Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen and welcome to today's update on COVID-19
in Australia. To 12 noon today there have been 25 new cases diagnosed with COVID-19,
bringing the national number of cases to 7,461. The number of people who
regrettably lost their lives to COVID- 19 in Australia remains at 102. There are
15 individuals in hospital, of whom 2 are in intensive care units around the
country and we have conducted over 2 million tests for COVID-19. To provide
some detail as to the distribution of those cases around the country, in New
South Wales - 12 noon today there were 5 cases diagnosed, all of whom had COVID-19
acquired overseas and remain in hotel quarantine and isolation. In Western
Australia there was 1 new case diagnosed
acquired overseas and in hotel quarantine. In Victoria there have been
19 new cases diagnosed - 12 noon today, 3 of those acquired overseas, 4 of those
were acquired locally and linked to a known outbreak, 10 cases were locally
acquired and not linked to a known outbreak and 2 of them are currently under
investigation. Now you will have seen over the past 24 hours that the
Victorian Premier and the Victorian Health Minister and the Victorian Chief
Health Officer have provided updates extensively on the current situation
with regard to Coronavirus in Victoria. The Australian Health
Protection Principle Committee met today to receive an update from Professor
Brett Sutton and colleagues from the Victorian Government Department of
Health and Human Services on the current epidemiology of cases in Victoria. Now it
is a timely reminder that in a population that is not immune to the
virus COVID-19, that we will get from time to time outbreaks and clusters as
we have seen in Victoria. It is certainly the case though that in
the past week we've seen 116 cases diagnosed in Victoria, up from 35. So
it is clear that those numbers have increased in Victoria and as the Premier
and Health Minister expressed those numbers are of concern. We note that
the Victorian Government has recommended that household gatherings once again be
limited to 5 individuals. Again a timely reminder that as all Australians there
are restrictions on how we live, that we have really done well in pursuing but
those will continue whilst we remain not immune to COVID-19, whilst
there is not a vaccine and not an effective treatment and whilst cases
continue to increase around the world. Those restrictions have and
will be critically important to the control of the virus. Importantly as well,
for those states where restrictions are lifting that doesn't imply a lifting of
our personal behavior standards that we've become so used to. That
critically important elements to stopping the virus transmitting from one
person to another, excellent hand hygiene, downloading the COVID Safe app,
keeping our distance where we can and importantly paying very
close attention to our own symptoms and that of those around us.
Certainly if we do have symptoms, not engaging in the community, not going to
work and ensuring that we get tested as soon as possible. All those elements have
been exceptionally successful in controlling COVID-19 and Australia
thus far and there is no reason to expect that will be any different
into the future. I'm happy to take questions.
Reporter: Following todays meeting at the AHPPC,
were there any recommendations about any changes to social distancing?
we know that the Victorian CMO recommended possible, he
was going to look at face masks for example, any new advice of wearing a
face mask?
So, face masks were discussed today the AHPPC meeting and the position
on face masks in Australia has been clear, that in circumstances of low
prevalence and we should note that it is still a low prevalence environment
even though there have been an increase in the absolute number of cases in
Victoria, associated with those outbreaks, the overall numbers remain low.
So, the position that we have taken AHPPC on face mask is in particular
remains the same in this circumstance where we only have very low levels of
community transmission that the value of face masks in the community is limited
in that recommendation hasn't changed.
Reporter: On border closures has the AHPPC position on that changed?
Given that obviously despite Victoria, won't mean that anyone in WA be
affected? Cause that is a hard border closure. Are you still recommending that
there are no medical grounds to state border closures and they don't have any
value in circumstances where we see such outbreaks?
So, I think the question implies that the AHPPC had
or will have positions on border closures, which as you know we do not.
That is a matter for the states and territories and their First Minister's
and relevant Departments, so we don't have anything to add to that.
Reporter: The increase in cases in Victoria though small comparatively their
overwhelmingly community transmission, they are not overseas returned travellers,
given we are now exactly two weeks after the Black Lives Matter Protests, can you
confidently rule out that there aren't eventually going to be connections that
link back to those mass gatherings?
So, I just
contend with the word - overwhelmingly, there's a majority of cases that are
community transmitted, about 60% as opposed to hotel quarantine which is now
40% and that's a reversal of the previous statistic over the past month
or so. There's still a large number of cases in Victoria that are being
diagnosed through hotel quarantine. There are 3 cases that
have been diagnosed as people who had COVID-19 and attended the
Black Lives Matter protests, but there's no evidence that there has been chains
of community transmission that we're aware of through the Black Lives Matter
Protest.
