Australia is potentially facing a second nationwide outbreak of COVID-19 amid an alarming resurgence of cases in Victoria.
Melbourne is battling a horror second wave after 74 new cases were recorded Sunday, forcing Premier Daniel Andrews to shut down nine public housing estates.
Here are the latest developments across the country.
COVID-19 testing staff arrive at one of the public housing towers on Racecourse Road in Flemington, Melbourne
Nine towers in the suburbs of Flemington (pictured), Kensington and North Melbourne have been closed for five days over fears they have become hotbeds for the state’s COVID-19 second wave
Latest Developments
Australia had 94 new cases on Sunday, with 74 of those in Victoria.
Residents of the inner Melbourne public housing estates put under a hard lockdown will have their rent waived and receive a hardship payment.
A total of 27 cases have been detected in the nine towers which are home to 3000 people.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has defended the decision to lock down the North Melbourne and Flemington housing estates as necessary to protect residents as the state tries to quell its coronavirus resurgence.
The Australian Medical Association has called for a temporary pause in the easing of COVID-19 restrictions across the country until Victoria gets its outbreak under control.
NSW has recorded 14 new coronavirus cases, but all were returned travellers from overseas who are now in hotel quarantine.
A Queensland nightclub operator could cop a hefty fine after video emerged of a packed dance floor with next to no social distancing.
Melbourne is battling a horror second wave after 74 new cases were recorded Sunday forcing Premier Daniel Andrews to shut down nine public housing estates (COVID-19 testing staff at one of the housing complexes)
Economics
Victoria’s coronavirus crisis, the lack of a solid lead from the US, and a Reserve Bank meeting on Tuesday are likely to contribute to a weaker start for Australian shares.
Sport
Collingwood and the Western Bulldogs have begun the exodus of clubs out of Victoria amid the state’s COVID-19 spike.
All ten Victorian teams will play interstate in round six, with the league establishing hubs in Queensland, Western Australia and the NSW.
Victoria’s Surge
Of the 74 cases recorded in Victoria on Sunday, 16 were connected to controlled outbreaks. The state recorded 108 new infections on Saturday.
Of the new cases on Sunday, one is a returned traveller in hotel quarantine, four were from routine testing and 53 are still under investigation.
The Saturday spike resulted in Premier Daniel Andrews announcing the lockdown of nine inner-Melbourne public housing blocks and more areas being added to the COVID-19 ‘hot zone’.
A man living in a flat is seen making a gesture with his arms crossed at the Flemington Public housing flats. Nine blocks across Flemington and North Melbourne are locked down entirely
About 500 police will be deployed across the nine towers during each shift, or about 55 officers per unit (Pictured: A group of officers outside public housing towers on Racecourse Road)
The premier warned that COVID-19 cases would likely remain high as widespread testing is carried out, particularly in hot spot areas.
‘Obviously 70 odd cases is better than 100, but we are going to see some big days, big numbers in the days ahead,’ he told reporters on Sunday.
A total of 27 cases have now been detected in the North Melbourne and Flemington towers.
Postcodes 3031 and 3051 have joined the 10 other community transmission ‘hot zones’ under stay-at-home orders.
A ‘total’ or ‘hard’ lockdown where residents are completely confined to their homes is a first for Australia during the pandemic. Pictured are police establishing a road block next to the Flemington housing blocks on July 4
New Cases in Western Australia
Six people who returned to Western Australia on a flight from Dubai have tested positive to coronavirus, with authorities examining their contact with other passengers.
The passengers, four women and two men aged between 40 and 64, arrived in Perth on Wednesday and returned positive test results two days later.
They are in hotel quarantine, along with the other passengers from the flight.
The WA Department of Health says it is interviewing all of the passengers to determine whether there were any close contacts with the people who tested positive.
Flight details, including the rows the passengers were sitting in, have been uploaded to the HealthyWA website.
All of the new cases are from the Perth metropolitan area.
There are now nine active cases in WA.
The WA Health Department is interviewing all passengers from the flight, and considers those in rows 26 to 31 to have been in ‘close contact’ with the infected passengers. Picture: stock photo of coronavirus testing
Queensland Nightclub Operator in Hot Water
A Queensland nightclub operator could cop a hefty fine after video emerged of a packed dance floor in breach of coronavirus restrictions.
Footage of clubbers dancing shoulder-to-shoulder is alleged to have been taken on Friday night at Prohibition in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley on the day pubs and clubs were allowed to reopen but dance floors remain closed.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she is aware of the footage and police are investigating if the club has breached its own COVID safe rules.
‘I thank those nightclubs that did do the right thing and, from all reports, the majority of them did,’ Ms Palaszczuk told reporters on Sunday.
‘It is unfortunate that some did breach those rules so that’s a matter for police.
‘If they have breached those COVID safe plans there could be fines imposed.’
Easing of Restrictions and Key Dates
- July 10 – Queensland to reopen borders to all visitors except Victorians, who must undergo mandatory hotel quarantine for two weeks at their own expense.
- July 17 – NT to reopen its borders.
- July 18 – WA to lift all remaining virus restrictions except border closures.
- July 24 – Tasmania to reopen its borders.
Australian Coronavirus Numbers
Australia has recorded 8449 cases in total, with 946 active cases and 7399 people recovered.
The national death toll is 104: NSW 51, Victoria 20, Tasmania 13, WA 9, Queensland 6, SA 4, ACT 3.
Two Queensland residents who died in NSW have been included in the official tolls of both states.
Police wearing masks speak to a woman outside the North Melbourne building before
Tasmania to Keep Borders to Victoria Closed
Tasmania appears likely keep its borders closed to Victoria.
The island state is planning to reopen to mainland Australia on July 24, but is reviewing the virus situation in other jurisdictions on a day-by-day basis.
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein expects to on Friday provide more information about whether the state will reopen to Victoria, following a formal risk assessment this week.
‘It would obviously be very difficult to lower our borders to Victoria at this current time,’ he told reporters on Sunday.
The island state is free of active coronavirus cases, with its last recorded new case coming more than 50 days ago.
If Tasmania stayed closed to Victoria it could make life difficult for incoming travellers from other states, with many flights traditionally transferring through Melbourne.
A woman gets a COVID-19 test at a testing site at the shopping precinct in the locked down suburb of Dallas in Melbourne
Medical staff wearing PPE holding material about to walk into the Flemington Public housing flats