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Pet cat tests positive for COVID-19 in England
It would be remiss of me not to include this news today ...
We're not making this up – a pet cat has tested positive in England for COVID-19, in the first confirmed case of an animal being infected with the virus in Britain.
The British environment ministry said "all available evidence" suggested the cat had contracted the coronavirus from its owners, who had both tested positive for the virus.
A cat (not this one) has contracted COVID-19 from its owners in the UK.Credit:Shutterstock
Both the cat and its owners made a full recovery and there was no transmission to any other animals or people in the household, the ministry said without identifying the individuals involved.
"This is the first case of a domestic cat testing positive for COVID-19 in the UK but should not be a cause for alarm," said Yvonne Doyle, medical director at Public Health England.
"The investigation into this case suggests that the infection was spread from humans to animal, and not the other way round," Doyle added.
The government said the infection was confirmed in lab tests on Wednesday, adding there was no evidence that cats could transmit the virus to humans.
The World Health Organisation has said cats are the most susceptible animal species to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and are able to transmit it to other cats.
"Tests conducted by the Animal and Plant Health Agency have confirmed that the virus responsible for COVID-19 has been detected in a pet cat in England," Chief Veterinary Officer Christine Middlemiss said.
"This is a very rare event with infected animals detected to date only showing mild clinical signs and recovering within a few days."
The WHO has said it will investigate the possibility of cat-to-human infection, but its chief scientist has said there is "very little risk" from domestic animals.
Reuters
No one in, no one out: SA Premier defends hard border with Victoria
By Mary Ward
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has defended his hard border closure with Victoria, saying community transmission would pose a risk to his state's post-virus recovery.
From midnight tonight, no one will be allowed to enter South Australia from Victoria unless they have applied for an exemption, including South Australian residents.
"There could be some minor exemptions for compassionate reasons, but we've given plenty of notice on this one," Mr Marshall told ABC News Breakfast this morning, adding that it was difficult to know when measures could be relaxed.
Travellers from Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Queensland and Tasmania are able to freely enter South Australia, while arrivals from NSW and the ACT must self-isolate for 14 days.
Front pages of The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald
The front pages of our papers this morning report that workers, including casuals, in aged care are likely to receive two weeks of paid leave to encourage them to stay home if they have COVID-19 symptoms.
Ambulance paramedics push a stretcher into the St Basil's Home for the Aged facility in Fawkner.Credit:Getty Images
- The Age's investigative reporter Richard Baker reveals that two Victorian government agencies withdrew their staff from overseeing hotel quarantine amid fears they were operating in an unsafe environment being run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Public servants from Parks Victoria and the Department of Environment Land Water and Planning, who had no public health experience, were pulled out of the hotel quarantine program weeks into their secondment amid fears for their safety and inadequate direction from DHHS.
Victoria's botched hotel quarantine is believed to be the cause of its current COVID-19 outbreak. Credit:Getty Images
- South-west Victoria’s main health service is braced for a surge of hospital admissions after authorities detected the first cases of community transmission of coronavirus in Colac. The Colac Otway region has by far the greatest number of infections in regional Victoria, surpassing 50 cases, regional editor Benjamin Preiss writes.
- And in non-coronavirus-related news, Anthony Galloway and Eryk Bagshaw report that Australia and the United States are set to conduct more joint military exercises in the South China Sea following Canberra's decision to brand China's territorial claims unlawful at the United Nations.
Meat plant workers refuse to return to work after COVID outbreak
By Ben Schneiders
Cold store workers at a major meat plant in Melbourne’s west have refused to return to work this morning over concerns about safety after a large coronavirus outbreak at the plant.
About 45 workers met at JBS in Brooklyn before 5am this morning and decided they would not start work. Today was the first day that large numbers of cold store workers were due to return to work after the plant was closed for two weeks. More workers were to return on Wednesday.
The JBS site has been linked to a major outbreak of COVID-19, a cluster of 71 cases.
JBS meatworks in Brooklyn, in Melbourne's west.
It is one of a number of outbreaks in the Victorian meat industry, including 95 cases at Somerville Retail Services in Tottenham, 69 cases at Bertocchi Smallgoods in Thomastown, and 47 cases linked to the Australian Lamb Company in Colac.
