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With wreath-laying ceremonies, tree plantings and church services, Italians on Sunday marked one year since their country experienced its first known COVID-19 death.

Towns in Italy's north were the first to be hard-hit by the pandemic and put under lockdown, and residents paid tribute to the dead. Italy, with some 95,500 confirmed virus dead, has Europe's second-highest pandemic toll after Britain. Experts say the virus also killed many others who were never tested.

While the first wave of infections largely engulfed Lombardy and other northern regions, a second surge starting in the fall of 2020 has raced throughout the country.

READ MORE: UK speeds up vaccinations, all adults get first jab by July 31

The number of new coronavirus infections has remained stubbornly high despite a raft of restrictions on travel between regions, and in some cases between towns. In addition, gyms, cinemas and theatres have been closed and restaurants and bars must shut early in the evening. Nationwide there's a 10pm to 5am curfew.

So far, Italy has confirmed 2.8 million cases.

It was in the hospital at the Lombard town of Codogno where a doctor recognised what would go down in medical history as the first known COVID-19 case in the West in a patient with no links to the outbreak in Asia, where coronavirus infections initially emerged. The diagnosis was made on the evening of February 20, 2020, in a 38-year-old otherwise healthy, athletic man.

Near the Red Cross office in Codogno on Sunday, Lombardy's governor and the town mayor attended a ceremony to unveil a monument to COVID-19 victims. The memorial consists of three steel pillars, representing resilience, community and starting over. A wreath was laid, and townspeople stood in silence to honour the dead.

READ MORE: Sicilian village cleans up ash, stones from Mt Etna eruption

The Codogno hospital patient survived, after being transferred to another hospital and spending weeks on a respirator.

But it was in the northeastern town of Vo, in the neighbouring Veneto region, where Italy's first known COVID-19 death was registered on February 21, 2020.

In Vo's memorial ceremony, officials planted a tree. A plaque has been installed, quoting a line from the Italian poet Ugo Foscolo, whose works are widely studied by the nation's schoolchildren. The inscription reads: "A man never dies if there is someone who remembers him."

Italy's first known fatality from COVID-19 was a 77-year-old Vo man, a retired roofer who liked to play cards.

READ MORE: Leonardo Da Vinci's 'Last Supper' reopens to public after COVID-19 closure

An atmospheric river event known as the Pineapple Express is forecast to bring a prolonged period of wet weather and the potential for avalanches to Washington and Oregon.

The effects from rain and considerable mountain snow will be felt early this week.

With the ground already saturated from previous storms, flooding is possible even from the few inches of rain the storm is forecast to produce.

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Avalanche warnings have been issued for much of the Cascades across Washington ahead of this heavy snow.

A "high" avalanche danger warning (level four out of five) has been issued for Sunday by the Northwest Avalanche Centre.

Large natural avalanches are possible even at lower elevations.

Avalanches have killed 30 people across the United States this winter season, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Centre.

"This will mark the beginning of a wet period across Western Washington, as the southern periphery of the Atmospheric River will affect the region before it shifts southward over the area Monday," the National Weather Service office in Seattle warned Saturday.

This could be another notable weather event for parts of Washington and Oregon, with localised urban and river flooding along with gusty winds which could lead to power outages across both states.

Seattle averages 88mm of rain during February but the city has already had more than a foot of rain this year, a surplus of 101mm.

This new system arrives as Oregon still has 30,000 customers without power from a storm last week.

How a Pineapple Express forms

Atmospheric rivers are narrow corridors of the upper atmosphere that transport intense moisture from a large body of water onto land, like rivers in the sky.

This particular atmospheric river event is special in terms of where its moisture comes from – Hawaii.

The Pineapple Express originates near Hawaii and travels across the Pacific Ocean to the western coast of North America.

When you join together that narrow transport corridor with the tropical Pacific moisture around Hawaii, it can inundate the West Coast with heavy rainfall and snow.

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Not all atmospheric river events are disruptive.

However, those that pack large amounts of water vapor and strong winds can cause extreme rainfall and subsequent flooding.

"When it reaches the West Coast, the Pineapple Express can dump as much as five inches (127mm) of rain on California in one day," according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

An atmospheric river event in January dumped between 127mm and 254mm of rain across the Olympic Peninsula and extreme northwestern Oregon.

The heavy rainfall produced widespread flooding and landslides while high winds caused significant tree damage and power outages in western Washington and northwestern Oregon.

Everything is forecast to get high

High winds, high tides, and high potential for river flooding will all be factors from the next storm.

Winds will consistently range from 24 to 40km/h, gusting as high as 64km/h in the next 72 hours.

The gusty winds, which will be strongest near the coast, could lead to power outages.

This is a major concern since there are still thousands of people without power in Oregon from the winter storm that hit over a week ago.

This next storm could delay that power being restored by another several days.

The heaviest rain will stretch from Eugene, Oregon, up to the Canadian border.

Widespread rain totals of 50mm to 101.6mm are forecast for the coastal lowland locations, and 76mm to 152mm for the Olympics and Cascades.

Flooding will be a concern not only because of the amount of rain that is expected to fall, but also due to the fact that the ground is already at near-saturated levels in many locations, and there will be some snowpack melt as well.

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Snowfall will be limited to the higher elevations, but it will be heavy.

Totals will generally range from 30cm to 45cm near White and Stevens Pass, and 20cm to 30cm at Snoqualmie Pass.

Small-craft advisories are in effect on Sunday, indicating seas 3m or higher are expected to produce hazardous wave conditions.

