We should hear something in the next few hours about the number of new coronavirus diagnoses throughout the state and the number of people who have recovered from the infection.
As of yesterday afternoon, at least one case of COVID-19 had been confirmed in 60 of the state's 79 local government areas. Corangamite, Horsham, Strathbogie, Towong and Wodonga all recorded thier first confirmed infection on Saturday.
The bulk of the infections are in the Melbourne metropolitan region, with a total of 61 cases in Stonnington, 41 on the Mornington Peninsula, 36 in the City of Melbourne, 32 in Glen Eira, 31 in Moreland, 28 in Boroondara and 28 in Port Phillip.
Outside of Melbourne, there have been 33 confirmed cases in Greater Geelong, eight in Ballarat, six in Moira, five in Latrobe and five in Mitchell.
The Age's seience reporter Liam Mannix has a fascinating feature in todays' newspaper, which looks into the origins of coronavirus and how it may have mutated into the deadly disease that has infected more than 600,000 people globally in the space of a few months.
The virus was first observed in bats and has made the jump to humans, although exactly how that happened is still cause for speculation.
Professor Edward Holmes, of the University of Sydney, who cracked the genetic code of the virus that causes COVID-19, says the world should have been working on a coronavirus vaccine for years.
University of Sydney evolutionary biologist and virologist Professor Edward Holmes said he was shocked at how fas coronavirus has spread, but he’s not shocked it was a bat coronavirus that caused a worldwide pandemic.
Environmental damage, illegal wildlife trading (pangolins in particular are heavily traded), wet markets and the climate crisis are all combining to push humans and bats closer than ever before.
“It is blindingly obvious that we as humans have to change the way we interact with the animal world. There is no doubt about that,” he says. “And it’s not the animals' fault.
The weather forecast for the city today is 25 degrees, cloudy and humid, with a chance of rain and thunderstorms later in the day, so not exactly beach weather.
Yesterday's warm and sunny weather drew some Victorians to the state's beaches in spite of warnings for people to avoid congregating in large groups and the strong reaction to Sydneysiders in Bondi doing exactly the same thing last week.
People seen at Brighton Beach in Melbourne, Saturday, March 28, 2020.Credit:Scott Barbour, AAP
The state's chief health officer savaged the behaviour of people who congregated in groups and ventured out of their homes for non-essential activities today, such as crowds who gathered on the St Kilda beach foreshore and hundreds flocked to beaches on the Surf Coast.
"Some of the behaviour [Saturday] - when we’re asking people to stay home - has been really crap. It’s hard to change habits and it’s hard to see dangers that aren’t apparent yet. But with 3,000 cases of COVID in Australia this week, we’re headed to 100,000 in 2-3 weeks without change," Professor Sutton tweeted.
"That means thousands of deaths. Overwhelmed health services. Medical staff at unacceptable risk. Unstoppable spread. Do the right thing now and stay at home. Today. Tomorrow. Until we’re through this, please."
The Surf Coast Shire has banned people congregating on beaches from today, while Port Phillip Council announced similar restrictions yesterday.
The number of coronavirus cases has reached almost 650,000 overnight, John Hopkins University data shows.
The death toll from COVID-19 has risen to more than 30,000, with the number of people succuming to the infectious disease in Italy surpassing 10,000 and fatalities reaching 1000 in the United Kingdom.
Good morning and welcome to The Age's live coverage today of coronavirus and its impacts in Victoria.
My name is Craig Butt and I will be keeping track of the latest update for the live blog this morning, then will hand over the reins to a colleague this afternoon.
Here are the key virus statistics and news from yesterday:
- Beachgoers flocked to the Surf Coast, prompting stinging criticism from the state's chief health officer and a local council to shut down beaches.
- Victoria recorded 111 new cases, the state's biggest single-day increase since the crisis began. Victoria's total now stands at 685. Five new cases of community transmission were recorded.
- Premier Daniel Andrews announced new on-the-spot fines of $1652 for individuals and $9913 for businesses could be given to people caught ignoring directives around which businesses can remain open, 14-day quarantine requirements and mass gatherings. No fines were issued today.
- Thousands of jobs will be lost as Country Road, Cotton On, Trenery, Mimco, Politix and Witchery stores all shut. Some smaller David Jones stores will close.
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