Summary
Let’s wrap up the main events of the day.
- Victoria recorded 672 cases and eight more deaths, as the premier, Daniel Andrews, acknowledged the government was considering further restrictions.
- Andrews said 100 people were referred to police after they were not home when door-knocked because they had tested positive.
- NSW recorded 21 new cases, including six connected to a Greek restaurant in Potts Point.
- There was one new case recorded in Queensland, while the NT also recorded a new case.
With that, we’ll leave you for now. See you tomorrow, and please stay safe.
Updated
The Australian share market has suffered its worst day in five weeks, falling alongside overseas indices after a record contraction in the US economy and rising coronavirus cases locally, AAP reports.
The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index dropped at the open and moved lower throughout most of the day to close down 123.3 points, or 2.04%, at 5,927.8 points.
The All Ordinaries index dropped 119.2 points, or 1.93%, at 6,058.3.
“Crikey, 2%,” said Pepperstone head of research Chris Weston. “I don’t think we saw that coming at the beginning of the morning.”
Markets in Japan finished down 2.8%, while the FTSE100 in London dropped 2.3%, although the S&P500 was only down 0.4% and New Zealand’s NZX50 rose by 0.3%.
Volumes were on the light side, although as Weston observed, “that doesn’t make too much difference for people who bought yesterday and are underwater”.
Updated
Without straying too far from the Covid crisis, I might bring you an update from today’s robodebt hearing, which I was following before coming to the blog.
In a fiery exchange with Labor’s Deborah O’Neill, the Department of Social Services secretary, Kathryn Campbell, said she did not accept people had died over robodebt.
You can watch that exchange, and one that preceded it, below.
Kathryn Campbell, who was the secretary of DHS when robodebt was established: "No, I do not accept that people have died over robodebt." pic.twitter.com/LAJ1uERCKW
— Luke Henriques-Gomes (@lukehgomes) July 31, 2020
Updated
Four AFL clubs fined over Covid league breaches
Four AFL clubs have been fined for breaching the league’s return-to-play protocols over the past seven days, AAP reports.
Hawthorn received a $50,000 fine ($20,000 suspended for the remainder of the season), while Richmond, Carlton and North Melbourne were each fined $45,000 ($20,000 suspended) – with all four teams accepting their sanctions.
The Hawks’ breach occurred at their round-eight clash with Sydney at the SCG. Richmond, Carlton and North Melbourne’s breaches happened while the clubs were based in their Queensland hubs.
Updated
A South Australian paramedic who went to Victoria to help test people for coronavirus has herself tested positive for the infection.
The woman in her 20s volunteered to help with testing operations in Melbourne associated with the current surge in cases there, reports AAP.
She returned to Adelaide on Wednesday and is now in isolation along with one close contact.
Other health officials who went to Melbourne as part of the same team have all tested negative so far.
The chief public health officer, Nicola Spurrier, said the woman had followed all the proper procedures with protective equipment but an infection in such circumstances was “part of the risk of this sort of work”.
“She absolutely followed the correct infection control processes,” Spurrier said on Friday. “But this is risky business.”
It was also revealed that 170 people were expected to arrive in Adelaide on Saturday on a repatriation flight from India.
Updated
Several media outlets have reported that the Australian Club, an exclusive venue in Sydney, has closed due to a positive Covid case.
The case, a staff member, potentially worked while infectious, 7News reported.
SHARK ATTACK
— Perth LIVE 6PR with Oliver Peterson (@PerthLive6PR) July 31, 2020
A man in his 20’s is being flown to RPH from Bunker Bay with reports of leg injuries caused by a shark.
More with @oliverpeterson joined by @kateloh with the details. pic.twitter.com/LpdECQcNAG
Thanks Josh. I’ll be with you for the next few hours. Get in touch on Twitter @lukehgomes or by email via luke.henriques-gomes@theguardian.com
I am handing over to my colleague, Luke Henriques-Gomes, who will take you through to the evening.
An exclusive members-only club in Sydney, The Australian Club, will be closed until next Tuesday out of an abundance of caution after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19, Nine reports.
NT reports 1 case of Covid-19
The Northern Territory has reported one case of Covid-19.
A new case of Covid-19 just announced in NT
— Rohan Barwick (@rohwick) July 31, 2020
It is a man who had travelled to Victoria for medical treatment. He was on a Jetstar flight from Melbourne to Darwin today wearing PPE, and found results of his test while in transit.
The NT government says the Centre for Disease Control has carried out contact tracing for this flight and all close contacts have now been notified and are in mandatory supervised quarantine at Howard Springs Quarantine Facility.
There are two active cases of coronavirus in the NT.
Updated
A bit more on the one new case in South Australia which was alluded to earlier.
It is a person who was already in South Australia from interstate, and she has been isolating since she returned to the state.
South Australian COVID-19 update 31/07/20. For more information go to https://t.co/mYnZsG7zGQ or contact the South Australian COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787. pic.twitter.com/0u9iyFjYU9
— SA Health (@SAHealth) July 31, 2020
Labor has indicated some support for the draft news media bargaining code (for which we don’t really have a decent shorthand name yet), but said the government appears to be excluding ABC and SBS from being able to get money from Facebook and Google under the code for ideological reasons.
Excluding the ABC and SBS is a missed opportunity to derive value for money from taxpayer investment in news media production.
The SBS is empowered and encouraged to earn commercial revenues, but has been cut out of this remuneration opportunity.
Despite the ABC highlighting that it would direct revenue accruing from the code to local and regional news, the Morrison government has chosen to deliberately exclude the national broadcaster.
Australian Medical Association president Dr Tony Bartone has told the ABC it is “extremely concerning” the case numbers in Victoria are this high three weeks into the current restrictions, and while we have yet to see the impact of masks and the new restrictions this week, he reiterates calls for further restrictions.
Bartone says stronger restrictions would send a message to people about abiding by the restrictions that hasn’t got through to (some) people.
“At the moment the message is not getting through and so sending a message that anything but essential services are to stay at home, really sends a strong and powerful message that this is serious and if we don’t do something, this will affect all our livelihoods and our wellbeing obviously in a very significant way.”
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd was up next. He was asked about Australia trying to seem independent from the United States on China policy.
He said it was important to separate Australia’s national interests from those of the United States, and Australia should seek to avoid getting itself wrapped up in either US president Donald Trump’s re-election strategy or secretary of state Mike Pompeo’s bid to secure the Republican nomination in 2024.
Updated
Communications minister Paul Fletcher is on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing and was asked by host Patricia Karvelas whether he is worried that Facebook and Google could pull out of Australia if the new code announced today forced them to pay media companies.
He says Facebook and Google earn a lot from Australians who use the services, so the test will be whether they would want to walk away from the considerable amount of money they earn in Australia.
He says the companies will be able to provide feedback on the proposed code before it hits parliament.
So far they haven’t said much.
Updated
NSW Ambulance have just confirmed that a man is in a serious condition after a helicopter crash in the western Riverina of NSW.
The male pilot was the only person on board, and has been airlifted to Royal Melbourne Hospital.
He was treated for head injuries at the scene, and is in a serious condition.
Paramedics were called to the scene after his helicopter crashed into powerlines at about 12pm on Friday, on the Steam Plains station, one of the biggest sheep farms in the state.
The number of reported data breaches is down slightly for the last six months in Australia (that is during Covid times), but ransomware attacks and social engineering are being used more often, according to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner.
