Watch: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews gives a COVID-19 update, announced new institute
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'The days of every worker spending every hour in the office are gone'; Andrews
By Henrietta Cook
The days of 100 per cent of employees working in city offices is over, the Premier has declared.
"The notion that every worker will be spending every hour where they used to work is gone," he said.
Melbourne's deserted CBD during the lockdown.Credit:Wayne Taylor
"That won't be the function of rules, that will the function of the choices people will make after spending the best part of a year working from home.
"People enjoyed working from home because they got to spend more time with their family, and less time commuting to work, he said.
Mr Andrews described the office environment, particularly lifts and tea rooms, as "very, very challenging".
"This is fragile, this is not over, it is still out there, the active assumption has got to be that there is still virus out there," he said.
"Inside is 20 times more dangerous than outside."
He said the government was keen to get people back to the office as soon as possible, but it had to be done safely otherwise it would compromise everything Victorians had worked so hard for.
The Premier acknowledged that the situation would create more pain for CBD businesses, who rely on foot traffic from office workers.
Cruise ship records five new cases
By Danica Coto
San Juan: One of the first cruise ships to ply through Caribbean waters since the pandemic began ended its trip early after at least five passengers tested positive for COVID-19, officials said Thursday.
The SeaDream I is carrying 66 crew and more than 50 passengers, with the majority of passengers hailing from the U.S. according to Sue Bryant, who is aboard the ship and is a cruise editor for The Times and The Sunday Times in Britain.
She told The Associated Press that one passenger became sick on Wednesday and forced the ship to turn back to Barbados, where it had departed from on Saturday.
However, the ship had yet to dock in Barbados as local authorities tested those on board. The captain announced that at least five passengers have tested positive, Bryant said.
The incident marked the first time SeaDream had resumed its West Indies voyages since the pandemic, with the ship originally scheduled to return to Barbados on Saturday, according to an online itinerary. The ship had made several stops in St Vincent and the Grenadines before turning back.
The Norway-based SeaDream Yacht Club, the ship’s parent company, wouldn’t say how many passengers tested positive in the initial round of testing.
Bryant said passengers were required to have a negative PCR test to enter Barbados and underwent another test on the dock administered by the ship’s doctor.
“We all felt very safe,” she said, adding that the ship had been implementing strict hygiene protocols.
“Yet somehow, COVID appears to have got on board.”
SeaDream said the ship’s medical staff has tested all crew members and that all tested negative. The company also said it is currently re-testing all guests, noting they're all under quarantine along with non-essential crew members.
“We are working closely with local health and government authorities to resolve this situation in the best possible way,” SeaDream said.
"Our main priority is the health and safety of our crew, guests, and the communities we visit.”
Government officials in Barbados did not return messages for comment.
Waters around the Caribbean have been largely bereft of cruise ships this year, with the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention suspending cruise ship operations at US ports in mid-March. The no-sail order expired on October 31.
Last week, the Cruise Lines International Association, which represents 95 per cent of global ocean-growing cruise capacity, said its members were voluntarily suspending cruise operations in the US through December 31.
SeaDream was among the first cruise lines to resume service in Europe. In August, the company reported that an asymptomatic passenger had tested positive for the coronavirus after disembarking from SeaDream I in Denmark.
All other passengers and crew tested negative, the company said.
AP
More details on $550m Australian Institute for Infectious Disease
By Marissa Calligeros
Here are more details about the new $550 million Australian Institute for Infectious Disease that will be based in Melbourne's inner-city Parkville biomedical precinct.
"The pandemic has highlighted the importance of backing science and research in getting ahead of outbreaks and keeping people safe – with the institute designed to deliver everything researchers need to detect, analyse, manage and treat infectious diseases," the Victorian government said in a statement.
The Institute of Infectious Disease will be home to the Burnet Institute and located next to the Doherty Institute.
It will enable scientists and researchers from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for Medical Research, the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, the Doherty Institute and the University of Melbourne and global biotechnology company CSL to work under one roof.
"The facility will include next-generation laboratories and high-containment facilities that will help researchers improve our understanding of infectious diseases, with a robotic biobank facility that will ensure international best practice for specimen storage in large-scale clinical trials," the government said.
And a new facility at the Royal Melbourne Hospital will facilities early-stage clinical trials to quickly develop vaccines and treatments.
The state government has pledged to pitch in $155 million for the institute, which is expected to be completed by 2025 and create 850 jobs and support thousands more.
Victoria won't fast track easing despite great numbers: Andrews
By Henrietta Cook
Updated: The easing of restrictions will not be fast-tracked, despite Victoria hitting the milestone of no new coronavirus cases for 14 consecutive days.
