Coronavirus Australia live news: PM stares down Victorian demands for more Covid cash; ‘extreme concern’ over aged-care mystery case
Health authorities scramble to unravel how the first ‘mystery’ case of this outbreak caught Covid-19.
- PM stares down demand for more Covid cash
- ‘Extreme concern’ over mystery case
- $250m rescue plan for Victorian business
- Aged-care worker one of five new cases
- Victoria records five new cases
- Masks to stay after lockdown
- Thousands rush for vaccine
- ‘Send Pfizer jabs to Melbourne’
Welcome to live updates on Australia’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Scott Morrison has hit back at the Victorian government over its calls for the federal government to do more to help the state get through its latest coronavirus crisis.
Health authorities are scrambling to unravel how the first ‘mystery’ case of this outbreak’ caught Covid-19.
The Victorian government has announced a $250m rescue plan for business struggling through lockdown.
An aged care centre in Melbourne has been locked down with staff in full PPE after an aged-care worker became one of five new locally-acquired virus cases recorded overnight.
Victoria’s Covid-19 cluster has grown to 40 cases.
Several shops and restaurants from Chadstone shopping centre have been added to the state’s list of exposure sites as speculation grows that mask rules may be extended beyond the end of the current lockdown.
Rebecca Urban, Remy Varga11.30pm:Mystery case hits lockdown plan
The mystery case of a Melbourne aged care employee who worked for two days while potentially infectious with Covid-19 has emerged as a priority for contact tracers and a risk to Victoria ending its seven-day lockdown.
The healthcare worker, a woman aged in her 50s who tested positive on Saturday, has no known link to other cases in the state’s latest outbreak, which has spread to 40 after five new infections emerged on Sunday.
Victoria’s Covid-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said the aged care case was an “extreme concern” due to both the work setting and unknown acquisition source.
Rosie Lewis, Angelica Snowden 10.45pm:Frydenberg slaps down state’s plea
Josh Frydenberg has rejected demands from the Victorian government for a new wage subsidy for thousands of workers who will struggle through the state’s lockdown, warning that the commonwealth will no longer step in when Covid-19 lockdowns occur.
The Treasurer, responding to sharp criticism from Victorian Acting Premier James Merlino and Treasurer Tim Pallas, said the commonwealth had already contributed about three times more in direct economic support than the state government had.
Victoria’s outbreak grew to 40 cases on Sunday with five new locally acquired infections, including an aged care worker from Arcare Maidstone who had received her first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.While federal health secretary Brendan Murphy said Victorian authorities were bringing the latest Covid-19 cluster “under control”, Australian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid said there was a “significant chance” the lockdown would have to be extended beyond the original seven-day plan. “We are very concerned with the Melbourne lockdown just due to the size of the number of people being contacted – last count was over 15,000 people,” Dr Khorshid said.Mr Merlino and Mr Pallas, releasing a $250 million support plan for businesses, said the lockdown would cost the Victorian budget $700 million. The package includes $2500 grants for small and medium-sized businesses in industries that cannot operate due to the restrictions, with licensed venues to be able to apply for $3500 payments. Events that had to be cancelled or incurred losses can also receive support from a new $20 million fund.
Olivia Caisley, Glenda Korporaal10pm: Business wants shot at rollout
Westpac chief executive Peter King says the nation’s corporate sector is ready to step in and accelerate the Covid-19 immunisation program as the Morrison government comes under pressure for delivering mixed messages and contributing to the sluggish take-up of vaccines.
Mr King, writing in The Australian, said vaccinations were critical to “getting our lives back” and warned closing international borders for years and relying on lockdowns when outbreaks occur was unsustainable.
His comments — which come as Australia continues to lag other developed nations in its immunisation program — reflect a growing frustration by some in the business community that more can be done to provide more vaccines.
“I understand there are varying views among Australians with regards to vaccines,” he writes. “But from my perspective, given the need to help protect our families and friends when further outbreaks occur, as well as the economic costs to communities, we need as many Australians as possible to get vaccinated as fast as possible.”
Qantas chairman Richard Goyder has similarly urged businesses to adopt incentives encouraging more Australians to get vaccinated, warning that the public was in danger of becoming too complacent about getting a jab due to relatively low levels of community transmission.
He called on the sector to consider following Qantas’s example in providing rewards for vaccinated customers as the airline moves to announce a new program that could include flight vouchers, frequent-flyer points or status credits for those who have had the jab.
Rebecca Urban 9.15pm:One minute you’re running, the next you’re at a standstill
Mikayla White should have spent the weekend at The Running Company in Yarraville, where she helps to fit shoes for speedsters and weekend warriors alike across Melbourne’s western suburbs.
Instead, the 25-year-old was stuck at home per government orders and, like tens of thousands of other casual workers, wondering how to make up for a week’s lost pay.
This latest lockdown – the fourth for the state in just over a year – will leave her about $500 worse off.
“Because I’m still at uni full time and have to fit in work around that, I don’t have that many hours free where I can work,” Ms White said.
“And so I don’t have a huge amount of savings to fall back on. I support myself 100 per cent and it makes me quite anxious not knowing how long this is going to go on for and whether it’s going to happen again.”
Currently studying a master’s degree in dietetics, Ms White lost her previous job during Melbourne’s extended lockdown last year. Fortunately she was able to survive on JobSeeker payments. This time there is no safety net.
AFP 8.30pm: Italy extends entry ban for India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
Italy has extended an entry ban for people coming from India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, as a continued precaution against the more transmissible Indian variant of Covid-19.
