'A daily tragedy': Three deaths as Victoria reaches high of 428 new coronavirus cases - The Age

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the figure was both "disappointing and concerning" and may prompt harsher restrictions.

"These numbers represent a daily tragedy," Professor Sutton said.

"We have not turned the corner here. Worse than that ... there will be dozens of individuals who will require hospitalisation from these 428 people.

"Tragically there will be several who require intensive care support and a number of people will die. So it has to turn around."

A man in 80s, a man in his 70s and a woman in her 80s died overnight, bringing the state's death toll to 32.

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Of the 428 new cases, 57 are connected to known outbreaks, one is from hotel quarantine and 370 remain under investigation.

On Friday, 122 Victorians with the virus were in hospital, including 31 people fighting for their lives in intensive care. Five people in their 40s are among the intensive-care patients.

"This is a serious situation. We are in the fight of our lives," Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said.

Restrictions are not set to change in regional Victoria where 42 new cases have emerged since July 1.

But regional Victorians have also been advised to wear face masks in places such as supermarkets, shops, public transport and taxis where they cannot maintain social distancing.

'Everything on the table': Tougher, longer lockdown possible

Professor Sutton said the current lockdown measures may not have an impact on case numbers for two weeks. But he warned authorities would not wait that long before putting in place more restrictions if necessary.

"No one is being complacent here and we are all thinking about the additional measures that may be required if it does not turn around," he said.

"We are not just banking on the idea that if we wait long enough those numbers will stabilise and drop, so we must bear in mind any additional measures that are important to help control the numbers."

"It is hard to say how long a lockdown might be required. Everything is on the table. There are lots and lots of measures that we need to bear in mind and we shouldn't discount anything."

Cases continue to soar in hotspot suburbs

Despite hotspot suburbs being in lockdown for two weeks – one incubation period of the virus – case numbers in some of those areas are still soaring, Professor Sutton said.

"We have seen some postcodes within the initial areas that have plateaued to some degree, but there are other postcodes within that same local government area that continue to take off," he said.

He said essential workers were driving some of the outbreaks, including those in aged care and healthcare.

"Universal mask-wearing is something we are absolutely advocating for in this space," Professor Sutton said.

"There might be other workplaces that we need to look at – there might be increased compliance measures that we need to look at – but we are not there yet in terms of understanding exactly what might be required, or if it is required yet."

The Premier said any decisions about further restrictions would be based on data.

"This is not like a tap where you turn it off and you go from 400 cases to zero. What we may be seeing is the outcome of that - instead of 3000 cases a day, we get these sorts of numbers. It is always difficult to measure what is not happening," Mr Andrews said.

"If I want to go for a walk, then I will go for a walk in Mulgrave where I live. I will not go to the Botanic Gardens, nor drive 50 kilometres ... away from my home," the Premier said.

Mr Andrews slammed Victorians who had driven hundreds of kilometres from their homes.

"We saw last night some coverage of a couple of people who had travelled from Coburg to Rye on the Mornington Peninsula," he said.

"It is a 200-kilometre round trip. That is not daily exercise. That is a day trip and day trips are not on. There is nothing about that that is compatible with staying at home. If you want to go for a walk, then you can go for a walk close to home."

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https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiiAFodHRwczovL3d3dy50aGVhZ2UuY29tLmF1L25hdGlvbmFsL3ZpY3RvcmlhL3RocmVlLW1vcmUtZGVhdGhzLWFzLXZpY3RvcmlhLXJlYWNoZXMtaGlnaC1vZi00MjgtbmV3LWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWNhc2VzLTIwMjAwNzE3LXA1NWN6Zy5odG1s0gGIAWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLnRoZWFnZS5jb20uYXUvbmF0aW9uYWwvdmljdG9yaWEvdGhyZWUtbW9yZS1kZWF0aHMtYXMtdmljdG9yaWEtcmVhY2hlcy1oaWdoLW9mLTQyOC1uZXctY29yb25hdmlydXMtY2FzZXMtMjAyMDA3MTctcDU1Y3pnLmh0bWw?oc=5

2020-07-17 03:37:00Z
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