For those seeking to enter Queensland (not you, Victoria)

For context.

Food deliveries and other support to the towers moving to stage 3 will continue tonight.

Hotham and Falls Creek will shut their lift operations due to the Victorian restrictions.

Andrews is asked what he did on his birthday (which I believe was the day before yesterday). He says he had dinner at home after a Zoom cabinet meeting.

I was at home having a very nice family dinner. Let me indicate to you when that occurred, Alex. That occurred after I had done a two-and-a-half-hour cabinet meeting over Zoom and I think my plate might have been a bit cold, but we’re all doing all sorts of things, but I was pleased to be at home with my parents – sorry, with my wife and my kids. Happy? Fine? Very good.

That’s the end of the press conference.

Andrews says Victoria has “more than sufficient” supplies to treat people testing positive for coronavirus.

We’ve got sufficient, in fact we have very large stockpiles of everything from PPE and machines to help you and everything in between. We have the trained staff and the places that have been refitted, whether it be the Peter Mac or others. We are confident we have got everything we need and erred on the side of caution.

Andrews says Victoria is still pursuing a suppression, not an eradication strategy for coronavirus. He says there will still be cases, but they need to be at a manageable number – which is not where Victoria is currently at.

“If you’re breaking the rules you will be fined. There won’t be too many warnings given out – there can’t be,” Andrews says about people not complying with the lockdown restrictions.

“If we find one reason or another to do something that isn’t the spirit or, indeed, compliant with the rules, then we just won’t achieve that number. Our numbers, our case numbers, will be still at an unacceptably high level. Nobody wants that.”

Brett Sutton says the Victorian government is working on advice on how to wear masks and how people can make their own.

“We’re working up communications materials that will give a bit of guidance how to make a basic mask that can be rewashed and reused so that it can be something that Melburnians and beyond use for several weeks to come,” he said.

In the restricted postcodes (prior to the Melbourne-wide lockdown commencing today) there were 96,000 checks from police but only nine infringements.

Neville says that is likely to go up now that Melbourne is in lockdown but for the most part people are following the rules.

Lisa Neville indicates there will continue to be a police presence at the towers despite them moving to stage three restrictions:

The model that will commence straight away with that will be there will be police there until it all transitions to Corrections Victoria. It is just being sure we’ve got the model right, so that will be available as soon as people are in.

But the idea would be Corrections Victoria, justice staff, will staff it.

At the moment they are remaining but not long term.

We will have a presence at those sites where there are no positives just for assurity, that is all, and to make sure people aren’t breaching restrictions, the stage three restrictions. But the rest of it will be health and community response in those eight towers. It will be the one where we have a more significant police presence.

Brett Sutton says it is still not known how the virus got into the towers. A link with the Al-Taqwa College is just a link. Some families have connections to the school, he said.

“It is just a link, it might have gone in one direction or the other direction. There might be multiple importations into the towers or into Al-Taqwa College.”

Neville ends by thanking the volunteers, and residents.

Can I thank all those volunteer SES, Life Saving Victoria, forest management Victoria, we have 210 people there just delivering food. I thank them. I thank the local community, AMSA for putting their hand up around food delivery. That will be such a big difference. Can I particularly thank the residents. This has been really tough. And, you know, you have done this, not just for your own health, but to help the rest of Victoria. So, I thank you again.

Those in the six towers being opened from midnight who have tested positive or are a close contact can move to a hotel if they want, Neville says. This is available immediately.

Those in Alfred Street will be able to exercise and get fresh air outside, Victoria’s police minister, Lisa Neville, says.

For the six towers, they will move to stage 3 from midnight. Neville says this is being done to avoid a rush of people leaving the towers.

For the tower at 33 Alfred Street, Victoria’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, says it will be treated like quarantine for an aged-care facility. That means lockdown for another nine days. People can leave for medical reasons.

Sutton indicates other towers could open up soon, with some people moved out if it is difficult to isolate:

For all of the other towers, and we will have new cases emerge over coming days, but the numbers are relatively less.

For some, just a few cases. For others, several. We really need to have an intensive monitoring program.

Obviously for all of those cases in those towers, they need to remain in isolation. For all of their close contacts, they need to remain quarantined. We will try and facilitate movement to more appropriate settings if it’s very difficult for people to isolate.That will be voluntary. But it will be strongly encouraged, because there are some apartments, as you’d expect, where it’s pretty difficult to isolate from the remainder of that apartment.

Nick Coatsworth says the AHPPC didn’t give specific advice about cancelling the Australian National University pilot for bringing international students to Australia but says it is the right decision given hotel quarantine is under review, and the outbreak in Victoria not only diverting resources, but also putting more pressure on hotel quarantine in other states.

He says the timing on when it could be recommenced will depend on when Victoria’s numbers start to get under control.

A resident from one of the public housing towers in North Melbourne is anxiously awaiting the press conference from the Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, at 4.30pm today, because he says he has no information of when the hard lockdown the towers are subject to will officially end.

Residents were told they would move to a similar lockdown as metropolitan Melbourne once the residents had all been tested and results collected.

He came to Australia from Colombia a few months ago to care for his mother who also lives in the tower, because she has cancer and has undergone chemotherapy. He told me he got a job in a warehouse at Woolworths to support his mother, but he hasn’t been able to go to work due to the lockdown.

He says he has had no luck accessing the relief payment offered by the state government to those in the forced lockdown who can’t go to work because of it. He says he is “relaxed” about the need for lockdown but anxious about how to access the payment and other relief offered by the state government.

He says his mother is recovering from her cancer surgery and only able to eat certain foods, but until late on Wednesday all she had been delivered were sugary foods. She finally received meals appropriate for her condition yesterday. He says they will wait by the television for the premier’s announcement.

“We haven’t been told anything about what’s happening to us,” he says. “I ask the police every day, they know nothing. My family and I have tested negative, yet we are told being locked in here is for our own safety. But we now feel like we are at more risk of the virus because we can’t go out and we know there are infected people here.”

Nick Coatsworth says mask use in Melbourne and the Mitchell shire is recommended in situations where you cannot maintain 1.5 metres distance from people.

Masks do not replace social distancing, he says.

The deputy chief medical officer, Dr Nick Coatsworth, is providing a national update. He comments on the letter signed by 200 scientists to the WHO about the potential for Covid-19 to be airborne (that is spread through the air, not through contact or droplets from coughing and sneezing).

He says the primary transmission is through droplet or contact, but it is still being researched.

“The evidence suggests the majority of transmission, the vast majority of transmission, is contact and droplet.”

He says the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee position remains the same, but they will continue to look at the evidence, but the overwhelming evidence for now points to contact and droplet spread.

The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, will hold a press conference at 4.30pm.

Calls from Victorians to mental health support services have doubled in the past fortnight as Melburnians re-enter a six-week lockdown, the chief executive of Beyond Blue has said. Victorians now make up half of all calls to the organisation, evidence that residents are under increased strain as Covid-19 case numbers rise.

