US President Donald Trump has congratulated states that are pushing forward in reopening the economy, while Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced his own three-step plan for relaxing Australia’s restrictions.
Elsewhere, Paris has announced it will remain a “red zone” when French restrictions ease and the Bank of England is warning Britain could be headed for its biggest economic slump in more than 300 years.
This story will be updated throughout Friday. You can also listen to the latest episode of the Coronacast podcast.
Friday’s top stories:
Morrison announces plan to relax restrictions by July
Prime Minister Scott Morrison says National Cabinet has agreed to a three-step plan for relaxing restrictions and reaching a “COVID-safe economy and society”.
He said the pace of change would be entirely up to the states and territories.
However, he said the aim was for Australia to have moved through these steps by July:
Step 1
- Gatherings up to 10 people, five guests allowed at home
- Playgrounds, pools and golf courses reopen
- Retail and small cafes and restaurants reopen
- Up to 10 people at weddings (in addition to couple and celebrant)
- Up to 20 people at indoor funerals or 30 at outdoor funerals (in addition to those conducting the ceremony)
Step 2:
- Gatherings up to 20 people
- Cinemas, galleries and beauty parlours reopen
- Organised community sport returns
- Some interstate travel may resume, depending on situations in each state and territory
Step 3:
- Gatherings up to 100 people
- Most workers back in the workplace
- Interstate travel resumes
- Pubs and clubs reopen with some restrictions
However, Mr Morrison said there were no plans for the return of international travel.
Murphy says Australia must be ‘very careful’ as restrictions eased
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy says despite six out of Australia’s eight states and territories having had multiple days of zero new cases, coronavirus remains in the community and Australia needs to be “very careful” as it eases restrictions.
He said that was why the first step of Australia’s plan to ease restrictions would be “gentle”.
Professor Murphy also said “a bit more work” needed to be done on the definition of step two and there was still a “lot of discussion” to be had about step three.
South Australia to begin easing restrictions on Monday
South Australians will be among the first to enjoy more freedoms as the state moves to ease some coronavirus restrictions from Monday.
Premier Steven Marshall said he was “very proud of the way that South Australia had tackled the coronavirus head-on” and noted the State Government felt confident in moving ahead “one week earlier than what we had originally envisaged”.
Part of South Australia’s first step will be encouraging regional travel.
“Not only are we saying it is possible, but in fact, we are encouraging it. And to that end, we will be the only jurisdiction in the country which will be easing the ban on caravanning and camping,” Mr Marshall said.
“And we are wanting people to get out and explore our beautiful backyard here in South Australia, spend some money in regional South Australia, and of course help those economies move forward and create jobs.”
The state will also allow outdoor dining at restaurants and cafes, and re-open university and TAFE tutorials, public libraries and pools, churches, community halls and auctions, from this Monday.
The SA Government’s roadmap also envisions re-opening cinemas and theatres, seated dining, galleries, museums and gyms, for groups of up to 20 people on June 8.
ACT to ease some restrictions from midnight
With only one active coronavirus case in Canberra, the ACT is set to take its first tentative steps in easing restrictions from midnight tonight.
It does not quite follow the three-step approach set out by the Prime Minister, but will include some of the freedoms outlined in the first step of that plan.
Gatherings of up to 10 people (including children) will be allowed both indoors and outdoors, with social-distancing measures to stay in place.
The same guidelines on weddings and funerals, religious ceremonies, bootcamps and real estate open houses and auctions that were outlined in the Federal Government’s step one will apply in the ACT from midnight.
“Canberra is the nation’s meeting place. We are an island in NSW. So our approach is going to look a lot more like NSW and Victoria’s than it is the NT or WA.”
Restaurants and cafes will not be allowed to reopen in this first round of measures introduced in the ACT.
Queensland to move to step one next Saturday
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says Queenslanders will be moving to step one of the Federal Government’s three-step plan for easing coronavirus restrictions from next Saturday May 16, in a bid to restart the state’s crucial tourism and hospitality industries.
“At the heart of the plan is Queenslanders backing Queenslanders. That is what we are good at doing. We do it through cyclones and fires and we will step up and do it again,” she said.
Restaurants and cafes will be allowed up to 10 patrons and residents will be allowed to travel up to 150 kilometres from home for recreational purposes.
Regions that have been free from the virus will be given even greater freedoms, allowing up to 20 patrons inside restaurants and pubs with the recreational travel restriction widened to 500 kilometres.
The Queensland Government expects to move to step two of the three-step plan on June 12.
“We want to get some tourism going in times for the school holidays,” Ms Palaszczuk said.
Victoria says no announcement on restriction changes until next week
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says he will make a series of announcements about the state’s coronavirus restrictions next week, starting on Monday.
But he said there would be no immediate changes following the meeting of National Cabinet today.
Mr Andrews said he welcomed both the “overall pathway” that was determined at National Cabinet as well as the fact that states would decide for themselves when changes would be made.
