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Despite meeting together as a National Cabinet today, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the specifics around return-to-school plans will be different for each state and territory. 

Each state and territory is expected to announce the specifics of its own plans in the coming days. 

"Return to schools will be announced individually by each jurisdiction over the next few days and some will make their announcements today," Mr Morrison said. 

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"States are tailoring the opening arrangements that they will be consistent with the principles of getting schools open and keeping schools open." 

Mr Morrison also said where states and territories choose to undertake surveillance testing, half the cost will be covered by the Federal Government.

It comes as the NSW Premier said earlier today he is determined to get the state's children back to school in just over a week as planned — and rapid testing will be used in some form.

Dominic Perrottet told Today that unlike states such as South Australia and Queensland, students would return to the classroom as usual on January 28.

"When it comes to testing as well we are very focussed in our state on ensuring that we have many rapid antigen tests to make sure that the continued running of public service in this state is on track," Mr Perrottet said.

"And that we certainly see a role for that to play in schools. We want our kids back in the classroom on day one of term one."

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Studies show COVID-19 still mild in children

Professor Paul Kelly has reminded people that COVID-19 is predominantly mild in children, and the position is kids should be back in classrooms on day one, term one.

He said some schools have chosen to introduce mask mandates for their older students, and there's "a lot of mitigations that can be done in schools and are being done".

"In terms of what happens with children, there was a paper was reading last night, from NSW — this is Delta, not Omicron — but from last year from June through to December last year, they looked at 17,000 cases of children under the age of 16," Prof. Kelly said.

"There were four per cent of those ended up in hospital and two-thirds of those were because of social reasons.

"There are only 15, I believe, that were in ICU. That gives you the sense that this is very much a mild illness in children.

"It is mild in Delta and we have looked at has there been any change in the hospitalisation ICU rate during the Omicron wave, there hasn't been," Prof. Kelly said.

No changes to essential workers close contact rules

The Prime Minister also announced today there would be no changes for essential workers who are close contacts.

Mr Morrison said for close contacts of a positive COVID-19 who are not essential workers, the isolation period would remain at seven days. 

Mr Morrison said National Cabinet did not proceed with a plan to allow 16-year-olds to receive a forklift licence. 

"We had a good discussion about today and is not something that we believe, collectively, that is something we should be pursuing at this time," Mr Morrison said.

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PM categorically denies hijacking RAT shipments 

Mr Morrison has categorically denied accusations by some suppliers that the Commonwealth Government has taken receipt of rapid antigen test shipments meant for private suppliers. 

"The Commonwealth government, through the Department of Health, is reporting false claims of the requisitioning of rapid antigen tests to the ACCC. These claims are categorically untrue," Mr Morrison said. 

"If you're being told by suppliers that you cannot get those rapid antigen tests because the Commonwealth government has redirected it, that is not true. Get them to tell you the truth." 

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US President Joe Biden has warned of a "disaster for Russia" if it invades Ukraine but predicted the Kremlin "will move in" on the East European country.

Mr Biden was speaking after US intelligence agencies warned a Russian invasion could happen within a month.

The US president said he believes Russian leader Vladimir Putin doesn't want a full-blown war in Ukraine and would pay a "dear price" if he moves forward with a military incursion.

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"I'm not so sure that he is certain what is he going to do," Mr Biden said in a White House briefing for media.

He added, "My guess is he will move in."

Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops near near Ukrainian borders and could launch an invasion at any point.

While Mr Biden vowed withering economic consequences on Russia should Mr Putin send his troops over the frontier, including restricting its financial transitions in US dollars, he suggested Western nations were not in sync on what to do should a lesser violation occur.

"It's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do," Mr Biden said.

"But if they actually do what they're capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine."

Later, asked to clarify what he meant by "minor incursion," Mr Biden said he drew the line at "Russian forces crossing the border, killing Ukrainian fighters".

Mr Biden was speaking after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned that Russia could double the number of troops it has on Ukraine's border in "relatively short order".

Mr Blinken's meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in Kyiv overnight were the first of three stops the top US diplomat is making this week.

"As we meet today, Russia has ratcheted up its threats and amassed nearly 100,000 forces on Ukraine's border, which it could double on relatively short order," Mr Blinken said during a press conference alongside Mr Kuleba.

