Coronavirus cases in NSW flatline, but no plans to ease social-distancing lockdown

NSW’s social-distancing shutdown will remain unchanged for the foreseeable future, despite just two new coronavirus infections being recorded yesterday and some other states relaxing their laws.

Yesterday, authorities in Queensland and WA announced COVID-19 restrictions in their states would be eased.

However, Ms Berejiklian today said some aspects of NSW’s social-distancing shutdown were already more relaxed than other states.

“Yes we want to ease restrictions, yes we want people to have a greater sense of normality in their lives, but that comes with obvious consequences,” she said.

“Once people ease back into normal active life, and I’m not going to suggest we are going to go back to what we were until the vaccine is found, the number of cases will go up.

“That’s a fact.”

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Truck driver from Melbourne freeway crash hit with multiple charges over police officer deaths

A 47-year-old truck driver has been charged with four counts of culpable driving causing death, in relation to the freeway crash that killed four police officers.

Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Glen Humphris and Constable Josh Prestney died when the truck crashed into them about 5:30pm on Wednesday after they had intercepted a Porsche on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway at Kew.

The four officers had been standing in the emergency lane of the freeway as they prepared to impound a Porsche 911 that was being driven by 41-year-old Melbourne mortgage broker Richard Pusey.

Police allege Mr Pusey was driving at 149 kilometres per hour when they made the decision to pull him over.

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said on Thursday the truck appeared to have moved from the right-most lane of the freeway to the emergency lane shortly before it hit the officers while travelling at 100 kph.

The officers all died at the scene.

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Australian Government’s coronavirus tracing app COVIDSafe downloaded 1 million times

It took five hours for Australians to download the COVIDSafe app at a rate the Government expected would take five days.

The app was released at 6:00pm AEST on Sunday and by 10:30pm 1 million Australians had downloaded it.

“At 6:00am, it was 1.13 million Australians who had downloaded the app,” Health Minister Greg Hunt said on Monday morning.

“We got the first million within five hours. We had been hoping, our best hope, was we might get to 1 million in five days.”

Downloading the app is voluntary but the Government has previously said 40 per cent of Australians — or 10 million people — need to take up the contact-tracing app for it to be a success.

Health, business and union leaders joined forces on Sunday to call on Australians to download the app.

And politicians across the political spectrum have offered their support, with many taking to social media to post screenshots of the downloaded app.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she had not downloaded it but planned to do so later today.

The state’s Health Minister Steven Miles told ABC Radio Brisbane he was also yet to download the app and would seek his own “advice” to assure himself of its safety.

“I’ve heard those assurances from the Federal Government so I’m sure all of those measures are in place,” he said.

“But I think Queenslanders would want me to be able to tell them that I really was confident in those things so I want to take some time to have a look at it.”