Positive COVID-19 case travelled to Brisbane, Sunshine Coast
Queensland Chief Health Officer (CHO) Dr Jeannette Young has today confirmed the movements within the state of a positive COVID-19 case from Sydney's Northern Beaches, where a cluster has now grown to 28 known infections.
The case was one of three reported by Dr Young today, including two in hotel quarantine who had returned from Iraq and Afghanistan.
"The third case is a lady in her 50s who travelled up from the Northern Beaches on the 16th of December. She flew up on Virgin flight VA925, arriving into Brisbane Airport at 9:30am," Dr Young said.
"We are currently contact tracing the rows in front of where she sat, behind and either side.
"Anyone who was on that flight should, if they develop any symptoms at all immediately get themselves tested."
The woman then rented a hire car and went to lunch at The Glen Hotel in the southern Brisbane suburb of Eight Mile Plains, so anyone who visited the venue after 11:30am on 16 December has been urged to get tested if they develop any symptoms.
"The lady then travelled to the Sunshine Coast and we're contact tracing there. She went to a hotel but only had contact with the receptionist, so we're working with that receptionist. Otherwise she didn't have any broad contact there.
"She stayed overnight on the Sunshine Coast, and then travelled through Brisbane to return home to the Northern Beaches, and she went into the Prince Charles Hospital [Chermside, Brisbane] and got tested for COVID because a friend of hers let her know from Sydney."
Dr Young has declared the Northern Beaches of Sydney a COVID-19 hotspot, and as of 1am tomorrow anyone arriving in the state who has been in the area since 11 December will need to enter hotel quarantine up until 14 days have passed since they were in the hotspot.
"Anyone in Queensland today, who has been in the Northern Beaches from 11th of December, onwards, any date, needs to immediately go into quarantine wherever they are, so in their home or a friend's home, a hotel or wherever they are in Queensland," she added.
"They need to organize to get themselves tested. That's very important. And they need to stay in that quarantine site, wherever they are, until it's 14 days since they left the Northern Beaches.
"Police will be working through to see how we can fine people, but essentially I'm relying on people to do the right thing, and we know from the start of the pandemic Queenslanders have overwhelmingly done the right thing, so I ask them that they continue to do that."
Updated at 11:06am AEST on 18 December 2020.
Sydney's Northern Beaches cluster grows, states impose border restrictions
Update (10.13pm AEDT Friday 18 December): NSW has recorded 10 new cases overnight and one positive case has travelled to Queensland)
Those living in Sydney's Northern Beaches have been asked to stay at home as much as possible after a cluster of COVID-19 grew to 17 confirmed cases yesterday afternoon.
Meanwhile Queensland has mandated some new conditions ordering visitors from Sydney's hotspot into immediate hotel quarantine from Saturday, while Tasmania has banned entry to anyone who has visited the northern beaches since 11 December.
Western Australia has ordered that, from midnight last night, anyone entering the state from anywhere in NSW will be required to self-quarantine. The state has changed its classification of NSW from a "very low risk" state to a "low risk" state under WA's controlled interstate border.
To assist with contact tracing and reducing the spread of the virus, people in the Northern Beaches have been asked to stay home as much as possible over the next three days.
This includes working from home where possible, not visiting aged care facilities or hospitals unless essential, avoiding unnecessary gatherings and high-risk venues such as clubs, restaurants, places or worships and gyms, and avoiding unnecessary travel outside of the Northern Beaches area.
States and Territories impose border restrictions
Queensland
Anyone who was in the northern beaches region on or since 11 December and is already in Queensland should get tested and quarantine in their home or accommodation for 14 days from the date they left the northern beaches.
Anyone who was in the northern beaches region on or since 11 December and arrived in Queensland on a flight from Sydney from midnight on 17 December, must get tested and quarantine in their home or accommodation for 14 days from the date they left the northern beaches.
Anyone who was in the northern beaches region on or since 11 December and arrives in Queensland on a flight from Sydney after 1am on 19 December must go into hotel quarantine at their own expense for 14 days from the date they left the northern beaches, and get tested.
Western Australia
From midnight tonight, anyone arriving from New South Wales will now be required to self-quarantine in a suitable premise for 14 days. These arrivals will also be required to be tested for COVID-19 on day 11.
Anyone who has arrived from NSW from 11 December or was in NSW from that date and subsequently arrived in WA before 12.01am this morning (18 December) will be required to follow updated arrangements, which include:
the requirement to self-quarantine in a suitable premise as soon as possible
to present for a COVID-19 test as soon as possible
return to self-quarantine until a negative test result is confirmed
undertake a further test on day 11 after arrival in WA.
Victoria
Anyone who was in the northern beaches region or other NSW exposure sites on or since 11 December and is already in Victoria should get tested and quarantine in their home or accommodation for 14 days from the date they left the northern beaches.
Anyone who was in the northern beaches region or other NSW exposure sites on or since 11 December and arrived in Victoria after midnight last night (17 December), must get tested and quarantine in their home or accommodation for 14 days from the date they left the northern beaches.
Anyone who was in the northern beaches region or other NSW exposure sites on or since 11 December and is already in Victoria should get tested and quarantine in their home or accommodation for 14 days from the date they left the northern beaches.
Tasmania
Tasmania has put a ban on anyone who has been in the northern beaches area on or since 11 December from entering the state.
Anyone already in Tasmania who has been in the northern beaches area must immediately self-isolate and have a COVID-19 test.
South Australia
South Australia has expanded its hotspot zones to include the northern beaches of Sydney, which now requires anyone in the state who visited the area from the dates identified by NSW authorities to self-quarantine immediately for 14 days from the last day they were present on the site.
Anyone who visited these locations must get a COVID-19 test immediately and again on day 12 of the self-quarantine. Even if you return a negative test result, you must remain in quarantine for the full 14 days.
People who live with you and/or travelled with you also need to self-quarantine immediately until they receive further advice from SA Health.
NorthernTerritory
The Northern Territory has advised anyone intending to travel there from an identified hotspot to cancel their plans. The same applies to Territorians intending to travel to an active hotspot.
The Territory says anyone from the northern beaches area entering the NT must quarantine for 14 days.
Public health alerts issued
People who have visited the following Northern Beaches locations should get tested immediately and isolate until they receive a negative result:
HongFa BBQ Restaurant, Dee Why, 15 December 4.30-4.45pm
Dee Why Fruit Market, 33 Oaks Avenue, Dee Why, 15 December, 4.45-4.55pm
North Avalon Cellars, 4/3 N Avalon Rd, Avalon Beach, 15 December, 6-6.05pm
Careel Bay Dog Park and Hitchcock Park, Barrenjoey Rd, Avalon, 16 December 77:30am
Palm Beach Pool, LOT 1 Rock Bath Rd, Palm Beach, 16 December, 8am-9am
Brot and Wurst, 1442 Pittwater Rd, North Narrabeen, 16 December, 2pm-2:05pm
Avalon Beach Post Shop, 45 Avalon Parade, Avalon Beach, 16 December 3.30-3.50pm
A confirmed case also travelled between the following stations on 14 December at the following times. Other passengers are considered to be casual contacts, and should get tested and isolate until a negative result is received.
Roseville to Redfern, 6.50-7.40am
Redfern to Milsons Point, 11.20am-11.45am
Milsons Point to Roseville, 3.15-3.40pm
Updated at 9.23am AEDT on 18 December 2020.
Public health alerts issued after three new cases of COVID-19 detected in NSW
UPDATE (11.07am AEDT 17 December): Two new COVID-19 cases have been confirmed this morning on Sydney's northern beaches, bringing the total number of new cases in the last 24 hours to five.
Following the discovery of three new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in New South Wales yesterday officials have issued a variety of public health alerts.
The majority of the alerts are for Sydney's Northern Beaches where two new infections were recorded in a woman in her 60s and a man in his 70s.
The third case is a person who works as the driver of vans that take international and domestic air crew from the airport to hotels.
Health officials are currently conducting urgent genome sequencing to confirm when and where the infections were acquired.
Anyone who has attended the following additional venues is considered a close contact and should get tested and isolate for 14 days even if they receive a negative result:
Hungry Ghost Café, 20 Avalon Parade, Avalon Sunday, 13 December, 9.30am-11am and Tuesday, 15 December 9.30-11am
Everyone living in the Northern Beaches area should monitor for even the mildest of symptoms and come forward for testing immediately if they appear, then isolate until a negative result is received.
The driver of the airport vans lives in south-western Sydney and attended a sporting event while infectious. Anyone at the event at the times indicated is considered a casual contact:
Forest Rangers FC, Little Rangers session at Gannons Park, Pindari Rd and Isaac Street, Peakhurst Friday, 11 December 2020, 4.30pm 5.30pm
Updated at 9.16am AEDT on 17 December 2020.
