Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a new daily record of 725 coronavirus cases and 15 deaths.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Photo: AFP
There are 13,005 cumulative cases in Victoria, with 12 of the 15 deaths were associated with aged care.
The deaths were:
- One male in his 30s
- Three males and one female in their 70s
- Three males, three females in their 80s
- Three males, one female in their 90s
There are 538 people in hospital and 42 of those people are receiving intensive care.
There are 7227 total active cases and total active cases with a connection to aged care are some 1435.
Many Victorian businesses will be forced to shut down from midnight tonight, with a quarter of a million workers told to stay at home.
Those who still have jobs to go to will need to carry a permit on their way to work.
Work permits will mean police can enforce the rules 'much more easily', Premier Andrews said.
"They are always difficult decisions to make, always difficult lines to draw and lists to write and we apologise for the pain and the hurt that those lists, that those sorts of decisions make necessary.
"But these are the decisions I've made because they are the only option we have in order to try and drive these numbers down.
"So, that process is working well, I think, and it is a relatively simple process."
Elsewhere in Australia, Queensland has announced it will be closing its borders with New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.
Queensland recorded one new case of Covid-19 overnight, and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was increasingly concerned about community transmission rates in southern states.
Fines issued
Victoria Police have issued 155 fines for suspected breaches of the Chief Health Officer's directives in the last 24 hours
They include:
People who were fined included a man on board the 9.46pm train heading to Flinders Street Station with no exemption, three people who had been drinking together between 5.30pm and 8.50pm in Docklands, a man who walked to a petrol station at 4:00am to buy food in Maribyrnong, and a woman who travelled to a shopping centre more than 5 kilometres away to purchase makeup.
Geelong police also arrested a man for not wearing a face mask.
Police said the man was behaving erratically in a department store in Malop St about 10:30am yesterday.
Police spoke to the man who was not wearing a mask and after several warnings he was arrested.
During the arrest, the man made serious threats to injure police officers.
The 36-year-old West Melbourne man was charged with seven offences including make threats to seriously injure persons, breaching the Chief Health Officer's directions and bail offences.
- ABC