Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews mandates face coverings across Victoria.

A surge in COVID-19 cases in Victoria has prompted the State Government to impose additional restrictions in six local government areas and mandate face coverings across the entire state, effective 11.59pm on 2 August.

The new restrictions mean residents of City of Greater Geelong, the Shires of Colac Otway, Golden Plains, Moorabool, Surf Coast and the Borough of Queenscliffe are no longer allowed to visit people in a private home, except for compassionate reasons or for work or education.

Visit the DHHS website for more information.

As COVID-19 cases surpass 17 million across more than 200 countries, Burnet Institute researchers are releasing technical and policy briefs, and analyses of the global situation to inform governments, policymakers and the general public.

The Knowledge Hub for COVID-19 (Know-C19 Hub) is the gateway to our research findings, policy and technical reports, and also latest news about Burnet’s COVID-19 work. The Know C-19 Hub actively seeks to address gaps in knowledge and collate and provide novel strategic information on COVID-19 to inform the Australian and International response.

Read the latest updates below or visit the Know-C19 Hub page.

Read Burnet’s latest Global Analysis, which examines decentralised community-based testing and tracing in Massachusetts, USA and South Korea. The analysis compares responses in residential aged care in Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Sweden and the USA. It also examines the latest progress in vaccine treatment development.

Burnet’s response

Burnet’s public health and laboratory-based COVID-19 researchers are contributing to innovative and evidence-based solutions to the global pandemic.

A snapshot of Burnet’s activities

• Burnet is working directly with the Australian Department of Health to collate and provide rapid, data-driven technical briefs and policy options to Federal and state Chief Medical Officers across a broad range of key policy, public health and clinical responses.
• Staff been seconded to the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services providing an additional layer of expertise to support the Victorian response.
• We are also pivoting funding from sources such as DFAT to support COVID-19 responses in Papua New Guinea and Myanmar.
• Our internal COVID-19 Management Team is supporting activities across the Institute and finding solutions to maintain operations amid the lockdown.

Global situation

The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged for unity and clear communications in the fight against “public enemy number one”, as COVID-19 cases surpass 17 million.

As some of the world’s most populous countries contend with increasing caseloads and others face second waves of infections, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned there would be no return to the ‘old normal’ for some time.

“If the basics aren’t followed, there is only one way this pandemic is going to go,” Dr Tedros said in an address to media.

“Every single leader, every single government and every single person can do their bit to break chains of transmission and end the collective suffering.”

He said in the absence of an effective vaccine, governments needed to reach a situation where they could control the spread of the virus without shutting down economies, or lurching from lockdown to lockdown.

(Image: WHO’s Situation Dashboard)

The WHO’s Global Situation Reports are updated daily on their website and you can also view the latest global cases via the Situation Dashboard/Map.

Globally the 17 million mark was surpassed on 30 July according to the Johns Hopkins University in the US.

Myanmar and Papua New Guinea

There have been 353 confirmed cases in Myanmar and 63 in Papua New Guinea.

Papua New Guinea has reported a surge in new infections in recent days, prompting authorities to warn the country’s fragile health system could buckle.

Most recent cases are linked to an outbreak at Port Moresby’s main hospital.

Australian situation

Visit health.gov.au to keep in touch with the current status of Australian cases.

LINKS and RESOURCES

• covid19evidence.net.au/
• chiefscientist.gov.au/RRIF
• nhmrc.gov.au/about-us/leadership-and-governance/committees/national-covid-19-health-and-research-advisory-committee
• who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/technical-guidance
• health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert
• gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.