Coronavirus update, Wednesday: 'Ludicrous' calls to end lockdowns are 'callous'
Morrison wants kids back at school; Great Depression fears; Trump pulls WHO funding
Morning! It’s Wednesday April 15. Here’s today’s ‘5+5: coronavirus edition’.
Each day I’m bringing you 5 big things to know, and 5 other bits, about the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. The fire hose of news being blasted out every day is getting more intense and confusing. Let me try to help you get it under control.
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 just 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 3pm Tuesday, Australia has 6400 reported cases of COVID-19 (that’s +41 since the day before); there have been 61 deaths; and more than 366,000 tests have been done, according to the latest federal Department of Health stats. Full global stats breakdown below
5 BIG THINGS
‘Ludicrous’ calls to end lockdown ‘fly in the face of ethical public health policy’
There’s a growing theme in conservative newspaper articles and commentary, saying that Australia’s relatively low coronavirus case and death numbers (just 41 new cases in the latest 24-hour period) mean our response to the virus has been an “over-reaction”, that the rules weren’t needed, and that we should open the economy back up right away.
Don’t fall into it. Actual health experts (not journalists) say these arguments are incredibly premature, potentially dangerous, and could lead to our case numbers spiking higher than our last peak. I spoke to a number of public health and infectious disease experts here, who say we need to stay the course, keep lockdowns and strict social distancing measures on, and not get complacent about our current success — because the numbers can shift, badly, quickly.
"It’s far too early to do anything but double down on what we’ve got. Anyone saying we can go back to the way we were on January 1st is just delusional," Bill Bowtell, adjunct professor at UNSW, told me (full story here).
Morrison wants kids back at school
The Prime Minister will publish a Facebook video today, calling on schools to remain open. It comes as Victoria tells kids and parents to do remote learning for some time, with its new school term starting this week. QLD and NSW are telling their students to do the same when their terms resume soon. The Courier Mail reports Morrison will bring up the push at the national cabinet meeting, to pressure states to reopen schools.
“Your students and their families are relying on you more than ever,” he says in the video.
“It’s so important that children are able to keep physically going to school, particularly… the kids of workers with no suitable care arrangements at home to support their learning… These children need you and for our schools to remain open.”
‘Great lockdown’ could be worst economic hit since Great Depression
The International Monetary Fund has issued a dire warning that the coronavirus pandemic could crash the economy like the Great Depression of the 1930s. The IMF predicts a 3% reduction in global growth (a reversal of its pre-COVID prediction of 3.3% growth). “Until now the downturn that followed the near meltdown of the global financial system in late 2008 has been the most serious of the postwar ear, with global activity shrinking by 0.1% in 2009,” The Guardian reported. Some Australia-specific predictions here.
Medical staff want apology for ‘illegal dinner party’ rumours
As mentioned yesterday, chief medical officer Brendan Murphy linked a coronavirus cluster in a north-west Tasmanian hospital to an alleged “illegal dinner party” of health workers. Online rumours had spread about such a claim in days prior, as the hospital was shut down and thousands of people were forced into isolation, but Murphy aired the allegation in a phone call with New Zealand officials. But TAS Premier Peter Gutwein said he wasn’t aware of the rumour being confirmed, and Murphy later backtracked to say it hadn’t been confirmed (story here).
Now, Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation Tasmanian secretary Emily Shepherd has told the Fairfax papers that the claims “sparked a torrent of online abuse of her members”. She called the claims “some fairly malicious rumours” and said it had “taken our members' morale to an all-time low” (story here).
Today’s stats:
The latest stats from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (as of 8.30am Sydney time on Wednesday) report 1,970,989 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There have been 125,678 deaths.
The United States has 602,989 confirmed cases, with Spain next but far behind on 172,541, then Italy (162,488). The U.S. has the most deaths (25,575), then Italy (21,067) and Spain third on 18,056.
By comparison, in Australia — the latest federal Department of Health stats (as of 3pm Tuesday) show 6400 cases. The death toll is 61. We’ve done more than 366,000 tests.
The latest Australian graph:
5 OTHER THINGS
A man tried to return 150 rolls of toilet paper and 150 bottles of hand sanitiser to an Adelaide supermarket, after he couldn’t sell them on eBay. The supermarket wasn’t pleased (story here).
A German zoo has said it may need to feed animals to each other because of financial issues, the BBC reported — “At the worst, we would have to feed some of the animals to others,” Neumünster Zoo’s director said.
The old lady who went viral with the ‘I Need More Beer’ sign in her window has been given 10 cases of the good stuff from Coors. She held up the sign in her window to family, as she was self-isolating due to coronavirus (story here).
Donald Trump is fighting with NY governor Andrew Cuomo about ‘Mutiny On The Bounty’, kings and a very bizarre press conference yesterday where the president said he had “total authority” to tell states what to do (story here).
Trump also announced the U.S. would pull its funding to the World Health Organisation — yes, in the middle of a pandemic — as he criticises its response to the virus (story here).
IMPORTANT EVERY DAY
You “must” stay home at all times unless: shopping for essential supplies, and even then, doing that as infrequently as possible; getting medical care; exercising alone or with one other person; or work and education (more information here)
be hygienic; wash your hands properly, for 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; use hand sanitiser
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. Verify, fact-check, don’t be part of the misinformation problem
World Health Organisation latest statistics here
Australian government latest statistics here
Signing off - stay safe, be healthy, look after yourself and others
Josh