Return of overseas travellers to Australia amid Covid-19 restrictions 'meticulously planned' – as it happened

I think that’s where I will leave you for tonight. Thank you for joining us throughout the day.

Before I go, here is what you need to know of the day’s developments:

• South Australia has recorded only one new case, and nearly half of those who contracted Covid-19 in the state have now recovered.
• Numbers of new confirmed cases have either stabilised or fallen in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, despite more testing being conducted. The ACT recorded no new cases.
  
• Two more deaths have been recorded, taking the national toll to 56. A 91-year-old woman died in NSW, and a man in his 80s died in Victoria.
• In Tasmania, there is particular concern about an outbreak in the north-west, particularly in two hospitals. The Tasmanian government is adopting new measures to stop the outbreak spreading.
• The NRL insists it has been given the green light by the government to resume matches next month. It says it will adopt regular temperature testing and hand-washing protocols for safety.
• The Bondi to Bronte walk, one of Sydney’s most popular, has been closed after walkers continued to ignore advice on social distancing. Helicopters patrolled the walk today and barriers and barricades were erected.
• In Uruguay, 112 Australians and New Zealanders who were aboard the Antarctic cruise ship Greg Mortimer, which has been anchored off the coast of South America for 14 days after a coronavirus outbreak on board, are being allowed to dock and disembark. Australian and New Zealand citizens will be allowed to fly home on a special chartered medical flight.
• The Australian government has announced $100m in funding this week to help charities provide emergency relief during the coronavirus downturn.

Although the Western Australian government has warned they will close beaches if physical distancing requirements are not adhered to, so far they remain open to the public.

It’s just as well, as Perth residents sweltered through a 39.5C day, the hottest April day ever.

You can read more here:

A group of Australians required to quarantine in the Rydges hotel in Brisbane have banded together to create this video.

“On the bus ride to the hotel, we created a WhatsApp group. Lots of good chat going on and a few fun projects to pass the time,” wrote Jeff Osborne on Instagram.

As mentioned earlier, the popular Bondi to Bronte walk was closed after walkers continued to ignore the advice on social distancing. Helicopters were patrolling the walk today and barriers and barricades were being erected.

But, while Australia closes its paths, other cities have been opening new ones, giving over now empty roads to pedestrians. This allows those on their daily walk more space to social distance.

Laura Laker has the full report here:

The ABC reporter Emilia Terzon tweeted this unconventional, but still delightful, retirement home birthday celebration.

SA Health says that only one person has tested positive to Covid-19 in the past day.

Nearly half of the state’s 429 cases have now been cleared of the disease.

Seven remain in hospital, four in a critical condition.

As mentioned earlier on the blog, the NRL insists it’s been given the green light by government to resume matches next month.

But today the NSW premier, Gladys Berejiklian, said she had not approved a return.

If you are keen to learn more you can read the full report here:

Cruise companies have been among the hardest hit in the Covid-19 crisis. Virtually every operator has had to suspend business and stories of stranded passengers across the world have plagued them in recent weeks. Not to mention the new “floating Petri dish” association.

Wealth correspondent Rupert Neate has this report on the challenges this industry now faces.

This is just one of many interesting interactions police have had with the public over the Easter weekend.

Federal Labor says the $100m package the government announced to assist charities through the Covid-19 crisis does not go far enough.

Here is some of what the shadow assistant minister for treasury and charities, Andrew Leigh, said in a press conference today:

Today’s package is [a] $100m announcement for food relief charities, emergency services providers and financial counselling. $16m of this was announced a fortnight ago and is being re-announced today.

Labor welcomes the support being provided to the sector, but we have to keep it in perspective. This is a significant sector, so the $100m package announced today is less than 1/1000th of the size of the charity sector.

Labor calls on the government to ensure that charities that are providing early childhood services, charities providing disability support are able to stay afloat in these troubling times. There are charities right now missing out on jobkeeper.

We call on Josh Frydenberg to use his personal authority under the legislation to allow those significant charities to be brought back in.

West Australian businesses are pessimistic about the chances of a post-coronavirus economic rebound, with most expecting conditions to worsen in 2021.

This report via AAP:

A joint survey by WA Super and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry WA released on Saturday highlights fears the economic toll will stretch well beyond current efforts to suppress the deadly coronavirus in Australia.

Business confidence has plunged to a three-year low, with 86 per cent of surveyed WA firms expecting conditions to persist or worsen in the short term.

Three in five WA businesses expect the state economy to continue to worsen in 2021.

State and federal stimulus measures have provided some relief but many businesses are struggling to access finance.

WA Super chief executive Fabian Ross says businesses must adopt long-term thinking to get through the significant disruption.

