The Loop: Skull and bones found on Darwin beach, COVID isolation to be scrapped, and Trevor Noah leaving The Daily Show

Hi there. It's Friday, September 30 and you're reading The Loop, a quick wrap-up of today's news.

One thing to know: COVID isolation is being scrapped in October

National cabinet agrees to end mandatory isolation from October 14.

National cabinet decided today that mandatory COVID-19 isolation will be scrapped from October 14.

Here's what you need to know:

• From October 14, rules forcing people with COVID-19 to isolate for five days will be scrapped
• At the same time, the Pandemic Leave Disaster Payment will come to an end
• In order to protect the most-vulnerable, targeted financial support will continue for casual workers in aged care, disability care, Aboriginal healthcare and hospital care
• Individual states and territories will be responsible for implementing the changes
• Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said the changes don't mean the pandemic is over, and we will probably still see peaks of the virus into the future

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said today's decision was a unanimous one among state and territory leaders.

It comes one month after the COVID-19 isolation period was reduced from seven days to five.

Here's the latest on the Optus breach saga

There were some further developments in the Optus data breach saga today:

• Firstly, the Australian Federal Police said it had launched an operation to protect more than 10,000 victims of the breach whose details were leaked online last week by the account which claimed to be behind the breach
• The AFP said it was prioritising those 10,000 people, as they potentially had 100 points of identification released, which could be exploited by criminals
• Meanwhile, the PM said Optus had confirmed that it would cover the costs of replacement passports for customers affected by the breach, but it's unclear whether customers will be able to replace their passports for free or be reimbursed after paying the fee

To learn about how to replace your passport, drivers licence or Medicare card, keep reading here.

News you might have missed

• A crime scene has been established on Darwin's Lee Point Beach where human remains, including a skull and a "large number" of bones, have been discovered by a bushwalker. Police said it appeared the remains belonged to one person, but it was too early to identify them, the cause or timing of their death, or whether it was suspicious

• After slamming Florida and leaving people trapped in their homes, Hurricane Ian is on its way to the Carolinas, where forecasters are predicting a "life-threatening storm surge" and flooding. Many people in South Carolina have sandbagged storefronts and fled to higher ground amid a hurricane warning

Here's what Australia has been searching for online

• Tua Tagovailoa. The Miami Dolphins quarterback appears to have suffered his second serious head injury in five days, putting the NFL's concussion policies under scrutiny. He was cleared of concussion five days ago, despite seeming to stumble after a head knock, and many questioned whether he should have been allowed to play against the Cincinnati Bengals, when he was knocked out in a tackle

• Annex. Aussies have been looking up the meaning of this word — in this context it means to 'add (territory) to one's own territory by appropriation' — because Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed decrees paving the way for the occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to be formally annexed into Russia, following what Kyiv and the West have denounced as illegal, sham referendums. He's expected to proclaim the annexation in a major speech later today

Russia stages referendum to justify annexation of Ukraine.

One more thing: Trevor Noah is leaving The Daily Show

Comedian Trevor Noah revealed on today's episode of The Daily Show that he'll be leaving the talk show he has hosted for seven years.

The 38-year-old South African, who took over from Jon Stewart in 2015, says he wants to dedicate more time to stand-up comedy.

"We have laughed together, we have cried together. But after seven years, I feel like it's time," he told his studio audience.

"I spent two years in my apartment [during COVID-19], not on the road.

"Stand-up was done, and when I got back out there again, I realised there's another part of my life that I want to carry on exploring."

Noah didn't mention his exact departure date, and it's not publicly known who will succeed him.

You can watch his farewell message below.

You're up to date!

We'll catch you again next week.

ABC/wires