Coronavirus Australia updates: Glastonbury cancelled over virus fears
The Glastonbury music festival has been cancelled after the UK announced tough new social distancing measures.
- Union, MBA ‘unholy alliance’
- Australian death toll rises
- PM warns: don’t travel
- Morrison: ‘Stop it' on hoarding
- Schools ‘should stay open’
For the latest coverage of the escalating coronavirus crisis follow our live blog for Thursday here..
Scott Morrison has warned all Australians not to travel overseas, and imposed a range of new restrictions.
• Top story: Australia faces an explosion of coronavirus cases, a biosecurity expert warns
Angelica Snowden 10.46pm: Glastonbury called off
The Glastonbury music festival has been cancelled after the UK announced new measures that would potentially enforce social distancing and lockdowns for 18 months.
“Following new government measures announced this week - and in times of such unprecedented uncertainty - this is now our only viable option”, a statement released on Twitter said.
We are so sorry to announce this, but we are going to have to cancel Glastonbury 2020. Tickets for this year will roll over to next year. Full statement below and on our website. Michael & Emily pic.twitter.com/ox8kcQ0HoB
— Glastonbury Festival (@glastonbury) March 18, 2020
Artists including Diana Ross, Paul McCartney, Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift will no longer perform at the 50th anniversary of the festival scheduled from June 24 to 28.
“We would like to send our sincere apologies to the 135,000 people who have already paid a deposit for a Glastonbury ticket,” the statement said.
“We were so looking forward to welcoming you all for our 50th anniversary with a line-up full of fantastic artists and performers that we were so incredibly proud to have booked.”
The festival would have gone ahead at Worthy Farm, Somerset in South West England.
Angelica Snowden 10.45pm: Sydney gyms, pools close
The City of Sydney will close gyms, aquatic centres and only allow libraries and community centres to open with limited hours.
Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore said the safety of the community is her “top priority”.
“We have not come to the decision to cancel events or close facilities lightly, but we believe it’s best for the community that we do so,” the Lord Mayor said in a statement.
The news comes after Scott Morrison announced that non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people are effective immediately banned to halt the transmission of coronavirus.
Committee and council meetings will go ahead in person, but attendees will be separated by 1.5 metres.
Chris Griffith 8.45pm New test gives results in 30 minutes
Scientists at Oxford University say have developed a test for COVID-19 that can give an accurate result in 30 minutes.
The Oxford scientists are now working to develop an integrated device so the test can be used at clinics, airports, or even for home use.
The new test represents a major breakthrough in detecting coronavirus victims quickly and in administering tests efficiently.
The team at the university’s Engineering Science Department and the Oxford Suzhou Centre for Advanced Research was led by Professor Zhanfeng Cui and Professor Wei Huang.
Previous viral RNA tests took up to to two hours to provide a result.
“The beauty of this new test lies in the design of the viral detection that can specifically recognise SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) RNA and RNA fragments,” Professor Huang said.
“The test has built-in checks to prevent false positives or negatives and the results have been highly accurate.
“Additionally, the technology is very sensitive. This means that patients in early stages of infection may be identified sooner, potentially helping to reduce the spread of the coronavirus.”
He said the technology only requires a simple heat-block and the results can be read by the naked eye. This made it potentially useful in rural areas or community healthcare centres.
Angelica Snowden 8.35pm Catholic services suspended
Catholic mass and all other gatherings will be suspended until further notice in Victoria, the state’s bishops announced.
The Archbishop of Melbourne and the bishops of Ballarat, Sandhurst and Sale, said the decision to suspend services came after Prime Minister Scott Morrison limited public gatherings to 100 people.
“We are very aware that this restriction will be particularly difficult for families who are planning liturgies such as funerals, weddings and baptisms,” the bishops said in a statement.
“Given the seriousness of COVID-19, we support this measure as being responsible and sensible, and encourage everyone to follow public safety guidelines.”
Some small gatherings may be allowed if the crowd adheres to a 1.5m social-distance requirement, designed to stop person-to-person transmission of coronavirus.
While services will not be held in person, the bishops encouraged Catholics to continue to worship by praying or joining an online mass.
They also urged priests to continue to “celebrate Mass” spiritually.
“Let us not panic, or be anxious, nor reduce ourselves to caring only for ourselves,” the statement added.
The news comes after Sydney synagogues and the Anglican Archdiocese announced they would also suspend services.
Sydney Archbishop Glenn Davies said churches would be encouraged to offer services “online or by other communication methods”.
“We shall make every effort to care for our church communities and the wider public, especially those who are isolated and vulnerable,” he said.
The Jewish authority, Beth Din, said on Tuesday that safety superseded all other commandments and it was a Jewish legal imperative to halt prayer services.
Ewin Hannan 8.26pm Bunnings backs out of enterprise agreement
Bunnings has withdrawn its proposed enterprise agreement from the Fair Work Commission, expressing frustration and disappointment the tribunal had yet to approve the deal after 12 months.
The company’s managing director, Mike Schneider, hit out at the failure to approve the agreement, which was voted up by employees last year.
“We have run out of patience and we think we are better focused caring for our team members during this turbulent time on a platform and on an agreement that we understand,” he told The Australian.
He said 37,000 employees would stay on a lapsed 2013 agreement. Bunnings has provided annual rises since the agreement expired in 2016.
He said the withdrawal was not an attempt to deny workers the pay rises in the proposed agreement and the company would look at giving workers an increase in September.
Before the coronavirus outbreak, the government had intended to look at the bargaining rules from June.
Mr Schneider said the process was overly bureaucratic and complicated.
“In the current challenging circumstances, our absolute priority is to provide certainty to our whole team. We believe this is the right decision given the increased uncertainty we have experienced in the current industrial landscape,” he said.
“Our absolute priority is to provide clarity for over 37,000 of the Bunnings team members who are covered by the agreement. Our team is our most important asset and we want to make sure we provide an environment where they continue to feel rewarded and valued.
“Whilst this might be disappointing for the majority of our team that voted for the agreement, we’re committed to continuing to provide them with market leading entitlements and flexibility.”
Bunnings invests more than $100m above the retail award per annum with more than 85 per cent of hours worked by permanent employees.
Bunnings would consider its options once there is more certainty within the current environment. In the interim, the current EBA (which expired in 2016) will remain in place. Bunnings has provided wage increases in each year since the current EBA expired.
Gerard Dwyer, national secretary of the shop assistants union, said the decision was very disappointing.
“Quite clearly, the overwhelming majority of Bunnings’ staff would have been better off under the agreement now withdrawn,” he said.
“This yet again demonstrates frustration with the bargaining process, but the SDA remains committed to delivering a new agreement for Bunnings’ employees.“
Sarah Elks 8.50pm Push to delay Queensland polls
The Palaszczuk government is rushing legislation through Queensland parliament giving the power to potentially delay the March 28 local government elections and two state by-elections due to coronavirus.
Local Government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe told parliament on Wednesday that Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young had advised it was still safe to hold the state-wide council elections, and the Currumbin and Bundamba by-elections.
Parliament was then suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, as Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath insisted MPs needed to exercise social distancing.
But late on Wednesday night, Health Minister Steven Miles introduced an urgent piece of legislation, that would allow the government to postpone the elections, and for the Electoral Commission of Queensland to flexibly respond to the health crisis to safely deliver the elections.
Jarrod Bleijie, the manager of Opposition business, objected to the legislation being rushed through in just two hours, with only 10 MPs out of 93 allowed to speak.
“This is disrespect,” Mr Bleijie said.
“There’s no reason we couldn’t be here tomorrow, because we’re going to be here anyway, but not debating the laws.”
LNP Deputy Leader Tim Mander said the Opposition would support the legislation, meaning it will pass through parliament on Wednesday night.
But Mr Mander said the LNP did not agree with the legislation being rushed through without proper consultation, and without all MPs having the chance to properly read and consider the laws.
“It’s extraordinary this legislation has been dropped on this House in the manner that it has been,” Mr Mander said.
One Nation state executive member James Ashby — whose party is contesting both by-elections — described the legislation as a “desperate” move by a government “whose polling results obviously reveal that Labor cannot win either the Bundamba or Currumbin by-elections”.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Local Government Association of Queensland said the council poll must proceed as planned on March 28.
“We have faith in the good sense of the 3.2 million Queensland voters to continue to vote early and to stagger attendances on the actual polling day on March 28,” Sunshine Coast Mayor Mark Jamieson said, on behalf of the LGAQ, which represents the state’s 77 councils.
Telephone voting has already been expanded for voters in coronavirus quarantine. An unprecedented number of Queensland voters have already voted in pre-poll, or have applied for postal votes.
Paige Taylor 8.42pm Islands closes borders
Christmas Island and the Cocos Keeling Islands have banned outsiders including other Australians from visiting.
