Summary
- Melbourne's stage four lockdown has taken full effect this morning, with non-essential retail stores shut and permits required to travel to work and access childcare. There has been confusion for many people, with the list of permitted industries updated again this morning.
- Victoria is expected to record 471 new coronavirus cases today. The state recorded 725 new cases on Wednesday, the highest daily case total of the pandemic. It was also Australia's deadliest day of the pandemic, with 15 Victorians dying with the virus including a man in his 30s.
- NSW has recorded 12 new cases today, all from local sources. Two cases have been confirmed in NSW's Newcastle area, prompting the closure of a school and health alerts for several venues, including a Newcastle Jets game. A south-west Sydney buffet has also closed for cleaning. From Friday, NSW will require all people arriving from Victoria to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine.
- Queensland has declared its borders closed to all NSW and ACT residents from Saturday, as teams race to prepare new border passes. The state recorded no new cases today, but the source of a case recorded yesterday is still unknown.
- The CSIRO has opened Australia's first accredited surgical face mask testing facility in Melbourne today. Previously, medical-grade masks had to be sent overseas to be accredited.
WATCH: Victorian Premier gives a coronavirus update
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is due to give a coronavirus update at 12pm. Victoria is expected to record more than 470 cases today, after recording 725 new cases yesterday.
Latest updates
Victorian restrictions will could push unemployment to 10 per cent: PM
By Shane Wright
Restrictions in Victoria aimed to stop the spread of the coronavirus will cost the national economy
between $10 billion and $12 billion and push unemployment towards 10 per cent by year's end, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned.
Speaking in Canberra, Mr Morrison said new preliminary modelling by Treasury of the fresh restrictions, on top of the stage three restrictions, would cost the economy about 2.5 percentage points worth of growth in the September quarter.
Unemployment, which only fortnight ago Treasury believed would peak at 9.25 per cent in the December quarter, is now likely to reach 10 per cent.
The effective unemployment rate, which takes into account those working zero hours or who have given up on the jobs market altogether, is expected to head into the "high 13s". It had fallen to just over 11 per cent last month.
"That is very troubling but it is not unexpected," he said.
"In the circumstances, these measures will have a very significant cost, and it will impact the recovery path."
In the economic statement released by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg last month, it was expected the stage three restrictions would cost the economy about $3.3 billion. That is now likely to be between $10 billion and $12 billion.
It puts in doubt hopes of the economy getting back to growth in the September quarter.
Mr Morrison said there was a high degree of uncertainty around the figures.
Of the expected cost, 80 per cent is forecast to be borne directly by Victoria. But there would be spillovers to the reset of the country, via consumer confidence and through supply chains.
Second wave would cost Queensland billions, Premier warns
By Matt Dennien
Before we go to Victoria, let's check in on Queensland where Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned a second wave of COVID-19 would cost the state almost $5 billion.
Fronting media on the Gold Coast, Ms Palaszczuk was repeatedly asked about the justification for tougher border measures to come into effect from Saturday and the resulting economic impact.
“There will be some economic impacts,” she said. “If we had a second wave here, it would be in excess of $4.8 billion — we’ve done that modelling.”
Ms Palaszczuk reiterated that she had tried asking NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to move the border checkpoints south but that was rejected.
“It only takes one or two people coming into Queensland … and we could have a situation like is unfolding in Victoria,” she said.
“Queenslanders don’t want to go backwards.”
Source of Sydney cluster of 100 still unknown
By Kate Aubusson
The source of the Thai Rock Wetherill Park cluster remains a mystery despite extensive testing, the NSW Health COVID-19 surveillance report says.
However, whole genome sequencing of the virus collected from Thai Rock cases matches a strain known to have been circulating in Victoria and is linked to the Crossroads strain.
The Thai Rock restaurant at Stocklands Mall in Wetherill Park has been linked to more than 100 coronavirus cases.Credit:Steven Siewert
The cluster has now swelled to more than 100 cases, including secondary clusters at Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Harris Park, a sporting match in the Canterbury-Bankstown area, a primary school in Fairfield and to workplaces in Fairfield and Cumberland local government areas.
The outbreak was detected after a female staff member and another diner at the Thai Rock Restaurant at Wetherill Park visited another venue in their incubation period.
It is likely the staff member was infected at the Thai Rock restaurant but the source of her infection is still unknown.
Queensland sees record testing levels
By Matt Dennien
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has praised the efforts of emergency services at the border ahead of tough new measures after a record day of testing on Wednesday.
“There have been in the last 24 hours, 14,600 tests that have been conducted,” she told reporters on the Gold Coast. “So, once again, record testing levels that are happening.”
Ms Palaszczuk said every Queenslander should be proud of the work being done at busy border checkpoints in the region.
“I could not commend [the personnel] highly enough. It is tough work. It is busy work. But it is work that is necessary to keep Queensland safe.”
The Queensland-NSW border will go to a “hard” closure from 1am on Saturday with the declaration of NSW and the ACT as hotspots.
