respiratory symptoms should avoid mass gatherings. He also called on governments to work together to avoid conflicting messages.
Rebecca Urban 1.35pm: School families on infected flight
Four families linked to Melbourne girls’ school, Beth Rivkah College, and its brother school, Yeshivah College, were on the same international flight as passengers infected with coronavirus by chance, principal Dr Shimon Waronker has revealed.
The head of the ultra-Orthodox school community said as soon as it was discovered that a staff member had been on the impacted Los Angeles-to-Melbourne flight QF94, which landed on March 6 “we took proactive action to see who else may have been on that flight”.
“By 12.15pm [on Monday] we had identified and contacted four families of our school community that were on that flight,” Dr Waronker said.
All members from those four families were sent home, put in isolation and have been tested for coronavirus. The school is closed for at least today in a bid to map whether the virus has spread.
A woman in her 20s was the first QF94 passenger to be diagnosed with the virus. The teacher, aged in his 50s, was the second. He is understood to have become unwell on March 7 — the day after arriving in Melbourne. He worked for a day at the Jewish school in St Kilda while infectious on March 9. Both are recovering in isolation at home.
NATASHA ROBINSON 1.20pm: ‘Difficulties are temporary’
China’s Consul-General in Australia, H.E Gu Xiaojie, has sought to reassure Australian businesses reliant on China’s supply chain that the Chinese economy was slowly returning to normal. In a briefing to journalists at the Chinese consulate in Sydney, Mr Gu said the fundamentals of the Chinese economy were strong despite the huge impact of the coronavirus epidemic in the country. “Since the outbreak, China’s economy has suffered due to delays in factory resumption and transportation,” Mr Gu said. “However, these difficulties are temporary and limited and the fundamentals of the Chinese economy and long-term positive trends remain unchanged.
“We are making co-ordinated efforts to prevent and control the epidemic and promote economic and social development to minimise the impact of the epidemic. The Chinese government has introduced a series of policies and measures including tax cuts, financial services, rent relief and subsidies to stabilise employment, to enhance market confidence, and stabilise investment.” Read more here.
REBECCA URBAN 1pm: Victoria latest
More than 1000 people were screened for coronavirus at public hospitals across Melbourne on Tuesday, as concern mounts about the illness spreading. As the number of confirmed cases in Victoria rose to 21 overnight, Health Minister Jenny Mikakos provided an update on endeavours to have people screened.
The Alfred saw the most patients, with 265 tested, while 224 were tested at the Royal Melbourne Hospital — a rise of 100 compared to the previous day. The Austin, Monash and Box Hill hospitals saw more than 100 patients each, and two new sites, at Sunshine Hospital in the city’s west and the Northern Hospital, tested more than 40 each.
“We have seven screening clinics established in public hospitals across Melbourne and we are in a position to open more of these with a days notice if required,” said Ms Mikakos.
“A total of 1039 patients presented at those seven screening clinics yesterday … so we are seeing obviously an increase in demand.” The minister thanked people for their patience in waiting to get tested. On Tuesday, dozens queued on the footpath outside the Royal Melbourne Hospital’s emergency department for two hours to get tested. Premier Daniel Andrews said that while COVID-19 was still in a containment phase it was “not a matter of if, but when “ it became a pandemic and the state would be forced to take “very, very disruptive actions and interventions” to further stem the spread.
ELIAS VISONTAY 12.45pm: Lift supermarket delivery curfews
The Australian Retailers Association has called for supermarket delivery curfews to be lifted so shelves don’t look empty and trigger panic buying in shoppers. Russell Zimmerman, ARA executive director, sought to assure Australians that supplies were plentiful in distribution centres and factories around the country, but warned the issue of panic buying was breeding itself, and that allowing expanded delivery hours would allow an opportunity to stop the cycle.
The request was raised with Industry Minister Karen Andrews at a roundtable with supply chain groups in Sydney on Wednesday discussing the effect the coronavirus was having on operations, where leaders emerged seeking to reassure the public there were no significant issues with sourcing supplies for Australians. Read more here.
12.40pm: China outbreak slows
China’s outbreak of the new coronavirus continues to subside with about three-quarters of people once infected now free of the illness. The health ministry on Wednesday reported 24 new cases over the past 24 hours, along with 22 more deaths. That brings China’s totals to 80,778 cases and 3158 deaths since the outbreak began in December. Nationwide, 16,145 people remain in treatment and 61,475 have been declared free of the virus and released. Nine of the new cases were reported outside Hubei province. — AP
ADRIAN MCMURRAY 12.30pm: Premier League postponement
Manchester City’s showdown with fellow Premier League heavyweights Arsenal has been postponed, the first football match in England’s top flight to be impacted by the coronavirus outbreak. The reigning Premier League champions were due to host the London club at Etihad Stadium on Wednesday night (Thursday morning AEDT).