“What people are contacting us talking about is this sense of frustration and exhaustion,” the chief executive, Georgie Harman, said. “People are feeling incredibly worried and anxious, they’re feeling very overwhelmed.”

Mental health services had already been experiencing extremely high demand during the pandemic. “[These numbers] come off the back of contacts to our support services being 60% higher in April and May compared to the same period in 2019 and then 47% higher in June … so we’re building off a really high basis,” Harman said.

“The reintroduction of stage three restrictions in Victoria [is] just really exacerbating this and I think there is a really low mood and a sense of real uncertainty … There’s a lot of concern, stress, worry, anxiety, and that’s really having a toll on people’s mental health and wellbeing.”

Labor’s foreign affairs spokeswoman, Penny Wong, earlier responded to the government’s announcement on Hong Kong.

Wong said no Hong Kong citizen in Australia should be involuntarily deported, and “all Australians have been deeply disturbed by the developments in Hong Kong, and we want to make sure that we have appropriate arrangements in place”.

She said the government’s visa moves for Hong Kong citizens were far less than what the former Labor prime minister Bob Hawke offered Chinese students after the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989.

“[Scott Morrison] is no Bob Hawke and we confirm that today,” she said.

“It is not clear from the government’s announcement the extent to which these arrangements will be more broadly available to the people of Hong Kong. Family reunion is not clear, there are many people ineligible for the pathways proposed and I would urge the government to clarify this urgently.

“Nevertheless Labor does support what the government has announced today.”

The state of emergency in WA is extended for another 14 days, but it’s probably going to be extended again after that.

Victoria’s public hospitals have been advised to remain at 75% levels of elective surgery as senior doctors warn that there are not enough hospital beds to meet a surge in demand, and that conditions are placing health workers at a higher risk of contracting Covid-19.

Guardian Australia understands work is under way to deliver equipment needed to treat extra coronavirus patients in hospitals, and it is hoped a further 400 ICU and critical care beds can be added throughout the state.

Almost two dozen healthcare workers and patients have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in recent weeks in Victoria, including doctors, nurses and paramedics. During the “first wave” of the virus that prompted a national lockdown in March, non-urgent elective surgery was put on hold to make room for suspected and known Covid-19 patients.
Now, a senior doctor working in one Victorian hospital has told Guardian Australia that “there is no free, or surge bed capacity, at the moment”.

Just yesterday on my shift we had no cubicles in the emergency department and we had patients waiting for 24 hours to go to the ward and doctors were having to see people in waiting rooms again, which is where we were six months ago in the first few weeks in the pandemic,” said the doctor. “We only had three beds available for Covid or suspected Covid patients. That’s scary. The Australian hospital system is always at 100% capacity. There aren’t a lot of spare beds.”

And on that note, I am going to hand you over to Josh Taylor for the rest of the afternoon.

You have the national Covid-19 update coming in about 30 minutes and, of course, national cabinet is being held tomorrow where you can expect changes to how Australia is accepting Australians returning home. That is going to be challenging – if we stagger flights, put caps on arrivals and charge returning Australians for their own quarantine, we are making it very difficult for our citizens to return to their country. That’s not a change for the better.

I’m taking a few weeks off – my first break since the bushfires – so you’ll be in the exceptionally capable hands of Calla Wahlquist and co for the coming weeks. I’ll be thinking of you, particularly if you are in lockdown, and really hoping we manage to get through these next couple of months with being as least shit as possible.

Thank you for joining me over these past few months (and before), I hope you get some time to yourself in the coming weeks and remember to be gentle to yourself. And as gentle as you can be with others. These are not normal times and we’re all going through it in our own ways.

See you in a few weeks. As always – take care of you.

The Independent National Security Legislation Monitor has had a look at Australia’s encryption legislation and given his recommendations to the government. The unclassified report makes for interesting reading:

Christian Porter sent out this release:

Attorney general and acting home affairs minister Christian Porter thanked the former Independent National Security Legislation Monitor (INSLM), Dr James Renwick CSC SC for the report and his work over the past three years as INSLM.

Dr Renwick completed his term on 30 June.

“This review’s recommendations will be an important consideration for the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) which referred the matter to the INSLM in March 2019 as part of its own review of the Assistance and Access Act, due to be completed in September 2020,” the attorney general said.

“Given the PJCIS review, it would be sensible for the government to await the PJCIS findings before responding to the INSLM’s report.

“What is clear however, is that the counter-encryption laws have been critical to helping protect Australia’s national security.

“As the director general of security, Mike Burgess, said in February, these laws were used within 10 days of them coming into effect, helping ASIO “prevent a real risk of injury to Australians”.

“The government will carefully review the report’s recommendations along with the findings from the PJCIS review later this year to ensure our agencies continue to have the most effective and proportionate laws available to them.”

Not sure who puts mustard on a Bunnings sausage sizzle, but here we are:

Nick Evershed has updated the Covid-19 charts:

Given the Victorian announcement on temperature tests for school students, this article from The Conversation is worth a read:

Recent research indicates that many people who test positive for Covid-19, and especially children, never have any detectable sign of illness, including fever.

... not all patients with symptoms will have a fever, at least on the basis of once-off measurement. Only 31% of patients presenting at New York state hospitals with Covid-19 had fevers.

... Apart from fever screening being unreliable, infrared thermometry poses a risk to thermometer operators who are required to come up close to potentially infected persons. Successfully passing a fever screen can create a false sense of security. And the thermal cameras used for mass screening are costly. So are the personnel required for any fever screening.

The official announcement, regarding the Hong Kong visas, is out:

Australia and Hong Kong have always shared a close relationship.

Our people-to-people links include close family connections, business ties and shared values. Australia is a favoured destination for people from Hong Kong, and has been for many years.

Australia has a long history of attracting Hong Kong’s best and brightest who have contributed significantly to our economic growth and job creation, and we are committed to ensuring this is further strengthened. That’s why Australia will introduce new measures for students, temporary graduates and skilled workers from Hong Kong who want to live, work and study in Australia.

New visa arrangements will provide further opportunities for Hong Kong passport holders to remain in Australia, with pathways to permanent residency.

They will also attract talent and companies to our nation in order to boost productivity and create further job opportunities for Australians.

• Temporary graduate and skilled workers will be offered an additional five years of work rights in Australia on top of the time they’ve already been in Australia, with a pathway to permanent residency at the end of that period.
• Students will be eligible for a five-year graduate visa from the conclusion of their studies, with a pathway to permanent residency at the end of that period.
• Future Hong Kong applicants for temporary skilled visas will be provided with a five-year visa, based on meeting the updated skills lists and labour market testing requirements.
• Existing arrangements will continue to apply for those applicants who study and work in regional areas to help address skills shortages in those areas, with pathways to permanent residency after three years.

There are almost 10,000 existing temporary skilled, temporary graduate and student visa holders in Australia who will be eligible for these special arrangements, with a further 2,500 outside Australia and 1,250 applications on hand.

