Halfway through Victoria's six-week lockdown, Premier Daniel Andrews has given an update on COVID-19 cases in the state today.
During a press conference, Mr Andrews said "the steps we've taken are not enough," and that not enough people are staying home.
Here's what you may have missed.
There are many cases in aged care homes and health workers
There were 627 new cases reported in the past 24 hours.
That makes 10,577 cumulative cases of coronavirus cases in Victoria, with 928 in aged care and 1,030 among healthcare workers.
On the healthcare workers, Victorian Chief Medical Officer Brett Sutton said: "We know it's a mix of aged care workforce, doctors and nurses in our acute care settings … it's of huge concern to see healthcare workers develop the illness. It's not always as straightforward as to how they caught the virus."
Eight people died overnight — two men in their 50s, two men in their 70s, three men in their 80s and one woman in her 70s.
Today's figures are a drop from the record 723 new cases reported yesterday, which was also Victoria's deadliest day with 13 deaths.
The Premier said 349 active cases are in hospital and 37 are in intensive care.
"It is clear to all of us these numbers are far too high," Mr Andrews said.
"I had a long conversation with the Prime Minister last night. What I can report … is that both public health experts from the Victorian team working with colleagues at a national level will spend the next day or so analysing the data."
Mr Andrews said today's results were "what was occurring at exactly the halfway point of stage three orders".
"I have no announcements to make about next steps. We could not open up with these numbers, we could not open up even with significantly less than these numbers.
"It may be the case that we need to take further steps if the steps we've taken are not enough to pull this up."
Mr Andrews said speculating on what the next steps may be was not helpful.
A quarter of people are not obeying stay-at-home orders
ADF personnel conducted more than 500 home visits to check active case were staying at home yesterday, up from 269 checks the day before.
"There were more than 130 unsuccessful visits," Mr Andrews said.
That means one-in-four people were found to be not isolating when they should have been.
"The only place to be is at home," Mr Andrews stressed.
For people who are not home, they risk being fined and will be referred to police.
More than 100 have been referred to police so far.
"This is not just about compliance it's about providing information and clarity. It's about saying to families what can we do for you, is there anything you need," Mr Andrews said.
"We've been able to have groceries bought … and scripts filled. It's not just about checking; it's about reaching out and providing support and care."
No plans to raise fines for people not found at home
Mr Andrews said he was not considering raising the amount for fines for people found to be breaching the stay at home orders.
"On the spot fines are $1,652. That is not an insignificant matter. If those matters go to court, it jumps to around $10,000," he said.
"We think that those penalties are appropriate at this stage but I would just say, if Victoria Police came to me and said, 'We need to change that, we need further tools', then I wouldn't hesitate to look at that.
"We need people to do the right thing."
He also said people not isolating were "putting those who care for us in danger and that's just not acceptable".
More than $60 million has been spent on grants
Mr Andrews said 5,200 people had applied for the $300 payment on offer to people waiting for a test result and who have no sick leave.
So far, 4,200 people have been paid out a total of $1.26 million.
The Premier said 12,600 businesses have received a $500 grant, costing the Government $63 million total, while 77,600 businesses have been paid $10,000 grants.
The restrictions are having a positive impact
Professor Sutton said it was "dispiriting to see high numbers" but said stage three restrictions had had a positive impact.
"We know there are really significant workplaces where transmission is occurring and they really are those essential sectors: aged care, meatworks, food production, food distribution, that's where we are seeing numbers for sure," he said.
He said the numbers were still too high.
"Every day that we see numbers leads to a revaluation of how that's going," he said.
"We have increased workplace compliance we have increased oversight of cases and their close contacts. Those are new interventions that will show up in the data but are not necessarily [in the data yet]."
But NZ-style lockdown is under consideration
Professor Sutton said health experts would be analysing data over the next coming days to decide the next steps for Victoria.
The date includes: "demographic data like country of origin and languages spoken to see where the virus is concentrated and to explore those hypotheses to see where transmission is occurring," he said.
Professor Sutton said he was "exploring" a New Zealand-style lockdown.
"It may the case intervention in a certain area may make a difference," he said.
"We absolutely have to get these cases down.
"We are totally mindful of those broader impacts.
"Impacts on businesses and livelihoods and mental health are all part of those considerations.
"These are impossible decisions in a number of ways."
Mr Andrews said there could be "no economic recovery unless and until we get these numbers down".
"There may be there is further support needed for businesses and workers," he said.
"My talks with the PM will focus on those."
Mr Andrews assured Victorians "nothing is off the table" when it comes to further restrictions.
"Whilst we've done an enormous amount, if the data says that is not enough, then we will have to take further steps."
It's hard to say how long new restrictions would last
Mr Andrews said he did not know how long further restrictions would have to go for.
"There is a few ifs and buts in there," he said.
"Today is the day to share the fact that we are doing this detailed work, this data will inform the advice and the advice will inform whatever settings we need to put in place as part of a next step.
"Part of its [the virus's] wickedness is that people can have it and not know.
"The other challenge too is because these two-week cycles, you don't get a clear picture in real-time, you are always a little bit behind in terms of what you're seeing and what the impact of the measures and the steps that you've taken.
"I can't, with any certainty, say we have a complete picture, you can never really have a complete picture and that is why you have got to make these difficult judgements."
"There are significant consequences whenever you make one of these decisions, all of that is part of the work that we will do in the coming days, all of that has been a feature of each of these decision points for the best part of four months, which does seem much longer."
Eid celebrations will look a little different
"The Eid al-Adha, the second Eid is very significant, a very holy and special time for the Islamic community but it needs to look incredibly different this year than it has ever looked," Mr Andrews said.
"By staying apart, we keep each other safe. By staying at home, we keep each other safe.
"I have recorded some messages and they will be a feature of different channels and different platforms."
Mr Andrews said there would not be a need to police the celebrations.
"Everybody will be policed fairly and equally," he said.
No-one should be protesting
Mr Andrews said Victoria police are fining people who aren't wearing masks or who are breaking the rules.
"Whether it be a so-called protest or some other event, it doesn't matter the setting or the context, if people are just wilfully breaking the rules, they will be dealt with by Victoria Police," he said.
"No-one should be protesting.
"The only thing we should be protesting or fighting against is this virus."
Professor Sutton said he understood some people thought wearing a mask infringed on their rights and said he would "rather see them standing naked but with a mask on".
There are still a few cases under investigation
Professor Sutton said for the numbers that are under investigation, "a majority of those have been interviewed".
And they have provided their close contact details.
"We haven't necessarily tied them off completely because there might still be a tentative link that has been explored to an existing cluster or outbreak or known case," he said.
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2020-07-31 04:58:00Z
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