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Australia coronavirus live: 20 residents of Newmarch aged care home in Sydney confirmed cases of Covid-19 – latest news Australia coronavirus 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, liveNSW 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
Throwing this in again, for the people who missed it this morning.
Angela Merkel has a doctorate in quantum chemistry, and worked as a research scientist. Which may explain why she has been able to offer the best explanation we have seen of why any easing of restrictions has to be controlled.
She gets numbers. She understands the science. And she knows how to explain it.
Kristina Keneally has responded to the Biloela family federal court judgement:
NSW police minister David Elliott says NSW will be working with international agencies in the Ruby Princess investigation, in order to interview international passengers.
It is sending out a survey to the Ruby Princess passengers as a way of gathering information about who knew what, when.
“This is no rule book when it comes to these sorts of inquiries, it is unusual for something this large, covering so many jurisdictions to be put in the lap of one person.”
The NSW police investigation has 30 investigators attached to Strikeforce Bast.
Scott Morrison has been asked by everyone:
In between coronavirus, government ministers have been asked about Malcolm Turnbull’s book, which is out next week.
Greg Hunt was asked about his portrayal, by Michael Rowland:
MR: He is making lots of interesting remarks to senior government figures. Greg Hunt, he said all too often you used abusive and vulgar language toward others. Did you?
GH:
MR: He has every right to publish this, he obviously feels, by the way he was treated by what he describes as the rightwing terrorists within the Liberal party?
GH:
Australia has been invited to sit on a special “G20 energy ministers’ focus group”, which will look at the globe’s energy security during the coronavirus pandemic.
Angus Taylor is chuffed:
The Courier Mail’s tireless health reporter, Janelle Miles, reports the Cairns hospital pathology lab has had to close, after a staff member tested positive for Covid-19. Contact tracing is under way, but at this point, it looks like the employee was infected from another known case.
The lab’s staff have been put into a 14-day quarantine.
Daniel Andrews gave Victoria’s update just a few moments ago:Daniel Andrews gave Victoria’s update just a few moments ago:
The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, announced more cases had been diagnosed in the western Sydney aged care home this morning (you’ll find her quotes a little further down).The NSW chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant, announced more cases had been diagnosed in the western Sydney aged care home this morning (you’ll find her quotes a little further down).
Anglicare have now confirmed that 20 residents and 10 staff have tested positive for Covid-19:Anglicare have now confirmed that 20 residents and 10 staff have tested positive for Covid-19:
Asked in that same interview whether or not he would make downloading the tracing app, and traveling with phones, mandatory, Scott Morrison says:Asked in that same interview whether or not he would make downloading the tracing app, and traveling with phones, mandatory, Scott Morrison says:
Asked about privacy concerns, Morrison says they will be dealt with, but says:Asked about privacy concerns, Morrison says they will be dealt with, but says:
Further to that press conference from Peter Gutwein, Scott Morrison spoke to Hobart radio Triple M this morning and spoke about a health worker in the north-west, using it as an example of why the tracking app was necessary:
Morrison said it had nothing to do with the rumours of what chief medical officer Brendan Murphy referred to as an “illegal dinner party” (for which there is no evidence).
The Tasmanian parliament will resume from the 27 April – but with a reduced weekly schedule.
Peter Gutwein on the north-west localised restrictions:
The #hometobilo case has been decided in the federal court today.
Josh Taylor is covering it
Peter Gutwein says Tasmania may strengthen its stay at home order for the north-west of the state:
The news out of north-west Tasmania continues to be worrying.
Peter Gutwein has confirmed a health worker who tested positive, who worked in the two closed hospitals, also worked at three aged care homes.
Melbourne’s La Trobe university plans to let go all “non essential” casual staff from the start of next month as it braces for “severe” financial difficulties.
In an email to staff, the vice chancellor Prof John Dewar also asked staff to consider donating part of the pay back to the university or handing back time-off-in-lieu entitlements.
Although he stressed that staff should not “feel any compulsion to take part”, Dewar warned the university expected a $120m and $150m decline in revenue in 2020 and that further measures such as forced redundancies could still be in the pipeline.
“To put that in perspective, our budgeted operating surplus for the year was $30m,” Dewar said.
“That is a very big hit indeed,” he added.
It comes as the tertiary education union faces a revolt over a confidential plan to negotiate with university management on staff pay cuts during the Covid-19 crisis.
Dewar said the university would introduce a range of cost saving measures, which included letting go non-essential casual staff from 1 May.
These employees will only be retained if they are signed off by senior staff as “essential”, but some were frustrated no further details were given as to how this would be defined.
Dewar also floated a range of voluntary measures, such as asking staff to donate between 5-20% of their base salary back to the university.
Dewar said he could not guarantee the voluntary measures would be “enough to prevent the need for workforce changes, including stand down or even forced redundancies at some stage”.
“No-one should feel any compulsion to take part,” he said. “I know that many of you are simply not able to help now, and I completely understand that. For those of you that can help, I strongly encourage you to think about these options.”
Senior executives have agreed to a voluntary 20% salary cut.
Given we are going to be hearing A LOT about this app in the coming month, you might find this helpful.
On top of the $165m to underwrite domestic flight trunk routes, the government is also providing $150m to internet providers.
If that wasn’t blunt enough, Peter Dutton followed those comments up with this: