Australia news LIVE Victoria records 1838 new local COVID-19 cases five deaths NSW Premier brings forward changes to state road map

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South Australia has recorded a local case of COVID-19 in a truck driver.

The man, in his 60s, was tested when he entered the state last night after driving freight to and from NSW.

Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier said the man recorded a negative test in NSW earlier in the day, so the transmission risk is considered low.

"It does look like he’s in the very early days of his infection," Dr Spurrier said, noting the man only had "a handful" of close contacts.

Restrictions in the regional town of Mount Gambier have been removed after a positive case was recorded on Monday.

Victoria Police has confirmed it has issued two infringement notices to Premier Daniel Andrews for breaching the Chief Health Officer's directions by failing to wear a mask.

Premier Andrews has received two $200 fines on Friday for not wearing a mask outdoors on Wednesday and Thursday outside Parliament House.

Mr Andrews walking without a mask.

The Premier had earlier apologised after police confirmed they were reviewing footage of him approaching journalists outside Parliament without a face mask.

In a statement, Mr Andrews said before he approached two press conferences this week, he removed his mask “after leaving the car, before I walked to the back doors”.

“I expect Victoria Police to assess this and if they choose to issue a fine, of course I will pay it,” he said. “If they do not issue a fine I will donate the same value to a charity working to support people in this pandemic because whilst this was an oversight, oversights matter. Everyone needs to follow the rules and I am sorry it occurred.”

NSW Health's chief psychiatrist Murray Wright says feeling anxious about the state's reopening is "absolutely normal" and employers should consider the stress and emotional baggage their workers are carrying as a result of the pandemic.

Speaking on ABC News this afternoon, Dr Wright encouraged businesses to take a long course and provide staff with adequate support and regular opportunities to talk about the transition.

"So many people are feeling burnt out, not necessarily because of the impact on their work but for other reasons, whether there's been an economic toll, whether [due to] the challenges of working from home and home-schooling at the same time, or whether it's the disruption to social connections," he said. "These things are also going to have an impact when a person returns to work."

If you’re a bit anxious about leaving lockdown, that’s normal, according to Dr Wright. Credit:Dominic Lorrimer

Dr Wright said anxiety is easier to manage if there are small steps taken along the way.

"I know that's not possible in all workplaces but I think the conversation about, 'What are your concerns about the return to work? How can we help you return to work?' becomes incredibly helpful and supportive."

He said there is excitement but also apprehension, and anyone who doesn't feel a sense of anxiety about resuming activities and habits that have been put to one side during lockdown "probably isn't paying very much attention".

"It's really when those feelings of anxiety get in the way of doing what we want to do, or they persist long after the activity is gone, that's when you need to get some assistance with it."

Dr Wright encouraged continued self-monitoring of personal stress and symptoms.Credit:Rhett Wyman

Dr Wright described the process of emerging from the pandemic as a "journey which has many twists and turns" and encouraged continued self-monitoring of personal stress and symptoms.

This includes whether you are getting enough sleep or exercise, achieving what you set out each day, being able to concentrate and tuning in at work.

"Or are you feeling a level of excessive tiredness or fatigue at the end of the day?" Dr Wright asked. "If any of those self-monitoring signals come up that things are not going well, then that's a sign that maybe the stress of the situation is affecting you, and you can do other things such as seek advice from your GP or a counsellor."

Victorian judges and magistrates won't be forced to get the COVID-19 vaccines under public health directions released overnight.

But the vaccination rate is "extremely high" anyway, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Anne Ferguson said in a statement a short time ago. Premier Daniel Andrews' announced last week that the mandate would apply to all Victorians who are authorised workers.

The chief justice said in a statement this afternoon that the directions do not apply to judicial officers, and court and tribunal staff.

"Nevertheless, internal inquiries have already shown that they have extremely high levels of vaccination," Chief Justice Ferguson said.

The directions state the policy does not apply to Commonwealth employees and people who work in connection with court proceedings, as well as public sector workers employed by Court Services Victoria.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas said the exemption to the mandatory vaccine direction for court staff and judges was due to "a separation of powers issue". Chief Health Officer Professor Bretton Sutton said the exemption to the mandate was based on advice from the solicitor-general that there were constitutional issues and "other legal protections".

Court Services Victoria, which employs court staff, is likely to introduce its own policy of requiring staff who attend court to be vaccinated following consultation with staff. But the mandate does apply to legal practitioners. The reasons for the exemptions for certain court staff and judicial officers are not yet known.

Chief Justice Ferguson said each jurisdiction would continue to minimise the number of people who physically attend court buildings by continuing to conduct a large proportion of matters online.

"When the lockdown lifts, the courts and VCAT will continue to operate through a mixture of remote and in person hearings," she said. "The Courts and VCAT encourage all those attending our locations to be vaccinated."

The heads of the courts have been treading carefully in their public statements on the issue because there is a legal challenge to the mandate before the Supreme Court brought by a Victorian relief teacher and her husband.

In a statement last week, Chief Justice Ferguson said of the legal challenges: "Those matters will be heard and determined according to law. The Courts and VCAT will therefore not be making comment or responding to inquiries that go directly or indirectly to questions of legality of the directions."

Operational changes, she said, "should not be taken as expression of a judicial view about legal issues before the courts."

Mr Pallas said the same separation of powers issues also applied to members of parliament, meaning politicians also could not be directed under public health requirements to get the vaccine. Nevertheless, parliament would make its own rules to require MPs to get a vaccine, he said.

"We are not applying one rule for Victorians who are mandated to behave in a certain way and not applying the same rigor and responsibility to members of parliament," he said. "It's not only fair, it's a moral imperative that the thing the state is asking of the community, members of parliament apply to themselves."

Premier Daniel Andrews has apologised after vision of him not wearing a mask at the back of Parliament House in Melbourne was circulated online.

Mr Andrews was filmed not wearing a mask while he was walking from his vehicle across a car park, before fronting a press pack outside parliament.

In a statement, Mr Andrews said before he approached two press conferences this week, he removed his mask “after leaving the car, before I walked to the back doors”.

“I expect Victoria Police to assess this and if they choose to issue a fine, of course I will pay it,” he said.

“If they do not issue a fine I will donate the same value to a charity working to support people in this pandemic because whilst this was an oversight, oversights matter. Everyone needs to follow the rules and I am sorry it occurred.”

Current Victorian COVID-19 rules require Victorians to wear a mask outdoors and those caught breaking the Chief Health Officer’s direction face a fine of $200.

Victoria Police has confirmed it will be ending its enforcement of travel between states along the Victoria-NSW state border "due to updated health advice".

A spokeswoman said the police presence along the Murray River and surrounding areas would "gradually reduce over the next few days" before the operation officially comes an end next Tuesday.

Police will discontinue vehicle checks near the NSW border in Victoria.Credit: Jason Robins 

Around 100 police resources allocated to work along the state border will now be redeployed to patrol the divide between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.

The state's regional areas, aside from the shires of Mitchell, Greater Shepparton and Moorabool, are currently out of lockdown.

Another 200 officers who were deployed along the border will return to their original place of work or assist with COVID-19 enforcement operations.

Victoria is closing in on the peak of its coronavirus cases, according to the Chief Health Officer, after hitting the highest case load today since the pandemic began.

Professor Brett Sutton said while he didn’t think Friday’s 1838 cases was the state’s peak, he believes Victoria is now “close” to its highest numbers.

“The specific numbers for today are always a concern because it reflects ongoing significant transmission and a number of positive cases in the community,” he said.

“But our numbers in ICU, the numbers of those hospitalised is not rising at the same rate, and that's a very good sign in terms of what vaccines are doing now.”

But Professor Sutton noted that there was a three to four-week lag from peak case numbers to be reflected in hospital and intensive care admissions.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has confirmed that people who need a booster shot will be allowed to change vaccines for their third shot, with the mRNA jabs made by Pfizer and Moderna preferred over AstraZeneca.

Professor Paul Kelly emphasised that the advice was not any reflection of the quality of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

“It is a good vaccine,” Professor Kelly said.

For people who had Pfizer or Moderna for their first two doses, health authorities recommend that the same vaccine be used for a third short.

For those who have had AstraZeneca for their first two doses, the recommendation is that it be replaced with an mRNA vaccine for their third jab.

Professor Kelly said he was hopeful that the third dose of the vaccine is all that will be required for a person’s lifetime, but cautioned that more research would be done as health experts gather more data.

Victorian children in grade 3 and up will be required to wear a mask while at school, after a new ruling from the state’s Chief Health Officer.

Professor Brett Sutton said while pupils in prep to grade 2 are not mandated to wear a mask while in the classroom, it would be “strongly recommended”.

“We’ve certainly seen in countries such as England or the UK where schools reopened without strong mask use from the get go … there was an estimated 8 per cent of students absent from school in those early weeks with suspected or confirmed COVID, or as close contacts,” he said.

Royal Children’s Hospital paediatrician Jane Munro said Victoria needs to “come together as a community” to get children back to school and keep them in classrooms while reducing the spread.

“Kids are great. They adapt. They are resilient, and we can easily show them the way and how to wear a mask,” she said.

In another change, Professor Sutton said at midnight tonight, directions which previously restricted the consumption of alcohol outdoors while masks were mandated would be removed.

“That’s really a reflection of a push to more outdoor recreational activities, including picnics. It’s as welcome change for many, I’m sure.”

More than 35 per cent of today’s Victorian COVID-19 cases were found in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.

There were 631 cases found in the city’s north, with the Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton noting that the area has around 7100 active cases, or 42 per cent of the state’s current caseload.

A significant amount of Victorian COVID-19 cases are in Melbourne’s northern suburbs.Credit:Enrique Ascui

Thirty per cent of Friday’s new cases were found in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

Regional Victoria accounted for 113 new cases on Friday morning, with 18 found in the city of Geelong.

The state’s “border bubble” will also be extended, with the local government areas of Benalla, Greater Bendigo, Buloke, Loddon and Yarriambiack, and some NSW LGAs including Wagga Wagga and Hay to be added back into the scheme from 11.59pm tonight.

Professor Sutton will make a decision today if Greater Shepparton and the Moorabool Shire will be able to exit lockdown and join the rest of regional Victoria.

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