Category Archives: Australia news

Stage 4 lockdown in Melbourne a hammer blow to Covid-weakened Australian economy

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Federal government may need to give financial aid to sustain Australia’s second biggest economy to limit flow-on effects throughout country

The strict new stage 4 lockdown announced by the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, along with the shutdown of certain industries to be unveiled on Monday, represents a hammer blow to the Australian economy.

They immediately invalidate federal Treasury forecasts released less than a fortnight ago and will require the prime minister, Scott Morrison, to tip buckets of money into Victoria if Australia is to avoid prolonging and deepening what is already an economic disaster.

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Global report: curfew in Australia’s second-largest city as Mexico racks up daily record

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Surging ‘mystery cases’ put Melbourne in stage 4 restrictions; media banned from Republican convention; Mexico deaths are world’s third highest

The Australian state of Victoria has declared a state of disaster and placed Melbourne, the country’s second biggest city, under nighttime curfew as it grapples with hundreds of “mystery cases” of coronavirus.

As countries around the world including the US, the UK and Spain reimpose varying degrees of lockdowns, the Victorian premier announced that the state had to impose the highest level of restrictions in order to overcome a stubbornly high number of cases that cannot be traced.

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Close encounter: mother and calf humpback whales stun surfers at Sydney’s Manly beach

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Images show dozens of surfers about 10 metres from whales, which migrate up and down the Australian coast

A humpback whale calf, closely followed by its mother, came within metres of surfers and swimmers at Manly beach, in Sydney’s north, on Sunday afternoon.

It is unusual to see a whale calf so early in the year in Sydney. Eastern Australian humpbacks migrate north from Antarctica, along the coast to tropical waters in north Queensland from April to July.

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Melbourne is shaking with fear of coronavirus – and nothing is like the first wave | Sophie Black

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We know we’re the cautionary tale that the rest of the country is scaring themselves with in order to keep 1.5 metres apart

The morale-boosting markers that were shared across Melbourne during the first lockdown have all but disappeared. Rainbows have peeled off fences, forgotten teddy bears are wedged between Venetian blinds and most of the chalk messages have long washed away.

“This isn’t like the first wave,” our chief health officer, Brett Sutton, said on the Saturday. By the Monday, with the daily presser citing our then record highest number of Covid cases at 532, and cement grey cloud obscuring the sun, Melbourne felt done in. Come Thursday, under a blue sky, with blossoms out and wattle blazing, Victoria clocked 723 – a number that winded the city. And now the fear is back.

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria reports 627 new Covid-19 cases and eight more deaths as restrictions considered

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Scott Morrison and Daniel Andrews have discussed next steps as Covid-19 infections continue to rise. Follow all the latest news and updates, live

A person in Orange, in regional NSW, has tested positive to Covid-19.

The person is a close contact with a known cluster in Sydney, Western NSW Local Health District chief executive Scott McLachlan said today.

The case is currently in isolation in the Orange Local Government Area, but has a residential address outside of the health district. The case is linked to a known cluster in Sydney.

The public health unit has contacted all close contacts. They have been provided with public health information which includes to be tested for Covid-19 and remain in isolation for 14 days.

There are currently 12 people with Covid-19 in hospital in NSW and eight in intensive care, with four of those people on ventilators. About 90 people are being treated for Covid-19 in non-acute, out-of-hospital care.

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Kylie Moore-Gilbert granted meeting with Australian ambassador to Iran

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Exclusive: British-Australian academic will meet diplomat for first time since sudden move to a new notorious prison

The imprisoned British-Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert is set to be granted a meeting with Australia’s ambassador to Iran as soon as Sunday.

Following reports in the Guardian that Dr Moore-Gilbert was seriously unwell in Qarchak prison and had been removed from quarantine because she was attempting to write to the ambassador for help, the state-run Mizan news agency reported she was in “perfect health”.

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Parts of northern England face new restrictions – as it happened

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Spain reports 1,229 new infections; France rules out full lockdown despite rise in cases; Japan sees record high for new cases for second day in a row. This blog is now closed. Stay up to date on our new blog below

We closing this blog now, but you can stay up to date on all of the latest global coronavirus news on our new blog below.

Related: Coronavirus live news: England tightens restrictions, WHO says 'young people' behind some spikes

And finally... just minutes before the new restrictions come into force, the Department of Health has finally posted some more details of the rules on its website.

