Victoria will continue to remain under lockdown after recording the highest number of new daily local COVID-19 cases since last year. 

The state government has recorded 92 new locally acquired infections, over 30 of which are unlinked to current outbreaks. 

More than a third of the current 778 active cases are from people aged 19 and under, and two-thirds are located in Melbourne’s north and west. 

Although Premier Daniel Andrews did not state how long Victoria will be having the extended lockdown, he promised to examine the state’s options as soon as possible. 

“We see far too many cases today for us to seriously consider opening up later on this week,” Premier Andrews told reporters on Sunday. 

Despite the rising number of cases, the Premier stated that there was still a chance that the numbers will return to zero. 

“It’s only fair that we are as upfront as possible,” Premier Andrews said. 

Sunday’s COVID-19 case tally jumped from the previous day’s number of local cases. It is also the highest number of new cases recorded since early September 2020, when Victoria was dealing with the second wave of the virus. 

“That’s not to single out the north or the west, but … that is where the cases are and that’s where the extra effort has to be,” Premier Andrews said. 

Western suburbs doctor Amrooha Hussain told reporters that she continued to see people arriving for COVID tests up to two weeks after they showed symptoms. She also said that she saw entire families with young children being infected. 

“It’s hard enough to look after one sick child, but when there are multiple sick children, and then the carers are unwell themselves, it’s a really challenging time for those families,” she said. 

Out of the recently reported cases, a total of 24 were found in Broadmeadows and in Newport. Nine cases were also linked to earlier outbreaks in Glenroy and four from a supermarket in Altona North. 

The outbreak in Shepparton in the Goulburn Valley region has also grown with nine new cases. 

Meanwhile, Premier Andrews said that Prime Minister Scott Morrison had promised him in a conversation on Saturday that NSW would no longer get “preferential treatment” in vaccine distribution. 

“We didn’t begrudge them getting additional doses, but we’re locked down, they’re locked down, and the need is just as great here,” Premier Andrews said. 

 WITH NEWS FROM AAP

Eliza Sayon

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Eliza is a content producer and editor at Public Spectrum. She is an experienced writer on topics related to the government and to the public, as well as stories that uplift and improve the community.

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