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NationalCoronavirus pandemic

This was published 5 years ago

As the day unfolded: Global COVID-19 cases top 2.9 million as Australia’s death toll stands at 83

If you suspect you or a family member has coronavirus you should call (not visit) your GP or ring the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.

Latika Bourke, Harriet Alexander and Carrie Fellner
Updated ,first published

Summary

  • The global death toll from coronavirus has passed 200,000. There are more than 2.8 million known cases of infection but more than 798,000 people have recovered, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally
  • The UK has become the fifth country to record more than 20,000 deaths from coronavirus
  • The World Health Organisation has cautioned against the idea of immunity passports
  • Justin Trudeau has not ruled out Canada's support for an investigation into the World Health Organisation's handling of the pandemic

We are closing the blog for the evening

By Carrie Fellner

Thank you for joining us for the day's coverage. To recap, here are Sunday's major developments:

  • The government's much anticipated tracking app is here. COVIDSafe went live on Sunday evening and health authorities are expecting more than half the population to download the app to their smartphones. It remains to be seen whether the public will embrace the technology amid lingering privacy concerns.
  • Two states are set to relax their social distancing restrictions, Queensland and Western Australia. The changes mainly involve number limits at gatherings and allowing recreational activities outdoors.
  • Australia will soon begin testing asymptomatic people, the Chief Medical Officer has flagged.
  • The death toll in Australia has increased by three to 83, while the number of confirmed cases has climbed from 6695 to 6711.
  • Health Minister Greg Hunt has declared Australia has achieved a "sustained and consolidated ... flattening of the curve" but has not yet "won the war" with COVID-19.

Cash v integrity: the NRL's $33 million dilemma

By Michael Chammas

Analysis: To play, or not to play. That is the $33 million question.

Forget the Twenty20 World Cup and its implications for rugby league, because the NRL will be forced into a decision - as early as Monday - on the length of its season without knowing whether the cricket is on, off or postponed.

Whether it's a 17 or 20-round competition will come down to one fundamental question: what is more important, money or integrity?

The Roosters celebrate their 2019 grand final win. AAP

This column has been told by sources close to negotiations that at least one broadcaster, potentially both, has agreed only to pay for what was stipulated in the original broadcast contract, which was an NRL season that ended on October 4.

Key developments from around the world

By Carrie Fellner

Here's a summary of the latest developments from overseas as the total number of cases worldwide starts to near 3 million, with over 203,000 deaths.

-The White House has denied reports the Trump administration is canvassing plans to sack Health Secretary Alex Azar over his handling of the pandemic.

-Spain, Italy and France are all preparing to ease their lockdown measures, which are among the world's strictest.

-Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, who has been standing in for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, rejected calls for an early easing of the lockdown, warning social distancing will be with the country for "some time".

-Iran is planning to announce the mandatory wearing of face masks on public transport, starting with buses and trains.

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Do I need to keep my smartphone unlocked for the new tracing app to work?

By Carrie Fellner

A few people on social media are questioning whether they need to keep their phones unlocked for the COVIDSafe tracing app to work.

The answer is no. The federal government has previously clarified the matter, saying the app should be left running in the background but will work even on a locked phone.

Android users should see a sticky notification telling them the app is working. IOS (Iphone) users will get a notification if the app hasn't been working for at least 24 hours.

Another way to tell is to look out for a small ripple in the device image - it will appear on your app's home page each time your device detects another device with the app installed.

Tracing app early birds caught out

By Rachel Eddie

We've had a few readers say the COVIDSafe app isn't registering their mobile numbers.

A spokesman from the Department of Health says that must have been prior to 6pm, before the app started accepting registrations.

"If they try it now, it should go right on through," the spokesman said.

Otherwise, most readers are telling us downloading the app has been "easy peasy".

'I'm not sure everyone would cope': AFL seeks approval for hub plan

By Peter Ryan

The AFLPA are waiting for the AFL to provide more information on quarantine hubs amid concerns among players about the mental health challenges of being in such locations, and the potential impact on their families if they are away for an extended period of time.

