Summary
We will leave our live Australian coverage there for the day. You can follow our rolling global coverage here or read a summary here.
Here’s how things stand in Australia:
- Victoria is set to announce tomorrow whether it plans to ease coronavirus restrictions. The current public health orders will expire, but they could be extended or replaced with something new.
- New South Wales and WA announced an easing of restrictions, NSW to come into effect on Friday and WA on Monday week. All other states and territories have announced some easing of restrictions.
- Children are returning to school in NSW this week. Queensland is also seeing the return of kids in kindergarten and students in prep, grade one, year 11 and year 12. Kids in WA are also back at school, but there’s no penalties for learning from home.
- Australia recorded just 14 new cases of Covid-19 overnight. Ten were in Victoria, including one more in the Cedar Meats cluster, bringing the total size of that cluster to 79. NSW and Queensland recorded two each.
- Queensland’s deputy premier and treasurer Jackie Trad, who stood aside amid a corruption inquiry last week, has now resigned.
- Ten people were arrested at a protest against Victoria’s lockdown measures and police have said they will work to identify anyone else who was at the protest (reportedly 250 people) and fine them all for breaching public health orders.
- Australia’s chief medical officer, Prof Brendan Murphy, said that for lockdown restrictions to be eased Australians will have to show some personal responsibility for maintaining an appropriate distance between each other and avoiding crowds. He also said the 5G conspiracy theory, which links the telephone network to the coronavirus, is “nonsense”.
- The dispute between Australia and China appears to have escalated, with Beijing reportedly considering imposing tariffs on Australian barley farmers for alleged anti-competitive behaviour. The Australian government says there’s no evidence Australian farmers engaged in dumping.
Stay well, remain 1.5m apart at the shops or when protesting and wish your mother and other mothers/parents in your life a happy mother’s day from us.
Updated
South Australia has established a rapid response team to deal with any coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes.
Twenty-seven of the 97 people to die in Australia after testing positive to Covid-19, died in nursing homes.
More detail from AAP:
The dedicated SA Pathology team has been assembled to provide greater protection for some of the state’s most vulnerable citizens.
If an outbreak occurs, the team will immediately test everyone in the facility, helping to quickly identify cases, limit the spread and protect both residents and staff.
“A key to protecting our state from a resurgence of this disease is our success in dealing with cases as they are identified,” health minister Stephen Wade said.
“The way to stop a case from becoming a cluster and a cluster becoming an outbreak is to identify and isolate cases and contacts quickly.
“Older people are much more vulnerable to becoming seriously ill with Covid-19 and residents in aged care facilities are at particular risk as we see in both Australia and overseas.”
Updated
Ten arrested at Melbourne protest
Ten people were arrested at the anti-lockdown, anti-vaxx, and apparently anti-5G protest outside parliament house in Melbourne today. And police have said they are attempting to identify others who attended so they can fine them too.
Among those arrested were two organisers of the protest.
In a statement, Victoria Police said it “respects the public’s right to protest” but it “made it very clear that if a planned protest was to proceed today, it would be in direct contravention of the chief health officer’s current directives”.
Those directives, which expire tomorrow, allow police to arrest or issue a $1,600 on the spot fine to anyone deemed to be breaching Victoria’s stage three lockdown laws, which state that the only reason a person should be outside their home is for exercise, care or compassionate reasons, to attend work or school, or for essential shopping.
Here’s the police statement:
At the protest on Spring Street today, police arrested 10 people, including two organisers of the event. OC spray was deployed during an arrest of one individual.
The majority of those arrested were for failing to comply with the chief health officer’s directions. Three of the offenders will also be charged with assaulting a police officer, and another offender will be charged with discharging a missile after allegedly throwing a bottle at police.
All offenders were released pending summons.
As a result of the protest activity, a police officer who was in attendance has been taken to hospital for what is believed to be a rib injury.
When attending the protest today, the priority for police was to quickly arrest those individuals who were acting unlawfully and inciting others to breach the chief health officer’s directions.
Once police made arrests, the crowd started to disperse.
Police are continuing to investigate the events of today in order to identify other people who were in attendance. Once individuals are identified, we will be issuing them with fines and will consider any other enforcement options.
Updated
I missed this earlier and, frankly, am not sure why I’m sharing it now. But if you want to listen to the same music as the opposition leader, which appears to have been created by googling “coronavirus songs” (seriously Albo, where’s the creativity?) then here you go.
It’s OK, mate. As Nick Hornby wrote, a good compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do.
My #Corona playlist on @Spotify which you may or may not like.... pic.twitter.com/4bgdO71ZAY
— Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) May 10, 2020
Updated
Labor’s trade spokeswoman Madeleine King and agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon have released this statement on the proposed barley tariffs.
They write:
Labor is deeply concerned about reports that China may be preparing to impose tariffs on Australian barley.
China is yet to finalise its decision, and the government must use the coming days to resolve this matter to protect Australia’s valuable barley industry.
It is in the interests of both nations to have a productive trading relationship.
Australia and China have a rich history of trade and investment which has been extremely beneficial to both our nations.
The government needs to show leadership on managing this important relationship at this difficult time.
Updated
South Australia has reported no new cases of coronavirus. Again. They now have just one active case remaining.
Murphy said that employers would probably have to stagger shift starts when companies begin asking employees to return to work to avoid peak-hour crowding on public transport. The national cabinet’s roadmap has employees working from home, if they are able, until the last stage of restrictions being lifted.
