There were seven new deaths - two men and two women in their 80s, and two men and one woman in their 90s. It is the highest number of deaths registered in Victoria since the pandemic began.

Mr Andrews announced earlier in the day that only six had died. New statistics this afternoon reveal another person has lost their battle with the virus.

Five were residents of aged care homes. It highlights the unique pressures on the state's aged care sector.

The number of deaths in the state since the pandemic began now stands at 56.

In the daily media conference today, Premier Andrews announced that 51 of those new cases were linked to known outbreaks and 249 were under investigation.

There has now been more than two weeks with more than triple-digit new cases every day. It takes Victoria to 7405 cases in total, with 3734 of those currently being active.

There are now 206 people in hospitals across Victoria, with 41 in intensive care .

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Premier Andrews once again encouraged people to get tested - even if they have only mild symptoms.

The new statistics still indicate a concerning level of community transmission. The past fortnight has seen by far the steepest and fastest rise in the number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic measures first came into place.

The chief health officer Brett Sutton said at the end of last week that he hoped for numbers to plateau shortly.

The breakdown of cases by local government area will be sent out later today.

Currently the Ballarat municipality has 11 active cases. There were none registered until July 17 when Ballarat registered its first positive COVID case since mid-May. Numbers increased steadily after that first case.

In recent days, concerns have been raised over contact tracing and planning to manage for outbreaks in aged care homes.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said he expected more deaths due to the high number of cases recorded in the state in the past month. Friday marks the 19th consecutive day of a triple-digit increase.

"I have always expressed concern about the fact that when you have hundreds of new cases a day, there are several people expected to die in the following two week period," Professor Sutton said."I'm afraid we will see that and I expect that to occur.

That is very tragic and it is focused in those most vulnerable."Of the new cases, 51 of those are connected to known and contained outbreaks, while 249 are under investigation by the public health team.There are 206 Victorians in hospital with the virus, with 41 of them receiving intensive care.

Prof Sutton said some of those fighting for their lives in ICU were young.

"That is an absolute tragedy and of course we are working in whatever way we can to drive those numbers down," he said.Mr Andrews announced contact tracing will be "dramatically expanded" to ensure all positive cases are contacted within 24 hours of receiving their test result.It comes after it was revealed on Wednesday about a third of people were not picking up the phone when contact tracers called.Those who have tested positive to COVID-19 will receive two telephone calls in a two-hour period.

Twenty-eight teams from the Australian Defence Force personnel and the Department of Health will then doorknock people who haven't picked up and undertake contact tracing in person.

"This is about going that extra step to make sure that we cannot just call, but we can connect and have that meaningful interaction, get that interview done and then begin the process of contact tracing."He said people will be fined if they are not home.

Some 101 Victorians have been fined for breaking the state's stage three restrictions in the past 24 hours and 63 have been issued warnings, Police Minister Lisa Neville said.

"They are people deciding they still want to party, people who have decided they want to continue to go to brothels, decided that the gym can continue to operate and, of course, people who have decided to go into unrestricted areas,"

Stage 3 "Stay at Home" restrictions remain in force across metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire.

There are only four reasons for people to leave their homes: shopping for food and essential items; care and caregiving; daily exercise; and work and study.

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