ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys is confident he can heal the administration's fractured relationship with Nine Entertainment after the media companydelivered an unprecedented takedown of the NRL,accusing it of years of mismanagement.

Dramatic days in rugby league are par for the course but even by the code's lofty standards,Thursday was notable,with the scathing critique of the governing body making waves around the game.

The broadside from Nine,which ownsThe Sydney Morning Herald,was received by league officials as an explosive negotiating tactic and seen as heaping more pressure on NRL chief executive Todd Greenberg,who is out of contract at the end of October and fighting to save his job.

Nine chief executive Hugh Marks was incensed about the broadcaster being left out of the code’s planning to resume the season amid the coronavirus crisis,havingalready told the NRL he believed the rights had less value with no crowds in the stadiums and if the competition stretched beyond October because of programming clashes.

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A world expert in aerosols says the new coronavirus may be spreading more easily through the air than first thought - from breathing as well as coughing or sneezing in some cases.

While scientists agree the virus is not airborne in the same way as other infectious diseases such as measles,they are split on the question of how big a risk it poses in the air.

The World Health Organisation says there’s not enough evidence to say the virus can jump from person to person in small or aerosolised particles.

It’s mostly shed by larger water droplets from the nose and mouth,tiny balls of mucus,salt and virus that can shoot about a metre into the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Sometimes they land on and contaminate surfaces,but they’re too heavy to survive long in the air.

But other scientists,including infectious disease expert Professor Raina MacIntyre and aerosol scientist and WHO advisor Professor Lidia Morawska,say the evidence is growing that the risk may have been underestimated.

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Retail workers say they are"scared and desperate"and are begging for businesses to stop in-store trading amid fears for their health during the COVID-19 crisis.

Employees have told of customers openly coughing in store,coming too close to a pregnant worker and revealing that although they were meant to be in quarantine they were out shopping because they"needed a break".

The retail workers union said it had been in contact with major stores nationwide as they fielded concerns from staff working during the outbreak.

A JB Hi-Fi employee,who didn't want to be named,described the company's decision to keep doors open as"crazy".

The employee said many customers had"no regard for staff".

"Yesterday,a family of four came into our store and coughed openly ... multiple times and then continued to touch multiple items while the children ran around without restraint,"the employee said.

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"I love to see them all."That's what Maureen Jacotine,86,repeated when she saw her family of 11 - spread out from Hawaii to Sydney and Melbourne - using video call technology being trialled at Uniting's Aldersgate aged care facility.

Soon the tears began. All real. None virtual. Many more are expected to flow over Easter. The families of 20 of 51 residents at the Lilyfield facility in Sydney's inner west,which has been in lockdown for nearly three weeks,have already booked in video chats this Easter.

This Easter families are being urged to visit relatives - virtually. The National Mental Health Commissioner Christine Morgan recommended families keep in contact using technology,stressing video chat is a more powerful way of connecting with people who are lonely or isolated than texting or telephoning.

Critics say too few nursing homes are moving quickly enough to devise ways for residents to see or talk to their families during what could be a long lockdown.

Announcing restrictions on nursing home visits last month,the Prime Minister Scott Morrison acknowledged they were going to be difficult for families. Many have gone into complete lockdown.

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Scott Cam will no longer receive a salary for his work as national skills ambassador due to the coronavirus crisis.

Cam made headlines when it was revealed taxpayers would be fitting a $345,000 salary for his role as national ambassador.

Employment Minister Michaelia Cash confirmed on Thursday that Cam's role had changed after a number of"face to face"committments were cancelled due to the health crisis.

"As his role has fundamentally changed,Mr Cam has also volunteered to forgo his salary payments moving forward but remains committed to his role as the National Careers Ambassador,"Ms Cash said.

Biotechnology giant CSL Limited's chief scientific officer,Professor Andrew Cuthbertson,says social distancing is the best weapon Australia has to combat the coronavirus,with a vaccine 12 to 18 months away from being ready for the public.

The Melbourne-based company is working with the University of Queensland and the CSIRO on a potential COVID-19 vaccine which Professor Cuthbertson said on Thursday was on track to go into clinical testing in June.

Professor Cuthbertson added that it was important to recognise vaccines under development could fail at any stage,and that it would be 12 to 18 months before one could pass clinical trials and be made available to protect the public.

The public health measures put in place in the interim were what had kept infections below a level that would overwhelm Australia's healthcare system,he said,and any relaxation had to be done carefully and gradually.

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Melbourne Storm plan to be back training on May 1 but where they will train remains uncertain.

The Storm immediately notified all players they would need to be ready to begin training by May 1 following the NRL’s decision on Thursday to resume their season on May 28 after stopping due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Storm have utility Brandon Smith with his family in New Zealand,while a host of players are with their families in NSW and Queensland. All those players will likely need to be under quarantine for two weeks should they have to move over state borders.

But Storm football director Frank Ponissi told the club media team he was waiting for more information on where the team will be training.

The NSW Teachers Federation has suggested a staged return to school once health authorities and governments start lifting social distancing restrictions,beginning with year 12 and kindergarten.

As schools prepare to deliver term two online,federation president Angelo Gavrielatos said leaders needed to think about how to ensure an"orderly return"when circumstances changed,avoiding a deluge of students when older or vulnerable teachers were unable to return.

"An option could be a staggered return to our schools,"he said."I've advanced a proposition that part of an orderly[process],we could consider a return of year 12 and kindergarten,followed by year seven and year six,and progressively pad that out."

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