DAILY BLOG, April 3: All the latest news on the coronavirus crisis
A third hospital worker in the state’s North-West has tested positive to coronavirus. REPLAY THE DAILY BRIEFING
Coronavirus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Get all the latest updates on the coronavirus crisis sweeping the state and country.
This coronavirus article is unlocked and free to read in the interest of community health and safety. To support the Mercury, subscribe here:
>> SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE FREE FOR THE FIRST 28 DAYS
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- The state’s coronavirus infections have risen to 74
- Racing, betting banned, retail and trades could be next
- Elderly man state’s second coronavirus death
- Military will enforce stage three lockdown measures
- Campers have been fined for flouting lockdown regulations
Have questions about business and retail or how your movements are restricted?
9pm: THIRD HOSPITAL WORKER TESTS POSITIVE TO VIRUS
A THIRD hospital worker in the state’s North-West has tested positive to coronavirus.
In a statement on Saturday evening, Chief Medical Officer Tony Lawler said another North West Regional Hospital worker aged in her 20s was among two Tasmanians to contract the virus, while revealing a female child as the other case.
He said the two latest cases — bringing the state’s count to 82 — were from the state’s North and North-West.
8pm: ROCKLIFF EASES SCHOOL CONFUSION
WITH confusion still surrounding the plans for next term, Education Minister and Deputy Premier Jeremy Rockliff wanted to make things clear.
Term 2 will commence on April 28, he said, and the set-up will be exactly as it was on Friday: “in other words, most of the learning will be at home.”
Four professional learning days next week for all government school staff will look at the best ways to deliver alternative learning packages both online and offline.
5.45pm: NO HOSPITAL PPE SHORTAGE: MINISTER
DESPITE reports of low supplies of personal protective equipment in the state’s hospitals, the state’s Health Minister says Tasmania has what it needs.
Australian Nursing and Midwives Federation Tasmania branch secretary Emily Shepherd said concerns about PPE had been raised with the union by members across all sectors.
3.30pm: SEARCH CONTINUES FOR HOSPITAL INFECTION SOURCE
A TEAM has worked through the night investigating two cases of coronavirus linked to a northern hospital, with hopes more information may come to light about how two healthcare workers were infected.
On Friday night, Tasmanian chief medical officer Tony Lawler announced that two staff members from the North West Regional Hospital medical ward had tested positive to the virus.
Acting Director of Public Health Scott McKeown said this was a very serious incident, with investigations ongoing as of Saturday morning.
1.10pm: LIVING A VIRTUAL LIFE IN SELF-ISOLATION
IF you’re desperate to tour your local art gallery, take a dance class, entertain the kids, enjoy some live music or visit a market you can still safely do those things … from the comfort of your living room.
There has been an explosion in the number of live local streaming services since the coronavirus outbreak, giving self-isolating Tasmanians access to more local online content than ever before via platforms such as Facebook and YouTube.
Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery and Handmark Gallery are both running virtual tours for armchair visitors, while at Mona, footage of Tim the tattooed guy is being live-streamed daily.
12.46pm: HELPFUL WAY TO SAY THANKS TO COVID-19 WORKERS
ORDINARY Tasmanians can buy meals for frontline healthcare workers and leave messages of support thanks to an initiative by two small-scale Hobart businesses.
The owners of Collide Wholefoods and Criterion Cafe launched the pay-it-forward service about a week ago as a way to support Tasmanian doctors, nurses, ambulance officers, police and other staff involved in managing the COVID-19 crisis.
And the response has been overwhelming, with Tasmanians rushing to donate up to $100 at a time to buy meals.
12.15pm: CRUISE SHIP BAN CRUCIAL TO REDUCING VIRUS THREAT
TASMANIAN Premier Peter Gutwein says he is confident the coronavirus threat posed by former cruise ship passengers returning to the state has been managed.
The state’s Public Health Department has confirmed that about half of the state’s 80confirmed cases of coronavirus are linked to various cruise ships, including 17 of them to the Ruby Princess.
Tasmania’s two coronavirus deaths, an elderly man in Hobart and an elderly woman in Burnie, were both passengers on the Ruby Princess, which has been linked to hundreds of cases and at least seven deaths nationwide.
10.58am: WATCH LIVE: GOVERNMENT DELIVERS DAILY VIRUS UPDATE
DEPUTY Premier Jeremy Rockliff has reiterated the Government’s stance that Tasmanians must stay home to stop the spread of coronavirus.
He also said there is an immediate investigation underway into how two North-West health care workers contracted coronavirus.
Mr Rockliff said while it is essential that Tasmanians stay home as much as possible, it is also to stay connected to family and friends via telephone, email or live-streamed chats.
“Remember to ask: are you OK?” he said.
Health Minister Sarah Courtney has revealed one of the new cases announced yesterday was connected to the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
She said four of the six cases were already in isolation.
And both ministers warned Tasmanians should expect the current restrictions are likely to remain in place “for some time”.
9.47am: AUSTRALIAN MPS CALL FOR SCRUTINY OF CHINA
Exclusive: Australian Parliamentarians have launched an extraordinary attack on the Chinese Communist Party, warning of economic consequences and saying it would not be allowed to escape responsibility for the coronavirus.
Several MPs warned there would be a resetting of the relationship between Australia and its biggest trading partner, while one said the CCP was responsible for the deaths of thousands of people by covering up details of the early coronavirus outbreak.
The attack by Liberal and Labor MPs and Senators is one of the strongest by a group of parliamentarians anywhere in the world in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and will deeply concern the Chinese Embassy in Canberra and leaders in Beijing.
The comments reflect concerns held by senior members of the Morrison government and will send the already fractious relationship between Australia and China to a new low.
12am: SALUTE TO OUR HEROES: WORKERS AT COALFACE OF CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
These are the people who represent the frontline heroes making sure Tasmania, Australia and the rest of the world does not succumb to the world’s worst health pandemic in 100 years.
In a Mercury tribute to the mums, dads, brothers and sisters defying adversity, medical professionals, teachers, police officers, firefighters, SES workers, nurses, council workers, local business owners, tradies, midwives, and newsagents share their stories at the coalface of the coronavirus crisis.
9pm yesterday: PREMIER PETER GUTWEIN’S WELL EARNED FAMILY TIME
PREMIER Peter Gutwein has travelled north to the Tamar Valley to see his family for the first time in three weeks.
Mr Gutwein has not had a chance to return home due to the overwhelming challenges of the coronavirus pandemic.
During his daily press conference in Hobart on Friday, he wished his daughter Millie a happy birthday.
She will turn 16 this weekend. In an interview with the Mercury, Mr Gutwein described her as a “very forthright thinker”.
MEMORY OF POLIO LOCKUP STILL VIVID
IN the late 1930s, Tasmania was in the grip of another health epidemic — a time Gwendoline Triffitt remembers all too well as the first time she went into isolation.
The 91-year-old went into isolation in 1938 during a devastating polio outbreak with her mum, two older sisters and brother in their Moonah home.
Tasmania suffered the world’s second-worst epidemic of polio in the 1930s, behind only Iceland, with more than 1000 cases diagnosed in the state from 1937-38.
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
The pace of Tasmania’s winter Covid wave is slowing but the public is urged to remain vigilant. LATEST FIGURES >>