Victoria

Victoria to ease lockdown as cases fall

From Monday, people will be able to travel further and meet up with more friends without a time limit on how long they spend outside the home.

But strict measures remain in place for restaurants and retailers, limiting them to takeaway and delivery options.

The city of Melbourne, which has been under stricter lockdown, will also have rules eased.

As of 19 October, in Melbourne:

People can travel up to 25km (15 miles) from their home for exercise or shopping

Gatherings of up to 10 people from two different households are allowed

Covid-19: Victoria records lowest case increase in three months

Six of the eight deaths were linked to aged care settings, and the state's coronavirus death toll now stands at 745.

Metropolitan Melbourne's 14-day daily case average has fallen from 49.6 yesterday to 44.4 today.

Regional Victoria, which entered step three of its recovery roadmap today, now has a rolling 14-day average of 2.9.

Today is the first time since 24 June Victoria has recorded fewer than 30 new cases.

Covid-19: Victoria reports no deaths, 42 new cases

There are a further 42 infections in the Australian state, which continues to see a gradual downward trend in daily case numbers.

The last day with zero deaths recorded was 13 July.

Metropolitan Melbourne's 14-day daily case average is now 52.9, down from 54.4 yesterday.

Regional Victoria's is now 3.6, down from 3.9 yesterday.

The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) said there was a total of 82 cases with an unknown source in metropolitan Melbourne, and one in regional Victoria.

Victoria Covid-19: Almost all cases linked to quarantine hotels

The inquiry also heard guards at quarantine hotels were given "inappropriate" training advice.

Australian media report that guards were told masks and other protection would not be necessary, as long as they adhered to 1.5m social distancing.

Victoria is currently in lockdown because of a second wave of infections.

Stricter "stage four" restrictions were put in place in the city of Melbourne on 2 August for six weeks.

Victoria Covid-19 situation: 429 new cases, 13 deaths

This is the state's equal-deadliest day since the pandemic began.

The 13 deaths include a man in his 60s, two men and a woman in their 70s, two men in their 80s and five women and two men in their 90s.

Eight of the deaths are linked to aged care outbreaks.

The deaths take the state's coronavirus toll to 136.

Of the new cases, 36 are linked to outbreaks or complex cases and 393 are under investigation.

Melbourne to go into lockdown with another 671 cases announced

Premier Daniel Andrews said 671 new coronavirus cases had been detected since yesterday and seven more people had died.

Six of the deaths have a connection to aged care.

Andrews said there was an "unacceptably high" number of community transmission cases, and the state had 760 active "mystery" Covid-19 infections where the source of the transmission was not known.

"Those mysteries, that community transmission, is in many respects our biggest challenge and the reason why we need to move to a different set of rules," he said.

New cases in Victoria hit record high

Twenty-eight new cases are connected to contained outbreaks and 289 cases are under investigation.

In announcing the figures, Premier Daniel Andrews said it was too early to consider stage four restrictions.

"We're seeing relative stability to these numbers," he said. "We have made the point with these stay-at-home restrictions only a week old, it will take some time to bring stability to the numbers and to start to see a pattern where they are driven down."

Victoria announces more than 200 new cases and one death

Only 30 of the new infections were connected to contained outbreaks and 186 were under investigation.

There are now at least 1249 active cases in Victoria.

About 5 million Victorians in metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire are under strict stay-at-home orders after weeks of worrying transmission of the deadly virus.

"This is not an ordinary weekend," Premier Daniel Andrews said. "You've got to be in your home if you are in the metropolitan Melbourne or Mitchell Shire areas."

NSW to close border with Victoria due to COVID-19 outbreak

Andrews announced the closure at a press conference this morning where he said Victoria had recorded a further 127 new coronavirus cases and a man in his 90s had died in a Victorian hospital.

He said the decision to close the border followed talks with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian and Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

The three leaders agreed closing the border would be the "smart call" at this point in time, Mr Andrews said.

Australia fires: Thousands told to evacuate in Victoria

Temperatures of over 40C, strong winds, thunderstorms and a change of wind direction meant Monday would be a day of extreme danger, officials said.

Emergencies chief Andrew Crisp said those in the East Gippsland area should leave no later than Monday morning.

More than 100 fires are continuing to burn across Australia.

The biggest are raging near the city of Sydney in New South Wales, where more than a quarter of a million people have signed a petition calling for the New Year's Eve fireworks to be cancelled and the money spent on fighting fires.