Coronavirus crisis: Premier Palaszczuk canes federal response; 3000 in Qld told to self-isolate
More staff at a Sydney nursing home test positive as Annastacia Palaszczuk blasts the federal government for not acting sooner.
- Palaszczuk attacks federal response
- Nurse at 3rd NSW hospital infected
- ACCC warning over price hikes
- Composer Brett Dean diagnosed
- ‘Recovered’ patient dies
- Woolies rations rice
- Containment ‘now unlikely'
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the coronavirus crisis. A third NSW hospital has corona-infected staff, while a Sydney high school pupil is also infected, prompting closure of the campus.
Top story: Qld Premier attacks government on virus funding
Joseph Lam 9.20pm: 28-year-old man Queensland’s 14th case
Queensland Health have confirmed a 28-year-old male in Brisbane is the 14th person in the state to have contracted the virus.
The man had recently arrived in Brisbane from Iran, where the confirmed death toll was 107 as of Thursday with 3513 having contracted the virus.
Queensland Health have not released the man’s identity only that he remains in a stable condition at his Brisbane home and will be transferred to Princess Alexandra Hospital.
Health officials will conduct contact tracing on his whereabouts and who he has been in contact with since his arrival.
AAP 8.15pm: Epping Boys’ High student stable
NSW Health have provided an update on a 16-year-old boy from Sydney’s Epping Boys High School, after the student tested positive for coronavirus. He is currently in a stable condistion in Westmead Hospital.
“Close contacts are being contacted and will be in quarantine for 14 days. Other students are being asked to monitor for respiratory symptoms or fever,” NSW Health said.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian noted the Epping case was the first in an Australian school.
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said the government is “prepared to take whatever action is in the best interests of the students and staff and the broader community” and could close the school for up to two weeks. The student is the son of a Ryde Hospital healthcare worker who was a contact of a 53-year-old male doctor who has coronavirus.
However, the student’s mother isn’t ill. She has been tested for COVID-19 along with other family members and is awaiting the results.
Authorities are unsure how the student contracted the disease given it’s thought people are only contagious up to 24 hours before they display symptoms.
Meanwhile, almost all of the people who attended a radiology workshop at Liverpool Hospital have also been cleared after two doctors from the seminar subsequently tested positive for COVID-19.
Joseph Lam 7.40pm: Thailand’s 48th coronavirus case a Briton
A British traveler in Bangkok has been confirmed as the country’s 48th coronavirus case.
The 43-year-old business consultant who arrived from London via transit in Hong Kong checked himself into hospital on March 3 with fever symptoms before being confirmed positive on Friday.
Just hours before the news of the Briton was announced, the Thai government was set to announce a 14-day mandatory quarantine for visitors from South Korea, China, Macao, Hong Kong, Italy and Iran. Tourist can choose to self-quarantine or would be “invited” to Government quarantine centres said the Ministry Securatary General, noting failure to comply would incur a $20,000B ($958.00).
#Thailand announces 1 more new #coronavirus #COVIDー19 of a #British #UK citizen, the 1st Brit to have virus in #Bangkok. He's a 43 yr old business consultant who flew from #London, transit in #HongKong before flying to Thailand. Checked himself into hospital with fever on Mar 3 pic.twitter.com/z8GCjUfpGw
— May Wong (@MayWongCNA) March 6, 2020
Other nationalities in Bangkok who have tested positive for the virus include Chinese and Italian nationals.
On Friday the Thai government asked Korea to monitor Thai nationals and tourists headed to the Kingdom for 14 days before allowing them to fly. This request follows Thailand requesting Korea screens all passengers headed to the Kingdom and for immigration police to gather the profiles of Thai workers bound for home.
On Thursday Thailand’s national postal service began disinfecting international parcels and its notorious Full Moon Party in the country’s south island of Koh Phangan, which draws 10,000 tourists monthly, was also cancelled.
Christine Kellett 6.40pm: NSW cases reach 28
Two more staff members from an aged care home in Sydney’s north west have tested positive for coronavirus. NSW Health this evening confirmed a 24-year-old woman and and a 21-year-old man from the Dorothy Henderson Lodge in Macquarie Park have contracted the virus, bringing the total number of infected staff at the centre to three. Four residents have also tested positive, following the death of a 94-year-old female resident earlier this week.
NSW Health says the 28th person to test positive for the virus in the state is an 18-year-old woman who had household contact with another recent case in western Sydney.
Angelica Snowden 5.45pm: US cruise update
Princess Cruises confirmed that 45 people on the Grand Princess cruise ship have been tested for coronavirus.