Here’s the summary of the latest report:
- 518 breaches reported
- 77% reported within 30 days of the breach
- 47 between two months and a year, and 14 reported over a year after
- Human error accounted for 39% while malicious or criminal act accounted for 61%
- There were 218 notifications involving phishing, malware, ransomware, brute-force attack and compromised or stolen credentials as the main source of the data breaches
- data breaches resulting from social engineering or impersonation has increased by 47% during the reporting period to 50 notifications
Police arrest two, fine 18 at anti-mask protests in Melbourne
There were two protests this morning at the Shrine of Remembrance against the requirement for people to wear masks in Melbourne.
The first one at 7am had around 30 people, according to news reports, and they left the area when asked by police to do so.
A second one was held in the same location at around 10am.
In total across the two protests, police issued 18 $1,652 fines (not the $200 mask fine), and will “continue to investigate the event” to identify who was there and issue them with fines.
Two people were arrested for failing to provide details to police, and they too were issued with fines.
Updated
Michael Kidd says a decision on whether the Victorian lockdown should be extended is a matter for the Victorian government, but says we will have to see what happens in the coming weeks, including the impact of compulsory mask wearing, which has only been in place for a week now in Melbourne.
On the AHPPC advice to Victoria about further restrictions and whether it could be broader restrictions or industry specific, Michael Kidd says the advice provided to government does go down to industries, but he doesn’t indicate what specifically AHPPC has recommended.
Should people wear masks in Sydney?
Prof Michael Kidd says the advice from NSW is that people wear masks in areas of community transmission, particularly where physical distancing may be difficult and if you are a person at increased risk.
On Woolworths recommending customers in NSW and the ACT wear masks in store, Kidd says it will be up to each business to develop their own mitigation plans, but notes it’s not currently advice of the AHPPC.
The advice from the AHPPC, it’s not about wearing masks, unless people feel comfortable doing so, particularly if you find yourself in areas where physical distancing may be difficult and as we know, supermarkets can be one of those places where large numbers of people are coming together and there may be times where it might be difficult to physically distance from others.”
Updated
Michael Kidd says it has been a “very difficult week” and there will be more difficult weeks to come.
“My advice to you is that things will get better but it won’t happen overnight,” he says.
Kidd says Australia is not like many other countries where Covid-19 is out of control. The federal government is working together with the Victorian government, and more measures “may be needed” to bring the outbreak further under control.
The deputy chief medical officer Prof Michael Kidd is providing a national update.
He says 16,905 people have now been diagnosed with Covid-19 in Australia. Over the past 24 hours, 627 of these new cases were in Victoria, 21 new cases were reported in New South Wales, one case reported in Western Australia which was overseas acquired, one case in South Australia, locally acquired and related to interstate travel, and one new case in Queensland which is currently under investigation.
There are 196 deaths reported from Covid-19 in Australia.
Updated
The Tasmanian government will also be adding specific Queensland locations to that list of hotspots, Gutwein said.
Good afternoon. Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein says that from today if you travel by air or from tomorrow if you travel by sea to Tasmania, you’ll be required to stay in mandatory government-designated hotel quarantine at your own expense.
The cost will be $2,800 per individual, or $3,800 for couples, or between $4,300 and $4,800 for families, depending on the number of children.
There are also hardship provisions available.
The exceptions are people from Victoria or the hotspots in NSW, who will be asked to go back home.
Updated
On that note I will hand over to Josh Taylor who will take you through the afternoon, including the comments from Tasmanian premier Peter Gutwein who is talking in Hobart now about their border controls.
Thank you for your company these past three weeks. Your regularly scheduled Amy Remeikis will return from Monday. Stay well and be kind to each other.
Six cases linked to Centrelink call centre
A Centrelink call centre in Epping, a moving company call centre in Docklands and a poultry factory in Geelong are among the new outbreaks listed today.
According to the DHHS, there are 13 cases linked to Golden Farms Poultry in Breakwater, a suburb of Geelong; 12 linked to a business called Dowell Windows in Bayswater; 11 cases linked to the call centre for My Moovers in Docklands; and six cases linked to Capral Aluminium in Campbellfield.
There were also six cases linked to the Centrelink office in Epping and five linked to Victoria police stations in Docklands.
None of those outbreaks were listed on yesterday’s update.
Today’s update also showed an increase of cases at meatworks.
The cluster around Bertocchi Smallgoods in Thomastown now sits at 134 cases, an increase of 13 from yesterday. The Australian Lamb Company in Colac is up four from yesterday, and is now on 68; and JBS meatworks in Brooklyn is up two to 84. Diamond Valley Pork in Docklands is up two to 13 cases.
Updated
Twenty-five new cases recorded in Epping Gardens aged care cluster
Twenty five more cases have been linked to the Epping Gardens aged care outbreak, which prime minister Scott Morrison this morning said was the outbreak that was currently of most concern.
There are now 115 cases linked to the Epping Gardens aged care home in Epping Gardens, up from 90 on Thursday.
The biggest outbreak remains St Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner, which increased to 124 cases today, up 13 from yesterday.
Estia aged care facility in Ardeer had 104 cases, up 10 from yesterday.
Kirkbrae Presbyterian homes in Kilsyth had 87 cases, up six from yesterday.
Estia aged care in Heidelberg had 82 cases, up 15 from yesterday.
The outbreak at Menarock Life aged care in Essendon increased by one, to 63, and Glendale aged care in Werribee increased by two, to 58.
Baptcare Wyndham Lodge in Werribee remained stable at 52 cases, while Outlook Gardens aged care in Dandenong North increased by six cases to 55, and Arcare aged care in Craigieburn increased by three to 45.
The following aged care homes reported their first case:
- Homestyle Aged Care in Point Cook – one staff member tested positive.
- Bupa Aged Care in Templestowe – one staff member tested positive.
- Royal Freemasons Bendigo – one staff member tested positive.
- Cumberland Manor in Sunshine North – one staff member tested positive.
- Gary Smorgon House in Caulfield – one staff member tested positive.
- Florence Aged Care Facility in St Albans – one resident tested positive
Updated
The number of Covid-19 cases attributed to untraced community transmission in Victoria has increased by 94 since yesterday, according to the daily coronavirus update issued by the department of health and human services.
As of today there are 1,792 cases that “may indicate community transmission,” DHHS said. That’s a pandemic-long figure, made up of both active and recovered cases.
Of the 627 new cases recorded since yesterday, only 77 have so far been linked to known outbreaks. The remaining 550 are under investigation.
The number of cases attributed to aged care outbreaks has increased by 51, and now sits at 928 (both residents and staff) and worryingly 65 more healthcare workers have tested positive to the virus, with the number of active cases among healthcare workers rising to 614.
Thirty more cases were reported in regional Victoria.
The outbreaks in the public housing towers appear to be stabilising – there has been no change since yesterday.
Victoria has recorded 627 new cases of coronavirus since yesterday, with the total number of cases now at 10,577.
The federal court hearing challenging Western Australia’s hard borders will finish today. Here’s how it’s going, from AAP:
Clive Palmer’s federal government-aided challenge to Western Australia’s tough border stance is wrapping up in the federal court as the prime minister repeatedly tips the state will lose.
The Queensland billionaire argues WA’s border closure is unconstitutional and damaging trade while premier Mark McGowan says it is necessary to protect citizens and is based on expert health advice.
The case continued for the fourth and final day in Brisbane on Friday, with WA’s solicitor-general, Joshua Thomson, saying no community transmission in the state since mid-April shows the border closure is working.
“His [WA chief health officer Andy Robertson] judgments have actually proved to be good ones,” Thomson said in his closing submissions.
He urged Justice Darryl Rangiah to give no weight to the evidence of Sanjaya Senanayake, an infectious diseases expert engaged by Palmer, who accepted he used assumptions from a “plausible but optimistic” UK study.
Thomson also took aim at the quality of evidence by infectious diseases expert Peter Collignon, who was engaged by the commonwealth and argued in favour of “targeted quarantine” for people from states with high levels of community transmission, such as Victoria and NSW.
