Coronavirus Australia live news: Longer lockdown ‘crushing news’, says PM; Road map plan slammed as ‘road to nowhere’
The Prime Minister, Treasurer and federal Health Minister have have distanced the commonwealth government from the extended Victorian lockdown.
- PM calls Premier’s decision ‘crushing’
- Victorian business groups react with fury
- Daniel Andrews reveals road map out
- Victoria records 63 new cases, five deaths
- Anti-lockdown protesters arrested in Sydney and Melbourne
Welcome to our rolling coverage of the continuing coronavirus pandemic. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has revealed his road map out of lockdown. It follows protests in Melbourne and Sydney yesterday that saw dozens arrested.
John Ross 10pm: Virus taking the bus out of business
The trail of destruction from the pandemic runs straight through Craig’s Mini Buses, where things are so bad in the business that they can’t even sell the buses.
John Lethlean, Tessa Akerman 9.30pm: Knives out for lockdown as eateries starve
Melbourne’s top chefs are calling Premier Daniel Andrews’ roadmap out of lockdown a “death sentence”.
Stephen Lunn, Tessa Akerman 9pm: Regions freed from city’s chains
Regional Victoria will operate under a less restrictive regime during the Victorian government’s road map out of COVID-19.
Adam Creighton 8.30pm: Tourism sector facing a dire holiday season
Couple enjoying a picnic at Audrey Wilkinson, Pokolbin in the Hunter Valley region.
Only 1 in 10 Australians say they plan to leave their hometown for the Christmas holidays while more than half say they are unlikely to travel at all.
Olivia Caisley 8.05pm: Covid ‘cruels basin plan target deadlines’
Deadlines to bring the Murray Darling back to a healthier and sustainable level will need to be pushed back because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the country’s irrigators have warned.
Eli Greenblat 7.40pm: Bunnings boss hammers Andrews
The
chief executive of one of Australia’s largest employers, Wesfarmers boss Rob Scott, has turned his sizeable corporate guns on the Victorian government and its proposed pathway out from stage four restrictions, slamming Premier Daniel Andrews for not engaging in genuine consultation with industry.
Emily Ritchie 7.15pm: Andrews defends longer lockdown
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has defended his decision to keep the state under strict coronavirus lockdowns for another two weeks, saying it was a difficult choice but that leadership was not about “doing what is popular in the short term”.
“Leadership is doing what is right,” Mr Andrews told Channel 10’s The Project on Sunday night.
“Whether I’m criticised or praised, that is not my concern. My concern is to defeat the second wave, find a COVID-normal and lock it in until a vaccine arrives.”
Hours earlier, Mr Andrews announced Melbourne’s stage-four restrictions would continue for at least another fortnight from September 14.
The restrictions are slightly modified. The existing 8pm curfew will be extended to 9pm, and exercise will be extended to a maximum of two hours a day.
Those who live alone will also be able to partner with another to be able to travel to each others’ homes for social visits.
People in metropolitan Melbourne will also be able to spend time up to two hours outdoors — and will no longer have to be exercise.
Mr Andrews was asked about the difference between NSW and Victoria’s handling of the virus.
“There is a very big difference between NSW and Victoria’s experience with this virus,” he said.
“There is much more community transmission here and therefore our tolerances need to be much lower.”
Mr Andrews also hit back at Business Council Australia CEO Jennifer Westacott, who said businesses with COVID-safe plans and no transmissions should be allowed to open.
“It’s not so much whether a business has had a history of infections, we simply can’t allow their customers out of their homes as if this virus didn’t actually exist,” Mr Andrews said.
“It is not about the business setting. It is important, but that doesn’t begin and end there. It is about how many customers, how many citizens can we have moving freely throughout metropolitan Melbourne, throughout regional Victoria, and that point seems to have been missed. Ultimately we need to do this in a steady and safe way.”
Mr Andrews said he had “no choice” but to extend stage-four restrictions in Melbourne or a third wave may happen well before Christmas.
Bruno Waterfeld 6.50pm: Johnson’s Brexit tactics could prove fatal
What is Britain’s game? That is the question echoing in EU corridors in Brussels.
AFP 6.15pm: China spruiks a ‘reborn’ Wuhan
China is recasting Wuhan as a heroic coronavirus victim and trying to throw doubt on the pandemic’s origin story as it aims to seize the narrative at a time of growing global distrust of Beijing.
The PR blitz plays out daily in comments by Chinese officials and lavish state media coverage of a “reborn” Wuhan that trumpets China’s epidemic-control efforts and economic recovery while the United States struggles.
The drive peaked in the past week as Chinese primary schools welcomed back students with considerable fanfare and Wuhan hosted executives from dozens of multinationals, from Panasonic to Dow and Nokia, on a highly choreographed tour of the central Chinese city.
“There are few places in the world today where you don’t need a mask and can gather,” a Chinese official, Lin Songtian, told the executives, implying Wuhan was one of those places.
“This testifies to Wuhan’s triumph over the virus and that (the city) is back in business.”
Lost in this retelling, however, is that a wet market in Wuhan is widely believed to be ground zero for the pandemic.
China’s Foreign Minister suggested on August 28 during a European outreach trip that the virus might not have emerged in China.
The drive indicates China recognises Covid-19’s damage to its brand and wants to leverage its relatively successful recovery to counter growing international challenges, analysts said.
READ MORE: Victoria’s road map: what we know
Jill Treanor 5.40pm: Working from home to cost Britain $28bn a year
Remote working could deal a blow of pounds 15.3bn a year to the UK economy due to the impact on cleaners, coffee shops and security guards, according to accountancy firm PwC.
The dent to GDP - about 1 per cent - would be caused by lower spending from workers who are at home, and the knock-on impact of lower spending power for those who rely on them for work.
Businesses that rely on office workers have already shown signs of pain from quieter-than-usual cities. Pret A Manger, which locates its stores in the shadow of office blocks, is cutting almost 3,000 jobs - a third of its workforce - and is now trying to expand into the suburbs.
Jonathan Gillham, PwC’s chief economist, said that while suburbs and smaller towns and centres such as Wigan and Bradford stood to benefit from home-working, the overall economy would suffer because of the impact on bigger cities such as London and Manchester.
