Australia 2020: the curious case of premature purchase of a dangerous drug for use during the COVID-19 pandemic

First in was US President Donald Trump on 19 March 2020 talking up a so-called miracle drug to treat COVID-19 infection, called hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine. 

In Australia  hydroxychloroquine is registered by the Theraputic Goods Administration (TGA) for use in rheumatoid arthritis, mild systemic and discoid lupus erythematosus, as well as the suppression and treatment of malaria.

 However such was its enthusiasm, by 2 April 2020 the Morrison Government exempted hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine from having to meet TGA registration benchmarks for the lawful supply of medicines in this country. 

In early April 2020 the general public also learned that Federal Health Minister & Liberal MP for Flinders Greg Hunt ‘struck a deal’ with suppliers to bring hydroxychloroquine into Australia to treat hospital patients infected with COVID-19. 

Later that same month Queensland mining blowhard Clive Palmer paid for full page newspaper advertisements telling Australia he had purchased 32.9 million doses of the drug in early March for use by ill Australians. 

 All the while the World Health Organisation (WHO) was warning that this drug was untested for use in COVID-19 infections and might be dangerous. 

Nevertheless a number of nations (including Australia) still supported trialing the drug with a view to using it as a treatment during the pandemic and, globally there was widespread use of hydroxychloroquine often in combination with a second-generation macrolide as a treatment of COVID-19, despite no conclusive evidence of their benefit. 

Eventually WHO itself began a clinical trial of the drug. 

On 22 May The Lancet published a multinational registry analysis of the use of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine with or without a macrolide for treatment of COVID-19. 

The registry comprised data from 671 hospitals on six continents. Included were patients hospitalised between 20 December 2019 and 14 April 2020, with a positive laboratory finding for SARS-CoV-2. 

A total of 96,032 hospitalised patients were included in the analysis. 

The findings were clear cut: “We were unable to confirm a benefit of hydroxychloroquine or chloroquine, when used alone or with a macrolide, on in-hospital outcomes for COVID-19. Each of these drug regimens was associated with decreased in-hospital survival and an increased frequency of ventricular arrhythmias when used for treatment of COVID-19.”  [my yellow highlighting]

On 25 May 2020 WHO suspended its clinical trials of the drug on safety grounds. 

Hopefully Morrison & Co will no longer flirt with the use of this drug in treating active COVID-19 infections.

Morrison Government's political backers have spoken and plans for biosecurity levy are abandoned

ABC News, 20 May 2020:

After more than a year of lobbying by cement, minerals and freight industry groups, the Federal Government has abandoned a promise that would raise hundreds of millions of dollars to protect Australian farmers from pests and diseases.

In 2018, Federal Agriculture Minister David Littleproud announced the Government would raise $325 million over three years through a biosecurity levy.

The Budget outlined a proposed $10.02 biosecurity charge per 20-foot container, and a $1 per tonne levy on bulk imports coming via the sea to be imposed from July 1, 2019, with the funds raised used to detect and screen for exotic pests and diseases.

The 2019 Budget saw that deadline postponed until September 2019, but legislation for the levy was never introduced.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Department of Agriculture Water and Environment said the levy could not be implemented without significant impacts on industry and proposed levy payers.

"A levy will not be progressed and this decision will not impact on the overall biosecurity budget," it said.

The statement thanked the industry working group that consulted on the levy, and said the decision had been made "in consideration of the impact of drought, bushfires and COVID-19 on the economy"….

The Cement Industry Federation was part of a consortium of industry groups including the Minerals Council of Australia, Australasian Railway Association, Australian Chamber of Commerce, Manufacturing Australia, the Australian Logistics Council, and Gas Energy Australia that rejected the proposed levy....

The levy on freight was first proposed by a review of Australia's biosecurity services in 2017, which found widespread agreement that biosecurity was underfunded in Australia.

The decision not to introduce the levy comes as Australian farmers face uncertain trading conditions following years of drought and recent pest incursions, which could cost industry hundreds of millions of dollars.

This year alone, Australian farmers have found new worrying detections of the fall armyworm and banana-destroying Panama disease, while Queensland prawn farmers expected to lose millions to an outbreak of white spot disease.

Meanwhile, the pork industry still fears it could experience an outbreak of the pig-killing African Swine Fever.

The disease spread through Asia, wiped out a quarter of the world's pig population and was recently detected in Papua New Guinea.

If it were to reach Australia, the pork industry estimates it could cost the Australian economy $2 billion.

