A giant sinkhole opened on Friday in the parking lot of a hospital in Naples, Italy, forcing the temporary closure of a nearby residence for recovering COVID-19 patients because utilities were severed.

Operations weren't affected at the Hospital of the Sea, and firefighters said it didn't appear anyone was injured.

The sinkhole consumed three cars in the hospital's otherwise empty visitors' parking lot.

The local hospital district said the 20-metre-deep, 2000-square-metre sinkhole opened at dawn.

Chief firefighter Commande Ennio Aquilino told Italian television channel SkyTG 24 the implosion could have been caused by an infiltration of water underground as a result of recent heavy rains.

At the time, six people were recovering at the residence for COVID-19 patients.

They have been relocated.

Regional Governor, Vincenzo De Luca, said the residence would reopen within days after electricity and water service are restored.

Both were also interrupted at the hospital, but backup systems allowed care to continue.

"Frankly, we were also worried about the collapse of all utilities and that the activity of the hospital could be jeopardised," Gov. De Luca said.

"Thank God, this did not happen.

"We had a power break, but electricity was restored and now we don't have any problem in providing care."

An array of stores at Burwood, in Sydney's inner-west, have been added to an ever-growing list of locations visited by confirmed coronavirus cases as authorities continue to track down people potentially infected.

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 visited the Artisaint Café at 60 Burwood Road on Wednesday 6 January between 10.30am and 11am, and Bing Lee at 103 Burwood Road between 11.25am and 11.40am.

Anyone who visited the venues between these times must get tested immediately and self-isolate until they receive further advice from NSW Health.

Westfield Shopping Centre at Burwood was also visited by infected cases on Wednesday January 6 and Thursday January 7.

Anyone who visited the shopping centre between 11.45am and 1.30pm on Wednesday January 6, or between 1pm and 2pm on Thursday January 7 should monitor for symptoms and get tested if any arise.

https://twitter.com/NSWHealth/status/1347507600410046466?s=20

The same advice applies to the following:

– Kmart Westfield Burwood Shopping Centre on January 6 between 11.45am and 12.15pm.

– House Westfield Burwood Shopping Centre on January 6 between 12.20pm and 12.30pm.

– Coles Burwood on January 6 between 12.40pm and 1.20pm, and January 7 between 1.20pm and 1.55pm.

– Artisaint Cafe Burwood on January 7 between 1.10pm and 1.20pm.

– Costume at Avalon Beach on December 31 between 2pm and 2.15pm.

NSW Health also revised its advice for the Sydney Marina Dine In and Take Away at Pendle Hill on January 3 between 12.30pm and 12.50pm.

Anyone who attended the previously announced venue must get tested immediately and self-isolate until a negative result is received.

Anyone in Merrylands West, Greystanes, South Wentworthville, Merrylands, Westmead, Wentworthville, Pendle Hill, Northmead, North Rocks, Parramatta or Constitution Hill are urged to monitor for symptoms after COVID-19 fragments were detected in sewage.

NSW records four new local cases

New South Wales has recorded four local cases of COVID-19 overnight.

Two were close contacts of the Berala cluster, one is connected to the Croydon cluster and the fourth case was announced yesterday and is connected to the Avalon cluster.

Seven cases were diagnosed in hotel quarantine.

More than 26,000 people were tested for the virus overnight and NSW Acting Premier John Barilaro issued a plea for more people to get tested.

READ MORE: Greater Brisbane to enter three-day lockdown after new locally acquired case

LIVE UPDATES: US Capitol Police officer dies; Nancy Pelosi calls for Trump to be removed or impeached

Of the four locally acquired cases two cases are linked to the Berala cluster – a woman in her 50s and a teenage boy, both household contacts of previously recorded cases.

"Pleasingly the cases were in isolation for their full infectious period," NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant said.

Another case is linked to the Croydon cluster, and is a child who was a close contact of a previously recorded case. They were also isolating for the full infectious period. There are now 11 cases in this cluster.

