Coronavirus Australia live news: NSW on alert over Victorian case
A Victorian has tested positive for Covid-19 after returning home from NSW, putting a number of sites on high alert.
- Victoria set for jab blitz
- Aged care case linked, ‘stranger-to-stranger’ infections
- Victoria records three new cases
- ‘Lockdown must go for 14 days’
- Elderly at risk over relaxed rule
- OECD urges faster vaccinations
Welcome to live coverage of the latest news in Australia’s battle with the Covid-19 pandemic. For the latest in federal and state politics, our dedicated blog PoliticsNow is live here.
Victoria will begin a five-day blitz to fast-track aged care worker vaccinations as concern grows over ‘stranger-to-stranger’ infections.Victoria has recorded three new cases of coronavirus, as residents are warned to prepare for an extension to the state’s Covid-19 lockdown with ‘ring of steel’ restrictions a possibility.
Rachel Baxendale9.25pm:New exposure sites in two states
A positive coronavirus case visited a string of sites in NSW and Victoria over nine days of potential infectiousness, authorities in both states have confirmed.
Health departments in both states issued late-night statements, detailing a series of exposure sites.
NSW
Sunday, May 23:
● Cooked Goose Cafe (formerly Hyams Beach cafe), Hyams Beach, 10am-12pm
● Coles Vincentia Shopping Village, Vincentia, 12pm-1pm
● Green Patch Camp Ground, Booderee National Park, Jervis Bay, all day, until 9am Monday
Monday, May 24:
● Shell Coles Express, Big Merino, Goulburn, 10am-11:30am
● Trapper’s Bakery, Goulburn, 10:30am-11:30am
Victoria
*People who have visited Tier 1 sites must test and isolate and for 14 days regardless of test result, while those who have visited Tier 2 sites must isolate until they receive a negative result.
Monday, May 24:
● BP Truckstop, Southbound Carriageway, Hume Freeway, Glenrowan, 4pm-4:30pm (Tier 2)
● BP Euroa, Euroa, 5pm to 6pm (Tier 1)
● BP Truckstop, Wallan, 6:45pm to 7:15pm (Tier 2)
Tuesday, May 25:
● GTA Consultants, Level 24 and Level 25, 55 Collins St, Melbourne (Tier 1)
Saturday, May 30:
● Officeworks, QV Centre Russell St, Melbourne, 10:40am-11:19am (Tier 2)
● Coles Spencer St Outlet, 201 Spencer St, Docklands, 12pm-1pm (Tier 1)
Sunday, May 31:
● Male public toilets, 225 Bourke St, Melbourne, 1pm-2:30pm (Tier 2)
NSW Health is advising anyone who visited any sites in that state during the times listed to please call them on 1800 943 553, get tested and isolate until they receive further information from NSW Health.
“NSW Health is continuing to investigate the movements of this case in and around Jervis Bay, and the list of venues is likely to be updated,” the department said.
Victorian health authorities are working closely with NSW Health to test, trace and isolate the contacts of a newly-identified positive case.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 1, 2021
The individual is from Victoria and travelled to New South Wales, returning to Melbourne on 24 May.
[1/7]
Nicholas Jensen9.10pm: NSW south coast exposure sites
NSW Health has been advised by the Victorian Department of Health that a confirmed case of Covid-19 from Melbourne was in Jervis Bay, Goulburn, Hyams Beach and Vincentia while potentially infectious on May 23 and 24.
The person, who reported the onset of symptoms on May 25 and was tested on Monday, returned to Melbourne on May 24.
NSW Health is asking anyone who attended the following venues to get tested and isolate until you receive further information.
Sunday, May 23
● Cooked Goose Cafe, 76 Cyrus Street, Hyams Beach, 10am-12pm
● Green Patch Campground, Booderee National Park, Jervis Bay (all day)
● Coles Vincentia Shopping Village, 21 The Wool Road, 10-10.20am
Monday, May 24
● Green Patch Campground, Booderee National Park, Jervis Bay, until 9am
● Shell Coles Express, Big Merino,1/3 Sowerby Street, Goulburn, 10-11:30am
● Trapper’s Bakery, 4 Sowerby Street, Goulburn, 10.30-11.30am
NSW Health says they are continuing to investigate the movements of this case in and around Jervis Bay, with the list of venues expected to increase.
Remy Varga 9pm: NSW alert over Victorian case
A Victorian has tested positive for Covid-19 after returning home from NSW, putting a number of sites on high alert.
In a late-night tweet thread, Victoria’s Health Department said the individual returned home to Melbourne on May 24.
A number of popular regional NSW tourist destinations, including Jervis Bay and Goulburn, have been identified as exposure sites.
Victorian health authorities are working closely with NSW Health to test, trace and isolate the contacts of a newly-identified positive case.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 1, 2021
The individual is from Victoria and travelled to New South Wales, returning to Melbourne on 24 May.
[1/7]
Nicholas Jensen8.30pm:Murphy confident in vaccine supply
The Health Secretary says the government remains confident in its supply of vaccines, despite the fact that Moderna has yet to lodge its application to the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
Appearing before Tuesday’s Estimates, Brendan Murphy said there was “no reason to suspect there won’t be supply” of the Moderna vaccine, indicating TGA approval would not be an obstacle to its deployment.
“We can’t pre-empt the TGA’s decision but it has been given approval by many similar, competent regulatory authorities ... there doesn’t seem to be a likely reason why it would not be (approved).”
Dr Murphy emphasised that Moderna was a reliable supplier, saying “they’re a company like Pfizer that doesn’t make a commitment unless they are confident in their global supply chain to deliver it”.
“They haven’t delivered to many countries outside the US until just recently, but we’re confident that we will get a small amount in quarter three, and then most of that 10 million in quarter four.”
Labor Senator Murray Watts asked whether it was feasible to expect Moderna to be ready to inject “into people’s arms in September”.
Dr Murphy said the current timeframe “is perfectly acceptable ... The documentation has already been prepared for many similar, like-minded regulators”.