Four Australians are on board the liner that is off the coast of San Francisco, but it is unclear if they are suspected of having the virus.
In a statement Princess Cruises said a mixture of passengers and crew were tested. “In collaboration with the US Centers of Disease Control (CDC) and local authorities, samples were collected today from 45 people on Grand Princess (which includes a mix of guests and team members),” the statement said.
“The samples were delivered to the California Department of Public Health in Richmond for processing. The results of these tests are expected by tomorrow.”
Princess Cruises confirmed there are 3533 people currently onboard Grand Princess, including 2422 guests and 1111 crew comprising of 54 nationalities. All guests have been ordered to stay in their rooms.
Angelica Snowden 5.20pm: Bank screening
One of Australia’s big banks says some staff have quarantined themselves after returning from overseas, while another told staff to stay home if they returned from high-risk countries.
An ANZ spokeswoman confirmed a “small number of staff” in Australia were self-quarantining.
“The safety and wellbeing of our people and customers is paramount. We are closely monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and taking guidance from governments and the World Health Organisation,” the spokeswoman said.
“Our plan is designed to ensure the safety of ANZ staff and to enable banking services to be continued as far as is practicable.”
Westpac said it required staff who had recently travelled from countries including China, Iran, Italy and South Korea to stay home for two weeks as a precautionary measure.
“We have provided guidance to our people on what to do if they develop flu like symptoms, including seeking medical attention,” a Westpac spokesperson said in a statement.
“We have also implemented a number of practical measures such as reminding all employees to maintain a high level of hygiene, providing hygiene products in all sites and frequent site cleaning.”
Stephen Lunn 5pm: Minister: Don’t forget the elderly
Aged care workers are vital for the welfare of vulnerable older Australians in nursing homes and should continue to turn up to work in these testing times, aged care minister Richard Colbeck said.
An emergency forum of aged care providers, consumer and worker representatives, bureaucrats and state governments met the minister on Friday to discuss the latest information on how best to protect residents and workers from the spread of the coronavirus.
Mr Colbeck said the health, safety and welfare of older Australians was “paramount” and the government’s advice to the aged care sector was no different than to the wider community: to practice good hygiene and go about their lives as they normally would.
But workers do have a particular responsibility to those in their care, he said.
“There is no reason for staff at aged care centres to avoid going to work unless they are showing symptoms, have been in contact with somebody showing symptoms or have been specifically ordered to isolate,” Mr Colbeck said.
Robyn Ironside 4.35pm: Black market hand sanitiser fears
Bulk amounts of hand sanitiser have been discovered in undeclared airfreight as virus fears grow. Read more here
Natasha Robinson 4.10pm: GPs’ telehealth plea
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners is increasing its demands for doctors to be able to conduct telehealth consultations with suspected coronavirus patients that could be billed to Medicare.
The Federal government is considering a proposal from the states to introduce the time-limited new Medicare items, but is yet to commit to their introduction.
RACGP president Harry Nespolon said conducting telehealth consultations would reduce the risk of infected people spreading the disease in doctors’ surgeries.
“I have had many discussions with the government about what GPs need to deal with COVID-19 – the critical need for a Medicare rebate for telehealth consultations is one of our top priorities,” Dr Nespolon said. “This is essential to support safe and appropriate care for patients with suspected COVID-19, patients at the practice, and GPs providing care. Without it, general practice simply won’t have the support required to deliver these critical services.
“Central hotline numbers are all well and good, but many, if not most, patients will still pick up the phone and call their local GP in the first instance.
“What we need is a model that means GPs can help a whole lot more patients, and that will help to protect patients, GPs and other staff at practices, and allow for home quarantining.
“GPs are a fundamental part of Australia’s frontline defence against COVID-19, and it’s essential that we have the support we need to continue providing safe and high quality patient care.”
Sarah Elks 3.40pm: 3000 in Qld told to self-isolate
Nearly 3000 Queenslanders have been asked to self-isolate after returning from China and Iran, but only 13 have tested positive for coronavirus.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said residents were complying with the voluntary self-isolation orders very well.
Dr Young urged people not to panic, and said the state was successfully containing the virus.
“No one should be panicking, this is another disease that is spreading through our community, as we have with lots of other diseases … we want to minimise its spread where we can, because we know everyone’s susceptible,” Dr Young said.
She said at the moment, every confirmed case of coronavirus was being admitted to hospital. But later, when more people are infected, mild cases would be likely to be isolated in their homes.
Dr Young said 80 per cent of people who contracted the virus would get such a mild case they would hardly know they were sick.