Trans-Tasman travel bubble slated for early 2021
New Zealand's Cabinet has agreed in principle to establish a Trans-Tasman travel bubble with Australia in the first quarter of 2021, according to NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (pictured).
The bubble will only be established pending no further outbreaks of community transmission of COVID-19 in either Australia or New Zealand.
Once in place it would allow Australians and New Zealanders to travel between the two countries without needing to go into two weeks of quarantine on arrival.
"Pending confirmation from the Australian cabinet and no significant change in the circumstances of either country, officials have been working on a range of matters and good progress has been made," PM Ardern said.
"There has been some public focus on the requirement for 28 days free of community transmission, but that is just one of the criteria.
"As important is having clear plans in the event of community outbreak in either country that may see borders closed and potentially thousands of New Zealanders seeking to return who may need to go into isolation."
Ardern also said arrangements need to be made with airlines about the management of crew and the separation of Trans-Tasman flights from other services.
This will be done to ensure there is no potential cross-contamination between those transitioning from high-risk areas.
"It is our intention to name a date for the commencement of Trans-Tasman quarantine-free travel in the New Year once remaining details are locked down," Ardern said.
"I think for now, New Zealanders by and large appreciate the approach of the government to ensure that we are not taking on unnecessary risk as we're going into Summer."
Updated at 1.10pm AEDT on 14 December 2020.
CSL shares slip after dumping plans for new COVID-19 vaccine
Australia's largest biotechnology company CSL (ASX: CSL) has abandoned its collaboration with the University of Queensland to develop a promising COVID-19 vaccine after discovering it gives a false positive diagnosis for HIV.
While the move does not impact CSL's leading role in the fight against COVID-19 nationally, it wipes out 10 months' work by scientist from both camps to develop their own vaccine.
While CSL says the decision will not impact the company's FY21 profit guidance, shares in the company opened more than 2 per cent lower today.
The vaccine had proven effective during Phase 1 trials conducted in July without any serious adverse effects or safety concerns reported among the 216 participants in the trial. CSL says the vaccine had a robust response towards the virus.
However, tests were abandoned when it was discovered they gave participants a false diagnosis of HIV.
The CSL vaccine produced antibodies that were directed towards the "molecular clamp" component of the vaccine which caused the false HIV readings in some tests.
Follow-up testing showed HIV was not present in those trial participants and that the vaccine itself did not cause HIV.
"This outcome highlights the risk of failure associated with early vaccine development, and the rigorous assessment involved in making decisions as to what discoveries advance," says CSL's chief scientific officer Dr Andrew Nash.
"This project has only been made possible by the innovative science developed by world-class scientists at The University of Queensland and the strong collaboration between our organisations, and many others, over the last 10 months."
Nash says CSL through its Seqirus flu vaccine subsidiary it will continue its efforts to fight COVID-19 through other previously announced relationships, including its deal to produce the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.
"Manufacture of approximately 30 million doses of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine candidate is under way, with first doses planned for release to Australia early next year," Nash says.
"In addition, CSL has agreed at the request of the Australian Government to manufacture an additional 20 million doses."
A successful outcome from the UQ trials would have led to the large-scale manufacture of this additional vaccine.
While it is possible to re-engineer the vaccine, UQ vaccine co-lead Professor Paul Young says time is not on their side.
"Doing so would set back development by another 12 or so months, and while this is tough decision to take, the urgent need for a vaccine has to be everyone's priority," he says.
"I said at the start of vaccine development that there are no guarantees, but what is really encouraging is that the core technology approach we used has passed the major clinical test.
"It is a safe and well-tolerated vaccine, producing the strong virus neutralising effect that we were hoping to see."
Young says the team plans to undertake further work on the "molecular clamp" technology as a pathway to vaccines for future biosecurity threats.
Updated at 10.25am AEDT on 11 December 2020.
Queensland border reopening to New Zealanders from tomorrow
From 1am tomorrow, Saturday 12 December, Queensland's border will reopen to New Zealand, reuniting families in time for Christmas.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk made the announcement this morning on Nine's Today show, and said the decision was made following health advice.
"Visitors coming in from New Zealand from 1am tomorrow are welcome into Queensland ... and we are hoping that eventually New Zealand will not have to do that hotel quarantine upon return, and then there would be free-flowing movement between the two," she said.
"[Chief Health Officer] Dr Young advised me yesterday that she was more than happy to allow New Zealanders to come into Queensland," she told the Today show.
"It is a wonderful time of year to allow that to happen as well. All the stars are aligned at the moment."
BREAKING: Queensland's borders will open to New Zealand from 1am Saturday 12 December.
More New Zealand citizens call Queensland home than any other Australian state.
With Kiwis able to travel to Queensland from tomorrow, families can finally be reunited in time for Christmas. pic.twitter.com/c60q73OLNj
The announcement comes a day after the state announced further easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
Because Queensland has gone 86 days without community transmission dancing indoors will be allowed at Queensland pubs, clubs, nightclubs and other venues from 12 noon on Monday 14 December.
Three new cases of COVID-19 were detected in Queensland yesterday, all returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
Updated at 9.37am AEDT on 11 December 2020.
Starpharma surges as COVID nasal spray wafts into Europe
Shares in Starpharma (ASX: SPL) surged more than 17 per cent in morning trade after the company announced it was on track to bring its anti-COVID nasal spray to the market earlier than expected.
With an EU regulatory dossier 90 per cent complete, Starpharma says the product, to be marketed as VIRALEZE, will be ready to hit the shelves in the first quarter of next year.
VIRALEZE has been shown to inactivate more than 99.9 per cent of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. It is also effective against other respiratory viruses such as influenza.
Starpharma says marketing of the product is well advanced and it is building inventory of components and raw material to support rapid roll-out. The company is preparing to launch in Europe as early as January.
While the upcoming registration approval is restricted to Europe, Starpharma plans to leverage off this to extend the roll-out into other markets including Australia.
The news sent Starpharma shares as high as $1.53 in early trading on the ASX today, up from yesterday's close of $1.30.
Starpharma CEO Dr Jackie Fairley says VIRALEZE has shown it can restore confidence and encourage people to resume daily work and leisure activities.
"Our market research also shows that the compelling features and convenience of VIRALEZE are highly appealing to consumers," she says.
"Even after a vaccine becomes widely available, social distancing, PPE and other measures will continue to be important and VIRALEZE complements other prevention strategies, including vaccines."
VIRALEZE is expected to be used in conjunction with other preventative measures such as COVID-19 vaccines to further reduce the risk of infection.
The World Health Organisation estimated in November that Europe's death rate from COVID-19 is tracking at one person every 17 seconds.
"It is with the greatest urgency that Starpharma is working to make this product ready for market as quickly as possible in 1Q CY21," says Fairley.
Starpharma research shows 60 per cent of people surveyed liked VIRALEZE, with 80 per cent of millennials showing intent to purchase.
Updated at 12.55pm AEDT on 10 December.
Restrictions to ease as SA reports no active cases
With no active cases of COVID-19 in South Australia as of today, a number of COVID-19 restrictions will be eased from next Monday 14 December.
The easing of restrictions will benefit hospitality operators, gyms owners and entertainment facilities, and will enable full family gatherings for the Christmas holiday period.
As such, from Monday 14 December the following restrictions will ease:
Standing up while drinking at bars will be permitted
Play gyms will be allowed to reopen
Capacity limits on home gatherings will increase from 10 to 50 people
Private functions will be able to see 200 people gather, up from 150 people
Venues like cinemas and theatres will be able to host up to 70 per cent of capacity with patrons wearing masks indoors
Gyms will be able to operate under the one person per two square metre rule
Weddings and funerals will be able to have 200 people in attendance
Further, the recommendation to work from home where possible will be removed and masks will no longer be mandatory except for "high risk" individuals.
The use of the QR code check-in system will be expanded to retailers too.
SA chief public health officer Nicola Spurrier said it was great for the state to report no new cases of COVID-19 today and no active cases of the virus.
"I really like zeros," she said.
"Well done, I'm really pleased about that."
The announcement comes after Queensland announced yesterday that travellers from SA would be able to enter the northern state from Saturday.
Updated at 3.22pm AEDT on 8 December 2020.
Queensland to open border to Adelaide from Saturday
Queensland will permit those living in Adelaide to travel unrestricted into the state from 1am on Saturday 12 December.
The reopening of the QLD border to Adelaide is conditional on the South Australian capital recording no new unlinked cases of COVID-19 before Saturday.
QLD health authorities say the reopening is possible because by Saturday it will have been 28 days since the first case was recorded in connection to the Parafield cluster in Adelaide.
With that outbreak now under control, Queensland it set to welcome those in SA back to the sunshine state for Christmas.