Senator Watts also asked when Australians can expect delivery and rollout of the Novavax vaccine, prompting Dr Murphy to say its delivery was “less certain than Moderna” because it was yet to gain approval in any other country.
“It is less certain because internationally their production has not reached the scale of Moderna,” he said.
“We know it’s a highly successful vaccine, it is being produced to be put in arms in the UK in the middle of the year and they are going through the regulatory process … They will come.”
“We’ve had plenty of vaccines to cover the population this year and this vaccine (Novavax) is another redundancy and we will likely need more vaccines in following years and so we are always making sure we’ve got a significant redundant supply.”
READ MORE:Big rate decisions locked in for July
Remy Varga8pm:Exposure sites re-examined for Indian strain
The rapid transmission of the Indian strain of Covid-19 has forced health authorities to re-examine more than 300 exposure sites, Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says.
“I’ve described this virus as an absolute beast because it has moved faster than any other strain we’ve dealt with and we’re seeing transmission in settings and circumstances we’ve never seen before,” he said on Tuesday.
“This means we’re having to re-examine exposure sites, more than 300 of them, with this more contagious strain in mind.”
“We can’t underestimate this challenge. We are trying to do something nobody has had to do before — drive down the most challenging variant we’ve ever seen. And we’re doing it with a largely unvaccinated population.
“If this strain is allowed to circulate unchecked as it has in other countries, many people will die.”
READ MORE: ‘The big four have betrayed regions’
Rachel Baxendale7.30pm: Ministers weigh longer lockdown
Victoria is preparing to extend its lockdown by up to a week.
Senior Andrews government ministers and health officials were meeting on Tuesday night to discuss the increasingly likely extension.
While no decision had been made regarding the length of the lockdown — which is due to end on Thursday night — it is understood the timing of the Queen’s Birthday long weekend from June 12 to 14 is a consideration.
A final decision is expected to be announced on Wednesday.
The speed with which the Indian B.1.617.1 variant of the virus has been moving has been cited as a particular concern.
READ MORE:Foley unmasked as SA thrown under bus
Henry Zeffman 7pm:UK jabs give false sense of safety
Vaccination success is giving Britons a “false sense of security” in the battle against the Indian variant, a leading scientist has said as the government insists that it expected cases to rise.
Professor Ravi Gupta, of Cambridge University, who is a member of the government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), urged Boris Johnson to delay the June 21 reopening by a matter of weeks amid growing fears about Covid-19 numbers.
“There’s been exponential growth in the number of new cases and at least three quarters of them are the new variant,” Professor Gupta told the BBC.
“Of course the numbers of cases are still relatively low at the moment but all waves start with low numbers of cases, and that rumble in the background, and then become explosive.
“So the key here is what we’re seeing is the signs of an early wave. It will probably take longer than previous waves to emerge because of the fact that we do have quite high levels of vaccination in the population, so there may be a false sense of security for some time – and that’s our concern.”
On Monday (Tuesday AEST) 3383 new Covid cases were reported in the UK, making a total of 23,418 over the past week – an increase of 28.8 per cent over the previous week. There was one new death within 28 days of a positive test, with the weekly tally of 58 up 45 per cent on the previous week. There were 133 hospital admissions, and the weekly figure of 870 represented a 23.2 per cent increase.
Paul Garvey6.20pm: Sailor now recovered from Covid
A sailor who sparked fears of a fresh Covid-19 outbreak aboard a cargo ship berthed at a port in Perth’s south has now been confirmed as a historical case.
WA chief health officer Andy Robertson announced on Tuesday afternoon that the sailor was now negative for Covid-19. The update came just hours after Premier Mark McGowan said a sailor who had been moved to a Perth hospital had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Mr McGowan had warned there was a significant chance that some of the other 22 crew on board the vessel were likely to also test positive and had called for the commonwealth government to allow the ship to set sail from WA.
But Dr Robertson said additional testing had shown that the man was negative and would be discharged from hospital and sent back to his ship, a chemical tanker called the Allegra, on Tuesday. Dr Robertson said the sailor had had the virus in April in The Philippines, resulting in the detection during the latest test.
While the risks from the Allegra have passed, Dr Robertson revealed there had been another case of airborne Covid-19 infection within the state’s hotel quarantine system.
A quarantine guest at the Pan Pacific Hotel has been found to have contracted the same strain as a Covid-positive guest who had travelled to Australia from Colombia via the US.
The Pan Pacific is the same hotel where a security guard contracted the virus last month.
Health authorities said 12 other people on the same floor as the infected guests had all tested negative, but will be retested again on the third and seventh days after they leave hotel quarantine.
The latest transmission between quarantine hotel rooms comes as Perth prepares to welcome its first repatriation flight from India on Wednesday.
READ MORE:Foley unmasked as SA thrown under bus
Erin Lyons 5.50pm:Australia falls further behind in Covid vaccination rankings
New data reveals Australia is falling further behind with its Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Australia fell five places in the last month from fifth to 10th among 14 nations benchmarked by the Australian Department of Health.
Germany, France, Italy and Belgium all leapfrogged Australia in the monthly standings. The data compares each nation at the same point in their vaccination rollouts, taking into account when each country started administering Covid jabs.
Findings from the May edition of Provocate’s VaxEnomicTM Forecaster revealed lower ranked countries like New Zealand, South Korea, Canada and Japan grew at double the pace of Australia during their third month of the rollout.
But Australia’s average daily vaccination rate did increase by 10,000 to 58,000 during May.
Provocate managing director Troy Bilsborough said this was well down on the 200,000 daily vaccinations needed to meet the government’s target of finishing the rollout by the end of the year.
READ the full story here.
James Hall 5.20pm:SA police commissioner hints at further restrictions
South Australian authorities have warned the state faces further Covid-19 restrictions amid the escalating outbreak in Victoria.
The state’s Transition Committee, which was tasked with monitoring policies through the post-pandemic phase, on Tuesday debated the possibility of reintroducing restrictions to reduce the threat of another outbreak.
