Daily blog, April 17: State records seventh coronavirus death
A 72-year-old man has become the seventh coronavirus death in Tasmania and the sixth death from the virus on the North-West Coast. It comes as the state recorded four more cases of coronavirus.
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- The state has 180 infections
- What went wrong in the North West?
- 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?
9.05pm: FOUR MORE CASES OF CORONAVIRUS
FOUR more cases of coronavirus have been recorded in the state’s North-West.
Two of the cases are healthcare workers who have worked at either the North West Regional Hospital or the North West Private Hospital. One is a former patient of the NWRH and one is a close contact of a confirmed case.
Three are women and one is a man with one aged in their 50s, one in their 60s and two are aged in their 70s.
Public Health Director Dr Mark Veitch said the cases brought the state’s total to 184.
“Test results of residents and staff in the three nursing homes in the North-West where a healthcare worker had worked prior to testing positive are expected tomorrow,” Dr Veitch said.
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.
9pm: AFL HUB STILL POSSIBLE DESPITE NW OUTBREAK
BURNIE’S coronavirus outbreak should not affect Tasmania’s chances of hosting an AFL hub with Premier Peter Gutwein highlighting the state’s “low case numbers” in Hobart and Launceston as reasons it still could get the green light.
Put on hold after crowd-less round one games, the AFL on Monday next week will announce plans to restart the season.
League boss Gill McLachlan is confident the remaining 144 home-and-away games would be played this year and without the need to shut it down again should a player test positive to coronavirus.
8.30pm: GROUP DENIES SHIPPING FACE MASKS TO CHINA
A TASMANIAN-based Chinese group has hit back at claims it sent thousands of face masks to coronavirus place-of-origin, Wuhan.
The Mercury last week reported the Federation of Chinese Associations Tasmania Incorporated shipped mass loads of protective face masks to China, following revelations made through a social media post which praised FOCAT secretary-general Yang Kai “for donating 16,000 masks to the Wuhan medical teams”.
FOCAT executive Dai Yi Wang on Friday said while a COVID-19 online fundraiser for Wuhan was created, no PPE was shipped.
7.35pm: HOMES LIGHT UP TO THANK OUR ‘TRUE HEROES’
THOUSANDS of Tasmanians are ready to light up their homes each night to show their support for frontline workers.
Businesses, councils and political leaders have also thrown their support behind the #shine4thefrontline campaign.
The Mercury launched the campaign as a way to pay tribute to frontline workers for their dedication during these unprecedented times.
The campaign has attracted tripartisan support, with Premier Peter Gutwein encouraging all Tasmanians to do what they can to take part.
7.15pm: POLLIES ATTACK PM OVER ‘RECKLESS’ STATEMENT
TASMANIAN officials have again been forced to respond to revelations made publicly by their federal counterparts about the coronavirus outbreak in the state’s North-West.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison told Triple M that a health worker had not been truthful about his movements as part of the contact tracing process.
It is the second time this week that national authorities have made revelations about Tasmanian matters, after Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy told New Zealand counterparts the outbreak was due to an illegal dinner party of health workers.
On Friday, Mr Gutwein said he would not comment on the Prime Minister’s statement but denied there was a communication problem between state and federal governments.
5.45pm: LENGTHY QUARANTINE EXACTS A MENTAL TOLL
A HOBART woman in her third week of hotel isolation has described the toll the experience has had on her mental health.
Christine Matheson Green arrived in Hobart on Monday after spending two weeks in quarantine at a Melbourne hotel following a holiday to Brazil.
She is two days into her 14-day stay in a Wrest Point Casino hotel room as part of the State Government’s measure to isolate new arrivals to Tasmania.
“It was a horrendous nightmare trip back to Australia with multiple flight changes. I don’t have any issue with the isolation stay itself, but I don’t think the whole situation has been well-handled,” she said.
4.55pm: HCC TO CONSIDER ALDERMEN PAY CUT
HOBART aldermen and councillors could take a significant pay cut across the next six months if a motion for the reduction of allowances passes council.
Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds and Councillor Zelinda Sherlock’s motion on notice ahead of the Hobart City Council’s April 27 meeting, also “encourages” council executives, including general manager Nick Heath, to consider similar sacrifices.