The most vulnerable people were older people – particularly those aged over 80 – who also had chronic illnesses.
Dr Young said children and pregnant women were not more vulnerable to the novel coronavirus.
There are no plans to close schools in Queensland at this stage, and only people who have recently returned from mainland China, Iran, Italy and South Korea are being advised not to attend mass gatherings.
Patrick Commins 3.25pm: Australia ‘flirting with recession’
Global ratings agency S&P says Australia is one of six Asia-Pac countries that will ‘enter or flirt with’ a recession of sorts. Read more here
Paige Taylor 3pm: Indigenous land limits
A group of remote SA lands introduce strict new rules for visitors to protect vulnerable Aboriginal communities. Read more here
Adeshola Ore 2.40pm: Epping High parents at ease
Parents from Epping Boys High School on Friday greeted three bus loads of students who returned from a school camp.
Monica Seto, who was waiting for her son, said she was not concerned about the case at the school. “Living in the area it’s seems there has been a lot of cases closer to home. It’s sort of been inevitable that it’s going to start to spread throughout the community,” she said.
“Obviously it’s very close to home, having a kid at the school, so I’m a little bit concerned but not overly worried. The school has been really on top of it and responded really well, as you would expect them to.”
Adi, who was waiting for his younger brother, said he had full faith in the school’s safety procedure. “It’s not a big deal. I went to this school myself and I know the principal. They know what they are doing.”
One masked mother placed a mask on her son as soon as she met him and said she felt nervous after hearing the news of the case. In the back of her car, her other two children wore masks and waited for their brother.
Ben Wilmot 2.25pm: Sydney CBD staff sent home
Major landlords around Australia are putting in place procedures to handle the outbreak as it moves into local cities. Read more here
2.10pm: Hospital ‘not locked down’
Sydney Adventist Hospital has restricted visitor access to its maternity unit allowing only the partners of mothers to visit.
The maternity unit is not in lockdown, the hospital said in a statement today.
Restricting visitor access to only the partners of mothers is a proactive precautionary measure to protect mothers and babies.
Sydney Adventist Hospital has no cases of coronavirus.
The Hospital says it is monitoring the worldwide coronavirus situation in conjunction with advice from NSW Health, the federal government and the Commonwealth Department of Health.
“This action is a complement to the screening process for all admissions that the hospital has had in place for several weeks,” it said in a statement.
“It is an appropriate clinical acknowledgment of the vulnerability of newborns. It is a measured response in recognition of the reported increase in the incidence of coronavirus cases in Australia.”
Lachlan Moffet Gray 1.45pm: Palaszczuk condemns government
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has criticised the government’s approach towards establishing additional health funding for coronavirus, saying that the federal government should have moved weeks earlier.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Friday announced that the federal government would offer the states a funding arrangement where public health costs relating to coronavirus – from emergency departments, GPs, preventative care and beyond – would be split equally between the Commonwealth and the states, as opposed to the current 45-55 per cent funding arrangement.
Mr Morrison said he hoped the deal would be agreed to at a COAG meeting next Friday, a proposition Ms Palaszczuk did not refuse but did not find impressive.
“I thank him (the prime minister) for that outreach and we will have more to say about that once we get the details in the letter,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“I have asking this since the end of January, that the minister should have convened a COAG meeting of all states and territories on the specific topic of coronavirus to ensure that our national response and our state responses are ready.
“I am still concerned that we have not had a dedicated national meeting where we can discuss this in depth.”
Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland was in a good position to respond to any outbreak of the virus in the state, and urged the public not to panic.
“We are making sure that we are ready to deal with any potential outbreaks but there is no need to panic at this stage,” she said.
“We have everything in place that needs to be in place.”
Robin Ironside 12.45pm: Qantas cancels more flights
Qantas is to cut more international flights this month as it grapples with falling demand due to an escalation in the coronavirus outbreak in countries beyond China.
From next week until the end of March, more than 20 return flights on Asia and trans-Tasman routes will be cancelled.
These include eight between Sydney and Hong Kong, five between Sydney and Sapporo, five between Melbourne-Auckland, and others on Brisbane-Tokyo, Melbourne-Tokyo and Sydney-Osaka routes.
Read the full story here.
Natasha Robinson 12.36pm: Seminar doctors cleared
NSW health authorities have made contact with 76 of the 77 doctors who attended a radiology seminar on February 25th that was also attended by two doctors who have tested positive for coronavirus.
Dr Chant said all of the doctors had now been cleared of COVID-19.
