Churches in Australian state of Victoria ramp up campaigns against proposed law banning gay conversion therapies
Churches in the Australian state of Victoria have ramped up a campaign against a proposed bill banning gay conversion therapies, taking out full page ads in newspapers in which they urged the State Government to retract the proposed legislation. Change or Suppression (Conversion) Practices Prohibition Bill 2020, which is due to be introduced to the […]
Australia’s COVID-19 lockdown also prevented about 400 deaths from other illnesses – research paper
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Social distancing and lockdowns in Australia not only slowed the spread of COVID-19, they saved the lives of about 400 people who would have been expected to died in June from respiratory illnesses such as pneumonia, a research paper published on Monday showed. Examining Australia’s most recent official fatality data, the Actuaries Institute […]
Australia’s Victoria state reports lowest rise in COVID-19 cases in seven weeks
Sydney, AustraliaReuters The Australian state of Victoria reported its lowest daily rise in new coronavirus infections in seven weeks on Monday, fuelling optimism that a deadly second wave there is subsiding. Victoria on Monday reported 116 cases and 15 deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours, down from a peak of more than […]
Scientists urge more protection for platypus in Australian state
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australian scientists have called for the platypus to be listed as a vulnerable species in Victoria state, after research found dwindling numbers of the semi-aquatic mammal because of loss of habitat and a warming climate. Ecologist Joshua Griffiths, who supervised the collection of data that led to the recommendation by a scientific advisory […]
Deadliest day: Australia reports biggest one day rise in new COVID-19 deaths
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia reported a record number of daily coronavirus deaths on Monday, although the number of new infections in the country’s virus hot spot fell to a near two week low. Officials in the state of Victoria, which is the epicentre of Australia’s second coronavirus wave, reported that 19 people died from the virus […]
Australian state to impose hefty fines to compel COVID-19 isolation; Uluru access blocked
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia’s second-most populous state Victoria said on Tuesday that anyone breaking COVID-19 isolation orders will face hefty fines, as high as $A20,000, and that more military personnel will be deployed to fight the spread of the virus. Australia, once heralded as a global leader in containing COVID-19, is desperately trying to slow the […]
Australia’s Victoria declares disaster, sets curfew to curb COVID-19
Melbourne, AustraliaReuters Australia’s second-most populous state of Victoria declared a state of disaster on Sunday and imposed a nightly curfew for the capital Melbourne as part of its harshest movement restrictions to date to contain a resurgent COVID-19. Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city already under a reimposed six-week stay-home order, has struggled to rein in the […]
Australia reports record spike in coronavirus cases, 13 deaths
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia recorded its deadliest day in the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday with at least 13 deaths and more than 700 new infections mainly in Victoria state, where the government ordered all residents to wear face-coverings outside. The toll takes the country’s total fatalities from the novel coronavirus to 189, more than half of […]
Emergency response team dispatched to Australia coronavirus outbreak
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia has sent defence and emergency medical teams, usually deployed to disaster zones, to aged care homes in the city of Melbourne to help contain the country’s worst outbreak of the coronavirus. Another hotspot, in inner-city Sydney, forced a senior adviser to Prime Minister Scott Morrison into self-isolation, but the prime minister has […]
Australian state records daily virus record, warns of lockdown extension
Sydney, AustraliaReuters Australia’s Victoria state on Monday reported the country’s highest daily increase in coronavirus infections, prompting the authorities to warn a six-week lockdown may last longer if people continue to go to work while feeling unwell. The second-most populous state reported 532 new cases of the virus which causes COVID-19, the most new cases […]