Victoria has recorded another 208 cases of COVID-19 and 17 deaths, taking the state's death toll to 415.
Key points:
- Results from testing at the Cranbourne Turf Club are expected today
- The entire production team of The Masked Singer Australia are isolating after several crew members tested positive
- Data has showed a spike in people using public transport in Melbourne last weekend
The deaths include one woman and one man in their 60s, three men in their 70s, four women and six men in their 80s and two men in their 90s.
Eleven of the 17 are linked to aged care outbreaks.
There are 585 Victorians in hospital including 32 people in intensive care and 21 of those in ICU are on ventilators.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the number of mystery cases has increased by 82 and active cases in healthcare workers had dropped to 536.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the numbers were "bouncing around a little bit" but the state would not be seeing cases in the 300s or 400s again.
Professor Sutton said daily cases still needed to drop and people continuing to follow the basic rules like washing their hands, wearing masks properly and keeping their distance would help the most.
"We have ingrained habits we are trying to turn around."
There are 3,920 cases with an unknown source — an increase of 82.
"So 82 that have been closed out following that coronavirus detective work," Mr Andrews said.
Professor Sutton said the number of active cases was often higher than reported due to the definition of what was a recovered case, which would be clarified by National Cabinet next week.
Premier wants to reach 'Covid-normal' by Christmas
Mr Andrews warned Victorians the state was still a long way off from easing stage 4 restrictions, despite today being the halfway mark of the six-week lockdown.
He said he understood people wanted lockdown to be over but warned if the state opened up too soon, "it wouldn't last long".
"Then we'd be arguably in a worse situation than we are now," he said.
"We don't underestimate that there are many costs, some economic, some social, many very personal costs and there's going to be a massive job of repair. But I think we're up to that.
"I think the strategy is working, we're going to defeat this second wave and then we'll be able to begin the process of opening up."
Professor Sutton said it was "ambitious" to think cases would be in single digits by September 13, when stage 4 restrictions were due to end.
"I certainly hope we are in double figures," he said.
"We can't second guess what the transmission will be until we are closer to the date."
Mr Andrews said his goal was to get to a "Covid-normal" state by Christmas but it was "too early for us to be going through a catalogue of all the different restrictions as they might or might not apply".
"You'd be speculating at best and it wouldn't even be that really."
Mr Andrews said he could not give people clarity on what that would look like.
Mr Andrews acknowledged the last few months had played havoc on people's mental health and said the Government would invest in services and programs to help people recover.
Two outbreaks emerge in industries with stage 4 exemption
The latest figures come after two new outbreaks in Melbourne were revealed on Saturday in industries that have been allowed to continue operating under stage 4 restrictions.
Racing Victoria locked down seven Cranbourne stables linked to a staff member who tested positive to COVID-19.
The organisation tested close contacts at the Cranbourne Turf Club on Saturday with results expected to be known today.
Production of reality TV show The Masked Singer Australia was suspended in Melbourne yesterday after several crew members tested positive to COVID-19.
The Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement on Sunday that seven people linked to the set had now tested positive to coronavirus.
The entire production team including the cast and crew are isolating.
Professor Sutton said the cases showed how vulnerable workplaces were to the virus but said the outbreaks did not mean anything had gone wrong.
"With a very infectious virus that's what happens — you get a cluster of cases."
Support payments reach businesses and people isolating
Mr Andrews said the business support fund had approved 126,420 applications total, delivering $1.3 billion.
"We don't rule out doing more, that is a very big direct financial support," he said.
The Premier said the worker support payment, which was originally $300 before being increased to $450, had reached almost 25,000 people.
Mr Andrews said he was thankful for the wet and cold weather this weekend that meant more people were inside.
"We have to get past this second wave and push into that even harder period if you like where we have to rebuild business, save jobs, create new jobs and there will be no effort spared," he said.
Data shows Victorians struggling to remain at home during lockdown
Data supplied by the State Government shows Victorians are struggling with lockdown fatigue.
While residents in Melbourne and regional Victoria are staying home during the week, they are starting to creep outdoors on the weekend.
The data showed there was a spike in people using public transport in Melbourne last weekend, compared with the previous weekend.
Most metropolitan local government areas recorded a rise in public transport use last Saturday, particularly in Port Phillip that saw train and tram use up 37 per cent and bus use up 25 per cent.
The age cohort that caught public transport the most was senior Myki cardholders with a 20 per cent increase compared to 11 per cent for students and 2 per cent for full-fare travellers.
Mr Andrews said it was not surprising movements were up last weekend when the weather was "absolutely beautiful".
"It's just an obvious thing — lots of sunshine last weekend, that meant people were out. This weekend, not much sunshine and I expect when we're reporting movement next week that will be reflected in those numbers."
Farmers flag need to move across border as calving season begins
On Saturday, Mr Andrews flagged the possibility of a border bubble between Victoria and South Australia to free up movement for small communities who shop and get their fuel across the border because it's closer.
Mr Andrews said he had been talking with SA Premier Steven Marshall yesterday about the arrangement.
"We'd like to see the borders open. But I'm not critical of those who have closed their borders and I'm only focused on trying to make those arrangements as best we possibly can."
Mr Andrews said he was happy to follow up on individuals who could not wait two weeks for a permit to cross the NSW border due to the beginning of calving season.
"It's a very busy time. These are not decisions that we have made, they have been made by other governments. I'm not criticising those other governments. We're working very closely.
"On the issue of people wanting to move livestock, I'm more than happy to chase that up."
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiX2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTA4LTIzL3ZpY3RvcmlhLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWNvdmlkLWRhaWx5LWNhc2VzLXJlcG9ydGVkLzEyNTg2ODEy0gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEyNTg2ODEy?oc=5
2020-08-23 00:01:00Z
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