The news comes as Western Australia confirmed it will be reopening its border to residents from New South Wales and Victoria.
That reopening occurred overnight, with those in NSW and VIC now able to cross into WA without having to complete 14 days of self-quarantine on arrival.
It brings the two states in line with other jurisdictions already classified as "very low risk", including the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.
Queensland reported three new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, all returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
Dancefloors open up, density limits drop as Victorian restrictions eased further
As of this morning capacity limits on Victorian businesses and hospitality venues have eased and masks are no longer mandatory in a variety of settings as the state moves towards a "COVIDSafe Summer".
Announced yesterday by Premier Daniel Andrews, these freshly eased restrictions will remain in place until at least the end of January, guiding the state through the summer months.
As of 11:59pm yesterday density limits in pubs, restaurants and cafes shifted to one person per two square metres for both indoors and outdoors.
The use of electronic record keeping with a QR code will be mandatory.
For smaller venues there are no density limits if the patron number is under 25.
Retail and beauty services have also moved to the one person per two square metre rule as long as electronic record keeping is introduced.
The cap for funerals and weddings has also been removed, subject to a new density limit of 1 person per 2sqm, and dancefloors at weddings are allowed for up to 50 people.
A dancefloor of 50 people is also allowed at nightclubs.
In gyms, the density limit has moved to one person per four square metres with exercise classes limited to 50 indoors and 100 outdoors.
Masks are only required in a limited number of places: on public transport, in rideshare vehicles and taxis, in some retail settings including indoor shopping centres, supermarkets, department stores and indoor markets.
The state will move to a 50 per cent return for office workers by 11 January, after considering public health advice at the time.
For the public service up to 25 per cent will be able to return to the office from 11 January, moving up to 50 per cent on 8 February.
"Until we have a vaccine and even then, until we have a widely distributed vaccine some aspects of these rules and restrictions must continue to be part of our reality," Premier Daniel Andrews said.
"Our new "COVIDSafe Summer" will be in place until at least the end of January, giving Victorians a bit more certainty about what the next couple of months will look like."
Victoria reported zero new cases of COVID-19 yesterday and zero new deaths while there are still no active cases of the virus in the state.
Updated at 9.36am AEDT on 7 December 2020.
SA defies chief health officer advice, eases restrictions further
Social distancing measures imposed on South Australian hospitality operators will be eased effective immediately against the advice of chief health officer Nicola Spurrier (pictured).
As such, operators of hospitality venues in the state will see distancing measures eased from one person per four square metres to one person per two square metres today.
According to the state's police commissioner Grant Stevens the decision was made against the advice of the CHO.
However, the SA Transition Committee determined the change to be appropriate given the resounding uptake of the new QR code check-in system for businesses and venues across the state.
"It was made clear by Professor Spurrier that the preferred way forward and moving into the next phase of this particular response is that we retain social distancing of one person per four square metres across the board, and that we reconsider our position as we move into next week," Stevens said.
"We looked at the performance of the South Australian community in relation to the take up of the use of QR codes, where we are currently over 1.1 million check ins across the state, which is exceptional.
"And also looking at the economic and social factors in relation to the restrictions that are currently in place, and the advice from the Transition Committee as a whole, was that the best course of action would be to move to a distancing requirement of one person per two square metres for hospitality."
Other activities are still restricted to one person per four square metres.
Professor Nicola Spurrier said it was difficult to give the Transition Committee a solid risk assessment at this point in time but she was confident the easing of restrictions could work if the use of the QR code check-in system was taken up across the board.
"Our recommendation from a health perspective was to continue that one per four square metre density requirement and my other advice was that we would reconsider things every couple of days," she said.
"I am providing the best advice that I can and obviously the density requirement in certain venues means that you don't have as many contacts between people. But on the other hand we have the QR readers which really is a game changer."
No new cases of COVID-19 were detected in SA today. There are now just seven active cases in South Australia and 272 people in quarantine.
Yesterday 3,548 South Australians got tested for COVID-19 a low number of tests according to Spurrier.
"That is not really high enough guys, I'd like to see it a little bit higher," she said.
"If you happen to be one of those people with a bit of a sore throat or a runny nose can you please go out and get it done."
Updated at 11.42am AEDT on 4 December 2020.
Aussies to wait for now as UK starts rolling out Pfizer vaccine
The UK may be ready to roll out the new Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in the UK, but Australians will have to wait until March for a government-approved program.
The UK government overnight revealed that it will distribute the Pfizer-BioNTech for mass vaccinations from next week as COVID-related deaths in the country edge closer to 60,000. The treatment is said to offer up to 95 per cent protections against COVID-19.
The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulator Agency in the UK has assessed the vaccine as safe to be distributed next week.
"I'm very proud that the UK is the first place in the world to have a clinically authorised vaccine," British Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the BBC.
Britain will begin immunisations for those most in need, including the residents of aged-care homes. The government has ordered 40 million doses, enough to immunise 20 million people.
"It's the protection of vaccines that will ultimately allow us to reclaim our lives and get the economy moving again," UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted.
Meanwhile, the Australian government is progressing towards its own vaccination program which is expects will occur early next year.
"Our advice remains that the timeline for a decision on approval is expected by the end of January 2021 and our planning is for first vaccine delivery in March 2021," says Health Minister Greg Hunt.
"Pfizer continues to work with the Therapeutic Goods Administration, providing data for safety and efficacy as part of the approval process."
In preparation for the program the government today is pushing through parliament the Australian Immunisation Register Amendment (Reporting) Bill 2020.
The purpose of the amendment is designed to ensure compulsory reporting of all vaccinations in the Australian Immunisation Register.
Hunt says these changes will ensure that every Australian can access their vaccine history through this safe and secure register and support the administration of COVID-19 vaccines.
"The Australian Government has acted decisively to secure production and supply agreements to secure early access to 134 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine to Australians in 2021-21 and 2021-22 through an investment so far of $3.3 billion," he says.
"In addition to the significant investment in COVID-19 vaccines, the Australian government invests over $400 million each year though the National Immunisation Program to protect Australians against 17 vaccine preventable diseases."
Updated at 11.13am AEDT on 3 December 2020.
Massive easing of COVID restrictions to set NSW free
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has finally set the state free with a wholesale lifting of restrictions across the hospitality and events sector, paving the way for the performing arts community to get back to work.
The changes, which will see outdoor venues able to accept 100 per cent capacity and indoor venues up to 75 per cent, come as NSW continues to record zero cases of community transmissions.
The current rule of one person per four square metres for indoor venues will be eased to one per two square metres. Venue caps also will be removed on events such as weddings and funerals. The only exceptions at this stage are gyms and nightclubs which must adhere to the four-square-metre restrictions.
The changes will come into effect from Monday, 7 December.
"We are grateful to the people in NSW for their patience and understanding over what has been an incredibly difficult year," Berejiklian says.
"The rolling back of restrictions across the state is only possible because of the excellent work of the community who have followed social distancing guidelines and continued to come forward for testing."
The new rules to apply in NSW from next week are:
Venues including hospitality venues, retail and places of worship:
one person per two square metres (with 25 people permitted before the rule applies), except for gyms and nightclubs (one person per four square metres with a maximum of 50 people allowed in gym classes or on the dance floor at nightclubs).
Stadiums and theatres:
outdoors: 100 per cent seated capacity, and one person per two square metres for unstructured seating areas
indoors: 75 per cent seated capacity.
Gatherings in outdoor public spaces:
up to 100 people for outdoor gatherings (up from 50)
up to 5,000 people for outdoor events that are fenced, ticketed and seated (subject to the two-square-metre rule)
up to 3,000 people for other organised outdoor events, such as community sport and outdoor protests (subject to the two-square-metre rule).
Dance floors:
up to 50 people indoors.
Singing:
up to 50 performers indoors, no maximum cap outdoors
advice is for the congregation or audience to continue wearing masks if singing.
Under the changes, maximum capacity caps will be removed subject to the two-square-metre rule for:
bookings at hospitality venues
weddings
funerals
regional agricultural shows
corporate events
religious services.
Deputy Premier John Barilaro says the people of NSW have worked hard to keep COVID-19 under control and deserved this major easing of restrictions.
"Today is a great day for the people of NSW and great timing with Christmas fast approaching, as we will soon see larger crowds at venues and events and the expansion of the two-square-metre rule statewide," he says.
Under the changes, most venues will be able to double their capacity, which will have an immediate and substantial impact on the economy.
"This change will make a big difference to many businesses and will provide a real boost for jobs particularly in the service industry which has been hit hard over the past nine months," says Treasurer Dominic Perrottet.
NSW warns that despite the easing of restrictions, the public needs to remain COVID-safe, urging anyone to get tested and avoid going to work if they have the slightest symptoms, and to continue maintain social distancing.
