Health News at Your Fingertips

The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services have released more details about today’s numbers, after premier Daniel Andrews announced earlier on Wednesday that the state had recorded 484 new cases.

A DHHS statement said:

The overall total has increased by 450, after 34 cases were reclassified – largely due to duplication.

Within Victoria, 97 of the new cases are linked to outbreaks or complex cases and 387 are under investigation.

Two new deaths have been reported since yesterday. They are both men aged in their 90s that are linked to known outbreaks. To date, 44 people have died from coronavirus in Victoria.

In Victoria at the current time:

• 1,116 cases may indicate community transmission
• 3,408 cases are currently active in Victoria
• 205 cases of coronavirus are in hospital, including 40 in intensive care
• 3,184 people have recovered from the virus
• Of the total cases, 6,204 cases are from metropolitan Melbourne, while 384 are from regional Victoria
• Total cases include 3,432 men and 3,222 women
• More than 1,385,900 tests have been processed
• Total number of healthcare workers: 469, active cases: 187
• -here are currently 383 cases in 45 aged care settings

Cases currently linked to public housing in North Melbourne, Flemington and Carlton are as follows:

• 291 cases are residents of various public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington. Investigations are continuing into how these cases are linked.
• 57 cases are residents of various public housing towers in Carlton. Investigations are continuing into if and/or how these cases are linked.

Cases currently linked to key outbreaks are as follows:

• 69 cases have been linked to St Basil’s Homes for the Aged in Fawkner
• 54 cases have been linked to Estia Health in Ardeer
• 37 cases have been linked to Glendale Aged Care facility in Werribee
• 30 cases have been linked to Arcare Aged Care in Craigieburn
• 26 cases have been linked to Estia Health in Heidelberg
• 20 cases have been linked to Baptcare Wyndham Lodge in Werribee
• 18 cases have been linked to Embracia Aged Care Moonee Valley in Avondale Heights
• 61 cases have been linked to Somerville Retail Services in Tottenham
• 47 cases have been linked to JBS in Brooklyn
• 24 cases have been linked to LaManna in Essendon
• 17 cases have been linked to Australian Lamb Company in Colac

There has also been a new outbreak identified in aged care at Kirkbrae Presbyterian Homes in Kilsyth, with two cases in staff and one case in a resident.

People living in metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire will be required to wear a face covering when leaving home for one of the four reasons. To give people time to purchase or make a face covering, this new rule will be enforced from 11.59pm tonight (Wednesday 22 July).

It was mentioned by the deputy chief medical officer, Michael Kidd, during the national Covid-19 update earlier this afternoon, but South Australia’s coronavirus tally has increased.

According to the Adelaide Advertiser, there are two new cases, but only one is considered active.

It was reported the state’s chief health officer Nicola Spurrier said one case is from Victoria, and one is from overseas.

Kidd earlier said the active case is under investigation.

SA’s last case was recorded on Thursday 16 July.

Asked if there are national guidelines for people who carry out tests to tell people to self-isolate after testing, the deputy chief medical officer, Michael Kidd, says “it depends what’s happening with the epidemic in each state”.

He says in NSW, those in areas of community transmission need to isolate for 14 days regardless of their result.

Kidd says in Victoria, people have been told to isolate at home until they receive their test results, when they will be given further guidance on what to do if their result is negative.

(It’s) very important when we’re dealing with testing that people who have symptoms are staying at home in isolation until we have a result of whether they are Covid-positive or not.

The people who are doing the testing are providing instructions to people as to what they should be doing, telling people about the isolation requirements and of course going to isolation does not mean going to the local pharmacy or to the supermarket on your way home.

It means going straight home and going to isolation.

We cannot afford not to follow the rules. We have to all play our part if we are going to bring the numbers back down in Victoria.

Australia’s deputy chief medical officer, Michael Kidd, is giving a national Covid-19 update.

He confirms today’s number – 502 new cases – is the worst since the pandemic began.

