Coronavirus Australia live news: Back to work by Christmas, PM predicts; Victoria’s daily cases lowest in months
Scott Morrison has defended the decision to cut welfare payments next week, saying he expects Victoria to lead a jobs recovery.
- Australia back to work by Christmas, says PM
- Victoria records just 14 new cases
- Andrews slammed for double standards
- Anti-lockdown protesters rounded up
- Morrison urged to hedge bet on vaccine
Welcome to our rolling coverage of the continuing coronavirus pandemic. Victoria has received its best news since the second wave began, with 14 new cases recorded overnight. Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews is coming under attack for fining lockdown critics but not virus spreaders and Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia has reason to hope for a bigger employment recovery ahead.
Tom Dusevic 10.30pm: Top civil servants vote for pay rises
Some of the country’s best-paid public servants have defied a federal government request for a six-month wage freeze to share the pain of the coronavirus pandemic recession.
Staff at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, where 55 per cent are classified as executives, voted this month not to delay a 2 per cent pay rise next year after receiving a 2 per cent pay rise in May — six weeks after the Morrison government imposed a pandemic-induced deferral period for public sector pay that will last for 12 months.
That means executives at the corporate regulator, which oversees financial services and consumer credit, will pocket as much as $6800 per annum from the two pay rises.
ASIC staff, the vast majority of whom work in Sydney and Melbourne, are among the highest paid in the public sector.
The decision by ASIC employees has drawn fire from senior government figures, who believe salary hikes are greedy and insensitive at a time of rising unemployment and when besieged staff at Centrelink and other frontline agencies are enduring a pay freeze.
On Monday, ABC staff will begin voting on whether to defer $5m in pay increases, due next month, following written requests to the broadcaster’s board from Communications Minister Paul Fletcher.
Simon Benson, Richard Ferguson 10pm: Morrison’s plan to subsidise new jobs
Scott Morrison is considering wage incentives for businesses to take on extra workers as part of a comprehensive jobs plan to fast-track the post COVID-19 economic recovery that will be unveiled in the October 6 budget.
With support from the JobKeeper and JobSeeker programs to begin to taper from next week, the federal budget will look to boost incentives for companies to re-engage workers and employ staff as COVID-19 restrictions lift.
As Josh Frydenberg finishes a budget that is expected to have a record deficit exceeding $200bn, senior government sources are buoyed by lower infection rates in Victoria and say the success of the nation’s second-largest state in suppressing its second wave will be crucial to the speed of the recovery.
The jobs incentive plan would likely involve the government making a conditional contribution towards the wages of new employees so small and medium-sized businesses could take on extra staff as the government seeks to drive down the unemployment rate.
Kieran Gair 9.25pm: Death of man in early 70s raises toll
Another person has died of coronavirus in NSW and a major contact tracing operation is under way after a COVID-positive taxi driver ferried scores of passengers across multiple western Sydney suburbs for nine days while he was possibly infectious.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the latest fatality, a man aged in his early 70s, died at Royal North Shore Hospital on Saturday, bringing the state’s death toll to 55.
“He got the disease from one of the CBD clusters recently and unfortunately succumbed to the disease,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this very difficult time.”
NSW reported two new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, one a returned traveller in hotel quarantine, the other a taxi driver who worked for 10 days while potentially infectious.
NSW Deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Jeremy McAnulty said the man attended “various locations” in western Sydney, south western Sydney, and the state’s south coast.
Authorities are now scrambling to track down passengers who entered the man’s taxi between September 8 and 18.
Victoria Laurie 9.05pm: Travel agents facing a long hard road
Australian travel agents say the industry has suffered a 90 per cent downturn with minimal cashflow due to border lockdowns, but government support for financial hardship has been based on the criteria of a 30 per cent reduction in turnover.
The Australian Federation of Travel Agents’ submissions to federal and state governments for targeted assistance comes as members say they are confronting a nightmare scenario, working long hours to process cancelled bookings for clients but unable to earn a cent or pay ongoing bills.
Perth travel agent Jo Francis says she is processing $2.5m worth of refunds at her own expense, because she feels obliged to help clients who have booked holidays with her for decades.
But the work of unravelling hundreds of bookings is stressful, she says, and amounts to a form of welfare work that she says is hitting travel agents’ morale and hip pockets.
“The governments have taken away our ability to trade, and we feel abandoned,” she said. Last week, the WA government announced a $3m industry support package, which it claims is the nation’s first targeted fund to help travel agents.
Ms Francis says the $3m fund, which will provide $5000 to home-based agents and $10,000 to office-based businesses, has come too late to save her from having to pack up her City Beach office and move back home.
Even then, she says, the responsibility to refund her last trip payment may continue into early 2022.
Read the full story here.
AFP 8.35pm: South Koreans attend drive-in circus
A clown juggled and acrobats launched themselves through the air above a stage in an open field in Seoul at the weekend as the audience watched from the safety of their cars, cocooned from the risk of coronavirus.
The annual circus — usually held in May — was pushed back twice this year because of the virus until organisers turned it into a drive-in event.
“The performing arts are very important even during a pandemic,” said Cho Beong-hee, manager of the Seoul Street Art Creation Centre.