The man in his 40s from the northern zone of the Northern Beaches who tested positive yesterday remains under investigation.

"He was asymptomatic through his isolation and tested negative on three occasions through his isolation period," Dr Chant said.

Authorities have not yet been able to identify the source of his infection.

"We are having a couple of test results pending on some more casual contacts, and we have issued some additional guidance in relation to some venue information."

Despite this mystery case, people under lockdown in the northern zone of the Northern Beaches will still be able to leave their homes as of midnight on Sunday.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said the government does have "reservations" about easing the lockdown due to the positive case in Avalon.

But, due to the response from local residents over the holiday period, Mr Hazzard said restrictions would be lifted as planned.

He said the northern part of the Northern Beaches will become part of Greater Sydney again at 12.01am on Sunday.

"And have the same rules applying to that area as applies for the rest of Sydney."

Additionally, the lockdown restrictions being introduced in Queensland today will now apply for people who have travelled to NSW from the listed hotspot areas in Greater Brisbane.

From midday, people currently travelling from Brisbane to NSW from the hotspot locations will be required to abide by the three-day lockdown rules.

"By lunchtime, what we will be saying is clear, if you are in the midst of travelling from Brisbane as we speak to NSW and you come from those areas, we expect you to abide by the isolation rules that would have applied to you as if you were in Brisbane," Mr Barilaro said.

"If you have visited Brisbane and you are on your way to NSW isolation rules will apply to you.

"If you are already in NSW and you have travelled to NSW from those locations since 12:01am on January 2, we expect you to stay isolated."

However borders between NSW and Queensland will remain open despite the lockdown restrictions.

"At no point during this pandemic have we ever had a knee jerk reaction or treated the border like a light switch," Mr Barilaro said.

"If you are driving over the border that is not going to be some border closure but please try to document exactly travel itinerary so that if something occurs and we get in touch, you are able to accurately give us your itinerary to help us minimise any impacts going forward."

Greater Brisbane's lockdown is in response to a cleaner testing positive to the UK strain of the virus, which is reported to be much more infectious.

This new mutation of the virus has also been detected in six returned travellers in NSW hotel quarantine.

Attention is also being turned to a new strain from South Africa which has now been identified in overseas travellers in the state.

Four overseas travellers have returned positive preliminary tests for the South African virus strain overnight.

The group has now been transported to another quarantine hotel and further testing is under way to confirm these results.

"As a precaution the 16 people who were accompanying that flight, have as a precaution moved to the Shah(sic.)," Dr Chant said.

"That is because there are concerns that this South African strain does share a similar mutation from the UK, but may be associated with increased transmissibility.

"That is why we are taking a very cautious approach there.

"The remaining two cases with the UK strain, and the four cases with a possible South African strain, receiving care…and will be cleared when they are assessed to be no longer infectious."

Prosecutors in the US Attorney's office plan to open a federal murder investigation into the death of Brian D. Sicknick, a US Capitol Police officer who died Thursday night, a law enforcement official tells CNN.

Sicknick was injured Wednesday when a mob of President Donald Trump's supporters stormed the US Capitol. He died at approximately 9:30pm ET Thursday (1.30pm Friday AEDT) "due to injuries sustained while on-duty," Capitol Police officials said in a statement.

The death is being investigated by the DC Metropolitan Police Department's homicide branch, the US Capitol Police and their federal partners.

"Officer Sicknick was responding to the riots on Wednesday, January 6, 2021, at the US Capitol and was injured while physically engaging with protesters. He returned to his division office and collapsed. He was taken to a local hospital where he succumbed to his injuries," the statement read.

READ MORE: What we know about the four dead in the Capitol riots

Sicknick had joined the Capitol Police in July 2008, and most recently served in the department's First Responders Unit.

"The entire USCP Department expresses its deepest sympathies to Officer Sicknick's family and friends on their loss, and mourns the loss of a friend and colleague," Capitol Police said.