There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 on either of the Indian Ocean territories but their distance from major hospitals means residents are considered vulnerable.
“I have declared a state of emergency in both territories,” Natasha Griggs, administrator of both territories wrote in an email to residents on Wednesday.
“Only residents and essential staff will be able to travel to Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands until further notice, and anyone returning will need to self-isolate for 14 days.”
Christmas Island, 1700km northwest of Perth, has a population of about 1200 residents. Most are Australians of Chinese descent whose ancestors arrived from Malaysia to work at the island’s phosphate mine.
The island has tried to build a reputation as an eco tourism destination and until last week regular commercial flights arrived from Malaysia and Indonesia. Virgin flys to Christmas Island from Perth.
In February Christmas Island’s empty immigration detention centre was repurposed to quarantine 278 Australian men, women and children rescued from Wuhan where COVID-19 had taken hold. None of the rescued people were found to have the disease and flew home after 14 days in isolation.
Cocos (Keeling) Islands is about 900km west of Christmas Island with a population of 544 in 2017.
Courtney Walsh 8.00pm: AFL season to begin as scheduled
The AFL season will begin as scheduled on Thursday night after the league’s commission made arguably the boldest call in its history on Wednesday.
The decision to play on despite the coronavirus crisis followed marathon meetings at the AFL’s Docklands headquarters on Wednesday as the league considered the health ramifications and the economic impact on the code.
Reigning premiers Richmond will face Carlton at the MCG in a match that will be historic given the lack of fans in attendance. The match time has been shortened, with quarters of 16 minutes to be played.
Ben Packham 7.44pm: Samoa’s first suspected case
Samoa has revealed it is investigating its first possible case of COVID-19.
The Pacific nation’s Ministry of Health said they suspected a New Zealand resident had arrived in the country on March 11 and was later admitted to the the TTM Hospital Motootua “after experiencing flu-like symptoms for 2 days”.
This patient is currently receiving care at the TTM Hospital and is being cared for separately from other patients. The status is currently stable,” the Ministry said.
It said the patient’s samples had been sent to Australian for testing “and results should be available in 10-20 working days, pending customs clearance”.
However, an Australian government spokesman said it was understood the test had been sent to New Zealand.
The Samoa Ministry of Health said it was tracing all of the person’s possible contacts.
Pacific health experts fear the region’s island nation’s - which have just a few intensive care beds in each country - will be hit hard by the virus.
Michael McKenna 7.29pm: Another uni suspends classes
Queensland University of Technology is the latest tertiary institution to suspend classes in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following the University of Queensland’s decision to suspend classes this week, QUT announced Wednesday that after Friday there will be no student attendance at lectures for the rest of the semester.
Vice-chancellor Margaret Sheil told students in an email that lectures will now be livestreamed and other, smaller learning activities will be suspended next week.
“On Monday, we moved to ensure all very large lectures were livestreamed and for the remainder of the week, we will switch on livestreaming of lectures in all 50 lecture theatres across the two campuses where this is possible,’’ she said.
“We will pause all tutorials, workshops, laboratories, studios and small team-based learning activities for next week only (commencing Monday, 23 March) unless you are otherwise advised.
“We will also extend the mid-semester break by one week. Therefore, learning and teaching activities will cease on Friday, 3 April and resume on Monday, 20 April.
“Our goal is to have the majority of our learning and teaching activities in an online mode (or in some cases small groups with appropriate distancing and hygiene measures) after the mid-semester break on Monday, 20 April. ‘’
READ MORE: Med students in limbo over GAMSAT
Angelica Snowden 7.15pm: Elderly women attacked at Coles
A man shoved his shopping trolley into two elderly women and assaulted staff in another incident of panic-shopping escalating into violence, police say.
The 63-year-old man allegedly pinned one woman in her 70s against a shelf and knocked the other to the ground with his shopping trolley at Coles in Lismore in northeast NSW about 3.30pm on Tuesday after he became “agitated” over the lack of products to buy amid the coronavirus crisis.
After a female staff member intervened, the man “punched her in the face”, police said.
The staff member, 45, suffered swelling and bruising to her jaw and left forearm, a cut on her left arm, bruising to her chest and a stiff neck.
Before the man could be forced out of the supermarket, he also allegedly assaulted the store manager and a security guard.
The incident emerged as Scott Morrison delivered a blunt message to shoppers to “stop hoarding” and to treat retail workers with respect.
Ewin Hannan 6.52pm: McManus slams government on casuals
ACTU secretary Sally McManus has accused the government of leaving workers stranded on “welfare and despair” by refusing to back paid leave for casuals impacted by coronavirus.
Ms McManus said workers were crying out for assistance as they faced a “frightening health crisis, crippling unemployment, and potential financial ruin“.
“And what’s the government’s solution? Welfare and despair,” she said.
Attorney-General Christian Porter has rebuffed union calls for the government to back two weeks paid special leave to help workers affected by the coronavirus, insisting support for impacted workers should be through the welfare system.
Ms McManus said to have Mr Porter “go out day after day peddling a policy of throwing people onto welfare when the Newstart payment is only $40 a day is disgraceful, ideological and out of touch with the reality faced by millions of working Australians”.
“Working people need two weeks paid special leave if they have been impacted by coronavirus whether by illness, additional caring responsibilities or lost work,” she said.
“If Christian Porter thinks the $40 a day offered by Newstart - which we have long argued is woefully inadequate - is a way for Australian workers to ride out the economic tidal wave approaching, he is either stunningly ignorant or wilfully indifferent to the reality many Australian workers now face.”
READ MORE: Keep childcare open ‘so parents can work’
Amos Aikman 6.48pm: Major change to NT court procedures
People arrested in remote Northern Territory communities will be held in police cells rather than being transferred to urban centres in a major change responding to the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
Courts and Tribunals of the NT on Wednesday confirmed that all circuit or “bush court” hearings would be cancelled until May, with the exception of those in Tennant Creek.
“A major change to court procedures will be that people arrested in remote areas who are not given bail by police or by an on-call judge will be held in custody in their communities rather than transported immediately to the major centres while they await their next court appearance, which will be on the next business day,” a statement said.
“That court appearance will be via telephone or video-link, in an effort to reduce unnecessary movements in and out of remote communities.
“Defendants currently on remand will be dealt with in major court centres, with witnesses appearing via video-link or telephone.”
Local Court chief judge Elizabeth Morris said the new measures were an important way the Local Court could help prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Indigenous people in remote communities are considered especially vulnerable.
READ MORE: Visits to remote regions banned for community safety
Richard Ferguson 6.36pm: Car dealers call for intervention
Car lots across the country are being threatened by the coronavirus pandemic and dealers are now pleading with government to support their apprentices and extend asset write offs.
Industry sources say motor dealerships are seeing foot traffic drop dramatically in the week since the domestic coronavirus crisis escalated, even compared to two years of negative sales.
Australian Automotive Dealer Association president James Voortman told The Australian that Scott Morrison’s apprentice wage subsidy package had to be extended to businesses with higher turnovers and more than 20 employees if young dealers were to stay in jobs.
Tim Dodd 6.31pm: Two more unis stop classes
Two more universities have announced unscheduled breaks from teaching to allow them to rapidly shift courses online to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Today the Australian National University and Victoria University said teaching would be paused for a week from next Monday.
ANU vice-chancellor Brian Schmidt told staff in an email that the break would allow them to finish the job of shifting courses to remote delivery “so we can finish semester one and continue teaching for the rest of the year”.
He said it would also allow university staff to focus on bringing home to Australia the ANU staff and students who are currently overseas. The university will remain open, including its libraries, childcare centres, retail outlets and student residential halls.
The ANU first semester will be extended by a week to make up for the lost week.
Victoria University vice-chancellor Peter Dawkins said it would suspend nearly all higher education and vocational education courses for one week starting Monday.
“We believe this change will help us to be as prepared as possible for any long-term disruption to classes as a result of the coronavirus,” Professor Dawkins said.
Although universities are exempt from the federal government edict banning non-essential indoor gatherings of over 100 people, Griffith University said that no classes with more than 100 students would be held as of tomorrow.
READ MORE: Universities’ plight has a Churchillian flavour
Geoff Chambers 6.02pm: PM to dial in to virtual G20
Scott Morrison will take part in a virtual G20 leaders’ summit next week to discuss the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Saudi Arabia, which holds the G20 presidency, has organised the extraordinary meeting to confront the “human and economic implications” fuelled by the coronavirus outbreak.
A statement released by the Saudi government said the G20 would act “in any way deemed necessary to alleviate the impact of the pandemic”.
“G20 Leaders will put forward a coordinated set of policies to protect people and safeguard the global economy,” the statement said.
“The summit will build on the ongoing efforts of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, senior health, trade, and foreign affairs officials, to further develop the precise requirements and actions needed.”
