New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian not mincing her words:
If you have been exposed at a venue, where the recommendation is to get tested and stay home, please follow that advice. I couldn’t think of anything more horrible than causing someone else’s death, because I decided not to take the advice. I couldn’t live with myself. And I don’t want anybody else having that.
So please note that the health advice is for you, for your loved ones, but also protecting anybody who might unintentionally be exposed because of our own personal actions.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian is speaking at a press conference in Sydney, and has adressed the availability of masks in the state, as she recommends the use of face coverings in a greater number of circumstances:
You might all remember a couple of months ago when we announced the call to action to have some local companies retool. We have had a number of local suppliers now providing those masks that are accessible for daily use, and to date, the suppliers have been reasonable throughout the state, and I am confident that whoever at this stage wants to get a mask can do so.
...
Certainly supply chains that have been established in New South Wales which we did not have before. Obviously they are not as they are distinct from the surgical masks, which are health professionals have to wear, because they are dealing with potential covert cases. But in terms of what is regarded as safe or New South Wales residents, certainly my experience is that they are readily accessible. I have noticed that my local pharmacist had them ample supply.
The four circumstances in which you should be wearing a mask in New South Wales are:
- Where you cannot socially distance, so for example on public transport and where grocery shopping
- In places of worship
- If you are in an area where there is high community transmission or confirmed cases
- Staff in customer-facing roles should be wearing masks
A reminder that today’s Victoria coronavirus press conference is at 2pm AEST – and to send any good tweets to me on Twitter @helenrsullivan:
Here's the cheat sheet for the Dan Andrews presser:
— David Milner (@DaveMilbo) August 2, 2020
11am = not terrible
After 12pm = bad
Wearing a suit = real bad news
Sports jacket = moderately bad news
Northface jumper = it's the weekend
Wearing a suit on the weekend after 12pm = shit's fucked
New South Wales premier recommends masks in more circumstances
In New South Wales in Australia, the premier Gladys Berejiklian and chief health officer Kerry Chant are giving an update.
Berejiklian has just changed the official advice on masks:
Today, Dr Chant and I are going to strongly recommend people wear masks in certain circumstances:
There are four key areas where we want people to wear masks:
Firstly, if you are in an enclosed space and you cannot guarantee social distancing, such as public transport, such as when you are buying groceries, you should be wearing a mask.
We would also like to see more staff in a customer-facing [role] wearing masks, whether they are in hospitality venues or whether they are in retail. Whenever they are facing customers, we strongly recommend that they wear masks.
If you are attending a place of worship, we want you to wear a mask. If you are attending a church, synagogue or mosque, we would like you to wear a mask.
And finally, if you are in an area where there is high community transmission or a number of cases, we want you to wear a mask. So those other four key areas we are recommending people wear masks.
I want to stress it is not compulsory, but it is a strong recommendation from Health, given where we are in the pandemic, given the risk posed from Victoria and given the rate of community transmission in New South Wales.
Updated
Here is more on the clusters in the Australian state of New South Wales, from AAP:
The Thai Rock Wetherill Park cluster is nearing 100 cases, while the cluster in Potts Point has reached 24 and the funeral events cluster sits at 25.
A popular venue on Sydney’s Northern Beaches, meanwhile, was on Saturday forced to shut after hosting a COVID-positive patron on the afternoon of July 24.
The Bavarian in Manly underwent deep cleaning and reopened to the public on Saturday afternoon. Patrons on the afternoon of July 24 should monitor for respiratory symptoms.
The Harpoon & Hotel Harry in Surry Hills, Matinee Coffee in Marrickville and Tan Viet in Cabramatta are among other venues required to undertake deep cleaning in recent days.
Harris Farm Market in Leichhardt and Darlo Bar in Darlinghurst also on Friday confirmed they were frequented on July 26 by COVID-positive people and have undergone deep cleaning.
NSW Police Minister David Elliott on Sunday said nine fines had been issued overnight for breaching restrictions, while Liquor and Gaming NSW has fined Sydney’s Watsons Bay Hotel $5000 after finding patrons drinking while standing and poorly-spaced poker machines.
It was the 15th NSW venue to be fined in the past three weeks for breaches.