Trump congratulates Texas on reopening, but the state failed to meet key benchmarks
President Donald Trump is continuing his push to get states reopened, congratulating the Republican Texan Governor for rolling back coronavirus restrictions despite the state failing to meet recommended benchmarks.
“Texas is opening up and a lot of places are opening up. And we want to do it, and I’m not sure that we even have a choice,” he said.
The President welcomed Governor Greg Abbott at the White House on Thursday as part of a National Day of Prayer.
Texas is among a long list of states that have been gradually allowing business to reopen despite failing to reach the guidelines spelled out by the White House last month.
Those guidelines recommend that states wait until they have seen a two-week decline in documented cases before beginning phased reopenings.
Texas has had more than 34,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 940 deaths.
The state has averaged 1,043 new cases a day in the seven days since stay-at-home orders expired on May 1, up from an average of 846 new cases daily during the seven days prior. That’s a 23 per cent increase.
But Mr Abbott has insisted the state is containing the spread and created “surge forces” to deal with virus flareups.
Mr Trump has taken a hands-off approach to the reopening process, insisting that decisions be left to the states.
No new cases confirmed in Queensland as NSW adds four
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says no new cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in the state, with just 45 cases remaining active.
In New South Wales, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said there had been four new cases.
One of those was a staff member at Sydney’s Newmarch House aged care facility, where another three workers had tested positive earlier this week.
A total of 16 residents at the facility have died after being infected with COVID-19. Operator Anglicare appointed an external adviser to help contain the outbreak.
This morning, WA Premier Mark McGowan announced one additional case in his state: a 29-year-old man who returned from overseas.
The new case broke an eight-day streak of zero cases in Western Australia.
Paris to remain a ‘red zone’ when France starts easing restrictions next week
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe says enough progress has been made in the fight against coronavirus to begin easing restrictions from Monday.
People will no longer need to carry a form to leave home, unless travelling further than 100 kilometres. As well, about 1 million children and 130,000 teachers will return to school.
However, some regions including the Paris area will remain “red zones” with a more cautious end to the nearly two-month national shutdown.
Parisians will need permissions from their employers to use the metro or buses at peak hours. They will also need to avoid parks, though they will be able to shop at Champs-Elysee boutiques again.
In other parts of France, cafes and restaurants may open from early June if the infection rate remains low.
France is one of the worst-affected nations with 25,990 confirmed deaths and 174,917 cases.
WorkSafe employee being tested after Melbourne meatworks visit
WorkSafe says one of its staff members who visited Melbourne meatworks Cedar Meats Australia last month is being tested for COVID-19.
Five other WorkSafe staff members who had contact with that person are in isolation.
More than 60 cases of COVID-19 have now been linked to the meatworks in Melbourne’s west.
Australian health authorities say the outbreak demonstrates the need for the COVIDSafe app.
“If all of those workers had had the app we would have known exactly where that was a problem on day one,” Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly told Channel Nine.
Valet for Donald Trump tests positive for coronavirus
A member of the military serving as one of US President Donald Trump’s valets has tested positive for coronavirus.
However, the White House said both Mr Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence had since tested negative for the virus and “remain in great health”.
The valet tested positive on Wednesday (local time) and Mr Trump said the incident was a bit concerning.
“It’s a little bit strange but it’s one of those things,” he told reporters.
Mr Trump said that some staffers who interact with him closely would now be tested daily. Mr Pence told reporters that both he and Mr Trump would now be tested daily as well.
Morrison meets with ‘First Movers Group’
Last night, Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke with the leaders of an exclusive group of countries that responded quickly to the COVID-19 pandemic and were moving to recover their economies.
The so-called “First Movers Group” includes New Zealand, Austria, Denmark, Greece, Norway, Czech Republic, Israel and Singapore.
Australia’s COVIDSafe tracing app was also discussed. The Federal Government hopes to rush through legislation to help secure the privacy of the more than 5 million people who have downloaded it.
Worst recession since the ‘Great Frost’ predicted for UK
The Bank of England has warned Britain could be headed for its biggest economic slump in more than 300 years because of the coronavirus lockdown.
It has predicted the UK economy could shrink by 14 per cent in 2020. That would be the worst recession since a “Great Frost” in 1709.
However, the UK central bank sees a sharp economic bounce back next year with growth of 15 per cent if lockdown restrictions are eased over the coming months.
Governor Andrew Bailey said the central bank was ready to further increase stimulus to help the economy recover from the damage caused by coronavirus.
California says manufacturers can begin reopening
California has set rules to allow state manufacturers to begin reopening on Friday (local time).
Governor Gavin Newsom made the announcement on Twitter, where Tesla chief executive Elon Musk responded with “Yeah!!”.
Loading
However, Tesla is located in one of the San Francisco Bay Area counties, Alameda, that has a separate lockdown scheduled to last until the end of May.
Under that county order, Tesla’s only US vehicle factory, in Fremont, California, is not allowed to operate regularly.
The state plan outlined by Mr Newsom includes several requirements for reopening, such as implementing physical distancing, screening workers and training employees on limiting spread of the virus.
