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Positive COVID-19 fragments detected in Melbourne wastewater

Residents across several inner west and north suburbs in Melbourne are being asked to remain vigilant for any coronavirus symptoms.

The fresh warning from Victoria's Department of Health comes after positive viral fragments of COVID-19 were found in a wastewater sample taken last Thursday, June 3.

"This new detection is of interest as there are currently no confirmed COVID-19 cases in that area but it does contain exposure sites and is near West Melbourne," the DHHS statement said.

READ MORE: Victoria's new lockdown extension rules explained

Wastewater testing

"The unexpected detections may be due to someone who has had COVID-19 that is no longer infectious continuing to 'shed' the virus or it may be due to an active but undiagnosed infectious case."

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Residents of and any recent visitors to the following suburbs are urged to monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and get tested if any symptoms develop: Aberfeldie, Essendon, Essendon West, Flemington, Footscray, Kensington, Maribyrnong, Moonee Ponds, Parkville and Travancore.

The state has already processed over 500,000 tests since this current outbreak began almost 14-days ago, sparking the snap-lockdowns.

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READ MORE: Where to get mental health help during Victoria's snap lockdown

The news comes after the state recorded five new cases of community transmission on Saturday, taking the state's current total of active COVID-19 cases up to 78.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said the two new cases who were not primary close contacts, were linked to the exposure sites of Craigieburn Shopping Centre and Epping Plaza.

Professor Sutton urged people who attended the multiple shopping centres listed as exposure sites to get tested even if they were not symptomatic.

Victoria's COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said he was "so grateful" the infected person who attended the at-risk shopping centres came forward for testing.

"We have not yet formally connected the individual to the wider Whittlesea outbreak, but work and investigation is ongoing," he said.

The person's partner worked as a cleaner at a large construction site in the city, prompting 170 further workplace contacts to be placed into lockdown.

"The site is now closed and we will continue to work with them over the coming days to ensure we get those workplaces tested," he said.

Mr Weimar added the two cases were a "real priority" for health authorities over the coming days.

Builder Probuild in a statement confirmed the cleaner for a sub-contractor who worked at its construction site on the corner of Queen and Collins streets had tested positive to COVID-19.

The site was closed as of yesterday, with all workers required to get tested and isolate. Anyone who visited the site between May 31 and June 4 must also isolate.

Health officials cleared about 600 primary close contacts yesterday, with more than 100 exposure sites also soon dropping off, as the state nears the 14-day mark of the start of the outbreak.

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G-7 nations sign key pact to make tech giants pay fair taxes

The world's richest countries signed a landmark agreement Saturday committing them to confronting corporate tax avoidance and making sure that giant tech companies pay their fair share, Britain's treasury chief said.

Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer, said finance ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialised nations signed the pact on the second and final day of meetings in London.

"I'm delighted to announce that G-7 finance ministers today, after years of discussions, have reached a historic agreement to reform the global tax system to make it fit for the global digital age and crucially to make sure that it's fair, so that the right companies pay the right tax in the right places," Sunak said in a video message posted on Twitter.

The G-7 ministers agreed in principle to a global minimum tax rate of 15 per cent for multinational companies in each country they operate in.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, who attended the London meetings, said the agreement "provides tremendous momentum" towards reaching a global 15 per cent rate that "would end the race-to-the-bottom in corporate taxation, and ensure fairness for the middle class and working people in the US and around the world."

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The meeting of finance ministers came ahead of an annual summit of G-7 leaders scheduled for June 11-13 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall. The UK is hosting both sets of meetings because it holds the group's rotating presidency.

The G-7 has also been facing pressure to provide vaccines for low-income countries facing new surges of COVID-19 infections and to finance projects to combat climate change.

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International discussions on the tax issue gained momentum after US President Joe Biden backed the idea of a global minimum 15 per cent corporate profit tax rate. The proposal also found support among other major economies such as France and Germany.

Nations have been grappling with the question of how to deter companies from legally avoiding tax by resorting to tax havens — typically small countries that entice companies with low or zero taxes, even though the firms do little actual business there. They've also been trying to solve the related problem of taxing internet-based companies doing business in countries where they have no physical presence and thus pay little or no tax.

The endorsement from the G-7 could help build momentum for a deal in wider talks among more than 140 countries being held in Paris as well as a Group of 20 finance ministers meeting in Venice in July.