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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Naaman Zhou (now) Calla Wahlquist (earlier)

Dutton tests positive for Covid-19 as Morrison reverses decision to attend NRL game – as it happened

Peter dutton
Australian home affairs minister Peter Dutton has confirmed he has Covid-19 as government advises against gatherings of more than 500 people. Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA

Summary

Three and a half hours ago, my colleague Calla Wahlquist began her summary with the sentence: “Well, a lot has happened.”

Since then, it is fair to say that a lot more has happened.

  • Home affairs minister Peter Dutton has confirmed he has coronavirus, and was admitted to hospital after he woke up with symptoms on Friday.
  • Prime minister Scott Morrison and other cabinet ministers do not need to self-isolate, according to the advice of the deputy chief medical officer.
  • Dutton attended a cabinet meeting in person on Tuesday, but did not attend a Thursday national security meeting. The advice given to the PM is that only those who had contact with Dutton in the 24 hours before he became symptomatic need to be isolated or tested.
  • Dutton had been in the US recently, and met with Ivanka Trump and the US attorney general on 6 March, though it is not known when he contracted the virus.
  • New Zealand’s interior minister however, has decided to self-isolate, and will be tested for coronavirus on Saturday, after she also met Dutton in the US.
  • The government announced that, from Monday, non-essential mass gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled.
  • The entire AFL season, and all matches of the AFLW after Friday’s opener, will be played without spectators, “for the foreseeable future”.
  • The NRL will play games from next weekend behind closed doors, but games this weekend will go ahead as normal. Morrison initially said he would attend a match on Saturday, but later reversed that decision.
  • The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, the Australian Grand Prix and Sydney’s Royal Easter Show were cancelled, among other cultural and sporting events.
  • Schools, universities and public transport will not be affected by the recommended shut-downs of events with over 500 people.
  • Morrison also announced the establishment of a national cabinet, made up of premiers and chief ministers, to coordinate response to the coronavirus.
  • The total number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Australia rose to 156, up 28 from Thursday.
  • The Australian stock market has recorded one of its most tumultuous days in recent history, falling as low as 8% during the day and finishing 4.4% up.
  • Victoria recorded its first case of untraced community transmission.
  • Cricket Australia announced that the Australia vs New Zealand ODI series would be played to empty stadiums.
  • Virgin Australia cut flights and announced one of its cabin crew has tested positive to Covid-19, while Flight Centre also said it would close 100 stores.

That’s where we will be leaving the blog for today. Thanks for reading. Our coverage will resume again tomorrow.

Updated

New Zealand minister self-isolates after meeting Dutton

New Zealand’s internal affairs minister, Tracey Martin, has just confirmed that she will be self-isolating after she met with Peter Dutton in the US last week.

A spokesman for Martin told newsite Stuff.co.nz the minister was “self-isolating and would be getting tested for coronavirus on Saturday morning”.

Martin met with Dutton at a meeting of Five Eyes partners in Washington on March 6, where Dutton also met with Ivanka Trump, the US attorney-general William Barr, and his counterparts from the UK and Canada.

Martin’s department told Stuff she did not remember shaking hands with Dutton but “had sat beside him for the 90-minute meeting”.

Dutton did not show symptoms, Martin said.

Catholic masses will go ahead this weekend but from next week gatherings of more than 500 will be banned, the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney says.

“Following recommendations, there are no cancellation of masses this weekend March 14-15 or suspension of other essential ministries and services in the Archdiocese”, the church said.

“However, from Monday March 16 gatherings of more than 500 people will be banned and we are working with our parishes to communicate that with their parishioners.”

“With the growing concern of the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Sydney and around the world, institutions are putting in place preventative measures to limit the spread of the virus locally.

The Archdiocese has already implemented several preventative measures and people should consider their own health before attending a liturgical celebration. Sydney Catholic Schools are regularly assessing the need to close.

Northern Territory media are reporting that the highly anticipated annual grand final weekend on the Tiwi Islands will be closed to visitors.

Every year thousands of people travel by ferry and charter plane to the Indigenous-owned islands off the coast of Darwin, to watch the grand final of the island’s Aussie rules competition.

The weekend event, where the permits normally required to enter the Aboriginal land are lifted, also hosts an art fair where the art centres from the islands’ communities sell thousands of works.

This is a huge hit to the islands’ economy and very disappointing for fans, but given the fears of spreading the virus, it’s not surprising. You can read a piece here from a doctor in the NT, about just how devastating an outbreak would be in a remote Indigenous community:

It’s one of three footy events on the NT this weekend - The AFLW match in Alice Springs will go ahead without a crowd, but AFL NT executive and board have decided that the NTFL grand final in Darwin will go ahead with a crowd, given the advice to stop large gatherings doesn’t kick in until Monday.

More from Katharine Murphy:

Scott Morrison now will not attend tomorrow’s NRL game between the Cronulla Sharks and the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Earlier the prime minister said he would still go to the game, despite the government recommending against mass gatherings after Monday.

“The fact that I would still be going on Saturday speaks not just to my passion for my beloved Sharks, it might be the last game I get to go to for a long time,” he said earlier.

“That’s fine. In the future I suspect we might be watching them on television, and that’s OK as well. My point is that there is absolute reason for calm.”

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese had also been planning on attending, but pulled out earlier on Friday.

Pat Turner, the head of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, has called for a much faster turn-around time for Covid-19 tests in remote Aboriginal communities.

It can take two weeks for tests to be done and returned, by which time a whole community could be infected, Turner said on ABC TV’s The Drum this evening.

Turner also reinforced advice released earlier this week, that people severely restrict any travel to remote communities, and called for “everyone to be screened in our vulnerable and remote communities.”

On Monday, The Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) introduced strict rules for entry to their lands.

“We are protecting our people, especially those who hold our ancient cultural knowledge, and we know they are already vulnerable as they are quite old,” APY general manager Richard King said.

During the 2009 swine flu outbreak, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people made up 11% of all identified cases, 20% of hospitalisations and 13% of deaths.

Prime minister does not need to self-isolate

We have just received the statement from the prime minister’s office. It says that the deputy chief medical officer says he does not need to self-isolate. Neither do any cabinet ministers.

The statement says that Dutton attended Tuesday’s cabinet meeting in person, but only attended Thursday’s national security meeting via video link.

According to the deputy chief medical officer, only those who had contact with Dutton “in the 24 hours before he became symptomatic” need to self isolate.

Full statement below:

Following confirmation the minister for home affairs has tested positive for coronavirus, he has been isolated according to the policies of Queensland Health.

Queensland Health will undertake the appropriate contact tracing.

The minister attended Tuesday’s meeting of the federal cabinet in person and Thursday’s meeting of the National Security Committee via video link.

In advice provided to the prime minister this evening, the deputy chief medical officer has reiterated that only people who had close contact with the Minister in the preceding 24 hours before he became symptomatic need to self-isolate.

That does not include the prime minister or any other members of the cabinet.

Updated

There is no official confirmation yet, but my understanding is Dutton attended a meeting of the cabinet on Tuesday. The ABC is reporting he subsequently returned to Brisbane on a commercial flight. If either of these things are incorrect, I will bring you the right information as soon as possible.

Here’s the footage from earlier of Scott Morrison recommending that all non-essential events with more than 500 people be cancelled. This press conference was from before the news of Peter Dutton being diagnosed with coronavirus.

All AFL games to be behind closed doors from next week

In more news on an already packed day.

The AFL has just confirmed that all games – mens and womens – will be played without fans in attendance “for the foreseeable future”. Earlier, the AFLW said this would take place for their competition from Saturday.

It will also affect the Super Rugby. From AAP:

Spectators will be welcome at Super Rugby games in Australia this weekend but the doors will then be closed indefinitely because of coronavirus fears, Rugby Australia has announced.

Three Super Rugby games and two Super W matches will proceed as scheduled on Saturday and Sunday and be open to the public. However, RA will abide by an Australian government announcement on Friday that advises against organised non-essential gatherings of 500 people or more from Monday of next week. It means all Super Rugby and Super W matches in Australia beyond round seven will be played in closed venues until further notice.

