We’ll leave our live coverage there for the day. This is how thing stand:
- South Australians will be allowed out of their homes at midnight tomorrow, three days early, after the person whose case triggered the SA government’s response was found to have lied to contact tracers.
- The person said they tested positive after picking up a pizza from Woodville Pizza Bar, the same business where a security guard from one of the hotel quarantine facilities worked part time. In fact, they had worked two shifts at the business in the days before testing positive.
- SA premier Steven Marshall says the swift hard lockdown was still the right thing to do given the information at the time, saying “to suggest that we owe the community an apology would be suggesting that we did something wrong”.
- People in SA were allowed out of their homes to exercise from midday local time today. From midnight on Saturday, social distancing restrictions around mass gatherings and gathering indoors will apply — but they are much more lenient than those anticipated when the six-day lockdown was announced on Wednesday.
- South Australia recorded three new cases in the Parafield cluster, all in close contacts who were already in quarantine.
- The Northern Territory will remove its border restrictions with South Australia from 9am tomorrow. Travellers from Adelaide will no longer be required to quarantine and those currently in quarantine will be released, but they are asked to get a Covid-19 test before travelling.
- Victoria recorded its 21st day with no new cases of Covid-19, but did record one “weak positive” which authorities say is suspected to be an old infection.
- International flights will land in Melbourne again from December 7, when the state’s hotel quarantine system will be back up. The Victorian government has requested an initial cap of 160 passengers per day.
- NSW recorded no new locally-acquired cases of Covid-19, for the 13th day in a row. Western Australia recorded two new cases in hotel quarantine.
- The federal government has released a 648-page report which paves the way for scrapping the (already legislated) increase of the superannuation guarantee. It’s scheduled to increase from 9.5% to 12% in 2025.
- Independent senator Rex Patrick has called for charges against David McBride, the ADF whistleblower who leaked allegations about unlawful killings of Afghanistan citizens, to be thrown out, calling McBride “a hero”.
- Human rights organisations in Afghanistan have expressed their “shock and anger” over a report that Australian special forces soldiers were allegedly involved in the killings of 39 Afghan civilians, outside of combat settings.
- And prime minister Scott Morrison is walking back his plan to use carryover credits to meet Australia’s emissions reductions targets, saying he’s “confident our policies will get this job done”.
As always, you can follow our rolling coverage of the global coronavirus crisis here. Take care, and we’ll see you in the morning.
A little bit more detail on the Northern Territory — South Australian border, which will return to normal from 9am tomorrow.
Greater Adelaide is currently declared a coronavirus hotspot by the NT government, which means travellers who have been there in the past 14 days have to quarantine upon arrival in the territory.
From 9am tomorrow the hotspot declaration will lift, so quarantine will not be required and people from Adelaide in quarantine in the NT will be released. But the NT chief health officer, Dr Hugh Heggie, has asked people from SA to get a covid test before travelling to the NT, and not to travel if they are unwell.
He said:
I am confident in revoking Greater Adelaide as a hotspot from tomorrow. Upon review of the data and a detailed risk assessment, I am assured there is minimal risk to the Northern Territory.
Revoking Greater Adelaide as a hotspot is in line with the actions currently being taken in South Australia to ease some restrictions immediately and lift further restrictions by tomorrow night.
The decision to go hard and wide early and declare all of South Australia a hotspot was the right one to make to protect the health of Territorians.
Parliamentary inquiry into the family court didn't consider a letter from the chief justice
A letter from the chief justice of the family court, who previously noted a lack of consultation and opposition among fellow judges to a major reform of his jurisdiction, was not considered by a senate committee ahead of its decision to recommend the overhaul.
The federal government proposed a merger of the family and federal circuit courts in 2018, amid long-held concerns about the backlog of family law cases. There has been widespread opposition to the changes, as they could effectively abolish the family court.
Chief Justice William Alstergren, who is also chief judge of the federal circuit court, wrote to the committee on 12 November. Senior members of the courts who were not judges had given evidence to the committee about a week earlier about the benefits the reforms could have.
But Alstergren’s letter, which has not been made public, was not provided to the committee until today — the same date the committee’s report was due — meaning it could not be considered.
The only details published about the letter were contained in questions on notice to the court released to Greens senator Lidia Thorpe. The court’s answers noted that the letter relied upon a previous submission made in 2018. It reads:
Ordinarily, major reform to the structure of courts and important law reform is the subject of significant consultation, including with judges, prior to the introduction of legislation to Parliament.
A majority of judges support the continuation of the current Court as a superior court of record hearing the most complex family law cases.
The Senate committee recommended the bill regarding the reforms be passed. But half the committee’s members wrote dissenting opinions.
The Labor senators dissension noted concern that Alstergren’s letter and other questions on notice were not considered. Thorpe also dissented.
The committee said the government should strongly consider including in the bill a requirement that a minimum of 25 judges be appointed to the higher tier of the new court.
It noted that further reform could be considered after the bill is passed. The government is yet to respond to a Australian Law Reform Commission report into the sector that was published in 2018, and a joint select committee on Australia’s family law system, which was established after lobbying by Senator Pauline Hanson on behalf of men’s rights groups, is due to report in February.
The Victorian department of health and human services have issued a bit more information about that “weak positive” test result, which was the reason for the delayed release of Victoria’s numbers today. We’re on day 21 of zero new cases.
Late yesterday DHHS was notified of a weak positive test result for a woman in her 80s. The case was detected as part of pre-surgical screening.
This case has no identified links to known coronavirus cases and is not symptomatic.
This result is most likely a false positive or reflects a historic infection. Two further tests taken today on this case have returned negative results. The case is being reviewed by the expert review panel tonight..
Precautionary public health actions are in place, including isolation of the case, quarantining and testing of primary close contacts and secondary close contact tracing. These actions will be reviewed following the panel assessment.
An additional weak positive result was received for a recently cleared case who had undertaken hotel quarantine in South Australia. This historic case is not notifiable as the result is consistent with shedding from their recent infection.
A shorter explanation of the SA situation:
It’s almost like insecure work has big implications for the health of our society
— Ben Eltham (@beneltham) November 20, 2020
The president of the Australian Medical Association, Dr Omar Khorshid, has called for the head of the commonwealth’s chief advisory committee on infection control to “retract her distressing comments” blaming a lack of interest and effort from doctors for poor infection control practices.
Prof Lyn Gilbert, chair of the Infection Control Expert Group, made the comments to The Australian in response to accusations that inadequate guidelines from her committee, particularly around the use of personal protective equipment, had contributed to hundreds of healthcare workers in Victoria catching the virus.
This committee consists of some of the most experienced experts in infection control and infectious disease in the country. Some people who have most strongly criticised us have been doctors who until recently had little interest in routine infection control designed to protect patients. They are quite rightly concerned when they feel themselves to be at risk, but a lot of people who’ve never been experts have suddenly become experts.
Even if the guidance had been wrong, there are lots of reasons why healthcare workers have become infected not related to the guidance … Unfortunately, there’s been an attitude amongst hospital administrators, in the past, that infection control is something that can be managed by appointing a few infection control professionals. But they don’t put a lot of effort in to actually making sure that healthcare workers observe infection control measures
Khorshid, on twitter, said that doctors and nurses should be supported, “no tbe made scapegoats”.