“All have been cleared or if they have had symptoms, COVID-19 has been excluded,” Dr Chant said.
Natasha Robinson 12.33pm: Childcare kids in emergency tests
Health authorities conducted an emergency clinic for children from the Banksia childcare centre on Thursday night to screen for coronavirus. A group of children from the childcare centre visited the Dorothy Henderson Lodge, the site of five COVID-19 cases, in late February.
Dr Chant said all children had been cleared of coronavirus, but they would not be attending childcare for the next 14 days.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 12.30pm: Third hospital has infected nurse
A third hospital in NSW has been identified as having a coronavirus-infected nurse, NSW Health has revealed.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said on Friday that a woman earlier diagnosed with the virus after returning from Iran is a health worker at Canterbury Hospital in Sydney’s west.
Dr Chant said the woman worked two shifts in the hospital on her return from Iran. “She worked whilst infectious at Canterbury Hospital on the 25th of February.
“That has led us to the identification of 28 staff and three patients who were close contacts,” said Dr Chant.
Hospital staff and patients have all been placed into quarantine, while 28 staff members have been identified as close contacts by NSW Health and are being tested.
Liverpool and Ryde hospitals were previously identified as having infected workers on staff.
Natasha Robinson 12.15pm: Mystery over Epping High case
NSW’s chief health officer Kerry Chant has revealed that the student from Epping Boys High School who has been diagnosed with coronavirus was the son of a health worker who worked at Ryde Hospital. A doctor at Ryde Hospital was also diagnosed this week with COVID-19. But surprisingly, the mother of the infected boy has not yet tested positive for coronavirus.
Dr Chant said she did not have an explanation as how the student came to be infected when his mother was showing no symptoms
“The healthcare worker whose son became unwell and was tested for COVID-19 did work at Ryde Hospital and was identified as a contact of the 53-year-old (doctor from Ryde Hospital) that is now in Westmead Hospital,” she said.
“I can confirm that that healthcare worker is well but the child did have symptoms, and the child was tested for COVID-19 and that has come back as a positive result.
“We’re also investigating the household and as is usual process we interview and identify any close contacts.
“We obviously have to investigate all scenarios … including the scenario that the child has come into contact through a different mechanism.”
Dr Chant said authorities were currently analysing the absentee records and sick bay records of Epping Boys High School to identify any other students who may be sick.
A decision has not yet been made as to how long the school would remain closed.
“Having this day off and the fact that it’s a Friday buys us some time,” Dr Chant said. “I just ask the school community’s forbearance.”
12.10pm: Second case at Sydney nursing home
A second worker at a Sydney nursing home has been diagnosed with coronavirus, bringing the NSW total to 26.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday confirmed the latest case at the Dorothy Henderson Lodge where four elderly residents and a nurse had contracted the virus,
David Penberthy 12.00pm: Richard Mills to replace Dean
Eminent conductor and composer Richard Mills has stepped in to replace Brett Dean in the Adelaide Festival after Mr Dean was forced to cancel his performance after being placed in quarantine at the Royal Adelaide Hospital upon travelling to SA via Taiwan.
Mr Dean, 58 was set to conduct the Adelaide Festival performance The Sound of History this Saturday but started coming down with symptoms of the virus on route to Adelaide on Tuesday.
He tested positive to COVID-19 yesterday and is now in isolation at the RAH under the care of SA Health. His case takes the number of South Australians with the virus to seven as of Friday morning.
However The Sound of History concert will proceed as scheduled with Mr Mills stepping in. There is no risk to the public attending the performance.
Adelaide Festival executive director Rob Brookman said the festival was working closely with SA Health to ensure all protocols designed to prevent or limit the spread of COVID-19 are observed.
“The health and safety of the public, our artists and our staff are of paramount importance to the Adelaide Festival and we are following the advice provided to us by SA Health and instituting appropriate measures meticulously,” Mr Brookman said.
“We are obviously very concerned for the health of Brett who is receiving the best of care, and we hope that he has a swift and full recovery.”
Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Managing Director Vince Ciccarello extended his best wishes to Mr Dean.
“The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra is sorry to learn of Brett’s diagnosis,” Mr Ciccarello said.
“Brett is a long-standing and close friend of the ASO and we were very much looking forward to collaborating on this wonderful project. We wish him well for a speedy recovery.”
Adeshola Ore 11.55am: Cleaning efforts ramped up
NSW Transport says it will ramp up its cleaning efforts to protect commuters against coronavirus.
“We are focusing our cleaning efforts on particularly high traffic areas at this time,” a spokesman told The Australian.