“It beggars belief that anybody would turn on the TV news bulletin today and see what’s going on in Melbourne and want to breach the law in NSW,” Mr Elliott told reporters.
NSW Police said the fines were issued on Saturday night in relation to large parties in East Jindabyne and Maroubra, while a separate beach party in Mosman is being investigated after two 16-year-old girls required medical treatment for excessive alcohol consumption.
The Australian Capital Territory has reported zero new coronavirus cases overnight, the government announced in a statement:
There have been no new cases of COVID-19 recorded in the ACT in the past 24 hours, leaving the ACT’s total at 113. There are no active cases in the ACT.
The government also issued advice for residents of the ACT regarding travel to New South Wales – including “strongly” advising residents not to travel to Greater Sydney:
ACT residents are strongly advised not to travel to Greater Sydney at this time. Travel to Greater Sydney should only be done for absolutely essential reasons.
Regarding regional NSW, we advise Canberrans to be aware of the COVID-19 situation in the area you are travelling in and reassess your need to travel to areas with known cases.
As we await Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ press conference at 2pm AEST, the ABC reports that the following fines were issued in the state overnight:
Victoria Police have issued 170 fines over Covid-19 restriction breaches in past 24 hours. Five people gathered at a licensed premises in Melbourne’s CBD for a birthday party, while a resident of Wyndham, west of Melbourne, hosted a party with 10 guests.
There was also a gathering at Dandenong, in the city’s south-east, which five people attended. Under the stage three restrictions there are only four reasons people are allowed to leave their homes.
...
Meanwhile, 18 people were fined for not wearing a face mask. Many refused to accept one when offered, police said.
Updated
New South Wales confirms 12 new coronavirus cases
The Australian state of New South Wales has confirmed 12 new coronavirus cases overnight, one of which was in hotel quarantine:
12 new cases of #COVID19 have been diagnosed in NSW between 8pm on 31 July and 8pm on 1 August.
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) August 2, 2020
For the latest list of COVID-19 locations, visit: https://t.co/pqkRdfyEBr pic.twitter.com/q7myiC7TuF
Seven Chinese health officials were due to arrive in Hong Kong on Sunday, the first members of a 60-person team that will carry out widespread testing for Covid-19 in the territory as the global financial hub races to halt a third wave of illness, Reuters reports.
China’s National Health Commission on Saturday announced their scheduled arrival.
Members of the team are from public hospitals in Guangdong province while a specialist team of six from Wuhan, where the novel coronavirus first appeared, will help prepare part of the AsiaWorld Expo convention centre as a facility for Covid-19 patients.
The initiative is the first time mainland health officials have assisted Hong Kong in its battle to control the coronavirus.
Some local residents fear China may use this as an excuse to collect DNA samples for surveillance purposes.
Leader Carrie Lam said on Saturday the former British colony asked for help from the central government due to the resurgence in cases. She said the government was studying whether everyone in Hong Kong could be tested, local broadcaster RTHK reported on Saturday.
The Chinese territory saw a surge in locally transmitted coronavirus cases in July and introduced a raft of tightening measures including restricting gatherings to two people and mandating face masks in all outdoor public spaces.
Hong Kong has reported around 3,400 coronavirus cases and 33 deaths since January, far lower than other major cities around the world. But the daily number of new infections has been in the triple-digits for the past 11 days.
Media to be banned from Republican convention due to coronavirus restrictions
The media will be barred from the Republican national convention where Donald Trump is set to be renominated as presidential candidate later this month, a spokeswoman said on Saturday, citing coronavirus restrictions.
While Trump called off the public components of the convention in Florida last month, citing spiking cases of the virus across the country, 336 delegates are scheduled to gather in Charlotte, North Carolina, on 24 August to formally vote to make Trump the GOP standard-bearer once more.
Nominating conventions are traditionally meant to be media bonanzas, as political parties seek to leverage the attention the events draw to spread their message to as many voters as possible. If the GOP decision stands, it will mark the first party nominating convention in modern history to be closed to reporters.
“Given the health restrictions and limitations in place within the state of North Carolina, we are planning for the Charlotte activities to be closed [to] press Friday, August 21–Monday, August 24,” a convention spokeswoman said.
