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Record number of new cases announced in Victoria for second consecutive day

Victoria has recorded its highest daily coronavirus total for the second consecutive day as the state government mulls over further coronavirus restrictions in a desperate bid to curtail the surge in cases.

A further 191 cases were announced on Tuesday, the Department of Health and Human Services confirmed.

It is the third highest daily total for any state or territory in Australia since the pandemic began and a 50 per cent increase on Monday’s total.

There were 127 new cases announced on Monday, while the state also confirmed its 21st and 22nd deaths from the virus.

Victoria’s previous highest daily total before Monday was 111 on March 28, yet the percentage of cases which are locally acquired has significantly increased.

Thirty-seven of the latest cases are linked to outbreaks while 154 are under investigation.

There are now 145 active cases in the Hume local government area, 105 in the Wyndham LGA, 97 in the Melbourne LGA and 77 in the Brimbank LGA.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth has urged Victorians to not “underestimate the impact of COVID-19, its infectivity and severity”.

“The numbers are obviously in three figures now and there is a significant amount of community transmission,” he told ABC News 24.

Last week Mr Andrews announced the four-week lockdown of 36 suburbs in Melbourne’s north and west and on Saturday nine public housing towers were plunged into a hard lockdown, with thousands of residents not allowed to leave their homes for at least five days.

Firefighters dressed in personal protective equipment prepare to distribute food throughout a public housing tower in North Melbourne. Source: AAP
Firefighters dressed in personal protective equipment prepare to distribute food throughout a public housing tower in North Melbourne. Source: AAP

Yet more than 40 per cent of Monday’s confirmed cases were not located inside the locked down postcodes.

The spread of the virus has prompted Mr Andrews to now consider further restrictions for Victoria as he meets with the COVID-19 Crisis Council of Cabinet on Tuesday afternoon to thrash out the state’s next move.

Sources have informed The Australian further restrictions are to be announced today, yet it is unclear if further postcodes will be placed into lockdown or the whole state will be subject to widespread restrictions.

Victoria has now recorded more cases in July (716) than it did for all of June (547).

There are 772 active cases in the state.

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