Four Australian states record zero coronavirus cases as nation continues to flatten the curve

Four Australian states have recorded no new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours as the nation continues to flatten the curve and lockdown restrictions begin to ease. 

There were just eight new cases of the deadly respiratory infection in New South Wales on Sunday, and even less in Queensland and Victoria – registering a combined total of seven new cases.

Four more people were diagnosed with COVID-19 in Tasmania – all of which were linked to an outbreak at the North West Regional Hospital. A 90-year-old man, also linked to the outbreak, died, taking the state’s death toll to 11.

Meanwhile in Western Australia, Australian Capital Territory,  South Australia and Northern Territory, there were no new diagnoses.

Australia appears to be successfully flattening the curve of the infection rate, encouraging two states to ease lockdown restrictions from Monday

Swathes of people took to the streets on Anzac Day in Victoria (pictured) despite strict COVID-19 restrictions imposed to slow the spread of the virus

In total, there are now 6,714 known cases of COVID-19 on home soil, including 83 who have died and 5,539 who have recovered. 

From the peak of nearly 5,000 active cases on April 4, Australia had just 1,175 on Sunday. 

But government officials have repeatedly begged Australians not to get complacent – warning a second wave of the virus could see cases spike if social distancing measures aren’t maintained. 

People are exercising in droves as an excuse to leave their homes. Pictured: A woman exercising on Manly Beach

There are currently 6,714 known cases of coronavirus in Australia, including 83 deaths

Health Minister Greg Hunt crunched the numbers and told reporters on Sunday Australia has had an average increase in cases of less than one per cent for 15 consecutive days.

‘[There has also] been an average increase in case numbers of less than half a per cent for seven consecutive days,’ he said, adding ‘all these things mean we are doing well as a nation.’

But Mr Hunt said he didn’t want the early indications to make people complacent.

‘We have not won yet,’ he said.  

The apparent success in flattening the curve will see residents in Queensland and WA rewarded for their efforts – with officials announcing they would ease restrictions from Monday.

But punters hoping for a beer at the pub shouldn’t hold their breath. State leaders on Sunday emphasised only certain restrictions on activities which pose limited threat would be removed.

Under the eased restrictions, outings are limited to members of the same household or an individual and one friend. Pictured: a couple doing boxing training in Burleigh on Saturday

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Queenslanders will be able to take a recreational drive, sit at the beach, have a picnic, visit a national park and shop for non-essential items from midnight on Friday.

‘Because we have done such a terrific job of flattening the curve, after discussions with the Chief Health Officer, from next Friday we will be able to lift some of the stay-at-home restrictions,’ state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Sunday morning.

Just hours later West Australian Premier Mark McGowan announced his state would follow, allowing gatherings of up to ten people for non-work activities.

Mr McGowan said it was a ‘cautious relaxation’ of restrictions, acknowledging it had been difficult for everyone, but especially the elderly, to not see family and friends during the pandemic.  

‘We can’t let our guard down on social distancing and good personal hygiene. We cannot slip.

‘That’s why our borders will remain shut for a long period of time. Our numbers may be low but we need to keep it that way.’

The Prime Minister said health experts will release guidance on how to make professional and community sport safe. Pictured: Volleyball on Bondi Beach

Children’s playgrounds will remain closed, though further announcements on restrictions will be made next month. Pictured: signage outside a playground in Redlands on Thursday

Hundreds of Muslims flout social distancing rules as they flock to a Sydney restaurant to mark the end of day-long fast amid Ramadan

While most of the country celebrates the small wins, extraordinary footage of dozens of people milling out the front of a restaurant after dark during Ramadan proves others still aren’t taking social distancing measures seriously.

In footage seen by Daily Mail Australia, crowds of at least two dozen socialised out the front of The Woods Pantry in Villawood, in Sydney’s southwest, on Sunday night following a day-long fast during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. 

Police stepped in and attempted to move the crowd along, but customers kept arriving in droves. 