“So we came up with different ideas in trying to make this event happen and the drive-in option was chosen as it was deemed the safest idea.”
Each event allows 30 cars to park in front of the stage, while the event is also streamed online for free.
The lack of interaction with the audience posed new challenges for the performers.
“I had to re-imagine and re-think new ways to go about my performance,” said Lee Sung-hyung, a performer at the circus.
The crowd clapped and honked car horns as acrobats swung above the giant stage, hoisted by a crane.
In the audience, Yu Hye-jin said she was satisfied with her seat. “I think watching performances in cars is great,” she said, adding, “I think it can be done in the future, with other performances like musicals.”
READ MORE: Net zero emissions by 2050 achievable: PM
John Ferguson 8.15pm: Analysis: Andrews is as stubborn as the virus:
The great lockdown is finally throttling the virus.
It has contributed to the near-destruction of the Victorian economy but the health benefits of the shutdown are starting to show.
On a parochial level, Sunday’s figures are terribly comforting for 6.7 million Victorians, suggesting as they do that the pandemic’s second wave is close to ending.
We know this is not a world war, nor are we in the midst of a French-style coronavirus plague, but it has been one of the most difficult periods in modern Victorian history, creating all sorts of economic, social and psychological challenges for a community that was built on freedom and private enterprise.
Most of everything has been stripped from Melburnians in the wake of the hotel quarantine mess, including, for many, the opportunity to work and properly support family.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton wasn’t at Sunday’s press conference but his Twitter account said it all, screaming: “Home Stretch!’’
Daniel Andrews’s message was simple, with a large 14, bolstered by the words: “We can do this.”
Read the full story here.
Tessa Akerman 7.45pm: States open up while city looks on
While Victorians made do with takeaway meals and online orders during the months of lockdown, boutique hotel operator Colleen Guiney discovered there’s no substitute for a weekend away.
Drift House in Port Fairy, 3½ hours’ southwest of Melbourne, is booked for the next three months.
A six-week ease in lockdown in June and July was “crazily busy”, according to Ms Guiney’s partner John Watkinson, and just “wonderful” according to Ms Guiney.
“People just flocked here and it was wonderful and they were just thankful to be able to have a break,” she said.
During lockdown, the pair caught up on some maintenance and completely overhauled one of the six suites, replacing carpet and cabinets, painting and adding a skylight — all with the architects stuck in Melbourne.
Read the full story here.
Adam Creighton 7.15pm: Lack of migrants ‘to slash construction’
More than 230,000 dwellings will no longer need to be built as border closures and recession cause population growth and immigration to slump, posing a threat to the construction sector, according to new modelling by the National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation.
The COVID-19 pandemic could cut underlying demand for new private houses and apartments in Australia by between 129,000 and 232,000 over the next three years, according to research released on Monday.
“Large falls in underlying dwelling demand are already putting upward pressure on vacancy rates and downward pressure on rents, particularly in some inner-city areas,” the report said. “If sustained, this could cause a contraction in construction activity that would add to the recessionary forces impacting the economy,” it added.
Between March and July, rental listings more than doubled in parts of inner-city Melbourne and Sydney, and increased 60 per cent in central Brisbane.
Advertised rents in Melbourne’s CBD have dropped more than 20 per cent, while they have fallen almost 25 per cent in Darlinghurst, in Sydney’s inner east.
Patrick Commins 6.45pm: Apprenticeships, traineeships lowest since 1988
A plunge in the number of new apprenticeships to their lowest levels in more than two decades risks leaving businesses without the skilled workers they need as economic recovery ramps up in the years ahead.
Leaked Department of Education, Skills and Employment figures obtained by The Australian reveal the number of Australians starting apprenticeships and trainees plunged by a fifth over the four months to July compared to the previous year.
The sharp decline through the COVID-19 recession has left Australia on track to record the lowest level of apprentice starts since at least 1998, National Australian Apprenticeship Association chief executive Ben Barden said.
As the Morrison government prepares to unveil a stimulatory budget aimed at creating jobs and growth, Mr Barden said the severe fall in apprenticeships through the health crisis would “complicate” the post-COVID recovery, and employers in coming years would face skill shortages just as they seek to ramp their businesses back up.
“It takes four years to complete an apprenticeship, and this is creating a gap that will be preserved for the next four years when we would hope the economy will be going gangbusters,” he said. “The recovery should be full steam ahead (by then) and we won’t have the skills to underpin it.”
Read the full story here.
Caroline Wheeler, Liam Kelly 6.10pm: UK to deal $18k fines for isolation breaches
The British government is set to introduce fines of up to £10,000 ($17,722) for people who breach self-isolation rules as the UK steps up preparations for a second wave of COVID-19.
People on low incomes will be paid £500 to self-isolate at home in a carrot and stick approach to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
As daily infections rose to a four-month high of 4422 on Saturday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to make a television address to the nation on Tuesday to announce a further tightening of restrictions on ordinary life.
But at the weekend Mr Johnson was locked in a furious debate with his cabinet, including Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, over how universal and far-reaching the new measures should be, amid fears over the state of the economy.
