The Sydney Morning Herald logo
Advertisement
NationalCoronavirus pandemic

This was published 5 years ago

As it happened: Federal government to charter 20 flights to bring Australians home; Tennis players face 14-day quarantine after positive tests; Global death toll hits 2 million

David Estcourt and Fergus Hunter
Updated ,first published

Summary

Wrapping up for the day

By

That is where we'll leave today's rolling coverage of COVID-19.

Here is a recap of Saturday's key developments:

  • The global death toll from COVID-19 has topped 2 million, crossing the threshold amid a vaccine rollout so immense but so uneven that in some countries there is real hope of vanquishing the outbreak, while in other, less-developed parts of the world, it seems a far-off dream;
  • More than 60 players and officials on one of the chartered flights that arrived in Australia for the tennis are facing 14 days of hard quarantine after two people on their flight tested positive to COVID-19;
  • The Victorian government is preparing a February 15 "V-Day" launch for the most potent COVID vaccine, with its newly formed local public health units to play a critical role in delivering the life-saving jab;
  • The federal government will arrange for a further 20 international repatriation flights to bring stranded Australians home, in addition to the flight caps placed on commercial airlines;
  • This came after thousands of Australians stranded overseas were hit by even more uncertainty after the national cabinet's decision to slash international arrival caps, forcing Emirates to suspend all flights to and from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane;
  • Dozens of people facing another 14 days in hotel quarantine in Brisbane will be released early, as authorities dare to hope the state has dodged another serious virus cluster.

Thank you for joining us on the live blog. See you tomorrow.

Police outside the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Melbourne, where Australian Open players and their support teams are staying.Luis Enrique Ascui

Australian Open quarantine operation in place

By

Photographer Luis Ascui has been at the quarantine hotels accommodating the 1200-strong contingent of players and officials coming to Melbourne for the Australian Open: COVID-19 edition.

An arrival at the Pullman Hotel in Melbourne. Luis Ascui
People leaving the Parkview Hotel in Melbourne. Luis Ascui
Police in place at hotel quarantine in Melbourne. Luis Ascui

China reports 130 new COVID-19 cases, state media warns against 'crying wolf'

By

China reported 130 new coronavirus cases in the mainland for January 15, as authorities continued to battle a severe outbreak in the north-east that has put more than 28 million people under lockdown.

That figure was down from 135 cases a day earlier, China's National Health Commission said on Saturday. Of those cases, 115 were local infections, 90 of which were in Hebei province surrounding Beijing that has been hit hardest in the latest wave.

Another 23 cases were found in north-eastern Heilongjiang province while two cases were reported in Beijing.

Total case numbers remain well below what China saw at the height of the outbreak in early 2020, but concerns about a new country-wide wave are growing with a major national holiday a month away and estimates of 296 million railway passenger trips during the Lunar New Year break.

This surge comes as a World Health Organisation-led (WHO) team of investigators are in quarantine in the city of Wuhan, where the disease was first detected in late 2019. The team aims to investigate the origins of the pandemic that has now killed nearly 2 million people worldwide.

Advertisement

Mexico's daily infection rate doubles in one week

By

Looking overseas, Mexico posted a record spike in coronavirus cases on Friday, with 21,366 newly confirmed infections, about double the daily rate of increase just a week ago. The country also recorded 1106 more deaths.

It was unclear if the spike was due to the presence of the UK virus variant, of which only one case has so far been confirmed in a visiting British citizen.

People wait their turn to fill their tanks with oxygen, in Mexico City. The city offers free oxygen refills for COVID-19 patients. AP

The country has now seen almost 1.61 million total infections and has seen registered over 139,000 deaths so far in the pandemic.

The country’s extremely low testing rate means that is an undercount, and official estimates suggest the real death toll is closer to 195,000. So little testing is done that 8 per cent of all those who got a test later died during recent weeks; normally, only people with severe symptoms are tested.

AP

Western Sydney venue alert from NSW Health

By

NSW Health has issued an alert on a venue in western Sydney, warning that a confirmed COVID-19 case visited the Wentworthville Medical and Dental Clinic on Friday, January 15.