Palmer’s barrister Peter Dunning said WA could reopen its border entirely and reduce the risk of an outbreak to “very little” by employing a suite of measures.
The state had high levels of contract tracing and compliance with “inconvenient” Covid-19 rules, and had experienced community transmission that didn’t lead to an outbreak, Dunning said.
The matter will ultimately be decided by the high court.
Updated
As might have been expected, the Senate inquiry’s robodebt hearing has descended into a fight over public interest immunity.
The government services minister, Stuart Robert, has sent a new public interest immunity claim to the committee chair, Rachel Siewert, during the hearing.
Siewert and Labor’s Deborah O’Neill are furious, saying that the claim could have been made in advance given the government and department had plenty of advance notice of today’s hearing.
It was questions from Centre Alliance’s Rex Patrick that brought the hearing to a halt. He has asked the secretary of the Department of Social Services, Kathryn Campbell, whether legal advice was sought about the program and the cost of that advice. He is not asking for the advice itself to be provided, though he notes it would be subject to parliamentary privilege in court anyway.
Campbell has refused to answer, backed by Liberal senators Wendy Askew and Amanda Stoker.
She read from Robert’s letter, which states that the commonwealth defence against Gordon Legal’s class action claims for unjust enrichment and negligence could be prejudiced if the fact that legal advice existed or did not exist was made public.
O’Neill accused Campbell, Robert and the department of deliberately seeking to delay and obfuscate.
The committee is now holding a private meeting over the issue.
Updated
Coronavirus case confirmed in Orange, regional NSW
A person in Orange, in regional NSW, has tested positive to Covid-19.
The person is a close contact with a known cluster in Sydney, Western NSW Local Health District chief executive Scott McLachlan said today.
The case is currently in isolation in the Orange Local Government Area, but has a residential address outside of the health district. The case is linked to a known cluster in Sydney.
The public health unit has contacted all close contacts. They have been provided with public health information which includes to be tested for Covid-19 and remain in isolation for 14 days.
If you have not been contacted by the public health unit you have not been identified as a close contact.
The fever clinic at the Orange Health ervice has been reopened, and will run from 10am to 5pm from tomorrow until Monday for anyone who wants to get tested. A drive-through testing site has also been set up at the Orange showground.
The statement from Western NSW Local Health District was shared on Facebook by the local federal MP, Andrew Gee. He said he shared the information because “all this happened yesterday” and the public weren’t informed.
Updated
There are currently 12 people with Covid-19 in hospital in NSW and eight in intensive care, with four of those people on ventilators. About 90 people are being treated for Covid-19 in non-acute, out-of-hospital care.
Updated
NSW Health has issued a revised warning for people who were at the Mounties club on Meadows Road in Mount Pritchard, after two new cases were connected to that cluster, bringing the number of cases to three.
Anyone who attended the club during these times must self-isolate for 14 days and get a Covid-19 test.
- Wednesday 22 July, 7pm to 3am on Thursday.
- Thursday 23 July, 8.30pm to 3am on Friday.
- Friday 24 July, 11am to 3.30pm, and 7pm to 3am on Saturday.
The Everlean Childcare Centre in Prestons, which was closed for cleaning, will reopen on Monday after a suspected case tested negative.
More detail on the new Covid-19 cases in NSW
Six of the 21 new coronavirus cases reported in NSW in the 24 hours to 8pm last night were connected to the cluster around the Apollo restaurant in Potts Point, NSW Health has said.
Two of the new cases are still under investigation, and two are in returned travellers in hotel quarantine. One more case is linked to another known case, the source of which is still under investigation.
Three of the new cases are connected to the cluster at the Our Lady of Lebanon church in Harris Park.
Two each are connected to the clusters of the Thai Rock restaurant at Wetherill Park, the Mounties Club in Mount Pritchard, and the funeral gatherings cluster.
The final case was acquired in Victoria.
There total size of the biggest clusters in NSW are:
- Thai Rock restaurant in Weatherill Park – 94 cases
- Crossroads hotel – 57 cases
- Funeral gatherings cluster – 23 cases
- Potts Point cluster – 19 cases
Updated
Police in Victoria have fined 124 people in the past day for allegedly breaching the the lockdown orders in Melbourne and the Mitchell shire.
Among those fined were 12 people standing around a fire in Frankston, five males drinking alcohol together at a reserve in Casey, and three men from Clayton who were eating lunch together in a public place in the Melbourne CBD.
The fines also include 53 people who received a $200 on-the-spot fine for failing to wear a face mask or face covering. Again, police said people refused to accept a disposable mask when it was offered to them.
Secretary of social services department apologises for 'any hurt or harm' caused by robodebt
The secretary of the Department of Social Services, Kathryn Campbell, has apologised for any hurt or harm caused by the robodebt program.
Campbell, also a former secretary of the Department of Human Services, which created the program, echoed the apology made by Scott Morrison in parliament last month.
She told a Senate inquiry into the robodebt inquiry today:
The department and the agency also apologise for any hurt or harm.
Services Australia’s Michelle Lees says 145,000 people have been refunded so far through the robodebt refunds program. That’s worth $224m.
Updated
Your daily gallery of Daniel Andrews giving a press conference is here. There are a lot of close-ups and an admirable use of hand sanitiser.
Updated
In a bid to drive down the number of people who were still going to work while awaiting test results for Covid-19, Victoria has paid out 4,200 $300 payments for people in insecure work who were unable to take sick leave while awaiting test results.
The emergency payment is being managed by the Victorian jobs department, and has paid out over $1.26m already, with 5,200 applications.
Guardian Australia has spoken to people who have applied for the payment, and they have said it is relatively simple. In terms of proof, you can provide payslips, or sign a statutory declaration if you don’t have payslips, indicating you could not work your shift while waiting for test results.
One casual worker Guardian Australia spoke to said by the time they had received a response via text message that they’d receive a payment, they’d already had a negative test result, but had missed two shifts, so the payment would be useful for the next pay cycle.
Those who test positive are able to get a $1,500 payment if they have no access to sick leave. Andrews said there was not an insubstantial amount of people applying for, and getting this payment, but he did not have the data on Friday. He said the data would be released in the coming days.
Despite the payments available, Andrews said in almost one in four cases (130 out of 500) where the ADF has visited the home of someone who tested positive for coronavirus, that person wasn’t at home.
Updated
There are two doctors in their 30's currently in ICU with #covid19vic (this is publicly available info).
— Dr Vyom Sharma (@drvyom) July 31, 2020
If we protect health care workers, we will protect the community.
We must aim for levels of #PPE and #physicaldistancing within hospitals seen in italy/china/taiwan/korea pic.twitter.com/sb8soxQMMH
Police in the Northern Territory are investigating four people who allegedly travelled into the territory from Queensland, less than 14 days after three of them had been to a declared Covid-19 hotspot.
Three men aged 26, 27 and 29, and a 28-year-old woman, drove through a border control checkpoint on the Queensland-NT border on Monday 27 July.
In a statement, NT police said:
Police are conducting investigations into the travel movements of the group prior to entering the Northern Territory after receiving information from a member of the public indicating the three males had travelled from a declared Covid-19 hotspot within the previous 14 days.
The four people were located in Alice Springs where they have been isolated pending further enquiries being conducted.
Environmental Health Officers immediately identified two females, aged 19 and 24, and a 27-year-old male who had recent contact with the group in Alice Springs and these three are also in isolation. Covid-19 testing and contact tracing in relation to all seven people is currently underway.
The penalty for breaching border restrictions is up to $5,056 for an individual and $25,280 for a business.
Police have conducted more than 31,000 compliance checks since reopening the border on 17 July, and issued 146 fines.