Andrew Gregory 5.35pm: Obese jeopardise vaccine success
Britain’s obesity crisis could prevent a vaccine from ending the pandemic, experts have warned.
Scientists are concerned that vaccines being developed to protect against COVID-19 may be less effective in fat people, leaving them more vulnerable to infection, which could, in turn, put others at risk.
If they do become infected, obese adults face a 113 per cent higher risk of being taken to hospital, a 74 per cent increased likelihood of being admitted to intensive care and a 48 per cent higher risk of death.
The UK has one of the worst obesity rates: two out of three adults are overweight or obese. Millions have piled on the pounds since March, with an average gain of 0.7 kilograms.
The concern among scientists and public health experts is that this weight problem could undermine the effectiveness of a vaccine.
The ability of tens of millions of fat Britons to return safely to work, care for their families and resume daily life could be limited if the coronavirus vaccine provides weak immunity.
Andrew Gregory 5pm: Covid vaccine ‘may be less effective in fat people’
Britain’s obesity crisis could prevent a vaccine from ending the pandemic, experts have warned.
Scientists are concerned that vaccines being developed to protect against COVID-19 may be less effective in fat people, leaving them more vulnerable to infection, which could, in turn, put others at risk.
If they do become infected, obese adults face a 113 per cent higher risk of being taken to hospital, a 74 per cent increased likelihood of being admitted to intensive care and a 48 per cent higher risk of death.
The UK has one of the worst obesity rates: two out of three adults are overweight or obese. Millions have piled on the pounds since March, with an average gain of 0.7 kilograms.
The concern among scientists and public health experts is that this weight problem could undermine the effectiveness of a vaccine.
The ability of tens of millions of fat Britons to return safely to work, care for their families and resume daily life could be limited if the coronavirus vaccine provides weak immunity.
Read the full story here.
John Ferguson 4.30pm: Andrews entering defining period of his leadership
Daniel Andrews next week enters the defining period of his 10-year leadership.
His only chance of retaining his job over the medium term is if he is able to rebuild trust with a stranded community living in a crippled economy that his government created.
The Victorian Premier’s appearance at the hotel quarantine inquiry and the looming final report will not help the task. Nor will the mood of an increasingly dispirited and tense Melbourne community.
His saving grace being that his anti-democratic campaign to cut the virus numbers is working.
Despite all the mistakes and the government’s at-times scandalous indifference to commonsense, the coronavirus numbers are dramatically lower and for the first time in months there is cause for guarded optimism.
This outcome is worthy of a glass-half-full response.
But the government is privately deeply concerned about whether its health department has the ability and capacity to deal with the health impacts of meaningfully reopening the Victorian economy
Read the full analysis here.
Courtney Walsh 4pm: Demon’s Covid breach threatens career
The troubled career of Harley Bennell is in peril once again after the Demon became the latest player to allegedly breach AFL protocol guidelines while in Queensland.
Bennell, who managed to resurrect his career this year after controversial stints at the Gold Coast and Fremantle, is in isolation awaiting sanctions after a night out on the Sunshine Coast.
The Demons decided to isolate Bennell from their Twin Waters base to minimise the risk of any potential problems, given Collingwood and Essendon are also staying at the resort.
The AFL is investigating the matter.
It is believed Bennell engaged in a drinking session in Maroochydore, where he used to live, on the same day the Demons defeated Essendon at Metricon Stadium.
Read the full story here.
Heath Parkes-Hupton 3.15pm: Melbourne protesters claim ‘victory’ over police
Anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne have gathered to belt out John Farnham’s classic You’re The Voice outside a Coles in the city’s southeast, claiming the stunt as a “victory” against Victoria Police.
The fleeting chorus at Chadstone Shopping Centre, from the group dubbed Guardian Angel, lasted only a few minutes before they scattered to avoid the arrival of police.
A few dozen protesters, most of which were wearing masks, sang the iconic Aussie track just after 1pm Sunday. One man could be seen holding a guitar.
In a media release, the group claimed to have caught police “completely off-guard” and said members had so far escaped any arrests or fines.
“We’re going to relish this victory,” the statement said.
The release said a “few hundred” activists attended but a video posted to social media does not appear to show that many people.
Officers from Victoria Police’s Public Order Response Team (PORT) arrived soon after to comb the shopping centre, but the group had already fled.
“We were able to get in and out in about 50 minutes … However Victoria Police spent many hundreds of thousands of dollars on PORT today. We consider it their fine for opposing our freedom,” the group said.
Guardian Angel is planning a second protest on Sunday at a location yet to be announced.
Victoria Police on Saturday arrested 16 anti-lockdown protesters and slapped 21 with fines following a protest at Elwood.
In total 150 fines for general breaches of public health orders were handed out across Victoria on Saturday, including 19 for failing to wear a mask and 42 for curfew breaches.
It came a week after Assistant Commissioner Luke Cornelius said having to front the media to issue repeated warnings to activists flaunting the law was like “a dog returning to eat his own vomit”.
“As I’ve previously said, as was repeatedly said, it is at the moment unlawful to leave home to engage in protest activity,” he said.
