Premier Daniel Andrews says testing rates are returning to a level that gives authorities more comfort.
Victoria’s daily coronavirus case count has risen back above 100 for the first time since Sunday and a further 15 people have been added to the state’s COVID-19 death toll.
Key points:
The Deputy Chief Health Officer says the number of cases is not as low as officials would like it to be
The deaths bring Victoria’s coronavirus death toll to 591
The Premier has again warned infections could “explode” if restrictions are opened too quickly
The state has recorded another 113 coronavirus cases since yesterday.
Nine of the 15 deaths were recorded in aged care facilities before yesterday, but were only added to the official death toll today, Premier Daniel Andrews said.
Eight of the deaths occurred in a single aged care facility.
Of the deaths recorded today, 14 were linked to aged care settings.
It brings the state’s coronavirus death toll to 591, with 447 of those deaths linked to aged care.
It is the first time this week the daily case count has risen back above 100, after 90 new infections were recorded on Wednesday, 70 on Tuesday and 73 on Monday.
It is the highest daily increase since 114 cases were confirmed on Sunday.
“I am reassured that the number of cases is coming down somewhat. It’s not as low as we would like it to be,” Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said.
Roadmap out of restrictions still set to be announced on Sunday
A plan for getting out of Victoria’s current lockdown is set to be revealed on Sunday.(AAP: Daniel Pockett, File Photo)
Mr Andrews has promised to announce a roadmap out of the stage 4 lockdown in Melbourne and stage 3 stay-at-home orders this Sunday.
But he again warned today that if the state opens “too much, too soon” infections numbers could again “explode”.
Mr Andrews said a leaked plan published in the Herald Sun, which proposed keeping stage 4 restrictions in place for an additional fortnight with some tweaks, was an “out-of-date draft”.
