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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria records 278 Covid cases and eight deaths as one death and 12 cases recorded in NSW Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria records 278 Covid cases and eight deaths as one death and 12 cases recorded in NSW
(32 minutes later)
NSW authorities are concerned about a number of Covid-19 cases in the past six weeks where the source was unknown. Follow liveNSW authorities are concerned about a number of Covid-19 cases in the past six weeks where the source was unknown. Follow live
Josh Taylor will take you through the afternoon - thank you again so much for joining me again today.
I’ll be back early tomorrow morning. I’m getting through your questions, so bear with me - but thank you for your messages.
Please - take care of you. Ax
The aged care royal commission has been told the federal government acted with “self-congratulation” and “hubris” as it did not prepare Victoria for its devastating outbreak of coronavirus in aged care.
The counsel assisting the commission, Peter Rozen QC, delivered the strong criticism in his closing remarks into an emergency week of hearings into how the coronavirus pandemic entered Australia’s nursing homes.
Rozen told the commission that none of the hundreds of deaths were “unforeseeable”, the sector was “not properly prepared” and the sector is still “not properly prepared now”.
He said the federal government did not learn the lessons from the outbreaks in NSW at Newmarch House and the Dorothy Henderson Lodge earlier in the year. Later outbreaks in Victoria in mid-June were even more devastating.
There have been 220 deaths of residents in aged care due to Covid-19, which is 70% of all the country’s deaths. Rozen said this made Australia one of the worst performing countries in the world.
Victoria Health has put out its official update:
Victoria has recorded 278 new cases of coronavirus since yesterday, with the total number of cases now at 15,863.
The overall total has increased by 217 due to 61 cases being reclassified – largely due to duplication.
Within Victoria, 64 of the new cases are linked to outbreaks or complex cases and 214 are under investigation.
There have been eight new deaths from Covid reported since yesterday: one woman in her 50s, two men in their 70s, two women and two men in their 80s and one man his 90s.
Four of the eight are linked to known outbreaks in aged care facilities. To date, 275 people have died from coronavirus in Victoria.
In Victoria now:
3,068 cases may indicate community transmission
7,866 cases are active
664 cases are in hospital, including 37 in intensive care
7,493 people have recovered
More than 1,895,566 tests have been processed – an increase of 20,951 since yesterday.
Of the total cases:
14,556 are from metropolitan Melbourne; 957 are from regional Victoria
Total cases include 7,636 men and 8,156 women
Total number of healthcare workers: 2,073; active cases: 1,140
There are 2,018 active cases relating to aged care facilities.
Active aged care outbreaks with the highest cumulative case numbers are:
201 cases have been linked to Epping Gardens Aged Care in Epping
184 cases have been linked to St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Fawkner
153 cases have been linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Ardeer
131 cases have been linked to Kirkbrae Presbyterian Homes in Kilsyth
119 cases have been linked to BaptCare Wyndham Lodge Community in Werribee
108 cases have been linked to Outlook Gardens Aged Care Facility in Dandenong North
99 cases have been linked to Estia Aged Care Facility in Heidelberg
89 cases have been linked to Arcare Aged Care Facility in Craigieburn
87 cases have been linked to Twin Parks Aged Care in Reservoir
82 cases have been linked to Glendale Aged Care Facility in Werribee
In Victoria there are 84 active cases in residential disability accommodation.
Total resident cases: 20; total staff cases: 64
Active cases in NDIS homes: 59 (17 residents)
Active cases in “transfer” homes (state regulated/funded*): 24 (3 residents)
Active cases in state government delivered and funded homes: 1
Naaman Zhou has been watching the aged care royal commission for you today.
In case you missed it, the counsel assisting the commissioner, Peter Rozen QC, has just given the federal government an absolute bollocking over its handling of aged care during the pandemic.
He says the sector is “still” not prepared.
The Victorian aged care response centre has put out a release:
The Victorian aged care response centre continues to align its resources and operations, with the cooperation of more than a dozen federal and state agencies, in a robust effort to address the unfolding situation in aged care facilities.
The centre’s preventive and critical response efforts remain focused on continuity of care for aged care residents, the safety and wellbeing of staff and residents, and increasing communication with residents’ families.
More than 400 residents in aged care facilities have been transferred to hospitals, with the centre playing an active role in more than 300 of those cases. This includes the transfer of 14 residents this week.
The centre has facilitated communications support for seven aged care facilities with 859 outbound calls conducted to families of residents, including 682 inbound calls received since 23 July.
