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NationalCoronavirus pandemic

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As the day unfolded: NSW-Victoria border to close as Victoria records 127 new COVID-19 cases; Australian death toll hits 106

Matt Bungard and Mary Ward
Updated ,first published

Summary

  • There have been more than 11.3 million coronavirus cases recorded worldwide, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. The global death toll has passed 530,000 and there have been more than 6 million recoveries.
  • The NSW-Victoria border is set to close from Tuesday midnight, following talks between both states' premiers and the Prime Minister this morning. NSW will seek to define all of Melbourne as a coronavirus hotspot in its public health order today, effectively placing a travel ban between the two cities.
  • Victoria has recorded 127 new coronavrus cases, its highest daily increase. It comes after the state recorded 182 new coronavirus cases over the weekend. Two Victorians, a man in his 60s and a man in his 90s, have died, Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said today.
  • Residents of nine public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington have been told their  lockdown could last beyond Friday after a spike in coronavirus cases on the weekend. They have reacted frustratedly to news some of the blocks do not contain confirmed cases. 
  • Abroad, countries from Spain to Ireland, and Israel to El Salvador are extending or reinstituting their own lockdown measures. 
Pinned post from 7.00pm on Jul 6, 2020
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We are closing the blog for the evening

By

Thanks for reading. This is Matt Bungard signing off. We'll be back tomorrow with more live, free coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

This is what you need to know from today:

  • The global death toll passed 534,000, and cases have passed the 11.4 million mark.
  • Australia had 137 new cases today, including two in Albury, near the NSW-Victoria border.
  • The Australian death toll is now 106 after a man in his 60s in Victoria passed away.
  • Due to the huge spike in cases in Victoria, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said travellers from Melbourne would not be allowed into her state on Tuesday, ahead of the lockdown at midnight which will stop any Victorians crossing the border.
  • Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that a discussion he had this morning with both Ms Berejiklian and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews resulted in the three of them agreeing to go ahead with the border closure.

We'll continue our live coverage of the pandemic early on Tuesday morning with Mary Ward.

Pinned post from 1.16pm on Jul 6, 2020
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NSW-Victoria border to close: what we know so far

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Today, the Victorian and NSW premiers have announced that following a discussion with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, the border between the two states – which comprises roughly 55 crossings – will close at 11.59pm on Tuesday.

It comes as Victoria recorded 127 new coronavirus cases overnight, the highest daily total in the state since the start of the pandemic.

Here is what we know after Daniel Andrews and Gladys Berejiklian's respective press conferences:

  • The Victoria-NSW border will close at 11.59pm on Tuesday. This will be policed on the NSW side of the border.
  • Online permits to cross will be available through Service NSW from tomorrow. Ms Berejiklian's office has said special provisions will be in place for border communities such as Albury-Wodonga as well as freight operations and other critical services.
  • However, people travelling from Melbourne will be subject to restrictions from today, as the whole city is being classified as a coronavirus hotspot under the NSW public health order, Ms Berejiklian said.
  • From Wednesday, NSW residents returning to their home state from Victoria will be required to self-isolate for 14 days, as is currently required when returning from a hotspot.
  • There is no suggestion that people will not be allowed to enter Victoria from NSW.
  • NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has warned of major delays when crossing the border, and has asked the Department of Defence for assistance as he sends 400 officers to police the operation.

Read the wrap of the Victorian announcement here and the NSW announcement here.

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WHO adviser calls for Melbourne-wide lockdown

By Paul Sakkal

The state government should reimpose a strict lockdown on the entirety of Melbourne, says UNSW professor and World Health Organisation adviser Mary-Louise McLaws.

UNSW epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws.Dominic Lorrimer

Professor McLaws said the level of community transmission has grown to a point that justified harsher restrictions and called for infected people in public housing flats to be moved to a purpose-built area to avoid large family clusters emerging.

“Certainly it’s a good idea,” she said of a city-wide lockdown.

“It’s time, sadly, for Victoria to think about locking down the entire state for another 14-day period.”

Pinned post from 7.00pm on Jul 6, 2020

We are closing the blog for the evening

By

Thanks for reading. This is Matt Bungard signing off. We'll be back tomorrow with more live, free coverage of the coronavirus pandemic.

This is what you need to know from today:

  • The global death toll passed 534,000, and cases have passed the 11.4 million mark.
  • Australia had 137 new cases today, including two in Albury, near the NSW-Victoria border.
  • The Australian death toll is now 106 after a man in his 60s in Victoria passed away.
  • Due to the huge spike in cases in Victoria, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said travellers from Melbourne would not be allowed into her state on Tuesday, ahead of the lockdown at midnight which will stop any Victorians crossing the border.
  • Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that a discussion he had this morning with both Ms Berejiklian and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews resulted in the three of them agreeing to go ahead with the border closure.

We'll continue our live coverage of the pandemic early on Tuesday morning with Mary Ward.

Indonesia set to become third virus hot spot in Asia, expert warns

By James Massola

Indonesia will become the third coronavirus epicentre in south-east Asia after China and India, according to one of the country's top epidemiologists.

University of Indonesia epidemiologist Pandu Riono said coronavirus infection rates will continue to rise until September or October, when it could reach as high 4000 cases per day. He said university modelling suggested the rise will continue unabated unless stricter measures are implemented to control its spread.

