‘A relief’: Victoria records 217 new coronavirus cases
Victoria has recorded 217 new coronavirus cases, almost half the number of daily cases in the state since Friday's record number, and a further two Victorians have died.
The new daily tally is more than 200 cases fewer than the daily increase recorded in Victoria on Friday - which was the highest daily jump of 428 cases.
Premier Daniel Andrews said it was 'no ordinary weekend' and said Victorians needed to stick to the rules.Credit:Robert Cianflone/Getty Images
Premier Daniel Andrews said the decrease showed stage three restrictions were working, however, stressed the numbers were jumping from day to day and said there was no room for complacency.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton described Saturday's 217 figure as ''a relief''.
“Today's number of 270 new cases is a relief, after yesterday's number, certainly a relief to someone like me who has been watching the daily numbers for six months,'' he said.
He said the state had experienced decreases across the board, including hospitalisations, people on ventilators and in outbreaks throughout the state.
Mr Andrews said that there had been a further two deaths, a woman in her 80s and a man in his 80s.
Overall, the state had 5353 active coronavirus cases. Of those, 11 are connected to known outbreaks and 205 are under investigation, Mr Andrews said.
Announcing the new cases during a coronavirus update on Saturday, Mr Andrews said it was 'no ordinary weekend' and pleaded with Victorians to stay home.
''We’d all rather be in a very different position, but we can't ignore the reality that we face nor can we be finding reasons, inventing reasons to travel a long way from home,'' he said.
''Victoria Police are out there in force and they will issue fines for people who are making choices that are much more about them than everybody else.”
On Friday, both Mr Andrews and Professor Sutton said stage four restrictions were being considered with "everything on the table".
Cases have now been reported in 32 nursing homes and at least eight clusters of the illness have emerged in hospitals and other healthcare sites, Mr Andrews said.
The new cases come as a group of physicians said 80 per cent of the workforce should be sent home to eliminate community spread of the illness, warning there was no chance current restrictions would clear Victoria of the illness by the time they were due to expire on August 19.
Global coronavirus cases topped 14 million on Saturday, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.