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Some more details on those Victorian numbers
By Marissa Calligeros
Victoria's daily COVID-19 case tally is back in the single digits with seven new cases recorded on Friday, as health authorities identify more high-risk exposure sites linked to the Chadstone Shopping Centre outbreak.
Sadly, another two Victorians have died, bringing the state's death toll to 802.
Friday's figures bring the state's 14-day average, tied to the next stage of easing lockdown restrictions, to 13 new cases per day. For Melbourne to move to step three of the government's road map out of lockdown, the 14-day average needs to be five or less.
Victoria records seven new cases, two deaths
Victoria has recorded seven new coronavirus cases and two deaths during the latest 24-hour reporting period.
NSW should move to a 2sqm rule: NRL boss
Australian Rugby League chairman Peter V'Landys has called on the NSW government to move towards a two-square-metre rule for venues, saying it would provide a huge assistance to the hospitality and sports industries.
Currently, the general rule is venues must have no more than one person per four square metres in NSW. In other states, such as Western Australia, the general rule is a two-square-metre standard.
Speaking to Ben Fordham on 2GB this morning, Mr V'Landys said health officials in NSW had done "a fantastic job", but he did not think there was a reason for the four-square-metre rule to remain in place.
"[Restrictions have been made] on risk analysis, they've done it all on the data; and the data here says they can make that decision," he claimed.
The NRL has been approved to host 40,000 spectators at its grand final match at ANZ Stadium on October 25. Social distancing at the event, described by Premier Gladys Berejiklian as a "one-off" and a "test", will be managed through checkerboard seating and masks.
Queensland Premier to address the media at 9.30am
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will address the media at 9.30am today in Brisbane.
She will be joined by Deputy Premier Steven Miles and Education Minister Grace Grace.
Drive-through clinic at Chadstone golf club, shopping centre
By Ashleigh McMillan
A COVID-19 cluster at one of Melbourne’s most popular shopping centres has been linked to a household outbreak in Frankston.
There has been eight cases linked with Chadstone's Shopping Centre’s fresh food precinct, now called The Butcher Club outbreak, which has been connected to a household cluster in the beach-side suburb of Frankston.
Multiple members of the household contracted the virus in the centre's fresh food section, with one member of the household working at the shopping centre for five days from September 23 to 28.
Specific warnings have been released for anyone who spent time at Coles, Woolworths and Jasper Coffee between Wednesday and Saturday last week (between 6am and 6pm).
Victoria’s Deputy Chief Health Officer Professor Allen Cheng said on Thursday that "we have a bit of a situation in Frankston", and that anyone who spent time at the stores linked to the outbreak between September 23 and 28 should get tested if they have symptoms. But he said the stores at Chadstone were clean and "perfectly safe" to visit now.
A drive-through testing clinic has been set up at Chadstone Golfers Drive, with another to open at the shopping centre today.
Four of the 15 cases recorded on Thursday in Victoria were connected to the Butcher Club outbreak.
WA digs in on hard border after advice it could lift for low-risk states
By Hamish Hastie
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan continues to defend his 'hard border' stance despite the latest advice from WA’s Chief Health Officer suggesting the WA government could open borders to low-risk states if it was happy with their COVID-19 battle plans.
The hard border has been in place since April, but has been criticised by the federal government and high-profile business figures including AFL chairman Richard Goyder as being too restrictive. It is also the subject of a High Court challenge by billionaire Clive Palmer.
Health advice provided by the state's top doctor to the Premier on September 25 stated it could be safe for WA to open borders to low-risk states if Mr McGowan was satisfied with their border controls.
But Mr McGowan has repeatedly rejected the idea of 'travel bubbles' with states where community spread of the virus had been eliminated, such as the Northern Territory, South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.
"Basically the health advice from Dr Robertson is we have to be satisfied that their border arrangements need to be as strong as ours," Mr McGowan said. "We have been advised their borders are not as strong as ours."
Federal barbs fly over Queensland border closure after NSW bubble expands
By Matt Dennien
Labor’s deputy federal leader Richard Marles has hit out at the federal government for “throwing rocks” rather than showing leadership on state borders, as his Coalition counterparts continue their calls for border reopenings.
