Summary
- Victoria has recorded 55 new COVID-19 cases, indicating the state's daily figures are now firmly in the double digits after the Premier unveiled the road map to recovery. Sadly, eight more Victorians have died. The state's Health Department 'outbreak squad' is under scrutiny at the hotel quarantine inquiry.
- A Silicon Valley tech company will give Victoria's contact tracing system a much-needed digital revamp. Under a new data management system, automated text messages will alert Victorian health officials, infected people and potentially their close contacts about positive COVID-19 tests.
- NSW has recorded nine new COVID-19 cases, while the boarding school at Kincoppal Rose Bay in Sydney's east has closed after a student tested positive. Anyone who attended Epping's Plus Fitness gym on Saturday from 9am to 10.15am has been directed to get tested and self-isolate immediately.
- Queensland recorded just one new case in a returned traveller in hotel quarantine, as State Parliament sat for the final time ahead of the October election.
- Spain has become the first country in western Europe to register 500,000 coronavirus infections, after a second surge in cases that coincided with schools reopening.
Watch live: Victoria's hotel quarantine inquiry
Victoria's hotel quarantine inquiry has resumed, with the Health Department's 'outbreak squad' giving evidence. You can watch the hearing live, below.
The inquiry has previously heard that 99 per cent of Victoria’s second wave cases can be traced back to the hotel quarantine fiasco, which resulted in staff and security guards contracting the virus from returned travellers quarantined at the Rydges on Swanston and Stamford Plaza and spreading it throughout the community.
Latest updates
Daniel Andrews press conference summary
In case you missed it, here are the key points raised in the Victorian Premier's press conference today:
Victoria recorded 55 new cases today, but the tally of active coronavirus cases has fallen to 1696 – 85 fewer than yesterday;
- A mission of ADF officials, Victorian health bureaucrats and Australia's chief scientist Alan Finkel will travel to NSW to glean lessons from the state's "gold-standard" contact tracing system;
- The Victorian government is increasingly using local rapid response units and contact tracers to slow the spread of the virus in different communities. It's been working extremely well in country Victoria and the same model will now be rolled out across Melbourne's suburbs;
- New COVID Suburban Response Units will be established following consultation with health services and councils about the best locations for them;
- Only 8704 coronavirus tests were carried out in Victoria yesterday, one of the lowest numbers in months. That is a concerning figure for Premier Daniel Andrews, who is pleading for anyone with mild symptoms to come forward;
- The data model underpinning Victoria's reopening strategy will be updated and may produce new forecasts as more figures come to hand, Mr Andrews said. It may mean Victorians enjoy more freedom in the months ahead;
- Mr Andrews said the comparison between public health restrictions in Victoria and NSW is irrelevant because of the high levels of community transmission in his state;
- The number of active cases in regional Victoria dropped to 82 - 13 fewer than yesterday. But one person who travelled from Melbourne sparked the latest outbreak in Colac, in Victoria's south-west, that has infected 25 people;
- Sadly, eight more Victorians lost their lives to the virus: two men in their 60s, two men in their 80s and one woman and three men in their 90s. Six of the eight deaths were connected to aged care outbreaks;
- There are 238 Victorians in hospital, including 22 in intensive care. Of those in intensive care, 13 are on a ventilator; and
- There are 260 healthcare workers with the virus, an increase of one since yesterday.
Role of Victoria's outbreak squads not clear, inquiry hears
By Tammy Mills
Victoria's has an "outbreak squad" within the Health Department sent out to investigate COVID-19 cases, the hotel quarantine inquiry has heard.
But its team leader was stumped today when asked to explain the squad's protocols.
The hotel quarantine inquiry is hearing from Dr Simon Crouch, the team leader of the Department and Health and Human Services' outbreak management team.
An outbreak squad was deployed to Rydges on Swanston after staff and security guards contracted the virus.Credit:Justin McManus
Dr Crouch said the team is put together whenever there is a hint of a large coronavirus outbreak.
Teams were put together to investigate outbreaks at the Stamford Plaza and the Rydges on Swanston in May and June.
A team consists of public health officials including contact tracing investigators, epidemiologists and an "outbreak squad".
The outbreak squad, Dr Crouch said, are tasked with going to the site of an outbreak to provide infection control and cleaning advice.
Dr Simon Crouch, a senior DHHS medical advisor, giving evidence to the inquiry.
However, when pressed by counsel assisting the inquiry Ben Ihle, Dr Crouch said he did not know under what protocols the outbreak squad operate.
"You don't even know what they are, let alone what they specifically provide," Mr Ihle said.
"I couldn't answer that question here," Dr Crouch said.
Man visiting his 'semi-intimate partner' among 171 Victorians fined
By Kate Lahey
A Melbourne man on his way to visit his "semi-intimate partner" was among 171 Victorians fined for breaching coronavirus restrictions in the past day.
Police say the man was riding his bike on Dorcas Street after curfew and he "said he was going to visit his semi-intimate partner".
He nevertheless received the full $1600 fine. Police were unable to provide any further explanation about the man's "semi-intimate" relationship.