Mr Musk has called lockdown measures “fascist” and has been eager to reopen the Tesla factory. Mr Musk is also CEO of rocket and spacecraft company SpaceX.
China hits back at Trump’s ‘worse than Pearl Harbour’ claim
China’s Foreign Ministry has accused US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of “self-contradictory” claims about the origin of the coronavirus, saying he has been “making up lies”.
On Sunday, Mr Pompeo said there was a “significant amount of evidence” that coronavirus emerged from a Chinese laboratory. However, on Wednesday, he said the claim lacked “certainty”.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said the war against the virus was also a war against lies.
Ms Hua also responded to remarks made on Wednesday by US President Donald Trump, who said the outbreak was the worst attack the US had ever experienced.
Ms Hua said the enemy of the US was the virus, not China.
Brazil’s graves quickly filling with bodies
Freshly dug graves have been filling up quickly for weeks with the bodies of Brazilians killed by COVID-19.
Deaths from coronavirus hit some cities so hard that officials were unprepared for the crush of bodies even though regional governments imposed measures aimed at halting the spread of the virus.
In Manaus, a city of 2.2 million in the vast Amazon region, the death surge was so extreme that trenches for common graves were dug in one cemetery and caskets were piled atop each other.
Some who wanted burials for loved ones opted for cremation instead.
President Jair Bolsonaro has called the virus a “little flu” and the country’s first lockdown was not ordered until this week, when there were already more than 7,000 deaths.
Before and after photos of hundreds of newly dug grave sites — that Mr Bolsonaro called “fake news” and “sensationalism” — show the graves have been filled in less than a month.
More than 33.5 million lose work in the US
Nearly 3.2 million laid-off workers applied for unemployment benefits in the US last week as the business shutdowns caused by the viral outbreak deepened the worst US economic catastrophe in decades.
Roughly 33.5 million people have now filed for jobless aid in the seven weeks since coronavirus began forcing millions of companies to close their doors and slash their workforces.
That is the equivalent of one in five Americans who had been employed back in February, when the unemployment rate had reached a 50-year low of just 3.5 per cent.
The labour department’s report suggests that layoffs, while still breathtakingly high, are steadily declining after sharp spikes in late March and early April.
Initial claims for unemployment aid have now fallen for five straight weeks, from a peak of nearly 6.9 million during the week that ended March 28.
The report showed that 22.7 million people are now receiving unemployment aid — a rough measure of job losses since the shutdowns began.
Medics make up one third of Kabul’s COVID-19 cases
More than a third of confirmed coronavirus cases in the Afghan capital are among doctors and other healthcare staff, two senior health officials said on Thursday, in a sign that the war-torn country is struggling to deal with the pandemic.
The officials cited a lack of protective equipment for medics as well as a lack of awareness among some medical staff of the precautions needed to avoid infection.
The high rate of infection among healthcare workers has sparked alarm among medics, and some doctors have closed their clinics.
However, it is not clear whether the apparently disproportionate rate of infection might be at least in part because medical staff are more likely to be tested for the illness.
Few people with the classic COVID-19 symptoms of high fever and respiratory problems are being tested in Afghanistan because of a shortage of testing kits.
The total of 925 confirmed cases in Kabul has included some 346 medical staff, according to a Government health official and an Afghan doctor who is on the board of a government-led pandemic task force.
Brewery may have to dump 400 million bottles of beer
South African Breweries, one of the world’s largest brewers, says it may have to destroy 400 million bottles of beer as a result of the country’s ban on alcohol sales that is part of its lockdown measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
South Africa stopped all sales of alcohol when its lockdown came into effect on March 27 and the brewery has seen beer pile up at its production facilities.
The brewer is seeking special permission from the Government to move the beer to other storage facilities. The transport of alcohol has also been outlawed in South Africa.
SAB told news station eNCA on Thursday that if it’s not able to move the beer, which amounts to about 130 million litres, it will be forced to discard it at a loss of about $US8 million ($12 million). That loss would put 2,000 jobs at risk, SAB said.
400,000 medical gowns from Turkey fail UK’s safety standards
The British Government says a shipment of personal protective equipment from Turkey intended to help ease supply problems is sitting in a warehouse because it does not meet UK standards.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said the 400,000 medical gowns are not “of the quality that we feel is good enough for our frontline staff” treating coronavirus patients.
The shipment has become an embarrassment for the British Government since a minister announced on April 18 that it would arrive the next day. It was four days before a Royal Air Force plane was able to fly the cargo to the UK.
Like many other countries, the UK has struggled to maintain a constant supply of protective equipment amid unprecedented global demand. The Department of Health said “this is a global pandemic with many countries procuring PPE, leading to shortages around the world, not just the UK”.
Madonna says she had COVID-19
Loading…
Pop icon Madonna says she contracted coronavirus while on tour.
In an Instagram post, the singer said she was not currently sick but had tested positive for antibodies.
Madonna said she clearly had the virus at the end of her tour in Paris seven weeks ago, along with other performers, but at the time they thought it was just a bad flu.
ABC/wires
