Victoria recorded 19 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours, marking yet another deadly day of the pandemic on Monday. On Sunday, Australia had reported 17 deaths, all in the state of Victoria. With this Australia’s total death tally stands at 314.
There was however some respite in the number of new cases, suggesting Victoria’s drastic lockdown measures were helping bringing down the numbers. Victoria reported 322 new cases of coronavirus on Monday, drastically down from last week’s average.
Melbourne, home to nearly 5 million people, has been in lockdown since early July, with people largely confined to their homes and business shuttered.
With around 21,000 COVID-19 cases and 314 deaths, Australia has still recorded fewer infections and fatalities than many other developed nations.
It was considered a global leader early in the pandemic, when it was swift to close its international border, impose social distancing restrictions and implement mass virus testing.
But as the country began to reopen, community transmissions rose significantly in Victoria, where triple digit daily new cases have now been recorded for weeks.
