Next Federal Parliament sitting cancelled due to spread risk from Vic, NSW
By Nick Bonyhady
The government will announce on Saturday that it is cancelling the next sitting of Federal Parliament because of the risk of coronavirus transmissions as cases rise in Victoria and NSW.
Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly told the government that parliamentarians and their staffers coming from interstate could "jeopardise the health situation in the ACT" and "place residents at unnecessary risk of infection".
Parliament was going to sit for a fortnight from August 4 but the next sitting week, in which the government can pass legislation and the opposition can scrutinise its agenda, will be on August 24.
The Parliament was previously reduced to a skeleton sitting in March to pass one tranche of the government's coronavirus stimulus.
Latest updates
'Knife-edge': Remand centre prisoner tests positive sparking outbreak fears
By Tammy Mills
A prisoner on remand has tested positive to coronavirus, prompting fears of an outbreak through Victoria's prisons.
It is the first time a positive case has occurred in Melbourne's prison system.
The Metropolitan Remand Centre prisoner returned a positive test on Friday morning, according to Corrections Victoria.
The maximum security Melbourne Remand Centre.Credit:Justin McManus
Human rights and criminal lawyers say the situation was on a knife-edge, warning if it spread through the prison then a new community hotspot could be created.
The prisoner was swabbed when he first arrived at the remand centre at Ravenhall on Monday and, as per Corrections' protocols for new remandees, placed in 14-day protective quarantine and separated from the rest of the prison.
The asymptomatic prisoner had not completed his 14-day quarantine when the positive test was returned.
He will remain isolated from other remandees in protective quarantine as a result.
Income support coming as Frydenberg says Victorian outbreak hurting confidence
By David Crowe
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has promised a new burst of income support to add to $70 billion in JobKeeper payments amid fears of a new hit to the national economy from the Victorian spike in coronavirus cases.
Mr Frydenberg said the new measures would tackle the "diminished confidence" across the country from the growing infections, rejecting claims of a sudden halt to income support.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says Victoria's COVID-19 outbreak is hampering the nation's economic recovery.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
The government's internal estimates show the effective rate of unemployment has fallen to 11.3 per cent, a sign of the extreme pressure on workers but an improvement on a 13.3 per cent estimate one week ago and a 15 per cent estimate in May.
This means there were an estimated 1.55 million people who were effectively unemployed at the end of June compared to 1.9 million in May, an improvement of 350,000 according to Treasury calculations.
Mr Frydenberg said the national recovery remained on track but hinged on whether states and territories could hold the line against the Victorian outbreak.
"There will be another phase of income support," he said in an interview with The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
'If I kneel down I'll never get up': The Queen knights Tom Moore, 100
By Danica Kirka
London: In the end, Sir Tom didn't need to rise.
On a day infused with emotion, Queen Elizabeth II tapped the blade of a sword once owned by her father on the slender shoulders of 100-year-old Tom Moore, making a hero of a nation a knight of the realm on Friday.
Moore captivated the British public by walking 100 laps of his garden in England and raising some £33 million pounds ($59 million) for the National Health Service in April. The Queen knighted him with the traditional sword tap, but the World War II veteran was not required to take a knee before the monarch.
Instead, Moore steadied himself against his now-famous walker and wheeled himself across the grass to stand in front of Queen Elizabeth.
"I have been overwhelmed by the many honours I have received over the past weeks, but there is simply nothing that can compare to this," he tweeted after the ceremony. "I am overwhelmed with pride and joy."
'This time it's bad': Healthcare workers on edge as patient numbers surge
By Melissa Cunningham
Nurses and doctors at the coalface of the fight against COVID-19 are becoming increasingly aware of the dangers of their role as a surge of high-risk patients hits hospitals.
Victoria's health department confirmed 394 healthcare workers have tested positive to the virus since the start of the pandemic. Of those, more than 240 have recovered.
The Health Services Union said hundreds more have been forced to isolate due to exposure to infected people.
Nurse Tamie Adams outside the Austin Hospital on Friday.Credit:Eddie Jim
As Victoria recorded 428 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths, the state's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the high number of new cases were "a daily tragedy".
"We have not turned the corner here," Professor Sutton said. "Worse than that there will be dozens of individuals who will require hospitalisation from these 428 people. Tragically there will be several who require intensive care support and a number of people will die."
On Friday, 122 Victorians with the virus were in hospital, including 31 people fighting for their lives in intensive care. Five people in their 40s are among the intensive-care patients.
Next Federal Parliament sitting cancelled due to spread risk from Vic, NSW
By Nick Bonyhady
The government will announce on Saturday that it is cancelling the next sitting of Federal Parliament because of the risk of coronavirus transmissions as cases rise in Victoria and NSW.
Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly told the government that parliamentarians and their staffers coming from interstate could "jeopardise the health situation in the ACT" and "place residents at unnecessary risk of infection".
Parliament was going to sit for a fortnight from August 4 but the next sitting week, in which the government can pass legislation and the opposition can scrutinise its agenda, will be on August 24.
The Parliament was previously reduced to a skeleton sitting in March to pass one tranche of the government's coronavirus stimulus.
AMA president calls for stage four restrictions to be considered
By Roy Ward
Australian Medical Association president Dr Tony Bartone has called for the Victorian Government to consider stage four restrictions as a ‘matter of urgency’.