Murphy says:
We are very keen, as well as asking those who are working from home to continue working from home for the time being, but we are also keen for employers and employees to look at staggered start and finish times.
Updated
On the need for an independent investigation into the origin of the coronavirus in China, Murphy said the world needed to understand how the coronavirus developed, what was the intermediate species that helped transfer the virus to humans, how it mutated, etc.
Obviously everybody wants to know what are things that each and every country could have done better to stop this widespread pandemic.
He says that Australia and the World Health Organisation have received “a lot of information out of China” and that China has been “readily sharing information and collaborating”.
I hope it becomes a scientific and health-based investigation looking at lessons to be learned.
Updated
Murphy says that businesses should be allowed to turn people away if they have obvious flu-like symptoms.
On the stepped path out of lockdown, why did the national cabinet recommend that restaurant patrons be capped at a fixed number rather than a number based on the size of the restaurant?
Murphy says that might happen in stage two of the restrictions being lifted, but in stage one “most of the health experts we have worked with feel strongly that we should keep total group size small”.
You could sell potentially infect 20 or 30 people even in a socially distance restaurant, if you have only got 10 people in a group, that is a smaller group to contact trace as well.
Chief medical officer says Covid-19 conspiracy theories 'complete nonsense'
Murphy is asked about the protests that are happening in Melbourne today, which was pushing a number of conspiracy theories including the one about coronavirus being linked to 5G. (Video explainer on that here.)
Murphy said he has been contacted by a number of conspiracy theorists, and that the theory is “nonsense”.
There is unfortunately a lot of very silly misinformation out there. There is absolutely no evidence about 5G doing anything in the coronavirus space. I have unfortunately received a lot of communication from these conspiracy theorists myself. It is complete nonsense. 5G has got nothing at all to do with coronavirus.
Similarly, I understand people have the right to protest, but they should not be breaching those social distancing rules and if they are, they should be held to account.
Updated
Murphy says continuing to control the coronavirus outbreak in Australia is a matter of personal responsibility. He says that if people forget those principles of social distancing and only going out when it’s essential after the restrictions lift, the virus will spread.
“Regulation only goes so far,” he says, adding that he has seen images of people out this week “crowded in shopping malls, in other circumstances, where they have not been observing the social distancing norms that are part of our new way of behaving”.
So regulation can achieve things, but every individual can do more than regulation, by behaving in a way that is respectful of social distancing norms, respectful of the hand hygiene practices that we now have, and if everyone can do that, that will enable us as a nation to progressively and cautiously relax the regulations.
But if people don’t do it, we could get widespread community transmission again. That second wave that we’ve talked about, but none of us want to get and none of us intend to get. But it is as much about the rules and regulations as it is about personal responsibility ...
So if you are going to a shopping centre to buy something, go and buy something, but don’t hang around the shopping centre for half-an-hour mingling for no purpose. Go home. If you are arriving at a shopping centre and you find a crowd at an escalator not wanting to practise social distancing or crowding together, don’t go in. Leave. Come back later. If you see someone not practising social distancing or behaving irresponsibly, tell them. If a lift opens and you find it is full of people, don’t get in. All of these things are really important.
Updated
Murphy says the case data in Australia shows the virus is transmitted by “mobile, fit adults” but the deaths are concentrated among the elderly and vulnerable.
People have said to me, why don’t you just protect really carefully all those with chronic conditions and the elderly? Make sure they are well cocooned away from everyone else in society?
As we have seen already, that’s just not possible if you’ve got widespread community transmission. This virus is incredibly infectious.
Updated
Australia reports 14 new cases of Covid-19
The chief medical officer, Professor Brendan Murphy, says Australia has reported 14 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24-hours.
Ten of those are in Victoria.
Murphy is speaking in Canberra at the moment. He says Australia’s daily case increase has dropped back to under 20 per day, after a brief increase during the Cedar Meats outbreak.
Updated
While we are talking about increasing tensions with China, Daniel Hurst just published this report which says that LNP backbencher George Christensen has threatened to call the Chinese ambassador, Cheng Jingye, to give evidence before an Australian parliamentary committee.
Christensen is the chairman of the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth. He has not got permission from trade minister Simon Birmingham for this latest move, Daniel reports.
Updated
Australia rejects China's proposed barley tariffs
Trade minister Simon Birmingham has just wrapped up a press conference in Canberra about China preparing to introduce tariffs on Australian-grown barley. Australian barley growers issued a joint statement today saying they understood China intended to introduce tariffs as a result of an investigation into dumping and anti-competitive behaviour.
Tariffs could destroy Australia’s $1.5bn barley trade to China.
Birmingham said Australia was “deeply concerned” by these reports and said there was no evidence that Australia had engaged in dumping of barley. The anti-dumping investigation had been going on for 18 months, with Australia’s cooperation, and Birmingham said Australia sees no basis on which tariffs would be justified.
It appears to be an escalation of the diplomatic row between Australia and China, over Australia’s vocal support for an independent investigation into the origin of Covid-19.
Asked if Australia risked causing greater offence with Beijing if it fought the anti-dumping findings, Birmingham said:
We are mounting a case based on evidence. There should be no offence taken by anybody about the fact that the Australian government stands up for Australian farmers on the basis of evidence that they operate on an entirely commercial basis.