“The Saudi Presidency will continue to support and coordinate international efforts to counter the impact of the pandemic, both in human and economic terms.”
Richard Ferguson 5.51pm: Palace Cinemas closes theatres
Palace Cinemas will close all its movie theatres indefinitely after Scott Morrison and the National Cabinet banned indoor gatherings of more than 100 people.
The boutique cinema chain - which has dozens of theatres across NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, Queensland and the ACT - said customers who have already bought tickets will get full refunds.
“Refund forms are being utilised to ensure correct information is being processed, and to keep things running as smoothly as possible both for our customers and for cinema staff during this time,” a Palace Cinemas spokesman said.
“Rest assured we will be back offering sublime entertainment and a place to indulge and escape when it is safe to do so.”
The National Cabinet will review the indoor gathering rules on Friday to see how it will affect cinemas, theatres, bars, and restaurants.
READ MORE: What the PM’s new rules mean for you
Lachlan Moffet Gray 5.30pm: Macquarie Uni’s media blackout
Macquarie University has confirmed its first case of a COVID-19 positive person on campus and said it will keep students and the media in the dark regarding any future incidents of the kind, telling students and staff the escalating number of cases means it will become impractical to do so.
The decision comes as Macquarie suspended all educational activities until the end of the month to facilitate the transition of classes online.
In a letter to staff and students, Macquarie University Vice Chancellor Professor S. Bruce Dowton said all areas on campus visited by the infected person have been thoroughly cleaned.
“We had our first student confirmed case of Coronavirus on Campus late on Monday and appropriate cleaning measures were conducted overnight at the University in line with NSW Health guidance,” he said.
“please rest assured that it continues to be safe to come to Campus.
“As community transition increases, we will no longer be issuing updates to the media or our community about COVID-19 diagnosis as continued escalation of cases in NSW makes it no longer practical to do so.”
READ MORE: Market takes a dive
Ben Packham 5.15pm: PNG braces for unwanted import
Papua New Guinea Health Minister Jelta Wong says the country has its first “probable imported case of coronavirus”.
Mr Wong said the 45-year-old man arrived in Port Moresby from Singapore on March 13 after travelling in Madrid, Barcelona and Istanbul.
PNG health officials fear the virus will take hold in the country, challenging its already stretched health system which struggles to cope with a steady flow of malaria, TB and dengue fever patients.
Mr Wong said the man, who flew onto the regional centre of Lae, did not show any symptoms of cough, flu or fever in border checks when he arrived in the country.
“Exactly 24 hours after arriving in the country he presented with a flu and slight fever, and thus fitted the case definition of a COVID-19 person of interest,” the Minister said.
He said the country’s emergency response plan was activated and the man was isolated under strict quarantine.
He was tested for the virus with the results still pending.
Contact tracing has commenced and the man’s close contacts have been quarantined.
READ MORE: Australia’s Island fortress
Lachlan Moffet Gray 5.05pm: More church services halted
The Anglican Archdiocese has followed their Tasmanian counterparts in suspending all Church services indefinitely.
Sydney Archbishop Glenn Davies said churches will be encouraged to offer services online or through other means.
“We are encouraging all our churches to consider providing their services online or by other communication methods,” he said.
“We shall make every effort to care for our church communities and the wider public, especially those who are isolated and vulnerable.”
The church’s many schools and Anglicare outreach centres and aged aged care facilities will continue to operate.
“I call on all Christians to pray for health workers and those seeking to develop a vaccine and to pray that the spread of this disease may slow,” the Archbishop said.
READ MORE: Social distancing works
Eli Greenblat 4.55pm: ‘Like feeding 50 million a week’
Woolworths has set up an emergency management team and crisis management team within its supermarkets business to ensure rapid daily decisions are made in the face of the panic buying triggered by the coronavirus pandemic that has seen its supermarkets stripped of products from toilet paper to meat.
Chief executive Brad Banducci said a recent “surge in demand” has accelerated since Friday has made it impossible for its supply chain to keep up with. Read more here
Matthew Denholm 4.45pm: Mass casualty
Hobart Catholic Archbishop Julian Porteous on Wednesday suspended all public masses in the archdiocese, due to the pandemic. The Anglican Church has suspended its services in Tasmania.
It has also been announced that Hobart’s famous Salamanca Market will close for at least two weeks.
Peter van Onselen 4.30pm: Morrison’s finest hour
We don’t know whether his decisions will be right or wrong for many months, but Scott Morrison is projecting the energy a Prime Minister should. Read more here
Tim Dodd 4.10pm: Southern Cross goes online
Southern Cross University is the latest higher education institution to announce its teaching will move online within a matter of days.
SCU vice-chancellor Adam Shoemaker said today that all classes would be online by Monday.
“We have made this move in the best interests of our students and our teaching staff,” he said. “While every degree that we offer will now be available online, all of our campuses remain open.”
He said that, unless otherwise advised, classes would be delivered online at the same time as face-to-face classes would have been held.
Students timetables will not change, but how they engage with classes will,” Professor Shoemaker said. Classes which can’t move online, such as practicums for students doing health or education subjects, will continue.
The University of Sydney has also said it will have all classes online by next Monday. By that day the University of Melbourne also plans to have all classes with more than 25 students delivered online.
The Australian Catholic University will bring forward its one week mid-semester break to next week to give it a chance to put as many classes online as is feasible. Classes at ACU will resume on March 30.
Murdoch University has extended its planned one week study break starting next Monday to two weeks “to allow us to prepare for a transition to more online learning”.
The university also said it would use the time to think about how to hold its large scale end-of-semester exams without gathering large numbers of people together in one place.
READ MORE: Medical students in limbo
Matthew Westwood 3.52pm: Arts impact worsens
The COVID-19 crisis is casting its shadow further across the arts calendar, with events in May and beyond being cancelled due to tighter restrictions on public gatherings.
The Melbourne International Jazz Festival in late May, and the Sydney Film Festival in June are among the latest cultural casualties.
It is the first time in the history of the SFF, first held in 1954, that the event has been cancelled. Organisers pulled the plug as the NSW government banned public events until June 14. The festival was to have been held June 3-14.
“Sydney Film Festival will return in 2021 with a more crucial role than ever before,” says festival director Nashen Moodley. “In changing and challenging times, the festival is proud to be the forum where we collectively discover and discuss the world and our times through the medium of film.”
Melbourne’s jazz festival was due to start on May 29 and has also been cancelled.
Other cancellations include the Australian Ballet’s seasons of Volt and Anna Karenina at the Sydney Opera House, Easter concerts by the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs and Bach Akademie Australia, and performances in small venues such as the 328-seat Belvoir St Theatre.
READ MORE: Virus will cause ‘irreparable’ damage to arts industry
Ewin Hannan 3.45pm: Unions, builders join to keep sites open
EXCLUSIVE
Building employers and unions in Victoria are seeking the right to keep major construction projects operating when a suspected case of coronavirus is found on site.
In a rare alliance, Master Builders of Victoria chief executive Rebecca Casson and CFMEU state secretary John Setka will be part of a delegation to Premier Daniel Andrews seeking to avoid the automatic shutdown of projects by a suspected coronavirus case.
Ms Casson told The Australian on Wednesday that consideration should be given to the fact that the person suspected of the virus might have been working in one isolated area on a major, diverse, open air project employing thousands of workers.
“We are not saying this is different to a manufacturer or an office environment or a school because everybody has the same challenges,” she said.
“But the reality is building and construction sites can be very large and sometimes can only have very small groups working on certain areas. They are clearly delineated in both time and space to particular trades and activities. Much of that space is large and in open air to the final stage of construction.”
Ms Casson said employers and unions would want health authorities to visit the site where the suspected case has occurred and “judge it on its merits because of the nature of the building and construction industry”.
She said measures had been introduced on sites to minimise the potential for coronavirus including separate meal breaks, smalller work groups and hygiene controls.
“What the government may not realise is that on sites there is a great ability for social distancing and isolating groups in a way that’s not possible in many other workplaces,” she said.
Ms Casson said she and Mr Setka had agreed to work together during this challenging period. “It’s important that all stakeholders work together to ensure the protection of workers in the building and construction industry,” she said.
READ MORE: Morrison readies to go big with rescue package
Natasha Robinson 3.30pm: Australia set for virus explosion
Australia is on track to see an explosion of coronavirus cases similar to that being experienced in Europe, as the case count climbs to 560.
An additional 57 cases in NSW were confirmed today, and 27 new cases in Victoria. Queensland’s case count rose to 94, up from 78. Western Australia now has 35 COVID-19 cases, South Australia has 32, the ACT now has three cases. Tasmania has seven cases and the NT has one case.
The head of the biosecurity program at the University of NSW’s Kirby Institute, Raina MacIntyre, said the doubling time of the epidemic was now three to four days. That was cause for concern, she said.
