Australia news LIVE Dominic Perrottet becomes next NSW premier as state records 608 new COVID-19 cases seven deaths Victoria sets national daily record with 1763 new cases four deaths
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The Reserve Bank has held official interest rates steady and remained committed to its gradual wind back of its quantitative easing program as it waits on large parts of the economy to re-open from COVID-19 lockdown.
At its regular monthly meeting today, the RBA board held the official cash rate at 0.1 per cent where it has been since November last year. The decision was in line with market expectations and forecasts from economists.
RBA governor Philip Lowe.Credit:James Brickwood
It also stuck with its decision to wind down purchases of government bonds to $4 billion a week, holding them at that rate until at least mid-February next year.
Read more here.
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There are now COVID-19 infections at five prisons in Victoria, with 36 prisoners testing positive for the virus.
Corrections Victoria said 16 prisoners tested positive at the Melbourne Assessment Prison, 11 at the Metropolitan Remand Centre, five at Ravenhall Correctional Centre, three at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre and one at Port Phillip Prison.
“Of these cases, 31 prisoners have been managed under quarantine arrangements since their arrival into custody and are being held in isolation units in accordance with established operational processes,†the authority said in an update.
The five prisoners infected at Ravenhall Correctional Centre were in the general prison population.
"One has been managed under quarantine arrangements since developing COVID-19 symptoms while in the general prison population on 25 September, and has now been moved to the prison’s isolation unit.
"The other four prisoners returned positive results as part of extensive surveillance testing of prisoners and staff, and are now in isolation."
There were also 15 active COVID-19 cases among staff members â€" five at Metropolitan Remand Centre, five at Ravenhall, two at Port Phillip Prison, and one each at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, Maribyrnong Community Residential Facility and Barwon Prison.
Corrections Victoria helped the health department with contact tracing, and all in-person visits to Victorian prisons were suspended.
As of October 1, 73 per cent of adult prisoners had received their first dose of a COVID vaccine, and 52 per cent were fully vaccinated.
If you're just joining us, here's a summary of today's news after a busy morning:
A member of federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg's staff, based in his Melbourne electorate office, has tested positive for COVID-19.
Mr Frydenberg said on Twitter his electorate office was closed for a deep clean and he and other staff had been tested and were isolating.
“At present the staff member is yet to be contacted by Victorian Health and Human Services contact tracers, which would start the process to determine if my electorate office would be deemed an exposure site,†he said.
A more targeted and risk-based approach to isolation is set to be rolled out across Victoria’s “critical†industries.
A new “moderate risk†protocol is being trialled in the state’s supermarkets. If a worker is, for instance, in a room with another staff member for a short period of time and the other person later tests positive for COVID-19, the exposed worker may be able to quarantine at home for five days rather than 14 days.
That would be conditional on them being fully vaccinated and wearing a mask properly for the whole interaction, and testing negative for COVID-19 before returning to work.
Victorian Health Department deputy secretary Kate Matson said since the protocol had been applied at supermarkets since Saturday, and initial feedback was positive.
Some Victorian workers could soon have isolation periods reduced. Credit:iStock
“We'll get more feedback from them this week, we'll look at how it's been operationalised both [by] our contact tracing teams, our local public health units, and the supermarket industry,†she said.
“We do hope to be able to roll out those revised protocols in other critical industries to help keep Victoria moving and safe.â€
Ms Matson said it was yet to be determined what other industries the protocol would be rolled out in, but it would be “those critical industries that keep Victoria fed, help keep Victoria moving, and so onâ€.
Authorities will also consider a five-day furlough period for health services in the coming days.
Qantas has revealed more details about what international travel will be like when it restarts regular flights from Sydney to London and Los Angeles on November 14.
Passengers will need to prove they have been vaccinated and return a negative COVID-19 test before they fly, chief executive Alan Joyce said from the sidelines of a meeting of global airline bosses in Boston on Tuesday (AEDT).
Qantas boss Alan Joyce.Credit:Janie Barrett
Inbound travellers will also need to take two tests while undergoing seven days of home quarantine, he said.
The Morrison government said last week it would reopen the international border, and replace 14 days hotel quarantine with at-home isolation for vaccinated travellers, when states were 80 per cent vaccinated.