Sicknick is the fifth person to die as a result of Wednesday's insurrection. One woman was shot and killed by Capitol Police as the crowd breached the building and three others suffered medical emergencies that proved fatal.

Shortly after 1pm ET Wednesday (5am Thursday AEDT) hundreds of pro-Trump protesters pushed through barriers set up along the perimeter of the Capitol, where they tussled with officers in full riot gear, some calling the officers "traitors" for doing their jobs.

About 90 minutes later, police said demonstrators got into the building and the doors to the House and Senate were being locked. Shortly after, the House floor was evacuated by police. Vice President Mike Pence was also evacuated from the chamber, where he was to perform his role in the counting of electoral votes.

An armed standoff took place at the House front door at about 3pm ET (7am Thursday AEDT), and police officers had their guns drawn at someone who was trying to breach it.

As a result of the episode, US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund is resigning. He said in a statement earlier Thursday that Capitol Police and other law enforcement officers were "actively attacked" with metal pipes and other weapons.

"They were determined to enter into the Capitol Building by causing great damage," Sund said.

"The violent attack on the US Capitol was unlike any I have ever experienced in my 30 years in law enforcement here in Washington, D.C.," he added. "Maintaining public safety in an open environment — specifically for First Amendment activities — has long been a challenge."

Still, lawmakers say they are perplexed at the lack of preparedness among law enforcement given that it had been known for weeks that Trump was promoting a rally he said was aimed at preventing the certification of Biden's win.

Rep. Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat who was locked in the House chamber during an armed standoff between Capitol Police and a rioter, praised the officers who were in the building that put their lives on the line, but made clear that they were outnumbered and law enforcement was under prepared.

"The Capitol Police I was around did an amazing job under difficult circumstances," Quigley told CNN. "My concern wasn't with how valiant the Capitol Police were. It was that an hour before the debate started, I looked at the throngs of people surrounding different sections of the Capitol and said, we don't have enough security."

Quigley added: "I'm no expert in security, but you can tell we were out-manned in an hour before the debate," referring to Congress' proceedings to certify Biden's win.

Kaelah Marlow has been named by police as the 19-year-old woman killed by a shark in waters off Waihī Beach on New Zealand's North Island.

The teen from Hamilton, about 120kms south of Auckland, was pulled out by a rip and seen bobbing in the water for 15 minutes before rescuers could get to her.

Witness Amanda Gould was swimming just five metres away, at the Bowentown end of Waihī Beach, yesterday before Marlow was swept out to sea.

Ms Gould was swimming waist-deep with her husband and two boys, aged eight and 10, when she saw the victim separated from her group and pulled out to deep water.

READ MORE: Drone operator spots school of 40 sharks at NSW beach

"We were in the water at the same time as the girl and her friends – they were about five metres in front of us, but they kept getting further and further out," Ms Gould told Stuff.

"She got separated from all her friends and was pulled really far out, beyond where the surfers would sit."

Ms Gould didn't feel comfortable in the water due to a strong rip and decided to head back into shore.

That's when the horrors unfolded in front of her.

She estimated that the woman was out there for at least 15-minutes before people realised she needed help.

"You could tell she was struggling because there is no way she would go that far out," Ms Gould said.

"No one saw her waving out, but I did hear a scream."

Lifeguards then came to her aid.

Ms Gould said it took about five minutes to get the rescue boat out to her due to rough conditions.

"It was so rough and every time they tried to push the boat out it kept coming back in."

READ MORE: Survivor tells of near-death experience after shark attack

It wasn't until the victim was pulled from the water, and taken to shore, that Ms Gould realised what happened.

"I thought there was another person out there, but the lifeguard said 'no, that's a shark, we need to get people out of the water,'" she said.

"So I was watching the shark's fin go around, not another person.

"I didn't see any blood – she was alive and when they got to shore, they started CPR straight away."

It was chaos, Ms Gould said, there were people panicking.

"It was shocking, surreal, and we were all a bit freaked out – it keeps playing on my mind," she said.