Premier Daniel Andrews said Victorians would have to wait until next Sunday, November 22, for an announcement.
"I'd love to make all sorts of announcements today that all sorts of restrictions are off but it would not be safe," he told reporters.
"14 days of zero is not the same as having a vaccine...it is only one incubation period of the virus".
Premier says DHHS secretary chose not to renew contract
By Henrietta Cook
Premier Daniel Andrews is being quizzed about the resignation Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kym Peake, who stepped down from the top job less than two months after she fronted the state's hotel quarantine inquiry.
Mr Andrews repeatedly said Ms Peake didn't resign.
"She did not seek to renew (her contract)," he said.
"We thank her for her service and wish her well for her future."
He said if Ms Peake had wanted to continue in her role, the government would have discussed this with her.
Victorian Government establishes Australian Institute of Infectious Disease
By Henrietta Cook
The Andrews government has announced it will establish an Australian Institute of Infectious Disease at the University of Melbourne.
It will invest $155 million into the $550 million institute, which will lead the fight against future pandemics and is expected to be completed by 2025.
"This will be the biggest of its kind, anywhere in our region. It will be a national centre," Mr Andrews said.
"This is our future. This pandemic has exposed some weaknesses...things like insecure work, things like global supply chain insecurity and many many things. It's up to us to turn those challenges into clear opportunities."
The construction of this new facility will create at least 350 direct jobs, and once established, it's hoped the institute will support 5000 jobs.
What’s on the agenda at national cabinet today?
By Josh Dye
The country’s top leaders are meeting virtually today for another national cabinet meeting where state border restrictions will again be on the agenda.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will push for the Queensland border to be reopened in the first meeting since Annastacia Palaszczuk won reelection.
Other topics on the table for discussion between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the premiers and chief ministers are international arrivals caps, a national vaccine strategy, contact tracing and natural disasters.
But it’s state border issues that will likely dominate discussions as Mr Morrison seeks movement on his goal for unrestricted travel by Christmas.
NSW will remove its southern border checkpoints and allow Victorians to arrive without quarantine from 12.01am on November 23.
At the end of the month Queensland will review its restrictions, which deny entry to Victorians and Greater Sydney residents.
From tomorrow Western Australia will lift its hard border and allow NSW and Victorian residents in, subject to a 14-day quarantine period. South Australia and Tasmania are open to all Australians except Victorians.
Tasmania will lift that restriction on November 27 if Victoria’s case numbers remain low (or even better, zero).
The Northern Territory allows all Australians to enter, although Victorians are required to quarantine for 14 days.
The ACT also has restrictions on Victorians entering.
Meanwhile the Australian Financial Review reports the waiting list for overseas Australians wanting to return home has increased by 6000 in four weeks, putting pressure on the international arrival caps.
Victoria's double-doughnut day
By Henrietta Cook
Updated: Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed that Victoria has recorded no new cases of coronavirus for the 14th day in a row.
There are just three active cases in the state.
"We've seen test numbers this week that have been truly impressive, and they really are the key," he said, thanking the 12,000 Victorian who were tested in the past 24 hours.
There is just one mystery case.
While Victoria now has a 14-day average of no new cases, Mr Andrews said recording zero cases every day was not the aim.
"The aim is to have as low a numbers as possible and be able to stop the spread of this virus as we take safe and cautious steps to open up," he said.
The government has repeatedly said that it is not pursuing an elimination strategy.
Doherty Institute Director Professor Sharon Lewin, who is a member of the Victorian COVID Advisory Group, said the 14 days of no new cases represented one incubation period and was an incredible feat.
"We have reached one incubation period with no infections," she said.
She said that mandatory masks would not be required if there was no community transmission.
Victoria's 14-day average reaches zero
By Craig Butt
Victoria has recorded 14 days in a row of no new coronavirus cases, which means its 14-day average has also reached zero.
You can see how the 14-day average has tracked in recent weeks in this graphic, which we have been running in the blog almost every morning since late September:
But if you would like to trace the path of the state’s 14-day average all the way back to the start of the pandemic, then this is the graph to look at:
To find the last time the state had a 14-day average of zero, you would have to go all the way back to February 22.
Back then only four cases had been confirmed statewide and there had been three weeks in a row of no new cases, a streak that was broken when two returned travellers tested positive for the virus the following day.
14 of the best! Victoria makes it 14 days with no new cases
Victoria has hit 14 consecutive days of no new cases according to the Department of Health and Human Services website.
The website had an update this morning which said, in part, 'There are no new cases diagnosed in the last 14 days (30 Oct – 12 Nov 2020)'.
Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed this at a press conference. Victoria also had 12,001 people get tested when having symptoms on Thursday.
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2020-11-12 22:49:00Z
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