As it happened: Victoria records 1313 new COVID-19 cases, four lives lost; NSW records 261 new local cases, one death; heavy rain lashes parts of the country

• Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the jobless figures covered the period September 26 and October 9, and confirmed “what we already know, that lockdowns cost jobs”. But there was “good reason to be optimistic and confident about the Australian economy”, Mr Frydenberg said. “Consumer confidence up now eight out of the last nine weeks. Job ads are more than 30 per cent higher than they were at the start of the pandemic and at a 12-year high.”
• Emergency services in northern NSW made six rescues within 24 hours when campers and motorists were trapped by floodwaters, as authorities warn of thunderstorms bringing intense rainfall and dangerous road conditions into Friday. The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning for heavy rainfall from Thursday afternoon for the North West Slopes and Plains, Northern Tablelands and parts of the Northern Rivers, Mid North Coast, Hunter, Central Tablelands, Central West Slopes and Plains, South West Slopes and Riverina. Read more here.

• Today is a “milestone day”, federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said this morning: 90 per cent of Australians aged 16 and up have received a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine by the end of the day. This is worth celebrating, but it is also worth noting the warning of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) yesterday that vaccination rates among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are “dangerously lagging” the nation, and they are at risk as the country opens up.

• The national double-dose vaccination rate for Australians aged 16 and up is above 80 per cent, and the national plan for easing coronavirus restrictions is tied to a national 80 per cent target. But just 54.5 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are fully vaccinated against the virus, the RACGP said yesterday, and 66.2 per cent have received one dose.

• NSW has recorded 261 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 and one death, an unvaccinated woman in her 60s from south-western Sydney with underlying health conditions. That’s up from 216 cases yesterday. Cases are rising the Sydney local health district, but Hunter New England is again at the epicentre of the current outbreak. It accounts for 60 of today’s cases. There are 228 coronavirus patients in the state’s hospitals, 40 of whom are in intensive care. Sixteen people require ventilation.
• NSW Deputy Chief Health Officer Marianne Gale said 27 of the 40 people receiving intensive care treatment were not vaccinated and seven had received a first dose.
• As at the end of Tuesday, 90.4 per cent of people aged 16 and up in NSW were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and 94 per cent had received a first dose. Of course, a third dose is now available to some immunocompromised people as part of their primary vaccination course and booster shots are also being rolled out for people who received a second jab at least six months ago. In the 12 to 15-year-old age group, which is counted separately in NSW, 71.1 per cent of kids are fully vaccinated and 80.3 per cent have had their first jab.

• Victoria recorded 1313 new cases of COVID-19 and four deaths. This is up from yesterday’s total of 1003 cases. There are 457 coronavirus patients in Victorian hospitals, of whom 79 are in intensive care. Forty-eight are on a ventilator. Vaccination rates continue to increase: 85 per cent of Victorian residents aged 12 and over (not 16 and over, as is measured in NSW) are now fully vaccinated.

• Queensland recorded another two locally acquired cases of COVID-19, including a second mystery case on the Gold Coast. A fully vaccinated Uber driver in his 50s from Carrara has tested positive to the virus and has not been linked to a mystery infection reported yesterday in a 32-year-old man living at Pacific Pines. A teenager from Beaudesert has also tested positive to the virus but she is a close contact of the second case reported yesterday. Their infections are linked to an outbreak across the NSW border in Moree.

• Queenslanders were allowed to take off their masks at indoor venues, including schools, cafes and hairdressers, from yesterday afternoon after the state hit its 80 per cent first-dose vaccination milestone for people aged 16 and up. But Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has warned that new restrictions may be imposed if there is more unlinked community transmission on the Gold Coast in the next 24 to 48 hours.

• The ACT recorded nine new locally acquired cases of COVID-19, but nobody is in hospital with the virus and there have been no further deaths. As ever, Canberra is leading the way in vaccinations: 95.8 per cent of people aged 12 and up are fully vaccinated against the virus.
• From 11.59pm tonight, coronavirus restrictions will be eased across Canberra, and dancing will once again be permitted at indoor venues. There will be no cap on the number of visitors in homes or at informal outdoor gatherings. Masks will still be mandatory in some high-risk settings, including aged care facilities, as well as on public transport.

This is Michaela Whitbourn signing off on the blog for this evening. My colleague Broede Carmody will be back with you early tomorrow morning.

Damaging winds over several hours may affect Tibooburra, Wilcannia, White Cliffs, Broken Hill, Fowlers Gap and Milparinka, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

In addition to damaging winds, heavy rainfall that may lead to flash-flooding could impact Orange, Dubbo, Parkes, Griffith, Cobar and Bourke.

Earlier, the bureau said Narrabri, within the North West Slopes, had received 76mm of rain yesterday - more than its average monthly rainfall for November - while 94mm fell to the town’s north-west in Delungra.

The Department of Health also tweeted on Thursday evening a reminder that there are new requirements for fully vaccinated international travellers and aircrew arriving in the state.

To come into Victoria, travellers have to obtain an international COVID-19 vaccination certificate or proof of a medical exemption.

All those aged 12 and over have to apply for an international passenger travel permit from Service Victoria, and also receive a negative COVID-19 test result no earlier than the 72 hours prior to their departure.

They will also need to carry evidence of their vaccination, exemption and the result of a COVID-19 test taken within 24 hours of their arrival in Victoria for 14 days.

The hospitals and day surgeries would continue to prioritise time-critical and urgent elective procedures.

The statement indicated that, with surges in COVID-19 cases still predicted to come, the elective surgery capacity could at some point be scaled down again.

A small number of metropolitan public hospitals that were not designated as major COVID-19 streaming sites would also expand their elective surgery to half-capacity.

“Other regional and rural public hospitals will continue to provide elective surgery as they have been doing but may temporarily defer non-urgent elective surgery if necessary to support local outbreaks,” the statement said.

“Public health services operating COVID streaming sites will continue to provide urgent elective surgery and emergency surgery only.”

“The cost of making a burger over the past 20 months has almost doubled,” she said.

Ms Sun said the price rises also reflected the ballooning costs of employing staff in a workforce depleted by border closures.

Read the full story here.

“You don’t have to wear a face mask in the venue, but you’ll need one if you’re using public transport or ride share services. You can eat and drink while standing up.”

There will be no limit on the number of guests permitted in households or at informal outdoor gatherings.

Face masks remain mandatory in some high-risk settings, including hospitals and aged-care facilities, and on public transport and in schools.