Covid-19 News Updates

No new cases in Wuhan

No new cases in Wuhan.

The Chinese city where the Covid-19 outbreak began has reported no new cases for the first time yesterday, according to the country's National Health Commission (NHC).

In a summary released today, the NHC notes there were no new cases yesterday in the province of Hubei or its capital Wuhan. 

There were however 34 new cases reported across China yesterday, of which 21 were in the nation's capital Beijing, representing a daily record.

On 17 March the Chinese Government ordered the withdrawal of 15 medical teams from Hubei, with Vice-Premier Sun Chunlan thanking them for their tremendous efforts to curb the novel coronavirus.

More than 42,000 medical workers from across the country were dispatched to aid Hubei in fighting the epidemic since the virus outbreak.

Updated at 2:11pm AEDT on 19 March 2020.

Retailers rocky from store closures

The impact of store closures and a lethargic supply chain are weighing down some of Australia's listed retailers. 

Lovisa (ASX: LOV) in particular has felt the brunt of disruption in Chinese production and the flow on effects to its global supply chain.

While production capacity at Lovisa's suppliers and distribution hub in China have begun to return normal levels, the jewellery retailer is experiencing delays in freight movements out of the country.

Additionally, the company has seen an escalation of the impact of Covid-19 worldwide, particularly how it is forcing its physical outlets to close.

All Lovisa stores in France and Spain have been closed since Sunday 14 March, with stores in Spain expected to be closed until at least the end of the month.

A government imposed shut-down of stores means its shopfronts in France will remain closed until the middle of April at least.

All Lovisa stores in Malaysia have been closed since 18 March and 25 stores across the USA are shut because of local government directives for shopping malls to close.

All other markets are still open and trading but Lovisa says it is witnessing a decline in sales.

Lovisa says it is not in a position to reliably estimate the financial impact of these events in the coming months.

A similar story is playing out for electronics and whitegoods retailer Harvey Norman (ASX: HVN) and fashion retailer City Chic Collective (ASX: CCX).

Sales in Northern Ireland, Malaysia, and Singapore are down for Harvey Norman.

The company's Slovenian, Malaysian and Croatian stores are all closed, while stores in Ireland, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Singapore and Australia are all open for business as usual.

City Chic Collective says the effect of Covid-19 on its sales and earnings remains uncertain at this stage, but it has been impacted by the ongoing disruption to production from its Chinese supply partners.

With a sturdy online presence, buoyed by fashion brand Avenue, the company is in a position at this point in time to ride out the Covid-19 pandemic.

Approximately two thirds of CCX's global sales come through its online channel.

"This means we can deal with a protracted reduction in economic activity and disruption to our operations," says CCX CEO and managing director Phil Ryan.

"During this time, our focus will remain, as always, on delivering the right product at the right price through the right channel to our customers around the world."

The largest impact to CCX will be the downturn of consumer spending, but the company says its reactive and flexible supply chain position will ensure the company can manage its working capital through this period.

Updated at 11:53am AEDT on 19 March 2020.

Tasmania to close borders to non-essential travellers

From midnight on Friday 20 March travellers entering Tasmania for non-essential purposes will be required to go into a 14-day quarantine period.

Premier Peter Gutwein says only "essential" travellers will be allowed to enter the state without going into quarantine.

"Essential travellers will be those that are important to our health effort, or to an emergency situation, or those that keep our trade links running," says Premier Gutwein.

It comes as the Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison made it clear that the effects of coronavirus on the country's economy could last for longer than expected.

"The reason I'm making that point very clear is there seems to be a view, and the Chief Medical Officer was pointing this out as well, that somehow you can just turn the tap off for two weeks and all of a sudden we've got through the coronavirus. That's just not true," said PM Morrison last night, speaking to Paul Murray on Sky News.

"So, six months is indicative. I certainly don't, at this point, think it would be any less than that.

"But we need to understand that the things we do, social distancing measures, all these things, we need to be able to keep doing, not just for a week or two, but for the next six months."

Morrison says the second economic support package, to be announced soon, will focus on building a safety net for small businesses and those who have lost work because of Covid-19.

"The next package of measures that the Treasurer and I are working on with the Cabinet is to really cushion the blow for those small businesses more broadly, how they're going to be impacted in terms of their cash flow again but also, sadly, those who might find themselves with not as much work as they had before," says Morrison.

