(Australian Associated Press)
09/09/2020 05:31:26 PM

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• The Victorian premier insists his roadmap is the only way out of the state’s COVID-19 second wave, as another 76 cases and 11 deaths are recorded on Wednesday.
• The new deaths, nine linked to aged care, take the state’s toll to 694 and national figure to 781.
• Despite the slight spike in new cases on Wednesday, the 14-day average continues to fall, with Melbourne at 74.5, and the regional figure on five.
• NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has again slammed her Queensland counterpart for keeping the state border closed, as the state recorded nine new cases on Wednesday – only one less than Queensland.
• Queensland recorded eight new infections – the highest figure in seven weeks, but premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said all but one of the infections were among people already in isolation when they were tested.
• Ms Palaszczuk also came under fire on Wednesday over revelations US actor Tom Hanks had been granted permission to quarantine privately.
• In Western Australia, the government says a WA nurse who tested positive to COVID-19 while volunteering in Victoria will be brought home on a charter flight with her six colleagues after completing 14 days quarantine.
• Meanwhile, governments and medical experts have agreed to throw more resources at stemming the high rate of coronavirus infections among healthcare workers.

KEY DATES

• 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 due to expire. In Melbourne, the curfew will be dropped from this date if over the previous fortnight the average number of new cases falls below five and there are fewer than five unknown source cases under the ‘third step’.
• 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 up 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 93 new cases in Australia – 76 in Victoria, nine in NSW, and eight in Queensland. Victoria reported 11 more deaths – nine of those were linked to aged care outbreaks.
• The national death toll is 781: Victoria 694, 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 27,743,000
• Deaths: at least 901,000
• Recovered: at least 19,834,000

Data current as of 1845 AEST September 9, taking in federal government and state/territory government updates, Worldometer and Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre.