Covid-19 News Updates

WA Premier calls for flight cap, urges PM to withdraw support of Clive Palmer's High Court challenge

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has formally requested a cap on international arrivals into Perth Airport of one flight every three days, after the state reported three new cases of COVID-19 from return travellers overnight.

McGowan said the flow of arrivals needed to be slowed down so quarantine could be managed to the highest possible standard.

"In addition, Cabinet today approved the drafting of urgent legislation that will force any returning traveller - Western Australian or not - to pay for their 14 days of hotel quarantine," he said.

"This legislation will be drafted as quickly as possible. Parliament isn't due to return until mid-August though, so once the bill is ready and approved we will recall Parliament if necessary for a special sitting to get this legislation through quickly."

The WA Premier also highlighted the success of his state's hard border policy, which has meant there has not been a community-based infection since 11 April, or 86 days ago.

But he noted that border was under threat from a High Court challenge led by Clive Palmer, which is being supported by the Federal Government.

"The announcement today between New South Wales and Victoria to close their borders is one that I support, but the idea our hard border is being challenged in the High Court is now clearly flawed and completely unnecessary," he said.

"The High Court challenge consumes the resources of many of our top public servants from our Solicitor General, our Chief Health Officer and our Police Commissioner.

McGowan said it did not make sense for the Federal Government to support a border closure between Victoria and New South Wales, but on the other hand challenge Western Australia's hard border. 

"In light of the new New South Wales-Victoria border closure today, I've asked the Prime Minister to formally withdraw their support from Clive Palmer's High Court challenge," he said.

"Quite frankly, the legal challenge and especially the Commonwealth's involvement in it has now become completely ridiculous. This nonsense has to stop.

"Western Australia's island within an island strategy has been an integral part of our success. As a result, WA is the most economically free and active state in Australia due to our relaxed restrictions, but we cannot get complacent."

Photo, Andrew Owens via Wikimedia Creative Commons

Updated at 3:16pm AEST on 6 July 2020.

COVID case forced Woolworths delivery centre to close

A Woolworths (ASX: WOW) customer fulfilment centre (CFC) that services online orders in Melbourne was shut down over the weekend after a team member tested positive for COVID-19.

Woolworths first became aware of the team member's positive test on Saturday. That team member last worked at the West Footscray CFC on 1 July.

The centre was closed over the weekend for deep cleaning and has since reopened.

As a result of the closure online orders made on Sunday were cancelled, representing around 20 per cent of Woolworth's orders that service Melbourne.

"We're continuing to make contact with our CFC team members and will provide our full support to those required to self-isolate at home in line with the advice from the Health Department," says a Woolworths spokesperson.

"As a food retailer, we have very high standards of cleaning and hygiene across all our sites.

"As a result of the additional clean on Sunday night we cancelled online delivery orders out of the West Footscray CFC this morning. We would like to apologise to our customers for the inconvenience."

All other members of the West Footscray team who worked in close proximity to the team member have been asked to self-isolate as per Department of Health guidelines and will also undergo COVID testing.

The news comes as Victoria reported 127 new cases of COVID-19 overnight.

Updated at 12:54pm AEST on 6 July 2020.

NSW to close borders to VIC as COVID-19 crisis worsens

New South Wales will close its border to Victoria from 11:59pm tomorrow following talks between VIC Premier Daniel Andrews, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

The measure comes as Victoria has reported 127 new cases of COVID-19 today, taking the number of active cases in the state to 645.

34 of the new COVID-19 cases are connected to known outbreaks, 40 are from routine testing, and 54 are under investigation by the public health team.

There are now 31 COVID-19 patients in hospital in the state including five in intensive care. A man in his 90s has also died of the virus in the past 24 hours. 

Premier Andrews says the border will be closed on the NSW side so as to not drain resources needed in Victoria to contain the outbreak of COVID-19.

"This is one of those precautionary measures, it's one of those things that I think will help us to contain the spread of the virus," says Andrews, describing the decision as "the right call".

