'You will get caught': Premier's warning as cases continue to soar
Victoria’s daily coronavirus total has dropped below 200 for the first time in four days, recording a further 177 cases on Monday.
Twenty-five of the new cases are linked to contained outbreaks, Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters.
The state had surpassed 200 cases in the previous three days, including 273 on Sunday and a record 288 on Friday.
More than 1100 new cases have been recorded over the past five days in Victoria.
Despite the drop in the daily figure, Mr Andrews warned Victorians the fight against the virus is far from over.
“[It is] a virus that spreads rapidly, a virus that will defeat us unless we have the best information and of course Victorians follow the rules,” Mr Andrews said.
“The time for warnings is over. If you're out there, just breaking the rules, and you're betting you won't get caught, the odds are not good. You will get caught.
“It's in many respects a silent enemy a very clever enemy. It transmits rapidly. It's wildly infectious.
“You can be carrying this and giving it to untold numbers of other people have the mildest of symptoms yourself.”
CHO reserved over drop in daily numbers
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said while “it’s great [the daily total] is below our peak”, he would need to see a week of decreasing number to feel confident the outbreak was under control.
The Al-Taqwa College outbreak has grown to 144 cases, Professor Sutton revealed, while there are 26 cases linked to the Menarock aged care facility in Essendon.
Prof Sutton said the latter was “a concern”.
“I'm worried about. It it's a reasonably even split between staff and residents,” he said.
An outbreak at Glendale Aged Care in Werribee is now at 13 cases, while Japara Central Park Aged Care in Windsor has had two positive cases.
Professor Sutton said the state was seeing "four or five new outbreaks every day".
The state now has 1612 active cases, with 72 people in hospital and 17 of those in intensive care.
Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.
You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play.
