Good evening, this is Calla Wahlquist bringing you the latest developments on the coronavirus pandemic in Australia on Monday 20 April.
Lowest increase since March
Australia has recorded its lowest daily increase in cases since early March.
Three states – Western Australia, Queensland and South Australia – have recorded no new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
Victoria recorded just one new case overnight, while New South Wales recorded six new cases, the lowest daily total in five weeks. The Australian Capital Territory recorded one new case.
It’s the third day in a row that South Australia recorded no new cases. The state’s chief public health officer, associate professor Nicola Spurrier, said that result came on the back of increased testing. Almost 5,000 people were tested over the past five days.
Both South Australia and Queensland said if results remained that strong, they would begin considering lifting restrictions.
The national total increased by just 26 cases. That seems to comprise mainly of 16 new cases among crew members aboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship, which were not included in NSW’s daily totals. A total of 202 crew members on the ship, which is moored at Port Kembla, have now tested positive to Covid-19.
Virgin Australia goes into administration
Accounting firm Deloitte is understood to have been appointed the administrators for Virgin Australia, which has collapsed despite competing offers of rescue packages from the Queensland and NSW state governments.
It comes after the Australian government refused the airline’s request for a $1.4bn emergency loan. It’s not clear what this development will mean for the airline’s 10,000 staff or 130 planes.
Facebook and Google forced to share advertising revenue
The Australian government has announced it will impose a mandatory code of conduct on tech companies Facebook and Google that will force them to share advertising revenue with Australian media companies.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the code, which will include penalties and binding dispute resolution mechanisms, will “create a level playing field” between media companies and the two tech giants.
Privacy concerns remain over coronavirus app
Digital experts have called on the federal government to formally make data collected by its coronavirus tracking app exempt from use by law enforcement.
And the Law Council of Australia has said that the public health benefits of the app need to be balanced with the privacy implications.
Government services minister Stuart Robert said on Monday that the information collected by the app, which is intended to register when people have been standing near another person for more than 15 minutes, can be used in contact tracing for a potential Covid-19 infection, will “allow us to get back to life quicker”.
NRL chief executive quits
Todd Greenberg, the chief executive of the NRL, has resigned his post effective immediately, in the latest blow to a league that has struggled financially since the shutdown of the 2020 season due to the coronavirus.
In a shock announcement on Monday, Greenberg said he and the league had come to a mutual agreement to part ways. Chief commercial officer Andrew Abdo will take over the role on an interim basis until a replacement CEO is found.
Greenberg said it had been a “great honour and privilege to be the CEO of the NRL for the last four years”.
Unemployment rate could hit 16%
Australia’s unemployment rate could rise as high as 16% over the next few months due to the continued economic impact of the coronavirus, according to a report by the Grattan Institute.
The report said that between 17% and 28% of Australian workers, or 2.2 million to 3.6 million people, are either out of work now could be out of work in the coming weeks and months as a direct result of social distancing laws introduced in March. The jobseeker scheme will keep the official unemployment rate lower.
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Elective surgery could resume within the month
Rules preventing non-urgent elective surgery could be lifted within the month, the federal deputy chief health officer Nick Coatsworth said.
The issue was discussed by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee on Monday and will be considered at a national cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
“There are Australians out there who are in pain and have disability, cannot be in the workforce, they need to take very potent pain medication and they need their elective surgery done,” Coatsworth said.
What you need to know: get the most important information from some of our key explainers
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Coronavirus Australia maps and cases: live numbers and statistics
Australia’s strict new coronavirus social distancing rules explained: state by state guidelines
Free childcare: what do the Australian government’s coronavirus changes mean for my family?
Am I eligible for the jobkeeper payment? Here’s everything you need to know to register
Groceries, telehealth and pharmaceuticals: how older Australians can get help at home
Have I already had coronavirus? How would I know and what should I do?
Dangerous cures and viral hoaxes: common coronavirus myths busted
How ventilators work and why they are so important in saving people with coronavirus
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