WA records no new local COVID-19 cases, raising hopes the state has avoided a widespread outbreak - SBS News

Western Australia has again recorded no new local coronavirus cases, raising hopes the state has avoided a widespread outbreak.

Authorities are continuing to track down people who had contact with a hotel quarantine security guard and two of his housemates.

The trio tested positive on Saturday, prompting the government to reinstate mandatory mask-wearing both indoors and outdoors, close nightclubs and prevent fans from attending Sunday's AFL western derby at Optus Stadium.

Premier Mark McGowan on Monday said WA Health had so far identified 58 close contacts and 26 had tested negative.

Seventeen of the close contacts went to cooking classes on 27 and 28 April at the Perth College of Business and Technology which was also attended by one of the housemates.

All close contacts are required to quarantine for 14 days.

The two infected housemates each worked as delivery drivers and it emerged on Monday they had delivered food to more than 100 people.

Those people are considered casual contacts and are being contacted and advised to get tested.

But health advice suggested the risk of transmission was very low given the drivers were required to wear face masks and had minimal contact with customers.

Mr McGowan and Health Minister Roger Cook on Monday each received their first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

WA Premier Mark McGowan is seen receiving his first dose of the COVID-19 AstraZeneca vaccination in Perth, Monday, 3 May, 2021.

AAP

They are part of the over-50s cohort who are now eligible to receive their jabs at one of several mass vaccination clinics across Perth.

Over-50s can get vaccinated by their GPs from 17 May.

"I didn't feel a thing. It wasn't a difficult experience," Mr McGowan told reporters.

"I would encourage everyone to go and get vaccinated when your time comes."

The guard in his 20s worked at the Pan Pacific Hotel between 24 and 26 April and tested positive on Saturday.

He and his seven housemates have been moved to hotel quarantine.

On his days off work from 27 to 30 April, he moved through the community going shopping, seeing friends and visiting Mirrabooka Mosque.

Restrictions had been in place in Perth and Peel following a snap three-day lockdown.

"Had what happened in the last couple of days occurred three weeks ago, we would have gone into lockdown immediately," Mr McGowan said.

Authorities believe the guard likely contracted the virus from a returned traveller from the United States who was in quarantine at the Pan Pacific.

Genomic testing has indicated the pair have the same US variant of the virus.

Mr McGowan said he had been advised the outbreak was not related to ventilation issues which had been detected in several other quarantine hotels.

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WA records no new local COVID-19 cases, raising hopes the state has avoided a widespread outbreak - SBS News
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Anthology tells tales from local lockdown - Bayside News

AN exhibition drawing inspiration from the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of 2020 is ready to go on display at the Frankston Arts Centre.

The works on show aim to capture life as it was a year ago – truly a time like no other. 

The Time, Last Year opens at the Arts Centre this month. The event will feature the launch of a community anthology, Stories at the End of the Line, on Friday 14 May.

Anthology contributor Susan Chapman has written a prose piece titled Beach Cleaner. “Beach cleaning became an important part of my day. I’d go out with my gardening gloves, salad servers and large hat, and I’d be meeting people,” she said.

“Being out in nature has been an important part of what we’re doing and being able to write about it has been fun and something to share with people. Cathartic is a good word for it, because our time on the beach has really saved our sanity.”

Amy Newman, another contributor to the anthology, said “I’ve always been a keen writer. I wanted a way to develop my writing skills when I had just had my baby and it was also an ideal way of connecting with the community. I got a lot of enjoyment out of it. I was so thrilled to be a part of it.” 

Frankston mayor Kris Bolam said “brimming with bold, heartfelt, thoughtful and inventive pieces, Stories at the End of the Line captures a remarkable time we’ll never forget thanks to members of the community sharing stories about their time in isolation.”

“Locals well and truly embraced this storytelling project with 143 submissions from writers aged 12 to 90 years sharing stories of love, loss, the mundane and the simple pleasures of family and friends,” he said.  “This anthology features 75 pieces – we’re incredibly proud of all those who participated and shared their stories.”

This Time, Last Year works will feature on the Curved Wall Gallery at the Arts Centre from Thursday 13 May to Saturday 26 June. A lockdown film competition screening will be held at Cube 37 on Friday 21 May, 6pm to 8pm.

For more information visit thefac.com.au

First published in the Frankston Times – 4 May 2021

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'Great news': WA records zero new local COVID-19 cases - 9News

Premier Mark McGowan announced there were three new cases of COVID-19 in hotel quarantine today, describing the zero local infections as "great news".

It comes days after a hotel security guard - known as case 1001 - tested positive to the US strain of the virus, along with two of his housemates.

