- Victoria has hit another grim new record, with 484 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in the last 24 hours, the biggest increase since recording began
- Two more people also died from the coronavirus died overnight – both men were in their 90s and living in aged care homes in Victoria
- Meantime, NSW recorded 16 new cases today, while Queensland also recorded one new case of the virus
- Police in Queensland also revealed more than 200 people are missing, after being assigned to quarantine at home
- The concerning figure comes as another man was caught trying to enter the Queensland border illegally, this time hiding in the boot of a car
Victoria has hit a grim new record, with 484 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in the last day, the biggest number of daily cases since the pandemic began.
Another two deaths were also recorded, with two men in their 90s dying in aged care centres in the state overnight.
The new daily record surpasses the previous record of 428 new cases, recorded on Friday.
The increase in cases comes despite border restrictions and lockdowns being in place in Melbourne for two weeks.
Victorian Premier, Daniel Andrews, attributed the rise to reckless behaviour. He said new tracing results show one in every two people tested for the virus weren’t isolating once they began to feel sick.
“Fifty-three per cent of people are continuing to go shopping, continuing to go to work, continuing to do all sorts of things, even though they’ve got symptoms,” said the Premier.
He also warned further lockdowns and restrictions would be necessary if these numbers didn’t reduce.
Meanwhile, from midnight tonight, Melbournians will be legally required to wear a mask in public.
Supermarket giant Woolworths has indicated it will enforce the new mask rule within its own Melbourne stores.
BREAKING:
— Dougal Beatty (@DougalBeatty) July 22, 2020
Woolworths has updated its stance on face coverings for Melbourne.
From tomorrow, “we expect customers entering our stores in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire to wear a face-covering as per the Victorian Government’s directive.”@9NewsMelb
COVID-19 across Australia
Elsewhere around Australia, NSW recorded 16 new cases today, while Queensland recorded one new case of the virus.
The increase comes as police in Queensland reveal more than 200 people are missing, after being sent home to self-isolate as part of strict quarantine measures.
ABC reports since April police have conducted over 2,000 compliance, with officers finding almost 400 people were not where they were supposed to be.
Of those 400, 210 remained unaccounted for, and face hefty fines if caught.
Police also revealed they had recently caught an NSW man trying to cross into Queensland, by hiding in the boot of a car.
Officers pulled the vehicle over on Sunday night, and allegedly found the 41-year-old hidden in the boot.
Source: Queensland Police.
The whole incident was caught on camera, with the clip posted online as a deterrent to anyone thinking of trying to cross the border illegally.
Most states have shut their borders to Victoria, and even NSW, in a bid to reduce the spread of the potentially deadly virus.