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Elimination 'unrealistic and dangerous': Deputy Chief Medical Officer
Elimination versus suppression of the coronavirus continues to be a hot issue. Yesterday, an infectious diseases expert and epidemiologist argued that Australia should aim for elimination and many of our readers agreed.
Stephen Duckett, a health economist from think-tank the Grattan Institute, revisited his call for Victorian health authorities to declare a goal of eliminating the virus in the state.
Mr Duckett's view is that the economic costs of rolling lockdowns when outbreaks occur until a vaccine is developed would be greater than a shorter period of strict lockdown that could drive daily case numbers down to zero for an extended period of time.
However, in an opinion piece published today, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth has described the goal of elimination as unrealistic and dangerous. And federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has said Australia will not outrightly pursue an elimination strategy but will continue to strive towards zero COVID-19 cases.
Recap: Premier flags tougher stage four restrictions for Victorians; Australia leads world in survival rates
By Lissa Christopher
Our daily coronavirus newsletters are an ideal way to catch up on the key developments. Here's a taste of our latest newsletter, which you can subscribe to below:
With case numbers and the spectre of stage four restrictions rising, and Victoria bracing for a surge of hospitalisations, let's pause briefly for a sliver of comforting news.
New data indicates that 85 per cent of Australian patients admitted into intensive care units survive the deadly virus, a rate that outshines much of the rest of the world.
Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton says that the current caseload of more than 1000 infections will result in at least 200 more patients in COVID-19 wards by the end of the month.Credit:Justin McManus
The data comes from some of the country's leading intensive care specialists and suggests that as long as the second wave of infections does not overwhelm the intensive care capacity within our hospitals, we are unlikely to face a catastrophic loss of life. Please let it be so.
Victoria recorded 238 new cases overnight and a 27th death, a woman aged in her 90s. There are 105 people in hospital, 20 more than yesterday, and 27 in intensive care, one more than yesterday.
The Andrews government has flagged it is considering additional restrictions in hotspot areas, but Premier Daniel Andrews has given assurances that those affected will be given time to prepare.
Meanwhile, more than 500 Victorians have been fined since stage three lockdown measures were introduced last week. Police have found people hiding in cupboards and garages, playing poker, visiting massage parlours and eating KFC in-house, in blatant defiance of the restrictions. Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent's message for rule-breakers was simple and polite: "Please stop."
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South-west Sydney cafe closes after customer tests positive
By Matt Bungard
A café in south-west Sydney is the latest establishment to close after a COVID-19 case was confirmed to have visited last week.
Frankie's Food Factory in Milperra was contacted by NSW Health on Wednesday to advise them that a customer who visited the restaurant between midday and 2pm last Thursday, July 9, had COVID-19.
"We have a duty of care to protect our guests, staff and local community," the cafe wrote in a post on Facebook on Wednesday night.
The cafe will reopen once all staff have been tested and once the venue has been deep cleaned, sanitised and fumigated.
"We ask anyone who has visited Frankie’s Milperra since 12pm on Thursday the 9th of July to please go get tested if you are concerned or showing any symptoms.
"Stay safe and please take care as we can only get through this together and with everyone’s help."
It's not yet clear if the patron is linked to Sydney's swelling Crossroads Hotel cluster, although it's likely.
Walmart, America’s largest retailer, to require customers wear masks
In perhaps the strongest statement yet by a major US company about the importance of face masks, Walmart will require all of its customers to wear face coverings starting next week.
The new rule from America's largest retailer, with more than 5000 stores nationwide, comes as health officials and scientists point to wearing masks as a way to slow the spread of the coronavirus. But Walmart's new policy, which goes into effect on Monday, also means the company is wading into the kind of culturally and politically divisive issue that it has a history of avoiding.
Walmart will require customers to wear face coverings at all of its stores. Credit:Bloomberg
Already, companies like Apple, Best Buy, Costco and Starbucks require that customers wear masks. But the ubiquity of Walmart stores in parts of the country where masks are unpopular make the giant retailer's move particularly significant.
Shortly after the announcement, the National Retail Federation said it hoped Walmart's move was a "tipping point in this public health debate" and urged all other retailers to enact the same requirement. The trade group cited the dangers that the customers who do not wear masks posed to retail workers.
"Workers serving customers should not have to make a critical decision as to whether they should risk exposure to infection or lose their jobs because a minority of people refuse to wear masks in order to help stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus," the group said in a statement.
Many of the details of Walmart's new policy are still being ironed out. The company has not described how it plans to handle a situation in which a customer refuses to wear a mask.
The New York Times
Hong Kong, New York reinforce restrictions after COVID-19 resurgence
First off here are some key developments from overseas while Australia was asleep:
Countries around the world are reimposing lockdowns and implementing new health checks at their borders in an effort to curb a resurgence of the coronavirus before it spins even further out of control.
- All travellers arriving in Greece from a land border with Bulgaria are now required to carry negative coronavirus test results issued in the previous 72 hours.
- In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo added to a list now totalling 22 states whose visitors will be required to quarantine for 14 days if they visit the tri-state region. Out-of-state travellers arriving in New York airports from those states face a $US2,000 ($2850) fine and a mandatory quarantine order if they fail to fill out a tracing form.
- Florida, meanwhile, has now reported more than 300,000 confirmed coronavirus cases as its daily average death rate continues to rise.
- In Spain, 160,000 residents in and around the city of Lleida were forbidden to leave their homes unless it was properly justified. The area was closed off, with police checkpoints outside every municipality.
- Renewed restrictions also took effect in Hong Kong, with public gatherings limited to four people, restaurants restricted to takeaway after 6pm, and a one-week closure for gyms, karaoke bars, and selected other businesses. Masks were mandated on public transit for the first time, with the non-compliant being fined.
Global cases pass 13.4 million
Good morning and welcome to our rolling coverage of the coronavirus pandemic. It's Marissa Calligeros here and I will be with you for most of the day, bringing you the latest developments.
More than 13.4 million coronavirus cases have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 580,000 deaths, according to the tally by Johns Hopkins University. The actual numbers are thought to be far higher due to a number of reasons including limited testing.
But there is one number to smile about – 7.4 million people have recovered from the virus.
You can explore our data centre (below) for the latest figures across the globe:
Wednesday recap: As it happened: Victoria records 238 new COVID-19 cases as Crossroads Hotel cluster grows in NSW; Australian death toll stands at 111
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2020-07-15 21:15:00Z
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