Australia has begun its COVID-19 vaccination rollout this morning, with hopes 60,000 doses will be administered by the end of the week.

Victoria and New South Wales were the first two states to begin the vaccination rollout of the Pfizer vaccine, followed by South Australia, Queensland and the ACT.

NSW began vaccinating a handful of frontline workers about 8am at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Camperdown, with Special Health Accommodation environmental services supervisor Gayathry Vellangalloor Srinivasan being the first to receive the jab today.

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The vaccinations are being administered by 200 healthcare workers working out of three Sydney hubs today, including the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Westmead Hospital and Liverpool Hospital.

Over the next three weeks, 35,000 frontline health workers are expected to receive the jab.

"We are really positive about making sure in New South Wales we protected our quarantine workers first and foremost," Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.

"We know the vaccine works, is effective, and I'm encouraging everybody to take it.

"As soon as I am able to, as soon as my turn is here with the AstraZeneca I will definitely be taking it."

More than 1200 people will get the vaccine in NSW today, with 500 doses administered at the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital.

NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard had a strong message for people who would object to getting a coronavirus vaccine after meeting health workers today who had "put their lives at risk" during the pandemic.

"This is really not a time to be precious or selfish," he said.

"It's a case not of what health workers and your community can do for you, but what you can do for your community and health workers.

"Get vaccinated."

Acting Chief Medical Officer Professor Michael Kidd told Today depending on supplies, Phase 2 of the rollout targeting people over 70 and Aboriginal and Torres Islander people would begin from late March to early April.

Professor Kidd said the Phase 2 vaccinations would be administered by GPs across the country.

The remaining states and territories, including the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Tasmania, will also start their vaccine rollouts this week.

Victoria first state to begin vaccine rollout

Victoria became the first state to officially begin the vaccine rollout this morning, despite a surprise start yesterday with Prime Minister Scott Morrison getting vaccinated.

Head of infection prevention at Monash Health, Professor Rhonda Stuart, was the first Victorian recipient of the Pfizer vaccine, getting the jab about 7.30am.

About 100 healthcare workers are expected to be vaccinated in the first Monash Health clinic today.

READ MORE: State by state: Australia's COVID-19 vaccine rollout

An initial four vaccination hubs will operate in the state, with a goal of vaccinating all hotel quarantine workers in the space of three weeks.

The onsite hubs include Victorian hospitals, Melbourne Airport, quarantine hotels, with some vaccinations to also be delivered through mobile outreach programs.

At least 240 aged care homes will get a share of the available vaccine, including Homestead Estate, just outside of Geelong, with residents to receive the jab at about 9am.

Health Minister Martin Foley said he was "pleased" to see the vaccination program kick off today.

"We're ready to do our part to make sure the vaccine is administered as quickly and as safely as possible to workers at the highest risk of contracting coronavirus," he said.

"Whether they work in hotel quarantine, at the airport, or a specialist coronavirus ward, we are ensuring the Victorians that keep us all safe are protected from infection."

Up to 1.4 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine will be given to hotel quarantine workers, frontline healthcare workers and aged care staff and residents in the coming weeks.

A World War II survivor and the Prime Minister yesterday became the first people in Australia to receive the COVID-19 jab in a surprise early start to the nation's vaccine rollout.

Victoria's COVID-19 vaccination program senior medical advisor Professor Ben Cowie today said the vaccine was "safe, effective and free".

READ MORE: Vaccination rollout to make 'significant impact' in virus fight, PM says

Queensland

The vaccination rollout is underway in Queensland, with 100 frontline workers set to be vaccinated at the Gold Coast University Hospital today.

Nurse Zoe Park, who has worked in the COVID unit of the hospital, was the first person to receive the vaccine in the state.

There will also be vaccines administered at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane and in far north Queensland in Cairns.

Queensland's first shipment of 10,000 vials of the vaccine arrived at Brisbane airport yesterday.

The Queensland Government is hoping about 1000 people will be vaccinated throughout the state by the end of the week, with an ambitious target of 125,000 people jabbed by early April.

Hubs will be established in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Townsville and in Cairns.

READ MORE: AstraZeneca vaccine approved for use in Australia

South Australia

South Australia Premier Steven Marshall became the first person in the state to receive the jab, followed by Chief Health Officer Nicola Spurrier.

Others among the first 150 frontline health workers to receive the jab included a hotel quarantine nurse, a security guard and a police officer.

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The state expects about 1700 workers to be vaccinated by the end of the week and 12,000 after three weeks.

Also from today, aged care residents in 17 South Australian suburbs and towns will begin receiving the vaccination.

ACT

COVID-19 testing nurse Maddy Williams, 22, was the first person to get the jab in the ACT today.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt attended the vaccine hub at Canberra Hospital's COVID-19 Surge Centre this morning.

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"Two nurses, one of whom was getting the vaccine as a frontline worker … are emblematic of Australian heroes who have helped protect this nation during the course of the pandemic," Mr Hunt said.

Western Australia

In Western Australia, more than 290 people have signed up for the first day of vaccinations today.

Two hotel quarantine nurses will be the first in the state to receive the vaccine at Perth's Hyatt Hotel, one of the vaccine hubs.

There will also be vaccine clinics at Fremantle port and the Perth Airport.

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Mr Hunt said he hoped to see 60,000 vaccinations across Australia in the next week.

Health authorities hope 800,000 people will be vaccinated every week once the program ramps up next month.

Mr Morrison said that the country had "made its Australian way" through the pandemic and would continue to do so as the vaccination program progressed.