Updated

This photo from the Australian Embassy in the US shows Dutton near Ivanka Trump and William Barr, the US attorney general, last week. It is not yet known when Dutton contracted the virus, and when he was contagious.

Updated

We are waiting for a statement from the prime minister’s office soon, clarifying how much contact Dutton has had with ministers and cabinet prior to his diagnosis. And whether or not the prime minister and other ministers will need to self-isolate or take other precautions.

Labor’s shadow minister for home affairs, Kristina Keneally, has wished Peter Dutton a speedy recovery.

Melbourne International Comedy Festival cancelled

Before the bombshell news about Peter Dutton, it was also confirmed that the Melbourne comedy festival – as well as a suite of other culture events – will be cancelled.

Melbourne comedy festival had more than 600 Australian and international acts booked, and more than 7000 performances scheduled over three weeks starting from 25 March.

“We’re devastated by the news we have to share,” organisers said. “Our primary concern is the health and welfare of our artists and participants, staff and audiences.”

In other arts news, Frontier Touring and Chugg Entertainment have announced shows being cancelled, including Jimmy Eat World, Marc Rebillet and Miranda Lambert, with the full list here.

Luna Park Melbourne has announced it will “not open to the public for a temporary period of two weeks”.

Updated

Peter Dutton had recently returned from the United States.

The minister met with American, UK, Canadian and NZ officials in Washington on 6 March, as part of the Five Eyes network.

He also opened a campus of the University of the Sunshine Coast at Moreton Bay on Monday.

Updated

Earlier today, Dutton did not attend his usual Today Show interview. Host Allison Langdon said it was “a stomach bug”.

As stated in his release today, Dutton said he woke up with the symptoms this morning and got the test back this afternoon.

Peter Dutton has tested positive for coronavirus

Home affairs minister Peter Dutton has just confirmed that he has tested positive for coronavirus.

“This morning I woke up with a temperature and a sore throat,” he said in a statement. “I immediately contacted the Queensland department of health and was subsequently tested for Covid-19 ... the test had returned positive.”

“I feel fine and will provide an update in due course”.

Updated

NRL CEO Todd Greenberg is speaking now in Townsville. He’s being asked why games are still open to fans this weekend.

“We’ve listened to the government,” he says “The government advice is keep your stadiums open over the weekend, then close your stadiums [from Monday]”.

He says this will have significant financial impacts for the league. “We are in unprecedented times ... if there are financial difficulties for them, we will make we keep them afloat.

“We will be playing games without fans in attendance, we’ve never done that before.”

Updated

NRL to close doors to fans next week

The National Rugby League has also been affected in the swathe of cancellations, with matches from week two – starting next weekend – to be played behind closed doors without fans.

Earlier today, prime minister Scott Morrison said the recommendation against events with more than 500 people would take effect on Monday, meaning that the weekend’s games will go ahead as normal. Morrison said he would personally attend the Cronulla Sharks v South Sydney Rabbitohs.

In addition, the National Basketball League’s grand final series will also be closed to spectators. Game two of the series is due to be played tonight.

Swimming Australia have also cancelled their national championships, due to start next month in Perth.

Updated

The ABC has suspended all live audiences for its TV and radio programs from Monday due to the coronavirus.

Guardian Australia understands SBS is taking the same precaution, although no announcement has been made. Programs such as SBS’s Insight and the ABC’s Mad As Hell with Shaun Micallef are recorded with an audience.

The edict has sent producers for Q+A into a spin about how they will handle the show, which normally has a large studio audience asking the questions of the panel.

ABC managing director David Anderson told staff late on Friday the broadcaster was taking a number of measures from Monday, including suspending all tours of ABC facilities, all non-essential domestic travel and all non-essential visitors and meetings at ABC studios.

“We also need to recognise the importance of the continuation of our services during this period, for our audience’s benefit,” Anderson said.

“As I have advised over the past few weeks, we are reviewing our processes daily and ensuring we have the right procedures in place to ensure the safety of all staff as much as possible.

“No cases of Covid-19 have been identified within the ABC at this point.”

Updated

Comedian Tim Minchin also has some cancellation news. He was due to perform in Sydney, Newcastle and Melbourne.

AFLW to close doors to fans on Saturday

Just in from the AFL: the AFLW games from Saturday will be closed to fans – and only allow players, umpires and TV crews in.

Tonight’s game between the Geelong Cats and North Melbourne will go ahead as normal.

Updated

Some responses also coming in from universities after the recommendation against events with more than 500 people. As Scott Morrison said, university classes (and schools) are considered essential and are not recommended to be cancelled.

However, a series of student parties and “non-essential” events will be.

The Australian National University in Canberra has sent an email saying that “non-essential public events and social gatherings” will be cancelled until the end of semester one.

The University of Wollongong says classes will go ahead but the annual student Garden Party will not.

The chief executive of Universities Australia, Catriona Jackson, said: “Every university has prepared for a broad range of contingencies as part of their pandemic plan. All universities are focused on measures to slow the spread of the virus.

“The prime minister made clear that ‘essential gatherings’ such as university classes are exempt from the advice against gatherings of 500 or more.”

Updated

Extinction Rebellion have also postponed a protest planned for today in Melbourne. The 5pm march at Treasury Gardens would have seen “a huge crowd of Extinction Rebellion protestors ‘chase’ [a costumed] Rupert Murdoch through Melbourne CBD before arriving at NewsCorp headquarters”. It has now been postponed after the recommendation against non-essential gatherings.

Updated

Cancellation of Royal Easter Show a 'a huge disappointment' – organisers

Organisers are now confirming that the Royal Easter Show has been cancelled, for the first time in more than a century.

“The cancellation of the show is a huge disappointment, particularly exhibitions from rural and regional NSW ... Cancelling the show is costing the RES tens of millions of dollars, as a not-for-profit organisation,” organisers said.

“We survived the 1919 Spanish Flu epidemic, we survived World War II, we will survive coronavirus.”

Updated

And here’s former prime minister Kevin Rudd’s response – he will be avoiding large gatherings after recently returning from overseas.

For people such as Lucy Turnbull wondering why the recommendation against mass gatherings only kicks in on Monday, we would refer to the chief medical officer Brendan Murphy’s response when asked if Coag had deviated in any way from his recommendations.

Murphy replied:

The recommendation is exactly as decided by Australian Health Protection Principles Committee before I met the premiers and the prime minister. They state that [gatherings of more than] 500 should be encouraged, as the prime minister said, not to be proceeded with. We are going to work with the expert advice over the weekend to work out what the implications of that are and to give advice to governments on the finer details of that. We haven’t thought that through fully yet, and we will be presenting that to governments.

We think that by [Monday] we’ll start to see a few more cases of community transmission. There is no immediacy about this but we need to get ahead of the curve. The recommendation was Monday and the premiers and the prime minister agreed with that. It wouldn’t matter if they made a decision one or two days either side, it was felt it was a reasonable time to progress.

While Scott Morrison has said he will still be attending the NRL on Saturday (Rabbitohs v Sharks) we have confirmed that Anthony Albanese, who planned on going, will not.

Updated

The Melbourne Fashion Festival has cancelled all their remaining events as well. This comes after the recommendation against non-essential events with more than 500 people.

New Zealand’s opposition leader Simon Bridges has tweeted his approval of the announcement by Australia’s prime minister Scott Morrison in the last hour that from Monday all non-essential mass gatherings will be banned. He has urged his country’s government, led by Jacinda Ardern, to do the same.

New Zealand has five confirmed cases of Covid-19 and two probable cases. The country has not had any new cases in five days.

What is a national cabinet?

In addition to the advice against non-essential travel and mass gathering, Coag decided to set up a “national cabinet” to respond to the coronavirus threat.

What is that exactly? Essentially, the national cabinet will be like Council of Australian Governments — composed of federal, state and territory heads of government —except it will meet weekly and it will exclude the Local Government Association (which people often forget gets a seat at Coag).