“Transport has a regular cleaning regime across our network of assets such as buses and trains.”
Natasha Robinson 11.50am: Aged care workers in boycott
Meanwhile at the Dorothy Henderson Lodge in northwest Sydney, where four elderly residents and a nurse contracted the virus, some staff have again refused to come to work.
BaptistCare has confirmed a number of staff have notified its Dorothy Henderson Lodge they will not be coming into work. There are now five cases of the virus at the Macquarie Park aged care facility.
“In these circumstances we cannot force our team members to come into work,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
“We do have Dorothy Henderson Lodge and BaptistCare staff on site in addition to additional resources from NSW Health to cover the care needs of residents. We are doing everything we can do to source additional staff from across BaptistCare and other health providers and agencies.”
Aged care workers boycott work
Staff at the Dorothy Henderson Lodge in northwest Sydney, where four elderly residents and a nurse contracted the virus, have again refused to come to work.
BaptistCare has confirmed a number of staff have notified its Dorothy Henderson Lodge they will not be coming into work. There are now five cases of the virus at the Macquarie Park aged care facility.
“In these circumstances we cannot force our team members to come into work,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.
“We do have Dorothy Henderson Lodge and BaptistCare staff on site in addition to additional resources from NSW Health to cover the care needs of residents. We are doing everything we can do to source additional staff from across BaptistCare and other health providers and agencies.”
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.48am: Funding to cover all processes’
Federal health minister Greg Hunt clarified that the new funding offer from the Commonwealth would apply to “all of the coronavirus process,” which could include primary care through a “variety of avenues” like telehealth, in-home visits and specialised respiratory clinics, GP and emergency department support.
If the offer is agreed to by the states the Commonwealth will automatically distribute $100 million to the states to ensure they are in a position to meet immediate healthcare costs.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 11.45am: Costs could reach $1bn
The federal and state governments would equally shoulder the burden of additional public health spending required due to coronavirus, in an offer proposed by Scott Morrison to leaders on Friday.
“I have indicated to premiers and chief ministers just prior to this meeting that we would be forwarding an offer for a standalone national partnership agreement on a joint COVID-19 public health response, where there would be 50/50 cost sharing between the Commonwealth and the states for those additional costs for public health in responding to the COVID-19 outbreak,” the prime minister said.
“This is a stand alone arrangement. It is not linked to any other hospital funding arrangements.”
Mr Morrison said the cost of additional public health spending could be more than $1 billion.
“We are estimating based on the advice that we have at the moment, this could be as much as about $1 billion, $500 million each, that we would have to be allowing for.”
“It could be more, but we at least have to enter into these arrangements having some sense of the scale of what we’re dealing with here.”
Under current health funding arrangements the Commonwealth funds 45 per cent of hospital costs and the states 55 per cent.
Mr Morrison said he hoped the offer would be accepted by state governments by the end of next week when COAG meets in Sydney.
Angelica Snowden 11.40am: GAMSAT cancellation warning
As the government considers declaring a pandemic amid a jump in coronavirus cases in Australia, aspiring medical students have been told that the Graduate Medical School Admissions Test may be cancelled at the “last minute”.
Candidates enrolled to take the admissions test were sent an email on Friday confirming that if a pandemic was declared, large gatherings would be cancelled.
The email said that the test scheduled for 21 March in Singapore has been cancelled and that at this stage it would go ahead in all other locations including in Australia, Ireland, the UK, Wellington and Washington DC.
“Students will be advised immediately if a decision by the GAMSAT Consortium or the Australian Government changes this status,” the statement said.
“We will continue to monitor the global situation and take appropriate management steps within each country where the GAMSAT March 2020 test will run.”
11.15am: Virus more deadly for men
Men are 65 per cent more likely than women to die from coronavirus, the UK Telegraph reports.
A breakdown of figures from the World Health Organisation indicate that of all suspected cases, 1.7 per cent of women will die compared with 2.8 per cent of men. In confirmed cases, the infection is fatal for 4.7 per cent of men, but just 2.8 per cent of women, although equal numbers become infected.
The rise in male deaths may be linked to other underlying health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, from which men are more likely to suffer, while some experts believe the cause might be related to a higher prevalence of smoking or chronic alcohol use among men.
Adeshola Ore 11.05am: ‘I’m protecting myself’
Epping resident and TAFE student, Nick Wen says he’s concerned about the latest case of coronavirus in the area and has begun wearing a mask on outings.
“I worry about it because I’m not sure who you are meeting with,” he told reporters on Friday.
