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Plan to bring foreign students back to Queensland almost final
By Lydia Lynch
A plan to bring international students back to Queensland is almost finalised as the University of Queensland urges the state government to make it known that Chinese students are welcome.
More than 1000 foreign students will be allowed into South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory this month as part of two pilot programs, endorsed by the federal government, and work is almost finished on a similar arrangement in Queensland.
UQ vice-chancellor Peter Hoj believes it is "critical" to allow some international students back into Queensland to help the economy.Credit:Glenn Hunt
Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan said the programs could only go ahead if interstate borders were open and face-to-face learning was restarted.
A UQ spokeswoman said the university would contribute $2000 per student to help cover the cost of flights and hotel quarantine with students to foot the remaining bill. The university is offering both on-campus learning and online study for semester two.
Doctors 'bullied' by hospital administration for asking to wear masks
By Dana McCauley
Doctors working in major Sydney and Melbourne hospitals fear an escalation of coronavirus outbreaks spread by healthcare workers, accusing hospital administrators of "bullying" those who demand protective masks - including on COVID-19 wards.
Three doctors who spoke to The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age on condition of anonymity for fear of losing their jobs said nurses, physicians and ward orderlies were being forced to work in unsafe conditions, with contaminated bins "overflowing" and access to masks restricted.
Healthcare workers fear being infected with COVID-19 due to restrictions on who can access protective equipment. Credit:Jon Super
Hundreds of healthcare workers are among the 8586 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia to date, including 88 in NSW and 216 in Victoria, where recent infections have been detected in nurses and other workers at the Northern Hospital, the Alfred, the Epworth and the Royal Melbourne.
"None of us signed up for these jobs in order to die on the frontline. We're not soldiers," one doctor said. "I feel like its getting to the point where a healthcare worker is going to have to die before they change the policy."
Brazil's Bolsonaro tested again for coronavirus
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said on Monday that he had undergone another test for the novel coronavirus, after local media reported he had symptoms associated with the COVID-19 respiratory disease that it causes.
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, known for playing down the pandemic, said on Monday that he had undergone another test for the novel coronavirus.Credit:Getty
Bolsonaro told supporters outside the presidential palace that he had just visited the hospital and been tested for the virus, adding that an exam had shown his lungs "clean".
CNN Brasil and newspaper Estado de S.Paulo reported that he had symptoms of the disease. The president's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Brazil is behind only the US in terms of the severity of its coronavirus outbreak. The South American nation has recorded 1.6 million cases since the start of the pandemic, and more than 65,000 deaths.
with Reuters
Melbourne A-League teams fail to make border crossing
By Michael Lynch
The FFA will seek exemptions to the NSW border closure after players from Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and Western United were left trapped on the tarmac at Tullamarine Airport late on Monday night.
The three Victorian clubs scrambled to meet at AAMI Park at short notice on Monday night and the players gathered and were told to get on a number of buses to take them to the airport.
Besart Berisha and Migjen Basha share a moment after their flight was cancelled.Credit:Alessandro Diamante/Instagram
The plane was due to take the teams to Canberra, where they could then travel on to Sydney. But despite everyone making it onto the plane, low visibility in Canberra meant the flight could not depart and everyone had to get off and go home.
One insider described the chaotic events as they unfolded, leaving players, coaches and support staff frustrated and bewildered.
Albury mayor 'waiting with trepidation' but expects leniency for locals
Albury Mayor Kevin Mack has said he is "waiting with trepidation" to see what the public health order which will govern the operation of his border town will look like.
"There are no checkpoints in place ... I think it's going to take them at least three or four days to get [the border closure] sorted," Cr Mack told 2GB this morning.
Albury Mayor Kevin Mack.Credit:Blair Thomson
Speaking on ABC News Breakfast later in the morning, Cr Mack said he understood his residents would not immediately have to apply for permits when they are – hopefully – made available today, less than 24 hours before the NSW-Victoria border closed.
"There is a level of discretion involved, they'll look at licences and identification of locals, and they will consider that as part of their right of passage across the border," he said.
Cr Mack said he and Wodonga Mayor Anna Speedie both had proposals for the closure to occur in a ring around their border town (rather than straight through it) rejected by their respective state governments.
Cr Mack said the move was really just "a message to Melbourne", saying the border closure was seemingly only in place for the "5 per cent of clowns" not listening to the message.
“I think people have got to stop being so bloody selfish," he told 2GB. “We’re experiencing one of the worst events since World War II and these clowns are not taking it seriously.”
WHO reviewing scientists' concerns over airborne spread of COVID-19
The World Health Organisation is reviewing a report that suggested its advice on the novel coronavirus needs updating, after some scientists told the New York Times there was evidence the virus could be spread by tiny particles in the air.
The WHO says the COVID-19 disease spreads primarily through small droplets, which are expelled from the nose and mouth when an infected person breathes them out in coughs, sneezes, speech or laughter and quickly sink to the ground.