The idea is reminiscent of a war cabinet —with all the flavour of greater unity and consistency in the face of crisis - but whether that is significant or just marketing is for individual citizens to decide.

Scott Morrison said that the Home Affairs Department has been coordinating the response to coronavirus, through its national coordinating mechanism, which will “feed up” issues to the national cabinet every week.

He said:

[The national cabinet] will deal with issues such as schools and universities and all of these types of things. Prisons, which we have not discussed today. Practical issues about the management of the national response to the coronavirus.

Each and every state and territory represented here is completely sovereign and autonomous in the decisions they make, but what we have agreed to do together is to work together and be unified and is consistent and coordinated as possible in our national response. That means from time to time sharing resources. It means if there is a need to assist each other with various needs, then this group will work closely together to achieve that end.

The principal advising body to this national cabinet will be the Australian Health Protection Principles Committee, which are those medical officers.

Easter show cancelled

I feel immense sadness for those who compete in the cake and large vegetable pavilions.

Summary: ban on mass gatherings, Australians advised to avoid overseas travel

Well. A lot has happened. To recap:

I will hand over now to my colleague Naaman Zhou. Thanks for your company.

ASX finishes 4.4% up

The Australian market has finished up 4.4% for the day, after being down as much as 8% during the day.

That’s a range of more than 12 percentage points, representing an extraordinary rollercoaster ride of a day.

Sydney Writers Festival suspends ticket sales

The Sydney Writers’ Festival CEO, Chrissy Sharp, has released this statement:

In light of the advice from Australia’s chief medical officer this afternoon, Friday 13 March, Sydney Writers’ Festival has suspended ticket sales. We are now carefully working through next steps and we’ll be in touch on Monday 16 March with a more detailed response. Thank you for your patience and forbearance.

Updated

There is a lot of political commentary on why the ban on non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people does not start until Monday, instead of starting immediately.

But consider the logistics. It’s Friday afternoon, it would be a scramble to try to inform everyone and pull the pin on all events scheduled for tonight and this weekend.

Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy did stress that this was a precautionary measure, not an urgent response. Unless there’s a specific risk — as there was with the Grand Prix — Monday seems reasonable. But I would guess that attendance at events will be low.

In a final word, Brendan Murphy said that response to the outbreak would change based on whatever the best, latest information suggests. There is, he said, no threshold number that would trigger a certain response.

Murphy said:

One of the things we have learned in other pandemics — we learned in the swine flu pandemic — is that every outbreak is different. It will manifest differently in different cities. You might take decisions in one city or state that are different from others at a particular time. There is no magic number.

That’s why we meet every single day — we have met every single day for the last two months, as has the technical advisory group... Governments expect that and expect us to respond according to the changing circumstances.

Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy says Australia is developing “new testing paradigms” to ensure they only test people who have “a decent prospect of a positive test”.

That’s because some of the supplies used in the Covid-19 test are coming under pressure.

There has been a huge call on it ... in Australia that has been precipitated by the fact that we have done a lot of testing over the last few weeks on people who probably didn’t meet the criteria. They were worried people who had not been returned travellers. So we are working through that, working through new testing paradigms so that we can make sure doctors only refer people who have a decent prospect of a positive test, and we are working through ways to significantly improve that supply chain issue.

He said the supply chain issue was “temporary”.

Updated

Scott Morrison is asked if gatherings of large churches — like Horizon Church, of which he is a parishioner — will manage this ban, and whether they are essential or non-essential.

(I think this is a bit unfair. Religious services are essential for people of faith.)

Morrison says that church groups and other organisations may have to make arrangements to ensure their gatherings aren’t too large.

Now, I know, because I go to one of those churches where a lot of people go along — I suspect they will do something common sense like hold multiple services at different periods of time over interest course of the weekend. So all their parishioners can come along.

Hillsong Church in Sydney will this weekend host the second weekend of the Colour Conference 2020, an annual women’s conference which thousands of people attend. It was held last weekend as well.

But, if we apply Morrison’s Saturday football rule — so long as it’s over by Monday it’s technically OK.

Updated

Lucy Turnbull would like to know why the ban doesn’t start today.

Logistical reasons, I assume. Her husband Malcolm retweeted her.

The market is bouncing back as Scott Morrison speaks

As prime minister Scott Morrison and chief medical officer Brendan Murphy spoke, the Australian market continued its rise — all the way into the black.

At about 3.30pm the benchmark ASX200 index was up more than 1% from Thursday’s closing price.

Given that the market had plunged to be down as much as 8% at lunchtime, that makes Friday’s rollercoaster ride one of the most extraordinary seen on the Australian market in living memory.

It isn’t clear whether the dramatic turnaround is due to word that Murphy wanted mass gatherings banned leaking, news that the US is preparing a fresh stimulus package or dramatic intervention by the Reserve Bank in the debt market.

And even after the turnaround, losses over the past couple of weeks, including Thursday’s 7.4% tumble, still erase all the gains the market has made since 2016.

Back on Scott Morrison attending the football. A reporter asks if this is a responsible decision, given that, from Monday, the event would be banned.

Morrison said it’s a “stepped response”. There’s no immediate threat to people attending organised gatherings of more than 500 people, he says, so there’s no reason not to go to the football this weekend.

The fact that I would still be going on Saturday speaks not just to my passion for my beloved Sharks, it might be the last game I get to go to for a long time. That’s fine. In the future I suspect we might be watching them on television, and that’s OK as well.

My point is that there is absolute reason for calm and proportionately responding to the challenges that we have here. I’m very comfortable about it, my colleagues are very comfortable about it.

The new rule only applies to non-essential events. Some examples of essential gatherings that will not be cancelled, Morrison says, are:

  • Parliament
  • School
  • Preschool
  • Work
  • University lectures

What is non-essential:

  • Sporting events (from Monday)
  • Music festivals
  • Arts festivals

However if a case is reported in a school, the school will still be closed and cleaned — as is already occurring. That advice could change in the future, but at the moment those “essential” mass gatherings are still allowed to go ahead.

Australia’s chief medical officer, professor Brendan Murphy, said Australia had remained “ahead of the curve” in its response to the coronavirus.

He said the ban on gatherings of more than 500 people from Monday was a “precautionary measure”, and that the number of cases of community transmission in Australia remained low.

We are still not saying that there is a significant risk at all to the Australian community. But all international evidence suggests that if you have some community transmission, the way in which it can be spread more rapidly is in very large events. You might only have one or two people at a very large event who might be carrying the virus, and the chance of it being spread from those large events accelerates the rate of progression of this virus.

So this is a precautionary measure on the basis of the numbers slowly increasing over the course of the last week in Australia.

He said it was a “proportionate, early response to get ahead of the curve”.

Updated

Scott Morrison says he does still plan to go to the football on Saturday.

I would be going on Saturday because I had previously planned to, and these are measures we are putting on from next week.

He says there is “every reason for calm, there is every reason for people to go about their usual business”.

Updated

Australians told to 'reconsider all travel'

Prime minister Scott Morrison said that Australians were also told to reconsider any and all overseas travel.

Said Morrison:

Regardless of your destination, age or health — if your travel is not essential, consider carefully whether now is the right time. So we are effectively putting in place what is called a level three travel advice for travel of Australians overseas. This is done to protect their health and to limit their exposure, given we have so many countries now that are affected by the coronavirus.

Scott Morrison said that by banning mass gatherings he was acting on the advice of the Australian Health Protection Principals Committee. That committee will also be the principal advisory body to the new national cabinet.

The cabinet will be made up of Coag members — premiers and chief ministers. They will also establish a national coordinating mechanism to ensure the response is consistent across jurisdictions.

The members of that cabinet is who you see before you here today, and we will be working very closely together to ensure there is a consistency of response, that there is a coordination of response. We simply say to the Australian people that we will manage this carefully in your interests.

What we are announcing today is just another step. It is precautionary. It is getting ahead of this to ensure that we can minimise the impact on your health and we can ensure with confidence the ability for people to be accessing the health services that they and their families will need.

Updated

Gatherings of more than 500 people to be banned, says PM

Prime minister Scott Morrison says the Australian government will adopt medical advice to cancel organised mass gatherings.

