Coronavirus Victoria: Cases above 200 for first time in two days, 17 deaths
Victoria has recorded 208 new cases of COVID-19, a slight rise on the day before.
After a short delay in reporting, the state also announced on Sunday 17 further deaths in the past 24 hours.
It follows two days of daily coronavirus cases being under 200 in Victoria, with health authorities hoping infections had slowed in the community.
Before Friday, the last time cases were under 200 was on July 13 when the state recorded 177 new infections.
The national death toll is now 502 while the state’s fatalities have reached 415.
“Our thoughts and best wishes and sincere condolences are with each of those families,” Premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday.
“I can give you some detail [about the fatalities]: one female and one man in their 60s, three males in their 70s, four females and six males in their 80s, and two males in their 90s.
“Eleven of those 17 deaths are linked to aged-care outbreaks.”
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton also made a vow to residents on Sunday after the new numbers were confirmed.
#Covid19VicData for August 23, 2020.
There have been 208 new cases of #coronavirus (#COVID19) detected in Victoria in the last 24 hours, and 17 deaths.
We send our condolences to all of those affected.
More information will be available later today. pic.twitter.com/CP0Kww6m3v— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) August 22, 2020
“We're not going to see... [case numbers in the] 300s and 400s again in Victoria, not under my watch at least,” he said.
“It would be great to see numbers going down even further, but I still do expect that we're on a trajectory... but we do have to be doing all of those essential things.
“They are simple, sometimes they sound really trite to be repeating, but essentially the transmission that's still occurring is sometimes because people have forgotten those really basic but very essential elements, not washing your hands that one time, forgetting your mask, not wearing it properly, hugging someone who's outside your household.
“These are simple but also easy to forget.”
The Masked Singer set shut down
Sunday’s new figures come after the Melbourne set of The Masked Singer was shut down because several crew members tested positive for the coronavirus.
"The entire production team, including the masked singers, the host and panellists are now in self-isolation," the Network Ten program posted on Twitter late on Saturday night.
"They are all being monitored closely and are in constant contact with medical authorities."
The reality show hosted by Osher Gunsberg involves masked celebrities competing against each other in a singing competition.
The panellists include Dannii Minogue and comedian Dave Hughes.
– with AAP
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