New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has appealed for calm from Aucklanders heading back into lockdown after the identification of a clutch of new COVID-19 cases.

Another 21 people have died and 410 Victorians have contracted coronavirus.The record number of deaths, tweeted by the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday, takes the state toll to 267 and the national toll to 352.

Rachel Layton's heart sank when she saw a young elephant chained up at what she thought was an animal sanctuary in Thailand.

Another Sydney school, shopping centre, club and a restaurant on the NSW south coast have closed because of coronavirus.

Sports events in New Zealand could face new restrictions on fans in stadiums after the detection of four new cases of COVID-19 in Auckland.

The operator of Sydney's Newmarch House aged care home admitted the facility was "overwhelmed" during the early stages of its deadly coronavirus outbreak.

Australian medical researchers have found an unlikely hero in a pair of alpacas they hope will help them develop a prevention and treatment for COVID-19.

Sydney aged care home Newmarch House received conflicting opinions about the wearing of personal protective equipment during the early stages of its deadly coronavirus outbreak, a royal commission has heard.

Hundreds of residents on the NSW south coast have been given the all-clear to return home as river levels fall and flooding eases following heavy rain and wild weather.

President Donald Trump has been abruptly escorted by a US Secret Service agent out of the White House briefing room as he was beginning a coronavirus briefing.