The Sunday Times
READ MORE: Is COVID-19 is still the killer it was?
Paige Taylor 5pm: WA Premier urged to think again on borders
The West Australian Chamber of Commerce says it is “unfortunate” that WA has become an outlier in what could have been a clear national framework for the pandemic. The peak body for WA businesses is urging WA Premier Mark McGowan to reconsider his government’s decision not to join other states and territories in committing to bring down domestic borders by Christmas. WA was the only jurisdiction not to agree to the aim at national cabinet on Friday.
If Mr McGowan had joined other premiers and chief ministers, the WA chamber says, this would have offered “greater certainty for businesses to invest and to reinvigorate economic activity, as we confront the first recession in nearly 30 years”.
“It is unfortunate for the three in five WA businesses suffering due to WA’s hard borders, that the state government will not join the other States and Territories on the path back to national economy that is both open and safe,” the WA chamber wrote in a media statement.
“In the last quarter, the size of WA’s domestic economy contracted to the same size it was in 2010.”
WA Premier Mark McGowan has said the state’s borders will not come down - even to COVID-free South Australia and the Northern Territory — until all other states have recorded 28 consecutive days of no new cases in the community.
On Saturday Mr McGowan said he promised the people of WA the borders would not stay up longer than they needed to.
The WA chamber of commerce said despite hopes for a vaccine, the present conditions may need to be managed for years which it described as “an unsustainable period for WA to remain a closed economy”.
“The economic reality is that 60,000 more Western Australians are out of work now, than when this crisis began,” the WA chamber wrote in its media statement.
“A projected 11 per cent unemployment rate would mean up to 160,000 people out of jobs.
“The door remains open to the state government to join the National Cabinet in forging a path back towards an open, growing national economy, a decision which would provide clarity and certainty to WA businesses as they plan their investments into the future.”
READ MORE: It’s West Australia vs the res — “We know best”
Rachel Baxendale 4.50pm: Victoria’s mystery cases still in double digits
Of Victoria’s 63 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, 14 have so far been linked to known outbreaks, with the remaining 49 under investigation.
The state’s overall total number of cases has increased by 59, due the reclassification of four previously reported cases.
Of the 19,538 people who have had the virus in Victoria since the pandemic began, 16,921 have so far recovered - an increase of 137 since Saturday.
Of the 1872 active cases in Victoria, 1734 are in residents of metropolitan Melbourne, while 98 are in those living in regional Victoria, 38 are from unknown locations or subject to further investigation, and two are interstate residents.
Of the total 19,538 cases since the pandemic began, 18,172 have been in people from metropolitan Melbourne while 1178 have been in those from regional Victoria, while 9321 cases have been in men and 10,187 have been in women.
The total number of healthcare workers infected since the pandemic began is 3294 - and increase of seven since Saturday - but the number of active cases in healthcare workers has fallen by 25 since Saturday to 261.
READ MORE: Who, what, when, where — tracers reveal all
Angelica Snowden 4.35pm: Freedom Day costs protesters $80,000
NSW police have handed down more than $80,000 worth of fines to individual protesters who attended anti COVID lockdown rallies across the state on Saturday.
Nine people were charged by police after they attended the ‘Freedom Day’ events in Sydney and Byron Bay.
A 45-year-old man was charged with assaulting and resisting a police officer after he was arrested at a rally in Sydney Olympic Park. A 34-year-old man was also charged with failing to comply with directions and arrested.
In Byron Bay, four men were charged after the protests at parks on Jonsons Street and Bay Street.
In total, police charged nine people and issued 81 Penalty Infringement Notices of $1000 were issued for alleged breaches of the current NSW Public Health Orders.
The news came after a disqualified NSW driver was busted by police after he tried to smuggle a Victorian woman into NSW in his car boot.
Police said the driver - a 34-year-old man - was arrested after they discovered his license was suspended.
They found a 41-year-old woman hiding in the boot when they searched the Mitsubishi Magna who did not have a permit to visit NSW, who was directed to go back to Victoria.
But police said when they asked the woman to leave she drove the car through a red light.
She was issued with two fines, including a $1000 penalty for flouting a public health order.
The West Wodonga man was taken to Albury Police Station and charged with three offences including driving a motor vehicle during a disqualified period and driving with a passenger with no seatbelt.
READ MORE: Daniel Andrews slman ‘selfish’ protesters
Rachel Baxendale 4.15pm: Victoria clarifies return-to-work plan
The Andrews government has clarified the easing of restrictions for a number of industries, which it says will enable about 100,000 Victorians to return to work from September 28, as part of the “second step” of the road map.
This move will be predicated on Victoria reaching a threshold of an average daily coronavirus case rate of 30-50 cases in metropolitan Melbourne over the previous 14 days.
The current statewide daily average for the past 14 days is 101.
The changes would be as follows:
Construction
- The baseline for large-scale construction will go from 25 per cent of the total workforce to 85 per cent.
- For small-scale construction sites, specialist contractors will now be able to visit up to 5 sites per week, with a maximum of 2 per day.
- Early Stage Land Development density restrictions will increase to 20 workers per hectare.
Manufacturing (excluding meat and seafood processing)
- Manufacturing businesses that are currently closed will be able to operate at a maximum of 90 per cent of their normal daily worker level.
- Manufacturing businesses that were already operating under Stage 4 restrictions can continue to do so.
- There will be no change to abattoirs until the Last Step.
Wholesale trade and warehousing
- Wholesaling businesses on the permitted work premise list will be allowed to open at 67 per cent of their normal daily worker level.
- There will be no change to warehousing during the Second Step.
Postal and Distribution
- The worker reduction will no longer apply to postal and distribution centres.
Childcare
- With childcare services re-opening to all parents, the number of workers at early childhood services will also increase.
- Childcare permits will no longer be required.
In addition, gardening, landscaping and garden maintenance businesses who have an ABN will be added to the permitted worker list, under the condition that they work entirely outside, contact-free and it’s only one person operating alone.
