* A woman in her 90s has died in Victoria, which has recorded 238 new cases, and the state's chief health officer warns the death toll will rise

* The source of Sydney's Crossroads Hotel cluster, which now totals 34, is a Melbourne man who attended a party there on July 3

* The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Foundation is urging aged care facilities to boost staff numbers after more than 100 people across dozens of Melbourne nursing homes contracted the virus. It is also seeking special paid leave to employees forced into isolation due to outbreaks

* Western Australia has recorded eight new cases among overseas travellers, taking the total active infections to 29, which is the the state's biggest caseload in five weeks

* The Northern Territory has declared the entire area of greater Sydney a hotspot in relation to travel restrictions

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ECONOMICS

* The renewed coronavirus lockdown in Melbourne has wiped out a month of gains in consumer confidence, with the latest Westpac-Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index showing a 6.1 per cent fall between June and July

* The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows new housing construction was 12.7 per cent lower in the March quarter than a year ago

* NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has told an economic conference that suppression, rather than elimination, is the best way to battle COVID-19 given the state's large and diverse population. She is also concerned about the impact of the September conclusion of the federal stimulus package JobKeeper

* Scott Morrison has also warned attempting to eradicate the disease would obliterate the economy, saying: "You don't just shut the country down because that is not sustainable"

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SPORT

* The AFL could compress the rest of its home-and-away season into a 10-week span after shifting all Victorian-based clubs into Queensland hubs, and the grand final is likely to be played outside Melbourne for the first time

* A hectic schedule to finish the A-League season will test the depth of several clubs as the competition pushes ahead with a NSW hub

* Supercars is seeking assurances its event in Darwin next month can proceed

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KEY DATES

* July 17 - International arrivals to WA will have to pay for their 14-day hotel quarantine

* July 17 - NT will reopen its borders with quarantine for people from virus hotpots

* July 18 - Returning travellers to SA and NSW to pay part of their hotel quarantine bill

* July 31 - The earliest date Tasmania may open its borders to the mainland after delaying the move, previously planned for July 24

* August 1 - Tentative date for WA to lift all remaining restrictions, except border closures and access to remote Aboriginal communities

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AUSTRALIAN CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS

* Australia's total number of cases is now 10,487 with 2448 cases active and 7928 people recovered.

* The national death toll as of Wednesday is 111: NSW 49, Victoria 27, 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 13,472,676

* Deaths: at least 581,573

* Recovered: at least 7,867,257

Australian Associated Press