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Coronavirus vaccine trial launched in South Australia | Sky News AustraliaA landmark coronavirus vaccine trial has been launched in South Australia in a bid to boost immunity against the potentially deadly coronavirus contagion. \n\nMore than 500 state health workers will be given an existing tuberculosis vaccine to see whether an immune system boost could reduce the prevalence or severity of COVID-19.\n\nThe six-month trial will be offered to staff at The Royal Adelaide and Flinders Medical Centre.\n\nHalf of those taking part will be administered the active vaccine while the other half will be given a placebo.\n
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Over 100 cruise ship passengers will return to Australia infected with COVID-19 | Sky News AustraliaMore than 100 Australian and New Zealand citizens rescued from a cruise ship off the coast of Uruguay will soon arrive in Melbourne.\n\n96 Australians and at least 15 Kiwis have been stuck on the Aurora Expeditions ship for more than 2 weeks after travelling to Antarctica on March 15.\n\nThe group is on its way to Melbourne on a chartered flight at the steep cost of $15,000 dollars each and the ship's operator has asked the federal government to help with expenses. \n\nUp to 70 percent of the passengers on board the ship have reportedly contracted the coronavirus.\n\nHealth authorities say they are prepared to handle the influx of cases.\n\nImage: Getty
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Australia records 6,325 virus cases with 61 fatalities | Sky News AustraliaAustralia has recorded 6,325 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with two more deaths overnight, taking the national death toll to 61. \n\nA drop in the number of new cases has led authorities to believe social distancing measures have had an impact with only 22 new infections recorded on Sunday, although there are concerns the number of tests being conducted has decreased due to the holiday weekend. \n\nChief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy urged Australians not to be complacent and it was still too early to consider easing any restrictions. \n\nMore than 1.8 million cases of the virus have been recorded globally with more than 113,000 deaths. \n\nImage: Getty
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Time to 'bunker down' so Australia isn't 'saddled with debt' | Sky News AustraliaDeputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack says now is the time to “bunker down” amid calls for an expansion of the wage scheme to include big business. \n\nAs it stands, businesses with a turnover of $1 billion or more must estimate a 50 per cent reduction in turnover due to COVID-19 to qualify for the JobKeeper scheme. \n\nSpeaking with Sky News, Mr McCormack conceded the capacity for expansion was there, but he was concerned about “saddling” the nation with unsustainable debt levels. \n\n“We don’t want to saddle ourselves with debt … we have already put in place measures that are going to cost this country a lot for many, many years, but we don’t want to saddle ourselves with debt that we just can’t maintain,” he said. \n\n“We will continue to roll out measures, we have the capacity to do just that (expand JobKeeper) but we also need to bunker down now. “\n\nLast week Treasurer Josh Frydenberg ruled out an increase to the Goods and Services Tax to pay back the some $320 billion in measures. \n\nWhen asked, Mr McCormack was coy on the possibility of GST reform. \n\n“I think the expenditure review committee and the states will have a large say on that,” he said. \n
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Hospital coronavirus outbreak forces 5,000 Tassies into quarantine | Sky News AustraliaUp to 5,000 Tasmanians face two weeks in quarantine as the state government seeks to limit the spread of a cluster of coronavirus cases on the North West Coast. \n\nTwo hospitals, North West Regional and North West Private closed on Monday, with patients transferred and hospital staff and their families forced into isolation. \n\nPremier Peter Gutwein acknowledged it was a “significant ask” to require the lockdown of the region, but said the priority was to stamp out the risk of community transmission. \n\n'Never before has a Premier had to ask a community to do this. I’ve got to admit, the responsibility rests heavily on me in having to make these decisions,” he said. \n\n'But I would ask that you work with us. This is the best way that we can get on top of this - that we can stop the spread of this insidious disease, and importantly, that we can save lives.'\n\nPremier Gutwein on Monday also said the state had requested additional federal resources to assist the state stamp out of the cluster.
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Govt rules out additional funding for universities | Sky News AustraliaEducation Minister Dan Tehan says there is no extra funding on the table for universities despite warnings 21,000 jobs in the sector are at risk. \n\nUniversities Australia warned the $18 billion funding guarantee would not be enough to prevent the job losses. \n\nBut Mr Tehan told Sky News the government’s package, which would see higher education providers offered cut-price short courses, should sustain the sector through the rest of the year. \n\n“This package puts a very good ballast into the sector. I look forward to hearing how the discussions go between Universities Australia - and the group they’ve got working with the union - to see what arrangements can be put in place there,” he said.\n\n'My view is, we have put a package together that will see the university sector be able to sustain itself through the next six months and through the rest of this year.'\n\nImage: Getty
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