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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria reports 238 new Covid-19 cases as Berejiklian considers ‘further restrictions’ for NSW Coronavirus Australia live update: all Victorian AFL teams to be based in Queensland as Victoria reports 238 new Covid-19 cases
(32 minutes later)
Victorian premier announces death of woman in her 90s as 10 new NSW cases linked to Crossroads hotel cluster in south-western Sydney suburb of Casula. Follow the latest news and updatesVictorian premier announces death of woman in her 90s as 10 new NSW cases linked to Crossroads hotel cluster in south-western Sydney suburb of Casula. Follow the latest news and updates
We’ve now got the details on the new Victorian cases.
As reported earlier, Victoria recorded 238 new cases overnight. But due to 14 cases being removed due to duplication, there’s only a net increase of 224. (Still big.)
That brings the total number of cases in Victoria since 1 January to 4,448. Of those, 1,931 are currently active.
And 790 cases were caused by community transmission — that’s up 38 from yesterday.
There are currently 105 people in hospital, up 20 from yesterday, and 27 in intensive care, up one from yesterday.
To date, 27 people have died from the virus in Victoria, including a woman in her 90s who died overnight. Some 2,488 people have recovered.
The number of coronavirus cases in regional areas has increased by seven overnight. There are now 305 cases recorded in regional areas — although that’s a pandemic-long figure, I’ll bring you the figure on the number of active cases in regional areas shortly.
Back to McLachlan. He says it’s likely some AFL games will be played in far north Queensland, including Cairns and Port Douglas.
He says basing the teams in Queensland also does not rule out games being played in the Northern Territory and Tasmania. Discussions with those governments are still ongoing.
The Australian Capital Territory has recorded no new cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours. It still has five active cases.
McLachlan says if teams can return to Victoria before the end of 10 weeks, they will, but that will depend on the level of the virus in that state.
He says basing everyone in Queensland will give the AFL more flexibility around setting up fixtures.
He says there will be some criteria around who can go up with players as part of the families and partners. It sounds similar to the rules around bringing plus ones to a wedding.
McLachlan:
He says he has not made a decision on where the AFL grand final will be held. This arrangement is just for the home and away season.
The AFL CEO, Gillon McLachlan, says Victorian AFL teams will be based in Queensland for up to 10 weeks.
This decision was foreshadowed by the Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, earlier today.
McLachlan says the AFL will try to get the majority of the season finished in that 10 weeks, with the fixtures still being worked out.
He says teams based in Queensland will be able to travel interstate – obviously not to Victoria – to play and then travel back.
Melbourne (the team), which is currently based in Sydney, will also be moved up to Queensland.
McLachlan says they will set up a transition hub in Queensland for players who did not take the full playing list, and families who didn’t initially go up. All players, staff and family members will have to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival.
He added:
Australia cannot afford to abandon the trading relationship with China but exporters are trying to “manage the reverberations” of current tensions and are looking to other markets, the Export Council of Australia (ECA) has told a parliamentary inquiry.
Arnold Jorge, the executive director of an initiative known as ECA Edge, told the committee looking into diversifying Australia’s trade and investment profile he understood why observers had called for greater diversity, but noted that China’s economic size and growth meant it was “a market we cannot ignore”.
He said:
Asked about the impacts of current international tensions on exporter members, Jorge said exporters trying to do business in Asia had reported that it was “very difficult to do business in this kind of environment”.
Jorge suggested that in order to diversify and grow Australian exports, the government should focus on helping small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which may be “more flexible” and “agile” in shifting to new export markets.
Before we hear from the CEO of one football league, let’s quickly look at another.Before we hear from the CEO of one football league, let’s quickly look at another.
The Football Federation of Australia says it still plans to play out its 2019-2020 season in NSW, despite the coronavirus outbreak in Sydney’s southwestern suburbs. The Football Federation of Australia says it still plans to play out its 2019-20 season in NSW, despite the coronavirus outbreak in Sydney’s south-western suburbs.
It released a revised fixture today. All but one of the 27 matches and finals remaining in the season will be played in NSW It released a revised fixture today. All but one of the 27 matches and finals remaining in the season will be played in NSW.