“We are happy to let you know if this changes, but we are working within the parameters set before us by state and local guidelines regarding the number of people who can attend events.”
Privately, some GOP delegations have raised logistical issues with traveling to either city, citing the increasing number of jurisdictions imposing mandatory quarantine orders on travellers returning from states experiencing surges in the virus:
Various outlets, including the ABC, are suggesting Victoria will report more than 650 coronavirus cases later on Sunday when the premier is also expected to announce tough new stage 4 restrictions.
The state on Saturday recorded 397 new infections and three more deaths.
Overall, there were 5,919 active cases in Victoria, of which 637 were healthcare workers, the Department of Health and Human Services said.
Meanwhile people are sharing photos on Twitter of queues forming at supermarkets in Victoria, as residents anticipate stricter lockdown measures:
Greensborough same, butcher normally walk up to counter now 20 in queue as Aldi & Coles out of meat pic.twitter.com/Vqvkki5g0L
— Peter Benei (@peteb1975) August 2, 2020
New South Wales Police Minister David Elliott has announced that nine fines were issued in the state overnight for breaching coronavirus restrictions, while Liquor and Gaming NSW has fined Sydney’s Watsons Bay Hotel $5000 after finding patrons drinking while standing and using poorly-spaced poker machines.
It was the 15th NSW venue to be fined in the past three weeks for Covid-related breaches.
“It beggars belief that anybody would turn on the TV news bulletin today and see what’s going on in Melbourne and want to breach the law in NSW,” Mr Elliott told reporters.
NSW Police said the fines were issued on Saturday night in relation to large parties in East Jindabyne and Maroubra, while a separate beach party in Mosman is being investigated after two 16-year-old girls required medical treatment for excessive alcohol consumption.
“Fire and Rescue NSW officers were called to assist with the retrieval of the two girls as the site had to accessed by about 50 steps down to the beach,” NSW Police said in a statement, adding that, “Police were told between 20-40 young people had been gathered drinking on the beach before the girls were found unconscious.”
Mexico confirms record new cases
Mexico racked up a record number of new confirmed coronavirus infections on Saturday, registering more than 9,000 daily cases for the first time and passing the previous peak for the second day running, official data showed.
Reuters reports that Mexico’s health ministry announced 9,556 new cases of coronavirus, surging past the record of 8,458 set on Friday. The ministry also logged 784 additional fatalities, bringing the total tally in the country to 434,193 cases and 47,472 deaths.
The new record in cases came a day after Mexico overtook Britain as the country with the third-highest number of deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mexico has struggled to contain the virus, and has since late May been trying to restart the economy, which in the April-June period contracted by more than 17% quarter-on-quarter.
The government says the real number of infected people is likely considerably higher than the confirmed cases.
Updated
Hi, Helen Sullivan here. I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next few hours – get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email on helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.
Thousands of demonstrators have gathered outside the official residence of prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and thronged the streets of central Jerusalem, as weeks of protests against the Israeli leader appeared to be gaining steam.
The demonstration in central Jerusalem on Saturday, along with smaller gatherings in Tel Aviv, near Netanyahu’s beach house in central Israel and at dozens of busy intersections nationwide, was one of the largest turnouts in weeks of protests.
Throughout the summer, thousands of Israelis have taken to the streets, calling for Netanyahu to resign, protesting his handling of the country’s coronavirus crisis and saying he should not remain in office while on trial for corruption charges. Though Netanyahu has tried to play down the protests, the twice-a-week gatherings show no signs of slowing:
Queensland reports one new coronavirus case
In Australia, the state of Queensland has detected one new coronavirus case, not linked to a recent border breach by two women who returned to the state from Melbourne.
The state has been undertaking a testing blitz in southern Brisbane and Logan, where the women circulated in the community for about eight days. On Saturday, 13,703 tests were conducted statewide.
The new case is understood to be a person in hotel quarantine, who had recently returned from overseas.
The premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, said testing of 104 residents at a Pinjarra Hills aged care home - which had been subject to some concern after a worker became infected - had returned 104 negative results. Only one resident has not been tested.