... We don’t dispute the right of any country to receive a complaint in relation to dumping practices or allegations, and to investigate that complaint. But it ought, ultimately, to be resolved on the evidence of the complaint, and the evidence here is compelling that Australian barley producers operate in entirely commercial matters.
Updated
Some states are preparing to allow restaurants and cafes to have a handful of dine-in patrons again. But what about the hospitality workers who were laid off and are now surviving on the jobseeker payment. Will most of them be able to return to work, if restaurants are limited to 10 covers? And if this were to happen again — is it reasonable to expect that single adults can live on just $280 per week?
Gay Alcorn looked at this issue as part of a series on life after lockdown. You can read it here.
Updated
The protest outside parliament house has reportedly dispersed. We’ll bring you a round up of arrest numbers shortly.
In other, non-protest related Victorian news, more people have now been swabbed in the two-week testing blitz than were tested for Covid-19 in the state between January and the end of April.
More than 154,000 people have been swabbed in two weeks. The initial aim of the testing blitz, which was announced on 30 April, was 100,000 swabs.
The results take between 24 hours and three days to confirm, and are being analysed at 15 laboratories across Victoria.
Updated
I’m notoriously bad at crowd estimates but this looks like 100-200 people to me.
Police forced to call for backup, as hundreds of people protest the Covid-19 lockdown, claiming Coronavirus is a conspiracy theory. @10NewsFirstMelb pic.twitter.com/16023TxaZa
— Estelle Lewis (@Estelle_C_Lewis) May 10, 2020
If you’re wondering why the crowd at the Melbourne protest was chanting “arrest Bill Gates,” well, congratulations for managing to avoid this particular conspiracy theory.
The short version that because Gates has been warning against the risk of a pandemic for years (and told Donald Trump before the Covid-19 crisis began that the US was not prepared for such an event) then he MUST in some way be responsible for it, for his own nefarious purposes.
This is nonsense. It’s also specifically American nonsense: the “arrest Bill Gates” chant was started by Alex Jones at a protest in Austin, Texas.
Alex Jones leads protesters in a chant of "Arrest Bill Gates" at a protest in Austin, Texas today. pic.twitter.com/FtAR199Wl2
— Travis View (@travis_view) April 26, 2020
Australia, and particularly Victoria, has no jurisdiction to arrest Gates. (And, let me reiterate, absolutely no cause on the grounds alleged by Jones et al.)
It does however have jurisdiction for arresting people for breaching social distancing laws.
Police detain anti-lockdown protesters and anti-vaxxers in Melbourne
There have been some fairly dramatic scenes at the anti-lockdown protest outside the Victorian parliament. The protesters are anti-vaxxers and people fed up with the stage three restrictions.
Police have detained a number of people.
Updated
And that’s where I will leave you for today. I’m going to hand you over to Calla Wahlquist who will take you through the rest of the afternoon. Thanks as always for reading.
The Victorian Liberal Party has also been pushing back against the state’s lockdown restrictions. The state’s opposition spokesman for planning, Tim Smith, has been referring to Andrews as “Chairman Dan” and called him a “fear mongering doomsday propagandist”.
Smith was on some of the commercial television networks this morning, and while he said people shouldn’t protest, he’s also running the line that “the only people that can’t visit their mothers today - on Mother’s Day - across Australia, are criminals locked in jail and the good people of Victoria”.
Not true, Tim Smith, I am in New South Wales and am unable to visit my mother because of this blog and also because if I go anywhere near her she’ll definitely force me to help her varnish outdoor furniture or re-paint the kitchen or something else horrible.
"The only people that can't visit their mothers today - on Mother's Day - across Australia, are criminals locked in jail and the good people of Victoria." - @TimSmithMP pic.twitter.com/KO9Ss0M36U
— Sunrise (@sunriseon7) May 9, 2020
Per the Age newspaper, a crowd has broken into chants of “arrest Bill Gates” at an anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne today.
Victoria is the final state to begin easing restrictions as it continues to deal with the outbreak at the Cedar Meats processing facility. As we told you earlier, the state’s premier Daniel Andrews is expected to announcing an easing of some restrictions tomorrow. But that hasn’t stopped these Victorians heading to the state’s parliament to protest.
The crowd has broken into chants of "arrest Bill Gates" at the anti-lockdown protest at Parliament House in Melbourne @theage. The crowd has grown considerably since midday. pic.twitter.com/T13u3s7Ld7
— Rachael Dexter (@rachael_dexter) May 10, 2020
Updated
And once again there have been no new cases recorded in the ACT. The capital has no active cases of the virus.
Victoria records 10 new cases in the past 24 hours
OK, I’m breaching state borders again and heading to Victoria, where there have been 10 new Covid-19 cases recorded in the past 24 hours.
Victoria’s chief health officer professor Brett Sutton confirms that one of those is from the Melbourne meat processing works at the centre of a cluster of cases. It brings the total number of cases at the facility to 76.
Sutton says that of the 1,487 confirmed cases in Victoria to date, 157 have been confirmed as being a result of community transmission. There are currently seven people in hospital, including five patients in intensive care.
Sutton:
Today’s increase in cases illustrates once again that while we have been flattening the curve, our battle against Covid-19 is far from over. Victorians have done a remarkable job so far sticking to the coronavirus restrictions and staying at home has saved lives. But now is not the time for complacency.
“A record number of Victorians will be tested for coronavirus during these two weeks as part of a major testing blitz across the state.