It comes as elected Adelaide City Council members agreed to a 20 per cent reduction in their allowances during the coronavirus pandemic and follows the same allowance sacrifice by New Zealand parliamentarians.
3.40pm: PARLIAMENT TO MAKE AN EARLY COMEBACK
STATE Parliament will be permanently recalled to ensure accountability during the coronavirus crisis, Premier Peter Gutwein has announced.
It comes after repeated calls from opposition members and community leaders for a multi-party committee to be established to meet remotely.
Parliament had been suspended until August due to the COVID-19 situation.
But Mr Gutwein said on Friday that sittings would resume this month and continue along the regular schedule, albeit potentially with less sitting days.
2.30pm: STATE RECORDS SEVENTH CORONAVIRUS DEATH
A SEVENTH Tasmanian has died from coronavirus.
The 72-year-old man died this morning at the Mersey Community Hospital at Latrobe, Premier Peter Gutwein said.
“On behalf of the Government, I extend my deepest condolences to the man’s family, friends and loved ones,’’ he said.
“This is another sad reminder that this disease takes lives, and we must do everything we can to contain the spread of coronavirus.
“I again ask Tasmanians to work with us, do the right thing, stay home and save lives.”
It is the sixth death from coronavirus on the North-West Coast, where an outbreak of the virus has occurred in recent weeks.
10.30am: ROAD BLOCKS, CHECK POINTS AS STAY AT HOME ORDER ‘ACTIVELY POLICED’
ROAD blocks and check points will be set up on North West roads today, Premier Peter Gutwein warned, as measures to limit movement around the state are stepped up.
This comes as an infected health care worker from the North West hospitals worked shifts at the Melaleuca Nursing Home in East Devonport, Eliza Purton Home for the Aged in Ulverstone, and Coroneagh Park in Penguin.
10am: SCOMO’S SHOCKING MORNING RADIO ANNOUNCEMENT
PRIME Minister Scott Morrison has made a shocking revelation on morning radio in Tasmania this morning: that the troubling coronavirus outbreak in the state’s North West stems from a health care worker being dishonest with authorities.
On Triple M in an interview with Brian Carlton, Mr Morrison said the North West outbreak was a classic demonstration of the importance of tracing where those infected with the virus had been and who they had been in contact with.
9.20am: WATCH THE PREMIER’S PRESS CONFERENCE LIVE
7am: CLAIMS HOSPITAL WORKERS WERE TOLD NOT TO USE PPE
STAFF at the North-West Regional Hospital were told not to worry about using personal protective equipment during a recent “code black” incident, their union says.
The hospital, which is the centre of a major outbreak of COVID-19, has since been closed and staff ordered into quarantine.
OUTBREAK FORCES HOSPITALS TO SHUT DOWN
NORTH WEST REGIONAL HOSPITAL TO START DEEP CLEAN
Health and Community Sector Union assistant state secretary Robbie Moore said the incident was emblematic of PPE shortages in the health system during the current pandemic.
9.10pm, yesterday: INFECTED STAFFER ALSO WORKED AT NURSING HOMES
PUBLIC Health Services is working with three nursing homes on the North-West Coast after contact tracing found that a healthcare worker diagnosed with coronavirus who had worked shifts at both the North West Regional Hospital and the North West Private Hospital had also worked at nursing homes.
Public Health Director Dr Mark Veitch said the person was diagnosed on Wednesday and investigations to determine their movements found that the person worked shifts at Melaleuca Nursing Home in East Devonport, Eliza Purton Home for the Aged in Ulverstone, and Coroneagh Park in Penguin.
8.55pm, yesterday: TIME TO SHINE FOR OUR FRONTLINE STARS
THEY are the heroes keeping Tasmania running during the coronavirus crisis — and this is your chance to say thank you.
On Friday, the Mercury launches #Shine4thefrontline, a campaign to pay tribute to frontline workers for their dedication during these unprecedented times.
Through the campaign, we are calling on Tasmanians to shine a light from their homes at 8pm on Saturday, and each night thereafter, as a show of gratitude.