Coronavirus Australia Live Updates: Victorian cases 'yet to peak', NSW ADF base in lockdown after Casula outbreak - The Sydney Morning Herald

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ADF base closes after cases linked to Sydney pub

By Mary Ward

A NSW Australian Defence Force base is in lockdown after personnel attended a Sydney pub now linked to nine cases.

Thirteen ADF personnel have been placed in self-isolation at the organisation's Wagga Wagga base after attending the Crossroads Hotel at Casula, in Sydney's south-west, Nine's Today show first reported this morning. The group stopped at the pub on their way to Albury-Wodonga border.

They realised they had been at the venue during the infectious period on their way to the base. It is understood they also visited a fast food restaurant on their journey.

The ADF has denied there are any confirmed cases at the base, however Today has reported there are now two confirmed cases at the facility and it was placed in lockdown yesterday.

There have now been nine cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel at Casula, after four new cases were announced on Sunday afternoon.

The four new cases include a teenager who worked at the hotel on several days including July 3, a close contact of the worker in her 50s, a local diner in her 40s and a Victorian diner in his 20s.

The Planet Fitness gym at Casula announced they would be closed for cleaning on Monday after a member tested positive.

The member is an employee of the Crossroads Hotel, but it is not known if they are one of the nine already confirmed cases. NSW Health has asked more than a thousand people who attended the Crossroads Hotel between July 3 and July 10 to self-isolate.

Federal MP for Werriwa Anne Stanley said on social media that she would be self-isolating as a result of the directive.

"Last week I had dinner at the Crossroads Hotel at Casula. I have followed today’s medical advice from NSW Health and I have been tested and am now in 14 days self-isolation," she posted on Facebook.

Ms Stanley said her office has been closed for the "immediate future" with herself and staff working from home.

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Distancing but 'no contact tracing' says Casula customer

By Mary Ward

A patron who attended the Crossroads Hotel in Sydney's Casula during the venue's "infectious period" has said there were social distancing practices in place at the pub although no contact tracing measures.

Lauren, a caller to Sydney's 2GB on Monday morning, said she walked straight up the the bar after entering the Crossroads Hotel, at the intersection of the Hume Highway and Campbelltown Road.

"No one took my name, number – I didn't have a booking," she told host Ben Fordham.

However, Lauren said there were social distancing practices in place, with certain tables blocked off to patrons.

Anyone who attended the Crossroads between July 3 and July 10 has been instructed to self-isolate for 14 days from their visit after nine cases were linked to the venue.

An ADF base in Wagga Wagga has also been placed in lockdown on the weekend due to a group of personnel attending the pub.

South Africa bans liquor sales, reinstates curfew

South Africa has banned alcohol sales and reinstated a night-time curfew, to reduce trauma cases and free up hospital beds for COVID-19 patients.

The government imposed one of the strictest lockdowns in the world in late March and delayed a surge in infections, but it has since eased many restrictions over fears for its struggling economy.

Coronavirus patients being treated at the Tshwane District Hospital in Pretoria, South Africa.Credit:AP

South Africa has the highest number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Africa and is now recording the fourth-largest daily increase in new cases worldwide.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the country could not afford for its hospitals and clinics to be burdened with avoidable alcohol-related injuries.

"This is a fight to save every life, and we need to save every bed," he said. "The coronavirus storm is far fiercer and more destructive than any we have known."

The curfew will last from 9pm to 4am and take effect from Monday, apart from for those travelling to or from work or seeking medical help.

Regulations on the wearing of masks will also be strengthened, but the country will remain on the third level of its five-level coronavirus alert system. Family visits and social activities remain banned.

Ramaphosa said current projections showed different provinces would reach the peak of infections between the end of July and late September.

He said scientists had presented models that forecast between 40,000 and 50,000 coronavirus deaths before the end of the year, adding: "We must make it our single most important task to prove these projections wrong."

The country has reported increases of more than 10,000 confirmed cases for several days. The latest daily increase was nearly 13,500. South Africa accounts for 40 per cent of all the confirmed cases in Africa, and has had 3971 deaths, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than 30 per cent of cases are in the economic hub of Gauteng province, which includes Johannesburg, and the capital, Pretoria.

