The Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Health Minister Jenny Mikakos gave a media update on COVID-19 in the state this morning.
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A man in his nineties has died overnight in hospital. The Premier said there were 216 new confirmed cases since yesterday, a drop in the rate recorded the previous day.
It follows a record high of 288 new cases announced on Friday, the biggest leap by a huge margin since the pandemic began.
There are no new cases in Ballarat, nor in Moorabool Shire. One active case remains in Golden Plains.
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The death of the man in his nineties brings the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 in the state to 23.
The Premier was unable to give further details on where the man died.
The number has increased 181 from Friday July 10 as there were 35 that were reclassified. Of those 216 cases, 30 are from known outbreaks, with 186 remaining under investigation.
There has been a significant increase in the number of tests taking place in recent weeks.
A milestone was passed earlier this week, with more than a million tests having taken place. That total now stands at 1,095,219.
The vast majority of cases are from metropolitan Melbourne with more than 3,000 confirmed instances of COVID-19 in the city while less than 300 have been confirmed in the regions.
There's a warning of more ugliness to come.
"We will see more and more additional cases, that's the nature of this," Mr Andrews said.
He's called on Victorians not to look for loopholes to get around restrictions, as it was revealed a plateau in the second outbreak's numbers could be starting already.
Individuals thinking it won't matter if they don't comply with the rules will only lead to longer lockdowns, he said.
"It isn't for them to make that judgement because its not just them who pays the price, we all will because the lockdown will go longer," he said.
The premier said people were noticeably taking on board the recommendation that they wear masks in public when out and about for one of the four allowed reasons.
The wearing of masks could well be a really important feature of the next part of our pandemic response
Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said he would expect to start seeing a plateau in cases, most likely in the next three to five days, as lockdown measures had some effect.
"The main thing is the mobility data - it's really showing a very substantial decrease in people's mobility, their numbers of interactions with other people," he said.
Single cases are still being recorded among staff in aged care facilities, and Victoria has had more aged care outbreaks than any other state, but the response has meant none have been substantial, he said.
Australia is still pursuing a strategy of suppressing rather than eliminating the virus, but Prof Sutton hopes both could be achieved.
"(Elimination) is not the national decision at the moment ... I would hope that we don't close ourselves of to a re-evaluation and reappraisal of what's feasible and what the pros and cons are," Prof Sutton said.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said new testing facilities are being opened across the lockdown area, with the aim being for every person in metropolitan Melbourne or Mitchell Shire to have a site within 10km of their homes.
Around 20-25,000 Victorians are being tested daily and capacity in the state's pathology labs has increased to 25,000 tests a day.
Interstate labs are also being used to test Victorian samples.
The premier said he had accepted all offers of support from Prime Minister Scott Morrison.Defence force staff have been deployed at checkpoints, and more are on their way, he said.
"If I need something I ring the prime minister and he says 'yes'," he said.
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Victoria an COVID-19 in numbers
- There are currently 49 patients in hospital and 15 people in intensive care.
- 535 cases may indicate community transmission
- 1249 cases are currently active in Victoria
- 2286 people have recovered from the virus
- Of the total cases, 3176 cases are from metropolitan Melbourne, while 279 are from regional Victoria
- Total cases include 1876 men and 1659 women
- More than 1,095,000 tests have been processed to date
VICTORIAN CASES (Current at July 11)
- Residential location is the residential address provided when the case is notified.
- This is not where they were infected and may not be where the case currently resides.
- Numbers are correct as of 11.59pm last night but are subject to change as cases are followed up and data is analysed.
- Active cases are defined as someone who has tested positive, is currently in isolation and being monitored by the Department and who has not yet recovered.
HUME 354 (176 active)
MELBOURNE 318 (203)
WYNDHAM 263 (175)
BRIMBANK 232 (97)
MOONEE VALLEY 228 (122)
MORELAND 176 (67)
CASEY 137 (21)
BANYULE 126 (28)
STONNINGTON 116 (14)
WHITTLESEA 114 (44)
MELTON 102 (28)
DAREBIN 89 (30)
BOROONDARA 88 (12)
GREATER GEELONG 73 (5)
MONASH 73 (19)
MARIBYRNONG 71 (35)
YARRA 68 (26)
MORNINGTON PENINSULA 64 (0)
GLEN EIRA 63 (3)
PORT PHILLIP 63 (10)
MANNINGHAM 50 (14)
HOBSONS BAY 48 (18)
WHITEHORSE 45 (17)
FRANKSTON 44 (3)
BAYSIDE 39 (3)
KINGSTON 39 (4)
GREATER DANDENONG 31 (4)
YARRA RANGES 31 (5)
KNOX 29 (5)
NILLUMBIK 29 (2)
MITCHELL 26 (12)
CARDINIA 25 (3)
MAROONDAH 21 (5)
GREATER SHEPPARTON 16 (1 )
WELLINGTON 13 (0)
GREATER BENDIGO 12 (3)
BALLARAT 11 (0)
MOIRA 11 (0)
SURF COAST 10 (1)
LATROBE 9 (0)
MACEDON RANGES 9 (0)
BAW BAW 7 (2)
MOUNT ALEXANDER 6 (0)
SOUTH GIPPSLAND 6 (1)
ARARAT 5 (0)
CAMPASPE 5 (0)
MILDURA 5 (0)
WARRNAMBOOL 5 (0)
BASS COAST 4 (0)
SWAN HILL 4 (0)
BENALLA 3 (0)
HORSHAM 3 (0)
LODDON 3 (0)
MANSFIELD 3 (0)
MOORABOOL 3 (0)
NORTHERN GRAMPIANS 3 (0)
EAST GIPPSLAND 2 (1)
GANNAWARRA 2 (0)
GOLDEN PLAINS 2 (1)
HEPBURN 2 (0)
MURRINDINDI 2 (0)
SOUTHERN GRAMPIANS 2 (0)
STRATHBOGIE 2 (0)
WANGARATTA 2 (0)
ALPINE 1 (0)
CENTRAL GOLDFIELDS 1 (0)
CORANGAMITE 1 (0)
GLENELG 1 (0)
MOYNE 1 (0)
WEST WIMMERA 1 (0)
WODONGA 1 (0)
YARRIAMBIACK 1 (0)
UNKNOWN 31 (27)
INTERSTATE 70 (2 )
OVERSEAS 4
Total 3560 (1249)
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