Updated
Some breaking news from Indigenous affairs editor Lorena Allam.
A leading criminal barrister, Phillip Boulten SC, said there is “sufficient force in the evidence” about the cause of David Dungay Jr’s death in custody in 2015 to make a prosecution for manslaughter or assault of the guards involved “viable”.
Updated
ACT issues travel advice, saying residents should only go to Sydney for 'absolutely essential reasons'
The Australian Capital Territory has updated its travel advice to warn that residents should only travel to greater Sydney “absolutely essential reasons”. The same advice was already in place against travelling to Victoria.
The ACT has again recorded no new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, and has just one case listed as active. That person is no longer in hospital.
In a statement today, the ACT government said:
With the situation evolving quickly in other jurisdictions, we are updating our travel advice to ACT residents. As has been the case for several weeks, ACT residents are strongly advised not to travel to Victoria at this time. Travel to Victoria should only be done for absolutely essential reasons.
In addition to this advice on Victoria, we are now also updating our travel advice for Greater Sydney. ACT residents are strongly advised not to travel to Greater Sydney at this time. Travel to Greater Sydney should only be done for absolutely essential reasons.
We do not issue this advice lightly – but it is a recognition of the fact that the risk to Canberrans of contracting Covid-19 in Greater Sydney, and potentially bringing it back to the ACT with them, is currently higher than we would like. We are asking Canberrans to continue exercising the good judgement they have shown during the pandemic thus far and to respect this advice.
Regarding regional NSW, we advise Canberrans to be aware of the Covid-19 situation in the area you are travelling in, and reassess your need to travel to areas with known cases.
Updated
A helicopter has reportedly crashed with at least one person onboard in the New South Wales Western Riverina district. #7NEWS https://t.co/D1OSj58sSo
— 7NEWS Sydney (@7NewsSydney) July 31, 2020
The shadow treasurer, Jim Chalmers, was asked on ABC radio in Brisbane this morning about the decision of media outlets to publish the names and faces of two women who tested positive to Covid-19 after allegedly travelling to Melbourne.
He said he was worried that fear of being publicly vilified could deter people from getting tested.
Chalmers said:
It’s done now. I’m a bit concerned about it, but it’s done now. Our focus needs to be getting on top of any outbreak. That’s why that testing and isolating is so important.
I know that there’s been a pretty robust discussion about the publication of those names and photos. The argument is that it’s a deterrent for people to do the wrong thing but what worries me about that is we don’t want there to be a deterrent to people getting tested. If people think they might have it, it’s important that they get tested. Hopefully that publication of those young women’s names and photos doesn’t get in the way of that.
Chalmers’ electorate of Rankin is in southern Brisbane.
Six portable isolation anterooms will be set up at regional hospitals in Western Australia to house Covid-19 positive patients.
The portable anterooms can convert any room into a negative pressure or positive pressure isolation room to house infected patients and protect others in the hospital from the virus, WA health minister Roger Cook said.
Another four portable isolation anterooms will be held in Perth, and deployed to metropolitan hospitals if necessary.
The anterooms can be used to create an airlock entrance in an existing doorway, with ventilation systems to create positive or negative pressure. They are made by Safespear, which is an Aboriginal-owned business local to WA.
Cook said:
Although Western Australia’s Covid-19 case numbers remain very encouraging, we cannot afford to become complacent.
By securing the portable anterooms, Western Australia will be even better prepared to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in regional and remote communities where hospital isolation room facilities are limited or unavailable.
Updated
The National Family Violence Prevention and Legal Services Forum (National FVPLS Forum) says it is “disappointed by the lack of ambition on the national justice targets” shown by governments.
They said governments could have increased the ambition of justice targets in the new closing the gap agreement, announced yesterday, to end the over-incarceration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people but chose not to, against the advice of the coalition of 51 peak Aboriginal community-controlled organisations.
Phynea Clarke, the acting chair of the National FVPLS forum, said:
We are standing firm on the need for a strong, ambitious, numerical target to end family violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – particularly our women and their children.
In comparison with other women, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women are 34 times more likely to be hospitalised from family violence and 10 times more likely to die as a result of violent assault.
Wynetta Dewis, CEO of Queensland Indigenous Family Violence Legal Service, said:
Over the coming three months, we will continue to push for a strong target on family violence that is numerical, measurable and will deliver real change for our people.
The South Australian opposition leader has called for every vehicle entering the state to be checked for possible Victorian stowaways, after a 65-year-old woman was charged with allegedly breaching a public health order by hiding in a truck to get across the border.
More from AAP:
Opposition leader Peter Malinauskas said the government must provide every resource necessary to prevent the surge in coronavirus cases spreading to SA.
“We are seeing the devastation of the Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria, both from a health and economic perspective,” he said. “We cannot afford to have that happen here.
“We must ensure every resource available is thrown at this to ensure we don’t see seeding of the Victorian outbreak here in SA.”
Updated
The ASX200 is down 1.3% or 80 points, while the Australian dollar has risen above US72c in trading on Friday morning.
Analysts had tipped falls across the ASX after US GDP contraction and the possibility of a delayed US presidential election rattled investors on Wall Street.
In the US overnight, June-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data showed the US economy suffered its steepest contraction since the Great Depression, as business activity ground to a halt due to lockdowns aimed at fighting the coronavirus pandemic.
Updated
Just before we wrap up the Victorian press conference, Prof Brett Sutton said that the number of cases attributed to untraced community transmission in Victoria has increased by 94 overnight.
That would bring the number of cases linked to untraced community transmission in Victoria to almost 1,800.
It was put to Andrews that, with about 1,350 new cases in two days, it’s clear that Victoria’s current restrictions were not working.
Look, we have gone from people describing some of the decisions we have made as too much, to then urging to go further. There will always be different views and there will always be different opinions on when certain things should happen.
That is not unhealthy but I think following advice and following advice that is based on fact and data, not hunches, is a very important thing. Advice does change. Circumstances change. Let’s do that work that’s happening now. It will continue today, tomorrow and if we have got further announcements to make, we will.
They will be made in good time but I don’t think it is unreasonable to say that there are a whole range of potential next steps that will come at a very significant cost and I mean that in all of its senses. A well considered process is always better than one that isn’t.
Updated
Andrews was asked why greyhound racing was still able to operate. He said it’s not classed as an essential workplace, but then said that the definition of essential is ... fluid.
It doesn’t mean they’re essential to everybody. It doesn’t mean they’re necessarily on a list of absolute musts. But where you can keep things open where they pose a very low to no risk, most people would agree that is not a bad thing to do. At the moment, the risk profile of any given activity, if that changes and the data is telling you that, that is when you have to make further changes.
So, greyhound racing is not essential but the risk profile means it can, for now, remain open.
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Andrews was asked if he would consider shutting down meatworks as part of any additional restrictions. A significant proportion of the workplace transmissions have been in meatworks or abattoirs.
He said:
I have made the point a couple of times. One of the challenges we face is many of the settings, where we have seen significant outbreaks would, on any given list, most likely remain open. That is a significant challenge for us.
Next steps will be as much about mystery cases out in the community, as they will be about outbreaks in large work places. That’s an important point to make. You can have meatworks well in hand, you can have all the processes that we’ve got in place but if numbers are still growing and you have got a sense and the data is starting to tell you that there may be more community transmission that’s unrelated to those workplaces, they are still less of a problem but dealing with that may need a broader set of policies and may need us to take further steps.
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If you’re watching this press conference at home, you may have noticed that lengthy exchange between Andrews and a reporter. (We think they’re from the ABC’s 7.30, but I don’t want to incorrectly identify anyone.)