The ban, which does not apply to Italian citizens, was introduced in late April and was due to expire on Sunday. It was prolonged until June 21, a spokesman for Italian Health Minister Roberto Speranza said.
The B.1.617 variant of the coronavirus was first detected in India last year and has been blamed for much of a devastating Covid-19 wave that has battered South Asian nations in recent weeks.
This week, the World Health Organisation said the variant has officially spread to 53 territories, and has been linked to seven other territories by unofficial sources, taking the total to 60.
WHO regional director for Europe Hans Kluge said the increased contagiousness of the new variants of the coronavirus, including the Indian one, was one of his main worries.
“We know for example that the B.1617 (Indian variant) is more transmissible than the B.117 (British variant), which already was more transmissible than the previous strain,” the Belgian doctor said.
READ MORE:Wuhan lab leak is ‘feasible’, say British spies
Robyn Ironside 8pm:Airline orders staff to get vaccinated
A Brisbane-based airline is believed to be Australia’s first employer to order all of its workers to undergo vaccination for Covid-19 or face potential disciplinary action.
Alliance Aviation, which has contracts with major mining companies and operates numerous flights for Qantas and Virgin Australia, has issued the vaccination policy, stating “all employees will take part in the Alliance Group Immunisation Program”.
Contractors and their employees will also be required to be vaccinated to conduct work on Alliance Group worksites, the policy states. Alliance managing director Scott McMillan said management and the company’s board of directors took the view that they had a legal obligation to provide a safe workplace for staff and customers.
AFP 7.25pm:French rock group plays Covid trial gig
Starved of live music for the past year, fans of veteran French rock band Indochine on Saturday night got a chance to see their idols in concert, all in the name of Covid-19 research.
About 5000 concert goers took part in the experimental event at Paris’s Bercy concert hall. A further 2500 volunteers who did not attend the concert will serve as a comparison group. The trial to assess the risk of Covid transmission at events has been eagerly awaited by the live music and entertainment sector which has been devastated by Covid-19.
“It’s been so long that we have waited for a reopening of this kind of event. So finding a concert, in addition to it being Indochine, is really great,” said Camille, 26, from the Paris suburbs.
Larisa Brown, Madeleine Spence 6.50pm: Wuhan lab leak is ‘feasible’, say British spies
British agents now believe it is “feasible” that the global pandemic began with a coronavirus leak from a Chinese research laboratory.
In a significant sharpening of tension with Beijing, they are investigating a possible leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which Beijing angrily insists was not the source of the virus that has caused more than 3.5 million deaths and is still raging globally.
They do so as controversy grows about the alleged silencing of scientists who wanted an investigation of the lab-leak theory.
Joseph Lam6.10pm:Exposure list grows to 210
A Kmart, a Woolworths, an Indian restaurant and a car wash are among the venues added to Victoria’s Covid-19 exposure list as the state entered its third day of a week-long lockdown.
Six venues were added to the Victorian government Covid-19 exposure list, taking the total to 210.
Tier 1 venues
● Healthy India, 276 Broadway, Reservoir, 3073: Thursday, May 27, from 9.30am to 2pm
Tier 2 venues
● Woolworths, 117 Acland Street, St Kilda, 3182: Friday, May 28 from 5pm to 5.30pm
● Woolworths, 64 Fitzroy Street, St Kilda: Thursday from 3pm to 3.30pm
● Gobind Sweets, 6/350 Settlement Road, Thomastown, 3074: Thursday from 2.40pm to 3.10pm
Tier 3 venues
● Shopping complex, 70A Acland Street, St Kilda: Thursday from 4.20pm to 4.50pm
● McDonalds St Kilda, 32 The Esplanade, St Kilda: Thursday from 4.10pm to 4.40pm.
READ MORE:It’s not fair to compare NSW, Victoria on Covid-19
EXPOSURE SITES UPDATE – Chadstone, Wollert, Epping, Reservoir, Dandenong, Carrum Downs, Mill Park, Craigieburn
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 30, 2021
New exposure sites have been published at https://t.co/SQ5trZH2NI. [1/9] pic.twitter.com/8rkNaOxKvQ
Max Colcheester 5.45pm:Covid cases and hospitalisations rise in UK
The U.K. government is accelerating its vaccination drive as officials estimate that as many as three quarters of new Covid-19 cases in the country could be the result of a coronavirus variant first identified in India.
U.K. hospitalisation numbers have ticked up and case numbers have risen 20% in the past week – though from a low base – as the variant takes hold in parts of the country, largely among younger people who haven’t yet received two vaccine doses.
“The latest estimates are that more than half and potentially as many as three quarters of all new cases are now of this variant,” the U.K. health secretary, Matt Hancock, said Thursday.
READ the full story here.
Anton Nilsson 5.20pm:Lockdown protesters face lengthy jail stints
Some anti-lockdown protesters are facing six months behind bars after being charged with assaulting police.
Police arrested 14 people and pepper sprayed several others in connection with an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne on Saturday.
Charges laid include affray and assaulting police, which carries a six-month mandatory minimum jail term in Victoria.
Protesters charged with assaulting police if found guilty could go to prison for up to five years, the maximum jail term for that offence.
Two police officers and a protester were injured during scuffles that allegedly broke out as police cracked down on the protest march, which was aimed at voicing displeasure with Victoria’s lockdown imposed on Thursday and slated to last for seven days.
READ the full story here.