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said the committee discussed the possible “trigger points” threatening the state as Victoria recorded nine new infections on Tuesday.
“We can’t ignore the fact that there is a very concerning situation in Victoria, particularly in Greater Melbourne, and the number of exposure sites is significant and over 300,” he told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
READ the full story here.
Nicholas Jensen 5.05pm:‘We don’t want to be the US on vaccine ads’
Deputy Health Secretary John Skerritt has said the government should be circumspect about the use of corporate advertising and incentives to encourage people to get their Covid-19 vaccination.
Asked whether the government should be pursuing a more rigorous campaign of advertising and incentives to promote vaccine uptake, Dr Skerritt told Estimates that the government needs to carefully consider the balance between company advertising and the public’s health priorities.
“Our role from a policy point of view, is not whether the government or individual companies wish to offer incentives,” he said.
“We don’t want to become the United States when it comes to advertising medicines, but we also don’t want to stand in the way of encouraging people to be vaccinated.”
“As a regulator of advertising, one thing we have undertaken to do … is to make sure that any incentives that are offered by companies do not contradict the legal requirements for advertising.”
Greens Senator Rachel Siewert asked Dr Skerritt if any measures had been undertaken by the government to date.
“On the one hand you’d be silly to stand in the way of encouraging people to get vaccinated. But I don’t think we’re wanting people to either get free beer, a bucket of rice or an umbrella … We need to balance the public health outcome of getting vaccinated against a silly thing like ‘you get a set of steak knives if you go out and get AstraZeneca’.”
Dr Skerritt also said there had been five industry complaints about some of the promotional material associated with the government’s vaccine rollout. But added that the government continues to discuss advertising and incentives with a host of companies.
“We are saying to individual companies that if you want to do this, come and talk to us and we’d be happy to check your proposed advertising materials,” he said.
Health Secretary Brendan Murphy responded to Senator Siewert’s question, saying “at the moment we’re focusing on trying to get people to take up vaccines, but something could be considered down the track if necessary.”
READ MORE:Virus contacts refusing to isolate
Richard Ferguson 4.45pm:Government ‘helping’ interpreters seeking to flee Taliban
The Morrison government is considering visa applications from Afghani interpreters and workers for Australian forces ahead of the September withdrawal.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne was pushed on help for Afghan interpreters in senate estimates, amid reports on Tuesday that the United States and Britain are set to announce programs to take on thousands of Afghan refugees once the military intervention ends.
Senator Payne did not announce a new program for Afghani interpreters wishing to flee the Taliban, but said the government was helping those who had put in visa applications.
“This is an ongoing process for this government … it’s one we have been dealing with for some time,” Senator Payne said.
“We are very seized of this, I spoke with officials in Kabul about it myself. And the application process is one which we’re very familiar with.”
Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong called on the Morrison government to make a firmer commitment to people who have assisted Australian troops during the 20-year-long war.
“We’ve got a duty of care to people who have helped keep our troops safe at some risk to themselves. These (Afghani citizens) are friends of Australia,” Senator Wong said.
READ MORE:Visa rush for Afghan allies amid Taliban fear
Olivia Caisley3.10pm:‘It’s not a race’ no longer applies: Murphy
Health Secretary Brendan Murphy has conceded he was the first public official to say the vaccine rollout is “not a race,” but said the phrase is no longer helpful or applicable considering the commonwealth vaccination program is now in train.
He said he made the comments in the context of the Therapeutic Goods Association not having to rush the approval process to get Covid-19 vaccines to the public.
“It’s not a race in the sense that we’re not competing against anyone else,” he told Senate Estimates on Tuesday, explaining the rollout was “something we need to do as quickly as we safely can.”
His warning that the phrase was no longer useful comes two days after Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said the vaccination rollout was not a race when quizzed about the sluggish pace of vaccine distribution.
Asked by Labor Senator Murray Watt about how he felt about being “thrown under a bus” by Scott Morrison in Question Time, Professor Murphy said he didn’t feel like he had been hung out to dry.
Asked about the phrase in Question Time the Prime Minister said he stood by his comments that Australia didn’t need to rush the rollout, declaring he was referencing a statement first made by Department of Health secretary Brendan Murphy.
“I affirm the remarks of the Secretary of Health because all the way through this pandemic, one of the key factors that both our government and the governments around the country and indeed governments in other countries, is that we have always been mindful of the expert advice informing the decisions that we have taken,” Mr Morrison told parliament.
READ the full story here.
Adesola Ore1.55pm:Hunt apologises for aged-care vaccinations number ‘error’
Health Minister Greg Hunt has conceded he made a mistake about the number of aged-care facilities yet to receive a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine.
On Monday, Mr Hunt said there were only six aged care facilities in Australia that were yet to receive a dose. But at Senate estimates the Department of Health revealed the number of nursing homes completely unvaccinated, as of yesterday, was 21.
“I did make an error yesterday. My mistake. My apologies,” Mr Hunt said.
“Nobody else’s fault but mine. The department’s advice was correct and the misreading was my fault.”
READ MORE:Hunt caught citing incorrect vaccination figures
Joseph Lam1.55pm:Mystery or not, contact tracing crucial: Weimar
Victoria’s Covid-19 testing chief says there are no mystery cases of the virus in the state.
“Every case we have has been linked to either City of Whittlesea or Port Melbourne or Arcare Maidstone,” Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said.
“And they are part of the South Australia hotel quarantine.”
While Mr Weimar said he was confident there would not be a mystery case, he aired concerns about the state’s most recent case which has not been directly linked to an exposure site.
“Look, we have a case today we didn’t know about yesterday that wasn’t a primary close contact. I don’t like mystery cases because it is a cause for concern that if someone out of our network only to find out and contact trees from scratch, find their exposure sites,” he said.
“My concern around one case identified in the last 24 hours is they were not known to us beforehand.”
“They connected him to the outbreak but now have to go back three, four or five days and see if there is another risk of exposure.”
