00:42
A little more on the update from NSW, where no new cases have been recorded in the past 24 hours but four new cases have been recorded in people in hotel quarantine.
Health authorities in the state test sewage outflows for virus traces, and tests from Wednesday turned out positive for the Rouse Hill area that is a catchment for 120,000 people.
So anyone living in the areas listed here and showing any symptoms at all are being asked by NSW Health to get tested.
Quakers Hill, Castle Hill, Annangrove, Kellyville, Box Hill, Kenthurst, Glenhaven, The Ponds, Rouse Hill, North Kellyville, Kellyville Ridge, Beaumont Hills, Stanhope Gardens, Baulkham Hills, Glenwood, Bella Vista, Parklea, Acacia Gardens and Norwest.
00:34
Australia’s ABC has reporters talking to people who are crossing the Western Australia border that opened at midnight on Friday after being shut for seven months.
There are two main road checkpoints where people are moving through to work, see friends and be reunited with family.
The Victoria Highway takes people from the Northern Territory to WA in the north, and the Eyre Highway crosses the South Australia border in the south.
In the north, a police officer a few minutes ago told the ABC that 46 people had crossed since midnight.
In the south, about 35 people were waiting at the border for the restrictions to lift at midnight, the ABC reported.
One driver at the South Australia checkpoint said he was heading to meet his new grandson, who he had never met because of the border closure.
Any arrivals into WA from people who have been in NSW or Victoria will have to self-quarantine for 14 days.
00:29
Good morning, afternoon or evening. Graham Readfearn here in Australia taking you through the next several hours of live coverage of the global coronavirus pandemic.
It has been a grim 24 hours globally, with more than 666,000 cases recorded in one day.
That stands in sharp relief when writing here from Australia where restrictions are being lifted and community transmission appears under control. All seven new cases reported on Friday were overseas arrivals.
Here’s a summary of where things are at:
- According to Johns Hopkins University, the world had its worst day of the pandemic with 11,617 more people dead and more than 666,000 new cases recorded in 24 hours.
- Western Australia opened its border at midnight, with cars streaming in. Arrivals from NSW and Victoria will need to self-quarantine for 14 days, but people from other states can enter freely.
- Some 455 people who arrived on flights from New Zealand since November 5 are being contacted by health authorities in NSW after concerns of a mystery case in Auckland.
- Victoria on Saturday recorded its 15th consecutive day with no new cases or deaths. NSW also recorded no local cases on Saturday.
- US President Donald Trump gave his first press conference since losing the election, saying his administration would not order a lockdown despite rising infection rates and more than 100,000 new cases being recorded daily for the past seven days. The pandemic has killed more than 240,000 people in the US.
- Trump said a vaccine would ship in a few weeks to vulnerable people. Governors in Oregon and New Mexico ordered partial lockdowns.
- Liverpool FC’s talisman striker Mohamed Salah has tested positive for coronavirus.
Stay with us and stay safe.