COVID Latest: How Public Transport Will Get You Back To Work Safely
Monday: Macca's outbreak; independent inquiry gathers supporters
Morning! It’s Monday, May 18. Here’s today’s ‘5+5: coronavirus edition’.
Each day I’m bringing you 5 things to know about COVID-19 + 5 non-corona things too.
If you haven’t already, please sign up above ^^ to get this every day in your emails (and tell your friends).
You can email me at joshb2@protonmail.com for tips, 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. Remember physical distancing - at least 1.5 metres of separation.
Latest Australian stats: as of 9pm Sunday, Australia has 7045 reported cases of COVID-19 (that’s +9 since the day before), with 6367 reported as ‘recovered’; there have been 98 deaths; and more than 1,042,126 tests have been done, according to the latest federal Department of Health stats. Full global stats breakdown below.
5 CORONAVIRUS THINGS
Major public transport restrictions
So some people will probably soon start heading back to work. The issue is how to get them there, with the bulging buses and crowded train carriages of pre-COVID not really an option. In NSW, premier Gladys Berejiklian has announced buses will be restricted to 12 passengers, trains to 32 per carriage, and ferries to 245 people. That’s a major restriction. The premier said “we want people to consider different ways to get to work”, with pop-up car parks in the city and new extra bike lanes to be introduced. More details, like about the ‘green dots’ showing you where you will be allowed to sit, can be found here — while my colleague Erin Lyons has spoken to experts for a ‘How To Stay Safe On Your Way Back To The Office’ guide.
Inquiry gains 100+ supporters
Dozens of nations are backing the kind of independent inquiry into the coronavirus outbreak which Australia has been pushing for, and which Australia has copped so much grief from China in recent weeks. Scott Morrison and other Canberra figures have been calling for a probe into how the virus began and spread, but Beijing has pushed back, calling the idea unhelpful, and heaping pressure on Australia via diplomatic avenues and threats of trade repercussions (I unravelled the background to all this here, if you need a quick refresher).
But now more than 60 nations have backed “a joint Australian and European Union push” for an inquiry, the ABC reports (link), and it is expected to be endorsed by the World Health Assembly. The Daily Telegraph reports the number of supporters could actually exceed 100.
12 Maccas’s restaurants shut over outbreak
A dozen fast food joints in Melbourne's north and west have been closed after a small cluster was traced to a McDonald’s worker in Craigieburn (link). A truck driver who made deliveries to 12 restaurants has also tested positive, leading to hundreds of employees being asked to isolate and get tested after coming into contact with him. VIC Premier Daniel Andrews said the incident was “a really big concern”.
Obama vs Trump
Former US President Barack Obama has levelled a veiled rebuke of Donald Trump, saying in a video message that current American leaders “aren’t even pretending to be in charge” (link). It comes after weeks of Trump wrongly claiming Obama’s administration was to blame for America’s failed response to the coronavirus. In response to Obama’s message, Trump called him “grossly incompetent”. It continues.
Today’s stats:
The latest stats from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering (as of 10.30am AEST Monday) report 4,710,683 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There have been 315,023 deaths.
The United States has 1,486,515 confirmed cases, with Russia next but far behind on 281,752, then the United Kingdom (244,995). Brazil has rocketed to fourth, on 241,080. The U.S. has the most deaths (89,550), then the United Kingdom (34,716) and Italy third on 31,908.
In Australia, the latest federal stats (as of 9pm Sunday) show 7045 cases, 6367 people recovered, 98 deaths, and 1,042,126 tests.
The latest Australian graph:
5 NON-CORONAVIRUS THINGS
Lilly Wachowski, one of the co-creators and directors of ‘The Matrix’ films, has roasted Ivanka Trump (Donald’s daughter) and Elon Musk after the Tesla boss made a ‘red pill’ reference on Twitter. ‘Red pill’ is a Matrix reference to ‘waking up’ and seeing the real world in the movie — in online modern political speak, it refers to a similar thing, allegedly seeing the world for how it really is, and not how the ‘biased left-wing liberal media lies to you’ etc etc etc
NSW Police deputy commissioner Jeff Loy had an unlocked cop car stolen from his house recently. Read that back. The ABC reports it was a “four-wheel drive equipped with flashing lights and sirens”, and “articles of police uniform and documents were in the vehicle”. Safe to say, when you're one of Australia's highest-ranking police officers, this is probably the last thing you want to have happen to you (link).
Aussie street artist Scott Marsh has finished his latest creation, and it’s #auspol themed again — showing Scott Morrison, Barnaby Joyce, Gina Rinehart, Rupert Murdoch and more in a coal mural. It’s for Greenpeace, and their new documentary ‘Dirty Power: Burnt Country’ about how some in the political and media class have spruiked fossil fuels in the face of a climate emergency. Check out the film here.
A class action related to the governmment’s “robodebt” welfare program is continuing (link).
We’re learning about a “rare long-necked dinosaur that roamed the polar world” called an elaphrosaur (link). The Guardian reports it is a “relative of T. rex and Velociraptor with an unusually long neck”, and it “may have transitioned from predator to plant-eater”.
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