Morrison said:

Based on the advice we have received today about the increasing number of cases on the evidence of community transition, it has been recommended to us that we moved to a position by Monday where we will be advising against organised non-essential gatherings of personsof 500 people or greater — from Monday.

That of course does not include schools. It does not include university lectures. It does not mean people getting on public transport or going to airports or things of that nature.

Morrison said there was “growing evidence ... of greater community transmission of the coronavirus throughout Australia”.

He also said he would convene a national cabinet to deal with these issues.

Updated

Prime minister Scott Morrison is addressing the media now.

Aged care royal commission bans public from attending hearings

A second royal commission has taken precautionary steps to avoid exposing particularly vulnerable people to the coronavirus, with the royal commission into aged care quality and safety announcing on Friday that the public would not be allowed to attend hearings and workshops until further notice.

The proceedings will be streamed as usual on the live webcast.

In a statement, the commission said:

The Royal Commissioners want to ensure robust measures are in place to protect the public, particularly frail older people, who may be at risk of contracting the virus at public events like hearings.

Earlier, the disability royal commission announced it had postponed planned community forums in Tasmania to prevent the spread of the disease.

Australian stock market surges back after RBA intervention

The Australian market has come roaring back in afternoon trade to be less than 2% down for the day.

It’s not entirely clear what’s caused the dramatic turnaround, but the most likely answer is that the Reserve Bank has pumped $8.8bn into short-term bank funding this morning.

The AFR reports that the funding package was designed to head off a looming credit squeeze caused by market panic over the coronavirus crisis and US president Donald Trump’s cack-handed response to it.

Benchmark index the ASX200 fell as much as 8% on Friday but by 3pm was surging upwards to be just 1.78% below Thursday’s closing price.

Updated

The Sydney Climate Action summit has been postponed due to coronavirus. It was scheduled to take place in Sydney from 31 March to 2 April.

Organisers the City of Sydney and C40 Cities made this announcement:

With support from international mayors, a coalition of mayors from metropolitan and regional Australia was due to meet with local businesses, community, industry, Indigenous leaders and school students to call for action to tackle the climate emergency....

Despite this decision, the City of Sydney and C40 Cities remain determined to continue to act on climate change. We will continue to work with mayors and local leaders to take urgent local action in a hostile climate.

New dates for the event will be announced in due course.

We are hearing that prime minister Scott Morrison’s press conference, in which he is expected to announce whether he accepted or rejected a recommendation from the chief medical officer that all mass gatherings of more than 500 people be cancelled, has been pushed back to 3pm.

New South Wales Labor MP Anthony D’Adam has tested negative for Covid-19.

The deputy opposition whip and one of his staff members were placed in voluntary self-isolation, after his staff member became unwell after travelling overseas. He confirmed on Facebook on Friday that both he and his staff member had tested negative.

Some good news — your pets are fine

An update on the pet Pomeranian which tested positive for Covid-19 in Hong Kong last week — blood tests have returned a negative result.

The dog was taken into quarantine after its owner was diagnosed with the illness. Successive tests on samples taken from its nose and mouth showed a “weak positive” result in the dog, leading health experts to declare it was likely a case of human-to-animal transmission. Other epidemiologists were more circumspect, and said blood tests were needed first, to see if it had any virus antibodies in its system. Blood tests taken on 3 March returned yesterday and showed there was no measurable antibodies in the dog.

Authorities maintained the dog was infected.

The Hong Kong government said:

The negative serological test result does not suggest that the dog is not infected with the virus.

It is known in some asymptomatic or mild cases of human infections with other types of coronavirus that antibodies may not always develop. It is also not uncommon to have a negative result in the earlier stages of infection as it often takes 14 days or more for measurable levels of antibodies to be detected.

Gene sequencing of the virus detected on the dog and in its owner showed them to be very similar, suggesting the virus did likely spread from the person to the animal.

The department added:

There currently is no evidence that pet animals can be a source of infection of COVID-19.

Pet owners should not be overly concerned and under no circumstances should they abandon their pets.

So, do not worry about your pets.

Updated

Golden Plains festival goers not at risk

Golden Plains festival goers do not need to be concerned — the Victorian health department has confirmed that an attendee at the festival, who later tested positive to Covid0-19, was not unwell at the event. So authorities do not believe they will have spread the virus at the festival.

Victoria has now recorded 36 cases of coronavirus. Nine new cases were confirmed overnight.

The new cases in Victoria are six men and three women, aged between 20 and 70. Seven have a history of international travel. One is the member of the McLaren F1 team, who is recovering in isolation.

One case has no history of travel or contact with a confirmed case. It is, as reported earlier, the first case of community transmission in Victoria.

Possible contact points for the most recent people to have tested positive for the virus in Victoria are:

  • Qantas flight QF430 from Melbourne to Sydney on 9 March;
  • QF459 from Sydney to Melbourne on 9 March;
  • the Mary Miller Cafe in Fitzroy North from 12.30pm to 2pm on 10 March;
  • No. 19 cafe in Ascot Vale from 8am to 9.30am on 10 March;
  • Emirates flight EK0406 from Dubai to Melbourne, which arrived in Melbourne on 10 March.

Anyone who may have been in any of these locations or on these flights is advised to notify the health department if they fall ill in the next 14 days.

Victoria’s chief health officer, professor Brett Sutton, said he expected the number of cases in Victoria to increase.

He said:

For the virus to spread, extended close personal contact is most likely required. But visitors to locations where cases have been should be aware of the signs and symptoms of Covid-19. Close personal contact is at least 15 minutes face-to-face or more than 2 hours in the same room.

At the moment, we urge the public to be mindful and take steps to minimise the risk of Covid-19.

Updated

Queensland has now recorded 35 cases of coronavirus. As reported earlier, that’s nine more cases than yesterday, the biggest one-day jump since the outbreak began.

All cases are in south-east Queensland apart from one each in Kingaroy and Rockhampton.

Contact tracing is under way for all new cases.

Updated

Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy did advise that mass gatherings be cancelled

Political editor Katharine Murphy has confirmed that the chief medical officer Brendan Murphy has advised a meeting of chief medical officers that mass public gatherings of 500 people or more should be cancelled.

We don’t have word yet on whether federal and state governments have adopted the advice yet, and what this would mean for specific contexts such as schools.

More to follow.

There are no plans to cancel the Royal Easter Show at the moment but the situation is fluid, government sources say.

High level government meetings about the public health need to shut down large gatherings like the show, the horse racing and the football season are ongoing.

Held at Sydney’s Olympic Park, the show is a large gathering of people from the country and the city which attracts about 850,000 visitors each year. It is scheduled to run from April 3 to 14 unless the New South Wales government cancels it to stop the spread of the virus

Plan needed for the arts sector if mass gatherings banned

In a statement to press on Friday, shadow arts minister Tony Burke said:

The Government needs a plan for the arts sector and we need to hear what it is – urgently.

Australia’s arts sector was already fragile … due to the Abbott-Turnbull-Morrison Government’s cuts and neglect. Now with live performance ticket sales dropping and the list of cancelled events growing rapidly, the sector could be brought to the brink over coming months.

Industry bodies Live Performance Australia and the Australian Major Performing Arts Group both echoed Burke’s call for an urgent response to the industry, after cancellation announcements were made by Download festival and Dark Mofo, as well as major tours from Miley Cyrus and Pixies, and a variety of smaller arts events.

Here’s LPA chief executive Evelyn Richardson:

We’re already seeing cancellation of events and touring programs across the country. We expect this to get worse with industry losing hundreds of millions of dollars and thousands of jobs.

The live performance industry, valued at $2.5bn according to LPA, has a high casual employment rate — and no show means no income. LPA suggested a “targeted relief package” that would give workers access to social security payments in the event of a sector shutdown, with waived waiting periods and subsidised wages.

Richardson said:

The impact of any forced closures will be huge and it’s critical the government acts now to ensure companies survive and people stay employed. There are companies that will not have the balance sheet strength to withstand the combined impacts of box office failure and contract obligations, and some larger event cancellations may cause irreparable damage.