Reporter: You have at least 10 people who don't know where it came from,
through by process of some people not having very prominent conditions present,
they could have spread (inaudible)
So, contact tracing as you know is a very rigorous process, that those
cases whilst we don't know where they have come from, the contact tracing will
include genomics and will use genetic genomics to assist
us in determining where they came from, but there's no evidence from the
extensive investigation that Victoria's undertaken that those cases are
linked to the Black Lives Matter Protest.
Reporter: On borders again, the AHPPC does not have position, but it has had
advice that there is no medical grounds for state borders to be closed, will that be
revised at all or does it remain that the advice is there no medical need for the
state borders to be closed?
In actual fact I'll repeat my answer to the previous question
which was the AHPPC actually hasn't had a position on border closures.
We've never made a recommendation on border closures there's been some
individual commentary from officials on the need for border closures but the AHPPC
actually hasn't had a position on that and will continue to leave that to
state First Minister's.
Reporter: On the easing of restrictions, we're obviously seeing
Victoria I guess put a pause on what they were going to do. Should other states be
considering putting a pause on their easing of restrictions, I mean it's just
one of these moments where we sort of have to go catch our breath, okay let's just
see what's happening, rather than continue with
the stampede, rather than open up the economy?
Well, again I'd contend with a couple of those words. I don't think at any point
we would have viewed our lifting of restrictions or opening up of the
economy as a stampede, everything that we've done has been in a safe and
cautious manner in a proportionate way and similarly we've made it very clear
that states and territories will make their decisions
based on their local epidemiology. So, it would be unreasonable for WA or
Northern Territory or indeed Queensland at the moment to be making decisions on
their restrictions and necessarily with a close eye on what's going on in
Victoria because the epidemiology is different. As you see is the
epidemiology changes albeit slightly in Victoria with an increase in the
number of cases, so too is the Victorian Government come forward and made
recommendations to reimpose those restrictions on the number of people
that you can have in your household. So I think this is a good example of
how things are going to work into the future and you know it's an important
example because it will show how a state can get on top of outbreaks of
this nature in Victoria and move forward.
Reporter: On a COVID treatment, just looking at a recent trial of NHS patients
out of the UK, does Australia have a stockpile or have access to
dexamethsone, is that something the AHPPC are looking at?
So, dexamethasone is a steroid, a
corticosteroid, it's a oldish drug it's in wide circulation and wide use.
It's not something that we necessarily feel we need to stockpile because it's
in such wide use and it's so available. Keeping in mind that
dexamethasone is not a direct acting antiviral, it doesn't actually do
anything to the virus, it sorts out the complications of the
inflammation that's associated with it. So it's the recovery trial, they are
promising results, we look forward to seeing them replicated in other trials
but we're not aware of any shortage of dexamethasone at the moment.
Reporter: If you talk about personal behaviour and responsibility these
clusters around family gatherings or in home gatherings still pale in comparison
in terms of the size to the Black Lives Matter, if we did get off lightly with those
large protests, are you worried that it will created complacency elsewhere in the
community, they saw those big protests with limited cases and had larger
gatherings at home?
Well, that that would be very hard to
conclude. I mean I haven't interviewed the people in that particular cluster
and I don't think that question could necessarily be inferred that it
was the Black Lives Matter protests that then led to people gathering in
household clusters. I think what's going on and what's going on around the
world is that there is a certain amount of time that we can cope with these
restrictions on our lives and people in general whether it's getting out and
going to a Black Lives Matter protest or whether it's going to visit your friends
and relatives, these are things we do as as human beings. So I think that's more
what we're seeing at the moment and I think the message just has to be
abundantly clear that we don't want people to stop living their lives.
We want people to interact but we want them to do so in a way that is safe
and stops the virus from spreading. So I think it's probably a
nationwide thing that we want to get out and and do what we do as
humans.
Reporter: The (inaudible) Minister was saying that the Premiers who were taking
a more cautious approach are doing the right thing, to be safe rather than sorry. I
understand what you said in terms of the epidemiology of say Victoria and (inaudible)
on to WA does, maybe it should affect obviously in terms of our border restrictions
do you agree that like it makes sense for us, WA to take a cautious approach
in those sorts of matters, that does just simply make sense?
Well, I mean I think
we've got to you know we're a continent and we've got a certain
situation in Victoria at the moment that will naturally play into decisions
around Australia but I guess the point of my previous response was in
terms of the number of people that you can have in a gathering, the number of people
you can have in your household, the number of people you could have in a pub
that is still going to remain different from state to state, and the states will
make those decisions based on their own local epidemiology, which is
completely appropriate.
