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'Very dangerous': Calls about hand sanitiser poisonings more than double during pandemic
By Rachel Clun and Liam Mannix
Calls to the Poisons Information Centre about alcohol-based hand sanitiser poisoning have more than doubled compared to the same time last year as experts urge parents to keep it out of reach of young children.
The dangers of ingesting the now readily-available product have been highlighted in the case of accidental poisoning in a six-year-old child who needed intensive care treatment.
Calls about accidental hand sanitiser poisonings have more than doubled. Most calls were about children under the age of five. Credit:Steven Siewert
Genevieve Adamo, a senior specialist in poisons information at the NSW Poisons Information Centre, said there has been a marked increase in calls about alcohol-based hand sanitiser poisonings, with more than 1000 calls from February to the end of July this year.
“This is 2.5 times the number of calls received for the same period in 2019,” she said.
The majority of calls were for accidental poisoning, Ms Adamo said, and three-quarters of all the alcohol-based hand sanitiser calls were about cases in children under the age of five who had ingested some sanitiser.
Tensions erupt over US election voting limitations
By Farrah Tomazin
Tensions have erupted over the ability of the US Postal Service to cope with this year’s presidential election, after it failed to guarantee that all ballots cast by mail would arrive in time to be counted.
The Postal Service issued the warning in detailed letters to states across the US, heightening concerns about voting limitations in what has already become a volatile contest between President Donald Trump and Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden.
Cages loaded with ballots in postal service bins rest behind a worker at a Board of Elections facility in New York.Credit:AP
In the latest sign of angst, protesters on Saturday morning (local time) descended on the home of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, a GOP donor and Trump ally, accusing him of trying to "dismantle" the organisation to assist the President.
"DeJoy has fired or reassigned much of the existing USPS leadership and ordered the removal of mail sorting machines that are fundamental to the functioning of the postal service," the group, Shut Down DC, said in a statement.
"Meanwhile, mail delivery is slowing down under other decisions made by DeJoy, such as eliminating overtime for postal workers."
The protest comes as Trump continues to rail against the idea of mail-in voting - a system that has been in place for decades but has become increasingly important this year so that states can carry out elections safely amid the coronavirus crisis.
Hunt 'genuinely optimistic' about COVID-19 vaccine
By Rob Harris
Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt says he is "genuinely optimistic" a COVID-19 vaccine will be on the international market by 2021 and the federal government is close to reaching a deal to produce it in Australia.
Mr Hunt said he been cautious in the past that attempts to create a vaccine would be successful but he said the latest medical advice was that there had been great progress.
Minister for Health Greg Hunt.Credit:Joe Armao
"The world is moving closer to a vaccine, and it's unlikely that it will just be one, it's likely that it will be many," Mr Hunt told Sky News Australia.
"There are lead Australian candidates, as well as international candidates, so we're making significant progress.
The leading candidate for an Australian deal to access the vaccine has been developed by AstraZeneca in conjunction with Oxford University.
Mr Hunt said the government was "well placed" to gain access, with confirmation expected in the coming days.
"We are working with the most vaccines around Australia and around the world. It's good news for Australia but also for the world. This is a genuine ray of hope and we are advanced, we are prepared and we are in a position to produce."
Narre Warren man fined for buying donuts with three friends
By Ashleigh McMillan
A Narre Warren man has been fined for breaching COVID-19 directions after he and three friends were caught buying donuts.
Police were patrolling Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road in Melbourne's outer south-east when they noticed a car wouldn’t pass or drive alongside their vehicle at about 7.40pm Saturday.
The car was intercepted and checks revealed the 24-year-old driver's license was suspended.
"The probationary driver, who wasn’t displaying any ‘p’ plates, explained he had his three mates in the car as they were going to buy donuts," a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.
The driver and his three passengers, a 19-year-old from Narre Warren, 21-year-old from Hallam and a 20-year-old from Hampton Park, were found to be in breach of the directions issued by the Chief Health Officer and were each fined $1652.
The 24-year-old driver is expected to be charged on summons for driving while suspended and failing to display ‘p’ plates, while the car was impounded for 30 days at a cost of $1019.85.
NBA centre loses grandmother to COVID-19, as Blazers clinch playoff spot
Portland Trail Blazers centre Jusuf Nurkic was in the lineup for his NBA club against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday afternoon, just hours after announcing the death of his grandmother from the coronavirus.
