Victoria has recorded another 403 COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours - a dip in the daily tally following yesterday's record of 484.
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This brings the total amount to 7125 since the pandemic began, 3630 which are active.
Of the new cases, 69 are from known outbreaks, while 334 are under investigation.
Five new deaths have been recorded across the state:
- Male in his 50s
- Female in her 70s in aged care
- Male in his 70s
- Male in his 80s in aged care
- Male in his 90s in aged are
This brings Victoria's death toll to 49 - and 133 nationwide - since the pandemic began earlier this year.
The death of the man in his 50s has prompted the government to urge younger people to take the threat of coronavirus more seriously.
"This is not just something that affects people that are frail and aged," Premier Daniel Andrews said.
"It would be wrong to assume that young people are somehow immune to this. Even otherwise fit and healthy young people can get sick and can die from this virus."
There are 201 people in hospital, 40 of those are in intensive care.
27,151 tests were conducted on Wednesday, bringing the total to 1,413,115 since January 1.
Mr Andrews said while regional Victoria did not have to wear 'face coverings' like Melbourne and Mitchell Shire residents, "there are still rules and it's important to follow those rules" including social distancing.
"There are smaller numbers [in regional Victoria] - and some of those are connected to well known and well understood and contained outbreaks," he said.
"We are still seeing some cases in regional Victoria [but] we are not seeing the sort of growth in regional Victoria that would see us change our settings dramatically and that's pleasing.
"On a number of occasions we have talked about the prospect of easing restrictions in regional Victoria at an appropriate time, but we simply won't have that option available to us until we see those numbers low - and in fact drive them down even further.
"To every regional Victorian - you've not got the same rules as metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, but there are still rules and that's why it is important to follow them."
The state government will extend the coronavirus worker support payment - a one-off payment of $1500 is available to workers who are unable to work during their isolation, have no income during this period, and are not entitled to any paid sick leave, special pandemic leave or other income support.
The government will now extend the scheme to ensure that as soon as a person is tested, they will be eligible for a $300 support payment - as long as they meet the eligibility of the existing scheme.
On Wednesday, Mr Andrews said a staggering nine in 10 people who tested positive between July 7 and 21 - about 3400 people - did not isolate from when they felt sick to when they got tested.
"They have gone out shopping. They have gone to work. They have been at the height of their infectivity, and they have just continued on as usual."
Furthermore, he said one in two people went "about their business" after waiting for their test results rather than self-isolating.
"We certainly cannot have one in two people who are waiting for a test result simply going about their business as if they didn't have symptoms, as if they weren't waiting for a test result, as if this wasn't a global pandemic."
The new cases come as it's compulsory for Melbourne hotspot residents to wear 'face coverings' when outside or they face a $200 fine.
No new figures have been released for local government areas, but this is expected later this afternoon.
Ballarat now has 10 active COVID-19 cases and one person is in intensive care at Ballarat Base Hospital.
One of the patients in the hospital is known to have come from the Bill Crawford Lodge, which is overseen by Ballarat Aged Care - itself part of BHS.
BHS said that all close contacts of the staff and residents of the cases linked to Ballarat Aged Care had been tested.
More to come.
MORE ON CORONAVIRUS
For more information on COVID-19, visit: https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/coronavirus.
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