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| Coronavirus Australia live: 300,000 Victorians enter lockdown in 36 Melbourne hotspot suburbs – latest updates | Coronavirus Australia live: 300,000 Victorians enter lockdown in 36 Melbourne hotspot suburbs – latest updates |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Stay-at-home orders are now in place for 10 postcodes in city’s north as state steps up action to contain Covid-19 | Stay-at-home orders are now in place for 10 postcodes in city’s north as state steps up action to contain Covid-19 |
| The pandemic saw telehealth services rolled out in Australia, very, very quickly. | |
| Now that some calm has returned to the Australian Covid-19 situation, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) wants the system looked at. | |
| Particularly, who you can see over telehealth: | |
| After people refused to be tested for Covid-19 in Victorian hotspots, there has been talk of forcing tests, through legal means, (I really hope no one is at the ‘hold them down’ talk stage, because for goodness sake) to ensure the testing blitz is carried out. | |
| Greg Hunt says people need to keep their farms calm: | |
| AAP has a little more on that: | |
| Health Minister Greg Hunt has urged authorities to throw the book at hotel coronavirus rule-breakers after allegations security guards slept with guests. | |
| Claims of widespread rorting and misconduct have rocked the security firms responsible for patrolling Melbourne’s hotel quarantine regime. | |
| Companies charged taxpayers for shifts never worked, leading to less security workers on duty and higher risk of infections, The Herald Sun reports. | |
| “If those claims are correct then that is completely and utterly unacceptable,” Mr Hunt told Sky News on Thursday. | |
| “We would encourage the Victorian authorities to throw the book - either individuals or if there’s any systemic inappropriate action - at those who are responsible for it.” | |
| The Victorian government has launched a judicial inquiry into hotel quarantine after Melbourne’s infection spike was linked to guards sharing cigarette lights. | |
| Mr Hunt said there was an unacceptable set of breaches in hotel quarantine. | |
| “Many Victorians are going into lockdown today,” he said. | |
| “The hotel quarantine system has been a contributing element to that.” | |
| Greg Hunt was also quite conciliatory when it came to Victoria’s hotel quarantine situation, given some of the accusations in today’s papers: | |
| Greg Hunt was asked about the border issue on the ABC this morning: | |
| Meanwhile, despite what you may have heard, the higher unemployment payment has not stopped people from applying for work. Quite to the contrary, as Luke Henriques-Gomes reports: | |
| Dress your kid in yellow, and prepare to have your TV interview invaded. | |
| I don’t make the rules. It’s bigger than all of us, apparently. | |
| Yellow is the ultimate power colour. | |
| Meanwhile, The Age has reported some people in Victorian hotspot suburbs tried changing their addresses to avoid being locked down: | Meanwhile, The Age has reported some people in Victorian hotspot suburbs tried changing their addresses to avoid being locked down: |
| Via AAP: | Via AAP: |
| Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has vowed to crack down on organised crime syndicates targeting coronavirus welfare schemes. | Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has vowed to crack down on organised crime syndicates targeting coronavirus welfare schemes. |
| Federal police have reportedly frozen more than 50 bank accounts after criminals targeted JobKeeper wage subsidies, the boosted dole and early access to superannuation. | Federal police have reportedly frozen more than 50 bank accounts after criminals targeted JobKeeper wage subsidies, the boosted dole and early access to superannuation. |
| “We’re working to ensure that where there is fraud it’s uncovered and those people face the full force of the law,” Mr Frydenberg told Sky News on Thursday. | “We’re working to ensure that where there is fraud it’s uncovered and those people face the full force of the law,” Mr Frydenberg told Sky News on Thursday. |
| The government has established a serious financial crimes task force bringing together the Australian Federal Police, the tax office and home affairs. | The government has established a serious financial crimes task force bringing together the Australian Federal Police, the tax office and home affairs. |
| JobKeeper is the biggest single spend of any welfare program. | JobKeeper is the biggest single spend of any welfare program. |
| “Organised crime is a problem both for the public and private sectors, that’s nothing new, particularly when you’ve got a program of this scale of size,” Mr Frydenberg said. | “Organised crime is a problem both for the public and private sectors, that’s nothing new, particularly when you’ve got a program of this scale of size,” Mr Frydenberg said. |
| AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said busting open superannuation fraud had helped detect other crimes. | AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said busting open superannuation fraud had helped detect other crimes. |
