In these extraordinary times, the Guardian’s editorial independence has never been more important. Because no one sets our agenda, or edits our editor, we can keep delivering quality, trustworthy, fact-checked journalism each and every day. Free from commercial or political bias, we can report fearlessly on world events and challenge those in power. Your support protects the Guardian’s independence. We believe every one of us deserves equal access to accurate news and calm explanation. No matter how unpredictable the future feels, we will remain with you, delivering high quality news so we can all make critical decisions about our lives, health and security – based on fact, not fiction. Support the Guardian from as little as $1 – and it only takes a minute. Thank you. Changes to restrictions in regional Victoria Now here are the changes for regional Victoria from 11.59pm tonight: Two adults and two children will be able to visit a home. Hospitality venues can increase their capacity to 70 people outside and 40 people inside. Outdoor religious gatherings will increase to 20 people. Indoor pools will open for people 18 and under to a maximum of 20 people. One-on-one hydrotherapy with health professionals will also be allowed. Libraries will reopen to a maximum of 20 people. Households will now be able to visit a care facility, rather than one person visiting at a time. Then from 11.59 pm on Sunday 1 November in regional Victoria: Non-contact indoor sport will resume for under 18-year-olds. Spectators will be allowed but with some limits. Andrews also says that a consultation process will commence next week for people, including in Melbourne, who need to prepare properties in regional Victoria for the fire season and for potential floods. Further restrictions to ease in Melbourne on 1 November, including retail to reopen More detail on Victoria’s easing of restrictions. Again, worth noting while it’s been more than 100 days of restrictions in Victoria, the rest of the world demonstrates where this state, and Australia more broadly, could be. European cities are reimposing curfews and imposing month-long lockdowns as new cases climb into the tens of thousands every day. Further changes for metropolitan Melbourne will be introduced in Victoria from 11.59pm on Sunday 1 November. They are: The four reasons for leaving home will be removed and people will be able to leave their home for any reason. A maximum of two people, plus children, will be able to visit another home. This won’t be a “bubble” arrangement as currently applies to single people in Melbourne. More businesses will reopen subject to conditions. Retail will reopen. Hospitality will reopen with a maximum of 20 people inside and 50 outside. Beauty and personal services will return. Contact sport for under 18-year-olds and non-contact for adults will recommence. A maximum of 20 people will be allowed for outdoor religious gatherings. A maximum of 10 people will be allowed at weddings. A maximum of 20 mourners at funerals. Outdoor seated entertainment will be able to host a maximum of 50 people or 25% of the venue’s fixed seat capacity. In Victoria, Dan Andrews is getting down to brass tacks. It’s the AFL Grand Final this weekend – one of Melbourne’s most significant weekends (and with two Victorian teams in the granny). For the first time, the AFL’s decider will be played outside Victoria. But Andrews says Victorian households cannot mix to watch the grand final on television. “We cannot have that happen. As significant as the day is, it’s got to be different.” New Zealand records first community case in almost a month A new community case of Covid-19 has been identified in New Zealand – the first case since 25 September. The man is a port worker and has recently worked at the Ports of Auckland and Taranaki. The man developed respiratory symptoms on Friday 16 October and was diagnosed yesterday. No further lockdown measures were announced by the director-general of health, Dr Ashley Bloomfield. The man had very limited contact with others while he was infectious, and was often wearing a mask and gloves in the course of his work on a ship. His four household contacts are now in isolation, two in government quarantine facilities. “The risk is contained,” Bloomfield said. “The emergence of a new community case is unsettling, and we need to remain vigilant.” “The case is another reminder that Covid-19 is not going away anytime soon.” Ports of Taranaki and Auckland will now face scaled-up testing, Bloomfield said. “While we have eliminated community transmission in New Zealand ... that is not the case overseas, where the virus is spreading and there are significant restrictions in place.” Victoria lifts time limit on leaving home for exercise and opens up travel distance to 25km Now for the easing of restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne in Victoria: From 11.59pm tonight the following changes to restrictions will occur: There will be no time limit on leaving your home for exercise or socialising. The travel distance from your home will move from 5km to 25km for exercise and shopping. Outdoor gatherings will increase to 10 people from two households. The following settings will be open, subject to Covid-safe conditions: Tennis, skate parks, golf courses. Hairdressers will reopen. Real estate auctions will occur with a maximum of 10 people and commercial real estate inspections can occur. Outdoor pools can host 30 swimmers. Indoor pools can open up for one-on-one hydrotherapy with a health professional. The following will be allowed, subject to conditions: non-essential outdoor home maintenance, repairs, renovations, house painting, can occur with a maximum of five workers. Solo or automated car washing and poor cleaning will be allowed, mobile or home business pet grooming will be allowed, outdoor photography will be allowed, and there will be a full return of allied health services. Daniel Andrews press conference The Victorian premier, Daniel Andrews, is on his feet, preparing to announce an easing of restrictions. He confirms that there were two new cases in Victoria, one linked to a known outbreak, the other under investigation. There were no deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours. “Victorians have done an amazing job over recent weeks and months,” he says. What it means is that as so many cities across the world head into what is going to be a deadly winter, we in Melbourne and across Victoria are well-placed to have a Covid-safe summer and a Covid-normal 2021. He says Victorians from every community have “stayed the course” and “we have just a little longer to go”. NSW reports one new Covid case as Oran Park cluster grows In Australia’s most populous state, NSW, numbers remain low. Australia and New Zealand standing in stark contrast to the rest of the world. Australian immigration minister weighs into New Zealand travel bubble bungle Staying in Australia: the acting federal immigration minister Alan Tudge has been speaking in Canberra about the 17 New Zealand travellers who flew into Melbourne