Victoria is hit with 288 new cases of coronavirus - the worst EVER figure for an Australian state - as Dan Andrews warns locked down Melbourne that it's going to get WORSE
- Victoria has recorded 288 new coronavirus cases, its biggest total ever
- Premier Daniel Andrews said the figures will get worse over the next few days
- He also told Melbourne residents on lockdown to wear masks when leaving
Victoria has recorded 288 new coronavirus cases, the worst figure of any state since the pandemic began.
Twenty-six are connected to known outbreaks and the source of the rest is under investigation.
Fourteen of the new patients are healthcare workers who have been on the front-lines in Melbourne, the epicenter of the new outbreak.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the figures will get worse over the next few days and warned that Melbourne's six-week lockdown could be lengthened.
'It was always going to get worse before it got better,' he said.
Victoria has recorded 288 new coronavirus cases, its biggest spike since the pandemic began. Pictured: Police patrol outside the public housing towers in Flemington
Twenty-six new cases are connected to known outbreaks and the source of the rest is under investigation. Pictured: Response personnel dispose of rubbish in Melbourne
'The best response to these numbers and the worse numbers that are likely to follow them is for all Victorians to play their part.'
Mr Andrews said the case numbers were so high because 37,000 tests were conducted.
'We are doing more testing than has ever been done, not by a small margin, but by a massive margin,' he said.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the 288 figure was 'ugly' and that he expected the numbers to plateau 'in the next week'.
'We will see in the effects of the lockdown in the next one to two weeks,' he said.
Professor Sutton said the numbers of hospitalisations and deaths would also increase. Currently 47 Victorians are in hospital with the virus. The state's highest total is 50 back in March.
But Professor Sutton said Victoria was in a 'fortunate position' compared to the US which gets 288 cases every 10 minutes.
For the first time in the pandemic Mr Andrews told residents under lockdown in Melbourne that they should wear a mask when leaving their homes for essential reasons.
Victoria has recorded its biggest spike in cases since coronavirus pandemic began
'It's not compulsory, we are simply asking that if you can wear a mask where you can't distance, that is exactly what we would like you to do,' he said.
Victoria Police warned any residents caught not following lockdown rules will be fined $1,652.
Last night 16 people who ordered KFC to a home birthday party were caught by police and fined for breaking the rule limiting gatherings to two people.
'If we see that behaviour continue, then all of Melbourne will not be locked down for six weeks, we will be locked down for much longer than that,' Mr Andrews said.
The 288 total is the highest any state has ever recorded. The previous record was 212 new cases in NSW on 28 March during the peak of the pandemic in Australia.
Many of those were returned travellers and their close contacts, meaning the Victoria outbreak is far more dangerous and a 'threat to the nation' because the cases are transmitting rapidly among the local community.
Last night it was announced that residents of a Melbourne high-rise that have been confined to their homes since Saturday will be kept under hard lockdown for another nine days as the city's outbreak grows.
The housing commission block at 33 Alfred street has recorded a total of 53 cases, prompting Premier Daniel Andrews to extend the lock-up, although residents will now be allowed daily supervised exercise.
Many of the tower's inhabitants are from 'diverse communities' and officials will try to bring them 'culturally appropriate' food.
Residents of eight other towers that went under hard lockdown are being released after two blocks recorded zero cases and six recorded very few cases.
They will still be subject to stay-at-home orders like the rest of Melbourne but can now leave for shopping, work and school, healthcare and exercise.
Residents who have tested positive must still isolate.
Nine public housing towers (some pictured) have been locked down in response to an outbreak in Melbourne
Response personnel prepare to distribute goods to residents inside a public housing tower on Thursday
It comes as New South Wales recorded 14 new cases, 13 people in hotel quarantine and one in the border town of Albury.
A US marine in Darwin has also tested positive and is in isolation in hospital.
International flights arriving in Australia will be halved to ease the pressure on hotel quarantine systems around the country, meaning only 4,000 people a week can enter.
Australians returning home will also be made to pay for mandatory two-week stays in hotel quarantine.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the changes after a national cabinet meeting with state and territory leaders on Friday.
The reduction of flight arrivals from Monday will mean more than 4000 fewer people will return home every week.
All states will soon charge people for their fortnight in quarantine.
'Where possible, we will seek to have some sort of national uniformity across those pricings,' Mr Morrison told reporters in Canberra.
Victoria recorded 288 new cases on Friday, the highest daily increase of any state since the pandemic began.
'The news from Victoria remains very concerning,' Mr Morrison said.
The prime minister said the National Cabinet agreed the rest of Australia needed to avoid complacency during the global health crisis and must continue to practice social distancing. Pictured: Victorians in face masks shop in Melbourne on Wednesday before re-entering lockdown
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the cap following a National Cabinet meeting on Friday
He said the Melbourne outbreak showed how important it was for people to keep their distance from each other.
'It is still not OK for hugs and handshakes,' he said.
'It's important to maintain the discipline of the social distancing behind closed doors, not just out in the public space.'
Mr Morrison will speak with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Friday about the trans-Tasman travel bubble.
But he urged patience, with borders to remain shut for the foreseeable future.
'The fact that Australia cannot have international flights is damaging to our economy,' he said.
He spoke with Japanese leader Shinzo Abe on Thursday night about some limited transport of scientists and other key personnel between countries in the future.
In the past month, more than 28,000 people have arrived in Australia from overseas, with more than half landing in Sydney.
Former health department secretary Jane Halton will lead a review of hotel quarantine after breaches in Victoria's system fanned infection rates in Melbourne.
Returning overseas travellers are seen as they are checked-in a hotel at the beginning of the pandemic in March
Australia will slash international flights into the country by half to stop the spread of coronavirus. Pictured: Returned travellers arrive in Sydney for their 14-day mandatory quarantiine in May
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2020-07-10 04:49:16Z
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