Front-line hospital staff put themselves at risk of COVID-19 every day. Prof Gilbert must retract distressing comments, support efforts to improve workplace infection control guidance. Doctors, nurses need support, not to be made scapegoats #medtwitter https://t.co/Bi8oyRvp18
— AMA President (@amapresident) November 20, 2020
If you’re still confused about what happened in South Australia, Josh Taylor has stepped it out in this report. He writes:
The state’s premier, Steven Marshall, made the admission after contact tracers further investigated a male with Covid-19 who claimed to have only picked up a pizza from the Woodville Pizza Bar.
A security guard who tested positive from the Peppers medi-hotel for returned travellers had a second job at the restaurant, and because the person claimed to have just been a customer, health authorities feared a wide range of people may have been exposed to Covid-19 through casual transmission at the pizza bar.
After determining the person had in fact worked at the bar a number of times and was not simply a customer, he was deemed a close contact of the security guard who also worked there.
Being a close contact of another positive case is more closed chain of transmission than catching the virus simply by going to pick up a pizza — which dozens and dozens of people would have done.
Read the full story:
To Tasmania now, where a Hobart man in possession of enough fake luxury watches to keep Australia Post in bonuses for decades has been arrested by the Australian federal police.
More from AAP:
More than a thousand fake luxury watches and pieces of jewellery, a deceptive passport and 4000 steroid tablets have been seized by police from a man’s house in Hobart.
The 49-year-old is facing a string of criminal charges, including making false travel statements, after the Australian Federal Police raid this week.
Agents say the passport was originally genuine and had the man’s photo but used a false name.
It was used to successfully circumvent court orders banning overseas travel, it is alleged.
“Enquiries are ongoing into the nature and purpose of this travel,” the AFP said in a statement.
There was also a small quantity of amphetamine at the house.
The man, who appeared in Hobart Magistrates Court on Thursday, is also facing charges relating to dishonesty and improper use of travel documentation which attract penalties of up to 10 years’ jail.
The former defence secretary of the United States, William Cohen, has the Mission Impossible theme tune as his ringtone. Which is perfect.
He forgot to put his phone on silent before doing a live interview on ABC24.
Former US defence secretary William Cohen forgot to turn his phone on silent before going on @PatsKarvelas's program, and he has the Mission Impossible theme tune as his ringtone. pic.twitter.com/9kzBXxR9em
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) November 20, 2020
Also, his dog made an appearance.
Unexpected star of Afternoon Briefing with @PatsKarvelas That dog on the couch in the background 🤣 pic.twitter.com/kRNRzz1l6t
— Matthew Sigley (@MatthewSigley) November 20, 2020
Five stars all round.
NT to lift border restrictions with SA from tomorrow
The Northern Territory will lift its border restrictions with South Australia at 9am tomorrow.
It will mean every South Australian sent into quarantine in the NT will be let out, after one final Covid-19 test.
NT covid update.
— Rohan Barwick (@rohwick) November 20, 2020
NT aiming to drop SA as a hotspot tomorrow at 9am.. pic.twitter.com/MrpfZsmWzK
The hotspot declaration only applied to Adelaide.
Western Australia has recorded two new cases of Covid-19, both in hotel quarantine.
The people who tested positive are a man and a woman, both in their sixties, who have returned from overseas.
It brings the the number of active cases in WA to 20 — all among people in quarantine — and the total number of cases to 796.
Just 516 people were tested for Covid-19 in WA yesterday.
Free trade and access to vaccines on the APEC agenda this weekend, says PM
Scott Morrison says equitable access to vaccines and free trade will be among his key priorities when the prime minister joins two global summits by videolink over the weekend.
Morrison, who remains in isolation following his trip to Tokyo earlier this week, is due to join the Apec virtual leaders’ meeting tonight and then the G20 virtual summit on Saturday and Sunday.
In a statement, Morrison said he looked forward to both events as they were an “an opportunity to work collaboratively with international partners to set a constructive pathway to recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic”.
Key to this, is a vaccine ensuring equitable access to safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics. We will also discuss enabling trade and open markets through a multilateral trading system, to strengthen supply chains, that will also help Australia’s economic recovery.
Morrison — who last year famously warned against any “any reflex towards a negative globalism” — added:
This year — as we respond to and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s more important than ever to demonstrate our commitment to cooperation and the value of multilateral organisations.
Prof Adrian Esterman, a professor of biostatistics and epidemiology at Adelaide University, has defended the South Australian government’s decision to impose a six-day lockdown despite a key piece of information later turning out to be false.
He told ABC News24:
I think it was a very considered response, given the information they had at the time. I think it was the most sensible thing to do.
He has repeated the point made by public health officials in Victoria, which is that if you penalise people who lie to contact tracers you will end up with even more lies.
If you penalise those people who lie, they’re probably even less likely to tell the truth. So I’m not sure how they’re going to manage that. I know that the commissioner of police said that they were going to re-look at the Public Health Act to see what they could do in terms of potential penalties for people who lie. But it’s a very difficult situation.
Host Patricia Karvelas asked Esterman why one person lying about how they contracted the virus — saying they only went to Woodville Pizza Bar to purchase some pizza, when they in fact worked two shifts at the restaurant — had such a drastic impact on lockdown restrictions.
Esterman said the full details behind the government’s thinking had not been disclosed, but the “most likely” situation is that it caused the government to revise down the perceived risk of infection to people who patronised the pizza bar.
I think the most likely situation is that they first thought that someone had picked this up simply from picking up a pizza. If they could have picked it up, then hundreds of people could have picked it up from anywhere in Adelaide. And that got them really worried. Because, really, you shouldn’t be able to pick up an infection just from picking up a pizza. It would be very unlikely, very low-risk. Then, of course, it turned out it wasn’t someone picking up a pizza, it was someone working intensely on two shifts in the pizza bar. That means there’s no longer that huge risk of widespread transmission. I think that’s why they worked that out.
Hello guys, gals, and non-binary pals. Thank you to Mostafa Rachwani for taking you through the past few hours.
I’ll bring you the news in a moment but first, please look at this very important photo of the Covid-safe pigs in Adelaide’s Rundle Mall.
Updated
And with that, I’ll be handing over the blog for the rest of the afternoon to Calla Wahlquist, thanks for joining me everyone and enjoy your weekend!
The chief executive of Business SA has said the business community may seek compensation for the initiation of the lockdown.
In conversation with the ABC, Martin Haese said that although businesses were welcoming the easing of restrictions, some were questioning why a lockdown was necessary in the first place.
Haese highlighted the cost of the lockdown to businesses, with many hospitality businesses forced to throw out stock.
“[Compensation] has certainly been suggested by a number of members and it is understandable, those in the hospitality sector, who have had to throw out their … a couple of days worth of stock, so they start from scratch again, and there is a real cost to that,” Haese said.
Updated
Police in Byron Bay are warning against schoolies revellers breaching public health orders.
