Sydney, Australia
Reuters
Australia will retain curbs on public movement for at least four more weeks, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Thursday, dashing speculation the sustained low growth in new cases could spur a quicker return to normal.
Australia has avoided the high numbers of coronavirus casualties reported in other countries around the world after closing its borders and imposing strict “social distancing” measures for the past month.
The mostly deserted city is seen following the implementation of stricter social-distancing and self-isolation rules to limit the spread of the coronavirus disease in Sydney, Australia, on 16th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Loren Elliott
Restaurants, bars and other “non-essential” businesses have closed and public gatherings of more than two people have been banned under the threat of fines and even prison – measures that are expected to double the unemployment rate by mid-year.
In response, the daily growth rate of reported new infections has steadied in the low percentage single digits, from about 25 per cent several weeks ago, for a total of about 6,500 infections, including 63 deaths.
Family members of JBS USA meat packing plant employee Saul Sanchez watch as his casket is lowered during his funeral after he died of coronavirus disease in Greeley, Colorado, US, on 15th April. PICTURE: Reuters/Jim Urquhart
US DEATH TOLL PASSES 33,000 – REUTERS
US coronavirus deaths rose above 33,000 on Thursday, according to a Reuters tally, even as President Donald Trump laid out White House guidelines for reopening the economy.
The United States is the world’s worst-affected country with fatalities doubling in just a week.
Deaths rose by nearly 2,200 on Thursday, with a few US states yet to report, after a record single-day increase of 2,507 Wednesday.
Seven north-eastern states on Thursday extended a shutdown to contain the coronavirus outbreak until 15th May. The extensions, and stay-at-home directives, came as Trump touted his plan for the least-affected states to reopen on 1st May or sooner.
The shutdown has crushed the nation’s economy, sinking it to levels not seen since the Great Depression nearly a century ago as more than 20 million Americans have sought unemployment benefits after losing their paychecks from shuttered businesses and industries.
US coronavirus cases totaled more than 665,000 on Thursday, up nearly 28,000. New cases rose by 30,000 on Wednesday, the biggest increase in five days, according to the Reuters tally.
– LISA SHUMAKER, Reuters
Still, Morrison said the rules would not be relaxed until national testing capacity has been increased, contact tracing of known COVID-19 cases expanded and a response to any future outbreak fully prepared.
“We want to be very clear with Australians, baseline restrictions we have in place at the moment, there are no plans to change those for the next four weeks,” Morrison told reporters.
Morrison later told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that coronavirus testing may be expanded to include random sampling.
An eventual staggered relaxation on restrictions was likely, he said, with curbs on manufacturing and retail industries being eased first.
Morrison has in recent days pushed state and territory leaders to re-open schools.
Morrison has cited medical advice that children carry a low risk of transmitting the virus as he advocated for the re-opening schools to help boost the economy, which is headed for its first recession in three decades..
However, some leaders of the eight states and territories – which administer schools – have departed from that policy and ordered schools to remain shut to all but the children of “essential” workers, including those in the health and grocery sectors.
In Victoria, the second most populous state where officials have told parents to keep children at home if possible, just three per cent of children attended school on Tuesday, the first day after the Easter break. Students in other states and territories remain on end of term holidays.
An agreement on the issue was not reached at a meeting on Thursday of the national cabinet, made up of state and federal leaders, formed to tackle the crisis.
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said Australia’s choice of a “suppression” strategy, as opposed to a full shutdown of public life as adopted by neighbour New Zealand, could free the country of the virus without hefty economic penalties.
“We don’t feel the need to hold the country very seriously in lockdown until we have no cases,” Murphy said. “If that happens with the measures we are doing now, that would be fantastic.”
In Sydney, police entered the Villawood immigration detention centre to end rooftop and hunger strike protests begun by some refugee inmates on Saturday. Three detainees who refused to come down from the roof were arrested and taken into custody.
Detainees were angry the government has refused pleas to release them from the centre amid the health crisis and denied them testing.
While some countries have released some non-violent detainees from prisons and detention centres, Australia has so far refused to do so.
Correction: A reference to mid-term vacations was corrected to end of term holidays in Australian states.