"Sole businesses who won't be able to make their sole business operate to the same level or at all and to ensure that we cushion the blow for them by making the safety net a lot stronger and a lot wider to catch more, because we're going to have to do that to support people through the many months ahead."

"And what I'm saying to them is it has a finite life, this virus, it will run for a period. I'm saying at the moment we are estimating no less than about six months. It could be longer. It could take us into the end of the year. But we'll have to just wait and see."

At the time of writing there are 568 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Australia and six deaths. Globally there are 214,894 confirmed cases and 8,732 deaths. 83,313 people have so far recovered from the coronavirus.

Updated at 9:34am AEDT on 19 March 2020.

Qantas to stand down majority of employees, suspends all international flights

Two-thirds of Qantas Group's (ASX: QAN) entire workforce will be temporarily stood down as the airline suspends all international flights from the end of March.

All international Qantas and Jetstar flights will be suspended until at least the end of May 2020.

Because of the suspension, the majority of Qantas Group's 30,000 employees, approximately 20,000 staff, will be stood down until services begin to resume as usual.

Senior executives and the board have increased their salary reductions from 30 per cent to 100 per cent until the end of the financial year, joining the chairman and group CEO in taking no pay.

The airline may maintain "key links" that the Federal Government believes should continue.

Essential domestic, regional and freight connections will be maintained as much as possible, with the airline sticking to the 60 per cent domestic capacity reduction announced earlier this week.

As a result, more than 150 aircraft will be temporarily grounded including all of Qantas' A380s, 747s and B787-9s and Jetstar's B787-8s.

Jetstar Asia (Singapore), Japan, and Pacific (Vietnam) will also suspend international flights and significantly cut domestic flying.

Affected staff members will be able to draw down on annual leave and long service leave and additional support mechanisms to be introduced, including leave at half pay and early access to long service leave.

However, periods of leave without pay for some employees will be inevitable according to Qantas.

"The efforts to contain the spread of Coronavirus have led to a huge drop in travel demand, the likes of which we have never seen before," says Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce.

"This is having a devastating impact on all airlines."

"We're in a strong financial position right now, but our wages bill is more than $4 billion a year. With the huge drop in revenue we're facing, we have to make difficult decisions to guarantee the future of the national carrier."

Qantas believes it is prudent at this time to defer the interim dividend previously scheduled for payment on 9 April 2020 to 1 September 2020.

Updated at 9:10am AEDT on 19 March 2020.

Woolworths cancels some online deliveries, priority given to elderly and disabled

Product shortages and unprecedented demand have forced Woolworths to cancel a number of online deliveries and reassess its priorities.

The supermarket says it will be giving first access to its Woolworths Online service to seniors, people with a disability and those in mandatory isolation.

Once those customers have been served the supermarket will provide online deliveries to other customers where possible.

"Significant item shortages in store along with unprecedented demand for home delivery and Pick up services have unfortunately resulted in some customer orders being cancelled," said Woolworths managing director Amanda Bardwell in a letter to customers.

"We took this decision at the earliest possible point given the high level of items out of stock. We know we have disappointed many of you, for that I am truly sorry."

Those eligible for priority access can apply to Woolworths' Priority Assistance program here.

Additionally, Woolworths has suspended its usual delivery operations out of selected Australian supermarkets until further notice.

"We're ramping up delivery capacity out of our dedicated online customer fulfilment centres in order to service as many vulnerable customers as possible," says Bardwell.

"We'll look to resume our usual delivery operations out of our supermarkets as soon as possible."

Home deliveries will also now be contactless, and instead of requiring a signature for proof of delivery drivers will instead be taking a photo of the groceries.

The change to its online delivery service follows the supermarket's decision to dedicate an hour of shopping time at 7am every day to the elderly and disadvantaged.

Updated at 8:50am AEDT on 19 March 2020.

City of Sydney escalates control measures, closes gyms and aquatic centres

After a spate of new Covid-19 cases in Sydney over recent days, the city's council will be cancelling or postponing all non-essential events and in-person meetings, as well as closing gyms and aquatic centres.

In an announcement this afternoon, the City of Sydney added it would also be placing restricted hours on libraries and community centres.