“The main aim of this increase in testing is to improve access and actively search for cases, allowing us to gain a better picture of this virus and make informed decisions for Victoria.”
Updated
Jackie Trad resigns as deputy premier and treasurer amid corruption probe
The big news out of this press conference though is not Covid-19 related.
Queensland’s deputy premier, Jackie Trad, who had stood aside over an ongoing corruption inquiry into the hiring of a principal at a high school in her electorate, has now resigned her ministerial responsibilities. She has previously said she believes the inquiry will clear her of any wrongdoing.
Palaszczuk thanks Trad and announces a reshuffle of her ministry: the state’s health minister, Steven Miles, will become deputy leader. Cameron Dick, previously the state development minister, becomes treasurer. Kate Jones, the tourism and innovation minister, takes over his job as development minister.
Palaszczuk on Trad:
She has made the decision in the best interests of her family, the community and the party. She does not want there to be any distraction for the government as we respond to the Covid crisis, and where the government must be focused on recovery and jobs. So I really want to thank her.”
She says Trad still intends to re-contest her seat at the next Queensland state election.
Updated
Two new Covid-19 cases in Queensland
Moving to Queensland now where premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is speaking. From today Queensland has eased a number of Covid-19 restrictions. She says there have been two new cases in the past 24 hours.
However two cases from last week have turned out to be false positives, meaning the overall number of confirmed cases remains 1,045.
Updated
Here is a (slightly) more concise explanation on the restrictions to be eased in Western Australia from next Monday. It includes the new regional travel borders at the bottom.
The new phase will come into effect from Monday, 18 May, giving businesses and families time to plan accordingly and includes:
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) May 10, 2020
- Indoor and outdoor non-work gatherings lifted to 20 people
- People are encouraged to return to work, unless they are unwell or vulnerable pic.twitter.com/Q3hB4dqSSB
- Cafés and restaurants can reopen with meal service (including within pubs, bars, clubs, hotels and casino), limited to 20 patrons and the 4sqm per person rule applied
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) May 10, 2020
- Weddings and funerals, limited to up to 20 attendees indoors or 30 outdoors pic.twitter.com/41GP1nxpFA
- Places of worship, community facilities and libraries to re-open, limited to 20 patrons
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) May 10, 2020
- Community sports (non-contact) limited to 20 people;
- Outdoor/indoor fitness classes (minimal shared equipment) limited to 20 patrons;
- Public swimming pools can open under strict rules
As part of Phase 2, regional travel restrictions will also change, bringing the number of current borders within WA from 13 to only four (not including the Commonwealth Biosecurity area and remote communities). pic.twitter.com/c0DWFk4ndY
— Mark McGowan (@MarkMcGowanMP) May 10, 2020
No new Covid-19 cases in Western Australia
WA’s health minister Roger Cook is now speaking. He says there have again been no new cases of Covid-19 in the state, leaving the total number of confirmed cases at 552.
Cook says that of those cases just seven remain active.
We have one person still recovering from coronavirus in the Goldfields, with no cases in any other region of Western Australia. There are now four confirmed Covid-19 cases in Perth Metropolitan hospitals. Of those, one is in ICU.
Cook says the state’s Covid-19 clinics were “pretty quiet yesterday” with only 265 people tested. He says that while he welcomes the easing of restrictions, it is “inevitable that there could be some new cases of coronavirus within our community over the coming months”. He urges people in WA to continue to get tested no matter how minor their symptoms.
Updated
Western Australia's hard border closure likely to be "final restriction" lifted
McGowan says phase four of the easing of restrictions will be “assessed and finalised” at a later stage, but that the hard border between WA and the rest of the country “will likely be the final restriction that we lift”.
Updated
McGowan says the next phase of the state’s “roadmap” will be finalised in the coming weeks and will “take into account the infection rates across WA”. He says he expects phase three to be implemented in about four weeks.
He says that, depending on the latest health advice, phase three will likely include a further increase in the number of people allowed at non-work gatherings, further relaxation of measures for cafes and restaurants, an easing of travel restrictions and allow for gyms to reopen and the return of contact community support.
Phase three will also likely see public playgrounds, outdoor gym equipment, skate parks and cinemas reopened.
Updated
Travel restrictions within Western Australia to be eased
He says some regional travel restrictions within WA will also be eased. Currently WA has 13 so-called “regional borders”. That will be reduced to four. It means, for example, that people in the south-west of the state will be able to travel within the Great Southern Wheatbelt, Perth and the Peale regions.
The restrictions on the remote communities across the Kimberley, Pilbara and Goldfields will remain in place, as will the hard border with the other states.
Updated
McGowan says as part of the phase two easing, businesses and premises will “need to complete an official Covid safety plan”. He says the details of that plan will be released “shortly”.
Updated
WA premier outlines four-stage roadmap to lifting restrictions
McGowan is outlining a four-stage “roadmap”. He says phase one of that road map is already in place. From next Monday, so the 18th, McGowan says the following changes will be put into place:
- Indoor and outdoor non-work gatherings will be lifted to a maximum of 20 people, up from the current limit of 10 people.
- Western Australians will now be encouraged to return to work, McGowan says, “unless they are unwell or fall into a vulnerable category as we have previously defined”.
