LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
* Victoria recorded 41 new cases, its lowest daily tally since June 26.
* Another nine deaths took the state toll to 675 and the national figure to 762.
* Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews staunchly defended the state’s COVID-19 roadmap, rejecting criticism that the government did not listen to business concerns.
* Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman Kate Carnell said it was a devastating blow to thousands of small businesses, many which will now close their doors forever.
* Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton said some of Victoria’s roadmap timetable could be fast-tracked if backed up by data.
* Prime Minister Scott Morrison labelled Victoria’s plan a “worst-case scenario” and suggested the same standards would have Sydney under curfew.
* Mr Morrison also indicated Victoria’s contact tracing capability wasn’t up to scratch, comparing it to NSW despite his home state dealing with far fewer cases.
* Australians could get access to coronavirus vaccines next year after the federal government secured deals to deliver two promising candidates.
* More than 100 NSW health workers across two Sydney hospitals have been forced into isolation after a colleague caught the virus while wearing a mask. There were four new cases in the state, including three healthcare workers at the hospitals.
* Queensland recorded two more infections, including in a health worker, sparking a pause of elective surgeries at the Ipswich Hospital.
* Western Australia had one new case – a returned traveller in hotel quarantine.
* Mr Morrison wants Mr Andrews to provide extra financial assistance to Victorians before he and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg consider what further measures may be required from the federal government.
* A grace period designed to save thousands of businesses from going under during the coronavirus pandemic is being extended until December 31.
* August 2 to September 13 – stage four lockdown for Melbourne and stage three lockdown for regional Victoria.
* September 14 to September 27 – stage four lockdown for Melbourne with some changes including curfew moving back an hour to 9pm.
* From September 28 – if average daily cases are 30-50 in metro Melbourne over the previous 14 days the city will move to the ‘second step’, which includes public gatherings increasing up to five people from two households and a staged return to school for some students.
* October 26 – Tasmania’s state of emergency is due to expire. In Melbourne, the curfew will be dropped if the average number of new cases falls below five and there are fewer than five unknown source cases.
* November – Victoria’s hotel quarantine inquiry report due.
* From November 23 – If there are no new cases for 14 days in Melbourne the city will move to the ‘last step’ which includes all retail shops opening, public gatherings of 50 people outdoors and up to 20 visitors at a time allowed into a home.
* December 1 – Tasmania’s borders will remain shut until at least the last month of 2020.
AUSTRALIAN CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS
* There were 48 new cases in Australia – 41 in Victoria, four in NSW, two in Queensland and one in Western Australia. Victoria reported nine more deaths – eight of those were linked to aged care outbreaks.
* The national death toll as of Monday is 762: Victoria 675, NSW 54, Tasmania 13, WA 9, Queensland 6, SA 4, ACT 3. (Two Queensland residents who died in NSW have been included in the official tolls of both states).
GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS
* Cases: at least 27,114,000
* Deaths: at least 883,000
* Recovered: at least 18,140,000
Data current as of 1830 AEST September 7, taking in federal government and state/territory government updates, Worldometer and Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre.
Australian Associated Press