The vision, which lasts almost four minutes, shows crowds of young people standing shoulder-to-shoulder with one another, chatting and smoking among themselves.

Most groups appear to be standing out the front of the restaurant on the footpath, both others moved their groups to a nearby carpark, which was brimming with parked vehicles. 

Groups of three or more people spoke with one another, arrived and left together despite strict orders in New South Wales banning gatherings of more than two people. 

Large crowds gathered out the front of The Woods Pantry in Villawood on Sunday night in spite of strict social distancing rules

CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 6,714

New South Wales: 3,002

Victoria: 1,349

Queensland: 1,030

Western Australia: 549

South Australia: 438

Tasmania: 212

Australian Capital Territory: 106

Northern Territory: 28

TOTAL CASES:  6,714

RECOVERED: 5,394

DEAD: 83

Western Australia has confirmed a total of 549 coronavirus cases, but only 55 remain active.

There are currently 16 people in Perth hospitals, including four in intensive care.

Health minister Roger Cook said all cases in the Kimberley region, where there is a significant population of vulnerable indigenous people, have recovered.

Queensland recorded just four new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, bringing the state total to 1,030. More than 98,000 tests have been conducted.

Health Minister Steven Miles said there were just 98 active cases throughout the state including 18 people in hospital with six in intensive care and five on ventilators.

Meanwhile Sunday marked the fourth consecutive day of zero new COVID-19 cases in South Australia.

The state has confirmed a total of 438 cases, but only 23 remain active. Four people are at Royal Adelaide Hospital, including two in intensive care.

Despite the ongoing success, Health Minister Stephen Wade on Sunday shot down any suggestion of South Australia following the likes of Queensland and WA by easing social distancing and lockdown restrictions. 

‘South Australia is taking a very cautious, patient approach to our restrictions,’ he said.

‘Our restrictions are actually not as severe in some respects as other states and territories. So, in some ways, some of the easing you’re seeing in other states and territories is just returning to what we believe is an appropriate level of restrictions.’

In Queensland, residents will be able to relax on the sand from Friday onwards under new reduced coronavirus measures. Pictured: Three swimmers drying off after taking a dip in Balmoral Beach

Testing has picked up nationwide as councils open up criteria to ensure they’re accurately measuring the spread of coronavirus. Pictured: Bondi drive-through testing clinic

WHAT YOU CAN DO UNDER THE EASED RESTRICTIONS

QUEENSLAND:

– Go for a drive (within 50km of home)

– Ride a motorbike, jet ski or boat for recreation

– Have a picnic

– Visit a national park

– Shop for non-essential items

 WESTERN AUSTRALIA:

–  Non-contact recreational activities such as picnics, fishing, boating, hiking and camping

–  Ten people allowed at weddings and ten-person limit remains for funerals

–  Outdoor personal training up to ten people, provided groups adhere to social distancing

Empty tables at a restaurant in Circular Quay in Sydney. Bars, restaurants and cafes were all closed indefinitely on March 23

While our states and territories are all in discussions about when and how to lift lockdown orders, there appears to be an unspoken agreement that there is no fast and easy way to return to a ‘pre-coronavirus’ norm.

With pubs, bars and cinemas in particular – which were among the first places to be closed on March 23 – a raft of measures will first be introduced to maximise safety.

Pub bosses are discussing a raft of rules to minimise social contact – including bans on communal items like pub buzzers, water jugs and plastic laminated menus. 

With a vaccine yet to be developed, the Australian Hotels Association said a ‘new world order’ should be expected when pubs open their doors again.

‘They [pub owners] are thinking about anything that people touch – water jars at the end of the bar, those laminated menus, the buzzer,’ the association’s NSW chief executive officer John Whelan said. 

Australian National University microbiologist Peter Collignon last week told Daily Mail Australia pubs and hotels may not return to normal until September – although they could re-open under strict conditions in July.

Sign-in and sign-out procedures to maintain contact tracing and a 50 per cent capacity limit at venues are among those measures being discussed by hospitality industry leaders.