On Sunday, Indonesia reported 1607 new infections - it's second-highest ever figure, and a daily record of 82 new deaths.

It now has now recorded 63,749 positive cases and 3171 deaths and, if the current rising trend of infections continues, will pass China's official figures of 83,557 cases and 4634 deaths in a matter of weeks.

Though experts have questioned both China and Indonesia's official figures, the trend of a rising infection rate in Indonesia is clear.

Read the full story here

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RBA poised to hold rates as job ads hint at economic improvement

By Shane Wright

The Reserve Bank is poised to hold interest rates at record lows while hoping the worst of the recession may be over with employers ramping up efforts to find new staff.

The RBA board on Tuesday is expected to hold the official cash rate at 0.25 per cent while resisting growing signs that major central banks overseas are considering negative interest rates to kick-start their economies out of coronavirus-induced recessions.

Recent retail trade figures and the reopening of most states have given the bank some hope that after the depths of the economic downturn through April and early May there has been a modest turnaround.

The keenly watched ANZ measure of job ads, released Monday, gave some hint of the improvement with ads soaring a record 42 per cent in June.

Two suspected COVID-19 cases in Albury

By Rachel Clun

NSW Health has confirmed it's investigating two suspected cases of COVID-19 in the border town of Albury.

One suspected case had recently travelled to Melbourne, a NSW Health spokeswoman said, and returned to Albury before hotspot travel restrictions came into effect.

NSW Health is urging residents in the Albury area to get tested if they have even the mildest symptoms.

Murrumbidgee Local Health District is opening a pop-up clinic at Mirambeena Community Centre on Tuesday morning.

The NSW Health spokeswoman said the two positive results are preliminary, with further testing under way.

"As a precaution, close contacts have been identified and placed in isolation,” the spokeswoman said.

It comes after one case was confirmed in neighbouring town Wodonga on Monday morning by Victorian health officials.

Morrison backs Andrews, Berejiklian decision

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Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that a discussion he had this morning with both New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews resulted in the three of them agreeing to go ahead with the border closure.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison.Alex Ellinghausen

"We agreed that now's the time for Victoria to isolate itself from the rest of the country," he said on 2GB on Monday afternoon.

"What's different here is that this isn't other states closing their borders to Victoria, this is Victoria understanding the need to contain an outbreak."

"It's regrettable that this has been necessary, we're one country and that's important, but so is maintaining our strong health performance through COVID - all the other states and territories have virtually no community transmission, if any."

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WA Premier Mark McGowan calls on Prime Minister to stop supporting Clive Palmer

By Aja Styles

Premier Mark McGowan has challenged the Prime Minister Scott Morrison's support of Clive Palmer's border challenge before the High Court as "ridiculous" and unnecessary, while also requesting a cap on international arrivals to Perth in light of the new cases being brought into the state.

WA Premier Mark McGowan calls border threat 'ridiculous'.Nine News

Mr McGowan said the "major threat" to Western Australia was from Australian travellers now choosing to return home and the need to slow the flow as it put pressure on hotels and security staff.

He has asked the Federal Government to cap arrivals coming into WA in the vicinity of one flight every three days and the state government was also drafting urgent legislation to insist returning travellers to pay for their own 14 days of hotel quarantine.

Once the bill was ready, he would recall Parliament for a special sitting to get legislation through quickly.

Border closure happening at the right time: Berejiklian

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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian rejected suggestions that the border between New South Wales and Victoria could have been closed earlier.

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"We only came to this decision as a state because we absolutely had to," she said on 2GB radio.

The Premier said that she had been having daily conversations with NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant for at least the past fortnight, but it wasn't until this morning that she was told the border needed to close.

"We kind of knew this was where we'd end up, so we've been as prepared as possible."

Indi MP asks for border cities guarantee

By Rob Harris

Helen Haines, the federal MP for Indi in Victoria's north-east, has asked the NSW Premier to guarantee that Albury-Wodonga residents will at all times be able to move between the twin cities to access health services.

She also has sought reassurances permits will be readily available for education, business and work while the border remains closed during Victoria's current coronavirus spike.

Indi MP Helen Haines.Jeff Zeuschner

The independent said constituents started contacting her Wodonga and Wangaratta electorate offices this morning, concerned and distressed about the border closure, which takes effect from 11.59pm on Tuesday.

She said the announcement had caused uncertainty for many people who live in border communities but warned it would be Albury-Wodonga residents who were most seriously affected.

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Two abattoirs workers and two hospital workers test positive in Melbourne

By Paul Sakkal

Workers at two hospitals and two abattoirs in Melbourne have tested positive to COVID-19 over the past 24 hours.

Workers at JBS meatworks in Brooklyn and Pacific Meats in Thomastown have become ill and all staff at both sites will be tested.

Pacific Meats has been closed, while the Health Department’s outbreak squad will visit the JBS site to determine what action will be taken.

A healthcare worker at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Parkville, a close contact of a known case, has contracted the virus. The Health Department did not detail when the worker had last been to work. A nurse at the hospital tested positive in late June.

A healthcare worker at The Alfred hospital in Melbourne also tested positive. The Health Department said it believed the person worked at the hospital recently while infectious.

The department is also investigating cases linked to the Telstra store in Bourke Street. Close contacts are in quarantine and the store has been deep-cleaned

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