Daily blog, Tuesday, March 31: State’s two deaths both passengers on Ruby Princess
Tasmania recorded no new coronavirus cases on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Premier Peter Gutwein has addressed the state, warning we need to be prepared for more deaths. WATCH HIS SPEECH
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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
- The state’s coronavirus infections have risen to 69
- A woman in her 80s was Tasmania’s first COVID-19-related death
- Tasmanians have been ordered to stay at home under tough new measures
- New restrictions on alcohol purchases as retailers combat stockpiling
- Campers have been fined for flouting lockdown regulations
9.40pm: LOCKED GATES THWART GREYHOUND MEET
A GREYHOUND meeting scheduled to be held in Devonport on Tuesday was abandoned when members of the North West Greyhound Racing Club arrived to find the gates of the Devonport Showground locked.
TasRacing has sought an exemption to hold race meets across Tasmania despite them not being deemed an essential service under the state’s strict new coronavirus protocols.
However, the permit has not yet come through.
8.10pm: NORTHERN COUNCIL MOVES TO VIRTUAL MEETINGS
LAUNCESTON City council meetings will be held in the virtual world for the foreseeable future after new measures to control coronavirus were announced by the Premier this week.
All council meetings will now be held via video conferencing with elected members, with the audio live-streamed to the public.
Mayor Albert van Zetten said the decision was in the best interest of public safety.
“The new public gathering guidelines outlined by the Premier mean that the public will not be able to attend council meetings in person while these measures are in place,” Ald van Zetten said.
7.15pm: CONCERNS PS BEING TOLD THEY CAN’T WORK FROM HOME
TOO many public servants were being required to attend their workplaces when they could be working from home, the Greens say.
Party leader Cassy O’Connor said she had raised the issue with the Government and would do so again.
Keeping workers at home to limit social contact is one of the key measures being used to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
“It’s very worrying that public servants, whose roles have the flexibility, and who’re ready and able to work from home, are being told they can’t,” Ms O’Connor said.
6.55pm: NO NEW CORONAVIRUS CASES IN TASMANIA
FOR the first day in almost two weeks, Tasmania has no new confirmed cases of coronavirus today.
Director of Public Health Dr Mark Veitch, the state’s tally remained at 69 cases.
Public Health Services is continuing to investigate two cases in the Devonport area for which a source of infection has not been identified.
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.
6.25pm: QUARANTINED PREGNANT WOMAN DENIED TREATMENT
A PREGNANT Tasmanian woman being quarantined in a Sydney hotel has been refused medical treatment, fresh air or adequate food.
Sophie Ciszek and her partner Carlo Cassan returned from a surfing holiday in Indonesia, arriving in Sydney on Sunday, just hours after the mandatory quarantine restrictions came into place.
“From the second we landed we were in Federal Police and military custody,” Ms Ciszek said.
“We’re being treated like we’ve done something wrong or like we’ve got the virus even though we have no symptoms.”
6pm: PREMIER ADDRESSES STATE OVER VIRUS DEATHS
Premier Peter Gutwein has addressed the state following the death of a second person in Tasmania from coronavirus and warns we need to be prepared for more deaths.
WATCH HIS SPEECH IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ABOVE
5.40pm: CLASSROOMS NEARLY EMPTY AS KIDS KEPT AT HOME
THERE is an unusual quiet in Tasmanian schools with parents having responded to the Government’s call for them to keep children at home if possible.
The preliminary statewide attendance rate fell to nearly single figures on Monday after Premier Peter Gutwein made the request as part of new measures to limit the spread of coronavirus.
According to Department of Education data, attendance rates were already plummeting with 50.6 per cent in classes on Wednesday last week, 44.2 per cent on Thursday and 40 per cent on Friday.
4.50pm: BUSINESSES LOOK FOR BENEFIT IN JOB PACKAGE
ONE of Tasmania’s biggest private employers is working through the details to see how the Federal Government’s JobKeeper payments will flow to their stood down workers, but holds concerns for its ineligible employees on foreign visas.
