Rockhampton aged care nurse with Covid-19 continued to work while sick: chief health officer. The nurse had continued to work at the aged care facility while unwell, Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young reveals. She describes that as “very unfortunate”. We are clarifying what exactly happened there,” she says. “It’s very, very concerning and all I can say is, to everyone out there, if you are sick with any symptoms, it doesn’t matter how mild they are for this particular infection, even with mild symptoms, you can transmit this infection to other people so if you have any symptoms, please just be ultra cautious. Isolate yourself at home and get tested.” Young says there are 115 residents and 180 staff members at the aged-care home who will all be tested for Covid-19. The case has “come out of nowhere,” she says. “Now they have another case and they need to manage that case which is what they’re doing and so that is a very important lesson for all of us across the state. We have not beaten the virus yet.” I’m asking every single person who lives in Rockhampton who has any symptoms at all to immediately go forward, go and see their own GP or go to one of the fever clinics and get tested. That is really important. We need to see whether there are any other cases that have occurred in Rockhampton as a result of this particular individual. Rockhampton has not had an active case for a number of weeks so this is brand-new. We will just have that through. It’s a very important lesson for all of us across the state of Queensland. We don’t know where the next case will happen.” Rockhampton aged care worker tests positive for Covid-19 Queensland health minister Steven Miles is holding a press conference in Townsville, where he’s revealed that an aged care worker has tested positive for Covid-19 in Rockhampton. Miles says the person is a nurse at a state-run aged care facility in North Rockhampton and the test was confirmed at about 8pm last night. The aged care home has been put into lockdown, and any staff who have been in contact with the nurse are in quarantine. It’s the first confirmed case in Rockhampton since 30 March, and Miles says the result is “cause for some concern”. The health service along with the department of health, Queensland health, have responded very rapidly overnight. They have sent a rapid response team from Brisbane, they are working to quarantine any staff and residents who may be contacts of that individual. They are rapidly testing a large number of people to identify whether any of those people has been affected. The centre is currently locked down [and] any staff in contact [with the nurse] are in quarantine and have been tested. The last confirmed case inRockhampton was on the 30 March. So something like seven weeks since they last had a case, the last active case was considered recovered on the 1 May. This just serves to underline that even after cities have long periods of time without active cases, things can turn very, very quickly. In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Victoria Police have fined eight people for breaching public health orders in the past 24 hours after a protest against the detainment of asylum seekers inside a Melbourne hotel. On Tuesday a group of protesters climbed to the roof of the Mantra hotel in Preston, and others barricaded themselves inside to demand the release of asylum seekers held in the property. Gillard backs call for independent inquiry into Covid-19 The ABC is reporting today that former prime minister Julia Gillard has been appointed chair of the UK’s Wellcome Trust, one of the world’s largest investors in medical research and pandemics. It’s one of the organisations investing heavily in finding a vaccine for Covid-19. In an interview with the ABC’s political editor, Andrew Probyn, Gillard seemed to back the Morrison government’s call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the virus. I think if we take a broad sweep here, Andrew, what we would say to ourselves is if a major health challenge for the world started anywhere, in any country on Earth, then it is good to have a process which enables us to learn every lesson so that we can keep humanity safer for the future. I think that message applies today, to current circumstances, and it will apply for as long as there are shared health challenges for us to combat. Asked directly whether she supported the calls for an inquiry, Gillard said: Well, I’d want to put this in a slightly broader perspective. When I was in politics and international bodies would occasionally come to Australia and say something about what was happening here, there were mixed reactions in the Australian community and by politicians. Some people listened, some people said, ‘Why on earth have they come from overseas to tell us something that’s really our business? Why don’t they go somewhere else where problems are worse than they are in Australia?’ So I think, you know, we can all understand the emotional pull of nationalism. Having said that, I do think that as rational human beings we can also say to ourselves whether a problem originates in Sydney, in China, Canada, Portugal, Brazil, the United Kingdom, in any country on Earth, wherever a problem originates that’s got a possibility of having a profound impact on human health around the planet, then, of course, it needs to be studied, it needs to be understood – not so that fingers can be pointed, but so lessons can be learned. Pubs can also reopen in the Northern Territory from today. Unlike NSW, there are fewer capacity restrictions. The local paper is being typically mellow about it. Insert eye-roll emoji. AMA calls for more elective surgery The Australian Medical Association wants national cabinet to expand access to elective surgery further when it meets later today. The peak body for Australian doctors has said it remains “very concerned” about reduced access to non-coronavirus related healthcare, which is leading “to worsened health outcomes for many people, including increased complications with existing conditions”. Last month national cabinet agreed to a limited return to elective surgery, but the AMA president, Dr Tony Bartone, says there should now be a “sensible, gradual, and progressive increase in elective surgery, guided by the local situation and environment in each state and territory”. Patients have been the big winners with improved quality of life, and doctors and other health professionals are back doing what they do best – saving lives and improving lives. The AMA believes that, on balance, it is now the right time to increase the numbers of elective surgery procedures where it is safe and appropriate. It is important that we maintain the necessary social distancing and restrictions in all jurisdictions, but it is vital that we get the health system operating at its potential within the guidelines. The health system must remain geared to deal with the Covid-19 pandemic and its after-effects, but we must also continue looking after the everyday health issues of the Australian people. Good morning. Lovely to be here. Here, in this case, being my living room where the ABC is competing with the noise from my housemate’s morning work meeting. As we have already mentioned, pubs are officially allowed to reopen in New South Wales from today but with many, many caveats. My colleague Alyx Gorman explains: That’s it for me for the moment but don’t worry, the incredible Michael McGowan will be with you throughout the morning. Two more Covid-19 cases in Queensland overnight Queensland’s premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk, says the state has had two additional cases overnight. She says this of “some concern”: One is an old case. One is an active case in Rockhampton. And my advice at this stage is that Dr Young and the deputy premier will be speaking more about this case when they stand up later this morning. They are getting through some further advice. Victoria’s treasurer, Tim Pallas, is fronting media now. He says if it weren’t for the pandemic and bushfires, Victoria would have recorded a surplus: I’d say with no trepidation that state would have returned a sixth straight surplus. We were projecting $618m surplus at the budget update. What the March quarterly financial update clearly states is except for the extraordinary event, the state was on track to achieve a surplus in 2019-20 in accordance with the forecast published in the 19-20 budget update. Let’s be honest, let’s be clear: we’re operating in anything but a normal circumstances. These are unprecedented times. We have seen the impact play out, most notably going forward.