Watch live: Victoria, NSW coronavirus updates
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, Deputy Premier James Merlino and Early Childhood Minister Ingrid Stitt are holding a press conference in Melbourne. You can watch their press conference live, below:
And NSW Transport Minister, Andrew Constance, and Transport for NSW Chief Operations Officer, Howard Collins, are making an announcement about COVID-safe travel, which you watch live, here:
Latest updates
Victorian kids to get free kindergarten next year, Andrews announces
By Kate Lahey and Ashleigh McMillan
Kindergarten will be free for Victorian children next year, Premier Daniel Andrews has announced this morning.
The 2020/21 budget will deliver up to $169.6 million to make kinder free next year, saving families about $2000 for every child enrolled in a participating funded kindergarten program.
Kinder will be free for Victorian kids next year.Credit:Luis Ascui
The measure is aimed at helping women back into work and reducing the stress of the balancing act many parents have faced in 2020, often working from home while managing and homeschooling young children.
Under the investment, subsidies will be offered to early childhood services providing funded kindergarten programs – meaning free kinder for four-year-olds and eligible three-year-olds attending a participating sessional kinder.
Families with children enrolled in kinder programs at a long daycare centre will also benefit from a saving of around $2000 in fees.
For families with children attending unfunded three-year-old programs in sessional kindergartens, there will also be reduced fees.
Ingrid Stitt, the Minister for Early Childhood, said the move was to ensure that "working families had that relief when they needed it most" following Victoria’s second COVID-19 wave.
"We recognise that women have been disproportionately affected by this pandemic, and we believe this ... will give cost-of-living pressure relief, but will also ensure women are able to participate in the workforce as we recover economically," she said.
Mr Andrews said 95 per cent of government primary schools across the state will run the before and after school programs.
Schools that don't currently have an after school program will be able to apply for grants of $75,000 for equipment, facilities and transport to support after school care programs.
"The only ones that won’t run it … are the very smallest of countries schools where it wouldn’t be viable. They’re very important, but I don’t know if they have demand for services like this, Mr Andrews said.
'Very promising' but more testing needed, Andrews says of Pfizer vaccine
By Ashleigh McMillan
The Victorian Premier says reports that a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer has a 90 per cent efficiency rate are "very promising", but warns it will need to be tested further before it’s rolled out in the community.
Premier Daniel Andrews said while "all want to see a vaccine come as soon as possible", developers needed to make sure the vaccine lived up to the hype before it is used.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says further testing will show whether Pfizer's vaccine lives up to the hype.Credit:AP
"It’s got to go through a rigorous process to make sure that it’s safe, make sure the efficacy of the vaccine is proven so we know exactly the impact it will have across the Victorian community," he told reporters on Tuesday morning.
Victoria recorded its 11th consecutive day of zero new cases today after 12,955 tests were carried out on Monday. No further deaths have been recorded making it a so-called double "doughnut day".
Two Victorians remain in hospital with coronavirus.
There are no active cases in healthcare workers or in people connected to aged care.
Regional Victoria remains COVID-free, with no active cases there.
"All in all, they are very impressive numbers," Mr Andrews said, "and they speak to the absolute determination of the Victorian community to stay safe and stay open".
What do you love about Melbourne?
My colleague Greg Baum, who like many of us is relishing our newfound freedoms in Victoria, likened exercising during Melbourne's tough stage four lockdown to walking around a prison yard.
Now, the streets are buzzing again and Victorians are celebrating the 11th day in a row of no new coronavirus cases and no further deaths. Seeing people back in coffee shops – a long black in hand while ordering poached eggs and avocado sourdough – certainly brings a smile to my face. What do you love about our town?
Victorians are spending big post-lockdown
By Shane Wright
The ending of Victoria's coronavirus restrictions has been welcomed by a surge in spending across the state.
Data collected by the Commonwealth Bank from its network of debit and credit cards and released this morning showed spending in Victoria up 16 percentage points between late October and the first week of November.
Victorians are spending again on food services and buying household furnishings and equipment and clothing.
Spending across Victoria is now 15 per cent up on the same time last year, stronger than NSW (13 per cent) and in line with Queensland.