Byron Superintendent Dave Roptell said police were prepared to fine schoolies who breached public health orders by gathering in groups of more than 20 or 30.
The picturesque coastal town is preparing to be swamped by school leavers between now and December, despite no formal schoolies events organised.
Under current restrictions, there cannot be a gathering of more than 20 people at a home, or 30 people outdoors.
Roptell specifically said he does not condone any parties, and singled out doofs for some strange reason.
Updated
The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is pushing for all states and territories to have consistent rules around the collection of people’s information at venues for the purposes of contact tracing.
Each state and territory, if they are requiring businesses to keep records of who has been visiting in the case of a Covid-19 outbreak, has varying rules on what needs to be recorded, how it must be stored, and how long it should be kept for.
The draft guidelines suggest that all that need be collected is a first name (or pseudonym), a phone number, and time and date of attendance.
The records should only be held for 30 days at most, and securely stored by the business, or the third-party provider collecting the records.
The records should only be used for contact tracing, and not for other purposes such as direct marketing, the OAIC has suggested.
Information commissioner Angelene Falk said her office was consulting with health officials and experts across the country on the guidelines.
“We are seeking feedback on the draft guidelines from chief medical officers and chief health officers, health departments, digital check-in providers, businesses and venues, and the community, so we can continue to effectively contain Covid-19 and make the most of the tools at our disposal while protecting privacy,” she said.
A far-right figure has been found guilty of plotting attacks on the Victorians Trades Hall and the Melbourne Anarchist Club.
Phillip Galea, 36, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, after his friends alerted police he was planning to violence against “Muslims and lefties”.
Galea, who was a member of Reclaim Australia and the True Blue Crew, was found guilty of preparing for a terrorist act and making a document likely to facilitate a terrorist act.
Justice Elizabeth Hollingworth said the offences were serious, even though some of his plans were “amateurish”.
“Although you regard yourself as a patriot who holds mainstream views, it’s clear the jury found otherwise.
“You’re not being punished for holding radical rightwing views … you’re being punished for the violent means you contemplated.”
The court heard Galea would speak of wanting to see his victims flee like “burning rats”. He had apparently scoped target sites and researched explosives.
“You clearly regarded Muslims and people on the left wing of politics as sub-humans whose lives have no value,” Hollingworth said.
Updated
Lost amid that extraordinary press conference in South Australia was the announcement that international flights to Victoria will resume on 7 December.
The state government has asked the commonwealth for a short extension to the suspension of international flights landing in Melbourne, from 22 November to 6 December.
The extension will allow the government to put the final touches on its reset hotel quarantine program, premier Daniel Andrews’ office says. The state has requested a cap of 160 incoming passengers each day, but said the cap may be revised over time.
Updated
New Zealand has identified three new cases today, all in returned travellers. Although there were no new cases of community transmission, there are still 40 active cases of the virus in the country.
The three positive cases came from Romania, Dubai and Qatar, and all tested positive during routine testing in hotel quarantine.
The NSW government is chasing payments for hotel quarantine, after it was revealed that less than 10% have paid so far.
The state government began charging $3,000 for hotel quarantine for returning travellers since July, but has begun chasing people up for the payments. Another 10% of returning travellers are on payment plans.
Debt recovery orders have been issued to recoup more than $2 million in outstanding fees.
Apparently from the 43,684 returning travellers who entered hotel quarantine, only 4,156 people have paid.
So, just a quick rundown of the restrictions that will ease in South Australia as of Sunday:
- 1 person per 4 square metres will apply.
- Onsite purchase and consumption of food and beverages- 100 people maximum and no more than 10 people at each table.
- Funerals- 50 people maximum
- Weddings- 150 people maximum and registration of all guests with SA Health
- Religious ceremonies (not including a wedding or funeral)- 100 people maximum
- Private gatherings- 50 people maximum
- Private residence- 10 people per house (unless more than 10 people permanently reside at the residence)
- Gyms will be allowed to reopen
- Personal care workers will need to continue wearing masks
- On Monday, schools will reopen
The South Australian Covid-19 response site also makes a particular point of saying “no dancing”, without any further explanation. It is unclear if this is a general rule (very sad) or just applies to weddings/parties (not quite as sad, but still sad). We will update you as the day goes on.
Former prime minister John Howard has released a statement on the Brereton Inquiry:
As the Prime Minister who committed Australian forces to Afghanistan in 2001, following the terrorist attacks of 11 September, I remain intensely proud of the bravery and professionalism of those forces in the years that followed.
Forty-one members of the Australian Defence Force have died in the Afghanistan conflict. All Australians should be grateful for the service of our forces in what has proved to be a long and difficult engagement.
None of this diminishes the distress that I and so many others feel about the contents of the Brereton Inquiry released yesterday. Its findings are damning of the behaviour of a small group of Special Forces personnel who it is claimed, amongst other things, were responsible for the unlawful killing of thirty-nine Afghani citizens. The report explicitly states that none of them lost their lives in the heat of battle. Such conduct is totally at odds with the values, beliefs and practices of our military forces.
At his news conference yesterday the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF), General Angus Campbell, responded candidly and directly to the chilling conclusions of the Brereton Inquiry. The CDF did not diminish in any way the serious issues raised by it, and demonstrated true leadership qualities.
Due process must now be followed. If charges are laid against individuals they must be handled in accordance with Australia’s criminal justice system. Any personnel charged should enjoy the presumption of innocence.
A long road lies ahead. In the meantime, we should remember the continuing service of our military personnel and, where appropriate, extend a helping hand to them and their families.
Reactions are continuing to come in on the news the lockdown in South Australia was based on a single person’s apparent lie.
In particular, some have focused their ire on the discussion in the presser on potential consequences for the individual who apparently misled contact tracers:
Very depressing that so many journalists first question whenever something goes wrong re Covid is “Why can’t you fine/arrest this person?”. So much of the intense policing is a response to tabloid stuff like this. Hard pressed to find public health folks who advocate it.
— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) November 20, 2020
I know of multiple cases in Vic where workers who had Covid-19 didn't disclose all their work because they were international students desperate for money and were breaching visa conditions. They didn't want to go to jail or be deported. Lots of complexity in this space.
— Osman Faruqi (@oz_f) November 20, 2020
There’s now going to be a witch hunt for this person who lied. This is not ok.
— Néha Madhok (@MadhokNeha) November 20, 2020
Updated
Moving away from South Australia for a moment, Victoria’s deputy premier, James Merlino, has given details on the apparent “weak” positive case.
The case, identified as an elderly woman who is asymptomatic and has no links to known cases.
Merlino said the case is most likely a false positive, or reflects a previous infection. He went on to reflect on the state getting to three weeks without a new case:
“Getting to 21 days today is quite significant and reflective of the sacrifice and the responsibility that every single Victorian has taken.”
Updated
Reactions have begun to come in on the news that an apparent lie has led to the lockdown in SA. Some have turned to the Woodville Pizza Bar’s Google page to take out their frustrations.
As noted below, the lie is still an allegation by the state government, and details around the case are still unclear.
Updated
Thanks Matilda, another superb job guiding us through a truly astonishing morning.
Good afternoon everyone and happy Friday, I’ll be taking you through the afternoon’s updates, so lets dive in.