“We’re very much on the upward part of the curve. We can expect there to be a lot more cases tomorrow and even more cases the day after.
“The doubling time is now faster, which means we’re very much on that sharp upward trajectory of the epidemic curve.
“Early on, it was more like 6 days, now it’s looking more like 3 or 4 days. That means things are going to get a lot worse a lot faster.”
Professor MacIntyre said the impact of social distancing measures announced by the federal government would not been seen for another couple of weeks, and it was only then that we would know whether we were successful in beginning to flatten the curve in case number growth.
“We’re probably where Italy 20 days ago,” she said. “Whether we get as bad as Italy depends on how we handle the response from here on and how much we manage to reduce contact between people with the measures we’re undertaking.
“We’re looking like the countries in Europe that are experiencing quite severe surge in cases. It means that the epidemic is getting bigger very fast.”
READ MORE: What PM’s new rules mean for your and your family
Tim Dodd 3.28pm: Uni closes sports centre
The University of Sydney will shut down one of its two major indoor sports centres to allow cleaning resources to be concentrated on the other one, in the hope that it can be kept open during the coronavirus crisis.
The Arena Sports Centre will be closed, with its gym shutting on Thursday and the sports hall and climbing gym closing on Saturday.
The university hopes to keep its other main facility, the Sports and Aquatic Centre, open. It has a gym, pool and squash courts and sports hall.
“The above changes will allow our members to continue to exercise in hygienic conditions during this time of great stress,” the university said today in an email.
“Cleaning of the facility will be significantly increased on account of the changes and in addition to promoting basic hygiene rules, social distancing will be practiced across the entire facility with detailed signage in place.”
READ MORE: New Columbo plan victim of coronavirus travel ban
Courtney Walsh 3.15pm: AFL doubts remain
The AFL’s players and coaches are continuing their preparations for the season opening round as they await a decision from the league on whether matches will begin from Thursday night.
Richmond’s players have been told they will be playing against Carlton in the first match of an abridged 2020 season at the MCG, while Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley said the Magpies were also ready to begin playing.
This comes despite an announcement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday that internal gatherings would be limited to 100 people or fewer.
He said the decision on whether to proceed was a matter for the AFL, with the league’s chief executive Gillon McLachlan due to make an announcement on Wednesday.
Richmond’s premiership coach Damien Hardwick believes the league will begin the season. Carlton coach David Teague said the Blues would follow the advice of experts.
But the AFL Players Association chief executive Paul Marsh was more pessimistic when interviewed on SEN shortly after Mr Morrison’s address to the nation.
He described the situation as “pretty sobering”. “I don’t want to jump to, ‘It’s off’, but it doesn’t look good, does it?” he said.
READ MORE: Players exposed in hip-pocket call
Damon Johnston 3pm: Melbourne school’s early break
Melbourne’s Carey Grammar will stay shut for the rest of first term.
In a statement to parents on Wednesday afternoon, principal Jonathon Walter confirmed the
school, which has been closed since last week, would not reopen next week.
Two teachers and one student at the Kew campus have tested positive for coronavirus, forcing Carey to become the first school to suspend classes.
“There is much evidence to support that social distancing is the most effective way to minimise the spread of the virus and protect our community. As the situation evolves, we recognise that maintaining an optimal environment for our students and staff involves minimising the number of people on site, avoiding unnecessary travel and reducing contact with others,” Mr Walter told parents.
“It is on this basis, that we have made the decision to continue our modified learning program, with staff and students working at home until the end of term. We believe that a further week of home learning leading into the term break will support efforts to minimise the spread of the coronavirus within our community.
“We have been very pleased with the way students and staff have engaged with the new teaching and learning model and continue to see new and innovative ways in which learning is occurring. This is wonderful to observe and positions us well should our current circumstances continue further into the future.”
READ MORE: Lockdowns ‘won’t work’
Richard Ferguson 2.45pm: What Morrison’s new rules mean
Scott Morrison has unveiled a large number of measures to combat the escalating coronavirus pandemic | How will these changes impact you. Read more here
Ewin Hannan 2.30pm: Teacher institute warning
The Victorian Institute of Teaching, the authority regulating the state’s teachers, says it might be required to close its office due to the coronavirus epidemic.
In an email to registered teachers on Wednesday, VIT chief executive Peter Corcoran said the COVID-19 virus, and the risk mitigation plans introduced by the state and federal governments, “is going to impact and change the way we do business over the coming months“.
He said some VIT services would be altered to allow staff to work from home in the event the office was forced to close.
VIT hotlines and the office reception would be closed from Thursday and teacher inquiries would be answered by email.
Face-to-face outreach programs, such as the Effective Mentoring Program, Provisionally Registered Teacher Seminars and school visits, would be postponed or delivered using the Internet.
He said scenarios that might require closure of the office included if staff were unable to safely get to and from work due to the “closure of public transport“.
READ MORE: Ice, and a dash of corona
Yoni Bashan 2.15pm: NSW Premier: Open school doors
As NSW cases rise to 267 Premier Gladys Berejiklian remains in lock-step with PM over schools that have stopped teaching due to COVID-19. Read more here
David Ross 2pm: Australia’s death toll rises
Another death from COVID-19 in NSW has been announced, bringing the state total to five, after an 86-year-old man died overnight. n announced, bringing the state total to five, after an 86-year-old man died overnight.
This latest death brings the national tally to six, after the first death in West Australia of a returned Diamond Princess passenger.
The elderly are particularly susceptible to the insidious disease and account for all six of the nation’s recorded deaths.
The latest fatality comes after three residents at a Sydney nursing home - Dorothy Henderson Lodge - died after being infected with the virus.
A 90-year-old woman from the home, in the city’s northwest, died last Saturday, while two residents at the facility - a man, 81, and woman, 85 - died last week after contracting COVID-19.
It is believed they caught the deadly pathogen and began developing respiratory symptoms after coming into contact with an infected aged-care worker at the home.
It is unknown how the healthcare worker became infected and she had not recently travelled overseas.
A 77-year-old Queensland woman also died in a Sydney hospital last Friday after contracting the coronavirus. She had been on a flight from Maroochydore, on the Sunshine Coast, to Sydney when her health deteriorated rapidly.
She was taken to hospital immediately after landing but died soon after.
It is understood she contracted the disease from her daughter, who returned to Queensland on a flight from San Francisco Two-and-a-half weeks ago.
James Kwan, 78, a retired travel agent from Perth, became the first casualty of the disease in Australia.
He was diagnosed with coronavirus after being trapped on the ill-fated Diamond Princess cruise ship when it was placed in quarantine outside the port of Yokohama, in Japan, for two weeks.
He died on March 1 while receiving treatment in a Perth hospital.
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant earlier said there were 267 confirmed coronavirus cases in the state, up from 210 on Tuesday.
More than 25,000 tests have been conducted.
MORE: Don’t wait for the elderly lockdown
Sarah Elks 2.45pm: Qld parliament shut
Queensland parliament has been suspended until further notice due to COVID-19, with Attorney-General Yvette D’Ath insisting MPs needed to social distance themselves from each other.
The hearing is expected to resume later today for an emergency health bill, which will include relaxing restrictions on trading hours for supermarkets and chemists accepting deliveries.
But Liberal National Party manager of Opposition business Jarrod Bleijie objected to the suspension, which he said meant LNP leader Deb Frecklington was not able to introduce new domestic violence legislation.
Queensland parliament is already sitting differently, with fewer MPs sitting in the historic chamber so they can sit further away from each other. Staff that can have been asked to work away from the building to lessen the risk.
Ms D’Ath said the suspension “wasn’t about catching anyone out” and parliament should only be dealing with legislation that was “absolutely essential”.
READ MORE: ‘Ignore lockdown hysteria’
Amos Aikman 1.30pm: Drive-through testing facility
The mainland quarantine centre used to house Australian evacuees from the Chinese city of Wuhan and the Diamond Princess cruise ship will become a drive-through testing centre and makeshift hospital for people in Darwin.
The Northern Territory will officially retake control of the facility from Canberra tomorrow. The 3500-bed Manigurr-ma Village workers’ camp was built by Japanese energy Inpex to aid the construction of an LNG export terminal. It was later handed to the Northern Territory and then leased to the Morrison government to support its efforts to evacuate Australians stranded in coronavirus hotspots.
Deputy NT Chief Health Officer Dianne Stephens said the facility would be used to isolate people who did not have a home to go to or could not isolate in theirs.
Health authorities in the Top End have so far detected just one case of deadly COVID-19 and say they believe there is no community transmission of the virus. However, because only those who have recently returned from overseas or been in contact with a confirmed case are being tested, there are fears the disease may be more widespread.
