This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2020/apr/17/australia-coronavirus-live-news-economy-qantas-nsw-victoria-queensland-latest-updates
The article has changed 24 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 12 | Version 13 |
|---|---|
| Australia coronavirus updates live: 20 residents of Newmarch aged care home in Sydney confirmed cases of Covid-19 – latest news | Australia coronavirus updates live: 20 residents of Newmarch aged care home in Sydney confirmed cases of Covid-19 – latest news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| NSW considers roster system for return to face-to-face learning in schools, as federal government to pay up to $165m to maintain key domestic flight routes. Follow all the latest news, live | NSW considers roster system for return to face-to-face learning in schools, as federal government to pay up to $165m to maintain key domestic flight routes. Follow all the latest news, live |
| It’s been a slower day than we have seen this week, with Australia well into the suppression stage of its response. | |
| Cases may be dropping, but we have seen how quickly flare ups can happen – such as the Newmarch Anglicare house in western Sydney, and north-west Tasmania. | |
| I’ll hand you over to Naaman Zhou, who will take you through the afternoon briefing from Paul Kelly, who will give the national update in about 15 minutes. | |
| I’ll be back next week. Thank you again for joining me this week. Take care of you. | |
| WA is still running its trial of offering empty hotel rooms to the homeless and vulnerable. | |
| Now it looks like NSW has a similar program underway. From AAP: | |
| Women and children fleeing domestic violence and those sleeping rough in NSW during the COVID-19 outbreak will now have greater access to temporary accommodation. | |
| Hotels can now register available rooms through a centralised online forum launched by Homelessness NSW, Y Foundations and Domestic Violence NSW. | |
| It comes as support services and frontline workers warn the COVID-19 restrictions will result in a rise of domestic violence. | |
| Domestic Violence NSW said it received an overwhelming response from hotels offering accommodation. | |
| “More resources and therapeutic supports have moved online, whilst refuges are safe, have vacancies and are providing intensive levels of wrap-around support,” spokeswoman Renata Field said in a statement on Friday. | |
| Ms Field said the additional accommodation would help relieve pressure points while helping refuges and shelters that need more rooms to meet social distancing and self-isolation requirements. | |
| Anyone seeking temporary accommodation who is not already in contact with a support service worker is advised to contact Link2Home, who will have access to the database of available rooms. | |
| The NSW opposition leader, Jodi McKay says the NSW government has a humanitarian responsibility to ensure that all members of the Ruby Princess crew are well, before the cruise ship is ordered to leave NSW waters. | The NSW opposition leader, Jodi McKay says the NSW government has a humanitarian responsibility to ensure that all members of the Ruby Princess crew are well, before the cruise ship is ordered to leave NSW waters. |
| Australia’s death toll now stands at 64. | Australia’s death toll now stands at 64. |
| Yet another awful reminder of why Tasmania is going so hard with restrictions in its north-west coast, where a Covid-19 outbreak has the community under lockdown. | Yet another awful reminder of why Tasmania is going so hard with restrictions in its north-west coast, where a Covid-19 outbreak has the community under lockdown. |
| Australia is not entertaining the “herd immunity” option. | Australia is not entertaining the “herd immunity” option. |
| But that hasn’t stopped some people commenting on it, or wishing for it. | But that hasn’t stopped some people commenting on it, or wishing for it. |
| Perhaps they should read this, written by, as our opinion editor Bridie Jabour says, someone who actually has expertise on herd immunity (and if that is not enough, take a look at what is occurring in Sweden): | Perhaps they should read this, written by, as our opinion editor Bridie Jabour says, someone who actually has expertise on herd immunity (and if that is not enough, take a look at what is occurring in Sweden): |
| Tony Burke has weighed in on the fair work regulation change Christian Porter announced yesterday, which the ACTU is also against, despite the unlikely working friendship which has developed between Porter and Sally McManus. | Tony Burke has weighed in on the fair work regulation change Christian Porter announced yesterday, which the ACTU is also against, despite the unlikely working friendship which has developed between Porter and Sally McManus. |
| The regulation means employers just have to give employees one day’s notice of a change to enterprise bargaining agreements, instead of a week, before a vote occurs. | The regulation means employers just have to give employees one day’s notice of a change to enterprise bargaining agreements, instead of a week, before a vote occurs. |
| Burke says it’s not necessary. | Burke says it’s not necessary. |
| Researchers from the Royal Women’s hospital in Melbourne and Monash Health have created a national registry of pregnant women in Australia diagnosed with Covid-19. | Researchers from the Royal Women’s hospital in Melbourne and Monash Health have created a national registry of pregnant women in Australia diagnosed with Covid-19. |
| The registry includes 28 hospitals across Australia and will give health workers insight into how mothers and babies are impacted by this virus. | The registry includes 28 hospitals across Australia and will give health workers insight into how mothers and babies are impacted by this virus. |
| Clinicians at each participating hospital are collecting data on women who test positive in their care and entering it into a secure database. Researchers will seek follow up data on each woman’s pregnancy and baby outcomes and report on the impact of the virus on the mother’s health, as well as any risks to the baby in the womb or after birth. | Clinicians at each participating hospital are collecting data on women who test positive in their care and entering it into a secure database. Researchers will seek follow up data on each woman’s pregnancy and baby outcomes and report on the impact of the virus on the mother’s health, as well as any risks to the baby in the womb or after birth. |
| Dr Clare Whitehead from the Women’s said there was limited evidence on the impact of the novel coronavirus on mothers and babies. | Dr Clare Whitehead from the Women’s said there was limited evidence on the impact of the novel coronavirus on mothers and babies. |
| “We currently do not have a national platform that can collect information on pregnant women and report the information back to clinicians in a timely manner to help improve the management of pregnant women and their babies,” she said. | “We currently do not have a national platform that can collect information on pregnant women and report the information back to clinicians in a timely manner to help improve the management of pregnant women and their babies,” she said. |
