Coronavirus live news: illegal protests held in Melbourne; France rules out second lockdown | World news

At least three people have been detained by police and others have been told to move on during a peaceful anti-lockdown protest in Melbourne.

An AAP photographer witnessed three people, some in handcuffs, being led away by police, while officers directed others to move on.

Protesters walking along the Yarra River stopped and displayed signs, including “I am just exercising my human rights”.

Canada has reported zero Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours for the first time since March 15, according to public health agency data released late on Friday.

However, the country has reported 702 new cases, as most provinces ease lockdown restrictions and as schools reopen for in-person classes.

Authorities have been on high alert to avoid fresh outbreaks, and provinces including British Columbia have imposed new curbs to tackle the spread of the virus.

There has been a correction to NSW’s earlier alerts about Covid cases on a Sydney bus route.

The bus routes are

• 379 from Bronte Beach toBondi Junction station, 7 September 2020, 11.08am-11.24am
• 316 from Avoca St Randwick to Bondi Junction station, 8 September 2020*, 10.44am-11.05am

Anyone who travelled on the following bus routes is a casual contact and must be alert for symptoms and immediately get tested if any develop, and stay isolated until a negative test result is received.

Andrews is addressing the anti-lockdown protesters who gathered today.

“Selfish, unlawful and wrong,” he says. “It’s not smart, it’s not right … it’s not the time for protest. No one has the right to make choices like that, that potentially puts at risk everything we are working towards.

He says that Melbourne can open “just like regional Victoria will next week” if they follow the lockdown.

“Let’s do everything we can to not keep spreading the virus.”

Andrews says he will strongly “defend” the border between Melbourne and regional Victoria to prevent the spread of the virus, including on the upcoming AFL grand final public holiday.

“We know there are people who move between Melbourne and regional Victoria for work … we know it is inconvenient to be stopped at roadblocks … but my feedback from regional Victorians is they are proud of such low numbers, they jealously defend it.”

Queensland has recorded three new cases of Covid-19 – who are all contacts of previously confirmed cases. All three people are in quarantine, the premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

Some images from Melbourne’s protests earlier today:

Andrews and Sutton are asked multiple times whether the case limits for the final step of eased restrictions will be changed.

Andrews says that it can change as the new case numbers do.

“We have never said these are stone tablets and can never be changed,” he says.

“Data trumps modelling every time. Actual numbers … As each day passes, the actual data gets put into this and the modelling, the process will be rerun to see where we are in real terms.”

He adds: “If it became clear as a point that the tail of this second wave was more stubborn than even at the most rigorous modelling tells us, then of course we would look at that.”

Sutton is asked about an article published by the Saturday Paper today, that reported that he described contact tracing as a “hodge podge”.

“That was not about contact tracing,” he says. “It was about the fact that there are private pathology providers that operate across Victoria and we have worked extremely hard to align the testing.”

The state’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, is speaking now.

At the same time, the ABC is showing footage of lockdown protests in Melbourne where police are present, and it seems that arrests are being made.

Sutton echoes Andrews and says that regional Victoria is on track to jump two steps of eased restrictions next week.

“We have laid out those thresholds, which is being below five new cases per day over the 14-day period. It is below that now.

“We would need to have significantly more than five over the remaining days for it to head up above that again. And for there to be no mystery cases, or cases of unknown acquisition in that same 14-day period.”

He says that the government will have to wait until Monday to confirm the easing restrictions, rather than announce it over the weekend.

“We absolutely need to get to Monday to see that, I don’t think we could call it today, for example. I think we have to go through the weekend, see Monday, make sure that there [are] either no new cases, and if there are new cases.”

In Victoria, there has been an increase compared to last year among young people presenting to emergency departments for self-harm.

But Andrews says that the statistics are still down on earlier during the lockdown.

There has been a 26.7% increase in young people presenting to emergency departments for intentional self-harm and suicidal ideation over the past few weeks,” Andrews said.

Last month, on 9 August, there was a 33% increase.

“The trend there is actually coming down which is a good thing,” Andrews says. “And the additional resources that we are providing to hospitals, and health services, will be very important for many months to come.”

New South Wales has recorded six new cases over the 24 hours to 8pm last night, five of them locally acquired.

Four of the people are close contacts of cases associated with Concord Hospital.

One person is a student at Blue Mountains Grammar School, and the school is being cleaned.

As we previously reported, a person also attended the Katoomba Aquatic Centre on Friday 4 September from 11.30am-1.30pm. Anyone who there at the time is advised to monitor for symptoms and immediately self-isolate and get tested if symptoms develop, however mild, and remain isolated until a negative result is received.

The state has also issued alerts for a KFC at 2A Bunting St Emerton on Monday 7 September between 12.00pm to 9:30pm, and two bus routes.

The bus routes are the 379 from Bronte Beach – Bondi Junction station, 7 September 2020, 11.08am-11.24am, and the 316 from Avoca St Randwick – Bondi Junction station, 7 September 2020, 10.44am-11.05am.

People must be alert for symptoms and immediately get tested if any develop, and stay isolated until a negative test result is received.

Andrews announces that beauty services will be able to open earlier than expected.

Beauty and personal services, where a mask can be worn for the entire time, will be able to open in the third step, alongside hairdressing.

“That could be as soon as next week,” in regional Victoria, he says.

Facials, face piercings and face tattoos cannot go ahead, but others can.