Australia has said it will receive the first batches of a potential Covid-19 vaccine in January 2021, as the country’s virus hotspot said the number of new daily infections has fallen to a 10-week low.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said his government has struck a manufacturing deal with CSL Ltd to produce an AstraZeneca and Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine, with 3.8 million doses to be delivered in January and February 2021.

Known as AZD1222, the AstraZeneca vaccine is undergoing late-stage clinical trials in Britain, Brazil and South Africa.