As it happened: Masks off outdoors in Victoria for last stage of easing, NSW to open to Victorians from Monday

What a difference a border makes.

It seems only a blink ago that much of Australia looked askance at Victoria as the coronavirus roared out of control in Melbourne. State borders slammed shut. Victorians were no longer welcome.

And suddenly, it is over. At least for now.

To the north, NSW is busily dismantling the border posts that have denied so many Victorians free passage since the barriers went up on August 9.

Scott Morrison has joined world leaders to demand global access to coronavirus vaccines at a virtual G20 summit which was dominated by efforts to tackle the pandemic and the worst global recession in decades.

The Prime Minister, attending while quarantining at The Lodge in Canberra over the weekend, called for more coordinated international action to respond to the crisis, likening the response needed to the key role the G20 played in the wake of the global financial crisis 12 years ago.

World leaders, including departing US President Donald Trump, popped up in multiple windows across a flickering screen for the two-day gathering as international efforts focus on a large-scale rollout of coronavirus vaccines after recent breakthroughs in trials.

Mr Trump, who is yet to concede the US election, went golfing after making a brief appearance at the cyber summit, during which it is believed he was tweeting about the election result as the Saudi King made his opening remarks.

Senior Department of Health and Human Services officials, including Brett Sutton and Euan Wallace, will be grilled at a parliamentary inquiry investigating Victoria's contact tracing system.

The parliamentary inquiry was established against the government's will last month when most upper house crossbenchers supported Liberal MP Georgie Crozier's motion for another inquiry into the government's performance during the deadly second wave.

The inquiry heard from a number of people last week, including Chief Scientist Alan Finkel, the boss of Cedar Meats and Australian Medical Association's Victorian president Julian Rait.

It was told contact tracers brought in to assist the government were given two-day training courses and a script spanning 150 pages to learn before starting their new roles.

The daily tally of reported COVID-19 cases in Japan hit a record for the fourth day in a row, with 2508 people confirmed infected, the health ministry said on Sunday.

Japan has had fewer than 2000 coronavirus-related deaths so far, avoiding the toll of the harder hit nations, but fears are growing about another surge.

A flurry of criticism has erupted from opposition legislators and the public, slamming the government as having acted too slowly in halting its “GoTo” campaign, which encouraged travel and dining out with discounts.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced the decision Saturday. But many people had already made travel reservations for this three-day Thanksgiving weekend in Japan.

Victoria can again breathe easy.

After four months of having to cover our faces when stepping out the front door, we can let our masks slip.

We will still need to wear them in public buildings and outdoors when caught in a crowd but, for the first time since the second wave epidemic crested, we will be guided by common sense instead of a hardline, public health edict.

The changed mask rule does three things.

They’ve gone through more ups and downs than many engaged couples, but Tennille McNamara and Elliott Richardson are thrilled their wedding can go ahead this Friday with all 60 of their guests.

At one stage during the COVID lockdown, the number permitted to be present at a wedding fell to just five.

That would have resulted in the "heartbreaking" decision to exclude Ms McNamara’s children Harper, 13, and Jackson.

During the pandemic, the maximum number of wedding guests varied from 10 to 50 and finally on Sunday came the happy news from Premier Daniel Andrews that up to 150 would be allowed at weddings.