A security guard working at the Pan Pacific quarantine hotel in Perth tested positive to coronavirus. (Google Maps)

The variant was identical to a traveller who visited from the US and was transferred to the hotel on the same day when case 1001 was working.

"So, we expect he acquired the virus from that person," Mr McGowan said.

"We don't know how. The advice we have is at this point in time it was not related to ventilation issues in the hotel."

The man in his 20s worked at the Pan Pacific Perth hotel and may have been infectious in the community since April 27.

There are 58 close contacts that have been identified in relation to the man, who lives in the northern Perth suburb of Nollamara.

Of those, 26 have returned negative test results.

Mr McGowan said 17 of the close contacts were from cooking classes.

"We're awaiting results from the remaining, but all are in quarantine and will be in quarantine for the next 14 days," he said.

There are 217 casual contacts, with 43 testing negative so far.

"Casual contacts are required to get tested immediately and quarantine until they return a negative test result," Mr McGowan said.

WA Premier Mark McGowan received the COVID-19 jab today. (Nine)

Mark McGowan announced there were no new local cases of COVID-19 in the state. (9News)

A separate group of locations will be added to the state's public exposure site list where food delivery drivers, including the two who tested positive, picked up and dropped off food.

"There are about 100 different locations that WA Health advised are very low risk," Mr McGowan said.

"The people to whom food was delivered, of whom there is 100, are required to get tested.

"They are considered a casual contact."

The premier acknowledged the past 10 days have been "quite distressing" for the state and the interim restrictions due to expire at 12.01am on Saturday would be reviewed.

"At this point in time, we're requesting everyone wear masks, everyone do the right thing," Mr McGowan said.

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Meet local firies and save lives, including your own – The Echo - Echonetdaily

Lismore MP Janelle Saffin and NSW Shadow Minister for Local Government Greg Warren during a visit to Tenterfield Fire Station to meet and thank long-serving personnel and new recruits last year. Photo supplied.

Meeting local firefighters and learning about home fire prevention is really important and more so in recent times and into the future.

Janelle Saffin MP is encouraging people to meet their local firefighters at the Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) Open Day on Saturday, 15 May 2021.

 Ms Saffin said FRNSW Open Day is a great opportunity for people of all ages to come along and meet their local firefighters.

‘Five fire stations in our Electorate of Lismore are throwing open their doors This is an amazing opportunity to see firsthand what our firefighters do,’ said Ms Saffin.

‘Children will be able to see a fire truck, demonstrations and firefighting equipment while the grown-ups will be able to find out more about home fire prevention.’

 It’s important to have a working smoke alarm in your home – each year, approximately 20 people die in NSW from fires that could have been prevented. Sadly, almost all of these fatalities occur in people’s homes.

For each fire fatality, there are also hundreds more people who survive a fire but suffer life-changing health consequences. Firefighters are committed to reducing the risk of such fires and to protecting the irreplaceable.

 FRNSW Commissioner Paul Baxter said in the lead up to winter, Open Day was the perfect opportunity for the community to talk to firefighters about home fire safety.

 ‘We see a 10-per cent increase in the number of house fires during the cooler months, with fires starting in bedrooms and lounge rooms due to heaters and electric blankets,’ said Mr Baxter.

‘This year we want to help residents prepare their homes, and in particular, encourage them to check their smoke alarms and have a Home Fire Escape Plan. We have developed a Get Ready for Winter checklist.

The FRNSW Open Day will be held at  Lismore, Goonellabah, Kyogle, Murwillumbah, and Tenterfield, between 10am and 2pm on Saturday, 15 May.

For more information on FRNSW Open Day, visit https://ift.tt/3ufZXD7

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Geelong mourn the death of local legend Frank Costa - The Age

Geelong and the football world are mourning the death of local legend and former Cats president Frank Costa.

Born in 1938, Costa died after a battle with cancer. He was 83.

Frank Costa is mobbed by fans in 2007 after Geelong’s premiership.Credit:Jason South

Costa made his wealth in the fruit and vegetable business, with the Costa Group cleaning up the industry that had been wracked with criminal influence and division.

But it was as the transformative Cats president that Costa came to national prominence, helping the club break a premiership drought of 44 years when they won the 2007 flag under coach Mark Thompson and captain Tom Harley.

In the past week, Costa was made aware of his induction into Geelong’s legends club. He became the Cats’ 26th legend and the club’s first non-player to receive legend status.

“Frank was a legend as a person, and a legend of the club,” Cats chief executive Brian Cook said.

“He forged so many strong and lasting relationships through his warmth and authenticity. He will be missed by all that have been fortunate enough to know and love him.”