READ MORE:
Mackenzie Scott 2.25pm: Gear-up for a two-speed housing market
Perth and Brisbane are set to pull ahead of Sydney and Melbourne in the house price stakes as the economy gradually recovers from COVID-19.
A two-speed market is likely to emerge as the smaller capitals leverage their affordability and relatively stable economies — well insulated against the pandemic-inspired downturn — to bounce back.
Westpac data suggests several capital city property markets will be more resilient than initially thought, but Sydney and Melbourne – which represent about 40 per cent of Australia’s housing market — will be hit hard.
Between April and June next year, Melbourne is forecast to plunge 12 per cent, while Sydney is expected to fall 5 per cent.
At the same time, Brisbane is expected to dip just 2 per cent, while Perth remains unchanged.
Daily house price tracking by property researcher CoreLogic suggests Perth and Brisbane are already trending up and suggest a likely rise though the month of September.
Read the full story here.
Richard Ferguson 1.40: PM now expects bigger job bounceback
Scott Morrison is expecting more jobs to come back from the pandemic recession after last week’s better than expected unemployment figures.
As he sticks with his plan to reduce the rates of JobKeeper and JobSeeker in coming weeks, the Prime Minister said on Sunday he expected a continued jobs recovery as the economy continues to open up and Victoria’s COVID-19 cases come down.
“The figures that came out this week were a pleasant encouragement in terms of their improvement, but for those who still don’t have a job, that is of no comfort to them. People are still out of work and we need to get them in,” Mr Morrison told ABC News.
“I’m pleased that we’ve seen over 400,000 jobs come back. I think we will see more come back.
“I think there will be hundreds of thousands of more jobs come back in between now and Christmas, particularly if we get this next step right in Victoria.”
Mr Morrison would not say if unemployment had peaked, warning global economic issues will still influence jobs here in Australia.
.@David_Speers: "Do you think unemployment nationally will keep rising from this point?"
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) September 19, 2020
@ScottMorrisonM: "Well, it's a bit hard to say on the measured rate, David, I must say. And there are conflicting views." #insiders #auspol pic.twitter.com/wNwjfkyJ5M
“Where the level is by Christmas, it’s hard to to say at the moment,” he said on Sunday.
“It’s not just about what’s happening in Australia ... it’s also about what is happening around the world. We are in the middle of a global pandemic recession and so Australia’s growth is going to also be affected by that as well.”
The Prime Minister said Victoria moving out of strict lockdown measures could help drive jobs growth, adding that 60 per cent of JobKeeper payments would be going to that state by the end of the month.
This week both JobKeeper (September 28) and JobSeeker (September 25) will be slashed by $300 per fortnight – to $1200 and $800 respectively – despite calls to keep them at current levels after the coronavirus pandemic led Australia into its first recession since 1990
READ MORE: Alan Kohler — Don’t for a second think the labour market is picking up
Beranard Salt 1.15pm: How hardship and fear will reshape Australia
It’s a question everyone is asking, or should be asking: how will the pandemic change the Australian way of life? The seven per cent drop in GDP in the June quarter places Covid-19 alongside war and depression in the scale of its impact.
Those who lived through the Great Depression were frugal for the rest of their lives. The generation that survived World War II became builders, entrepreneurs, procreators; they simply wanted to get on with their lives after years of adversity.
So what lies ahead for us? There are those who say that Australia’s social cohesion is being tested, that the pandemic is creating social division between the public and private sectors, between the states, between young and old. I hold a different view. In 1942, during Australia’s “darkest hour”, there was panic after the Japanese bombed Darwin and penetrated Sydney Harbour. But after the war there was unity and relief – a sense that the faith that had been placed in leadership was rewarded, and that everyone doing their duty was a recipe for victory and salvation.
Hardship and fear are galvanising forces, especially when sustained over months or even years. As a consequence I think we will learn the lessons and create an Australia that protects our values and our way of life.
Read Bernard Salt’s full analysis on what we can expect in a post-Covid Australia here.
Angie Raphael 12.35pm: I won’t cop this negativity, says Palaszczuk
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she will not “cop” any negativity about the Gold Coast film industry, which is creating local jobs, as the state recorded two new cases of COVID-19 overnight.
One case is a returned overseas traveller in hotel quarantine, while the other is a known contact from the Corrective Services cluster who is also in quarantine.
Ms Palaszczuk defended the local film industry ramping up, saying while other parts of the world were experiencing additional waves of coronavirus, Queensland was in a stronger health and economic position.
“We’re able to support the industry and get people back into work. There are a whole lot of jobs that rely on that industry,” she told reporters on Sunday.
She said that included food deliveries, carpenters, set designers, make-up artists and other jobs.
Ms Palaszczuk noted when Melbourne was having its second wave, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was on the Gold Coast “talking about how good the film industry is”.
“I’m not going to cop this negativity on one hand about the industry, which is supporting local Gold Coast jobs,” she said.
Ms Palaszczuk also confirmed Hollywood actor Tom Hanks was quarantining in a hotel, not a house, and said other people had been flown into NSW from Los Angeles but no one was talking about that.
READ MORE: Ratepayers footed bill for lobbyist’s LNP campaign
Kieran Gair 11.48am: NSW records first virus death in a month
A man infected with COVID-19 has become the first person in NSW to die from the virus in over a month.