“Every night I see the students from Epping School. They walk around this street. I live in this street and some international students from Macquarie walk around here as well so I’m just protecting myself.”
11.00am: Seattle in mass school closure
Seattle-area companies and schools have begun implementing contingency plans to help contain the new coronavirus in the region, where the number of confirmed cases jumped to 70 from 39 a day earlier.
Northshore School District, which includes parts of both King and Snohomish counties, said it would close its 33 campuses for up to 14 days and that its more than 23,500 students would continue their lessons online.
The decision, which officials said came after a parent at an elementary school tested positive for the virus, mirrors the actions of schools in Hong Kong, mainland China and Italy, among other affected countries.
Wall St Journal
Lachlan Moffet Gray 10.40am: ACCC warning over price hikes
Business that take advantage of the coronavirus to increase prices of goods such as toilet paper and hand sanitiser may be breaching Australian consumer law if they make misleading claims about the reasons for the price hike, the ACCC has warned.
The consumer watchdog said increasing prices was not “of itself conduct that breaches the competition and consumer laws,” but retailers had to be transparent about the reasons.
The warning came as enterprising individuals used the panic buying chaos to offer bulk packs for sale well above retail price online, and selling them in the hundreds.
The three top posts on eBay’s Australia website that return when “toilet paper” is searched offer toilet tissue for sale over twice the supermarket retail price.
A 48 pack of two ply toilet paper is offered for $49.99 with $14.48 postage, over twice the cost of a 48 pack of higher-quality three-ply toilet paper from Costco’s online store, which comes to $31.99, including delivery.
Despite the high price of the eBay offering, 48 units of the product have been sold.
A similar listing which offers 48 roles of 2-ply paper for $60 including shipping has sold 248 units.
Perhaps more bafflingly, a seller offering one roll of Sorbent toilet paper for $10 has sold over 50 units. There is, however, free shipping offered.
A single roll of toilet paper typical costs from 30 to 60 cents in a pack of 12 or 24 in a supermarket.
On classifieds website Gumtree, one enterprising Sydney individual is offering a “coronavirus safety box” for $100 with express postage. The seller claims the box contains “the 3 main items to help protect against coronavirus”: hand sanitiser, toilet paper and a face mask.
The quantity of each item in the box is not listed – but free express shipping is offered.
10.16am: Saudi empties Mecca mosque
Saudi Arabia has emptied Islam’s holiest site for sterilisation, in an unprecedented shutdown state media said will last while the year-round umrah pilgrimage is suspended.
The kingdom halted the pilgrimage for its own citizens and residents on Wednesday, on top of restrictions announced last week on foreign pilgrims to stop coronavirus from spreading.
State television relayed images of an empty white-tiled area surrounding the Kaaba, a large black cube structure inside Mecca’s Grand Mosque, which is usually packed with tens of thousands of pilgrims.
Palestinian officials on Thursday closed the Church of the Nativity in the biblical city of Bethlehem indefinitely, weeks ahead of the busy Easter holiday season. The announcement by the Palestinian tourism ministry threatened to devastate the tourism industry in the town where Jesus is believed to have been born.
AP
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.50am: Leading Aussie composer diagnosed
Australian composer Brett Dean has been diagnosed with coronavirus and is receiving treatment in Adelaide, his agency as confirmed.
Mr Dean, 58, was due to lead the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra in concert at the Adelaide Festival this Saturday but had withdrawn due to a case of what was suspected to be pneumonia.
But on Thursday his agency Intermusica confirmed he had been diagnosed with coronavirus.
“Intermusica can confirm that Brett Dean has been diagnosed with COVID-19, as of March 5,” it said.
“Brett is currently receiving treatment in hospital in Adelaide.
“Intermusica, along with Brett’s publishers Boosey and Hawkes, have taken the necessary steps to inform all those who have worked with Brett in the last 14 days, further to NHS advice and SA Health.
“Our thoughts are with Brett at this difficult time and we wish him well in his recovery.””
Dean is a viola player and conductor who is currently composer in residence for the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de Lyon and the Dresden Philharmonic.
As of Friday morning, South Australia has seven confirmed cases of coronavirus.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 9.15am: ‘Targeted assistance’ for tourist industry
Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham has said the government’s coronavirus stimulus package will include “targeted assistance” in the form of tax relief or “direct assistance” to tourism operators as visits from international tourists to Australia dives due to the impacts of coronavirus and the bushfires.
“These are quite unprecedented times – bookings on average are down 56 per cent. That has profound implications for those businesses,” he told Radio National.
“We’ve been clear as a government that protecting people’s jobs is critical and protecting the viability of small businesses.”
