VIRUS VIC
Victoria has suspended international flights for the next five days as the state experiences its third lockdown.
VIRUS VIC LOCKDOWN
Residents and businesses in Victoria are adapting to the first day of the five-day lockdown [[until 11:59 pm Wednesday]].
Stay-at-home orders apply, with other restrictions including compulsory masks in all settings outside the home, a five-kilometer radius ban on movement, and a ban on all private gatherings.
VIRUS VIC
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says the federal government is providing assistance to Victoria.
VIRUS ORIGIN
The head of the World Health Organisation says no theory about the origin of the coronavirus can be ruled out.
A W-H-O mission to China appeared to reject the idea that the virus may have escaped from a laboratory in the city of Wuhan.
VISA TRAVEL CONCESSIONS
Starting dates for the federal government’s previously announced visa travel concessions have been revealed.
In November, the government announced it would implement temporary changes so partner visa applicants in Australia didn’t have to leave the country to have their visas granted.
VIRUS AGED SUPPORT
The Centre for Cultural Diversity in Ageing has launched a multilingual hotline for older Australians from diverse ((CALD)) backgrounds to access COVID-19 health advice.
US OFFICER MEDAL
The Senate has voted to give the Congressional Gold Medal to Eugene Goodman.
The Capitol Police officer led a violent mob away from the Senate doors on January 6 as they hunted for lawmakers during the presidential electoral count.
FISHING DEATHS
Two men have died after being swept off rocks into the sea at Port Kembla in New South Wales' Illawarra region at the same spot where three men drowned three weeks ago.
VALENTINE SCAMS
There's a warning about romance scams, on Valentine's Day [[February 14th]].
Australians lost $37 million to such scams in 2020, $9 million more than the previous year.
The New South Wales Minister for Better Regulation, Kevin Anderson, says scams usually spike around Valentine's Day.
TENNIS AUSTRALIAN OPEN
Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley has played down fears that injured defending champion Novak Djokovic could pull out of the Australian Open, saying the world number one is "resilient and tough".
