1. 95-year-old aged care resident becomes Australia’s second coronavirus-related death.
A 95-year-old woman has been confirmed as the second Australian to die from coronavirus.
The woman, who died in hospital on Tuesday night, was a resident at the BaptistCare Dorothy Henderson Lodge in Macquarie Park.
An aged care worker who worked at the facility has been officially diagnosed with the virus, exposing at-risk elderly residents at a residents home in north Sydney.
The woman, in her 50s, is the third person to be infected via human-to-human transmission in Australia, NSW health authorities confirmed. All three are in Sydney.
The aged care worker became ill on February 24 and was isolated, although she had contact with 13 residents in the 24 hours beforehand.
Two of them reported respiratory symptoms, and one – a 95-year-old woman – has since died.
“[NSW] Health is looking at how we can step up some of the testing that goes on with some of the people who present with respiratory symptoms that in the normal course may not have been considered for coronavirus testing.”
Quaden had not felt up to school on that particular Wednesday in February, and he went to school in the afternoon as the Brisbane Bullets basketball team was going to play on court with Quaden’s team.
After picking him up later in the day, Bayles noticed Quaden was struggling.
“Apparently there was a new student who wasn’t aware of Quaden’s condition and she’d been making remarks ongoing and Quaden just had had enough at that time,” Bayles explained.
“When me and my daughter witnessed that – just the patting him on the head and a couple of other little girls making references to his height and laughing about it – he was very uncomfortable.
“I could see the look on his face, and I know that look very well because it’s a regular occurrence for him.”
Bayles wanted to speak to the students, but Quaden asked her not to make a scene.
“As soon as we got in that car, about 15 minutes after the incident, he just broke down. It just affected him.
“Patting someone on the head can be quite dehumanising. It’s almost like you think they’re an animal or a novelty – they’re not quite human.”
Bayles said she had no regrets about posting the video of her son upset to Facebook, despite it opening up her family to online harassment and conspiracy theories.
In response, a GoFundMe campaign raised over AU$700,000. At the request of the family, most of this money will go towards six anti-bullying and healing focused charities, with the remaining money going into assisting Quaden.
Quaden was also invited to lead the Indigenous All Stars onto the field at the NRL Indigenous All-Stars vs Māori Kiwis match on the Gold Coast.
Speaking to NITV, Quaden shared a message for bullies: “If you see someone different, don’t be rude, just smile and say hi,” he said.
“It’s not nice when you say these rude things to other people. It would be good if they knew about other people who have diseases and things, and just be kind.”
3. Mike Bloomberg ends run for Democratic presidential nominee.
Billionaire Mike Bloomberg, who spent hundreds of millions of dollars on campaign ads, has dropped out of the US Democratic party’s presidential race after underperforming on Super Tuesday.
“Three months ago, I entered the race for president to defeat Donald Trump. Today, I am leaving the race for the same reason: to defeat Donald Trump – because it is clear to me that staying in would make achieving that goal more difficult,” the former New York City mayor said in a statement.
Bloomberg said he endorsed former vice president Joe Biden, who he said had the “best shot” to beat Trump in November.
Bloomberg failed to win in any of the 14 states that cast votes on Tuesday and secured a victory only in American Samoa, a small outlying territory.
The day marked the 78-year-old’s first real test after he skipped earlier nominating contests.
Bloomberg had sought to take on Biden as the moderate front-runner who was able to spend his almost limitless wealth to defeat Trump.
But Biden, 77, had a resurgence on Tuesday, winning 10 states and setting up a two-way race between him and Senator Bernie Sanders for the Democratic party’s presidential nomination.
Sanders had an underwhelming Super Tuesday performance, but was buoyed by winning the night’s biggest prize: California.
-With AAP
Feature images: Twitter.
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Top Comments
1. I hope the Chinese authorities are feeling stupid for heavying the doctor who tried to warn of this insidious virus. Twits, honestly.
#1. How sad that a woman lives for 95 years and dies because of other human beings filthy habits. Disgraceful dirty creatures with bad habits in a market place and now the world has to suffer. If only people had basic hygiene. Even this mad rush in Australia for sanitizer. I don't have to rush and buy it as I already use and have it. Pity the average Aussie doesn't use it more often and we might keep some of the other virus' under control. Winter flu's and colds and vomiting etc. Basic cleanliness is so important. So many don't wash hands well after the toilet, you see it when you are using the facilities. Come on people, back to basics and BE CLEAN.