>>10282319

>Both Australia and New Zealand are now claiming that a primary source of "community transmission" is coming from meat processing plants and abattoirs

Anon, this just isn't entirely true.

Melbourne's 'patient zero' in virus second wave not a security guard: reports

A night manager at one of Melbourne's busiest quarantine hotels may have inadvertently sparked Victoria's second wave of the coronavirus and not a security guard, according to reports.

Dubbed 'patient zero', the hotel employee is reported to have caught the virus while working at Rydges on Swanston Street, reports The Age.

Leaked emails obtained by the The Age show the night manager came down with a fever on Monday, May 25, and the next day officials from the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions were told the man had tested positive COVID-19.

There is no suggestion the night manager caught the virus through any improper behaviour. It is unclear how they became infected.

A Rydges spokesperson confirmed colleagues and family contacts of the staff member all tested negative for COVID-19, with the staff member isolating immediately upon getting tested.

"Rydges on Swanston is fully supportive of the Judicial Inquiry into the Hotel Quarantine Program and is currently assisting the Inquiry with its investigations. We look forward to clarification around the source of infection as the Inquiry findings are presented," the spokesperson added.

"Rydges on Swanston has been closed to guests since March 27 and has been operating under the direction of the Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions and the Department of Health and Human Services as a Quarantine Hotel, at the request of the Victorian Government."

The following day, emails revealed the night manager was "now isolating at Rydges".

Seven security guards from contractor Unified Security were ordered to get tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate at home.

But five of the seven guards had already caught the virus and unknowingly spread it between their families in Melbourne's northern and western suburbs.

Infection control for the hotel quarantine program was the responsibility of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Genomic sequencing suggest a large proportion, if not all, of the state's second wave cases could be traced back to the breaches in hotel quarantine, according to Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.

To date, 275 people have died of COVID-19 in Victoria.

The Age reports the email chain revealed that officials initially mistakenly reported that a security guard was the first positive test.

But that was later corrected by a senior official who confirmed that it was a hotel employee.

According to records, the man was not showing any symptoms of the virus when he began his shift on May 25.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/coronavirus-melbourne-patient-zero-not-a-hotel-security-guard-covid19-second-wave/08d45e54-4e4d-4dc1-a99b-516862cd0886

>>10282432

>Southern Hemisphere Temperate Zone cold and flu season.

I'm aware. I'm in Melbourne

>>10282582

>Normies have no appreciation of the relationship between bewbs and quality research.

THIS

‘This will make news in America’: Fury over racist cartoon in Australian newspaper

With Joe Biden’s choice of a black woman as his running mate to challenge Donald Trump for the White House in November, there was always concern the debate would turn ugly.

Most people just didn’t think it would be an Australian outlet that would be first out of the gate with such racially motivated commentary.

A cartoon published in The Australian newspaper on Friday has sparked outrage and been met with a chorus of condemnation from politicians, media members, the public and a former prime minister who have labelled the cartoon “appalling”, “repulsive”, “disgusting” and “shameful”.

The cartoon depicts Mr Biden saying: “It’s time to heal a nation divided by racism … So I’ll hand you over to this little brown girl while I go for a lie down.”

Even in contrast to the hyper-partisan media environment of the US, many expressed anger at the reputational damage such cartoons can have on perceptions of Australia overseas.

“This is going to make news in America. People won’t be able to believe what a fetid backwater Australia is,” lamented media personality Dom Knight.

Social media has seen a flood of leaders and commentators denouncing the Rupert Murdoch owned newspaper for its ongoing racism.

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called the Australian born media tycoon “a mouthpiece for Trump” and said the cartoon was “gross even by Murdoch’s gutter standards”.

“If The Australian has any respect for decency and standards it must apologise immediately, and never again publish cartoons like this,” said Shadow Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus.

“The Australian should pull today's offensive cartoon off their website, and issue an immediate apology,” said Labor MP Andrew Leigh.

“It diminishes us all,” echoed Shadow Minister for Cities and Multicultural Affairs, Andrew Giles.

“I cannot believe they keep publishing this guy's garbage,” commented ABC journalist Matt Bevan, who routinely covers US politics.

“If this was published in an American newspaper there would be street protests demanding he be fired. And he would be.”

“I'm working hard here to try and figure out what the joke is supposed to be… is it that… Joe Biden is old and therefore a casual racist? Even though he clearly isn't a racist?”

Perhaps the cartoon is trying to offer a cynical take on Mr Biden’s choice in picking a black woman for his Vice President position, but for many online, the satirical purpose of the cartoon was hard to parse.

The Australian attempts to defend Biden cartoon

Yahoo News Australia has contacted the newspaper and sought comment from Editor-in-Chief Chris Dore who did not responded to requests.

However Mr Dore briefly sought to defend the cartoon, and illustrator Johannes Leak, to questions posed by The Guardian, saying “Johannes was quoting Biden’s words” and pointing to a tweet the 77-year-old candidate posted on Thursday.

However that tweet was quite clearly not referring to Kamala Harris but a hypothetical little girl in America who would be inspired by her appointment as Vice President. Mr Dore did not respond further when this was put to him, The Guardian said.

While News Corp Australia dominates the industry, many other journalists have sought to distance the media at large from the cartoon.

The cartoonist, Johannes Leak, has followed in the footsteps of his father Bill Leak who also courted controversy as a cartoonist at The Australian, particularly for one drawing depicting indigenous Australians as drunkards and criminals.

“Does Johannes Leak set out to offend?” wondered Media Watch’s Paul Barry. “This is truly awful. He should be ashamed of himself.”

The right-wing newspaper is well known for its concerted attack campaign on Sudanese-Australian woman Yassmin Abdel-Magied, which she says drove her from the country.

Among critics, The Australian, along with its News Corp stablemates like The Daily Telegraph, is also well known for printing racially motivated cartoons that are derogatory towards minorities.

Last month, The Australian was criticised over a Black Lives Matters cartoon depicting a black protester kneeling on the neck of Lady Liberty, saying “I’m fighting for the right to do what I hate”. Ironically, the protest movement is about racial justice and stamping out systemic racism in policing and public policy.

Meanwhile in 2018, the Herald Sun drew unflattering headlines around the world for a racist depiction of African American tennis player Serena Williams.

The backlash to the latest cartoon is genuine, but the latest episode is hardly surprising.

“Ageist, racist and sexist in one cartoon – the trifecta,” one Twitter user remarked on Friday.

https://au.yahoo.com/news/fury-over-biden-racist-cartoon-australian-newspaper-054134167.html

>>10282668

Not for a second suggesting that it isn't, anon.