Despite 2.43 people per 1,000 being tested for Covid-19 daily labs are stretched and people are slipping through the net
Ministers say the UK has a greater testing capacity than other countries of its size, with 2.43 people tested each day for every 1,000 in the population. That compares with 1.15 in Germany and France, and one in Spain.
Continue reading...National cabinet will look at alternatives to state border closures and discuss the cap on international arrivals
Scott Morrison is expected to secure agreement from some but not all state and territory leaders on a definition of hotspots when they meet on Friday with a review of the current cap on international arrivals also on the agenda.
The prime minister has been ratcheting up pressure on the premiers for weeks to reopen their borders, and the commonwealth has been working up a definition of a hotspot with a view to replacing current border controls with localised lockdowns to control coronavirus outbreaks.
Continue reading...Security firms involved in guarding Melbourne quarantine hotels continue giving evidence at the state’s inquiry into the program. Follow live news and updates today
This is also very interesting, given what we have seen play out this pandemic:
Our Parliamentary Library has published its latest research note that provides a brief overview of the size, operation and recent history of residential aged care in Victoria. It’s available at https://t.co/DonHd6SQ4g #springst
The auditor-general has responded to Stephen Jones’s request to have the early superannuation access scheme audited.
He has said no, as there are other priorities at the moment:
Dear Mr Jones
I am writing in response to your letter of 5 August 2020 requesting that I review the integrity and performance of the Government’s early release scheme for superannuation, as established through the Coronavirus Economic Response Omnibus Package Act 2020.
Continue reading...Jeremy Hunt says UK should embrace repeat testing as route to more ‘normal life’
The UK government is to trial routine weekly Covid testing of the population as part of preparations to head off a possible winter second wave, as the former health secretary Jeremy Hunt called for such tests to become the norm.
Matt Hancock said the government was committing an extra £500m to scale up testing capacity and launch community pilots trialling the effectiveness of repeat testing in schools and colleges, as well as in the population as a whole. It will also ramp up the trials of a new test kit that it is claimed can provide results within 20 minutes.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Wizz Air left in dark after eight teenagers travelling from Crete to London Luton test positive
Health officials are scrambling to contact more than 200 British holidaymakers on a flight from Crete last week after authorities failed to alert the airline that eight passengers had tested positive for coronavirus.
The teenagers, from Hampshire, were diagnosed after returning to the UK on a Wizz Air flight to London Luton airport on 25 August. The positive tests should have triggered an urgent response to track down the other 204 passengers on board, but Wizz Air said it had not been made aware of the cases until contacted by the Guardian.
Continue reading...Fresh cases of disease linked to oral vaccine seen in Sudan, following outbreak in Chad
A new polio outbreak in Sudan has been linked to the oral polio vaccine that uses a weakened form of the virus.
News of the outbreak comes a week after the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that wild polio had been eradicated in Africa.
Continue reading...In Canberra, the relationship with Beijing will dominate, while NSW premier travels to Albury to ease border pain. Follow all the updates
Keep an eye on this one
Despite Scott Morrison announcing it was a priority to cancel international deals by states, local governments and universities, there’s still no legislation five days later.
It’s his usual pattern - make an announcement and get a headline without any substance to deliver.
The second case in Queensland is a 37-year-old nurse from Ipswich hospital, who was working with Covid patients.
He had no symptoms other than abdominal pain - which is a rare symptom for Covid - but it turned out that yes, he had it.
So he is also in isolation. Queensland health minister (and yes, he is also the deputy premier) Steven Miles said the health worker had been taking precautions.
This underlines how we can all do the right thing by monitoring our health and if we have any symptoms at all that are of any cause for concern, we can go and get tested so we thank him very much for that.
Continue reading...Data also shows up to 75% of all deaths in care facilities globally were of people with dementia
People with dementia accounted for a quarter of all Covid-related deaths in England and Wales, and three-quarters of all deaths in care facilities globally, data shows.
The London School of Economics and University College London are looking at the mortality rate of those with dementia in a regularly updated report. According to their research, up to 75% of Covid-19 deaths globally in care facilities are those with dementia as an underlying condition.
Continue reading...This common condition can lead to relationship breakdown and unnecessary surgery. So why is treatment still so poor and underfunded?
I was just a few weeks into a new relationship when the pain started. Whenever my boyfriend and I started to have penetrative sex, it felt as if there were razor blades inside me. At first I laughed it off, but soon I became terrified of intercourse. My body would freeze with fear as my clothes came off. By the time we said: “I love you,” even kissing made me feel anxious. I would spend entire day trips and holidays with him worrying about the pain.
When I first went to my GP, the advice I got was to “try and relax”. It was about as helpful as telling someone having a panic attack to “just chill out”. Without a real solution, I started to question whether I was imagining the pain. Or if maybe, somehow, I was to blame for it. My boyfriend was kind and supportive but I felt I was letting him down. Some days, I would feel so ashamed that it was hard to think about anything else. Other days, I’d feel an overwhelming sense of loss for the carefree woman I had been.
Continue reading...Figure of 41 deaths in Victoria includes 33 people who died in aged care but not reported until yesterday; legislation to extend but reduce jobkeeper and jobseeker payments will be considered by the Senate today. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
This report from AAP earlier today:
NSW deputy premier, John Barilaro, is calling for a national code to allow agricultural workers to cross state borders without permits.
Twenty Victorian aged care providers have been found to be non-compliant with standards under the Aged Care Act since July.
My colleague Melissa Davey has this report:
Related: Twenty Victorian aged care homes ordered to improve 'inadequate' standards after Covid outbreaks
Continue reading...Data reveals that three in 10 shops hadn’t reopened after coronavirus restrictions were lifted – with some areas lagging further behind than others
Following the reopening of the UK’s retail and hospitality sectors through June and July, there were hopes that the economic damage of the coronavirus pandemic could be lessened.
