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As it happened: Victoria records 15 new COVID-19 cases as calls for mandatory masks in NSW renewed; Australian death toll stands at 898

Simone Fox Koob and Benjamin Preiss

Updated October 12, 2020 — 8:32pm,first published October 12, 2020 — 7:11am

Summary

Victoria recorded 15 new COVID-19 cases on Monday and no deaths. It's now impossible for Melbourne to record a 14-day average under five by October 19. As more than 584,000 Victorian students return to the classroom, Nazareth College in Melbourne's south-east has closed after a student tested positive.
Victoria's top public servant Chris Eccles has resigned after his phone records were requested by the state's hotel quarantine inquiry.
NSW recorded one new local case in the latest 24-hour reporting period. The state recorded six cases in total, five of which were detected in overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
Queensland has recorded zero new cases of COVID-19 overnight, maintaining the active cases in the state to four. A total of 1,987 tests were completed in the past 24 hours.
New CSIRO research shows COVID-19 can last up to 28 days on surfaces like mobile phone and ATM screens, much longer than previously thought.

Pinned post from 8.32pm on Oct 12, 2020

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That's all for tonight

By Benjamin Preiss

We’re now closing the blog for the evening, thanks very much for joining us today.

Join us again on Tuesday, when we will again be following all of the coronavirus pandemic’s developments.

Here’s a recap of the big stories:

Scrutiny on Andrews' leadership as second confidante departs over hotel quarantine

'I stuffed up': Premier resists resignation after explosive ICAC hearing

Joy and relief as kids return to school after months of lockdown

Chinese companies given 'verbal notice' to stop importing Australian coal

'Patients the losers' despite $17m lift for 'white elephant' medical costs website

Melbourne Music Week expands to three months over summer

Have a great night.

Latest Posts

6.31pm on Oct 12, 2020

Worldwide COVID-19 cases surpass 37.4 million

By Benjamin Preiss

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide has now surpassed 37.4 million, including more than a million deaths.

The latest figures from the federal government show there have been 27,286 confirmed cases in Australia and 898 deaths.

There are 239 active cases in Australia with 191 in Victoria, 24 in New South Wales, 16 in Western Australia and four each in Queensland and South Australia.

The United States leads the worldwide tally with almost 7.8 million cases, followed by India with nearly 7.1 million and Brazil on close to 5.1 million.

6.14pm on Oct 12, 2020

Cases in Brazil likely to be seven times higher than official count

The number of people who have died of COVID-19 in Brazil has reached 150,198, the Health Ministry said.

The number of people infected with the coronavirus has passed 5 million.

Brazil, the largest country in South America, is in second place worldwide in terms of deaths after the United States, and in third place in terms of infections after the US and India.

The country of 210 million inhabitants, is likely to have many more cases and deaths from the virus, as it conducts relatively few tests.

Scientific studies suggest that at least seven times as many people were infected as previously known, and twice as many died as recorded. However, the number of new infections and deaths has recently decreased.

Brazil's right-wing populist President Jair Bolsonaro has repeatedly referred to COVID-19 as a mild flu and spoke out against restrictions in public life.

He persisted downplaying the threat posed by the pandemic even after he and other members of his family contracted the disease.
DPA

5.46pm on Oct 12, 2020

NSW issues alert for patrons of hotel in Sydney's south-west

By Matt Bungard

NSW Health has advised anyone who attended the bar room at Ingleburn Hotel in Sydney’s south-west on Sunday October 4 to be on alert.

Anyone who spent an hour or more in the bar room between 3pm and 6pm on that day is considered a close contact and must immediately isolate and be tested, the department said.

Anyone who spent less than an hour there is considered a casual contact.

Anyone who attended either the pub’s bistro or gaming room at that time is considered a casual contact, as well as anyone on the following train services:

Wiley Park Station to Lakemba Station on Thursday October 1, between 12.02 and 12.14pm.
Lakemba Station to Wiley Park Station on Thursday October 1, between 3.14pm and 3.27pm
Wiley Park Station to Lakemba Station on Tuesday October 6, between 12.10pm and 12.30pm
Tuesday, 6 October, from Lakemba Station to Wiley Park Station, between 1.42pm and 1.58pm

5.27pm on Oct 12, 2020

Mining companies ban ship crew from Manila as another ore carrier outbreak arrives in Pilbara

By Daile Cross

Australian mining companies have agreed to no longer use Manila-based ship crew members after the West Australian government confirmed an outbreak of COVID-19 on board the Vega Dream iron ore bulk carrier, anchored off the Port Hedland coast.

The Vega Dream is the second ship that has arrived in northern WA with positive cases on board in recent months.

There has been an outbreak on board the Vega Dream.Marine Traffic

Seven crew members on the iron ore carrier have tested positive for COVID-19, WA Health Minister Roger Cook said on Monday.

One crew member tested positive on Sunday and, of the ship's remaining 19 crew members, six tested positive, Mr Cook revealed.

They are all on the vessel at anchor, 22 nautical miles offshore.

"We understand they're in good spirits," Mr Cook said. "And there have been no reports of them being unwell.

"What I can stress is that there is no risk, I repeat no risk, to the Port Hedland community."