The government will also enhance efforts to attract businesses from Hong Kong. There are more than 1,000 international companies that have their regional headquarters based in Hong Kong which might consider relocating to Australia. Our government will develop further incentives to attract these companies, particularly where they have a strong potential for future growth and employment of Australians.

There is one more case of Covid-19 in the ACT.

A man in his 20s has been diagnosed – he is a close contact of a previously confirmed case.

With the three yesterday, also in their 20s, all from the same household, which has been linked to the Melbourne outbreak, that brings the number of active known cases in the ACT to four.

Before yesterday, the ACT had been Covid-19-free for a month.

The Victorian local government areas with the biggest active caseload are:

Hume: 143

Melbourne: 128

Wyndham: 133

Brimbank: 75

Moonee Valley: 84

Moreland: 56

So that is 111 people in the public housing towers diagnosed with Covid-19 and 113 linked to the Al-Taqwa College outbreak.

477 of the 932 Covid-19 cases in Victoria may indicate community transmission.

40 people are in hospital and nine of those people are in intensive care.

Victoria Health:

Of yesterday’s new cases that have already been linked to outbreaks, the breakdown includes:

• Eighteen cases relating to the North Melbourne and Flemington public housing towers, with the total now 111. Testing concluded at the estates on Wednesday night, and further lab results are expected later today and are not included in this number.
• Six new cases linked to the Al-Taqwa College outbreak, with the total now 113.
• One new case at the Catch.com Distribution Centre in Truganina taking the total number of cases to four. Further contact tracing is under way.
• One case linked to the Collins Street Hugo Boss outbreak – a household contact – taking the total to eight.

Other cases include:

• Two healthcare workers have tested positive at the Royal Melbourne hospital. Contact tracing is under way and close contacts will be required to quarantine for 14 days.
• Two healthcare workers at Sunshine hospital emergency department have tested positive. Contact tracing is under way and close contacts will be required to quarantine for 14 days.
• One further case in a staff member has been linked to the Northern hospital in Epping, with the total now 11, made up of nine staff and two household contacts.
• Positive cases have been linked to aged care facilities, these facilities are in lockdown and cleaning, contact tracing and appropriate testing is under way.

• Cases in two staff members who worked at Menarock Life Aged Care in Essendon.
• A staff member who attended BaptCare The Orchards Community in Doncaster while infectious.
• A staff member who worked at Benetas St George’s in Altona Meadows while infectious.
• A staff member who worked at BlueCross Ivanhoe while infectious.
• A staff member who worked at Aurrum Aged Care facility in Healesville. The staff member was not infectious at the time.
• A staff member who worked at Holmwood Aged Care facility in Healesville. The staff member was not infectious at the time.

New data out today paints a disturbing picture of how hard borrowers have been hit by the coronavirus-inspired economic shutdown.

Repayments have been deferred on almost one in five small business loans, worth $56bn, figures from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority show.

And 11% of home loans - worth $192bn - are also in a payment moratorium.

Across the loan books of the biggest 20 banks, about 10% of borrowings are in moratorium.

The banks offered a six month deferral of repayments in March, with the support of the government, Apra and the reserve bank, and this week the banks said they would give a four-month extension to some borrowers when the current moratorium runs out in September.

But the data released by Apra shows dreams of getting businesses back on regular repayments in short order may well be fantasies.

In the other big Australian news today:

The NSW police who have been drawn from all over, including many from Sydney, to man the border closure are pretty cold in Albury. So Mick Fuller says they are getting some cold climate clothing and some shelter:

We’ve sent down 2,000 pieces of warm underclothing, and we’ve got hats and beanies.

All the officers have been given those. The officers that were out on the point in the first 24 hours, they did an amazing job with, you know, Sydney-type clothing.

But that has changed. We’ve got the clothing we need now to do the job. And as we change over next Monday with the next cohort, they will be given the same sorts of clothing from day one. But you’re right, we’ll continue to improve the infrastructure. Further out west, they’ve got log fires 24/7. You know, they’re doing a great job.

Asked how long the border lockdown is in place for, Mick Fuller says there is no time limit:

It really does come back to Victoria’s performance. And although I do speak to the premier daily at the moment in relation to the border closure, the hotel operations and other aspects of the Covid-19 operation, but the reality is, you know, from my mind, is that whilst ever Victoria or whilst ever Melbourne ...

(Flashes back to my cop dad with that terminology)

On whether or not there will be a border point further away from the actual border, Mick Fuller says:

There is the border operation that you’ve seen here today, that rolls out right across the length of the border.

Then we have highway patrol and other vehicles sweeping the 20km, 30km, 40km mark north of here, looking for non-NSW plates. So there already is a two-tiered operation.

So, if there was a need for a hard bubble north of here, then we would have to get additional resources to make that happen. But we would make it happen to protect the people of NSW.

Mick Fuller, the NSW police commissioner, is giving an update now on how the border closure is working:

The permit system is still working. There have been tens of thousands of permits issued.

There’s really been a small percentage of people who have been turned around, and we’re still working very closely with local communities.

The permit system itself is a very simple one, and we would ask that over the next 24 hours that you make an effort. In saying that, we are getting such great feedback from both communities. The police who I have spoken to who work in Sydney said they have been extremely well-received by not just the people coming across in vehicles, but the community members in the town. From our perspective, we’ve issued only a couple of tickets for those who have breached the health orders.

But, again, really, compared to the size of this operation, we couldn’t be happier with the partnership between the community, local government, government, defence and all the other partner agencies that are here to make this operation happen.

Asked about claims that unions were one of the reason Victoria went with private security guards in its hotel quarantine, Scott Morrison says:

Well, as my practice in relation to what’s been happening in Victoria is the same that I’ve applied in other states when they’ve had troubles.

I haven’t seen myself as a commentator on those state governments.

I’ve seen myself simply seeking to help them deal with the problems that they’ve had.

And there have been challenges in other states before Victoria. Admittedly not as significant as this.

But I’d never found it terribly helpful to get into a commentary on those state governments.

It was much better, I think, for me and my government just to provide them every support we can. Now, I can understand that many, many people in Victoria will be feeling very frustrated at the moment, and many are very angry.

And I’m aware of where they’re directing that frustration and anger. But it won’t help the situation if I were to engage in any of that. I have a good working relationship with the Victorian government and it’s our job just to work together to solve this and to get on top of it.

And we’ll continue to apply our resources to that end. Now, as is a matter of public record, the commonwealth has made available the offer, consistently, about ADF support in Victoria to assist with any of the tasks, which included quarantine, if that was what they wished. But ultimately state governments have got to make decisions about how they want to use those resources and deploy those resources.

And, of course, they’re accountable for the decisions that they make, and who they contract to do the job is a matter for them. And they’ve got to explain those decisions in their jurisdiction, like I have to explain the decisions I make in ours.