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Coronavirus live news: France rules out ‘catastrophic’ second national lockdown despite rise in infections

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French prime minister says full lockdown must be avoided; number of global cases passes 17m; Japan to lift ban on re-entry of some foreign residents starting next week

Governments have the right to restrict protests on public health grounds, within reason, the UN Human Rights Committee said, as demonstrations clash with coronavirus outbreaks around the world.

The committee stepped in to formulate its legal interpretation having seen a gap in the international norms being tested before the pandemic started, since when the matter has become more pressing.

The protection of ‘public health’ ground may exceptionally permit restrictions to be imposed, for example where there is an outbreak of an infectious disease and gatherings are dangerous.

It’s understandable and acceptable that for health reasons there may be limits on your rights.

The Philippine government’s Covid-19 task force confirmed 3,954 new infections on Thursday, the country’s largest single-day increase in new cases.

The information on the surge in infections, which was a sharp increase from the record 2,539 cases confirmed on 8 July, was mentioned in a regular circular issued by the inter-agency task force.

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Ruby Princess passengers let off ship after border force officer confused flu and coronavirus test results

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Labor again calls on the Morrison government to apologise ‘for failing to stop the one boat that mattered’

An Australian Border Force officer who inspected the Ruby Princess mistakenly believed passengers with flu-like symptoms had tested negative to Covid-19 when they had in fact tested negative to the flu.

That revelation, first reported by the ABC, is contained in documents to the New South Wales inquiry into the disastrous mid-March decision to allow 2,700 passengers to disembark the ship responsible for hundreds of Covid-19 cases and at least 22 deaths.

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New closing the gap agreement commits governments to work in partnership with Aboriginal groups

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Four priority reforms and 16 socio-economic targets to focus on housing, early childhood and justice

The new national agreement on closing the gap has been released. The culmination of months of negotiation between Aboriginal peak organisations and governments, the prime minister, Scott Morrison, says it is “built on mutual trust, shared responsibility, dignity and respect”.

Four priority reforms and 16 socio-economic targets commit federal, state and territory governments to work in partnership with Aboriginal organisations to design and deliver on priority areas such as housing, early childhood and justice reform.

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Coronavirus live news: US deaths near 150,000 as Italy extends state of emergency

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Trump blames US case surge on protestors; WHO warns pandemic is “one big wave”, not seasonal; Air travel not expected to recover until 2024. Follow the latest updates

Florida reported another record one-day rise in coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, and cases in Texas passed the 400,000 mark, fueling fear that the United States is still not taking control of the outbreak and adding pressure on Congress to pass another massive economic aid package.

Public health experts are becoming concerned about the levels of infection in states such as Ohio, Indiana, Tennessee and Kentucky, while the surge in Florida along with Texas, Arizona and California this month has strained many hospitals.

Related: Covid-19: Florida reports record one-day deaths as concerns grow for other states

US officials say Russian intelligence services are using a trio of English-language websites to spread disinformation about the coronavirus pandemic, seeking to exploit a crisis that America is struggling to contain ahead of the presidential election in November.

Two Russians who have held senior roles in Moscow’s military intelligence service known as the GRU have been identified as responsible for a disinformation effort reaching American and western audiences, US government officials said on Tuesday. They spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Related: Russia used English-language sites to spread Covid-19 disinformation, US officials say

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Coronavirus live news: US deaths near 150,000 as Hong Kong warns hospitals could collapse

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Hong Kong outbreak ‘overwhelming’ medical system; pilgrims quarantined in Mecca as hajj begins; WHO warns pandemic is ‘one big wave’

The US attorney general William Barr will be tested for Covid-19, after coming in close contact with Texas Republican congressman Louie Gohmert on Tuesday when Barr testified before the House Judiciary Committee, a Justice Department spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters.

Department spokeswoman Kerri Kupec added that Barr already faces routine testing for Covid-19 at the White House.

Berlin’s Tegel airport began large-scale coronavirus testing on Wednesday, as airports across Germany prepared for the advent of free, compulsory testing for many passengers from next week.

Two rooms were set aside for tests, but an airport spokeswoman said a larger space was being prepared, indicating that authorities are preparing for testing to remain a fixture for a long time to come.