Ausmat has deployed 24 members into Victoria who have made 61 visits across 41 aged care facilities to date. They have been assessing existing procedures and boosting infection prevention and control measures, including on the use of PPE.
61 facilities have been clinically screened by ADF and Western Health, with an additional 10 being visited today, making 71 Covid-free facilities that had their infection control bolstered.
In addition to two teams assisting Victoria from South Australia, a further two teams of six personnel from Queensland and Western Australia were deployed this week to support workforce in aged care facilities. These teams are made up of nurses, personal care workers and hotel services.
30 staff from allied health services were trained yesterday at Monash University as residential aged care safety officers to support staff in higher-risk facilities in safety, facility operations, and PPE compliance.
20 ADF staff are being trained in PPE usage and compliance today and will be deployed next week. More training sessions will continue into the coming weeks with the support of the ADF.
A team from the aged care quality and safety commission is on the ground making daily visits and delivering unannounced on-the-spot checks on appropriate PPE usage and infection control practices.
Chief executives of all major metro and regional hospitals and aged care provider peak bodies have been contacted and briefed to ensure they have the support they need; and the response centre is working with Qantas, Virgin and Spotless to consider whether staff can be retrained to support aged care services.
Queensland federal MPs are still waiting to hear whether or not they will have to do a reverse Victoria (Victorians have to quarantine before entering the ACT or for two weeks in the ACT ahead of parliament) and quarantine when they get back to Queensland.
The big question is whether or not families will be locked down with the MPs on their return to the sunshine state.
Staff will most likely be sent into hotel quarantine (at their own expense). MPs who self isolate at home might have to make their household do it with them.
That’s going to affect the LNP MPs more than the Labor ones – just on sheer numbers.
Not sure how Matt Canavan or George Christensen or Amanda Stoker or James McGrath (all such famous, reasonable, media-adverse MPS) will feel about this, but I guess we’ll soon find out.
But we’ll all learn more when the state’s chief medical officer, Dr Jeanette Young, makes her decision.
But given the good doctor gave advice that the ACT was to be included in the NSW border ban, I don’t think Queensland MPs can expect to be free for two weeks upon their return.
Which is going to have a pretty big impact on who travels for the sitting, I would think.
(We would suggest having all the Queensland MPs quarantined together in a Big Brother style broadcast, but don’t think Dr Young is taking requests)
The aged care royal commission is hearing from the counsel assisting the commissioner, Peter Rozen, again.The aged care royal commission is hearing from the counsel assisting the commissioner, Peter Rozen, again.
He is not holding back and says the sector “is not properly prepared now” for the pandemic, and that the federal government document aged care minister Richard Colbeck has been referring to “is a plan, it’s just not an aged care plan”.He is not holding back and says the sector “is not properly prepared now” for the pandemic, and that the federal government document aged care minister Richard Colbeck has been referring to “is a plan, it’s just not an aged care plan”.
Counterpoint – it actually speaks to lockdown restrictions being lifted and businesses opening back up but, once again, you do you, employment minister.Counterpoint – it actually speaks to lockdown restrictions being lifted and businesses opening back up but, once again, you do you, employment minister.
Michaelia Cash on today’s job figures:Michaelia Cash on today’s job figures:
Perhaps minister Cash should stick to having curries for the country.Perhaps minister Cash should stick to having curries for the country.
Always grim reading:Always grim reading:
For those living on the South Australian/Victorian border, here are the new border crossing details:For those living on the South Australian/Victorian border, here are the new border crossing details:
With a direction coming into effect on Friday, the essential traveller category cross-border community member will be suspended from 21 August. This means further restrictions will apply to people wishing to enter South Australia from Victoria.With a direction coming into effect on Friday, the essential traveller category cross-border community member will be suspended from 21 August. This means further restrictions will apply to people wishing to enter South Australia from Victoria.
Special dispensation will be given to farmers with properties that span the border, and students completing years 11 and 12.Special dispensation will be given to farmers with properties that span the border, and students completing years 11 and 12.
If a person currently has that status they can reapply to be an essential traveller if they fit into another category. A seven-day transition period will apply to allow new applications to be made.If a person currently has that status they can reapply to be an essential traveller if they fit into another category. A seven-day transition period will apply to allow new applications to be made.