| “We have restrained assets in relation to fraud against government COVID-19 programs and we will work with other agencies to continue to do so,” he told The Australian. | “We have restrained assets in relation to fraud against government COVID-19 programs and we will work with other agencies to continue to do so,” he told The Australian. |
| The UK site Polifiller has taken a look at the most-used phrases by politicians and come up with the top political jargon of the year. | |
| I hear these phrases in my sleep. | I hear these phrases in my sleep. |
| The ABC’s Dr Norman Swan, who has had a real moment in this pandemic, was asked by the broadcaster this morning if Australia should have gone for eradication, like New Zealand, rather than suppression, when it came to Covid-19. | The ABC’s Dr Norman Swan, who has had a real moment in this pandemic, was asked by the broadcaster this morning if Australia should have gone for eradication, like New Zealand, rather than suppression, when it came to Covid-19. |
| Here is what he had to say: | Here is what he had to say: |
| Gladys Berejiklian had a chat to the Seven Network this morning. | Gladys Berejiklian had a chat to the Seven Network this morning. |
| The NSW premier said she would be keeping her state’s borders open because there was no health advice to the contrary. And she said Victorians, who were not from a hotspot area, were still welcome to visit NSW. | |
| She also said it was inevitable that at some point NSW would be in the same situation as Victoria is right now: | |
| Daniel Andrews appeared on the ABC’s 7.30 program last night and spoke about the inquiry into Victoria’s hotel quarantine program. | |
| It differed from other states in that it used private security firms, where the other states used either police, or police supervision of private contractors. | It differed from other states in that it used private security firms, where the other states used either police, or police supervision of private contractors. |
| There have been some pretty explosive allegations about what went on in the Victorian quarantine system. | There have been some pretty explosive allegations about what went on in the Victorian quarantine system. |
| Andrews said it was for the inquiry to investigate: | Andrews said it was for the inquiry to investigate: |
| There is a national cabinet being held tomorrow - in recent times, they have been held once every two weeks, but the spike in Victorian cases and the localised lockdown response has meant an earlier meeting. | There is a national cabinet being held tomorrow - in recent times, they have been held once every two weeks, but the spike in Victorian cases and the localised lockdown response has meant an earlier meeting. |
| Scott Morrison wants to use it to urge the state’s who have closed their borders to Victoria - which is practically all of them, in either real terms, or in the case of NSW, in very heavily worded terms - to open them back up again. | Scott Morrison wants to use it to urge the state’s who have closed their borders to Victoria - which is practically all of them, in either real terms, or in the case of NSW, in very heavily worded terms - to open them back up again. |
| Not sure that will be successful. | Not sure that will be successful. |
| In Queensland, you can go to a nightclub but you can’t dance. You have to take a seat. | In Queensland, you can go to a nightclub but you can’t dance. You have to take a seat. |
| In South Australia, you can go to a nightclub but you can’t drink if you are going to dance. You have to choose. | In South Australia, you can go to a nightclub but you can’t drink if you are going to dance. You have to choose. |
| Stephen Wade said it wasn’t a “bungle” in the guidelines – it’s a response to the second wave in South Korea, which was traced back to nightclubs. | Stephen Wade said it wasn’t a “bungle” in the guidelines – it’s a response to the second wave in South Korea, which was traced back to nightclubs. |
| But the border between South Australia and Victoria will remain closed. Which is a concern for those in the border towns. As a gal born in Mount Gambier, who still has a lot of family there, I can tell you the SA/Vic border is more of a blurry guide than a hard border most of the time. If you live in Nelson, or Dartmoor or any of the other small towns close by, you head into the Mount for your needs. | But the border between South Australia and Victoria will remain closed. Which is a concern for those in the border towns. As a gal born in Mount Gambier, who still has a lot of family there, I can tell you the SA/Vic border is more of a blurry guide than a hard border most of the time. If you live in Nelson, or Dartmoor or any of the other small towns close by, you head into the Mount for your needs. |
| Stephen Wade said it just couldn’t be risked at the moment. And the Coalition state government has the support of the Labor opposition in SA (unlike in Queensland, where the LNP has been pushing to open the borders): | Stephen Wade said it just couldn’t be risked at the moment. And the Coalition state government has the support of the Labor opposition in SA (unlike in Queensland, where the LNP has been pushing to open the borders): |