"It is critical that people continue to come forward for testing and practice COVID-safe behaviour when out and about and catching up with family and friends," says NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant.
Updated at 3.26pm AEDT on 2 December 2020.
FDA fast tracks Mesoblast COVID-19 treatment
A COVID-19 treatment being developed by Australian pharmaceutical company Mesoblast (ASX: MSB) has been granted Fast Track designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today.
The designation is for MSB's treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDs) - a potentially fatal complication of COVID-19 infection called remestemcel-L.
As a result, the FDA will assist in the development of remestemcel-L and will expedite the review of the drug because it fills an unmet medical need.
Under Fast Track designation, a Biologic License Application (BLA) for remestemcel-L is eligible for both rolling submission and priority review.
In its submission to the FDA Mesoblast highlighted results from a pilot study of remestemcel-L under emergency compassionate use at New York's Mt Sinai Hospital in March-April this year.
In this study, nine of 12 ventilator-dependent patients with moderate to severe COVID-19 ARDS were successfully discharged from hospital a median of 10 days after receiving two intravenous doses of remestemcel-L.
An ongoing Phase 3 trial of the drug in up to 300 ventilator-dependent patients is approximately two thirds enrolled.
Two interim analyses of this trial have been performed by the independent Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB), with recommendations to continue the trial.
Receipt of the Fast Track designation comes after Mesoblast entered into a license and collaboration agreement with Novartis for the development, manufacture and commercialisation of remestemcel-L.
As part of the deal Switzerland-based Novartis will make a US$50 million (AUD$68.7 million) upfront payment to Mesoblast.
Following the initiation of a Phase 3 clinical trial, Novartis will fully fund the global clinical development of the drug.
In addition, Mesoblast may receive a total of US$505 million (AUD$694 million) pending achievement of pre-commercialisation milestones for remestemcel-L and a further US$750 million (AUD$1 billion) based on achieving certain sales milestones.
Mesoblast will retain full rights for the use of remestemcel-L for treatment of graft versus host disease.
Updated at 9.58am AEDT on 2 December 2020.
WA border to VIC and NSW to open completely from 8 December
The imposition of two weeks self-quarantine on arrival in Western Australia will no longer be in place for those travelling from Victoria and New South Wales from Tuesday 8 December.
Announced today by Premier Mark McGowan, both VIC and NSW will be classified as "very low risk" states, meaning travellers can enter WA without needing to quarantine for a fortnight from 12.01am next Tuesday.
The move comes after VIC went 28 days with no locally acquired cases of COVID-19 last Friday, with NSW expected to reach that milestone this coming Friday.
"It has been a remarkable effort from Victoria, in particular given the position they were in just a few months ago," WA Premier McGowan said.
"It's an outstanding achievement unrivalled around the world.
"Western Australia's border controls have been highly effective in reducing the number of potential cases of COVID coming into WA."
Though travellers from NSW and VIC will no longer have to complete 14 days of self-quarantine on arrival, they will still be subject to a number of restrictions at the border.
These include arrivals undergoing a health screening and temperature test at the border, potentially completing a COVID-19 test if required by WA authorities, and completing a declaration that they do not have symptoms of the virus and detailing which jurisdictions they have been in.
As WA still has a hard border arrangement in place with South Australia, arrivals from NSW and VIC must not have been into SA for 14 days before arrival and must not have knowingly mixed with anyone from SA.
Travel into WA from SA remains prohibited until at least 11 December according to McGowan.
"The controlled interstate border is a careful and cautious approach. It faced its first test only the day after it came into effect due to the concerning outbreak in South Australia," McGowan said.
"I always said we would not hesitate to reinstate the hard border if the health advice recommended it, and that's what we did within hours in response to the situation in South Australia."
WA has also further eased restrictions today, with places of worship now exempt from the one person per two square metre rule.
WA recorded three new cases of COVID-19 today - all returned overseas travellers in hotel quarantine.
It has been 233 days since WA last recorded a locally acquired case of COVID-19.
Updated at 12.33pm AEDT on 1 December 2020.
JobKeeper recipient numbers fall by two million
Green shoots of recovery can be seen in the Australian economy as the number of Australian businesses requesting an extension of wage subsidy JobKeeper fell below forecasts in October.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has announced preliminary data shows around 450,000 fewer businesses and around 2 million fewer employees qualified for JobKeeper in October than in September.
The data comes from a re-test of business eligibility for the second phase of the scheme, involving the processing of applications from around 500,000 entities covering more than 1.5 million employees or eligible business participants.
"These preliminary October JobKeeper figures suggest an improvement on the 2020-21 Budget assumption of 2.2 million recipients for the December quarter, with around 700,000 fewer employees/eligible business participants covered by the Payment in October due to their employer no longer meeting the required decline in turnover test," says Frydenberg.
"The lower-than-forecast take-up of the JobKeeper Payment extension in October is further evidence that Australia's recovery from this once-in-a-century pandemic is well underway.
The Federal Government made nearly $70 billion in payments for the 13 JobKeeper fortnights to 27 September 2020.
Treasurer Frydenberg highlights recent economic data shows outside Victoria employment has recovered to be less than one per cent below March levels, with some 650,000 jobs created in the past five months nationwide.
"The Reserve Bank of Australia has recently updated its forecast for the unemployment rate, which it now expects to peak at around 8 per cent, down from its earlier forecast of 10 per cent," he says.
"The effective unemployment rate decreased from 9.3 per cent in September to 7.4 per cent in October, with around 80 per cent of those who lost their job or stood down on zero hours now back at work.
"In Victoria, as restrictions have eased, the effective unemployment rate has fallen from 14 per cent to 10.5 per cent."
Updated at 11:20am AEDT on 30 November 2020.
Quarantine breach sparks new public health alerts for Adelaide businesses
A number of public health alerts have been issued for businesses like Big W, Kmart and Foodland in Adelaide after a positive COVID-19 case breached a quarantine order.
The man was a casual contact of a COVID-19 case and was ordered to self-quarantine, but he breached the direction and later tested positive for the virus.
As such SA Health has asked anyone who attended the below locations to seek testing immediately, even those without symptoms of COVID-19:
Big W Brickworks, South Rd, Torrensville - Sunday 22 November 12.15pm to 12.50pm
Flinders University Sturt Campus, Bedford Park - 13 November to 28 November
Foodland, The Parade, Norwood - Sunday 22 November 1.20pm to 2.00pm
Kmart, Anzac Hwy, Kurralta Park - Sunday 22 November 2.45pm to 3.10pm
SA Health has established a new pop-up testing clinic near Brickworks in Torrensville.
The clinic, at the Thebarton Community Centre, will be upon from 8am to 8pm, and no bookings or referrals are needed.
SA recorded no new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, but there are still 17 active cases of the virus in the state.
Updated at 9.23am AEDT on 30 November 2020.
South Australia to ease COVID-19 restrictions from next Tuesday
COVID-19 restrictions on venues and gatherings in South Australia will ease from next Tuesday 1 December with an aim to get the state back to "a sense of normality" by Christmas.
The changes will benefit hospitality and venue operators in the state with gathering caps increased, and will stay in place for two weeks so SA Health can monitor the situation.
On the same day all border restrictions with Victoria will be lifted, letting people cross into SA for the first time in months.
From 1 December patron caps on all general trade in licenced premises will be removed, conditional on individual premises deploying SA's new QR code check-in system.
However, the one person per four square metres rule will apply for all indoor activities in venues, and alcohol can only be consumed while seated.
The one person per two square metre rule will come back into play for outdoor spaces at venues, and consumption of alcohol while standing up will be permitted.
A total of 150 people will be allowed to attend funerals, weddings and private functions.
People will be allowed to drink standing up inside at private functions in venues, and dancing will be allowed at weddings.
Home gatherings sizes will remain capped at a maximum of ten people, and gatherings of more than 1,000 people and at nightclubs must have a COVID management plan in place.
Community sport will be able to resume, and masks will be required where physical distancing is not possible.
Internaitonal arrivals suspension extended
A suspension of international arrivals into SA has been extended by a further week until Monday 7 December, but the state's Premier Steven Marshall says he remains committed to the Federal Government's repatriation plan.
There have been no new cases of COVID-19 reported in SA today after a massive 12,322 tests were done yesterday.
"I want to thank every single person in the state for the outstanding effort and contribution," Premier Steven Marshall said.
"This is really a combined effort to do every single plausible thing we can to get back to a sense of normality by Christmas this year."
There are currently 31 cases linked to the Parafield outbreak which sent SA into lockdown for three days last week.
Further, there are just 23 active cases in SA, a reduction on yesterday after SA Health determined a number of infected people had recovered from COVID-19 and were no longer displaying any symptoms.