"All three of us agree that this was the right step to take right now."

Premier Andrews has apologised for any inconvenience these new border measures may cause to those planning on travelling from VIC to NSW this week.

"I apologise for any inconvenience that will cause people who have got unavoidable travel to New South Wales. There will be a permit system," says Andrews.

"There will be a facility for people who live on those border communities to be able to travel to and from for the purposes of work, purposes of the sort of essential health services that they might need."

NSW Premier Berejiklian elaborated on the closure shortly after her counterpart's press conference in Victoria, explaining the decision to close the border was made due to the unprecedented rate of community transmission in Melbourne. 

"I do want to stress what is occurring in Victoria has not yet occurred anywhere else in Australia. It's a new part of the pandemic. And as such, it requires a new type of response," she said.

"I certainly don't want Victorians to feel that they're being singled out in any which way. This could very well be New South Wales at some stage in the future. This is very much a team effort."

She said authorities had a "mammoth task" of handling around 55 border crossings with Victoria, and that it would likely take 48 to 72 hours before the permitting system is worked out for essential workers to move between the two states.

"For some people who normally travel across the borders, their daily lives will be restrained until we get the permit system in place, and we hope that'll happen in the next two days," she said

"Anybody who feels that want to apply for a permit can do so at Service New South Wales. It will be very easy...if you live in Albury-Wodonga it's one community, and you might have the need [to cross the border] for a business reason or work reason or a health reason.

"We've never defined an essential worker in New South Wales for a reason, because you can never determine someone's exceptional circumstances."

NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said there were now 69 cases of COVID-19 being treated by NSW Health, and one person in intensive care who does not need a ventilator.

"Based on the fact we have seen increasing cases extending outside the hotspot areas, and recognising that there is often a lag between when cases are recognised and diagnosed, I felt we needed to get ahead of the potential to spread, to safeguard the seeding of New South Wales," Chant said.

"My key message to all members of the community is regardless of where you've been, please keep presenting for testing. Please present with even the mildest symptoms for testing."

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk, whose state will open its borders this Friday to all states and territories except Victoria, welcomed the decision from NSW.

"Last week we made the decision to maintain the border closure with Victoria. I welcome today's decision to close the border between NSW and Victoria," she said.

"We will continue to provide support to Victoria as they continue to deal with their COVID-19 response."

BREAKING: The border between NSW and Victoria will close. I welcome today's decision. #covid19pic.twitter.com/yTSis2LjBS

Annastacia Palaszczuk (@AnnastaciaMP) July 6, 2020

South Australia Premier Steven Marshall announced last week that he would not be reopening the SA border to Victoria on 20 July as originally planned because of the worsening situation in Melbourne.

Speaking to the press today, Marshall said the State's Transition Committee will be meeting tomorrow to discuss the border with New South Wales.

Borders to travellers from Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Tasmania and Queensland into South Australia are already open, meaning visitors from those jurisdictions do not have to complete a two week period of self-isolation.

Victorian case spike over the weekend, more postcodes in lockdown

The move comes after Victoria placed nine tower blocks in Flemington and North Melbourne into a "hard" lockdwon for at least five days over the weekend.

The Premier says there are now 53 cases of COVID-19 associated with the outbreak in the housing commission towers that house around 3,000 people.

Depending on the results of ongoing testing the hard lockdown could last for up to 14 days.

Food and other essential goods are being delivered to residents of the towers, and the buildings are being guarded by Victorian police.

Residents are receiving $1,500 hardship payments and are not required to pay rent for a fornight.

Last week, Victoria placed Melbourne 10 postcodes into lockdown for a four-week period in order to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the Victorian capital.

The decision was made after health officials completed comprehensive genomic sequencing revealed much of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases could be traced back to breaches of protocol in hotel quarantine.

That list has since expanded and now includes 3031 (Flemington and Kensington) and 2051 (North Melbourne).