| The South Australian health minister, Stephen Wade (there are almost as many Stephen/Stevens in Australian politics as there are Andrews in the press gallery), had a chat to ABC News Breakfast this morning. | The South Australian health minister, Stephen Wade (there are almost as many Stephen/Stevens in Australian politics as there are Andrews in the press gallery), had a chat to ABC News Breakfast this morning. |
| He said SA would probably be keeping its border to Victoria closed for a while yet, although it may open to NSW and the ACT (it has opened its border to residents of other states already): | He said SA would probably be keeping its border to Victoria closed for a while yet, although it may open to NSW and the ACT (it has opened its border to residents of other states already): |
| Spare a thought for more than 300,000 Victorians who suddenly find themselves back in March. | Spare a thought for more than 300,000 Victorians who suddenly find themselves back in March. |
| 2020 just keeps bringing the goods. | 2020 just keeps bringing the goods. |
| Given that this was the plan developed by national cabinet, the residents of 3038, 3064, 3047, 3060, 3012, 3032, 3055, 3042, 3021 and 3046 could be any of us, if Covid-19 takes hold in our area. | Given that this was the plan developed by national cabinet, the residents of 3038, 3064, 3047, 3060, 3012, 3032, 3055, 3042, 3021 and 3046 could be any of us, if Covid-19 takes hold in our area. |
| As of midnight last night, people in the hotspots can now only leave their homes for food and supplies, to exercise, to receive or provide care, to study or work, if they absolutely can not do it from home. | As of midnight last night, people in the hotspots can now only leave their homes for food and supplies, to exercise, to receive or provide care, to study or work, if they absolutely can not do it from home. |
| Extra testing clinics have been set up in the neighbourhoods, and everyone, absolutely everyone is being urged to get tested –even if you don’t have symptoms. | Extra testing clinics have been set up in the neighbourhoods, and everyone, absolutely everyone is being urged to get tested –even if you don’t have symptoms. |
| It’s the level of community transmission that has everyone worried. Of the 73 new coronavirus cases recorded yesterday, three were returned travellers, nine have been linked back to known outbreaks, 19 were from “routine testing” – going to a clinic and 42 are still under investigation. | It’s the level of community transmission that has everyone worried. Of the 73 new coronavirus cases recorded yesterday, three were returned travellers, nine have been linked back to known outbreaks, 19 were from “routine testing” – going to a clinic and 42 are still under investigation. |
| Melbourne will no longer take international flights and the former judge Jennifer Coate will lead an inquiry into Victoria’s hotel quarantine program, and what went wrong, after at least part of the outbreak was traced back to security staff at two of the hotels. | Melbourne will no longer take international flights and the former judge Jennifer Coate will lead an inquiry into Victoria’s hotel quarantine program, and what went wrong, after at least part of the outbreak was traced back to security staff at two of the hotels. |
| Meanwhile, the states have sent health staff, and have opened their labs to help process the Victorian tests, which are close to 20,000 a day. | Meanwhile, the states have sent health staff, and have opened their labs to help process the Victorian tests, which are close to 20,000 a day. |
| When it comes to the borders, it’s a different story. Victorians have been banned from Queensland and South Australia. NSW has issued “do not travel” guidelines to its residents and also set up fines and possible jail terms, to anyone from a hotspot found to be breaking quarantine in the state. WA isn’t letting anyone in and won’t for some time. | When it comes to the borders, it’s a different story. Victorians have been banned from Queensland and South Australia. NSW has issued “do not travel” guidelines to its residents and also set up fines and possible jail terms, to anyone from a hotspot found to be breaking quarantine in the state. WA isn’t letting anyone in and won’t for some time. |
| We’ll keep you updated with all the Covid-19 news in Australia, as well as what’s happening politically. There is just a few days left in the Eden-Monaro byelection, which is taking up a lot of Anthony Albanese’s time, with Labor not certain it will hold the bellwether seat. | We’ll keep you updated with all the Covid-19 news in Australia, as well as what’s happening politically. There is just a few days left in the Eden-Monaro byelection, which is taking up a lot of Anthony Albanese’s time, with Labor not certain it will hold the bellwether seat. |
| You have Amy Remeikis at the helm of the good ship blog for most of the day, with the entire Guardian crew onboard. | You have Amy Remeikis at the helm of the good ship blog for most of the day, with the entire Guardian crew onboard. |
| (It’s Thursday. I haven’t had enough coffee yet, obviously) | (It’s Thursday. I haven’t had enough coffee yet, obviously) |
| Let’s get into it. | Let’s get into it. |