But the decision was made after it emerged the owner of Greek club Olympiakos, Evangelos Marinakis, had been diagnosed with COVID-19. Arsenal played Olympiakos in the Europa League in London on February 28, and Mr Marinakis had made contact with several Arsenal players and staff on that night.
“The medical advice we have received puts the risk of them developing COVID-19 at extremely low,” Arsenal said in a statement. “However, we are strictly following the government guidelines which recommend that anyone coming into close contact with someone with the virus should self-isolate at home for 14 days from the last time they had contact.
“As a result … The players will remain at their homes until the 14-day period expires.
“Four Arsenal staff, who were sitting close to Mr Marinakis during the match will also remain at home until the 14 days are complete.”
The Premier League said that in following medical advice, the fixture would be postponed to “fully assess the situation”. The league also said it “currently has no plans to postpone any other matches”.
12.20pm: Upside of virus
The head of the United Nations weather agency says decreased energy use due to the coronavirus is improving air quality in China and demonstrates the impact that human emissions are having. World Meteorological Organisation Secretary-General Petteri Taalas made the comment at a UN briefing Tuesday, where he showed satellite pictures of the much cleaner air quality over China on January 30, 2020 compared to February 2020.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the virus is expected to be temporary while climate change will remain for decades and requires constant action. He was responding to a question on the possibility of the global coronavirus outbreak cutting greenhouse gas emissions this year, with decreased energy use, planes grounded and international trade squeezed, and the effect on climate change as soon as the economy bounces back. Mr Guterres said they should not overestimate the fact that emissions have been reduced for some months. Meanwhile, the United Nations in New York has closed for public and guided tours as a “preventative measure’’ because of the coronavirus outbreak. — AP
UNHQ complex in NYC is currently closed to the public & guided tours are temporarily suspended as a preventative measure given the #coronavirus outbreak.
— United Nations (@UN) March 10, 2020
Get updates from @VisitUN here: https://t.co/N5A7pWr40E pic.twitter.com/cmEPZfQZCx
12.10pm: Carey principal’s online message
The principal of Carey Baptist Grammar School has delivered an “online assembly” to students after the school was closed due to coronavirus. The elite Melbourne private school suspended classes for 24 hours amid a feared coronavirus outbreak. An adult member of the school community exhibiting side effects has been tested and is awaiting results, forcing the school to take the dramatic step. Carey was the first Victorian school to shut its doors in the global crisis.
PATRICK COMMINS 12pm: Consumer confidence sinks
Consumer confidence crashed to its lowest level in five years in early March under the weight of the coronavirus emergency and associated sharemarket collapse. The Westpac-MI consumer sentiment index fell 3.8 per cent to 91.9 points, from 95.5 in March, its second lowest level since the GFC, when the index fell as low as 79. “The survey detail shows consumers are rightly concerned about the near term outlook for the economy but are less perturbed about their finances or the longer term outlook for the economy,” Westpac chief economist Bill Evans said. “That is consistent with the notion that virus-related disruptions will be large but temporary.” Read more here.
Tim Dodd 11.55am: Uni virus scare
Southern Cross University is urgently contacting 45 people who came in contact with a staff member who tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday, which led to the shutdown today of two of its three main campuses. The university closed its Gold Coast and Lismore campuses on Wednesday and will determine later in the day if they will reopen on Thursday. A university spokesman said that 16 people, out of the 45, had been in more frequent contact with the man who is now diagnosed with the virus. He is based in the Philippines, but visited the two campuses for a series of workshops from March 2-6, returning to the Philippines on March 7. The university heard late on Tuesday that he had returned a positive test for COVID-19. The spokesman said the university is urgently contacting those known to have been in contact with the infected staff member, with a priority on those who had closer contact. “Some may have to self-isolate,” he said. Read more here.
Paul Garvey 11.45am: More cases in WA
Three more cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in Western Australia. Premier Mark McGowan this morning said the three people has recently returned from overseas. It takes the total number of cases in WA to date to nine.
