Donald Trump is currently addressing a rally in Pennsylvania. He’s started by railing against “leftwing justices” on the supreme court who, he says, will “will cripple police departments, protect sanctuary cities” and end the death penalty for “even the most depraved mass murderers”. There’s a reference to “Sleepy Joe” and more baseless claims about problems/corruption with ballots, some crowd chanting of “USA” and “four more years”. Nothing on Covid in the US yet, where there have been 7,076,828 cases – the most of any country in the world. More than 204,400 Americans have died. At least everyone on screen behind him are wearing masks. If the slogan of 2020 is “We’re all in this together”, perhaps it should come with an asterisk: *except for those with less, who are hurting more. Covid-19 hasn’t torn through Australia as it has the United States, Brazil, India and much of Europe, but the economic impact has exposed gaping inequities in almost every facet of our lives. While some people simply packed up their desks and took work home, more than 1 million others in Australia are jobless and others only technically still “employed” because they are receiving federal government wage subsidies. In Melbourne, where the pandemic hit hardest, the virus carved a conspicuous path through the most disadvantaged and culturally diverse parts of the city: the west, north and outer south-east. “We should not pretend that everybody is in this equally,” says Dr Stephen Duckett, the health program director at the Grattan Institute. “People who are suffering are less well-off, and have poorer, precarious employment. So when people say, ‘Look business is hurting,’ that may be true, but these people are bearing the brunt of this.” Covid-19 has had far-reaching impacts all around the world – including on how defence forces operate. Australia’s defence minister, Linda Reynolds, announced today that an Australian maritime patrol aircraft would operate out of Kadena air base in Japan and help enforce UN security council sanctions on North Korea. In a statement, the Australian government pointed to quarantine requirements: “The Poseidon aircraft and its crew will deploy from RAAF’s 92 Wing and quarantine at Kadena Air Base in line with Japan’s Covid-19 entry requirements.” The Royal Australian Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft is to “conduct airborne surveillance to monitor and deter illegal shipments of sanctioned goods”, with operations due to begin late this month and conclude late in October. It’s the seventh such deployment since 2018, but only the second this year. Victoria reports 16 new cases and two deaths Victoria’s daily update is in. In the last 240hour period there were 16 new cases of Covid-19 reported, as well as two fatalities. The daily press conference with premier Daniel Andrews will give us further details, but the Department of Health and Human Services says the rolling 14-day average is down to 22.1 in metropolitan Melbourne and 0.6 in regional Victoria. The number of unsourced cases is stable at 31. First, a catch up from AAP on the latest developments in the Australian state of Victoria. Victoria has woken up with a new health minister but Melburnians’ minds are on what freedoms are about to return to their restricted lives. The state’s “roadmap” out of lockdown announced in early September is expected to be tweaked on Sunday following better-than-expected progress in fighting the spread of the virus. Many will, once more, be hanging on the premier’s words at what has become a sombre tradition of weighty Sunday press conferences. The two-week rolling daily case average of 23.6 is well under the 30-50 case average health authorities were aiming for. Under the original plans to take effect from Monday, the 9pm curfew would remain, as well as the 5km travel limit and takeaway-only for restaurants and cafes. Restrictions around public gatherings would ease to allow up to five people from a maximum of two households to meet outside for social interaction. Childcare and kindergarten would reopen and some school students would return to classrooms in term 4. The Victorian opposition is calling for rules to be loosened well beyond this, saying the curfew should go, all school students should return and restaurants, retail and offices should reopen. It has been a dramatic few days in Victorian politics culminating in the resignation of Jenny Mikakos as health minister on Saturday morning. By the afternoon, Daniel Andrews had announced mental health minister Martin Foley as her replacement and he was sworn in. Mikakos’ resignation came a day after she heard her boss tell the hotel quarantine inquiry board she was responsible for the Department of Health and Human Services, which was ultimately responsible for running the quarantine scheme. The hotel quarantine program in Victoria failed because private security guards breached infection control, causing the spread of the virus into the community and a devastating second wave. To date, 782 Victorians have died of the virus and the entire state