Rachel Baxendale 4pm: Andrews misled us over plan, says business chief
Victoria’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO Paul Guerra accused the Andrews government of having misled business about the roadmap, acknowledging the details in Sunday’s announcement were “very similar” to those contained in a draft leaked to the Herald Sun last week.
On Thursday Mr Guerra, who has recovered from his own bout of coronavirus, said the information his group had received was very different to that contained in the leaked document.
“Nothing like it – in fact my phone blew up this morning with text messages (from) many aggrieved people,” Mr Guerra told 3AW at the time.
“I’m happy to say I have never seen that template beforehand and it’s certainly not the template we have been working with, in conjunction with unions and other industry leaders and the state.”
Asked on Sunday whether he felt the government had misled him, Mr Guerra said: “I think that’s plain to see.”
“What was in the paper on Thursday is very similar to what was released today, and I think every business leader in this state, we consulted, and we put up a number of staff to be able to do that, countless hours, only to see that plan that was leaked on Thursday largely being presented today,” he said.
Asked whether he would continue dialogue with the government or believed it was pointless, Mr Guerra said he would keep talking.
“Absolutely. Business needs to be heard, and that’s perhaps the part that, the last week, we’ve been disappointed about, is the health measures have taken priority here,” he said.
“We understand that to an extent, but it can’t be at the expense of jobs, it can’t be at the expense of businesses.
“This needs to be a community solution, and we need to make sure that we’re not only protecting citizens, but we’re also protecting the businesses and the jobs they rely on.”
READ MORE: Leaked road map reveals Victoria’s magic number
Tessa Akerman 3.50pm: Victorian pub owners want commonwealth to step in
Victorian pub owners are calling for the federal government to intervene in the state, claiming Premier Daniel Andrews’ road map out of lockdown will be the “death knell” for hospitality.
Australian Hotels Association Victoria president David Canny said the road map had no balance between health requirements and business requirements.
“We will be asking the federal government tomorrow to intervene, to try and get experts from other states,” he said.
“Why can everyone else do this so much better?”
Mr Canny said pubs couldn’t be put in “hibernation” and generational publicans would leave the business.
“This is the tail wagging the dog and bureaucrats having no understanding of what businesses need and don’t want,” he said.
“We’re going to end up as a failed state.”
Mr Canny said Victoria had previously been able to boast about its support for hotels, including its position to not introduce lock-out laws like in New South Wales.
“This premier’s legacy is going to be changing hospitality in this state forever.”
READ MORE: The biggest losers in a world of hurt
Christine Kellett 3.45pm: PM calls Victorian decision ‘crushing news’
The Prime Minister, Treasurer and federal Health Minister have called the announcement out of Victoria today “crushing news” for the people of that state and have distanced the commonwealth government from the decision.
As reaction to Daniel Andrews’ road map to recovery comes thick and fast, the federal government has promised to “seek feedback from Victorian business and industry stakeholders to understand their concerns and seek to ensure they are addressed.”
“Today’s announcement from the Victorian government to extend lockdown arrangements will be hard and crushing news for the people of Victoria,” Scott Morrison, Josh Frydenberg and Greg Hunt said in a joint statement this afternoon.
“The proposed roadmap will come at a further economic cost. While this needs to be weighed up against mitigating the risk of further community outbreak, it is also true that the continued restrictions will have further impact on the Victorian and national economy, in further job losses and loss of livelihoods, as well as impacting on mental health.
“Of course the federal government would like to see restrictions in Victoria lifted as soon as it is safe to do so, but at the end of the day these are decisions solely for the Victorian Government to determine and the roadmap released today is a Victorian government plan.”
READ MORE: Paul Kelly — Premiers holding Scott Morrison hostage
Caroline Schelle 3.40pm: Touch school news for years 3 to 10
Thousands of students in metropolitan Melbourne in years three to 10 may not be back in the classroom for the final term of 2020.
School students in those years can only go back to the classroom from October 26 if there are fewer than five new coronavirus cases across the state, Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Sunday.
“In terms of grade three to ten remote and flexible learning, learning from home continues … subject to the data and subject to the number of virus cases,” he said.
“We aim to try to get kids back [to school] but that’s got to be done safely.”
The premier said he wasn’t able to outline a timeline for students in those years beyond what had been released.
Students in prep to year two, as well as those doing VCE, VCAL and specialist students, would be able to return to class from week two, he confirmed.
Victoria’s Education Minister James Merlino said a “staged return” to the classroom for the majority of students would be based on case numbers and advice from the public health team.
There was time to address issues facing students in prep to Year 11 including their wellbeing and mental health, he said.
“We’ve got time to address catch-up learning and we’ll do that in term four and in 2021,” he said.
But students in Year 12 needed to be prioritised because it is their final year of secondary education.
Mr Merlino said every decision the government has made has been about ensuring this is “a year of meaning” for Year 12 students and “that their results are a fair reflection of their ability and their performance”.
Students in regional areas will be able to head back to class for a staged return in Term 4.
READ MORE: How home schooling sets children back
Jade Gailberger 3.12pm: Push to reopen Bunnings, Kmart
Bunnings, Kmart and Big W should be allowed to reopen in parts of Victoria where there are low numbers of COVID-19 cases, says Business Council of Australia boss Jennifer Westacott.
Ms Westacott has revealed she is “really worried” about the effect of continued restrictions across Melbourne, ahead of a state government roadmap being released on Sunday.
Speaking on the ABC’s Insiders program, Ms Westacott said businesses should be given the green light to reopen if they have a COVID-safe plan and are in an area with no community transmission.
“Bunnings, Target, Kmart, Big W, Officeworks, they see about ten million customers a year, no customer transmissions,” she said. “Why can’t these things start to open?
“No-one wants a third wave here but I think we have to find a practical, achievable, sustainable plan forward.”
Ms Westacott sits on the board of Wesfarmers, which owns Bunnings, Kmart, Officeworks and Target.
WATCH: When is the right time for Victoria to ease #coronavirus restrictions?
