Borders, backflips, blunders, this week's COVID questions explained

The deal between Australia and AstraZeneca, the pharmaceutical company who is working on the Oxford vaccine, was a source of confusion this week. Let's recap.

On Tuesday Scott Morrison announced he had secured early access to the Oxford vaccine which he described as one of the most advanced and high-potential COVID-19 vaccines in the world.

"If this vaccine proves successful we will manufacture and supply vaccines straight away under our own steam and make it free for 25 million Australians," Mr Morrison said in a statement released on August 19.

While the prospect of a vaccine is a light at the end of the tunnel, it's unclear when trials will finish, or if the vaccine will be successful.

Meanwhile, Mr Morrison faced heat when he said the vaccine would be "as mandatory as possible".

He told 3AW's Neil Mitchell for the vaccine to be effective 95 per cent of the population would need to take it, and clarified the vaccine would be encouraged but not mandatory.

"There's been a bit of an overreaction to any suggestion of this. There will be no compulsory vaccine," Mr Morrison said.

It's too early to tell if Victoria is seeing the end of its second wave, but this week was promising.

On Wednesday, the state recorded its lowest daily number of new cases in over five weeks with 216 new cases. Thursday saw a slight increase in case numbers but Friday was even lower at 179 new cases.

Despite lower case numbers the death rate remained high. On Monday 25 people had died from COVID-19. On Friday nine people died.

Outside of case numbers, restrictions on exercise were reformed.

Previously, under stage 4 restrictions Melburnians were not allowed to drive to a location to exercise.

After backlash against this measure, Melburnians could drive to an area within 5km of their house to exercise.

Victorian chief health officer, professor Brett Sutton, said on Wednesday he did not want Victorians to feel too constrained regarding exercise, and that people should feel safe travelling to exercise.

"We are always going to hear reflections from the community about what it means for them in the practical sense," professor Sutton said.

"A lot of these things have been done with literally 150 pages of legal directions to work through, so there will always be elements that come after the fact."

There were mixed messages on Thursday from the NSW government on the border.

NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro said he believed the border restrictions between NSW and Victoria should be loosened.

He said the permit scheme for travelling between the border was cumbersome and said he would speak to community members in Albury and Wodonga on the issue.

"I want to listen and gauge and I want to make sure we put in place the ability for this community to function and function well without the onerous task of permits," he told the ABC.

"If Victoria's number continues to decline and we get them under 100 in the next few weeks, I would argue that the border should be lifted," he said.

"You could almost lift the restrictions this side of Christmas. I don't believe we should be having the border closed anywhere beyond this side of Christmas."

Yet NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian defended the border closure during her daily COVID-19 press conference on Thursday.

"Consider the virus seeping into our regions and that is something that I don't stand for, and we need to make life as easy as possible for those communities suffering on the borders," she said.

"But we can tweak things as situations arise, as the seasons change, as the demands on working people change.

"I remember getting criticised when we closed the Victorian border because I'd waited too long and now I'm getting criticised that the border is there at all."

Ms Berejiklian denied tension between her and Mr Barilaro.

Queensland has been a poster child throughout the pandemic but the state was not immune to COVID-19 scares.

This week a supervisor at Brisbane Youth Detention Centre in Wacol tested positive for COVID-19.

The 77-year-old Ipswich woman worked five shifts while infectious.

The centre was now in lockdown and 127 young people and more than 500 staff were being tested for COVID-19. As of Friday no new cases were reported from the centre.

Meanwhile, a health alert has been issued for Jam Pantry cafe in the Brisbane suburb of Greenslopes after a woman who returned to Queensland from Japan tested positive for COVID-19. The woman visited Queensland on compassionate grounds and was in Brisbane for two weeks. Six close contacts were taken into quarantine and anyone who visited the Jam Pantry Cafe was being urged to get tested for COVID-19.

Queensland's firm border stance remained a sore spot.

On Friday Peter Dutton criticised the state's border closure, saying the policy was driven by politics and not based on health advice.

"When you hear about families separated from sick kids or they can't get medication, can't get to work, their business is on one side of the border and they live on the other, these are the practical implications of this closed Queensland border scenario," Mr Dutton said.

Queensland Health Minister Steven Miles hit back and said Mr Dutton, who had previously tested positive for COVID-19, should understand the state government's strong border stance.

"Peter Dutton has one job, and that's keeping our borders safe and he has consistently failed. He's failed on cruise ships, he's failed on hotel quarantine," Mr Miles said.

Queensland chief health officer Jeanette Young ruled out border changes.