Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Mt Druitt genomically linked to Berala cluster

 

[SydneySwan]

I may be mistaken but I thought I heard a Vic government official state that the 1200 for the AO would be in addition to the regular Victorian cap

Ah so when the Vic Government wants to step up it can. I'd be feeling pretty insulted if I was a Victorian trying to return from overseas.

Post automatically merged: Jan 13, 2021

Mt Druitt genomically linked to Berala cluster

That's good news isn't it?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I may be mistaken but I thought I heard a Vic government official state that the 1200 for the AO would be in addition to the regular Victorian cap

I don't know about the numbers.

But the entire cost of the HQ and all staff employed in the supervision of the those involved with the AO is being paid for Tennis Australia..

The 3 dedicated hotels are purely for that purpose. They are not also being used for returning travellers, and were not prior.

Tennis Australia is also paying for all the dedicated charter flights.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Ah so when the Vic Government wants to step up it can. I'd be feeling pretty insulted if I was a Victorian trying to return from overseas.

Post automatically merged: Jan 13, 2021

That's good news isn't

I’d be insulted if I was an Aussie trying for weeks/months to get home - don’t have to be Victorian

With Berala - Mt Druitt link, no direct link yet so at least 1 positive case ‘out in the wind’ that links the other cases in the cluster to Mt Druitt cases

 

[jakeseven7]

That's good news isn't it?

Absolutely.

But they still don't know how they got it unless I missed that in the press conference? Did they link the place of transmission?

 

[VPS]

It does seem that some people can just come and go. Adam Hills has been back and forth to the UK about three times and yet others are desperate to come home

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Absolutely.

But they still don't know how they got it unless I missed that in the press conference? Did they link the place of transmission?

Genomic link only I believe.

 

[Lynda2475]

Tennis Australia is also paying for all the dedicated charter flights.

A significant portion of Tennis Australia's funding comes from Government grants - so tax payers. I think if surveyed your average aussie would prefer tax dollars be used to bring aussies homes, not funding a competition for some very priviledged individuals.

The Feds should have denied entry visas for AO particpants, unless Vic resumed taking its previous cap of Aussies.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I’d be insulted if I was an Aussie trying for weeks/months to get home - don’t have to be Victorian

The other possibility is that the largesse by Tennis Australia in paying for everything may well allow for an increase in international arrivals post the AO as an additional workforce will have been skilled up and 3 hotels have been refitted for HQ use. They may well be taken over by the Vic Gov after the AO.


About 1500 more staff have been brought in to manage infection control of the players and officials in Melbourne.

They include more than 600 resident support officers, who will be positioned on every floor of each hotels, 210 event support officers, and almost 300 COVID marshals, who will monitor players and staff as they travel to and from quarantine.

 

[Lynda2475]

Lots of questions at the NSW pressure about Qld Premier wanting to cease inetrnational arrivals altogether and the pressure that will put on NSW. I didnt watch the Qld presser today were AP or JY hnting at pausing overseas arrivals, surely not justified because of 2 community cases.

 

[jakeseven7]

Hopefully the staff in the new QLD quarantine hotels wear masks.... ​

---​

QLD COVID-19 quarantine 'reset' as 129 people locked in Brisbane's Grand Chancellor to move to other hotels​

An urgent incident response is underway in Queensland after genomic testing discovered six previously identified COVID-19 cases were linked and are all the highly contagious UK strain of the virus.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed more precautions would be put in place as she announced two new cases of COVID-19 were recorded overnight, both in hotel quarantine.

Ms Palaszczuk said all six cases stayed on the same floor of the Hotel Grand Chancellor in Brisbane city, where 129 guests would undergo a "quarantine reset" and be moved to different hotels.

"Both groups of these overseas arrivals stayed on the same floor of the hotel at different times but not in neighbouring rooms," she said.

"There is no need for the public to be concerned, but we are going to take some immediate actions as a precaution.

'Depressed and helpless': 129 people forced to restart hotel quarantine amid Brisbane's COVID cluster

People who have already spent two weeks in hotel quarantine at Brisbane's Grand Chancellor — where a cleaner tested positive to the UK variant of the virus — are told they will have their quarantine extended with 129 guests being moved to other hotels.

www.abc.net.au

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

With Qld, I’m thinking if the 2 people travelling from Lebanon got infected while in mandatory quarantine from the travelling couple from the UK (eg via air conditioning) then it’s probably better classified as a local transmission.

Yes the risk is the same (minimal because they are kept away from the general local population) but the fact Qld are doing further quarantine on those staying there gives some insight that the hotel (level 7 I believe) is now a transmission site.

 

[Pushka]

Let just see if a local case/outbreak arise as a result - then the thunder of the media can come on the Victorian Government’s doorstep.

Most likely someone will get it but daily tests might stop it spreading too far

It just occurred to me that’s why Vic was pressing for daily tests because they essentially had to with the benefit of holding the Australian Open (tennis).

I hope not coz several are due to arrive into SA This week. They are training at Memorial Drive which is adjacent to husbands Gym so they should get good pictures. The gym is being secured off from their access. Rafa, Williams, and Djokovic, the other US woman, and someone else plus their entourage.