But research from the Local Data Company shows that, as of July, 29% of English high street shops hadn’t reopened in the weeks after lockdown relaxation – with that proportion increasing to as much as 54% in some areas.
Continue reading...Scientists worldwide are working against the clock to find a viable coronavirus vaccine – but are corners being cut for the sake of political gain and profit?
To begin with, it felt like a sleek performance from a well-honed relay team. On 11 January, only 10 days after reporting a new respiratory disease, the Chinese published the genome sequence of the virus that causes it. Researchers around the world set to work building vaccines against Covid-19, as the disease became known, and the first candidate entered human trials on 16 March; it was joined, as the months passed, by dozens of others.
Scientists were jubilant, and they had every right to be. They’d broken all vaccinology records to get to that point. But then tensions began to surface among the team members, and lately even the most distracted spectator will have noticed that they appear to be trying to nobble each other openly on the track. With accusations that the Russians and Chinese hacked research groups in other countries, biotech executives criticised for cashing in on their own, as yet unapproved vaccines, and Russia approving a vaccine that is still in clinical trials, the quest for a vaccine seems to have turned sour.
Continue reading...Findings reveal anxiety, inability to concentrate and fears over employment at high levels among young people
Young people have suffered more with mental health issues over the last few months than any other age group, according to a far-reaching study that has scrutinised the effects of the pandemic on the under-25s.
A troubling picture of growing levels of anxiety and an inability to concentrate was reported by those aged between 18 and 24 as part of an extensive survey of more than 6,000 adults carried out by YouGov and designed by the Resolution Foundation, which was subsequently analysed by the independent charity the Health Foundation.
Continue reading...Some locals believe the ‘Zante 30’ were selfish while others say they did nothing wrong
They’ve become known – somewhat infamously - as the Zante 30.
Just as the pubs, cafes and shops on the Barbican in Plymouth were gearing up for a bumper bank holiday weekend, with visitors and city residents expected to arrive on the Devon waterside to drink, eat and be merry, the news came.
Continue reading...Queensland cancels schoolies events after three new coronavirus cases. Follow live
Coatsworth says he agrees with Scott Morrison’s comments that, even with a vaccine, there is not a “zero risk” of Covid-19.
“It is not simply me agreeing with the prime minister, every chief health officer agrees with that,” he says.
Coatsworth is asked about the Liberal MP Craig Kelly, who has been pushing the discredited drug hydroxychloroquine online as a treatment for Covid-19.
He is asked: “Are you concerned about him using his social media to promote those views against the scientific advice?”
Continue reading...Case prompts Queensland’s chief health officer to call the sheer volume of medical applications ‘unsustainable’
Queensland’s top health official says the sheer number of people applying for medical exemptions to enter her state is “unsustainable” following the death of an unborn twin in NSW.
Dr Jeannette Young granted an exemption to a Ballina woman pregnant with twins who required emergency surgery on Thursday, but it came only after the expectant mother had waited 16 hours and then flown to Sydney.
Continue reading...Exclusive: English and Scottish regulators refuse to reveal homes with most fatalities
Covid-19 death tolls at individual care homes are being kept secret by regulators in part to protect providers’ commercial interests before a possible second coronavirus surge, the Guardian can reveal.
England’s Care Quality Commission (CQC) and the Care Inspectorate in Scotland are refusing to make public which homes or providers recorded the most fatalities amid fears it could undermine the UK’s care system, which relies on private operators.
Continue reading...Labor grills the Coalition on aged care and the PM discusses the foreign relations bill. This blog is now closed
That is where we will leave the live blog for this evening. If you want to follow the latest global coronavirus news you can follow our other live blog here.
Here’s what we learned today:
#breaking Sports rorts: 70% of grants from separate fund went to Coalition seats, Greens say #auspol #sportsrorts https://t.co/iej3ex14JO
Continue reading...The legacy of a successful battle is now helping combat Covid, but we must stay vigilant, says WHO’s Africa regional director
Africa has declared victory over a virus that once paralysed 75,000 children on the continent every year.
Four years have now passed since wild polio was last detected in Africa. After a year of rigorously evaluating polio data from all 47 countries in the WHO’s African region, an independent body of experts announced during a virtual ceremony on Tuesdaythat the continent was free of wild polio.
Continue reading...NSW police say Wentworth Travelodge not up to standards as 400 guests moved. Follow all the latest news and updates, live
Scott Morrison made plenty of time to set a test for Anthony Albanese’s leadership in June, when the Victorian Labor branch stacking allegations were revealed - there were interviews and question time attacks and comments about being focussed on jobs while the Labor party was in rack and ruin.
But now that he is facing questions over the Liberals behaviour in Victoria, which implicates one of his own frontbenchers - Michael Sukkar, Morrison is very busy being focussed solely on the pandemic.
These matters have been referred by the Department of Finance and that’s the appropriate response and that’s where... No, I’ve been dealing with the COVID crisis. I’ve been dealing with getting people back into jobs. The matter has been referred to the Department of Finance. I don’t think that Australians would want me distracked by those issues at all.
This is quite the declaration of war within the Queensland Labor party - the CFMEU has announced it is immediately quitting the left faction.
That will have some serious implications for the power balance in the party:
The CFMEU will be withdrawing from the left faction of the Queensland ALP, effective immediately.
Both the Mining and the Construction & General divisions of the CFMEU have decided the union can be a more effective advocate for workers as a voice totally independent of a faction that has lost touch with its core values.