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Paul Garvey1.35pm:McGowan pushes for ship with infected sailor to leave
WA premier Mark McGowan has urged the federal government to allow a ship docked at Kwinana to set sail, after a sailor from the vessel tested positive for Covid-19.
Mr McGowan on Tuesday said a crew member had left the Allegra chemical tanker on Sunday and headed to a Perth hospital with non-Covid symptoms.
He was subsequently found to be positive for the virus, and is now in hotel quarantine in Perth.
Mr McGowan said the Allegra, which has 22 crew on board and is fully loaded and provisioned, is ready to sail for Malaysia but has not received Commonwealth approval under the Australian Maritime Safety Authority.
With a repatriation flight from India due to land in Perth tomorrow, Mr McGowan said he wanted to see the ship leave given the likelihood that other crew members on board may also contract the virus.
“I don’t want to put any more pressure on our hotel quarantine system,” he said.
“I’d like the ship to sail as soon as possible.”
Both the sailor and the health personnel who took him to hospital were wearing full PPE.
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Joseph Lam1.35pm:ADF doorknocks net quarantine breakers
Covid-19 Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar says a small number of Victorians are not complying with compulsory quarantine.
As of Monday, the number of people directed to isolate at home was just above the number of primary and secondary contacts identified by Victorian health authorities.
When the ADF completed its compulsory door knock checks to several hundred homes, a “small handful” were not present, Mr Weimar said.
“We checked on physically 723 addresses yesterday with support from our colleagues in the ADF,” he said.
“We found eight individuals of real concern yesterday not where they should have been. They are being followed up through our enforcement division.”
Mr Weimar said the ADF had strengthened Victoria’s home visit program and they had found most people “doing the right thing”.
“The report on the ground was very strong, we are seeing very good compliance.”
READ MORE:Hunt caught citing incorrect vaccination figures
Joseph Lam1.20pm:Aged care case linked, ‘stranger-to-stranger’ infections
Of the three new Covid-19 cases recorded in Victoria on Tuesday, one has authorities concerned.
Victoria Health Minister Martin Foley confirmed two cases were primary close contacts who tested positive in hotel quarantine.
“One is still under investigation. They are not only a contact and are not directly linked to any exposure site but there is very close proximity to that exposure site and we are confident the investigation ongoing will uncover further crossover,” Mr Foley said.
“I can update Victorians that the aged care case yesterday, the first one, the Arcare worker, the genomic sequencing has confirmed that that case is directly linked to the South Australian hotel outbreak quarantine.”
Victoria Covid-19 Testing Commander Jeroen Weimar said one case which was not previously known had him worried.
“My concern around one case identified in the last 24 hours is they were not known to us beforehand and that means he has done the right thing, coming forward to get tested because he felt a bit crook. They connected him to the outbreak but now have to go back three, four, five days and see if there is another risk of exposure.”
He said there was growing concern over ‘stranger-to-stranger’ contact.
“What we’re seeing now is people are brushing past each other in a small shop, they are going to a display home, they are looking at phones in a Telstra shop.
“This is relatively speaking, relatively fleeting. They do not know each other’s names, and that is very different from what we have been before.”
Olivia Caisley12.58pm:End state-commonwealth blame game: aged care head
The head of Aged Care and Community Services Australia has called for an end to “blame shifting” between the states and commonwealth, declaring the priority should be urgently administering vaccines to residential and home care workers as Victoria experiences a spate of nursing home outbreaks.
ACSA chair Sarah Blunt said Covid-19 vaccines should be available at convenient workplace locations to increase the number of inoculated workers.
It comes as Health Minister Greg Hunt was caught citing incorrect figures regarding the number of aged care workers that are vaccinated and the number of nursing homes across the nation yet to receive a jab.
“If the Covid-19 vaccine is available at workplaces then we’ll see a significant pick up and improvements to coverage in aged care quickly,” Ms Blunt said. “The main issue right now is not whether the vaccine is mandatory, it’s whether workers can get easy access.”
She called on the government to stop blaming providers or workers when the roll out is its responsibility and said it was crucial everyone worked together to protect the nation’s vulnerable.
“In Victoria in-particular workers right now will be primarily concerned with the immediate health of the older people in their care and also themselves and their families,” she said.
“As we saw in the first Covid crisis when governments work together we can achieve effective results. Both levels of government working together to get vaccines to aged care workers is needed now we have community spread.”
Joseph Lam12.55pm:Victoria set for five-day jab blitz
Victoria has called on all aged-care workers in the state to join in a mass vaccination blitz for five days.
Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers Luke Donnellan announced the blitz on Tuesday, which is set to begin on Wednesday and be completed on Sunday.
“This is very much a call to arms of those workers on the frontline to come out and we will give you a priority lane so it makes it quicker and easier to get through it in a speedier time because we very much want to ensure we are protecting those people and the aged care facilities and stability sector from Covid-19,” Mr Donnellan said.
Vaccines will be administered across 11 mass hubs from Bendigo to Traralgon.
“The following vaccination hubs are participating in the five-day blitz including the Royal Exhibition Royal Exhibition Building, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sandown racecourse, the Melbourne Showgrounds, former Ford factory in Geelong, Bendigo community clinic, Ballarat Mercure Hotel and convention centre, Shepparton Showgrounds, that Macintosh centre, to Traralgon Racecourse and the Wodonga vaccination hub,” Mr Donnellan said.
Olivia Caisley12.45pm:Labor blasts ‘breathtaking, deceptive incompetence’
Labor’s aged care services spokeswoman Clare O’Neil has blasted the Morrison government for failing in its vaccination program across the nation’s nursing homes, declaring it must deliver a detailed plan with clear vaccine targets as lives are at risk.
She blasted Health Minister Greg Hunt for getting his figures wrong on Monday when he suggested only six aged care facilities across the nation were yet to receive a dose and indicated that 70,000 workers had received a jab.
Senate Estimates on Tuesday heard there were 21 unvaccinated facilities across Australia, not six, and roughly 70,000 doses administered, not total workers vaccinated.