Ben Packham 4.10pm:PM hits back as Victoria demands more Covid cash
Scott Morrison has hit back at the Victorian government over its calls for the federal government to do more to help the state get through its latest coronavirus crisis.
Speaking from Queenstown where he is meeting New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, the PM said the commonwealth had pumped $45bn in Covid support into Victoria and continued to assist through the pandemic leave payment, emergency cash assistance, and the social security system.
“I note that the Queensland government and the Western Australian governments when they were in similar circumstances, took on those responsibilities, having decided to go into those lockdowns. They took on those responsibilities and I commend them for that.
“We will continue to support Victoria to get Victoria open and to do everything we can to ensure Victoria doesn’t close itself again.”
READ MORE:NZ to back Australia in tariff dispute
Rosie Lewis 3.45pm:Frydenberg stares down Vic push for more wage subsidies
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg is staring down demands from Victoria to deliver wage subsidies to thousands of employees struggling through the state’s fourth lockdown, declaring the Morrison government has already contributed around three times more in direct economic support.
Following an extraordinary attack from Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino and his treasurer Tim Pallas, Mr Frydenberg noted there had already been two short lockdowns since the $90 billion JobKeeper scheme ended in March – one in Queensland and another in Western Australia – and federal support had not been required.
“In the case of Victoria, the Morrison government has provided and continues to provide an unprecedented level of direct economic support. Over $45 billion has already flowed to Victorian families and businesses during Covid, with more direct federal economic support per capita going to Victoria than to any other state,” the Treasurer said.
“The amount of federal government direct economic support delivered to Victoria is around three times what has been delivered by the state government.”
Frances Vinall 3.40pm:‘Extreme concern’ over aged-care mystery case
State leaders are ‘extremely concerned’ about a new mystery case of Covid-19.
One of Victoria’s five new infections on Sunday is a worker in an aged-care facility in Melbourne’s west, health officials revealed on Sunday.
Health authorities are now scrambling to determine how the female health care worker at Arcare Maidstone, who lives in Altona, caught the virus.
She was asymptomatic and wore a mask when she worked shifts on Wednesday and Thursday.
“The aged care positive case is an extreme concern to us,” testing commander Jeroen Weimar told reporters on Sunday.
“It is our most vulnerable and sensitive setting.”
The worker had also received the first dose of the vaccine, and more than half of the residents have been vaccinated.
Out of the 76 residents at the centre, 53 had consented to the coronavirus vaccine, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Sunday.
However only a third of aged-care workers at the nursing home had received their vaccine.
The centre is in strict lockdown with residents confined to their rooms, and staff wearing full PPE.
“This is the first mystery case we have seen in this particular outbreak,” coronavirus testing commander Mr Weimar said.
“We have identified the infectious period as potentially being Wednesday and Thursday of this week, the 26 and 27 of May, and of course we have now put in place our full response.
“We are doing on-site testing, of course.”
READMORE:Cases, hospitalisations on rise in UK
Agencies3.10pm:Shop blasted for selling Nazi-like, anti-vaccine badge
A hat shop in the US state of Tennessee was hit with backlash on Saturday, one day after promoting a yellow star patch like those worn by Jews in Nazi-era Germany, labelled “not vaccinated.” It was the latest skirmish in the culture war surrounding Covid vaccination in the United States, which has suffered the highest death toll of any country in the pandemic.
Iconic American hatmaker Stetson said Saturday it would no longer do business with the Nashville shop HatWRKS, which was excoriated on social media and targeted by protesters.
On Friday, HatWRKS shared on its Instagram account a now-deleted photo announcing the arrival of the $5 patches. It showed a woman, reportedly the business owner, wearing a yellow Star of David with the message “not vaccinated” on her black T-shirt.
“Your Nazi star badges are perhaps the most offensive, anti-Semitic thing I’ve ever seen,” one user posted on the business’s Facebook page, summing up the social media outcry in response to the post, while others used the hashtag #HATEWORKS.
It looks like Nazis aren’t welcome in Nashville. pic.twitter.com/GOWpra0K3F
— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) May 30, 2021
Local media showed a few dozen protesters outside the shop on Saturday, including some who held up a banner declaring “No Nazis in Nashville!” And Stetson, known for its Western hats, said on Saturday that “as a result of the offensive content and opinions shared, Stetson and our distribution partners will cease the sale of all Stetson products to HatWRKS in Nashville.” The business, which regularly posted content on social media expressing views against coronavirus restrictions and Democratic President Joe Biden, replaced its controversial post with another one addressing its critics.
“people are so outraged by my post? but are you outraged with the tyranny the world is experiencing?” it said. “if you don’t understand what is happening, that is on you, not me.” The HatWRKS controversy came the same week that Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly equated Covid mask mandates with Nazis forcing Jews to wear yellow stars.
“Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi’s forced Jewish people to wear a gold star,” the freshman Republican from Georgia tweeted about a business making its employees who are fully vaccinated against the coronavirus wear a vaccination logo on their name badge.
Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi’s forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) May 25, 2021
Vaccine passports & mask mandates create discrimination against unvaxxed people who trust their immune systems to a virus that is 99% survivable.https://t.co/6X6VNolcA7
She was sharply criticised by leaders of both political parties. Biden on Friday deplored recent anti-Semitic attacks in the United States, saying in a statement: “We cannot allow the toxic combination of hatred, dangerous lies, and conspiracy theories to put our fellow Americans at risk.”
AFP
Ellie Dudley2.48pm:‘Strong measures in place’ for financial support: Hunt
Federal health minister Greg Hunt has talked down concerns over the absence of wage support for casual employees in Victoria.
