Victoria's promising Covid case result ahead of lockdown decision
Victoria has recorded zero locally acquired coronavirus cases on Wednesday as the state anxiously waits to see if its snap five-day lockdown will end at midnight.
The Holiday Inn cluster remains at 19 cases, with the lockdown now widely expected to end following Wednesday's promising case numbers.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton previously said the lockdown would likely end if any emerging cases were previously identified contacts of the cluster – a feat achieved in previous days.
Premier Daniel Andrews will address reporters later on Wednesday to reveal whether the state's lockdown will be lifted.
He said the state was "well placed" to make changes to restrictions, but could not commit to a decision on Tuesday.
Mr Andrews warned it was unlikely the state would return to the old rules immediately, however fans are expected to be able to return to the Australian Open in some capacity.
"We'll still have to get tested if we have symptoms. We'll still have to wear masks in a number of settings. There will still be limits to the number of people that can come to your home," Mr Andrews said.
A final decision was expected to be made after 8am on Wednesday when ministers met again.
Huge testing drive from Victorians
There were an impressive 39,258 tests received in the previous 24 hours.
Zero cases were detected in hotel quarantine, with active cases in the state remaining at 25.
Former Australian Medical Association President Tony Bartone said no late-night reports of new cases was a positive sign the shutdown would come to an end.
"It would look like we will be coming out of lockdown this evening," Dr Bartone told Nine's Today on Wednesday.
The lockdown was initially sparked after yet another quarantine leak of the highly-infectious UK strain, this time from the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport.
The virus leaked from an infected room of three, before infecting three workers and two residents who were later released from the hotel.
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