Australia

Australia wrestles with coronavirus second-wave, 17 more dead

Australia recorded a further 17 new coronavirus deaths on Sunday but infections in the hard-hit state of Victoria, the site of all the latest deaths, are showing a downward trend,…

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New virus cases in Victoria, Australia, hit five-week low

Australia's virus hot spot state of Victoria recorded its lowest number of new infections in five weeks on Friday, as Prime Minister Scott Morrison prepared to build a framework for…

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Coronavirus-hit Qantas reports £1bn annual loss

Qantas has reported an annual loss of almost A$2bn (£1bn) as it deals with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The Australian flag carrier's boss says trading conditions are the…

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Australia’s second most populous state reports small daily rise in COVID-19 cases

Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria, the country's COVID-19 hot spot, on Thursday reported a small daily increase in new infections with 240 cases over the past 24 hours. The…

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Parents who give youngsters “sips” of alcohol increase their risk of binge-drinking

Many parents encourage children to have small sips of alcohol at the dinner table in the belief it will help them drink sensibly in later life. But early exposure to…

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Vaccine likely to be mandatory in Australia

Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison, said he wants it to be compulsory for people to have a Covid-19 vaccine once it is available. Australia had earlier revealed it has agreed…

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NSW in Australia bans choirs and wind instruments in groups

As Australia suffered its deadliest day of the pandemic with 25 deaths being reported in the southern state of Victoria, 22 of which were in aged care homes, formals, dances,…

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Australia reports deadliest day of COVID-19 pandemic, new cases steady

Australia on Monday recorded its biggest one-day rise in COVID-19 deaths, though the state at the epicentre of the country’s outbreak said the number of new infections held steady. Victoria…

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Australian state premier apologises for cruise ship failures after COVID-19 spike

The leader of Australia's New South Wales state apologised on Monday for failing to stop people carrying the novel coronavirus from disembarking from a cruise ship in Sydney in March,…

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Australia commemorates end of WW2 with message of unity

In socially distanced ceremonies across Australia that echoed a message of unity, politicians, veterans and ordinary people commemorated on Saturday the 75th anniversary of the day that brought the end…

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New Zealand COVID-19 outbreak grows, Australia still struggles

New Zealand on Saturday reported seven new cases of the coronavirus as a lockdown in the country’s biggest city, Auckland, was extended on Friday in response to the country’s first…

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Australia posts lowest one-day rise in COVID-19 cases in more than 3 weeks

Australia posted its lowest one-day rise in new COVID-19 cases in more than three weeks on Thursday, stoking hopes that a second wave of new infections gripping Victoria state is…

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Australia suffers deadliest day of coronavirus pandemic, cases rise

Australia recorded its deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday and the biggest daily rise in infections in three days, denting hopes that a second wave gripping the state…

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Australian PM extends lead as country’s most preferred leader

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has extended his lead as the country’s most preferred leader, a poll showed on Monday, boosted by his government’s coronavirus wage subsidy scheme and efforts…

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Australia says COVID-19 outbreak shows signs of peaking

Australia recorded its biggest one-day rise in COVID-19 deaths on Monday although a slowdown in new cases gave hope that a second wave of new infections in the state of…

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Australia borders to stay shut as COVID-19 daily deaths reach record

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said internal border closures were unlikely to lift before Christmas, as the country on Monday reported a record single day rise in COVID-19 deaths. There…

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Australia’s Victoria reports deadliest day of COVID-19 pandemic

Australia’s second-most populous state, Victoria, reported its deadliest day of the COVID-19 outbreak on Sunday, with 17 people dying, although new infections showed signs of easing. Victoria, at the centre…

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Australia’s Victoria state reports 471 new coronavirus cases

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria said on Thursday eight people have died from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, after reporting its deadliest day of the pandemic…

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Melbourne enters strict new coronavirus lockdown

Australia's second-biggest city of Melbourne began the first day of a six-week total lockdown on Thursday with the closure of most shops and businesses raising new fears of food shortages,…

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Virgin Australia to slash workforce

