NSW reports four new coronavirus cases as Victoria police arrest anti-mask protesters

Victorian authorities have indicated that Melburnians could soon be returning to offices as the state recorded no new cases of Covid-19 on Saturday.

However, there were four new coronavirus cases announced in New South Wales on Saturday, one of which was locally transmitted, with authorities warning a resurgence of community transmission “remains very real”.

Western Australia also recorded one new case of coronavirus, of a child in hotel quarantine who returned to Perth from overseas and is a close contact of a previously confirmed case.

The new cases came as scores of police arrested 21 people at an anti-mask protest at central Melbourne’s Treasury Gardens. To control the protesters, officers formed a ring around the gathering.

A Victoria police spokeswoman told Guardian Australia the arrests were made for a range of offences including not wearing a mask, breaching public gathering directions, and travelling more than 25km from their homes.

Victoria’s health minister, Martin Foley, said “at the moment protests that spread the risk of the virus are not safe.”

At Saturday’s Victorian Covid-19 press conference – the first in more than 100 days not to be headed by the state’s premier, Daniel Andrews – chief health officer Brett Sutton and Foley announced one “low positive” case had been recorded. However, an expert review panel rejected this case by the early afternoon because the case had subsequently tested negative.

“That’s a donut day,” Sutton tweeted to announce the reclassification of the case.

The zero-case day means there are now 70 active Covid-19 cases in Victoria, with the state’s rolling 14-day average of daily cases at about 2.4.

However, the Victorian authorities are still urging anyone with symptoms in the Deer Park area to come forward for testing as they continue to investigate a Covid-19 case in the area that was announced on Friday.

Health authorities continue to investigate two mystery cases in the state not linked to known clusters, in Heidelberg West and Wantirna, while also encouraging staff, students and their families who work at or attend Goodstart Early Learning in Bundoora to come forward for testing after a case was linked to the facility.

Speaking about workers potentially returning to offices before Christmas, Sutton said “if the numbers remain low then those risks become much less in the office space as well”.

“Clearly there’s an economic activity by virtue of return-to-work especially here in the CBD and that should be a consideration,” Sutton said, noting any return to offices would need to depend on Victoria’s Covid-19 case numbers.

“Some can and should return,” he said of office workers.

In NSW, the new locally transmitted case was linked to a previously known case, with both having attended the Flip Out Prestons Indoor Trampoline Park at Prestons in Sydney at the same time.

These cases are both linked to a five-person cluster to have emerged from Hoxton Park.

Saturday’s new case was a student at Cabramatta high school, which was closed for deep cleaning over the weekend.

“NSW Health is calling on people to remain vigilant in the fight against Covid-19 and to continue to work together to minimise community transmission as the risk of a resurgence of cases remains very real,” a NSW spokesman said.

“It is critical people continue to come forward for testing when they experience even the mildest symptoms, such as a runny nose or scratchy throat, cough, or fever, which could signal a Covid-19 infection.”

Also on Saturday, the Australian government announced it would spend $500m to buy and distribute Covid-19 vaccines across the Pacific.

“The Indo-Pacific region is the engine of the new global economy,” the Australian foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, said. “Ensuring it can recover quickly will stimulate economic activity and restore jobs at home and abroad.”

The purchases will be made from a range of manufacturers via the global COVAX Facility plan, which aims to ensure virus vaccines are shared with all nations.

Australia will provide a range of support with the vaccine doses, including vaccine safety and effectiveness assessments, advice to each nation’s regulatory authorities, technical support as well as passing along vital World Health Organisation information.

The plan will be rolled out over three years to help countries such as Timor-Leste to achieve full virus immunisation coverage.

“A fast, safe vaccine rollout in the Pacific and south-east Asia will mean we are able to return to more normal travel, tourism and trade with our key partners in the region,” Payne said.

With AAP