Although the quarantine hubs are seen as the most viable way to start the season the issue has not been discussed in detail with the full cohort of 840 players.

Qualified success: The AFL's plan to get the ball rolling using quarantine hubs has received cautious support from the players' association.Morgan Hancock

Many players, including Players' Association president Patrick Dangerfield, have expressed cautious support for the concept and the AFLPA remain open to the idea but they are determined to ensure that any demands made on players are reasonable.

Melbourne's Ed Langdon said it is imperative that whatever the AFL sets up takes into account the mental adjustment that would be needed to move from self-isolation into an intense high-performance environment for an extended period of time.

Click here to read the full story.

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'The air on your face': Spanish kids revel in release from lockdown

By Jessica Jones and Clara-Laeila Laudette

On foot, on skateboards and on scooters, Spanish children emerged from their homes on Sunday for the first time after six long weeks of living under one of Europe's strictest coronavirus lockdowns.

The relaxation came as Spain, one of the worst hit by the global COVID-19 epidemic, registered its lowest daily increase in the coronavirus death toll in more than a month.

Children wearing protective masks were out in Madrid, with under 14s allowed outside for the first time since the government declared a state of emergency on March 14 and shut down most activity.

Lucia Ibanez, 9, out for a walk with her mother, said she had missed the streets and the park and "feeling the air on your face" during lockdown.

"I never thought I would miss school but I really miss it," she said.

Employers encourage staff to download app to speed up reopenings

By Rob Harris and Anthony Galloway

Big employers will urge their staff to download a new contact tracing phone application to help the nation safely return to work as the federal government on Sunday evening launched the critical next phase of the pandemic lockdown.

Health authorities are expecting more than half of all Australians to download the voluntary COVIDSafe contact tracing app, which logs every user who has been within 1.5 metres of a person for 15 minutes or more by using Bluetooth technology to record digital “handshakes” with other phones.

The Morrison government has promised a “triple lock of privacy” to convince Australians their information will not be used for anything other than its sole purpose to aid authorities in halting the spread of COVID-19.

Federal Parliament will, when it sits next month, make it a criminal offence to misuse the data or pass it on without the permission of the user, while the data collected will remain on the phone and can only be released with the permission of the owner if they have contracted the coronavirus.

Australians will be asked to give a name, which can be a pseudonym, a contact phone number, a postcode and an age range, and neither their location nor movements will be registered.

United States steps toward reopening amid reports health secretary Alex Azar will be sacked

By Nathan Layne and Rich McKay

New York: Many Americans flocked to beaches on Saturday as one Florida county expanded access and California experienced a heat wave, even as new coronavirus cases hit a record high in the United States the day before and deaths topped 200,000 worldwide.

There were reports, meanwhile, that President Donald Trump's administration is considering replacing its secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, because of early missteps in the handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

Ignoring social distancing and mandates to wear masks for other face coverings, protesters attend an "Open Texas" rally at the Texas State Capitol on Saturday.AP

The Wall Street Journal citing six people familiar with the discussions, said frustration with Azar was growing but the administration was reluctant to make big changes while the country was seeking to stop the virus, which causes the respiratory disease COVID-19 and has killed more than 53,000 people in the United States.

A White House spokesman told the newspaper that there was no plan to replace Azar and called talk of replacing him "speculation and a distraction."

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Fears seriously ill people going unchecked as cancer referrals plummet

By Melissa Cunningham

Cancer referrals at Australia's leading oncology centres have plummeted by up to 30 per cent, fuelling concerns seriously ill people may be going undiagnosed.

The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre has revealed referrals for patients were down by a third this month, compared to the same time last year, as thousands of Australians avoid seeing their doctor amid fears of contracting coronavirus or not wanting to burden health services.

Professor Declan Murphy.

"It's really quite striking the decrease in referrals we are seeing," Professor Declan Murphy, director of genito-urinary oncology at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, said.

"What the trend tells us is that people are not going into primary care. They are not seeing their doctors or getting their blood tests done, getting that swab or that colonoscopy. The exact sort of stuff that creates referrals into the cancer centre is just not being done."

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