Victoria expected to record more than 450 cases
Victoria is expected to record 451 new overnight coronavirus cases on Friday.
The figure, which was provided by a source with knowledge of health data, would represent a lower figure than the daily average for the past seven days of 499.
The figures are not official. We will bring you the official figure as soon as it is available.
Latest updates
Victorian police issue highest ever number of daily fines
By Simone Fox Koob
Almost 200 fines were handed out in the past day in Victoria to people flouting coronavirus restrictions, of which a quarter were issued to those not wearing a face mask.
Victoria Police issued a total of 196 fines on Thursday - the most infringements issued in a 24-hour period since the second lockdown began in early July.
Fifty-one infringements were issued to people not wearing a face covering for one of the approved reasons, 43 were for curfew breaches and nine were at vehicle checkpoints.
Examples of some of the fines included:
- A man breaching curfew at 3.40am in Maroondah who told police he was out to feed his uncle’s horses.
- A man buying cigarettes in an adjacent suburb to his home after curfew at 9.30pm. A knife was also located in the car.
- A man and woman who drove from Fawkner to Dallas at 9.30pm to get a pizza as the pizza shop wouldn’t deliver.
- A man detected speeding in Whittlesea at 10pm. He was 14 kilometres from his home address and did not have a permitted reason to travel during curfew.
Police also announced on Friday that some Protective Service Officers and Transit Safety Division who normally patrol the public transport network will be redeployed to help enforce coronavirus restrictions at checkpoints and through mobile patrols.
PSOs have been given expanded powers under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act and are able to operate outside of transport hubs and make arrests or intervene with breaches of the peace.
WATCH: Queensland Deputy Premier addresses the media
Deputy Premier Steven Miles and Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young will provide a coronavirus update.
Dreamworld to join other Gold Coast theme parks in reopening
By Stuart Layt
Gold Coast theme park Dreamworld will reopen in September, after the Queensland government announced a $70 million financial assistance package for the struggling attraction.
In a statement to the Australian Stock Exchange on Friday, the park’s owner Ardent Leisure said the Queensland government had agreed to a three-year loan valued at $66.9 million and a $3 million grant.Ardent CEO John Osborne said the company was very happy with the package, which would allow it to finally reopen by mid-September.
Dreamworld will join other Gold Coast theme parks in reopening to vistors.Credit:Glenn Hunt
“[This] package will enable Ardent to re-open its iconic theme parks, continue to employ hundreds of people and continue to invest in future tourism infrastructure and create more local jobs.” Ardent Leisure Theme Parks and Attractions Chief Executive Officer, John Osborne said.
“We are very excited about welcoming back our valued team members and loyal guests and have already commenced preparations for the re-opening of our parks, including the implementation of our Queensland Health approved COVID SAFE Plan.”
Dreamworld and its associated water park WhiteWater World are one of the last of the major Gold Coast theme parks to reopen following pandemic closures, with Movie World, Sea World and Wet’N’Wild all reopening over the last few weeks.
Those parks are currently operating at 50 per cent capacity under their COVID-safe plans, and it’s expected Dreamworld will follow suit.
Ardent Leisure is also reeling from its recent decision to plead guilty to three charges relating to the deaths of four people in the 2016 Thunder River Rapids Ride tragedy.
The company is facing a total of $4.5 million in fines over the disaster.
AMA says NSW's face masks recommendation does not go far enough
By Kate Aubusson
National Australian Medical Association President Dr Omar Khorshid has urged everyone in NSW to wear face masks, particularly in public indoor spaces, saying the state government’s strong recommendation does not go far enough.
“The AMA – federally and in NSW - has been broadly supportive of the NSW Government’s approach to preventing the spread of COVID-19, but current indications are that it now needs to go further,” Dr Khorshid said in a statement.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard wore a mask on Tuesday.Credit:Nick Moir
“We’re at a time when NSW could go either way in terms of ending up like Victoria or moving back to a situation closer to where we were before this outbreak,” he said.
AMA NSW President, Dr Danielle McMullen, said people shouldn’t need to be threatened with punishment to comply with sensible recommendations to prevent this very contagious and dangerous virus from spreading.
“The government has been asking the community to do the right thing and while many people have responded, infections persist, and NSW is struggling to return to the previous environment where it had no community transmission.”
AMA has repeatedly lobbied the Government to tighten existing restrictions on indoor gatherings.
“We know this sounds like a lot to ask of the community, but the alternative to this could very well be Victorian-style stage four lockdowns, and we do not want to see those kinds of conditions imposed in NSW,” Dr Khorshid said.
“All of this said, we would need both the NSW and Federal Governments to help people in the community and businesses, particularly for obtaining masks that provide adequate protection.”
“Even surgical and reusable masks that people in the community will need to comply with government advice can be very expensive and hard to obtain,” Dr McMullen said.