“We are not out of the woods,” Palaszczuk said. “The next week is still very critical so we’re going to monitoring everything very closely over the forthcoming week”
Updated
Donald Trump claims Anthony Fauci 'wrong' about cause of Covid-19 surge
Donald Trump launched an extraordinary attack on his own top infectious disease expert, Dr Anthony Fauci, arguing against the doctor’s claim that high rates of infection in the US stem from a less aggressive reaction to the virus in terms of economic shutdowns and stay-at-home orders.
“Wrong!” countered the president as he retweeted a video of Fauci making the point in recent congressional testimony.
Fauci had explained that differentiations between surging US infections and a sharp decrease seen across Europe could be explained by the different reactions to the virus. Fauci said most European countries shut their economies down by 95%, while the US only shut down its economy by half.
Trump countered: “We have more cases because we have tested far more than any other country, 60,000,000. If we tested less, there would be less cases. How did Italy, France & Spain do? Now Europe sadly has flare ups. Most of our governors worked hard & smart. We will come back STRONG!”
But Fauci’s point accurately describes the US situation. While some states followed Centers for Disease Control guidelines when they started to re-open, many did not, leading to a surge in infections in many southern and western states, Fauci explained:
Updated
The head of Mexico’s efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic has sidestepped calls to resign after Mexicos death count rose to overtake the United Kingdom as the third-highest in the world, AP reports.
Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell said late Friday, “I express my respect to the nine of Mexico’s 32 state governors who called for his resignation,” adding “I hope we can continue to work together.”
Mexico reported 688 more confirmed Covid-19 deaths on Friday, raising its accumulated total to 46,688. The number of confirmed cases rose by a near-record 8,458, bringing Mexico’s total cases so far to almost 425,000.
A letter calling for López-Gatell’s immediate resignation bore the names of 10 state governors, all from opposition parties, was made public Friday, but later one of those governors said he had not approved the letter and distanced himself from it.
Mexico has imposed a very lax and partial lockdown of economic activity that has not stopped high levels of contagion, but has strangled the economy. Rather than testing or contact tracing, the government has focused on expanding hospital facilities.
The federal government has given confusing and mixed messages about whether to wear face masks. López Obrador himself almost never wears one, and said Friday, “I will use a face mask when there is no more corruption,” a reference to his administration’s anti-graft crusade, which he views as the country’s main priority.
Updated
When I enrolled in university in 1990, my prospects were good. At that time about 76% of all 20- to 24-year-olds had a job and nearly two-thirds of those in their early 20s were working full time.
By the time I graduated, the recession had happened and just 69% of those in their early 20s had a job and only 55% were employed full time. It was not until 2006 that as many people in their early 20s had a job as was the case in 1990.
There has never again been the same proportion of young people with a full-time job.
Recessions are awful for young people.
But the problem for those now in their 20s is that, unlike for my generation, things were not good even before the recession.
This week the Productivity Commission released two reports that might as well have been titled Young People are Screwed Parts I & II.
WHO anticipates “lengthy” pandemic
The World Health Organization warned on Saturday the coronavirus pandemic was likely to be “lengthy” after its emergency committee met to evaluate the crisis six months after sounding the international alarm.
The committee “highlighted the anticipated lengthy duration of this Covid-19 pandemic”, the WHO said in a statement, and warned of the risk of “response fatigue” given the socio-economic pressures on countries.
The panel gathered on Friday for the fourth time since the coronavirus crisis began, half a year on from its 30 January declaration of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) – the WHO’s highest level of alarm.
“WHO continues to assess the global risk level of Covid-19 to be very high,” said its latest statement. “The committee highlighted the anticipated lengthy duration of this Covid-19 pandemic, noting the importance of sustained community, national, regional, and global response efforts.”
South Africa’s confirmed infections top 500,000
South Africa has now registered more than 500,000 cases of coronavirus, the health ministry announced Saturday, making it by far the hardest-hit country in Africa.
The country has become the epicentre of the deadly pandemic on the continent, accounting for more than half of Africa’s diagnosed infections.
“Today South Africa has exceeded the half-a-million mark with a cumulative total of 503,290 confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded,” Heath Minister Zweli Mkhize said in his daily update.
More than a third of positive cases are in Gauteng province - South Africa’s financial hub.