National Farmers' Federation chief executive Tony Mahar said the decision to axe the levy was a "blow to Australia's farmers".

"The uncertainty this levy proposal has created — particularly given the current circumstances — is a poor look for government," Mr Mahar said.

The Department of Agriculture Water and Environment did not make a spokesperson available, but said Australia's biosecurity systems underpinned $60 billion in agricultural production, $49 billion in agricultural exports and $42 billion in inbound tourism.

Mr Littleproud's office has been contacted for comment.

Cartoons of the Week

Cathy Wilcox

Glen Le Lievre

David Rowe

David Pope

Premier Gladys Berejiklian: there will be no further change to COVID-19 restrictions in NSW until end of the week

On 8 May 2020 Premier Gladys Berejiklian issued a short statement after Friday's National Cabinet meeting stating that all existing public health restrictions are still in place until Friday 15 May.

At which time:

Outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted;
People can have five visitors at any one time;
Cafes and restaurants will also be able to have up to 10 people dining in;
Weddings will be allowed to have up to 10 guests;
Funerals can accommodate up to 20 mourners indoors and 30 outdoors; 
Places of worship can now be up to 10 people at religious gatherings;
However local and regional travel is still banned, so no holidays or day trips are allowed.

The day before the premier's statement, 7 May, there was a cumulative total of 3,047 COVID-19 cases in the state, with 47 deaths and 2,486 people reported as having recovered.

A total of 7 local government areas are targetted for increased testing and surveillance: 

Blacktown Local Government Area; 
Canada Bay Local Government Area; 
Cumberland Local Government Area; 
Inner West Local Government Area; 
Liverpool Local Government Area; 
Parramatta Local Government Area; and
Penrith Local Government Area.

On Friday Prime Minister 'Scotty from Marketing' Morrison released a document laying out how the states and territories would dismantle public health restrictions.

Although the decision as to stage timing it is up to premiers and chief ministers, it's a given that Morrison will continue his arm twisting in order that few to no restrictions remain after 30 June 2020 even if lifting restrictions see COVID-19 infections begin to rise again.

A three-step pathway to easing restrictions

By 24 April 2020 there were 1,346,172 unemployed people across Australia, at least 500,000 of whom had lost their jobs due to the pandemic

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics in January 2020 there were est. 778,700‬ people of workforce age who were unemployed in Australia and, est. 207,200 (26.6%) of these were New South Wales residents.

By 24 April 2020 there were est. 1,346,172 unemployed people (between the ages of 15 to 64 years) spread across the nation and, it is likely that unemployed people in New South Wales then exceeded est. 224,700 individuals.

The national figure represents an additional 567,472 unemployed people between January and late April - with an est. 500,000 of this number out of work due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initial results in a Monash Univerity ongoing study suggests that 90% of those who lost their jobs due to COVID-19 public health restrictions/changed economic climate were given less than one week's notice and of those 44.7% received no notice at all.

Processing unemployment benefit applications for over half a million extra Australians in need is taking time and, est. 317,597 applications were still outstanding on 24 April.

Apart from an initial $750 economic support payment for those receiving Jobseeker (previously Newstart), no enhanced unemployment benefits or JobKeeper* subsidised wage payments commenced until after 27 April 2020, with some payments not due to be received until 11 May [See Senate Select Committee on COVID-19, public hearing transcript, 30 April 2020, p.22]. 

Which means that, commencing on 28 February, between est. 20,320 to 249,875 Australian citizens had been without income support** and those single people on unemployment benefits had been struggling to live on as little as est. $18-$40 per day.

According to a Senate estimates hearing on 30 April, est. 400,000 more people are expected to lose their jobs by September 2020, at which time the unemployment rate is predicted to be around 13 per cent.

Goldman Sachs analysts are reportedly predicting an effective unemployment rate*** of 19 per cent by June-July.

Prime Minister & Liberal MP for Cook Scott Morrison is adamant that once the pandemic crisis passes all enhanced unemployment benefit rates will return to pre-pandemic levels - he is less clear about where the est. 1.74 million out of work Australians will be able to find a job.

Note:

* As of 28 April 2020 an est. 540,000 businesses have registered for the JobKeeper wage subsidisation scheme. The est. 3.3 million workers in these businesses are considered employed. JobKeeper wage payments to workers are subject to tax which is witheld by employers before payment is made.

** This last figure does not take into consideration unemployed non-citizens on student or work visas who are ineligible to apply for unemployment benefits.