Updated

ANZ cuts small business loan rates, in line with big four

ANZ has fallen into line with the other big four banks, cutting its small business loan rates by 0.25% to help customers smashed by the coronavirus outbreak.

The bank, and the other big four, are also offering to waive fees charged to business customers and allow them to suspend loan repayments until the crisis is over.

Westpac was first to move on business loans after the Reserve Bank cut official rates last week, announcing it was reducing its rate by 0.25% within minutes of the central bank’s announcement.

Meanwhile, the stock exchange continued to fall on Friday in frantic trading.

The benchmark ASX200 index plunged as far as 8% at about 12.30pm.

At about 1.40pm it had recovered slightly but was still down 6.6% for the day.

Updated

Gatherings of more than 500 people should be cancelled, says chief medical officer

All gatherings of more than 500 people across Australia should be cancelled immediately to halt the spread of coronavirus, the country’s chief medical officer has told the prime minister and state premiers.

Government leaders met in Parramatta on Friday for a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting, where Professor Brendan Murphy told them urgent social distancing measures were necessary to slow the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sources have confirmed to the Guardian the advice .

The advice would appear to mandate the closure sporting events, festivals, and concerts.

It’s unclear if closures will be ordered - state and federal governments have the authority to order events closed on public health grounds - or merely recommended.

The Guardian has contacted government authorities seeking their response.

Updated

Queensland chief health officer says 25% of population could get Covid-19

The Queensland chief health officer, Dr Jeanette Young, said she is preparing for a worst case scenario in which up to 25% of the Queensland population get the coronavirus.

Young said:

We’re preparing for up to 25% of the Queensland population getting this infection in the next six months. Now 80% of those will get a very mild disease. They will possibly hardly know that they have it. That’s a problem, because they can spread it ...

Then there’s 20% who will do worse. And they are the numbers that we are preparing for in our hospital system to make sure that we can give them the care that they need.

Queensland recorded its first two cases outside of south-east Queensland today. One case has been confirmed in Rockhampton and one in Kingaroy.

It recorded eight new confirmed cases overnight — the biggest one day jump since the outbreak began.

Updated

A-League and W-League matches will go ahead without restrictions

The Football Federation of Australia has confirmed that A-League and W-League matches will go ahead as normal this weekend, bucking the trend for other sporting events, like the Australia v New Zealand ODI, which is playing to an empty stadium tonight.

From the FFA:

In relation to the leagues, FFA can advise that this weekend’s round 23 matches for the A-League and the semi-finals of the W-League will all proceed as scheduled. However, in consultation with clubs, we will have agreed mitigation protocols to be in place for all matches.

At this stage there remains no restrictions around football events, however we are conscious to ensure a safe working environment for our players, match officials, staff and volunteers. Additionally, we are also working with stadia to optimise sanitation protocols for fans to ensure their safety.

Updated

Victoria reports first case of community transmission

We are still after full details from the Victorian department of health and human services, but the Victorian health minister, Jenny Mikakos, confirmed this earlier.

Yesterday, she suggested the policy on allowing major events may change once community transmission — that is, an infection of Covid-19 in a person who has no known link to a previously identified case, and who hasn’t recently travelled overseas — occurred in Victoria.

The number of confirmed cases in Victoria has jumped by nine to 36. Yesterday’s total was 27 cases, an increase of six on the day before.

Updated

An update on Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson in Queensland

They are in isolation on the Gold Coast after testing positive to Covid-19 while in Australia for pre-production on an Elvis biopic.

In a statement on social media, Wilson says they are taking things “one day at a time”.

There are things we can all do to get through this by following the advice of experts and taking care of ourselves and each other, no?

The Queensland health minister, Steven Miles, said earlier that Queensland was the best place in the world to have Covid-19. Someone ask the Hanx if they agree.

In devastating news for the Western Australian coastal city of Mandurah, Crabfest, an annual festival centred around the catching and eating of blue manna crabs, has reportedly been cancelled.

It’s the biggest event on Mandurah’s calendar. According to organisers about 100,000 people attend over the weekend, making it the biggest regional festival in WA.

A reminder that we are running a separate live blog with global news on the coronavirus, including the recent news that Justin Trudeau’s wife Sofie has tested positive for Covid-19.

You can follow our global coverage here:

Updated

A quick recap on the Australian sporting events cancelled or closed to spectators due to Covid-19

NRL – not cancelled*

AFL – not cancelled*

A-League and W-League – not cancelled

Netball – off season

Cricket – closed to fans

Tennis – postponed

Cycling – not cancelled*

Swimming – not cancelled*

*The governing bodies of these sports have said they are monitoring the situation and may move to postpone or cancel events, depending on medical advice.

You can read more details from Guardian Australia sport editor Mike Hytner, here.

Updated

The Australian sumbarine maintenance facility ASC has closed part of one of its operations after a worker tested positive for coronavirus, the ABC has reported.

The facility at Osborne, South Australia, performs maintenance on the Collins Class submarines aka the spaceships of the ocean.

ASC has reportedly closed the building that the person worked in to have it professionally cleaned. All employees who had direct contact with the worker are now in home isolation.

South Australia’s official tally for confirmed cases of Covid-19 is 12.

Disability royal commission Tasmanian forums postponed

The royal commission into violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation of people with disability has postponed planned community forums in Tasmania due to concerns about Covid-19.

The commission was scheduled to visit Burnie and Launceston next week, but chairman Ronald Sackville QC said that he had decided to postpone that visit in the interest of community health and particularly the health of people with disability who may be more vulnerable.

He said:

We apologise for any inconvenience, however we consider this to be a necessary and appropriate step, given the number of confirmed cases in Australia continues to rise.

We want to assure all those who have registered for the forums in Tasmania, and the wider community, that there will be many other opportunities for people to tell the royal commission about their experiences of violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation.

People can make a submission in any format – by phone, or in writing, or an audio or video recording. Details on how are on the commission’s website.

Sackville said a public hearing scheduled for Brisbane on 24 to 27 March had not yet been postponed, but a decision may be made closer to the date.

Updated

In the Northern Territory, the Tiwi Islands Football Grand Final and art sale is set to go ahead on Sunday.

The event usually draws thousands of people from across Australia, and is one of the only days where visitors to the Indigenous community do not require a permit.

Indigenous Australians are listed by the federal government as one of the most at-risk groups from Covid-19. The NT has one identified case, a 52-year-old tourist who remains in quarantine.

AFLNT has urged people travelling to the islands to practise good hygiene and follow government advice.

NT deputy chief health officer Dianne Stephens has advised people who are unwell not to attend public events, or to visit remote communities.

She said:

We’re asking people to reconsider their travel out to remote communities, particularly if they’ve travelled overseas to countries at high or medium risk of having this virus. We’re asking people who are unwell definitely not to travel out to remote communities.

The federal government has set up a national Indigenous advisory group to fast track an emergency response plan for Aboriginal communities.

Updated

Flight Centre to close 100 stores in Australia

From AAP:

Travel agency Flight Centre will close up to 100 stores and has scrapped its earnings guidance due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The company said on Friday that the stores will close before 30 June, and sales staff will transfer to other stores, as part of moves to slash costs.

Flight Centre brands include Escape Travel and Student Flights.

Managing director Graham Turner said reducing costs was a priority in an uncertain environment.

He reported significant softening in bookings, which he expected to continue into April at least.

Management told the share market that while early trends had been in line with expectations, the virus’ spread and travel restrictions made it more difficult to predict the full year impact.

“Given this uncertainty, the company has elected to suspend its revised FY20 guidance,” Flight Centre said.

The guidance on 27 February was full-year profit before tax of $240m to $300m, down from the previous range of $310m to $350m.

Flight Centre directors will also forgo 30% of their fees for the remainder of the financial year.

Some stores will reduce their trading hours, and staff will be encouraged to take leave.

Recruitment will be suspended, and non-essential projects deferred.