Ms Palaszczuk said an update would be provided later in the day about further results expected back in the case of the most recent COVID-19 diagnosis on Wednesday, which had since been muddied by a subsequent negative test.
“My advice is still the same, if you are sick stay at home and get tested,” she said.
Additional mental health support as 2000 Victorians access disaster payments
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has flagged additional mental health support will be available for Victorians as they embark upon the hardest coronavirus restrictions Australia has seen.
"For Victorians this last few weeks have been devastating and the loss of freedom that comes from the first lockdown now combined with the second one with the Victorian wave: not being able to connect with friends and loved ones, concerns about employment – all of this takes a toll," Mr Morrison said.
"Young mums who won't be able to have access to childcare or have just gone through a long haul of home schooling now having to face another long haul of it. This will put incredible pressure on families and particularly for families with children with disabilities, and it's important that we play our role to support each other."
From tomorrow, Victorians will be able to access an additional 10 psychological therapy sessions under Medicare.
The federal government has also announced another $5 million in funding for headspace, with a focus on outreach to VCE students. There will also be an additional $2.5 million for Lifeline and $2.5 million for Beyond Blue to assist in their Victorian operations.
"Australians, we've got to talk about these issues openly in the middle of this pandemic crisis, and I encourage all Australians to have those open conversations," Mr Morrison said. "Be clear; if you're feeling vulnerable let people know."
The Prime Minister said 2000 Australian residents and citizens in Victoria had now applied to access the federal government's $1500 disaster payments for people who are forced to self-isolate. The figure for short-term residents, whose payments are provided by the Victorian government, will be provided later today.
Symptomatic COVID-19 case waited six days to isolate and get tested
By Kate Aubusson
NSW Health’s latest surveillance report showed 16 cases had no known link to other cases or clusters in the four weeks to 25 July, confirming COVID-19 was circulating undetected in the community “risking further outbreaks”.
One of these mystery cases was symptomatic for six days before getting tested and isolating, the report revealed.
Up to August 1, 60 per cent of COVID-19 cases in NSW were acquired overseas and 40 per cent locally. The majority (93 per cent) of cases with a symptom onset in the four weeks ending August 1 were linked to known cases or clusters.
Testing rates for July have been considerably higher than any previous month. On average, 2.6 per 1000 people in NSW were tested each day in the week up to 25 July.
In the week up to 25 July, all positive cases were notified of their results within two days of being swabbed and two thirds were told they had tested positive within 24 hours.
WATCH: Prime Minister addresses the media
Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton are due to unveil the 2020 Cyber Security Strategy. We are bringing this to you live as we expect Mr Morrison may also make some comments about the pandemic, particularly in light of the case numbers in Victoria yesterday.
WA to argue for Palmer border challenge retrial after Commonwealth withdrawal
By Heather McNeill
Mining magnate Clive Palmer’s legal challenge to WA’s hard border should be subject to a retrial following the Commonwealth withdrawing its involvement, the WA government says.
An urgent application, to be heard during a case management hearing in the Federal Court on Friday, will consider whether to vacate July's four-day trial in favour of a new trial before a new judge.
Clive Palmer – who has a mining company based in WA – says the border is "destroying the economy".Credit:Nine
Two days after the initial hearing, the Commonwealth withdrew its support of Mr Palmer’s position that WA’s ‘all-or-nothing’ approach to the border closure was unconstitutional.
A spokesman for Premier Mark McGowan said the Premier had requested the Federal Government back WA’s application for a retrial.
People eating McDonald's on the footpath among Melbourne's curfew fines
By Simone Fox Koob
Several people sitting on the footpath eating McDonald's after curfew were among 176 fined by police on Wednesday, the most fines issued in a 24 hour period since Victoria's second lockdown began.
A man out walking in Bayswater North who was not wearing a face covering or mask and didn't have one with him was fined. He was also more than five kilometres from home.
Three men and a woman breaching curfew while sitting on a footpath eating McDonald's, a man buying snacks at 2.30am at a convenience store and numerous people who were out in the community after midnight were also issued $1652 infringements.
Of the 176 fines issued, 51 were issued to people failing to wear a face mask for one of the approved reasons, seven were at vehicle checkpoints and 55 were for breaches of curfew.
Police also charged a Geelong woman with assaulting police after she was questioned by two officers for not wearing a face covering or mask on Monday.
Police say the officers approached the 25-year-old near Yarra Street in Geelong about 3.30pm and made multiple attempts to confirm her identity. "The woman allegedly refused to provide her details," a spokeswoman said.
"When the officers then attempted to arrest her, it’s alleged she became aggressive and assaulted them."
A first constable and sergeant received minor injuries to their arms and hands.
The woman has been charged with assaulting police, resisting police, failing to provide an address and was fined $200 for breaching the directions of the Chief Health Officer.
She was bailed to appear before Geelong Magistrates’ Court on August 10.
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2020-08-06 01:55:00Z
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