Dr Stephens said on Monday that Royal Darwin Hospital had about 30 ventilator machines with some limited “surge” capacity elsewhere.
NT Health Minister Natasha Fyles has not ruled out effectively quarantining the entire NT by cutting off transport links from elsewhere if the coronavirus outbreak becomes severe. There are particular concerns around its potential impact on indigenous people.
READ MORE: Peter Dutton’s home affairs
Kieran Gair 1.15pm: Facebook under fire
Facebook is erroneously blocking users from posting legitimate news articles and public health information about the coronavirus pandemic because of a “bug” in the company’s anti-spam system.
Multiple users reported on Twitter that the company’s automatic censors are taking down or blocking articles from news outlets including BuzzFeed, The Atlantic, USA Today, and The Times of Israel.
In a rare public statement, Facebook’s Vice President of Integrity, Guy Rosen, acknowledged there was a problem with the company’s automated software.
We're on this - this is a bug in an anti-spam system, unrelated to any changes in our content moderator workforce. We're in the process of fixing and bringing all these posts back. More soon.
— Guy Rosen (@guyro) March 17, 2020
The social media giant’s anti-spam system helps detect potentially harmful content and then sends it to human reviewers for assessment.
It’s understood the company’s stringent privacy rules make it difficult for some staff to work from home, however, Mr Rosen denied the glitch was related to the company’s decision to send home hundreds of content moderators.
Youtube, meanwhile, has warned the “unprecedented COVID-19 situation” will lead to a reduction in content after parent company Google also ordered hundreds of staff to work from home.
Antonia Sanda, Facebook’s Head of Communications, Australia said: “We’ve restored all the posts that were incorrectly removed, both related to COVID-19 and not. This was an issue in our automated systems to remove spammy links from being shared on Facebook.”
READ MORE: Trump’s $1 trillion to save the economy
Charlie Peel 1pm: UQ students told to go home
Students living in on-campus colleges at the University of Queensland have been urged to go home while they can to prevent the college from becoming a “cruise ship berthed at UQ”.
The Brisbane based university has stopped classes for a week and teaching staff are preparing online learning packages to ensure classes can be taught if the campuses are shut for a longer period.
Some colleges have suggested residents leave for the week, while others have encouraged students to study from home for the remainder of the semester.Students who return home will be reimbursed a portion of their college fees.
In a letter sent to students this week, Cromwell College principal Ross Switzer said the college had not been closed and no students would be forced to leave, but he encouraged residents to head home indefinitely in a bid to prevent the transmission of the virus throughout the college.
The coeducational college is fully-enrolled for 2019 and caters for about 250 residents.
Students share bathrooms, dining facilities and common rooms.
The college also oversees Campus Lodge – an independent living area with 18 fully furnished units.
There have been no reported cases of COVID-19 at the college, although two catering assistants were last week barred from returning to the college as a precaution.
READ MORE: Flattening the curve while not killing the economy
Paul Garvey 12.45pm: WA won’t shut its border
Western Australia premier Mark McGowan says he “cannot contemplate” shutting the border to interstate travel, noting that the state relies on its eastern neighbours for medicine and food.
Some doctors have been pushing hard for WA to close its borders in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Perth Airport! Its all empty. First time immigration and customs clearance done so fast. Most of the shops are closed. City was never so silent like it was last evening. Seems like a movie becoming real. #nCoV19 pic.twitter.com/6sKccr2qbv
— Amit (@Tandav_Amit) March 17, 2020
But at a press conference in Perth this morning, Mr McGowan said any shutdown would have a massive impact on the supply of vital goods into the state, and would also affect the flow of fly-in fly-out workers to mine sites across the state.
Another four people in WA have been diagnosed with coronavirus today.
The premier also revealed that the “Do it in WA” tourism campaign launched by the government last week would now be suspended, and urged people to be careful when contemplating travel around the state.
He repeated that the state had no intention at this stage to close schools.
READ MORE: Virus demands leadership
Elias Visontay 12.30pm: Labor’s school proposal
Opposition health spokesman Chris Bowen has suggested the government investigate skeleton staff at schools to mind the children of medical professionals if schools are shut down and a wider lockdown introduced.
Anthony Albanese also said Labor will aim to expedite the passing of critical coronavirus legislation when parliament sits in a limited capacity next week.
“Now is the time to advance constructive proposals and that is why we support the announcements that were made this morning with regard to a range of measures, in particular an example is with the airlines, the $750 million. We do ask, of course, we want to see the legislation so that we can deal with it through our internal processes.”
On school closures, Mr Bowen urged the government to “not use the fact that health workers who have their kids in school as a reason not to close schools if that becomes the right decision”.
“Let’s not use the fact that health workers who have their kids in school as a reason not to close schools if that becomes the right decision. Let’s plan now to provide the support for health workers.
“In Norway, the schools are closed but there is a skeleton teaching staff left in the schools for health workers, the kids of health workers so they can still go to work. That is one option. We have been raising consistently now, let’s put plans in place for the health workers.”
On Labor providing support for government stimulus, Mr Albanese said: “Our inclination, we have said very early on is to provide support for any economic stimulus package”.
“I would expect that parliament will sit for as long as necessary. People will certainly, we won’t be having long speaking lists. We want this to be expedited ... but I would expect that the parliament won’t sit the full four days is my expectation.”
READ MORE: Medicos appeal for radical lockdowns
Sarah Elks 11.50am: Qld moves to stock shelves
Queensland parliament will rush through changes to state planning laws so supermarkets can restock shelves around the clock to alleviate panic buying.
Planning Minister Cameron Dick told the state’s slimmed-down parliament - which is sitting with far less MPs in the chamber to allow social distancing - that the legislative changes would be passed within days.
“Current shortages are not being driven by supply, but by behaviour,” Mr Dick said.
The new laws would allow supermarkets to restock their shelves all night.
“We are not running out of products ... the COVID-19 pandemic is serious, it will not last forever,” Mr Dick said.
“Our proposed new laws will allow the government to extend the operating the hours for deliveries of products to essential business such as supermarkets and chemists.
“Current limitations on times of delivery mean that supermarkets cannot keep pace with consumer demand for domestic supplies and products.”
Health Minister Steven Miles confirmed there were now 94 cases of COVID-19 in Queensland, and 24,000 tests had been done in the state, one-third of all tests done nationally.
Mr Miles said the state was also doubling the number of pathology centres able to process the tests, to now include public pathology units at the Toowoomba, Sunshine Coast and Rockhampton hospitals.
But he cautioned Queenslanders not to be unnecessarily fearful of the pandemic, reminding residents that at the moment in the state, people were only at risk of coronavirus if they had recently returned from overseas, or had been in contact with a confirmed case.
Treasurer Jackie Trad said the economic hit to the state could be up to $10bn over two years, compared to the economic activity predicted in December’s mid-year financial update.
Local government Minister Stirling Hinchliffe said the advice from Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young was that it was still safe for the Queensland local government elections to go ahead on March 28.
Education Minister Grace Grace said Queensland schools would remain open.
READ MORE: Greens plan to stall stimulus
Paige Taylor 11.25am: Holiday’s over in WA
Holiday units used by nurses and their families in Western Australia have been closed amid concerns they could become hosts for coronavirus.
The Australian Nursing Federation in WA owns the holiday apartments in Kalbarri on the mid north coast of the state and in the Margaret River wine region and they are available to members and their guests.
“The ANF is closing nearly 600 beds across its holiday units in Margaret River and Kalbarri from next Monday– amid growing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus,” ANF state secretary Mark Olson said in a media release.
“We are not willing to roll the dice when it comes to the safety of our members and their families, and also the hospital patients and aged care residents for whom our members care.
“Therefore, we cannot keep the ANF Holiday Units open if there is any chance they could become a location where the coronavirus is spread.
“We do not have the capacity to screen ANF guests or other guests staying in units at both locations, which we have been told by authorities is something we need to do.
“We also cannot control the interactions of guests at these holiday resorts.
“Additionally, our cleaning team does not have the specialised training, the specialised equipment and the specialised supplies to clean to a level that would satisfy us as health professionals that each and every ANF unit can be kept virus-free after each visit.”
Mr Olson said the ANF understood some of its members wanted the holiday units to stay open because so many other activities and events were being cancelled, including overseas holidays.
“However, we as the biggest organisation of health professionals in WA cannot in good conscience allow a situation to occur that may facilitate the spread of the coronavirus,” he said. “We know the risk is imminent and we need to act.
“We know from the experts that preventing people from interacting prevents infection – so we are doing our bit to try to reduce the spread of this deadly disease.”
The ANF units will remain closed until the end of June, and all affected guests will receive a refund.
READ MORE: Style showcases bite the dust
Imogen Reid 11am: Prison lockdown
Social visits to prisons in NSW have been temporarily suspended until Monday March 23.
