Coronavirus update, Wednesday: Rules Relaxed By May 1?
Modelling out; prison pandemic fears; DJ Shaq blowing up the kitchen
Morning! It’s April 8, 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
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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”.
Today’s Australian stats: as of 3pm yesterday, 5,908 cases; 45 have died; and more than 310,000 tests have been done, according to the latest federal Department of Health stats. Full global stats breakdown below
5 BIG THINGS
Rules relaxed by May 1?
Just yesterday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Australia should settle in and get used to this “new normal” until a vaccine is found — which could be 12-18 months. But, less than 24 hours later, the Daily Telegraph reported some social distancing restrictions could start being slowly wound back as early as May 1. Examples included “relaxing restrictions on restaurants and cafes while still maintaining healthy social distancing”, as well as loosening rules on gyms and church services. This morning, Gladys said:
“I don't want to raise expectations, but at the same time, there could be a chance, if the health experts deem it appropriate for us, to look at some relaxations. It's a rolling monthly basis that we'll look at that.”
We’re still being told not to be complacent, to not let hygiene and distancing habits slip, but if things keep going this way and we keep behaving, some of these rules may be loosened a little in the not-too-distant future. By the by, if you live in NSW, the government just launched an app to track infections in your area, which you can download (story here).
Prison pandemic
There are fears of a “devastating” outbreak of coronavirus in Australian prisons, which experts fear could “spread like wildfire” — but NSW Corrections tells me it has “no immediate plans” to use new powers recently granted to it, to allow some low-risk vulnerable (i.e. old, sick) prisoners out a little early on parole to reduce overcrowding. This story of mine was published today, where I spoke to Dr Thalia Anthony, one of more than 100 experts who have signed open letters pleading for authorities to consider easing numbers inside prisons by letting some go on parole early. Anthony told me:
"Physical distancing in prisons is an impossibility."
Full story here
Modelling doesn’t show much
The federal government finally unveiled its coronavirus “modelling” yesterday, which it has been using to plan its response to the pandemic. People have been calling to see it for ages, after governments like the U.S. and New Zealand shared theirs. The Australian modelling… doesn’t show much, after all. Because of our relatively low level of community transmission (i.e. between strangers out in society, not between family or close contacts), the local data isn’t very useful to scientists yet, so while we’ve waited for more data to roll in, the government has been relying on overseas evidence to plan and predict how it could spread.
The Good News is that things could have been a lot worse, with modelling showing an uncontrolled outbreak would overwhelm Australia's hospital system, with five times more beds needed than currently exist. Under government measures requiring isolation and quarantine, that number would drop to 17,000 ICU beds per day at peak. Adding social distancing — such as stay-home orders — to that would put the daily peak at 5,000 beds, within capacity. My full story here; see what you think.
Trump cuts WHO funding (then doesn’t?)
At a time when the coronavirus is really taking hold in basically every country on Earth, the U.S. President has announced plans to halt American funding to the World Health Organisation — the chief international body coordinating global response efforts.
Just a few minutes later, he then changed his mind and said he was going to “look at” cutting funding, and that maybe now wouldn’t be the best time to do so (uhh, you think?) so it’s not exactly clear what he’s actually going to do… but even signalling this would not be good. Politico story here.
Today’s stats:
The latest stats from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (as of 8am Sydney time on Wednesday) report 1,414,738 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There have been 81,865 deaths, and 276,515 people have recovered.
By comparison, in Australia — the latest federal Department of Health stats (as of 3pm Tuesday) show 5,908 cases. The death toll is 45. We’ve done more than 310,000 tests.
The latest Australian graph:
5 OTHER THINGS:
It’s hard for even politicians to remember all the new social distancing rules. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and opposition leader Anthony Albanese crossed paths in Parliament House this morning, both on their way to give a press conference at the same spot in the Mural Hall. Albanese jokingly told Frydenberg to “listen and learn”, as the treasurer stuck out his hand for a handshake. Of course, that’s not allowed anymore, as Frydenberg seemed to temporarily forget, as Albo left him hanging.
Fair play to Frydenberg for copping it, and using it as an opportunity to remind others about the importance of following the rules.
Japan, long-seen as an example of best practise in dealing with the virus spread, has declared a state of emergency in some of its most populated areas, as case numbers spike. The country had managed to keep numbers low since it became one of the first countries to experience an outbreak, but things are getting worse, prompting Japan’s government to institute strict social distancing and prepare a US$1 trillion economic package (Reuters story here).
A group of men in Melbourne have been fined for playing a game of cricket during the coronavirus stay-home orders (story here)
The prospects of NRL Island sadly appear to be thinning by the day, with the league reportedly moving closer to an idea of keeping teams in Sydney instead (Daily Telegraph story here). The plans are still up in the air, with more to be debated Thursday, but the island idea seems to be dead in the dust. RIP.
And this is a few days old but I forgot to share it so here we go: Shaquille O’Neal DJing his kitchen, to his kids, is my favourite bit of isolation content so far:
(He’s actually a proper DJ too, performing under the name Diesel at big festivals, which is some life-changing information I only found out a few days ago)
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