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Mr Blinken will meet with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva on Friday, one week after US, NATO and European officials held multiple diplomatic meetings with Russian officials that ended without any significant breakthroughs.

Mr Blinken said he would not be presenting a formal response to Russia's specific demands that NATO agree to never admit Ukraine – which the US has said is a non-starter – adding that it was "not clear what Russia's central demand is or not" and the effort now is to get at the heart of what those demands really are.

"I won't be presenting a paper at that time to Foreign Minister Lavrov," Mr Blinken said.

"We need to see where we are and see if there remain opportunities to pursue the diplomacy and pursue the dialogue, which again, as I said, is by far the preferable course."

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During his meeting with Mr Zelensky in Ukraine, Mr Blinken reiterated that Russia has two paths out of the current situation.

"There is the path of diplomacy and dialogue to try to resolve whatever differences there are peacefully through diplomacy," he said in his remarks to staff at the embassy.

"Clearly the preferable path, clearly the most responsible path and the one that we would prefer, but there is also the path if Russia chooses to renew aggression, of conflict, confrontation and consequences for Russia."

Russia has now deployed more than 127,000 troops near Ukraine, transferred more Iskander operational-tactical missiles to the border, and increased its intelligence activity against the country, according to the Ukrainian Defence Ministry's latest intelligence assessment that was shared exclusively on Tuesday with CNN.

The Kremlin has continued to deny it is planning an attack, while demanding that the US and its Western partners rule out further NATO eastward expansion, guarantee that Ukraine would never join the block, and prevent NATO from establishing military bases in post-Soviet countries.

A previously unknown type of tarantula has been discovered in Thailand, and it lives exclusively in the hollowed stems of bamboo plants, surprising scientists.

"These animals are truly remarkable; they are the first known tarantulas ever with a bamboo-based ecology," said Narin Chomphuphuang, a researcher at Khon Kaen University's department of entomology and plant pathology in Thailand, in a blog post.

Thai wildlife enthusiast JoCHo Sippawat, who has 2.5 million YouTube subscribers, first came across the tarantula while on a trip into the forest near where he lives in Mae Tho, Mueang Tak district, Tak province, northwestern Thailand, Mr Chomphuphuang said.

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Mr Sippawat subsequently emailed an image of the spider to Mr Chomphuphuang, an arachnologist, which is a scientist who studies spiders.

Mr Chomphuphuang immediately thought it was a new species of tarantula, but it was only after a field trip to survey and study the spider that the creature was officially declared new to science.

Distinct from all other known tarantulas, it has been declared a new genus and species, Taksinus bambus.

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It is named in honour of the 18th century Thai king Taksin the Great.

Tarantulas in Southeast Asia usually live on the ground or in trees. Tree-dwelling tarantulas usually spend time on different types of trees, and this is the first tarantula to live exclusively on a specific plant.

The newly-recognised spider is the only tree-dwelling tarantula to live in Thailand, the study said.

Mr Chomphuphuang said making its home in bamboo had many advantages for the spider.

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Bamboo contains moisture that helps the spider maintain its temperature, especially important for tarantulas, which moult and shed their exoskeleton. The slippery surface of the bamboo also deters predators.

"We examined all of the trees in the area where the species was discovered. This species is unique because it is associated with bamboo, and we have never observed this tarantula species in any other plant," he said in a news release.

Taksinus bambus has adapted to life in the hollow stems of bamboo by constructing tube-shaped borrows with its silk as nest entrances. It also constructs silken tubes inside the bamboo into which it can retreat.

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The tarantulas do not bore holes into the bamboo stems themselves.

Instead, they depend on the assistance of other animals. Bamboo is attacked by numerous animals, including beetles and worms, the study said. Or sometimes the bamboo cracks open as a result of changes in humidity.

Mr Chomphuphuang said that few people realised how much wildlife in Thailand is still undocumented.

"We're primarily on a mission to study and save the biodiversity and wildlife found in these forests, particularly species-specific micro-habitats, from extinction," he said.

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"The first step is to inform people about this species and their locality. Then this forest area must be managed and protected for wildlife."

The research was published last week in the journal Zookeys.

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