“It will get worse”: 75 new virus cases for Victoria
<p>Victoria has reported 75 new coronavirus cases, the fourth-highest daily total for the state since the start of the pandemic.</p>
<p>The last time over 70 new cases was recorded in Victoria was on March 31.</p>
<p>The spike in numbers highlights the highest number of locally acquired cases, with only one of Monday’s new cases linked to people in hotel quarantine.</p>
<p>In a coronavirus update on Monday morning, Health Minister Jenny Mikakos announced the overnight figure, saying many of the new cases were from the state’s “hotspot suburbs”.</p>
<p>Of the 75 cases, four have been reclassified according to Mikakos.</p>
<p>One new case is linked to hotel quarantine, 14 are linked to outbreaks, 37 have been detected through routine testing and 23 are still under investigation, she said.</p>
<p>There are no new deaths, with the death toll sitting at 20.</p>
<p>"We have six new cases believed to be community transmission, taking that to a total of 271, and there are currently 288 active cases in Victoria," Mikakos said.</p>
<p>"What I can say is that many of the cases that have come through today are overwhelmingly concentrated in those priority suburbs," Mikakos said.</p>
<p>A link has been established between a North Melbourne family and a Brimbank family, as Mikakos said: "Four of the new cases have been linked to this outbreak, and the department is investigating the exact nature of the link there."</p>
<p>Amongst the 75 cases that have been reported, three of those include security guards who were already in quarantine at the Stamford Plaza Hotel.</p>
<p>"They have undertaken their day 11 tests as is standard practice where we have an outbreak, so those people are already in quarantine as part of that," Mikakos said.</p>
<p>The Wollert outbreak has increased to 10 people, with one new added on Monday.</p>
<p>There are three new cases linked to a family in a new outbreak around Patterson Lakes and Lysterfield, bringing that outbreak to four.</p>
<p>In Truganina, there have been three cases linked to another new family outbreak, bringing the number in that outbreak to five. </p>
<p>Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton also addressed the crisis in Victoria, saying the number of new cases "will get worse before it gets better".</p>
<p>Professor Sutton said the current spike in cases is "as big as the first one", and authorities expected to see "at least as many positive cases as we've had over the last 24 hours" in coming days.</p>
<p><span>"I think it will get worse before it gets better. It is a concerning number, but it's very hard to make predictions in this space," he said during a briefing on Monday.</span></p>
<p>After being asked whether the state is facing a second wave, he responded: <span>"Whatever you call it, it's as big as the first one. It’s looking that way." </span></p>
<p>"Second peak, second wave. It’s got the same challenges. We’ve got significant numbers to follow up, and we’ve got significant risk of transmission."</p>
<p>Professor Sutton pleaded with Victorians to stay at home if they were experiencing coronavirus symptoms, including a runny nose, sore throat, and fever.</p>
<p>"What I would say is we know what works already. We just need people to do it," he said.</p>