Post automatically merged: Jan 13, 2021

It does seem that some people can just come and go. Adam Hills has been back and forth to the UK about three times and yet others are desperate to come home

My nephew has been in and out a couple of times now, works in France.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

A significant portion of Tennis Australia's funding comes from Government grants - so tax payers. I think if surveyed your average aussie would prefer tax dollars be used to bring aussies homes, not funding a competition for some very priviledged individuals.

The Feds should have denied entry visas for AO particpants, unless Vic resumed taking its previous cap of Aussies.

I am not a Tennis fan at all, but I just had a quick look to check the veracity of your claim.

From a quick look at their last annual report:

So with Tennis Australia.

Total income $463 million.
$16 million in in grants, the rest they earn.

However Tennis Australia spends about $40 million on junior tennis. So $14 million helps generate $40 million for community benefit at the grassroots level. That would seem to be a good deal.

Now on the other hand if the AO did not happen presumably revenues would plummet causing all sorts of job losses, including from suppliers etc, and reduction in community programs. Federal tax income would also probably drop.

Some only see the international players, others all see the employment it creates and the community tennis that it helps to support.

https://www.tennis.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/MI-20-115-Tennis-Australia-Annual-Report-2019-2020_SML.pdf

 

[antycbr]

Lots of questions at the NSW pressure about Qld Premier wanting to cease inetrnational arrivals altogether and the pressure that will put on NSW. I didnt watch the Qld presser today were AP or JY hnting at pausing overseas arrivals, surely not justified because of 2 community cases.

I’m thinking we might shortly see the states gang up on the Commonwealth and we might get the remote quarantine facility many of us are asking for.

Queensland is clearly feeling anxious about HQ, which goes with the general feeling of the population of NSW thanks to be Berala cluster (don’t get me started on the Avalon cluster)

 

[Lynda2475]

$16 million in in grants, the rest they earn.

There was an additional $7m in Covid payments last financial year - listed under otehr income.

Federal tax income would also probably drop

TA dont pay any income tax, despite their huge income "The income of the Company is exempt from income tax, and accordingly, no provision has been made in the accounts for income tax payable." A joke since they arent a charity but a commercial enterprise and should cough up ( that 30% tax they dont pay is also a tax payer subsidy)!

A lot of the surrounding benefits will be significntly reduced this year - the crowds are limited, interstate tourism restricted, international tourism non existent. Why cant the particpnats pay for their own hotel stay and quarantine? Aussie citizens have to pay.

Personally i dont feel there is any justification for prioritising bringing in sports people and their crews from high risk countries when Australian citzens are still trying to get home. Just like i dont feel there should be exemptions for hollywood actors.

If Vic Govenrment had lifted their game and restored international arrivals, then maybe i could be more tolerant of the decision, but trying to say that this is anythign but a huge slap in the face to those Aussies trying to get home is a joke.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

I’m thinking we might shortly see the states gang up on the Commonwealth and we might get the remote quarantine facility many of us are asking for.

Queensland is clearly feeling anxious about HQ.

Well under the Constitution, quarantine is Commonwealth/Federal responsibility as has been stated on the other relevant thread - ducks for cover

Who else is asking? Haven’t heard 1 media report on it so not sure how much traction there is on the idea

 

[Lynda2475]

I’m thinking we might shortly see the states gang up on the Commonwealth and we might get the remote quarantine facility many of us are asking for.

Queensland is clearly feeling anxious about HQ, which goes with the general feeling of the population of NSW thanks to be Berala cluster (don’t get me started on the Avalon cluster)

Perhaps but given Qld's track record of fear, I suspect more a case of the Qld looking for an out to having to take anyone because of failures in their procedures.

Whilst I would like to see more remote facilities like Howard Springs, there is nothing to stop states looking at alternate sites.

Very early on i said NSW could stop operating the old quarantine station at North Head as a convention centre, and start using it for ISO - there is a private beach and large outdoor areas that can allow people to iso and have outdoor time. They could have upped the available accomodation there via demountable cabins. One road in, easy to police.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Because that is what the previous Commonwealth CMO and the present CMO also think.
Prof.Paul Kelly is one of the World's pre eminent epidemiologists and especially in respiratory viral pandemics.
Collignon is a well respected infectious disease physician who als is a very good exponent of the art of medicine as FM knows.

He may be a respected epidemiologist. There are lots of those. Prof Collignon's 'predictions' haven't been so accurate so far. And I don't think it is necessarily within an epidemiologist's remit or expertise to say we need to open borders.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

There was an additional $7m in Covid payments last financial year - listed under otehr income.



TA dont pay any income tax, despite their huge income "The income of the Company is exempt from income tax, and accordingly, no provision has been made in the accounts for income tax payable." A joke since they arent a charity but a commercial enterprise and should cough up ( that 30% tax they dont pay is also a tax payer subsidy)!

A lot of the surrounding benefits will be significntly reduced this year - the crowds are limited, interstate tourism restricted, international tourism non existent. Why cant the particpnats pay for their own hotel stay and quarantine? Aussie citizens have to pay.

Personally i dont feel there is any justification for prioritising bringing in sports people and their crews from high risk countries when Australian citzens are still trying to get home. Just like i dont feel there should be exemptions for hollywood actors.

If Vic Govenrment had lifted their game and restored international arrivals, then maybe i could be more tolerant of the decision, but trying to say that this is anythign but a huge slap in the face to those Aussies trying to get home is a joke.

The employees and other businesses all pay tax.

No AO would mean a drop in tax renvenue.