The comments come after Queensland police said they were planning for a “bumpy ride” in the coming days with the state now open to 150,000 more NSW residents from the state’s north in time for school holidays.
Peter Dutton on Today on Friday.Credit:Nine
With confirmation from Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles on Thursday the border would remain closed to broader NSW until at least November 1, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard urged the Queensland Premier to rethink the border closure.
Brisbane-based federal Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton continued his sustained criticism of border control measures on Friday morning, telling Today people could “understandably” be angry about delays at the busy Gold Coast checkpoints.
“If you’re sitting in traffic this morning, waiting to get across the Queensland border to go and see a medical specialist or going to see a loved one, you’re coming from an area where there’s been not a single case,” he said. “I think that’s why [Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk] is being called out.”
This prompted Mr Marles to reply: “Rather than the federal government getting involved and providing leadership in respect of our internal borders … they’re on the sidelines like the kids in the school yard yelling out ‘fight, fight, fight’.”
“They’re not actually trying to solve anything, they’re just throwing rocks at it,” he said.
After IT issues saw some new NSW postcodes not recognised in border resident pass applications on Friday, Queensland police Deputy Commissioner Steve Gollschewski told ABC Radio they had now been fixed.
He added a total of 71 vehicles were turned around at border checkpoints in the past 24-hours, which was down on previous averages and likely the result of fewer restrictions on people entering the state.
'Everyone is sorry for the situation in aged care': Dutton
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has apologised on behalf of the federal government for aged care inadequacies, flagging a "big change coming" for the sector in next year's budget.
"Everyone is sorry for the situation in aged care and it has been that way for a long time," Mr Dutton told Today.
"In fact it was one of the first acts that [Prime Minister] Scott Morrison did when he came into the leadership of the government, he called for this Royal Commission, because nobody was happy with the band-aids that had been applied for well over a decade or two."
The Home Affairs Minister said issues in aged care were less about funding and more about "cultural change", although he flagged a "big change" was due for the sector's funding in the federal budget, to be announced on Tuesday.
Hotel quarantine staff attended work while infectious
By Chloe Booker and Noel Towell
The Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed that two workers on the government's revamped hotel quarantine program attended work while infectious.
The department said the pair, who were among nine workers on the program to have become infected with COVID-19, were asymptomatic when they attended work.
Private security overseeing hotel quarantine at Southbank's Novotel were replaced with police in the middle of the night on Wednesday.Credit:Penny Stephens
As Victoria recorded 15 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, and another two lives lost to the virus, the political row over the hotels was reignited after workers on the program were sent home mid-shift and replaced by police in one of the program’s "hot hotels" on Wednesday amid infection control fears.
Premier Daniel Andrews told his daily media briefing on Thursday that Victoria Police and not private security contractors were in charge of the remaining quarantine hotels and that Wednesday’s changes at the Novotel in Southbank were part of the "transition" of the quarantine hotels as the number of travellers in isolation dwindled.
Social-distancing circles introduced in Melbourne parks
By Ashleigh McMillan
Don’t worry, you’re not going loopy – three-metre large circles will begin to crop up across four inner-Melbourne parks to encourage social distancing.
The circles will be painted on the grass in Princes Park, Flagstaff Gardens, Kings Domain South and Buluk Park in Docklands from Friday morning.
People picnicking inside physical distancing circles at Dolores Park in San Francisco in June.Credit:AP
The circles will help ensure single people or those in groups will be at least two metres apart while sitting outside. Under current Melbourne's current lockdown restrictions, groups of up to five people from two different households can spend two hours together outside.
Parks near Chapel Street have had "social-distancing circles" drawn across them this week by the City of Stonnington, according to radio station 3AW, with cities like Geelong, New York and London also trialling the measure.
'Physical-distancing circles' in Princes Park, Carlton.
Although the council is not in charge of enforcing social distancing, City of Melbourne chief executive Justin Hanney said the circles would "encourage people to stay safe this spring and limit the spread of COVID-19".
"Like COVID-19-related signs and masks, the circles are meant to act as a visual reminder for people to use parks safely by practising physical distancing," he said.
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2020-10-01 23:00:00Z
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