And with that truly wild last hour I’m going to sign off. But don’t worry Mostafa Rachwani is taking over guide you through the next few hours of twists and turns.
This is an interesting up date but just to clarify, it’s unclear if the hotel security guard was a regular employee or only worked the occasional shift.
Also, the deception is currently alleged by the state government but has not been proven.
Police are on standby at the Woodville Pizza Bar after an employee’s deception threw the entire state into lockdown #7NEWS pic.twitter.com/X7oTIALRMx
— Lauren Rose (@laurenrosevj) November 20, 2020
Updated
Regional travel is back on for South Australia. But Marshall would probably prefer if you didn’t.
So as of midnight Saturday, you will be able to travel to the regions. We would ask people to consider the necessity for their travel
If you still have commitments that you’ve already made, or you have reasons for travelling to visit family members – whatever it might be – then, by all means, do that. There is no restrictions after midnight on Saturday.
But we still want to keep a lid on the level of discretionary movement within the community while we work through this cluster.
Updated
Unlike the police commissioner, the premier seems more open to the idea of restricting hotel quarantine workers from taking up a second job.
I met with Dr Chris MacGowan, chief executive of the Department of Health and Wellbeing, I asked him to write to the AHPPC and get advice on this issue.
There is conflicting advice, I think what we need to have as a nation is a consolidated position on what best practice looks like, but I do agree with the comments of the police commissioner and the chief health officer, that it is still going to be very difficult to isolate people.
You have a worker who goes home, have dinner with their family, they may work somewhere or be at university, there can be a reduction of risk, but the best type of protection is making sure we have a strong arrangement within medical hotels.
But we absolutely subject ourselves to what best practice is. If the AHPPC says, look, we don’t want to have workers across multiple sites, we will put that arrangement into place straight away.
Updated
Lockdown may be ending but the cluster is not over, says Marshall:
This is absolutely critical to convey to the people of South Australia, we are just back to where we were on Monday, with a dangerous cluster.
We still need to do all of the contact tracing. What we have learnt from today’s revelation is there is a whole group of other people, other associates, that we need to trace down and put back into quarantine as quickly as we possibly can.
Updated
Spurrier has adopted a more understanding tone when it comes to the man who allegedly lied to contact tracers.
I’m always disappointed when we, you know, we hear somebody wasn’t able to give us the right information that we needed at that point in time.
I don’t know the present’s circumstances. I don’t know what pressures they were under, or anything to do with our life, indeed, as I said, I’m not inside their head to be able to answer that.
It sounds like this situation began to develop last night.
I had some brief information given to me last night that the person indeed had not been just going to get the pizza, but in fact they worked there and there were some other circumstances that were evolving, and I would say that would be confirmed with the police commissioner assistant this morning.
Spurrier is going hard in backing up contact tracers:
I am absolutely, 100%, behind the contact tracers. They have a really robust way of getting this information. Plus, they have some additional ways of backing up that information. As I said, we are now talking to people about what is on their mobile phones, to help trigger people’s memories...
They are very well trained. Some of the training that we provide here is being picked up in other states. So there is no question about it. They do a great job.
They do such a good job that they sometimes think ‘maybe this isn’t quite right, this isn’t adding up’, then they may go a few steps further to more inquiries. The important thing is, you know, 99.9% of people that we interview for contact tracing give us the right information.
Melbourne to take international return travellers from December
I’ll bring you more on this news when the SA press conference is over
Victoria's hotel quarantine program will recommence on December 7. The government has requested an initial cap of 160 incoming passengers each day. More to come via @AAPNewswire
— Benita Kolovos 🐯 (@benitakolovos) November 20, 2020
Spurrier is warning everyone not to get too comfortable too soon.
We still have the facts this particular strain of the virus is highly transmissible and has a short incubation period.
And if you look at the original family, it seems like some time ago now, but back on Sunday, there was almost 100% of the family members that became positive. And previously, when we had our first wave it was more like 20 or 30% of family members were becoming positive.
I think it is not just the characteristics of the virus, it is also the characteristics of the families where it was, and so this is a close-knit, large, extended family and similar things have been seen in Victoria where there was a large amount of spreading in families.
Updated
Three new cases in South Australian cluster
Chief health officer Nicola Spurrier says there are three new cases, all already in quarantine.
I know the focus of this press conference has been this misinformation, and now we are unravelling that and getting back on top of that. But we are not out of the woods yet. We still have a significant number of close contacts and contacts of close contacts, because we are doing that double ring-fencing or sandbagging, as it were, around everybody who is a case ...
So we do have three new cases today, and the good news is that they were all people in quarantine, so there are two family members, of one of the security guards, and then there is another worker from aged care, and that person is in a medical hotel, this was a close contact of the two people who worked at the aged care facility, which I think brings the number of people in aged care up to four...
I just want to give people a little warning we are expecting to see the number of cases here in South Australia rising over the next couple of days, and that is because we got so early in the beginning of this cluster, and how people put in quarantine, and when we first tested them, they had not actually become positive. But we will be expecting that to happen now over the next couple of days. Please do not be alarmed by that, it is something we are expecting.
Updated
Just a note: This is a fairly damning condemnation of a man that is surely not too difficult to identify given his gender and two of his workplaces have been made public.
Especially coming from very senior government officials, who are laying the blame for millions of people going into lockdown on a single individual.
Steven has been asked if the pizza bar will be provided with police security.
They are all sorts of things we are considering at this point. We are pushing investigators in to support SA Health and the natural consequence is we will look at all aspects of the circumstances that led to this position.
Stevens has been asked if SA authorities should apologise to the community for sending them into lockdown.
To suggest that we owe the community an apology would be suggesting that we did something wrong.
We acted in the best interests of the community, based on the information that was available to us. Everybody regrets the actions that we have had to take. Hindsight is a fantastic thing.
If this person was honest from the outset, we wouldn’t be where we are today. We are taking action to adjust our approach so we can lift the restrictions as quickly as possible and get back to where we were prior to 15 November.
Updated
Surprisingly Grant Stevens says he still hasn’t changed his mind on hotel quarantine workers being allowed to work second jobs.
I stand by my position that isolating an individual from one particular part of their private life without isolating them from all others is a simplistic view that doesn’t provide the level of comfort that people are looking for, in terms of how we manage the people who volunteer to work in our medi hotels.
So here is what happened (as far as I can see)
- A security guard at Peppers medi-hotel was infected.
- They worked at the Woodville Pizza Bar.
- A second worker at Stamford medi-hotel was infected and contact tracers couldn’t figure out how he contracted it.
- He allegedly lied and told contact tracers he bought a pizza from the pizza bar, when in fact he worked several shifts there.
- This led authorities to believe the cluster was much more widespread and more infectious than it really was, leading them to impose the wide-scale lockdown.
- Contact tracers eventually learnt his story “didn’t add up”, discovered the alleged lie and have now begun to lift restrictions.
Updated
Here is a rundown of what will be changing in South Australia from Grant Stevens:
As the premier highlighted, effective immediately, exercise within family groups or people that you reside with is now permissible. That is immediately.