Mr Joyce said Qantas was working on a smartphone app passengers would use to upload and verify their vaccination status and test results, while another app would use geolocation and facial recognition to confirm travellers were complying with home quarantine requirements.
He said it would be up to travellers to declare they have somewhere to isolate when they arrive in Australia before boarding.
“There is a level of trust with this,†he said. “There will be an electronic arrival form that people have to fill in to come into the country which will have the details of where they’re staying... and there will be requirements for people ... to tell the truth and to be honest because they’re legal forms.â€
Mr Joyce said he hoped quarantine requirements would soon be dropped altogether as Australia hit vaccination targets and opened up while allowing the virus to circulate.
“If there’s no more risk from a person coming in from the UK or US then it may be a testing regime â€" test and release â€" which is what a lot of countries are doing at the moment,†he said.
“We need to move from seven days to get tourists and to get business travellers to start travelling again.â€
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has taken a swipe at teachers who refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19, saying, “for heaven’s sake, our kids can’t get vaccinatedâ€.
“Our smallest children cannot get vaccinated,†he said during Tuesday’s coronavirus update.
“So why would anyone want to be in a school community contributing to the spread of this virus? It makes no sense to me.â€
Mr Andrews said a survey completed by the Department of Education showed almost 99 per cent of the state’s school staff have had at least one dose of a vaccine, which was the “good newsâ€.
“Everybody [working in schools] who can [be vaccinated], needs to be to keep [children] safe. That’s a pretty simple thing, for me anyway,†the Premier said.
“It’s not just about doing what the government has asked you to do. It’s also about doing what will keep you safe, and keep you out of a hospital bed.â€
As reported yesterday, a casual relief teacher is challenging Victoria’s vaccination mandate for school staff in the state’s Supreme Court.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says authorities are committed to existing timelines for the state to open up.
He said Victoria was still on track, if not ahead of schedule, to meet its October and November vaccination targets.
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews.Credit:Scott McNaughton
“At this stage, I’ve got no advice that we’d have to alter anything on the road map; I want to try and give people as much freedom as fast as I can, as [safely] as possible,†Mr Andrews said during today’s coronavirus update.
“But I don’t have any advice that sees us having to alter that [timeline] now.â€
The Premier said today’s increase in case numbers was serious. He said illegal household visits contributed to the numbers. The state reported a national record for daily case numbers on Tuesday, with 1763 new cases.
“We’ve got to get those vaccination numbers, and the protection that comes with that, to the highest level we can, and it’s 70 and 80 [per cent],†Mr Andrews said.
“Then we can open up, it’s only a few weeks away, so we’ve just got to see this through.â€
Mr Andrews said “if we didn’t have a lockdown at the moment I wouldn’t be standing up here today reporting these case numbers, you could probably add a zero to it, if not moreâ€.
He said the Chief Health Officer’s update, to be released Tuesday afternoon or evening, would elaborate on how Tuesday’s spike in cases related to modelling by the Burnet Institute.
“It’s based on assumptions, and you have kind of a more optimistic line, and then there’s that range up to a more pessimistic outlook,†Mr Andrews said.
Krispin Hajkowicz has been officially named Queensland’s next Chief Health Officer, with outgoing CHO Jeannette Young saying he is the “perfect person†to replace her during a pandemic.
Dr Young is standing down in November to take up the role of Queensland Governor after steering the state through the 18 months of the pandemic.
Dr Krispin Hajkowicz.Credit:Metro North Health
Dr Young said Dr Hajkowicz, who has co-ordinated the clinical response to COVID-19 at the state’s five designated COVID hospitals, was the right choice to take over from her.
“He is the perfect person to take over at this point in the pandemic,†she said.
“I’ve been going to him for the last two years for advice. He has been the lead in the treatment and management of COVID cases.â€
Dr Hajkowicz said he was humbled to step into Dr Young’s shoes, saying he also felt he had the right expertise to deal with the pandemic challenges Queensland would face in coming months.
“I’ve been involved in pandemics for a long time now, this will be my fourth big pandemic; it’s a unique moment in history,†he said.
“It’s the right time to have a clinical lead come into the pandemic at this moment; where we’re going to have a shift, and we’re going to be treating cases in hospitals.â€
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