We usually have an alert from the premier’s office or department of health letting us know details for the daily press update about Covid-19. So far, press conferences have been held in the morning. However, we have had no alert about a press conference so far this morning. A spokeswoman for the premier told me that’s because they have so much data to process. There has been a massive testing blitz in hot-spot suburbs over the past few days, and hundreds of extra staff have been working to process that data. The spokeswoman said this means the press conference has been pushed back to later in the day, with timing yet to be confirmed. AAP has an update on Westfield shopping centres - seems we have returned in droves Shoppers seem to be flocking back to stores, with the owner of Westfield centres in Australia saying customer visits are at 86 per cent of the level at the same time a year ago. Visitor numbers have been helped by 92 per cent of stores trading at the Australian centres, following temporary closures. Owner Scentre Group says more stores will reopen next month, following the relaxation in coronavirus restrictions. It said cinemas, gyms and more dining outlets would reopen in July when more social distancing restrictions are eased. Helen Sullivan has the international coronavirus blog up and running: Maybe pencil the Queensland announcement in for closer to midday. There is no word out of that state over what it plans to do - but it doesn’t look like Victorians will have much chance of a sunshine state holiday in the near future (just based on the numbers) WA remains closed to everyone, with intrastate travel the focus in that state. South Australia has opened to everyone but NSW and Victoria, and is weighing up whether it sticks to 20 July to bring down all hard borders. We are expecting the Queensland announcement on whether or not it will be sticking to its 10 July border opening date soon - mid-morning was floated, but there has been no set time given as yet. It doesn’t look like we will be getting an update on the Victorian cases from the past 24 hours for a little while yet. The testing blitz means there is a lot of data to sort through, meaning we most likely won’t get an update this morning. The professor would also like the finger-pointing to stop, saying it is not solving anything. Don’t forget, the young have been hearing constant message from us that they are at less risk from acquiring this,” she said. So, of course, they’re hearing a message that they want to hear and that is that they can go out and not socially distance. I’ve noticed itself. So when we do send messages of truth, we also have to couch them in actually what it means for the responsibility. So, yes, they are at less risk of acquiring the disease but they still need to help the rest of us not acquire it. McLaws also says a localised lockdown should be looked at, in response to the Victorian spike in cases: Look, after [Sars in] 2003, I was tasked with reviewing the response in Beijing and myself and many of the experts in Beijing came to the conclusion that ring-fencing of that particular city would have changed the history, and ring-fencing has been used. It’s – in other words, instead of a full lockdown of, say, a state or a full city, it’s ring-fencing or shutting down hotspot areas. But it needs to be checked with people at the borders so that those of us who think that the rules don’t apply to us don’t leave or don’t enter for safety reasons. But it really does work. It’s not pleasant but it does work. Prof Marylouise McLaws an expert in infection prevention and control, surveillance, hospital infection, outbreaks and patient safety at the University of New South Wales had a chat to ABC Breakfast this morning, about whether or not people in Victoria should be wearing masks. Look, I sound like a broken record but it is only because I care about Victorians. They have a rolling 14-day average that has gathered momentum. So 14 days ago it was at 79, averaging over 14 days, now it’s 386. That’s an 80% increase. So, really, you don’t have time to debate this. A mask, a non-medical mask, will increase your protection. Whether or not you’ve got symptoms and you’re wearing a mask, you don’t want to give it to people but, also, it protects people from acquiring it. It’s a shame that authorities have been slow to advocate masks particularly in the hot spots and particularly as WHO has put out a guideline on 6 June that says when you can’t physically distance, put on a mask, such as on public transport. Still in Victoria, federal workers are on the way to help doorknock, coordinate community engagement and staff testing sites, as the state implements the national cabinet plan to put a lid on localised outbreaks. Via AAP: Hundreds of federal workers are headed to Victoria to help the state’s coronavirus fight after it recorded its highest case numbers in months. Victoria recorded 75 new virus cases on Monday, the fourth-highest number since the pandemic began and the highest since March. On Tuesday, the state requested help from the Australian government in the form of 800 workers. One hundred team leaders will support coordination of the community door knocking happening in hotspot suburbs, 500 staff will form part of those community engagement/door-knocking teams and 200 clinical staff are being sent to fixed testing sites. The commonwealth clinical staff will allow for state clinical staff to join mobile testing in hotspots and surrounding suburbs. “This is a public health bushfire – just as we help out other states in summer, help is coming from across the nation now – and we are grateful for that,” a Victorian government spokeswoman said in a statement. Melissa Davey has all the information on the Victorian spike in cases: *sorry about the incorrect link in the earlier post (clipboard fails me again) The prime minister is off to the Snowy Hydro site today – looks like Snowy 2.0 is about to get federal approval (not that it was ever in doubt) in the final week of the Eden-Monaro byelection campaign. As we approach the end of the financial year, there are reminders all around us that 2020-21 is about to be one of the hardest ever, for many people. If not ourselves, then people we know. Daniel Hurst and Paul Karp have had a look at two reports detailing the most immediate issues: Rising rates of housing stress, particularly among younger Australians, and job losses among workers aged 51 to 65 show the Covid-19 recession is causing insecurity at both ends of the life cycle, according to two new reports. Nearly a third of people who have lost work or had hours cut as a result of the pandemic are aged 51 to 65 – fuelling “rapid growth” in the number of mature-age, low-income Australians who may fall through the cracks of government support, according to one paper prepared by the Brotherhood of St Laurence and the Nous Group. In a separate study, the Australian National University found the proportion of Australians not able to meet their regular housing costs jumped from 6.9% in April to 15.1% in May, with young people the hardest hit. The Cyber Enhanced Situational Awareness and Response or Cesar – which is what we are calling the cybersecurity program, comes with the massive flag-waving price tag of $1.35bn. But that is over a decade. Which makes it $130m a year. And it looks like it is coming from the defence budget – so repurposed money “This package is one part of our $15bn investment in cyber and information warfare capabilities that will form part of defence’s 2020 force structure plan to address the rapidly evolving cyber threat landscape,” Linda Reynolds said in the press release. Fresh off the “Australia has been the subject of a state-based actor cyber attack campaign for months, but we can’t tell you why we are telling you now, this moment” press conference the prime minister held, comes the news Australia wants to hire 500 new cyber spies. Linda Reynolds was on ABC Breakfast this morning, with her best recruitment face on: Malicious cyber activity against Australia and Australians have been increasing in style and sophistication. That’s why the government has announced our largest single-investment in the nation’s security history. It’s to do a number of things – first, to increase the technology and the research available to the Australian Signals Directorate and also the Australian Cyber Security Centre to make sure we can keep our nation safe. So, as part of that, we’re recruiting 500 new cybersecurity experts. Good morning All eyes are still on Victoria as authorities consider whether or not it needs to lock down areas where numbers of coronavirus cases have shot up, after 75 people tested positive for the virus in 24 hours – the fourth-highest daily total for Victoria, since the pandemic began. It’s not as easy as just closing down the suburbs though – with transmission passing primarily through family groups, locking down shops and cafes again, may not stop the spread. But authorities are warning people the daily totals could get worse before they get better. It’s having an impact beyond those Melbourne suburbs as well. South Australia is reconsidering its 20 July border reopening date for Victorians, Western Australia has put its border reopen date off (it was to be August) and Queensland, which will announce its plans today, may change its date from the pencilled-in 10 July. The latest Newspoll has Daniel Andrews losing eight popularity points, but he was coming from a high base and still sits at a 67% approval rating. We’ll update you on the covid situation as information comes in, as well as let you know what is happening in politics as the day goes on. You have Amy Remeikis with you until mid-afternoon.