As of midnight Saturday, we will be reverting to a series of restrictions which are very similar to the ones that were imposed at the beginning of this week. That is that premises will be restricted to a density of one person per foursquare metres, will be limited to 100 people on hospitality premises and table bookings will be still limited to 10 people.
Funerals will have an allowance of 50 people and weddings will return to an allowance of 150 but there will be no dancing or vertical consumption at weddings. Religious ceremonies will be restricted to 100 people.
Private gatherings will be 50 people. Gatherings in private residences will be restricted to 10 people.
Seated consumption is required across all venues that provide consumption of food and beverage on premises.
Personal care providers, that’s hairdressers, beauty therapists, will be required to wear masks and still strongly encouraging patrons of those facilities to wear masks at the same time.
Good news is that gyms will be able to open at the same time as these restrictions come into place midnight Saturday. We are also encouraging people during the course of this extra work that we’re doing to trace down all of the possible community transmission and contacts to wear face masks until we are confident that we have entirely dealt with this Parafield cluster.
The other news is that schools will be returning on Monday morning.
They are the restrictions that are coming into effect as of midnight Saturday. We are also aiming, on the basis that we are able to put a ring fence around this current level of activity, that we will revert to where we were last Friday, in terms of the level of restrictions that we had in our community, on 1 December at the same time that we are planning to relax borders for the Victorian/South Australian border.
Updated
Grant Stevens says they aren’t sure if they can impose penalties on the individual whose alleged lie caused the state to go into lockdown.
My team will be looking at whether there are any mechanisms but my initial advice is whilst it is an obligation on people to provide information on request to an authorised officer under the emergency management act, there is no penalty associated with telling lies.
Infected person's alleged lie sent SA into lockdown
Police commissioner Grant Stevens is clarifying this “lie now”. He says the state would NOT have gone into lockdown if he were truthful.
The lie was -the person claimed that they had purchased a pizza from the pizza shop, where in fact they were working there and had been working there for several shifts
That clearly changes the circumstances and had this person been truthful to the contact tracing teams, we would not have gone into a six-day lockdown.
The second consequence of that lie is this person has numerous associates, persons of interest that we are now trying to identify and locate that we would not have had to do so had they been truthful from the beginning. There is an absolute need for us to move quickly over the next 24 36 hours to identify and locate these people so we know we have eliminated the risk of this particular strain spreading further into the community.
It’s still not exactly clear what this alleged lie was from the cluster member or why that means South Australia can open up, but the premier is not happy at all.
To say I am fuming about the actions of this individual is an absolute understatement. This selfish actions of this individual have put our whole state in a very difficult situation. His actions have affected businesses, individuals, family groups and is completely and utterly unacceptable. I’m so proud of the efforts of South Australians who have been working with SA Health and with SA police this week to keep our state safe and strong.
Updated
Lockdowns ease in South Australia
SA premier Steven Marshall is speaking and says one person in the cluster lied to contact-tracing teams, meaning the state will open up sooner.
That unequivocal health advice was clear: we needed a circuit breaker to deal with this new Parafield cluster. That was the absolute correct decision, based upon the information which was available at the time. But the investigations did not stop there.
SA Health contact tracers have continued detailed case histories with confirmed cases. What those investigations showed is that one of the close contacts linked to the Woodville pizza bar deliberately misled our contact-tracing team. Their story didn’t add up. We pursued them. We now know that they lied. I stress this point, that this is still a very dangerous cluster and our expert health – our health experts remain extremely concerned.
Just as we have acted immediately to put restrictions in place to keep South Australians safe, we are going to act to lift them much sooner than previously advised. I will not let the disgraceful conduct of a single individual to keep SA in these circuit breaker conditions one day longer than what is necessary. However, this lie still means that our contact tracers need breathing space to contact people but not for as long.
Effective immediately, exercise in family groups is now permitted. Effective as of midnight on Saturday, the stay at home order will be repealed. They will be replaced by new orders which the police commissioner will go through in a few moments time but will include a density arrangement of one per four square metres, 50 people at funerals, 10 people at private home gatherings and schools will become open again.
Updated
We are just standing by now for SA premier Steven Marshall to deliver a Covid-19 update, where we should find out if there have been any additional cases in the state’s outbreak, (known as the Parafeild cluster).
If there are no new cases again today, I dare say people may begin questioning the need for the six-day hard lockdown (as rumblings of dissent have already started today).
I’ll bring you all the update’s here as soon as it starts.
Updated
Okay, okay. I know this isn’t Australian news, but for the sake of the public interest, here is a series of photos of Former New York Mayor, and key Trump ally, Rudy Giuliani’s hair die leaking down the side of his face during a press conference today.
Okay, now back to Australia.
Updated
Three of the teenagers accused of the murder of Melbourne teenager Solomone Taufeulungaki have been granted bail.
Solomone, 15, was fatally stabbed at Brimbank Shopping Centre in Melbourne’s west on June 16.
Nine boys aged between 13 and 17 are charged with murder, as well as two men aged 20 and 23, over the stabbing, which allegedly involved a gang dispute.
It’s the most murder charges laid over a single death in Victoria.
Justice Paul Coghlan ruled the three teens bailed on Thursday must not have any contact with their co-accused.
Coghlan noted in a previous hearing that a Supreme Court trial may not happen before 2022.
“You might think about how undesirable you might think it to be to be locked up for that period of time,” he told the teenagers.
Earlier this month, Justice Coghlan also granted bail to five other boys charged with murder over the attack.
He will hand down his reasons for these latest bail approvals today.
Updated
The Victorian health department has reissued warning for the towns of Benalla and Portland where viral fragments have been found in wastewater.
UPDATE FOR BENALLA AND PORTLAND: Coronavirus fragments have been detected in wastewater from Benalla and Portland. If you are a resident or have visited either of these areas from November 15-17, please be alert for symptoms.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 20, 2020
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/7RGqfaajBZ
South Australian premier Steven Marshall will provide an update on the state’s Covid-19 cluster in about 40 minutes. (12pm ADET).
If you missed it, the cluster did not grow yesterday, in fact shrinking from 23 cases to 22 after one was reclassified. There are a number of other possible cases that are being treated as positive but are not included in the official tally.
Today’s live #COVID19 update for #SouthAustralia will be at 11.30am. Tune in: https://t.co/A2E3AD4lUv pic.twitter.com/wQsN7OhtSi
— Steven Marshall, MP (@marshall_steven) November 19, 2020
Updated
No new locally acquired Covid cases in NSW
The good news keeps rolling is with New South Wales recording no cases of Covid-19 community transmission.
The state recorded three cases in returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
NSW recorded no new cases of locally acquired COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) November 20, 2020
Three cases were reported in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine. This brings the total number of cases in NSW to 4,328 since the start of the pandemic. pic.twitter.com/uSMft4Ku5A
I believe this is day 13 with no locally acquired cases.
Updated
If reading the full 648-page report on superannuation isn’t your speed, try this handy article by Amy Remeikis that explains everything you need to know:
The Morrison government is laying the groundwork to scrap the already legislated increase to the superannuation guarantee, declaring the retirement income review has found current policy settings are suitable.
