LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
* Victoria recorded nine new cases of COVID-19 on Monday and no deaths for the first time since September 15.
* NSW has extended its streak of no community transmission but authorities are concerned by a drastic drop in testing rates as people flock to beaches.
* Queensland has recorded no new cases and has just six active cases in the state.
* Western Australia has recorded one new COVID-19 case but the infected crew of a ship off the state's coast are continuing to recover.
* The Northern Territory will relax its travel restrictions on regional Victoria from next month.
* All Victorian students will be back in the classroom by the end of the month but there's no guarantee the state will meet targets needed to relax coronavirus restrictions.
* Australia's response to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic may have saved more than 16,000 additional lives, medical research suggests.
* The treatment being provided to US President Donald Trump could pave the way to fighting COVID-19, says one of Australia's top scientists.
* Senior cabinet ministers have defended the controversial decision to base federal budget forecasts on the availability of a coronavirus vaccine.
* Tuesday's federal budget will not provide any relief for people anxious about the future of JobSeeker payments.
* The federal finance minister has questioned the wisdom of Western Australia handing down a budget surplus in the middle of a global economic downturn.
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ECONOMY
* Australian workers can expect fast-tracked personal income tax cuts as the federal budget plots a path out of recession.
* Business conditions have improved to pre-pandemic levels, while confidence has built on its recent gains heading into the budget.
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KEY DATES
* October 5 - VCE and VCAL students back at school for tests.
* October 8 - Singapore will open to Australian travellers - except Victorians - subject to a COVID-19 test upon arrival.
* October 12 - Melbourne primary school students to return to on-site learning.
* October 26 - Tasmania's state of emergency due to expire.
* November 1 - Queensland border reopened to NSW visitors subject to conditions being met.
* November 2 - Regional Victoria residents allowed to travel to the Northern Territory if case numbers remain low.
* November 6 - Victoria's hotel quarantine inquiry report due.
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AUSTRALIAN CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS
* There were 11 new cases in Australia - nine in Victoria, one in NSW and one in Western Australia.
* The national death toll is 894: Victoria 806, NSW 55, Tasmania 13, WA 9, Queensland 6, SA 4, ACT 3. (Two Queensland residents who died in NSW have been included in the official tolls of both states.)
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GLOBAL CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS
* Cases: at least 35,400,897
* Deaths: at least 1,041,829
* Recovered: at least 26,629,310
Data current as of 1730 AEDT October 5, taking in federal government and state/territory government updates, Worldometer and Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centre.