On the advice Australia has issued for travellers in China and Hong Kong, Scott Morrison says:

I’ll let the travel advice speak for itself, rather than it be editorialised on.

And those are matters entirely for the Chinese Communist party government.

They’re not matters for Australia. We will make decisions about what’s in our interests, and we will make decisions about our laws and our advisories, and we will do that rationally and soberly and consistently.

And that’s exactly what we’ve done, and we will continue to do that on that basis.

Alan Tudge speaks a little more on the numbers he expects by the changes and the offer to skilled workers:

In a typical financial year, we would have about 4,000 people from Hong Kong who would arrive, and about 3,000 of those would be students, and about a thousand who would be in the temporary skilled or graduate visa - or temporary skilled categories. Is this going to change markedly?

It’s difficult to say. But obviously the limit is still going to be on the quarantining arrangements here. I mean, the students aren’t coming into the country until we’ve got those situations opened up. We’ve had the pilots, et cetera. But it also points out that these aren’t things which will happen overnight, because you have to put in your application, that needs to be processed, you need to get your affairs in order.

For a permanent residency visa, that often takes 6-9 months. For a temporary visa, that’s sometimes shortened. But I think you’re talking in the hundreds or low thousands rather than the figures which the PM mentioned.

Scott Morrison:

I shouldn’t draw any, I suspect, parallels between what Australia is announcing here than with what you would have seen announced in the UK, for example.

The UK has a very special relationship with Hong Kong and a very special set of responsibilities.

And they’re talking about numbers which are not in contemplation in Australia.

We’re not seeing anything along those lines. As I say, most of the changes will impact on those who are already here in Australia.

And at this stage, having just announced it, there’s no indication, obviously, as of yet, about the level of interest.

But I would be very confident that it will be able to to be accommodated. Whether it’s in the hundreds, we’re not talking about tens of thousands, or anything of that nature. We’re talking at a modest level. If it were to ramp up over we would make adjustments to make sure that could be accommodated and absorbed.

Scott Morrison:

Our decision to suspend the extradition agreement with Hong Kong represents an acknowledgement of the fundamental change of circumstances in relation to Hong Kong because of the new security law.

Which, in our view – and this is not just our view, this is, I’d say, a shared view of many countries – that it undermines the one country, two systems framework, and Hong Kong’s own basic law and the high degree of autonomy guaranteed in the Sino-British joint declaration that was set out there.

And that is a matter of public record from Australia’s point of view.

What we are announcing here today, both with the extradition agreement, there’s an updating to our travel advice, but in particular what we’re doing here in the visa arrangements is recognising that that has taken place.

And so Australia is adjusting its laws, our sovereign laws, our sovereign immigration program, things that we have responsibility for and jurisdiction over, to reflect the changes that we’re seeing take place there.

Scott Morrison:

Now, I want to stress that we are not expecting large numbers of applicants any time soon.

What we have in place is the normal application mechanisms for these visas. The same rules apply to getting a student visa, the same rules apply to getting a temporary work visa.

The same market testing restrictions are in place in terms of labour market testing for the awarding of temporary skilled visas. All of that remains the same.

What we are doing is extending the opportunity for those visas out to five years in total. And looking to recruit, if you like, other businesses that may become footloose as a result of the changes that have occurred in Hong Kong.

And I imagine that there will be many other countries in the region and around the world that would indeed be seeking to attract those businesses to Australia, and talented applicants as well, as they make their own decisions about where they wish to live in the future.

There will also be an opening up of visas for people currently in Hong Kong:

Scott Morrison:

We will also provide a five-year visa with a pathway to permanent residency for future Hong Kong applicants for temporary skilled visas, subject to meeting an updated skills list and appropriate market testing.

We will also put arrangements in place to ensure we focus on Hong Kong applicants to study and work in regional areas, to help address skills shortages in those areas, with express pathways to permanent residency, as already applies after three years.

And we will also look at new incentives and arrangements to attract export-orientated Hong Kong-based businesses to relocate to Australia, particularly where they have a strong potential for future growth and employment of Australians.

Scott Morrison also makes the point that some people have been a bit lax with social distancing – which is a point Daniel Andrews also made, but was accused of “blaming” Victorians for the outbreak:

But I do want to thank Victorians for how they’re responding, and thank them for their continued patience.

They know the drill.

We all know the drill when it comes to social distancing, making sure we wash our hands, and download the Covidsafe app, and all of the necessary parts of staying safe, Covid-safe, in the community.

And I’d say more broadly across the country that we must guard against complacency, that we must continue to follow those social distancing protocols all around Australia, even in states or territories where the number of cases is effectively zero. Please don’t think that any of the states or territories are immune.

And if there were to be issues that presented in any of those states and territories, the best defence that we have, especially in the first instance, is that all citizens, all residents right across the country, are continuing to practise the appropriate social distancing and other measures.

We’ve seen the images in many parts of the country, where I think we are seeing some of that lapse. And it’s important, because we do not want to see the situation in Victoria repeated in any other part of the country.

Given the travel advisory, what we have heard from the prime minister previously, and timing, and the acting multicultural minister being part of the announcement, I think you can expect a Hong Kong announcement.

Speaking of press conferences

Scott Morrison will hold a press conference at 1pm - with Alan Tudge

With lockdowns across Metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire taking effect from today, Mornington Peninsula began trending on Twitter as people reported Victorians in areas facing eminent lockdown rushed to their holiday homes in the seaside area.

While the Peninsula is part of the latest lockdown, from Thursday people are only allowed to leave their homes for four key reasons including access to healthcare, essential services and for work, study or childcare.

There have been reports people in Metropolitan Melbourne with holiday homes on the Peninsula rushed to travel to the area before lockdown began so they could see out the next few weeks there.

People also travelled there for one last outing and visit to friends and family before travel restrictions took effect.

As of Wednesday, the Peninsula had no active cases of Covid-19. Professor Rinaldo Bellomo, the director of intensive care research at Austin Health, said he wouldn’t be surprised if that changed soon given the rush of visitors.

“There is a significant amount of virus going around in parts of the Melbourne Metropolitan community this time around, and you’re going to infect people more easily,” he said. “So I’d expect to see Mornington cases go up.

“But by how much depends on where the visitors to Mornington were coming from. I don’t know that many people in the north west of mMelbourne, where the virus is circulating, have holiday houses in Mt Eliza. I think it’s more likely the people of Toorak have those holiday homes, and there isn’t much virus in Toorak as far as we know. But that’s what happens in an epidemic. It’s the wealthy that are able to run away from it.”

But Tracey Cooper, the chair of the Mornington Peninsula Regional Tourism Board said that while Wednesday was a busy day for the Peninsula, it was no more busy than any other sunny school holiday day.

“We haven’t really noticed,” she said.