*** An effective unemployment rate takes into consideration those who have had their hours of paid worik reduced, those who have given up looking for work since they lost their jobs and, those receiving JobKeeper payments but whose employer has temporarily ceased operating or is not operating at full capacity and therefore they are not going to work.

222 economists advise that lifting COVID-19 restrictions too soon will not help the Australian economy. But will Scott Morrison listen?

The Conversation, 20 April 2020:

In recent weeks a growing chorus of Australian commentators has called for social distancing measures to be eased or radically curtailed.

Some have claimed the lives saved by the lockdowns are not worth the damage they are causing to the economy.

Others have claimed the case for easing is strengthened by the fact many of the hardest hit by COVID-19 are elderly or suffering from other conditions.

Some might expect economists, of all people, to endorse this calculus.

But as economists we categorically reject these views, and we believe they do not represent the majority of our profession.

We believe a callous indifference to life is morally objectionable, and that it would be a mistake to expect a premature loosening of restrictions to be beneficial to the economy and jobs, given the rapid rate of contagion…..

Open Letter from Australian Economists

19 April, 2020

Dear Prime Minister and Members of the National Cabinet,

The undersigned economists have witnessed and participated in the public debate about when to relax social-distancing measures in Australia. Some commentators have expressed the view there is a trade-off between the public health and economic aspects of the crisis. We, as economists, believe this is a false distinction.

We cannot have a functioning economy unless we first comprehensively address the public health crisis. The measures put in place in Australia, at the border and within the states and territories, have reduced the number of new infections. This has put Australia in an enviable position compared to other countries, and we must not squander that success.

We recognise the measures taken to date have come at a cost to economic activity and jobs, but believe these are far outweighed by the lives saved and the avoided economic damage due to an unmitigated contagion. We believe strong fiscal measures are a much better way to offset these economic costs than prematurely loosening restrictions.

As has been foreshadowed in your public remarks, our borders will need to remain under tight control for an extended period. It is vital to keep social-distancing measures in place until the number of infections is very low, our testing capacity is expanded well beyond its already comparatively high level, and widespread contact tracing is available.

A second-wave outbreak would be extremely damaging to the economy, in addition to involving tragic and unnecessary loss of life.

Sincerely,

Professor Alison Booth, Australian National University

Professor Jeff Borland, University of Melbourne

Professorial Research Fellow Lisa Cameron, Melbourne Institute, University of Melbourne

Professor Efrem Castelnuovo, University of Melbourne

Professor Deborah Cobb-Clark, University of Sydney

Assistant Professor Ashley Craig, University of Michigan

Professor Chris Edmond, University of Melbourne

Professor Nisvan Erkal, University of Melbourne

Professor John Freebairn, University of Melbourne

Professor Renée Fry-McKibbin, Australian National University

Professor Joshua Gans, University of Toronto

Professor Jacob Goeree, UNSW Business School

Professor Quentin Grafton, Australian National University

Professor Simon Grant, Australian National University

Professor Pauline Grosjean, UNSW Business School

Distinguished Professor Jane Hall, University of Technology Sydney

Assistant Professor Steven Hamilton, George Washington University

Professor Ian Harper, Melbourne Business School

Professor Richard Holden, UNSW Business School

Professor David Johnston, Monash University

Professor Flavio Menezes, University of Queensland

Professor Warwick McKibbin, Australian National University

Assistant Professor Simon Mongey, University of Chicago

Professor James Morley, University of Sydney

Professor Joseph Mullins, University of Minnesota

Professor Abigail Payne, Melbourne Institute, University of Melbourne

Professor Bruce Preston, University of Melbourne

Emeritus Professor Sue Richardson, Flinders University

Professor Stefanie Schurer, University of Sydney

Professor Kalvinder Shields, University of Melbourne

Professor John Quiggin, University of Queensland

Associate Professor Simon Quinn, Oxford University

Economic Advisor James Vickery, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia

Professor Tom Wilkening, University of Melbourne

Professor Justin Wolfers, University of Michigan

Professor Yves Zenou, Monash University

Full list of signatories available on the economists open letter website.

On blaming the wrong people for an election result.....

https://youtu.be/6I_ZhGHxnHQ

1.4 million Australians expected to be out of work during COVID-19 pandemic

ABC News, 13 April 2020:

Unemployment is set to soar to its highest rate in almost three decades, with 1.4 million Australians expected to be out of work.

New Treasury figures forecast the jobless rate will double in the June quarter from 5.1 per cent to 10 per cent, all but confirming Australia will enter a recession as it deals with the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will be the first time the unemployment rate has hit double digits since April 1994 and the figure is a fraction below Australia's peak unemployment rate of 11.2 per cent in 1992......