The full list of Melbourne postcodes in lockdown:

• 3012 - Brooklyn, Kingsville, Maidstone, Tottenham and West Footscray;
• 3021 - Albanvale, Kealba, Kings Park and St Albans;
• 3031 - Flemington and Kensington
• 3032 - Ascot Vale, Highpoint City, Maribyrnong and Travancore;
• 3038 - Keilor Downs, Keilor Lodge, Taylors Lakes, Watergardens;
• 3042 - Airport West, Keilor Park and Niddrie;
• 3046 - Glenroy, Hadfield, Oak Park;
• 3047 - Broadmeadows, Dallas, Jacana;
• 3051 - North Melbourne
• 3055 - Brunswick South, Brunswick West, Moonee Vale and Moreland West;
• 3060 - Fawkner; and
• 3064 - Craigieburn, Donnybrook, Kalkallo, Mickleham and Roxburgh Park.

Globally, the COVID-19 pandemic is showing no signs of slowing down. There are now 11,555,414 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and 536,720 people have died.

In terms of new cases COVID-19 yesterday there were 175,499, and close to 4.5 million active cases internationally.

Yesterday, the USA reported 44,530 new cases of COVID-19, while Brazil and India reported 26,209 and 23,932 new cases respectively. 

In Australia there have been 8,583 cases of COVID-19 in total, with 662 active cases as of today, and 105 deaths.

Updated at 10:44am AEST on 6 July 2020.

Exporters to receive $240m in extra funding as freight support extended

Australia's exporters have been thrown a line thanks to the Federal Government's decision to extend a freight support program until the end of the year, with an additional $240 million in funding.

A spokesperson for the office of Minister for Trade Simon Birmingham has confirmed this takes total funding for the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) to $350 million.

The program was launched focusing on farmers and fisheries in particular, who have been hard hit by a spike in freight costs with fewer international flights in operation.

Minister Birmingham says this temporary program had already helped secure carriage of more than 36,000 tonnes of exports to 50 key international destinations, while also supporting the import of critical medical supplies.

"With international travel restrictions expected to remain in place for the foreseeable future, our exporters and key importers will continue to face significant barriers," he says.

"This is about restoring global supply chains. These freight flights have been critical to getting produce out the door during these tough times and helping to keep our exporters in business and connected to their hard-won established global customers.

"A key feature of IFAM has been the logistical and administrative support for international freight movements by aggregating cargo loads, negotiating with airlines and dealing with partner governments to facilitate clearances and improve transparency of freight costs during the pandemic."

Minister for Agriculture David Littleproud describes the extension as a major win for Australian farmers.

"We're backing our farmers by making sure they can continue to get more of their high-quality product into overseas markets," he says.

"Keeping our farmers connected with their established international customers will help them keep their operations going so they can keep producing a top quality export product and enhance their reputation as a reliable partner."

Assistant Minister for Forestry and Fisheries Jonno Duniam says IFAM has been critical to getting the seafood industry back on its feet.

"Under this program we've already helped get over $500 million worth of Australian seafood from almost every state and territory out of the water and on to planes," says Duniam.

"This funding extension locks in ongoing support for the thousands of fishers, divers, deckhands and processors that underpin our world-renowned premium-quality seafood industry."

Updated at 12:09pm AEST on 3 July 2020.

Lovisa reopens stores but exits Spanish market

Jewellery retailer Lovisa (ASX: LOV) has now reopened the vast majority of stores worldwide following closures sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic, but strained relationships with landlords has led to an exit from Spain.

There are now 434 Lovisa stores worldwide including franchises that are trading, compared to 449 in March before shutdowns began.

"We are now pleased to announce that our business has re-opened beginning in mid-April with the Australian stores, and progressively across all company-owned markets with the UK the last to re-open in late June," the company said in an announcement after ASX trading closed yesterday.

Lovisa explained the disruption to normal trading conditions throughout the fourth quarter led to a significant reduction in sales revenue for the full year, which ended up down almost 5 per cent at $237 million.