STEPHEN LUNN 11.40am: Aged care funding boost
More nurses and aged care workers will be provided both for nursing homes and older Australians requiring help at home under the government’s $2.4 billion healthcare response to the coronavirus. A funding boost of $101.2 million has been allocated to enable aged care providers to hire extra nurses and aged care workers, and also to help educate and train the aged care workforce in infection control. Prime Minister Scott Morrison outlined the overall health package on Wednesday, noting that funding would be demand driven, and the needs of people in Australia’s aged care system carefully considered. Mr Morrison said that funding will be provided to conduct pathology testing for COVID-19 within aged care facilities.
“Additional aged care staff will be available for deployment to facilities as needed, where an urgent health response is required and to provide extra support for staff and training,” Mr Morrison said in a statement. “The Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission will receive additional funding to work with providers on improving infection control.”
Mr Morrison also said workers in aged care would not go short of personal protective equipment as they will have access through the current stockpile. Providers could go through Primary Health Networks to access supplies if they were experiencing shortfalls. The funding boost was welcomed by the aged care sector, with Aged and Community Services Australia chief executive Pat Sparrow noting the new arrangements would be demand driven. “We are pleased that aged care was identified as one of the four key pillars in today’s demand driven health package,” Ms Sparrow said. “The support for testing and staffing is really important and welcomed, and a lot of the other measures will assist elderly people being cared for at home,” she said.
CRAIG JOHNSTONE 11.35am: Auditor show must go on
Who says internal auditors don’t like taking risks? Coronavirus or no, the show must go on and that’s the kind of spirit and pluck being shown by the Institute of Internal Auditors in the face of rapidly declining registrations for its South Pacific and Asia Conference scheduled to be held in Brisbane next week. While about 25 per cent of delegates to the conference have dropped out due to coronavirus fears, the Institute’s chief executive Peter Jones says local auditors were rallying behind the event. Those internal auditors from the Asia area, Indonesia and South Korean who have pulled out don’t know what they will be missing. The conference will be the venue for the unveiling of the eagerly-anticipated “Effective Auditing in the Public Sector _ a Good Price Guide”. According to Mr Jones, this 64-page guide is a first in Australian public sector history. Never fear, though, the conference will be livestreamed for those who have decided against attending in person.
Richard Ferguson 11.30am: Melbourne GP Italian contingent
More than 150 Ferrari team members have arrived in Melbourne from the coronavirus epicentre of Italy’s Lombardy region for the Grand Prix, after receiving special permission to travel from the Italian government. Members of the Ferrari team were understood to have flown into Melbourne on Sunday, where they underwent screening procedures. Airfreight from the team, which is headquartered in the northern Italian town of Maranello, also arrived at Avalon airport and was due to be transferred to the Albert Park racetrack this week. Read more here.
EWIN HANNAN 11.20am: ACTU slams employers
ACTU secretary Sally McManus has accused employers of abandoning employees and abrogating their social responsibilities to the community.
“True to form, big business has only one solution in the face of an economic challenge and health crisis – and that is to abandon their employees and leave them to fend for themselves,” she told The Australian. “Yesterday the Prime Minister called on all Australian business to show their patriotism and join workers in helping Australians through this crisis. Their response was to look out for themselves and let workers carry the burden. Any plan that is built around telling workers that they’re being left alone to deal with the financial stress caused by this crisis should be condemned as an outrageous abrogation of their social responsibility to the wider community.’’
Richard Ferguson 11.15am: PM’s appeal to business
Scott Morrison has warned businesses that their brands will be defined by the coronavirus crisis and how they treat their workers, as employers consider using loopholes to not pay employees in self-isolation. The Australian revealed on Wednesday that employers have been told they do not have to provide paid leave to permanent workers forced into isolation after being in China or in contact with a person with coronavirus if the employees are “not yet sick themselves”. On Wednesday, the Prime Minister in Canberra revived his calls for businesses to support workers and carry its load during the disease outbreak. “ Large businesses have much stronger balance sheets. They’re in a position to take actions to support their employees,” he said. “I’d be encouraging employers to take a flexibility and forward-leaning approach in supporting their employees during this process. They’ll need their people on the other side.
And businesses, particularly large businesses, you know, they will be watched closely, I think, through the months ahead. “You know, businesses spend a lot of time talking about the value and integrity of their brands. Well, their brands will be defined in these months ahead.” Read more here.