There had been concern in Port Hedland that a marine pilot and cargo surveyor who went on board the ship might have posed a transmission risk.

But Mr Cook said neither had been in close contact with any of the crew who have since tested positive and have no symptoms. They are self-isolating as a precaution.

"We do understand there is a level of anxiety in the community and for that reason we are isolating the pilot," he said.

The Vega Dream left the port about 5.30pm on Sunday, fully laden with iron ore. The positive crew members are isolating on board, in rooms with ensuites.

The ship is now outside WA jurisdiction, but Mr Cook said the state government continued to engage with what was happening on board and was working with the federal government, which will decide the next steps.

Two doctors in Sydney test positive for coronavirus

By Matt Bungard

Two doctors who worked at the of A2Z Medical Centre in Lakemba, in Sydney’s south-west, have been confirmed as positive cases of COVID-19.

All staff at the clinic are now isolating and are being tested. The two new cases are linked to a previously reported case, a patient who attended Lakemba Radiology.

"NSW Health is in the process of contacting everyone considered to be a close contact of these cases," a statement from the department on Monday afternoon said.

Anyone who attended the nearby Isra Medical practice, on Monday October 5 from 7.15pm to 7.40pm is also considered a casual contact.

A new pop-up testing clinic has been established at Lakemba Uniting Church, and will be open from 10am to 4pm on Tuesday.

Full story here

4.41pm on Oct 12, 2020

NZ joins race for vaccine doses

The New Zealand government signed a deal on Monday to buy 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech, with delivery potentially as early as the first quarter of 2021.

The government did not disclose financial terms of the deal, its first vaccine purchase, which will provide enough doses to vaccinate 750,000 people.

Officials said talks were continuing with other drug companies to secure more vaccine supplies for the country of 5 million people and further announcements were expected next month.

"The additional agreements will ensure that once the portfolio is completed, we will have sufficient COVID-19 vaccines for the whole population," Research Minister Megan Woods said in a statement.

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is one of the leading candidates in the race to be the first to get regulatory approval in the United States and Europe.

New Zealand appeared to have stamped out community transmission of COVID-19 earlier this year following a tough nationwide lockdown.

A renewed outbreak in the city of Auckland in August was also brought under control with fresh lockdown measures.

The country has reported just over 1500 cases, including 25 deaths, far less than most other developed nations. New Zealand has not recorded a community transmitted case for 17 days.

Reuters

4.31pm on Oct 12, 2020

NSW Premier faces media after appearing at corruption inquiry

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian addressed the media at 4.30pm AEDT after her sensational appearance at a corruption inquiry earlier in the day.

Her leadership is under immense pressure after she admitted she was in a "close personal relationship" with disgraced former MP Daryl Maguire, who was forced out of Parliament amid corruption allegations.

You can catch up on all the developments in our special ICAC inquiry blog.

4.03pm on Oct 12, 2020

‘All roads lead to Andrews’: Opposition Leader says Premier's 'house of cards' falling

Victorian Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien says "all roads lead to Andrews" after the resignation of Premier Daniel Andrews' top public servant Chris Eccles.

Mr O'Brien again called for Mr Andrews to resign and said the Premier, Mr Eccles, former health minister Jenny Mikakos and Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp should all be recalled by the hotel quarantine inquiry.

"Chris Eccles is Daniel Andrews' right-hand man," the Opposition Leader said.

"They worked hand-in-glove together from the day Daniel Andrews became Premier, and you can just see the entire house of cards is now starting to collapse."

Mr Eccles resigned earlier today after a retrieval of his phone records showed he called former police chief commissioner Graham Ashton on March 27 as Victoria’s hotel quarantine system was set up, contradicting evidence Mr Eccles previously gave to the inquiry.

Mr O'Brien and Nationals leader Peter Walsh held their press conference surrounded by 791 small Australian flags, which they said represented the 791 people who have died in "Daniel Andrews' second wave".

"This is what politics should be about," Mr O'Brien said. "Remembering the people who suffered, remembering the people who've been hurt, remembering the people who deserve better."

The Opposition Leader said he had "very little confidence" in other senior public servants, such as Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kym Peake.

But ahead of the opposition moving a motion of no-confidence in the Premier when Parliament sits on Tuesday, he said Mr Andrews "should be the one held responsible for these failures".

"For all Daniel Andrews' talk about he's accountable for everything that happens under his government, he's not accountable because he's still more interested in protecting his job than protecting the jobs of Victorians," Mr O’Brien said.

Labor will almost certainly use its 11-seat majority to knock back the motion of no-confidence.

On the day Victoria’s goal of a 14-day average of five cases per day by next Sunday became unachievable, Mr O'Brien said the government needed to improve its contact tracing system and adjust its strategy so Victoria could "learn to live" with COVID-19.

"This state has still not learnt the lessons that every other state has learnt about the importance of contact tracing," he said. "This is the reason why we are in such a deep second wave and why it's gone on for so long and had such tragic consequences."

3.48pm on Oct 12, 2020

Watch: WA Health Minister is giving a COVID-19 update

Health Minister Roger Cook has provided an update on the situation at Port Hedland. Here's what he had to say.