"I'm really sad for the girl and I feel for the family. It's so shocking that someone's life can be taken away just by that one event, one minute she's swimming and the next she's pulled out and then that happened. It's quite dreadful."

READ MORE: Monster shark tagged off WA cost is one of the biggest on record

Stuff understands that the victim had bite wounds to at least one of her legs and that the shark involved was a white pointer (great white).

A post-mortem, being carried today, will provide police with a clearer understanding of what happened, however the Coroner will ultimately determine the cause of death.

The Goulds, who are staying at Bowentown Beach Holiday Park, often travel over from Tauranga and said Thursday's tragedy wouldn't put an end to their love of water.

"I would still swim and I won't stop the children from swimming either," Ms Gould said.

"I will just be careful of the conditions and not go beyond my depth and the boys won't go beyond chest height."

This article originally appeared in Stuff and has been republished with permission.

A Supreme Court judge has overridden a magistrate to grant AFL player Sydney Stack bail, saying it's because circumstances had changed.

The young Tiger completed his 14 days of isolation while spending Christmas inside Hakea prison in Western Australia and returned a negative COVID test.

READ MORE: AFL comes down hard on Tigers duo after fight

He had been allowed into WA for his grandfather's funeral where the 20-year-old is accused of breaching quarantine by moving addresses without telling police.

It's something that may have gone unnoticed had he not been allegedly caught brawling in party hotspot Northbridge.

The judge found three weeks behind bars has been a sobering experience for Stack and said continued detention is likely to impact his career.

The Richmond player is already set to miss the first four games of the new season, as he serves match bans for leaving the AFL's Gold Coast hub and fighting outside a strip club.

Stack will be required to report to Midland police twice a week, with a $10,000 surety signed by his manager.

A young Victorian girl has died after falling 10 metres down a cliff face in regional Tasmania today.

Tasmania Police said the child was walking along the edge of the clifftop at the Sand River conservation area in Buckland, 62 km north east of Hobart, when she slipped and fell at about 2.20pm.

"The Westpac Rescue Helicopter and police units from Sorell and Orford responded to the scene, which is not accessible by road," Tasmania Police said via Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/Tas.Police/posts/3745347005545172

Despite efforts from emergency crews to perform CPR on the girl, she died at the scene.

"Her parents have now been formally informed," Tasmania Police said.

"Our thoughts are with her family and loved ones at this difficult time."

Anyone who has information about the incident is urged to contact Tasmania Police on 131444.

More to come …

Some 2.5 million Queenslanders are being plunged back into lockdown, Greater Brisbane has been declared a national hotspot and other states are imposing travel restrictions – all due to a single new community case of COVID-19.

The new case, a woman in her 20s, works as a casual cleaner at a quarantine hotel in Brisbane and visited various stores and travelled on public transport while infectious.

It was revealed late yesterday that the woman was infected with a new COVID-19 variant originating from the United Kingdom.

Even Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who has previously criticised harsh lockdown measures such as those seen in Victoria, has backed the snap lockdown and border measures.

So just what about this new case has health authorities so worried?

READ MORE: Prime Minister says Brisbane is in a 'serious situation'

The new COVID-19 strain spreads more quickly

Like other viruses, the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is constantly mutating.

Most of the time, these mutations are useless but every so often, a mutation will prove advantageous – making the virus more transmissible or more deadly.

This new COVID-19 variant, known as VUI–202012/01 or lineage B.1.1.7, has an unusual number and combination of mutations.

It carries 14 defining mutations, including seven in the spike protein – the protein that mediates entry of the virus into human cells.

In the UK, where the virus originated and has since become rampant, the new strain has since been demonstrated to be up to 70 per cent more infectious than previous variants.

This means it could increase the R rate (Reproduction rate) of the virus by around 0.4.

In more positive news, it does not appear to be more likely to result in severe infection or less effective against current vaccines.

