Victoria records 73 new coronavirus cases, roadmap out of stage 4 restrictions to be announced on Sunday

The Victorian Government says it will announce a plan for easing restrictions on Sunday, after the state recorded 73 new coronavirus infections and eight new deaths overnight.

However the total number of deaths has increased by 41 today, because 33 historical deaths linked to aged care were added to the figures.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the 33 historical aged care deaths reported today occurred over several weeks.

“There is a reconciliation that we’ve needed to go through … there are Commonwealth reporting obligations, there are state reporting processes, and we need to reconcile those cases, so that whatever the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre is reporting is absolutely consistent,” he said.

Mr Andrews said the Victorian Government would announce its “reopening roadmap” on Sunday.

“I know that Victorians also want the clearest picture possible of what the next phase looks like. We cannot provide that certainty today,” he said.

“We cannot provide a detailed roadmap today, but we will provide that on Sunday — another week’s data is almost invaluable.”

Victoria COVID-19 snapshot

• Confirmed cases so far: 19,080
• Confirmed active cases: 2,620
• Deaths: 565
• Suspected cases of community transmission where the source is unknown: 4,338
• Cases in hospital: 453
• Intensive care patients: 21
• Active cases in regional Victoria: 154
• Active cases in healthcare workers: 378
• Active cases linked to aged care outbreaks: 1,225
• Tests since pandemic began: More than 2.24 million

Updated Monday August 31

‘Traffic light system’ to move out of restrictions

The Federal Government and some business community leaders have been calling on the State Government to give Victorians more clarity around what restrictions would look like after September 13, when stage 4 in Melbourne and stage 3 in regional Victoria are due to expire.

The Premier said more analysis and consultation would take place before detailed announcements were made on Sunday.

However, he did say the roadmap would include rules for industries that were forced to close during the stage 4 lockdown, including cafes, bars, restaurants, retail and personal care industries.

Source: abc