— Insiders ABC (@InsidersABC) September 6, 2020
The #Insiders panel of @annikasmethurst, @dwabriz and Stan Grant discuss the issue with @David_Speers and @JAWestacott #auspol pic.twitter.com/yg6bzyk4Nx
The Business Council of Australia chief has put companies receiving JobKeeper on notice, saying they should not be paying out bonuses to their executives.
It comes after Labor MP Andrew Leigh last month in parliament hit out at businesses including Accent Group, IDP Education, Star Casino and SeaLink for giving their CEOs bonuses after pocketing millions in the $1500 fortnightly wage subsidy.
Ms Westacott urged companies paying dividends to shareholders while on JobKeeper to “exercise very careful judgment”.
Read the full story here.
Christine Kellett 2.40pm: Premier’s plan ‘a road to nowhere’
Victoria’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry has shredded Daniel Andrews’s road map to recovery, calling it a “massive blow” and a “kick in the guts” to the state’s businesses, whose input had been ignored in developing the plan.
“Today we have been delivered a road to nowhere,” VECCI CEO Paul Guerra told a press conference just moments ago.
“This does not deliver for the thousands of businesses that are trying to keep this state going and trying to keep their doors open. We can’t continue to let business and jobs be decimated on the way to controlling the spread of the virus. This has to end. Business needs hope.”
Mr Guerra, who has himself recovered from coronavirus, said the road map, which includes a staged lifting of restrictions stretching into November and dependent on daily cases dropping into the single digits, effectively meant nothing would change for businesses for at least two months “and that’s not good enough.”
“The heartbreak for members, and in fact business owners today is the realisation that many of them who have been desperately hanging on for months will see their businesses fold and they will have to look their employees in the eye and tell them that they no longer have a job.
“We need to get the virus under control. We are lock-step with both the federal and state governments on that aim. But we can’t just let business and jobs be sacrificed on the way.”
READ MORE: Is Covid still the killer it was?
Christine Kellett 2.30pm: Victoria’s road map ‘disappointing, illogical’
Victoria’s Liberal Opposition leader says Premier Daniel Andrews has not provided enough clarity for when small businesses can start to operate in his road map to recovery plan.
Michael O’Brien said the four-step plan outlined by Mr Andrews this afternoon would leave millions of Victorians disappointed and without hope.
“Why is it that you can go to the local park and have a jog around with your mate, but if that mate is a personal trainer, sorry, you are both breaking the law,” Mr O’Brien told reporters.
“There is no logic to it. There are so many ridiculous, illogical inclusions.”
Mr O’Brien said the state government’s priority needed to include an urgent boost to contact tracing, which the Premier said was likely better than the system employed in NSW, which recorded 10 new cases overnight and has avoided asecond wave.
“The Premier claims we have got a first-rate system.We don’t. Making your
first call a week after someone dies, that is not a first-rate system of contact tracing, Premier, and you are pulling the wool over every Victorian’s eyes by suggesting otherwise.
READ MORE: Explainer — everything we know about Victoria’s four-step plan to ‘COVID normal’
Charlie Peel 2pm: 200 Qld hospital staff forced into quarantine
A nurse at a hospital west of Brisbane is one of two people to test positive for COVID-19 in Queensland in the past 24 hours, prompting more than 200 staff to go into quarantine.
The 32-year-old woman who works at Ipswich Hospital had contact with coronavirus patients in recent weeks.
The second case is a sibling of a student at the Staines Memorial College at Redbank Plains which has had several students affected by the virus.
Health Minister Steven Miles said Ipswich Hospital has “borne the brunt” of the state’s outbreak linked to the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre at Wacol, which has affected 33 people.
“Four of the cases are staff members of the hospital,” Mr Miles said.
“222 staff are now in quarantine as a result of their contact (with) those four staff.”
The Health Minister said the situation had impacted the hospital’s roster and scheduled appointments for the week ahead had been relocated or rescheduled.
READ MORE: Minister calls Qld Premier’s border call ‘popular but devastating’
Stephen Lunn 1.37pm: Regional Victoria’s road map less restrictive
Regional Victoria will operate under a less restrictive regime during the Victorian government’s road map out of COVID-19.
With less than 100 active cases in regional areas, there will be a quicker return to school for students in the regions, with all students back into the classroom between 12 and 16 October.
And from 14 September, up to five people will be able to gather together in outdoor public places.
People are still required to work from home where practicable.
The restrictions beyond September will depend on case numbers being fewer than 5 per day on a 14 day average across regional Victoria.
But various industry sectors including manufacturing, retail, construction and agriculture are all able to open provided they have a COVID-safe plan in place.
Indoor entertainment, galleries and nightclubs will all be closed until November 23.
Tessa Akerman 1.20pm: Victoria Police nab 387 for health order breaches
A man in Footscray who told Victoria Police he had just used heroin and was looking for more was just one of the 387 people fined for breaching the Chief Health Officer directions in the past 24 hours.
Victoria Police fined 48 people for breaching curfew, 36 for not wearing a face mask and 26 were stopped at vehicle checkpoints.
Police checked 17,539 vehicles and carried out 3672 spot checks on people at homes, businesses and in public places.
Further examples of breaches include a woman who was checked in Werribee for being more than 5km from home.
The woman said she was buying yoghurt and preferred the Werribee shops.
Also:
- Police intercepted a vehicle in Mitcham which was registered to a Capel Sound address. When questioned the driver stated he was living in his Fish & Chip shop in Croydon and had dropped a friend off in Box Hill
- Two males and a female located in St Albans visiting a friend about work. All three were from Diggers Rest and were outside the 5km radius.
READ MORE: Police face off with protesters during ‘Freedom Day’ rallies
Stephen Lunn 1.11pm: Melbourne offices shut until end of October
Offices in Melbourne will be shut until at least the end of October and potentially longer depending on the coronavirus case numbers, the Andrews government’s new road map reveals.
Retail is in a similar position, and restaurants will be restricted to take away only until October 26.
Hairdressers will be required to remain shut until then.
Construction will be restricted until that date. For the next two weeks manufacturing and wholesaling will be closed unless permitted, then restricted after that.
Tourism operators will be closed until at least late October, along with gyms and outdoor entertainment venues.
Museums, galleries, nightclubs and indoor entertainment venues will all be closed longer, until at least November 23.