Costa gives fans a thumbs up at Kardinia Park in 2010.Credit:Getty Images

Former Collingwood president Eddie McGuire paid tribute to Costa, describing his rebuild of GMHBA Stadium and the City of Geelong, “at a time when Geelong was going nowhere”, as one of the Costa’s most profound achievements.

“Frank is one of the most generous and successful community business people I ever had the pleasure of dealing with,” McGuire told The Age.

“His contribution to the City of Geelong is incomparable. His rebuilding of the Geelong Football Club, literally, figuratively and spiritually, is one of the greatest impacts AFL football has ever seen.

“It was a regular occurrence to get a phone call from Frank saying, ‘Ed, we’re helping guys who are in jail, can you come down and speak to them, can you bring a couple of Collingwood boys down?’

“He was always looking to benefit the community and in amongst all that he was able to be a pillar of strength and virtue in Geelong and also in the fruit and vegetable game.”

Former AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou said Costa’s legacy was about much more than premierships.

“He was a giant of a man, a giant of Geelong, a great contributor to the community and just a wonderful person,” he said.

Costa celebrates with fans after the Cats’ grand final win in 2009.Credit:Getty Images

“He did so much to bring Geelong back to the fore after Pyramid, not just the club but the whole City of Geelong.

“He didn’t just win premierships, he almost brought Geelong back together again, based on the back of a football team and a whole community getting behind the club and the redevelopment of the club three times.

“His impact was profound.”

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett said it was Costa’s value system that he respected so much.

“He was the most wonderful human being,” Kennett said.

“What he stood for stands as a wonderful example in this so commercial, politicised world of what human beings can achieve if their value set is right.”

Cook said Costa’s contribution to the club was unrivalled.

“When Frank departed as president at the end of 2010 he left the club with state-of-the-art facilities, a record breaking team that had broken a premiership drought in 2007 and added another flag in 2009, and on a financial footing that set the club up for long term stability,” he said.

“Without Frank, there must be a genuine question as to whether or not the Geelong Football Club would exist today. It is highly doubtful it would exist in its current form without having had Frank at the helm.

“When the history of the club is written, it will be impossible to do so without having Frank at the forefront of the past 20-25 years. He took a divided club and willed it into the club we know today.”

Costa was revered at the Cats for his selfless approach, one which underpinned the cultural change at the club that has led to them being one of the most highly regarded organisations in the AFL for most of this century.

He was also down to earth, approachable and had a strong connection to fans, players, coaches administrators and the upper echelons of the AFL.

He began the rebuild of Geelong when he became president of the debt-ridden club in 1999 and appointed Brian Cook as CEO soon after with the pair becoming one of the most respected administrative pairings in the game.

Costa’s board led the club to success with the 2009 flag following the 2007 triumph before he was able to hand over the reins to Colin Carter at the end of 2010, as the club went on to win the 2011 premiership under current coach Chris Scott, who was in his first season as Cats coach aged just 35.

Costa was also one of Victoria’s richest men thanks to the family business he helped build from a single store.

Costa and his brother Adrian, the sons of Italian immigrants who had moved to Australia in the 1880s, bought the Geelong Convent Garden Garden fruit shop on Geelong’s Moorabool Street from their parents in 1959 before expanding it into a national wholesale fruit and vegetable empire.

From humble beginnings, Costa Group became Australia’s largest horticultural company and a major supplier of berries, mushrooms, tomatoes, bananas, avocados and citrus fruits. In the early 1990s, Mr Costa was said to have faced death threats from the Calabrian mafia after famously refusing a $1 million-a-year bribe to go along with an extortion racket that was inflating the price of fruit and vegetables by 50¢ a case for supermarket giant Coles.

Since listing on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2015, Costa Group has grown to a market valuation of $1.87 billion today. The company has operations in Australia, China, Hong Kong, Spain and Morocco, employing about 6000 staff.

Although retiring from the company’s board in 2019, Costa and his extended family have remained significant shareholders.

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Perth avoids another lockdown following discovery of no new local coronavirus cases - SBS News

Perth and the Peel region of Western Australia have avoided another lockdown for now after no further locally acquired coronavirus cases were detected.

WA Premier Mark McGowan confirmed the news on Sunday, 24 hours after a hotel quarantine security guard and two of his housemates tested positive to the virus.

Contact tracers are continuing to work through the movements of the three men but all 16 close contacts identified by WA Health as "high risk" have returned negative tests.

Results are pending for a further four close contacts, while another 136 contacts are deemed casual or yet to be classified.

All the new cases and their close contacts must quarantine for 14 days.

Sunday's AFL western derby between West Coast and Fremantle at Optus Stadium will be played behind closed doors, with the risk of 45,000 spectators travelling to the stadium deemed too high.