"The safety of our communities, customers and staff is our top priority," Lord Mayor Clover Moore said.

"Over the past two months, the City has been working closely with NSW Health to ensure we respond urgently and effectively to the spread of COVID-19.

"It's crucial that we all follow the current health advice practising social distancing and when recommended, self-isolation. We have not come to the decision to cancel events or close facilities lightly, but we believe it's best for the community that we do so."

Moore highlighted the situation was changing daily and the council was constantly reviewing its operations and services.

The City of Sydney takes advice on all public health matters from the state and federal health departments.

As announced by the Prime Minister Scott Morrison, all public, non-essential outdoor gatherings of more than 500 people, and non-essential indoor gatherings of more than 100 people have been banned.

The City has cancelled or postponed all events of that size run by the City until further notice and will work with individual hirers of City venues in relation to their events as circumstances evolve.

The City has also introduced a number of precautionary measures to protect members of the community, volunteers and staff, including:

• Cancellation or postponement of all non-essential City of Sydney events, in person meetings, conferences and training exercises until further notice
• Temporary closure from Friday 20 March until Friday 3 April of all City of Sydney aquatic and fitness centres
• Temporary closure for Glebe, Kings Cross and Green Square customer service centres from 19 March, for a period of one month
• Restricted opening hours of 11am 1pm, Monday to Friday from 1931 March at Darling Square, Green Square and Custom House Libraries as well as Redfern, Harry Jensen, Reginald Murphy, Ron Williams, Cliff Noble and Juanita Nielsen Community Centres to provide online access to vulnerable community members
• Temporary closure from 1931 March of libraries at Customs House, Darling Square, Glebe, Green Square, Kings Cross, Newtown, Pyrmont, Surry Hills, Ultimo and Waterloo
• Temporary closure from 1931 March of Pine Street Creative Arts Centre, Harry Jensen, Juanita Nielsen, Redfern, Pyrmont, Ultimo, Ron Williams, Reginald Murphy, Cliff Noble and St Helen's Community Centres as well as King George V Recreation Centre

Committee and Council meetings will still be held in person at this stage, as this is required under the Local Government Act, but social distancing measures will be in place.

Members of the public are encouraged to watch these meetings via the City of Sydney's livestream rather than attending in person if at all possible.

Updated at 6:50pm AEDT on 18 March 2020.

China claims flu drug Avigan effective against Covid-19

A representative of China's science ministry has reportedly claimed a flu vaccine developed by Japan's Fujifilm Holdings is effective for treating the novel coronavirus Covid-19.

The Nikkei Asian Review reports China National Center for Biotechnology Development (CNCBD) director Zhang Xinmin told a press conference yesterday the drug favipiravir, marketed under the brand Avigan can be used to treat the virus.

The publication reports the drug, developed in 2014 and given to Japanese coronavirus patients since February this year, has shown good recovery levels and markedly reduced pneumonia symptoms in clinicla trials in Wuhan and Shenzhen.

"It is very safe and clearly effective," Zhang was quoted as saying.

However, Yonhap News Agency reports authorities in South Korea have raised doubts about the efficacy and potential side effects of the drug and the country will not plan to use it for treating Covid-19.

Korea's Ministry of Food and Drug Safety reportedly decided not to import Avigan after infectious disease experts ruled there was not enough clinical data to prove its efficacy.

"Avigan has not only not shown efficacy during test studies but also there is not data on clinical trials conducted on patients," infectious disease expert Oh Myoung-don told the agency.

"The drug has also shown serious side effects, such as fetal deaths in animal studies," Oh was quoted as saying.

Updated at 6:16pm AEDT on 18 March 2020. 

Uber Eats offers daily payments to restaurants, slates $5m in promotional funding

Uber Eats is stepping up to the challenge posed by Covid-19 on restaurants, many of which will struggle to survive and rely on take-aways and home deliveries for their livelihoods.

The aggregated food delivery service provider has thrown its hat in the ring with $5 million in funding for independent restaurants in Australia and New Zealand, to be spent promotions to attract customers.

In a bid to address cash flow and payments to staff and suppliers during difficult times, Uber Eats will be offering restaurants the option to receive daily payments rather than once a week during the pandemic.

In addition, all restaurants will pay no service fees on pick up orders until 30 June.