- Cafes and restaurants will be able to reopen for dine-in service, limited to 20 patrons and with the 4 sq metre rule. That includes dine-in meal services within pubs, bars, community clubs, hotels and WA’s casino. He’s encouraging local governments to ease restrictions on al fresco dining to encourage that.
- Limits on people attending weddings and funerals will be lifted to 20 attendees. If they are held outdoors, up to 30 attendees will be allowed.
- Places of worship, community facilities and libraries can reopen, limited to 20 patrons.
- The number of people who can participate in non-contact community sports will increase to 20 people. McGowan says this means adults and children can train and take part in sports if there’s no physical contact involved and there is no more than 20 people in one group.
- Outdoor and indoor fitness classes, with minimal shared equipment, can take place, limited to 20 participants.
- Public swimming pools can open under strict rules, limited to 20 patrons per pool.
Updated
McGowan says WA’s hard border with the east coast “has been our strongest weapon in the fight against this virus.
The hard border, our regional travel restrictions, and our handling of the cruise ship crisis have all played a part in limiting the spread of Covid-19 across Western Australia. We have a broad testing regime in place that gives us confidence in saying we have no evidence of community spread of the illness. Western Australia is now ready to take the next step. Our performance, our success and our hard borders have provided us with the opportunity to move quicker to ease restrictions compared to other states which have community spread of the virus.
Updated
McGowan begins by wishing his wife a happy mother’s day, and asks his kids to behave.
He’s flagging a further easing of restrictions following Friday’s national cabinet meeting.
As I’ve said virtually every day since the commencement of the pandemic, Western Australians have done an incredible job in stopping the spread of the virus. WesternAustralia’s performance has led the nation. And the world. We set out to flatten the curve. And we have achieved that.
Updated
Now lets pop over to Western Australia, where premier Mark McGowan is speaking.
Berejiklian says it’s “up to the health experts” as to whether NRL players should be forced to have a flu shot before the competition resumes, as has been the case in Queensland.
The health experts accepted the plan put to them. We expect all organisations who have had a health plan ticked off to stick to the plan. I don’t care who the organisation is, I don’t care who the individuals are. If you have signed off on a plan, you have to stick to that plan. Because all of us are. All of us have changed our lives. All of us have heeded to the restrictions that we have put in place. And it is important that if you have a plan ticked off, no matter who you are, what organisation you are, you have to stick to it.
Updated
Berejiklian says any further easing of restrictions will depend on what happens in the next few weeks.
I want to say this to the community – if there is evidence or if there is data that shows either a huge spike, then we have to go backwards. Similarly, if the data shows us that we’re doing better than expected, we can move forward a bit faster. That’s why I don’t want to go beyond what we have already said today, because it is a bit of watching and acting.
There are a number of things we have still held back on. You cannot take a holiday in New South Wales. There are activities other states are doing which you can’t yet do in New South Wales. But we have an obligation to our citizens to move forward or backwards as we see fit, based on health advice.
Updated
In NSW, children are returning to schools this week. Berejiklian says that is “entirely appropriate”.
This week, there will be increased activity, no doubt, with schools going back. We also appreciate that when schools go back, it also signals certain things to the community about how we’re feeling about addressing the pandemic at this stage. So we feel it is entirely appropriate to move to this next level of easing of restrictions. And, of course, we know that when parents are dropping off and picking up children from school, or when they are getting their children to school, there could be several of them doing that at the same time. But make sure you maintain that social distancing.
Updated
Berejiklian acknowledges that for many restaurants and cafes it “won’t be viable” to reopen with only 10 patrons, but she says “it’s a start”.
Only a small proportion [will] find it viable. It is a start. It is up to those restaurants to determine whether or not they think they are viable ... we acknowledge that for many restaurants, this won’t be enough for them to have people, welcome people inside. But having said that, I’ve also been quite inspired by seeing how a lot of businesses have reshaped the way they do things.
Updated
Biggest threat to community is complacency, Berejiklian warns of easing NSW restrictions
Berejiklian says the easing of restrictions “will only be permanent if all of us take on responsibility to respect the new set of rules we’ve put in place”.
“I hope they will be permanent. I don’t want us to go backwards. But that depends on us. Be vigilant. If you go to a shopfront and the retailer isn’t doing what they are supposed to, let them know. Let the authorities know. Please make sure all of us stay vigilant. At the end of the day governments can put all the rules in place, but it is up to us to do the right thing as well.
The biggest threat to the New South Wales community is complacency. The virus is as deadly, it is as contagious, it is as virulent as it’s always been. The only difference between May and March is the fact that we have far less cases in May. We need to keep it that way. That is the only difference. But unfortunately the virus is very contagious. We’re heading into colder months. That is why it is so important for all of us not to be complacent.
She points to the examples of South Korea and Singapore, which have had to re-introduce lockdown measures after “second wave” outbreaks.
Updated
NSW will not lift restrictions on regional travel yet
Berejiklian says restrictions on regional travel will not be lifted yet. She also, in contradiction to what the prime minister Scott Morrison said on Friday, flags that if large outbreaks occur some of the restrictions may need to be reintroduced.
New South Wales is not yet ready to have recreational holidays [in] regional communities. We’re not ready to ease restrictions as much as other states have. But what we will do is assure the community that so long as we keep working together, so long as we keep working hard, that we can continue to move forward. And there is a risk given the size of our population and the number of cases that we may need to go backward sometimes. I hope that’s not the case. We continue to take a cautious approach in New South Wales, but also one which has a focus on jobs and the economy. Because we can’t continue to live like this for the next year or until there is a vaccine. But what we can do is continue to bring the community along with us and I can’t tell you how grateful I am as to the level of cooperation, the respecting of the restrictions, and we ask for that to continue.