ADESHOLA ORE 11.05am: UN calculates student impact
The United Nations agency UNESCO has estimated coronavirus is impacting almost 363 million students worldwide. “One in five students worldwide is staying away from school due to the COVID-19 crisis and an additional one in four is being kept out of higher education establishments,” the global organisations said on its website. UNESCO said 15 countries have ordered nationwide closures and 14 have implemented localised closures. The agency has been convening with education ministers around the world via videolink to share strategies to prevent education disruption due to the virus.
🔴BREAKING!
— UNESCO (@UNESCO) March 10, 2020
One in five students around the world are out of school due to #COVID19.
.@UNESCO mobilizes education ministers to face the #Coronavirus crisis.
Full story: https://t.co/W1FHV4dCIN pic.twitter.com/tPbpyisb1Q
REBECCA URBAN 11am: Andrews unveils plan
The Victorian body responsible for handling natural disasters such as bushfire and flooding will now oversee the state’s response to the looming coronavirus crisis. Premier Daniel Andrews on Wednesday announced that Emergency Management Victoria’s State Control Centre had been activated to co-ordinate Victoria’s response to the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), as another Victorian tested positive for the virus overnight.
Mr Andrews said that the SCC, which had a prime role as bushfires ravaged the state over summer, had increased its readiness in recognition that a more co-ordinated approach is needed to fight this virus”.
“Coronavirus will impact the entire Victorian community from business and schools — and that’s why a whole-of-government response is needed as we ramp up our response to this emerging pandemic,” he said.
Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said “strong emergency management arrangements “ were in place and “this co-ordination is well-established and practised for all emergencies, not just bushfires and storms”. The Premier has issued a stark warning that the likely COVID-19 pandemic would have significant impacts across the state’s economy, threatening schools, businesses, and places of mass gatherings, such as sporting and cultural events. As part of the move, Emergency Management Victoria will work closely with health authorities, other government agencies, businesses and the wider community.
Seven screening clinics are now open across the city at Royal Melbourne Hospital, Alfred Hospital, Austin Hospital, Box Hill Hospital, Monash Clayton, Northern Hospital and Sunshine Hospital. There are currently 21 confirmed cases of Coronavirus in Victoria, eight of which are recovered, one who remains in hospital and the rest are recovering in isolation at home.
ADESHOLA ORE 10.50am: Indigenous community concern
The Northern Territory government is considering cancelling non-essential trips to the state’s 72 remote Indigenous communities to contain the spread of coronavirus. There have been no cases of the virus in the communities where almost 600,000 people live. But health authorities have warned of the impact of the virus due to high rates of chronic diseases in Indigenous communities. This week, the territory’s government finalised its COVID-19 Remote Communities Plan. It includes the recommendation that community visits be reconsidered by government and non-government service provides. Aboriginal people were over-represented in the 2009 swine flu pandemic, comprising 11 per cent of cases, despite making up 3 per cent of Australia’s population.
ADESHOLA ORE 10.45am: Swim event to go ahead
Swimming Australia says it is planning to go ahead with the Hancock Championships events in April, but is monitoring the coronavirus situation. “We are closely following the constantly evolving situation and taking advice from government authorities, the AIS, our Chief Medical Officer and other relevant organisations,” a spokeswoman told The Australian. “At this stage we continue to plan for both the Hancock Prospecting Australian Age Championships and Hancock Prospecting Australian Swimming Championships in April but will closely monitor the situation and provide updates as necessary, with athlete welfare and safety at the forefront of our considerations.”
Richard Ferguson 10.40am: Italy travel ban imposed
Scott Morrison is implementing a travel ban on foreign nationals leaving from Italy. The same travel restrictions in place for China, Iran and South Korea will be put in place for Italy from 6pm on Wednesday. “Italy itself has effectively put itself into lockdown with travel now, and this largely closes that loop. We already had the enhanced screening measures that are in place,” the Prime Minister said.
“This, of course, will mean that any Australians — residents or others, who are obviously exempt from those travel bans — would be subject to the same isolation period that applies to the other countries for which there are travel bans.”
Italy is now in total lockdown after the coronavirus death rate exceeded all other nations except China.
Richard Ferguson 10.30am: Stimulus to be unveiled tomorrow
Scott Morrison confirms that he will unveil his coronavirus economic stimulus package on Thursday. “It’s a health crisis. It’s a health contagion,” he said in Canberra. “There are many other implications of this and the economic consequences of this are very serious, as I’ve already outlined on numerous occasions. And tomorrow, the Treasurer and I will be making announcements in relation to that response.”
