Health News at Your Fingertips

The Northern Territory reported 355 new Covid cases overnight, including 71 people in hospital and no one in intensive care.

Australian health experts optimistic’ about containing monkeypox outbreak

Christopher Knaus

Australian experts are optimistic about Australia’s ability to deal with the global monkeypox outbreak.

The World Health Organisation overnight declared monkeypox as a global emergency, saying the outbreak has now expanded to more than 70 countries. The declaration is the highest level of alert possible from the WHO. Australian health authorities are yet to speak publicly following the WHO’s announcement.

The disease was first reported in Australia on 20 May and dozens of cases have since been reported across the country. Professor Adrian Esterman, chair of biostatistics at the University of South Australia, said Australia was well-placed to deal with the monkeypox outbreak.

For 30 or 40 years now [health authorities] been working with our gay communities because of HIV. They’ve got close contacts into that community and good messaging in that community and good relationships in that community. And that is the community by and large that’s being affected by monkeypox. So I like to be optimistic and think that because we have such good links into these communities, we can contain it.

Esterman said monkeypox was far easier to contain than Covid, because monkeypox sufferers were only able to spread the disease when they were experiencing symptoms.

So because of that, because it takes a while for you to actually start getting symptoms, when you get them, they’re obvious, you’re not actually infectious until you get symptoms, it means that it’s comparatively easy for us to detect cases, to isolate them do contact tracing, and do ring-fencing around their close contacts and give vaccines to all the close contacts.

One person with Covid-19 has died in South Australia overnight, with the state recording 3,340 new cases on Sunday morning, 374 people in hospital and 12 in ICU.

Prime minister Anthony Albanese will meet with the new US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy within days, saying her appointment reaffirmed the strength of the alliance between the two nations.

Kennedy, the daughter of assassinated US president John F. Kennedy, arrived in Australia last week, following her appointment earlier this year.

During an appearance on Sky News on Sunday Albanese said Kennedy’s appointment was a “very positive development”, and that he will be meeting with the “significant figure” on Wednesday.

President Biden said to me … how important an appointment like this is. And I think Australians should be proud of that fact.

The US alliance is our most important relationship and having Ambassador Kennedy here is appropriate given the status of our relationship.

Kennedy will also meet with the governor-general, David Hurley, this week.

Albanese also said he had been invited to visit the White House and was in discussions on the timing of that trip.

“I look forward to visiting the White House and I look forward to welcoming President Biden here to Australia,” he said.

President Biden to due to visit Australia in 2023 for the next Quad Leaders’ Summit.

– From AAP.

Seven people with Covid-19 have died in Western Australia overnight, with the state recording 4,356 new cases on Sunday morning, 437 people in hospital and 23 in ICU.

South Australia ambulance workers’ pay rise to be back paid

Just to follow up on the announcement from South Australia that ambulance workers will get a 10% pay rise backdated to December 2018, a reader asked whether the cumulative 2.5% increase will be back paid or applied going forward.

I checked with the office of the SA health and wellbeing minister, Chris Picton, who confirmed that the 2.5% would be back paid and applied “for the next few years”.

A 10-year-old boy is the third person to die following a house fire in Sydney overnight.

In an update on Sunday afternoon, authorities said first responders found two women – a 60-year-old and a 40-year-old – dead at the scene and pulled the 10-year-old boy from the blaze, at Hinchinbrook in south-west Sydney.

The child was taken to Westmead Children’s hospital in critical condition but later died from his injuries.

Eight people, including two firefighters, were taken to hospital.

They included a man in his 40s, who was also taken to Concord Hospital, where is was currently in critical condition. Another woman in her late 30s was taken to Liverpool Hospital and was in a stable condition.

NSW police are investigating the matter and will make a report to the coroner.

Fire and Rescue NSW deputy commissioner Megan Stiffler said it was a “tragic start to our winter fire safety campaign” and there had been 500 house fires in New South Wales since 1 June.

We have lost 13 lives due to home fires this year and that is nine more than the whole of the winter season last year.

Nearly 50% of all of those house fires didn’t have working smoke alarms. I cannot stress how important it is for people to hear this message.

Stiffler said two firefighters were injured during the incident, with one falling 6m while trying to enter the property and another experiencing a small electric shock while trying to enter through a window.

The spirits of our crews are rightly devastated.

Dominic Carr from New South Wales ambulance said the blaze was “very, very intense”.