Mr Hunt said the federal government had put “strong measures in place”, despite criticisms from Victoria’s acting premier James Merlino that the commonwealth were refusing to provide support to “struggling” state businesses.
“Our understanding is that we have strong support, we have a strong system in Victoria,” Mr Hunt said.
“We have a series of elements that I have set out … that includes the national health emergency crisis payment. It also includes the pandemic leave disaster payment.”
Mr Merlino said the state government had asked “multiple times” for the Morrison government to provide financial support, and that he was “beyond disappointed” that they “refused to come to the table.”
READ MORE:Vaccination remains our ticket out of Covid
Ben Packham2.38pm:PM arrives in New Zealand
Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny have received a traditional “powhiri” Maori welcome to New Zealand after their arrival in Queenstown, where they were greeted by counterpart Jacinda Ardern and Clarke Gayford.
The leaders touched noses and foreheads in a Maori “hongi” - a symbol of unity and “sharing the breath of life”.
The PM and Jacinda Ardern participate in a Hongi - a traditional Maori greeting - pressing of noses, signifying the sharing of life force, the breath of life #auspol#queentown#newzealand â¦@9NewsAUSâ© pic.twitter.com/07fhnFJ1QO
— Fiona Willan (@Fi_Willan) May 30, 2021
Local Maori leader Edward Ellison welcomed Mr and Mrs Morrison, and acknowledged the more than 200 years of friendship between both countries, which began with contact between whalers and sealers. “We liked you then, we like you now, he said. He also acknowledged Australia’s “first People’s”, and New Zealanders who had “put their roots down” in Australia.
READ MORE:NZ to back Australia in WTO China tariff dispute
Ellie Dudley2.34pm:Hunt to aged care residents: Vaccine ‘can save your life’
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has urged aged care residents who have not consented to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine to “reconsider.”
“We want to see as many of those residents who have not chosen to be vaccinated, or their families providing their consent, to consider the absolute importance of vaccination,” he told reporters.
“It can save your life. You can save the life of mum or dad or of grandma or grandpa.”
Mr Hunt addressed the media on Sunday alongside Health Secretary Brendan Murphy after receiving the second dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Professor Murphy said he was “delighted” to get his second dose of the vaccine, but took the time to plead with over 70s who have not received the jab.
“People over 70 are those who need the highest risk of dying from Covid,” he said.
“One thing that this Victorian outbreak has taught us is that we are not immune from Covid.”
To people concerned about getting a blood clot after receiving the vaccine, Professor Murphy said: “The risk of (people over 70) dying from Covid is 10,000 times more likely than the risk of getting that rare clotting condition.”
Agencies2.10pm:Vietnam discovers new hybrid virus variant
Vietnam has discovered a new Covid-19 variant which spreads quickly by air and is a combination of the Indian and British strains, health officials confirmed.
The country is struggling to deal with fresh outbreaks across more than half of its territory, including industrial zones and big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
More than 6,800 cases including 47 deaths have been reported in Vietnam, with the lion’s share occurring since April.
“We have discovered a new hybrid variant from the Indian and the UK strains,” Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long told a national meeting on the pandemic Saturday, according to state media.
“The characteristic of this strain is that it spreads quickly in the air. The concentration of virus in the throat fluid increases rapidly and spreads very strongly to the surrounding environment.” He did not specify the number of cases recorded with this new variant but said Vietnam will soon announce the discovery in the world’s map of genetic strains.
Vietnam’s Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology said in a statement Saturday that its scientists had detected gene mutations in four out of 32 patient samples through gene sequencing.
There were seven known coronavirus variants in Vietnam before Long’s announcement, according to the Ministry of Health.
The communist country has previously received widespread applause for its aggressive pandemic response, with mass quarantines and strict contact tracing helping keep infection rates relatively low.
Vietnam — a country of 97 million people — has vaccinated a little over a million citizens.
It is now ramping up its jab rollout and hopes to achieve herd immunity by the end of the year, according to the health minister.
AFP
READ MORE:Doubts cast on 24-hour turnaround for Indian Covid-19 variant
Paul Garvey1.53pm:Government guilty of ‘mixed messaging’ on jab safety: AMA
The Australian Medical Association says the Federal government has been guilty of “mixed messaging” around Covid-19 vaccines and needs to launch a new nationwide advertising campaign to help with the vaccination process.
AMA president Omar Khorshid also said there was a “significant” chance that Victoria’s latest lockdown would need to be extended beyond its initial seven-day target.
Federal health minister Greg Hunt said on Saturday that Australia was “not in a race” on the vaccine rollout, amid data showing that the proportion of Australians vaccinated against the virus lagged most other developed nations.
Dr Khorshid said there needed to be less focus on the mechanics of the vaccine rollout and more focus on the importance of getting the whole population vaccinated.
“We’re not in a race on vaccines, but we have a job to do, and our job is to get these vaccines into the arms of Australians as efficiently as we can,” Dr Khorshid told reporters on Sunday.
“There’s no point in opening up the mass vaccination centres in every football field if people don’t want the vaccine or we haven’t got enough to put it in their arms.”
He said that while he had no doubt that both Mr Hunt and Prime Minister Scott Morrison were committed to the vaccine rollout, the government’s communication had been lacking.
“We have to acknowledge there has been some mixed messaging on vaccine safety, including from the federal government. I don’t think that’s deliberate, I think they’re trying to communicate to Australians honestly and openly, but in doing so sometimes they send out a confused message,” he said.
