COVID Latest: 'Conspiracy Theory' Claims Blamed For VIC Outbreak
Saturday: More record cases for USA - Latin America fears
Morning! It’s Saturday, July 4. Here is today’s ‘5+5: coronavirus edition’ — 5 things to know about COVID-19 today, + 5 non-corona things as well.
Apologies for the radio silence this week! I’ve been in Canberra, starting a new job with the excellent The New Daily. Check out the website, bookmark it, follow their pages on social media, and check out my work specifically here. Things on 5+5 will be back to normal operation next week.
Latest AU stats: as of 9pm Friday, Australia has 8255 reported cases of COVID-19 (that’s +66 since the day before), with 7319 reported as ‘recovered’, and 104 deaths, according to the latest federal Department of Health stats. More stats below.
5 CORONAVIRUS THINGS
‘Conspiracy theories’ blamed for VIC outbreak
So this is an interesting (and a new) one from Victorian authorities, who have explicitly laid part of the blame for the state’s sudden COVID outbreak at the feet of mad conspiracy theories circulating online (link). Obviously I’ve been reporting on these things for a while — the weird and baseless and dangerous claims the pandemic is fake, that 5G has something to do with it, Bill Gates is behind it etc etc — but it’s been far rarer for authorities to acknowledge them, let alone properly blame such loopy conspiracies for the current situation.
VIC health minister Jenny Mikakos said Friday “it is concerning that some people believe that coronavirus is a conspiracy or that it won't impact on them”, when asked about why some people may be refusing to get tested for COVID. The state’s deputy chief health officer, Professor Michael Kidd, also said Friday “if you hear different theories and you're not sure about it, do a search, look at the Australian Government advice… Don't listen to the theories that you may be coming across on social media.”
A concerning number of people do believe such theories about microchips and fake vaccines and Bill Gates pulling the strings, as evidenced by the sudden swelling of groups on Facebook and other social media dedicated to sharing and spreading such wacky hoaxes. However, authorities in VIC have not explicitly outlined what type of theories they’re worried about, or how they plan to combat them, besides simply telling people to read the government websites instead (but considering many such people believe that the government is ‘in’ on a scam, and lying to the public, this doesn’t seem like a superb strategy).
It’s also unclear exactly how many people are citing such claims, or how authorities are gathering data on this. The Guardian reported last week that simply blaming migrant communities for the outbreak was unfair, saying that misinformation may be spreading in such areas due to a lack of official communication and advice being shared in languages other than English (link).
Trump advisor spreads conspiracies
But it’s not as though such debunked conspiracy theories aren’t also coming straight from the top. Donald Trump’s trade advisor, Peter Navarro, gave an interview on MSNBC this morning where he claimed COVID was a “weaponised virus” and Chinese authorities had “sent” infected people around the world.
It’s wild. Navarro has been spouting these claims for a while (link).
Trump’s son, Don Jr., is also under fire for sharing a meme mocking the use of face masks (link).
American COVID chaos
This comes as new virus cases surge in the USA, with incredibly troubling stats coming from all over the country (link). In Texas, they’re recording record-high new virus cases each day, as “hospitals exceeded 100 percent of their ICU capacity for the first time during the pandemic” (link). Remember how ‘flattening the curve’ was aimed at spreading out the new cases so that hospitals weren’t overwhelmed? Months into the pandemic and the one of the USA’s biggest states is finally there.
It’s been three straight days of the USA logging more than 50,000 new cases (link), as “California, Arizona, Texas and Florida all posted record new cases this week” according to CNN. Nurses are still wearing “garbage bags” due to a lack of personal protective equipment (link). All the while, restrictions are lifting across the country, with bars and restaurants and parties returning, and Americans can’t even agree on wearing masks. There are fears this weekend, Independence Day, will see an even bigger spike as people gather and party in large groups.
Compare that to Australia, where a few dozen new cases each day in Victoria has put much of the state back into a strict month-long lockdown, seen other states enforce strict border measures against Victorians, and forced professional sporting teams to relocate out of the state.
Latin America fears
While the USA continues to have the most cases and deaths of any country, there are fears the poorer countries in the rest of the Americas could be hit harder in coming months. By September, there are predictions that another 300,000 people could die in that region, adding to the 130,000 already dead across Central and South America (link). Brazil remains second for deaths and cases worldwide, but Mexico, Peru and Chile are also on the rise.
Today’s stats:
The latest stats from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (as of 9.30am AEST Saturday) report 11,045,713 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There have been 524,577 deaths.
The United States has 2,793,034 confirmed cases; Brazil is next on 1,539,081, then Russia (666,941). The U.S. has the most deaths (129,430), then Brazil on 61,884 and the United Kingdom third on 44,216.
In Australia, the latest federal stats (as of 9pm Friday) show 8255 cases, 7319 people recovered, and 104 deaths.
The latest Australian graph:
5 NON-CORONAVIRUS THINGS
The by-election for the federal seat Eden-Monaro is on today. It’s expected the Labor candidate, Kristy McBain, will hold the seat left vacant by the retirement of former Labor MP Mike Kelly — but it will be tight. Check out my little analysis here and follow The New Daily for updates through the day. The ABC will have your best results through the night, after polls close at 6pm.
Still on Eden-Monaro, a man has been charged over allegedly sending spam emails attacking McBain, trying to discredit her and linking her to coronavirus (link).
I wrote this one about federal MP George Christensen joining a new right-wing social media app called Parler, and almost immediately comparing China to Nazi Germany (link).
Ghislaine Maxwell, confidante and former girlfriend of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has been arrested in relation to his crimes (link). Epstein, the disgraced financier who rubbed shoulders with political and business elite, died in prison in August last year, soon after being arrested on further charges of exploiting dozens of underage girls. Maxwell faces charges which allege “that Maxwell helped Epstein groom girls as young as 14 years old, going back as far as 1994”, according to NBC. She faces 35 years in prison.
And a long-running Sydney drama may be solved, with the controversial relocation of the Powerhouse Museum to be altered. Instead of moving the entire Ultimo site to Parramatta, the museum will now operate over both sites instead (link).
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.
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Signing off — stay safe, be healthy, look after yourself and others.
Josh