Good morning folks. Welcome to Monday. Or is it Thursday? Hard to tell from here in Sydney.

1. The COVID-19 situation in Sydney is not particularly great. The state reported 77 local cases yesterday. Fifty-two people in NSW are in hospital with coronavirus and more than 10 of those are in intensive care. There was one death reported. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the government anticipates the number will be around a hundred today.

2. This obviously raises questions about the lockdown, and how long it might go on for. Though it is officially scheduled to end this Friday, Berejiklian and health officials said it is likely it will go on longer, and the government can’t commit to an actual date. Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, advisor to the World Health Organisation, predicts it will extend beyond August. “My projections are that it’s going to take at least a month to get [case numbers] down,” she said on Weekend Today.

3. The question turns to support for business and jobs. NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet suggested on Sunday that he was looking at pursuing the state’s own wage subsidy program similar to the federal JobKeeper. However, it now seems that the state government and the Commonwealth are set to announce a joint program as soon as today.

4. Victorian health authorities have closed the state’s border with New South Wales. That came into effect overnight. Earlier on Sunday, Premier Daniel Andrews urged Victorians to come home if they were still in NSW. “Be quick about it. Border conditions can change. We have been abundantly clear: Don’t delay, come back today,” he said. The state recorded zero cases of COVID-19 yesterday.

5. A study released last week by the University of Melbourne lays out how Australia can reopen its borders by managing risks around levels of COVID-19 vaccination. If 60% of adults and children are vaccinated by 2022, Australia would be able to reopen its borders with minimal fatalities from the virus, it found. The study’s author said that the latest outbreak suggested the country needed to look toward managing the pandemic rather than eliminating COVID-19 completely.

6. The federal government defended Australia’s historically high immigration levels after Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe commented on the ties between migrant labour and wages. As the international border remains closed, keeping many skilled workers out of Australia, the Department of Home Affairs pointed to research showing migrant labour had little negative impact on wages. But Lowe only said wage growth has been experienced in specific “hotspots”, as “wage increases remain modest for most workers”.

7. Some investors are seeing massive returns in many of Australia’s capital cities as rent increases to record levels. Darwin in particular has seen investor returns up 16.1% compared to this time last year. Following a dip in activity last year, investors have returned to the property market in the first half of 2021.

8. Long live hybrid work. A survey of Australia’s largest companies by the Nine papers found that the overwhelming majority “expect to continue allowing employees to work at least part of the week from home once the pandemic ends.” Of the businesses that do plan to adopt hybrid work, only seven explicitly stated a minimum number of days they expect staff to be in the office.

9. Virgin Galactic flew its first full crew – including founder Richard Branson – to the edge of space. Two pilots flew the company’s VSS Unity space plane 89km above Earth then landed safely. Virgin Galactic is poised to fly customers next year. Yes, that means Branson reached space before Jeff Bezos. Does it matter? No.

10. Gates Foundation staff are “freaking out” about its future, a former exec told the Financial Times. Staff worry that “the credibility and standing of the foundation is in jeopardy,” they said, amid Bill and Melinda Gates’ acrimonious divorce. The pair will continue as co-chairs for at least two years.

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What do we reckon? Bit much?

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