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Coronavirus Australia live update: Victoria records six deaths and 384 Covid-19 cases and NSW 14 new cases – latest news

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State suspends non-urgent elective surgery as Covid-19 cases in nursing homes rises, while NSW announces 14 new cases. Follow live updates

Migrants drove more than a quarter of regional Australia’s population growth before the coronavirus pandemic forced border closures, AAP reports.

Treasury’s Centre for Population officials on Tuesday told a parliamentary inquiry that overseas migration was behind 26 per cent of regional population growth nationally.

A staff member at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC) has tested positive for Covid-19, prompting the organisation to close all of its sites today.

In a statement, the ASRC said it closed all its sites this morning for terminal cleans and that staff would get “appropriate leave and full pay” for those who need to get tested or self-isolate.

Given the unprecedented pandemic impacting all our lives, we have been planning for this scenario for months.

We have taken early and swift action to close down all ASRC sites to protect staff, people seeking asylum and the community.

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Coronavirus live news: WHO says Covid-19 is ‘easily the most severe’ crisis it has faced

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Global cases doubled in last six weeks; deaths pass 650,000; Amazon’s treatment of workers investigated. Follow the latest updates

Hotels and restaurants in Kyrgyzstan have been converted into makeshift hospitals after widespread complaints about the lack of hospital beds to treat coronavirus patients, AP reports.

The head of the Chinese centre for disease control and prevention says he has been injected with an experimental coronavirus vaccine in an attempt to persuade the public to follow suit when one is approved, AP reports.

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Kylie Moore-Gilbert: British-Australian academic moved to notorious Iran desert prison

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Middle East scholar, who was arrested in 2018, taken to Qarchak women’s jail, one of the most hostile institutions in the country and reportedly stricken with Covid-19

A British-Australian academic serving a 10-year-prison sentence in Iran for espionage has been moved to a remote desert prison, notorious for violence and reportedly stricken with coronavirus.

Cambridge-educated Kylie Moore-Gilbert, a Middle East scholar, had been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison for nearly two years, before her sudden move three days ago to Qarchak women’s prison, south-east of Tehran.

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‘Smelly and create great stains’: emus banned from pub in outback Australia town

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Kevin and Carol, friendly emus who wander the town of Yaraka in Queensland, have been barred from the only pub after leaving droppings on the floor and stealing toast

It can’t be easy being an emu in outback Australia at the best of times what with the heat and the perennial droughts.

But to be banned from your local pub for bad behaviour must now be added to the list of grievances inflicted upon the big birds.

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Almost 3 billion animals affected by Australian megafires, report shows

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Exclusive: Bushfires ‘one of the worst wildlife disasters in modern history’, say scientists

Nearly 3 billion animals were killed or displaced by Australia’s devastating bushfire season of 2019 and 2020, according to scientists who have revealed for the first time the scale of the impact on the country’s native wildlife.

The Guardian has learned that an estimated 143 million mammals, 180 million birds, 51 million frogs and a staggering 2.5 billion reptiles were affected by the fires that burned across the continent. Not all the animals would have been killed by the flames or heat, but scientists say the prospects of survival for those that had withstood the initial impact was “probably not that great” due to the starvation, dehydration and predation by feral animals – mostly cats – that followed.

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Coronavirus live news: Belgium set to tighten restrictions; China reports highest new cases since April

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Vietnam evacuates 80,000 tourists from Danang; Spain’s Covid-19 deaths could be 60% higher; global deaths near 650,000

In the US, more than 40 people were infected with the coronavirus after attending a multi-day revival event at a north Alabama Baptist church, the Associated Press reports.

“The whole church has got it, just about,” Al.com quoted pastor Daryl Ross of Warrior Creek Missionary Baptist church in Marshall County as saying.

My colleagues over in the US of A have launched their live blog, with coverage of the coronavirus pandemic in the country, its election campaign, protests in Portland and other cities and a lot more besides.

Click the link below to follow their latest updates.

Related: US nears 150,000 Covid-19 deaths as Republicans and Democrats pitch opposing plans – live

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Police officer says three-week search for retiree who died in Westfield Bondi stairwell ‘consumed’ her

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Bernard Gore was found dead in shopping centre’s fire stairs which stretched for 14km

A police officer has broken down while recalling the fruitless search for a retiree whose body was later discovered in the stairwell of a Sydney shopping centre, while a colleague has suggested they should have searched the stairs themselves.

Bernard Gore, 71, was found dead in the fire stairwell at Westfield Bondi Junction in late January 2017 some three weeks after he went missing.

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