Turning point: Victoria records lowest number of daily cases in five weeks

Victoria has recorded 179 new cases of Covid-19 in the past 24 hours which marks the smallest daily increase in five weeks. It’s also the first time the state’s daily case total has come in under 200 cases in weeks.

The last time Victoria recorded daily cases this low was on July 13 when 177 new cases were announced. So far, the number of daily cases peaked on July 30 when 723 new cases and 13 deaths were recorded in one day.

Unfortunately, the state also recorded nine additional deaths in the past 24 hours which Daniel Andrews is expected to give more detail on in his address later today. Friday’s address will mark Andrews’ 50th straight daily coronavirus briefing.

As the daily press conferences have become routine at this point, some Australians are wondering if the Victorian Premier should be taking a break.

Australian comedian and presenter Dave Hughes tweeted: “Dan Andrews should take a well deserved break. I assume his colleagues are encouraging him to. Let someone else front the pressers. It doesn’t need to always be him.”

While an emergency physician evaluated the situation further by writing: “The Premier looks knackered. I’m grateful for his dedication, but if I had a colleague in emergency who worked so many days in a row, I’d order them home for their health, safety & performance. Nobody should criticise him having a day off.”

Additionally, the inquiry into Melbourne’s Covid-19 hotel quarantine scheme is also well underway in which Thursday’s open hearing saw a nurse claim that during the program, threats of suicide from guests went ignored and health officials were losing track of returned travellers.

The nurse who identified as “Jen” for legal reasons said she resorted to keeping her own spreadsheets to organise up to 300 guests in the hotel due to inconsistent record keeping by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). She added that it resulted in daily welfare checks not being conducted on a family for a whole week.

The inquiry is being chaired by former Judge Jennifer Coate and is investigating the flaws in the hotel quarantine program that is being marked as the alleged starting point for Victoria’s subsequent rise in daily case numbers.