Corrective services NSW is implementing visitor health-screenings to ensure the safety of inmates and staff.
Visitors who have travelled overseas, or had contact with a person who has tested positive for coronavirus, within the last two weeks will not be permitted to visit a correctional centre.
The restriction applied to family members, friends, legal professionals, service providers and contractors.
Inmates are being encouraged to seek help if they feel unwell.
READ MORE: ‘Think of your family ... sack your staff’
David Ross 10.45am: Classes stop at elite school
Sydney’s prestigious Kambala Girls School will close on March 23, the second time in over a hundred years a pandemic has stopped classes at the school.
All prep to year 10 students will learn remotely on Monday 23 March, while years and 12 classes will continue at the school until the Easter Break on Friday April 3.
In the week commencing Monday 6 April time will be dedicated to finalising and submitting assessments.
This comes after several other schools across NSW have decided to limit classes or send students home.
Students at Kambala’s senior school will take home textbooks and computer chargers over the next few days.
Kambala junior school students will have resources sent home with them to support remote learning.
Boarders at the school can be collected by parents from Wednesday to Sunday 29 March.
“I am conscious that our Boarding families have been through difficult times of late, however please rest assured that your daughters’ wellbeing and education is always at the heart of our Boarding program,” a school statement said.
“We understand the stress that our girls and their parents and carers are facing given the changes to major events that are unfortunately out of our control.”
READ MORE: Doctors stranded aboard ship
Simon Benson 10.30am: Morrison’s finest hour
Scott Morrison has laid out the road ahead in a plain and untainted truth. He has done it as PM and a parent and is leading by example. Read more here
Remy Varga 10.15am: Police hit back on RBT ban
The coronavirus is no excuse to refuse a drug and alcohol breath test, Victoria Police say.
Victoria Police said on Wednesday that there was no risk of infection from a PBT, with new straws and gloves used for each test.
“Victoria Police wants to make it very clear that the exposure risk to coronavirus from a PBT machine is no different to going about your daily life in the community,” said a statement.
“Expert medical advice has been sought and Victoria Police has been reassured that it is safe for people to participate in a PBT.”
Refusing a PBT is against the law in Victoria and carries a penalty of a two-year license cancellation as well as a maximum penalty of $2000.
READ MORE: Virus fears halt drug, alcohol testing
Elias Visontay 10.05am: Lockdown not on
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy says a short term lock down of Australians would “not achieve anything” as he stresses any measures introduced would have to be maintained for six months.
Professor Murphy also said most cases of COVID-19 in Australia are still imported cases or direct contacts of imported cases.
“A short-term two to four week shutdown of society is not recommended by any of our experts. It does not achieve anything. We have to be in this for the long haul,” Professor Murphy said.
“It could be six months or more that we have to practice these new ways of interacting. So therefore, our measures have to be sustainable. There is no way that we can lock down society and make everyone stay home and then in a month’s time, undo that, because the virus will just flare up again without any real long-term benefit.”
On the source of transmission, Professor Murphy said community transmission existed but that it was “low level at the moment”.
“The way to control community transmission is social distancing.”
READ MORE: Shot in the arm for cure hopes
Elias Visontay 10am: Churches affected
Scott Morrison has said new bans against indoor gatherings of 100 people will apply to religious institutions.
“Churches, mosques, synagogues or others, should comply with that before the end of this week where we’ll be considering further the rules that are established amongst smaller gatherings,” the Prime Minister said.
“I know my own experience my church is putting in place practices. Some are moving to online type services and things like that, and that’s a sensible, practical measure.”
READ MORE: Infection rate slows
Elias Visontay 9.55am: PM: ‘Stop hoarding. Stop it’
Scott Morrison has lashed out at Australians “hoarding” supermarket supplies, calling panic buying “un-Australian”.
“Stop hoarding. I can’t be more blunt about it. Stop it,” the Prime Minister said at a press conference on Wednesday morning.
Stop hoarding.
— Laura Jayes (@ljayes) March 17, 2020
Just stop it.
It’s not who we are.
It’s ridiculous.
Do the right thing by each other.
Don’t abuse staff.
- PM @ScottMorrisonMP 👊
“It is not sensible, it is not helpful and it has been one of the most disappointing things I have seen in Australian behaviour in response to this crisis. That is not who we are as a people. It is not necessary. It is not something that people should be doing.
“What it does is it is distracting attention and efforts that need to be going into other measures, to be focusing on how we maintain supply chains into these shopping centres. There is no reason for people to be hoarding supplies in fear of a lock down or anything like this.”
Mr Morrison also urged Australians not to abuse supermarket staff.
“Whether they’re at a shopping centre. Whether they’re at a bank, a train station, everybody is doing their best. So let’s just support each other in the work that they are doing.”
Mr Morrison warned food buying limits could be introduced if panic buying continues to leave shelves empty.
“I would at first appeal to Australians to do the right thing. Obviously, there are measures that could be moved towards if we had to do that, but to be honest, I’d be very disappointed if we had to do something like that. I think Australians are better than that.”
READ MORE: Shortages spark loo roll rip-offs
Rebecca Urban 9.50am: Latest school closure
Newington College in Sydney is the latest school to be ordered to shut down, after a teacher reported that they had come into close contact with a case of the novel coronavirus.
It is understood that the affected individual, a geography teacher, worked at the boy school’s senior campus at Stanmore. That teacher will be tested today.
IN a letter to parents the school said it was prudent to close the campus for 24 hours.
This will give us time to liaise with NSW Health and to identify students who might have come into close or casual contact with the teacher and provide them with more information,” the letter says.
“Wyvern, Lindfield and our ELC are unaffected and will remain open.”
The case is expected to add to pressure on the government to close schools down amid fears of the virus spreading.
READ MORE: The dull lecture could be dead
Elias Visontay 9.35am: Limits at aged-care homes
Aged-care facility residents will not be allowed to receive more than one visit of up to two visitors in an effort to stop the spread of coronavirus.
Scott Morrison announced that certain exceptions could be made for end of life care patients.
“There should be no large group visits or gatherings. Including social activities or entertainment to be permitted at this time. No school groups of any size should be allowed to visit aged care facilities,” the Prime Minister said.
“Children aged 16 years or less should be visiting only by exception, as they are generally, it says, kids won’t necessarily follow the hygiene measures all the time like adults will, any parent will understand that, but also children can be asymptomatic and so there may be no knowledge of whether the child has been exposed to the virus or has the virus or not.
“In cases of end of life, I know that people will want to see their elderly parents or relatives or others. I totally understand that. Aged care facilities will have the discretion to put in very strict arrangements to enable people to visit their loved ones if that is the situation that that resident finds themselves in.”
READ MORE: ‘Come home now’
Elias Visontay 9.30am: Schools won’t close
Scott Morrison has reiterated the government’s position that schools should remain open, saying that any moves to close schools would have to last for six months and could threaten “tens of thousands of jobs” of parents who have to stay home.
The Prime Minister said closing schools could cut available medical professionals by 30 per cent, and that keeping schools open is in the “national public interest”.
“I’m happy to follow for my kids, for Jenny and my kids, is the same health advice I am asking all other parents around the country to follow,” the Prime Minister said.
“As a father, I’m happy for my kids to go to school. There is only one reason your kids shouldn’t be going to school and that is if they are unwell. As parents, you are in the best position to know if your children are unwell.
“Whatever we do we have to do for at least six months. That means the disruption that would occur from the closure of schools around this country, make no mistake, would be severe.
“What do I mean by severe? Tens of thousands of jobs could be lost, if not more. The impact on the availability of health workers a 30 per cent impact on the availability of health workers is our advice.
“That will put peoples’ lives at risk. Let’s keep our heads as parents when it comes to this. Let’s do the right thing by the country and by each other and follow the proper advice. There is a national public interest here in keeping schools open.”
READ MORE: Catholic schools break ranks
Adeshola Ore 9.20am: Woolies imposes limits
Woolworths has introduced a two-item limit on most packaged products as a response to the surge in demand for groceries.
The limit applies to most packaged products at the supermarket’s stores, regardless of brand variety. A spokesman said vegetables, fruit, fresh milk and baby food were among foods exempt from the limits.
“We ask customers to please respect these limits and only buy what they need to help as many Australians as possible access the products they need,”
One packet per person continues to apply to antibacterial wipes, baby wipes, paper towels, rice in packets 2kg and above, serviettes and toilet paper.
The no-limit categories also include meat (excluding mince), deli, bakery, seafood, canned fish, drinks and baby food.
A full list of limits can be found here
READ MORE: Empty shelves greet elderly
Elias Visontay 8.50am: PM: Don’t travel abroad
Scott Morrison has given an unprecedented warning for all Australians not to travel abroad.
Indoor gatherings of more than 100 people have also been banned as Australia declares a biosecurity emergency.