A summation of the retirement income review distributed by treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s office ahead of the report’s official release on Friday put greater emphasis on Australians using “voluntary savings”, including equity within their homes, ahead of raising compulsory superannuation contributions.
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, had committed to continuing the scheduled increase in superannuation, due to increase from 9.5% to 12% by 2025, at the last election, but has since walked back that pledge, signalling it now needed to be “carefully considered” given the economic impact from the pandemic.
No decision will be made until closer to next year’s budget, due to be handed down in May, but the briefing of the income review points to compulsory increases being scrapped, at least in the immediate future.
You can read the full story below:
Updated
Calls to drop charges against ADF whistleblowers
Independent senator Rex Patrick has called for charges against a military lawyer who blew the whistle on alleged war crimes by Australian troops to be dropped.
A disturbing report found credible evidence Australian soldiers allegedly murdered 39 people and tortured two prisoners in Afghanistan, rekindling calls to throw out charges against David McBride.
Senator Patrick said the commonwealth director of public prosecutions should drop the legal action.
Persecution of whistleblowers is not in the public interest. Mr McBride is a hero.
He said attorney general Christian Porter should intervene to drop the charges if the CDPP did not.
Law Council of Australia president Pauline Wright is concerned by the findings.
It is the belief of the law council that the charges against whistleblower David McBride should be reconsidered, given the report suggests that Australian soldiers may have been involved in war crimes.
McBride leaked classified documents to ABC journalists in 2017 leading to allegations of Australian soldiers carrying out unlawful killings in Afghanistan being aired.
A spokesman for the CDPP told AAP it was inappropriate to comment while the matter was before the court.
We note that each matter is assessed and prosecuted in accordance with the prosecution policy of the commonwealth which encompasses evidentiary and public interest considerations.
Updated
If you watched Frydenberg’s speech and were left with the impulse to read that 648-page retirement income review, who am I to stop you?
Updated
Possible Covid-19 case in Victoria
OK, so today’s number in Victoria is still technically zero but turns out there is a slight catch.
The department says “there is a possible case reported that is under investigation”.
The test revealed a very weak positive result, so they are undergoing further tests today.
“The case may be a false +ve or historic infection. Precautionary public health actions in place as investigations continue.”
This may explain the nail-biting delay in delivering the state’s numbers today.
There is a possible case reported that is under investigation; the initial test result is a weak +ve. Further testing today, inc review by an expert panel. The case may be a false +ve or historic infection. Precautionary public health actions in place as investigations continue.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 19, 2020
Updated
Government to consider pause to superannuation increases
Just getting back to the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg, who is speaking on a new report into Australia’s retirement fund system now.
He says the government will consider pausing scheduled incremental increases to superannuation.
The guarantee is legislated from 9.5% to 12%. What the prime minister and myself, Jane and other colleagues have said is that we will consider in this report, will consider other views that have been placed out there and we will make a decision about that in light of current circumstances before the scheduled increase takes place.
I note that this report is one voice and there have been many others in this space including the governor of the Reserve Bank who has pointed out clearly the trade-off between a person’s wages and the superannuation guarantee. The Grattan Institute has pointed out that trade-off as well. And we will make a decision by that time next year.
Updated
And while we are on the topic, there are no new cases in Queensland either.
Friday 20 November – coronavirus cases in Queensland:
— Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) November 19, 2020
• 0 new confirmed cases
• 11 active cases
• 1,190 total confirmed cases
• 1,318,805 tests conducted
Sadly, six Queenslanders with COVID-19 have died. 1,171 patients have recovered.#covid19 pic.twitter.com/9NKRebfAPd
Updated
And there we go!
Officially three weeks of double doughnuts in Victoria. No infections or virus-related deaths in 21 days.
And one active case has dropped off!
Yesterday there were 0 new cases, 0 lives lost. There are now 2 active cases, 0 with unknown source. There were 18,474 results received. Thanks to everyone who was tested #EveryTestHelps https://t.co/pcll7ySEgz #StaySafeStayOpen #COVID19Vic pic.twitter.com/tapBCbiyFu
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 19, 2020
No new cases in Victoria despite delay
The Victorian health department still has not tweeted out their daily numbers BUT the department’s website has updated and seems to show there are no cases.
0 new cases in 🔵 Victoria #Covid19VicData https://t.co/7Njd8nl7TQ pic.twitter.com/rF7nxiIO1K
— COVID LIVE 🧪 (@covidliveau) November 19, 2020
Updated
Jane Hume, the assistant minister for superannuation, financial services and financial technology, is speaking at this press conference now:
I want to talk about one element of the report and that is around women, a hot topic in superannuation.
We know that women retire earlier and live longer. They retire with smaller balances in superannuation and that is logical because superannuation is always going to be a reflection of your working life and women have career breaks during their working life to care for children or to care for elderly parents and they often work part-time and there is, of course, remaining a gender pay gap that has reduced significantly throughout the life of this government but it still remains.
Updated
More from Frydenberg:
A third set of observations is around home ownership, and the report points out how important home ownership is to people’s security in retirement.
It points out that around 76% of people over the age of 65 own their own home and that, as a consequence, this allows them to have more discretionary income and it also provides an opportunity for them to draw down on the equity in their home in retirement.
The report is very comprehensive, and the report should give Australians confidence about the soundness and the sustainability of Australia’s retirement income.
Updated
So the thing we are looking out for here is if the federal government will move to pause scheduled incremental increases to superannuation, and Frydenberg looks like he might be circling in on that point.
The report looks at this in detail and makes the comment, and I will quote it, ‘maintaining the superannuation guarantee rate at 9.5% would allow for higher lending standards in working life. Working life income, for most people, would be around 2% higher in the long run’.
So the report goes into some detail about the trade-off between a working life income and people’s wages, and that with an increase in the superannuation guarantee, and points out that the most effective way for people to secure themselves in retirement is not necessarily an increase in the superannuation guarantee, but by more efficiently using the savings that they do have.
Updated
Federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg is speaking now about superannuation:
This review looked at the three pillars of our retirement income system, namely the age pension, compulsory superannuation, and voluntary savings including homeownership. Their key conclusion is that Australia’s retirement income system is sound, is sustainable, and effective, and it is well-placed to deal with the economic volatility, as well as the ageing in our society. The report does not make any specific recommendations but makes a number of important observations.
First, in relation to the aged pension, the report finds that the aged pension over the last decade has increased faster than inflation and faster than wage growth and that the aged pension has continued to reflect community standards. Australia’s aged pension, based on gross earnings, as in the top 25% of OECD countries, and that does not even take into account the additional payments to retirees, support to retirees, whether it is through our transfer system or our health system and our ageing system.
The second set of observations is around our superannuation system. It points out that people’s early access to superannuation during the Covid crisis has been justified in that it sometimes is appropriate people access superannuation early and that this hasn’t had a significant impact on people’s retirement incomes.
Updated
Gladys Berejiklian has sacked a parliamentary secretary for voting against her government’s controversial land-clearing bill and said she will revert to old koala protection laws until a new policy can be drafted.
