Coronavirus Australia latest: 9 April at a glance

People queue outside a Centrelink office — Casual workers may find themselves queueing for Centrelink after the Australian government refused amendments to include more of them in Jobkeeper, the $1,500-a-week coronavirus wage subsidy scheme. Photograph: Stefan Postles/EPA

Good evening and welcome to our daily roundup of the latest developments in the coronavirus pandemic in Australia. This is Michael McGowan bringing you the main stories on Thursday 9 April.

Estimated 1.1 million casual workers miss out

The federal government’s $130bn wage subsidy package provides a $1,500-a-fortnight payment to employers who have suffered a significant downturn in turnover.

But the jobkeeper payment is limited to sole traders, full- and part-time employees, and casuals who have been with the company for 12 months or more. That means an estimated 1.1 million Australians will miss out on the payment, many of them in the entertainment and arts industries.

Government at odds with experts on hydroxychloroquine

The government’s expert panel on disease control has recommended against the use of a controversial anti-malarial drug, hydroxychloroquine, for treating coronavirus, directly contradicting the federal health department, which has told doctors they can prescribe it for patients.

The Department of Health insists that as well as being used in clinical trials, the drug, which has also been touted by US president Donald Trump, may be given “in a controlled environment in the treatment of severely ill patients in hospital”.

But the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee – the peak body that manages health emergencies – said experimental use of medications such as hydroxychloroquine for Covid-19 prevention and treatment was not recommended, and should be prescribed only as part of a clinical trial.

GP practices on the brink of financial ruin

As the health minister, Greg Hunt, urges Australians to continue seeing their GPs, smaller doctor-owned general practices are on the brink of financial collapse due to revenue losses from Covid-19.

Clinics across the country are reporting a major drop in patient numbers due to the pandemic, either because of Covid-19 fears or problems transitioning to telehealth services.

Independent schools ordered to open

The federal education minister, Dan Tehan, on Thursday ordered independent schools to reopen and provide in-person education to children whose parents want it in term two.

In a letter sent to the Independent Schools Council of Australia and peak bodies in each state and territory on Thursday, Tehan said he will use Australian Education Act powers to impose a new condition on independent schools, in effect requiring them to make classroom learning available or risk losing federal funding.

Fines for spitting or coughing on health workers

People who spit on New South Wales health workers, police or other public health officials during the Covid-19 pandemic could be slapped with a $5,000 on-the-spot fine.

The NSW police minister, David Elliott, said on Thursday that people who intentionally spit or cough on police officers during the pandemic could also face prosecution and up to six months in prison.
“Like most people, I find the recent actions of a handful of individuals utterly foul and obnoxious, but worryingly, the behaviour is potentially life-threatening.”

Elliott said the fines had been introduced in response to the “abhorrent” acts of some individuals in recent weeks.

NRL aims to restart on 28 May

The NRL intends to get back on the playing field on 28 May but there is still no clarity on what the competition will look like once the 2020 season restarts.

Meetings of the league’s innovation committee and the ARL Commission were held on Thursday before ARL commissioner Wayne Pearce confirmed the intention to get the league back underway in seven weeks’ time.

The announcement came just hours after Channel Nine aimed a scathing broadside at the league, accusing it of “mismanagement” and squandering millions of dollars over a number of years.

Social gatherings were rocket fuel for Covid-19

Carnival season in western Germany, Mardi Gras in New Orleans and backpacker parties in Bondi.

All of the countries hit by the Covid-19 pandemic have reported similar stories of social, cultural or religious gatherings where large numbers spent numerous hours in close company – holding hands, kissing, sharing drinks from the same glass – which then turbo-charged the spread of the pandemic.

A hundred days after a Chinese government website announced the discovery of a “pneumonia of unknown cause”, it has become clearer that the dynamics behind the virus’s rapid expansion across the globe has relied heavily on the “cluster effects” of those gatherings.

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