1. Victoria enters fourth lockdown

The number of locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 in Melbourne almost doubled on Thursday to 26. Victoria will remain in lockdown for the next 7 days, which business leaders predict will cost the state more than $1 billion according to a report by the AFR.

2. Gina Rinehart tops Rich List as richest Australian ever

Gina Rinehart has topped the 2021 Financial Review Rich List with a fortune of $31.06 billion, more than $2 billion higher than last year. Andrew Forrest ($27.25 billion), Mike Cannon-Brookes ($20.18 billion), Anthony Pratt and Family ($20.09 billion) and Scott Farquhar ($20 billion) round out the top five.

3. Qantas may reward vaccinated travellers

Qantas has announced it is considering offering points, flight vouchers or status credits for those who receive both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. "As a large company that relies on travel to put our people and planes back to work, we’re obviously motivated to help with the national vaccine effort," said Qantas chief customer officer Stephanie Tully.

4. Pool party turns bearish

A group of seven black bears have taken over a high school pool party in the city of Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Students from the Jefferson County High School Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps remained "safely outside the pool area" while the bears took a dip according to Michelle Johnson, who captured the incident on video.

5. Dow and S&P 500 move higher

The Dow Jones moved 141.59 points or 0.41% higher on Thursday to 34,.464.64, while the S&P 500 rose by 4.89 points or 0.12% to 4,200.88. The Nasdaq had a flat trading session, dipping just 1.72 points or 0.01% to 13,736.28. GE and Ford were the biggest positive movers out of the S&P 500 with rises of more than 7%.