"Comparable store sales for the period since stores have re-opened, based on the actual days each store traded, were down 32.5 per cent on last year," the company said.

"Performance has been strongest in Australia and New Zealand as the markets that have been trading longest post re-opening and with the least restrictions in place.

"Our online business was able to deliver 256 per cent growth on prior year during Q4, with trading websites now operational across most markets that Lovisa is represented in."

Even before COVID-19 Lovisa's roll-out of stores in Spain was put on hold as performance was below expectations, but now its nine shut stores in the country will remain out of action as discontinued.

"Whilst we saw some improvement in performance prior to the COVID-19 shut-down, Lovisa was disappointed in the lack of support from our landlords in Spain," the company said.

"Hence, due to this lack of support the board has regretfully made the decision not to re-open these stores and to exit the Spanish market.

Lovisa said this meant an impairment charge of around two million euros (AUD$3.3 million) was expected for FY20.

LOV shares were up 2.45 per cent at $6.26 each in early trading this morning. 

Updated at 10:36am AEST on 3 July 2020.

Webjet rattles the tin again, this time for $163 million

After raising close to $350 million in April, travel company Webjet (ASX: WEB) has today announced a 100 million euro (AUD$163 million) convertible note issue to pay off debt and build a war chest for potential acquisitions.

The announcement follows a UN report yesterday estimating COVID-19 would likely cut global tourism income from AUD$1.7 trillion in the event of a four-month standstill, or up to AUD$4.8 trillion if lockdowns run for 12 months.

When Webjet announced a capital raising in April it reported the proceeds would give it a pro forma liquidity of $470 million with respect to the end of February, but that figure fell significantly to $307 million by the end of May.

Now the company reports its cash position as at the end of May was $215 million, while its net working capital position was just $8 million.

Despite laying off around 400 people and finding ways to reduce expenditures predominantly in its WebBeds business, Webjet still had operating costs of around $15 million per month for the past quarter and had to cop a $39 million write-down of debtors.

Amidst this cash burn that is an obvious consequence of an inert travel industry, Webjet managing director John Guscic (pictured) insisted in an investor call that the company was well placed regardless of this new raising.

"We didn't have to do this we were under no compulsion to do this. This wasn't a knee jerk reaction to something that was unforeseeable in the environment that we found ourselves in March," Guscic said when asked about preparedness for a 'bear' market scenario.

"The total liquidity is over $300 million as of today. That comfortably sees us operating without duress in a zero or low-revenue environment well into 2021," Guscic said.

"If you were then to use this additional hundred million euros exclusively for the preservation of the business and assuming the worst case scenario of no revenue, then that just extends our runway well into 2022."

Almost a third of the convertible notes raised - or $50 million - will be used to pay down existing term debt, with the remainder held for potential acquisitions and ongoing capital management.

"The rationale is that the existing $300 million remains untouched, and that's exclusively to the preserve of the business and to ensure the longevity of Webjet through whatever happens over this next 18 months or so," he said.

"The incremental capital through the convert combo is it fulfills in excess of that but gives us the additional ability to make M&A acquisitions that we find attractive, and there have been some extraordinary opportunities that have come past our window over the course of the last two months."

Goldman Sachs International is acting as sole global coordinator and joint bookrunner for the offering, together with HSBC as the other joint bookrunner.

The notes will be able to be converted from anytime between 1 July 2021 and 60 days prior to the final maturity date in seven years' time.

Updated at 11:37am AEST on 2 July 2020.

NT reports new COVID-19 case from Melbourne lockdown area

A new case of COVID-19 has emerged in Darwin today, originating from a returning traveller who spent time in a Melbourne hotspot.

According to NT Minister for Health Natasha Fyles (pictured) the 30-year-old man arrived in Darwin on Monday and tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday.

The man is a return traveller from overseas who completed the mandatory two-week period of quarantine in a Melbourne hotel.

