Victoria has recorded 429 new cases of coronavirus and 13 more deaths overnight.
A group of police and soldiers patrol the Docklands area of Melbourne on 2 August, 2020, after the announcement of new restrictions to curb the spread of the Covid-19 coronavirus. Photo: AFP
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.
Contact tracers have added 69 cases of the state's previously recorded cases to the community transmission tally, meaning no infection source could be found.
There are currently 6489 active coronavirus cases in Victoria.
And of those, 416 are in hospital, with a further 35 in intensive care.
So far, 1.6 million coronavirus tests have been processed - an increase of 25,000 since yesterday.
Premier announces workplace categories
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says businesses that will remain open and not be affected in metro Melbourne are the following:
- Supermarkets
- Grocery stores
- Bottle shops
- Pharmacies
- Petrol stations
- Banks
- News agencies
- Post offices
- Everyone involved in Victoria's pandemic response
"That means people do not need to be going and buying six weeks worth of groceries," the Premier said.
"I understand that there is a sense of concern in the community and hopefully the clarity of the message today, you do not need to do that because supermarkets as well as grocery stores, the local fruit and veg, the local butcher, the baker, all of those shops, they will remain open."
From 11:59pm this Wednesday, Andrews said the following will close:
- Retail
- Some manufacturing
- Some admin
The Premier said retail would look very different "and it's critically important to have many, many people at home rather than at work and moving to and from work each day".
A third category of businesses will have to scale back the way they work
These businesses will stay open but operate very differently from midnight Friday:
- Meat works will move to two-thirds production, they will be dressed in full PPE including gowns and face shields, as if they are health workers, they will be temperature checked, they will be tested
- Construction will be divided into three parts
- Large scale government projects reduced by half already and there will be plans to reduce the workforce more
- Very large commercial building will need to reduce their workforce down to the practical minimum, and can have no more than 25 per cent of their workforce working
- Residential construction will be restricted to five people per site
- ABC