Tourism operators will be closed until at least late October, along with gyms and outdoor entertainment venues.
Museums, galleries, nightclubs and indoor entertainment venues will all be closed longer, until at least November 23.
READ MORE: Business Council chief slams ‘pointless job killers'
Rachel Baxendale 12.49pm: Premier reveals Victoria’s new ‘Covid normal’
According to the Victorian government’s road map, the state will reach ‘COVID Normal’ status when no new cases occur for 28 days plus no active cases (statewide) and no outbreaks of concern in other States and Territories.
- Most restrictions dropped subject to safety conditions
- Phased return to onsite work for those who have been working at home
Stephen Lunn 12.44pm: Victoria’s third and fourth steps to recovery
It won’t be until the end of October that Victoria will move to significantly ease restrictions, and only if the COVID numbers fall to a daily average of less than five new cases across Victoria and five cases from unknown sources over the previous 14 days.
Daniel Andrews outlined the “third step” of his road map out of coronavirus restrictions that nominated 26 October as the key date, but only if the case numbers fall to five or less on average.
If the public health advice at the time allows, the 9pm curfew would be dropped in greater Melbourne, and people would be able to leave home with no restrictions on the distance they travel.
Outdoor public gatherings would be increased to a maximum of 10 people, and five visitors from another nominated household could visit each other.
Years 3-10 would return to school, and retail and hairdressing would reopen.
Outdoor dining would be allowed subject to a group limit of 10 and social distancing density limits.
And non-contact sport would resume.
The third step will apply for metropolitan Melbourne from 26 October 2020 subject to public health advice and if daily average is less than five new cases (statewide) and less than five cases from unknown sources over the previous 14 days (statewide total).
- Curfew dropped
- Leave home – no restrictions on reasons or distance travelled
- Public gatherings increased to 10 people outdoors
- Visitors at home – up to five visitors from another nominated household
- Schools – potential staged return for Year 3 to 10 based on epidemiology
- Retail and hairdressing reopen
- Hospitality - predominantly outdoor seated service, group limit of 10 and
density limits
- Sport – staged return of outdoor non-contact sport for adults. Outdoor
under 18 years contact and non-contact sport resumes
The final step from 23 November 2020 subject to public health advice and if no new cases forprevious 14 days
- Public gatherings of up to 50 people outdoors
- Visitors at home – up to 20 visitors at a time
- Retail - all open
- Hospitality – indoor group limit of 20 people for seated service, cap of 50
patrons
- Real estate – open with safety measures
- Sport – open subject to safety measures, contact sport resumes for all
ages
- Weddings, funerals – maximum of 50 people
- Religion – public worship resumes subject to density quotas
Stephen Lunn 12.35pm: Childcare and schools back in second stage
Melbourne can move into the second stage of its road map out of COVID restrictions from 28 September if average daily cases fall to between 30 and 50 new cases a day over the previous 14 days.
This will allow up to five people from two households to gather in public places.
There will be a staged return to school, but for all students in Melbourne the start of Term 4 will continue to be remote learning.
In regional Victoria, all students will be back to onsite learning from between 12-16 October. Similarly for all Prep to Year 2 students across the state.
The return of other students to their schools will depend on the case numbers from mid-October.
And childcare will also reopen from September 28.
Rachel Baxendale 12.30pm: Victoria’s first step to recovery
The following will apply to metropolitan Melbourne from 11.59pm, 13 September 2020:
- Curfew eased to 9pm to 5am
- Exercise increased to two hours per day
- Single “social bubbles”
- Public outdoor gatherings of two people or a household for up to two
hours
- Playgrounds reopen
Stephen Lunn 12.17pm: Stage four to be extended by a fortnight
Melbourne’s stage four restrictions will continue for at least two more weeks from September 14, Daniel Andrews has announced.
The restrictions are slightly modified in that the current 8pm curfew will be extended to 9pm, and exercise will be extended to a maximum of two hours a day.
Those who live alone will also be able to partner with another to be able to travel to each others’ homes for social visits.
People in metropolitan Melbourne people will also be able to simply spend time outdoors, up to two hours, while they are outside. It won’t have to be exercise.
And playgrounds will reopen for children from September 14.
From September 28, and depending on daily cases being between 30 and 50, there will be a staged return to school for some students for term four. Childcare centres will also reopen subject to health advice.
The third step, from 26 October, subject to public health advice, and if the daily average of cases over the previous 14 days is less than five, the curfew will no longer apply, the Premier said.
There will be no restrictions on reasons or distances travelled and public gatherings will increase to 10 people outdoors under this stage.
“The last step, from the 23 November... public gatherings of up to 50 people (will be allowed) outdoors and visitors to your home up to 20 at a time,” the Premier said.
Mr Andrews said he had “no choice” but to extend stage four restrictions in Melbourne or a third wave may happen well before Christmas.
The Premier said the decision was not a difficult decision because the evidence was clear that lifting restrictions too quickly would lead to higher cases.
“This is not a 50-50 choice. The modelling … indicates that if we open up too fast then we have a very high likelihood that we are not opening up at all.
“And we will be back in and out of lockdown, in and out of restrictions, before the end of the year. Indeed potentially well before the end of the year.
More to come...
Rachel Baxendale 11.50am: Watch Daniel Andrews’s announcement live
The stage is set for Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to announce the state’s road map out of its deadly second wave of coronavirus cases and associated restrictions.
Treasury Theatre, adjacent to the Premier’s office at 1 Treasury Place, is slowly filling with journalists, photographers and camera operators, with a maximum of two allowed from each mainstream media masthead or station due to social distancing requirements.
Angelica Snowden 11.30am: NSW records 10 new cases, CBD cluster grows
Sydney’s CBD coronavirus outbreak is continuing to grow, as 10 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded across NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm on Saturday.
A further three cases were connected with the outbreak in the CBD which has ballooned to 64 infections, NSW Health said in a statement.
Two cases are under investigation and include a man in his 40s from Sydney’s north and a child from Sydney’s west.
One of the latest cases — a woman in her 30s from south west Sydney — is a contact of a previously reported case.
