Foot and mouth disease has been detected in Australian food products.

Viral fragments of foot and mouth disease and African swine fever have been detected in pork products at a Melbourne retailer.

Australia remains free of the diseases as the live virus was not detected, but Agriculture Minister Murray Watt reiterated the importance of biosecurity measures.

The products, believed to be imported from China, were detected in the Melbourne CBD as part of routine surveillance and have been seized.

It's the first time viral fragments have been detected in a retail setting, Senator Watt said.

"This is not the first time in Australian history that we have picked up foot and mouth disease viral fragments in meat products – it's happened a number of other times in airport settings," he told reporters in Brisbane.

"I want to assure people that our systems have worked, we have monitored this, we have undertaken surveillance operations and these products have been found, tested and now seized."

Further investigations into how the products entered Australia are being conducted, with the likely outcome of prosecutions to follow, Senator Watt said.

"If you do the wrong thing, you will be caught. If you try to bring products into the country without declaring them you will be caught," he said.

Sanitation mats will be rolled out at international airports in an effort to stop foot and mouth disease entering Australia on traveller's shoes.

It's the latest measure by the federal government to prevent an outbreak of the livestock disease on Australian shores. If foot and mouth disease enters Australia, it is predicted to cause an $80 billion hit to the economy over ten years.

With AAP.

A mother is assisting police after her three children died in a house fire in Port Hedland in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

The bodies of the children, aged 10, seven and five months, were found inside the house by firefighters who responded to the blaze on Anderson St around 4.45pm on Tuesday.

Acting deputy police commissioner Allan Adams said their mother was with police and homicide detectives were on their way to Port Hedland. The fathers of the children have been notified of their deaths.

Teddies and flowers have been left at the scene of a tragic house fire that killed three kids aged 10, 7 and five months old in Port Hedland yesterday @westaustralian #perthnews pic.twitter.com/sPtsCL5jRy

— Shannon Hampton (@ShannonHampton_) July 20, 2022

"The mother is seeking medical attention at the moment as a result of the fire," Mr Adams told reporters on Wednesday. "The investigators, when they arrive, will make those determinations as to the next phase of the investigation in respect to the mum."

Mr Adams said the fire had taken about 30 minutes to bring under control. Formal identification of the children has not yet taken place. Forensics detectives and arson squad officers are also flying to Port Hedland to assist with the investigation.

The property has been searched but Mr Adams said it was still being established who had been present when the fire started.

"This tragedy will have a profound effect in the Port Hedland area," he said. "The family and extended family but across the state, whenever we see these types of incidents occur, they resonate through every West Australian. Local police will be working with support agencies to make sure that all those impacted by this event are cared for during this time."

Mr Adams urged the local community to let police do their job.

"Undoubtedly grief brings with it significant emotion. I would ask that those family members wrap their arms around each other," he said.

"This will take time. It won't be quick but I'm very comfortable that police have got a thorough response in place that will remedy this situation in the shortest possible time frame."

Premier Mark McGowan said it was a terrible tragedy.

"Three children losing their lives is incredibly sad," he told reporters.

"Our thoughts go to them but also to all those people affected, their family and the first responders who had to deal with the terribly distressing situation in Hedland overnight."

With AAP.

Our favourite show about problematic rich people being trapped in all-inclusive resorts is finally back, with White Lotus season two currently filming. Here’s everything we know about the new season.

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Get The Spill in your ears now!

Morning everyone. 

Welcome to your live news feed for Wednesday July 20.

Here are the top five news stories you need to know to start off your day. 

1. Aussies urged to wear masks as COVID vaccine approved for children under six.

Aussies are being urged to work from home where possible, wear masks in crowded areas and get the booster doses they are eligible for amid soaring COVID-19 cases.

In the past week, more than 300,000 cases have been recorded in Australia, but Health Minister Mark Butler believes the true number to be much higher.

"This third Omicron wave for 2022 is proving to be a very, very significant one," Butler said yesterday.

"We are seeing hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Australians infected every single week in this wave. As of today, there are more than 5200 Australians in hospital with COVID. That number has increased very dramatically over recent weeks."

Health minister Mark Butler says real rates of COVID infection “likely more than double” the reported figures

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly says people should consider wearing masks in the workplace, & employers should allow working from home

Both entered wearing face masks pic.twitter.com/AQHl1zyWdW

— Josh Butler (@JoshButler) July 19, 2022

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly said wearing a mask would help curb case numbers, protect people and reduce the strain on hospitals.

"We cannot stop this wave of infections, but we can slow the spread and protect the vulnerable," he said."We have done this before and we can do it again."

As cases continue to rise, the Therapeutic Goods Administration has granted provisional approval for Moderna's vaccine for children aged six months to six years.

It is the first time a vaccine for the age group has received provisional approval in Australia. However, final approval would need to be granted before the rollout could begin. 

Australia recorded more than 50,000 COVID-19 cases and 75 deaths yesterday.

2. Labor responds to ‘shocking’ environment report.

Australians have been promised a fundamental overhaul of environmental laws after a major report detailing shocking declines in the health of native ecosystems.

Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek says people will be confronted to learn how poorly the environment is doing following the release of the State of the Environment report, which found "the state and trend of the environment of Australia are poor and deteriorating". 