We're not quite sure what a 'semi-intimate partner' is.Credit:iStock
Under stage four lockdown restrictions, Melburnians are allowed to visit an intimate partner living in another home, but they still must abide by the 8pm-5am curfew.
Two women who were out walking and eating ice-cream at 2am were also fined overnight. They told police they thought it was 6am.
Police also intercepted a woman in Werribee after curfew. She told officers she had driven from Geelong to Melbourne to buy a kebab and was then driving back to Werribee to visit her (actual) boyfriend.
There were 31 people fined in the past day for failing to wear a mask in public, 21 fined at vehicle checkpoints, and 67 people fined for breaching the curfew.
Police checked more than 21,000 vehicles and conducted more than 3700 spot checks on people at homes, businesses, and public places across the state.
No outbreaks since Alfred Health took over hotel quarantine, inquiry hears
By Tammy Mills
One of Victoria's major health services took over the state's hotel quarantine program in July and since then, there have been no COVID-19 outbreaks, the inquiry into the hotel quarantine program has heard.
The state government initially brought in Alfred Health in June to run quarantine at the Brady Hotel, which only housed people infected with COVID-19 and was dubbed a "health hotel".
But after outbreaks in May and June at the Rydges on Swanston and Stamford Plaza, Alfred Health's role was expanded to oversee the clinical response at all of Melbourne's quarantine hotels.
"Are you aware of any outbreak, that is from detainees or guests to staff in any of the hotels that Alfred Health has been responsible for?" counsel assisting the inquiry, Ben Ihle, asked.
"No, I'm not aware of any outbreaks," Alfred Health chief operating officer Simone Alexander replied.
Alfred Health chief operating officer Simone Alexander told the inquiry the health service noticed a significant difference in contact tracing and offered to take it over.
Ms Alexander, who gave evidence to the inquiry today, said she was aware of a couple of staff members who tested positive but it's believed they contracted the virus in the community and not at work in the hotels.
Mr Ihle said The Alfred's oversight was "hallmarked by strong and clear governance and strong and clear risk control measures".
Victoria's hotel quarantine program was effectively suspended after Premier Daniel Andrews put a stop to international arrivals landing in Melbourne in June.
There are some hotels still being used to quarantine health workers and other people infected with the virus, including public housing residents.
The virus state of play in NSW today
By Mary Ward
Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Treasurer Dominic Perrottet addressed reporters at Shell Cove on the South Coast this morning, to reveal an additional $320 million in funding for a Shellharbour Hospital.
Around the time they stepped up to speak, NSW Health's Jeremy McAnulty announced there had been nine new coronavirus cases in the state in a video posted online. Here is a summary of the key developments:
There have been nine new coronavirus cases in NSW. One is a person in south-eastern Sydney whose infection has no known source. Two are linked to the Sydney CBD cluster, including a Kincoppal-Rose Bay student which has prompted the closure of the school's boarding house, Dr McAnulty said;
- Three of the cases are linked to Concord Hospital, including a visitor to the hospital reported yesterday. There are now six healthcare workers who have tested positive, and more than 100 in self-isolation, across Liverpool and Concord hospitals but the Health Minister said there is no risk of staff shortages;
- People who were at Plus Fitness gym at Epping on Saturday from 9am to 10.15am have been directed to get tested immediately and self-isolate after a person attended while infectious. "Watch for symptoms" alerts have been issued for a number of other venues, including an inner west pharmacy and northern Sydney netball association.
- The Treasurer expressed concern about falling GST revenue across Australia. He believes, "as the country's strongest jurisdiction", NSW has a responsibility to support other states and territories but this should not be done because other states are unnecessarily curtailing their own revenue raising and economic growth;
- The Premier placed a dampener on Deputy Premier John Barilaro's pitch for eased restrictions in regional areas, saying she has a preference for the whole state to be governed by the same rules;
- Finally, the Premier said she welcomed a plan for Victorian and federal health authorities to visit NSW's contact tracing facilities, however, she stressed her state's success was thanks to a coordinated approach involving all government departments.
Victoria's road map model will evolve as more data emerges: Andrews
By Paul Sakkal
The data model that underpinned Victoria's reopening strategy will be updated and may produce new forecasts as new figures come to hand, Premier Daniel Andrews says.
Top epidemiologists and the federal government criticised the state government for the lack of clarity about the assumptions that underpinned the forecasting model, which may have produced overly-pessimistic predictions about how quickly case numbers may fall and the state’s ability to suppress cases when rules are eased.
Premier Daniel Andrews.Credit:Eddie Jim
Mr Andrews said the assumptions factored into the model included things like local outbreak data, case numbers, and detail that "sits behind how the second wave unfolded".
He did not detail the model’s assumptions about how effective the state’s contact tracing would be.
"It's about trying to predict to a high degree of scientific and mathematical certainty, but not complete certainty, where we're going to be at different intervals," he said.
"If we are ahead of that curve, if we are making progress earlier than we otherwise thought we would, that's all to the good and we will factor that in.
"The model will continue to evolve as normal inputs that are less about speculation or less about trying to presume what people will do [and] it’ll be more about hard data."
'Power hungry, punch drunk': Qld government slams opposition over criticism of CHO
By Toby Crockford
It's the final sitting of Queensland Parliament today ahead of the state's October 31 election.