The implementation of a staggered return to work could also reduce the risk of transmission on buses – accompanied by a ban on standing and preventing passengers from sitting next to each other.

Pictured: A nurse speaking with a motorist who arrived at the Bondi drive-through testing clinic on April 21

Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy (pictured) said Australia is in a ‘position of strength’ but warned it was not the time to become complacent

SOCIAL DISTANCING ON PUBLIC TRANSPORT 

Passengers must be sat down at all times 

Reduced capacity through staggered start times for commuters

Users to know whether a bus or train is full via a mobile app 

Intensive cleaning of train carriages and buses

This would include sterilising commonly-touched areas like tap-on pads and hand railings

HOW PUBS AND CLUBS COULD RETURN TO BUSINESS 

Ban on plastic laminated menus and pub buzzers

Seated sections only at live music events

Maximum 50 per cent capacity to prevent transmission

Customers to be temperature checked on entry 

Sign-in, sign-out procedure for patrons at bars, pubs and restaurants to maintain contact tracing 

Globally, there are now more than 2.9 million cases of coronavirus, including at least 203,307 deaths.

The pandemic is still raging in the United States and swathes of Europe, while a handful of countries who thought they’d seen the worst of it have now reported a second wave.

In response, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has doubled down on his insistence Australia’s borders would stay closed for the foreseeable future. 

But he said an arrangement with New Zealand is a logical first step in lifting restrictions, and then Australia could turn its attention to other nations within the region that are enjoying the same success.

‘You could look at an arrangement with New Zealand given they are at a comparable stage as we are in this fight against this virus,’ he said.

Mr Dutton said it was very hard to see how Australia could open up its borders with other countries like the United States and United Kingdom at this point in time, given the lay of the land overseas currently.

‘That will be sometime off,’ he said.   

Biosecurity measures are likely to be permanently upgraded after the COVID-10 crisis ends.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has doubled down on his insistence Australia’s borders would stay closed for the foreseeable future

In Queensland, the government will allow people to sit on the sand at the beach from Friday, however it remains banned in other states. Pictured: A family sitting on the beach at Balmoral, despite it being closed

Mr Dutton says his department is looking at what Australia’s border system would look like in six to 12 months time as a result of the pandemic.

The priority of the Australian Border Force will continue to be to keep terrorists and people of bad character out of the country, as it has been since 9/11.

But he believes there will be an overlay of biosecurity in years to come at Australian airports as a result of COVID-19.

‘We don’t know what will happen next flu season, we don’t know whether there will be another pandemic in 12 months or 12 years time,’ he told Sky News on Sunday.

‘We need to make sure we use the technology we have got available and look at assessing that threat.’ 

He backed his colleague, Foreign Minister Marise Payne, in demanding an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic in China, even as overseas authorities accused Australia of playing ‘political games’.  

China has hit back after Australian foreign minister Marise Payne called for an independent review of the coronavirus outbreak  and said she agreed with the view the disease originated in a wet market in the city of Wuhan. Pictured are workers at a different market in the city on April 15

Ms Payne raised the idea of an international inquiry a week ago, calling for greater transparency on how COVID-19 originated and how it was subsequently handled.

‘We want more transparency within the communist party of China in the way they have dealt with this virus issue,’ Mr Dutton told Sky News on Sunday.

‘If not just to understand how we can defeat this threat into the future when you have got these wildlife wet markets where the flu may have originated from.’

He said there needs to be reassurance globally this is not going to happen again in 12 months or two years time.

‘We need a level of reassurance that’s not there at the moment,’ he said.

But China has described the independent review proposed by Australia as ‘political manoeuvring’.

‘At such a critical juncture, it is highly irresponsible to resort to politically motivated suspicion and accusation,’ China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in a statement to various media outlets.

‘We advise the Australian side to put aside ideological bias and political games, focus on the welfare of the Australian people and global public health security, follow the international community’s collective will for cooperation, and contribute to the global cooperation in fighting the virus, instead of doing things to the contrary.’

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