She says she “doesn’t want to go back” on easing restrictions, but says “that depends on all of us”. In other words, continue to maintain social distancing.
Updated
NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant says the two new cases include a person who recently returned from the UK. The other is a close contact of a perviously confirmed case.
Chant says the two new cases are out of 9,515 people who have been tested in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. There are now 3,053 confirmed cases in New South Wales. About 105 of those cases are being treated by New South Wales Health. Seven people are being treated on ventilators in intensive care units.
She ends by thanking the people of New South Wales but urging them to maintain vigilance against the virus.
To have a population the size of New South Wales, to see our cases go from a maximum of 200 or so a day down to just a small handful is a wonderful achievement. We don’t want to see any of this lost. We need to fire up our economy. We need to get people back into jobs. We need to see some semblance of normality come back. But we can’t breach any of the restrictions in place. No matter what you are doing, when you leave your home, you need to maintain social distancing. This doesn’t change the fact that so many in our community, who are very vulnerable – those of a certainly age or those with a medical condition – should still exercise the extreme caution they have already been exercising for the last month and a half. Please acknowledge that the easing of the restrictions is a sign about how far we come. Please also acknowledge that we should – all of us – need to maintain vigilance.
Updated
Outdoor gym equipment and outdoor pools to reopen 'with caution' in NSW
Berejiklian says outdoor gym equipment and outdoor pools will be allowed to reopen “with caution”. She urges people to practice good hygiene including wiping down equipment before using it, and says local councils will have discretion over how and whether those services are re-opened.
Please acknowledge and assume that every time you use an outdoor piece of gym equipment or an outdoor playground the person who [it] used before you may have the virus,” she says.
“We ask you to exercise it with caution and make decisions for yourself and your family as to whether you feel that equipment can be used. The federal and state health experts have also given us advice about outdoor pools, swimming areas and the rules around those. We’re allowing that to occur in NSW from Friday, but [with] the restrictions that the health authorities have put in place.
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NSW to allow 10 people at weddings and 20 at funerals
As foreshadowed this morning, weddings will increase from five people to 10, and funerals will increase to 20 mourners or 30 for an outside service.
Religious gatherings or places of worship will now be able to include up to 10 people.
The place of worship may choose to have quiet prayer or formal services, but no more than 10 people at a time. There is an expectation that both the people attending those places, as well as the people organising the services, or the place of worship, maintain hygiene and good social distancing for everybody in those places.
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NSW to allow five visitors at home
The limit on visitors in the home will also rise from two to five, from Friday. That includes adults and children.
“A total of five people irrespective of the ages ... of those people,” Berejiklian says.
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NSW to allow cafes and restaurants to have 10 patrons at a time
If it’s a very small hole in the wall, you won’t be able to have 10 because you need to keep the four-sq-metre rule, you need to have the social distancing. If you’re a small hole in the wall, you may have two inside and, if allowed, eight outside. The combination is up to you as the manager.
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NSW to allow outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people from Friday
Berejiklian confirms what we reported earlier – announcing a further easing of restrictions on gatherings from Friday.
It includes outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people, meaning it’s the first time since the new rules were introduced that people will be able to leave the home for recreational activities. Berejiklian says a gathering of 10 people might be physical training, sitting down in a park, or “having some type of gathering outdoors”.
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NSW records two new coronavirus cases
Berejiklian says NSW has recorded two new cases in the past 24 hours, says it’s an “outstanding result” but calls for people to maintain social distancing measures and continue to get tested no matter how minor their symptoms.
“Please maintain the vigilance,” she says.
“Even a scratchy throat, an ache or a pain, any flu-like symptom should be treated as though you have got the virus. So, please, make sure you get tested.”
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New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian is speaking now.
If, like me, you’ve been a little preoccupied by Australian news of late, this global briefing is very helpful.
As we hit the 4m global case mark, Russia has become a new hotspot for the outbreak, Belarus has defied worries to hold a parade marking the 75th anniversary of victory over the Nazis, South Korea has shut down more than 2,100 clubs and bars in the capital Seoul as it deals with a second-wave outbreak and in Italy, Milan’s mayor has warned he might have to reimpose lockdown rules if people did not respect physical distancing.
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Doherty, a Nobel laureate, also told the ABC there was “no way” governments could avoid relaxing lockdown restrictions, but said it was “very likely” infection numbers would increase.
“There is no way that we can avoid relaxing these restrictions,” Doherty said.
We can’t keep the country shut down forever. People are already getting restless, from what I understand. We do have to lift them, but carefully because we can handle a certain level of infection in the community, and we would hope to keep it down to just, say, spot fires.
While an increase in cases was likely, he said the health system was prepared.
Nobody ever in the Australian scenario talked about eradication. We thought we might be getting close to it, but that just seemed too impossible a goal.
Maybe it is eradicated in South Australia. Maybe Western Australia. That would be fantastic. That would impose other restrictions, because you’d have to impose travel restrictions between the eastern states and western states, if have still got cases in the eastern states.
The shutdown did allow us to get all the testing in place … and also to get all the hospitals ready with more ventilators, more hospital space and more trained personnel.