The Prime Minister is currently outlining his $2.4 billion health response to the rolling virus epidemic. The health package includes more than 100 fever clinics rolled out across the country and allow people experiencing symptoms to stay home and charge GP audio and video calls to Medicare.
10am: Coachella postponed
The organisers of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival have postponed the event by about six months. The event was due to take place in April but has been rescheduled to October. “While this decision comes at a time of universal uncertainty, we take the safety and health of our guests, staff and community very seriously,” Goldenvoice, the company that puts on the event, said in a statement.
— Coachella (@coachella) March 10, 2020
The festival was due to feature with over 150 artists, including headliners Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott and Frank Ocean. Tickets run $US400 to over $US900 apiece. The event is the highest-grossing music festival in the world, according to Pollstar, selling $US114.6 million worth of tickets in 2017. Coachella attracts more than 200,000 people from across the world over two consecutive weekends. Kicking off the festival season each year, it showcases new and established talent from a variety of genres, often including legendary acts that reunite specifically for the festival.
9.45am: British health minister tests positive
British junior health minister who has met hundreds of people in parliament in the past week and attended a reception at No 10 with Boris Johnson has been diagnosed with coronavirus diagnosed, The Times reports.
Nadine Dorries, who played a role in drawing up legislation to tackle coronavirus, fell ill on Friday last week and her diagnosis was confirmed on Wednesday. She is now in isolation and understood to be recovering.
“Public Health England has started detailed contact tracing and the department and my parliamentary office are closely following their advice,” she said in a statement.
It comes as a sixth person died from the virus in the UK, which has a total of 382 cases.
The revelation is likely to raise questions over whether UK parliament should be closed or whether restrictions should be placed on visitors.
Ms Dorries, 62, met hundreds of people last week, including a large number of MPs, and attended a conference outside Westminster. On Thursday she attended a Downing Street event hosted by Mr Johnson to mark International Women’s Day.
Thanks for so many good wishes. It’s been pretty rubbish but I hope I’m over the worst of it now. More worried about my 84yo mum who is staying with me and began with the cough today. She is being tested tomorrow. Keep safe and keep washing those hands, everyone.
— Nadine Dorries 🇬🇧 (@NadineDorries) March 10, 2020
The Times reports she experienced the “classic symptoms” of the disease — a dry cough, high temperature and “vice-like” pain in her chest over the weekend.
A government source said: “As with everything, we are being guided by the science on this. This will be treated like any other standard case. Officials are conducting the standard process of contact tracing and identifying anyone who has shown symptoms.”
MATTHEW DENHOLM 9.15am: Coronavirus ‘kills’ Dark Mofo
Hobart’s popular mid-winter festival, Dark Mofo, has been cancelled for this year, due to coronavirus fears. David Walsh, owner of festival organiser the Museum of Old and New Art, said on Wednesday he felt he had no real choice, given the potential losses that would result from a last-minute cancellation. “Right now, the (state) government and Mona are each on the hook for $2 million to run Dark Mofo,” Mr Walsh said in a statement. “That’s bad.
“What’s worse, as far as I’m concerned, is that if we ran Dark and nobody came, I’d lose $5 million or more, because I would have to cover the absent ticket revenue.
“Leigh Carmichael, Dark Mofo’s boss, suggested an $8 million scenario: if a staff member contracted COVID-19 a week out from the festival, we’d have to cancel because the staff would need to self-isolate for two weeks, but we’d also have to pay all the artists.
“That kind of blowout would affect Mona’s program, and I’d be back to subsisting on the diet I had when I was 18 — pineapples and mint slice biscuits.”
The decision comes despite Tasmania currently having only two confirmed cases of the virus and is a major blow to tourism and the broader economy, with the June festival helping many businesses to survive over the slower tourist season.
Advantage is a better soldier than rashness.
— Dark Mofo (@Dark_Mofo) March 10, 2020
—Henry V, Act III, Scene 6
Dark Mofo 2020 has been cancelled due to concerns around the impact of coronavirus. Read the full statement: https://t.co/VzvRGu4SZC pic.twitter.com/s1BFya3T5c
The decision comes a day after the University of Tasmania announced it will slash its degree offering from 514 to fewer than 120, with job losses expected, as it reels from the coronavirus and other financial impacts. Vice-chancellor Rufus Black emailed staff to warn of “a very strong headwind” from the COVID-19 outbreak, as well other changes impacting overseas students and a decline in local school leaver enrolments.
Janet Albrechtsen 8.45am: Who’s really to blame for supermarket brawls?
