Vic cases drop but no clarity on lockdowns
An encouraging drop in Victoria's daily coronavirus infections has not led to any clarity on the easing of restrictions, as key outbreaks remain a worry for health authorities.
Premier Daniel Andrews reported 179 new COVID-19 cases on Friday - the first daily increase below 200 since July 13.
Nine people aged between their 60s and 100s died - seven of them linked to aged care - bringing the state toll to 385 and the national figure to 472.
Victorian chief health officer Brett Sutton was asked what daily case numbers he wanted to see to be confident about gradually reopening the state when the lockdown ends on September 13.
"I'd love us to be below 50," Professor Sutton said on Friday.
"I would be really gratified if it we're in single figures but I'm not convinced that it will be."
Decisions to lift restrictions would not depend only on daily case numbers but on "20-plus indicators", Prof Sutton said.
"How long are people taking between symptom onset and getting tested? How long are they taking between symptom onset and isolating? How many close contacts do they have for each person?" he said.
"They're all part of the KPIs that we're looking at internally."
A challenge in coming weeks as community transmission trends lower is to see the same in aged and disability care.
"They might end up with a baseline level of transmission that is harder to shift," Prof Sutton said.
There are 1732 active cases across 126 aged care sites. The 10 most infected aged care facilities range between 107 and 209 cases each, according to government data.
Across the state there are 4421 active cases, including 626 people in hospital, of which 40 are receiving intensive care.
The premier urged Victorians not to waver in their lockdown efforts, even if the daily infection numbers were encouraging.
"We are all pleased to see a one in front of these additional case numbers," Mr Andrews told reporters.
But he cautioned, "it is an ultra-marathon and we are not halfway through".
Some Victorians continue to thwart health directions, with police issuing 144 fines in the past 24 hours, though the premier said the vast majority were doing their best to protect the community.
Mr Andrews said it was pleasing more than 20,000 people were tested in the past 24 hours.
Testing numbers dropped earlier in the week, prompting a warning that lockdowns would be extended if authorities did not have an accurate picture of the second wave.
Mr Andrews announced on Friday a Melbourne-run Disability Response Centre would be established in co-operation with the Commonwealth to fight outbreaks in the sector, similar to the aged care task force.
There are 62 active cases in the disability sector, most of which are staff.
The state and federal governments are contributing $15 million to compensate disability workers who have lost pay as authorities rule out multi-site work.
Melbourne's strict level four restrictions include night curfews, time limits on outdoor exercise, a 5km travel limit and widespread workforce shutdowns.
The rest of Victoria is under level three restrictions that limit social gatherings but do not limit travel distance or time spent outdoors and allow more businesses to remain open.
Border communities continue to struggle with state closures and the premier on Friday said he would speak to his South Australian counterpart Steven Marshall about a "common-sense agreement".