Africa’s 54 countries have reported 577,904 cases, according to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention. The continent’s confirmed cases are concentrated in four countries: South Africa, Egypt (81,158 cases), Nigeria (31,987 cases) and Algeria (18,712 cases), which together make up more than 65 per cent of the continent’s cases.

The number of actual cases in Africa is believed to be much higher, as the testing rate is very low in many countries.

Christmas in July to lift the spirits

By Carolyn Webb

For many people, the year 2020 is proving less than joyous. You may have heard about a certain pandemic? And so some of us have decided to fast-forward to happier times.

"We've gone a little bit nuts": Kat Torcasio, of Pascoe Vale, with children Theodore, 7, and Charlotte, 9.Credit:Penny Stephens

In a pocket of Melbourne’s northern suburbs, around Pascoe Vale, it’s Christmas, five months early. More than 15 households have put up over-sized inflatable reindeer on their lawns, hung daggy yuletide stockings in their trees, and strung fairy lights of uncertain origin on all visible surfaces.

It’s all thanks to Pascoe Vale mother-of-three Angelique Woodburn, a lifelong Christmas lights tragic who noticed the community outlook was getting rather maudlin following the return to stage three restrictions.

Remembering that "when people have their Christmas decorations up it makes them feel better", she suggested on local social media that people do "Christmas in July in Lockdown".

Christmas wonderland - in July. Danny Harb, owner of st.derby cafe in Pascoe Vale, with his window display. Credit:Penny Stephens

And so far 15 households and cafes have signed up. Ms Woodburn has seen nativity scenes, blow-up Santas and large outbreaks of bunting.

Some people are speaking of egg nog and mulled wine, and even putting up their Christmas tree, "because they’re so sick of the negativity and bleakness".

You can read the full story here.

Stimulus payments to land this week

By Craig Butt

This week about five million Australians will receive a second $750 stimulus payment, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said.

"It's up to those who receive the money as to how they spend it," Mr Frydenberg told ABC's News Breakfast.

"What we know from previous experience is some of that money goes to discretionary incomes like food and grocery bills, rent and other household items."

About five million people received a first $750 stimulus payment in April. Mr Frydenberg said some of those people also saved the money or used it to pay down debt.

He said there were no plans for a third payment at this stage.

More community cases in Victoria that rest of country

By Craig Butt

Over the weekend Victoria overtook New South Wales when it comes to the number of coronavirus cases confirmed since the start of the pandemic.

Here’s another milestone – as of Sunday there have been more cases of coronavirus in Victoria involving community transmission than there have been in every other Australian state or territory combined.

In Victoria there have been 562 people who have contracted coronavirus but for whom the source of infection is unknown, meaning they likely picked it up somewhere in the community. That compares to 546 people in all other Australian states and territories:

But the true number of community transmission cases in Victoria could well be far higher. At the moment there are 843 coronavirus cases in Victoria that are still being investigated, most of them people who tested positive in the past week or so.

To put that number in perspective, those 843 make up more than a fifth of all cases recorded in the state since the start of the pandemic.

It often takes the health department several days to determine the infection source, so whenever there is an increase in the running total, it's not tied to that day's new cases.

It essentially tells us that community transmission was the source of infection of people who tested positive about a week ago.

Charging for hotel quarantine will allow program to continue: NSW Minister

By Mary Ward

NSW Minister for Jobs Stuart Ayres, who is responsible for the state's hotel quarantine program, has said the state's decision to charge returned travellers for hotel quarantine will allow for the program to continue for as long as it is needed.

"This is all about making sure it's on a sustainable footing, because it looks like it's going to be here for a while," Mr Ayres told 2GB this morning.

From this Saturday, tickets to Sydney Airport landing from Monday July 20 will come with an additional $3000 bill, as returned travellers are made to pay for their 14-day hotel quarantine.

"People have had almost four months to come home after the Prime Minister sent a very clear message for Australians around the world to come home and NSW has been providing this at a taxpayer expense," Mr Ayres said.