The person – potentially infectious at the time – was present in the dental, physio and imaging waiting room between 11.30am and 1.15pm on the day.

Anyone who was in that section of the clinic at the time is considered a close contact and must immediately get tested and self-isolate for 14 days regardless of the result.

People who were in other areas of the clinic have been urged to monitor for symptoms and isolate and get tested if they appear.

Recapping today's top stories and handing over

By

Thanks for following along this morning with our free coronavirus live blog. David Estcourt here handing over to our colleagues in Sydney to take you through the afternoon.

Recapping today's top stories:

  • The global death toll from COVID-19 has topped 2 million, crossing the threshold amid a vaccine rollout so immense but so uneven that in some countries there is real hope of vanquishing the outbreak, while in other, less-developed parts of the world, it seems a far-off dream;
  • More than 60 players and officials on one of the chartered flights that arrived in Australia for the tennis are facing 14 days of hard quarantine after two people on their flight tested positive to COVID-19;
  • The Victorian government is preparing a February 15 "V-Day" launch for the most potent COVID vaccine, with its newly formed local public health units to play a critical role in delivering the life-saving jab;
  • The federal government will arrange for a further 20 international repatriation flights to bring stranded Australians home, in addition to the flight caps placed on commercial airlines;
  • This came after thousands of Australians stranded overseas were hit by even more uncertainty after the national cabinet's decision to slash international arrival caps, forcing Emirates to suspend all flights to and from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane;
  • Dozens of people facing another 14 days in hotel quarantine in Brisbane will be released early, as authorities dare to hope the state has dodged another serious virus cluster;

Over to Fergus Hunter.

Until next time, bye.

Advertisement

Updated: Stranded Australians get 20 new repatriation flights after Emirates pulls out of Australia

By Fergus Hunter

The federal government will arrange for a further 20 international repatriation flights to bring stranded Australians home, following a decision by Emirates to suspend all flights to and from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

The announcement follows the national cabinet's decision to significantly reduce the cap on international arrivals via commercial flights by 50 per cent until mid-February, following concerns that the hotel quarantine system will be challenged by the more virulent British strain of the coronavirus.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Acting Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham said 446,000 Australians had been able to return home since March 2020 and the federal government had organised 90 flights to assist.

Simon Birmingham said the government will organise a further 20 repatriation flights. Alex Ellinghausen

Senator Birmingham acknowledged the border restrictions put in place early last year had made it difficult for many people and said the additional 20 flights over the next couple of months would help.

Birmingham defends federal government approach to international borders and quarantine

By Fergus Hunter

Acting Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham defended the severe restrictions on international arrivals put in place since last year, saying the measures had helped Australia contain the spread of COVID-19.

With nearly 40,000 Australians stuck overseas nearly a year after the pandemic started, Senator Birmingham acknowledged people's frustrations but said the travel restrictions had been an "essential" part of Australia's COVID-19 success.

Loading

"The very first steps taken almost exactly 12 months ago to start closing Australia's borders, to put in place restrictions to keep Australians safe have worked and have been a triumph for Australia relative to so much of the rest of the world," he said.

"Australians are enjoying relative freedoms, relative openness and, of course, health successes that are the envy of the rest of the world."

Federal government to facilitate 20 more international flights for stranded Australians

By Fergus Hunter

A further 20 international flights will be facilitated by the federal government to repatriate stranded Australians.

The announcement of the flights follows the national cabinet's decision to significantly reduce the cap on international arrivals via commercial flights until mid-February, following concerns that the hotel quarantine system will be challenged by the more virulent British strain of the coronavirus.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday, acting Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham said 446,000 Australians had been able to return home since March 2020 and the federal government had organised 90 flights to assist.

Senator Birmingham acknowledged the border restrictions put in place early last year had made it difficult for many people and said the additional 20 flights over the next couple of months would help.

Advertisement

Government speaks about helping Australians return home from overseas

By

Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham held a doorstop on helping Australians return home from overseas. Watch the full press conference here:

Loading

Advertisement