"The easing of restrictions in Victoria and the prospect of more open internal borders saw card spending surge," senior CBA economist Belinda Allen said.
"The lift in spending highlights the importance of confidence in the health outcome and the level of income support in the Australian economy at present."
In Victoria, there was a huge lift in spending on household furnishings and equipment, clothing and food services.
Personal care services, such as hairdressers, surged on the opening of restrictions. In late October, spending in this sector was 50 per cent down on a year ago. Last week, it was more than 30 per cent above.
Alcohol services (such as pubs and clubs) is still down on a year ago but also posted a big weekly increase.
Overall spending nationally was up 13 per cent on a year ago last week compared to 6 per cent in the final week of October.
Goods spending is up 21 per cent, a 5 percentage point lift from its previous reading.
But spending on services lifted 10 percentage points to now sit in positive territory.
Spending on food goods, mostly through supermarkets and grocery stores, is 19 per cent up on a year ago.
Food services spending, which includes cafes and restaurants, is up 15 per cent on the same week in 2019.
Victoria's run of zero-case days
This calendar tracks Victoria's run of zero-case and zero-death days ..
'We may need multiple COVID vaccines,' says doctor who created Rubella vaccine
By Ashleigh McMillan
"Early efficacy of 90 per cent is great, but for example, we don’t know whether the vaccine protects against infection so that individuals who are vaccinated won’t be able to excrete the virus and infect other people," he told Radio National this morning.
"We don’t know how long the efficacy will last, we don’t know whether it protects the elderly as well as the young.
"Although it’s very positive … as a scientist, I would have to wait for those other data before I could decide whether this is as promising as it sounds."
Dr Plotkin said there were around 10 different vaccines in deep stages of development across the world.
He said if any vaccines stop the virus multiplying in the nose, nasal passage and pharynx, it would mean COVID-19 wouldn’t be transferred to others.
"If they do, I would be very optimistic the epidemic could be stopped. If they don’t, there will still be circulation of the virus, and unvaccinated people would still be at risk.
"It may be a disease for which we use multiple vaccines … when all is said and done, we may need to vaccinate eight billion people, and that’s never been done before."
On Monday, the Morrison government announced Australia had secured 50 million more potential coronavirus vaccine doses through two new agreements – one with Novavax and a second with Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE.
Qld records one new case in hotel quarantine, 55 days of no community transmission
By Jocelyn Garcia
A young woman who returned from Turkey has tested positive for COVID-19 in hotel quarantine in Queensland.
Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannatte Young told ABC radio in Brisbane the new case was not surprising as COVID-19 cases around the world surpass 50 million.
"[COVID-19 is] here to stay. We’re going to have to learn to live with it but we’re starting to get those early results from the vaccine trials and that’s very encouraging," she said.
Queensland state has had no community transmission for 55 days.
British PM Boris Johnson says still too early to rely on COVID-19 vaccine
Back to some international news and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged Britons not to slacken their resolve in battling the coronavirus despite news of a vaccine on the horizon, warning that the country is now "heading towards the levels of the previous peak" in terms of COVID-19 patients in hospital.
Johnson told a televised news conference on Monday (UK time) that the number of those patients has increased to 13,000 as of November 5. Commenting on the Pfizer vaccine, he stressed that it was very early days and "we cannot let our enthusiasm tonight run away with us".
England's deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam echoed Johnson’s cautious tone, warning people not to relax and not to "get overexcited about where we are". He said he was hopeful that "we could begin to see some vaccine by Christmas," and added that when it gets to the stage when vaccines are authorised for distribution in the UK, age will be the main factor in deciding who gets priority.
A new round of tough national coronavirus restrictions in England came into effect last Thursday, forcing all restaurants, pubs and non-essential shops to shutter until December 2. Schools and universities remain open.
Victoria records 11th consecutive 'doughnut day': No new cases, no deaths
Victoria, we've done it!
The state has recorded its 11th consecutive double "doughnut day" with no new COVID cases or deaths reported, after nearly 13,000 tests were carried out yesterday.
There are four active cases remaining in the state and there is one remaining mystery case – down from one yesterday.
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2020-11-09 22:34:00Z
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