The man, aged in his early 70s, died at Royal North Shore Hospital on Saturday.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian said he had only recently contracted COVID-19 and his infection was linked to the Sydney CBD cluster.
“Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this very difficult time,” Ms Berejiklian said on Sunday.
NSW recorded two new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday — one was linked to a known cluster and the other was a returned traveller in hotel quarantine.
It comes amid a major contact tracing effort in western Sydney after a COVID-positive taxi driver worked for 10 days while potentially infectious.
Three different local health districts are trying to track down people who may have come into contact with the man last week. He also spent time on the state’s south coast.
NSW Health said the man is likely to have caught the virus at Liverpool Hospital and he had the COVIDSafe app, which is being used to track the potential spread.
The man tested positive on Saturday and NSW Health is urging any passengers who caught a taxi this month in the Sydney suburbs of Moorebank, Bankstown, Chipping Norton, Liverpool, Lidcombe, Warwick Farm and Milperra to be on alert for coronavirus symptoms. The driver worked on September 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18.
Anyone who attended Carlo’s Italian on September 12 between 2pm and 6.15pm and the Milton Ex Servos in Ulladulla between 8pm and 9.30pm on the same day is considered a close contact if they were there for more than one hour. The same warning has been issued for anyone who attended Campbelltown Golf Club’s TAB area between 2pm and 4.30pm on September 16, or the Bannisters Pavilion Rooftop Bar and Grill in Mollymook on September 13 between 12.30pm and 2.15pm. The last time NSW recorded a coronavirus death was on August 16. The death toll in NSW is now 55.On Sunday, there were 78 coronavirus cases receiving treatment from NSW Health. Two were in intensive care, and one person was on a ventilator.
READ MORE: Pandemic isolation fuelling eating disorders
Robyn Ironside 11.37am: Queensland records two new cases of COVID-19
Queensland has two new cases of COVID-19, including one who had returned from overseas and was in hotel quarantine, and another known contact from the corrective services cluster.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the number of active cases had fallen to 19 in the state after five had been discharged, and more than 6000 tests were conducted on Saturday.
The update was delivered as the Premier announced her first big budget election promise, of $755m to kick off a second major highway between Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
The funds would allow construction of a 16km stretch between Nerang and Coomera, and create 700 jobs in the Gold Coast region.
“This is what the Gold Coast community has been telling me they want,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
“We’re working very cooperatively with the federal government and we are expecting them to match this when they deliver their budget (on October 6).”
The existing Pacific Highway M1 is one of the country’s busiest routes, carrying between 60,000 and 170,000 vehicles every day from Springwood to Tugun.
Originally built as an eight lane motorway, it is gradually being upgraded to 12 lanes.
Ms Palaszczuk said her government was able to greenlight the construction of a second M1 because of the state’s management of the COVID crisis.
“Everything we do is about making sure Queensland is safe. If we are safe it means our economy can continue to function,” she said.
“WHat we’re hearing about now, in the UK and other countries is a large second wave (of COVID). In Queensland we can now focus on our economic response and today we’re able to talk about funding of $755m to work on the brand new second M1 because we’ve been about to keep the health of Queenslanders safe.
“Other countries are not doing construction, they’re not doing mining. You can’t go and get a coffee. We want to protect our lifestyle, protect our jobs and get people back to work.”
READ MORE: The mates state — Dark shadow cast over Queensland election
John Ferguson 11.20am: Premier optimistic but won’t lift restrictions yet
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will resist pressure to lift restrictions despite the state recording another low number of new cases.
Mr Andrews warned that the numbers were still too high to justify lifting restrictions.
He was talking after Victoria recorded 14 new cases, the lowest in months.
“The numbers are coming down,” he said.
“Ultimately, these numbers are a cause for great optimism.”
But he said they were not low enough over time to justify any major shift in government policy.
“There is no good opening up too early,” Mr Andrews said.
The death toll rose by five to 761, with four people dying in their 80s and one in their 90s.
He said 94 people were in hospital, with five on ventilators. There are 743 active cases across Victoria.
He said the Casey cluster in south-eastern Melbourne had climbed to 40 but appeared to be under control.
“Fourteen is a very good number. I’d like it a little bit lower,” Mr Andrews said.
He said the decision on relaxing restrictions was complex and not just based on numbers.
“It’s not just a numerical or quantitative exercise,” Mr Andrews said.
READ MORE: Bernard Salt — Post-Covid, Australia will be reborn
Peter Conradi 11am: New French strains of Covid ‘less dangerous’
France is seeing several new mutant strains of Covid-19 that appear more contagious but less dangerous than the original strain, according to one of the country’s leading research hospitals into infectious diseases.
The strains, identified by experts at IHU Mediterranee Infection in Marseilles, could help explain why a recent surge in reported cases in France, as well as elsewhere in Europe, has not so far not led to an equally sharp rise in admissions to hospital.
In testimony last week to the French senate, Didier Raoult, the hospital’s head, said analysis of Covid-19 tests in the summer had revealed seven mutations of the virus. One appeared to have been brought to the city by people crossing from north Africa after ferry links were restored in late June after lockdown ended, he said. It disappeared again last month, to be replaced by other mutations.