More here:More here:
Employer association Ai Group says that the cost of pursuing an elimination strategy in the fight against the coronavirus would be “far greater than the extra benefits”. Employer association Ai Group says the cost of pursuing an elimination strategy in the fight against the coronavirus would be “far greater than the extra benefits”.
The benefits of a successful elimination strategy — and that’s not a guaranteed outcome, though six Australian states and territories are effectively already there — would be an end to people getting sick and dying from Covid-19. The benefits of a successful elimination strategy – and that’s not a guaranteed outcome, though six Australian states and territories are effectively already there – would be an end to people getting sick and dying from Covid-19.
Ai Group chief executive Innes Willox said businesses would welcome comments from prime minister Scott Morrison today, in which he argued against switching from a suppression strategy to an elimination strategy. The Ai Group chief executive, Innes Willox, says businesses will welcome comments from the prime minister, Scott Morrison, today, in which he argued against switching from a suppression strategy to an elimination strategy.
Willox said in a statement:Willox said in a statement:
The rate of imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the Northern Territory is 43 times the rate for non-Indigenous children.The rate of imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in the Northern Territory is 43 times the rate for non-Indigenous children.
Nationally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are imprisoned at 17 times the rate of their non-Indigenous peers.Nationally, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are imprisoned at 17 times the rate of their non-Indigenous peers.
The worst ratios are in Western Australia (21 times), South Australia (20 times) and Queensland (23 times), according to new statistics released by the Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria.The worst ratios are in Western Australia (21 times), South Australia (20 times) and Queensland (23 times), according to new statistics released by the Sentencing Advisory Council of Victoria.
“We have heard reports of Aboriginal children in out of home care as young as 12 years old being issued with fines for breaching social distancing orders,” the Change the Record co-chair, Cheryl Axleby, said.“We have heard reports of Aboriginal children in out of home care as young as 12 years old being issued with fines for breaching social distancing orders,” the Change the Record co-chair, Cheryl Axleby, said.
“This kind of aggressive, punitive ‘tough on crime’ approach to our extremely young children is both absurd and deeply harmful.”“This kind of aggressive, punitive ‘tough on crime’ approach to our extremely young children is both absurd and deeply harmful.”
Change the Record is the Aboriginal-led justice coalition including Amnesty International, the Law Council of Australia, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (Natsils) and National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (Naccho), representing hundreds of services across Australia.Change the Record is the Aboriginal-led justice coalition including Amnesty International, the Law Council of Australia, the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (Natsils) and National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (Naccho), representing hundreds of services across Australia.
“We are calling for every state and territory government to follow the unanimous medical recommendations of organisations like the Australian Medical Association, Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association and raise the age of criminal responsibility from just 10 years old to at least 14 years old,” Axleby said.“We are calling for every state and territory government to follow the unanimous medical recommendations of organisations like the Australian Medical Association, Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association and raise the age of criminal responsibility from just 10 years old to at least 14 years old,” Axleby said.
“Australian governments are listening to the medical experts when it comes to Covid-19, they should listen to the experts when it comes to the health and safety of our kids too.”“Australian governments are listening to the medical experts when it comes to Covid-19, they should listen to the experts when it comes to the health and safety of our kids too.”
Still in Queensland, the health minister, Steven Miles, says that 14 of the 18 Queenslanders who were tested for coronavirus after visiting the apparently ever-popular Crossroads hotel in south-west Sydney have now tested negative to the virus.Still in Queensland, the health minister, Steven Miles, says that 14 of the 18 Queenslanders who were tested for coronavirus after visiting the apparently ever-popular Crossroads hotel in south-west Sydney have now tested negative to the virus.
The other four tests are pending.The other four tests are pending.
Miles told AAP he expected that more people in Queensland would come forward as having been at the pub during the period of concern (3 July to 10 July) and he urged them to do so as soon as possible and get tested.Miles told AAP he expected that more people in Queensland would come forward as having been at the pub during the period of concern (3 July to 10 July) and he urged them to do so as soon as possible and get tested.
AFL CEO Gil McLachlan will hold a press conference at 2pm.AFL CEO Gil McLachlan will hold a press conference at 2pm.
Palaszczuk said she does not make “any apologies for delays at the borders”.
She says people were told about the border restrictions and knew there may be delays. She also thanked police and other emergency services staff working on those border checkpoints.
