For this first time, Victoria has recorded more than 300 new cases of coronavirus in one day
On Thursday, Premier Daniel Andrews said there had been 317 cases recorded in the past 24 hours
The local breakdown of statistics is not available yet.
The Wimmera Health Care Group has called for calm from the community, after two new cases were found in the Horsham municipality on Wednesday.
"Of those new cases, 28 are known to be connected to contained outbreaks and complex cases, and 289 are having their origins investigated," Mr Andrews said.
"I'm very sad to report there have been two further Victorians pass away."
READ MORE:
He said the two dead were in their 80s, taking Victoria's total coronavirus death toll to 29. One hundred and nine people are in hospital with coronavirus and 29 are in intensive care.
"The most important thing for people to do apart from following the rules ... is to come forward and get tested even if you've got the mildest of symptoms," Mr Andrews said.
He paid tribute to every member of Victoria's health system for the work they did, before and during the pandemic.
Mr Andrews noted it would take some time, following the reinstatement of stage 3 lockdown and Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, for new case numbers to steady and then decline.
"That's why this is a six week stay at home lockdown that is a full three week cycle of this virus," he said.
Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said it was important for people to adhere to lockdowns to support elderly residents that needed a hospital for reasons other than coronavirus.
Chief Health Officer Dr Brett Sutton said: "We may stil not have hit our peak. In some ways I expect it to turn around this week, but it's no guarantee. It's on all of us to turn this around.
"We would expect a plateauing in the next couple of days, but we cannot be complacent and expect that's going to happen automatically. There are a number of outbreaks in aged care now, 27 healthworkers affected, and this is where the virus manifests, those exposed ot it and the most vulnerable."
While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox twice weekly from the Wimmera Mail-Times. To make sure you're up-to-date with all the news from across the Wimmera, sign up below.
