China has imposed restrictions on the publication of academic research on the origins of the novel coronavirus, according to a central government directive and online notices published by two Chinese universities, that have since been removed from the web. Under the new policy, all academic papers on COVID-19 will be subject to extra vetting before being submitted for publication. Studies …

Yesterday in America, 1,940 people died from coronavirus. In a single day, 31,935 new infections were recorded. I personally know five people who have been told they have COVID-19. Only one of them was able to get a test and it came back inconclusive. The rest were told by their doctors “don’t bother” because there weren’t enough test kits to …

Australia could be “on the cusp” of slowing the infections of coronavirus to the point that the epidemic “dies out”, Australia’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer says. Professor Paul Kelly said the number of people infected by one person with COVID-19 was a key component in understanding how it spreads. “Ideally where you want to be is below one, so less …

Embattled New South Wales cabinet minister Don Harwin has resigned after being fined $1,000 for breaching the ban on non-essential travel due to coronavirus. The NSW Arts Minister was photographed at his Central Coast holiday home, but he argued his travel happened before the strict rules were in place. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller said no-one was above the law …

President Donald Trump has threatened to withdraw US funding to the World Health Organisation, saying it “missed the call” on the devastating coronavirus pandemic. Mr Trump made the announcement at a White House press briefing on Tuesday (Washington time) as deaths and infections across the United States continued to rise. Mr Trump criticised the organisation, saying it “called it wrong” …

Melbourne’s St Patrick’s Cathedral has been vandalised, with the words “rapist” and “no justice” graffitied across its doors a day after Cardinal George Pell was acquitted on child sex abuse charges. “Rot in hell, Pell” was also scrawled across the doors of the cathedral at the centre of allegations the cardinal abused two choirboys in the 1990s. The words “the …

NSW residents can’t just go for a drive during this period of social distancing, with the state’s top cop saying it’s not a reasonable excuse for being out and about. It comes after a learner driver was slapped with a $1652 fine – later revoked – in Victoria as she drove with her mother in the passenger seat. NSW Police …

Cardinal George Pell will be released from prison after the country’s highest court quashed his child sexual abuse convictions. The decision has been handed down less than a month after the High Court of Australia heard two days of intense legal arguments from the Cardinal’s lawyers and Victorian prosecutors. The full bench’s ruling was handed down by Chief Justice Susan Kiefel …

Wuhan residents believe up to 18 times the number of people died in their city from coronavirus than authorities are reporting. The seven funeral homes serving Wuhan have reportedly been running nonstop recently, prompting one resident to say “anyone with any ability to think” knows officials are lying about the death toll. China announced 2,535 deaths in Wuhan – the …

NSW Police Minister David Elliott has assured domestic violence victims they will still be able to access essential services during the coronavirus outbreak. There has been no recorded increase in domestic violence incidents so far, but authorities have concerns about potential victims being trapped in houses with their alleged abusers. “All the ingredients for a tinderbox situation are there. We’ve seen a …