After the quarantine period, and while waiting for his flight to Darwin, the man spent "a couple of days" with family in one of the hotspot locations in Melbourne.

On return to Darwin the man, who is believed to live alone, went immediately back to his house, after which he began to experience mild symptoms of the coronavirus.

"This individual has followed all the precautions and we wish them all the best. They're now in the care of Royal Darwin Hospital in isolation," says Fyles.

"I want to reassure the community there has been minimal contact with the broader community."

Fyles says while 6 April was the last time the territory reported a locally acquired case of COVID-19, today's news serves as a reminder that the pandemic is not over.

"After a significant period of time where we have not had any locally diagnosed cases this is obviously important to Territorians, but we have measures in place to protect our community, and these measures have been followed," says Fyles.

"We still mustn't become complacent around coronavirus. There is no cure. There is no vaccine.

"This is not a case of community transmission; it is a return traveller who has come out of one of those hotspots in Melbourne and returned to Darwin."

The news comes as Victoria reports 77 new cases of COVID-19 overnight, bringing the total number of active cases in the state to 415.

20 COVID-19 patients in Victoria are hospitalised, with four in ICU.

Around 300,000 Melburnians in metropolitan hotspots went into lockdown as of midnight last night until 29 July after cases of COVID-19 spiked in Victoria.

These measures were taken following comprehensive genomic sequencing received by Premier Daniel Andrews showing much of the recent spike in COVID-19 cases could be traced back to breaches of protocol in hotel quarantine.

Yesterday, New South Wales announced travellers that manage to leave the lockdown areas in Melbourne and make their way north across the border could face jail time of an $11,000 fine.

Updated at 10:42am AEST on 2 July 2020.

Support announced for tourism operators affected by Melbourne lockdowns

Victorian regional accommodation operators affected by lockdowns in metropolitan Melbourne will be eligible for Government support if losses can be shown.

A $5 million fund has been made available to regional businesses including motels, caravan parks and short-term rentals like Airbnb properties that can demonstrate losses due to the new restrictions implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19 in Melbourne.

Payments of up to $225 per cancelled booked night will be paid, on the condition that full refunds are provided to Melburnians stuck in lockdown and no cancellation fees are levied.

"We know that the last thing that regional accommodation houses and caravan parks needed was more obstacles after six months of struggle due to bushfires and coronavirus," says Victorian Minister for Industry Support and Recovery Martin Pakula.

"Lockdowns bring no joy to anyone, but we're standing with businesses in the regions and the suburbs as we navigate a path to the other side of this crisis."

More than 300,000 Melburnians living in 10 postcodes are subject to strict stay at home orders until 11.59pm on 29 July, meaning many will be forced to cancel holidays they had previously booked at locations across the state.

Accommodation businesses in 48 regional local government areas as well as the Yarra Ranges and the Mornington Peninsula shires will be covered for eligible bookings that were received from "hot zone" postcodes 3038, 3064, 3047, 3060, 3012, 3032, 3055, 3042, 3021, 3046 by 3pm on 30 June for the period 1 July to 29 July.

The $5 million support package for regional accommodation businesses follows confirmation of one-off $5,000 payments that will be made available for eligible businesses in the 10 postcode areas subject to the return of Stage 3 restrictions.

"These payments will help these important employers, and it means that there's no reason that refunds should not be paid to families who will now have to stay at home over the holidays," says Victorian Minister for Regional Development Jaclyn Symes.

Updated at 9:24am AEST on 2 July 2020.

Star Entertainment Group continues to reopen as COVID-19 restrictions ease

From today, Star Entertainment Group's (ASX: SGR) venues in New South Wales and Queensland will reopen further as more COVID-19 restrictions are eased.

The company has announced that the next stage of reopening of The Star Sydney will commence today, with the venue allowed to host up to 5,000 patrons at any one time within the casino area, determined by the 4sqm rule as required by the NSW Government.

All electronic gaming machines and table gaming positions may be operational but with social distancing measures implemented.

