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Australia coronavirus update latest: Western Australia and Queensland to relax some restrictions – live news
Australia coronavirus update latest: government launches Covidsafe contact tracing app as WA and Queensland to relax curbs – live news
(about 1 hour later)
WA easing will be effective tomorrow, while Queensland will ease some of its restrictions from midnight Friday. Follow live
WA easing will be effective tomorrow, while Queensland will ease some of its restrictions from midnight Friday. Follow live
NSW Health today released a report showing there has been very limited transmission of Covid-19 within the state’s schools.
Hunt extolling the privacy safeguards, as he sees them:
McGowan says the easing of restrictions brings WA in line with South Australia’s current social distancing rules.
Brendan Murphy says he would define “good uptake” of the app would be “well over half the people” and he adds that he thinks “Australians will rise to the challenge”.
He stresses that all public playgrounds, skate parks and outdoor gym equipment must remain closed.
Greg Hunt is asked if it matters whether people use a fake name when they register on the app. He says:
“The changes announced today are sensible and reasonable and are designed to provide some relief all Western Australians,” McGowan says.
While you’re hearing (or reading) the government’s line on the app, I might point you to this piece from my colleague Josh Taylor.
“They are low-risk but there with a high social benefit.”
Greg Hunt says the app is now available in the Google store and will be on the Apple store shortly.
More from McGowan on the easing of social distancing rules.
Annie Butler, of the nurses federation, concludes her prepared remarks with this pithy comment:
The WA premier Mark McGowan has announced the easing of social distancing restrictions, which will allow 10 people to gather indoors, as well as the resumption of non-contact recreational activities.
Bartone on privacy issues:
“Effective from tomorrow, that is Monday, April 27, based on health advice, indoor and outdoor non-work gatherings will be relaxed to allow up to 10 people maximum,” he said.
Alison McMillan, the Australian government’s chief nursing and midwifery officer, Tony Bartone, who heads the Australian Medical Association, and Annie Butler, head of the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation, are also here to encourage people to download the app.
He said the resumption of non-contact recreational activities was for “activities like private picnics in the park, fishing, boating, hiking or camping”.
Brendan Murphy on the app:
“I stress this must only occur in compliance with travel restrictions and a 10 person rule.”
Wrapping up his prepared remarks, he says: “I will download and register tonight. I know that all my colleagues in the public health field will do that also.”
The Greens have issued a statement on the government’s Covid-19 tracing app that will be introduced today.
The chief medical officer, Brendan Murphy, says the app will contact the several thousand people in public health units who do contact tracing.
AAP has also filed this guide to Queensland new social distancing rules, which will be eased from Friday.
“That can be a very laborious, manual process,” Murphy says. “What the app does, it helps them with the process, automate that to some extent and helps them get the numbers and helps people he may have forgotten who they have been in contact with.”
WHEN: It starts 11.59pm Friday, so effectively people will be free to move around on Saturday onwards for recreational purposes.
Hunt says they have gotten the agreement of the country’s major medical groups for a statement encouraging people to download the CovidSafe app.
HOW FAR CAN I TRAVEL?
He then plays a television commercial aimed at encouraging people to get the app.
Travel has been restricted to 50km from your place of residence to prevent mass movement of people between cities and towns.
Hunt on the app and privacy:
ARE SOCIAL DISTANCING MEASURES RELAXED?
Greg Hunt in his own words explaining how the app works:
Definitely not. Social distancing of 1.5m and hygiene must be maintained and if it’s not adhered to, stay-at-home restrictions could return.
Hunt says there have now been 5.4 million telehealth consultations.
All other rules on gatherings, including limitations on the number of people who can visit a household, remain in place.
Turning to the cluster in north-west Tasmania, Hunt says:
CAN I CATCH UP WITH FRIENDS OR JUST FAMILY?
Only members of the same household are permitted to gather in public, so it’s not a chance to party in a park.
If you’re single, you may socialise with only one other person.
WHAT CAN I DO?
You’re allowed to go for a drive for up to 50km for your home
You’re permitted to ride a motorbike, jetski or even spend time on a boat for pleasure
Shopping for non-essential items is also allowed but it does not mean the business you are visiting will be allowed to open
You can have a picnic with a family or visit a national park but be mindful toilet facilities and day use areas will NOT be open
WHEN WILL THEY BE REVIEWED?
The Queensland government will review Covid-19 restrictions again in a fortnight.
AAP reports that another elderly man has died from coronavirus at the Mersey Community hospital in northern Tasmania, taking the state’s toll to 11.
Ten of these deaths have occurred in the state’s north-west.
Only NSW and Victoria have recorded more deaths from Covid-19 in Australia.
The health minister, Sarah Courtney, announced the death of the man in his 90s on Sunday, following the death of another man at the hospital on Saturday.
She also confirmed a health worker at the Mersey hospital in the Covid-19 positive ward as the latest confirmed case. A total of 208 cases have now been confirmed, while 123 have recovered.
“I’d like to reassure other staff at that site that this gentleman has presented swiftly. He did only work within the Covid ward at that hospital,” she told reporters.
I’m sure this comment wasn’t aimed at anyone.
Thanks to Ben Smee for his work today. I’ll be with you into the evening. And yes, good call on the bleach.
And this is where I leave you.
Luke Henriques-Gomes is going to take the blog from here.
Thanks very much for your time and, as always, please don’t consume any bleach.
Of course if you’re Kerry Stokes, then you get to avoid hotel quarantine altogether.
My colleague, Matilda Boseley, has an update on a man who became seriously ill while in hotel quarantine in Perth.
From Matilda:
The 71-year-old man who was placed in an induced coma after allegedly waiting up to nine hours for medical treatment in Perth hotel quarantine has begun the road to recovery. Ken Watson’s wife Kathleen said he was taken out of his coma a week ago and no longer requires a ventilator to breathe.
“They have got him off the oxygen, which is a really good step,” Kathleen said.
“The next step is to get him to a rehabilitation centre somewhere in Perth … we are originally from the NSW central coast so he needs to get well enough to get on a plane and get home.”
Kathleen was admitted to the hospital at the same time. She was released after a week and was returned to the hotel to complete her quarantine.
Originally doctors suggested Ken may be in the coma for a number of months and were unsure if he would recover. You can read the Guardian’s full report on the story here.
