Victoria’s daily tally has dipped once again, with 11 new cases of coronavirus and two deaths recorded overnight.

It’s the lowest 24-hour increase since nine cases were recorded on June 16 and brings Melbourne’s rolling 14-day average to 34.4.

Metropolitan Melbourne must reach an average daily case rate of between 30 and 50 cases over the preceding fortnight to trigger an easing of lockdown measures from September 28.

The latest deaths include two women, one aged in her 80s and the other in her 100s.

Premier Daniel Andrews said: “This is not just a good day, it is a great day.

“We are seeing numbers come down and seeing these strategies.

“We will need to stay the course though because, if we were to open up, these numbers are still too high … We just have to stay the course on this. Ultimately, these are very good numbers.”

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/coronavirus/melbournes-harsh-lockdown-could-end-weeks-early-if-numbers-continue-to-fall/news-story/e692edcf03f8b55f40acb8be3bd9f19c

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The Australian state at the centre of the country’s novel coronavirus outbreak on Saturday reported its lowest daily increase of infections in three months, putting it on course to relax a hard lockdown in the capital city by the end of the month.

Victoria, Australia’s second most populous state and home to a quarter of its 25 million people, recorded 21 new cases of COVID-19 in the prior 24 hours, less than half the previous day’s number and its lowest since June 24.

None of the seven other Australian states and territories had reported new case numbers but all except Victoria have reported single-digit or no case increases for weeks.

Victoria also reported seven new deaths related to the virus, taking the national total to 844, according to government figures. The state has had 90% of Australia’s coronavirus-related deaths.

https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-australia/australia-virus-hotspot-state-records-lowest-new-cases-since-june-idUSL4N2GG00A

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After recognition of widespread community transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), by mid- to late February 2020, indicators of influenza activity began to decline in the Northern Hemisphere. These changes were attributed to both artifactual changes related to declines in routine health seeking for respiratory illness as well as real changes in influenza virus circulation because of widespread implementation of measures to mitigate transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Data from clinical laboratories in the United States indicated a 61% decrease in the number of specimens submitted (from a median of 49,696 per week during September 29, 2019–February 29, 2020, to 19,537 during March 1–May 16, 2020) and a 98% decrease in influenza activity as measured by percentage of submitted specimens testing positive (from a median of 19.34% to 0.33%).

Interseasonal (i.e., summer) circulation of influenza in the United States (May 17–August 8, 2020) is currently at historical lows (median = 0.20% tests positive in 2020 versus 2.35% in 2019, 1.04% in 2018, and 2.36% in 2017). Influenza data reported to the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) FluNet platform from three Southern Hemisphere countries that serve as robust sentinel sites for influenza from Oceania (Australia), South America (Chile), and Southern Africa (South Africa) showed very low influenza activity during June–August 2020, the months that constitute the typical Southern Hemisphere influenza season. In countries or jurisdictions where extensive community mitigation measures are maintained (e.g., face masks, social distancing, school closures, and teleworking), those locations might have little influenza circulation during the upcoming 2020–21 Northern Hemisphere influenza season.

The use of community mitigation measures for the COVID-19 pandemic, plus influenza vaccination, are likely to be effective in reducing the incidence and impact of influenza, and some of these mitigation measures could have a role in preventing influenza in future seasons. However, given the novelty of the COVID-19 pandemic and the uncertainty of continued community mitigation measures, it is important to plan for seasonal influenza circulation in the United States this fall and winter. Influenza vaccination of all persons aged ≥6 months remains the best method for influenza prevention and is especially important this season when SARS-CoV-2 and influenza virus might cocirculate (1).

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Australia on Tuesday recorded its first day without a COVID-19 death in two months, as states began to lift restrictions amid growing confidence that a second wave of infections has been contained.

While officials said there were 50 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, a small increase from a day earlier, Australia reported no fresh fatalities for the first time since July 13.

Most of the new cases were in Victoria, Australia's second most populous state, which has accounted for about 75% of the country's COVID-19 infections.

Still, with infections falling in regional areas of Victoria, Premier Daniel Andrews announced social distancing restrictions in those areas would be eased late on Wednesday.

Outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people will be permitted, residents of a household will now be allowed to visit one other home, and cafes will be able to seat up to 50 people outside.

https://japantoday.com/category/world/update-2-australia%27s-covid-19-epicentre-reports-no-deaths-from-the-virus-for-first-time-in-2-months

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Australia will receive the first doses of an AstraZeneca and Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine in January 2021 if trials prove successful, after Canberra agreed a deal to purchase a second potential vaccine, Prime Minister Scott Morrison will say on Monday.