An air-conditioned pop-up testing clinic has been established at Adelaide's Showgrounds today as the state swelters through a heatwave.
Chief health officer Dr Nicola Spurrier has encouraged South Australians to come forward and get tested if they feel unwell.
"The one thing that every South Australian needs to do in the coming weeks, even if you have only mild respiratory symptoms, is go and get tested," she said.
"If you've already had a test and then a couple of weeks later you start to feel unwell again, go and get another test."
There have been 599 total cases reported in SA since the beginning of the pandemic.
Updated at 12.00pm AEDT on 27 November 2020.
Data from 45 countries show containing COVID vs saving the economy is a false dichotomy
There is no doubt the COVID-19 crisis has incurred widespread economic costs. There is understandable concern that stronger measures against the virus, from social distancing to full lockdowns, worsen its impact on economies.
As a result, there has been a tendency to consider the problem as a trade-off between health and economic costs.
This view, for example, has largely defined the approach of the US federal government. "I think we've learned that if you shut down the economy, you're going to create more damage," said US Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin in June, as the Trump administration resisted calls to decisively combat the nation's second COVID wave.
But the notion of a trade-off is not supported by data from countries around the world. If anything, the opposite may be true.
Data from 45 nations
Let's examine available data for 45 nations from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, using COVID-19 data and economic indicators.
The COVID-19 statistics we'll focus on are deaths per million of population. No single indicator is perfect, and these rates don't always reflect contextual factors that apply to specific countries, but this indicator allows us to draw a reasonably accurate global picture.
The economic indicators we'll examine are among those most widely used for overall evaluations of national economic performance. Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita is an index of national wealth. Exports and imports measure a country's international economic activity. Private consumption expenditure is an indicator of how an economy is travelling.
Effects on GDP per capita
Our first chart plots nations' deaths per million from COVID-19 against the percentage change in per capita GDP during the second quarter of 2020.
The size of each data point shows the scale of deaths per million as of June 30, using a logarithmic, or "log", scale a way to display a very wide range of values in compact graphical form.
Log(deaths per million) by percentage change in Q2 2020 GDP per capita.
If suppressing the virus, thereby leading to fewer deaths per million, resulted in worse national economic downturns, then the "slope" in figure 1 would be positive. But the opposite is true, with the overall correlation being -0.412.
The two outliers are China, in the upper-left corner, with a positive change in GDP per capita, and India at the bottom. China imposed successful hard lockdowns and containment procedures that meant economic effects were limited. India imposed an early hard lockdown but its measures since have been far less effective. Removing both from our data leaves a correlation of -0.464.
Exports and imports
Our second chart shows the relationship between deaths per million and percentage change in exports.
If there was a clear trade-off between containing the virus and enabling international trade, we would see a positive relationship between the changes in exports and death-rates. Instead, there appears to be no relationship.
Log(deaths per million) by percentage change in Q2 2020 exports.
Our third chart shows the relationship between deaths per million and percentage change in imports. As with exports, a trade-off would show in a positive relationship. But there is no evidence of such a relationship here either.
Log(deaths per million) by percentage change in Q2 2020 imports.
Consumer spending
Our fourth chart shows the relationship between deaths per million and percentage change in private consumption expenditure. This complements the picture we get from imports and exports, by tracking consumer spending as an indicator of internal economic activity.
Log(deaths per million) by percentage change in Q2 2020 private consumption.
Again, no positive relationship. Instead, the overall negative relationship suggests those countries that succeeded (at least temporarily) in suppressing the virus were better off economically than those countries adopting a more laissez-faire approach.
National wealth
As a postscript to this brief investigation, let's take a quick look at whether greater national wealth seems to have helped countries deal with the virus.
Our fifth and final chart plots cases per million (not deaths per million) against national GDP per capita.
Log(GDP per capita) by log(cases per million).
If wealthier countries were doing better at suppressing transmission, the relationship should be negative. Instead, the clusters by region suggest it's a combination of culture and politics driving the effectiveness of nations' responses (or lack thereof).
In fact, if we examine the largest cluster, of European countries (the green dots), the relationship between GDP per capita and case rates is positive (0.379) the opposite of what we would expect.
The standard economic indicators reviewed here show, overall, countries that have contained the virus also tend to have had less severe economic impacts than those that haven't.
No one should be misled into believing there is zero-sum choice between saving lives and saving the economy. That is a false dichotomy.
If there is anything to be learned regarding how to deal with future pandemics, it is that rapidly containing the pandemic may well lessen its economic impact.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has announced her state will finally be open to Victorians after the southern state went 28 days without community transmission of COVID-19.
The Queensland border was first completely closed to Victorians on 10 July on fears of an outbreak of COVID-19 that eventually resulted in Melbourne being locked down for months.
Speaking to ABC News Breakfast this morning Palaszczuk welcomed Victorians back to the Sunshine State for the Christmas period.
"I congratulate Daniel Andrews, their chief health officer, and all Victorians because this is just such fantastic news," she said on the program.
"So it means on the 1st of December Victorians can also come to Queensland and, of course, Queenslanders could go to Victoria as well."
The announcement comes one day after the Queensland Government announced those in Sydney would be allowed to cross the border north from 1 December.
Victoria again reported no new cases of COVID-19 and no active cases of the coronavirus in the state today.
The easing of border measures means Victorians will no longer need to complete 14 days of quarantine on arrival, unless they have recently been in a COVID-19 hotspot.
Border restrictions with South Australia are still being considered as the Parafield cluster remains a concern to Dr Young.
Updated at 9.18am AEDT on 25 November 2020.
Queensland to open to Sydneysiders on 1 December
Update: Since publication Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced Queensland will also reopen to Victorians from 1 December. Read more.
A long-awaited Queensland border opening to Sydney residents will soon be a reality after the State Government announced closures would be lifted from 1 December.
A 28-day streak without any unlinked cases in Greater Sydney gave the Sunshine State's chief health officer Dr Jeannette Young the confidence to make today's call, just in time for the busy Christmas period.
Following Queensland's opening to the rest of New South Wales on 1 November, the latest update means no visitors from the neighbouring state will need to complete two weeks of quarantine, unless of course they have been in a hostpot area recently.
"New South Wales, we welcome you to Queensland from the 1st of December. We know how tough this has been on families; this is a great day, it's exciting news, and it has met the requirements that Dr Young has set," Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.
Victorians may be able to travel to QLD in December too, with a decision on that border to be made tomorrow morning.
"Tomorrow is the day that Victoria will meet that threshold as well, so I will update everybody again tomorrow morning," the Premier said.
"I've advised also Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews that if they reach that 28 days tomorrow, then they too will be open on the 1st of December.
"We're in contact with the airlines - we know how important it is that the airlines are able to plan. People are able to plan for their holidays as well, and Queensland is good to go. We absolutely want to see our tourism industry continue to flourish and prosper."
Border restrictions with South Australia are still being considered as the Parafield cluster remains a concern to Dr Young.
The QLD border has been closed to Sydney since 1 August when cases of community transmission began reappearing in the NSW capital, making it a COVID-19 hotspot in the eyes of QLD's authorities.
QLD reported just one new case of COVID-19 today - a person in hotel quarantine. It has been 70 days since QLD reported a locally acquired case of the coronavirus.
"We are seeing more and more cases in hotel quarantine, and that's to be expected as we see the case numbers elsewhere in the world continue to rise," Dr Young said.
"The important thing to recognise is that this virus is circulating throughout the world, that the case numbers are increasing - we're very safe here because of our international border restrictions, but it could happen at any time.
"It was so unexpected when they got that case in South Australia, and their hospital system down there is to be commended that they picked up that case so quickly to present it to one of their emergency departments."
In order for Queensland to have that first line of defence by tracing the virus successfully, Dr Young reiterated the need for the public to be tested if they have any symptom, no matter where in the state they may be.
"Please just come forward and get tested...it is wonderful to see the large numbers of Queenslanders still coming forward. That is so critical, because if you find the first case in an outbreak, we can get on top of it very quickly and not have to do all those close-downs that no none of us want to see."
Updated at 10.54am AEDT on 24 November 2020.
Victoria eases restrictions as state goes 24 days with no new cases
Capacity limits at venues have increased, community sport has returned, and masks are no longer mandatory outdoors after COVID-19 restrictions eased in Victoria overnight.
The easing of restrictions comes as Victoria goes 24 days with no new cases of COVID-19 this morning, giving the state's Premier confidence to push for a "normal" Christmas.
As such, from 11.59pm last night a number of COVID-19 restrictions eased in Victoria.
The number of visitors to one's home has increased from two to 15 per day. This can be split across different times (eg. ten for lunch and five for dinner) as long as the total never goes beyond 15.
