Premier Daniel Andrews has pleaded for regional Victorians to adhere to COVID-19 restrictions amid a small, yet concerning, rise in active cases outside metropolitan Melbourne.
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In his daily press conference on Wednesday, Mr Andrews said outbreaks in Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong were not widespread. However, they still threatened the 'low base' of numbers in regional Victoria.
"You've done a great job in following these rules right across the pandemic, but it's very important that each and every regional Victorian stays the course with this," he said to regional Victorians.
"I know it's tough, I know it's challenging, I know we would prefer to be at a different set of circumstances, but even at low numbers, we've got to have that vigilance across the board so we can keep them low and drive them down even further."
"This is an endurance test," he said.
"All of us, whether we're in Melbourne or regional Victoria, need to stay the course."
IN OTHER NEWS:
Mr Andrews did not provide a breakdown on the number of cases in regional Victoria today.
On Tuesday, he said there were 'just under 520' active cases outside metropolitan Melbourne.
As of Tuesday afternoon, there were four active cases in Horsham, two active cases in West Wimmera and one active case in both Ararat and the Northern Grampians.
Ballarat's active case tally rose to 20 yesterday - an increase of three.
The number of active cases in Greater Bendigo declined yesterday, bringing its total to 54 active cases.
Mr Andrews also shed more light on today's DHHS figures, where it was reported a further 21 Victorians had lost their lives to COVID-19.
Sixteen of those deaths were linked to aged care outbreaks.
410 new cases were confirmed today, taking the total number of active cases to 7877.
1929 of those active cases are linked to aged settings, and 1079 are healthcare workers.
662 people are in hospital with the virus, with 43 receiving intensive care and 25 are on ventilators.
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Matt Currill
Matt covers the Ballarat Football Netball League and cricket. Get in touch at matt.currill@thecourier.com.au
Matt covers the Ballarat Football Netball League and cricket. Get in touch at matt.currill@thecourier.com.au
