15 deaths as Covid cases spike in Victoria

A masked cyclist rides through Melbourne. Photo: Getty
A masked cyclist rides through Melbourne. Photo: Getty
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has dismissed a leaked document that indicates Melbourne's lockdown will be extended for a fortnight, as new coronavirus cases return to the triple digits.

Victoria recorded 113 new cases on Thursday - the first time since Sunday that the daily tally has been above 100 - as well as 15 more deaths.

Mr Andrews said nine of the deaths occurred before Wednesday and were included in the tally following reporting changes.

Of the 15 deaths, 14 are linked to outbreaks at aged care facilities and bring the state's toll to 591 and the national figure to 678.

Mr Andrews described a leaked draft reported by the Herald Sun, indicating Melbourne's 8pm curfew would remain in place for an additional two weeks, as out of date.

He said the government will unveil its road map out of lockdown on Sunday, with two separate settings expected for metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria.

"We will on Sunday give people a clear road map with as much detail and as much certainty as we can possibly provide," he told reporters on Thursday.

"It won't be guided simply by dates on the calendar though, it will be guided by the science and the data. It will be guided by how many cases there are in Victoria and the types of cases."

Mr Andrews said any path out of restrictions would be "safe and steady".

"I know everyone wants to open up tomorrow, I understand that, but if we were to do that, these numbers would explode," he said.

"We would have a couple of weeks of sunshine and we would we be back most likely in an even worse position than we were four or five weeks ago."

The premier also spoke of how fraught the decisions will be around easing the lockdown rules.

"These are some of the most difficult decisions that I've ever made in 20 years in public life ... these are really challenging decisions to make because the tolerance for getting it wrong is incredibly low," he said.

"I will not do this faster than the science tells me to because there's too much at stake.

"And that's not to say that being in lockdown doesn't have its own cost, doesn't have its own sense of pain and challenge. I get that. I understand that. None of these decisions are made lightly."

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief Paul Guerra said the leaked draft looked nothing like the one business and industry groups had been working on with the government.

Federal Treasurer and Victorian MP Josh Frydenberg also played down the leak, saying, "I will wait for the final plan from the premier on Sunday".

Asked about the leaked document, Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said: "I've probably seen dozens of plans since. That document is really a working draft from some time ago.

"As you would expect, we do a lot of planning in advance.

"And we're continually refining targets and things like that. That document doesn't, as I understand it, doesn't represent any decisions that have been made, and came from, you know, as an internal working document"

There are 361 Victorians currently in hospital with coronavirus, including 20 in intensive care.

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