Good morning, team. Welcome to Friday, the best day of all.

1. Two cases of COVID-19 previously linked to Melbourne’s outbreak have been reclassified as false positives, the Department of Health has said. They were cases which had been offered as examples of transmission caused by “fleeting contact” between strangers.

2. Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett told The Age she is optimistic the reclassification of the cases could improve the outlook for the current lockdown. “I think that’s going to be very reassuring for them given that this was a key area of concern,” she said. “So even in an operational sense, that takes some pressure off.”

3. The federal government will spend “hundreds of millions” on a Victorian quarantine facility, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham has confirmed. “The memorandum of understanding that we have provided to the state government is broadly in accordance with what they had asked for,” Mr Birmingham told “News Breakfast”. “We will fund the construction of the facility and the Victorian government will operate the facility, creating additional quarantine places in their system.

4. NSW has been asked to send its Pfizer doses to Victoria. The southern state’s peak medical body argues that suppression of community transmission would benefit Australia as a whole. Asked whether it will actually do this, a spokesperson for NSW Health said the federal government is “leading the vaccine roll-out and is responsible for securing and distributing COVID-19 vaccines, with states and territories responsible for implementing parts of the program”.

5. Victorian workers impacted by the state’s two-week lockdown will soon be offered up to $500 a week under a new federal government payment scheme. But they must first pass a strict list of eligibility requirements, and must have less than $10,000 in liquid assets. The scheme has been welcomed by some industry groups, but others have called for broader support.

6. Australia’s rental vacancy rate has fallen to pre-pandemic levels, according to Domain. Melbourne remains a unique outlier, with a residential rental vacancy rate of 3.8%, and a faster downturn than any other capital city. Data suggests Victorian renters may be flocking to traditionally student-heavy suburbs left empty by border closures.

7. Australian delivery services have been under intense scrutiny in recent months, facing legal challenges and proposed legislative changes. Melbourne-based Foodifox says it is championing an alternative ‘ethical’ business path in contrast with the direct delivery model. Instead of direct delivery, employees make deliveries from a centralised kitchen to dedicated heated locker facilities for pickup.

8. The US will send 25 million vaccine doses to countries in Central and South America, Asia and Africa. Nearly 19 million of the doses will be given through COVAX, the UN-backed global vaccine sharing program that helps vulnerable countries. “This is just the beginning,” White House COVID-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said.

9. Facebook will soon enforce content rules on politicians, The Verge reported Thursday. The move is a departure from its previous hands-off approach to leaders like former President Trump. Facebook could announce the change as soon as this week, per the report. Sources also told The Verge that Facebook would clarify how its strike system works for users that break its content guidelines.

10. NASA is sending two new missions to Venus between 2028 and 2030, the agency announced Wednesday. The DAVINCI+ mission will plunge to Venus’ “inferno-like” surface, while VERITAS will map the planet. The spacecraft could help scientists investigate how Venus became so hot and whether it holds life.

BONUS ITEM

A Friday treat for you: A 35-man fishing crew in Yemen netted themselves a hunk of whale vomit worth $1.5 million.

Ambergris, known as “floating gold,” is a rare substance found only in the bellies of sperm whales. The fishermen sold the 127-kilo hunk of ambergris and bought new houses, cars, and boats.

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