Reporter: Advice on hugging and hand shaking, is it still a no to both of those?
Well, that's certainly my personal view I mean
I think these are the sort of things that have to stay the same,
sorry, they can't change. You know there are various things that help
us transmit the virus and very close contact is one of them, so it's a hard
thing to remember, you know you've got to catch yourself out now when you see your
friends and family who you haven't seen for a long time, but these things are
nonetheless important and arguably far more important than say wearing
masks. I mean the social distancing measures like washing your hands, like
keeping a distance, like not hugging or kissing and like staying at home when
you're actually unwell, that is the mainstay of what we can do as
individuals, that's the personal responsibility element and then there's
the restriction element that the Governments recommend that we do.
I think I've got one (question) on the phone and given that we have had all one go, we
should.
Reporter: (inaudible) Just wanted to ask you about the case in Victoria, Essendon Football
player thats been diagnosed, just curious as to how you go about and
how Victorian authorities
go about figuring out close contact in the case of an athlete?
Is it sharing a change room? Is it training in a manner that
involves contact sport? What sort of things
will determine which of that players close contacts need
to be quarantined after diagnosis?
Thanks Tom and the question reflects to the COVID-19 positive case within the
Essendon Football Club and whether there's any substantive differences or
indeed how you might go about contact tracing of an individual within a
sporting club that was COVID-19 positive. I think you know Tom the
answer is that it's tempting to take these sort of high-profile cases
and consider that there might be a different approach, they're certainly not.
A close contact is a close contact, in that definition is 15 minutes or more
for at a distance of 1.5 meters or two hours in the same room. So, you know
the contact traces, the disease detectives will be applying those
criteria to this case, just as they will for all the other cases down in
Victoria. So I think it's important that we let that sort of Public Health
investigation take its course and I'm sure we'll hear in due course what
the outcome for the Essendon Football Club will be. I don't have any more
particular information on that case.
Reporter: Can I just clarify, so for the states, for the other states they can
continue on the path there going in terms of easing restrictions and things
like that? There is no need for a pause or
two-week reassessment period and until we see what happens in Victoria other
states are free to keep opening up?
Look, the the message is that each state
will have their restrictions dictated by their local epidemiology. They
will continue to do that. So, whether how much of an eye they have on Victoria
will be entirely up to them. It is, you know I think it's an important
thing to say that each state controls their own public health unit and
decision making but all of us in Australia want to see the outbreaks in
Victoria brought under control. As a result of the meeting today of the
AHPPC and the update from Professor Sutton, we have every confidence that's
going to be the case.
I'll take two more (questions).
Reporter: Dr Coatesworth, some of the cases in Victoria related to people who
were ill and then going to work.
People who have been confirmed COVID and then interacting with others.
You stood here dozens of times and told Australians to exactly not do that, if they are sick, stay home.
Are you disappointed that has been disregarded so quickly at such a crucial time in the easing of restrictions?
I'm not disappointed at all because I don't think in most cases in any way shape or
form its individuals deliberately going against what we said without a broader
context to why that decision is being made. So, let me give you the very
clear example of doctors; we go to work when we're sick all the time, we have
done for years, we've even got a term for it's called presenteeism not
absenteeism. There's a whole range of reasons why someone who is sick may turn
up at work despite being asked, well they're being
recommended that they don't. One of those of course, is that there are people who
don't have sick leave, there are people in casual employment, there are a lot of
people around the country who are suffering socio-economic stress at the
moment and so the important thing then is to recognize that and work out what
we can do to assist people, so that they don't turn up to work when they are unwell.
Last question Reporter: Just to make this clear, I accept that the AHPPC doesn't have a position
on state border closures, but the Resources Minister as early as this
morning and the Prime Minister repeatedly says the medical advice is
borders should not be open, should Commonwealth Ministers not be saying
that anymore?
No, I think obviously as a health official I'm not in a position to say what
Commonwealth Ministers should or shouldn't be saying. What I have
said though very clearly today is that it is not the AHPPC's role to be making
decisions about national borders.
What medical advice are you talking about then if
you're saying that AHPPC doesn't have a position on
borders, what more medical advice are these Ministers talking about?
Well the AHPPC simply hasn't had a position on borders and it is up to the
states and territories to make decisions about their borders that's
what the Federation's about. We'll close the conference there, thank you.