“It is my view that we will get through this crisis, and knowing how resourceful WA people are, we will see new opportunities and innovations arise,” he said.

The state government last month unveiled a $1 billion relief package aimed at households and small businesses, including reduced electricity bills, payroll tax relief and waived licence fees.

The arrangements will be in place until September 30 when they will be reviewed ahead of the state budget, which has been deferred to October 8.

I’m going to hand over to reporter Matilda Boseley now, who will take you through the rest of the evening.

Thanks for sticking with me today.

Police in NSW and Queensland have just released new information about their Covid-19 related crackdowns.

In Queensland, police have issued 462 fines worth $616,308.

In NSW, police have charged 10 people and issued 50 infringement notices since their last update yesterday. Police have issued 38 court attendance notices and 295 infringement notices since 17 March.

The new enforcement in NSW includes:

• Fining a man $1,000 for sitting on a garden bed in Ultimo, Sydney without a reasonable excuse.
• Charging an 18-year-old man who “claimed to have no knowledge of Covid-19” in Sydney’s west. The man was allegedly breaching a domestic violence order. He has been charged with family violence offences and failing to comply with a public health direction.
  
• Fining a man $1,000 after being called to conduct a welfare check on him. The man was noticed wandering around on the road “rambling incoherently” in Banora Point. Police said he was in breach of his bail conditions and was “unable to provide a reasonable explanation for being away from his home”. Police said he was warned previously and had stolen goods on him.
• Fining a man $1,000 for attending Albury police station and telling officers he wanted to “hang out”. He was seen outside the station twice later that day, despite being told to go home, police said.

The NRL saga continues.

A bit earlier today, the NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, suggested the NRL would need to talk to NSW Health before resuming play next month, as it intends to do.

But the ARLC chair, Peter V’landys, has again insisted that the NRL has all the clearances it needs from NSW already. V’landys has told AAP that he had checked with state authorities about whether the NRL was covered by an exemption to public health orders issued on 31 March. The government had told him it was.

“We’ve got a letter from the coordinator confirming that we can train and play,” V’landys told AAP.

“So I could dot the ‘I’s and cross the ‘T’s; I got a separate letter off the department which is the State Emergency Operations Centre that is implementing the health order.

“And it says it does not preclude the NRL from commencing the competition. It says in the absence of crowds at relevant stadiums.”

From AAP:

Qantas has hit back at union suggestions the airline is not adequately supporting its cabin crews who are ferrying stranded Australians home from overseas during the coronavirus crisis.

The ACTU says Qantas flight crews are concerned about insufficient health protections and leave entitlements should they be exposed, fall ill or are required to self-isolate.

But a spokesman for Qantas said the airline had fully complied with the requirements of Australia’s chief medical officer in relation to the quarantine exemptions for air crew.

It rejected the ACTU’s claim that if a cabin crew member fell sick because of the virus, the airline would not cover the cost of a hotel should the individual elect to stay in one for their 14-day quarantine.

The airline is operating the federal government’s rescue flights for a month and the cabin crew would be paid a full month’s roster, which covers any work they do plus self-isolation in the month.

Qantas Group’s medical director, Ian Hosegood, says the risk to staff “remains low”.

“We have put in place increased measures to protect our people while they are at work, and our customers, including enhanced cleaning at airports and on aircraft and providing necessary safety equipment,” he said.

The ACTU said 59 Qantas staff have been infected by Covid-19 and four families or flatmates were confirmed to have contracted the virus, with several more suspected cases awaiting test results.

AAP reporter Benita Kolovos has tweeted about what sounds like a truly awful experience at a funeral today. Police stood watching over her papou’s funeral to enforce social distancing.

The funeral director said police had been at every service he had run since 22 March.

Coatsworth says there is no concern about non-Covid-19 medication shortages.

He also says there is no direct concern about an increased spread of Covid-19 in winter, although the cold will increase other respiratory illnesses, such as influenza.

There is no evidence at the moment ... about a seasonal effect of Covid-19. The concern about winter is that there are other respiratory diseases like influenza which do have a seasonal component to them. With all the data we have with tracking flu in the community, with the social distancing that people have been doing, those numbers are plummeting. Which is just another great indicator of why this policy is actually working and that Australians are doing what is asked of them.

He says it’s too early to start talking about the relaxation of restrictions in Australia. He says it would need to be a very “nuanced” approach to relaxing restrictions.

I think another way to put it might be that it was very fast into the restrictions and they were very widespread, and it needs to be very nuanced on the way out. So you need to be very clear about if you’re lifting a restriction, that you have done everything you can to try and understand exactly what the implications of that lifting would be before you actually implemented. So whether it is slow or not, needs to be very targeted and focused and that is how it going to be I suspect