Morning mail: Victorians told to wear masks, Nationals ‘losing its way’, Amazon rainforest on the brink

Thursday: A growing Covid outbreak in Victoria prompts indoor mask mandate. Plus: Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in hospital for hiccups

Good morning. Victorians face Covid restrictions again as case numbers grow, South Africa continues to suffer significant violence and unrest, and the mourning family of Frank Gud" Coleman call out a lack of respect from corrective services following his passing.

A former member of the Morrison government's immunisation advisory body has hit back at the prime minister's criticism of the group, calling Scott Morrison's comments unfair" and disappointing". Morrison blamed Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisations (Atagi) on 2GB radio on Wednesday for being overly cautious" about the AstraZeneca jab, suggesting this had slowed the Covid vaccine rollout. Former member, Debra Petrys, said Atagi had been unfairly put in the spotlight", while public health expert Bill Bowtell also claimed the federal government's failure to diversify its vaccine supply was the most critical setback for the vaccine rollout, not the advice of Atagi.