“Greg Hunt told the public yesterday that roughly 70,000 aged care workers had been vaccinated,” she said. “The truth revealed in Estimates by Health officials today is that number is less than half – about 32,800.”
Ms O’Neil said less than 10 per cent of the aged care workforce had been vaccinated as part of the commonwealth’s in-reach program.
“The level of deceptive incompetence of this government and the minster responsible for aged care is utterly breathtaking,” she said. “Their negligence in aged care is callous, cruel and dangerous. Victorians in particular right now must surely be disgusted.”
Olivia Caisley12.42pm:Very few disabled Australians in care vaccinated
Just 355 people out of the 22,285 Australians with disabilities living in residential care are fully vaccinated, Senate estimates has heard.
There have been 3145 people who have had one dose.
Olivia Caisley12.29pm:Hunt caught citing incorrect vaccine figures
Health Minister Greg Hunt has been caught citing incorrect figures regarding the number of aged care workers that are vaccinated and the number of nursing homes across the nation yet to receive a jab.
On Monday Mr Hunt said there were only six aged care facilities in Australia that were yet to receive a dose and indicated that 70,000 workers had received a jab.
“In terms of workforce, around the country what we have is just over 70,000,” he said. “With a proportionate amount of Victorians that have been identified as aged care workers through the commonwealth in-reach program and approximately a quarter of that 70,000 are Victorians.”
But new Department of Health data shows just 32,833 of the aged care workforce consisting of roughly 350,000 employees have received both jabs as part of the commonwealth’s vaccination program. Across the nation 39,974 workers have received just one jab through the scheme.
In Victoria, which is under lockdown and experiencing outbreaks in a number of nursing homes, just 8000 employees have received two doses through the commonwealth’s in-reach program. Last year’s Victorian outbreak resulted in the deaths of 655 residents.
Department of Health Assistant Secretary Caroline Edwards told the hearing vaccination rates may be higher as indicated by the fresh data as workers may have opted to have received a jab outside of the commonwealth’s program.
“Can we be clear, this is the minimum number based on a single program of four channels,” Ms Edwards said.
She said the department was operating on the proviso there 230,000 workers in the sector.
However, Labor Senator Murray Watt seized on her testimony, declaring the actual workforce was closer to 350,000 when you include those not working in personal care such as chefs and cleaners.
Ms Edwards said the department was surveying providers for the total numbers of workers vaccinated through other channels such as GPs and state hubs. The data will be published through an online portal on Friday.
It was also heard that 21 nursing homes across Australia and not six as Mr Hunt suggested, are still unvaccinated.
“As of today, there will be six facilities in the whole of the country which require a first dose and that will occur within the coming days,” Mr Hunt said on Monday.
Asked by Senator Watt who in the department advised Mr Hunt of the incorrect figure, Ms Edwards said: “I’m not aware of anyone who gave that information.”
She conceded the vast majority of vaccinations among aged care staff were the responsibility of the commonwealth.
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Rachel Baxendale11.39am:Victoria’s daily Covid briefing set for 12.30pm
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley is due to provide a coronavirus update at 12:30pm, alongside Disability, Ageing and Carers Minister Luke Donnellan and Covid-19 logistics commander Jeroen Weimar.
The update comes after Victoria recorded nine new cases of community-acquired coronavirus in the 24 hours to midnight, including six disclosed on Monday, bringing the total number of cases acquired in the community since the Whittlesea cluster was discovered last week to 55.
You can watch the press conference live from 12.30pm in the video player at the top of this blog.
READ MORE:PoliticsNow – Aged care vaccination facts elude minister in hot seat
Olivia Caisley10.57am:Minister unable to say who is responsible for aged care jabs
Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck has been unable to say who is responsible for vaccinating aged care workers.
During a heated exchange Senator Colbeck was questioned by Labor Senator Katy Gallagher about who was in charge of the rollout.
“Are you responsible, yes or no?” she asked, to which Senator Colbeck replied: “It’s not a yes or no answer.”
Senator Colbeck said it was a “combined” program between the commonwealth and the states.
Earlier, he was unable to provide a figure about how many workers in Victoria had received a jab because he did not have a state and territory breakdown.
This was seized upon by Labor as more than 80 per cent of infections among elderly residents during Victoria’s second wave last year came from aged care workers.
Overall, approximately 70,000 aged care workers out of the 240,000-strong sector, have received a jab.
READ MORE:New names for mutant strains
Joseph Lam10.50am:‘No process for accurate vaccine data in aged care’
Leading Aged Care Services chief executive Sean Rooney says Australia lacks a process which would allow for accurate recording of aged-care staff and resident vaccines in the Australian Immunisation Register.
“In that register there is no field to record if you’re an aged-care resident or an aged-care worker,” Mr Rooney said.
“We know that it’s a requirement for aged-care homes to record immunisations for their residents and their staff but there’s no process, notwithstanding our request for it, currently in place for the government to be able to report that at a state level, a national level or even a site level.”
Mr Rooney said his company has written to ministers on several occasions about changing the reporting standard and would again today go back to the government with this request.
He added the implementation of a mandatory vaccination program is “nothing new” for aged-care homes.
Mr Rooney said such programs already existed and had been effective when rolled out with medical precautions in mind.
“Mandatory vaccination in aged care, we do that already for seasonal influenza,” Mr Rooney said.
“It’s nothing new to be implemented as long as the medical exemptions are in place.”
Mr Rooney added that the safety of others was crucial.
“If it’s going to keep people safe then that’s what we should do.”
READ MORE: PoliticsNow – Aged care vaccination facts elude minister
Olivia Caisley10.22am:Over 80pc of 2020 aged care cases transmitted by staff
Eight in 10 Covid cases among aged care residents in Victorian facilities last year were transmitted by staff.
Last year’s Victorian outbreak resulted in the deaths of 655 residents.
Data from the Department of Health shows 84 per cent or 146 of the 174 Covid-19 patients’ infections in Victorian aged care facilities came from staff.