The company says based on past visitation patterns, spatial distancing measures and capacity limits are expected to constrain visitation and revenue during peak periods like Friday and Saturday nights.

In Queensland, the main gaming floor and private gaming rooms at The Star Gold Coast and Treasury Brisbane will reopen at midday on 3 July 2020.

The maximum numbers of patrons within the casino gaming areas at The Star Gold Coast will be around 2,600, and around 2,300 at Treasury Brisbane.

"The Star expects that its Queensland properties will need to observe spatial distancing requirements for its gaming positions, and to be open to loyalty club members, their guests and the general public," says The Star Entertainment Group.

SGR has also provided a June 2020 trading update for The Star Sydney, demonstrating how trading performance has improved over the month as permitted visitation increased.

Since 19 June 2020 the company says average daily slot and table gaming volumes have been comparable with 1H20 private gaming room levels.

"Over this short period of time, the performance of The Star Sydney in June 2020 was consistent with management expectations and was significantly below normal levels given the operating restrictions," says The Star Entertainment Group.

Updated at 2:04pm AEST on 1 July 2020.

Travellers from Victorian COVID-19 hotspots could face jail time if visiting NSW

People who leave Melbourne's COVID-19 hotspots and travel to NSW will be exposed to the possibility of six months jail or an $11,000 fine.

NSW Minister for Health Brad Hazzard says these new measures are "not something we want to do" but are necessary to protect the health and safety of NSW residents.

"The message quite clearly from the New South Wales Government is do not leave the hotspot," says Hazzard.

NSW residents who leave the State to visit a Victorian hotspot will be required to complete a 14-day period of isolation. If this order is breached, NSW residents could also face an $11,000 fine or a six month jail term.

"Take it seriously," says Hazzard.

"This is about keeping you safe, your family safe, your community safe, not just in the hotspots in Victoria but more broadly here in New South Wales.

"We are not going to accept having Victorians who failed to comply with their own laws and then try to slip across our border. If you are found here in New South Wales you face very heavy penalties."

The announcement comes as NSW recorded 14 new cases of COVID-19 overnight, all from returned travellers currently in hotel quarantine.

Victoria has recorded 73 new cases of COVID-19 today after the state's testing blitz surpassed 100,000 tests. Hotspot suburbs in Melbourne are preparing to enter into lockdown from midnight tonight following Premier Daniel Andrews' announcement yesterday afternoon.

In terms of new daily cases in Victoria linked to business locations, two are part of the Stamford Plaza outbreak, one is linked to the outbreak at the Coles Chilled Distribution Centre in Laverton which takes that total outbreak to six, three are linked to cases associated with Hugo Boss in Collins Street, one is a staff member at SBS Radio.

"Every day presents its own challenges and no one can predict what tomorrow's numbers will be, but it is pleasing that there is some sense of stability to these numbers," Premier Andrews noted in a press conference today. 

Globally, COVID-19 confirmed case numbers continue to climb with 174,246 new cases confirmed for 30 June today.

Of the new cases, 46,042 were in the USA, 37,997 in Brazil, and 18,256 in India. There have now been 2,727,853 cases of  COVID-19 confirmed in the USA since the pandemic began.

Restrictions ease today in NSW

Today, 1 July, NSW will also ease restrictions further, allowing more people to gather and stadiums to begin accepting fanatics to sporting or cultural events.

The restrictions eased today includes:

• Pubs, cafes, restaurants, and function spaces have no more capacity limit imposed, but must stick to the 4sqm rule;
• Weddings can have any number of people but with the 4sqm rule applied;
• 10,000 fans can go into a stadium;
• Public transport services capacities have increased;
• Cinemas, theatres, music halls and concert halls can open;
• Religious services can resume with the 4sqm rule applied;
• Libraries, museums and galleries can reopen.

The NSW Government still has no plans to reopen nightclubs or resume music festivals.

Updated at 11:27am AEST on 1 July 2020.