She asks Andrews about a review into the security industry, which his government promised back in 2018. The point is whether there were any findings from that review that could have been applied to the management of hotel quarantine and the decision to use private security firms to do that work.
Andrews offered to send her copies of the press releases from the time, and she says she has already read all the relevant documents that are publicly available. She wants to know how the findings applied to the decisions around hotel quarantine – which is a very legitimate line of questioning. Andrews brushes it off.
He is not regularly challenged to this extent at a press conference, and is very good at shutting reporters down. She keeps going.
Asked if he knew much about the training that the security guards did before being deployed, and whether they just did the standard two weeks’ training before being accredited, Andrews referred her to the independent inquiry into hotel quarantine which is currently underway.
That is a matter for another process and former judge Coate will do that work and she has already begun doing that work. That will get us findings and recommendations and we will deal with those once that process has finished. She has broad terms of reference, an expansive budget, everything she needs to give us the answers that we’re all entitled to. With the greatest of respect it is not for anyone in this room to pretend to be a former judge and pretend to run a second judicial inquiry in parallel with the one that has been set up in accordance with the Victorian law.
She keeps asking (very valid if very persistent) questions.
Andrews:
Again, whilst I’m very pleased to welcome you to our briefing today, I think I’ve answered all your questions. I am not going to sit here and pretend to be running a judicial inquiry. It is being run by a former judge. That is how inquiries work by the judiciary. I don’t want to be disrespectful in any way, I have answered these questions many different times. I would confirm we have a process. It is not about the government sitting in judgement of itself. It is at arm’s length, as it should be. You’re entitled to ask any questions you want but my answer and the government’s position in terms of this being an at arm’s length, independent process will not change.
Worth nothing that Andrews has been asked these questions many, many times, but has not provided any detail, always referring it to the inquiry.
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Andrews urged everyone celebrating Eid al-Adha this weekend to do so in their own homes, and not gather between households.
The second Eid is very significant, a very holy and special time for the Islamic community, but it needs to look incredibly different this year than it has ever looked. By staying apart, we keep each other safe. By staying at home, we keep each other safe.
I have recorded some messages and they will be a feature of different channels and different platforms. I have the highest regard for the hard work and commitment and passion of our Islamic community. They are great contributors to our state and they will heed this message and they will do everything they possibly can to keep both members of their community and indeed the entire community safe.
It needs to look very different this year. That doesn’t detract from its very significant place in the Islamic calendar. Normally, many people would be travelling – Hajj would be happening that overseas travel is simply not able to happen. It already looks different and it needs to continue to look different. I am very confident that the Islamic community will step up.
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Andrews was asked if Morrison had signed off on the possibility of Victoria moving to stage-four restrictions (he hasn’t said the state will move to stage-four restrictions) and if there was a possibility of extending jobkeeper and jobseeker at the higher rates.
Said Andrews:
Ultimately, we have to make decisions around public health and restrictions. That is part of the national cabinet framework but it is always best if everybody works as closely together if they possibly can. That is what has happened all the way through this and now we are in a really critical time, as we mark results that represent the halfway mark of this six-week shutdown.
I would hope that there was some comfort for Victorians to know that both governments are working very closely together, the public health experts, regardless of who they work for, who signs their pay cheque, they’re all working on a granular under standing and a proper and detailed analysis of this data, even more than has been a feature to this point so we can make well informed decisions, based on the best of advice. To know all governments are working towards that one common aim, and that is driving down the numbers, defeating this virus so we can open up again, I would have thought that was good news and a positive thing, certainly that is the way I interpret it.
So, no answer on the substantive question.
If we do move into a new move level of restrictions, how long would it be for?
No, we would need to come back to you. There is a few ifs and buts in there. I understand where the question comes from, that is perfectly fair.
That is why I said before, today is the day to share the fact that we are doing this detailed work, this data will inform the advice and the advice will inform whatever settings we need to put in place as part of a next step. Exactly what that will be, when it will be, how long it would need to operate for, all of that would be for another day.
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Andrews said he was not, at this stage, considering increasing the penalties to people who breach public health orders.
Other states (NSW, South Australia, Queensland) have introduced maximum jail terms of up to six months for breaching public health orders. Victoria doesn’t have jail penalties, but it does have the highest on-the-spot fines of $1,652.
Said Andrews:
If those matters go to court, it jumps to around $10,000. That is a very significant impost for anybody.
We think that those penalties are appropriate at this stage but I would just say, if Victoria police came to me and said ‘We need to change that, we need further tools’, then I wouldn’t hesitate to look at that. That is not the advice. I don’t know that necessarily increasing the penalties would drive much better behaviour.
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Andrews says Victorian workers and businesses will need 'further support'
Andrews said when he spoke to Morrison last night there was a “complete acknowledgement that there can be no economic recovery until we deal with this public health challenge”.
It is incredibly difficult, in fact it’s almost impossible for us to see businesses recover and survive, unless and until we get these numbers down. That will mean there is a significant impost, it may be that there is further support that is needed for businesses, for workers.
Part of my discussions and dialogue with the prime minister will focus on those issues as well. Again, that is why I’m grateful for such a positive partnership, one that is all about dealing with the challenge. These numbers are too high and so long as they remain too high, we will not be able to open up, find a Covid normal, we will still be in this limbo where we have stabilised ... we have avoided our hospital system being completely overrun, but we’re not seeing those numbers fall sufficient to be able to bring an end to the restrictions and move into a much more open economy and a much more open Victorian community.
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Sutton said health officials are “exploring now” the possibility of whether stage-four restrictions, which would be similar to the New Zealand lockdown, would be effective in Victoria.
Obviously, a step up in restrictions is a really significant measure but we are wanting it to be informed by evidence to the fullest extent possible, against that point of being proportionate. There are really significant consequences for what you do, in terms of increased restrictions. It has to be focused on what the data tells us about where transmission might be occurring.
It may be the case that an intervention in a certain area will make a difference. It may also be the case that we look at restrictions in an area that are not a driver of transmission and that would be an unfortunate impost and unfortunate consequences for everyone who might be involved there.
Sutton said the impact on businesses, on people’s livelihoods, and on psychological and emotional wellbeing were all being considered, in assessing possible further restrictions.
We are balancing harms, the harms of what increased cases over time would be, and the unfolding aged care tragedy that we have right now and all of the other consequences that happen when you have got increased restrictions.
We absolutely have to get the cases down because if we don’t do that, there will be ongoing consequences for everyone into the future. But we’re totally mindful of those broader impacts.
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Sutton said WorkSafe in Victoria was investigating the source of the Covid-19 infections among healthcare workers. He dismissed the suggestion, made repeatedly by the federal government, that all healthcare workers contracted the virus in the community.
We know it is a mix of aged care workforce, doctors and nurses in our acute care settings but also many of the other ancillary workers in acute care.
It’s of huge concern to see health care workers developing illness. It is not always straightforward to understand how they have acquired their illness. We have to be open to the fact that personal protective equipment may or may not work in certain circumstances. It’s been provided to everyone but there’s always a review of is it sufficient? Is it being used properly? Is it being used in all settings, in all circumstances where transmission might be occurring?
I’m certainly not jumping to a conclusion but the suggestion that healthcare workers are only getting it outside of their work place – that is not the case, transmission is a risk within work places. We do need to dig down to it to understand exactly how that is happening.
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The chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, said it was “dispiriting to see big numbers”.
We all rise and fall with the numbers every day.
But Sutton said it was important to acknowledge that the stage three lockdown restrictions are having an impact.
He said that at the start of lockdown, the R-number was “at 1.75 or close to two, it’s come down to one”.
But, as the premier said, we can’t sit with 400, 500 cases every day, so that’s why we are diving in to see what could be shifted.
