Sixth Dorothy Henderson Lodge resident dies from Covid-19 – as it happened
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Baptistcare confirms 90-year-old man dies after contracting the virus as total confirmed cases across Australia approaches 6,000. This blog is now closed.
Australia has now recorded 41 Covid-19 deaths, after health officials confirmed six new deaths on Monday. Three in NSW, two in Victoria and one in Western Australia.
A 90-year-old man who died on Monday night was a resident at the Dorothy Henderson Lodge in western Sydney. He is the sixth resident from the aged care home to die after contracting the virus.
An 84-year-old man who died in Western Australia had been a passenger onboard the Ruby Princess cruise ship. He is the 12th person who sailed on the ship to die.
The NSW government said AirBnb had not been banned in the state, after earlier reports quoted a spokesperson from his office saying the rental accomodation site was now “illegal”.
WA’s hard border closure came into place, meaning no one can enter the state without a police exemption. The state’s premier, Mark McGowan, said he expected to see an increase in social unrest as people became “stir crazy” as a result of lockdowns.
The Ekka (the Brisbane show) was cancelled.
The Gold Coast closed three of its main beaches – the Spit, Coolangatta and Surfers Paradise – after visitors ignored social distancing rules.
The federal government ruled out including any more casuals in its news wage subsidy plan despite pressure from unions.
Tasmania is probing an outbreak of coronavirus in the state’s northwest, with five cases linked to one hospital.
AAP reports that a health worker and male patient at the North West Regional Hospital in Burnie returned positive tests to Covid-19 on Sunday. It comes after three workers at the facility previously tested positive.
Health authorities are trying to trace the source of the cases and are contacting recently discharged patients to determine if they have symptoms.
“Whilst it is concerning, this will not be the last time that we will see this type of outbreak at a hospital in Tasmania,” Premier Peter Gutwein said on Monday.
“Importantly for those people that live on the northwest coast, the message could not be stronger ... take into account the rules relating to social distancing.”
The patient had been transferred on April 2 to the Mersey Community Hospital, in Latrobe in the north, before showing symptoms.
Six staff at the NWRH and 21 at the Mersey Community Hospital are in quarantine.
Transfers between the hospitals have been stopped while health authorities are urging discharged patients to contact the public health hotline if they feel unwell.
Sixth Dorothy Henderson Lodge resident dies from Covid-19
A 90-year-old resident of the Dorothy Henderson Lodge in New South Wales has died of Covid-19.
The Lodge operator, Baptistcare, confirmed the man’s death on Monday night. He is the sixth resident of the aged care home to die after the contracting the virus.
“I have been on the phone this afternoon with the resident’s family, and I grieve with them in their loss. Our residents are not just numbers; they are beloved individuals in our care and the very reason we exist,” BaptistCare chief executive Ross Low said in a statement.
“It is nothing short of heartbreaking to have another resident lose their life to this virus Our care staff and those who are part of Dorothy Henderson Lodge are doing their very best caring for our residents as they would their own family.
“We know that the residents and their families are struggling with the isolation measures in place, and they are missing each other terribly, but these containment measures are now more important than ever.
“The experts we are working with at NSW Health, and our team, remain committed to doing all we can to fight this virus and protect our residents and our people.”
A Victorian man who allegedly repeatedly sneaked out of Covid-19 quarantine at a Perth hotel to visit his girlfriend has been refused bail, AAP reports.
Jonathan David, 35, faced Perth magistrates court on Monday via phone link, charged with two counts of failing to comply with a direction. He arrived in Perth late last month and was sent into quarantine at the Travelodge hotel for 14 days.
But instead, he is alleged to have repeatedly sneaked out and used public transport.
Police said he even wedged open a fire exit door at the hotel so he could leave and re-enter without staff seeing. The police prosecutor described David’s actions as “gross stupidity”.
Magistrate Richard Bayly denied David bail and he will face court again at a later date.
Professor of infectious disease at the Australian National University, Peter Collignon, has just been speaking on the ABC’s 7.30 Report about his view that New South Wales and Victoria have gone “too early” in introducing heavy-handed lockdown laws.
He wrote about it for us today. It’s well worth a read if you haven’t already.
A rideshare driver has told Nine News she contracted Covid-19 after picking up a Ruby Princess passenger from the overseas passenger terminal in Sydney.
Speaking from Nepean Hospital, the woman, Julie Lamrock, said:
“It’s incredible that the government let them come off that ship and let other people get sick like me, who had no reason to be sick.”
Lamrock said she drove two women to Campbelltown about an hour away in Sydney’s south-west. She helped the woman with her luggage, who later tested positive for the virus.
“I can’t breathe properly, I’m having the hot sweats,” she said.
“After picking her up and taking her home, looking after her, and then now I’m sick in hospital – I nearly died.”
A total of 662 people linked to the cruise ship have been infected with Covid-19 and 11 passengers have died. On Sunday the New South Wales police announced homicide detectives would conduct an investigation into why the ship’s passengers were allowed to disembark on 19 March.
After weeks sitting just off Sydney’s coast, the ship berthed at Port Kembla near Wollongong on Monday with 200 of the 1,400-strong crew on board were showing symptoms.
Centre Alliance senator Rex Patrick has spoken to Radio National about his plan to recall parliament sooner by flipping the default from the current schedule (it won’t sit until 11 August) to a new schedule, with regular sittings that then have to be called OFF by the leader of government and opposition in each house.