This is the single largest daily number of diagnoses seen of Covid-19 in Australia since the pandemic began. The previous highest reported number of new cases in a single day was 469 cases, almost four months ago on 28 March.

We reported only two cases on 9 June, less than six weeks ago, and this shows how quickly outbreaks can occur and spread.

The breakdown of new infections are:

• 484 in Victoria
• 16 in New South Wales
• One in Queensland
• One in South Australia

There have been two more deaths reported, from Victoria.

Kidd added:

There are approximately 3,500 people currently infected with Covid-19 in our country.

Nationwide there are 214 people with Covid-19 in hospital, which is an additional 31 people hospitalised since yesterday.

There are 205 people in hospital in Victoria. Among those in hospital there are 42 people in intensive care units and this is four more than yesterday – 25 people are reported to be on ventilators, which is three more than yesterday.

The University of New England has announced that it is facing a $25m revenue shortfall in 2020 and it will conduct a restructure to cut $20m in annual costs.

The vice-chancellor, Brigid Heywood, told Guardian Australia the university’s biggest cost is staff, so this saving will require cuts in staff costs likely to be in the range of 10-12% but possibly as high as 15%.

Heywood would not put a precise estimate on job cuts – but with a current headcount of 1,400, job cuts could be in the order of 140 to 210. Heywood attributed revenue shortfall to the cumulative effect of drought, bushfires and Covid-19.

She said:

We have a very high number of remote and rural students, many of who needed to step away because of those environmental challenges. We’re now seeing a recovery, which is quite significant, that’s very positive, but we’ve had no students in our accommodation for a large part of this year. In our on -campus facilities, we don’t have that community using sport and recreation facilities, which also generate income for us and the region. And then there is the impact of Covid-19 on international student revenue.

There will be cuts to the executive level of the university and promises that the first round of redundancies will be voluntary – before the full restructure is implemented by January 2021 (with no guarantee of no forced redundancies).

Despite the challenges, Heywood is upbeat about education minister Dan Tehan’s university reform package, saying it presents “real opportunities” to help expand the Tamworth campus and get benefits for participation with business in Armidale.

Regional universities get growth in places of 3.5% – higher than fast-growing and established metro unis – which Heywood said “absolutely fits our agenda”.

I’m going to hand over to Elias Visontay to bring you through the afternoon.

Remember, Melbournians: from midnight, you have to wear a face mask when you go out.

The Australian deputy chief medical officer, Prof Michael Kidd, has given an interview to the Australian Academy of Science. You can watch the full thing below.

Kidd made some comments about reusable face masks, including what you should look for in masks you buy or make.

The optimal masks are the surgical masks or cloth masks with the three layers. We have heard reports that people are being encouraged if they don’t have immediate access to three-ply masks just to cover their face in whatever way they can with bandanas or scarfs or other measures.

(That’s not a report, it’s exactly what the Victorian government is saying. If you don’t have a face mask, just cover your face as best you can.)

You can watch the video of Kidd’s comments on face masks here:

Would you like some moody photos of Daniel Andrews?

Don’t say I never get you anything, Andrews fans.

Labor’s housing spokesman, Jason Clare, says homeless people who usually sleep rough but have been housed in hotels during the pandemic should not be sent back out on to the streets.

And he wants national cabinet to address the issue.

Clare says more than 7,000 people who were sleeping rough, or at risk of sleeping rough, in Australia have been given a bed in empty hotel and motel rooms in the past few months, in what he described as one of the “real success stories” of 2020.

The last few months has shown that if we really want to we can significantly reduce the number of Australians sleeping rough.

Now we are at a crossroads. Do we let these Australians just go back to sleeping on the street or in the park or do we provide them with a more permanent roof over their head?

State governments have done some good work here, but we really need a bit of national leadership.

The national cabinet needs to make sure that the homeless Aussies we helped at the height of the pandemic are not thrown back on the street in the next few months.

Clare’s comments come as the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness has written to the prime minister, in a letter supported by 70 organisations, calling on the federal government to make sure homeless Australians are not returned to the street.