What you need to know about COVID-19 today, Saturday May 9.

With AAP.

A 92 year old woman has died in NSW.

A NSW woman has died from COVID-19, taking the national death toll to 98.

Fay Rendoth, 92, passed away from the illness on Friday at the embattled Newmarch House aged-care facility in western Sydney, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The great-grandmother is the 17th coronavirus fatality at the facility, which went into lockdown in mid-April after a staff member who tested positive to coronavirus worked six shifts while showing symptoms.

So far there have been 69 COVID-19 cases linked to the home, including 32 staff and 37 residents.

Mrs Rendoth’s leaves behind three daughters, eight grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

Her granddaughter, Savannah Robinson, told the ABC she is somewhat comforted that her grandmother would no longer be missing her late husband of more than 70 years.

“We don’t want my grandmother to be another COVID-19 statistic,” she added, “there is a person and a family behind the news.”

States respond to Morrison’s three-step “road out” plan.

At a press conference on Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison unveiled a three-step plan for easing COVID-19 restrictions, following Australia’s success at limiting the spread of the virus.

States can pick and choose which elements of the plan they move on, with the third and final part set to be in place nationally by July.

Mr Morrison said the measures would get 850,000 people back to work in the coming months.

Watch: PM Morrison outlines stage one.

While some states acted quickly to implement the various stages, others have indicated they will be holding off for a few more weeks.

Here’s how each state has responded to yesterday’s announcement.

New South Wales

Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Friday welcomed Scott Morrison’s plan to ease restrictions, but said there will be no further changes in NSW this week.

Ms Berejiklian said her government will wait and assess data from May before considering any changes but noted life could return to something resembling normal by late June.

Ms Berejiklian added that NSW has already eased several restrictions with schools to resume some face-to-face learning from May 11, the return of on-site property auctions and inspections this weekend, and an increase in retail activity.

Two adults and their dependent children can also visit another household anywhere across the state.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, she added that any major changes in NSW would likely be seen later this month.

Victoria

Premier Daniel Andrews will announce changes on Monday — the day Victoria’s state of emergency lifts — but warned social distancing rules would remain at the end of May.

He has been careful to say the coronavirus pandemic is not over.

“Let’s not give everything back, let’s not throw away all the progress we have made by letting our frustration get the better of us,” Mr Andrews said Friday.

Queensland

Restrictions will be eased for Queenslanders from Mother’s Day, with up to five people from the same home allowed to visit another household from Sunday.

From next Saturday, personal training sessions, retail shopping, weddings with up to 10 people, and funerals of up to 20 inside or 30 outside, will be allowed.

Restaurants, libraries, pools and beauty salons will also reopen on May 16, and open home inspections and auctions will be allowed to go ahead.

Bars and gaming facilities will remain closed in the first phase of a staged easing of the state’s lockdown, but up to 10 people at a time can dine in at restaurants, pubs, licensed clubs, RSL clubs and hotels.

Recreational travel for day trips up to 150km from home will be allowed.

In the outback, where there have been no COVID-19 cases, locals can travel up to 500km from home.

Up to 20 locals will be allowed to dine in at outback pubs and cafes.

South Australia

South Australia will lift a raft of measures from Monday, allowing alcohol-free outdoor dining at cafes and restaurants and the resumption of outdoor sports training.

Universities and TAFE colleges will be allowed to resume face-to-face learning, public swimming pools, places of worship and libraries can reopen, and open house inspections and home auctions will be permitted.

In almost all cases, numbers will be limited to 10 people at a time and all social distancing provisions will still apply.

However, SA will allow up to 20 people to attend a funeral indoors and up to 30 people outdoors.

Regional travel will also be encouraged.

Even more restrictions will go from June 8 with cinemas and theatres to open along with gyms, galleries and museums with the maximum number of people in most circumstances to be increased to 20.

Tasmania

Tasmania on Friday unveiled its plan for a staggered lifting of restrictions.

A 10-person limit on mourners at funerals will be lifted to 20 on Monday, while residents will be able to return to parks within 30km of their home.

The state’s ban on aged care visits will be eased, but no more than two visitors will be allowed once a week.

While there is some relief for locals, non-essential travellers arriving in Tasmania will still be required to quarantine in government facilities until at least July.

Western Australia

Premier Mark McGowan will on Sunday outline which restrictions will next be eased, with the government’s focus on changes that will stimulate the economy.

Speaking before Friday’s national cabinet meeting, Mr McGowan said WA was well-placed to ease restrictions with just nine cases remaining active.

“WA has the opportunity to be more economically progressive perhaps than other states,” he said.