| “We’ve been able to very quickly set this research up to capture as many pregnant women as possible during this pandemic.” | “We’ve been able to very quickly set this research up to capture as many pregnant women as possible during this pandemic.” |
| As part of the update yesterday, Scott Morrison and Brendan Murphy said that next week the national cabinet and medical expert panel will look at whether or not the elective surgery restrictions can be lifted (which would include IVF treatments). | As part of the update yesterday, Scott Morrison and Brendan Murphy said that next week the national cabinet and medical expert panel will look at whether or not the elective surgery restrictions can be lifted (which would include IVF treatments). |
| The Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) has urged that a return to non-urgent elective surgery proceeds with caution, in a statement it released today. | The Australian Society of Anaesthetists (ASA) has urged that a return to non-urgent elective surgery proceeds with caution, in a statement it released today. |
| The ASA president, Dr Suzi Nou, says the group has spoken to the chief medical officer’s office about the concerns: | The ASA president, Dr Suzi Nou, says the group has spoken to the chief medical officer’s office about the concerns: |
| “All of the efforts to ‘flatten the curve’ in Australia are to be commended and have allowed healthcare workers much-needed time to more adequately prepare for the Covid-19 pandemic in our hospitals. Five weeks ago, the ASA called for a cessation of non-urgent surgery but as more health services have been able to undertake planning for the pandemic, we would like to see a relaxation of the restrictions and a safe return to elective surgery. | “All of the efforts to ‘flatten the curve’ in Australia are to be commended and have allowed healthcare workers much-needed time to more adequately prepare for the Covid-19 pandemic in our hospitals. Five weeks ago, the ASA called for a cessation of non-urgent surgery but as more health services have been able to undertake planning for the pandemic, we would like to see a relaxation of the restrictions and a safe return to elective surgery. |
| “We understand that people will be keen to have surgery and do not want to prolong any unnecessary delays but we do want surgery to proceed safely for individuals, their families and for healthcare workers. “We do not encourage elective surgery be performed unless the health service has completed scenario planning for Covid-19 patients and that all relevant staff have adequate supply of PPE and are proficient in its use. Only once these issues have been addressed should we consider performing elective surgery that cannot be safely deferred until the pandemic is over. | “We understand that people will be keen to have surgery and do not want to prolong any unnecessary delays but we do want surgery to proceed safely for individuals, their families and for healthcare workers. “We do not encourage elective surgery be performed unless the health service has completed scenario planning for Covid-19 patients and that all relevant staff have adequate supply of PPE and are proficient in its use. Only once these issues have been addressed should we consider performing elective surgery that cannot be safely deferred until the pandemic is over. |
| “An additional measure that will ensure the safety of healthcare workers and patients would see a defined perioperative quarantine period of 14 days prior to surgery. | “An additional measure that will ensure the safety of healthcare workers and patients would see a defined perioperative quarantine period of 14 days prior to surgery. |
| “The public have made a concerted effort to socially isolate and reduce transmission of Covid-19 in our community and in our healthcare system. We would hope that patients planning to undergo elective surgery would continue to protect themselves, their families and the healthcare workers looking after them with a period of quarantine before their surgery.” | “The public have made a concerted effort to socially isolate and reduce transmission of Covid-19 in our community and in our healthcare system. We would hope that patients planning to undergo elective surgery would continue to protect themselves, their families and the healthcare workers looking after them with a period of quarantine before their surgery.” |
| NBN Co is now publishing weekly updates on how the network is handling the additional load of so many people working and studying at home, before going to another room to stream content until the screaming in our minds can’t be heard (we are all Clarice now). | NBN Co is now publishing weekly updates on how the network is handling the additional load of so many people working and studying at home, before going to another room to stream content until the screaming in our minds can’t be heard (we are all Clarice now). |
| You’ll find those updates, here. | You’ll find those updates, here. |
| Weekly upload throughput peak of 1.06 Terabits per second (Tbps) recorded on Friday 10 April during the Evening Busy Hours. | Weekly upload throughput peak of 1.06 Terabits per second (Tbps) recorded on Friday 10 April during the Evening Busy Hours. |
| Weekly download throughput peak of 13.8Tbps recorded on Wednesday 8 April during the Evening Busy Hours. | Weekly download throughput peak of 13.8Tbps recorded on Wednesday 8 April during the Evening Busy Hours. |
| Download throughput peak of 11.6Tbps on 8 April recorded during the daytime business hours surpassed pre-Covid-19 baseline evening peak for the first time. | Download throughput peak of 11.6Tbps on 8 April recorded during the daytime business hours surpassed pre-Covid-19 baseline evening peak for the first time. |
| The deputy chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, will give today’s national update on the Covid situation. | The deputy chief medical officer, Prof Paul Kelly, will give today’s national update on the Covid situation. |
| That will happen at 3.15. | That will happen at 3.15. |
| The Loki Foundation, which describes itself as Australia’s first privacy tech not for profit, has written an open letter on the issue of the tracing app the government wants people to download (and may, depending on download rates, make mandatory – something Scott Morrison did not rule out today, saying only it was “not my preference”). | The Loki Foundation, which describes itself as Australia’s first privacy tech not for profit, has written an open letter on the issue of the tracing app the government wants people to download (and may, depending on download rates, make mandatory – something Scott Morrison did not rule out today, saying only it was “not my preference”). |
| The foundation doesn’t have a problem with the model Apple and Google are working on. | The foundation doesn’t have a problem with the model Apple and Google are working on. |