Daily blog, April 14: Cleaners and fresh medical staff from the ADF and AUSMAT arrive in Burnie
Tasmania has confirmed 15 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours since 6pm last night, with the state’s tally now at 165.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- More than 100 people fined for flouting lockdown laws
- IVF clinics in the state have been shut down
- Politician slammed for staying at East Coast shack
READ: Everything we know on every case of COVID-19 in Tasmania
Have questions about business and retail, finishing school or how your movements are restricted?
9pm: STATE’S CORONAVIRUS TALLY CLIMBS TO 165
Tasmania has confirmed 15 new cases of coronavirus since 6pm Monday.
Deputy Director of Public Health Dr Scott McKeown said the latest diagnoses brought the state’s tally to 165.
“14 cases are known to be from the North-West of the state and one is still under investigation,” he said.
“Seven of the cases are female, eight are male; their ages range from the 30s to 90s.”
The situation with coronavirus is changing regularly. People can stay up to date by visiting the Department of Health coronavirus website www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au or the Australian Government Department of Health website at www.health.gov.au
5.45pm: SIXTH DEATH FROM CORONAVIRUS IN TASMANIA
Tasmania has recorded its sixth death from coronavirus.
The 91-year-old woman died at the Mersey Community Hospital, where she was being cared for, Premier Peter Gutwein confirmed with “great sadness”.
“On behalf of the Tasmanian Government, I extend my deepest condolences to the woman’s family, friends and loved ones,” he said.
“It is again a tragic and stark reminder that this virus can be deadly.
“It has taken lives, and it will take more lives yet.”
Mr Gutwein said we must do absolutely everything we can to contain the spread of coronavirus.
“I again call on the community – every family, every person in Tasmania – to keep doing the right thing. Please: stay home and save lives,” he said.
5.25pm: WE EAT LOCAL APP TO CONNECT TASMANIANS WITH LOCAL PRODUCERS
A new app is aiming to make it easier for Tasmanians to buy fresh local produce while supporting hard-hit local producers during the COVID-19 crisis.
Not-for-profit organisation Eat Well Tasmania will on Wednesday launch the free We Eat Local app, which lists hundreds of Tasmanian businesses offering home delivery, click and collect services and in-store shopping for local produce.
4.50pm: ADF AND AUSMAT TEAMS ARRIVE IN BURNIE
The Australian Defence Force has landed in Burnie to help in the battle against a COVID-19 outbreak in the North-West city.
Forty ADF personnel and a seven-person Australian Medical Assistance Team flew in to Burnie Airport on Tuesday tasked with getting the North West Regional Hospital’s Emergency Department back up and running when professional cleaning is finished.
4.20pm: BOFA FILM FESTIVAL FREE ONLINE THIS YEAR
Organisers of Tasmania’s acclaimed Breath Of Fresh Air (BOFA) Film Festival have refused to be another casualty of coronavirus, especially this year on the festival’s 10th anniversary.
With a wave of event cancellations sweeping the world, BOFA organisers opted to keep their event alive, shifting almost the entire film program online and offering it free to everyone.
2.45pm: AUSTRALIA’S JOBLESS RATE TIPPED TO REACH DOUBLE DIGITS
The near doubling in unemployment numbers predicted by the end of June has Treasurer Josh Frydenberg concerned.
But he said it was a reflection of the challenges facing Australia as the coronavirus pandemic continues to rage around the world and was confident people would rally together to get people back in jobs when the virus threat was over.
Treasury has predicted unemployment will rise from 5.1 per cent to 10 per cent in the June quarter.
1pm: ‘CLEAN’ MEDICAL STAFF LAND IN VIRUS EPICENTRE
A crack team of cleaners and plane loads of “clean” medical staff are arriving at the epicentre of Tasmania’s coronavirus outbreak as investigations into the cause of the deadly cluster of infections in the North West continue.
Sixty-six of Tasmania’s 150 cases of coronavirus are linked to the NWRH and it and the private hospital next door were closed on Monday.
12pm: POLICE TO INVESTIGATE ILLEGAL PARTY CLAIMS
Tasmania Police has been directed to investigate claims medical staff in Burnie attended an illegal party just before cases of COVID-19 spiked at the city’s public and private hospitals.
Rules preventing more than two people gathering were in place when the alleged gathering of nurses and doctors was held in the North West city.
11am: WATCH THE DAILY UPDATE LIVE
10am: DAILY UPDATE PUSHED BACK UNTIL 11AM
This morning’s press conference will be held at 11am. Stay tuned with The Mercury.
The Premier and health authorities are expected to face questions about comments made my Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphyabout the source of a coronavirus cluster in the state’s North West .
9.30am: EUROPE EXTENDS LOCKDOWNS AS CASES NEAR TWO MILLION
Scott Morrison has warned Australia is “weeks away” from lifting lockdowns, as he slammed the World Health Organisation’s support for the reopening of live animal markets in China.
The prime minister said it was “unfathomable” to support live animal markets, where experts believe coronavirus originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan.
“I’m totally puzzled by this decision,” Mr Morrison told Nine on today.
Australia’s firm stance against wildlife markets could put the country on a collision course with the global health authority.
8.30am: CHINA CLAMPING DOWN ON COVID-19 RESEARCH: REPORT
Academic research into the origins of coronavirus will have to be vetted by government officials before it can be published, according to a disturbing new report out of China.
Two Chinese universities posted government directives stipulating all research into the origins of the virus were to be vetted by authorities, CNN reported.
The online posts by Fudan University in Shanghai and China University of Geoscience in Wuhan were deleted after CNN made inquiries. Cached versions of the documents remain online.
7am: FACEBOOK USERS WARNED OVER DANGEROUS VIRUS THEORIES
Australians should prepare to see many more misleading stories on social media after Facebook was forced to send thousands of human moderators home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The tech giant, which relies on a workforce of almost 15,000 moderators to assess content on its platform, is instead being forced to rely almost solely on software algorithms to remove dangerous, fake information.
Social media experts have warned the problem could expose more weaknesses in the company’s operation, which was already struggling to stamp out fake memes and dangerously false advertisements during the COVID-19 crisis.
6.30am: SUPPORT FOR 5000 PEOPLE IN ISOLATION
Authorities face a logistical challenge to meet the needs of up to 5000 North-West residents in lockdown as part of moves to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The outbreak in the state’s North-West has not only taken out almost the entire hospital workforce in the region, but also has put thousands of their family members into two weeks of home isolation.
Premier Peter Gutwein on Monday promised that those who could not obtain food or other essential supplies through friends and family would be looked after.
9.15pm, Monday: EXHAUSTED PARAMEDICS FEAR FOR PATIENTS
A pair of “pretty exhausted” paramedics at the centre of Tasmania’s coronavirus fight have detailed the gruelling nature of their job.
Launceston ambulance workers Natalie Koning and Sydney Pitt took to social media on Monday outlining the tireless work they had undertaken over the past week in “unprecedented times”.
Ms Koning’s post expressed concern about the recent closures of Burnie’s North West Regional Hospital and the North West Private Hospital, saying: “there are more than 1000 staff in quarantine and some have COVID-19”.
Experts push for double shot as new Covid wave looms
As deaths from Covid continue, Tasmanians are being urged to get boosters and flu shots with doctors saying infection rates are “taking off and complacency is setting in”. LATEST FIGURES >>
Covid-safety urged as daily case numbers decline
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