A fresh advertising blitz focused on the importance of vaccination, he said, would be an important step.
“I think some extra effort spent on that communication itself, some positive messaging in the media through advertising spend or whatever it is, is now required to make that crystal clear to all Australians and there’s no grey area here, these vaccines are the best thing that you can do for your health in 2021.”
The latest numbers out of Victoria, meanwhile, pointed to a strong likelihood of the state’s lockdown lasting beyond Thursday.
“We are very concerned with the Melbourne lockdown just due to the size of the number of people being contacted. Last count was over 15,000 people, and also over 170 contact sites, that’s a lot of work for contact tracers,” he said.
“If they’ve finished their job and if they’re confident by the end of the week with no new cases, we may well be able to come out of lockdown. But I think there’s a significant chance that will be extended.”
READ MORE:Long wait times and technical issues crash Victoria’s vaccine hubs across Melbourne
Rebecca Urban1.20pm:‘Vic Labor responsible for own failures’: Kennett
Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett has hit out at complaints by Victorian Labor ministers’ that the federal government had declined to support the state through its latest lockdown, urging them to take responsibility for their own failures.
Responding to a Tweet by Minister for Major Events, Martin Pakula, who said it was “unconscionable that the Commonwealth refuses to help”, Mr Kennett pointed to the federal government’s ongoing wages support during the height of the pandemic.
“For almost 18 months the Federal Govt have [sic] supported Victorian businesses and people through Job Keeper/Seeker with billions of dollars,” Mr Kennett responded.
“Throughout that time you have consistently attacked the Fed’s and bitten the hand that fed you.
“Through the same period all Ministers have exercised a failure of memory before the inquiry when 800 died.
“This latest lockdown is again the result of your government’s administrative failures, not the Fed’s. Time your govt accepted responsibility for your failures.”
Martin
— Jeff Kennett (@jeff_kennett) May 30, 2021
You can't expect this post to go unanswered
For almost 18 months the Federal Govt have supported Victorian businesses and people through Job KeeperSeeker with billions of dollars
Throughout that time you have consistently attacked the Fed's and bitten the hand that fed you
Mr Kennett’s comments came after a furious Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas and acting Premier James Merlino revealed that a request to the federal government of $250m to support workers who’d lost wages due to the lockdown had been knocked back.
Mr Pakula subsequently tweeted that “Victorians were sacrificing to protect the nation”.
“We’re staying home, we’re getting tested & we’re leading the national vaccination charge,” he said.
“The Andrews Government is contributing $250m to support struggling businesses, and it’s unconscionable that the Commonwealth refuses to help.”
READ MORE:It’s not fair to compare NSW, Victoria on Covid-19
Yoni Bashan1.04pm:Daley to run for NSW Labor leadership
Former NSW Labor leader Michael Daley has told supporters he wants the job again, setting up a showdown with rival leadership aspirant Chris Minns.
Mr Daley, vowing no “retribution” if he was to win, has been critical of a “small number” of Labor MPs who he claims undermined Jodi McKay and pushed her out last week.
Ms McKay resigned as leader on Friday, after renewed leadership turbulence following Labor’s loss at the Upper Hunter by-election.
A number of Ms McKay’s supporters — including Blue Mountains MP Trish Doyle and environment spokeswoman Kate Washington — have also been critical of the circumstances of her demise as Labor leader.
READ the full story
Ellie Dudley 12.35pm:Victorian police stop lockdown protest church service
A defiant group of churchgoers have been stopped by Victoria police from gathering after their leader refused to cancel a Sunday service.
Evangelical pastor Paul Furlong said in a video posted to Facebook on Friday he would hold a service at 10am at the Revival Church in Narre Warren in Melbourne’s southeast.
“My church is open. I have said I will not shut the church again,” he said.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the churchgoers could expect to be fined if they breached health orders.
“Police are currently responding to a large gathering of people in the vicinity of a shopping centre on the Princes Highway, Narre Warren this morning,” she said.
“Those who choose to blatantly disregard the CHOs directions and put the health and safety of all Victorians in jeopardy can expect to be held accountable and fined.”
It came after 14 people were arrested after anti-lockdown protests turned violent in the Melbourne CBD on Saturday.
Ellie Dudley 12.35pm:We want to get out of this as quickly as possible’
Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino said the state authorities would continue to heed health advice as to when the circuit breaker lockdown would end.
“The advice we received just days ago and public health said that we needed to go into the circuit breaker lockdown because if we can’t get ahead of this outbreak then it becomes uncontrollable,” he said.
“We will get advice from public health when we can ease these restrictions on the 7-day circuit breaker lockdown.”
He added: “We want to get out of this as quickly as possible.”
Ellie Dudley 12.30pm:No new local cases in NSW, five in quarantine
NSW has recorded no new cases of Covid in the 24 hours to 8pm last night, and five detected in hotel quarantine.
There were 15,989 tests conducted yesterday, compared with the previous day’s total of 17,012.
NSW Health administered 7,162 COVID-19 vaccines on Saturday including 5,467 at the vaccination centre at Sydney Olympic Park
The total number of vaccines administered in NSW is now 1,279,169.
Rebecca Urban 12.20pm:Events industry welcomes lockdown financial support
Victoria’s events industry has welcomed the offer of financial support as a “small but long-needed first step in the right direction”.
Responding to news of a $20m relief fund — part of a broader $250m business support package — Save Victorian Events Team spokesman Simon Thewlis urged the government to also establish an industry recovery taskforce to minimise the impact of event losses, now and into the future.