Outdoor gatherings in a public place like parks or beaches can have up to 50 people in attendance.
Weddings are now allowed to have 150 people in attendance, with the same capacity number applying to funerals and other religious ceremonies indoors.
Small venues have seen density limits change to one person per two square metres, with capacity restrictions of up to 50 customers and mandatory QR code record keeping.
For larger venues the density limit will stay the same, but the capacity will increase to 150.
Cinemas, galleries and museums can now host up to 150 people indoors.
Contact and non-contact community club sport has resumed for adults and children, with limits of 150 people indoors with a group size of up to 20 and 500 people outdoors with groups of up to 50.
Masks are no longer mandatory when Victorians are outdoors however they will still be required on public transport and indoors where social distancing is not possible.
A phased return to the office for private sector employees will begin from 30 November where up to 25 per cent of staff can work onsite.
The state plans on easing restrictions further from 13 December, just in time for Christmas.
If case numbers remain as low as they have for the past month the government will permit gatherings of up to 30 at homes from 13 December, with babies under 12 months not counting toward the cap.
"Three months ago, Victoria had 4293 active cases. Today we have one. It's an incredible achievement," Premier Daniel Andrews said.
"Back then, the goal the hope was something a little more 'normal' for Christmas.
"Today, because of the efforts of every Victorian, that's exactly what we've been able to achieve."
Victoria recorded no new cases of COVID-19 today, with just one active case in the entire state.
The easing of restrictions also comes as New South Wales opens its borders to Victoria overnight.
Updated at 10.09am AEDT on 23 November 2020.
South Australia cuts lockdown short, restrictions to ease from midnight Saturday
South Australia's lockdown was made on a "false premise" and has been cut short by three days after SA Health determined a close contact of a positive COVID-19 case had lied to authorities.
As such, from midnight on Saturday night the state will return to restrictions imposed earlier this week, meaning stay at home orders will be revoked and venues will be permitted to reopen.
The individual who mislead authorities was a close contact of the case who worked both at the Peppers medi-hotel and at the Woodville Pizza Bar, but it is not yet clear why they lied.
SA's Premier Steven Marshall said he was "fuming" that this could have happened. But today's announcement is positive for many businesses that will be permitted to reopen this weekend, while exercise will be allowed effective immediately within the family unit.
From midnight Saturday hospitality venues will be allowed to reopen with the one person per four square metre rule and a capacity of 100 people at a time.
Funerals will be allowed to have 50 mourners in attendance, weddings will be able to resume with up to 100 guests, but dancing and standing consumption of alcohol will be banned.
Private gatherings at venues will be capped at 50 people, while 10 people will be allowed to gather in private residences.
Masks will still be encouraged but not mandatory, gyms will be allowed to reopen from midnight on Saturday, and schools will return as normal from Monday morning.
The state will revert to restrictions in place before the Parafield COVID-19 outbreak from 1 December, the date SA intends to reopen borders to Victorians.
It comes as SA records three new cases of COVID-19 today, all in quarantine, but the state's chief health officer Dr Nicola Spurrier expects that number to rise over the coming days.
There are now 25 cases linked to the cluster, and SA Health has reported there are 44 suspected cases of COVID-19.
Additionally, there are 4,500 South Australians in quarantine for a full 14 days as they are close contacts of confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19.
Dr Spurrier said she was pleased with the efforts of South Australians over the course of this week, but reiterates SA Health has a number of contacts to trace before restrictions are eased on Saturday.
"We are not out of the woods yet," she said.
"We still have a significant number of contacts and contacts of close contacts because we are doing that double ring-fencing or 'sandbagging' as it were around everybody who is a case."
According to SA's Police Commissioner Grant Stevens the state would not have gone into lockdown if the close contact of a COVID-19 had lied to authorities.
Stevens has denied the decision to place SA into total lockdown was an overreaction, as authorities erred on the side of caution based on the information available to them at the time.
"This person told us they went in and bought a pizza, and you can imagine the difference in the scenario that unfolds from that scenario compared to working several shifts alongside other people and engaging with other people...customers, delivery drivers," Stevens said.
"It changes the situation completely for us, and we now have to place significant efforts in to tie that up.
Stevens said SA now needed to move past this.
"We need to keep doing what we're doing so that we actually crush this particular cluster and get back to where we were before the 15th of November, and aim for the 1st of December where we see ourselves getting ready for Christmas and spending time with our families," he said.
The Police Commissioner said the individual will not be hit with a penalty as it is not an offence to lie to contact tracers.
Dr Spurrier said the state had brought in additional contact tracers to manage the evolving situation in SA, and would deploy the best of the best to get on top of the outbreak.
"One of the things that makes contact tracing interviews most sucessful is when we can develop trust between the person that's doing the interviewing and the person on the end of the phone," she said.
"The absolute majoruty, the vast majority of people that have provided information to us have done it, giving us as complete information as they possibly can and have trusted us with that information."
The news comes as the world has recorded 642,464 new cases of COVID-19 and 10,703 deaths in the last 24 hours.
Updated at 12.21pm AEDT on 20 November 2020.
Mesoblast, Novartis sign commercialisation deal for COVID-19 treatment
Australian pharmaceutical company Mesoblast (ASX: MSB) has penned an exclusive worldwide licence and collaboration agreement with Novartis for the manufacture and commercialisation of proposed COVID-19 treatment remestemcel-L.
As part of the deal Switzerland-based Novartis will make a US$50 million (AUD$68.7 million) upfront payment to Mesoblast.
Following the initiation of a Phase 3 clinical trial, Novartis will fully fund the global clinical development of the drug.
In addition, Mesoblast may receive a total of US$505 million (AUD$694 million) pending achievement of pre-commercialisation milestones for remestemcel-L and a further US$750 million (AUD$1 billion) based on achieving certain sales milestones.
Over the course of this year Mesoblast has been developing the drug for the treatment of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) the principal cause of death for COVID-19 patients.
Mesoblast chief executive Dr Silviu Itescu said the partnership with Novatis will make remestemcel-L available for patients suffering from the condition.
"Our collaboration with Novartis will help ensure that remestemcel-L could become available to the many patients suffering from ARDS, the principal cause of mortality in COVID-19 infection," Dr Itescu said.
"This agreement is in line with our corporate strategy to collaborate and partner with world-leading major pharma companies in order to maximise market access for our innovative cellular medicines."
Remestemcel-L is currently being studied in COVID-19 related ARDS in an ongoing 300-patient Phase 3 study.
Novartis intends to initiate a Phase 3 study in non-COVID-related ARDS after the anticipated closing of the licence agreement and successful completion and outcome of the current study.
MSB shares rose by 12.5 per cer cent to $3.68 each during morning trading.
Updated at 10.53am AEDT on 20 November 2020.
Navigating the long road to recovery for Melbourne CBD
Real estate investment is all about location and the city centre is not the place to be for retail and hospitality businesses in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Melbourne's CBD office vacancy rate has climbed to 11.3 per cent according to realestate.com.au and business owners are surviving on as little as 10 per cent of regular trade.
One million workers, shoppers and tourists visited Melbourne daily at the start of 2020, but a recent Roy Morgan poll showed movement is now at just 15 per cent of pre-Covid levels.
Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp was re-elected on a platform to revitalise the city centre but the reality is CBD businesses are suffering from the absence of people.
Since the start of the pandemic, hundreds of shops have been vacated and it's difficult to see a recovery in any meaningful way until the second half of next year at least.
A revival is partly dependent on vaccines becoming available but also changing the attitudes of workers and employers.
Not everyone will return to the office and abandon the flexibility of working from home, and CBD shops will struggle for a significant period yet even as restrictions are lifted.
High streets and smaller retail centres with significant independent retailers as tenants have suffered as the smaller retailers have struggled to trade through the pandemic, leaving 'for lease' signs across many retail hubs.
However, in other Melbourne's suburbs and regional areas of Victoria with larger corporate tenancies, it's a different story. High streets that have retained their tenants are trading strongly and benefitting from an increase in foot traffic.
There may be opportunities for retailers to move into a high street or smaller suburban commercial areas, although the recovery at big suburban shopping centres is also gathering pace.
Big suburban shopping centres still have rental deals that underpin their operating costs and they will thrive, even if all they do is pick up foot traffic no longer concentrated in the CBD.
However, stalwart brands including Katies, Rivers and Riot Art & Craft are disappearing, an indicator of the intensifying pressure on traditional brick-and-mortar retailers.
Despite improving trade and high consumer confidence in Victoria, a gap is widening between small and big retailers. Larger businesses have captured a majority of the extra online sales during the last six months.
The online sector is arguably performing more strongly now than earlier in the year. August was a big month for e-commerce, with $500m more in sales than in the surge back in April before it came off the boil slightly in September.