Flight Centre shares were down by 17% at $16.26 by 11.48 AEDT and have lost 60% of their value since 20 February amid a wider market sell-off.

Updated

Victorian government may be made to foot the bill for Grand Prix cancellation

A reporter asked Andrew Westacott, the chief executive of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, whether the Victorian government would be made to foot the bill for the cancellation.

Westacott’s answer was quite long, but to summarise: yes.

He said:

A cancellation of this nature has a lot of consequences and some of those are contractual and financial. We will work those through with the commercial rights holder in the days and weeks following this announcement and we will be making sure that appropriate contractual measures are looked after in that manner.

The Victorian government is the main financial supporter of the event, and put $60.2m toward the running of the 2019 event – more than half the total running cost.

Updated

‘We are terribly disappointed’

The heads of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Formula One Group are addressing the media at the Albert Park track, saying they are very disappointed the event had to be cancelled.

Australian Grand Prix Corporation chairman Paul Little said:

To our race fans, I would like to say we are terribly disappointed that the event can’t go ahead. The reasons for that are well-known and I am sure there will be questions about that shortly.From the Australian Grand Prix point of view, I just want to say sorry to the fans and the health and safety and welfare of the teams and people, the community generally, has to take precedence and it will and has and we look forward to hopefully being able to run this event at some later stage. We will just have to wait and see.

Formula One group executive chairman, Chase Carey, said:

I want to add our thought with the individuals that have been infected by this. I want to express our disappointment on behalf of the fans. This is a race we always look forward to. Great fans here. We are sorry not to have it. It has been a very fluid situation. I think we have made the right decisions. We have worked well with our partners.We are all disappointed to not have it but these are challenging times and we have made the decisions we have to make.

Australian stock market dives more than 7% again

The Australian market has dived more than 7% for the second day in a row as coronavirus panic grips traders.

Shortly after 11.30am the benchmark ASX200 index was down more than 7.7%.

Trading remains volatile but so far today the market is plumbing depths not seen since early 2016, wiping out almost three years of gains.

Virgin Australia cabin crew member tested positive to Covid-19

Virgin Australia has announced cuts to its domestic and international flights because of “softening demand” as a result of the coronavirus. It comes as the airline announced one of its cabin crew tested positive to the virus.

Chief executive Paul Scurrah told reporters in Sydney that a member of the Virgin Australia cabin crew has tested positive to Covid-19, after feeling unwell shortly after returning from overseas.

Scurrah said they were working with health authorities and had contacted all passengers “who may possibly be at risk”. But he would not confirm the flight number, or even the route, saying it was “a matter of privacy”.

He said:

What I can confirm is we have had a cabin crew member who has been diagnosed with coronavirus. She was recently overseas. She is in isolation right now. We have followed all the protocols of the local health authorities.

Scurrah said the airline was trying to make it “as safe as it possibly can be to fly”.

We have the highest possible cleanliness standards and we are assessing that every day. We clean our planes every single day. We have the filters on the planes that have hospital-grade air and our planes are cleaned every 24 hours and our cabin crew take every precaution during the flight to make sure our customers are safe.

He said that 88% of the flights conducted by Virgin Australia are domestic flights and they were “well positioned to weather the storm”.

Scurrah said the cuts to the airline’s capacity affect its domestic flights to all parts of Australia, as well as flights to New Zealand. Its service to Japan has been reduced from seven flights a week down to three, and the Sydney to LA flight has been cut from seven flights a week to five.

They are all in response to softening demand and it is a fluid situation.

Updated

We are hearing from entertainment industry sources that the New South Wales government will make an announcement about mass gatherings later this afternoon.

Surfing competition sponsored by Corona (the beer) cancelled

The Corona Open Gold Coast – yes, that is really its name, it is a surfing competition sponsored by the beer brand – has been cancelled.

The event is the first in the 2020 World Surf League Championship Tour, and was scheduled to run from 26 March to 5 April.

Updated

Nine Australians visiting Aspen, Colorado have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to reports from the US, while another three have refused to undergo testing.

All are under mandatory isolation orders, according to Pitkin County’s public health director Karen Koenemann.

The Denver Post reported the group of 12 Australians had all been in contact with another Australian who tested positive for Covid-19.

The nine people who tested positive were six men and three women, all aged in their 50s, 60s or 70s, except for one woman in her 20s.

Koenemann said three of the group were exhibiting symptoms of the disease but had refused to be tested.

“They did not give reasons why they didn’t want to be tested,” Koenemann said in a conference call with reporters, stressing that they have adhered to the mandatory isolation order issued by the Colorado department of public health and environment.

“They’re sick and away from home,” Koenemann said. “It’s a little stressful and emotional. We’re trying to take a compassionate approach and make sure they have the medication they need and are taken care of. These are people we care about.”

The Guardian has sought comment from Pitkin County officials.

While you are securing your home for a period of social distancing or home isolation behind a wall of toilet paper, spare a thought for those who do not have the option of a safe place to hibernate.

Homeless advocacy organisations have called for more temporary housing to be made available in preparation for widespread community transmission of Covid-19.

Here’s Kate Colvin, from Victoria’s Council to Homeless Person’s:

People with pre-existing health conditions and the elderly who contract Covid-19 are particularly vulnerable to experiencing severe symptoms. People who are experiencing homelessness are more likely to have poor health due to exposure to extreme heat and cold and living in substandard accommodation, which is poorly ventilated or damp.

Having limited finances also makes it hard for people to access healthcare and medication to manage chronic underlying illnesses.

Read Jack Banister’s full report on this issue, here:

Updated

Tasmania has recorded its fourth case of Covid-19

The Tasmanian director of public health, Dr Mark Veitch, released this statement a short time ago.

The fourth case is a woman in her 40s, who is currently in isolation in accomodation provided by the University of Tasmania in Launceston. She is a university student – it’s not clear if she is the person who visited the university’s Morris Miller library in Sandy Bay on Monday, 9 March.

The university issued an alert about that to staff and students yesterday.

Updated

Australian stock market claws back early losses

Close to the end of the first hour of trading, the Australian market has clawed back some of its early losses.

Shortly after opening the benchmark ASX200 was down almost 7% from yesterday’s close, but around 10.50am it had recovered slightly to be down 5.3%.

But trading remains volatile, with prices swinging rapidly.

The biggest loser this morning is Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, which owns shopping centres across Europe and the US and has crashed about 15%.

It was formed by the sale of the Lowy family controlled Westfield empire to French group Unibail-Rodamco in 2018.

Updated

Back on the grand prix again, and the Australian Grand Prix Corporation released the following statement (as a twitter thread, for reasons) shortly after 10am.

I’ll transcribe it for you.

It reads:

At 9am today the Australian Grand Prix Corporation was advised by Formula 1 of their intention to cancel all Formula 1 activity at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix.

In light of this decision and updated advice this morning from the Chief Health Officer of the Victorian Government’s Department of Human and Health Services, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation confirms the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix is cancelled immediately.

Last night a member of the McLaren Racing team tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. A further seven individuals returned negative results, confirming that they do not have the COVID-19 virus.

Additionally, a ninth individual has been assessed and tested for the COVID-19 virus, with the results of this test pending. This individual is not associated with any Formula 1 team, the FIA or associated suppliers.

Our first priority is the safety of everyone including attendees, our personnel, all event partners and members of the local community.

Further information regarding refunds for ticket holders will be communicated in due course.

It’s worth noting that Australia’s chief medical officer has said that negative tests only have “value” if the person is symptomatic. We know at least some of those who tested negative had cold and flu symptoms.

Updated

Empty stadium cricket about providing a ‘safe workplace’

Cricket Australia CEO Keith Roberts is addressing the media and reporters, about its decision to hold its three-match ODI series with New Zealand to an empty stadium. He says it’s a matter of both public safety and providing a safe workplace for players.

It comes after a person in the 80,000 strong crowd of the Women’s T20 World Cup final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last weekend later tested positive to Covid-19.

Everyone who bought a ticket will be able to request a refund.