“Victoria’s event industry has lost over 100,000 events worth more than $10 billion over the last year,” Mr Thewlis said.
‘The impact on people and businesses in the event industry has been immense.
“Until today, there really hasn’t been any targeted financial support to people and businesses in Victoria’s event industry — despite it being one of the very hardest hit industries.
“We also ask the government to set up an Event Industry Recovery Taskforce to immediately start work on practical measures to support the Event Industry, to minimise the loss of events, and to start on recovery.”
Ellie Dudley 11.58am:No mandate for aged-care workers to be vaccinated: Weimar
Victoria’s COVID-19 Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar has confirmed there is no mandate for aged-care workers to be vaccinated.
“We have of course had a requirement within the hotel quarantine system, operated by the state, whereby any staff member in that sector has to be vaccinated, and they have had a 100 per cent vaccination record” he said.
“There is no statutory requirement for (aged care) workers to be vaccinated before they work.”
Half the residents and a third of the staff at the Arcare Maidstone aged care facility had been vaccinated before a worker tested positive on Sunday, Mr Weimar said.
Ellie Dudley 11.58am:Unlinked case of aged-care worker ‘utmost priority’
Victoria’s COVID-19 Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar has labelled the unlinked case found in an aged-care worker of “utmost priority”.
“At this point in time we do not have an acquisition cause for that case,” he told reporters.
Mr Weimar said he was “pleased” the staff member came forward for “immediate testing” after presenting with symptoms on Friday.
The health authorities have identified a potential infectious period between May 26 and 27.
Some 4000 primary close contacts have been identified as linked to the outbreaks in Whittlesea and Port Melbourne.
More than 3000 of these contacts have already returned negative test results, Mr Weimar said.
Ellie Dudley 11.55am:Pallas slams federal government for lack of financial support
Victoria’s Treasurer Tim Pallas has accused the federal government of “not putting the people first”, after Canberra “refused” to offer financial support for the state’s businesses.
“I am angry and I am disappointed,” Mr Pallas told reporters.
“Only yesterday, we had representatives of the federal government saying they were a party for the workers.
“They are nice words, it would be really good if the self-styled party of the workers actually did some work for working people and provided them with the assistance that they need.”
Mr Pallas called the state government’s $250 million package “profound”, and called on the commonwealth to provide similar support.
“I would like to have a real partnership with the Commonwealth,” he said.
“Four to five times over the last three or four days, I have had conversations with the federal Treasurer, urging them to make some contribution.”
READ MORE: Canada extends shelf life of AstraZeneca
Ellie Dudley 11.42am:Federal government ‘refused’ to help business: Merlino
Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino has lambasted the federal government for refusing to provide support to “struggling” Victorian businesses during the state’s lockdown.
“Victorian workers need support and that is where we needed Canberra to come to the table and I am very sorry to say that they have refused to do that,” he said.
“We asked multiple times, multiple times, for the federal government to support workers during this period and the unrelenting answer has been, no.”
He added he was “beyond disappointed” that the Morrison government “refused to come to the table.”
Mr Merlino announced the state government would provide a $250 million business support package for Victorian small and medium sized businesses in response to the state’s seven day circuit-breaker lockdown.
“This is a bigger and broader package than the one we delivered through the circuit breaker lockdown back in February and it is made up of a few elements,” he said.
READ MORE:Virus exposure sites soar to 170
Ellie Dudley 11.42am:Two of five new cases still unlinked: Merlino
Two of five new cases recorded in Victoria on Sunday remain unlinked, Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino says.
“Two (cases) are previously identified primary close contacts and have been quarantining throughout their infectious period,” he told reporters.
“One is a link to an exposure site and investigation is under way to confirm the nature of the two remaining.”
Mr Merlino confirmed 70 per cent of the primary close contacts identified as of yesterday have retained a negative result.
Rebecca Urban 11.40am:$250m rescue plan for Victorian business
Victorian businesses struggling through the fourth lockdown in less than 18 months will share in a $250 million support package announced by the state government on Sunday.
The package, unveiled by Treasurer Tim Pallas and acting Premier James Merlino, will comprise $190m in cash payments in the form of $2500 payments to each eligible business.
A further $40m will go to licensed hospitality venues via $3500 grants per premises and $20m to the events industry for operators who have incurred losses.
Ellie Dudley 11.15am:Aged-care worker one of five new cases, centre locked down
An aged-care centre in Melbourne’s west has been placed in lockdown after a staff member tested positive to Covid-19, reportedly after receiving one dose of the vaccine.
The team member from Arcare Maidstone last worked on May 27 and displayed no symptoms of the coronavirus at the time of working.
“We are currently undertaking contact tracing whilst working closely with both Commonwealth and state agencies and outreach services to support our clients and team members,” a letter from Chief Executive Colin Singh to the Arcare Community said.
“I want to assure you that, whilst we hoped that this would not happen again, we are well prepared, and our infection control practices put us in a good place to manage this outbreak effectively.”
Mr Singh added “a significant number” of residents at the facility had received their first dose of the Covid vaccine.
Arcare Maidstone is in lockdown, and all clients are self-isolating in their rooms.
Workers from the aged care home are wearing full PPE.
The aged care worker was one of the five cases confirmed by the Department of Health on Sunday.
Olivia Caisley10.40am:‘Melbourne Cup’s a race, vaccine rollout is not’
Trade Minister Dan Tehan has refused to call the vaccine rollout a race amid Labor accusations that mixed messaging had contributed to vaccine hesitancy.
