The belief that Australia is winning the war against COVID-19 continues to strengthen as latest figures confirm the flattening of the curve, and plans are being made to relax lockdown restrictions.
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Australia's daily percentage change in total confirmed cases has fallen from a peak of nearly 25 per cent in mid-March to less than 1 per cent since April 15, based on the five-day moving average.
In other news, more than 150 Australians and 20 New Zealanders are due to arrive in Australia on a flight from Argentina after being stranded in South America since the outbreak of the pandemic. The flight left Buenos Aires at 2pm Saturday.
The federal government is trying to brush aside privacy fears over its app to help trace people who come into contact with someone with COVID-19. Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed Sunday that only health authorities would have access to the data.
"Not the police, not the welfare people, no one else. Just the health officer," Mr Morrison said.
In further positive signs, the ACT recorded no new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, as the number of people in the territory with the disease inches towards zero.
Nevertheless, Sydney's beach culture continues to be a problem area as the NSW Health Minister expressed disappointment at the number of people disregarding social distancing rules on beaches after lockdown regulations were relaxed over the weekend.
A highly anticipated report into the spread of COVID-19 in classrooms, relied on by the Federal Government to fast-track the reopening of schools, indicates the disease has "very limited" transmission between students, and from students to teachers.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton is standing firm on the need for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus in China, even as the Asian giant accused Australia of playing "political games".
As of 6am Sunday, there has been 6,703 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia, including 16 new cases since Saturday morning.
Of the 6,703 confirmed cases in Australia, 81 people have died and 5,387 have been reported as recovered from COVID-19. More than 499,000 tests have been conducted.
On a global scale, there are 2,886,408 confirmed cases and 202,671 deaths worldwide.
US President Donald Trump has distanced himself from earlier claims that injecting disinfectant into the lungs might be an effective method of dealing with COVID-19. He told media that he was being "sarcastic" when apparently touting the potential benefits of both ingesting disinfectant and the value of exposing the body to heat and "very powerful light".
After weeks of extended White House coronavirus media briefings, President Trump tweeted that the briefings were "not worth the time and effort" accusing the media of publishing "fake news".
In the US, people seeking unemployment benefits rose by 4.4 million this week, with more than 26 million now out of work. The unemployment rate is hovering around 20%, a jobless level not seen since the Great Depression.
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