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The day in review: signing off
By Rachael Dexter
It's time to wrap things up for the night - thanks very much for reading along today. It's been another tough day of news, especially for Victoria.
Today in a nutshell:
- It's been the worst day of the pandemic for Victoria. Thirteen more families are grieving the death of their relative this evening, while there was a staggering 723 new positive cases in the state. The grim result smashes the previous record of 532 infections announced on Monday. It is also now the state's deadliest day, overtaking the previous peak of 10.
- New restrictions were announced for regional Victoria. From 11.59pm on Thursday six new local government areas will no longer be able to host any visitors in their homes. In another significant announcement, face coverings outside the home will also be mandatory for all Victorians from midnight on Sunday.
'This week I've seen a great deal of sadness': aged care tester speaks out
By Rachael Dexter
A woman who has been visiting some of Melbourne's worst affected nursing homes this week has broken down on live radio describing the heart breaking conditions she has witnessed.
The woman, who used the fake name 'Julie', is working contractor and has been testing residents across Melbourne. While families are not allowed inside the facilities, 'Julie' gave gut-wrenching accounts of the scenes on ABC Radio Melbourne's Drive program this evening.
"This week I've seen a great deal of sadness," she told host Raf Epstein.
"I go into aged care homes every day and I arrive in the lobby and I see boxes packed up with family names on them, you realise they're the boxes of people who have passed away ready for their families to come and collect them."
'Julie' recounted the story of going to test an elderly woman who she found alone in her room 'hysterical' with grief, with no one to consol her due to bare bones staffing and no visitors allowed.
"She had found out that her husband has just passed away and she was alone in her room inconsolable saying, 'my husband of 56 years is gone, and he suffered - oh how he suffered'," she said.
"So this woman, who should have people around her, consoling her, loving her, caring for her, there's nobody there and she's alone,
"And I sat there for 15 minutes thinking, 'how can I possibly ask you to stick something up your nose?
"When I said, 'I just want to keep you safe', she said, 'I just want to die'".
She also described 'chaotic' scenes the day after federal authorities took over St Basil's Home for the Aged in Fawkner, in Melbourne's north.
"For all the chaos inside of St Basil's, there were actually 20 boxes of PPE outside in the rain," she said.
"Staff inside were saying they had no PPE and a massive shipment of PPE had arrived and was outside but no one had the resources or the time or the organisation to go and unpack it".
Victoria: 72 schools and 19 childcare centres currently closed
By Rachael Dexter
At the present moment, there are 72 primary and secondary school closed across Victoria. That includes 61 government schools, nine Catholic schools and two independent schools.
There are also 19 early learning centres closed, as of Thursday evening.
The Victorian Department of Education has a frequently updated list of schools closed due to coronavirus you can find here.
ABF mistook flu tests for COVID-19 tests on Ruby Princess: ABC
By Matt Bungard
ABC’s 730 program has revealed that officials in the Australian Border Force mistook flu tests for COVID-19 tests when passengers were allowed to disembark the ill-fated Ruby Princess cruise ship in March.
Leaked emails shared on the broadcast show an exchange between the ships medic and a commander from the ABF – regarding the test results of a list of isolated passengers. The passengers in question had tested negative for the flu, not COVID-19.
A couple of hours later, the isolated passengers were off the boat.
"These documents show quite tragically the Australian Border Force made a serious mistake when they mistook flu tests for COVID tests," said Senator Kristina Keneally.
"What these documents show is that the Australian Border Force made the decision for passengers to disembark the Ruby Princess."
However, the ABF immediately issued a statement saying they "strongly refuted" the claims.
"The ABF only has legislative responsibilities for the Customs and Migration Act to clear vessels and people travelling from overseas ports.
"No ABF officer had authority to make biosecurity decisions in relation to the Ruby Princess, including about pratique."
They also labelled criticism of the ABF's involvement in the Ruby Princess as "unhelpful and distracting."
Victoria: Man in his 50s dies in Portland
By Robyn Grace
A man in his 50s has died from coronavirus in Portland, the Victorian Department of Health has confirmed.
The man died on Thursday but his death will not be added to the daily death toll of 13, which collated deaths over 24 hours until Thursday morning.
His death brings Victoria's coronavirus toll to 106.