Why Australian health authorities are on edge

The new variant's increase transmissibility means that COVID-safe practices such as mask use and social distancing which have proven effective in containing previous small outbreaks across Australia may not stand up against the new strain.

This was a point made clear by Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young this morning.

"We have all seen other states – and indeed ourselves – deal with other cases and we've allowed things to continue and that has taken us then weeks to get on top of it. But we got on top of it," she said.

"I'm really concerned that if we were to have cases from this very, very contagious, infectious virus, we wouldn't be able to get on top of it.

"Once it is spread, it will be too late to act."

How the Brisbane cleaner acquired the infection has also caused concern, with fears the virus managed to defeat stringent health and safety protocols in place at Brisbane's quarantine hotels.

The woman is the first quarantine worker to be infected in Queensland and health authorities have stressed she "did everything right".

How did the new strain reach Australia?

As with all recent outbreaks in Australia, the latest Brisbane case was acquired through returned travellers in hotel quarantine infected with the virus.

The B.1.1.7 strain was first identified in the English county of Kent on September 20, but it wasn't announced by UK health secretary Matt Hancock until December 14.

It has since become the dominant strain in many parts of the United Kingdom, and is now spreading rapidly across the globe.

At least 56 cases of the variant have been confirmed in the United States – where fewer than one per cent of cases are genome sequenced – as well as many across Europe and Asia.

Today, Mr Morrison confirmed that 80 per cent of the countries that Australians are returning from have confirmed cases of the strain.

"This strain is likely to become, in the very near future, the dominant strain (worldwide), as it largely already is in the UK," Scott Morrison said.

"So the idea that it somehow can be contained just out of the United Kingdom is a false hope."

So will whole cities lock down now every time there's a case?

That remains to be seen, but Mr Morrison isn't ruling it out.

"We will see – that's my honest answer," he told today's press conference.

"This is a very significant issue and we will deal with it, and we will learn what we need to learn from it – and that is what will guide further actions."

Further measures have been put in place in attempt to limit breaches of Australia's program for returning travellers from overseas, including mandatory masks on planes and reducing the number of arrivals coming in.

It is hoped that this will ease pressure on the quarantine hotels and lessen the likelihood of infection breaches.

However, if the new B.1.1.7 virus does indeed come to dominate worldwide, the Brisbane woman is unlikely to be the last case to escape Australia's infection protocols.

A property in a normally quiet South Australian neighbourhood was stormed by heavily armed police today, where they allegedly uncovered prohibited drugs, stashes of money and an explosive device.

A man and woman who live at the Modlavia Walk property in Osborne, about 21 kilometres north-west of the Adelaide city centre, were quickly arrested.

Neighbours say they were concerned by the raid on their street but are grateful that police acted when they did.

"They (police) flung the garage up, smashed the door in and yeah got him (the man), heard them yelling, 'hands up'," a local resident said.

The woman was shortly after quizzed by police before being loaded into a car flanked by detectives and taken away.

"They've been coming in all morning heaps of them and started searching the place," the resident said.

With the help of a drug detection dog, officers allege they found a haul of cannabis and methamphetamine at the property.

Police said they allegedly discovered a pipe bomb which was safely removed by the Bomb Response Unit.

Leaving no stone unturned, officers also discovered a large amount of cash and a number of stolen items.

Police charged the pair with a number of offences including trafficking a controlled drug, money laundering and possessing an explosive device.

The woman was released late today while the man was refused bail and will face court on Monday.

An aunty of Waihī Beach shark attack victim Kaelah Marlow says the whole family are in “shock” after the 19-year-old’s death.Marlow was dragged from the water alive after the attack but paramedics administered CPR on the…

Brisbane has now been thrust into a three-day lockdown after Scott Morrison declared the area a hotspot amid "serious" threats of an outbreak of UK's mutant strain.

The prime minister said the Queensland government made a "wise decision" to enforce the restrictions, which came into force 6pm today, after a quarantine hotel worker tested positive to the highly contagious UK strain of COVID-19.