Persons wishing to enter South Australia from Victoria may reapply under another category:Persons wishing to enter South Australia from Victoria may reapply under another category:
national and state security and governancenational and state security and governance
emergency services (SA Health approved)emergency services (SA Health approved)
freight and transportfreight and transport
urgent medical, dental, health (SA Health approved)urgent medical, dental, health (SA Health approved)
compassionate grounds (SA Health approved)compassionate grounds (SA Health approved)
specialist workers in essential sectors (includes primary industries and agriculture).specialist workers in essential sectors (includes primary industries and agriculture).
If you do not meet those criteria you will no longer be able to enter South Australia from Victoria. South Australians are strongly advised not travel to Victoria.If you do not meet those criteria you will no longer be able to enter South Australia from Victoria. South Australians are strongly advised not travel to Victoria.
(And I do not find South Australian news “trivial”. I was born in Mount Gambier and still have family there. But I am not able to be across each and every court case and border charge.)(And I do not find South Australian news “trivial”. I was born in Mount Gambier and still have family there. But I am not able to be across each and every court case and border charge.)
That last post is a good reminder of the additional impacts of the pandemic – while Australia won’t be running out of food any time soon, the agricultural industry has already sounded the alarm over its labour force.That last post is a good reminder of the additional impacts of the pandemic – while Australia won’t be running out of food any time soon, the agricultural industry has already sounded the alarm over its labour force.
You’ll start seeing the effects of that in the produce aisles (and some of it is happening already).You’ll start seeing the effects of that in the produce aisles (and some of it is happening already).
The industry department has just put out this release:The industry department has just put out this release:
To be fair, Greg Hunt is taking questions.
Holding press conferences if you are a Victorian is a difficult process at the moment, given the self-quarantine aspect of their ability to attend parliament.
But there should be others who can step up here ... like maybe the prime minister?
Greg Hunt is holding his “virtual press conference” that didn’t come with any call-in details.
There is a very official government backdrop. Terrible lighting though.
Back to Victoria for a moment – the deputy chief medical officer, Prof Allen Cheng, adds his voice to the chorus of “calm your farm” and act cautiously over the Russian claims of a vaccine.
NSW police have fined someone for spitting on police officers:
And to another Victorian leader:
Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp has said the council learned from the lockdown of the nine public housing towers in Melbourne that it is important to consult cultural leaders people for advice at the start in seeking to tackle outbreaks in residential towers.
“I think that establishing those connections and networks early, and really relying on them in some cases, really stepping out of the way and playing a support role rather than the lead role was vital,” Capp told the Victorian parliament’s Covid-19 inquiry.
“We have 84% of our population in the city of Melbourne living in high-rise of one form or another and so there have been learnings right across those scenarios.”
Capp also said not one of the council’s employees has been stood down during lockdown because recreational and library staff were able to be redeployed as part of the state government’s Covid-support package to work in call centres, or cleaning the city.
On to insurance:
Insurers have launched a pair of test cases in the NSW supreme court in a bid to make sure they don’t have to pay out on business interruption policies due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Companies take out business interruption insurance to protect themselves against events that force them to close their doors.
But the insurance industry has long maintained that the policies don’t cover interruptions due to pandemics – they are “not insurable due to the magnitude of potential losses, and the challenges of modelling the risk and ensuring coverage affordability”, the Insurance Council of Australia said.
There is a lot at stake – on one side there are millions of businesses with this type of insurance out there, while on the other the insurance industry is under significant financial pressure after a horror year of drought, floods and bushfires.
As an industry, profit in the 12 months to March was $1.5bn, a 57% fall from the $3.5bn recorded the previous year, the ICA said.
The two cases off to the Supremes today have been before the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, which has not resolved them.
The ICA will pay the costs of the court cases, which it will ask be heard as soon as possible.
Insurers Hollard and HDI Global Specialty wrote the policies at the centre of the two cases.
ICA chief executive Rob Holland:
“The industry wishes to have the case heard as quickly as possible, given the challenging times being experienced by the small business sector because of Covid-19, the past season of natural disasters and the recession.
“Most insurers have never contemplated coverage for pandemics in their policies, and did not price pandemic risks into premiums. They believe pandemic-related exclusions are appropriate, but wish to provide greater clarity through engaging a superior court process.”
What is the threshold for winding back the SA restrictions?
Grant Stevens:
South Australia’s premier, Steven Marshall, has announced tighter border controls with the Victorian border towns.
This is going to have a massive impact on those communities who are already struggling being cut off from services.
Police commissioner Grant Stevens:
This is a new one: a “virtual press conference” with no call-in details, with vision to be provided on the minister’s social media page:
That’s not a press conference. That’s a recorded press release.