It’s currently 20C in Coolangatta.
Queenslanders, if you want to take the AFL from Victoria, you’ve got to take some of the weather. Better knock at least 5C off the top.
There are no new cases of Covid-19 in Queensland in the past 24-hours. Four cases remain active.
The Queensland premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, is talking in Brisbane now about that phone call she had with the chief executive of the AFL, Gillon McLachlan, about potentially moving some more Melbourne-based teams to Queensland.
The shape of that arrangement has not been announced, but she said it would mean “nearly all” of the Melbourne teams would be based in Queensland.
Palaszczuk said:
Sacrilege. She continues:
Just to stave off any cries of “backflip!”: Berejiklian said last night that she had ruled out returning NSW to lockdown at this stage. She did not say there would be no further restrictions.
Restriction =/= lockdown
Gladys Berejiklian has said NSW has to “consider further restrictions” by looking at how the Covid-19 has spread in Victoria.
Speaking at a Committee for Economic Development of Australia event in Sydney on Wednesday to outline NSW’s Covid-19 economic recovery, Berejiklian also reaffirmed NSW would not pursue elimination of Covid-19 because it was “unrealistic” and would “hurt” the state’s economic “aspiration”.
On an elimination strategy, Berejiklian said:
She said the disease is “insidious” and sometimes it can be “bubbling away without detection”.
Berejiklian said NSW contributes 40% to 50% of the nation’s wealth, and says targeting elimination would “hurt our aspiration to at least have continuity” for businesses.
Other venues associated frequented by people in the Crossroads Hotel cluster are:
Bankstown YMCA in Revesby,
Woolworths in Bowral,
Milky Lane in Parramatta,
Bavarian Macarthur in Campbelltown,
Macarthur Tavern in Campbelltown,
West Leagues Club in Campbelltown,
Kmart in Casula
More details on the times of most concern for those venues here.
And you can find the full list of all testing clinics in NSW here.
Let’s go back to the new NSW cases.
Ten of the 13 cases reported today (figures from 8pm Monday to 8pm Tuesday) were connected to the Crossroads hotel cluster, and the remaining three were in hotel quarantine.
The new Crossroads cases are:
31 year old male who attended Crossroads Hotel on 3 July
42 year old female who attended Crossroads Hotel on 3 July
27 year old female who attended Crossroads Hotel on 3 July
14 year old female close contact of Crossroads Hotel staff case
27 year old male who attended Planet Fitness gym, Casula
24 year old male who attended Planet Fitness gym, Casula
53 year old male who attended Crossroads Hotel on 3 July
22 year old male tertiary case from Crossroads Hotel
33 year old female who is a close contact of a previously reported case in the Blue Mountains, who attended Crossroads Hotel on 3 July
17 year old male tertiary case from Crossroads Hotel
There is also one other case, recorded after 8pm last night (so it will be added to tomorrow’s tally, we’ve figured out how it works now).
That case is a man in his 20s who is a close contact of a previously reported Crossroads Hotel case. That brings the number of cases in this cluster to 34.
So, you need to self isolate for 14 days even if you do not have symptoms, and get tested, if you attended the Crossroads Hotel from 3 to 10 July, and if you attended the Planet Fitness gym in Casula from 4 to 10 July.
Guardian Australia understands that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has announced job cuts including 50 positions to go from Canberra, and 10 from eight international posts.
The cuts are at the senior executive service, executive levels one and two, and Dfat will aim to achieve them through natural attrition with no redundancies.
The Community Public Sector Union deputy national secretary, Beth Vincent-Pietsch, said:
Danny Hill, the general secretary of the Victorian Ambulance Union, has told ABC that six paramedics have tested positive to coronavirus and about 16 others have been identified as close contacts and are self-isolating.
That’s why the Victorian government has arranged for ADF members to possibly pair up with paramedics, to ensure they can continue to staff ambulances.
Hill said that paramedics are exposed due to processes such as patient transfer, and said if the outbreak continues to grow as many as 40% of the paramedic taskforce in Victoria could be unable to work due to testing positive to Covid-19 or being quarantined as a close contact.
Finally, Hunt was asked about contact tracing downloads from the CovidSafe app.
He said 200 cases had been “identified” and that “in addition to that 300 downloads”.