“Approximately 84 per cent (146) of the 174 COVID-19 outbreaks in Victorian residential aged care facilities,” the response to a question on notice says. “In some of these cases, the source of staff member’s Covid-19 infection remains unknown, but in others they have acquired it from a known source in the community, household contact or another workplace.”
It comes as Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck was unable to tell a Senate estimates hearing how many aged care workers in Victoria had received a jab as he did not have a state and territory breakdown.
According to the commonwealth’s original vaccination timeline all aged care workers and residents should have been inoculated by now.
“We don’t have compiled data,” Senator Colbeck said. “We’ve been working on developing the portal to achieve that … all of this work predates what’s happening in Victoria.”
Senator Colbeck said he believed 38,700 workers had received the first dose across Australia and 31,610 had received the second dose.
There are 240,000 workers in the sector, according to data submitted to the Aged Care Royal Commission.
READ MORE: New names for mutant Covid strains
Patrick Commins10.14am:Treasury factors in three short lockdowns per quarter
Treasury has calibrated its economic forecasts assuming three, short lockdowns per quarter this year. Speaking at an estimates committee hearing in Canberra this morning, Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy was at pains to say this was not a prediction, but just as “a mechanical way” to model the hit to the economy ahead of broadbased vaccination by the end of this year. The lockdowns were assumed to be limited to a week at most, and contained to metropolitan areas. Where lockdowns extend beyond these parameters, “that would have a downside impact on growth,” Dr Kennedy said.
The budget assumes that international borders will slowly open from the middle of next year. And that presumes “not only is the vaccination program effective” but all other measures, such as testing and tracing, continue to improve. And it’s that combination that “allow us to manage the virus without resorting to lockdowns”.
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Olivia Caisley10am:Colbeck defends aged care staffing policy
Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck says the commonwealth implemented a one-worksite-policy for aged care staff for when there is community transmission because it’s “unlawful to restrict a person’s capacity to earn a living”.
The federal government’s plan to stop aged-care staff working at more than one nursing home to prevent the spread of Covid-19 was halted in November, allowing the latest Victorian cluster to jump between at least two Melbourne aged-care centres.
Senator Colbeck told Senate estimates on Tuesday the one worksite policy is triggered when a hotspot has been declared.
“When a hotspot has declared the single worker, single site provisions are automatically triggered,” he said.
Greens Senator Rachel Siewert quipped: “Isn’t that like shutting the gate after the horse has bolted?”
Victoria was declared a hotspot by Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly last week after a spike in cases prompted a seven-day “circuit-breaker” lockdown.
Professor Kelly told the hearing “many things have improved” in the Victorian government’s handling of the pandemic since last year, including “openness of discussion”.
READ MORE: Fight looms as Price runs for Senate
Patrick Commins9.55am:Treasury secretary’s vaccine plea to Australians
Treasury secretary Steven Kennedy has called on Australians to get the jab as soon as they can, saying “we cannot take our recovery for granted” and that it is of “utmost importance that Australians get vaccinated when their turns come”.
“The key issue is suppressing the virus,” Dr Kennedy said.
Speaking in a Senate estimates committee hearing this morning, Dr Kennedy also said around 56,000 workers on JobKeeper lost their jobs over the first four weeks following the end of the wage subsidy scheme.
But this wasn’t a major stumble in the context of 400,000 people typically moving in and out of the labour force each month.
And it was well below the 100,000-150,000 estimated earlier this year.
“I expect many of those to gain employment in coming weeks”, Dr Kennedy said, noting that the data “give us confidence the labour market has the underlying strength to help workers transition off JobKeeper”.
Given the “unprecedented” nature of the recession and recovery, “the speed at which (consumer) prices and wages (grow) remains a key source of uncertainty”.
“They (wages) could respond more quickly if we start to see a mismatch in the skills employers are looking for” and workers’ skills.”
READ MORE:Time to bring back JobKeeper
Adeshola Ore9.49am:Steggall to move quarantine, vaccine motion
Independent MP Zali Steggall is urging the Morrison government to double Australia’s national quarantine capacity, as part of a “clear pathway” to reopening the country’s international border.
Ms Steggall will move a motion in the lower house on Wednesday to call for an expansion of purpose-built facilities like Howard Springs and the expediting of the vaccine rollout, including a goal to have at least 80 per cent the eligible population inoculated by the end of the year.
Last month, the federal government said its goal was to enable every Australian who wanted to be vaccinated to have access to their first dose by the end of the year.
But the Warringah MP said it was “becoming untenable” for the federal government to “have no long-term plan”.
“Australia has only delivered 4.24 million doses, averaging 90,100 doses per week. At that rate it will take 15 months to vaccinate the whole population. This needs to change,” she said.
“The government says the borders will be open in 2022, but at the current vaccination rate, that is doubtful if we don’t also increase quarantine capacity. Experts have said we are likely to be dealing with Covid-19 strains for the next four to six years.”
Ms Steggall said facilities like Howard Springs should be opened in every state.
The Morrison government committed $500 million in last month’s budget to enable the Howard Springs facility in the Northern Territory to increase its capacity from 850 to 2000 for returned travellers.
READ MORE:Premier reneges on pay freeze vow
Olivia Caisley9.36am:Half of Victoria’s aged care residents have had second dose
A little over half of aged care residents in Victoria have received their second Covid-19 dose, Senate Estimates has heard, as the state battles another surge in cases within nursing homes.
Department of Health Associate Secretary Caroline Edwards said 44,333 residents had received one vaccine and 25,319 were fully vaccinated.
“It’s also important to note that people declined to take vaccinations in aged care for a number of reasons,” she said.
“One because they are not comfortable with a vaccine for some reason, but also there are people who are ill at the time, or who may be approaching end of life and they or their families decide not to have vaccination as an additional intervention at that late stage of their life, and we respect all those decisions.”
Ms Edwards was texted the figures after she did not have them at her disposal when asked by Labor Senator Katy Gallagher for the latest numbers.
Department of Health Secretary Brendan Murphy confirmed no new aged care cases had been added to the nine recorded overnight.
Of the 910 coronavirus deaths recorded in Australia, 685 have been aged care residents.