“From a tourism operator perspective they were soldily busy, but busy in Covid times still means a lot less people in the premises than in normal times given all the social distancing measures required. We have a lot of day trippers who come on a sunny day, a lot are holiday home owners, and of course locals get out and about on a nice day too. Of course people may have had relatives here they wanted one last visit to before lockdown.”

There will be another national Covid-19 briefing today, at 3.30pm, with one of the deputy chief medical officers - today, it is Dr Nick Coatsworth

Here’s the official announcement from the Victorian government:

Following the advice of Victoria’s chief health officer, the Victorian government has today announced that students at government schools in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire will receive a temperature check every morning, with thermometers also provided to all non-government schools.

More than 14,000 non-contact infrared thermometers will be given to government, independent and Catholic schools in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, and to schools in neighbouring areas who need to undertake
testing.

The government will also provide thermometers to those early childhood education and care services who require them.

Temperature checks will also be introduced for children from metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire who attend schools outside of these LGAs.

Operational guidance on temperature checks will be delivered to schools. If a student has a temperature of 37.5C or above, schools will be required to contact parents or carers to arrange for students to return
home.

Families will then be encouraged to seek testing for coronavirus or the advice of their healthcare professional who can advise on next steps.

As announced on Tuesday, students in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire enrolled in VCE and Vcal subjects, students whose parents and carers cannot work from home, and those attending local specialist schools will all return to school on Monday.

In addition, on-site supervised holiday programs are available next week for vulnerable students and children of essential workers.

Schools in these areas will delay the return from holidays by a week with five pupil free days for prep to year 10 students next week to allow our teachers and school staff to prepare for a possible return to remote learning.

A decision about whether these year groups can safely return to face-to-face learning will be taken in the coming week and based on the advice of our health experts.

There will be no changes to term 3 for schools in regional Victoria other than Mitchell Shire.

Schools outside of metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire will return to face-to-face schooling as scheduled on Monday 13 July.

Melissa Davey has an update on school students for those in Melbourne:

Australia is expected to offer safe haven to a number of Hong Kong residents.

The residents of the public housing towers are not allowed out of their flats (and into the city-wide lockdown conditions) until testing is complete.

The ABS has reported a drop in home loans:

The value of new loan commitments for housing fell sharply in May, down 11.6 per cent, seasonally adjusted, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released today.

ABS Chief Economist, Bruce Hockman, said:

“This was the largest fall in the history of the series, driven by strong falls in the value of loan commitments for housing in New South Wales and Victoria”

The value of new loan commitments for owner occupier housing fell 10.2 per cent, while investor housing fell 15.6 per cent. The number of owner occupier first home buyer loan commitments fell 9.3 per cent.

“While reduced transactions in the housing market stifled new loan activity in May, the value of existing owner occupier loans refinanced with a different bank was by far the highest on record as borrowers responded to reduced interest rates and refinancing offers”, Mr Hockman said.

The value of new loan commitments for fixed term personal finance rose 14.5 per cent in May, seasonally adjusted, following a 24.8 per cent fall in April.

“The rise in the value of new loan commitments for fixed term personal finance was driven by a partial rebound in the value of new loan commitments for road vehicles”, Mr Hockman said.

South Australians are being asked to get tested, if they have been to Victoria, within 24 hours of their arrival and then again on day 12.

South Australia is putting mobile testing vans on the road, to aid in the testing blitz.

Anyone who has been in Victoria in the past few weeks is being asked to come get tested.

You will also need a facemask in South Australia. Steven Marshall:

Can I say also that as people come across the borders, whether it be the road border or whether it be the airports, they will be presented with three facemasks which they must wear when they are coming into contact with any other people here in South Australia.

But also pre-signed referral forms so they do not need to go to their local GP.

There have got the referral form when they arrive and go and get themselves tested. Police will be able to direct them to the closest and nearest testing facility. Let’s not forget, in South Australia we have in excess of 50 rapid assessment and testing clinics across our state, and so there is no excuse to not go and get yourself tested. And as a further precaution, we will be making a phone call to all of those returned South Australians within 24 hours to check that that test has been undertaken.

Given aliens could land tomorrow and we would all probably just shrug and tell them to stop gathering in such large numbers and to wash their hands, it’s nice to hear from some peeps who have lived through their own insane times, about some of the simple pleasures we should all indulge in (maybe not the flying one though - I’m terrified of heights and also not a great traveller, but everyone dreams differently).

With the Queensland news today, that essentially bans Victorians from travelling outside of their state.

I am really, really sorry. It must feel strange and awful and isolating and alienating.

Indi MP Helen Haines is keeping a very close eye on the NSW-Victorian border situation, given her electorate.

You can find out what she wants, here.

Tasmania has extended its state of emergency – but is yet to make a decision on its borders, Peter Gutwein says (borders will be decided after national cabinet tomorrow):

While our island status is our best defence, we need to ensure that we do everything that we can.

And that’s why we put in place yesterday the additional border measures to strengthen our safety.

We obviously must continue to monitor this situation as we move forward.

This morning, I spoke with the leader of the opposition and the leader of the Greens, to inform them that I had taken advice last night in terms of our state of emergency status.

The state of emergency was extended for a period of four weeks from 11 July, and would have expired today.

We’re going to extend the state of emergency until the end of August. This will align with the public health emergency, which will be in place until 31 August as well.

If you have applied for a Queensland border pass, or have looked at applying for one, you may have noticed the “recreational travel” option is missing.

I am assured that option will be there by this afternoon.

The passes are only valid for a week though, so no need to rush if you aren’t travelling in the next seven days.

We’ve got some more news this morning about the Covid-19 tests procured for Australia by the Minderoo Foundation, Andrew Forrest’s philanthropic arm.

Australia has committed to taking 10m of tests from the Shenzhen-headquartered Beijing Genomics Institute, a massive global biotech company.

Last week, the Washington Post reported that California had refused to use BGI tests due to security concerns, based in part on a brief, one-page intelligence report warning that the company may be subject to Chinese influence.

Australian security agencies have already looked at BGI and provided the government with advice about using its equipment, and health minister Greg Hunt has said there is little risk of data security breaches.

But the Californian decision has prompted renewed questions from experts about the ethics of the company’s operations in China.

A report by the Australia Strategic Policy Institute last month found it was linked to a massive police DNA dragnet operation that collected genetic material from millions of men and boys who had no serious criminal history.

The findings are vigorously denied by BGI. But one of the report’s authors, La Trobe University’s James Leibold, said there should be a considered discussion about Australia’s involvement with BGI, given the ethical and security concerns raised in the ASPI report and the California decision.

Yves Moreau, a globally recognised expert on computational biology with the University of Leuven in Belgium, said there is little data security risk from the Covid-19 testing itself, which collects non-sensitive data and would be difficult to transfer outside of Australia.

But he is concerned that BGI is attempting to “gain a foothold” in the diagnostic market for other businesses, including its prenatal screening and genome sequencing businesses, which collect much more sensitive information.

