75 New Coronavirus Cases Have Been Recorded In Victoria
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Victoria has seen one of the highest daily coronavirus figures in months.
A testing blitz has recorded 75 new cases in the state over the past 24 hours, 14 of which were linked to already known outbreaks, 23 are under investigation and one was from hotel quarantine. A further 37 were detected in routine testing.
Victoria's Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said about the new cases: "Obviously we're concerned by the increase in number. The cases are overwhelmingly concentrated in the priority suburbs, but not exclusively.
"It is important to reiterate to the community that you're not immune from catching coronavirus by virtue of the postcode you live in."
Those hotspot suburbs include Keilor Downs, Broadmeadows, Maidstone, Albanvale, Sunshine West, Hallam, Brunswick West, Fawkner, Reservoir and Pakenham.
The 75 cases are the highest daily jump in Covid-19 infections since March 31. There are now just a little less than 2,100 cases for Victoria since the pandemic began.
Yesterday (Sunday, June 28), was previously the highest daily jump in months, with authorities recording 45 cases. None of those cases stemmed from people returning from overseas, eight were 'reclassified', according to 7News, and 41 were new infections.
Four of the cases are linked to outbreaks while 26 were detected during routine testing. A further 19 are still being investigating.
People who are in hotel quarantine in Victoria after returning from overseas now must consent to be tested for the virus on the eleventh day in quarantine to be eligible to leave quarantine on day 14.
Those who refuse to comply will be forced to quarantine for a further 10 days - 24 days in total.
Anger was sparked at the end of last week when it was revealed around 30 per cent of people in hotel quarantine were refusing to be tested. Some didn't want authorities doing a nasal swab on their children because it was uncomfortable, according to the ABC.
Premier Daniel Andrews hasn't ruled out putting a specific lockdown in place for residents of those areas.
He said on the weekend: "We're not going to change settings in the hotspot suburbs until we've completed and concluded the blitz. Test and trace is the most effective thing we can do.
"If we have to implement a stay-at-home order, if that is deemed the appropriate public health response, that is what we will do. I'm not announcing that today."
Sunday's figures were the 13th consecutive day that the state recorded a double-digit increase in coronavirus infections. While it was a record spike in recent months for positive infections, it was also a record in the number of tests that were carried out.
Authorities managed to do a whopping 18,120 tests on Saturday alone.
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