Read the full article here.

COVID-19 confirmed cases count for Australia, states and territories from 29 March 2020

THIS POST IS NO LONGER UPDATING

Cumulative totals of confirmed COVID-19 infections across Australia, taken from official federal, state and territory sources and updated daily. 

Dates of the month are those of official departmental media releases and do not always reflect the day on which any confirmed infection increase occurred. The lag when it does occur is usually less than 24 hours.

Australia

• 3,984 confirmed COVID-19 cases 29 March 2020 
• 4,250 confirmed COVID-19 cases 30 March 2020 (increase of 266 cases)
• 4,558 confirmed COVID-19 cases 31 March 2020 (increase of 308 cases)
• 4,864 confirmed COVID-19 cases 1 April 2020 (increase of 306 cases)
• 5,137 confirmed COVID-19 cases 2 April 2020 (increase of 273 cases)
• 5,361 confirmed COVID-19 cases 3 April 2020 (increase of 224 cases)
• 5,550 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (increase of 189 cases)
• 5,693 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (increase of 143 cases)
• 5,800 confirmed COVID-19 cases 6 April 2020 (increase 107 cases)*
• 5,844 confirmed COVID-19 cases 7 April 2020, with 44 deaths 

*  Estimates only

QLD

• 656 confirmed COVID-19 cases 29 March 2020 (increase of 31 cases)
• 689 confirmed COVID-19 cases 30 March 2020 (increase of 33 cases)
• 743 confirmed COVID-19 cases 31 March 2020 (increase of 55 cases)
• 781 confirmed COVID-19 cases 1 April 2020 (increase of 38 cases)
• 835 confirmed COVID-19 cases 2 April 2020 (increase of 54 cases)
• 873 confirmed COVID-19 cases 3 April 2020 (increase of 39 cases)
• 900 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (increase of 27 cases)
• 907 confirmed COVID-19 cases 5 April 2020 (increase of 9 cases)
• 921  confirmed COVID-19 cases 6 April 2020 (increase of 14 cases)

NSW

• 1,791 confirmed COVID-19 cases 29 March 2020 (increase of 174 cases)
• 1,918 confirmed COVID-19 cases 30 March 2020 (increase of 127 cases)
• 2,032 confirmed COVID-19 cases 31 March 2020 (increase of 96 cases)
• 2,182 confirmed COVID-19 cases 1 April 2020 (increase of 105 cases)
• 2,298 confirmed COVID-19 cases 2 April 2020 (increase of 116 cases)
• 2,389 confirmed COVID-19 cases 3 April 2020 (increase of 91 cases)
• 2,493 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (increase of 104 cases)
• 2,580 confirmed COVID-19 cases 5 April 2020 (increase of 87 cases)
• 2,637 confirmed COVID-19 cases 6 April 2020 (increase of 57 cases)

ACT

• 77 confirmed COVID-19 cases 29 March 2020 (increase of 6 cases)
• 78 confirmed COVID-19 cases 30 March 2020 (increase of 1 case)
• 80 confirmed COVID-19 cases 31 March 2020 (increase of 2 cases)
• 84  confirmed COVID-19 cases 1 April 2020 (increase of 4 cases)*
• 87 confirmed COVID-19 cases 2 April 2020 (increase of 3 cases)*
• 91 confirmed COVID-19 cases 3 April 2020 (increase of 4 cases)
• 93 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (increase of 2 cases) 
• 96 confirmed COVID-19 cases 5 April 2020 (increase of 3 cases) 
• 96 confirmed COVID-19 cases 6 April 2020 (no increase overnight) 

* numbers being reassessed due to false positive tests

VIC

• 769 confirmed COVID-19 cases 29 March 2020 (increase of 31 cases)
• 821 confirmed COVID-19 cases 30 March 2020 (increase of 52 cases)
• 917 confirmed COVID-19 cases 31 March 2020 (increase of 96 cases)
• 968 confirmed COVID-19 cases 1 April 2020 (increase of 51 cases)
• 1,036 confirmed COVID-19 cases 2 April 2020 (increase of 68 cases)
• 1,084 confirmed COVID-19 cases 3 April 2020 (increase of 49 cases)
• 1,115 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (increase of 30 cases)
• 1,135 confirmed COVID-19 cases 5 April 2020 (increase of 20 cases)
• 1,158  confirmed COVID-19 cases 6 April 2020 (increase 23 of cases)*