And the Labor government has seized the opportunity to remind Queenslanders of the opposition's previous attacks on the state's Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young.
Back in April, Queensland's Liberal National Party slammed official coronavirus advice given by the state's Chief Health Officer, claiming she is "power hungry".
Dr Jeannette Young.
Deputy Opposition Leader Tim Mander said decisions by Dr Young were inconsistent, including one that "defies common sense". He was particularly incensed by her decision to cancel an Anzac Day flyover.
Labor's Member for Small Business, Shannon Fentiman, used the previous attacks Dr Young to call out the LNP today.
"[The] Premier’s tough stance on the borders that has meant our small businesses can keep operating, because we can see from what’s happening in Victoria that a second wave would be absolutely devastating for our small businesses," she told State Parliament.
Shannon Fentiman in State Parliament.Credit:Chris Hyde
"Let’s not forget the Member for Burleigh [Michael Hart] and his billboard calling for the borders to be open, let’s not forget the LNP’s petition calling for the borders to be open.
"We have the Member for Everton [Tim Mander] who called our Chief Health Officer ‘power-hungry’, we had the Member for Broadwater calling our CHO a ‘punch-drunk bureaucrat’.
"Just this week, we had the Member for Surfers Paradise [John-Paul Langbroek] with his absolutely offensive sharing of a cartoon demonising our Premier and CHO, describing COVID-19 as a fear campaign.
"It is time for the Member for Nanango, as the leader of the opposition Deb Frecklington, to actually step up and be a leader. She either shares these views of her front bench, or she doesn’t."
NSW comparison not relevant, says Andrews
By Paul Sakkal
Premier Daniel Andrews says the comparison between public health restrictions in Victoria and NSW is irrelevant because of the high levels of community transmission in his state.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison made the point on Monday that NSW would be under curfew if Victoria's restriction thresholds were applied north of the border.
Premier Daniel Andrews is under fire from Prime Minister Scott Morrison.Credit:Getty/Alex Ellinghausen
Mr Andrews said the amount of undetected community transmission in Victoria meant the situation in his state was far more precarious.
“How much community transmission have they had? Have they had a second wave? No, they haven’t,” Mr Andrews said.
“I’m talking about community transmission on aggregate - we have had thousands of cases. Trying to compare where NSW is with the epidemiological predicament … is not helpful … [and] not in any way accurate.
“Once we get down to low enough case numbers, then our settings will be not so different to NSW at all.”
Person from Melbourne sparked latest Colac outbreak
One person who travelled from Melbourne sparked the latest outbreak in Colac, in Victoria's south-west, that has infected 25 people.
Premier Daniel Andrews revealed that the fresh outbreak linked to a Bulla Dairy Foods site began with one person who travelled to the town from Melbourne. The person who returned to the town infected another person and within a week 25 people had contracted the virus.
"That speaks directly to just how infectious and just how quickly this virus can get away from you. One person goes back to their local community and within the space of a week, one person has meant that some 25 people in that community have tested positive," he said.
An earlier outbreak in Colac was linked to the Australian Lamb Company.Credit:Jason South
There are 82 active cases in regional Victoria, with the majority in Colac.
Mr Andrews said regional public health teams have been successful in stemming the Colac outbreak and other country areas with rapid contact tracing, boosted by local knowledge.
A similar model will now be adopted at a suburb level in Melbourne as the state races to improve its contact tracing system.
"In coming weeks, after consultation with health services, consultation with local government, we will establish those important suburban equivalents of those regional public health teams ... and that will be about trying to provide the very best and localised response. We think that will serve us very well," Mr Andrews said.
NSW Premier 'welcomes' visit from Victorian, federal health authorities
By Mary Ward
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she welcomes an upcoming visit from ADF officials, Victorian health officials and the Australian Chief Scientist Alan Finkel to observe NSW's contact tracing system, but stresses it is an integrated approach across government departments which has led to her state's success.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced the trip at his press conference today. The team will be there to learn what could be applied from NSW's contact tracing practices in their work in Victoria, he said.
"NSW has tried to lend a hand whenever we can," Ms Berejiklian said, praising the work of Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant before attributing her state's success in managing outbreaks to a whole of government effort.
The Premier implored other states to consider the support their gave to their "Service NSW equivalent" to distribute information or to their police to enforce health regulations.
"Because our health experts should be left doing what they do best and that is contact tracing and giving us that advice ... but it's really important to have other agencies of government working together to support the health effort," she said.
"It doesn't work unless businesses come on board and they're COVID-safe; unless schools have cleaning contracts on a daily basis – I mean that level of detail has to happen across all agencies: transport, education, police, customer service.
"And unless you have that integrated approach, the significance of what Health is doing won't be as notable."
Most Viewed in National
https://news.google.com/__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?oc=5
2020-09-08 03:34:00Z
52781050145346
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Coronavirus updates LIVE: Victoria records 55 COVID-19 cases as state's contact tracing flagged for revamp; Sydney hospital cluster grows as Australian death toll jumps to 770 - The Sydney Morning Herald"
Post a Comment