We had resources including critical care paramedics, doctors and dental care paramedics on scene as well, helping to monitor, stabilise patients and transport them to various hospitals.

Anthony Albanese says the government will not close the border with Indonesia as that country battles an outbreak of foot and mouth disease.

In an appearance on Sky News on Sunday, the prime minister said existing biosecurity measures to control the spread of the disease were the “strongest ever measures introduced by an Australian government”.

Albanese said:

It’s important to note that Australia is foot and mouth disease free, that our products continue to be available to the world.

He said the nation’s farming bodies backed his government on not banning flights, which would have a “severe” impact on the economy and trade.

You don’t do that by just jumping to a position that the former government never, ever implemented.

No coalition government has implemented that strong measures that we have announced and put in place during this current current issue as it’s been rolled out.

Travellers would be directed to comply with biosecurity measures, including removing their shoes or walking over sanitation mats, and be questioned by officers.

It’s the first time the Biosecurity Act powers have been used in Australia.

The Coalition has called for the border to close, and has criticised the speed of the government’s reaction.

The disease is highly contagious and affects cattle, sheep, goats, camelids, deer and pigs.

The virus is carried by live animals and can present in meat and dairy products, soil, bones, untreated hides, vehicles and equipment used with farm animals.

Two people have died following a house fire in the south-western Sydney suburb of Hinchinbrook, AAP reports.

Emergency services were called to a home on Rottnest Avenue about 5.40am on Sunday.

Six people including a child were evacuated from the property and treated by paramedics.

Two people died at the scene, with both yet to be formally identified.

The child was transported to Westmead Children’s Hospital in a serious condition.

Officers from Liverpool Police established a crime scene, which will be examined by specialist forensic police.

An investigation is under way and the cause is yet to be determined.

Reports will be prepared for the coroner.

South Australian ambulance workers will get a 10% pay rise after endorsing a state government wage deal.

The Labor administration says 97% of SA ambulance employees backed its offer to lift wages by 2.5% a year, backdated to December 2018.

The deal also includes reforms to rosters, afternoon shift arrangements and allowances.

The industrial relations and public sector minister, Kyam Maher, said the payrise couldn’t come at a better time for paramedics and other SA Ambulance staff.

Settling this agreement so quickly shows the Malinauskas government’s commitment to bargaining in good faith to reach an outcome for the tireless paramedics who keep South Australia safe.

The health minister, Chris Picton, said it would be the first pay rise ambulance workers had received in four years, including the entire term of the previous government and throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

It was the longest gap between pay increases for any public sector workforce, he added.

After what was undoubtably an appalling situation that saw SA’s ambos not receive a pay rise for over four years, [it] has finally been fixed.

We made a commitment to the future of our ambulance service and we have delivered a crucial pay rise to ambos within months of being sworn in.

–from AAP.

Adeshola Ore

More than 1,000 students to join Victorian hospitals to fill gaps

Almost 30 Victorian hospitals will receive an influx of nursing and midwifery students in a bid to plug critical workforce gaps.

The Victorian government has revealed that the 29 hospitals – in metropolitan and regional areas – will receive more than 1,000 undergraduate and midwifery students.

The Andrews government allocated more than $65m in its state budget in May for the student workforce. The registered students in their second and third years will assist with tasks like feeding and showering patients under the supervision of registered nurses.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, said the program had already deployed 3,000 students to hospitals and had received positive feedback.

Our nurses, hospitals and universities all agree this student employment model is making a real difference, giving our experienced nurses extra support and giving our students the experience to deliver the best possible care.

No people with Covid-19 have died in the ACT overnight, with the territory recording 712 new cases on Sunday morning, 155 people in hospital and one person in ICU.

Aged care sector calls for more protection amid Covid surge

Aged care providers are calling for urgent action to protect residents and staff from a winter Covid-19 wave that is hitting more than a third of the country’s facilities.

The Aged and Community Care Providers Association (ACCPA) said 6,000 residents and 3,400 staff were infected in 1,013 facilities as of Thursday.

The association’s interim chief executive, Paul Sadler, said 10-15% of staff were already isolating or quarantining at home, and the coming weeks would put intense pressure on aged care residents and workers.

ACCPA is concerned that anywhere up to two-thirds of aged care homes could be affected by active outbreaks over coming weeks.

The increased availability in surge workforce, including the Australian defence force, over the past week has been welcome, but there is still a shortfall.

The reality is we can’t leave older people without adequate levels of care for too long.