Mr Birmingham’s comments come as MPs in bushfire-affected areas demand more immediate government relief for small businesses and plead for the government not to forget them amid the coronavirus panic.
“Money was promised for bushfires, they promised it for communities like mine,” Susan Templeman, member for Macquarie in NSW’s Hawkesbury and Blue Mountains region told 2GB this morning.
“In my community … only one person has received financial support and that was through centrelink, that was $3000 of wage subsidies.
“It’s the time delay that’s the real kicker. I said in January if we move fast on this we can restimulate the economy.”
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.45am: ‘Recovered’ patient dies
A “recovered” coronavirus patient in Wuhan has died just days after being discharged from hospital.
Li Liang, 36, died from respiratory failure five days after being discharged from a makeshift hospital recently built in the coronavirus’s epicentre to contain the outbreak, Shanghai-based news portal The Paper reported before the article was removed.
Mr Li’s wife, surnamed Mei, said her husband was admitted to the temporary hospital on February 12 and was discharged two weeks later with instructions to stay in a hotel quarantine for 14 days.
Ms Mei said her husband fell ill within two days of being discharged, experiencing a gaseous stomach and a dry mouth.
On March 2 Mr Li was admitted to hospital and died that afternoon. The death certificate issued by the Wuhan health commission said the direct cause was COVID-19 with respiratory blockage and failure contributing to his death.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.20am: NZ cases treble
New Zealand has recorded its third coronavirus case in three days, bringing the total number of confirmed patients to four.
On Friday morning the New Zealand Health Ministry announced the fourth case of COVID-19 was the husband of a previous case, a woman who had recently travelled to northern Italy.
Authorities are tracing contacts of the pair, both in their 30s.
The woman told the stuff.co.nz news website that she and her husband had exhibited very few symptoms of the illness.
“People assume we are these monsters that have all these symptoms out in public infecting people. We’ve had very, very, very, few symptoms,” she said.
The other two New Zealanders with the virus have been to Iran recently.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 8.00am: Cases state by state
The breakdown of coronavirus cases state by state is as follows:
NSW: 25, including a 16-year-old school pupil
Queensland: 13
Victoria: 10
WA: 3
Tas: 1
SA: 7, including a baby.
NT: 1
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.55am: ‘Don’t stay in, go out’
Peter Dutton has urged Australians not to panic over coronavirus fears, telling Today that the economic impact of the virus will only get worse if people stay home and avoid public places.
“Going out to restaurants, supporting local businesses, is incredibly important at the moment,” the home affairs minister said.
“If people are just staying at home, then we are going to see a much bigger impact, a negative impact on the economy than what might otherwise be the case.”
Appearing on the same panel, Richard Marles denied that Labor was “playing politics” over the government’s economic response to the coronavirus.
“The economy is an area where it’s our job to go out there and make commentary about it,” the deputy opposition leader said.
“The point to make right now is that this is a very significant issue and that in a very bipartisan way both sides of politics are going to be working to make sure that our country gets through this.”
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.40am: Dedicated GP clinics for virus
Australia’s chief medical officer Professor Brendan Murphy has told 2GB’s Alan Jones that in the event of a widespread outbreak of coronavirus, some GPs may have to become dedicated to treating coronavirus cases.
“We might need to look at having some GP clinics that are more dedicated to seeing these people (COVID-19 patients) so we can segregate people who have these infections from those who do not,” Mr Murphy said.
He also sought to reassure aggrieved medical practitioners about the supply of protective equipment like masks and gloves, saying the government will ensure there is no shortage and communication to doctors about equipment supply will be ramped up.
“The government is in the process of procuring a large number of masks and protective equipment … that’s underway at the moment … we’re releasing them in a careful way to GPs,” he said.
“I’m writing to doctors, dentists, health practitioners over the next few days.”
Mr Murphy also urged calm amongst the community, saying “there is no reason” to panic buy items like rice and toilet paper as the outbreak of coronavirus in the Australian community is relatively small.
“The community outbreak in the Ryde area has affected a small number of people – and I have to say NSW is right on top of it,” he said.
“All other cases in the country have been imported cases.”
Lachan Moffet Gray 7.20am: UK records first death
A 75- year-old British woman is the first coronavirus patient in the UK to die after testing positive for the disease.
The Royal Berkshire NHS Trust said the woman had a number of underlying health conditions and had been “in and out of hospital for non-coronavirus reasons.”
The country’s chief medical adviser Prof Chris Whitty said the woman is believed to have caught the virus in the UK and officials are trying to establish who she has been in contact with.