Four were returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
NSW Health said two of the latest cases attend Year 7 at Kincoppal Rose Bay School of the Sacred Heart in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Another of today’s new cases is a student at Lidcombe Public School in Sydney’s west.
Both schools will be closed for cleaning on Monday.
NSW Health said a health professional — reported in Saturday’s COVID figures — who contracted coronavirus worked at the Concord Hospital emergency department on September 1 from 2pm to midnight and at Liverpool Hospital emergency department on 3 September from 8am to 6pm.
“The health professional wore full personal protective equipment at all times while in contact with patients, and a surgical mask at all other times,” NSW health said in a statement.
Another of today’s cases which was reported on Saturday attended Hyde Park Medical Centre on September 5.
NSW Health said they were “assessing potential exposure to COVID-19” of people who attended the centre and physiotherapy, pathology, dermatology and dental practices or pharmacy on the ground floor of the building from August 24 to September 5.
There are now 3,925 cases of COVID-19 in NSW.
READ MORE: Entrepreneurs slam ‘reckless' border closures
Olivia Caisley 11.15am: Businesses will just leave Victoria, CEO warns
Business Council of Australia chief executive Jennifer Westacott has warned continued lockdowns in Victoria would be devastating for businesses as she slammed state border closures as “pointless job killers.”
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to announce his government’s final blueprint for easing coronavirus restrictions at midday, following nearly two months of lockdowns.
But Ms Westacott said she hoped the plan was simple, predictable and would “not go backwards.”
“No one wants a third wave here. But I think we have to find a practical, achievable, sustainable plan forward that also allows things to get back,” she told ABC Insiders on Sunday.
Mr Andrews’ plan is likely to see Melbourne stay in Stage Four restrictions for at least a fortnight beyond the current expiry date of September 13, with Stage Three stay-at-home restrictions only eased after daily case numbers are sustained in single digits.
Ms Westacott warned that “a long road out” of restrictions could result in “businesses leaving Victoria.”
“It means a sense of hopelessness that I think has crept in to Victoria, which I think is bad for people’s mental health,” she said.
Ms Westacott called out the Andrews’ government for not consulting properly with Victorian businesses throughout the lockdown, declaring “it hasn’t been good enough.”
“It’s one thing to tell businesses things,” she said. “It’s another thing to work with them to try to make sure that we don’t get a third wave and we keep things going.”
She again urged for a local lockdown approach rather than state border closures, arguing that companies with COVID-safe plans should be allowed to re-open.
READ MORE: Businesses left stumbling in the dark
Greg Sheridan 11am: We’ll be fighting for years, whatever Andrews decides
The COVID-19 pandemic is burning, still wild, across much of the world, with just on 27 million cases and nearly 900,000 deaths. Health Minister Greg Hunt thinks it will reach 50 million cases in the next six months. It is a towering inferno, killing people, sickening economies, changing the world perhaps forever.
Australia resembles one of those well defended rural properties where the owners have cleared a huge fire break around the house and, as a result, managed to survive an epic bushfire, though there is devastation all around. Until the fire is all gone, the owners fight ember attacks, opportunistic strikes of flame blow in.
Daniel Andrews’s government in Victoria, the most incompetent in Australia, didn’t fight the embers.
The world is tired of the virus now, aching to get out of it. But one of its many tricks is that, like the poltergeist in a Hollywood horror movie, it comes back.
Read Greg Sheridan’s full analysis here.
Rachel Baxendale 10.30am: Victorian cabinet due to sign off on road map
Victoria’s cabinet is due to meet at 11am to sign off on the Andrews government’s road map out of coronavirus restrictions.
As reported earlier, the plan is likely to see Melbourne stay in Stage Four restrictions for at least a fortnight beyond the current expiry date of September 13, with Stage Three stay-at-home restrictions only eased after daily case numbers are sustained in single digits.
Premier Daniel Andrews is set to address the media early this afternoon, with his office saying the press conference is likely to be held no earlier than midday.
READ MORE: Paul Kelly — Our leaders offer up an unconvincing solution
Mackenzie Scott 10.25am: Frontline Covid workers ahead in loans scheme
Key workers on the COVID-19 frontline led the charge to take up the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme, with their comparative job security giving them an edge despite the economic uncertainty.
Teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters and other frontline workers were the biggest cohort (18 per cent) to access the 10,000 spots on offer in the initial round.
The federal government scheme, which started in January, enables first-home buyers to purchase a property with a deposit as low as 5 per cent.
The lenders mortgage insurance would then be guaranteed by the government. A strict set of income and buying caps were enforced to target low-to middle-income savers.
National Housing Finance and Investment Corporation chief Nathan Dal Bon said the timely introduction ahead of the global pandemic had helped sustain the property market in the face of job losses and downturn in business revenues.
“The scheme‘s eligibility criteria in terms of income ranges seems to fit very well with that moderate income range that key workers typically have,” Mr Dal Bon said. “Also, some of them are obviously public sector workers so they have that stability of tenure, which is obviously important … in the current climate.”
Given weak wage growth in recent years lagging behind the rise in house prices, research from the Grattan Institute suggests the saving process now can take nine or 10 years.
Read the full story here.
Juan Montes 10am: Covid leaves Mexico running out of death certificates
Mexico is running out of death certificates due to the high death toll brought by the coronavirus pandemic and federal bureaucratic snafus, authorities say, delaying burials.
The higher-than-normal deaths have caused a shortage of certificates in working-class communities of the country’s most populated state, the State of Mexico, as well as in Mexico City and Baja California state, said Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell, who leads the government’s pandemic response.
The shortage reflects the depth of the pandemic in Mexico. The country ranks fourth in the world in COVID-19 deaths at more than 66,000, after the U.S., Brazil and India. Both the government and health experts say the real toll is likely far higher but is obscured by limited testing.
The lack of death certificates hampers the work of funeral homes and doctors and fuels anxiety among families unable to hold funeral services for relatives without the document.
“I receive calls from doctors almost daily asking me to help them to get more death certificates,” said Carlos Aranza, the State of Mexico’s co-ordinator of health services. “We are going through a period of great scarcity.”