Medical personnel prepare to test hundreds of people lined up in Phoenix in the US on the weekend.Credit:AP
In an open letter to the Geneva-based agency, 239 scientists in 32 countries outlined the evidence they say shows that smaller exhaled particles can infect people who inhale them, the newspaper said on Saturday.
Because those smaller particles can linger in the air longer, the scientists - who plan to publish their findings in a scientific journal this week - are urging WHO to update its guidance, the Times said.
Situation in Melbourne 'an issue we all share': Deputy CMO
Federal Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth has called for unity in response to "deeply concerning" coronavirus outbreaks in Melbourne public housing towers.
"This is a real partnership between people in those towers, between Victorians and the rest of Australia and its government to get this under control," Dr Coatsworth told ABC News Breakfast this morning. "This is an issue that we all share."
A resident stuck in their flat at a locked down tower in Flemington.Credit:Justin McManus
Dr Coatsworth said the outbreaks in north and west Melbourne were largely among younger people and groups who have different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, making them different from cruise ship outbreaks, which occurred in an older population.
"People are getting milder illness, and that means it's so much more important now that, even with mild symptoms, people actually go and get tested," he said.
After Victoria recorded 127 new cases – its highest ever daily total – yesterday, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer urged people to remember interventions would take around two weeks to have an impact on the daily case numbers.
Asked about the possibility of removing people with the virus from the towers, Dr Coatsworth said this was probably unnecessary given the lockdown and the pop-up hospital near the towers was a better solution.
"People are within their homes, they're within their flats, and the virus isn't going to travel from flat to flat if people are remaining within there, as hard as that is," he said.
"Then the issue of outbreaks within households is critical, but in vulnerable situations, separating households has its own negative effects that need to be considered above and beyond the virus."
XPT train stopped at Albury
The XPT train has terminated unexpectedly at Albury this morning, with the Sydney to Melbourne service not crossing the Victorian border.
It is understood passengers boarding in Sydney were not aware they would not make it to Melbourne on the train.
An XPT which left Sydney's Central Station last night has terminated at Albury.Credit:Nick Moir
They have now been placed on a bus service to complete their journey through Victoria to Melbourne's Southern Cross Station.
A Transport for NSW spokesperson said the NSW TrainLink Melbourne to Sydney XPT service will cease travelling across the NSW-Victoria border from today in preparation for tomorrow morning's border closure.
"Transport for NSW and Department of Transport (Victoria) are currently assessing other public transport services which operate between NSW and Victoria," the spokesperson said.
The XPT will continue to operate between Sydney and Albury.
Do you know more? Contact mary.ward@smh.com.au
Melburnians' travel further restricted after NT introduces quarantine
By Anthony Colangelo
The Northern Territory will require people from Melbourne – or who have travelled to Melbourne – to quarantine for 14 days at their own expense once its borders open to interstate travel.
The NT’s borders are currently closed to all interstate travellers until July 17 and last night Chief Minister Michael Gunner said the greater Melbourne area is now considered a coronavirus hotspot.
“The [NT] Chief Health Officer’s advice is that there are outbreaks in Melbourne suburbs that have not yet been identified as hotspots,” Mr Gunner said.
“This means that from 17 July, anyone who lives in or has visited the greater Melbourne metropolitan area will still not be permitted free access to the Northern Territory.
“Our borders will stay closed to Melbourne until further notice.
“Any arrivals will be required to undertake 14 days of mandatory supervised quarantine, most likely at the Howard Springs facility, at their own cost.
“These rules apply to everyone, not just Victorians. That includes Territorians. Territorians should reconsider any planned travel to any location in Melbourne in the near future.”
He did not rule out this order being extended to all of Victoria if deemed necessary.
Victorian government needs to communicate with tower residents better: Shorten
By Anthony Colangelo
Former Labor leader and member for Maribyrnong in Melbourne – where some of the housing commission flats in lockdown are located – Bill Shorten says the residents must be treated better.
“We and the state government needs to do a better job of communicating with people there, and we need to be a bit more switched on,” Mr Shorten, who has spent a lot of time on the ground at the buildings, told Today.
“These [people] are not prisoners. They haven’t broken any laws. So we need to make sure if they’ve got a phone line to ring it gets answered in a timely fashion and they need to know who can assist them with their needs.
“There’s 60 people there with NDIS packages … we have got to switch on even more than the last 72 hours.
“We just need to treat these people as decently as we can.”
Mr Shorten predicted people would lose their jobs over the Melbourne hotel quarantine fiasco.
“I think on balance [Daniel Andrews] has done a good job,” Mr Shorten said.
“I think there has been mistakes made where some of the quarantine travellers from overseas were monitored and kept locked down and so I think there will be heads to roll over that.”
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2020-07-06 23:14:00Z
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