Daniel Andrews's sheer delight at being able to sit down while the associate professors Wai-Hong Tham and Julian Elliott take the questions is, I think, the happiest he's been in public in weeks.

Elliott taking a few digs at treatments like hydroxychloroquine here.

"One of the things I think we can be proud of here in Australia and Victoria is that we haven't jumped on to the latest bandwagon because of a particular trend on social media....

"...that meant is that Victorians and Australians have not been exposed to the potential harms or side effects of treatments that are not got a robust evidence base or not proven."

He continues: "...we make a recommendation that hydroxychloroquine should not be used. Certainly outside of a research setting. Because there's now substantial information that it's not effective, and it does have side effects."

On Remdesivir, Elliott says:

"We have an antiviral called Remdesivir, which is again given for people with more severe disease who are in hospital. That has been shown to quicken the time to recovery. It doesn't reduce mortality, but it enables people to recover more quickly."

Tham is asked about risks of re-infection. She says there are "different strains that are circulating," and that "some of those antibodies (which WEH is working on to design antibody-based therapies) are still effective in the presence of those mutated variants".

Tham said research on new strains of the virus is still ongoing.

"My feeling is that there's actually a lot more research to be done in terms of how infectious it is, does it transmit more? And is it actually more pathogenic as a variant that's circulating?"

Andrews up now. He's asked if he's discussing a compromise with crossbenchers on the state of emergency extension – like a shorter extension.

"No. We're just working through a whole range of different issues. We will do that in the usual, respectful way."

Andrews says it's "a bit early for us to provide a definitive road map or pathway in relation to what stages 3 and 2 will look like".

"I wish I could provide you with a series of absolutely definitive dates and trigger points, if you like. We can't."

On why he wants a 12-month extension:

"If you want to say to business: here's a 6-month or a 12-month plan to rebuild, to open up... then I need to have some certainty that the plan that I am putting forward has got the legal authority that it needs.

Andrews: "Therefore, some sort of week-by-week thing or month by month doesn't really work. Again, I want to stress, though, no rules will be if place for a moment longer than they need to be. And this is about opening up, about less rules."

A reporter asks: "All sides of politics agree the need for restrictions will be ongoing. They question the lack of
oversight."

Andrews: "That is a matter for them. There will be a debate in Parliament."

The same reporter says it's "hard to imagine" Andrews, as opposition leader, supporting this legislation.

He says he she can "run opinions on what I may or may not have done six years ago... We are not six years ago."

(I think the public response would be VERY different if a coalition government was proposing this.)

(And if your response to that is 'but I trust Dan to use it judiciously in this case', you may very well be right – I'm sure it's done with the best of intentions and they say they won't over-use it. But do you also trust the next government?)

Back on what stage three will be. Stage 4 is due to expire on 13 September.

A reporter points out that businesses need a bit of lead time to adjust. Andrews says he will "give people as much notice as we can about what the next stage looks like".

Andrews pivots the business certainty argument back to why he needs a 12-month state of emergency extension.

A thing I have discovered about myself today is I want to spell extension with two t's.

Andrews is asked if he's waiting to say what happens post 13 September until after the state of emergency extension passes parliament.

The max six month extension will expire then.

He says they can't do the one without the other, but it's not being held over the crossbench.

Andrews: "It will be too early, early next week, for us with any certainty to be talking about what things look like after the 13th."

This Sunday is two weeks to the 13th, for anyone who has slightly lost track of time.