Australia said in August it had signed a preliminary agreement with AstraZeneca for enough doses for its population of nearly 26 million, which would be manufactured locally by pharmaceutical company CSL.

That deal appeared in some doubt when CSL said its priority was manufacturing an alternative potential vaccine developed with the University of Queensland (UQ).

Agreeing a deal to overcome the potential roadblock, Australia will now also buy 51 million doses of the UQ vaccine.

It will take possession of the first 3.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in January and February 2021, and then receive a further 30 million doses, Morrison will say in extracts from an announcement sent to Reuters.

AstraZeneca’s candidate is seen as a frontrunner in a global race to deliver an effective coronavirus vaccine.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-australia/australia-to-receive-first-batch-of-astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-in-january-2021-pm-to-say-idUSKBN25X0HU

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More than 84 million doses of potential coronavirus vaccines will be rolled out to Australians in stages across next year, if "promising" drug trials prove successful.

The Federal Government has already announced its intent to purchase a leading international vaccine candidate, from Oxford University and Astrazeneca, for local manufacturing if trials succeed.

It has now secured agreement for that vaccine, along with another candidate from the University of Queensland and CSL, also to be produced locally, as part of a $1.7 billion supply and production agreement.

Under the deal, early access to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine could see some Australians being vaccinated as soon as January, with 3.8 million doses expected in the first two months of 2021.

Australians will only need to take one of the successful vaccine candidates, with an initial dose followed by a booster dose of the same vaccine within weeks.

It is likely vulnerable people and front-line health workers will be provided with vaccinations first.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-06/free-coronavirus-vaccine-to-be-made-available-throughout-20212/12635174

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The state at the epicentre of Australia’s second-wave of COVID-19 infections said on Monday the number of new cases fell to a near two-month low, allowing authorities to detail in a week’s time how stringent lockdown measures will be lifted.

Victoria said it has detected 73 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, the lowest since July 3.

The easing number of COVID-19 cases comes as the state capital Melbourne begins its fourth week of a six-week lockdown that sees residents confined to their homes, a nightly curfew imposed and large parts of the state economy ordered to close.

The total lockdown is set to end on Sep 13, and with cases falling, state Premier Daniel Andrews said his government will on Sunday detail how restrictions will be slowly eased.

Coronavirus restrictions have caused Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions to fall to their lowest level since 1998, the latest official data suggests.

National emissions in the June quarter 2020 were estimated to be 8% – or about 10m tonnes of carbon dioxide – lower than a year earlier.

The energy and emissions reduction minister, Angus Taylor, said the reductions in preliminary data to June had been caused by “unsustainable restrictions on Australians’ livelihoods and freedom to travel”, including a 79% reduction in emissions caused by jet fuel.

Emissions from petrol were also down 26% in June, compared to the previous year.

“With the impacts of Covid-19 restrictions being felt across the economy, emissions have reduced as expected,” Taylor said.

The figures, released by the Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, give preliminary results to the end of June and official data to March.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/aug/31/australian-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fall-to-lowest-level-since-1998-under-covid-restrictions

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The number of new Covid-19 cases in Victoria has dropped below 100 for the first time since 5 July but the state has recorded another 18 deaths, 16 of those linked to aged care outbreaks.

The premier, Daniel Andrews, said while announcing the 94 new cases that the downward trend was promising but cases would need to drop to “the lowest number we can get” before restrictions were eased.

“We will make announcements soon about the path ahead,” he said.

“We still have to see further days of these numbers dipping and we want them to come down to a very low number – the lowest number we can get them to – because that will mean we can have much greater confidence that we can stay on top of this and open up.”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/29/victorias-new-coronavirus-cases-fall-to-lowest-rate-in-two-months-as-18-more-die-from-covid-19

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Australia’s second most populous state - the epicentre of the country’s latest COVID-19 outbreak - said on Friday it expects to soon report just double digit daily rises in new infections, as a stringent lockdown slows the spread of the virus.

Victoria state said it has detected 113 new cases in the past 24 hours, unchanged from the previous day, and well below the one-day record of 725 cases reported in early August.

Authorities said they expect cases numbers to fall below 100 as soon as the weekend, four weeks into a six-week hard lockdown of around 5 million people in the state capital, Melbourne.

“It’s not gotten below 100 (per day) yet, I do expect that to happen, if not over the weekend, then by next week,” Victoria state Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton told reporters in Melbourne.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-australia-state/australias-covid-19-hotspot-expects-fewer-than-100-cases-a-day-by-next-week-idUSKBN25N36X

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