• Reports this morning say the stay at home order for Sydney and surrounds will be extended by a week, and kids will learn from home with school holidays ending this week. The state added 18 new local cases of COVID to the tally yesterday, taking it to 330 since 16 June.

• Our record low interest rate of 0.1% could rise before 2024 but are likely to hang around for a few years, Reserve Bank Governor Philip Lowe said yesterday. The Aussie economy’s recovery has been “much better than in almost any other Western country,” he says, but wages need to grow, and inflation needs to rise before rates go up.

• And Melbourne’s Australian Formula One Grand Prix and Phillip Island’s MotoGP have been cancelled for a second consecutive year. State Minister for Tourism, Sport and Major Events Martin Pakula put it down to the Morrison Government’s “slower than forecast” rollout of vaccines which he linked to last week’s decision to lower the cap on international arrivals.