As it happened: Victoria records 51 new COVID-19 cases as Queensland Premier lashes Scott Morrison for border intervention; Australian death toll jumps to 788

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This is Rachael Dexter signing off. Please stay safe, look after one another and goodnight.

It follows the dramatic arrest last Wednesday of pregnant Ballarat woman Zoe Buhler, who was charged with incitement over a Facebook post in which she encouraged people to attend a rally against coronavirus lockdown restrictions.

Mr Pecora told The Age on his way to hand himself in at St Kilda Police Station that the raid had shaken him, his wife and their young child.

“I’ve tried to comply with their protocols,” he said. "This is getting very heavy."

A police spokesperson reiterated their intention to crack down on potential protest actions over the weekend.

"Once again over this weekend we will have resources committed to ensuring that people who deliberately put public health and safety at risk by breaching the directions receive fines or are arrested, if necessary," the spokesperson said.

[Read more]

Shopping, running, walking the dog

These were some of the common things people cited when describing how they would make use of the time.

I often would do the grocery shopping after 8pm as my husband and I both still work so by the time we finish, pick up my son from childcare, cook dinner and get my son to bed it's already past curfew. The supermarkets are also a lot quieter at that time which is a bonus!
Sarah

Might go to the supermarket when there are fewer people around
Damien Coleman

Walk after dinner for 1 hr of exercise when few people out (lower risk)
Anonymous

There are a significant number of persons working in construction that cannot function within the lockdown hours. People leave their homes at 5 am (and earlier) and return home between 6:30 and 8 pm. What quality of life do these people have? The people who have worked all the way through the lockdown, worn a mask, social distanced followed the ever increasing number of restrictions etc and cannot even go home and go for a walk, or even go shopping for essentials because its too late - people cannot go and enjoy time with family because its 'too late'. It is absolutely ridiculous not to give consideration to these situations - myself and many hundreds of others are in the same situation. It has been extremely challenging and mentally exhausting to work with the restrictions, let alone having to go home and do more of the same. My co workers are all challenged and the stress and strain and mental issues are visibly evident.
Rebecca

Take my infant child out for a drive to go to sleep -its the only way he will settle.

Anonymous

I would do nothing different and continue to follow the stay at home rules. BUT removal of the "curfew" would remove me of a very weighty psychological burden and add just a little hope in what appears to be an almost hopeless situation which those of us who are obeying the instructions can do no more to assist.
Byron

Go to the shops and walk my dog after 8:00 once my three children are in bed and my husband is home from work.
Kate

Because I am a vulnerable person, I avoid going to supermarkets as much as possible. So far, I have order most of my groceries online for home delivery but they require a minimum spend of $50 plus a delivery charge. Without a curfew, I could do my own shopping late at night when it is safer.

Ken

Stay home

Coming from another perspective, a large number of readers indicated that they would simply stay home if the curfew was lifted but other restrictions were still in place meaning it made no difference to them. Many also expressed support for the policy

Currently with community transmissions out there, (I live in Wyndham) I would not be venturing out, even with no curfew. I would not go shopping or to cinemas, restaurants or bars. Staying home restricts person to person transmission so I am happy for the curfew to stay until we have this thing under better control. I suspect my lack of confidence is widely shared so businesses would not get back all their pre-covid customers anyway.

Chris

Exactly what I'm doing now. Not much.
Lucy

Basically nothing different. The curfew doesn't affect me while restaurants aren't open and I can't see friends. The curfew is a low cost enforcement measure in my view.
PJ

Nothing would have changed so i think curfew must be in place just to deter people from doing the wrong thing and breaching lockdown rules
Anonymous

Nothing, I would still STAY HOME. People are dying! What is it about “reducing the movement of people...AKA potential virus” don’t people get?
Anonymous

Nothing would change - it's not like we can go out for dinner, go to the pub for a beer or visit friends.
Steve

Nothing. Who needs to be out after 8 pm if you’re not working? Fully support continuing it. Why change a winning strategy?
Anonymous

I would do nothing differently. Genuinely straining my brain wondering why reporters need to labor the point that does not need to be made. If you're getting a kebab at 3am you deserve to be fined.
Anonymous

Stay at home.
Anonymous

[Read more of the responses here]

Yesterday, Health Minister Greg Hunt announced he had ordered a national probe into healthcare worker infections and a new approach to setting mask guidelines.