In a Woolies supermarket in western Sydney, three women brawl over a pack of toilet paper. Two of the women have a trolley already full of the stuff. In another scuffle, a young woman with her own trolley laden with loo paper fights with an older woman over another pack. A man is in jail, accused of grabbing a customer by the throat, and trying to grab a police officer’s gun after another tussle over toilet paper. Do these episodes say anything about us?
No. It reveals something about a few people, about the kind of people they are, not just in a crisis.
But supermarket shelves stripped bare by panicked shoppers right around the world might tell us something about more of us, if we dare think about it.
Click here to read Janet Albrechtsen’s commentary.
Elias Visontay 8.35am: AMA backs medical response
Australian Medical Association President Tony Bartone has welcomed the government’s planned $2.4 billion medical response to the coronavirus, saying “it will go a significant way to reducing the movement and the spread in the community”.
Dr Bartone said the more than 100 fever clinics to be rolled out across the country and provision to allow bulk billing of GP audio and video calls would help hospitals cope with their existing capacities to deal with cases of the virus and segregate those individuals from others.
“As we’re getting to see more cases of community based transmission, it’s about ensuring that we’ve got the capacity to keep people, potentially, separated or segregated from other non-infected community members to try and reduce that spread and therefore reduce the overall impact and the immediacy of that impact on overstretched public hospital services while they continue to ramp up and increase their surge capacity in expectation of increased demand,” Dr Bartone told ABC Radio.
He said the AMA will help identify locations for the new clinics and will brief government on their recommendations.
“These facilities will have to be distributed through the community and based on the population the source needs, so we don’t have three next door to each other, and obviously distributed across the community and demand.
“There’ll obviously have to be some interplay and some relationship with the local hospital because obviously these clinics pick up and identify patients who do need to be further managed and perhaps transferred there needs to be the ability to have that transport to the hospital facility.
“They’ll be based on capacity, they’ll be based on infrastructure capability of their clinic. So ideally, larger clinics with multiple entrances which allow a dedicated part of that clinic to be isolated from the rest of the clinic to allow the clinic to continue to function and offer the regular GP services that are required by up to 2.6 million Australians every week of the year”.
Dr Bartone said the medical response, expected to be announced this week, was important in keeping the cost of getting tested and medical advice affordable.
“This is about ensuring that access is not about the socio economic class or any other aspect is a barrier to this really important process at this time.
“These clinics will be facilitated by additional funding by government to allow them to identify and do the necessary testing, and identification if necessary and follow up clinical protocols for those isolated at home to be managed at home.”
Dr Bartone also reiterated official medical advice that authorities are not advocating for general members of the community to be tested, and that only people who have travelled overseas or been in physical contact with a confirmed case of coronavirus should be tested. However, he said this advice may change.
Elias Visontay 8.30am: Cutting back uni courses ‘sensible
Education Minister Dan Tehan says the University of Tasmania’s decision to cut back its number of courses as international student numbers plummet due to coronavirus is “very sensible”.
Mr Tehan was responding to reports the University of Tasmania’s vice chancellor on Tuesday announced a mix of an “over-reliance on China as a market for international students” and the rapidly spreading coronavirus would mean it would reduce its course offerings from 514 to about 120.
“What we need to ensure also is that our universities are focused on Australian students and delivering for Australian students,” Mr Tehan told ABC Radio.
Mr Tehan said the University’s decision was “very sensible” and put the institution on a “sustainable footing into the future”.
He also said he would be meeting with Universities Australia again next week to discuss the ongoing impacts of the coronavirus, but that the sector was largely on “sound financial footing” to deal with the virus.
Mr Tehan also said “a range of contingencies are being looked at” regarding options to limit the spread of the virus in schools, but that ultimately individual states and territories would have to make decisions on blanket closures across districts.
He said while as nationally consistent an approach was preferred, that “localised school closures” across entire regions of cities or states would be the next likely step before entire statewide closures are seen.
Rebecca Urban 8.20am: Second Melbourne school closes
A second Melbourne school has been shut due to coronavirus fears, with Yeshivah-Beth Rivkah Colleges to close its doors while it investigates whether the virus has spread.
The St Kilda school has disclosed that a teacher had been diagnosed after arriving on a Los Angeles-Melbourne flight on March 6.
“As a result, we have closed the school for 24 hours to assess the situation,” the school said in a statement issued Wednesday morning. “With that in mind, and the safety and wellbeing of our community we are working with DHHS and the Department of Education and Training and going through the process of mapping the potential spread of the virus within the school. We will then make contact with families and identify anyone who could have been impacted from within the school, and where possible, the greater community.”
