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NationalQueenslandCoronavirus pandemic

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Coronavirus LIVE Queensland updates: national death toll rises as cabinet meets and state's restrictions set to ease

If you suspect you or a family member has coronavirus you should contact (not visit) your GP, local hospital or 13HEALTH.

Danielle Cronin and Ben Bissett
Updated ,first published

Summary

  • From tomorrow, Queenslanders can shop for non-essential items, take a recreational drive or ride on their motorcycle, jetski or boat, visit an open national park, and have a picnic but there are conditions.
  • For the second day in a row, Queensland has recorded no new cases of COVID-19.
  • National cabinet has agreed to bring forward a decision to relax restrictions to next Friday, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison citing the good work of citizens so far.
  • Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will open the Queensland border for NRL teams to allow the 2020 season to resume so long as it does not put the state’s “excellent work” containing COVID-19 at risk.
  • For information and support during the COVID-19 crisis, contact the Community Recovery Hotline on 1800 173 349.

Key developments today

By
Mairead O'Callaghan (left) and her friend Emma enjoy a picnic lunch at New Farm Park.Dan Peled/AAP

For the second time in as many days, Queensland recorded no new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24-hour period.

While some Queenslanders "jumped the gun a little bit", the state will ease some restrictions on activities from midnight and police will target Brisbane and Gold Coast hot spots to ensure people comply with the rules.

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The path has been cleared for the NRL season to resume provided it doesn't put the state’s “excellent work” containing COVID-19 at risk, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warns.

The prime minister, premiers, and chief ministers will meet again in a week to discuss a further easing of restrictions.

Thanks for joining us today.

More than 2000 screened but no further cases in hospital cluster

By Matt Dennien

Cairns Hospital staff have been cleared of any new COVID-19 cases after four pathology lab workers tested positive for the virus.

Dr Don Mackie, executive director of medical services at the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service, says they acted swiftly in response to the first reported case by closing the lab for cleaning and asking many staff to go into quarantine.

More than 2000 staff across medical, administrative and maintenance roles were screened and subsequently tested if they met the criteria.

“I am very pleased to say no staff have returned positive results as a result of this process,” Dr Mackie says. “The screening of staff will continue until we are completely satisfied this small cluster has been contained."

Griffith to cut executive salaries to support for student COVID-19 fund

By Matt Dennien

Griffith University executives will take a 20 per cent pay cut for the next six months to help fund an increase in support for students in the first such move by one of the south-east’s major tertiary institutions.

The university’s COVID-19 support bursary will now grow to $5 million this year, with $2 million already dispersed to help vulnerable students transition to online learning.

Professor Carolyn Evans from Griffith University.Attila Csaszar

More than 2200 have received help under the program, which provides up to $1500 to those in need. A total of 200 have accessed computers through a loan scheme.

Vice-chancellor Carolyn Evans says over the course of her career she has “never seen a more difficult time” for students.

“Many [lost] their only source of income to support themselves,” she says, adding the international student population had been particularly hard-hit.

The university’s global vice president, Sarah Todd, says: “We hope this additional financial support goes some way to alleviating the anxiety and hardship our students are enduring at this time.”

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Commercial leasing 'inaction' is risking jobs, says LNP

By Matt Dennien

Queensland’s opposition says government delays in introducing commercial leasing arrangements are putting “jobs at risk”.

LNP deputy leader Tim Mander has criticised the “inaction” at a time when the property industry and commercial tenants needed “clarity and certainty”.

“Inaction on commercial tenancies is leaving both small business tenants and property owners financially vulnerable,” he says.

“Every day that Labor delays the commercial leasing regulations puts Queensland jobs at risk.”

Retail sector draws up guidelines at it prepares to reopen

By Nick Bonyhady

Retailers and the shop workers’ union have developed a set of protocols for shops as they prepare to reopen.

The 10-point guidelines include having hand sanitiser in stores and employing security guards to ensure customers stick to social distancing guidelines.

A near-empty Queen Street Mall on a weekday.Dan Peled/AAP

The Pharmacy Guild of Australia, Australian Retailers Association, Shopping Centre Council of Australia and Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) have all signed up to the guidelines.

Major chains are preparing to re-open in the coming weeks as shopping centres start welcoming customers again.

Australians spend more money turning homes into castles

By Anna Patty

Neglected gardens are among objects of attention as house-bound consumers look for new ways to spend their money and time.

Online job platform workers are also finding new ways to keep their distance in response to a rush in demand for virtual services that range from decluttering wardrobes to market research for businesses shifting online.

Gardener Alex Bruce is getting more job requests from people spending more time at home.James Brickwood

Commonwealth Bank Australia economist Gareth Aird said there had been a 25 per cent increase in credit and debit card spending on household furnishings and equipment compared to a year ago. This category includes spending on gardening, home renovations and home office fit-outs.

"We are putting it down broadly to DIY and home renovations and people working from home and fitting out their home office," he says.

Read the full story here.

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Vaccine test results 'expected in six weeks' after experimental jabs

By Laura Donnelly and Lizzie Roberts

Scientists working on a vaccine against coronavirus could know within six weeks whether it will work, they say.

Sir John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University, says "several hundred" Britons have now been given the experimental jab, with hopes that "signals" about whether it works could emerge by mid-June.

Human trials began last week, and the team working on the vaccine hope that if it works a million doses could be given to the public from September. A successful vaccine is key to lifting social distancing measures.

Ministers announced a partnership between Oxford University and AstraZeneca, which aims to ensure that a successful vaccine is rapidly rolled out.

Sir John says the research team has already done "a great job".

He told Today on BBC Radio 4: "They have vaccinated several hundred people now, and we hope to get some signal about whether it's working by the middle of June."

NRL must be a role model: Prime Minister

By Max Koslowski

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is warning the NRL that it must be a role model to the rest of the country by adhering to coronavirus social distancing measures in order to relaunch the season.

Speaking to Ben Fordham on 4BC Radio, Mr Morrison commends the NRL for having the “ambition” to restart the competition.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the comments after today's national cabinet meeting.Alex Ellinghausen

But he emphasises that the code and its players must abide by the law to receive the green light from authorities.

“It’s got to be done in the right way, and it’s got to set the right example and the players have to set the right example,” the Prime Minister says.

Premier tells teams to get training for NRL restart

By Matt Dennien

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced she will open the Queensland border for NRL teams to allow the 2020 season to resume so long as it does not put the state’s “excellent work” containing COVID-19 at risk.

Ms Palaszczuk says she told NRL chairman Peter V’Landys and chief executives of the three Queensland teams they could start training for the season re-opened on May 28.

“I said I was as keen as anyone else to see the NRL return and I meant it,” she says. “The only condition was that it did not put our excellent work containing the spread of COVID-19 at risk and the chief health officer advises that the NRL plan is workable.”

But after examples of players breaking public health directions this week, the premier demanded further assurances on home-quarantine measures set to be part of the league's plan to resume.

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Coronavirus started in China, PM tells mining billionaire

By Max Koslowski

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has told billionaire Andrew Forrest to stay away from foreign affairs and stop spreading misinformation about the origins of the coronavirus.

Mr Forrest has secured 10 million testing kits from China in a $320 million deal, bolstering Australia's supplies, but he has angered federal MPs with his comments about the coronavirus and the diplomatic tension between the two countries.

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Asked by Alan Jones on Sydney radio station 2GB whether Mr Forrest was lying when he said the virus could have started in another country, the Prime Minister said "that's obviously not true".

"I don't think anybody's in any fantasy land about where [the virus] started," Mr Morrison said on Friday. "It started in China."

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