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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria premier Dan Andrews to hold press conference on Covid-19 cases Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria premier Dan Andrews reports 238 new Covid-19 cases in press conference as NSW records 13 cases
(31 minutes later)
Another shutdown ‘is option we don’t want to take’, Gladys Berejiklian says as cases linked to Casula pub in Sydney reach 30 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
Sutton says the fact that the daily numbers have not consistently fallen yet, despite the hotspot postcodes being locked down for two weeks now, does not necessarily mean the lockdowns have not worked.
But he again called on people to limit their outings. So, if one person in a family can do the weekly supermarket shop then they should do it alone.
He said it is possible that restrictions could be “stepped up”.
He said that with the rates of community transmission this time around, it will be much harder to get the daily case numbers down.
Usually, he said, people’s clinical signs from coronavirus get worse in their second week of symptoms. Which is why we could see those hospitalisation rates grow.
Chief health officer Prof Brett Sutton has warned that there will be more deaths from the current wave of coronavirus cases in Victoria.
He said the numbers appear to be stabilising right now, but said there is “no guarantee of a drop off” in case numbers. Whether it happens will depend on how well people are obeying the stay at home orders, he says.
Deputy police commissioner Rick Nugent is talking now, about the checkpoints police have put in place at the edges of the Greater Melbourne lockdown area.
He says police have checked more than 85,000 vehicles at those checkpoints since midnight last Wednesday, and issued 151 fines for people not complying with stage 3 restrictions.
He said they have issued 351 fines for people breaching other restrictions, including holding parties.
They include fines for people not leaving a restaurant when asked to.
Who knew people were so committed to KFC. Nugent says there are four clear reasons for leaving your home.
They have also issued 40 infringement notices to people visiting massage parlours or sex work premises, and fines to two businesses for breaching restrictions.
He says an ongoing concern for police is people holding parties, despite stage three lockdown rules not allowing anyone to have friends or family over.
Back in Victoria, Andrews said that most people are doing the right thing and obeying the stage three restrictions, but that if people do not follow the rules those restrictions could tighten.
If the rules are not followed, Andrews said, “we will have to move to additional restrictions being put in place and we will have to prolong the period that the restrictions were put in place”.
He says he is concerned about the situation Melbourne is in.
That’s 13 new cases in the 24-hours to 8pm last night.
It includes 10 cases connected to the Crossroads Hotel cluster, bringing the size of that cluster to 30.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews says 27,040 coronavirus tests were conducted yesterday, and almost 1.2m tests have been conducted since 1 January.
He says the testing rate per 100,000 head of population remains “one of the highest in the world” but doesn’t say what it is.
Victoria has recorded 238 new cases of coronavirus overnight, and one more death.
A woman in her 90s died overnight. It brings the number of deaths in the state to 27.
There are 105 Victorians in hospital, up 20 from yesterday, and 27 people in intensive care.
Of the new cases recorded overnight, 209 are still under investigation. The total number of cases in Victoria is 4,448, 1,931 are active.
We’re expecting both Daniel Andrews and Gladys Berejiklian to step up any minute now.
But first, weather. Fairly rough waves at Clovelly Beach in Sydney this morning.
Former NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons is appearing before the royal commission into national natural disaster arrangements today.Former NSW Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons is appearing before the royal commission into national natural disaster arrangements today.
Yes, the royal commission is still going.Yes, the royal commission is still going.
Fitzsimmons will appear alongside the current RFS commissioner, Rob Rogers, and the deputy police commissioner, Gary Worboys, who is also the state emergency operations controller.Fitzsimmons will appear alongside the current RFS commissioner, Rob Rogers, and the deputy police commissioner, Gary Worboys, who is also the state emergency operations controller.
Federal health minister Greg Hunt will give a national coronavirus update about 12.15pmFederal health minister Greg Hunt will give a national coronavirus update about 12.15pm
While we’re waiting for those two press conferences, Luke Henriques-Gomes and Paul Karp have an update on the terrible situation that is Robodebt.While we’re waiting for those two press conferences, Luke Henriques-Gomes and Paul Karp have an update on the terrible situation that is Robodebt.
They write:They write:
You can read more here.You can read more here.
A woman has gone missing after completing her stay in hotel quarantine in Melbourne.A woman has gone missing after completing her stay in hotel quarantine in Melbourne.
More from AAP:More from AAP:
The Salamanca Market in Tasmania, which has not run for months due to the coronavirus, is expected to reopen, in a diminished form, on 8 August.The Salamanca Market in Tasmania, which has not run for months due to the coronavirus, is expected to reopen, in a diminished form, on 8 August.
Except it will not be called the Salamanca Market. Instead, according to the Mercury, the Hobart city council will call the smaller, interim market “Tasmania’s Own Market”. This is, frankly, a terrible name and I’m glad it’s only temporary.Except it will not be called the Salamanca Market. Instead, according to the Mercury, the Hobart city council will call the smaller, interim market “Tasmania’s Own Market”. This is, frankly, a terrible name and I’m glad it’s only temporary.
