Daily News Roundup

 

TUESDAY, AUGUST 4

Victoria has recorded 439 new COVID-19 cases and 11 coronavirus deaths, all of which are connected to aged care outbreaks.

Giving his daily COVID-19 update Premier Daniel Andrews also announced a new on-the-spot fine of nearly $5000, “in fact the largest on-the-spot fine on the statute books in Victoria”.

The exact number is $4659, “but ultimately a $5000 on-the-spot fine and that will be particularly for those who breach their isolation orders”, he said.

“If you are supposed to be at home and you are not, then you face the prospect of a fine of up to $5000,

“If there were repeat breaches, if there were particularly selfish behaviour like, for instance, going to work when you had the virus, then there is the alternative pathway and that is, of course, taking you to the Magistrates Court, where the maximum penalty that can be applied to you is $20,000.”

Mr Andrews added, “We don’t want it to come to that. We want people to be where they are supposed to be. Because that is how we will all get past this.”Victoria’s  wide-ranging retail shutdown was described as a “nuclear bomb” that will wipe out the state’s economy and small businesses.

The additional stage four restrictions outlined by Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday are expected to lead to a further 250,000 job losses.

Small Business Australia executive director Bill Lang told 3AW radio his members had been left “totally gobsmacked” by the announcement.

News that the pandemic continued unabated in Victoria came as tensions remain high in Brisbane’s south side after three men allegedly lied to police upon their entry to Queensland from Victoria, potentially exposing the Logan community to further COVID-19 transmission.

The men allegedly did not disclose that they had been to Melbourne when they passed into Queensland via the Coolangatta road border on Sunday, police deputy commissioner Steve Gollschewski said this morning.

It comes as Queensland has today recorded no new COVID-19 cases, bringing the state’s total to 12 active cases, and a total of 1085 active cases.

Authorities are said to be investigating as one of the men is believed to be experiencing coronavirus symptoms. All are in hotel quarantine.

“People that criminally deceive their way in… is a problem for us,” Mr Gollschewski said.

It comes as a man who tested positive on Sunday who claimed to be a consular official has been revealed to have been employed by a private security firm based in Afghanistan.

The incident has raised concerns over exemptions granted to those with diplomatic passports, who do not have to undergo the otherwise mandatory 14 days in hotel quarantine.

Last week, five cases in the one cluster were confirmed, after three women returned to Queensland from Melbourne via Sydney and allegedly lied about their whereabouts on their border declaration pass.

Two have since tested positive for the virus, infecting one of their sisters, and two diners at a Sunnybank restaurant.

One diner is employed at Bolton Clarke Aged Care facility at Pinjarra Hills, which remains in lockdown despite all residents and staff having been tested.

The school where one of the women works remains closed, with Parklands Christian College telling staff and students they will have to get retested.

In NSW, 12 new cases of coronavirus were announced on Tuesday out of 12,876 tests, with only one of the new cases found in a returned traveller from overseas.

Of the new cases, three were members of the same household, who acquired the virus in Victoria, and the other eight have been traced back to known clusters.

Five of these are linked to Mounties at Mount Pritchard, in Sydney’s southwest, with two of the new cases having visited the venue. Three more are contacts of people who contracted the virus at the club.

Two of the cases attended The Apollo restaurant in the inner-city suburb of Potts Point and one is linked to the Thai Rock restaurant in Wetherill Park in western Sydney.

South Australia has recorded two new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of active cases in the state to 10.

The two new cases are both women in their 20s.

One is linked to the cluster identified yesterday related to two schools in Adelaide – Roma Mitchell College and Thebarton Senior College.

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Some of the first cruises to resume after coronavirus-related shutdowns immediately recorded fresh COVID-19 outbreaks.

Several cruises that resumed in parts of Europe and the Pacific last month have been forced to limit activities due to outbreaks at sea.

Norwegian authorities have barred all cruise ships with more than 100 people on board from disembarking at its ports from Monday, after cases of COVID-19 were reported late last week on a ship that had already disembarked.

At least 41 passengers and crew who were on board the MS Roald Amundsen, operated by Norwegian company Hurtigruten, have so far tested positive for the coronavirus.

Hundreds more on board were told to self-isolate for 10 days, local public health officials said.

Australia has imposed a ban on cruise ship voyages until at least mid-September.