Funeral directors in Cuautitlán, a gritty industrial suburb north of Mexico City, say that households have had to keep relatives’ corpses at home while they trek across the city seeking doctors who could provide death certificates.
The Wall Street Journal
READ MORE: COVID-19 vaccines — What’s coming and when
Peter Loftus 9.30am: Vaccine developers prepare joint pledge on safety
Several drug makers developing COVID-19 vaccines plan to issue a public pledge not to seek US government approval until the shots have proven to be safe and effective, an unusual joint move among rivals that comes as they work to address concerns over a rush to mass vaccination.
A draft of the joint statement, still being finalised by companies including Pfizer Inc., PFE -0.11% Johnson & Johnson JNJ -0.64% and Moderna Inc. MRNA -3.45% and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, commits to making the safety and wellbeing of vaccinated people the companies’ priority. The vaccine makers would also pledge to adhere to high scientific and ethical standards in the conduct of clinical studies and in the manufacturing processes.
The companies might issue the pledge as soon as early next week, according to two people familiar with the matter. The statement would join a growing number of public assurances by industry executives that they aren’t cutting corners in their rapid testing and manufacturing of the vaccines.
“We believe this pledge will help ensure public confidence in the COVID-19 vaccines that may ultimately be approved and adherence to the rigorous scientific and regulatory process by which they are evaluated,” the draft statement says.
The Wall Street Journal
READ MORE: Greg Sheridan — Why a vaccine is not guaranteed
Olivia Caisley 9am: Minister slams Premier’s ‘popular but devastating’ call
Water Minister Keith Pitt says he is frustrated by Queensland Premier Anastasia Palaszczuk’s decision to keep the borders of his home state closed.
Mr Pitt said he knew the decision was “enormously popular” in his own electorate and among Queenslanders more generally, but it was having an “absolutely devastating” impact on border communities.
“Look I am frustrated,” Mr Pitt told Sky News on Sunday. “I know the Queensland Premier’s decisions are enormously popular, it’s very popular in my electorate, but on the border communities in particular, it’s just been absolutely devastating.”
“One thing that (the Australian people) will always demand is fairness, and at the moment they don’t think the current situation is fair, especially when you’ve got cancer and you can’t see the closest oncologist.”
Mr Pitt said the decision was impacting the ability of the Liberal National Party to campaign ahead of the Queensland state election with Scott Morrison unable to join candidate Deb Frecklington on the hustings.
Mr Pitt said the situation where those living in border communities were unable to get to their jobs on the other side of the border was wrong and “needs to be dealt with.” But he ruled out withdrawing Commonwealth wage subsidy payments from states with hard borders in a bid to ratchet up pressure on them.
READ MORE: Janet Albrechtsen — Fascist behaviour silencing fed-up Victorians
Rachel Baxendale 8.30am: Victoria’s daily cases fall again
Victoria has recorded 63 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Sunday, and five deaths.
The number is a drop on the 76 cases and 11 deaths recorded in the 24 hours to yesterday.
The 63 new cases represent the lowest daily increase since 28 June, 10 weeks ago, and come as Premier Daniel Andrews is set to announce a reopening road map which is likely to see the state locked down for at least a fortnight beyond the current Stage Four deadline of September 13.
The five deaths take the state’s coronavirus death toll to 666, all but 19 of which have occurred during the state’s second wave, sparked by breaches in the Andrews government’s hotel quarantine program.
The 63 new cases take Victoria’s seven-day daily average to 81, the lowest since 77 on July 5, and down from the peak of a seven day daily average of 573 from a record 725 new cases on August 5.
READ MORE: Chris Kenny — Obsessed premier has lost touch with reality
Kaya Burgess 8am: Airport testing for all ‘gives false sense of safety’
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has rejected calls for coronavirus tests at airports, claiming that screening all passengers would create a “false sense of security”.
The prime minister said that airport screening identified only 7 per cent of asymptomatic cases. There was no way to avoid the need for travellers who arrived in Britain to undergo a period of quarantine, he added.
During a visit to Solihull, West Midlands, Mr Johnson said: “So 93 per cent of the time you could have a real false sense of security, a false sense of confidence when you arrive and take a test.
“That’s why the quarantine system that we have has got to be an important part of our repertoire, of our toolbox, in fighting Covid.”
Earlier, Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, told Sky News that airport testing was not a “silver bullet” solution to the need for travellers to quarantine. He claimed that the “vast majority” of asymptomatic carriers would be missed by such screening.
READ MORE: When can Australians travel overseas?
Agencies 7.30am: Batman halts production as leading man tests positive
Filming in Britain for the latest Batman movie has been halted after its star Robert Pattinson reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus, just days after shooting had resumed.
“A member of ‘The Batman’ production has tested positive for COVID-19, and is isolating in accordance with established protocols,” Warner Bros. said in a statement to AFP.
“Filming is temporarily paused.” The studio did not name the person infected or indicate when filming would resume.
However a number of Hollywood trade publications, including Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, said they had confirmed that 34-year-old Pattinson was the sick cast member.
Pattinson’s representative could not be immediately reached for comment. Production for the new film — a dark, detective-style mystery take on the “Caped Crusader” — also had to shut down midway through production in March due to the pandemic.
Read the full story here.
Christine Kellett 7am: Hard lockdowns likely to be extended for weeks
Victoria will not be in a safe position to reopen by September 14, according to new modelling that points to up to six more weeks before restrictions are significantly eased.
The government had wanted to see daily case numbers drop to single digits before reopening the economy, the Herald Sun reports.
University of Melbourne modelling suggests case numbers will not be low enough for the government to safely lift restrictions without risking a third wave of the virus by Christmas, with cases on average halving every 18 days under stage four. On that trend, single-digit cases would not be a reality until November.
The government is due to release its road map out of lockdown later today.
Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday warned the government would only ease restrictions once the coronavirus second wave was “truly defeated”.
“To open up with those numbers would, of course, see the total number of coronavirus infections explode,” Mr Andrews said.