*  Estimates only

TAS

• 66 confirmed COVID-19 cases 29 March 2020 (increase of 4 cases)
• 69 confirmed COVID-19 cases 30 March 2020 (increase of 3 cases)
• 69 confirmed COVID-19 cases 31 March 2020 (no increase overnight)
• 71 confirmed COVID-19 cases 1 April 2020 (increase of 2 cases)
• 74 confirmed COVID-19 cases 2 April 2020 (increase of 2 cases)
• 80 confirmed COVID-19 cases 3 April 2020 (increase of 6 cases)
• 80 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (no increase overnight)
• 86 confirmed COVID-19 cases 5 April 2020 (increase of 4 cases)
• 89 confirmed COVID-19 cases 5 6 April 2020 (increase of 3 cases)

SA

• 299 confirmed COVID-19 cases 29 March 2020 (increase of 12 cases)
• 305 confirmed COVID-19 cases 30 March 2020 (increase of 6 cases)
• 337 confirmed COVID-19 cases 31 March 2020 (increase of 32 cases)
• 367 confirmed COVID-19 cases 1 April 2020 (increase of 30 cases)
• 385 confirmed COVID-19 cases 2 April 2020 (increase of 18 cases)
• 396 confirmed COVID-19 cases 3 April 2020 (increase of 11 cases)
• 407 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (increase of 11 cases)
• 409 confirmed COVID-19 cases 5 April 2020 (increase of 2 cases)
• 411 confirmed COVID-19 cases 6 April 2020 (increase of 2 cases)

WA

• 311 confirmed COVID-19 cases 29 March 2020 (increase of 33 cases)
• 355 confirmed COVID-19 cases 30 March 2020 (increase of 44 cases)
• 364 confirmed COVID-19 cases 31 March 2020 (increase of 9 cases)
• 392 confirmed COVID-19 cases 1 April 2020 (increase of 28 cases)
• 400 confirmed COVID-19 cases 2 April 2020 (increase of 8 cases)
• 422 confirmed COVID-19 cases 3 April 2020 (increase of 22 cases)
• 436 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (increase of 14 cases
• 453 confirmed COVID-19 cases 5 April 2020 (increase of 17 cases)
• 460 confirmed COVID-19 cases 6 April 2020 (increase of 7 cases)

NT

• 15 confirmed COVID-19 cases 29 March 2020 (no increase overnight)
• 15 confirmed COVID-19 cases 30 March 2020 (no increase overnight)
• 17 confirmed COVID-19 cases 31 March 2020 (increase of 2 cases)
• 19 confirmed COVID-19 cases 1 April 2020 (increase of 2 cases)
• 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases 2 April 2020 (increase of 3 cases)
• 26 confirmed COVID-19 cases 3 April 2020 (increase of 4 cases)
• 26 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (no increase overnight)
• 27 confirmed COVID-19 cases 4 April 2020 (increase of 1 case)
• 28  confirmed COVID-19 cases 6 April 2020 (increase of 2 cases)

NSW Northern Rivers Region

• 2 confirmed COVID-19 cases 16 March 2020
• 3 confirmed COVID-19 cases 18 March 2020
• 5 confirmed COVID-19 cases 22 March 2020
• 7 confirmed COVID-19 cases 23 March 2020
• 17 confirmed COVID-19 cases 24 March 2020
• 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases 26 March 2020
• 25 confirmed COVID-19 cases 27 March 2020
• 27 confirmed COVID-19 cases 30 March 2020
• 38 confirmed COVID-19 cases 31 March 2020
• 42 confirmed COVID-19 cases 1 April 2020 - Kyogle 0 cases, Richmond Valley 0 cases, Ballina 4 cases, Lismore 5 cases, Clarence Valley 8 cases, Tweed 12 cases, Byron Bay 13 cases.
• 44 confirmed COVID-19 cases 2 April 2020 
• 45 confirmed COVID-19 cases 3 April 2020
• 46 confirmed COVID-19 caes 5 April 2020 - Kyogle 0 cases, Richmond Valley 4 cases, Ballina 4 cases, Lismore 5  cases, Clarence Valley 8 cases, Tweed 13 cases, Byron Bay 13 cases.
• 47 confirmed COVID-19 cases 6 April 2020

COVID-19 advice to the Morrison Government - details of which it never expected the general public would become aware

"The reduction in doubling time is an indicator that the window for proactive intervention is very small." 