Environment and Water Minister Tanya Plibersek has slammed the previous Morrison government for leaving "too many urgent warnings" ignored and money left unspent, while addressing the #NPC on the State Of The Environment report. #auspol pic.twitter.com/4WB8jvzvRu

— 10 News First (@10NewsFirst) July 19, 2022

She says Labor will respond to the scathing Samuel review of national environmental laws - delivered under the previous government - by year's end.

"We'll then develop new environmental legislation for 2023," she told the National Press Club yesterday. 

"What the environment needs is a changed system. That's the message from the Samuel review. That's the message from the State of the Environment report.

"Without structural change we'll be resigning ourselves to another decade of failure without the tools we need to arrest our decline."

She also committed Labor to affording some level of protection to 30 per cent of Australia's land and oceans by 2030.

3. UK records highest ever temp of 40C as fire engulfs homes.

The United Kingdom has recorded its highest ever temperature of 40C as a heatwave gripping Europe intensifies, forcing train tracks to buckle and fuelling a spate of fires across London.

The Met Office said a new provisional record temperature of 40.3C was recorded in Coningsby, in central England, with 29 sites across the country experiencing temperatures in excess of the previous high of 38.7C recorded in 2019.

"Research conducted here at the Met Office has demonstrated that it's virtually impossible for the UK to experience 40C in an undisrupted climate but climate change driven by greenhouse gases has made these extreme temperatures possible," said Stephen Belcher from the Met Office.

🌡️ For the first time ever, 40 Celsius has provisionally been exceeded in the UK

London Heathrow reported a temperature of 40.2°C at 12:50 today

📈 Temperatures are still climbing in many places, so remember to stay #WeatherAware ⚠️#heatwave #heatwave2022 pic.twitter.com/GLxcR6gjZX

— Met Office (@metoffice) July 19, 2022

A large fire has engulfed homes in the village of Wennington, train services on major routes from London up the east and west coast were cancelled and electricity companies have reported mass outages.

London's Ambulance Service said it had been dealing with 400 calls an hour because of the extreme heat.

"We are seeing an increase in the number of patients experiencing heat exposure, breathing difficulties, dizziness and fainting," said Peter Rhodes, the deputy director of ambulance operations.

Blazes can be seen across east and north London from Sky News' helicopter.

Places like Wennington and Dagenham have lost multiple houses to the fire.

Live updates on the UK heatwave: https://t.co/NvxWFA7hul pic.twitter.com/oq1iFV6UQ6

— Sky News (@SkyNews) July 19, 2022

The arrival of a searing heatwave that first sparked wildfires across Europe before arriving in Britain has turned the spotlight on to "net zero" pledges made by the candidates running to replace Boris Johnson as prime minister.

4. Refugee claims hotel detention unlawful. 

A refugee is suing the federal government over allegations he was unlawfully detained inside two Melbourne hotels for 14 months after being transferred for medical treatment.

Mostafa Azimitabar, who is Kurdish Iranian, was detained on Christmas Island after trying to arrive in Australia by boat in 2013. He was brought to Australia in November 2019 to receive medical attention. 

However, instead of being transferred for treatment, he was detained at the Mantra Hotel for 13 months and the Park Hotel for one month.

Moz Azimitabar has spent eight years in detention at Christmas and Manus Islands, before being held in Melbourne hotels. With his case against the Federal Government in court now, @AzimiMoz tells us when he began thinking his treatment was illegal. pic.twitter.com/MuU6gUE1eN

— The Project (@theprojecttv) July 19, 2022

Azimitabar's barrister Lisa De Ferrari told the Federal Court his detention was unlawful because the immigration minister himself didn't approve in writing of the hotels being used as detention facilities.

She said then-minister Alan Tudge delegated the responsibility to officers and claimed any money spent setting up the Mantra and Park hotels as detention centres was not authorised by law.

"The place at which you detain someone ... under the Australian Constitution has to be a place where the Commonwealth actually has an authority to detain you and an authority to do so by the expenditure of money," De Ferrari told the court yesterday. 

Azimitabar, who was released into the community on a bridging visa in January 2021, is seeking an unspecified amount in damages. The hearing continues today. 

5. Twitter and Musk head to October trial.

Twitter and Elon Musk will go to trial in October, after Twitter sued the billionaire to force him to go through with his $44 billion deal to buy the social media company,

Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick of the Court of Chancery in Delaware said the parties were capable of handling an expedited trial and as a public company Twitter deserved to have the cloud hanging over it resolved quickly.

"The reality is delay threatens irreparable harm to the sellers," she said, referring to Twitter.

Twitter and Elon Musk will go to trial in October over whether the billionaire must complete his $44 billion acquisition of the social media company, a Delaware judge ruled on Tuesday. https://t.co/feO8w9XHbu

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 19, 2022

Musk agreed to buy Twitter in April but later announced he intended to walk away from the deal last week. 

The trial will last five days.  

That's it, you're all up to speed. We'll be back to bring you more of the top news stories throughout the day. 

- With AAP. 

We're once again tackling rising COVID case numbers, but what about those who've already had it, and are still struggling to recover from it?

The Quicky speaks to an expert epidemiologist to find out what exactly 'long COVID' is, the factors that determine who gets it and who doesn't, and if there's anything you can do to minimise the risk of ongoing symptoms for you and your family.

READ: 

• What women were talking about on Tuesday
• What women were talking about on Monday

Feature Image: Channel Nine/ABC/Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty for The Met Museum/Vogue.