“We can potentially loosen restrictions to a greater degree than the eastern states, but that’s a decision the state disaster council will make.”

The premier said, however, that WA’s interstate border would remain shut until the number of coronavirus infections on the east coast fell to “virtually zero”.

Northern Territory

Chief Minister Michael Gunner indicated the Territory would push ahead with its own existing three-stage approach that will remove most restrictions on business and community activities by early June.

The NT’s changes began last weekend with parks reopening and outdoor weddings and funerals allowed along with real estate inspections and auctions.

Stage two from May 15 allows for the reopening of restaurants, cafes, and bars as long as people purchase food.

Non-contact sports can also start, and indoor activities will be allowed for those of less than two hours.

That includes beauty salons, gyms, libraries and places of religious worship.

The third and final stage from June 5 will remove the two-hour limit on indoor activities, and allow the reopening of bars and clubs without food being compulsory.

Entertainment venues and cinemas will also reopen and team sports such as football and netball will be allowed.

Businesses are required to complete a safety plan to ensure physical distancing and good hygiene.

Boy dies from rare illness linked to COVID-19.

A 5-year old boy has died in New York from a rare inflammatory illness believed to be linked to the coronavirus, highlighting a potential new risk for children in the pandemic, the state’s Governor Andrew Cuomo said.

Cuomo told a daily briefing that the boy died in New York City on Thursday.

He said health officials were investigating 73 similar cases reported across New York where children have exhibited symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome linked to COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus.

“While rare, we are seeing some cases where children affected with the COVID virus can become ill with symptoms similar to the Kawasaki disease or toxic shock-like syndrome that literally causes inflammation in their blood vessels,” he said.

Cases of rare, life-threatening inflammatory illnesses in children associated with exposure to COVID-19 were first reported in Britain, Italy and Spain but doctors in the United States are starting to report clusters of kids with the disorder, which can attack multiple organs, impair heart function and weaken heart arteries.

“This would be really painful news and would open up an entirely different chapter,” Cuomo said. “I can’t tell you how many people I spoke to who took peace and solace in the fact that children were not getting infected.”

This emerging syndrome, which may occur days to weeks after a COVID-19 illness, reflects the surprising ways that this entirely new coronavirus infects its human hosts.

Scientists are still trying to determine whether the syndrome is linked with the new coronavirus as not all children have tested positive for the virus.

The syndrome shares symptoms with toxic shock and Kawasaki disease, which is associated with fever, skin rashes, swelling of glands, and in severe cases, inflammation of arteries of the heart.

Trump ‘not worried’ after another White House staffer tests positive.

US Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House says, making her the second person who works there known to test positive for the virus this week.

President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House.

Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.

Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive on Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president.

She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Mr Miller had been tested or if he was still working out of the White House.

Katie Miller had tested negative on Thursday, a day before her positive result.

“This is why the whole concept of tests aren’t necessarily great,” Trump said. “The tests are perfect but something can happen between a test where it’s good and then something happens.”

UN condemns ‘tsunami’ of hate unleashed during the pandemic.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the coronavirus pandemic keeps unleashing a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scaremongering, and has appealed for an all-out effort to end hate speech globally.

The UN chief said “anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets”, with migrants and refugees “vilified as a source of the virus — and then denied access to medical treatment”.

He also condemned memes suggesting elderly people, who are among the most vulnerable to virus, “are also the most expendable”.

“And journalists, whistleblowers, health professionals, aid workers and human rights defenders are being targeted simply for doing their jobs,” he added.

Guterres called on political leaders to show solidarity with all people, on educational institutions to focus on “digital literacy” at a time when “extremists are seeking to prey on captive and potentially despairing audiences”.

He called on the media, especially social media, to “remove racist, misogynist and other harmful content,” on civil society to strengthen their outreach to vulnerable people, and on religious figures to serve as “models of mutual respect”.

“And I ask everyone, everywhere, to stand up against hate, treat each other with dignity and take every opportunity to spread kindness,” Guterres said.

Read more about COVID-19:

• A 3-step plan: What we just learnt from Scott Morrison’s “road out” press conference.
• 100-person gatherings and bars open: New Zealand’s plan to ease COVID-19 restrictions.
• Mental health and the hidden death toll of COVID-19.

To protect yourself and the community from COVID-19, remain in your home unless strictly necessary, keep at least 1.5 metres away from other people, regularly wash your hands and avoid touching your face.

If you are sick and believe you have symptoms of COVID-19, call your GP ahead of time to book an appointment. Or call the national Coronavirus Health Information Line for advice on 1800 020 080. If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.

To keep up to date with the latest information, please visit the Department of Health website.

Feature image: Getty.