Victoria has hit a new state record reporting 484 new coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The previous record of the highest number of daily coronavirus cases in one state was 420 from Victoria on Friday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are currently 205 Victorians in hospital with 40 in intensive care. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There have been two more deaths after testing positive with coronavirus. They are both men in their 90s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“I will again take this opportunity to send our best wishes to their loved ones, their friends and family. This will be a very challenging, very sad time for them, and we send our love and best wishes to them,” Mr Andrews tells the media. <\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
We are now two weeks into the six week lockdown for Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire but Mr Andrews says “this is far from over”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the data the government has gathered over the past two weeks, nine in 10 of the people who have tested positive to coronavirus in Victoria between 7 July and 21 July \u201cdid not isolate between when they first felt sick and when they went to get a test\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Now, that\u2019s an interesting measure in that people have felt sick, they\u2019ve got symptoms, and they\u2019ve kept going shopping. They\u2019ve kept going to work. They\u2019ve kept doing \u2014let\u2019s assume everybody followed the rules and they only went out for the four permitted reasons, which of course some may not have, but let\u2019s assume that.<\/em><\/p>
“That means people have felt unwell and just gone about their business. They have gone out shopping. They have gone to work. They have been at the height of their infectivity. And they have just continued on as usual.<\/em><\/p>
“The only thing you can do when you feel sick \u2014 the one and only thing that you can and must do when you feel sick \u2014 is to go and get tested. Nothing else is acceptable. You must go and get tested when you feel sick. That is the only thing that you can and must do. And if people don\u2019t do that, then we will continue to see numbers increase. I\u2019m being as frank, as blunt, as clear as I can.<\/em><\/p>
“Because this message is central to the overall success \u2014 or otherwise \u2014 of the strategy and the restrictions that we have in place.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
There has been a whopping <\/strong>53 per cent of people who tested positive between 7 and 21 July in Victoria who did not isolate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“That is, did not stay at home and have no contact with anybody else between when they had their test taken and when they got the results of that test.<\/em><\/p>
“Fifty-three percent of people continuing to go shopping, continuing to go to work, continuing to do all sorts of things even though they\u2019ve got symptoms, they feel sick, sick enough to get a test, and then, somehow, not willing to stay at home and wait \u2014 on average \u2014 a couple of days, and sometimes sooner \u2014 to get the results of that test.<\/em><\/p>
“Unless we drive down the time between first illness, first sense of symptoms \u2014 in other words, how quickly people then get tested \u2014 unless we make that much faster than it is now, and people isolate in that intervening period, and unless we have people who get tested staying at home and isolating until they get their results, then we will not see these numbers come down. They will continue to go up and up.<\/em><\/p>
“And a six week shutdown will not be for six weeks. It will run for much longer than that.<\/em>“<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n