Mr Tehan today defended acting prime minister Michael McCormack on ABC’s Insiders after the Nationals leader repeated Scott Morrison’s comments that the vaccine rollout was not a race
“You don’t describe a vaccine rollout as a race. The Melbourne Cup is a race, the Stawell Gift is a race,” Mr Tehan said. “When it comes to a vaccine, what we need to do is make sure we can get as many people vaccinated as quickly as we possibly can.”
As Victoria struggled through a fourth lockdown since the outbreak of the pandemic, Mr Tehan refused to give a guarantee the Morrison government would provide income support to those affected. The recent outbreak in Victoria is the first major lockdown since JobKeeper ended.
“The Victorian state government have said that they are going to announce some funding for business today so we will wait and see,” Mr Tehan said. “Let’s wait and see what that funding provides and obviously we will continue to have discussions with the Victorian state government and we will continue to monitor the situation.”
READ MORE:Dennis Shanahan — Labor lost in the fog as PM exploits win
Remy Varga9.30am:Victoria records five new locally-acquired cases
Victoria has recorded five new locally-acquired Covid-19 cases and one case in hotel quarantine, the state’s health department has reported.
Those five new cases came after 45,301 test results were received, while 17,702 vaccine doses were also administered yesterday.
Sunday’s cases bring the total linked to the cluster to 40. Victoria remains under a statewide lockdown until at least 11.59pm Thursday.
Reported yesterday: 5 new local cases and 1 new case acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 29, 2021
- 17,702 vaccine doses were administered
- 45,301 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/oY3nril3sL
Frances Vinall9.25am:Chadstone shops, restaurants named as exposure sites
Shops and restaurants at Melbourne’s biggest shopping centre, Chadstone, have been added to the list of exposure sites in Victoria.
A person infected with Covid-19 visited the shopping centre on Wednesday, May 26, between 11.30am and 2pm.
Anyone who was at Chadstone on Wednesday around lunchtime must get tested urgently and isolate until they receive a negative result.
Yokozuna restaurant in the complex has been marked a Tier 1 exposure site, meaning anyone who dined there 11.30am and 12pm on Wednesday must get tested immediately and begin quarantining for 14 days.
Tier 2 exposure sites at Chadstone on Thursday are Optus, Bakers Delight and Woolworths.
Other new exposure sites added by the Victorian Department of Health on Friday include the LaTrobe University Library on Tuesday, and locations in Braeside, Cragieburn, Epping, Fingal, Glen Iris, Mernda, Mickleham, South Yarra, St Kilda, and Thomastown.
One of the latest areas of concern is the Mornington Peninsula’s busiest tourist attraction.
The Peninsula Hot Springs at Fingal was added to the Tier 1 exposure list on Friday, eight days after an infectious person visited the reception area between 3pm and 3.45pm on May 21.
The Hot Springs closed for business on Thursday, May 27 and posted a notice on its website and social media advising customers it was “pressing pause on operations from 10pm, May 27 until 8am, June 4”.
On Saturday afternoon, further exposure site additions put the list at more than 150 venues.
Victorians have been urged to check the state government’s website for the full and frequently changing list.
READ MORE:Contact fears amid QR delays
Olivia Caisley9.10am:Fitzgibbon wants Albanese to ‘adjust the narrative’
Labor backbencher Joel Fitzgibbon wants opposition leader Anthony Albanese to adjust the party’s narrative and policy settings to give Labor a better chance of winning the next election.
Mr Fitzgibbon told Sky News that he backed Mr Albanese as leader but adjustments needed to be made to the party’s policy to better appeal to voters.
“I think we’ve had enough revolving doors. We’ve invested in him now. He’s well known. He has had two years to make himself,” he said.
“ … My campaign is about persuading Anthony Albanese to adjust the narrative in a way and adjust the policy settings, and our policy responses to government legislation, which gives us a better chance of winning the next election. Indeed, which gives him a better chance of becoming Prime Minister.”
Mr Fitzgibbon also called out “excessive unity” in the party, declaring that while division “could be death” some members felt like they were unable to disagree or express their views.
“We can get to a situation where people are so obsessed with unity that people no longer feel they are able to disagree and you know that the parliamentary caucus is a forum now which is basically a public forum and people feel unable to express their views,” he said.
Mr Fitzgibbon said being a backbencher was the only opportunity to express a view.
“When people no longer feel able to talk about the elections, as I have been doing, then we are in real trouble,” he said.
Earlier this week, Mr Fitzgibbon warned last weekend’s state Upper Hunter by-election — in which NSW Labor’s primary vote slid backwards 7 per cent — was a wake up call for the party.
The member for Hunter said he didn’t think he would lose the seat at the next federal election despite suffering a swing against him at the May 2019 poll.
“I don’t think I could lose the seat. I’m not complacent about it in any sense, but I’ve been there a long time. I’ve worked hard. People know what I stand for. I always stand up for my community, and I believe they stick with me,” he said.
Earlier on Sky News, Acting Prime Minister and Nationals leader Michael McCormack backed-in his party’s newly preselected candidate for the Hunter, James Thompson, describing him as an outstanding community member.
“He has been working for that community and for the education system for many, many years, a great nationalist candidate and (I am) very much looking forward to campaigning with him, as we work towards the next election,” Mr McCormack said.