READ MORE:Outbreak may get worse before it gets better
Rachel Baxendale9.05am:Victoria records three new cases
Victoria has recorded three new cases of coronavirus, taking the total number of locally acquired cases in the state since the Whittlesea cluster emerged last week to 55.
This includes cases linked to Melbourne’s northern suburbs, an associated cluster emanating from Stratton Finance in Port Melbourne, and an as-yet unlinked cluster associated with a worker at the Arcare aged care facility in Maidstone, in Melbourne’s west.
The latest three cases came after six cases were revealed yesterday, taking the total number of cases in the 24 hours to Monday night to nine.
Reported yesterday: 9 new local cases and 2 new cases acquired overseas (currently in HQ).
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) May 31, 2021
- 20,484 vaccine doses were administered
- 42,699 test results were received
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/NwsnE1Hgth
There were 42,699 tests processed on Monday, compared with 43,874 on Sunday, 45,301 on Saturday and a record 56,624 on Friday.
On Monday, 20,484 vaccinations were administered at state government-run facilities, compared with 16,752 on Sunday, 17,702 on Saturday and a record 21,626 on Friday.
The total number of active cases in Victoria is 63, including a number of cases in recent overseas arrivals in hotel quarantine, two of which were recorded in the past 24 hours.
READ MORE:Time to bring back JobKeeper
Joseph Lam8.40am:‘Single workplace rules affect residents most’
Matt Canavan says restricting aged-care workers from being employed across multiple facilities is unfair on residents.
The Nationals Senator on Tuesday told Sky News such limitations when an outbreak wasn’t present would have denied older Australians access to important care.
“While there were not outbreaks of coronavirus it would have been extremely inequitable, it would have been extremely unfair to deny older Australians access to expertise because you’re trying to fight a coronavirus that didn’t exist in Victoria at the time,” Mr Canavan said.
He added that believes there’s misinformation surrounding the vaccine and its ability to curb the spread of the virus.
“There’s a bit of a myth that if all aged-care workers have been vaccinated then all this would have been avoided,” he said.
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Adeshola Ore8.37am:Minister not aware of further aged care cases
Aged Care Minister Richard Colbeck says he is not aware of any further coronavirus cases in Victorian aged-care centres.
There are now three new Covid-19 cases linked to two aged-care homes in Victoria, including a 99-year-old resident who has been hospitalised.
The federal government’s plan to stop aged-care staff working at more than one nursing home to prevent the spread of Covid-19 was halted in November, allowing the latest Victorian cluster to jump between at least two Melbourne aged-care centres.
Senator Colbeck said he remained “comfortable” with the vaccine rollout.
“Everybody would’ve liked to have done it faster but logistically, we’ve done it as quickly as we possibly could,” he told the ABC.
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Adeshola Ore8.24am:We’ll continue to monitor Victoria support: Birmingham
Finance Minister Simon Birmingham says the federal government has no plans to provide economic support to Victorians, but will monitor the health situation as it evolves.
The state’s health authorities have warned the lockdown could be extended. The Victorian government announced a $200m support package to help Victorian businesses get through the current lockdown, but some businesses groups have called for a JobKeeper-like wage subsidy to support impacted businesses and employees.
“We’ll continue to closely monitor that situation,” Senator Birmingham told the ABC.
“Now, we welcome the fact the Victorian state government has delivered a $250 million package in relation to this limited short-term lockdown. Of course, as the situation evolves, we will monitor it and if our policy settings need to be expanded, then we’ll work through that.
“But the scale of assistance to Victoria at present from the federal government dwarfs anything that the Victorian government has invested in its local economy. And we continue to make sure that those sorts of targeted payments and assistance are available to Victorians who need them.”
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Joseph Lam7.50am:Coalition ‘playing catch-up footy’ on aged care: Labor
Deputy Labor Leader Richard Marles has slammed the Morrison government after it removed a program preventing aged-care workers from working across multiple facilities.
“It’s not good enough to be playing catch-up footy,” Mr Marles told Sky News.
“It beggars belief, and it speaks to the incompetence of the Morrison government.”
Mr Marles accused the government of “following events rather than leading them”.
“One of things we learnt most clearly last year was that workers moving between different aged-care across facilities was a source of cross-infection. There was a program put in the palace to prevent that,” he said.
“We now learn that that program came to an end and people are now moving between different sites.”
READ MORE:Most vulnerable let down again
Joseph Lam7.39am:‘One worker, one site illegal unless hotspot declared’
Aged Care Services Minister Richard Colbeck has defended allowing aged-care workers to have employment across multiple jobs or sites.
“It’s not legal to limit somebody around their working circumstances, in fact the health services unit took Huntington’s aged care in New South Wales to the Fair Work Commission last year to stop them from implementing one worker, one site and they were successful,” Mr Colbeck told Sunrise on Tuesday.
Mr Colbeck said a one-work site rule comes into action each time a hotspot is declared.
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Joseph Lam6.45am:Victoria’s list of exposure sites passes 300
Victoria’s Covid-19 exposure lists has grown past 300 sites overnight as the cluster grew to more than 50 cases.
The latest additions include an IGA, South Melbourne Market, a halal butcher, Muffin Break and a shopping centre bathroom.
The most recent exposure times were on May 29 at the Arcare Maidstone aged-care where a staff member, their son and a resident has tested positive.
NEW TIER 1 EXPOSURE SITES
■ Male Staff bathrooms Brimbank shopping centre, Level 1, Neale Rd Deer Park VIC 3023: May 28 from 8.45am to 6.30pm;
■ ALDI South Melbourne, 100 Market Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205: May 28 from 2pm to 3.30pm;
■ Co Do Vietnamese Restaurant, 207 Hampshire Road, Sunshine VIC 3020: May 27 11am to 12pm;
■ Point Cook Quality Meats (Halal) & Grocery Supermarket, Stockland Shopping Centre, 5 Main Street & Murnong Street, Point Cook VIC 3030: May 26 3.30pm to 5.30pm;
■ Marketplace Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Market, Stockland Shopping Centre, 5 Main Street & Murnong Street, Point Cook VIC 3030: May 26 3.30pm to 5.30pm; and
■ Woolworths Heidelberg, 451 Lower Heidelberg Road, Heidelberg VIC 3084: May 25 11am to 11.50am.