“We compared 100 cases from July with 100 before ... They are less severe, so something is happening with this virus, which makes it different,” Raoult, 68, told senators. “The mutations we have are a rather degraded version of the initial form. At least that is our impression.”
READ MORE: Coronavirus mutates into eight strains around the world
Andrew Gregory 10.35am: Is the UK prepared for a second wave?
This is a big moment for Britain. One senior National Health Service (NHS) official said yesterday that cases might be doubling every seven days, with infection rates even worse in some areas of the country.
If that is right, the latest official figures showing 6,000 people a day in England getting infected could soar past 100,000 a day within five weeks. On Friday the UK recorded 4,322 new cases and 27 deaths - its highest number of cases since May 8.
Some health officials are optimistic that a second wave will not as be devastating as the first because the UK has learnt how to track, trace and treat the virus.
They say the country is in a better position than it was at the end of February, the period that government officials believe most closely resembles the situation it now faces. But there is no room for error. By the end of March, more than 500 people a day were dying.
Hospitals have split into Covid and non-Covid zones; most health and care workers have access to personal protective equipment (PPE) when they need it; and treatments have improved.
Testing capacity has expanded significantly since February, although the fiasco with availability could have serious knock-on effects on Britain’s ability to track the spread of the virus.
How is it spreading again?
Daniel Lawson, senior lecturer in statistical sciences at Bristol University, said there was clear evidence that the surge was being “driven by infection in people aged 17 to 34”.
READ MORE: Cameron Stewart — Trump stands to win most from Ginsburg’s death
Richard Ferguson 10am: Net zero emissions by 2050 achievable, says PM
Scott Morrison says net zero carbon emissions by 2050 is achievable, but he will not commit to a hard energy target for the mid-century like Labor plans to at the next election.
As he prepares to release his long-touted technology roadmap in coming weeks, the Prime Minister said on Sunday his focus was on technology and not the net zero 2050 target.
“I’m interested in doing the things that make that happen. I think that is very achievable, but it involves making the investments we have set out for ARENA and the Clean Energy Finance Council this week,” he told ABC News.
.@ScottMorrisonM says the 250mw shortfall doesn't have to be made up with a gas plant.
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) September 19, 2020
"If they can produce that on the rules ... and it meets the challenges that we have with the closure of Liddell, the market should go right ahead." #insiders #auspol pic.twitter.com/X4f9Vr4eiX
“That’s how you get there and that’s what matters because we are very focused on emissions. I believe that can be achieved but what I’m more focused on is the doing.
“We are committed to investing in the technology which reduces emissions in this country.
“Those things are achievable with the right investments in the right technology. And you won’t get there, I guarantee you this, if you are going to narrow the sorts of technologies and the sorts of solutions that you are prepared to look at which is why we want to broaden that out.”
READ MORE: Paul Kelly — PM’s energy pivot to gas two years int he making
John Ferguson 9.10am: Victoria records 14 new cases, five deaths
Victoria has recorded a major drop in daily coronavirus cases, with just 14 new infections detected overnight.
Five people have also died.
The daily case number is down from 21 recorded in the 24 hours to Saturday.
The 14 day rolling average is 36.2 cases, putting Victoria in a strong position for the next stage of loosening lockdown restrictions.
The 14 day rolling average for regional Victoria is just 1.8.
The low case numbers represent probably the best news the state has had since the second wave.
Although case numbers are still likely to bounce around.
Premier Daniel Andrews is expected to address the media this morning; he will be under pressure to detail whether the roadmap for lifting restrictions is brought forward.
#COVID19VicData: Yesterday there were 14 new cases and the loss of 5 lives reported. The 14 day rolling average & number of cases with unknown source are down from yesterday as we move toward COVID Normal. Info: https://t.co/eTputEZdhs #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/AVvaMLwUpQ
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) September 19, 2020
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos this morning thanked Victorians for the “huge sacrifices” they had made to help bring the daily infection rate down from a high of more than 700 at the peak of the second wave.
Before I go to sleep I get the tentative “numberâ€. You are awesome Melbourne â¤ï¸
— Jenny Mikakos MP #StayHomeSaveLives (@JennyMikakos) September 19, 2020
READ MORE: Daniel Andrews needs to regain trust to hold on to his job
Darren Cartwright 8.50am: How Queensland border switch could backfire
The Queensland Government’s decision to reopen the state’s border to the ACT will be a huge fillip for the LNP with Prime Minister Scott Morrison now able to go on the hustings at the state election, says a senior political commentator.
Labor on Friday changed its long-held position of only reviewing border closures at the end of each month when Deputy Premier Steven Miles announced the state would welcome visitors from the ACT from next Friday.
However, they can only arrive by plane and must have remained solely within the ACT for 14 consecutive days beforehand.
Griffith University’s political commentator Dr Paul Williams said if federal politicians had not been on the hustings it would have severely hurt LNP leader Deb Frecklington’s chances of toppling Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk at the October 31 election.
He said the PM had a good rapport with country voters, as did Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. He said opposition leader Deb Frecklington had failed to cut through in regional areas.