Scott Morrison announced the measures on Wednesday morning and explained the move was the result of a recommendation from chief health officers around the country.
The Prime Minister also warned Australians not to travel anywhere overseas as the travel ban to citizens is raised to its highest level in history.
“This is a once in a hundred year type event.”
“We are going to keep Australia running. We are going to keep Australia functioning. It won’t look like it normally does.”
Mr Morrison also threw cold water on the idea of locking down Australian cities, saying “there is no short-term, quick fix to how this is dealt with in Australia”.
“The idea that you can just turn everything off for two weeks and then turn it all back on again and it all goes away. That is not the evidence, that is not the facts, that is not the information and it is not our way through this.”
“We are looking at a situation of at least six months for how we deal with this. It could be much longer than that. It could be shorter. That is unlikely, given the way we are seeing events unfold.”
READ MORE: Chile strands Aussie doctors
David Ross 9.00am: ACT has third case
The ACT has recorded its third case of COVID-19 in a woman in her 70s who tested positive on Tuesday night. The woman has been admitted to Canberra Hospital and work is under way to determine where she was exposed to the virus. Close contacts of the woman will be contacted.
A second case was confirmed in the ACT on Tuesday in a man in his 30s.
READ MORE: Shortages trigger loo roll shortages
Elias Visontay 8.40am: Virgin cancels all international flights
Virgin Australia is to cancel all international flights as it responds to plummeting travel as a result of the coronavirus.
The airline will also cut domestic services by 50 per cent, with 53 of Virgin’s fleet grounded.
Virgin will continue some international flights until March 30, with both the international and domestic suspensions set to last until June 14.
The announcement comes after Qantas announced a 90 per cent reduction in their international offering and 60 per cent cut in domestic routes on Tuesday, which prompted Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham to seek assurances from both Qantas and Virgin they would not collapse.
It is expected the government might relax hundreds of millions in airline fees to help the airlines.
Virgin Australia CEO and managing director Paul Scurrah said: “We have entered an unprecedented time in the global aviation industry, which has required us to take significant action to responsibly manage our business while balancing traveller demands and supporting the wellbeing of Australians.
“We have responded by making tough decisions which include reducing our domestic capacity and phasing in the temporary suspension of international flying for a period of two and a half months.
“We are committed to supporting our guests during this period and have set up a dedicated customer care hub to manage the surge of customer queries and travel changes. We are also acutely aware of the important role airlines play in supporting connectivity, tourism and the nation’s economy, and are maintaining most of our domestic routes, and instead reducing frequencies in our schedule.
“The changes announced today will affect our people and we are having constructive discussions with team members and relevant unions. Wherever possible, we will aim to avoid redundancies by fast-tracking measures such as the use of accrued leave, leave without pay and redeployment.
“The Virgin Australia Group is focused on ensuring we manage the business through this difficult period and maintain a strong and competitive aviation industry in Australia for years to come.”
Read the full story here
READ MORE: Carriers handed $715m bailout
8.30am: Queensland magistrates courts adjourn hearings
Queensland magistrates courts are set to adjourn all non-urgent hearings and self-represented matters for three months under new guidelines drafted because of the coronavirus outbreak.
A document titled Brisbane Magistrates Court Guideline 2020, which contains two sections and details the new arrangements, was distributed on Tuesday. “All matters other then (sic) urgent matters will be adjourned on the papers, without appearances, for three months from the date of listing,” the document states.
The changes, to start Monday, include leave for lawyers to appear by telephone or audio visual, while victims in police applications for domestic violence orders and parties who are legally represented parties are excused from appearing.
AAP
READ MORE: Aussies behind on slowing curve
Elias Visontay 8.20am: ‘We’ve turned off non-essential travel’
Scott Morrison is expected to hold a press conference at about 9am on Wednesday to announce strict measures regarding indoor gatherings to combat the spread of coronavirus.
Restrictions on visiting nursing homes are also expected to be announced.
It comes as Australian Border Force Commissioner Michael Outram has said Australia would be in a position to completely close its borders if required but warned it was important to allow some flights and cargo ships in to deliver essential medical supplies and personnel.
Commissioner Outram also said it was possible for an individual Australian state or territory to shut its border, and that it could be done without the ABF’s approval.
His comments on individual state and territory borders come after West Australian doctors wrote to their state government on Tuesday urging such a move.
He also announced that international passenger arrivals into Australia had shrunk from 70,000 people a day on average to between 20,000-35,000.
“Ostensibly we’ve turned off all non-essential travel to our border,” Commissioner Outram said on Wednesday.
“There’s a lot of Australians still overseas who want to be able to get home. And bear in mind that if you turn off everything at the border, if you try and create a sort of a vacuum seal around it, what happens is on those aeroplanes that bring passengers, they bring essential workers like engineers and pilots, they are bringing the stem cells, there are people bringing essential goods and services with them, so we ...don’t want to seal ourselves off.
“I don’t think that there’s much benefit in completely sealing off Australia”.
On shutting down internal Australian borders, Commissioner Outram said he was not aware such a measure had ever been taken in Australia, but said a decision to close entry is ultimately a “matter for the states and territories”.
“If you look at what’s happened in northern Italy, if you look at what’s happened around Europe and other parts of the world and in China and Korea, of course, it is possible to cordon off areas.”
Commissioner Outram also said the ABF had contingencies in place if border officials contracted COVID-19, but said they had sufficient protective supplies and while 12 officers had so far been tested, none were positive.
He also said he “won’t rule out anything” because they are taking their advice from medical officials, and would completely shut the border if the advice was given.
READ MORE: Come home now, DFAT tells Aussies
David Ross 8.20am: Trump reassured Hanks not dead yet
Donald Trump had to be urgently stopped from tweeting of Tom Hank’s death as a result of COVID-19, the Courier Mail reports.
Queensland Health authorities scrambled to confirm Mr Hank’s rude health, after the US president reportedly confused the meaning of “discharged”.
US Embassy officials were told there had been a misunderstanding over the meaning of the word, meaning he was well enough to leave.
Mr Hanks, confirming he was not dead, tweeted thanks to hospital staff on Sunday afternoon for the couple’s care, with a picture featuring a stuffed kangaroo and two pieces of heavily laden vegemite smeared toast.
“Thanks to the helpers,” he posted on Twitter. “Let’s take care of ourselves and each other.”
Thanks to the Helpers. Let’s take care of ourselves and each other. Hanx pic.twitter.com/09gCdvzGcO
— Tom Hanks (@tomhanks) March 15, 2020
READ MORE: Visitor curbs in nursing homes
David Rogers 8.10am: Wall St jumps on stimulus
Wall Street stocks rallied on expectations for massive federal stimulus to address the economic hit from the coronavirus, partially recovering some of their losses from the prior session.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 5.2 per cent or around 1,050 points at 21,237.38, a day after shedding almost 3000 points.
The broad-based S & P 500 gained 6.0 per cent to 2,529.19 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index jumped 6.2 per cent to 7,334.78.
Read the Trading Day blog here
READ MORE: Trump’s $3 trillion stimulus
David Ross 8.00am: New tests arrive
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has said Australia can expect the government and the prime minister to announce plans to tackle the COVID-19 outbreak later this morning.
Minister Hunt said the government had received the first half of the additional 97,000 COVID-19 testing kits that arrived in Australia last night will be distributed today.
“We’re making sure we have one of the highest testing rates in the world but we want to make sure it’s focused on people,” he said.
“The key thing is if you’ve travelled overseas, been in contact with someone who is diagnosed, and you have symptoms that ‘s the group we want to focus on.”
Minister Hunt said progress on treatment was being made and that University of Queensland and the Doherty Institute, in Melbourne, were both making progress towards a vaccine that could be rolled out “in the 12 month range”.
But he said the government was not in favour of closing schools and sending people home as it could impact healthcare and food workers who would be needed to look after their children.
“There are some proposals that would take 30 per cent of health workers out of the system,” he said.
“One of the things that’s exceptionally important is to keep our health workers in the workforce.”
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Cameron Stewart 7.40am: ‘We’re going big: Trump’s $1 trillion surplus
The Trump administration will send cheques directly to Americans within weeks to try prop up the world’s largest economy as it shuts down in the face of the spreading coronavirus.
“The president has instructed me we have to do this now,” Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told a White House briefing. “We’re looking at sending checks to Americans immediately. And I mean now, in the next two weeks.”
The move is the most dramatic measure yet to rescue the US economy and is part of a $US1 trillion stimulus package being negotiated in Congress — one of the largest fiscal emergency packages ever assembled. A White House official said the direct payments to Americans could initially cost $US250 billion.
Read the full story here
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Elias Visontay 7.30am: ANZAC services livestreamed
Veterans Affairs Minister Darren Chester has said ANZAC day events this year will be live-streamed after the government moved to cancel events to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Mr Chester also said vision allegedly showing an SAS killing “alarmed” him.