Victoria by the numbers
By Rachael Dexter
Today:
723 new cases reported, (+428 since yesterday)
There are 5385 (+546) active cases in Victoria, 549 (+47) of them in healthcare workers.
There are 312 (+5) people hospitalised with COVID-19, including 34 (-7) in intensive care.
Notably there's four people under the age of 20 hospitalised, nine in their 20s, 10 in their 30s and 15 in their 40s. The largest cohort in hospital are people in their 80s, while the group with the most people fighting for life are those in their 60s.
There have been 13 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to date to 105.
To date:
There have been 9998 of COVID-19 in Victoria: 4945 men and 4931 women.
1698 (280 more since yesterday) cases may be the result of community transmission.
4259 (+136) people have recovered from the virus.
9230 (+598) cases are from metropolitan Melbourne, while 565 (+65) are from regional Victoria.
951 (+147) healthcare workers have tested positive.
More positive cases in Melbourne prisons
By Rachael Dexter
Two prisoners and a staff member at Melbourne Assessment Prison in West Melbourne have tested positive to COVID-19, taking the total number of cases linked to the facility to five.
The staff member last worked on July 25 and their case does not appear to be linked to the prisoner cases, according to a statement published by Corrections Victoria this evening.
Both prisoners are currently in isolation.
Yesterday, two additional prisoners tested positive and the facility was temporarily sent into lockdown.
A prisoner in "protective quarantine" at the Metropolitan Remand Centre in Ravenhall also returned a positive result on Sunday.
Meanwhile, all other Victorian prisons returned to normal operations after a spate of cases over the past fortnight sent six facilities into lockdown.
Breaking: NSW Health issues several new location warnings
By Matt Bungard
NSW Health are now issuing additional warnings for several venues across Sydney, and are urging people to monitor symptoms and get tested if required.
A confirmed positive case of COVID-19 attended Matinee Coffee in Marrickville on Sunday July 26 between 8am to 9am, and on Monday July 27 between 7am to 7.45am.
Matinee Cafe in Marrickville has been linked to the outbreak. Credit:Janie Barrett
Another, who is linked to the funeral gatherings cluster, attended Tan Viet Noodle House in Cabramatta on Thursday July 23 from midday to 2pm.
A case confirmed today who attended the Apollo Restaurant in Potts Point on Saturday July 25 also attended Harpoon and Hotel Harry in Surry Hills on Sunday July 26, from 2.15pm to 11pm in the indoor dining areas.
The Tan Viet Noodle House in Cabramatta has also been linked to the outbreak.Credit:Quentin Jones
Melbourne man with no COVID-19 permit charged in Sydney
By Matt Bungard
NSW Police have charged a 21-year-old man from Roxburgh Park, north of Melbourne, after he arrived from a flight on Wednesday afternoon without a permit to enter the state.
Just before 1pm yesterday, officers who were deployed at Sydney Airport for Operation Coronavirus, were requested to assist NSW Health who were talking with a man who had just arrived on a flight from Melbourne.
Police allege that the man made a number of applications for a permit and had provided false information – allegedly telling officers that he did not have a permit but would apply for one so he could care for his children.
After establishing that the man did not have children, nor a valid reason to be in NSW, police directed him to return to Victoria. He was offered options for travel and further assistance from NSW Health, which he declined.
He was charged with failing to comply with police directions and was arrested about 3.30pm before being taken to Mascot Police Station.
In a search of the man and his bags, officers located a bottle of alprazolam, which was not prescribed to him.
In addition to his COVID-19 related breaches, he was also charged with possessing a prescribed restricted substance.
The man was granted conditional bail but is required to quarantine in a Health-managed hotel until he appears at Downing Centre Local Court on Monday 17 August 2020.
Suspected case at high school in Sydney's inner west tests negative for coronavirus
By Rachel Clun
In some good news, a suspected case of COVID-19 connected to Fort Street High School in Petersham has tested negative.
The school was earlier closed for deep cleaning as NSW Health investigated the potential case.
A Department of Education spokesperson said the school has been "thoroughly cleaned' and on-site learning will resume on Friday.
Fort Street High School was closed on Thursday as NSW Health investigated a suspected case.Credit:Steven Siewert
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2020-07-30 11:15:00Z
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