The smaller version of the market will be split into separate sections, each with manned entry and exit gates, with a capacity of 500 people each. There will only be 90 stalls available, so vendors will be put on a rotating fortnightly roster.The smaller version of the market will be split into separate sections, each with manned entry and exit gates, with a capacity of 500 people each. There will only be 90 stalls available, so vendors will be put on a rotating fortnightly roster.
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews and police minister Lisa Neville will give a press conference at 11am. The same time as the NSW update.Victorian premier Daniel Andrews and police minister Lisa Neville will give a press conference at 11am. The same time as the NSW update.
The AFL has asked Queensland to host more AFL teams due to coronavirus restrictions in Victoria.
Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced, in a Facebook post that was then posted as a screenshot on Twitter, that she spoke this morning to AFL CEO Gil McLachlan, who is looking to “book accommodation for hundreds of players and officials at Queensland hotels for two months”.
Palaszczuk said:
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews was not impressed by the offer of the NSW government to take some of its flagship sporting events off its hands, including the AFL grand final and Melbourne Cup. I’m sure he’ll be asked about Queensland’s offer today.
Surfers Paradise electorate worst-hit by unemployment
A new Parliamentary Library paper looks at the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on jobseeker claimants by electorate.
The research finds the worst-hit electorate is Moncrieff, a safe Liberal seat based around Surfers Paradise, where the number of jobseeker recipients increased by 9,000 between December and May. There were 15,000 jobseeker recipients in Moncrieff in May.
The Labor held seats of Blaxland, in Sydney’s west, and Calwell, in Melbourne’s north-west, were the next worst-affected electorates, both adding about 8,000 new jobseeker recipients during the pandemic.
By percentage increase, the worst-hit electorates were the wealthy Sydney seats of Wentworth and Warringah, which saw their numbers of jobseeker recipients increase by four times and three times respectively. However, as the paper noted, both began from a much lower base of unemployment.
Another pub in south-west Sydney has reported a positive case of coronavirus.
The Macarthur Tavern in Campbelltown says it was notified by NSW Health that a person who was at the pub on Saturday 11 July, between 9pm and midnight, has since tested positive for the virus.
The pub is closed this morning for deep cleaning.
In a Facebook post, the business said:
They said the advice they received from NSW health was that there was “no requirement for the premises to shut down or for any member of staff or patron to self-isolate”. But they said both patrons and staff would need to remain vigilant for any respiratory symptoms and self-isolate and get tested immediately should symptoms develop.
The Queensland government’s new hotspot declaration has caused further delays at the border, because it requires more intense checking of cars with NSW numberplates.
It has also led to an update on the border declaration passes and meant that even valid passes will be invalid from tomorrow. Passes are issued for seven days.
Cathy Border, reporting from the NSW/QLD border, told the ABC earlier:
Have you been following the mystery of the car that has been abandoned in the staff carpark at Adelaide airport since at least February or March, bearing the numberplate COVID19?
The ABC reports that the car is registered until September 26, 2020. Car rego can be taken out for either three or 12 months.
So, working backwards, that means the car was either registered on 26 September, 2019, which is terrifying, or it was first registered in March for 3 months and renewed again — without being moved — in June.
Or, third alternative, it’s a perfectly innocent homage to Covi Dig, the owner’s childhood pet.
New South Wales will give its coronavirus update at 11am.
Our new global coronavirus blog is live, you can follow that coverage here.
He was also asked about comments Alan Jones made on Sky News last night, which I won’t link to here but which repeat the song that Jones has been singing all pandemic long: the majority of people recover from the virus therefore we should not be locked down.
Morrison said:
But he added that many do die, and that death rates are considerably higher for older and vulnerable people. He says it’s impossible to just lock down those most vulnerable and let everyone else carry on.
He referred to the high death rates seen in some other countries – more than half a million people have died worldwide from the virus, 138,000 in the United States alone – and said “to think that can’t happen here is just not the case”.
He added:
Asked whether Australia should have pursued an elimination strategy, Morrison said:
Morrison was asked if the CovidSafe app was working as designed, given it has not actually been used to provide new information on any contact tracing endeavour.
Morrison suggested that the app would be used more by contact tracers if more people downloaded it (it has 6m downloads so far). He said it was never intended to work in isolation but to be a support to human contact tracers, and said:
What a review.
Morrison criticised people for “undermining” the app.
Prime minister Scott Morrison has been talking to Triple M’s Hot Breakfast and dodged a question about a rumour circulating on social media that Victoria could go into stage-four lockdown.
Among those circulating the rumour – and we’re calling it a rumour because it has not been confirmed by a credible source – were state Liberal MPs.
Morrison said:
Andrews was asked at a press conference on Monday about whether he would rule out placing Melbourne into stage-four lockdown and he said he would not rule anything out, but would tell people if that’s what the government was considering.
Morrison began the interview by “thanking all Melburnians for the amazing job they have been doing, just responding to what’s been asked of them in the past week or so”.
Host Eddie McGuire, in turn, thanked Morrison for “not falling into political nitpicking” and for attending the football on the weekend.