DAILY BLOG, April 8: Warning to stay at home over Easter weekend

Nine more people in Tasmania have been diagnosed with coronavirus, pushing the state’s tally past 100. It comes as police have delivered a blunt warning to Tasmanians to stay at home over the Easter weekend: “We can only educate for so long before we start prosecuting.”

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The state’s coronavirus infections have risen to 98
• Big box retail, market future uncertain after social distancing guidelines ignored
• Majority of tourism operators lay of staff amid COVID-19 crisis
• Racing, betting banned, retail and trades could be next
• Campers have been fined for flouting lockdown regulations

Have questions about business and retail or how your movements are restricted?

READ: Everything we know on every case of COVID-19 in Tasmania

9.25pm: NINE MORE CASES OF CORONAVIRUS

THE state’s coronavirus tally has passed 100, with nine new cases confirmed on Wednesday night.

Public Health Director Dr Mark Veitch said eight of the cases are from the North-West, and three of those are healthcare workers at the North West Regional Hospital.

At least one of those people has also recently worked at the North West Private Hospital.

Another case is a close contact of a previously identified case.

Four of the cases are patients who have been admitted to both NWRH and NWPH. All of these patients are now being cared for in the NWRH.

The ninth case is from southern Tasmania. Eight of the cases are women.

The new cases bring the state’s tally to 107.

Dr Veitch said Public Health Services was deploying three staff – including a field epidemiologist – to support the outbreak management team assist with the response to the outbreak. This will include working with the North West Private Hospital.

“The outbreak management team is already identifying and contacting any person who has had close contact with any of these staff and will ensure necessary actions are taken,” Dr Veitch said.

“In addition, Public Health Services is also following up household and social contacts of all confirmed cases.

“If any hospital staff member or patient is determined to be a close contact of these cases, they will be contacted and advised of the action they need to take.

“It may be necessary for other staff and patients to be tested for coronavirus as investigations progress. We will assess and test any symptomatic staff member or patient who is symptomatic and has been at risk of exposure to coronavirus.”

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.

8.55pm: MPS TO RETURN FOR SPECIAL COVID-19 SITTING

STATE Parliament will be recalled in coming weeks to consider urgent business brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

Premier Peter Gutwein on Wednesday said the move would be subject to the agreement of Governor Kate Warner.

Parliamentary sittings had been suspended until August and emergency legislation had given the Government broad powers to direct the fight against the virus.

However, Mr Gutwein said sittings would need to resume to consider a nationwide code of conduct about commercial tenancies that was agreed at the national cabinet on Tuesday.

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8.15pm: PRIVATE SCHOOL ANNOUNCES FEE CHANGES

AN elite southern Tasmania private school has announced how it will manage its school fees during an extended period of online student learning.

In a letter sent to parents and carers on Wednesday, The Hutchins School said its Board had approved a fee rebate of 25 per cent on all full fee-paying families for the duration of home-based learning.

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7.55pm: BRINGING EASTER CHEER TO YOUR DOOR

IF a heat reactive mug with David Walsh’s face on it, a carton of Willie Smith’s cider or a platter of preserves from Harvest and Light appear on your Easter wishlist, you’re in luck.

All of those things, plus plenty of other unique and unusual goodies, can now be delivered to your door.

Hundreds of businesses across the state have come up with innovative ideas to continue selling their products during the coronavirus crisis.

Destination Southern Tasmania CEO Alex Heroys this week called on people to “step up, stay home, be kind to each other and support our local communities and businesses”.

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6.35pm: POLICE TO SWARM STATE TO ENFORCE LOCKDOWN

FROM Bridport to Boat Harbour and Bruny Island, police have promised to patrol holiday hot spots over Easter to ensure compliance with strict stay-at-home directives.

Tasmania Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Jonathan Higgins said motorists should avoid non-essential travel and can expect random spot checks on the roads.

“we can only educate for so long before we start prosecuting those for blatant breaches of the directions.”

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6.05pm: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SCHOOL DURING PANDEMIC

NO student will have to repeat Year 12 as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff assured Tasmania’s senior high school students they would not be disadvantaged by the learning and assessment challenges posed by lockdown measures.

Mr Rockliff met with University of Tasmania vice chancellor Rufus Black last week and announced a School Recommendation Program to enable students to apply for most undergraduate courses at UTAS.

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5.25pm: TELSTRA ROLLS OUT 2500 JOBS, CUSTOMER DISCOUNTS

Telco giant Telstra has announced the creation of thousands of new jobs while also rolling out new relief measures for cash-strapped customers.

The company today revealed it had increased its workforce by another 2500 staff – on top of 1000 recruited in recent weeks – to help bolster support for its customers struggling during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Telstra already received 19,000 job applications in recent weeks for its initial new 1000 roles.

But of the newly announced 2500 jobs some will come from the 19,000 applications while other workers will be hired from other companies and businesses where they were laid off.

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4.25pm: ‘DESPERATE’ BUSINESSES EXHAUST COUNCIL GRANTS FUND

A COUNCIL has suspended submissions for the innovation grants component of its Community Care and Recovery program after an overwhelming response from businesses.

The Level 2 innovation grants were a part of the Launceston City Council’s $8.5 million coronavirus support package announced last week.

They were open to small businesses seeking funding of up to $7000 to adapt their business practices to new technologies.

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3.35pm: TECH SUPPORT FOR AT-HOME LEARNING

STUDENTS will have access to laptops and wi-fi dongles to continue their study at home in term two under a new computer loan scheme.

Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said the Department of Education will implement the scheme for students who do not have access to a computer or the internet at home.

He said students may be issued with computer or a SIM card or internet dongle, and priority would be given to Year 11 and 12 students.

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11.30am: OUTBREAK ZONE LOCKDOWN WARNING

PREMIER Peter Gutwein says putting the North-West city of Burnie into total lockdown is being considered but harsher control measures could be avoided if the community follows isolation rules.

Burnie has become Tasmania’s coronavirus infection hot spot and an outbreak management team has been established to try to bring it under control.

Tasmanians from outside the region have been calling for the city to be isolated to stop the outbreak impacting other towns.

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10.30am: CAN YOU STILL TAKE YOUR L-PLATER FOR LESSONS?

LEARNER drivers can continue with their driving education, but there’s a catch.

Transport Minister Michael Ferguson confirmed that supervisory drivers won’t be fined if they abide by the rules.

It comes after Victoria Police fined a 17-year-old learner driver for not following directions to stay at home.

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9.30am: NORTH WEST TO BE SCRUTINISED IN COMING DAYS

RESIDENTS in the state’s North West will receive extra attention in the coming days and across the Easter period to contain the outbreak.

A slew of “concerning” diagnoses of COVID-19 from patients and health workers at the North West Regional Hospital have led to the stricter measures.

“What we need to do now is take every step we possibly can to protect Tasmanians,” Premier Peter Gutwein said this morning.

“We have an outbreak on the North West coast, it is important that those people who live on the North West coast follow the rules.

“The North West coast will have special attention paid to it over the coming days and over Easter.”

Mr Gutwein has implored community leaders to back the rules and encourage residents to do the right thing after saying the outbreak concerns him greatly.

“It’s important community leaders on the North West coast do their bit, this out break on the North West coast concerns me, concerns me greatly,” he said.

Parliament will also resume in the coming weeks to legislate a commercial tenancies protection clause in the COVID-19 bill.

The decision was made last night in the National Cabinet meeting, Mr Gutwein said.

National modelling also released last night by Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicates the steps taken in Tasmania will succeed in flattening the curve.

“It shows very clearly the work that we have been undertaking will have an impact,” Mr Gutwein said.

See more on the figures here.

9.15am: WATCH THE MORNING PRESS CONFERENCE LIVE

8.30am: HORRIFYING FIGURES THAT SHOW WHY AUSTRALIA IS IN LOCKDOWN

AUSTRALIANS have been given an insight into how bad the coronavirus outbreak could have become if the Morrison Government had not acted.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed on Tuesday details of the early modelling his government used to inform its response.

Mr Morrison stressed the “highly theoretical” modelling did not predict what would happen in Australia, but instead presented a “worst-case” scenario based on overseas data.

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8am: TALKING POINT: STAMP OUT THE STATE’S WEAK LINK

JOHN BURGESS: We can’t afford to risk transmission by letting positive cases go home

THIS is no time for complacency, but let’s start seriously planning for how and when we can safely get Tasmania’s society and economy working again in a sustainable new normal.

We are seeing the early signs of successfully containing the coronavirus. Still, we are also seeing areas of emerging risk, such as in Tasmania’s North-West. To paraphrase Winston Churchill’s wartime quote, this is not “the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning” of our war against the coronavirus.

We remain stalked by the spectre of community transmission. Still, with each day, we should gain degrees of confidence that we can crush the epidemic curve and keep our foot firmly on the neck of viral spread. Right now, we need to contain any early phase of community spread of coronavirus with formal and tight restrictions on travel between Tasmania’s regions over the next few weeks.

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UPDATED: Bail refused for Launceston man charged with repeated breaches of quarantine requirements

7am: HOSPITAL, AGED-CARE HOME VISITS BANNED

VISITS to the state’s hospitals and aged care homes have been banned in further measures designed to stop the spread of coronavirus.

The rules took effect from noon on Tuesday with Premier Peter Gutwein describing the move as strict but necessary.

Exceptions will be made for partners at the birth of a child, a parent visiting a dependent child sick in hospital, or for compassionate and end of life reasons.

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6.30am: DRIVE-THROUGH COVID-19 TESTING NOW OPEN

SEVERAL locations around the state will be transformed into temporary coronavirus testing clinics.

The State Government spokesman also said four pod-style modules had been set up at the site and would be used as a way of accommodating hospital patient overflow, if they are required.

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8.45pm, yesterday: NINE NEW CASES OF CORONAVIRUS

TASMANIA has confirmed nine cases of coronavirus since 6pm on Monday night.

This brings the state’s tally to 98.

Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch said eight of the cases are from the state’s North-West and are all related to the current outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital.

Six of those cases are staff members at the hospital, while one is a recent inpatient and one is a close contact of a previous NWRH case.

The ninth case if from the state’s South.

Six of the cases are women and three are men. Three are aged in their 20s, two are in their 30s, one is in their 40s, one is in their 50s, one is in their 60s and one is in their 70s.

“An outbreak management team is already identifying and contacting any person who has had close contact with any of these staff and will ensure necessary actions are taken,” Dr Veitch said.

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5.20pm, yesterday: THIRD RUBY PRINCESS PASSENGER HAS DIED IN TASMANIA

TASMANIA has recorded its third death from coronavirus, with an elderly man falling victim to the disease on Tuesday.

The man in his 80s died at the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie.

He had been a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which docked in Sydney last month.

All three Tasmanian deaths from coronavirus — who have all been aged in their 80s — were passengers on board that vessel.

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