READ MORE:Troy Bramston — Labor must regain blue-collar trust
Olivia Caisley8.30am:Vaccine rollout must be ‘systematic’: McCormack
Acting Prime Minister Michael McCormack has defended Scott Morrison’s comments that the “vaccine rollout is not a race” amid criticism the government’s messaging has increased vaccine hesitancy amid a fourth lockdown in Victoria.
Speaking on Sky News on Sunday, Mr McCormack doubled down on the Prime Minister’s comments, declaring the nation was in a good position and vaccine rates were steadily increasing.
“Well it’s not a race, it has to be systematic, it has to be rolled out in a way that Australians obviously need to know that they have to get the jab,” he said.
“But we can’t have everybody going and getting it at the same time and that’s why there has been a phase-in system.
“That’s why 130,000 Australians got the job yesterday, 120,000 the day before.”
Mr McCormack said 4.1 million doses had been delivered already and he encouraged Australians to get the jab when it was their time to do so.
READ MORE:Editorial — Shame on merciless bureaucrats
Jon Ralph7am:How long will Victoria be without footy?
Victoria looks set to be without football next weekend as the AFL’s evacuation plans ramp up in the midst of the state’s fourth COVID-19 lockdown.
Carlton has been told it will stay in Sydney to take on West Coast at the SCG instead of the MCG next Sunday, while Richmond could end up spending most of a wintry June living in sunny Perth.
The Eagles have not won at the SCG this century, going 0-9 since 1999.
Even if Victoria’s seven-day lockdown proves successful, club bosses are aware that the latest virus outbreak will have brutal financial implications because large crowds at the MCG and Marvel Stadium won’t be allowed again for some time.
Sydney’s only AFL-free scheduled weekend of the season could morph into a Friday-Saturday-Sunday triple-header, with the league considering relocating three Round 12 games to the Harbour City.
Read the full story here.
Daniel Sankey5.15am:Masks to stay after Victorian lockdown ends
Strict mask rules and indoor crowd limits are likely to remain in Victoria as fears grow the current lockdown could extend beyond seven days.
As Victoria’s list of exposure sites topped 150, health officials are still trying to contact hundreds of people yet to return test results.
Five new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19 were recorded yesterday, bringing the total number of active cases in the community to 35. Four of the new cases were from the Whittlesea area who were close contacts of a worker at a Port Melbourne food business, who was the fifth case.
Asked yesterday whether Victoria’s fourth lockdown would end on Thursday night as planned, Health Minister Martin Foley said it was “a day by day proposition”.
“What we have been clear and upfront on every day is that each day we review (the situation) based on the intelligence and material we have got before us,” he said.
In what Premier Daniel Andrews previously called his “insurance policy”, The Sunday Herald Sun today reported that mask rules on most indoor activities were likely to remain after the lockdown.
READ MORE:Exposure sites reveal Victoria’s Covid-19 web
Rhiannon Tuffield5am:Thousands rush to get vaccine in Victoria
Queues at Victorian vaccination hubs reached breaking point yesterday with some people turned away and others forced to wait up to seven hours for a jab.
Due to the huge surge in demand for the vaccine in Victoria, the state’s coronavirus hotline also crashed for the third day in a row.
Almost 80,000 people attempted to call the hotline in the space of 15 minutes on Friday, after the government expanded vaccine eligibility to people over 40.
An extra 600 people have also been hired due to the influx of calls, but an online booking system has not yet been launched.
Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton thanked Victorians on Twitter for showing up to get tested.
Thank you, thank you, thank you all testing sites, path labs and everyone who stepped up to test. Remember, you can still test during this lockdown. Mildest of symptoms? Just test. https://t.co/3fuj39dbG4
— Chief Health Officer, Victoria (@VictorianCHO) May 28, 2021
Read the full story here.
Rhiannon Down4.45am:‘All Pfizer doses should be sent to Melbourne’
Epidemiologist and WHO adviser Mary-Louise McLaws has urged authorities to boost vaccination efforts and send all available doses of the Pfizer vaccine to locked-down Melbourne whilst it struggles to contain an outbreak of coronavirus.
She said much about the more infectious Indian variant B1617.2 strain remained unknown.
“It is still highly transmissible, but we don’t know how much more,” she told the ABC.
“It’s wise to be careful and it’s wise for people to go and get vaccinated as soon as possible.
The variant is believed to be behind the outbreak in Melbourne, which plunged the state into its fourth lockdown, growing to 35 cases on Saturday.
“I would have liked to have seen all of Australia donate its Pfizer to Melbourne,” Professor McLaws said.
“Because there’s only 21 days between the first and the second dose. When you start getting a good immune response after that second dose, and quite frankly, this could go on for enough time to get that second dose.
“If it’s anything like the Northern Beaches where it went on for 32 days.
READ MORE:Vaccination remains our ticket out of Covid-19
Rhiannon Down4.30am:Melbourne ‘freedom’ protesters arrested, slammed
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has slammed anti-lockdown “freedom” protesters who gathered in Melbourne’s CBD at midday, leading to several arrests.
Police clashed with protesters at Flagstaff Gardens, where they formed a ring of steel to disperse those gathering in the city park.
At least three people were arrested.
“Look, the virus does not respond to protests, the virus responds to public health measures,” he said.
“There are five legal reasons to leave your home. Protesting against a virus is not going to work. “And if you do, you are breaching the public health orders and Victoria Police will hold you to account for that, and that involves significant fines.”
Under Victoria’s stage three restrictions, attending a public protest is not permitted and can attract a $1652 fine.
READ MORE:Cameron Stewart — Melbourne our most liveable city? Not by a longshot
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