More than 40 aged care homes in Victoria have reported cases of coronavirus, as concerns deepen for the vulnerable sector.
The virus has also hit the state’s prisons, with six facilities in lockdown after a prison worker tested positive.
Follow today’s events as they unfold.
Live updates
By Emily Sakzewski
Update on press conference times
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will hold her press conference at 11: 00am. I’m hearing Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will hold his press conference later, closer to lunch time, but we haven’t had an official confirmation on that time.
By Emily Sakzewski
Snapshots from the NSW-Vic border this morning
New COVID-19 rules are now in place for people wanting to travel from Victoria into New South Wales.
New permits were required from midnight to allow Victorians to cross for just three reason: work, education, or healthcare.
Reporter Ashlee Aldridge says there’ve been long queues this morning at the Albury checkpoint, and the new rules have created plenty of confusion:
Prior to last night the radius to be considered a local resident was around 50 kilometres, now that has been reduced to 2 kilometres for towns along the Murray River.
Now we’re hearing of suburbs that are literally split in two… we spoke to a man who can’t get a permit but just two doors down they can.
By Emily Sakzewski
Hundreds missing from quarantine in Queensland
More than 200 people who were meant to be isolating at home under strict coronavirus quarantine laws in Queensland are missing.
Since mid-April more than 2,000 compliance checks have been conducted by the COVID-19 taskforce, with officers uncovering almost 400 people were not where they were supposed to be.
Of those flouting the rules, 185 had given health officials false contact details, including addresses where they were alleged to have been isolating at.
Another 25 people had given authorities the correct information but when police visited they were nowhere to be found.
Police said 210 people remained unaccounted for and were wanted for questioning.
If found, they are likely to face hefty fines for breaking the stringent stay-at-home laws in place to curb the spread of the virus.
By Emily Sakzewski
Donald Trump has resumed his coronavirus briefings
More than two months since the US President canned his daily coronavirus briefings to shift focus to an economic restart, Donald Trump is back at the lectern.
In his latest update, the President warned Americans that the coronavirus pandemic was likely to get worse.
“It will probably get worse before it gets better, something I don’t like saying,” he said.
Mr Trump also said he was “getting used to” wearing a mask as he showed off his from the White House briefing room podium.
He told reporters he has “no problem” wearing one, saying: “I carry it. I wear it… and I’ll continue.”
If you’ve been following coronavirus news from the US, you would know these comments are a major change in tone for the President, who spent months resisting wearing a mask in public and once suggested they were a political statement against him.
He also tweeted this yesterday:
By Emily Sakzewski
There’s some downward pressure on Victoria’s coronavirus curve
ABC analyst Casey Briggs says the overall trend in Victoria – at 14 days into stage 3 restrictions – is cases are still going up. But, he says, the growth has slowed.
“It is looking more like linear growth than exponential growth and that’s much easier to contain than exponential growth. So we’re seeing there is some downward pressure on the curve. That’s a good thing.”
Nearly 1,900 cases are under investigation.
Casey said this number had been kept at a very low number for a very long time, but has exploded in the last couple of weeks.
“There are now almost 1,900 cases under investigation. That’s an investigation into where the infection was acquired… I think that’s more than half of Victoria’s active cases,” he said.
“We just don’t know where they came from and that makes any sort of analysis very difficult and I’m sure it’s making the life of the Victorian Government difficult as they try and chart a path through this.
“We just don’t know what’s going on. Contact tracers clearly have now just been overwhelmed.”
By Emily Sakzewski
The Prime Minister’s latest comments on masks
Speaking on Sydney radio station 2GB this morning, the Prime Minister was asked for his views on masks.
As well as having a mask (he said he wore it to the optometrist recently), Mr Morrison said he wouldn’t hesitate to wear it all the time if the health advice recommended it.
He also said he supported people wearing masks on public transport in NSW and that that was the current state government advice.
“I think the approach is for people to exercise that common sense,” he said.
By Emily Sakzewski
Victorian Opposition weighs in on hotel security hiring practices
Reporting by James Hancock
The State Opposition in Victoria says it’s appalled by the latest revelations about the hotel quarantine program.
The ABC’s 7.30 has found some security guards were hired through WhatsApp messages to supervise returned travellers.
One guard said she was told to bring her own personal protective equipment and was given no training in how to properly use it.
The recruitment and training of security guards is being examined by an inquiry that began this week into the state-run system.
The probe has been told every case of coronavirus in recent weeks could possibly be linked to hotel quarantine.
The Opposition’s health spokesperson Georgie Crozier said the errors were extraordinary.
“It’s no wo