Coronavirus Latest: Treasurer Tested For COVID, In Isolation After Coughing Outburst In Parliament
Tuesday: sex workers banned indefinitely; lockdown protests; 'Plandemic' conspiracy film blacklisted
Hello! It’s Tuesday, May 12. 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.
If you haven’t already, please sign up above ^^ to get this every day in your emails.
You can email me at joshb2@protonmail.com if you have tips, feedback, ideas or want to chat
You can also find me on Twitter at @joshbutler; on Facebook; or on Instagram
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 Monday, Australia has 6948 reported cases of COVID-19 (that’s +8 since the day before), with 6179 reported as ‘recovered’; there have been 97 deaths; and more than 855,000 tests have been done, according to the latest federal Department of Health stats. Full global stats breakdown below
5 CORONAVIRUS THINGS
Reality TV contestant leads anti-lockdown protests
Small-scale coronavirus and anti-lockdown protests finally occurred last weekend in Melbourne and Sydney, with more than a dozen people arrested nationwide — mostly for breaching public health directives. I looked into some of the Facebook groups which pushed the protests, with a hodge-podge collection of 5G, anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theory groups among them (including, you may remember, the group I reported on last week which encouraged members to smash their TVs in a protest against the media).
You can read my latest report here, on the former reality TV cooking show contestant who is among the leading figures.
‘Plandemic’ film blacklisted by Facebook, Twitter
Staying on online coronavirus theories, you may have seen a 26-minute video clip going around the internet in recent weeks, claiming the pandemic is a ‘Plandemic’ and spouting various wild theories about vaccines, masks and Bill Gates. It’s all fake, of course, to the point that Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and Vimeo have all blackballed the video from their platforms.
A Facebook spokesperson told me that content in the video claiming masks were dangerous “could lead to imminent harm, so we're removing the video”. My latest report on that is here.
This comes the same day Twitter announces plans to further signal to users that certain tweets are sharing fake news about COVID. Some tweets will soon have warnings attached to them (example below) to point out that they’re wrong. Others may simple be deleted altogether. “This will make it easier to find facts and make informed decisions about what people see on Twitter,” a company spokesperson said.
Treasurer tested, self-isolating
Josh Frydenberg made a major economic statement today, announcing just how hard coronavirus has hit the economy (my story here). But with all eyes on him, he suddenly dissolved into a coughing fit, choking and spluttering midway through the long speech.
Frydenberg chugged some water and ploughed on, but by mid-afternoon, he announced he had taken a COVID test and was isolating “out of an abundance of caution”. His results will be delivered tomorrow. More info here.
Sex workers banned indefinitely
The only industry specifically listed as “to remain closed”, even after stage 3 coronavirus restrictions are lifted around July, are brothels and strip clubs (link). This comes despite the sex work industry saying it has always taken hugely careful measures around safety and hygiene, that operators had been boosting their cleaning and security since coronavirus, and would beef things up even more now if they were allowed to open.
I spoke to sex workers, the Scarlet Alliance and Victorian MP Fiona Patten about this. Patten fears the indefinite ban on sex work will simply see the illegal, unregulated market thrive. One worker told me their income has dropped 85%, and they’re confused and upset about what happens next. My latest story here.
Today’s stats:
The latest stats from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (as of 7.30pm AEST Tuesday) report 4,193,302 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There have been 286,613 deaths.
The United States has 1,347,936 confirmed cases, with Russia a sudden spike from far down the list up to number two today (232,243). Spain is next on 227,436, then the United Kingdom on 224,332 reported cases. The U.S. has the most deaths (80,684), then the United Kingdom (32,141) and Italy third on 30,739.
In Australia, the latest federal stats (as of 9pm Monday) show 6948 cases, 6179 people recovered, 97 deaths, and 855,000 tests.
The latest Australian graph:
5 NON-CORONAVIRUS THINGS
Comedian Jerry Stiller — father of Ben — has died, aged 92. Known for beloved comedies like ‘Zoolander’ and ‘Seinfeld’, his son said Jerry died of natural causes (link).
The federal government yesterday pledged $650 million to bushfire recovery (link).
There has been talk of the JobSeeker welfare payments being scaled back to their pre-COVID levels. My colleague Eden Gillespie spoke to a welfare recipient who was surviving on one meal a day before, and fears she might find herself in that situation again (link).
news.com.au reported yesterday that the government may look to wind back the JobKeeper wage subsidy payments very soon after they started being paid (link).
The Australian Federal Police is auctioning off more than 250 luxury items, including fine jewellery and Swiss watches, obtained through the proceeds of crime. You can find out more (and even bid) here.
IMPORTANT EVERY DAY
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