Morning mail: Melbourne Covid outbreak, early election ‘opportunistic’, 100 years of the Archibald

Tuesday: Genomic testing under way after four new cases discovered in Victoria. Plus, what the portrait prize reveals about Australia

Good morning! Residents in Melbourne will be keeping a close eye on today's new Covid case numbers after four new cases were detected yesterday. At least four Liberal MPs are in the firing line ahead of the next federal election, we can reveal today. And if you're staring out at your lawn as you read the morning news with a cuppa in hand, check out our recommended reads for the perfect story to ponder the turf.

Victorian health authorities hope genomic sequencing will establish the source of four new cases of Covid discovered in Melbourne's northern suburbs. The four positive cases belong to the same family, spread across two households, in the Whittlesea local government area. South Australia and NSW have already imposed new travel restrictions on people who have been to key sites in Melbourne. Victoria's health minister said there was no current plan to impose a lockdown but as more information came to hand from contact tracers and genomic testing the evidence will determine our response".