Apart from April, big businesses recorded through-the-year growth in every month since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Since March, the average through-the-year growth for larger businesses was 10.9 per cent, up from 5.0 per cent over the previous six months.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, smaller organisations had only one month, July, where they recorded through-the-year growth. Small businesses have recorded an average fall in sales of 6.7 per cent since March 2020, down from -1.6 per cent over the previous six months.
It's clear that big businesses had the platforms and the brand awareness capitalise on the disruption caused by the virus, and they've picked up the online business.
Achieving cut-through for a small retailer is difficult because they may have an online site but the site itself is only a billboard, they've got to be able to draw people in.
Large retailers already had a captive audience, with strong communication channels and engagement from their existing customer base.
Smaller players must build up that following to compete, and that takes time and money.
Updated at 9.54am AEDT on 20 November 2020.
Mark Harrison is a partner/executive director at national accounting and business advisory firm Pitcher Partners.
Victoria sets hard border with South Australia
A hard border to South Australians attempting to travel into Victoria will be implemented for 48 hours from midnight tonight, before a permit system comes into effect on Sunday.
The Victorian Government hopes the temporary measure will protect the population after the state went 20 days with zero new cases of COVID-19 today.
South Australia is currently in total lockdown for six days, with only essential businesses allowed to operate, as health authorities scramble to contain a northern suburbs outbreak of COVID-19.
"Victorians have worked too hard and given too much to allow anything to put at risk our goal of reaching COVID Normal by Christmas. We'll do whatever it takes to keep Victorians safe," Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said.
"We know border communities have had an incredibly difficult year and we don't take these decisions lightly.
"Our public health team will work closely with South Australia to monitor the outbreak and get the border back open as soon as it's safe to do so."
The new rules come as South Australia has reported zero new cases of COVID-19 overnight.
Under the hard border rules only freight drivers and those with medical or emergency reasons, urgent animal welfare or those authorised by law will be able to pass through the border.
The border permit system is currently being devised, but the reasons to enter Victoria from South Australia from midnight Sunday will include:
if you are an emergency services worker or a worker providing essential services
for agricultural work
to receive medical care (including seeking coronavirus testing), obtain medical supplies or compassionate reasons
to shop to obtain essential supplies.
From today, interstate truck drivers travelling through Victoria from South Australia will be offered extra testing at a site at Nhill on the Western Highway.
Other testing sites are being activated at other major freight routes. Drivers can also be tested at more than 193 other sites across Victoria.
"We're working with major freight companies, independent operators and industry peak bodies to provide advice about the need for testing and all tested will have their samples fast-tracked for analysis," says the Victorian Government.
"The Victorian Government will continue to monitor the SA outbreak and take whatever action is necessary to keep Victorians safe.
"Our Victorian Public Health team is also supporting SA contact tracers as they continue to track and trace the spread of the virus."
The restrictions come as Victorian health officials have discovered fragments of the virus that causes COVID-19 in untreated wastewater taken from Portland and Benalla treatment plants on Tuesday 17 November.
As such, residents of Portland and Benalla have been urged to get tested for COVID-19 and isolate until a result is processed.
"We'll work with these communities to ensure they have access to the things they need, as we provide further details on border crossings in the coming days," Victorian Minster for Health Martin Foley said.
Updated at 1.16pm AEDT on 19 November 2020.
South Australia's 6-day lockdown shows we need to take hotel quarantine more seriously
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall today announced a six-day "circuit breaker" lockdown to try and snuff out the state's COVID outbreak.
From midnight Wednesday, residents will be asked to stay in their homes. Hospitality venues will shut, as will schools and universities. Construction will grind to a halt and exercise won't be allowed outside the home.
The only permitted reasons to leave home are to shop for food or medicine, or for essential health care. Elective surgery will be paused, except for urgent operations.
While this may seem like an overly cautious approach to a cluster that isn't yet as big as we've seen in other places, I think it's a wise move.
This is how lockdowns should be used. Indeed, the World Health Organisation advocates lockdowns as a way to buy precious time while other essential public health measures are mobilised, such as contact tracing and widespread testing. The focus here is on preventing a rise in cases, unlike the lockdown in Melbourne where the cases had already taken off widely in the community and it was about turning the wave around.
We've seen the virus in this particular cluster spread very rapidly. In just two weeks it has spread through five generations that is, to five "rings" beyond the initial case.
We've also seen cases passed on through quite casual contact, via a pizza shop in the suburb of Woodville.
The state's chief health officer, Nicola Spurrier, said:
This particular strain has [] a very, very short incubation period. That means when somebody gets exposed, it is taking 24 hours or even less for that person to become infectious to others, and the other characteristic of the cases we have seen so far is they have had minimal symptoms and sometimes no symptoms but have been able to pass it on to others.
This short incubation period and rapid spread is why the government has opted for a six-day lockdown, giving the space to put out the spot fire while protecting the wider community, and especially high-risk settings and vulnerable populations where cases numbers can escalate rapidly with serious consequences.
Also, as Spurrier said, the cases so far have had no, or very mild, symptoms. So this six-day window allows the testing of close and casual contacts to be completed so the cases that are out there become visible to the health department.
The decision to restrict exercise altogether is strict, but warranted in my view. The rationale is similar to putting a wide range of people into isolation, as they don't yet know where the edge is of the current cases, or the full extent of exposure. The rationale for the extension of restrictions beyond Adelaide and surrounds to the whole state is less clear at this stage.
If it protects the population from an escalation of cases, then six days without outdoor exercise will ultimately be better for physical and mental health than longer strict rules, even with some exercise allowed.
Significant restrictions will remain after the six days, but not full lockdown, according to the state's Police Commissioner Grant Stevens.
The good news is there have been no mystery cases so far. All positive cases have been linked back to hotel quarantine at the Peppers Waymouth Hotel (known as a "medi-hotel" locally).
Testing rates have been very high. Some 5,300 tests were done on Monday, and more than 6,000 on Tuesday. This number of tests is comparable to three or four times that number in a larger city like Melbourne. Local residents have been very patient in queuing up to get tested, sometimes for several hours.
South Australia's contact tracing team hasn't really been severely tested during the pandemic. But the team has received extensive training and is reportedly robust, having been given the tick of approval from Chief Scientist Alan Finkel's recent review into Australia's contact tracing, published last Friday.
More than 4,000 people have been quarantined already, including not just contacts, but contacts of contacts, and even beyond that to ensure "casual contacts" are also followed up and tested. This is a sign of a rapid and strong public health response.
What needs to change?
Before this cluster, testing was not mandatory for hotel quarantine staff although this has now changed to compulsory weekly testing.
This is a positive step, but in my view we should ideally start testing hotel quarantine staff daily.
Getting a nasal swab every day is quite intrusive, so I think we could use saliva tests instead. Yes, they don't have quite the same level of sensitivity as the "gold standard" PCR tests based on nose and throat swabs, but they're more tolerable for frequent testing.
Saliva samples can also be efficiently managed if pooled together, and if there's evidence of a positive test in the broad sample, individual samples can then be checked. Testing early and often is the best approach.
We also need to get serious about resourcing our hotel workers. Spurrier confirmed some workers had worked at multiple sites. This obviously increases the risk of the virus spreading through the community we saw this with some aged-care staff working across multiple venues in Victoria.
We need to prevent workers from needing to work across multiple sites, by paying them more. Even if they're not working full-time, they need to be paid as such to ensure they don't need to take on extra work and increase the risk of spreading the virus to other workplaces. This goes for all staff security staff as well as cleaners. Cleaners have a very important job and are particularly vulnerable.
I'd like to see national guidelines crafted for hotel quarantine. Today there is national agreement on weekly testing, but I think this should be a minimum. Infection control protocols and monitoring, and pay rates with accompanying sole employment rules also need to be considered. It's an issue that isn't going to go away, and it's an important gap that needs to be filled.
A COVID-19 vaccine candidate being developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) and BioNTech SE (NASDAQ: BNTZ) has demonstrated efficacy of 95 per cent following Phase 3 trials.
Efficacy was consistent across age, gender, race and ethnicity demographics, and the vaccine is effective in adults over 65 years of age in 94 per cent of cases.
There were 10 severe cases of COVID-19 observed in the trial, with nine of the cases occurring in the placebo group and one in the vaccinated group.
The pharmaceutical company has developed a specially designed, temperature-controlled thermal shippers using dry ice to maintain temperature conditions of minus 70°C.
Pfizer says these containers can be used for 15 days by refilling with dry ice, and each includes a GPS-enabled thermal sensor to track the location and temperature of each vaccine shipment across their pre-set routes.
"The study results mark an important step in this historic eight-month journey to bring forward a vaccine capable of helping to end this devastating pandemic," Pfizer chairman and CEO Dr Albert Borula said.