He said:
We have a government taking quite large and unprecedented decisions at the moment, and the exercise of powers that interfere with liberties. Now, that’s not to say they’re being abused – but there might be times we need to stand up and intervene, to adjust legislation. There are other aspects of government that continue to run: the Murray Darling Basin Authority continues to do its work, Asio continues to do its work. And the normal oversight the Senate is responsible for and is its constitutional obligation to carry out ought to be conducted.”
Patrick told Guardian Australia he wants both houses of parliament to resume, but if the lower house doesn’t sit and there’s no legislation coming through the pipeline, the Senate could adjust its business to “focus on oversight”.
You shouldn’t need any more evidence Nick Kyrgios is the biggest legend in Australian sport, but he’s given it to you anyway.
The Australian tennis star has backed up the generosity he showed during the summer bushfire crisis in the summer, posting on Instagram that he’s ready and waiting to drop off food parcels to anyone who has lost their job as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.
“If ANYONE is not working/not getting an income and runs out of food, or times are just tough ... please don’t go to sleep with an empty stomach,” Kyrgios wrote.
“Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to send me a private message. I will be more than happy to share whatever I have. Even just for a box of noodles, a loaf of bread or milk. I will drop it off at your doorstep, no questions asked!”
Kyrgios is at home in Canberra with the world’s tennis circuit in indefinite hiatus.
The New South Wales minister for better regulation and innovation, Kevin Anderson, has sought to clarify the legal status of short-term rental company Airbnb, after reports suggesting the state had outlawed the company during the Covid-19 crisis.
Earlier today Nine’s real estate site Domain reported it was “now illegal for anyone in NSW to stay in an Airbnb” or similar short-term letting accommodation, quoting a spokesperson for the minister as saying there was “zero reason for someone to stay in an airbnb”.
But that story has since been amended, and Anderson has told Guardian Australia there is “no ban on any kind of accomodation”.
“Reports that it is illegal to stay in short-term rental accommodation are incorrect. There is no ban on any kind of accommodation,” he said.
“The NSW Government advice to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has been very clear. As per the public health orders, people must stay home with the exception of a number of circumstances including work and to provide care.
“The NSW Government acknowledges that in these circumstances the provision of short-term accommodation is often critical, particularly for our frontline health workers.”
Under current public health orders, moving to a new place of residence, or between your different places of residents are considered a reasonable excuse to leave home, although they stipulate that “a holiday is not an acceptable reason”.
Staying with New South Wales police for a moment, and interestingly they seem to differ with their counterparts in Victoria on whether driving lessons constitute a reasonable excuse for being outdoors. A little earlier we mentioned a learner driver had been fined during a driving lesson.
NSW police say though that a driving lesson would constitute “a reasonable excuse”.
We consider that it would be a reasonable excuse for a person to leave their house to receive driving lessons (either from a driving instructor or a member of their family), given that this is a learning activity that cannot be done from home and is akin to the listed reasonable excuse of travelling to attend an educational institution where you cannot learn from home.
Can’t imagine why people might be slightly confused about these rules.
NSW Police with a fair bit of common sense on L Plate driving
"We consider that it would be a reasonable excuse for a person to leave their house to receive driving lessons... given that this is a learning activity that cannot be done from home"https://t.co/iiuFlT08ghpic.twitter.com/2QeNV7Z1lf
NSW police have issued 98 fines since 17 March for breach of public health orders
Police in New South Wales fined another 15 people for breaching the strict public health orders yesterday. They have now issued 98 fines since 17 March.
At about 1am on Sunday police from the Blue Mountains were called to the old Queen Victoria hospital at Wentworth Falls. Police spoke with a 35-year-old man and a 28-year-old man, who were both issued infringements for trespassing and failing to comply with noticed direction.
A 65-year-old woman who returned to Sydney on a flight from Indonesia on 22 March was fined after receiving information that she had entered a shopping centre at Grafton. Two hours later, at about 5pm, police located the woman in her car. She told officers she had been to seven separate retail stores that day, including the supermarket.
At about 2.15am officers from South Coast Police District were conducting patrols of the North Nowra area when they located a vehicle parked near bushland. As police approached, four women were sighted in the vehicle, including three who were lying down in the back seat. The women told police they had been at a party but had been asked to leave.
Just before 11am a 32-year-old male and 31-year-old female were seen leaving their homes at South Kempsey “without reasonable excuse”. Police issued a warning to both individuals to return to their homes. Later in the day, about 1.45pm, police observed the male and the female in a vehicle nearby. When asked by police why they had not complied with direction, the male allegedly told police they were “bored”.
Good evening. Thanks to Josh Taylor for his efforts this afternoon. Stick with me as we go through the latest developments tonight. It’s not like you’ve got anything else to do, right?
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg has just been speaking on the ABC. Bragg was the third Australian politician to contract Covid-19 back in March.
He was one of a cluster of cases which developed after a wedding in Stanwell Tops in New South Wales.
Thankfully, it sounds as though he had a fairly minor case. He told the ABC that for him it was “not a terrible disease”.
Look, for a younger person that’s fit, it’s not a terrible disease, but clearly it is a very serious illness for people who are vulnerable, people who are elderly, or have respiratory issues. So, we’ve got to keep on treating it very seriously, but my own personal experience was not too bad.
You do feel very, very tired, and that’s not a great way to feel when you have things that you want to achieve, right? So if you’re feeling too exhausted to do much, that’s not a great feeling, and that was my main symptom. And also just, you know, some aches and pains and a bit of a temperature. So, that was kind of it.
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