In a letter sent to parents, principal Dr Shimon Waronker said members of the school community, including families, had been identified as being on flight QF94 who had been sent home. “We have now been advised that one of those people has come back with a positive test result for COVID-19. We wish our valued community member a Refuah Sheleima and a speedy recovery.”
The Jewish school is the second Victorian school to be hit. It’s closure follows that of Carey Grammar, which will remained closed until Sunday. It is understood that students at both schools are undergoing testing also.
The school also released to families the guidance from the Department of Health and Human Services. “As we have discussed, one staff member at Yeshiva-Beth Rivkah colleges has tested positive for COVID-19, and a number of students have test results pending,” the missive says.
“As there have been potential exposures to staff and students, the Department of Health and Human Services (the department) recommends closing the colleges for at least one day (Wednesday March 11) and possibly further pending test results and contact tracing activities tomorrow to determine if any staff or students are required to home quarantine.
“The department also recommends closing the synagogue to attendees tomorrow morning as a precautionary measure, as the contact tracing exercise is undertaken.”
On Tuesday Victorian premier Daniel Andrews warned of mass school closures.
8.10am: Three new cases in Queensland
Three new cases have been confirmed in Queensland, with the death toll remaining at 3. The global death toll is now over 4,000.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Australia has now surged past 100. In Queensland, three new cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed, as hospitals brace for an influx of people wanting to be tested. https://t.co/KVR1ALQhu8 #coronavirus #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/c9F7kwINCY
— 7NEWS Wide Bay (@7NewsWideBay) March 10, 2020
Anne Barrowclough 8.00am: Biden, Sanders cancel rallies
Democratic presidential candidates Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden have cancelled scheduled rallies ahead of today’s six Democratic primaries.
Mr Sanders had been planning to speak at a convention centre in Cleveland as results from six states voting in the Democratic presidential contests began rolling in. But he pulled the plug only about three hours before it was scheduled to start, and his campaign announced that decisions on future events would be made on a case-by-case basis.
“Out of concern for public health and safety, we are cancelling tonight’s rally in Cleveland. We are heeding the public warnings from Ohio state officials, who have communicated concern about holding large, indoor events during the coronavirus outbreak,” Mr Sanders’ campaign spokesman, Mike Casca, said in a statement. “All future Bernie 2020 events will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.”
Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders cancel rallies scheduled for tonight in Cleveland over coronavirus concerns. Follow live updates: https://t.co/Rm5alaXosY pic.twitter.com/oiMKb9OlVt
— CNN Breaking News (@cnnbrk) March 10, 2020
Adeshola Ore 7.45am: Hunt: Additional support for health workers
The Health Minister says the federal government is considering adding additional support to the healthcare workforce, as it prepares to unveil a $2.4 billion funding package to tackle the coronavirus outbreak.
“One of the things that we are discussing is we will be working with the boards that oversee nursing and medical staff to make sure there is the capacity, Greg Hunt told the Today Show on Wednesday morning.
“For example, if you have a nurse who is a mum who has had a decade off, are there ways to bring them back in a faster approach than might otherwise have been the case if they want to come back and work part-time.”
It comes as public hospitals across the country have been seen long queues, with members of the public anxious to be tested for the virus.
The package will allow people experiencing symptoms to charge GP calls to Medicare and involve establishing pop-up respiratory clinics
“Our job has been to provide the resources, to work with the medical company in designing this, so people have different ways to seek treatment.”
Key facts you need to know about #COVID19: What is it, what are the symptoms, and who do we stop it?
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 10, 2020
All you need to know on the #coronavirus 👉 https://t.co/uWBZwLgWQW pic.twitter.com/A5vObZG714
Anne Barrowclough 7.35am: UK death toll rises to six
The death toll in Britain has risen to six as the UK recorded one of its highest daily rise in confirmed cases. The victim was a man in his 80s who had underlying health conditions and died in hospital in Watford,
Health officials said the number of confirmed cases rose by 54 to 373 since yesterday — a 17 per cent jump that matched but did not exceed previous daily increases.
Adeshola Ore 7.20am: Unis closed for cleaning
Southern Cross University’s Gold Coast and Lismore campuses will be closed today for cleaning, after a staff member visiting from the Philippines tested positive to coronavirus.
The man attended a workshop series between March 2-6 at the two campuses before returning to the Philippines on Saturday. He became unwell and then tested positive to the virus.