Roberts said:

We think it would have been excessive to cancel the matches. Had we gone ahead as planned we think that that would have been a failure to learn from what we experienced last Sunday. So we are confident that in a situation that’s not ideal that we have made a well-balanced decision.

He said there was “some apprehension” from the players about playing in front of large crowds, and suggested that playing to empty stadiums was the cricketing equivalent of letting employees work from home.

The safety of our players is paramount. We’ve offered all our people the opportunity to work from places where they feel most safe, like most employers have around Australia and no doubt other parts of the world and it was only right that we afforded the same flexibility to our players and worked through that with them.

...They are feeling safe by virtue of the fact that they will be playing in an unusual situation of empty stadium, but [in] a situation that enables them to go about their business in the field and inspire Australians with the bat and ball this afternoon.

Players have been told not to shake hands on the field. Roberts said the decision only applied to the ODI series to be played over the next nine days, and that Cricket Australia would make decisions about future matches based on the information available at the time. He said he did not think that allowing the crowd to attend last Sunday’s women’s final was the wrong decision, based on the information available then.

The women’s tour with South Africa has been suspended.

Updated

Here is our full report, from F1 reporter Giles Richards, on the Australian Grand Prix being cancelled.

This was the scene outside the gates at Albert Park just a short while ago. Fans read the news that the event had been cancelled on social media before being notified by ground crew, who were earlier using a megaphone to tell the crowd the opening had just been delayed.

Fans waiting outside the circuit read the news that the race has been cancelled before practice for the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit.
Fans waiting outside the circuit read the news that the race has been cancelled before practice for the F1 Grand Prix of Australia at Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit. Photograph: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

I hope this little kid isn’t too devastated.

Fans queue up outside the gates prior to the first practice session for the Formula One Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne.
Fans queue up outside the gates prior to the first practice session for the Formula One Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. Photograph: William West/AFP via Getty Images

‘Might have to go to the pub’

Let’s go back to the Australian Grand Prix now. Organisers confirmed just a few minutes ago – 90 min after the gates were set to open, with spectators queued up waiting to go in – that the race has been cancelled.

Victorian premier Daniel Andrews said earlier that on the advice of the state’s chief health officer, they will not allow any spectators to attend but it’s up to the organisers if they want to run the race with no spectators. This is on the back of one of the team members of McLaren testing positive for Covid-19, prompting the entire McLaren team to pull out of the race.

On ABC News Breakfast, presenter Georgie Tunny has just broken the news of the cancellation to a gentleman named Luke.

Luke is responding like an Australian:

Pretty annoyed. Have been waiting around for an hour or 1.5 hours and had no news. Was looking forward to the day but might have to go to the pub.

More than 1,000 hospitality staff work at the event – it’s a significant period of work for many, with long hours and function rates.

However, I understand some staff didn’t turn up for their shifts yesterday after news that team members were being tested first broke, and attendance in the corporate marquees was down almost 50% on last year. Some major brands pulled their annual trackside corporate functions before the event began yesterday.

Updated

Australian market falls almost 7% on open

The Australian market has tumbled almost 7% on open, setting it up for a second day running of heavy losses due to the coronavirus crisis.

Blue chip stocks tumbled as they began trading shortly after 10am, with shares in big miners BHP and Rio, both of which fell overnight in London, where they are also listed, tumbling 6.8% and 4.55% respectively.

Australia’s biggest bank, CBA, fell 4.33% while rival ANZ was down 7.17% and NAB, which cancelled a capital raising last night due to the volatile market, plunged 8.11%.

The Australian Grand Prix has been cancelled

Here is the joint statement from FIA, Formula 1 and Australian Grand Prix Corporation:

Following the confirmation that a member of the McLaren Racing Team has tested positive for COVID-19 and the team’s decision to withdraw from the Australian Grand Prix, the FIA and Formula 1 convened a meeting of the other nine team principals on Thursday evening. Those discussions concluded with a majority view of the teams that the race should not go ahead. The FIA and Formula 1, with the full support of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation (AGPC) have therefore taken the decision that all Formula 1 activity for the Australian Grand Prix is cancelled.

We appreciate this is very disappointing news for the thousands of fans due to attend the race and all ticket holders will receive a full refund and a further announcement will be communicated in due course.

All parties took into consideration the huge efforts of the AGPC, Motorsport Australia, staff and volunteers to stage the opening round of the 2020 FIA Formula One World Championship in Melbourne, however concluded that the safety of all members of the Formula 1 family and the wider community, as well as the fairness of the competition take priority.

The Australian markets opened at 10am. It will take about 20 minutes for us to see how its reacting. Senior business reporter Ben Butler will give us an update as soon as possible.

Download festival cancelled

The Download Australia festival, which was scheduled to run in Melbourne on 20 March, Sydney on 21 March, has been cancelled because My Chemical Romance pulled out as headliners.

That’s the note we put in the blog earlier. In a statement on Friday, the festival said:

Given that this announcement has come barely 7 days prior to Download Australia we will not be able to secure an alternative headliner as there is insufficient time to secure visas and arrange the other relevant logistics that are required prior to the festival.

As we are unable to deliver a complete line-up to meet the standard that Download fans both expect and deserve, we have very reluctantly made the decision to cancel Download Australia 2020.

Anthony Albanese has suggested bringing parliament forward a week to pass the stimulus package – but I think the idea is unlikely to be taken up by the Morrison government.

Apparently, the limiting factor on stimulus getting out the door is not when legislation is passed but that Services Australia and other government departments can’t deliver it any sooner than 31 March.

If that’s correct, having legislation in place a week earlier would have little practical effect and the sitting week from 23-26 March will be plenty of time.

Updated

Parliament should be recalled next week to pass stimulus package: Albanese

Speaking to the media in Brisbane a short time ago, Anthony Albanese has accused the government of being “too slow” in putting out public information on coronavirus.

Apparently a public information campaign will start this weekend, but Albanese noted the controversial social media material about the bushfire response went out much quicker.

Albanese said:

They need to do better, the public need clear information based upon the expert medical advice. There is no doubt that major events that are held have serious implications in a health environment like this ... Organisers of major events need to seek urgent medical advice on the best way of protecting the community, including whether the event should be postponed or made spectator-free. But it’s also urgent that the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, made up of commonwealth and state chief medical officers, provide the latest information and advice to all Australians. This is absolutely critical.

Albanese wants parliament recalled for next week – not the week after, when it is scheduled – to get the fiscal stimulus moving quicker, and has written to the prime minister.

Albanese confirms Labor wants more support for self-isolation:

We want to examine measures such as issues regarding the casual workforce and whether further measures can be given to provide support there and for low-income earners.

Updated

Australian market set to fall when it opens at 10am

The Australian market is set to fall more than 7% for the second day running, futures market data predicts.

Futures trades indicate the benchmark ASX200 index could open 7.2% down from yesterday’s close after markets tumbled overseas overnight.

The US Dow Jones index crashed 10% while the two other main American indexes, the S&P500 and the Nasdaq, were down about 9.5%

Coronavirus chaos has already returned the Aussie market to levels last seen in late 2016.

While we’re talking major events, the band My Chemical Romance has postponed its Australian and New Zealand tours.

I am hearing conflicting reports on whether the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Formula One have decided to go ahead with the race. I understand race teams were split on the issue this morning.

Former British racing driver Damon Hill just tweeted this:

We are yet to see a statement from Formula One or the Australian Grand Prix Corporation. Rumours are swirling on the ground. Meanwhile, hospitality staff – who were told to come in this morning – are clearing up the rooms.

Updated

On another note:

Goes without saying: don’t go if you are sick or have any symptoms of viral respiratory infection. Anangu have an elderly population with a lot of underlying chronic health conditions, you don’t want to bring an infection to them.

Updated

So what does this mean for the footy?

Let’s go back to what Daniel Andrews said earlier about the impact on other mass gathering events, like the football.

He said there had been ongoing discussions with the chief executive of the Australian Football League, Gil McLauchlan, about what concerns about community transmission from the coronavirus mean for the AFL.

The season is set to open on Thursday with Richmond v Carlton at the Melbourne Cricket Ground — a game that would usually attract a crowd of at least 80,000 people.

