This was published 5 years ago

As the day unfolded: Victorian arrivals to enter NSW hotel quarantine, national cabinet meets, Australia's death toll hits 266

Updated August 7, 2020 — 7:59pm,first published August 7, 2020 — 7:05am

Summary

People wanting to enter NSW from Victoria are now required to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine, under changes introduced at 12.01 this morning. Queensland will shut its border to residents of NSW and the ACT tomorrow.
Victoria has recorded 450 new coronavirus cases today and 11 additional deaths, bringing the national toll to 266. Amid concerns about the state's food supply, supermarkets have struck a deal for a grace period for their distribution centres within the stage four zone.
NSW has recorded 11 new cases today, all locally acquired. A third person in a Newcastle family has tested positive, as two schools are closed for cleaning and thousands in the city are sent into self-isolation.
The NRL's biosecurity expert has warned even harsher restrictions could be imposed on players and officials after another embarrassing breach, this time involving Broncos staff visiting a Brisbane pub.
India has become the third nation to exceed two million coronavirus cases.

Pinned post from 1.24pm on Aug 7, 2020

PM, CMO hopeful about developments in vaccine race

Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has said "there is really strong optimism" around the development of a coronavirus vaccine in light of various results published this week.

"We have never had a vaccine for a coronavirus in the world before, but the very best minds in the world are concentrating on this," he said, adding that things that would usually take years were taking only months or weeks.

The world's biggest study of a possible COVID-19 vaccine, developed by Moderna and the US National Institutes of Health, gets under way. AP

The Prime Minister made the following comment about the way out of the pandemic, after national cabinet was updated on the vaccine race across the world.

"Australia is positioning itself well to take advantage and be in a position to be able to manufacture and supply vaccines should they be developed ... [But] whoever finds this vaccine must share it.

"Any country that were to find this vaccine and not make it available around the world, without restraint, I think would be judged terribly by history and that's certainly Australia's view and we'll continue to advocate that view in every conversation we have as I certainly have."

Latest Posts

7.59pm on Aug 7, 2020

We are closing the blog for the evening

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:

Australia had 463 new cases today, 450 of which were in Victoria.
WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced a further delay in easing the state's pandemic measures, telling reporters on Friday 'phase five' restrictions would be delayed until at least August 29.
The global death toll has passed 715,000, and cases have passed the 19.1 million mark.
India became the third country, after the US and Brazil, to exceed two million total cases.
The Victorian government has changed the rules around restricted access to childcare for Melbourne families, making it clear only one parent needs to be a permitted worker in order to qualify.
Wayne Bennett has been fined $20,000, Paul Vaughan slapped with a $10,000 sanction and the Broncos $5000 for breaches of the NRL's COVID-19 bubble.
The central bank has warned of a long and bumpy recovery from a recession so severe it will crimp the number of Australians moving in together and having children.
The Australian death toll rose to 266.

7.43pm on Aug 7, 2020

Staff walk out of Kmart warehouse over contact tracing fears

By Nick Bonyhady

Hundreds of workers walked out of a Kmart distribution warehouse on Friday over fears of inadequate contact tracing after a worker at the site tested positive to COVID-19.

The massive $120 million distribution centre at Truganina on Melbourne's western fringe supplies products to all Kmart stores across Victoria but is run by the logistics company Toll.

The warehouse supplies Kmart stores across the state but is run by logistics company Toll.

Three workers at the site were told to isolate after a staff member, whose most recent shift was on Friday last week, recorded a positive result on Wednesday. The distribution centre was cleaned on Thursday afternoon and started up again on Friday.

About 250 workers then left the site after staff health and safety representatives issued a stop work notice because of what their union representative, United Workers Union logistics director Matt Toner, said was "disturbingly inadequate" contact tracing.

"[Toll] have left their workforce in the dark, refusing to answer questions about the latest case," Mr Toner said. "This includes which department the infected worker was working in."

The workers had not returned by Friday evening. Warehouses have been a coronavirus transmission hotspot, with 44 coronavirus cases linked to a Linfox site in the same suburb as the Toll-run Kmart distribution centre and 59 linked to a Woolworths warehouse in Mulgrave by Thursday.