So far the number of fatalities stands at 8,153, although local researchers have recorded a jump of nearly 60 percent in the overall number of natural deaths in recent weeks, suggesting a far higher toll of coronavirus-related fatalities than officially recorded.
An analysis by the respected South African Medical Research Council suggested an excess of 22,000 natural mortalities between 6 May and 21 July compared to same period in 2019 and 2018.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said Saturday South Africa’s case fatality rate stood at 1.6% - “significantly lower than the global average”.
“While South Africa has the fifth highest number of total COVID-19 cases globally, we have only the 36th highest number of deaths as a proportion of the population,” said Ramaphosa.
Nick Kyrgios withdraws from US open
Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from the US Open in a huge blow to the New York grand slam, AAP reports.
The Australian tennis superstar said he had no problem with the USTA proceeding with their plans to hold the tournament in September but cited health and safety concerns amid the coronavirus pandemic as he joined world No.1 Ashleigh Barty in opting out of the Flushing Meadows major.
“I will not be playing this year at the US Open. It hurts me at my core not to be out there competing in one of the sport’s greatest arenas, Arthur Ashe Stadium. But I’m sitting out for the people, for my Aussies, for the hundreds and thousands of Americans that have lost their lives, for all of you. It’s my decision,” Kyrgios said.
Victoria faces stage 4 lockdown
The Victorian government is set to announce the details of tougher lockdown measures on Sunday afternoon.
Guardian Australia understands the premier, Daniel Andrews, will spell out the details shortly after lunchtime on Sunday, but they are not expected to include a shutdown of public transport that has been mooted in some media reports.
The ABC’s Insiders program reported that the stage 4 lockdown was likely to include further restrictions affecting retail outlets, abattoirs and call centres, while restaurants and cafes would be allowed to offer takeaway if they abide by “strict contactless service provisions”.
The ABC reported that there could be some restrictions on the operation of Uber and taxi services – and that the tougher restrictions would apply beyond metropolitan Melbourne.
The federal education minister, Dan Tehan, signalled on Sunday that the federal government would be supportive of additional measures aimed at reducing community transmission in Victoria.
Updated
Summary
Hello and welcome to today’s live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.
My name is Helen Sullivan and I’ll be bringing you the latest for the next few hours.
You can get in touch on Twitter @helenrsullivan or via email on helen.sullivan@theguardian.com.
Guardian Australia understands that the Victorian government is set to announce the details of tougher lockdown measures on Sunday afternoon.
The premier, Daniel Andrews, is expected to spell out the details shortly after lunch time on Sunday, but restrictions are not expected to include a shutdown of public transport that has been mooted in some media reports.
The World Health Organization meanwhile warned on Saturday the coronavirus pandemic was likely to be “lengthy” after its emergency committee met to evaluate the crisis six months after sounding the international alarm.
- South Africa’s confirmed coronavirus infections have surpassed half a million, the health ministry said on Saturday, while cases in Africa as a whole approached a million.
- The number of new confirmed coronavirus cases in Belgium has doubled in one week, as an average of 448.1 people per day tested positive for Covid-19 in the last week of July.
- Travellers entering France from 16 countries where coronavirus is spread widely must now undergo tests upon arrival at French airports and ports.
- At least 14 members of the US House of Representatives and Senate - seven Republicans and seven Democrats - have tested positive or are presumed to have had Covid-19 since the coronavirus pandemic began earlier this year.
- Several thousand demonstrators gathered outside the official residence of Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday, as weeks of protests against the Israeli leader showed no signs of slowing.
- 36 crew members confined on the Norwegian cruise ship MS Roald Amundsen have tested positive for coronavirus, officials said on Saturday.
- Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos will allow churches and mosques to resume in-person services from 7 August, and restaurants, social clubs and recreational centres will also be allowed to reopen with limited capacity from 14 August as the state, the centre of Nigeria’s coronavirus outbreak, eases restrictions despite a continued rise in infections.
- Ireland’s chief medical officer described a recent spike in Covid-19 infections as “concerning”, as the average number of cases per day doubled from around 20 in recent weeks to over 40 over the past five days.
- Spain’s labour minister, Yolanda Díaz Pérez, suggested on Saturday that the government would extend its coronavirus furlough scheme for an extra three months.