Virgin Australia Holdings Ltd plans to cut a third of its workforce as part of an overhaul to focus on being a domestic and short-haul international Boeing Co 737 operator…

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Photo Story: Missing sailors on Micronesia island saved by SOS message in the sand

A handout photo made available by the Australian Department of Defence shows an Australian Army ARH-90 Tiger Helicopter landing on Pikelot Island in the Federated States of Micronesia, where three…

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Australia’s Victoria reports deadliest day of coronavirus pandemic, Queensland shuts state border

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria on Wednesday reported its deadliest day of the coronavirus outbreak with 15 fatalities in the last 24 hours and a record daily rise…

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Australia to introduce pandemic leave disaster payment

Australia will introduce a pandemic leave payment for workers who have run out of sick leave but need to be quarantined because they have been directed to stay at home…

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Australian state of Victoria declares a state of disaster, orders large parts of economy to close

Australia's second most populous state will close retail shops, limit construction projects and curtail manufacturing around the city of Melbourne in order to slow the spread of coronavirus, the state…

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Victoria’s state Premier declares state of disaster, imposes curfew

A state of disaster was declared in Australia's Victoria on Sunday, with the local government implementing a night curfew as part of its harshest movement restrictions to date to contain the coronavirus.…

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Nearly 400 of Australia’s Covid cases in hospital

There are 399 people in Australian hospitals, including 50 people in intensive care units and 28 on ventilators, Australian authorities said. Australia’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Michael Kidd, told…

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Australia’s Victoria flags strict new steps to control surging COVID-19 cases

Australia's Victoria state recorded its second-highest day of new COVID-19 infections on Friday as its premier rebuked residents for evading lockdown and flagged the prospect of more rigorous steps to…

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Australia reports record daily coronavirus cases, 13 deaths

Australia recorded its worst day in the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday as the country's second-most populous state reported more than 700 new infections and 13 deaths. The previous national record…

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Coronavirus Australia: Victoria reports record 532 new cases

The state of Victoria in Australia posted a daily record of 532 new coronavirus cases on Monday. The State's government warned that a lockdown in the city of Melbourne will continue if…

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Australian state of Victoria records daily virus record, warns of lockdown extension

Australia's Victoria state on Monday reported the country's highest daily increase in coronavirus infections, prompting the authorities to warn a six-week lockdown may last longer if people continue to go…

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Australia police win halt to Black Lives Matter protest amid COVID-19

An Australian court on Sunday ordered a halt to a Black Lives Matter protest for this week, accepting police concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic, but the organiser vowed to appeal.…

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Australia reports jump in daily new cases, record deaths

Australia's second-most populous state, Victoria, recorded 459 cases of the new coronavirus, the second-highest daily total and up from 357 cases the previous day, the state's leader said on Sunday.…

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Coronavirus in Australia leads to mental health emergency

In Australia mental health emergency has erupted in the months since Australia launched its unprecedented response to coronavirus, with anxiety and depression rates skyrocketing. News.Com.Au reports that assuming the current coronavirus…

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Carnival’s Princess Cruises to extend some voyage suspensions until December

Carnival Corp's Princess Cruises said it would extend the suspension of select voyages through Dec. 15 as it looks to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Princess Cruises also…

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Australia’s Tasmania opens travel bubble for COVID-free states

Australia's southern island state of Tasmania will next month begin accepting tourists from other areas of the country that have seen significant periods with no fresh cases of coronavirus, state…

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Australian state to send in the army to check on COVID-19 cases

Australia's Victoria state will send in the army to question people who have tested positive for COVID-19 as it battles to control an outbreak that claimed a record number of…

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Australia’s Victoria has highest daily death toll from coronavirus

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria said on Friday six people died from the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the highest daily toll since the pandemic began. Three…

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Australia forecasts biggest postwar fiscal deficit on virus-driven stimulus

Australia reported its biggest budget deficit since World War Two on Thursday as the coronavirus crisis knocks the country into its first recession in three decades. The budget balance swung…

