G’day folks.

1. Yesterday’s COVID-19 numbers in NSW were as poor as expected. The state counted 112 new cases of coronavirus in the community, and Premier Gladys Berejiklian said it was “almost impossible” the lockdown would end this week as planned, saying the government can’t commit to an end date at this time. Announcements on business support can be expected as early as today.

2. What might that support look like? The Nine papers report this morning that cash grants will go to small businesses struggling to survive Sydney’s lockdown under a federal government plan. This won’t be the state-level JobKeeper the NSW government originally planned, which has apparently been shelved. The federal government is also apparently working on a way to encourage people to apply for its disaster payment.

3. UNSW Professor Marylouise McLaws said that based on the trend in cases it would take two months before Sydney’s lockdown could end. “It will probably take another three to four weeks before we get that proportion who are in the community down to zero, and then, some restrictions will be lifted,” she told Today this morning.

4. Victoria recorded one new local coronavirus case this morning as residents of an apartment complex in Melbourne were told to quarantine for 14 days. This is in addition to two reported yesterday. The Victorian Department of Health says all three are members of the same household who have been isolating throughout their infectious period.

5. The federal government is trialling new rules that will tighten ATO reporting requirements for gig economy operators and employees. As the gig economy expands to include more industries in Australia, it is increasingly facing regulation to improve safety and transparency. Experts say the proposed legislation signals the gig economy will face more scrutiny from the government moving forward.

6. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) says there are still a raft of companies that incorrectly accepted government assistance through the federal JobKeeper scheme over the past year. Many businesses that saw profits above pre-pandemic levels have voluntarily repaid the money received, including Nick Scali, Domino’s, and Super Retail Group. The ATO is now chasing up $284 million in overpayments.

7. Reddit, the hugely influential internet message board platform, is opening a dedicated Australian office in Sydney. The company’s Aussie operations will include community engagement, engineering, and sales teams, to be helmed by former WooliesX head strategist David Ray. The move comes after an explosive growth in the site’s Australian userbase, led by interest in finance subreddits like r/AusFinance and its looser cousin r/ASX_Bets.

8. A survey conducted by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald of 50 of the nation’s largest companies reveals a majority expect to continue hybrid work arrangements. 42 of the companies surveyed explicitly confirmed the permanent adoption of hybrid working policies for office-based employees. And the Productivity Commission backs the death of the five-day office week, it seems. “On balance, I think there’s good grounds to be optimistic when it comes to the overall impact,” the commission’s chair, Michael Brennan, said.

9. The US recorded more than 20,000 new COVID-19 cases each of the past four days as the Delta variant spreads over there. The last time the US had back-to-back days of over 20,000 COVID-19 cases was in May. Close to 48% of the country’s population is fully vaccinated but the Delta variant is spreading quickly.

10. Tesla released a long-awaited Full Self-Driving (FSD) software update to some drivers on the weekend. The FSD beta version 9 update included new safety alerts and better information display, Tesla said. But Tesla warned the software “may do the wrong thing at the worst time,” per release notes, and CEO Elon Musk warns drivers to be “paranoid”. Sounds good!

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Behold: Australia’s most vaccinated man.

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