Victoria said on Monday it is considering reimposing social distancing restrictions after the country reported its biggest one-day rise in new coronavirus infections in more than two months.

Propelled by Victoria state reporting 75 cases, Australia recorded 85 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, its biggest daily outbreak since April 11.

Australia has fared better than many countries in the coronavirus pandemic, with around 7,800 cases and 104 deaths, but the recent surge has stoked fears of a second wave after several weeks of fewer than 20 new cases a day.

The resurgence in Australia comes as total infections hit 10 million cases worldwide and the global death toll from the virus tops half a million people.

As new coronavirus cases have mounted, Victoria has embarked on a massive testing regime and the state’s chief health officer said the state may need to re-introduce social distancing restrictions.

“Changing the law is something we have to consider because we have to do whatever is required to turn this around,” Chief Medical Officer Brett Sutton told reporters in Melbourne, referring to questions about enforcing localised lockdowns.

Victorian state officials last week deployed ambulances and mobile test centres in a bid to test most residents in 10 hotspot suburbs.

However, some locals declined the voluntary throat and nasal swab tests. Victoria is hoping a new saliva test, which is less intrusive, will encourage more people to get tested – even though it is slightly less accurate.

“We think it will play a role in bolstering testing reach across the state,” said Professor Sharon Lewin, Director of the Doherty Institute, which developed the test.

“Vulnerable populations or in people who have trouble with the throat swab, such as children or other individuals who find it more acceptable.”

More stimulus needed

In May, Victoria – home to more than 6 million people – began lifting restrictions imposed a month earlier to slow the spread of the virus.

It has pledged to remove the bulk of restrictions by the end of July.

The restrictions, including forcing restaurants and cafes to offer only takeaway services, shutting schools and halting sports proved successful in slowing the spread of COVID-19.

But it was a hammer blow to Australia’s economy, which is heading into its first recession in three decades as the unemployment rate hits a 19-year high of 7.1%.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has called on states to continue easing restrictions, insisting the country’s economy must be revived.

Morrison ruled out a blanket extension of a A$60 billion wage subsidy scheme beyond its scheduled end in September.

“It can’t be sustained forever,” Morrison said, adding that another phase of stimulus at the end of September would be targeted “to the people who need it most”.

The Grattan Institute, an independent think tank, said in a report published on Monday the government needs to inject up to A$90 billion more in stimulus, including extending its wage subsidy programme.

That stimulus was needed before the annual budget in October to bring the unemployment rate down to about 5% by the middle of 2022, the report said.

Reporting Colin Packham

Former ‘Big Brother Australia’ star Priya Malik has praised current contestant Angela Clancy, and said she’s “not surprised” that some viewers have compared the pair for both being outspoken and not afraid of conflict. 

Priya, who was the first contestant of Indian heritage to compete on ‘Big Brother Australia’ back in 2014, said she’s kept across social media commentary on this year’s season while living in India. She noted Angela is “another strong and independent woman of colour”. 

“I haven’t been able to watch Big Brother this year but from whatever I have seen briefly on social media, I am not surprised that people compare me to Angela,” Priya told HuffPost Australia.

“She is yet another strong and independent woman of colour who isn’t afraid to speak her mind. More power to her.” 

Kenyan-born Angela was evicted from the house a few weeks ago, but managed to stay in the competition with Big Brother instead inviting her to a multi-day stay in a secret bunker where she would ‘plot revenge’.

“Whoever nominated me better watch out because I’m going to come back tenfold,” Angela told HuffPost Australia earlier this month, referring to her stay in the secret bunker.

“I’m going to come back like a fireball. I might forgive but I don’t forget.” 

Meanwhile Priya finished in fourth place on the show in 2014.

‘Big Brother Australia’ continues at 7:30pm on Channel 7.

A couple in St. Louis is coming under fire on social media after images and videos showed them aiming guns at protesters who were marching past their home on a private road. 

Footage showed the couple, one with a pistol and the other with what appeared to be a semiautomatic rifle, shouting at the protesters and waving the weapons around. At times, they appeared to be pointing the firearms toward the demonstrators. 

The march was organised by Expect Us, which billed the event as “a call to action against the violence towards Black people.” 

The route reportedly passed the home of Mayor Lyda Krewson, where protesters chanted: “Resign Lyda, take the cops with you.” Local CBS station KMOV reported that demonstrators also painted “RESIGN” in the street outside her home.

Krewson is under pressure to step down after she read aloud the names and home addresses of constituents who had called for police reform during a Facebook Live video, a move critics said equated to doxxing critics of the police. 

She later apologised and deleted the post. 

Hugh Jackman can’t even meet up with old colleagues without Ryan Reynolds finding a way to tear it all apart.

The original “X-Men” cast met for a virtual reunion Saturday as part of the “Global Citizen: Unite For Our Future” benefit concert. Jackman and his costars Halle Berry, Sir Patrick Stewart and Famke Janssen were chatting when his longtime faux nemesis Reynolds crashed the call. 

 

Watch the brief reunion below.