• Australia hit a couple of vaccination milestones. Half of all eligible Aussies have received at least one COVID jab, and for the first time since the start of the rollout, more than 300,000 jabs were given in a single day – that happened on Wednesday.

• Add to that the widening of the eligibility to receive a vaccination. Yesterday, PM Scott Morrison confirmed that all people aged between 16-39yo will be eligible to be vaccinated by 30 August. That’s 8.6 million Aussies who will be able to roll up their sleeves. They can’t book their appointments yet – that’s a few days away.

• And The Australian (paywall) is reporting that the NSW government is working on a proposal that shows bars, restaurants, and gyms would reopen – with some restrictions – to those who are fully jabbed once vaccination coverage across the state reaches 70%. The caveat: it’s awaiting sign off from Premier Gladys Berejiklian. It comes as Oz reached its highest number of COVID cases yesterday. NSW reported a record 681 new local cases and extended the lockdown in regional areas. In Victoria, news of 57 new cases was softened by 44 of them being in quarantine while infectious. And the ACT recorded 16 new cases.