Victoria has reported a record 25 further COVID-19 deaths, taking the state’s toll to 334 and the national figure to 421.
There were 282 new cases as the Victorian outbreak continues to show signs of easing.
The grim new milestone came as all residents at an inner-suburban Melbourne special accommodation facility were being moved to hospitals because of a virus outbreak.
The Hambleton House facility in Albert Park has had security staff stationed outside because of concerns residents were walking nearby streets without face masks.
Health minister Jenny Mikakos says residents still at the facility will be moved to hospitals by Aug 17.
Hambleton House is a 34-bed facility for residents with mental health problems or behavioural issues.
Meanwhile, Victorian officials are working to better understand COVID-19 infection rates among the state’s health workforce as more public sector nurses are deployed in aged care homes to cope with rising cases.
Premier Daniel Andrews says details should be released early this week to answer some fundamental questions in relation to health staff.
“We know how health workers are positive but where did they get it from?” Andrews said.
“Did they get it from work, did they get it in the community?”
He said the analysis should also provide some breakdown on which workers were most at risk and why.
Andrews said while he could not guarantee there would be no more outbreaks across other sites, the situation had improved.
