Background Briefing

People experiencing homelessness are being moved from the street and shelters into four-star hotels. The radical plan is meant to protect them from the pandemic and it's temporary. But as Hagar Cohen discovers, there are questions about what happens once the virus crisis is over.

The coronavirus pandemic is causing pain and suffering the world over, but then there are always those who never let a good crisis go to waste.Some are benefiting from COVID-19 for legitimate reasons: just think of companies that make video conferencing apps, ventilators, or canny investors.But there are also more nefarious players looking to bank a win off the back of coronavirus fear and confusion: scam artists, fraudsters, counterfeiters. This week, Geoff Thompson, Mario Christodoulou, Meghna Bali and Kat Gregory investigate who's winning in these turbulent times and how.

What does it take to prepare for a pandemic? Many hospitals around the world are already overwhelmed by patients infected with COVID-19.Australian doctors and nurses are bracing for something most of them have never faced before.In our country hospitals, resources are already stretched: beds are in short supply and there’s a greater proportion of older people.Preparation will, in many cases, be the difference between life and death.
ABC National Regional Reporter Jess Davis takes us inside the Wimmera Base Hospital in Horsham, Victoria, as the team tries to prepare for the unimaginable.

Coronavirus is changing the way the entire human race lives.Emergency workers are scrambling together contingency plans, fearing hospitals could soon be overwhelmed.Scientists are racing to invent a faster, cheaper Covid-19 test kit available for us all.Restaurants are reinventing themselves as delivery services, artists are turning to live-streaming to make a living.This week, the entire Background Briefing team investigates how each of us are finding new ways to get by.

Tristan was a kind and gentle 23-year-old surfer from Byron Bay.One night he suffered a drug-induced psychotic episode.And ended up driven to hospital in a small steel cage.Police say it is probably the worst place he could be.Tristan later died in hospital.Mario Christodoulou investigates the series of tragic events that led to Tristan's death that raise questions about how emergency services treat young drug-affected people in New South Wales.