COVID-19 seven-day average in Victoria is the best it has been in almost a month
Victoria is seeing a decline in daily case numbers and community spread, but there’s one number that shows the worst really is behind us - if we all keep doing the right thing.
Coronavirus
Don't miss out on the headlines from Coronavirus. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Victoria’s average daily COVID-19 cases have plummeted from the moment tighter restrictions were imposed, setting the state on course to overcome its second wave in the coming weeks.
The latest Department of Health data shows Victoria reached its peak of COVID-19 on August 4, when the rolling seven-day average officially topped out at 517 cases.
Since then the average daily cases have dropped 13 out of the last 14 days, and overall by a massive 42 per cent.
On Tuesday, the seven-day average dropped to 299 – the first time Victoria’s daily case average had been below 300 cases since July 21.
This continued in today’s (WED) numbers, with 216 cases confirmed.
While the number of new infections each day can vary by up to 400 cases, epidemiologists typically use a rolling seven-day average of cases to more accurately track the virus’ trend.
The latest Department of Health data, provided to the Herald Sun, demonstrates the impact of tightening restrictions in late July, culminating with a Stage Four Lockdown of Melbourne on August 1.
There was further good news on Tuesday with mystery coronavirus cases returning to levels not seen since June, as Victoria’s active infections continues to drop.
The proportion of cases in which it cannot be established how a person became infected now sits at less than 20 per cent.
Similarly, the average number of community transmission cases is also beginning to dip.
At the start of the month, on August 2, the 7-day average for community spread in Victoria was 106.
Four days later it dropped to 81 and four days after that, on August 10, it was just 62.
This decline was also reflected in the daily totals, with 32, 42 and 23 cases of community spread detected at intervals in the last six days.
But the state’s Chief Health Officer, Professor Brett Sutton, gave perhaps the biggest glimmer of hope this week when he revealed the R number is now hovering below 1.
This means for every person infected with COVID-19, they are now spreading it to less than one other.
And this is how we will ultimately stop the spread.
MORE NEWS:
DROP IN VICTORIAN’S GETTING TESTED