The Federal Education Minister has lashed out at Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, accusing him of “taking a sledgehammer” to schooling because of his reluctance to reopen classrooms. Follow live.

Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan has lashed out at Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, accusing him of “taking a sledgehammer” to schooling because of his reluctance to reopen classrooms.
Victorian state schools have been running online learning for up to 97 per cent of students this term on the advice of its chief health officer Brett Sutton.
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Live updates
2mminutes agoBy Simon Smale
Insiders hand washing
Insiders has been getting politicians to sing a song while they wash their hands. This last one is from the treasurer, Josh Frydenberg.
7mminutes agoBy Simon Smale
Update in how long it will take to get a test back
I was tested in SA last week and although they told me the turnaround would be around 24 hours, it actually took closer to 3-4 days and I had to proactively contact my GP to get my results. Not sure if this is a result of the GP being slow to verify the results, or SA Pathology.-SA Test Results
10mminutes agoBy Simon Smale
15mminutes agoBy Simon Smale
Discrepancy in Queensland deaths
Hi and good morningThanks for this blog, its my go to for updates & for real info.I have a question please: Qlds stats regularly state 6 lives lost but other sources state 4. Does the difference refer to interstate residents who were in Qld when they died?-Anne
That’s exactly the reason, just a difference in attribution.
18mminutes agoBy Simon Smale
A 14th person has died from coronavirus at Newmarch House
A 14 resident has died at Newmarch House, the coronavirus-hit aged care home in Western Sydney. 
             The death was confirmed by the home’s operator, Anglicare. 
                The total confirmed cases at the facility in Caddens is 61, with 37 residents and 24 staff infected with the virus. 
                  The number had increased by two yesterday, after two more staff members were confirmed positive for COVID-19. 
19mminutes agoBy Simon Smale
Queensland confirms one new coronavirus case
While Mr Tehan was speaking, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk tweeted out that there was one new case in the state overnight.
There are now 1,035 cases in the state.
976 patients have recovered from coronavirus and there has been 115, 598 tests conducted.
37mminutes agoBy Simon Smale
‘Parents should listen to medical experts’: Dan Tehan slams Victorian Premier Dan Andrews
Dan Tehan is speaking on Insiders, saying that parents should listen to medical experts.
David Speers is saying that earlier, the PM said parents should listen to the medical experts, and is asking whether or not the advice from Federal Government has changed.
“The question to Daniel Andrews, sure, take a sledgehammer to defeating coronavirus, but why are you taking a sledgehammer to the state education system?”
Mr Tehan said “[Daniel Andrews] state chief medical officer is on the expert medical panel that says it is safe for children to be in schools.
“We have seen outstanding leadership from [state leaders in WA, NT and South Australia] who have reopened their schools and have a 70 per cent attendance rate,” Mr Andrews said.
“This is a failure of leadership from Dan Andrews. and it is the most disadvantaged children who are being most affected.”
“We have one state premier who is jeopardising the national consensus on this.”
Mr Tehan said NSW and Queensland both have “clear plans” to reopen their schools.
46mminutes agoBy Simon Smale
If we get rid of this coronavirus, will there be another one?
Was just reading Simon’s response to Harry and thought that this misses the point that they still don’t know for sure where the virus came from. Even if we could reduce the current known infections to zero, isn’t there still a risk that it may jump the species barrier again as yet another mutation?-Wayne
Essentially, you’re right, there could be more, just as there have been others in the past…
50mminutes agoBy Simon Smale
Remind me of the restrictions in Victoria? 
Im from a large regional city in country Victoria. Under the current restrictions in Victoria, are my immediate family and I able to go bushwalking today for exercise?-Glenda M
The Victorian Government website says, under stage three restrictions, there are only four reasons you should be leaving your house:

• shopping for what you need – food and essential supplies
• medical, care or compassionate needs
• exercise in compliance with the public gathering requirements
• work and study if you cant work or learn remotely