“If the Government does mandate the usage of masks, it has a responsibility to ensure that everyone who needs one can source one that is adequate to their needs.”
AFL grand final to stay at MCG for now: CEO
By Peter Ryan
AFL CEO Gillon McLachlan says he is unable to be definitive about where this year's AFL grand final will be played after Western Australia made it clear they are keen to host the 2020 decider.
Although playing the grand final at the MCG looks impossible with Melbourne in lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic McLachlan said it was too early for the league to publicly canvass other options because they still had a contract to play the match at the MCG.
The 2019 AFL grand final between the Richmond and Greater Western Sydney at the MCG.Credit:Getty Images
He said that until playing in Melbourne proved impossible the AFL would not decide whether the grand final is played at Optus Oval in Perth, Adelaide Oval in Adelaide or the Gabba in Brisbane.
"I don't want to sound too sort of structured about this but we have got a contract to play the grand final at the MCG and until that changes that's where the grand final will be," McLachlan said on 3AW on Friday morning.
"I don't want to sound naive or silly but clearly then there are people making assessments about where things are at in Victoria and if we are unable to play it here or that changes then clearly we've got a lot of great alternatives in Western Australia, which have made it clear. They are keen and Queensland are keen as are others.
"We're lucky we have got great interest but I don't feel right now it is appropriate to be looking beyond that when we have got an existing agreement, challenged as that might look in the current environment."
The MCG's agreement to host the grand final runs until 2057, however Queensland are hosting Victorian clubs in hubs at the moment and have allowed families to travel through quarantine to join teams. The Sunshine State has also hosted the majority of AFL games this season.
Men arrested, one charged, over planned Melbourne protest
By Simone Fox Koob
Police in Victoria have arrested two men and charged one of them with incitement ahead of a protest planned for Melbourne's CBD on Sunday.
The "Melbourne Freedom March" is planned for Sunday with attendees claiming their rights are being compromised by coronavirus restrictions.
In a statement released on Friday morning, a spokeswoman said police arrested two men after an investigation was launched to find those responsible for organising the large gathering.
Officers raided two properties on Thursday night, one in Mooroolbark and another in Chirnside Park, where mobile phones and a computer were seized.
They charged a 41-year-old man from Mooroolbark with incitement. The offence, in the Crimes Act, involves a person inciting someone else to pursue a course of conduct which will involve the commission of an offence.
The man was bailed and is due to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates Court on January 21 next year.
A 41-year-old male from Chirnside Park was also arrested on Thursday night, but was released and is expected to be charged later on Friday with the same offence.
Police on Thursday night warned anyone who attends the protest will be fined or arrested for the "completely flagrant breach" of the Chief Health Officer's directions.
How active case numbers have changed across Melbourne this week
By Craig Butt and Mark Stehle
Victorian readers can see how many active coronavirus cases there are in their postcode using The Age's interactive database.
The interactive also shows Victorians whether this number has increased in the past week.
Simply type in your postcode or suburb into the interactive table below to find out the current number of active cases in your area. We have also visualised this data as a map.
This is the second time the Department of Health and Human Services has released data breaking down coronavirus case numbers by postcode in Victoria, so it is possible for you to also see the net change in your area in the past six days.
In pictures: An empty Melbourne CBD under stage four restrictions
The Age's photographers have been out and about this week, capturing Melbourne as none of us have seen it before.
An empty Parliament station at 9.30am during stage four lockdown.Credit:Joe Armao
Mandatory masks appear to have bent Victoria's coronavirus curve: epidemiologist
By Daniella Miletic
A University of Melbourne expert says batching explains why the number of new COVID-19 cases ''are bouncing around like crazy'' in Victoria.
Epidemiologist Tony Blakely said the state's daily COVID-19 cases in recent days have been full of spikes – far more variation than "chance" should have it.
In his research paper, Making sense of Victoria's daily COVID-19 cases - and (maybe) some good news, published in Pursuit, Professor Blakely says the recent jagged graphs are due to the 'batching' of data - when notifications or tests are processed in groups and come in as one "data drop".
To smooth the numbers, Professor Blakely calculated five-day averages which revealed the curve turned on 30 July – a week after mandatory masks were introduced.
"It looks like it might have plateaued," he told ABC Radio Melbourne this morning.
While cautious, he also suggested that numbers might again drop 10 days after stage four restrictions were introduced.
Read more about his project here. He plans to keep publishing updates.
Victoria expected to record more than 450 cases
Victoria is expected to record 451 new overnight coronavirus cases on Friday.
The figure, which was provided by a source with knowledge of health data, would represent a lower figure than the daily average for the past seven days of 499.
The figures are not official. We will bring you the official figure as soon as it is available.
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2020-08-07 00:32:00Z
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