A Kmart spokesman said: "a short term disruption at the site will have no impact on stock availability in our stores."

Read the full story here

7.20pm on Aug 7, 2020

'Extraordinary': All VCE students assessed for special consideration

By Henrietta Cook

Every VCE student will be assessed for special consideration due to the distress and disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

While exams will still go ahead in November, Victorian Education Minister James Merlino on Friday announced an "extraordinary" change to how special consideration is determined for Year 12 students.

"Every single VCE student will be individually assessed and any adverse impacts from COVID-19 will be reflected in their ATAR ranking," Mr Merlino said.

Under the changes, students’ ATARs will take into account school closures due to COVID-19, long absences, increased family responsibilities and the impact of the pandemic on their mental health.

Read the full story here

7.00pm on Aug 7, 2020

Philippines confirms 3379 new coronavirus infections, 24 deaths

The Philippines' health ministry on Friday reported 3379 additional coronavirus cases, bringing the country's total number of confirmed infections to 122,754.

In a bulletin, the ministry said deaths had increased by 24 to 2168.

A medical worker interviews a child queuing for a free COVID-19 swab in Manila. Getty

Infections have surged nearly seven-fold while deaths have more than doubled since a strict lockdown was lifted in June.

It prompted Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to reimpose a lockdown in and around Manila earlier this week.

6.39pm on Aug 7, 2020

Andrews government clarifies Victoria's childcare stance

The Andrews government has clarified its advice on childcare, confirming permitted workers could access childcare if there was nobody else at home who could look after their child.

The clarification means both parents do not have to be permitted workers to qualify for childcare under the stage four restrictions.

“Permitted workers are able to access childcare and kinder if there is no one else in their household who is able to supervise their child,” a government spokeswoman said.

“This may be for a range of reasons including: the other parent could be a full-time student, have a disability, or be working from home such that they cannot supervise the child, or there may be no other adults in the household.”

The same rule will apply to pre-existing babysitting and in-home care arrangements.

The government has advised grandparents and elderly people should not provide care for young children but confirmed it is not against the rules.

6.19pm on Aug 7, 2020

Hong Kong to offer free coronavirus testing for all residents

Hong Kong will offer free voluntary coronavirus testing for residents, leader Carrie Lam said on Friday, as the global financial hub races to contain a resurgence of the virus over the past month.

The plan, which will enable citywide testing for the first time, is likely to be implemented in two weeks at the earliest, Lam said.

The announcement comes less than a week after China sent a team of health officials to Hong Kong to carry out widespread testing for COVID-19. It is the first time mainland health officials have assisted Hong Kong in its battle to control the coronavirus.

"The situation in Hong Kong is still critical, with the number of cases remaining high," Lam told reporters as she sat in front of a large-screen digital backdrop which read 'Fight the virus with the central government's full support'.

Lam said she had asked Beijing in late July to help increase Hong Kong's virus testing capabilities and facilities.

The Chinese territory saw a surge in locally transmitted coronavirus cases at the start of July and introduced a raft of tightening measures including restricting gatherings to two people and making wearing masks mandatory in all outdoor public spaces.

Since January around 3900 people have been infected in Hong Kong, 46 of whom have died.

5.58pm on Aug 7, 2020

Economy to rely on households and government for years: RBA

By Jennifer Duke and Shane Wright

Household and government spending will have to drive the national economy for years, with the Reserve Bank warning of a long and bumpy recovery from a recession so severe it will crimp the number of Australians moving in together and having children.

Releasing downgraded forecasts that economists say show the economy will not be strong enough to withstand an interest rate rise until at least 2023, the bank said that, even before the stage four lockdown of Melbourne, there were signs of deterioration in the outlook.

The RBA has responded to the pandemic by cutting official interest rates to a record low 0.25 per cent, extending a line of credit to banks to help support small and medium-sized businesses and buying more than $50 billion in government debt in a bid to protect the economy.

In its quarterly monetary policy statement, released on Friday, it maintained its forecast for the economy to contract by 6 per cent this year but sliced its expectations for 2021 by 1 percentage point to growth of 5 per cent. GDP isn't expected to return to its 2019 level until early 2022.