has been subject to strict lockdowns, workforce and school closures and prolonged social isolation. “I have never wanted to leave a job unfinished but in light of the premier’s statement ... and the fact there are elements in it that I strongly disagree with ... I cannot continue to serve in his cabinet,” Mikakos wrote. I am disappointed that my integrity has sought to be undermined. I am deeply sorry for the situation that Victorians find themselves in. In good conscience, I do not believe that my action led to them. Mikakos will also be resigning from the Victorian parliament. The premier, like all leaders who came before the $3m inquiry, told the board on Friday he did not know who made the decision to use private security guards. He pushed back on suggestions from reporters on Saturday that he should also resign, saying he would not run from a challenge and remained focused on fighting the pandemic and repairing the state’s economy. Hello and welcome to this coronavirus live blog with me, Helen Davidson. Global deaths are nearing 1 million, according to the Johns Hopkins University tracker. Currently they stand at 990,977, with the United States recording around 20% of fatalities worldwide (204,446). Brazil is the second-worst affected country (140,537), with India in third (93,379). In Australia, residents of the state of Victoria are eagerly awaiting an announcement today by the state premier, Daniel Andrews, on whether the state’s coronavirus restrictions will be eased. The state’s “roadmap” out of lockdown that was announced in early September is expected to be tweaked on Sunday following better-than-expected progress in fighting the spread of the virus. In other developments: Coronavirus cases in Colombia, which is nearly a month into a national reopening after a long lockdown, surpassed 800,000. The country has 806,038 confirmed cases of the virus according to the health ministry, with 25,296 reported deaths. Active cases number 78,956. Colombia is now in a much-looser “selective” quarantine phase which allows dining at restaurants and international flights. Concerts and other large events remain banned and land and water borders are closed. The work of hundreds of doctors, nurses, fundraisers and volunteers will be recognised in the Queen’s Birthday honours list. The list was postponed in June in order to add nominations for people playing key roles in the early months of the pandemic in the UK. It will be released on 10 October. Crowds protested outside the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s home on Saturday demanding he quit over his handling of Covid-19. Netanyahu’s government decided this week to tighten a three-week lockdown imposed on 18 September, hoping to keep Israelis at home, shutting down many businesses and limiting group prayers during the ongoing Jewish high-holiday season. Infections have surged since measures were relaxed in May, reaching daily highs of more than 7,000 among the population of nine million. Saudi Arabia plans to resume tourist visas by early 2021 after months of suspension amid strict measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus. In late-February the kingdom closed its borders to foreign pilgrims and to tourists from at least 25 countries. In March, it barred all travel in and out of the country. The tourism sector has been hit hard and is expected to see a 35%-45% decline by year end. Sixteen people were arrested and nine police officers were injured following clashes at anti-lockdown demonstrations in central London. Thousands of people defied the advice of the Metropolitan Police and demonstrated against lockdowns, mass vaccinations, mandatory wearing of face masks and other coronavirus restrictions. The Met said the demonstrators had not “complied with the conditions of their risk assessment and are putting people in danger of transmitting the virus” and ordered crowds to disperse. A Brazilian judge called off Palmeiras and Flamengo’s league match due to be played on Sunday after at least 16 players from the club as well as the team’s coach tested positive for Covid-19. The decision followed an appeal by the union of football club employees, who said they and their families would be at risk if the game went ahead. Both the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) and the country’s sports tribunal had rejected Flamengo’s request to halt the game. Argentina’s coronavirus cases are poised to top 700,000 as new daily infections and deaths hit the top five globally, despite seven months of lockdown that have ravaged the frail economy. Argentina reported a rolling seven-day average of 11,082 new cases daily, behind only India, the United States, France and Brazil, all countries with far larger populations than the South American nation. A gradual loosening of its strict lockdown over time and the spread of cases from the capital to the provinces have seen cases skyrocket. France registered another 14,412 confirmed coronavirus cases, not far from a daily record of 16,096 set earlier this week, total the tally to 527,446.