"It moves so quickly far more quickly than previous strains of the virus," Mr Morrison said today.

LIVE UPDATES: Brisbane to enter three-day lockdown as UK virus case diagnosed

"That means we need to give our contact tracers a head start to ensure they can track down all of the contacts from this individual."

The prime minister also revealed Greater Brisbane will be declared a Commonwealth Coronavirus Hotspot region from today.

The ruling applies to the Brisbane, Logan, Moreton Bay and Redlands regions of the city.

"Our message to Australian in those areas is stay where you are," Mr Morrison said.

"Don't go anywhere and don't go home to another state or any other part of your state.

"Over the next few days, stay where you are."

EXPLAINER: Brisbane lockdown – what you can and can't do

Greater Brisbane will enter a three-day lockdown this evening to prevent the spread of the UK COVID-19 strain.

The areas included in the lockdown are Metro North, Metro South and West Moreton.

From 6pm tonight, Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton, and Redlands will be under the same restrictions introduced in March.

"We know that this UK strain is highly infectious," Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said.

"It is 70 per cent more infectious (than previous strains) and we are going to go hard and we are going to go early to do everything we can to stop the spread of this virus."

Lockdown restrictions have also been extended to anyone who has visited Greater Brisbane area since January 2, regardless of where they are in the state.

"Think of it as a long weekend at home. We need to do this," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"If we do not do this now, it could end up being a 30-day lockdown."

https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1347309459891109888?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Queensland has reported nine new cases of COVID-19 in hotel quarantine.

More than 13,000 people were tested for the virus overnight, however Ms Palaszscuk urged more people to come forward.

"I want to thank people who have come out in their thousands to get tested but we want more to get tested, we want to see higher testing rates especially in the areas we outlined yesterday," she said.

READ MORE: Victoria records zero local COVID-19 cases, one detected in returned traveller

People in the designated lockdown areas will only be able to leave their home for essential reasons including providing or receiving healthcare or support for a vulnerable person, essential shopping within their local area and exercise in your local neighbourhood.

In addition, people will be required to wear a mask while outside their homes.

It is the first time a mask mandate has been enforced in Queensland since the beginning of the pandemic.

"I know this will be tough on businesses over the next few days but I am thinking about your long-term futures as well. So it is incredibly important that we take these strong measures," Ms Palaszczuk said.

Ms Palaszczuk said the government has declared Brisbane and Greater Brisbane as a COVID-19 hotspot.

"It is incredibly important in this time to stop the spread of this infectious UK strain, we must act immediately, we must act strongly, and we have taken those strong measures today," she said.

The state's Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young said Queenslanders "can't relax" until all cases of the UK virus are found.

"We need to act really, really fast. We need to find every single case now. We need to find every person who might have had contact with that lady now – find them and get them into quarantine. That's what we've got to do over the next three days," Dr Young said.

"I have absolute confidence that we will do that."

For the next three days, funerals will be limited to 20 people, weddings to 10 people and people have been asked to limit any non-essential movement.

"We're asking people not to go to any non-essential businesses such as hairdressers, nail salons, etc, cinemas, gyms – all of those sporting activities over the weekend, organised community sport, all of that is just on hold," Dr Young said.

"We need to take a pause for the next three days and just see what this single case means."

Queenslanders who have visited hotspot areas and are now interstate have been asked to get tested if they develop any symptoms of COVID-19.

Queenslanders in Greater Brisbane have also been asked to avoid visiting vulnerable family members in aged care and hospitals.

Dr Young also urged people to avoid panic buying of essential goods ahead of tonight's lockdown.

Police will issue fines for people who break the new restrictions over the coming days.

Ms Palaszczuk said anyone who is currently on holiday outside the hotspot areas is allowed to return home, but they must remain for the next three days.

People planning to leave the Greater Brisbane area will not be permitted to do so.

"If you are in those Greater Brisbane areas and you may have planned a vacation over this weekend. I'm so sorry, but you will not be able to go. You will have to reschedule," she said.