Let’s take a break from the economics and look at the issue of masks in NSW. Currently in the state, they are only “strongly recommended” in situations such as on buses and trains and in the supermarket.

However, evidence of transmission between two passengers on a bus in Sydney’s eastern suburbs has raised suspicions the state may move to mandate mask wearing soon.

Speaking on Today this morning, federal Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said it was likely health authorities in NSW and Queensland would make masks mandatory with a much lower case threshold than their Victorian counterparts, although with 65 per cent of Sydney commuters wearing a mask, he doubted the logistical trouble of having an enforcement mechanism was worth it.

“You have to get to the point where it’s actually going to make a substantial difference to transmission,” he said. “And that’s probably not at the level that NSW has had at the moment.”

In his media appearances this morning, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has remained tight-lipped on whether he will delay the increase to superannuation planned to start on July 1

“We are considering the issue,” Mr Frydenberg told Ben Fordham on 2GB this morning. “It’s a once-in-a-century pandemic, the impact on the economy has been immense and we are considering the issue.”

Pushed on the issue, the Treasurer said: “There are times and places for announcing policy decisions and they’re not always on talkback radio.”

Compulsory superannuation contributions are legislated to increase incrementally from 9.5 per cent to 12 per cent starting from July 1, a decision opposed by a group of government backbenchers in the current economic climate.

Earlier on Today, Mr Frydenberg answered a question on the subject by saying: “We have no plans to increase taxes. We have always been the party of lower taxes.”

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has continued his criticism of Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews this morning, denying it is “too early” for the state to have a plan to wind back its coronavirus restrictions.

“I disagree with him on that and so do Victorian businesses and many Victorian families, because they need to hear more about the road out as opposed to a longer road in with the talk of the extending emergency powers for 12 months,” Mr Frydenberg told ABC News Breakfast this morning in an – at times – heated interview.

Despite lower numbers in recent days, Victoria is still recording a weekly average of well over 100 cases a day. The Treasurer told the ABC he appreciated the need to follow medical advice but “we haven’t been told by the Premier what is an acceptable level of new coronavirus cases”, and said NSW and Queensland’s economies remained open with cases being recorded (seven and four yesterday, respectively).

A man charged over breaching hotel quarantine for a night out in Northbridge could become the first person in Western Australia under COVID detention to have an ankle tracking device fitted.

The 53-year-old man was charged with failure to comply with a direction under the Emergency Management Act after heading to Hotel Northbridge on Friday just hours after landing in WA from Queensland.

Police apprehended the man and placed him under 24-hour police guard in a hotel before laying the charge against him. He could face a fine of up to $50,000 and 12 months in prison.

It isn’t just Treasurer Josh Frydenberg: business groups are also demanding greater clarity on which industries will be among the first to reopen as they meet with the Andrews government this week to thrash out a stimulus plan for Victoria’s battered economy.

Premier Daniel Andrews has also been urged to provide assurances that the state’s contact tracing system will not buckle under pressure when coronavirus restrictions begin easing and if there is another major outbreak, further crippling the economy.

The call comes as several businesses have filed a class action lawsuit against senior ministers for damage imposed on their companies due to lockdown restrictions.

The Premier has resisted public pressure to release details on which restrictions could be lifted first when stage four ends, slated for September 13, arguing the government is still working through its road map.

Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has said state leaders need to spend more and be more transparent about the decisions they make regarding coronavirus restrictions in appearances on Sunrise and Today this morning.

Mr Frydenberg said he wanted to see a “roadmap out” of Melbourne’s stage four restrictions, claiming Victorians were “fed up”.

“It’s only two weeks to go to the scheduled end of the stage four restrictions and you saw the blow back on Daniel Andrews for his call to extend the emergency powers by 12 months; I think that was an insight into how Victorians are feeling,” he told Today.

Queensland’s top doctor has urged people to consider wearing masks if they can, as a cluster of virus cases grows and new restrictions are put in place to contain it.

Four new COVID-19 cases were added to the list on Sunday, all of them linked to the current corrective services outbreak in southeast Queensland.

Health authorities say they now believe the outbreaks at the Queensland Youth Detention Centre at Wacol and the Queensland Corrective Services Academy are one cluster, after a case was found that linked the two.