“It would see many, many hundreds, indeed thousands, of Victorians infected with this virus. So, as frustrating, as challenging as it is, we need to stay the course on this. That’s why tomorrow we will outline a road map to ease these important restrictions, to ease out of the second wave, once it’s appropriately and properly defeated. Truly defeated.”
READ MORE: ‘We can’t wait for virus to vanish’
Agencies 6.30am: Protests grip Italy over vaccination, masks
About 1,000 people demonstrated Saturday in the heart of Rome against the mandatory use of face masks for schoolchildren and compulsory vaccination for them.
More than 35,500 people have died in Italy — one of the first countries in Europe to be hit. The country, where almost 276,000 cases have been reported, emerged in May from a strict two-month lockdown.
The crowd was composed of anti-vaccine activists and conspiracy theorists. “No masks, no social distancing,” a banner read. Others read “Personal freedom is inviolable” and “Long live liberty.” One protester carried a photo of Pope Francis with the word Satan written above it and the number 666 — considered a symbol of the devil.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte reacted frostily saying: “More than 274,000 ill and 35,000 dead. Full stop.” He said there would be no new lockdown but only targeted confinements if needed.”
READ MORE: Greg Sheridan — Rampaging virus could change us forever
Tom Whipple 6am: Russian vaccine passes early trials
Russia’s most advanced vaccine candidate has successfully passed its early stages of clinical trials, according to preliminary results.
Initial findings from a small study of 76 people showed that there were no severe side effects and the vaccine elicited an antibody response.
Vladimir Putin has promised to roll out the use of the country’s “Sputnik V” vaccine before any other country, claiming it as a victory in a global race to escape the pandemic.
Three weeks ago Mr Putin told a government meeting, when announcing the country was going to engage in mass vaccination: “This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered.”
He added, “I know that it is quite effective, that it gives sustainable immunity.” At the time there was no published evidence of its efficacy.
The latest results, published in The Lancet, confirm that like several other vaccine candidates the Russian offering has cleared the early hurdles of human trials. The vaccine takes an approach similar to that used by the team at Oxford University, using a benign virus known as an adenovirus to transport coronavirus proteins into the body.
Read the full story here.
Courtney Walsh 12.35am: Swans respond to allegations against suspended player
Sydney has confirmed on Saturday night they are aware of assault allegations levelled against Swan Elijah Taylor on social media.
The Swans said they are taking the allegations made against Taylor by a woman seriously and have referred the matter to the AFL.
“The Sydney Swans are aware of allegations made on social media regarding first year player Elijah Taylor,” the statement reads.
The first year player is in Perth with his family while serving a suspension for a COVID-19 breach.
Read the full story here.
AFP 12.25am: More than a dozen anti-lockdown protesters arrested
Over a dozen anti-lockdown protesters were arrested on Saturday in Melbourne, as those deliberately flouting stay-at-home orders clashed with Australian police.
Ignoring official warnings and public health orders, several hundred people gathered at an illegal protest — promoted by several virus related conspiracy theory groups online — calling for an end to lockdown measures.
A huge police presence responded, arresting 17 as the crowd chanted “freedom” and “scam” towards lines of officers who repeatedly attempted to move people on.
Two protesters were seen raising their arms in a Nazi salute at officers and yelling “Heil Dan”, comparing the state of Victoria’s premier Daniel Andrews to Adolf Hitler, while standing on the forecourt of the Shrine of Remembrance — a war memorial which partly commemorates Australians killed fighting in World War II.
Demonstrators moved to a nearby park before being surrounded by police and eventually dispersing.
Officers said they issued 160 fines for breaching health orders and were expecting to hand out more in coming days.
Read the full story here.
Lee Hawkins 12.10am: Pandemic, air quality keeps New York City schools shut
The deal reached between New York City and the teachers union on a delayed reopening of schools still partly hinges on an issue that has been on the radar all summer: the coronavirus and air quality.
Ventilation, a complicated and potentially expensive issue, could create a barrier to reopening some city schools as inspection teams from the school district and the teachers union race to inspect buildings.
The United Federation of Teachers, which represents about 120,000 city Department of Education employees, deployed its own teams to inspect ventilation, fans and windows, mainly to double-check the DOE’s inspections. The DOE has already shut down some classrooms that it found unsafe, and the union said its involvement as a watchdog promises ventilation will be a key issue to reopening schools.
The Wall Street Journal
Emily Ritchie, Rosie Lewis 12.05am: Road map reveals Victoria’s magic number
A leaked draft of Victoria’s road map out of lockdown suggests coronavirus restrictions will begin easing on September 14, with some of the first changes being lengthening exercise quotas to two hours and gradual increases in the number of people that can gather together outdoors.
The draft, seen by The Australian, details the different levels of lockdown (Stage 4 being the harshest and Stage 0 or ‘COVID Normal’ being the most relaxed) and outlines the thresholds for easing restrictions.
For the lockdown currently imposed on regional Victoria to be eased from Stage 3 (Stay at Home) to Stage 2 (Go Outside), the draft document says there would have to be an average daily increase in the number of COVID-19 cases over the past fortnight to be less than 5.
Under a summary of proposed lifting of restrictions, the document suggests two people or a household will be permitted to gather outside in Melbourne from September 14, single person or single-parent households will be permitted one house guest and exercise quotas will be lifted from one to two hours per day (split into a maximum of two sessions).
The changes on September 14 for regional Victoria would include additional exemptions to stay at home rules, including allowing up to five people from up to two houses to gather outside.
See the full story and draft here.
ASX 200 rises 0.5pc to record close; Origin down
A strong day for Aussie shares as the ASX 200 rises 0.5 per cent to a record high close at 8532.3. Origin cuts APLNG guidance. Citi upgrades BlueScope. Rinehart lifts Lynas stake. Broker upgrade for Zip. Lendlease selling Capella. US probing if DeepSeek used Nvidia chips. Trump advisors hunt for deals as Canada, Mexico tariffs loom.
‘Hunted down and locked up’: PM condemns latest anti-Semitic attack
Anthony Albanese has condemned a spate of anti-Semitic hate crimes which has culminated in the discovery of a caravan packed with explosives outside Sydney, declaring the perpetrators 'would not succeed' creating hate and division.