On Monday, the Federal Government announced details of its $130 billion lifeline, which it expects will have six million Australian workers paid $1500 a fortnight in an attempt to keep them in their jobs and save the economy.
Federal Group corporate affairs executive general manager Daniel Hanna said the new stimulus package would be a great support for the company’s workforce.
2.40pm: LONG-TERM RENTALS RETURN TO THE MARKET
A TORRENT of furnished rental properties is flooding into Hobart and Tasmania’s property market.
But few fit the criteria for affordability.
New data from realestate.com.au shows Australia’s largest listings increase in furnished homes to rent was recorded in Tasmania.
The data revealed a 536 per cent increase when comparing the number of listings available between March 6-12 and March 20-26.
2.30pm: STATE’S NORTH GROUND ZERO FOR COMMUNITY TRANSMISSION
ANYONE in the Devonport area suffering respiratory issues is being tested for coronavirus as health authorities work to determine if the region is the first place in Tasmania where community transmission has occurred.
The North-West recorded the state’s first coronavirus death on Sunday – a woman in her 80s who had been a passenger on the Ruby Princess cruise ship.
Devonport Mayor Annette Rockliff said the woman’s death in the North West Regional Hospital had brought home the seriousness of the pandemic and that Tasmania was not immune to the tragedy unfolding across the world.
“The news was a game changer for Tasmanians I think,” Cr Rockliff said.
2pm: PRISONERS ARE TREATED BETTER, SAYS FORMER TOP COP
PEOPLE being detained by the government after arriving from interstate are being confined to hotel rooms 24 hours a day with little concern being shown for their needs or welfare, one detainee says.
Former Tasmania police assistant commissioner Glenn Frame arrived in Hobart yesterday and is now among more than 90 people who have been detained for 14 days after arriving from interstate.
Premier Peter Gutwein this morning said about 90 hotel rooms around the state were being occupied by people who were under mandatory detention after arriving interstate.
The measure is among those introduced to contain the spread of coronavirus.
9.20am: SECOND DEAD AS PREMIER REITERATES LOCKDOWN LAWS
ANOTHER person has died from COVID-19 in Tasmania.
Premier Peter Gutwein in his morning press conference said an elderly man being cared for at the Royal Hobart Hospital has passed away.
Mr Gutwein reiterated the need for Tasmanians to obey the strict new lockdown measures, which include only two people out together in public and not leaving the house.
“Now that we’ve had unfortunately our second dead, there is a message in that for all of us.
“This virus is deadly, this virus will kill you, take the necessary steps.
“Social distancing and abiding by the rules will save your life ... stay home and save lives.”
TALKING POINT: CRUSH THE CURVE FOR A NEW NORMAL
7am: HOSPITAL SHIP ARRIVES IN NYC AS GLOBAL DEATH TOLL REACHES 35,000
The total number of coronavirus cases worldwide has exceeded 750,000 with more than 35,000 dead.
That’s according to Johns Hopkins University researches who have been keeping track of the spread of the virus.
Italy lost 812 people on Monday, bringing that country’s shocking toll to 11,591. The European nation said it will extend its lockdown at least until Easter, with 101,739 infections and 14,620 people recovered.
Spain listed 7340 deaths from COVID-19, the second highest toll in the world after Italy.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY
Yesterday, 10.27pm: LEGAL ACTION FOR GROUP AT CAMPGROUND UNDER RESTRICTIONS
A GROUP of 10 people will face legal action after entering a restricted area at an East Coast camp ground on Sunday.
It follows Tasmania Police conducting over 1300 compliance checks for COVID-19 restrictions between 6pm on March 25 and 3pm on Monday on people in quarantine across the state.
A number of non-compliance cases also remain under active investigation.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY
Yesterday, 9.43pm: UPDATED: State rocked by first death from COVID-19
TASMANIA has recorded its first death from coronavirus.
Premier Peter Gutwein revealed the death of an elderly woman at the state’s North West Regional Hospital yesterday morning.
“This woman was being treated for COVID-19. I want to extend my heartfelt condolences and deepest sympathies to her friends and loved ones,” he said.
“I understand the coroner has been notified and family is receiving the social support that they need at this time.
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