New cases of Victoria’s coronavirus are dropping « a little faster » than expected, Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said, adding he would work « into the evening » to determine what steps to take to avoid it Sunday lockdown
More restrictions will be eased from Monday than originally planned, as the number of cases in the state continued to drop « ahead of schedule »
However, M Andrews warned restrictions would not be eased dramatically, once again dampening expectations of a significant roadmap departure out of lockdown
« We are not opening the doors tomorrow, » said M Andrews at a press conference dominated by questions about Jenny Mikakos’ resignation
Another Victorian lost her life to virus The death of a woman in her 80s brings the state’s death toll to 782
Three of the new cases are linked to retirement homes for the elderly Of the 12 new cases, five are linked to known outbreaks and seven are under investigation
« At the end of the day, we’re reducing those numbers, maybe they’re going down a little faster than we thought
« People can be optimistic and positive once you get them low, you can keep them low This is what science and logic tell you »
« Today is not the day to make announcements, there will be meetings today and in the evening to finalize these details on the next safe steps, » said M Andrews
There are now 444 active cases in Victoria, a drop of nearly 40 since Friday Two cases have been added to the total for community transmission with no known source
As of Saturday, 53 Victorians were in hospital with COVID-19, a decrease of five, and nine were in intensive care, an increase of one
The 14-day moving average fell to 236 in Melbourne and remains at 08 in the Victoria area
As part of the current roadmap to recovery, daycares will reopen to all families without the need for a permit, more students will return to classrooms and up to five people from two households different people will be allowed to gather in public places
M Andrews said a change to the five-kilometer radius rule would likely be « beyond the scope » of the impending changes, but no final decision has been made
Among the new cases recorded on Saturday, the three linked to senior care facilities were recorded at Baptcare Wyndham Lodge in Werribee and Edenvale Manor in Keilor East
There were also three cases out of the total in Brimbank and Wyndham, two cases in Greater Dandenong and single cases in Banyule, Monash and Mitchell
The Alfred Hospital, Footscray Hospital and Casey Local Communities clusters all recorded zero new cases
The number of health workers currently infected has increased from 77 to 72 and the number of active cases linked to retirement homes for the elderly has dropped from 16 to 231
A couple sitting in a car playing Pokemon Go were among those fined by police for flouting lockdown rules on Friday
The man and woman were caught playing the mobile game more than three miles from their home, alongside another man who did not live with them
Victoria Police fined 82 over 24 hours Eight people were fined for not wearing face masks and 26 people were fined for breaking the 9pm curfew in Melbourne
A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said a male driver was pulled over on the Mornington Peninsula in the early hours of Saturday and fined after telling officers he was’ out and that he was looking for his phone that he had dropped earlier «
Victoria recorded 14 cases of COVID-19 and eight deaths on Friday Five of 14 cases were linked to hospitals or nursing homes
The state’s active cases fell below 500 for the first time since the start of July, with the Department of Health and Human Services confirming that there were 482 active cases in Victoria on Friday
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Daniel Andrews press conference
World news – UA – Daniel Andrews to work « until late in the evening » to determine next steps outside of lockdown