“I am not convinced that it is possible to guarantee that a copy of the data generated by BGI’s sequencing services in western countries will not end up in China, although I am not claiming it already has,” he said

BGI issued a statement denying any involvement in the activities alleged in the ASPI report and said there is no way it can collect or use data gained through its Covid-19 testing.

“BGI only provides the products and know-how for Covid-19 testing, but does not receive, process or manage patient data,” a spokeswoman said.

“The labs in Australia are operated entirely by local staff according to national regulations.”

The states are fairly on the same page when it comes to a cap.

And there have been noises about people paying for their own hotel quarantine upon arrival now, for at least two weeks.

Expect the national cabinet to make an announcement about that tomorrow.

And if you know anyone overseas umming and ahhing about coming home, you might want to tell them to get a wriggle on.

Gladys Berejiklian just got pretty tough on the paying for hotel quarantine issue.

Well, look, I think that’s an extremely valid question and I want to make clear that the New South Wales government is seriously considering that.

Obviously I’d also welcome a lowering of the daily cap around the nation as to how many people are coming on board so I’m looking forward to that discussion tomorrow at national cabinet.

You know, we don’t ... It’s not spoken of much, touch wood, to date in New South Wales, but to have welcomed 35,000 people back to Australia, only, you know, two-thirds of which are New South Wales residents, at least a third of those, even more, on some days, it’s more than that residents of other states.

I’m proud of the work we’ve done in that regard but it does take up a lot of resources.

It’s high-risk and for that reason, I would welcome the Australian government reducing the deity cap around the nation and certainly that would be ... that would mean that we could put resources elsewhere.

On her warning yesterday, that people living on the NSW side of the Victorian border may be placed under lockdown, Gladys Berejiklian says:

As I said yesterday, we are monitoring the situation daily and I don’t want anyone to feel they’ve been caught off guard if we happen to need to change something in the next few days and weeks, because it’s still a possibility and I want to make that very clear.

But what we find comforting is that, in the last 24 hours, 18,500 people did come forward to get testing in those border communities.

And given the extremely low rate of community transmission, there is no science-based reason for us to change anything at this stage.

But I do feel responsible in putting people on high alert.

This is the situation now but we won’t know until a few weeks until all that potential seeding has been what we call flushed out. We won’t know for a few weeks whether there’s been any level of community transmission bubbling away under the surface, as can happen easily, as Melbourne has demonstrated.

That is our priority. Just to be clear, we’re monitoring this on a daily basis. We get updates multiple times a day and if, at any stage, we find the evidence is there to suggest a level of what we call seeding or community transmission, we then need to look at other options.

I wanted to be very clear yesterday that all of us are on high alert and every resident in New South Wales should feel on high alert.

You should be extra careful.

On returned travellers, Gladys Berejiklian says:

Can I also stress in relation to returning travellers, I was asked yesterday about what we’re likely to impose, can I state quite stridently that we will be charging overseas visitors rather than charging New South Wales residents.

Our focus is with the travellers from overseas.

NSW has done more than double what any state has. We’ve welcome back between 30,000 and 35,000 Aussies coming back, going back to their home states, and obviously they’ve had considerable time to consider their options to this point in time, so the NSW government is considering our position regarding that.

And I won’t be charging NSW residents ahead of charging those overseas returning travellers who have had plenty of time to get back to Australia.

But the NSW premier is still urging people who live in the NSW-Victoria border communities not to travel:

For some time, obviously, community transmission has been high in Melbourne and so what we are very alert to – especially given the number of people on those border communities coming back and forth – that we want to make sure that we’re flushing out any potential seeding that occurred prior to that spike in cases becoming evident, to ensure that there’s no trace of that level of community transmission, particularly in those border communities.

Can I please stress again what I said yesterday? Please, if you are living in those border communities, don’t move out of your border communities at this time unless you absolutely have to. This is for your own safety and wellbeing but also for the safety and wellbeing of other residents across both states.

And can I also stress to New South Wales residents who might have some interaction or family connections to those border communities to keep everybody safe please do not, please do not go to those border communities at this stage until you have to.

And the reason for that, as I said, is we’re trying to ensure that we capture any potential seeding that occurred during the time when those cases were transmitting through greater Melbourne.

Yesterday, Scott Morrison gave another “we are all in this together” speech about Victoria, and the need to be united.

Today, Victorian Liberal MP Tim Wilson spoke on Sky News about what he thinks of Daniel Andrews’ leadership:

Well essentially he’s broken the contract between the people of Victoria and the state government. The contract between the people of Victoria and the state government is that we would, it was up to every Victorian to take responsibility, to make sure we didn’t see a spread of the virus.

Only to find out that the group who was supposed to be responsible for enforcing the law and making sure there wasn’t a spread was ultimately the key, I would say the key, participant in making sure it spread, and mostly because you have a state government who is more interested in making sure that companies that hire their union mates took precedence over the public health of Victorians. So frankly people are pissed off.

The Jetstar CEO says things are moving very quickly, and that has meant that it hasn’t always been a smooth process:

I think – we’re working very, very hard ourselves, airports, government health authorities, to make sure that we work together to deal as these rules evolve and, you know, we had more rules today as Queenslanders made changes to their – their requirements for passengers arriving in Queensland.

It’s a very dynamic environment and everybody is working as hard as possible to ensure that we screen and obey whatever rules and protocols are put in place.

We’re doing that, the airports are doing, the health authorities are doing that. The risk here, though, is very, very local because these customers were screen. health authorities are doing that. The risk here, though, is very, very local because these customers were screen. is low because the customers were screened.

Gareth Evans continues:

We worked with the airport and NSW Health to identify those passengers, two-thirds of which were actually identified before they left the airport and were then subsequently screened.

The remaining third we provided the manifest to the authorities who followed those passengers up over the following 24 hours. We have now worked with the other airlines and Sydney airport and NSW Health to strengthen our procedures at Sydney Airport.

Aircraft will now stand off the gate on arrival from Victoria until it is confirmed that a NSW Health officer is in the aero-bridge, at which point the aircraft will come on to the aerobridge and the door will be opened and then passengers will disembark and be screen and we have reenforced those procedures with all of our staff.

I think it’s a timely reminder for all of the stakeholders, airports, health authorities, airlines, and the government, about the need to work together to make sure screening protocols are as strong as possible and this morning I have seen Minister Hunt has come out to talk about a review of these screening processes and we would welcome that because they are different across various health authorities and different states and that has the potential to cause confusion.

Jetstar CEO Gareth Evans has addressed the issue of the passengers from Melbourne, who arrived in Sydney, and were allowed to disembark without screening:

As a result of the changing and evolving situation in Victoria over the past few days, health authorities and airports right around the country have implemented screening processes for customers, passengers, coming from Victoria. And we have moved quickly over the last few days to put those protocols and rules in place.

On Tuesday, passengers on a flight from Melbourne to Sydney were not screened properly on arrival in Sydney. They weren’t met by an officer from New South Wales Health.