NEW TIER 2 EXPOSURE SITES
■ Proud Poppy Clothing (reception only), 29A Yellowbox Drive, Craigieburn VIC 3064: May 26 9.45am to 10.30am;
■ Jamaica Blue Cafe Craigieburn Central, 350 Craigieburn Road, Craigieburn VIC 3064: May 23 from 10am to 11.30am; and
■ Simply Spanish (South Melbourne Market), 116 Cecil Street, South Melbourne VIC 3205: May 27 from 2pm to 3.30pm.
READ MORE:Stephen Lunn — Our most vulnerable again let down
Jacquelin Magnay5.50am:Thousands turn out in UK to receive vaccine
It was the sunniest day of the year and a public holiday Monday, but 15,000 mainly young people ditched barbecue and beach plans to queue at Twickenham stadium in west London to receive a Covid-19 vaccine.
A huge crowd turned up as word of mouth spread that anyone over 18 could get the vaccine without any pre-registration — at odds with the current government allocations to prioritise vaccinations for those aged 30 or over. Officials ran out of the vaccines, mainly Pfizer, an hour before the 8pm cut off time.
At Twickenham for the mass vaccination for all over 18s.
— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) May 31, 2021
Huge appetite among young people to get jabbed. Truly inspiring event and superb NHS/Hounslow Council organisation. pic.twitter.com/BHhytdW0yf
The queues at the stadium – more known for sell out 82,000 seat big rugby matches – wound around the stands and up and down the concourse areas. It was one of the biggest one-day vaccination drives of the UK’s successful rollout.
Across the UK more than 65 million doses of vaccinations have been given, with 24 million people having received their second jabs.
There has been a rush to provide the second jabs at a faster rate, with 400,000 a day given out on most days last week. Health officials have been fast-tracking targets to try to ward off the impact of the Indian variant, which threatens to derail the UK “Freedom Day” in three weeks’ time, when the public has been promised all current restrictions will end.
WOW: The queue to join the queue OUTSTIDE Twickenham Stadium is HUGE!
— Darren McCaffrey (@DarrenGBNews) May 31, 2021
This is only half of it
And this is the queue to join another queue inside
Great to see @NadhimZahawi 💉ðŸ™ðŸ»ðŸ‘🻠pic.twitter.com/bKVHujj5P5
READ MORE:Australian business finds voice on vaccine
Rachel Baxendale5.15am:‘Victorian lockdown has to go for 14 days’
Victorians have been warned to prepare for an extension to the state’s Covid-19 lockdown as the state government weighs up imposing a new ‘ring of steel’ restricting travel to the regions.
Epidemiologist Marylouise McLaws, a World Health Organisation adviser, yesterday warned citizens the current lockdown “has to go certainly for 14 days” as Victoria’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said the chances of lifting the lockdown this week was a “day-by-day prospect”.
“With more numbers today coming through and those really concerning settings, especially in aged care, we are neck and neck with this virus and it is an absolute beast,” he said.
There were 11 new cases reported in Victoria on Monday – five disclosed in the morning and another six recorded after the midnight disclosure period – with more than 4200 primary contacts and 320 public exposure sites.
Health authorities are particularly concerned about three cases who are believed to have become infectious in and around Melbourne’s northern suburbs for at least 10 days before they were tested, including a staff member at the Slades Beverages factory in Thomastown who worked 11 shifts while likely contagious between May 12 and May 28.
When asked about an extended lockdown for Melbourne, Professor Sutton did not rule out the imposition of a new “ring of steel” restricting travel to the regions.
“It will be determined as we go through a review of the situation day by day; it is not out of the question,” he said.
The lockdown has confined Victorians to their homes unless they are shopping, in authorised work or education, giving care, exercising, or at a medical appointment. Shopping and exercise must happen within 5km of home.
READ MORE:‘Melbourne’s Covid-19 outbreak may get worse before it gets better’
Stephen Lunn5am:Relaxed rule for workers leaves elderly at risk
The federal government’s plan to stop aged-care staff working at more than one nursing home to prevent the spread of Covid-19 was halted in November, allowing the latest Victorian cluster to jump between at least two Melbourne aged-care centres.
There are now three new Covid-19 cases linked to two aged-care homes in Victoria, including a 99-year-old resident who has been hospitalised, while another two facilities went on high alert after staff at a centre in Melbourne’s west took shifts there.
After the horror of Melbourne’s earlier outbreak, which resulted in the deaths of 655 residents, the Morrison government last July applied new guidelines aimed to stop staff working at more than one facility by topping up their pay for any hours lost.
The program was shut down in November, after the outbreak ended, and has only been intermittently reinstated, most recently on Thursday after commonwealth officials declared a new hotspot in Melbourne as case numbers grew.
Read the full story, by Stephen Lunn, Rachel Baxendale and Rosie Lewis, here.
Tom Dusevic4.45am:OECD upgrades growth, urges faster Covid-19 vaccinations
Global output will grow by almost 6 per cent this year, but economic recovery remains hostage to new variants of Covid-19 and sporadic border closures and shutdowns, the OECD says.
In its latest economic outlook, the Paris-based body warns financial markets may overshoot in the face of one-off inflation spurts and hinder the revival, which will be experienced unevenly, with poorer nations the most vulnerable.
The OECD has upgraded its view for Australia, with GDP forecast to grow by 5.1 per cent this year and 3.4 per cent next year, compared with its March estimates of 4.5 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively.
The organisation, to be headed by former finance minister Mathias Cormann from Tuesday, called on Australia to speed up its vaccination rollout, or risk slower growth, and to lift its policy game on decarbonisation by increasing renewable energy, boosting take-up of electric vehicles, and improving co-ordination of climate policies across governments.
Read the full story here.
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