5.34pm on Aug 7, 2020

India suffers record jump in COVID-19 cases, becomes third country to pass 2 million mark

India, the country hardest hit in Asia by the coronavirus pandemic, reported on Friday a record daily jump in infections, taking its total number of cases to more than 2 million.

It is the third nation to pass that unwanted milestone, lagging behind only the United States and Brazil.

Health workers in protective suits wait outside the emergency ward of a hospital after bringing a suspected coronavirus patient in an ambulance in Kolkata, India.AP

With infections spreading further to smaller towns and rural areas, experts say the epidemic in India is likely to be months away from hitting its peak, putting more strain on an already overburdened healthcare system.

And authorities are having to deal with multiple outbreaks across a nation of 1.3 billion people.

"A country of India's size and diversity has multiple epidemics in different phases," said Rajib Dasgupta, head of the Centre of Social Medicine and Community Health at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.

The health ministry said on Friday there were 62,538 new infections, taking the country's total to 2.03 million.

India has been posting an average of 50,000 new cases a day since mid-June, but experts say its testing rate at 16,035 per million people is far too low.

Still, the government has taken some solace from the relatively low death rate, at about 2 per cent, with 41,585 deaths so far, though that figure will be understated as only deaths of people who have been tested for the virus are counted.

Epidemiologists say the epidemic in India is likely to be months away from hitting its peak, which will put an already overburdened healthcare system under more strain.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi imposed a strict lockdown on March 25, during the initial stages of the outbreak, causing mass movement of migrant workers from cities back to their villages.

Several states including Bihar in the east, where many migrants returned, have witnessed a surge in cases in recent weeks as the lockdown has been eased to salvage a sagging economy.

Reuters

5.18pm on Aug 7, 2020

Only slight increases in Victorian aged care facilities

By Benjamin Preiss

Of the outbreaks in aged care, most Victorian facilities recorded only slight increases of two or three cases at most. Some recorded no increase at all.

There are now an extra 66 mystery cases in total, bringing the total to 2454 while 408 remain under investigation.

The two largest meatworks outbreaks remained unchanged from yesterday with 196 cases linked to Bertocchi Smallgoods in Thomastown and 164 cases linked to Somerville Retail Services in Tottenham.

However, the DHHS figures include an increase of five cases at the Golden Farms chicken abattoir in Geelong, bringing the total to 36.

Figures at large outbreaks are as follows:
• 196 cases linked to Bertocchi Smallgoods in Thomastown.
• 164 cases linked to Somerville Retail Services in Tottenham.
• 121 cases have been linked to JBS Brooklyn.
• 90 cases linked to Melbourne Health Royal Park Campus.
• 83 cases linked to Australian Lamb Company in Colac.
• 60 cases linked to Woolworths Distribution Centre Mulgrave.
• 44 cases linked to the Linfox warehouse in Truganina.
• 44 cases linked to Nino Early Learning Centre in Bundoora.
• 37 cases linked to Catholic Regional College in Sydenham.
• 36 cases linked to Golden Farms Poultry in Breakwater.
• 31 cases linked to Respite Services Australia in Moonee Ponds.

5.00pm on Aug 7, 2020

Latest figures from Victoria

By Benjamin Preiss

The latest figures from the Department of Health and Human Services show there are 7637 active COVID-19 cases across the state.

The number of COVID-19 patients in hospital in Victoria has almost doubled in a week, rising from 349 last Friday to 607 today.

Of the total cases 12,713 cases are from metropolitan Melbourne, while 839 are from regional Victoria.

There are 1548 active cases in aged care facilities.
Infections in the aged care sector include:

172 cases linked to Epping Gardens Aged Care in Epping
161 cases linked to St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Fawkner
144 cases linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Ardeer
119 cases linked to Kirkbrae Presbyterian Homes in Kilsyth
94 cases linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Heidelberg
84 cases linked to Arcare Aged Care Facility in Craigieburn
80 cases linked to BaptCare Wyndham Lodge Community in Werribee
74 cases linked to Aurrum Aged Care in Plenty
73 cases linked to Glendale Aged Care Facility in Werribee
70 cases linked to Outlook Gardens Aged Care Facility in Dandenong North