The platform will also be extended to caterers, who have been hit hard as people continue to follow health advice and self-isolate or adopt social distancing.

The company has also pledged 25,000 delivered meals to hospital workers and frontline services; an undertaking that will be organised in conjunction with local and state governments.

Uber Eats has also started a campaign to drive awareness of "contactless" delivery, reminding users that they can request deliveries be left on their doorsteps.

For any delivery partner that is diagnosed with Covid-19 or is placed in quarantine by a public health authority, Uber has promised to provide financial assistance for a period of up to 14 days.

"There are thousands of small businesses in the restaurant, café and catering industry that have felt the full force of the coronavirus outbreak, with some reporting bookings and foot traffic down between 80 to 100 percent," says Restaurant and Catering Association CEO Wes Lambert.

"These measures by Uber are very welcome as they allow small businesses to quickly pivot to still be able to serve great food, keep their doors open and keep staff working throughout these difficult times."

Added at 5:55pm AEDT on 18 March 2020.

All Palace Cinemas to close from Thursday

Following the Federal Government's advice to Australians encouraging the population to avoid indoor public gatherings of 100 persons of more Palace Cinemas has made the decision to close all cinemas from Thursday.

The closure will affect all of Palace Cinema's 16 locations for an indefinite period of time. 

"We intend to re-open as soon as circumstances allow, with the usual rich selection of quality cinema and our much-loved international festivals," says Palace Cinemas.

Patrons who have booked tickets online for future sessions will be contacted shortly by Palace Cinemas and offered a full refund.

Those who have bought tickets in-person should contact their local Palace Cinema with images of their ticket and a refund form will be provided. Once returned a full refund will be issued.

"We sincerely thank you all for your patronage and support during this unprecedented time and our excellent staff for their efforts and dedication under challenging circumstances," says Palace Cinemas.

"Rest assured we will be back offering sublime entertainment and a place to indulge and escape when it is safe to do so."

Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne Comedy Festival cancelled

Organisers of the Sydney Film Festival - which was due to take place from June 3-14 - have decided to cancel the event for the first time in its history.

"The decision to cancel this year's Sydney Film Festival follows a review of the most up to date advice regarding ways to minimise the spread of the Coronavirus, and the New South Wales Public Health (COVID-19 Public Events) order banning events of 500 people, which is in place until 14 June," festival chair Deanne Weir, CEO Leigh Small and director Nashen Moodley said in a joint statement.

"In this rapidly evolving and unknown environment, the SFF board and management know this is the only responsible decision - albeit a devastating one. However, the health and safety of our community is our first concern.

"Sydney Film Festival plays a vital role in the Australian screen ecosystem and the Festival recognises the immense impact the cancellation will have on the filmmaking, exhibition and distribution community, as well as audiences, volunteers, sponsors, donors and staff."

The statement added the festival stands in solidarity with the filmmaking, festival and arts communities during this tumultuous time.

Meanwhile the Melbourne Comedy Festival, which was due to start next week, has also been called off.

Full refunds including fees will be given for tickets purchased directly through the festival's website, while refunds for tickets booked through other sites will be processed by the relevant ticketing agent.

"Some performances may be rescheduled to a date in the future. If this is the case, we will advise you by email of the rescheduled date," organisers said, while also offering comedy lovers the option of giving part of their refund as a donation to support the livelihoods of technical, box office, front of house, production and associated support staff, as well as the artists themselves.

Updated at 4:29pm AEDT on 18 March 2020.

Covid-19 cases surge in Australia

The number of Covid-19 cases in Australia has risen by at least 100 in the space of 10 hours, of which more than half came from NSW.

Using data published by the Federal Department of Health at 6:30am today and the latest updates released by state health departments, there are now at least 554 cases of the virus nationwide.

Of those cases, 267 are in NSW after a rise of 57 today, while the number in Victoria has increased by 27 to 121.

Elsewhere, there are 94 recorded cases in Queensland, 32 in SA, 31 in WA, seven in Tasmania and two in ACT.

To date six deaths have been reported.

Australia's current virus numbers are in a similar range as South Korea was on 23 February, Italy on 28 February, Iran on 29 February, Spain on 8 March and Italy on 7 March.

Updated at 4:28pm AEDT on 18 March 2020.