He posted a tribute to her on Instagram with a photo of the two of them smiling, adding the hashtags "#ripgrandma" and "#loveyou".
In late July, Nurkic announced that his grandmother, Hana, was suffering from COVID-19 and urged the public to wear masks. The woman, who was 67, lived in their native Bosnia.
"I think people don't realise the (pandemic) is real out there," he said then.
"We've been fortunate to be here in a safe environment, we're tested every day, but please take care of yourself, wear a damn mask if you need to wear it."
Nurkic was one of the stars in the play-in game as he recorded 22 points, 21 rebounds and six assists to help Portland to a 126-122 win over Memphis.
The victory allowed the eighth-seeded Blazers to advance to play the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Reuters
Calls for female-focused budget as women face financial 'gender disaster'
By Wendy Tuohy
Women are experiencing a "gender disaster" of job losses and long-term financial insecurity and many will be "scarred in the labour market" unless economic recovery efforts are female focused.
After Australian Bureau of Statistics payroll data this week revealed Victorian women lost jobs at more than four times the rate of men in July, the state's gender equality agency has called for an independent economic panel to advise government on job creation for women.
Retrenched hospitality worker Bel Tully has no idea how life will pan out for her when JobKeeper ends.Credit:Joe Armao
Experts are warning of a generational financial catastrophe for young women and of severe hardship for women intending to return to work in their 40s after time out for child rearing.
They say the federal stimulus focus on "shovel-ready" jobs in industries that employ few women, and the fact childcare workers were the first and only group to have JobKeeper removed early mean women are being left behind in the recovery.
Berejiklian government keeps Ruby Princess passengers waiting after damning findings
By Lisa Visentin
The Berejiklian government is forcing the victims of the Ruby Princess coronavirus outbreak to wait days for an acknowledgment NSW Health is responsible for inexcusable mistakes that sparked a public health emergency.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard would not comment on Saturday on the damning findings of an inquiry into the Ruby Princess debacle, which laid considerable blame at NSW Health for assessing the ship as "low risk" and allowing 2647 passengers to disperse into the community without further screening.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian did not address the findings of the report from the Ruby Princess inquiry on Saturday.Credit:Rhett Wyman
Mr Hazzard's office instead referred to the commitment made by Premier Gladys Berejiklian to "respond early next week" as she publicly released the report on Friday.
The decision comes as NSW recorded nine new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm on Friday. The cases include two employees of Chopstix Asian Cuisine in Smithfield RSL, in western Sydney. A case also dined at celebrity chef Rick Stein’s Bannisters by the Sea restaurant on the South Coast.
Another student from Tangara School for Girls has also tested positive, taking that school's cluster to 22.
'On par with North Korea': Three out of four requests to leave Australia refused
By Caitlin Fitzsimmons
The federal government is blocking three out of four applications for Australians to leave the country while the borders are closed, amid concerns they could spread coronavirus when they return home.
MPs from across Sydney, including Liberal Dave Sharma in Wentworth in the eastern suburbs, independent Zali Steggall in Warringah, and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and fellow Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek in the inner west, have been fielding numerous requests for assistance from residents stuck here because of the travel ban.
Donna Burton was refused permission to go to England for her only daughter's wedding.Credit:Steven Siewert
Mr Sharma said federal government MPs were starting to raise concerns internally about the travel ban, which he described as a "pretty extraordinary restriction on people's liberty".
"This is an extreme measure for extreme times but it cannot be something we contemplate keeping in place for the long term," Mr Sharma said.
"There's no other country of which I'm aware that is imposing an exit permit system, like we've got in Australia."
Good morning all!
By Roy Ward
G'day everyone! It's Roy Ward here and I'll be leading today's live blog.
I'm told it's my 50th blog this pandemic so will raise my bat or whatever the blogging equivalent is later in the day.
We have a big day of developments to come as Victoria aims for lower case numbers, NSW continues to deal with the fallout from the Ruby Princess inquiry and the rest of the nation battles on.
As always you are welcome to leave a comment on the blog or shoot me a tweet directly at @rpjward on Twitter.
Thanks so much for joining us and please have a lovely day.
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2020-08-15 21:58:00Z
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