NSW

Argentina, who were released from a bio-secure facility in Sydney earlier this week, are keen to get some gametime before opening their campaign against the All Blacks on 14 November.

However, coach Mario Ledesma said, given most of the team had not played in more than seven months, it was more important they focused on ensuring they would be in the best possible shape to face New Zealand and the Wallabies.

Health authorities in NSW confirmed 14 new coronavirus infections in the 24 hours to 8pm yesterday.

Eleven of those are locally acquired, and all have been traced back to known clusters or cases.

Three cases of coronavirus were identified within hotel quarantine, health authorities said.

Berejiklian said the state was "on the verge of being where it was" in early July, when an infected Victorian man sparked a cluster of cases at the Crossroads Hotel in Sydney's south-west.

It comes as the state recorded one new case of coronavirus overnight.

The 68-year-old Queensland woman was diagnosed with the virus in the past 24 hours and authorities are still investigating the source of the infection.

Two historic cases have also been added to the state's total of 1,088 cases.

The hotspot declaration means anyone travelling from NSW or the nation's capital will soon be banned from entering the Sunshine State.

Queenslanders who return after travelling there will be sent to mandatory hotel quarantine for 14 days at their own expense.

The 15-year-old was surfing at Wilsons Headland at Wooli Beach, near Grafton and north of Coffs Harbour, just before 2:30pm on Saturday when he was attacked.

The shark attack left him with severe injuries to his legs.

Several surfers came to the aid of the teen and helped him to shore for medical attention.

Despite CPR efforts from paramedics to revive him, the boy died at the scene.

A Surf Life Saving NSW spokeswoman said drones which scan coastline for predators had been concentrated in the mid-north coast area lately.

Andrews announced the closure at a press conference this morning where he said Victoria had recorded a further 127 new coronavirus cases and a man in his 90s had died in a Victorian hospital.

He said the decision to close the border followed talks with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

The three leaders agreed closing the border would be the "smart call" at this point in time, Mr Andrews said.

A 53-year-old man who recently travelled to Singapore has tested positive, as well has a 39-year-old man who travelled from Iran.

This is the first case in NSW that appears to have come from Singapore.

There have been 11 cases in NSW to date. 

It follows two new cases yesterday of person-to-person transmission of coronavirus.

A 53-year-old health worker in western Sydney and a 41-year-old woman in Sydney have contracted coronavirus without leaving the country.

Severe weather warnings for rain, winds and flooding have been issued for coastal areas of the eastern state.

Australia's Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) warned of "dangerous conditions" on Saturday and Sunday.

There has already been flooding in Sydney and other areas along the coast.

Friday was the wettest day recorded in well over a year in Sydney, where roads were closed and public transport delayed.

Other NSW towns faced flood waters as well, including Byron Bay and Coffs Harbour, where 280mm and 250mm of rain fell respectively.

A southerly change with powerful gusts up to 80mph (128km/h) threatened to spread huge fires raging in New South Wales (NSW), officials said.

In the neighbouring state of Victoria, army helicopters have been deployed to evacuate people trapped by the flames.

Since September, fires in Australia have killed at least 23 people.

More than 1,200 homes have been destroyed and millions of hectares of land scorched. Although much attention has centred on worst-hit NSW, every state and territory has been affected.

On Tuesday, level two restrictions were enacted in the capital of New South Wales (NSW), a state 99.9% in drought.

These could be increased to level three within months, local media report.

Temperatures are predicted to soar above 40C (104F) from Tuesday, worsening fires which have already killed six people since October.

There are now more than 100 fires in NSW and Queensland states, many of which have been burning for several weeks.

What are the water restrictions?

About 150 fires are still burning in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, feeding off tinder-dry conditions.

Fifty houses were destroyed or damaged in NSW on Tuesday but no lives were lost, officials said. At one point, fires broke out in suburbs of Sydney.

On Wednesday, blazes caused fresh emergencies in Queensland.

"The conditions are of concern to us," Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk told reporters.

The threat in NSW has been downgraded from catastrophic - the highest level - but officials urged residents to remain vigilant.