In an interview with Channel Nine this morning, Dr Bartone said the growing numbers in Victoria were very concerning and unless they dropped in the coming days stricter measures had to be considered.
“With the numbers we are seeing, that points to a really high level of community transmission that was present when the lockdown measures were introduced,” Dr Bartone said.
“What we are seeing, is what was happening 10-14 days ago and with the incubation period we should see numbers starting to go down but if they don’t start going down soon that will be a real worry.
“That’s why we need to be thinking about stage four lockdown measures as a matter of urgency.”
Dr Bartone said he thought stage four restrictions would likely see all businesses and schools close except for essential services.
“Stage four would curtail everything but essential services like grocery shopping, chemists, medical services, petrol stations but all other business and schools would close and all travel severely curtailed as would the time you can spend outside your home,” Dr Bartone said.
“That’s what stage four could look like. If we don’t stop the mixing and spreading of the virus in our community then we won’t be able to keep a lid on these numbers.
“This is really concerning.”
'The fight of our lives': Doctors call for virus elimination strategy as stage four restrictions loom
By Noel Towell
Victoria moved a step closer on Friday to even tougher COVID-19 restrictions with 428 new cases statewide and another three lives lost.
The first case of coronavirus in a Melbourne prison was also diagnosed, sparking fears the pandemic could take hold among the state's 8100 prisoners.
As the grim news mounted, prominent infectious disease and health experts urged a "stringent" lockdown, shutting all schools and allowing only chemists and supermarkets to trade.
Austin Hospital nurse Brigid Algie and her colleagues are braced for an influx of people suffering from COVID-19. Credit:Eddie Jim
The group of physicians said 80 per cent of the workforce should be sent home to eliminate community spread of the illness, warning there was no chance current restrictions would clear Victoria of the illness by the time they were due to expire on August 19.
On Friday, 122 Victorians with the virus were in hospital, including 31 in intensive care.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said: "This is a serious situation. We are in the fight of our lives."
WHO reports record daily increase in global coronavirus cases
By Freida Frisaro and David Crary
The World Health Organisation has reported a record increase in global coronavirus cases, with the total rising by 237,743 in just 24 hours.
The biggest increases on Friday were from the United States, Brazil, India and South Africa, according to a daily report. The previous WHO record for new cases was 230,370 on July 12. Deaths have held steady and averaged less than 5000 a day in July.
A healthcare worker uses a grabber to collect a nasal swab sample at a COVID-19 drive-through testing site in California.Credit:AP
Total global coronavirus cases were approaching 14 million on Friday, according to a Reuters tally, marking another milestone in the spread of the disease that has killed more than 590,000 people in seven months.
In the US, teams of military medics were deployed in Texas and California on Friday to help hospitals deluged by coronavirus patients, as Miami area authorities began stepping up enforcement of a mask requirement — echoing efforts in many parts of the world to contain surging infections.
In California, military doctors, nurses and other health care specialists were being deployed to eight hospitals facing staffing shortages amid a record-breaking case in numbers. In Houston, an 86-person Army medical team worked to take over a wing of United Memorial Medical Centre.
More than 75,600 new coronavirus cases were reported in the US on Thursday, according to a New York Times database, the 11th time in the past month that the daily record was broken.
AP, with Reuters
Lorna Jane fined almost $40,000 for 'anti-virus activewear' line
By Matt Dennien
Popular activewear brand Lorna Jane has been hit with fines totalling almost $40,000 over a new range it initially spruiked as "anti-virus", advertising Australia’s medical watchdog warned could create complacency during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The clothing line, launched earlier this month, promised to protect wearers from viruses and germs. By Thursday, the company website was instead referring to the leggings and tops as "anti-bacterial".
Lorna Jane has rebranded its 'anti-viral' activewear range and updated its description of the product on its website.
After confirming it was investigating the range, the Therapeutic Goods Administration issued a statement late on Friday saying it had issued the Brisbane label with three fines worth $39,960.
The watchdog, which comes under the federal Health Department, alleged in advertising the "anti-virus activewear", Lorna Jane had implied it was a therapeutic good "effective against COVID-19".
New COVID-19 cluster found as NSW tightens rules for public gatherings
By Lisa Visentin and Rachel Clun
A new coronavirus cluster emerged in a western Sydney shopping centre on Friday, hours after NSW announced tougher restrictions on gatherings at restaurants, weddings and funerals.
A worker and two customers at the Thai Rock restaurant, at Stockland Mall in Wetherill Park, have tested positive to COVID-19. The cluster has not yet been genomically linked to the outbreak at the Crossroads Hotel at Casula, from which 42 people have contracted the virus.
The cluster emerged after Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced a tranche of restrictions on gatherings, including a new 150-person limit at weddings, while funerals and church services will be capped at 100 people.
The measures, which will be effective from next Friday, will also include an extension on the 10-person limit on group bookings at pubs, announced earlier this week, to restaurants, cafes and bars.
NSW Health also announced its contact tracing team had expanded to more than 380 from just six employees at the start of the pandemic in an effort to have close contacts of all new cases isolated for the full incubation period of 14 days.
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2020-07-17 22:50:00Z
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