Importantly, and this is very important, those customers were screened by VicHealth on departure from Victoria. Ostensibly the screening that is done by VicHealth is the same as the screening that’s done by New South Wales Health and we understand that the various health authorities want to have their own testing.

Essentially what was happening in Sydney was a double-check.

Seems like there are still plenty of items keeping biosecurity workers busy:

It’ll still be some time before there is an official result, but the chances of the Liberals catching up to Kristy McBain are very slim.

Part of the debate within the government is how to set jobseeker at a level high enough that unemployed people can support themselves but low enough that they are super motivated to go out and find work.

They’re looking for a Goldilocks spot between jobseeker with the coronavirus supplement ($1,100 a fortnight), deemed too high by conservatives; and jobseeker on the old Newstart rate ($40 a day), deemed too low.

Into this nuanced debate rides Nationals MP George Christensen, who said on Facebook on Thursday:

“I’ve been contacted by at least three small business owners in the past week who have jobs going and unemployed people knocking them back because they are content to remain on the boosted jobseeker dole payment.

The news flash is the dole is set to decrease very soon and there will be a rush on job vacancies. Those who are unemployed would do well to fill roles that are going now so they won’t be stuck on a payment that could be under $300 a week.”

The government is considering a permanent rise of $75 a week, which would lift it above $300, but Christensen evidently wants to put the fear of god into people to find work.

Is this part of what unions call the “demonisation” of job seekers to prepare for cuts, despite the fact there are 12 unemployed people for every one vacancy? You be the judge.

What that means, is you can expect the number of flights returning to Australia each week, to be capped. There are still thousands of Australians overseas. It is their right, as citizens, to return home – but it is about to get harder.

States are also starting to make noises about having people pay for their own quarantine – we are seeing that happen domestically, so don’t be surprised if it becomes something which is also applied to international travellers.

Further to the earlier post about international arrivals, it is worth revisiting what the PM said yesterday, about slowing down the international flights:

Q: Prime Minister, given the breaches with hotel quarantine in Victoria, is there any case for slowing down the arrival of people into Australia at international airports? Is there a problem with the sheer load of, that’s coming there? Should that be considered?

Scott Morrison:

Well, the short answer to that is yes and I’ll be taking a proposal to that end to national cabinet on Friday and I have been discussing that with premiers over the last sort of 24 hours. I had a good discussion with Premier McGowan about the same thing yesterday.

I mean the fact is that New South Wales has been bearing the largest burden of people returning to Australia and they’re people, they’re Queenslanders, they’re Western Australians, they’re Tasmanians and New South Wales has done the heavy-lifting on that and foot the bill for it too, I should say.

And I thought that was one of the, another good example of how the national cabinet was working. No one was squabbling about money about who was going to pick up the bill for quarantine. The large states, which were New South Wales and Victoria, accepted that and got on with it.

And I commend them for that. Now, in Victoria, we have suspended those flights coming in and that has meant that people have moved on to other flights going into other capitals and we have looked at that and as I said I’ll be taking a proposal to national cabinet to slow that down as of this Friday.

Calla Wahlquist has spoken to people in Melbourne about why this second lockdown feels different.

It’s a much needed human contribution to this issue. We may not all be Melburians or Victorians as the prime minister was espousing lately, but we can all understand the resignation, fear and anxiety this intervention has wrought.

Oh dear lord. The chief health officer for Queensland, Dr Jeannette Young has just shared an update which strikes fear in this little-Queenslander-who-just-wants-to-get-home’s heart:

Can I just share with you some figures that highlight that for you?

We’ve already seen 238,000, or over 238,000 border declaration passes filled out.

Now, bearing in mind that they are only valid for seven days – and that’s a very important point, people need to keep renewing them and making sure they’re up to date – that indicates to us that over 238,000 people are intending to come to Queensland in the next week.

That is a lot of people. So that will mean that we’ll see congestion and delays. So please be patient with us and we’ll work through that.

Guess I’ll be spending my time off in the border line between Tweed and my family. At least it will be warmer.

There are also going to be some stricter rules for people coming back to Queensland – you will have to get a test if you get any symptoms and have been anywhere else:

In addition, for those returning to our state, travelling to our state from other parts of Australia, we will be introducing mandatory testing for anyone who develops symptoms within 14 days of arriving in Queensland.

That will apply to Queenslanders returning to Queensland, as well as people visiting from other parts of the state. It will be a condition of the Queensland border pass, the pass that you need to re-enter or enter Queensland, that you declare that if you have a symptom, develop a symptom, that you will go and get tested and if you fail to do so, the fine of up to $4,004 will apply.

That’s a very significant penalty for people who choose not to get tested if they develop symptoms within 14 days of arriving in Queensland. We’ll make it as easy as possible for people to understand those requirements and get those tests.

Steven Miles:

So first of all, for people who have been in Victoria, or live in Victoria, within 14 days, they will no longer be able to travel to Queensland.

We will strengthen, we will be much stricter, in applying the exemptions and allowing people to travel here.

We have seen a number of people attempt to travel from Victoria, and willingly go into that mandatory hotel quarantine where they have to pay for the cost of that hotel quarantine, because they are making the decision that that two weeks and that cost is worth it to get out of Victoria.

And so, we don’t want that to continue.

We need to reserve hotel accommodation for people who need to be quarantined, Queenslanders and Australians returning from overseas, Queenslanders returning from Victoria.

And so we will be much stricter there. That will mean some very hard decisions and that will mean we need the community’s understanding.

There will be people who have very good reasons to travel to Queensland, and while there will continue to be compassionate grounds, hardship considerations, they will be much stricter applied to people returning from Victoria.

The Queensland health minister, Steven Miles, is explaining the new border rules for Victorians:

Victoria has now had seven times more cases known to be locally acquired than Queensland has had throughout this pandemic.

Globally, the number of cases also continues to rise, leaving Australia and Queensland as one of the few places that has managed to successfully suppress the virus so far.

It’s now almost a week since we went to that stage-3 easing of restrictions. And so far, that easing has gone very well. It’s a key part of our plan to unite and recover, to get people back into work, to get businesses open again.

That success has continued, because of our strong stance on our state borders and, of course, that continues.

We were pleased to see New South Wales close their border to Victoria on the 7th, and tomorrow, we lift our borders to other states and territories other than Victoria.

Because of that escalating rate of cases in Victoria, and because of the lag between that community transmission and the application of the New South Wales border, we are announcing today additional measures to ensure we keep Queensland safe.

The period of time between the 7th, when the New South Wales border closed, and the 10th, when people from New South Wales will begin to be able to return to Queensland, means there’s a period of a week to 10 days where there is an escalated risk, where there is a risk that people from New South Wales were in contact with people from Victoria before their border closed, and they may enter Queensland during their incubation period, before they can be tested for COVID-19.

We have had a few questions about the end date on the state of emergency declaration for Victoria - it is listed as 19 July, but the lockdown will go for six weeks, which takes you into August.