“It was a difficult decision, yet again it was easy decision,” Mr Chester told ABC TV of ANZAC cancellations.
“Difficult because we didn’t want to do it, but easy because it’s the right thing to do. We can’t guarantee the safety of our staff to organise these events and we’ve got to respect the wishes of the host nations which are already putting in place restrictions on large public gatherings.
“We simply couldn’t be having large gatherings of 500 or 1,000 people on Anzac Day on foreign soil this year. So we’ve made the decision to not have those Australian-led events be carried out.”
“It was important to make the decision early to give people some awareness of what was happening this year. Obviously at a community level here in Australia we’ll still be making sure we commemorate and pay due respect to our veterans in our community, but we’ll have to do it in a different way in 2020.
“We’ll Just have to do it differently. We’ll have to live-stream events. We’ll have to make sure we are providing opportunities for people to still respect our veterans but unfortunately won’t be those large public gatherings we have seen in the past.”
On the SAS vision, Mr Chester said: “the vision in isolation obviously alarmed me as an Australian citizen and as a minister.”
“I don’t know the full context of what occurred leading up to that. I don’t want to prejudge the situation in that regard.
“I’m not blaming the media for running those stories but I’m just saying the speculation doesn’t allow the people involved or alleged to have committed offences to try to clear their names. We need to bring it to a close and allow people to defend the allegations that might be made against them.”
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Remy Varga 7.20am: Victory in operation loo roll
Victorious shoppers are emerging from Coles in Malvern clutching toilet paper.
Ian, who did not want his surname published, has emerged victorious with a Quilton 36-roll value pack.
He said the purchase was for his daughter, who was arriving with her partner from the USA on Wednesday and would be entering self isolation for two weeks.
He said he’d been looking since Sunday but said he sympathised with customers who were panic buying and stockpiling.
“I can understand the nervousness and who knows what’s going to be announced today... what if we get locked down,” he said.
“It’s scary and it is what is it is.”
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John McCormick 7.10am: US primaries go ahead
The first primary elections since the coronavirus pandemic engulfed the US were under way Tuesday in Florida, Illinois and Arizona as candidates, voters and election officials tried to navigate a new and challenging environment.
Polls indicated former Vice President Joe Biden was poised to dominate the day’s voting, potentially adding significantly to his delegate advantage over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in a Democratic presidential nomination race that appeared to be winding down.
On the eve of Tuesday’s balloting, an Ohio court rejected Republican Gov. Mike DeWine’s request to postpone the state’s primary until June 2. But the primary was placed on hold after Mr. DeWine declared that the state’s top health official would order the polls closed as part of a health emergency.
The Wall St Journal
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Remy Varga 6.55am: Crowds queue at Coles
Crowds have begun gathering outside the Coles on Glenferrie Road in the east Melbourne suburb of Malvern ahead of the supermarket’s community hour, which starts today at 7am.
A Coles staffer is directing keen customers to the back of the line, telling the crowd to “chill out”.
One irate woman responds by telling the worker that women at the front have pushed in line.
Another employee is telling members of the crowd there is no chicken but there are eggs.
Crowds gather outside the Coles on Glenferrie road ahead of the store opening for community hour at 7am. More at @australian pic.twitter.com/PZyCEryRpO
— Remy Varga (@RemyVarga) March 17, 2020
Anne Barrowclough 6.50am: France may block Brits
Belgium has gone into lockdown as Emanuel Macron says he is considering closing France’s borders to British travellers.
Belgium will go into lockdown from noon on Wednesday until 5 April, after several European countries, including neighbouring France, took the same decision earlier this week.
Any gatherings and meetings are prohibited, with the exception of families. All non-essential stores will be closed.
However, there will be a few exceptions, if citizens cannot work from home they will still be allowed to go to work.
Belgians will still be allowed to go to the supermarket, doctors, pharmacies, newsagents and banks will remain open.
Supermarket customers are limited to 1 person per 10 square metres, with a limit of 30 minutes per shopper.
Walking, jogging, cycling, and other outdoor sporting activities are still allowed, but must be carried out solo unless done with a someone who lives under the same roof.
Belgian police will be responsible for strictly enforcing this confinement.
#BREAKING France could stop British travellers from entering over coronavirus, Prime Minister says pic.twitter.com/EaD3Fx0G00
— AFP news agency (@AFP) March 17, 2020
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Jacquelin Magnay 6.40am: Queen dumps garden parties
The Queen has cancelled her much loved summer garden parties, held in the manicured grounds of Buckingham Palace, and she will relocate to Windsor Castle on Thursday.
The 94-year-old monarch has brought forward her usual departure from Buckingham Palace for Windsor by a week and postponed a series of investitures because of the coronavirus pandemic which has engulfed London.
Medical experts say the extent of coronavirus in the capital is several weeks ahead of other parts of the country.
Buckingham Palace announced the Queen will now likely stay at Windsor beyond the Easter period. It had been expected she might head to Sandringham in Norfolk where 98-year-old Prince Philip has been staying.
“Her Majesty will move to Windsor Castle for the Easter period on Thursday 19 March, one week earlier than planned. It is likely the Queen will stay there beyond the Easter period,” the Palace announced.
It is uncertain if Prince Philip will also decamp to Windsor, although at this time of the year he usually indulges in some carriage driving around the Windsor estate with Prince Edward’s daughter, Lady Louise.
Many of the Queen’s summer engagements have been put into doubt because she wants to avoid draining the resources of police and the current government advice is to avoid crowds.
Already the Maundy Service at St George’s Chapel on April 9 has been cancelled. A Palace official said guests already invited to the garden parties will be asked to attend in 2021.
“Two additional garden parties given for the Not Forgotten Association and the National Trust will also not take place.” the Palace said.
Decisions have yet to be made on annual garden party at the Palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh, the Trooping the Colour, the 75th anniversary of VE Day and a planned state visit by the Emperor and Empress of Japan.
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Jacquelin Magnay 6.30am: Boris announces £330bn stimulus
Boris Johnson says his British government was preparing like a “wartime government,’’ as he unleashed a minimum £330bn stimulus and support package to keep the economy going during the coronavirus crisis, which has already claimed 71 lives across the country.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced £330bn of loans to businesses - at attractive but indeterminate rates - a scale of support unimaginable only days ago.
To reassure companies that they haven’t done anything wrong yet their revenues go off a cliff, Mr Sunak unveiled the unprecedented economic plan and said “we are all in this together’’.
The bailout represents 15 per cent of GDP and dwarfs the £135bn handed out during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The British measures are similar in scale to the 300bn euro French stimulus package and the 200bn euro injection in the Spanish economy, both announced in the past 24 hours.
‘This is not a time for ideology or orthodoxy,’’ said Mr Sunak, who is a former hedge fund trader. He added: “This is a time to be bold’’.
6.15am: More test kits on way
Nearly 100,000 test kits will arrive this week as stocks start to run down.
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said 97,000 tests were expected during the week.
“Our best scientists and medical experts are working around the clock to secure the supplies we need to test for and tackle the coronavirus epidemic,” Mr Hunt said.
Mr Hunt said the government’s focus was on protecting vulnerable Australians.
“This is our fundamental national task,” he said in Melbourne. “Because they are the ones who are most likely to have an impact from the coronavirus which could either be serious or could, of course, lead to a fatality.”
READ MORE: Come home now, DFAT tells Aussies
6.00am: French Open delayed, Wimbledon still on
Wimbledon officials are continuing plans for the grasscourt major to start on June 29 as scheduled even though French Open organisers postponed the claycourt grand slam to September due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The French tennis federation postponed the event held at Roland Garros until September 20-October 4 from its May start, with the new dates colliding with numerous events on the scheduled global tennis calendar.
The All England Club said it will close the museum in its grounds, which is open all year, and other facilities following the British government’s recommendation to avoid unnecessary gatherings.
AFP
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5.45am: WHO warns against ibuprofen
The World Health Organisation has warned COVID-19 patients against taking the popular drug ibuprofen without consulting a doctor, due to ongoing research into possible negative effects.
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told a Geneva press conference that there are no recent studies that link the anti-inflammatory drug with increased mortality rates but he added that experts are currently investigating the matter.
“We recommend paracetamol, not ibuprofen in self-medication,” Mr Lindmeier said.
The UN agency’s comments came after leading French health officials warned against using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) against the coronavirus. This group of pharmaceuticals includes ibuprofen, aspirin and other drugs. A recent article in medical journal The Lancet put forward the hypothesis that some drugs including ibuprofen might pose a risk for COVID-19 patients who also suffer from high blood pressure or diabetes.
Spokesman Lindmeier also reported that two WHO staff members have been infected.
AAP
Additional reporting: David Ross, Remy Varga
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