The death comes as the number of people in the UK diagnosed with COVID-19 reached 116, an increase of 30 in 24 hours.
A spokesman for UK prime minister Boris Johnson said it was “highly likely the virus is going to spread in a significant way.”
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.10am: Now rice is rationed
After placing restrictions on toilet paper and hand sanitiser, Woolworths has now decided to slap a limit on the amount of rice any one customer can buy following widespread shortages of the staple grain amid coronavirus panic-buying.
In an email to loyalty scheme members on Thursday, Woolworths chief executive Brad Banducci said the supermarket retailer would limit purchases of large bags of rice of 2kg or more to one per customer.
“These are unusual and challenging times,” said Mr Banducci.
“To make sure everyone has access to essential items, we’ve introduced some commonsense limits to a few products.”
On Wednesday, Woolworths limited toilet paper purchases to four packs per customer and hand sanitiser to two packs,
Costco, Aldi and Coles followed suit to ensure stock levels remain at adequate levels.
Lachlan Moffet Gray 7.00am: Containment ‘no longer likely’
Brad Hazzard has refused to confirm if Epping Boys High School would be closed beyond Friday, admitting that containment of the illness was no longer a likely scenario.
“I would say at this point containment is still worth pursuing but is it going to happen? Probably not,” the NSW health minister said.
“It’s likely to unfortunately become not a containment but how we manage this as it rolls out.
This is not a time for panic. 80 per cent of all people who get this virus get it very, very mildly. Just like a very mild cold or flu. So don’t panic,” Mr Hazzard told Today.
Mr Hazzard said that closing Epping Boys High School was “the right decision” and that it would give health authorities the time to establish who had been in contact with the 16-year-old year 11 student who has contracted coronavirus.
“It’s like a police investigation – working out who he’s been in touch with, and making sure we can track them and do the testing on them to try to do what we can for containment, although it’s getting much harder,” he said.
Mr Hazzard revealed that the 16-year-old’s condition was: “not bad, but he is not well.”
Lachlan Moffet Gray 6.45am: ‘Pull out all the stops’
The World Health Organisation has urged governments to pull out “all the stops” to slow the spread of coronavirus.
“This is not a drill. This is not the time for giving up. This is not a time for excuses. This is a time for pulling out all the stops,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Friday.
“Countries have been planning for scenarios like this for decades. Now is the time to act on those plans.”
The virus has infected nearly 97,000 people worldwide and killed more than 3,300. In Australia, the national case count has reached 60, with a 16-year-old pupil at a Sydney high school the latest to be infected.
Plan for ‘millions’ infected in weeks
The Morrison government is considering a scenario where millions of Australians will be infected by coronavirus in the next few weeks as it extended the travel ban to South Korea and imposed more stringent approvals on visitors from Italy.
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said he was preparing for scenarios where the spread of the virus could be benign but result in “millions of people being infected over a period of several weeks”.
“We think our health system is well-prepared to cope with that,” Dr Murphy said. “We need to be sure we plan for every eventuality and build capacity where we think it may be under pressure if we have one of the worst-case scenarios.”
Scott Morrison announced on Thursday the government would ban travel to Australia from South Korea while visitors from Italy would face strict tests.
“The volume of travellers coming out of the Republic of Korea was more than five times what it is out of Italy,” he said. “The other issue is that with Italy, this more broadly feeds into the issue of Europe and travel from Europe … And we’ll be watching closely those developments over the days and weeks ahead.”
The travel ban from China and Iran was extended for another week.
Mr Morrison said the national security committee of cabinet had reviewed Australia’s progress in preparing for the prospect of a national pandemic and looked at “everything from the availability of surgical masks … to working with the aged-care sector”.
He said on Friday there would be an “intensive workshop” with the aged-care sector to work through the issues faced by workers. The government would also implement the “national co-ordination mechanism”, putting in place emergency arrangements usually reserved for national disasters
“That will co-ordinate with the states and territories the whole-of-government responses to what needs to be addressed … So issues around hospitals and primary care, and working with the aged-care sector, that will continue to be a direct responsibility working out of the Department of Health.”
Mr Morrison said there was a “broad range of other issues that have to be managed, which are not directly health-related”, including power and continuity of services that would need to be managed with states and territories under the co-ordination mechanism.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said the virus had now spread to 80 countries and caused more than 3000 deaths. There have been 54 cases in Australia and two deaths.
People travelling from Italy will face “enhanced screening measures” — including having to answer mandatory questions when they check in — under the new travel arrangements.
Additional reporting: Greg Brown
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