"We continue to move at the speed of science to compile all the data collected thus far and share with regulators around the world.
"With hundreds of thousands of people around the globe infected every day, we urgently need to get a safe and effective vaccine to the world."
Pfizer is expecting to produce 50 million vaccine doses in 2020 and up to 1.3 billion doses by the end of 2021.
Earlier this month the Australian Federal Government announced it had secured 10 million doses of Pfizer's vaccine candidate.
South Australia to shut down for six days on COVID-19 outbreak fears
From midnight tonight all but essential businesses will close, and people must remain inside for six days in South Australia as authorities enforce wide-ranging restrictions to curb an outbreak of COVID-19.
The state will go on "pause" for six days as public health authorities engage in a contact tracing blitz to get on top of a COVID-19 outbreak.
That outbreak has since grown by two more cases today, and health authorities have determined it was sparked by a medi-hotel security guard working part time at the Woodville Pizza Bar.
Masks must be worn when leaving the house, however the state's health officials have encouraged all South Australians to remain at home.
Only one person per household per day will be allowed to leave the house to go grocery shopping.
Schools and universities will close, takeaway food restaurants will not be allowed to operate, and pubs, cafes and coffee shops must shut their doors.
Weddings and funerals will be banned, outdoor sport and exercise will not be permitted, aged care facilities will go into total lockdown, and the construction sector and factories must shut down.
Fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers have been put on standstill, regional travel has been completely banned, and holiday homes will not be available for lease.
Essential services including supermarkets, medical and mental health services, petrol stations, post offices and financial institutions will be allowed to continue to operate. End of life visits will be allowed during the period.
"We need a circuit breaker," SA Premier Steven Marshall said.
"We are going hard and we are going early. Time is of the essence, and we must act swiftly and decisively. We cannot wait to see how bad this becomes."
Marshall says the state has welcomed contact tracing help from the Commonwealth Government, Western Australia and from New South Wales to get on top of the outbreak.
Measures "extreme" but necessary
The state's chief health officer Professor Nicola Spurrier has acknowledged the lockdown measures are "extreme", but insists they are necessary to slow the spread of the virus.
Some restrictions will remain in place for a further eight days at least once the six-day lockdown period is over.
"It really is extreme. And then after that we need 14 days in total in terms of the incubation period of the virus and the number of generations, so we've had to sit down and mathematically work it out," Professor Spurrier said.
"So for a 14-day period there will be significant restrictions, but my hope is that it should not need to be what we have done for the six days."
"I was also very surprised that we didn't have a little pockets in our community that popped up from time to time, but clearly if it is reintroduced into a community it takes off very quickly. And that's exactly what had happened in Victoria. I don't want that to happen here in South Australia and I'm going to do everything possible to make sure that it doesn't happen."
SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens acknowledges the strict rules will be difficult to police, so he has called upon the community in the state to take responsibility during the lockdown period.
"Policing can only provide so much in terms of providing a safe environment for the community; it relies on the community doing the right thing and supporting each other, so our expectation is people will do the right thing, they'll abide by this extreme level of imposition for a short period of time and help us do our job," Stevens said.
"Clearly, if you're out and about during these six days, you should have the ability to justify your reason for your travel.
"We will be out there and we will be making sure people are doing the right thing."
COVID-19 strain spreading fast in SA
According to Spurrier the particular strain of COVID-19 circulating in SA has a short incubation period, meaning when somebody is exposed it takes 24 hours or less for that person to become infectious to others.
Because of the short incubation period Spurrier says the virus is currently in its fifth generation in the community.
"We don't have any time to wait," Spurrier said.
"If I just thought about this all day and then told the Police Commissioner and the Premier tonight we would already be 12 hours behind."
"If we leave this any longer and if we have people moving around the community and having a lot of contact with other people then we're going to be in this for the long haul."
Medi-hotel outbreak
Professor Spurrier also explained COVID-19 escaped from Adelaide's medi-hotels because a security guard was working at both the Peppers Hotel and part-time making pizza.
"We also had the person at the Stamford, and we couldn't connect the two," Spurrier said.
"But what we found last night was another person that worked at the pizza bar and we were able to connect those two because of time links."
Police Commissioner Stevens said there were no rules or restrictions to stop a medi-hotel security guard from working a second job part time.
"We are relying heavily on the security industry, and they are supporting us to a substantial level to ensure that we are maintaining a safe as possible environment in the medi-hotel.
"We can't quarantine these people [guards] when they're not at work. They are able to participate in normal community activities now whether that's participating in sport or taking on another part time job, the level of engagement with the community in terms of how they do that is irrelevant.
"We can't quarantine these people simply because they're assisting us by working in quarantine hotels."
Stay at home, Adelaide
Spurrier has encouraged South Australians to hunker down for the next six days until the situation comes under control.
"This is going to put a lot of strain on many people, and this is the time to be patient, to be calm and to trust in people that are there to support you," Spurrier said.
"We all need to look after each other there's no point panicking and rushing out to the shops and buying up lots of toilet paper.
"We are really at the beginning of this in South Australia and I need everybody to basically find a safe place to be for the next six days, and stay there as much as possible."
South Australians will be permitted to leave the home for testing, but health authorities will prioritise those who have been told to get tested by the Communicable Disease Control Branch (CDCB).
"So the one thing that we definitely want people to do is during this six-day period is to get tested, but we are going to prioritise our testing," Spurrier said.
Updated at 1.16pm AEDT on 18 November 2020.
Victoria mimics NSW's voucher plan with regional twist
The Victorian Government will offer residents the chance to apply for $200 vouchers to spend in regional areas, but the total spend will be much less than a NSW equivalentannounced yesterday with a greater emphasis on boosting tourism infrastructure.
As part of the $465 million Victorian Tourism Recovery Package unveiled by Premier Daniel Andrews today, the government will give out 120,000 vouchers available to those who spend at least $400 on accommodation, attractions or tours in regional Victoria.
The $28 million scheme is expected to be up and running in December, ensuring the benefits are felt this summer when businesses need them the most.
The budget will also provide more than $149 million to build new visitor accommodation, improve major tourist trails and drive more people out to taste the state's produce, food and wine.
More than $47.5 million will build better visitor infrastructure along the Great Ocean Road, including a signature coastal walking trail along the coastline and hinterland from Fairhaven to Grey River, with up to five new swing suspension bridges providing spectacular views of Victoria's rugged Surf Coast. Some $2 million of the allocation will be used to build more campsites along the Surf Coast.
Meanwhile, the $18.5 million Gippsland Tourism Recovery Package will build new accommodation, upgrade the East Gippsland Rail Trail, improve tourism infrastructure across Victoria's east and support local jobs.
This includes $3.5 million to build 10 eco-pods at Cape Conran Coastal Park, $2 million for more campsites, and $2.5 million to help establish the Metung Hot Springs and the Nunduk Spa and Eco-Resort. The package also includes $3.85 million to provide better access to Point Hicks Lighthouse the tallest on mainland Australia.
Elsewhere in the state, $15 million will go towards works on the popular Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing hiking trail, $13 million will deliver trail heads on the Grampians Peak Trail and visitor upgrades at Mackenzie Falls, and $4.3 million will enable the continued growth of the Prosecco Road winery district including helping to establish accommodation at Dal Zotto Wines.
There is also support for the Murray River Adventure Trail, facilities at Wilsons Promontory, the Mallee Silo Art Trail, the Brambuk Cultural Centre in Halls Gap and the Ballarat Centre for Photography.
A $150 million Regional Tourism Investment Fund will fund nature-based, First Nations, arts and culture, and food and wine tourism projects, while a further $1.5 million will support First Peoples tourism businesses through advisory services, mentoring and digital skills development.
The government also announced a further $106.5 million in tourism industry support, including a $58 million marketing boost for Visit Victoria to promote the state's appeal to Victorians as well as people all over the country.
"Whether it's a day-trip with the family or a tour along our stunning coast, we're helping more people get out and enjoy the best Victoria has to offer," says Premier Andrews.
"This funding will help them tourism businesses bounce back from the challenges of this year welcoming more visitors and employing more Victorians."
Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events, Martin Pakula, says Victoria has some of the most amazing attractions in the world, and his government is making sure they only continue to get better and more compelling for visitors.
"Our investment in infrastructure in every corner of the state lays the foundations for a sustained recovery - and that means more jobs for Victorians," says Minister Pakula.
"Regional Victoria delivers for Victorians and visitors alike, and our commitment to infrastructure in local communities ensures people will have the best possible experience in the years ahead," adds Minister for Regional Development, Jaclyn Symes.
Photo: Brambuk, Grampians National Park. Courtesy of Visit Victoria.
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