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Australia reports highest coronavirus deaths in 3 months, infections climb

Australia reported its highest daily number of coronavirus-related deaths in three months on Thursday as new infections continued to climb in its second most populous state. Victoria state said it…

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Last Qantas 747 departs Sydney for Mojave retirement

Qantas Airways Ltd chief executive Alan Joyce signed the carrier's last Boeing Co 747 jet at Sydney airport on Wednesday, shortly before it was due to fly to the Mojave…

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Australia’s Victoria state reports record new cases of coronavirus

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria reported on Wednesday two new deaths from the coronavirus and logged a record daily increase of 484 new cases compared with 374 cases…

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Australian houses on the brink of collapse as wild seas batter the coast

Some beachfront homes on Australia's east coast have come closer to slipping into the sea after wild storms lashed the coastline, residents said on Friday. Residents of Wamberal, about 90…

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Australian researchers invent 20-minute coronavirus blood test in world first

The South China Morning Post is reporting that researchers in Australia have devised a test that can determine novel coronavirus infection in about 20 minutes. Using blood samples in what…

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Australia posts surge in new COVID-19 cases

Australia’s Victoria state on Friday reported a record daily increase in COVID-19 cases while neighbouring New South Wales said it was banning dancing, singing and mingling at weddings as authorities…

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Faced with COVID-19, highest number of Australians tap retirement funds since April

Australians asked to pull out more than A$5 billion ($3.5 billion) from their pension funds in the first week of July, the highest since the government granted early access to…

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Australian pub cluster adds to second-wave coronavirus fears

Australia's most populous state reported 14 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, with a growing cluster at a pub used by freight drivers travelling the country adding to fears of…

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Australia’s Victoria state continues registering increases in infections

Australia’s Victoria state reported 273 new cases of the coronavirus and another COVID-19 death on Sunday, marking a week of triple-digit increases in infections, as state authorities battle fresh outbreaks…

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Teenager killed in shark attack at NSW Australia

A 15-year-old boy has died after being attacked by a shark on the NSW mid north coast despite fellow surfers “bravely” trying to fend it off. News.Com.Au reports witnesses telling police…

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Sydney residents on high alert amid second-wave fears

Sydney is on high alert as large scale COVID-19 testing regimes place residents on standby for a potential second wave. A slew of Sydneysiders lined up in their cars in…

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Photo story – Policing in Melbourne

Police walk dogs belonging to residents of the Alfred Street public housing tower which remains under tight lockdown over to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in North Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,…

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Australia’s Victoria reports record daily number of coronavirus cases

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria said on Friday the number of its new coronavirus infections had hit a daily record. State Premier Daniel Andrews, who said 288 new…

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Australia considers slowing return of citizens amid virus spike

Australia’s national cabinet met on Friday to discuss slowing the number of citizens allowed to return to the country from overseas, as authorities grapple with a COVID-19 outbreak in the…

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Australia to release most from COVID-19 high-rise lockdown despite surge

Australia's second-most populous will relax restrictions on many of the 3,000 people locked down in nine public-housing towers despite surging numbers of COVID-19 cases, state premier Daniel Andrews said on…

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Australian PM suspends extradition treaty, extends visas for Hong Kong citizens

Australia said on Thursday it was suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and announced measures to attract people and businesses from the Asian financial hub, after Beijing imposed…

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Melbourne wakes to another lockdown as more state borders close

Australia's second most populous city began a six-week lockdown on Thursday following a spike in new coronavirus cases, as states around the country tightened internal borders to prevent a second…

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Melbourne re-introduces lockdown after coronavirus spikes up again

Australia's second most populous state of Victoria will reimpose stay-at-home restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne and one regional area of the state, Premier Daniel Andrews said, after a record daily rise in coronavirus…

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Qantas to operate three one-hour “farewell jumbo joy flights” for 747 jumbo jet

Qantas has announced a program of events to farewell its last remaining Boeing 747 and provide Australians the opportunity to say goodbye to the much loved “Queen of the Skies”…

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