Refresh this page for updates – scroll down for links to official health information.

KEY POINTS

• Restrictions ease in SA today and across Australia
• Federal Govt considers home renovation stimulus package
• India records surge in infections

SA looks to further easing of COVID-19 restrictions

South Australian authorities are looking to further lift coronavirus restrictions with particular focus on larger venues.

As pubs opened on Monday, with a limit of 80 patrons divided across four separate areas, Premier Steven Marshall said discussions on what further regulations could be eased were already underway.

“We are looking at the issue of larger venues at the moment, not just in terms of hospitality but also in terms of community sports and venues like the art gallery, the zoo and churches in South Australia,” the premier told reporters on Monday.

“All those things are being worked through at the moment and we believe we are making great progress.

“South Australia is back open for business, the tills are ringing, the customers are coming back in and the employees are returning to work.”

But Marshall also cautioned that further progress was conditional on SA continuing to have few or no new cases of COVID-19 and if the high level of testing was maintained.

“We’re not going to go backwards in terms of the health outcomes,” he said.

“So it’s really super important that we do this in a careful and considered way.”

The premier visited the Alma Tavern at suburban Norwood on Monday, where publican and former Adelaide Crows AFL captain Mark Ricciuto said it was great to have the venue open again.

“It was a tough day to shut it and there were a lot of tough days when you drive past and see it empty with the lights off,” he said.

“But today is a great day. It’s another step forward to reality.”

Ricciuto said having a limit of 80 people at a time would not allow the venue to make a profit, “but it’s a step closer to making a profit”.

“That time will come.”

Stage two of eased restrictions in SA also allows cinemas, theatres, galleries, museums, beauty salons and gyms to reopen.

The lifting of stage two restrictions across SA also allowed other venues to open including cinemas, theatres, galleries, wineries, beauty salons and gyms.

Non-contact indoor and outdoor sport can also resume while the number of people allowed to attend a funeral has been lifted to 50.

SA Health reported this afternoon that there were no new reported cases of COVID-19 in the state today.

CityMag was live as The Exeter reopened today – click here for coverage

PM eyes house reno-led recovery

New home construction and major renovation projects could be boosted through cash grants under a federal government coronavirus recovery plan.

The ailing entertainment sector is also likely to receive stimulus, with the focus shifting from economy-wide packages to targeted assistance.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed the government was considering giving householders cash grants for home renovations.

“We are more interested in the larger projects and new home builds and things like that,” he told 2GB on Monday.

“We are looking at a bit of drop off in that current home building that’s going on. That’s not good for tradies and not good for jobs.”

He said it would be important any construction industry measures helped local tradies rather than major contractors.

The prime minister also said he had been in talks with key entertainment sector figures over the weekend.

“One of the challenges is going to be that the entertainment sector will find it difficult to get capital moving again because they’ve had to draw down on it so significantly,” he said.

The federal and NSW governments will spend an extra $3.5 billion to start building the Western Sydney Airport train line this year.

“A big part of coming out of the COVID-19 crisis is our infrastructure spending,” Morrison said.

Restrictions ease interstate as well

Australians will experience more freedom as much of the country enters a new phase of COVID-19 restrictions.

National deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth says the lifting of restrictions is a balancing act between the socio-economic benefit from their removal and the public health risk.

“We’re taking a deliberately safe and cautious approach,” Coatsworth told reporters in Canberra on Sunday.

“Most importantly we’re taking the time to gather the data over the coming weeks to determine whether it’s safe to move to the next round of lifting restrictions.”

Almost 7200 Australians have tested positive to COVID-19 with over 1.45 million tests conducted.

Some 478 virus cases remain active across the country, while the death toll sits at 103.

More than 62 per cent of Australia’s COVID-19 cases have been acquired overseas since January 22.

The more flexible restrictions – which differ across the states – will mean more movement in public places, including pubs, cafes, and restaurants. But authorities continue to urge the public to practise safe hygiene and social distancing measures.

From midday on Monday, Queenslanders will be able to travel statewide, while pubs, clubs, restaurants and cafes will be allowed to seat up to 20 people. The state’s strict border closure will remain in place.

NSW pubs, beauty salons and museums reopen on Monday and holiday travel inside state boundaries will also be permitted.

Libraries, galleries, museums, places of worship and beauty clinics are among the venues that will be allowed to reopen in Victoria with no more than 20 people from Monday.

India records surge in infections

More than 8000 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in India in a single day, another record high that tops the deadliest week in the country.

The health ministry said on Sunday that confirmed infections have risen to 182,143, with 5164 fatalities – including 193 in the last 24 hours.

More than 60 per cent of the overall virus fatalities have been reported from only two states – Maharashtra, the financial hub, and Gujarat, the home state of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The new cases are largely concentrated in six Indian states, including the capital New Delhi.

OFFICIAL SOURCES OF ADVICE AND INFORMATION

Local updates and resources

State Government central information

SA Health

Mental health support line (8am to 8pm): 1800 632 753.

National advice and information

Australian Government Coronavirus information hotline: 1800 020 080

Government information via WhatsApp: click here

Travel

Australian Government travel advice: smartraveller.gov.au

Check your symptoms

Free, government-funded, health advice: healthdirect.gov.au

– Reporting by InDaily staff, AAP and Reuters