WA Premier confirms Perth will not go back into full lockdown. However, some new restrictions will be added.

— Aaron Fernandes (@az_journalist) May 2, 2021

Nightclubs will close for the next week and all Perth and Peel residents must wear masks indoors and outdoors, regardless of proximity to others.

"We need people to get tested and we need everyone to be wearing your masks," the premier said.

"I want to avoid going into lockdown again. I know how much it can impact people's lives and businesses. But if we need to go back into lockdown, we will."

The guard in his 20s worked at the Pan Pacific Hotel between 24 and 26 April and tested positive on Saturday.

On his days off work from 27 to 30 April, he moved through the community going shopping, seeing friends and visiting Mirrabooka Mosque.

He and his seven housemates were moved to hotel quarantine after he returned the positive result.

The guard had received his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine just days earlier.

Mr McGowan said the interim restrictions that had been in place in Perth and Peel following a snap three-day lockdown last weekend - including attendance limits at hospitality venues - had reduced the risk of a wider outbreak.

The guard's two infected housemates - a roommate and a guest from Canberra - had both been working as food delivery drivers.

They each worked on 29 and 30 April and could have been infectious since 27 April.

But public health advice suggested the risk was low given they were required to wear face masks and had minimal contact with customers.

Authorities are working through which restaurants they attended to collect food and if any are determined to be potential exposure sites, they will be listed on the healthywa.wa.gov.au website.

One of the positive cases attending a cooking school on 27 and 28 April with about 20 other people at the Perth College of Business and Technology.

The other students are being contacted and advised to isolate until they have returned negative tests, along with other casual contacts.

More than 3000 tests were completed on Saturday.

"We are not out of the woods as yet," Mr McGowan said. "Our contact tracing team has a massive job underway today."

The security guard, wearing a mask, worked on the same floor as two travellers - one from the US and one from Indonesia - who were transferred to the Pan Pacific Hotel on 24 April and tested positive.

Authorities have reviewed CCTV footage and are yet to identify any concerns.

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Strategy consultants exploring local Covid-19 vaccine production - Consultancy.com.au

The Australian government is looking into the establishment of a domestic production plant for mRNA vaccines such as Pfizer’s Covid-19 shot, calling in external support to help develop a business case.

The Australian government has called in strategy consultants to advise on a business case for the establishment of an onshore mRNA-based vaccine manufacturing facility. Currently serving the Department of Health and the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet on vaccine roll-out related projects, strategy consulting giant McKinsey & Company has also been aiding the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources on building future capacity.

Presently, the troubled AstraZeneca ‘viral vector’ vaccine is being produced in Melbourne by biotech company CSL, whereas an mRNA-capable facility could for example allow for the local production of the Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines, as well the manufacture of boosters and future flu shots – helping to address the overseas supply issues which have partially hampered the vaccine roll-out in Australia. A domestic facility could also serve as a regional hub.

Early discussions as to developing Australia’s onshore mRNA capability have already taken place, with the participation of CSL, Pfizer and other drug company representatives reported by various media outlets. Federal health minister Greg Hunt has also confirmed the government had been developing a business case for big pharma to consider domestic mRNA-based production, with McKinsey’s $2.2 million three-month assignment due to have concluded in March.

“The government has commissioned an audit of organisations within Australia with mRNA production capability and we are working with the biotech industry to consider ways to establish and sustain large-scale mRNA vaccine manufacturing,” Hunt told The Age, adding elsewhere; “[CSL] have said publicly that they are considering moving to an mRNA capacity and others are considering mRNA capacity. So we are doing a business case now to look at that option.”

The development follows mounting calls from multiple public bodies and health experts for the government to act on local mRNA-based vaccine production, with the opposition Labor party pledging to establish domestic capabilities as part of its election package. Meanwhile, the Victorian state government has pushed the matter forward by announcing an initial $50 million of funding towards research and the establishment of an Australian state-of-art drug manufacturing plant.

A former CSL Chairman, Australian Academy of Science president John Shine, told the Sydney Morning Herald that building a new facility from scratch would cost an estimated $300 to 500 million and take three to four years to complete. Labor, however, has criticised such a drawn out timeline, pointing to the ability of Germany – one of very few countries currently capable of producing mRNA-style vaccines – to build a factory for doing so in the space of around six months.

While McKinsey’s most recently published ‘business case’ contract expired last month, an earlier $2.4 million tender for ‘professional advice’ with the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources appears ongoing, slated to run from February through to early June.

Rival BCG has also been working with the department in recent months on ‘business facilitation services’, with both consulting firms having more than doubled their government contract revenues last year.

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