They renew the declaration every couple of weeks - so just before 19 July, you’ll hear the state of emergency has been extended.

Remember that ‘ring of steel’ the Victorian police commissioner was talking about yesterday, that VicPol were going to be putting around Melbourne?

And how there would be very limited discretion when it came to fining people for breaking social distancing orders because we should all know the rules now?

Well, turns out, maybe the police need to scratch up on those rules too.

The case the police commissioner cited - a party at Southbank, where everyone was fined, wasn’t the example he thought it was -

2020 motto: Please scream inside your heart.

Just re-upping, because it seems relevant.

We have to wait until 23 July to find out what the plans are for the next stimulus package.

But the push to extend Jobkeeper and the Covid-19 supplement for the Jobseeker payment is on.

Kristy McBain, who has claimed victory in the Eden-Monaro byelection was the latest to make the call today.

The caps and the Melbourne pause on hotel quarantine has had a flow-on affect for some Australians who are still overseas, and were unable to travel home sooner, for one reason or another (health risk, pregnancies, money).

We’ve been contacted by people who are having flights cancelled because of the changes, and are scrambling to find flights which are going to one of the ports still available. Which obviously comes at a higher cost (there aren’t that many flights to choose from).

While the immediate panic of the repatriation flights may have passed, there are still many Australians trying to get home. The pandemic has changed a lot about how we live, including the freedom to choose any old flight.

South Australia and Western Australia have asked for caps on the number of international arrivals coming into their states now that Melbourne is taking a break from accepting international arrivals for hotel quarantine to concentrate on dealing with the outbreak.

We have the updated arrival numbers, by state from 7 June to 7 July:

NSW: 39,394

VIC: 15,374

QLD: 10,054

WA: 5,377

NT: 962

SA: 683

ACT: 307

We have been following the drama of the three Victorian A-League teams who have been unable to cross into NSW for games. There has been a lot of time spent on the tarmac and on buses.

AAP has an update:

NSW health officials are expected to decide on Thursday whether to grant three Victorian A-League clubs travel exemptions.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) has applied to the NSW government for the exemptions which will determine the immediate future of the A-League.

Melbourne Victory, Melbourne City and Western United are seeking the exemptions to fly into NSW without having to spend 14 days in isolation on arrival.

If the exemption isn’t granted, the A-League’s scheduled resumption on 16 July is uncertain.

The three Victorian clubs have twice been thwarted in trying to fly out of Victoria amid the state’s worsening coronavirus crisis.

On Monday night, poor visibility at Canberra Airport prevented a late-night flight to the ACT, with players and staff left on the Tullamarine tarmac.

On Tuesday night, the teams were on buses waiting to enter Melbourne Airport when told they would have to complete a 14-day quarantine, and be unable to train for that time, on entering the ACT.

The players’ union, Professional Footballers Australia (PFA), has criticised the FFA’s handling of the situation.

“What the players and their families have had to endure over the past 48 hours is unacceptable,” PFA said on Wednesday in a statement.

The lack of clarity, the ad-hoc planning and shifting commitments have left the players embarrassed, frustrated and entirely lacking confidence in the process.

“Whilst the situation is complex, what the players require is simple: a reliable and feasible plan that does not shift the game’s inability to effectively manage these challenges solely onto players and their families.

“Responsibility sits with FFA to present and then execute an achievable resolution that will ensure the completion of the A-League season and does not create further distress for the players.”

The A-League season is scheduled to restart on July 16 when Western United are due to play Victory.

FFA had outlined a fixture of 27 games in 28 days to complete the regular season, before finals.

Almost two dozen healthcare workers and patients have been diagnosed with Covid-19 in recent weeks in Victoria, with four patients and a staff member of Brunswick private hospital in Melbourne’s north among the new cases announced on Wednesday.

A spokeswoman for Brunswick Private said thorough pandemic planning meant the situation was being handled “appropriately and with immediacy”. Guardian Australia also confirmed on Wednesday evening a second health worker at The Alfred had tested positive. Meanwhile eight health workers at the Northern Hospital in Epping have the virus.

One of the questions being asked about the residents under hard lockdown in nine public housing towers in Victoria is how those who test positive will be able to isolate themselves if they live in small apartments with several family members.

I have been told that the Department of Health will make further announcements today about how quarantine is working for those people.

Residents of the towers have been told if they are unable to safely isolate in their home, alternative accommodation can be arranged. We should have a clearer idea today about how many residents have taken the department up on that offer.

Royal Melbourne hospital has also partnered with St John Ambulance to establish a 30-bed urgent care clinic at the Melbourne Showgrounds to provide critical and comprehensive first aid to residents if needed.

In the meantime the Department of Health provided this statement to me:

Since the beginning of the pandemic hand sanitiser has been available in specific areas across all high rises and there has been cleaning of touch points three times a day – this has now increased to five times a day.

These services have been ramped up with a schedule of complete deep sanitation cleans at all 44 high rise sites, three additional pandemic cleaning crews and updated coronavirus Infection Control Protocol for cleaners and training sessions have been running.

There is also information available in various languages in common areas across all towers and translators are currently on the ground at the towers in Flemington and North Melbourne – residents are being provided with information and a number to call to access interpreters via 131 450.”

As we learnt yesterday, testing at the Melbourne public housing towers which are under a police-enforced lockdown – meaning residents can’t leave their flats for any reason, including exercise or fresh air – should have finished testing yesterday.

The police lockdown is due to go for however long testing takes.

But no one will be able to leave until the test results are finished. There is a lab dedicated to just the residents of the tower, and a priority has been placed on their tests, but it will still take a bit of time. Results are expected to come this afternoon, according to Victoria Health, but things can change.

Once completed, residents who test negative and are not close contacts of someone with Covid-19 will be under the same conditions as the rest of the city – able to leave their home for shopping and exercise.

Seventy-five of the tower’s 3000 or so residents have tested positive for Covid-19 thus far.

The ACTU’s Sally McManus wants the federal government to step up with a sick pay scheme for those who might not have enough days (or the award) to cover time off from Covid-19 self isolation.

Victoria and Queensland have state schemes, but it is set at minimum wage, meaning casuals on full time hours take a pay cut, which McManus says is disadvantaging people:

Well, we know definitely that people who are casual workers don’t get sick leave, and we do know that people have gone to work when they have been sick,” she told the ABC

We know that from some of the outbreaks. We also know that lots of people are refusing tests.

Now, some of those people will be doing so because they’ll be so worried that if they’re positive that they’ll have to stay home for two weeks, and they might lose all their income and their job. So, from the beginning we’ve had this huge hole in our defences, and it’s time to fix it now.

We can’t penalise people for needing to isolate. Or even if you have been in contact with someone, you need to isolate. They are protecting all of us, protecting our jobs and protecting lives.

We’ve gotta take away the economic disincentive to stay at home and be supporting those people 100%, because they’re really supporting all of us.