Victoria records 35 new cases of coronavirus, seven deaths
Victoria has recorded 35 new cases of coronavirus in the past day and another seven deaths.
It is the lowest daily rise in cases since June 26 and comes as Melbourne's stage four restrictions begin to ease.
Forty-one cases were recorded on Sunday and 37 on Saturday, while 13 coronavirus-related deaths were reported over the weekend.
Playgrounds reopened across the city on Monday morning and single people are now allowed to have one visitor in their social bubble.
Libraries can offer click-and-collect services and the curfew has been reduced by one hour – it will now start at 9pm each night instead of 8pm.
Melbourne residents must still stay within five kilometres of home, except for permitted reasons such as work or education if these cannot be done at home.
Childcare and schools will continue in remote and flexible learning mode, with on-site supervision at schools for children of permitted workers.
Shopping for essentials is permitted for one person per household, once a day.
Restaurants and cafes will remain open for takeaway and delivery only and not sit-down service.
Under changes to restrictions for regional Victoria, starting from 11.59pm on Sunday, there can now be public gatherings outdoors of up to five people from a maximum of two households. Infants aged under 12 months old are not counted.
People who live alone or single parents with children under 18 can have one nominated person visit their home. Childcare in regional areas will be open to all children and in term four, schools will be re-opened in stages, with safety measures.
Retail outlets in regional Victoria, including hairdressers, will open, with some restrictions on numbers. However restaurants and cafes are still open only for takeaway and delivery.
Premier Daniel Andrews said restrictions in regional Victoria could be eased further as soon as this week if case number targets for reaching the next step are met.
For the state to move to step two in the road map out of restrictions, the 14-day case average needs to fall below 50 by September 28.
The 14-day average on Monday was not immediately available.
Melbourne's road map out of lockdown. Credit:Scott McNaughton
On Sunday, the Victorian government announced a $3 billion rescue package for businesses, as anti-lockdown protesters clashed with heavily-armed riot police at Queen Victoria Market.
Seventy-four people were arrested and $280,000 in fines were issued during Sunday's heated protest.
Meanwhile, data compiled by Victoria's public health team shows that only about 20 per cent of people found to have coronavirus in recent weeks had a high temperature.
Coughs, sore throats and runny noses are the most common symptoms being detected in Victorians testing positive to coronavirus, with only one in five people presenting with a fever.
Infectious disease physicians suspect this is due to young people, who have been over-represented in the state's second surge of cases, experiencing milder bouts of COVID-19.
"What it suggests to me is that we are seeing a lot more younger people with more milder illness, so a fever may not be as prominent a symptom as it was in the first wave of cases," Australian National University infectious disease expert Professor Sanjaya Senanayake said.