United Workers Union Victorian secretary Susie Allison said JBS had failed to support their workers with inadequate communication about safety. She said JBS had told the union they would only meet them over safety concerns after the workers had returned to work.
"These workers have been battling through this crisis with almost no support. They don’t want to have gone through all that only to walk back onto the floor and catch the virus," she said.
"Workers across this country are getting wise to the way these companies think, that profit is more important than people. They are ready to fight for their safety."
JBS has been approached for comment.
'Heartwrenching': Newborn baby in neonatal unit contracts COVID-19
By Mary Ward
Yesterday, we brought you news that a newborn baby in the neonatal intensive care unit at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne had contracted COVID-19.
The baby's parents and a health worker have also tested positive.
This morning, federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has said his "personal thoughts" are with the baby and their family.
The baby in NICU at the Royal Children's Hospital contracted the virus, along with their parents and a health worker. Credit:Nicolas Walker
"As a dad, I hear that and that is heartwrenching," Mr Hunt told ABC's News Breakfast program, adding that he believed the group were "in possibly the best hands in the world" at the Royal Children's Hospital.
Mr Hunt also said the federal government had stepped in to provide emergency carers at St Basil's aged care facility at Fawkner, in Melbourne's north, after its entire staff were directed by the Victorian government to self-isolate.
He said he had spoken with Greek Orthodox Archbishop Makarios Griniezakis overnight, who was "deeply thankful" for the federal government's support.
Seventy-nine of the facility's 115 residents have now been transferred to hospital, Mr Hunt said.
Asked if lessons had been learnt from the coronavirus outbreak at Sydney's Newmarch House, once one of the country's largest clusters, Mr Hunt said the decision to direct all staff to self-isolate was based on the lessons learnt there.
"[A] senior nurse unit manager, senior geriatrician brought in, staff brought on site – all done on an emergency, rapid basis, and that's precisely because of the preparations which were put in place in case something such as this happens [again]."
Alert issued for passengers on Jetstar, Garuda flights into Sydney
By Mary Ward
Let's turn our attention back home, where people who travelled on two flights to Sydney last week are being told to immediately self-isolate if they are not already.
NSW Health has released alerts for two flights which landed in Sydney last week, one from Melbourne and one from Jakarta.
The close contacts of passengers who travelled to Sydney on a Jetstar flight are being told to self-isolate immediately.Credit:Louie Douvis
Passengers who sat in rows 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 on Jetstar flight JQ506 which departed Melbourne and arrived in Sydney on Saturday, July 25, are now considered to be close contacts of an infected person and must self-isolate and get tested if symptoms develop.
An alert has also been issued for passengers who sat in rows 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 on Garuda Airways flight GA712, which arrived in Sydney from Jakarta on Wednesday, July 22.
Passengers on these flights are likely already in self-isolation, either at home due to the terms of their NSW border permit, or in hotel quarantine.
Chinese doctor accuses Wuhan authorities of 'cover-up'
Chinese authorities were warned that coronavirus could spread between humans in early January, but did not tell the public for a week, a leading microbiologist has claimed, saying that there has been a "cover up".
Professor Yuen Kwok-yung says he alerted health officials on January 12 to suspected human-to-human transmission of COVID-19, but his warnings were not made public until January 19, according to a BBC Panorama documentary about China's early response to the pandemic.
Residents waiting to enter Wuhan in April.Credit:AP
The doctor, who helped to identify an outbreak of Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003, diagnosed a family of seven with the novel coronavirus in Shenzhen, 700 miles from Wuhan, the global pandemic's original epicentre.
Only some members of the family had been to Wuhan, which set alarm bells ringing about the infectious nature of the virus. Professor Yuen said he immediately informed Beijing.
The revelation contradicts China's official version of events, in which the government claims it made a public announcement about the human transmission as soon as it had clear evidence.
The Telegraph, London
Boris Johnson: COVID scare made me realise I was too fat
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said he was "too fat" and struggled with his weight as he spoke about how his COVID-19 scare made him get fitter and lose a stone (about six kilograms).
