In the UK: Dentists face a “tsunami” of untreated tooth decay because children have been kept away from dental surgeries during lockdown.
Half of parents in the UK said their children had missed a check-up since March, according to an Opinium survey for the Association of Dental Groups (ADG), which represents practices across the country.
The survey of 2,000 people included 622 parents, with 31% saying their family had decided not to go for a check-up or make an appointment. Another 13% said they had not been able to get an appointment – a sign of the growing problem of delays caused by the pandemic.
Dental practices were forced to shut after coronavirus hit, but have been allowed to reopen since 8 June.
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Hopes for New Zealand-Australia travel bubble by end of year
Australian trade minister Simon Birmingham hopes a travel bubble between Australia and New Zealand can be put in place by the end of the year.
But he says “first and foremost” Australian states must open up to one another as great progress is being made.
Birmingham said opening up an international border with New Zealand would be a “great step” and work is being done to make sure this can be done in a safe way.
“We’re making sure we have all the work done, all the preparations there so that we can safely achieve that bubble with New Zealand,” the minster told ABC News Weekend Breakfast.
“It’s up to them as to whether they choose to open up to Australia, but we’re certainly making sure that we’re prepared and I’m hopeful that could be this year.”
Australia and
New Zealand can be put in place by the end of the year. Photograph: Rafael Ben-Ari/Alamy Stock Photo
The Australian government also announced $250m to boost tourism and infrastructure in Australia’s regions which have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
This includes $50m for a regional tourism recovery initiative to assist businesses in regions heavily reliant on international tourism.
A further $200m will be injected into the “building better regions fund” to boost infrastructure in regional communities, $100m of which will be dedicated to tourism-related infrastructure.
“We want to make sure that our tourism regions are in the best possible shape on the other side of the Covid-19 pandemic,” Birmingham said.
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For Victorians looking to make sense of the new changes coming in tomorrow, here’s a handy explainer.
Victoria will now base its decisions about public health restrictions on case numbers, rather than aspirational dates, the premier said. This could mean the state would take its next step towards lifting restrictions as early as 19 October, with an aim for a “Covid-normal Christmas”, premier Daniel Andrews said.
Stage four restrictions have been in effect across metropolitan Melbourne since Sunday 2 August.
Andrews announced his government’s roadmap for easing coronavirus lockdown restrictions on Sunday 6 September. Some small changes came into effect on midnight 13 September, and further changes were announced on 27 September, to come into effect by the next day.
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Before the coronavirus outbreak, there was a sense that western Sydney – despite its challenges – was on the up. With a booming population, it had become the third-biggest economy in Australia, trailing only the Sydney CBD and Melbourne.
And with an international airport on the way and plenty of infrastructure spending by the state government, there was optimism it would continue to generate jobs and economic growth.
Its population growth has outpaced Sydney as a whole every year for the past six years. That made it an economic engine, fuelling population-serving industries such as construction and retail. But the growth had a hidden weakness: the labour market.
India records 88,600 new Covid cases and 1,124 deaths
India recorded 88,600 new cases of coronavirus on Sunday, taking the country’s official toll to just under 6 million (5,992,532), according to the country’s official figures. Deaths increased by 1,124 to 94,503.
India has the world’s second-highest number of cases, behind the US, and the third-highest number of deaths.
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As Victoria reaches the end of its second wave of the coronavirus, the focus is now on ensuring a third wave doesn’t hit as Australia heads into summer.
Guardian Australia spoke to leading epidemiologists about the lessons learned from other countries, particularly in Europe, that are experiencing a resurgence in cases.
What does Australia need to do to avoid a third wave? Lessons from other parts of the world show we should lock down early, rely on evidence – and get used to wearing masks.
Asked about any changes to be made to Victoria’s contact-tracing system (which has faced criticism) since officials visited New South Wales, Andrews said both sides learned from each other but the biggest outcome was that NSW would be adopting Victoria’s IT system.
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Q: Premier, on Friday you testified at the hotel quarantine inquiry, leading national cabinet, you had no expectation of defence force support at the hotel quarantine scheme, yet on July 27th, you responded: “We utilise private security, we will also utilise members of Victoria police and I’m very grateful to the prime minister for his offer of support from the Australian defence force.” Why did you mislead the inquiry?
Andrews: Well, I didn’t, because you omitted a very important word – extensive support. I had no expectation whatsoever of extensive support coming to us from the ADF. That is what I took away from the national cabinet meeting in very plain and clear terms. I fully acknowledge that there would be, in my judgment, a very different arrangement in New South Wales. I detailed why that was the case yesterday.
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