In a statement online, the university said it had identified 45 people who came into close contact with the man. Southern Cross University is working with health authorities to contact these people.
Anne Barrowclough 7.10am: Italy records deadliest day
Italy has recorded its deadliest day of the outbreak, with its toll jumping by 168, as the entire country was placed in lockdown, airlines halted flights and neighbouring countries clamped down on borders.
As Slovenia and Austria closed their borders to Italy, the country’s death toll rose to 631, with 10,149 infected in just over two weeks.
Tuesday’s toll pushed the total number of deaths outside China past 1,000, hitting 1,115, according an AFP tally.
Adeshola Ore 6.55am: Doctor calls for more testing
A Melbourne doctor has called for more widespread testing of coronavirus, as the government prepares to unveil a $2.4bn emergency health funding package.
“We cannot stop a further outbreak. Our aim is to reduce transmission as much as we can. When there is widespread community transmission, we will only know when that is when we start doing a lot of testing.” Dr Vyom Sharma told the Today Show on Wednesday morning.
It comes despite Australia’s Chief Medical Officer saying only those who have returned from overseas and have respiratory symptoms or close contacts of confirmed contacts should be tested.
Dr Sharma said governments had sent mixed messages sent to GPS about who qualifies for testing.
“Minister Greg Hunt misspoke the other day about who should get tested and had to walk it back a day later. We need good communication. One of the issues is there are federal and state systems and it is fragmented, we need to work together.”
Victorian Premier @DanielAndrewsMP says extreme measures will be taken to manage the outbreak. @IzaStaskowski #9News pic.twitter.com/sIVzXNmHrB
— Nine News Australia (@9NewsAUS) March 10, 2020
Anne Barrowclough 6.50am: National Guard sent into New York
The National Guard is being sent into a New York City suburb and creating a temporary “containment area” to help fight what is believed to be the nation’s biggest cluster of coronavirus cases.
The move came as health authorities contended with alarming clusters of infections on both sides of the country and scattered cases in between. Schools, houses of worship and large gathering places will be closed for two weeks in a “containment area” centred in New Rochelle, and the troops will scrub surfaces and deliver food to the zone, which extends a mile in all directions from a point near a synagogue connected to some of the cases, Governor Andrew Cuomo said.
“It is a dramatic action, but it is the largest cluster of cases in the country,” he said. “The numbers are going up unabated, and we do need a special public health strategy.” New Rochelle and surrounding Westchester County account for at least 108 cases out of 173 statewide. New York City, with 100 times the population of New Rochelle, has 36 known infections.
Rebecca Urban 6.45am: Rush for tests leads to long queues
Long queues formed outside public hospital coronavirus testing facilities on Tuesday as anxiety over growing infection rates caused a spike in demand for tests, despite federal government attempts to limit them to high risk cases.
At least 50 people queued along the footpath outside the Royal Melbourne Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital also saw about 250 patients concerned they had been infected by the virus with a long queue forming before the doors opened at 8am.
Read the full story here.
Adeshola Ore 6.30am: Mystery over three new cases
NSW Health is yet to determine how three new cases of coronavirus contracted the virus.
Urgent contact tracing is being urged for a male in his 70s and a woman in her 40s to identify the source of their infections.
A women in her 30s has been linked to an elderly patient from Dorothy Henderson Lodge aged care facility who died last week.
A man in his 60s recently returned from Switzerland. A woman in her 60s has recently arrived back in Australia from Italy and is linked
A woman and a man, unrelated and both in their 50s, recently returned from the US to Australia.
NSW Health has also revealed that a recent positive case visited St Leonards TAFE in Sydney’s north for two days while infectious.
@rd_kamthe hi, risk posed by #COVID19 in public pools is very low. The Public Health Act 2010 & Public Health Reg. 2012 requires that public pool operators cannot allow a person to use a pool unless water is disinfected in such a way that it minimises transmission of diseases.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) March 10, 2020
Adeshola Ore 6.15am: Six new cases in NSW
New South Wales has confirmed a further six cases of coronavirus, bringing the state’s total to 61. Four of the newest cases were people who had recently arrived in NSW from the US, Italy and Switzerland.
Ewin Hannan 6.00am: ‘Don’t pay workers until sick’
Employers have been told they do not have to provide paid leave to permanent workers forced into isolation after being in China or in contact with a person with coronavirus if the employees are “not yet sick themselves”.
Read the full story here.
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