At the current rate of infection Australia could theoretically expect over 6,000 COVID-19 cases by next week and over 50,000 by Easter.

Group of Eight Expert Advice on Social Distancing requested by Australian Government by clarencegirl on Scribd

https://www.scribd.com/document/453163428/Group-of-Eight-Expert-Advice-on-Social-Distancing-requested-by-Australian-Government

Because the number of graphs are proliferating in mainstream and social media, here are two official Australian Government graphs

Because the number of graphs are proliferating in mainstream and social media, here are two official Australian Government graphs.

This graph shows the number of confirmed cases by notification date. Interpret the most recently reported new cases shown in the graph with caution as there can be delays in reporting.

Age breakdown as of 24 March 2020.

As of 24 March 2019 there were 2,136 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia and 8 have died from this novel viral infection. More than 143,000 COVID-19 tests had been conducted across Australia, according to the Australian Dept. of Health.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Northern NSW Local Health District now number five

Northern NSW Local Health District, Media Release, 19 March 2020:

UPDATE: Confirmed cases of COVID-19 in NNSWLHD  

Northern NSW Local Health District has confirmed another two cases of COVID-19 within the LHD since our last update on 18 March. This takes the total number of cases of COVID-19 in NNSWLHD to five. 

All five cases are currently in self-isolation and are being monitored daily,

To date, four of the five cases had returned from overseas and the source of acquisition for the fifth case is under investigation at the time of this release. 

North Coast Public Health Unit is contacting people who had been in close contact with the two new cases. Close contacts are asked to self-isolate for 14 days from their last contact with the case, or to be tested if they develop symptoms. As with other cases, these individuals will be followed-up daily and supported with ongoing advice. 

One confirmed case travelled on Virgin Australia flight VA1141 from Sydney to Ballina, arriving 10 March 2020. Contacts were in rows 7 – 11. 

The risk to those passengers is considered low because of the flight time, however as a matter of caution, we do ask that people who were seated in those rows 7 – 11 be alert to signs and symptoms of COVID-19. 

Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose and sometimes shortness of breath. 

If you develop these symptoms, call your doctor and let them know that you were in those seats on that particular flight. 

There are no other locations that pose an ongoing risk to members of the public at this time. 

There are two COVID-19 / flu clinics in NNSWLHD at present, located at The Tweed Hospital and Lismore Base Hospital. These clinics are open from 10am to 6pm daily. 

These clinics are for those most at risk with respiratory symptoms or fever, those returning from overseas or in contact with a COVID-19 case, or people like our health workers. 

People without symptoms do not need and will not be tested at this stage....  

healthdirect AUSTRALIA – providing expert health advice 24 hours a day to NSW residents – Tel. 1800 022 222 

NNSWLHD is closely monitoring the volume of respiratory presentations at our facilities, and will use this information to determine when and if additional COVID-19/ flu clinics need to opened at other hospitals in the District. 

We encourage everyone to play their part in containing the spread of COVID-19 by washing your hands often, covering coughs and sneezes, maintaining social distance and staying home if you’re unwell. Visit the NSW Health website for more advice.

https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/diseases/Pages/coronavirus.aspx

Anzac Day marches and many rememberance services cancelled for 25 April 2020 due to COVID-19 pandemic

ABC News, 16 March 2020:

A number of states have moved to cancel some Anzac Day services and ban the public from attending others in an attempt to thwart the spread of coronavirus. 

A selection of dawn services will be held across the country but the public will be asked not to attend. Any marches or midday services will be cancelled. 

RSL Victoria state president Dr Robert Webster said it was not a decision taken lightly. 

"Traditionally, many of us have marked Anzac Day by attending a dawn service at our local cenotaph or the Melbourne Shrine of Remembrance," he said 

"But in 2020, on April 25, when you can't go to a local dawn service, the RSL is asking that instead you tune in via radio, social media or television and take a moment to reflect on the service and sacrifice of our veterans and those who are still serving today.".....

RSL Queensland president Tony Ferris said the move was designed to protect "our older veterans" who are particularly at risk, and said he was looking into alternative ways for people to commemorate the day. 

"Regardless of the form this year's Anzac Day commemorations take, we will always remember the dedication, commitment and sacrifice of our Defence forces, past and present," Mr Ferris said. 

Robert Dick, state president of RSL Tasmania, said he was hoping the public could empathise with the decision. 

"Yes, we cop a lot of public flak over the issue, but we ask them to consider everybody else, not just themselves," he said. 

Several states and territories are yet to make a firm decision about their respective services....