The question will be – can we manage to keep a balance so that we don’t get overwhelmed in the hospitals, if it really does flare?
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Immunologist professor Peter Doherty spoke to the ABC a little earlier this morning, and was asked about the deaths of three children in New York of inflammatory complications possibly linked to Covid-19.
The deaths have prompted Andrew Cuomo, the state’s governor, to warn of “an entirely different chapter” of a disease that had been believed to cause only mild symptoms in children.
The governor reported the first death, of a five-year old boy, on Friday. At his morning press conference on Saturday, Cuomo raised the number of fatalities to three, after the death of a seven-year-old and a teenager.
“The illness has taken the lives of three young New Yorkers,” Cuomo said. “This is new. This is developing.”
NY state health authorities said last week there have been 73 reported cases in New York of children falling severely ill with a toxic shock-like reaction that displays symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease.
On the ABC, Doherty said it was possible Covid-19 was triggering some cases of the disease.
“Kawasaki is an autoimmune disease. We don’t know what causes it. We long suspected it could be triggered by a virus. It is possible it is triggered by a number of different viruses,” he said.
“So, it’s possible – likely that Covid-19, Sars-CoV-2 is triggering some incidents of this. Children are not totally exempt from this. Some children have died. But they seem to be much less severely affected on the whole.”
Doctors still believe most children with Covid-19 develop only mild illness, but Doherty said there was also the prospect of “excess deaths” as a result of the virus.
“I’m not sure what the normal incidents of Kawasaki is in New York, you have to look back at that,” he said.
“What we’re talking about with the whole pandemic in the end will be what’s called excess deaths. I mean, how many more people have died throughout the year than would otherwise have died.”
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Health minister Greg Hunt has told Sky this morning that he expects the AFL to be back “pretty soon”, after the Herald Sun reported this morning that the league was aiming for a return on 11 June.
“I want to see community sport back, the AFL back, the NRL back, netball back,” Hunt said.
“The AFL ... they have worked incredibly well in laying out a pathway, consulting with the players, consulting with the health authorities.
“[AFL chief executive] Gill McLachlan said to me: ‘We will not proceed unless we have the clear indication that it is safe and it has the endorsement and support of the medical officers.
“I think we will have the footy back pretty soon. I’ll leave the dates to the particular states that are reviewing the plans.”
The Victorian government is set to announce an easing of some restrictions on smaller gatherings tomorrow, which could allow AFL teams to train in slightly larger groups than the two they are currently allowed.
The Herald Sun reports that the league could resume with a blockbuster Thursday night clash between Collingwood and either Richmond or Melbourne on 11 June.
South Australian premier Steven Marshall has also suggested AFL matches could be played in Adelaide when the season resumes.
The two SA clubs – Adelaide and Port Adelaide – have been preparing to play matches interstate because of SA’s tight border controls and quarantine protocols.
Western Australian clubs Fremantle and West Coast are facing the same situation.
But Marshall is hopeful the SA government will be able to limit the rate of Covid-19 infections and ease restrictions by next month.
“I think they are getting towards the end of their focus on this issue and I think they’ll be giving some clear direction to the AFL really soon,” Marshall told Sky Sunday Agenda.
“It would be great to see the Adelaide Oval up and running again. It really depends on when games resume and what the level of community transmissions and new cases are in those other states.
“If it was up and running today, then I think South Australian teams would be playing those first games interstate. If it happens later, community transmissions come down, it could be a different model.”
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As parliament returns this week, we will be seeing increasing focus on whether the prime minister’s timeframe for the economic “snapback” is realistic.
It was a point made by Labor’s industrial relations spokesman, Tony Burke, on Insiders this morning. Linda Burney, the shadow minister for families and social services, has issued a statement warning a sudden reduction in unemployment benefits in September would be “a recipe for disaster”.
Burney is calling on the government to seek and release any modelling on the economic impact of “snapping back” the Coronavirus Supplement - the temporary payment that effectively doubles the jobseeker allowance.
Burney said switching the jobseeker payment back to $40 per day in September could be the equivalent of “ripping almost $1bn a fortnight from household budgets” and would have a significant impact on the Australian economy.
She said the government needed to explain “whether the nation is now edging closer to another economic cliff in the form of the prime minister’s promised jobseeker snapback”.
“If the prime minister wants to snap back jobseeker, he should be upfront with Australian workers and Australian businesses as to its consequences.”
When asked on Friday to give certainty to the millions of Australians receiving jobseeker and jobkeeper payments, Scott Morrison told reporters he wanted them “to be back in their jobs where they don’t need it” and “that’s what we’re aiming towards”.
Burke confirms Labor will seek to challenge changes to IR laws made by the government in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis. Last month the government changed the time required for employers to consult over changes to pay and conditions from seven days to just 24 hours. The change is only supposed to be in place for six months.
With parliament returning this week, Burke says Labor will try to “disallow” the change in the Senate.
I hope, procedurally, we’ll be able to get to that point this week in the Senate. There’s a few Senate procedural issues that that hinges on. But ultimately, this is a really dangerous change the government’s made, and it flies in the face of the cooperation that the union movement has been showing the government during this period.
David Speers asks Burke if Labor believes the jobseeker and jobkeeper programs should be extended beyond September, when they are due to expire. Burke says he doesn’t believe “the hard deadlines that are there right now are going to be able to continue”.
