Victoria records HUGE spike in coronavirus deaths as 59 people die and 81 new cases are discovered amid fears Dan Andrews' lockdown will be extended by another two weeks
- Fifty of the new deaths were aged care residents who died in July and August
- Deaths were previously known but there was a lag in reporting as COVID-related
- Victoria also recorded 81 new COVID-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm Thursday
- Leaked documents reveal Melbourne's lockdown could be extended two weeks
Victoria has announced a record 59 new coronavirus deaths, its highest daily total during the pandemic.
Health bosses recorded 81 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, a marked drop since the 113 reported on Thursday.
The spike in deaths comes as bombshell leaked documents reveal Melbourne's strict Stage Four lockdown could be extended by another two weeks.
A top secret draft for Victoria’s recovery appeared to reveal the government's plan to extend the 8pm-5am curfew and keep restrictions on businesses for an additional two weeks.
The new deaths come as bombshell leaked documents reveal Melbourne's strict stage four lockdown could be extended (pictured, police roam Melbourne on Thursday)
Victoria recorded 81 new cases on Friday. The state's death toll increased by 59, including 50 aged care deaths which occurred in July and August, taking the national toll to 737
While the Victorian government has claimed the leaked map is 'out of date', Premier Daniel Andrews on Thursday refused to rule out continuing Stage Four restrictions.
‘Everything is on the table,’ he admitted. ‘It will be driven by the data and the science, how many cases there are, the types of cases there are.’
Fifty of the deaths announced on Friday were people who passed away in aged care in July and August, after a federal and state government review of previous deaths in facilities across the state.
According to the road map, residents will be given the luxury of two hours of exercise a day, which can be split into two sessions, from September 14 - the official date Stage Four comes to an end.
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Single people and single parents would also be given the right to have a nominated visitor at their home.
According to the report, which was obtained by the Herald Sun, there are bigger changes coming from September 28, which includes the curfew being lifted and increased social gatherings.
But the Victorian Chamber of Commerce has denied there is a plan to extend Stage Four lockdown by two weeks - claiming it is out of date.
A top secret draft for the city's exit road map has revealed the government's plan to extend the 8pm-5am curfew (pictured, a woman in Melbourne on Thursday)
The Morrison government explained it was widely known there was a ‘discrepancy’ on deaths over the last few months, and officials are now trying to reconcile these unreported coronavirus deaths with official figures.
While these deaths in aged care were registered and families informed, they were not processed into Victoria’s public health information unit.
This is because up until recently, the unit required death certificates to be verified before they could be processed, leading to a delay.
From now on, aged care centres have been asked to immediately notify the unit if any residents die due to COVID-19, meaning numbers are likely to be substantially higher.
If COVID-19 infections were to spread out-of-control, Australia's health system could become overwhelmed, according to modelling by the Grattan Institute (pictured, their report)
Police officers (pictured on St Kilda Beach on Thursday) are roaming Melbourne to look for those breaching Stage Four restrictions
Meanwhile, a Grattan Institute report said Australia should implement 'smarter' restrictions and aggressively drive COVID-19 cases to zero because the 'short-term pain' will pay off on the other side.
The report, released on Thursday, said Victoria, NSW, and Queensland should 'go for zero' infections to avoid future outbreaks, reimposed lockdowns, renewed economic disruption and more deaths.
The report, written by former federal Department of Health secretary Stephen Duckett, Will Mackey, and Tony Chen, said Australia is facing new challenges due to community transmission in NSW and Victoria.
If COVID-19 infections were to spread out-of-control, Australia's health system could become overwhelmed and about ten million Australians, who are at a higher risk of coronavirus complications, may choose to restrict their movement.
While the Victorian government has claimed the leaked map is 'out of date', Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) on Thursday refused to rule out continuing Stage Four restrictions
Locked down Melburnians are seen getting their daily exercise on Thursday (pictured, at St Kilda beach) as a decision looms about the future of Stage Four restrictions
Reimposing lockdowns to control another outbreak would lead to 'sizeable' economic costs, the report says.
'Ideally, lockdowns are only done once and done well,' the report says.
'The benefit of zero is to reduce the risk of ''yo-yoing'' between virus flare-ups and further lockdowns to contain them.'
Victoria, which remains in lockdown until at least September 13, should only ease restrictions when the state records less than 20 infections a day, the report said.
There were 113 new coronavirus cases in the state on Thursday - the first time since Sunday that the daily tally has been above 100 - after 90 on Wednesday and 70 the day before.
The usually bustling Queen Victoria Market (pictured on Thursday) has been a ghost town since lockdown began
On Sunday, Mr Andrews will announce separate 'roadmaps' for how Melbourne will come out of Stage Four lockdown and the way out of the Stage Three rules for regional Victoria.
But there is no confirmation yet that any restrictions will be eased on September 13.
'These are some of the most difficult decisions that I've ever made in 20 years in public life ... these are really challenging decisions to make because the tolerance for getting it wrong is incredibly low,' he said on Thursday.
'I will not do this faster than the science tells me to because there's too much at stake.
'And that's not to say that being in lockdown doesn't have its own cost, doesn't have its own sense of pain and challenge. I get that. I understand that. None of these decisions are made lightly.'