Sadler said 2,301 residents had died this year, including 114 in the past week.

He called for more support for a surge workforce, including ADF personnel, until at least September.

– From AAP

Victoria extends free RAT access for people with disability

Adeshola Ore

The Victorian government will extend access to free rapid antigen tests for people with a disability.

The Andrews government announced on Sunday that Victorians with a disability could continue to access 20 free RATs per visit from state-run testing centres until the end of September.

The disability minister, Colin Brooks, said the extension would ensure Victorians with a disability were protected during the winter period:

Early detection of Covid-19 helps protect people from serious illness by ensuring earlier diagnosis and treatment – and this is especially so for the most vulnerable in our community, who experience its effects more harshly.

No people with Covid-19 have died in Queensland overnight, with the state recording 5,804 new cases on Sunday morning, 1,042 people in hospital and 19 in ICU.

Move to WA, Mark McGowan urges

The Western Australian premier, Mark McGowan, has pointed to rising inflation on the east coast to make his pitch for people to head west.

McGowan released the results of a report by Deloitte Access Economics that found Perth was the most affordable of four major capital cities thanks to the availability of affordable housing and low mortgage repayments.

The report, commission by WA Department of Treasury, compared Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, and Bunbury with other regional centres to inform the government’s plan to “attract and retrain skilled workers to the state”.

In presenting the report, McGowan said it showed Western Australia was “the most affordable and successful place to live.”

Western Australians enjoy some of the highest median household incomes in the country, and most affordable cost of living, particularly for housing and mortgage repayments, and other day-to-day expenditures.

Throughout the pandemic, thousands of people have moved west, incentivised by our safe handling of the pandemic, the economic opportunities on offer and our great lifestyle.

Not only do we have one of the best performing economies but also significantly lower living costs than other major Australian cities.

It found the average Perth household spend $16,30 a week on goods and services, including household costs.

This figure was 24% lower than Sydney ($2,134), 19% lower than Brisbane ($2,002) and 10% lower than Melbourne ($1,805).

Wages were also high, with those in Perth earning a median household income of $2,027 a week compared with $2,146 in Sydney, $1,958 in Melbourne and $1,962 in Brisbane.

The situation is a change from the middle of past decade, when the iron ore boom and the six-figure salaries it promised caused a price surge across Perth.

Australia could reach an inflation rate of about 6% as early as this week, as households continue to absorb higher fuel, food and housing costs, AAP reports.

The cost of living has been rising all year, leading to an annual rate of 5.1% in the March quarter, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed in April.

But the survey for the June quarter, due on Wednesday, could show prices have risen enough to take the annual rate to the peak forecast by the central bank much earlier than expected.

In May, the Reserve Bank of Australia forecast the consumer price index to reach 5.5% in the June quarter.

It also predicted the index to hit 6% by the end of December, before falling in 2023.

That peak may have been reached much earlier than predicted, if the expectations of financial market economists are anything to go by.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia economists expect inflation to rise by 1.9% in the quarter, for an annual rate of 6.2%.

That would be the highest annual number since the December quarter in 1990 – or in more than 31 years.

St George Bank senior economist Jarek Kowcza says price pressures definitely continued to heat up in the quarter, when the cost of an iceberg lettuce peaked at an eye-watering $10.

We expect an annual headline inflation rate starting with a ‘6’.

Economists agree that whatever the outcome, the RBA will lift its 1.35% cash interest rate in August, for the fourth time in as many months.

The RBA began raising the cash interest rate from an all-time low of 0.1% in May.

Two people with Covid-19 have died in Tasmania overnight, with the state recording 1,155 new cases on Sunday morning, 174 people in hospital and three in ICU.

MP Dai Le wants more done to help households with bills

The Independent MP for Fowler, Dai Le, said health and cost of living pressures would be among her priorities as parliament was set to resume.

Le spoke to the ABC this morning saying she wanted the government to extend the cut to fuel excise and do more assist households struggling to pay bills.

That’s something that I will be fighting for, for our community – the high cost of living – to make sure that with interest rates rising, food prices rising, and rentals and housing affordability. It’s just not within reach of many families here in Fowler any more.

Le said she might not be a teal independent but climate change was still “very important” for voters of her electorate.

I just want to make sure that it also takes into consideration the cost of living and the security of the electricity load for our communities, as well as for the rest of Australia. We need to ensure that we access affordable electricity prices and having access to that in times of crisis.