Coronavirus Latest: No Lockdown Relaxations This Weekend, Despite Cabinet Meeting
Thursday: UK climbs to 2nd highest death toll; employers want power to force tracing app download
Morning! It’s Thursday, May 7. Here’s today’s ‘5+5: coronavirus edition’.
Each day I’m bringing you 5 things to know about the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak + 5 non-corona things to start your day off.
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You can email me at joshb2@protonmail.com if you have tips, feedback, ideas or want to chat
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Wash your hands and sneeze into your elbow. Practise physical distancing - at least 1.5 metres of separation. “Stay the fuck at home”.
Latest Australian stats: as of 9pm Wednesday, Australia has 6875 reported cases of COVID-19 (that’s +26 since the day before), with 5984 reported as ‘recovered’; there have been 97 deaths; and more than 688,000 tests have been done, according to the latest federal Department of Health stats. Full global stats breakdown below
5 CORONAVIRUS THINGS
Lockdowns could be wound back tomorrow
The national cabinet will meet Friday, with plans to start easing countrywide lockdown and social distancing rules the big item on the agenda. Just 26 new cases were reported in the latest national 24-hour statistics, with many of those linked to known clusters or international arrivals — i.e. little community transmission. That’s making the case for state premiers to agree to loosen some restrictions, get people back to work, and open some parts of the economy back up.
Gladys Berejiklian — premier of worst-hit NSW — said this morning “I suspect by the end of June, life will feel much more normal than it does now and even during May.” However, she said that no matter the outcome of tomorrow’s national cabinet, “I doubt that NSW will be in a position to implement anything before Mothers Day” on Sunday (link).
At this stage, it’s not known exactly what restrictions may be considered for changing tomorrow, or when those changes might happen. In an interview with the Australian Financial Review (link), businessman Nev Power — who is leading the federal government’s COVID-19 Coordination Commission — suggested those returning to work might be asked to stagger start and finish times, to avoid “congestion periods” and crowds on public transport, in lobbies and so forth.
The AFR reported “the national cabinet will meet to sign off on a three-stage process with the aim of having the vast majority of businesses back on their feet by July.”
‘Illegal’ to force workers to download COVID tracing app
Staying on work, the Daily Telegraph reports the federal health department is investigating NSW’s Strathfield Council “for unlawfully forcing employees to download the COVIDSafe app to work phones” (link). The department’s acting secretary Caroline Edwards said on Wednesday that such actions “would appear to be in contravention” of the Biosecurity Act for a boss to force a worker to install the app. The Tele reported health minister Greg Hunt saying “it is not allowed and it is illegal to coerce anybody to download the app”.
However, this morning The Australian reported a push from business groups to be allowed to force workers to use the app (link). “If companies could say to their staff, ‘the single condition that I’m going to let you come back to work is you have got to show me you’re using the app’, we’ll get to the (target) easily and then the economy can start to open up again,” NSW Business Chamber chief Stephen Cartwright reportedly said, calling the government’s stance so far “timid”.
As confirmed earlier this week, the federal government will introduce new legislation to specifically outlaw improper use of data collected by the app. Draft laws would make it “a criminal offence to collect, use or disclose COVIDSafe app data for a purpose that is not related to contact tracing” and also illegal to transfer the data outside Australia, or to decrypt it, with “a maximum penalty of 5 years imprisonment or $63,000” (link).
Falls Festival plans to run this year, despite warnings
Although medical experts have said large public gatherings shouldn’t occur until there’s a vaccine, Australia’s festival market is still pushing on. The Falls festival series, which runs across multiple states over the NYE period, announced plans yesterday to go ahead as usual in December and January (albeit with a strictly Australian lineup, due to travel restrictions expected to be remaining for a long time).
Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy has said in recent weeks that such events will struggle to be run, under current conditions. “It's hard for me to envisage reopening of nightclubs and big music festivals in the foreseeable future,” he said in mid-April. But as Triple J points out (link), a number of big-name events — like the rescheduled Splendour In The Grass, and Lost Paradise over NYE — are still planning to run.
Falls said it was proceeding with “optimism” and “choosing the bright side”, with hopes to “bolster Australia’s live music industry.”
“We have some of the most exciting acts in the world and this special 'home grown' edition of Falls will ensure that money stays in our local economy, providing maximum financial benefit for the Australian music community – artists, management, crew, agents, roadies, production etc - as well as the thousands of contractors and suppliers who rely on our events for their income,” the festival’s directors said.
COVID conspiracy theories
This piece (link) from Ben Collins, who covers disinformation for NBC in the U.S., is a good insight into how coronavirus conspiracy theories — 5G, Bill Gates, claims of a “fake” pandemic — are spreading. A doctor who spends his days treating COVID patients said dealing with conspiracy theories online was the “second-most painful thing I’ve had to deal with, other than separation of families from their loved one." Other doctors talk about patients swallowing bleach, spouting bizarre claims about the virus cause or spread, or decrying vaccines. It’s a wild ride. Check it out.
Today’s stats:
The latest stats from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (as of 8.30am AEST Thursday) report 3,744,585 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There have been 263,068 deaths.
The United States has 1,223,468 confirmed cases, with Spain next but far behind on 220,325, then Italy (214,457). The U.S. has the most deaths (73,079), with the United Kingdom now with the second-highest, on 30,150. The U.K. overtook Italy today, which has 29,684 deaths. France and Spain both have over 25,800.
In Australia, the latest federal stats (as of 9pm Wednesday) show 6875 cases, 5984 people recovered, 97 deaths, and 688,000 tests.
The latest Australian graph:
5 NON-CORONAVIRUS THINGS
Niki Savva has published this fascinating piece (link) in The Australian today about the machinations behind the bizarre Eden-Monaro race, with John Barilaro and Andrew Constance jumping in and out like the hokey-pokey.
The ABC reports redacted parts of the royal commission into institutional child sexual abuse — which were not released publicly “in order to avoid prejudicing the trial of Cardinal Pell”— will be released this morning.
Yes this is technically coronavirus content in the non-coronavirus section, but it’s been 20 hours and I still can’t get over this.
Tik Tok memes are running wild in the real world, in regional NSW (if you don’t know this one, check it out here)
Please look at this important content.
IMPORTANT EVERY DAY
You “must” stay home at all times unless to shop for essential supplies; get medical care; exercise alone or with one other person; or work and education (more info here).
be hygienic; wash your hands properly, at least 30 seconds with soap and water, multiple times a day (here’s how you need to do it, plus a handy Dr Karl video tutorial); sneeze and cough into your elbows.
Listen to only official information from the World Health Organisation and legitimate health bodies — Don’t share dodgy stuff on Facebook. If it looks too good (or bad) to be true, it often is.
World Health Organisation latest statistics here
Australian government latest statistics here
Signing off - stay safe, be healthy, look after yourself and others
Josh