Unless you want people to suddenly be able to not pay their bills, unless you want people to suddenly vacate the premises where they live and handing back the keys to homes that they’ve mortgaged, then the government is going to have to look at extending this. Think of the alternative, and I don’t think that that is what we want Australia to look like in a few months.
I certainly don’t believe the hard deadlines that are there right now are going to be able to continue. So there are some people who missed out the whole way through where this needs to be extended right now. Whether it be casuals, whether it be arts and entertainment.
Burke is also taking aim at the government for calling for people to stay home from work even if they have only very minor symptoms. The government has said people like labour hire and gig economy workers can apply for two weeks of the Jobseeker payment – called the sickness allowance – to cover illness, but Burke says it will be too difficult to access.
The government, when they say jobseeker is available, there are two problems with that. The first is that it is not available for everybody. And for example, if you’re a worker who is not eligible, maybe because of visa status, maybe because of your age, then it’s not just whether or not we want that person to be paid. We actually don’t want that person doing anything other than isolating. And if they’re in a real-world situation of ‘I’ll lose all my money’, I think we know what they’ll do.
And the people who are eligible for jobseeker – I’m not sure that it passes the pub test where you can go down to Centrelink, register and wait for a long period, and eventually you’ll be reimbursed. If at the end point, people aren’t going to do that and think that they’ve only got a niggle in the throat and maybe they should go to work, it’s not simply a sick leave issue. It’s actually a public health issue.
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Tony Burke, Labor’s opposition spokesman on industrial relations and the arts, is being interviewed on the ABC’s Insiders.
He wants the Morrison government to release guidelines for workplaces to practice Covid-safe practices if and when more people begin returning to work, and says there should be penalties for employers who breach those guidelines.
“If you’re putting people’s health and safety at risk, there should be penalties attached to that,” Burke said.
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While most states, including New South Wales, have already loosened some restrictions, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has been the most cautious in relaxing lockdown restrictions.
But the Herald Sun is reporting that the Victorian premier will announce a loosening on the reigns tomorrow, with schools to resume in two weeks and groups of up to 10 to be allowed to gather indoors and outdoors.
The Herald Sun is also reporting the AFL is aiming to return to the field by the middle of June.
My colleague Naaman Zhou has been (virtually) sitting in the inquiry into the Ruby Princess fiasco this week, and has put together this step-by-step walk-through of how exactly the cruise ship came to dock and disembark in Sydney.
Federal health minister Greg Hunt has confirmed the Australian government will back a European Union motion for an investigation into the origins of Covid-19 in China.
The government has been calling for an inquiry for some weeks. Foreign affairs minister Marise Payne first flagged the need for an inquiry to be run at arms length from the World Health Organisation. It’s sparked a harsh response from China, Australia’s number one trading partner.
“We support the EU motion which includes an independent investigation, regulatory work on wet markets and also the potential for independent inspection powers,” Hunt told Sky News this morning.
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Let’s keep going around the grounds to Queensland, where you’ll have no excuse not to visit your mum on Mother’s Day (sorry I haven’t called yet Mum, if you’re reading).
From today up to five people from the same home are allowed to visit another household, with schools resuming as normal on Monday.
Personal training sessions, retail shopping, weddings with up to 10 people and funerals of up to 20 inside or 30 outside are now also allowed in the sunshine state.
Restaurants, libraries, pools and beauty salons can also reopen, with open house inspections and auctions allowed to proceed. Bars and gaming facilities will remain closed for now, but up to 10 people at a time can dine in at restaurants, pubs, licensed clubs, RSL clubs and hotels.
Recreational travel for day trips up to 150km from home will be allowed.
In the outback, where there have been no Covid-19 cases, people can travel up to 500km from home and up to 20 locals will be allowed to dine in pubs and cafes.
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We also expect Western Australian premier Mark McGowan to outline the easing of some restrictions later today.
McGowan has hinted that he’ll focus on changes that will stimulate the state’s economy, though last week he seemed to indicate there were no plans to lift WA’s border closure.
WA Health minister Roger Cook has cautioned any changes would be just the “beginning of a long journey”.
“It won’t be a shortcut,” Cook said.
“We will look at what we can do to ease restrictions in order to reopen the economy,” he said.
No new virus cases were reported in WA on Saturday, leaving the state’s total number of confirmed cases at 552.
Only seven cases remain active, with four people in hospital and one of those in intensive care.
The state government has also announced a multimillion dollar fund to help boost research into Covid-19 and to ramp up its testing regime. The government will allocate $6m with similar cash coming from the private sector.
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NSW to ease restrictions
Good morning,
Welcome to Guardian Australia’s live coverage of all things Covid-19.
Some big news in New South Wales this morning. The premier, Gladys Berejiklian, has revealed that the state will begin unrolling some restrictions from Friday. The changes are all in line with the stage one “road map” outlined by the prime minister Scott Morrison on Friday.
The changes, which Berejiklian is expected to formally announce at a press conference in Sydney later this morning, include allowing cafes and restaurants to reopen for up to 10 patrons and easing the restrictions on the number of people able to visit another person’s home from two to five.
The changes will also mean 10 people can gather together outdoors.
Children’s playgrounds will also reopen, as will outdoor gyms and pools with some restrictions. Religious gatherings will be allowed to host up to 10 people, as will weddings. Funerals can have up to 20 mourners indoors and 30 outdoors.
The ban on regional travel will remain however, and libraries and community centres will remain closed.
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