COVID-19 latest: Chief Health Officer explains why Wednesday dip is a ‘good sign’

Victoria has recorded 216 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the lowest daily increase in more than five weeks.

It’s the lowest daily case figure since July 13, when 177 new cases were recorded.

It’s the third consecutive day of falling daily COVID-19 case numbers. There were 222 cases recorded yesterday and 282 on Monday.

Sadly, another 12 Victorians have died with coronavirus.

All of those deaths are linked to aged care.

363 people have now died in Victoria since the pandemic began.

There are 675 Victorians in hospital, with 45 people receiving intensive care.

There are 7155 active cases of COVID-19 in across the state, 119 fewer than yesterday.

2050 of those have links to aged care settings, while 1065 of the cases are health care workers.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said with Wednesday historically being a “spike day” for numbers, it was encouraging to see fewer cases than yesterday.

“So I’ll take 216, a figure slightly less than yesterday, as a good sign,” he said.

#Covid19VicData for 19 August 2020.There are 216 new cases of #coronavirus (#COVID19) detected in Victoria in the last 24 hours, and 12 deaths reported. We are sending condolences to their families.
Further information will be available later today. pic.twitter.com/zEMVHRhdoM

— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) August 18, 2020