In a video to launch Britain's new obesity strategy, the Prime Minister has urged others to take action to improve their health. He said he was "way overweight" when he was taken into intensive care at St Thomas' Hospital in London in April after contracting COVID-19.
Now ministers are urging Britons to see the COVID-19 crisis as a "deadly wake-up call" about the dangers of Britain's obesity levels.
The obesity strategy bans advertising of unhealthy food online and on TV before 9pm, and prohibits "buy one, get one free" deals on chocolate and chips. Doctors' surgeries will have "weight-loss coaches" trained to persuade people to change their diets, with GPs rewarded with extra pay if they prescribe diet and exercise.
Restaurants, cafes and takeaways with more than 250 employees will be required to add calorie labels to the food and drink they sell.
Johnson, who weighed more than 17 stone (107 kilograms) when he was taken to hospital, yesterday spoke candidly about his weight difficulties.
He said: "I've always wanted to lose weight for ages and, I think like many people, I struggle with my weight - I go up and down. But since I recovered from coronavirus, I've been steadily building up my fitness.
He said he started the day now with a run with his dog, Dilyn: "The great thing about going for a run at the beginning of the day is that nothing can be worse for the rest of the day. If you really go in hard ... the rest of the day will be a breeze." The Prime Minister said losing weight and taking more exercise meant you "feel more full of energy" as well as boosting your health.
Britain is the second fattest country in Europe, with two out of three adults overweight or obese. Only Malta's obesity rate is higher.
The Telegraph, London
Google to work from home until next July
Keeping with overseas news for a moment, Google has told its staff they can work from home until at least next June as the pandemic keeps its offices partly shut for the next year.
Sundar Pichai, the technology giant's chief executive, said Google's 200,000 workers around the world would have the option to stay at home until next July. It is the longest time frame for a full office reopening laid out by any company of its size.
Workers in Google's Sydney offices back in 2011.Credit:Jon Reid
Google was one of the first big employers to send staff home in mid-March, meaning some employees will have been working from home for more than 15 months under the company's current reopening plans.
The company is known for its perks, including three meals a day, and was awarded "the best to work for" in the UK by jobs website Glassdoor in 2019.
Mr Pichai told staff that Google had reopened offices in 42 countries and hoped to reopen more, but said he wanted employees to know when they would have to return, allowing them the option to relocate to cheaper cities.
"I hope this will offer the flexibility you need to balance work with taking care of yourselves and your loved ones over the next 12 months," he said.
California, where Google has its headquarters, is fighting an uphill battle with coronavirus and has begun to shut down services for a second time, becoming the worst affected state in the US. All Google's US offices remain closed. The firm had previously told staff to return by January.
Tech companies including Facebook and Twitter said they would let employees work from home indefinitely and that in the long term at least half the workforce would not have to come to an office every day.
The Telegraph, London
Trump's national security aide contracts COVID-19 ahead of AUSMIN talks
US President Donald Trump's national security aide has tested positive for coronavirus ahead of critical diplomatic and defence talks between Australia and America.
Hours after Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Defence Minister Linda Reynolds touched down in Washington DC for the latest Australia-US Ministerial (AUSMIN) consultations, news emerged that National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien had tested positive to COVID-19 and was at home isolating.
President Donald Trump and Robert O'Brien, pictured last year.Credit:AP
O'Brien is the highest-ranking Trump official known to have coronavirus, which has so far killed more than 147,000 Americans and infected 4.26 million others across the country, according to Johns Hopkins University.
But the timing raises questions about his level of contact with the President and key members of his National Security Council, including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defence Mark Esper - both of whom Payne and Reynolds are meeting this week, writes senior journalist Farrah Tomazin, who is based in the US.
The Trump administration is yet to answer questions from The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald about when O'Brien was last in contact with Pompeo and Esper, or whether he was also meant to take part in AUSMIN with the Australian ministers.
Earlier, however, the White House put out a statement simply saying: "National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien tested positive for COVID-19. He has mild symptoms and has been self-isolating and working from a secure location off-site. There is no risk of exposure to the President or the Vice President. The work of the National Security Council continues uninterrupted."
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2020-07-27 21:09:00Z
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