via Sydney, which has reignited tensions over borders. Tudge is referencing reports in the Age that the Victorian Department of Premier and Cabinet gave authorisation for one of the travellers to travel onward to Victoria, but the authorisation was given a week before the premier Daniel Andrews said the state would not be participating in the travel bubble. Tudge also reiterates comments he made yesterday that the arrivals should not have surprised Victoria because the state’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, was at a meeting of health ministers where it was discussed. “So the Victorian government was present when it was discussed, they were made aware that this was going to occur, they raised no objections in the meetings, and furthermore, expressly authorised individuals who were arriving into Sydney from New Zealand to be able to travel on into Victoria,” Tudge said. “Now, I would ask the premier today to reveal those emails and any other correspondence which shows, clearly, and demonstrably, that they authorised the people to come into Victoria.” Australia and New Zealand have established a one-way travel bubble: New Zealanders are allowed to travel to the Australian jurisdictions of NSW and the Northern Territory without quarantining. Australians going the other way must still quarantine on arrival in NZ. The wrinkle here has been 17 people who flew into NSW, and then on to Victoria (which is allowed, but Victoria has said it was unaware people were coming into the state from outside the country). For our Australian readers in particular. Victorian premier Dan Andrews is speaking at 11am to outline the easing of restrictions in that state as case numbers continue to dwindle (down to one Saturday, and two Sunday). Victoria’s capital Melbourne has endured one of the longest and strictest lockdowns in the world, including curfews and a 5km limit on all movement. Andrews’s announcement is keenly anticipated, to say the very least. We will bring you his announcement as it happens, in about 10 minutes from now. A global summary: Millions to face new restrictions and lockdowns Millions of Europeans faced tough new coronavirus restrictions on Saturday as governments stepped up efforts to slow the surge in infections, after the World Health Organization reported a “very concerning” 44% rise in European cases over one week. From Saturday evening, Paris and several other French cities go under a nighttime curfew that will last at least a month. England is banning mixed household gatherings in the capital and other areas, and Italy’s most populous region is limiting bar openings and suspending sports events. The need for action in France was underlined as the country recorded another record for new cases, with over 32,000 registered in 24 hours. In a bid to stem the worrying rise in infections and in the hope of heading off a return to full lockdowns, many governments have tightened measures to control the spread of the pandemic – even if some dissenters are fighting back in the courts. As a region, Europe is reporting more daily cases than India, Brazil and the US combined. Of every 100 infections reported around the world, 34 were from European countries. The region is currently reporting a million new infections about every nine days and has reported more than 6.3 million cases since the pandemic began. Major European countries – the UK, France, Russia, the Netherlands and Spain – accounted for about half of Europe’s new cases in the week to 18 October. Several European countries are closing schools, cancelling elective surgeries and enlisting student medics as the authorities face a Covid-19 resurgence. Russia is moving students to online learning and Northern Ireland is closing schools for two weeks and restaurants for four. In Spain, authorities in Catalonia ordered bars and restaurants to close for 15 days and limited the numbers of people allowed in shops. The Czech Republic has also shifted schools to distance learning and plans to call up thousands of medical students. Hospitals are cutting non-urgent medical procedures to free up beds. Polish health officials have warned the country is on the brink of a disaster as a record 6,526 new coronavirus infections and 116 deaths were reported this week. Poland is ramping up training for nurses and considering creating military field hospitals. Around the world: Latin America is the worst-affected region with about 27% of total Covid-19 cases followed by Asia, North America and Europe. India is reporting fewer cases this month compared with September, with 69,000 cases per day. The numbers have fallen by more than 20,400 over the last three weeks, down 22% from its previous peak. India reported 55,342 cases on 13 October, its lowest daily increase since 18 August. In the US, which has the largest total number of cases and deaths in the world, new infections are edging higher along with the most hospitalised Covid-19 patients since early September. The US has suffered more than 218,000 fatalities, on Friday revealed a record deficit of $3.1tn in the fiscal year ended September 30. It also announced that the number of cases there had passed eight million, while global daily infections also hit a new record. Good morning/afternoon/evening – wherever these words find you. Ben Doherty in Sydney here, helming our rolling coverage for the new few hours. If you’d like to be in contact, I can be found on email: ben.doherty@theguardian.com or reluctantly on Twitter @BenDohertyCorro. To the state of play this morning (it’s morning where I am): Globally, there have been 39.5m confirmed cases of Covid-19, and 1.1m deaths. The US has nearly 8.1m confirmed cases, followed by India 7.4m, and Brazil 5.2m. Europe is the emerging epicentre of the current wave: a third of all new cases worldwide are being detected in western European countries. Europe is recording more new cases than India, Brazil and the US combined. Global coronavirus cases rose by more than 400,000 for the first time late on Friday, a record one-day increase as much of Europe enacts new restrictions to curb the outbreak. Italy had a record daily rise in cases of 10,925 and is considering toughening nationwide restrictions in response to the increase. The Czech Republic, Poland, Ukraine and Malaysia also recorded their highest daily totals since the pandemic began. The number of deaths in Iran from Covid-19 now exceeds 30,000, with the country’s health ministry saying the total number of deaths since the start of the pandemic was now 30,123. A two week “circuit breaker” lockdown is expected to commence in Wales on 23 October that will see all but essential retail outlets close, according to a leaked letter. Thailand has recorded its first locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 in more than a month. The foreign ministers of Austria and Belgium have both tested positive for Covid-19. The Australian state of Victoria recorded two new cases of Covid-19 and no deaths as the state’s premier, Daniel Andrews, prepares to announce an easing of restrictions on Sunday.