So if you stick to physical distancing restrictions, you should be fine.
54mminutes agoBy Simon Smale
Hope Simon that you have had yr coffee, sorry to be a pest can I get a GIF of a puss cat to make be smile-Mary
I do not need a second invitation for that Mary.
Yesterday at 11:01pmBy Simon Smale
Yesterday at 10:57pmBy Simon Smale
France to implement 14-day quarantine period for international travellers
French Health Minister Olivier Veran said people traveling into France, including French citizens returning home, will be placed in a 14-day quarantine as part of new extended proposals to limit the spread of the new coronavirus.
                       Entering France is currently restricted to essential travel, and a travel certificate is required for everyone entering the country. The proposals are being sent to Parliament next week.
                 Veran said that the compulsory quarantine will concern anyone entering the national territory, an overseas territory or Corsica. 
                     It’s not clear if the quarantine would apply only to travelers from beyond the Schengen border and Britain. The Schengen Area includes 26 countries and encompasses most of the European Union nations. 
Australia has implemented a 14-day quarantine period of international visitors since March 16.
Yesterday at 10:53pmBy Simon Smale
Meat workers testing positive – is there a danger consuming the food?
So meat workers are infected. Can cows/pigs/sheep and so on get the virus and can we get it from eating the meat?-Curious
According to Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos, there were no concerns about food safety. 
Aside from the occasional cat, the Australian Veterinary Association said current evidence from around the world suggets these human-to-animal cases are rare and isolated incidents.
Yesterday at 10:49pmBy Simon Smale
Some COVIDSafe app questions
Good morning and thanks for your great work. We are so disappointed that the App is not live for public health staff (the unsung heroes); and data rules havent been confirmed or disclosed to the public. When can we expect the code to be live and transparent?-Bel
Morning Bel, you’re most welcome.
The reason: “The rules on privacy are being finalised, along with final IT testing,” a Department of Health spokesman told the ABC.
“The system will be operational next week ahead of the decision on possible easing of restrictions.”
“The reason for that is that there’s a constant review of the safety and security,” Mr Hunt said.
                “Our first task is to make sure the security assessment is done and that there is absolute protection of privacy above all else.”
 How do I download the app?
Why doesn’t the Government provide a helpline for all those people who want to download the COVIDSafe app but can’t for technical reasons (including buying phones overseas)?-Bonobo
The ABC has you covered Bonobo,
Yesterday at 10:38pmBy Simon Smale
How long should I be waiting for a test in South Australia?
Hi Simon,I am waiting on a Covid test result in SA. Do you know the expected turn around time and if the weekend impacts on this time.?-Brendan
SA Pathologys Director of Clinical Services, Dr Tom Dodd, said: Currently testing results for COVID-19 take around 24 hours to return.”
The South Australian Government also rolled out rapid testing kits at the start of it’s two-week blitz of testing, that ended on April 30 (although people are still told to get tested if they have any symptoms).
Yesterday at 10:31pmBy Simon Smale
Plan to restart English Premier League in neutral venues opposed by Brighton
Brighton and Hove Albion has become the first English Premier League club to publicly oppose plans to try to restart the season in neutral stadiums during the coronavirus pandemic.
              Brighton chief executive Paul Barber accepted that resuming sporting events would require compromises but said on Saturday that the league’s integrity would be damaged if teams couldn’t play at home.
                  West Ham vice chair Karren Brady said no one wants neutral stadiums but was not as direct in her opposition to the league’s Project Restart plan, given the need for authorities to approve venues. 
               The Premier League sees using only up to half of the 20 stadiums as the most viable way of completing the season, which was suspended almost two months ago.
                Police also have backed teams not playing at home, even with no fans present, to prevent them from gathering outside the stadiums.
Supporters are likely to be prevented from attending sporting events for many months in Britain to limit the spread of COVID-19 infections.
                The Premier League, which held a conference call with all clubs on Friday, hopes team training sessions can resume within weeks but games are not likely to be played for at least another month.
                 Clearly, we must all be prepared to accept some compromises, Mr Barber said.
               But at this critical point in the season playing matches in neutral venues has, in our view, potential to have a material effect on the integrity of the competition.
                      Barber said Brighton, home of Socceroos stars Aaron Mooy and Mat Ryan, had not been approached about using its Amex Stadium, which is more isolated than the likes of Anfield, which is surrounded by rows of tightly packed houses in Liverpool. West Ham also has a venue that fans can be kept away from as it sits on the Olympic Park used for the 2012 Games.
                 The government and Sports Grounds Safety Authority would have to approve the locations of games during the pandemic.Britain’s national lockdown currently runs through Thursday, with the league waiting to see how restrictions will be eased and whether the competition can restart now the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak has passed. 
             Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, whose responsibilities include sport, said after talks with leagues on Friday that he was working on plans that deliver for Britons who desperately want sport back on.
              Isolated sessions at training grounds started last week at some clubs, including Brighton, for players to do individual fitness work. Phase two of the restart plan envisages group training be allowed again, then approval would be required for the restart of domestic fixtures.Liverpool, which is looking to claim a first league title in 30 years, has a 25-point lead with nine games left.
Yesterday at 10:26pmBy Simon Smale
Advice for older or at risk people as restrictions ease
With all the easing under discussion, gradual though it might be, is it still the case that over-60 year olds are strongly advised to stay at home and rarely venture out?-David
What are the recommendations for over 70s under easing of restriction rules-Jill
People aged 70 years and over, people aged 65 years and over with chronic medical conditions, people with compromised immune systems, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people over the age of 50, are at greater risk of more serious illness if they are infected with coronavirus.
The website advises that you…

• stay 1.5 metres away 2 arms length from other people. This is an example of social distancing
• stay at home and avoid contact with others
• avoid non-essential travel
• consider having the chemist deliver your medicines
• consider having your groceries and essential items delivered to your home

Even with the easing of restrictions in some states, people are still being advised to physically distance, no matter what their age.
Yesterday at 10:19pmBy Simon Smale
Bolsonaro says ‘I don’t do miracles’ when asked about Brazil death toll
Observers believe the country, which is Latin America’s largest nation, is rapidly becoming one of the world’s coronavirus hot spots.
More than 91,000 cases have been confirmed, however scientists warn the true figure could be 15 to 20 times higher.
At least 6,300 Brazilians have died.
But Mr Bolsonaro has shown no sign of wavering from his insistence that COVID-19 is a relatively minor disease and that broad social-distancing measures are not needed to stop it.
He has said only Brazilians at high risk should be isolated and recently fired a health minister who had supported tough anti-virus measures and replaced him with an advocate for reopening the economy.
“So what? I’m sorry. What do you want me to do?” Mr Bolsonaro said when asked this week about Brazil’s death toll surpassing 5,000 more than China.
He joked that even though his middle name is Messias, or Messiah, “I don’t do miracles”.
Meanwhile, inmates at a prison in Manaus, a city deep in the Amazon that has been hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, have taken seven prison guards hostage.
The rebellion comes as the coronavirus outbreak has overwhelmed public services in Manaus, with authorities burying victims in mass graves and warning residents of a looming shortage of coffins.
“This May 1 is especially serious because of the death of more than 5,000 Brazilians, victims of the negligence and omission of a government led by the most brutal and heartless head of state among all the countries of the planet,” Brazil’s former president Dilma Rousseff said, speaking at a May Day event on Friday.
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