Two more days of zero COVID-19 cases

VICTORIA has reported a second straight day without any new COVID-19 cases or deaths as active cases continue to drop.

It comes after the state also recorded no new infections on Saturday with an expert panel ruling one case a false positive.

“Another very good day for Victoria,” Deputy Premier James Merlino said at a press conference this morning.

“This is really a result of the outstanding efforts of all Victorians in getting these cases down to the state at which they are.”

Sunday’s statistics coincide with Melbourne’s gradual emergence from strict lockdown conditions, including a possible return to city offices before Christmas.

There is one mystery case of coronavirus without a known source in Melbourne and the city’s average daily case count for the fortnight up to Saturday was 2.2.

It means the state’s COVID-19 death toll remains at 819, and 907 for the nation.

There are just 61 active cases left across the state, down from 70 on Saturday.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said Victoria could be down to “a couple of dozen” active cases by next week.

“You’ll see 10 or more come off each day and we’ll get down to very few active cases,” he said.

Two Victorians remain in hospital, with none in intensive care.

Nearly 16,000 tests were taken in the past 24 hours, with Professor Sutton saying it verified Sunday’s result was a “true zero”.

He said metropolitan Melbourne was still on track to ease restrictions on 8 November, including the scrapping of the “ring of steel” dividing the city from the regions along with the 25-kilometer travel limit.

“What allowances come on November 8 will absolutely be informed by what this week looks like.

“Some of the details might change but November 8 will be the date (of) that new refresh of public health directions.”

Professor Sutton said mandatory masks would remain part of Victorians’ daily lives for some time to combat potential transmission despite less virus circulating in the community.

But he hinted future changes could be on the way.

“Clearly we should be transitioning and we will be transitioning from universal mask-wearing to maybe indoors only, to maybe just high-risk settings, at the appropriate time,” he said.

– AAP