Updated
Andrews was asked why he has not announced further restrictions already, given the numbers have been higher than is acceptable for over a week now.
He said that the restrictions will be based on the data, and that he had not introduced further restrictions for the Melbourne lockdown area yet because he had not received health advice suggesting that. If he gets that advice, he says, he will introduce changes.
Victoria may need to take 'further steps' to control the outbreak
Andrews said he may announce further “steps” or restrictions in a few days time, depending on the outcome of a health analysis that is considering the first 21 days of data from Melbourne’s stage-three lockdown.
He said he would not announce further restrictions today.
Andrews said this came out of a long conversation with the prime minister, Scott Morrison, last night.
He adds:
The results today are essentially from Wednesday because it takes a couple of days to process the results from the labs. Wednesday midnight was effectively halfway in this lockdown.
It is clear to all of us that these numbers are too high.
Andrews said the health officers will spend the next few days “looking to have a really clear sense of where we are at and what our challenge is.”
That analysis, that thoughtful, careful, very considered and really important work will happen today, tomorrow, and then we will have more to say. I have got no announcements to make about next steps but it is important to acknowledge that these numbers are too high.
We could not open up with these numbers, we could not open up with even half these numbers. It may well be the case ... that we need to take further steps, that the steps we have taken are not enough to pull things up.
He urged people not to speculate on what the next steps will be.
The data will tell us, the experts will tell us, what if any next steps need to be taken
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Andrews said more than 5,200 people have applied for the $300 hardship payment available to people who do not have sick leave, to allow them to take time off and get a test as soon as they experience any symptoms.
As of today, he said, 4,200 have been paid out, worth about $1.26m.
There will be a number of those thousand roughly that have not been approved, some will be in process but there will be some who are on jobkeeper, who do have sick leave, who are not eligible.
Updated
100 Victorians referred to police after ADF found one in four people were not at home
The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, said the Australian Defence Force and health department teams doing door-to-door contact tracing knocked on the doors of 500 people yesterday, and a quarter were not at home.
The 34 teams are, as of this week, knocking on the doors of every person who has tested positive to Covid-19 in Melbourne.
Disappointingly I have to inform you that there were more than 13o unsuccessful visits, so around one in four people could not be found at home.
Andrews said about 100 cases have been referred to police.
It is simply unacceptable for you to have this virus and not be at home.
Updated
The people who died are two men in their 50s, two men in their 70s, three men in their 80s and one woman in her 70s.
Victoria records 627 new cases of coronavirus, the second-highest day on record
Victoria has recorded 627 new cases of coronavirus, the second-highest day on record after the 723 cases recorded yesterday.
Victoria has also recorded eight more deaths in people who have tested positive to Covid-19. Four of the eight deaths are linked back to aged care. It brings the death toll to 112
The total number of cases in Victoria since 1 January is now 10,577.
NSW records 21 new cases of coronavirus
NSW has recorded 21 new cases of coronavirus, an increase on previous days. Just two are in hotel quarantine.
21 new cases of #COVID19 have been diagnosed in NSW between 8pm on 29 July and 8pm on 30 July.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) July 31, 2020
For the latest list of COVID-19 locations, visit: https://t.co/pqkRdfh3cR pic.twitter.com/QUxsDOp3eL
We’ll bring you the detail on these new cases as soon as we can.
The deep cleaning of Hotel Harry is under way in Surry Hills.
Harry’s was added to the list of venues with Covid-19 exposure last yesterday. A person who tested positive after going to the Apollo Greek restaurant in Potts Point on Saturday night went to the pub the next day, Sunday 26 July, from 2.15pm to 11pm.
Anyone who who attended Harpoon and Hotel Harry for two hours during that timeframe has been told to self-isolate for 14 days, to get a Covid-19 test and to remain self-isolated for the full 14 days even if the test is negative. If symptoms develop, they should get tested again.
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Daniel Andrews will give Victoria’s coronavirus update at 11am.
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Queensland police said they are expecting thousands of people from Sydney to cross the border today before the border restrictions come into force overnight.
From 1am, all of greater Sydney will be considered a coronavirus hotspot, meaning people will be turned away at the border and, if they have permission to enter, will be made to quarantine for 14 days.
The deputy police commissioner Steve Gollschewski said:
We are expecting around 8,000 people come to Brisbane today from interstate. A number of Queenslanders wanting to come back home before the restrictions come into effect tomorrow morning.
We are in a position to be able to process them very effectively. Our borders are working and I’ve listened with interest to some of the suggestions that are coming out there around what we should consider and in terms of how we do our boarders. We are very interested for the ideas that come out of our community. Can I give everyone an assurance that we have thought about all of these extensively. We have tested the things that we need to do and within the current legal and other operational restraints we have we are operating on the best system …
People coming out of the greater Sydney hotspot, that have a border declaration pass will be getting push notifications telling them that there is changed circumstances and they need to update their passes. That is just an example of some of the things we have done to try to streamline the system.
Gollschewski said 1,507 people travelling from Victoria and other declared hotspots have been placed into quarantine since the Queensland borders reopened, and more than half a million vehicles crossing the border from NSW to Queensland have been checked by police.
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The Queensland police commissioner, Katarina Carroll, said racist comments about the three women who allegedly lied on their border pass to get back into Queensland after visiting Melbourne, and are in court on fraud charges today for providing a false declaration, are “not productive”:
I want to make some comments about what’s taking place in the community. We have seen community members making comments about certain cultural groups and ethnicities. This is not productive at all.
People doing the wrong thing come from all walks of life, backgrounds and community groups. So it is important, especially in these times, that community groups actually come together rather than fracture.
Police have so far issued 60 infringement notices to various people who have not complied with the Queensland border direction. For example, yesterday an individual in central Queensland provided false information and was issued with an infringement notice and there was a further incident overnight at the Gold Coast border where a person was issued with a $4,000 fine for attempting to enter Queensland unlawfully.
So police will continue to obviously issue these infringement notices for people who wilfully and recklessly do the wrong thing and as of today we have issued 2,169 infringement notices.
It bears noting that media who identified and showed photos of the two young women who tested positive to Covid-19 after the alleged Melbourne trip said they had received their information from police.
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The Queensland health minister, Steven Miles, said the state had conducted a record number of Covid-19 tests yesterday, with 9,076 tests. On the new case, Miles said:
He’s related to a person who went to the Madtongsan restaurant at Sunnybank on 23 July and that is considered the most likely source of the infection. It underlines just how critical our contact trace efforts are and more than 1,500 contacts have now been traced related to these three cases.
It also underlines how important it is for restaurants to keep a record of their customers. Those records allow us to contact people quickly who may have been exposed to the disease. It also underlines how important it is that everybody checks that list of places where we think people who have been infected have been.
The list is here.
Miles said the Queensland government had also expanded the no-visitors rule to a number of other aged care facilities overnight to protect their residents.
Queensland’s chief public health officer, Dr Jeannette Young, said a relative of the new case reported overnight also works at the Bolton Clarke Fairview aged care facility at Pinjarra Hills, “a very good facility”:
They already had very good Covid-safe plans and they have put them into action this morning just in case we do find out that that person who works there is the source of infection. That’s in case any relatives who have their relatives in that aged care facility hear of anything. That is a very important, very rapid response and that aged care facility has done a very, very good job already this morning.
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Queensland records one new case of Covid-19
Annastacia Palaszczuk says Queensland has recorded one new case of Covid-19, which has been traced back to the two positive cases reported yesterday.
The new case is a 27-year-old man from Bellbird Park, south of Brisbane, who is the relative of a person who went to the same Korean restaurant at the same time on Thursday 23 July as one of the young women who tested positive this week. That’s the Madtongsan IV restaurant in Sunnybank, Brisbane.
