Record 700 new cases, 13 Deaths in Victoria overnight

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced 723 more cases and 13 deaths from coronavirus in the past 24 hours, both daily records since the pandemic began.

It will also mark the highest one-day surge of cases recorded in Australia since the pandemic began.

Today’s total number of new cases in Victoria significantly higher than Monday’s record total of 532 and disappointing after a drop to 384 cases on Tuesday and 295 cases yesterday.

Premier says 13 people have died overnight – they are three men and three women in their 70s, three men and two women in their 80s, and two men in their 90s.

The Victorian government’s modelling showed that Monday should have been the state’s peak. However, the state’s chief health officer Brett Sutton said yesterday he couldn’t confirm that was the case in reality.

“You cannot make assumptions on modelling. It doesn’t predict the future. There are important insights that you can gain from the modelling, the kind of range it tells you, about where you are headed, but you cannot say we have passed a peak,” he said. “There is nothing else to consider here. We have to watch the numbers every day.”

He also raised concern about the steady levels of community transmission in the state, despite a drop in overall numbers.