Mr Morrison showed his appreciation for Queenslanders after his shock election victory in May last year when he trumpeted: “How good’s Queensland?” at his victory speech to the chants of “Queensland! Queensland! Queensland!” from supporters.
“Morrison obviously has pulling power across the country because of his increased esteem from case management of the pandemic, especially in regional Queensland where he is still very popular,” Mr Williams told NCA NewsWire.
“If Morrison, Frydenberg and a couple of other high performers couldn’t campaign in regional Queensland it would be problematic for Deb Frecklington.
“There would be a struggle for traction even in regional Queensland where the party doesn't struggle, but she does.”
He said Labor’s federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese would not have “the same pull” on the hustings for Ms Palaszczuk.
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Heath Parkes-Hupton 8.15am: NSW pushes dob-in-a-diner scheme
NSW authorities are calling on patrons to dob in restaurants flouting COVID-19 safety protocols after 23 Sydney venues were issued heavy fines.
Among them was Strathfield Korean BBQ joint Butchers Buffet, which was slugged $5000 by SafeWork, as first reported in the Sunday Telegraph.
Inspectors who visited the site on September 11 saw customers sharing utensils, condiments, plates, bowls and trays of food, while seating was not adequately spaced out.
The venue also had no coronavirus marshal, and patrons were captured on CCTV not physically distancing while serving themselves at the buffet.
SafeWork NSW director of work health and safety metro, Sarina Wise said the breaches defied logic.
“Self-serve buffets and pandemics simply don’t mix, creating a source of potentially contaminated items,” Ms Wise said.
“No self-serve buffet style food service areas are allowed including communal bar snacks and communal condiments.
“Sharing items on a buffet is clearly a direct line for COVID transmission.”
These businesses were fined this week:
Albion Hotel – Parramatta
Ashfield Bowling Club - Ashfield
Butchers Buffet – Strathfield
Cafe on Monash – Gladesville
Commercial Hotel – Kingsgrove
Collector Hotel – Parramatta
Crown Hotel – Parramatta
Erciyes Turkish Restaurant – Redfern
General Bourke – Parramatta
Glasgow Arms Hotel – Ultimo
Indian Leaf – Redfern
La Famiglia Ristorante & Pizzeria – Jindabyne
Lotus Barangaroo – Barangaroo
Maya Da Dhaba – Redfern
Mohr Fish – St Ives
Rosehill Hotel – Rosehill
Oscars Sports Hotel - Bankstown
Rosehill Hotel – Rosehill
Royal Hotel – Darlington
Ship Inn – Sydney
Southern Cross Hotel – St Peters
St Jude Café – Redfern
Thredbo Alpine Hotel
Zushi Restaurant – Barangaroo
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Christine Kellett 7.45am: Sydney taxi alert as driver tests positive
NSW Health has issued a warning to people who have taken taxis in western and south western Sydney to watch for symptoms after a driver tested positive.
It is believed the driver contracted the virus from Liverpool Hospital.
NSW Health has released a list of venues attended by the driver on the South Coast, saying anyone who also attended for more than an hour is considered a close contact, directing them to get tested and isloate for 14 days, even if the test result comes back negative:
- Campbelltown Golf Club, Glen Alpine– 16 September, 2pm-4.30pm in the TAB area
- Milton Ulladulla Ex Servos Club – 12 September, 2pm-6.15pm
- Carlo’s Italian Restaurante Bar & Seafood, Ulladulla – 12 September, 8pm-9.30pm
- Bannisters Pavilion Rooftop Bar & Grill, Mollymook – 13 September, 12.30pm-2.15pm
- Picnic Point Bowling Club – 18 September, 3pm-6pm
- Campbelltown Golf Club course Glen Alpine – 16 September, 9.30am-2pm
PUBLIC HEALTH ALERT: New locations in Western and South Western Sydney and the South Coast visited by a person who tested positive for #COVID19.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 19, 2020
We are also warning people who may have taken taxis in Western and South Western Sydney to watch for symptoms: https://t.co/hQrRUJMxpp pic.twitter.com/BrAXqim8je
People who caught a taxi on September 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 in the following suburbs must monitor for symptoms and if any develop immediately get tested:
- Moorebank
- Bankstown
- Chipping Norton
- Liverpool
- Lidcombe
- Warwick Farm
- Milperra
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Christine Kellett 7.15am: Daniel Andrews slammed for fine hypocrisy
Victoria’s Premier has been accused of hypocrisy, after 21 anti-lockdown protesters were fined for attending a ‘Freedom Day’ rally while peple caught spreading the virus by breaking lockdown rules were given a free pass.
Mr Andrews yesterday defended a decision not to fine members of five families in the city of Casey, who flouted rules and sparked a fresh outbreak.
“Andrews shouldn’t be protecting those who spread the virus while fining others … Labor’s double standards are as toxic as this virus,” Victoria’s Opposition leader Michael O’Brien told the Sunday Herald Sun.
“It’s a disgrace that Labor has locked up innocent Victorians under a curfew while those who break the law and spread the virus get off scot-free.
“This is the same Andrews hypocrisy that saw teenagers fined for learning to drive while 10,000 Black Lives Matter protesters were ignored.