The premier issued a warning to everyone who went to the restaurant:
So it’s very important that if anyone was at that Korean restaurant, the Madtongsan Korean restaurant in Sunnybank, if you have any concern, if you are feeling the slightest bit unwell you must go and get tested.
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Police in South Australia are searching for the driver of a truck which a Mount Gambier woman allegedly used to smuggle herself back across the border after spending several weeks in Victoria.
The woman, aged 65, was detained in custody overnight to appear before the Mount Gambier magistrates court today, charged with failing to comply with a health restriction. She allegedly hid on a truck to cross over border between Tuesday and Wednesday, after the new tighter border restrictions came into force
SA police are searching for the driver and want to ask him if he knew the woman was hiding in the truck, according to AAP.
The SA government’s transition committee will meet today to review its border closures with Victoria, NSW and the ACT. People in Victoria, including SA residents, can only enter the state if they are essential travellers, and people from NSW and the ACT have to quarantine for 14 days upon entry.
The premier, Steven Marshall, previously said he would decide today if the border restrictions against NSW should be lifted but that would depend on whether it had brought outbreaks under control. It hasn’t. Marshall told AAP:
They’re keeping their numbers down below 20 [new cases a day] but 20 can turn into 40 and 40 can turn into 80 very quickly. So if there’s need to take action to strengthen the border with NSW then that’s precisely what we’ll do.
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The aged care minister, Richard Colbeck, told Channel Nine this morning that he had a “pretty grim” video call last night with about 100 people whose relatives have died in Victorian nursing homes:
They were obviously upset, they were distressed, some of them were angry, they were looking for answers about some of the events that had occurred.
He said he was sorry for what Victorian families were going through.
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A large construction site in the Melbourne CBD has been shut down after 12 confirmed cases of Covid-19.
The cases were detected among construction workers at the The Multiplex Premier Apartments site at 134-160 Spencer Street, in Melbourne, and 20 other workers have been identified as close or casual contacts and told to self-isolate.
In a media statement, the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) said:
Following the ‘Confirmed Covid-19 Cases Process’ in line with recommendations provided by the Chief Health Officer and the DHHS, the construction company, Multiplex, were notified of the confirmed cases, along with the CFMEU, PPTEU, ETU and the AMWU. The site was immediately shut down for a full, hospital grade clean.
All workers identified as being in close and casual contact with the confirmed cases were immediately sent home and ordered to get tested and to self-isolate until they received their test results.
The union said the complete site shut-down was agreed with Multiplex management, and a Covid-19 mobile testing bus was on site to test all asymptomatic workers.
The Spencer Street construction site is the site of the Premier Tower, which reportedly will “feature a curvaceous form taken from a music video by singer Beyoncé”.
So that’s a thing.
Josh Frydenberg said penalties for breaching the new mandatory code will be up to $10m, “or three times the benefit obtained or 10% of annual turnover, whichever is greater”.
He said the power to determine which digital platforms would be subject to the code would rest with him, as the treasurer, but he would start with Facebook and Google.
Updated
Australia announces draft mandatory code regulating Facebook and Google
Josh Frydenberg is speaking in Melbourne, announcing the draft mandatory code governing commercial relations between digital platforms and Australian news media companies, released by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today.
Frydenberg said there was an “unequal bargaining position between Australian news media businesses that produce original content” and giant digital platforms including Facebook and Google:
It became apparent to us a number of months ago that we weren’t making progress on that critical issue of payment for content. Hence we are moving down the path of a mandatory code. A mandatory code that governs those relationships and covers issues such as access to user data, the transparency of algorithms used by the digital platforms for the ranking and the presentation of media content, as well as of course payment for content.
Frydenberg said the draft mandatory code did not protect media businesses from competition or disruption, but sought to “create a level playing field to ensure a fair go for Australian news media businesses, and that when they generate original content, they are fairly paid for it”:
We want Google and Facebook to continue to provide these services to the Australian community which are so much loved and used by Australians. But we want it to be on our terms. We want it to be in accordance with our law. And we want it to be fair. And that is what has motivated us with this mandatory code.
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A bit more on Spotless:
Victorian health authorities have advised any worker who spent more than 30 minutes at the site since 6 July to get a test for Covid-19 and quarantine for 14 days. But the United Workers Union says employees do not know what entitlements they will receive.
Its executive director, Godfrey Moase, said:
Spotless Dandenong workers are low-wage migrant workers who have acted together and swiftly. They acted in the interests of the entire community and should be congratulated for their service.
We are calling on Spotless to pay all workers who now have to self-isolate as per the DHHS guidelines, including the labour hire staff contracted in from Excel Recruitment yesterday.
To beat Covid-19 we need to back in workers standing together, and we need everyone to have access to paid pandemic leave. Every single worker. No exemptions.
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Spotless Laundry in Dandenong has been closed by the Victorian health department because of Covid-19 cases, according to United Workers Union executive director, Godfrey Moase.
Yesterday Spotless’s parent company, Ensign Services, dropped its case before the Fair Work Commission against 35 staff members who failed to turn up to work on Wednesday. The staff stopped work because two staff members tested positive to Covid-19 within a week, the ABC reported.
DHHS has shut Spotless Dandenong. Anyone on site for longer than 30 minutes is a close contact. We’re up to a third positive case. If it wasn’t for the workers standing up together this could’ve been a hell of a lot worse.
— Godfrey Moase (@gemoase) July 30, 2020
Updated
Here’s a bit more on that discussion between Scott Morrison and Daniel Andrews on possible further restrictions, from Guardian Australia’s political editor, Katharine Murphy.
We don’t have information about what those possible measures might be – expect we’ll hear more as the day goes on.
Updated
Kidd said people living outside of Victoria, where face masks or face coverings are already mandatory in greater Melbourne and the Mitchell shire and will be mandatory statewide from Monday, should “absolutely” consider wearing a face mask:
So what we’ve said is where we have particularly community transmission, and particularly when people are outside their homes and in areas where physical distancing may be difficult – and that, of course, includes when you go into the supermarket where there’s lots of people moving around and people may come closer to you than the 1.5 metres – that people should be considering wearing masks, and particularly people who are at increased risk if they were to be infected with Covid-19 …
We do have community transmission occurring in parts of New South Wales, particularly in suburbs in Sydney and as, we’ve seen, we have had community transmission just yesterday reported in suburbs in Brisbane. So, yes, I think people should be considering wearing masks, but particularly in those areas where we have community transmission.
Kidd said it was “really important” that other jurisdictions learn from what happened in aged care in Melbourne, “and we apply those learnings as we go along with other settings as well”:
Each residential aged care facility in Australia is required, as every business in Australia is required, to have its own Covid-safe plan to term what that business is doing to mitigate the risk to their staff and also to their customers, in this case the residents of aged care facilities and the family members, the visitors, who come into those facilities as well.
Updated
AHPPC gave Victoria 'possible recommendations' for further restrictions
Scott Morrison and Daniel Andrews discussed the possibility of introducing further restrictions in Victoria overnight as case numbers continue to rise despite three weeks of stage three lockdown.
The state’s deputy chief medical officer, Michael Kidd, said the number of cases recorded in the state yesterday was “quite alarming”. He told ABC News Breakfast that the leaders had the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee had all discussed possible recommendations for additional measures:
Of course it does have to be looked at in the context of the figures over the past couple of weeks and the trend that we are seeing which, of course, is an increase in numbers despite the restrictions which have been in place. It is now only a week since the requirement that everybody wear a mask in Melbourne and the Mitchell shire was introduced but still the numbers have been going up.
Yesterday the AHPPC met and talked about possible recommendations for additional measures and as you’ve said, the prime minister and the premier have had further discussions overnight.