Australian Medical Association President Omar Khorshid said with more than 3300 infections recorded among workers in Victorian hospitals and aged care homes, it was "crystal clear" that national guidelines for use of personal protective equipment "have not adequately protected healthcare workers".

"We've got to do something differently," Dr Khorshid said. "Changes to the guidelines need to be looked at urgently."

The AMA wants higher-grade P2 or N95 respirator masks, not just surgical masks, to be used with all COVID-19 patients and for fit-testing to ensure there are no gaps for viral particles to pass through.

A beefed-up national surveillance program will investigate cases of COVID-19 among healthcare workers across Australia, Mr Hunt announced on Wednesday, with a new panel of frontline staff to work with the expert body advising the federal government on infection control guidelines.

Dr Khorshid said the panel must have representatives from emergency departments, intensive care units and doctors working in aged care, who could bring "frontline expertise" in workplace safety to the table.

• With Dana McCauley

"Sarah doesn't get today back, she never gets it back, and that just fills my heart with sadness."

The Prime Minister said he did not "want this to be an ongoing thing" with the Queensland Premier, after she said she believed Mr Morrison would go to the media about their call.

"I've probably raised more than 40 cases by correspondence, I haven't made those a matter of public record," Mr Morrison said.

"I didn't want to see this become a public issue today."

[Read more about the case here]

The announcement by Mr Andrews on August 14 that a man in his 20s was among the latest 14 COVID-19 victims shocked many and sparked national headlines. The other 13 deaths announced by the Premier that day were people aged in their 80s and 90s.

“We are talking about the youngest person that has died of this virus, or at least with this virus. That’s the other issue that would need to be teased out," Mr Andrews said, adding that a coronial inquiry might be necessary.

A spokeswoman for Judge Cain declined to answer questions about the inquiry into the young man's death.

The revelation of the coroner's inquiry comes amid public debate about how coronavirus-related deaths are being attributed and collated in Australia. By Thursday, Australia had 778 deaths linked to COVID-19.

Under federal Health Department guidelines, a death is defined for surveillance purposes as COVID-19-related if the person dies with the virus and there is no clear alternative cause of death, such as trauma. Those guidelines also stipulate that when a coroner’s report finds a different cause of death, those findings take precedence.

The death of the man in his 20s does not appear to have been recorded as an official COVID-19 death in Australia's National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System.

The system has recorded no COVID-19 related deaths for anyone aged in their 20s or below. The database shows a handful of deaths of people aged in their 30s, while the majority of those who have died have been aged 80 and over.

[Read the full story here]

"It's a privilege to work here but it's also very stressful.

"Someone mentioned that pub choir had become couch choir, and they said 'could we do something like that?'. I said, 'what a great idea!'."

At that moment, when nurses and doctors were more focussed on PPE guidelines than basslines, the hospital's unofficial "scrub choir" was born.

In the early months of the pandemic, the group gained immediate popularity among staff and wrote a song about getting prepared for the pandemic called "Surreal" to encapsulate the movie-like reality.

In the middle months of the pandemic, the choir wrote a song about the experience of living through it.

Their third original track, called "Gratitude", is in the works and will focus on the things staff are thankful for that have helped them cope with the strict lockdown.

The video clips associated with the tracks help illustrate the radical changes to our daily lives as 2020 has progressed, said Dr O'Brien.

"It was a completely different feeling back then before the world changed … There were no masks and we were in much bigger groups," she said.

[Read the full story here]