The New South Wales premier made the comment on Thursday night after the Liberal MP Catherine Cusack crossed the floor to send the local land services amendment (miscellaneous) bill to a committee to debate proposed amendments, delaying its passage until next year.
In a joint statement on Thursday night, Berejiklian and her deputy, the Nationals leader, John Barilaro, said the government would effectively shelve its bill, which would have exempted private rural landholders from having to recognise the expanded definition of koala habitat under the koala state environmental planning policy (Sepp) that nearly split the Coalition.
Read the full story below:
Updated
I swear if the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services puts out one more tweet that ISN’T today’s Covid-19 number I’m going to be furious!
Are you experiencing any of these symptoms? If the answer is yes then it is important that you get tested for coronavirus (COVID-19) and then stay home. The test is free and painless.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 19, 2020
For information on your local testing sites: https://t.co/ogHDjdmEZd pic.twitter.com/xSBqEy5n3w
Updated
A cyberattack on New South Wales government employee email accounts that exposed the data of 186,000 people earlier this year is expected to cost the state $7m, AAP reports.
Service NSW launched an investigation on 22 April after discovering a possible breach and found the email accounts of 47 staff had been illegally accessed.
The agency is the main customer service hub of the state government, and is responsible for managing drivers’ licences, firearm registrations, births, deaths and marriage records and more.
About 500,000 documents relating to 186,000 customers were affected in the breach.
A footnote in the state budget handed down on Tuesday revealed the cyberattack is forecast to leave a multimillion-dollar hole in the state’s coffers.
Investigations into this matter are still ongoing however, Service NSW is expected to incur legal and investigation costs of approximately $7 million.
Opposition public service spokeswoman Sophie Cotsis says it is the largest data breach in NSW history and could have been easily avoided.
The NSW Government’s failure to implement basic cyber security measures means $7 million has been wasted.
Updated
Albanese has also taken aim at the government’s handling of superannuation, as we await a decision on if the Liberal government will pause incremental increases to superannuation (from 9.5% to 10%, and then to 12% over a number of years).
An independent report was released today that found that while a rise in the super guarantee would result in people having better living standards in retirement, it would come at a cost to people during their working lives, particularly lower-income earners.
Albanese said:
This is a government that has never supported universal superannuation. Universal superannuation is such an important reform, providing for retirement incomes for Australians, as we have ageing of the population.
And they look for any excuse to break the promises as they have done in each of the previous two terms of this Coalition government. The fact is, we have a legislated increase for universal superannuation to 12%. The Coalition committed to not change that. But once again, they’re laying the groundwork for another backflip.
Make no mistake, Labor supports the existing 12% superannuation that has been legislated and we’ll fight any attempt to undermine it, or change it. Because that will be bad for workers in their retirement, and it’s also not in the national interest.
Updated
Federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese is speaking about the Brereton report on alleged Australian war crimes now:
This was a very dark day in Australia’s military history. We need to make sure that all of the recommendations of the Brereton review are implemented in full.
I thank Angus Campbell, the chief of the defence force, for his briefing that I and others in the leadership of Labor received on Wednesday about this comprehensive review.
He has made it very clear, very clear, that the defence force itself – each and every person – will be impacted by this. These crimes were committed by personnel wearing our uniform, but this doesn’t represent who Australia is. What is important now is how we respond.
Updated
Delays on Victoria's Covid-19 update
So you may have noticed that we are still waiting for Victoria’s numbers today. This is causing significant anxiety in the state (well this member of the state at least) because in Vic the trend seems to be the later the update, the worse the news.
Covid-19 viral fragments were found in the towns of Benalla and Portland, both along popular freight routes from Adelaide. These could be from active infections or from an old Covid-19 recovered person still shedding the virus.
If there are no cases today that would mark three full weeks without an infection or virus-related death in Victoria.
Fingers crossed that they are just taking their time counting all those zeroes!
This morning’s daily numbers report is on its way. The data is still being processed. We know how much you – like us – wait for the numbers everyday. We’ll have them with you soon.
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 19, 2020
Updated
A man has been charged with murdering young Melbourne woman Celeste Manno.
After spending three nights under police guard in hospital, Luay Sako, 35, was on Thursday charged with one count of murder.
It is alleged the Roxburgh Park man killed Manno, 23, in her Mernda bedroom during the early hours of Monday morning.
Sako was expected to face Melbourne magistrates court via video link, but technical issues at the West Melbourne police cells meant he did not appear during the brief late-night hearing.
Detective Michael Drew said police were not in possession of all relevant CCTV footage and were dealing with a significant volume of telecommunications records and crime scene exhibits.
Read the full report below:
Updated
Adelaide newspaper the Advertiser is reporting that some bakeries have been added to the list of businesses that can trade today in the lockdown state.
But this exemption is limited – wholesale bakeries can now operate “only if they do not see, supply or sell on a retail basis to members of the public.”
SA police also clarified overnight a number of other exempt businesses, including:
- Domestic and commercial waste and resource recovery services
- Commonwealth agency services
- Administrative services provided by an employer to enable its employees to work from home
- Port operations
- Truckstops and roadhouses
- Commercial operations that supply goods or services necessary for the implementation of measures to limit the spread of Covid-19
Updated
Heads up for Canberra readers, grass pollen levels are extremely high today, raising the risk of an epidemic thunderstorm asthma episode.
Generally when these warnings are issued those with hayfever or asthma are encouraged to carry medication or stay indoors when possible.
More info on the Canberra Pollen Website here
In case you were wondering... https://t.co/IBWpv2JlAN pic.twitter.com/pXfckujz2u
— Anna Vidot (@AnnaVidot) November 19, 2020
The damning findings of the Brereton war crimes inquiry have prompted shock and anger in Afghanistan, where one group has described the alleged actions of Australian special forces as a painful betrayal by a country “we have been expecting better from”.
The release of the inquiry’s findings on Thursday prompted widespread condemnation in Australia, including from the former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who said he was “utterly disgusted” by the report, and the former chief of defence and current governor general, David Hurley, who described the allegations as “unforgivable atrocities”.
Maj Gen Justice Paul Brereton, who led a four-year review of special forces’ conduct in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, found evidence to support allegations showing that 25 perpetrators had unlawfully killed 39 Afghan civilians, most of whom were detainees, and none of whom died in the heat of the battle.
Read the full story below:
Updated
“Stay Alert” warning have been issued for several areas in rural South Australia. Residents near Yumali and Deepwater have been urged to monitor for updates from the Country Fire Service.
#Bushfire Advice Message : Issued for #YUMALI,_KRUEGER_ROAD #fire. If you are in this area stay alert, monitor local conditions and decide what you will do if the situation changes. #BAM ID=0005042 #SAFires https://t.co/Sfrb4B6bBY pic.twitter.com/6viZQTaj14
— Country Fire Service (@CFSAlerts) November 19, 2020
#Bushfire Advice Message : Issued for #DEEPWATER,_TAUNTA_HUT_ROAD #fire. If you are in this area stay alert, monitor local conditions and decide what you will do if the situation changes. #BAM ID=0005044 #SAFires https://t.co/3hCbqKhqWO pic.twitter.com/2iKh0vMBLF
— Country Fire Service (@CFSAlerts) November 19, 2020
Following the discovery of viral fragments in the wastewater of Benalla and Portland, the Victorian health department has released the following information on what exactly sewage testing is, what it’s used for.