“Victorians have lost confidence in Andrews and Labor. The double standards they apply show they govern for their friends, not for all Victorians,” he said.
Mr Andrews admitted it seemed “counterintuitive” not to fine any of the 34 people in Casey who spread the virus while visiting family members’ homes in breach of strict stage four lockdown rules, saying those people had provided valuable information.
“I’m happy to concede that might seem a counterintuitive point. Perhaps we would all feel a bit better if they got slapped with a fine, but the value of the information that allows you to take one test result and then find the 33 other people who’ve got it, is much more than $1652,” Mr Andrews said.
Sixteen people were arrested and 21 fined after police rounded up protesters at a ‘Freedom Day’ rally that was moved from Melbourne’s CBD to a suburban park and beachfront on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton apologised to the Afghan community for “singling them out” while announcing last week that the virus cluster centred around members of the community there.
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Christine Kellett 7am: Taxpayers left with MPs hefty quarantine tab
Taxpayers will reportedly foot the bill for fedeal politicians to quarantine in Canberra.
Despite returned travellers having to fork out $3000 for a fortnight in a quarantine hotel, federal MPs and their staff will instead receive up to $20,000 each to stay in COVID-free Canberra for up to 12 weeks, the Sunday Telegraph reports.
The parliamentary sitting schedule will make it difficult for dozens of MPs and their staff to travel back and forth to their electorates between now and Christmas, and entitlements allow them to claim up to $291 a night in travel allowance to stay in the nation’s capital, whether parliament sits or not.
In July, NSW governmewnt became the first to introduce quarantine fees for returned travellers, with Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying it was no longer fair that taxpayers carried the financial burden.
READ MORE:
Amanda Hodge 6.45am: Spooks enforcing virus protocols on Bali
Indonesian intelligence officers have begun enforcing health protocols across Bali as the island experiences a surge in COVID-19 cases, six weeks after reopening to domestic tourism.
Wawan Purwanto, a spokesman for the State Intelligence Agency (BIN), said officers would work with the provincial government and health units to educate the public and enforce protocols to ensure Bali’s tourism industry did not fail “because that would have large implications on Bali and Indonesia’s reputation”.
“There are some people in Bali who still don’t believe in the existence of this disease, they think this is a conspiracy. This is where we come in, we will explain this to the public. There are many who don’t take this seriously,” Mr Wawan told The Weekend Australian.
“There will be sanctions for violators. It can’t be just a set of rules without anyone overseeing it, making sure it is obeyed.”
Read the full story here
Hugh Tomlinson 6.30am: India claims it has ‘no data’ on virus deaths
India’s government has been accused of “strangling democracy” as it deflected questions on coronavirus in parliament and claimed to have “no data” on the number of doctors and migrant workers who have died.
The return of Indian MPs on Monday for the monsoon session of parliament was supposed to provide the first formal opportunity for opposition parties to grill the government of Narendra Modi, the prime minister, over its response to the pandemic.
The country has the fastest-growing outbreak in the world, with almost 100,000 new cases recorded daily and five million cases in total. India is about to overtake the United States as the country worst-hit by the virus.
At least 25 MPs tested positive for Covid-19 upon arrival, however, and once the session began, the government set about stifling debate. Using its huge majority, Mr Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) passed a motion to scrap the daily question hour, when MPs query the prime minister and government. Instead, only written questions and answers were permitted, allowing Mr Modi to sidestep the pitfall of a televised debate on his record. “There are so many ways to question the government,” Pralhad Joshi, the parliamentary affairs minister, said. “The government isn’t running away from discussion.”
Mr Modi’s opponents were outraged, however. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, a Congress party MP, accused the BJP of “trying to strangle democracy”.
READ MORE: Fears over India’s huge hidden infection rate
Anthony Piovesan 6am: Anti-lockdown protesters rounded up in suburbs
Anti-lockdown protesters moved a rally from Melbourne’s CBD to a suburban park and then the beach in a bid to avoid police but more than a dozen have been arrested for coronavirus breaches.
Organisers instructed the few protesters who arrived at the Victorian State Library in Melbourne’s CBD to head to Elsternwick Park in Brighton due to a heavy police presence at the original location.
Up to 16 people were arrested and 21 people were fined for gathering in the Elsternwick area in a “blatant breach” of state’s coronavirus directions, Victoria Police said in a statement on Saturday afternoon.
Read the full story here
Glenda Korporaal 0.55am: Hedge your bets on Covid, Canberra told
Bianca Ogden — a virologist turned stockpicker — has urged the Morrison government to look at deals with COVID vaccine makers other than just AstraZeneca and the University of Queensland.
The German-born Ms Ogden, who now runs Platinum Asset Management’s $350m healthcare fund, said the government should diversify its exposure to different vaccine makers.
“I wish the government would be more open to other potential vaccines and hedge their bets as we have seen with other governments,” she told The Weekend Australian.
She said questions that recently emerged with the AstraZeneca-backed research being done by Oxford University highlighted the risks of backing just one or two researchers.
“You always want to hedge your bets,” she said.
“You have to have different technologies to see which one is going to come out.
Read the full story here.
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