Said Andrews:

I know it is frustrating not to be able to tell you whether there will be footy next week.

I’m not in a position toto that. I have been clear all week this would be disruptive. We will be asking of Victorians and, indeed,Australians things they have never been asked before. That is very frustrating.

You have got to be guided by the advice and nature of the pandemic as the advice changes rapidly.

Andrews said he would not speculate but would tell Victorians if and when the health advice – which does not at this stage call for a generalised ban on mass gathering events – had changed.

He said:

The facts are these – I cannot tell you whether there will be footy played next week. That will depend on advice, just as advice changed overnight because of developments at the Grand Prix and around the world.

I understand has is deeply frustrating. There is going to be a lot of disruption, a lot of inconvenience. These are difficult times. This is a serious set of circumstances.

If we don’t do everything we can to reduce the number of people who get the virus, then we will only add to the number of people, particularly vulnerable people, who finish up gravely ill. In other words, if we don’t take all necessary steps, more people will die. That is not something that any of us should settle for.

Updated

Formula One governing body remains quiet on grand prix confusion

Information of any kind from F1, or the sport’s governing body the FIA remains unforthcoming as confusion reigns surrounding the fate of the Australian Grand Prix.

Organisers insist it is going ahead despite widespread belief that it has already been cancelled. Some team personnel have now arrived in the paddock but what they will do upon arrival is unclear. Pack up or crack on?

They have been told, it is understood, to treat it as a normal day when it is clearly anything but. Reports state that Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen have already flown home but while rumour and counter rumour spread bafflingly, the silence from F1 and the FIA is deafening.

Updated

Australian prime minister Scott Morrison is addressing the Council of Australian Governments meeting in Sydney this morning. He says the key focus will be the national response to the coronavirus.

He echoes US president Donald Trump’s allusion to it being an imported disease.

As we come together, as the Council of Australian Governments we come together in one purpose and very united in dealing with the very serious national challenge we have in dealing with the effects of the coronavirus here in Australia.

This is obviously a virus that started somewhere else, but has certainly having – gone to more than well over 100 countries now – [is] obviously having an impact here in Australia.

Updated

Australia v New Zealand cricket to be held behind closed doors

We will go back to what Daniel Andrews said shortly but first — the cricket will be held behind closed doors tonight.

Here’s the statement from Cricket Australia:

Australia’s three-match men’s ODI series with New Zealand will be played behind closed doors, Cricket Australia announced today, while the World Cup-winning women’s side’s South Africa tour has been suspended.

Australia and New Zealand’s men will now play two matches in an empty Sydney Cricket Ground on Friday and Sunday, with a third match scheduled for next Friday at Hobart’s Blundstone Arena.

The matches will still be broadcast live on Fox Sports and Kayo, while ABC and Macquarie will have the radio calls, but only accredited media and broadcast personnel will be admitted into the venues.

All fans who purchased tickets are eligible for a full refund. And while media and broadcasters will be allowed access, a precautionary perimeter between them and the players and team staff will be enforced.

CA has also confirmed the planned six-game tour of South Africa by the Australian women’s team has been suspended until further notice.

Updated

Daniel Andrews says it will be a matter for the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Formula One if it wants to allow the race to go ahead, but the advice from Victoria’s chief health officer is that spectators should not be allowed to attend.

And he said he cannot say whether the AFL – which starts its season on Thursday – will go ahead.

Andrews said:

The chief health officer updated his advice. That’s been communicated to grand prix organisers. Now they are making the choice between no event or an event without fans. But at the very least, there will be no fans at the grand prix this weekend.

Gates at Albert Park were due to open at 8.45am but spectators were not allowed in.

Updated

No spectators to be allowed at Australian Grand Prix

Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, has said that if the race goes ahead, spectators will not be allowed in.

He is speaking in Sydney now.

Updated

Meanwhile, Scott Morrison has been doorstopped on the way into a meeting with state and territory leaders.

He backed the F1 organisers to make their own call on the Grand Prix:

Each of these organisations will make their own decisions about these events and the states themselves will act on the best medical advice in relation to these issues but I’m looking forward to the game tomorrow afternoon.

He also confirmed that at this stage Australia will not be following the US lead in imposing a travel ban on Europe, citing expert advice from the chief medical officers. He referred the question of a European travel ban to the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee after Donald Trump’s announcement yesterday.

Morrison said:

I am focused on what is needed in Australia, the health of Australians, the jobs of Australian, Australian businesses and ensuring that we all work together, state and territory leaders, together with the commonwealth, to look after Australian, to look after our economy. We will get through this together, Australia, and today is another important opportunity for us to focus on that task.

Updated

Labor’s shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers has promised that Labor will be constructive and support the stimulus package, but one aspect it wants to go further is the support for casual workers who need leave or payments to self-isolate.

Chalmers told Radio National:

What we want to do is make sure that any changes to this sickness allowance don’t act as a further deterrent from people staying home if they’re unwell. That people won’t be incentivised to sign up to social security, to get into the system.

We’re also worried that getting $40 a day, which is what the payment is, may be much less than what people are earning, so that’s another disincentive. We need to look at the main objective here ... to keep people here if they’re unwell. If they do the right thing by their coworkers, we want to do the right thing by them. We don’t want them to have to choose between doing the right thing by their colleagues and being able to feed themselves and live.

Chalmers said there “might be better ways” than using the sickness allowance and social security system to support workers who need to take leave.

For example, the Australian Council of Trade Unions and the Greens have called for paid sick leave for all, including casuals. Let’s see if Labor adopts that idea.

Updated

There are conflicting reports about whether the Australian Grand Prix will go ahead in Melbourne this weekend.

Spectators remain queued outside the gates at Albert Park, which were scheduled to open at 8.45am, while a crisis meeting takes place.

Hospitality staff working the event were also told to come into work as usual this morning and “disregard” media reports.

The race, always controversial (over cost to the Victorian taxpayers, inflated crowd numbers and the months-long impact on the park) has attracted particular ire this year, with health experts arguing that holding a large-scale public event as the coronavirus peak approaches is irresponsible.

McLaren Racing has withdrawn from the race after a team member tested positive. Seven other F1 team members tested negative. The reigning world champion Lewis Hamilton said he was “shocked” the race was still going ahead. In a withering assessment of why, he said: “Cash is king.”

Bill Bowtell, adjunct professor at the Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity at the UNSW, said Australia needed to “take every possible measure to slow the spread of this coronavirus in NSW and Australia”.

“We are not doing that,” he told ABC radio. “We are not taking every possible measure. We have got to do a lot better.”

Bowtell said comparable countries in Asia had done much more to enforce social distancing, and educate their communites about public health measures to slow the spread of the disease.

Australia, by contrast, had failed to appreciate the “fierce urgency of now”, Bowtell said. Countries who were slow to react are being overwhelmed.

“We have got to get real. We have not approached this with the seriousness it deserves. It is not serious to have the Grand Prix going ahead in Melbourne.”

The BBC has reported the race will be cancelled. But Channel Nine says it has been told by the race’s chairman that the race is proceeding.

Signs at the track read: “Hi all, confirming, today’s Australian Grand Prix track activity will proceed as planned. Please sign in and report to the muster tent for briefing at 07:50.”

Updated

The coronavirus pandemic continues to spread across the world.

There are more than 130,000 cases globally, with more than 4,700 deaths.

The vast majority of cases are in China but there the spread of the virus has been slowed. In Italy, where the health system has been overwhelmed, the death toll has passed 1,000.

Markets have crashed: London’s FTSE 100 and Wall Street’s Dow Jones both suffered their worst trading days since Black Monday in 1987.

The US has imposed a ban on travel from Europe for a month.

In Australia there are growing calls from doctors and public health experts for social distancing to be enforced, with schools, universities and some workplaces closed, and major events shut down to slow the spread of the virus.

The prime minister insists he is going to watch his beloved Sharks (the Cronulla rugby league team) at the weekend but there are conflicting reports about whether Formula One’s Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne will go ahead.

Updated

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