Victoria records 1763 new local Covid cases, a new national record

Victoria broke the national record of daily Covid cases with 1763 new infections on Tuesday — and it has come with a stark message.

Victoria broke the national record of daily Covid cases with 1763 new infections reported on Tuesday.

Despite tough lockdown measures, cases in Melbourne continue to skyrocket, with the virus spreading to all corners of the city.

The dramatic rise comes amid warnings from authorities that Covid is “everywhere” in Melbourne with the spread continuing to widen.

“As we’ve said before, Covid is around everywhere in metropolitan Melbourne,” Health department deputy secretary Kate Matson said.

Melbourne’s north is driving more than a third of all cases, while infections in Melbourne’s west are also causing a spike and authorities have signalled rising infections in the southeast.

“The southeastern suburbs has really been a growth area in terms of cases in the last few days, and each day there is a higher and higher proportion that are coming out of the southeast,” chief health officer Brett Sutton said on Monday.

Despite the record number, Premier Daniel Andrews says there is no plan to change the government’s roadmap to reopening, which is likely to be October 26.

Victoria’s dire national record on Tuesday is in stark contrast to NSW, which has seen a downward trend in cases following a peak last month.

Cases in NSW peaked on September 11 with 1599 new cases.

The virus curve has also shown promising signs of flattening in NSW in recent weeks, with cases dropping below 1000 amid an ongoing lockdown.

Dozens of high-risk Melbourne suburbs will be targeted in a swift vaccine blitz to address low vaccination rates.

The Victorian Government on Tuesday identified 27 suburbs where less than 80 per cent of people had received a first dose of the vaccine, with the department to begin publishing coverage rates.

Premier Daniel Andrews said areas such as Campbellfield, Frankston North, Kensington and St Kilda would be targeted in the vaccine blitz.

“They are below the overall state average and areas where we need to do more,” Mr Andrews said.

“We will work to get those up as high as we possibly can.”

There are currently 498 people in Victoria in hospital with the virus. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

It comes as fears mount that wild gatherings connected to the tradie and lockdown protests last month have turned into superspreader events.

Health officials also announced four deaths on Tuesday, with the death toll of the outbreak rising to 57.

There are 498 people in Victoria in hospital with the virus, including 96 in intensive care units and 59 on a ventilator.

There is concern tradie protests in Melbourne’s CBD may have become superspreader events. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Ian Currie

Victorian officials remain concerned tradie and lockdown protests that erupted across multiple Melbourne suburbs last month have infected more people with the virus.

Victoria has broken the record set by NSW earlier this year. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley

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Originally published as Victoria records 1763 new local Covid cases, a new national record