You may have seen that recent wastewater samples from Benalla & Portland showed fragments of coronavirus, but do you know why we monitor wastewater & how it can help? Well, there is no better time to learn than #WorldToiletDay ⤵️
— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) November 19, 2020
Take a loo-k at this info:https://t.co/FnbJV7U9ZU pic.twitter.com/nsw1kImxn8
Update at 8.10am - there is currently no line up at the Victoria Park/Pakapakanthi drive-through COVID-19 testing site.
— SA Health (@SAHealth) November 19, 2020
The site is open until midnight tonight.
The site will open again from 8am to 6pm on Sat 21 November.
For other testing locations https://t.co/daEpRqXyQV pic.twitter.com/3u7aPmv4Lu
Just a bit more information on the situation with Victoria’s hard border closure with South Australia.
Victoria has shut the border (the first time they have shut their border to any state during the pandemic) in order to conduct a testing blitz in two regional towns.
The “hard border” with South Australia came into effect just before midnight on Thursday and will remain in place until Sunday when it will be replaced with a permit system.
The 48-hour shutdown was prompted by the unexpected detection of virus fragments in wastewater at Benalla and Portland, both along freight corridors, and Adelaide’s growing cluster which has sparked a six-day “circuit-breaker” lockdown.
Residents of those towns, as well as anyone who visited them between 15 and 17 November with any symptoms, are being urged to get tested and isolate until receiving their result.
Victoria’s deputy chief health officer, Allan Cheng, said the virus fragments could either be from an active infection, or a recovered case who may still be shedding the virus.
Under the hard border, only freight drivers and those with medical or emergency reasons, as well as people authorised by law, such as child protection officers, will be able to cross the border.
More than 300 police will patrol the Victorian side of the South Australian border, from Mildura down to Portland.
Updated
Woman charged with murder in Melbourne
I mentioned briefly yesterday that homicide squads were investigating the death of a man in Melbourne. Here is an update on that from the AAP:
An 81-year-old woman has been charged with murder after the death of a man in Melbourne’s north-east.
The 50-year-old man was found dead inside a home on Palmyra Court in Greensborough on Monday.
The woman was also found inside the home and taken to hospital under police guard.
She has since been interviewed and charged with one count of murder and has been remanded into custody.
She is due to front Melbourne Magistrates Court today.
Updated
The South Australian health minister, Stephen Wade, has appeared on ABC this morning and gave his views on Victoria instituting a hard border with South Australia.
Every state and territory has the right and the responsibility to do what they think is necessary to protect the public health of their communities.
I know that the Victorian government and the South Australian government are acutely aware of the close interactions between our two border communities and I’m sure that the Victorian government will be sensitive to that and any measures they put in place.
Stevens said it wouldn’t be appropriate to ring-fence Adelaide like Victoria did to Melbourne.
I think it is really important to see the differences between the Victorian lockdown and the South Australian six-day community pause.
This is a response to a cluster. There are no linked cases. There is no suggestion of widespread community transmission. This is an early decisive response to close down a cluster. It is not along-term weaning of a community of widespread community transmission.
We’re facing a community pause of six days. The Victorian community faced a lockdown of more than 100 days.
Updated
Just a bit more from South Australia police commissioner Grant Stevens:
We are starting day two of a six-day lockdown and the streets are empty. It’s a great sign that people are taking this seriously and they’re doing their best to comply. That’s what we have expected from the community and they’re up to the task.
We’ll provide advice if we think that’s the best way to go. We have issued a couple of fines for people clearly just disregarding the rules and putting everyone’s efforts in jeopardy. We want to work with the community but we won’t hesitate to deal with the people ignoring us.
SA recorded no news cases on the first day of the lockdown. Stevens was asked if this was making it harder for authorities to convince people to stay home.
Yeah, this is a dilemma for us. We are following the health advice. Our chief health officer is unequivocal this is the right strategy, to lock things down early and get ahead of the game.
The fact we have no new cases is probably a testament to the fact this is an effective strategy. I do understand people may wonder why we’re doing this.
Updated
Police commissioner defends SA hotel quarantine
South Australia police commissioner Grant Stevens is speaking now on ABC.
Stevens got heated in a press conference yesterday, saying the media was “completely unreasonable” for suggesting workers in hotel quarantine should not work second jobs in other workplaces.
He has repeated the same sentiment (although in a slightly calmer tone) this morning:
We should be doing everything we can to minimise risk. We need to do our part in repatriating Australian citizens, and that’s part of the reason we have the medi-hotels. It’s unreasonable to expect them to put the rest of their lives on hold.
They’ve got mortgages, bills to pay, children they need to support. If they’re not receiving enough income from one job, they should have the opportunity to get secondary employment.
It’s important to point out that restricting people from secondary employment is only one part of their interaction. They’re sitting down at the dining table with their family, going to gyms, movies, they’re Covid-positive, the likelihood of them spreading it through all the other activities is just as great as in secondary employment.
For background, a significant element in the South Australian cluster (which has 23 associated cases), is the spread of the virus from a hotel quarantine security guard to a popular pizza shop where they all worked.
Updated
Good Morning
A very good Friday morning to you all.
Matilda Boseley here to take you through all the day’s news in Australia, whether that be Covid-19 related or otherwise.
If you see anything in your area or online that you think I should be aware of, make sure you send it through to me on Twitter @MatildaBoseley or by email on matilda.boseley@theguardian.com.
The biggest news today is the fallout from the Brereton war crimes inquiry, which documents alleged war crimes committed by Australian forces in Afghanistan. Maj Gen Justice Paul Brereton, who led the review of special forces’ conduct in Afghanistan between 2005 and 2016, found credible evidence showing 25 perpetrators had unlawfully killed 39 Afghan civilians, most of whom were detainees, and none of whom died in the heat of the battle.
In other news:
- An Australian National University survey suggests people living in disadvantaged areas, people with populist views and people who are more religious are more likely to be hesitant or resistant to being vaccinated against Covid-19. The survey found those with higher levels of household income, those who adopt public health measures and people who are more supportive of migration were more likely to get vaccinated.
- South Australian unions have called for pandemic leave payments to be extended to cover casual and other workers hit by the statewide lockdown. Leave disaster payments provide support for people who are forced into quarantine because of the virus, provided they have been told to self-isolate by a health official.
This would cover thousands of people forced into quarantine by Adelaide’s Parafield cluster. - Victoria has shut its border to South Australia as it embarks on a Covid-19 testing blitz in two regional towns. The “hard border” will remain in place until Sunday when a permit system is implemented and was prompted by the unexpected detection of virus fragments in wastewater in Victorian towns Benalla and Portland.
- Children who grow up in poor households are five times more likely to experience poverty as an adult, according to the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey.
- A long-awaited independent review in Australia’s retirement income system was released by treasurer Josh Frydenberg today. It found the system to be effective and sound, but questions future legislated increases to the superannuation guarantee.
Updated