Kidd would not provide detail about what those additional measures might be, saying only that the AHPPC provided advice “looking at what’s worked well both in Australia, elsewhere in the country and earlier in the pandemic, and also what’s been working well in countries overseas”.
Updated
The treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, has extended the waiver of some regulations under the Corporations Act for six more months, meaning they can continue to hold annual general meetings online.
The temporary changes were introduced in March. In a statement, Frydenberg said:
The feedback that the Government has received from industry is that these temporary changes have provided certainty to business and helped them continue to operate through the coronavirus crisis. Under the social distancing measures that are currently in place, and the ongoing challenges in Victoria, it is difficult for shareholders to physically gather and for companies to execute documents in person.
It means that companies can provide notice of AGMs to shareholders via email, achieve a quorum with shareholders attending online, hold AGMs online, and sign documents electronically.
Frydenberg said meetings must “continue to provide shareholders with a reasonable opportunity to participate. Shareholders will continue to be able to put questions to board members and vote online.”
The extended arrangements will expire on 21 March.
Updated
Scott Morrison also had a message for everyone celebrating Eid al-Adha, which began yesterday and runs until Monday.
Jenny and I haven’t had the chance to be at our church since February, and I know faith is very important to people but even at times like this it’s really important that we don’t gather in those big groups … it’s just really important that people make those good decisions when they celebrate their faith in their community.
The Victorian chief health officer, Prof Brett Sutton, delivered the same message yesterday, subtitled in Arabic.
Updated
Morrison said he felt “confident” that the coronavirus outbreak in Sydney could be brought under control:
There are no cases that have an unknown source. None. Whereas in Victoria you have around 50 cases a day where there’s an unknown source, and that is a real concern... that is one of the key reasons that we feel more confident about NSW.
He said he had spoken in support of the NSW-Victorian border restrictions, and not the border decisions taken by Queensland and Western Australia, because the former was not a unilateral decision:
The difference with the NSW-Victorian border, the NSW-Victorian border was shut after there was a discussion between both premiers and myself and the health advice was shared between all those three jurisdictions ...
There have been two ways in which borders have been set up. One has been directly by states and one has been, as shown with NSW and Victoria, in discussions with the commonwealth.
He said the all premiers and chief ministers were working well with each other and with him. They will hold a national security meeting today:
Everyone’s picking up the phone, everyone’s talking to each other, everyone’s asking the questions they need to ask of each other.
On Monday, he said, he had called the South Australian premier, Steven Marshall, for assistance in staffing aged care homes in Melbourne:
I said, ‘Steven, mate, can we get some nurses?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, mate, sure.’
Updated
Scott Morrison was asked to comment on the case in Queensland of three young women who allegedly evaded border checks to get back into the state from a trip to Melbourne without having to self-isolate.
The three women, a a 19-year-old from Heritage Park and two 21-year-olds from Acacia Ridge and Algester, will face court in Brisbane today charged with fraud and providing false or misleading documents under the Public Health Act. They were discovered when two of them, and one of their sisters who was not involved in the alleged trip to Melbourne, tested positive for Covid-19.
The names and pictures of the two who tested positive have been splashed on the front page of the Courier Mail-and in many other media outlets, in a move criticised by the national chief medical officer, Paul Kelly. The Queensland human rights commissioner warned that the coverage could “create a second wave of Covid-related racial hostility”.
On 2GB, Ben Fordham said to Morrison: “This isn’t about race, though, it’s about responsibility.”
Morrison said:
Of course it’s about responsibility and those actions are terribly regrettable, and I hope that is a real lesson to everyone else about how this virus transmits. Sometimes I think people think there’s a golden ticket for Australia and we are somehow immune to it, and we’re not.
He said the situation in aged care in Victoria showed how vulnerable some people with underlying health conditions, but particularly elderly people, were to the virus:
All of their lives depend on how all of us engage and do the responsible thing and support each other to do the responsible thing.
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Aged care homes in Melbourne have 'stabilised', Scott Morrison says
Scott Morrison has just been on 2GB radio in Sydney talking to Ben Fordham. He played down the impact of the aged care outbreaks in the record case numbers seen in Victoria yesterday:
Yesterday was a very disheartening day for all Australians and particularly Victorians, with cases rising to those levels …
I’d stress there are over 430 aged care facilities across the Melbourne area and less than half a dozen of those have been in a very serious situation, and acute situation, it’s only less than half a dozen of those where we have had those very distressing outcomes and that’s where we’ve stepped in.
The prime minister said a few aged care facilities in Melbourne had been “overwhelmed” by having to furlough all of their staff as close contacts of positive Covid-19 cases, and “there were some terrible events that followed from that”:
Those facilities have now stabilised, my advice is. I mean Epping Gardens, a lot of work was being done yesterday and overnight, I’ll get an update in that in about half an hour. But I understand that’s heading to stabilised now.
He said there was a “big difference between Newmarch House and Epping Gardens”, mainly because Newmarch did not have all of its staff placed in quarantine, and because NSW did not in April have the level of community transmission now seen in Melbourne:
There wasn’t a community outbreak around Newmarch. When you have the level of community outbreak that you have in Victoria it gets into every workplace.
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Meanwhile, in Melbourne, this just happened.
#BREAKING About 30 people gathering at the Shrine of Remembrance. Some not wearing masks. They have now disbanded at the request of police. They held a minute’s silence but refused to explain why they were here. pic.twitter.com/awEolyP8xD
— Paul Dowsley (@pauldowsley7) July 30, 2020
The flag they’re holding is the Australian red ensign, which is the official flag for Australian registered merchant ships. But it was used by soldiers in both world wars.
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According to the figures released by the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria yesterday, there are 159 active cases of Covid-19 across the six local government areas south-west of Melbourne that are now under stricter restrictions.
The biggest source is the outbreak at the Australian Lamb Company at Colac, which is now at 64 cases.
The borough of Queenscliffe has not recorded any cases throughout the entire pandemic but it is hemmed in by Greater Geelong and the Surf Coast.
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Good morning,
There’s a sombre mood in Victoria today, waking up after the worst day of the pandemic so far. Yesterday 747 new cases were reported – 723 in Victoria alone – and 13 deaths, all in Victoria and 10 linked to residential aged care.
One of the worst-hit aged care homes is Epping Gardens, where 85 residents and 35 staff have tested positive for Covid-19. Family members of people living in that facility have told Guardian Australia it was “complete chaos”.
Another man died after that toll was announced. The man in his 50s, from Portland in south-west Victoria, 350km from Melbourne and only newly outside the South Australian border bubble, will be included in today’s death toll.
New restrictions in regional Victoria are in force from today. People living in the of Colac-Otway, Greater Geelong, Surf Coast, Moorabool, Golden Plains, and the borough of Queenscliffe local government areas will not be able to have guests in their homes.
From Monday everyone in Victoria will be required to wear a face mask or face covering when they leave their house, unless they have a medical exemption. The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, has said he will not guarantee against introducing further restrictions but, as the growth in cases continues to be driven by outbreaks in essential workplaces, a tighter city-wide lockdown may not have any effect.
People in NSW and the ACT who want to shop at a Woolworths supermarket will also be “strongly encouraged” to wear a face mask in-store from Monday. New rules requiring gyms to employ hygiene marshals will come into force in NSW from tomorrow. And three new venues – Harpoon and Hotel Harry in Surry Hills, Matinee Coffee in Marrickville and Tan Viet in Cabramatta – have been closed for cleaning after it was revealed they were frequented by someone who tested positive to Covid-19.
Let’s crack on. You can follow me on Twitter at @callapilla or email me at calla.wahlquist@theguardian.com.
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