Coronavirus Australia live: State borders clamp shut due to virus restrictions

More than 650 police officers plus specialist drone operators and bomb units  are patrolling Victoria's borders following a last minute scramble to cross.

State borders between Victoria and New South Wales along with Victoria and South Australia will clamp shut at midnight with a heavy police operation already in place.

More than 650 officers, drones, specialist bomb units and the military will patrol border crossings in the coming days to prevent travellers crossing the country and increasing the risk of coronavirus transmission. 

It follows reports of people rushing to leave the state and Chinese students paying travel agents to ferry them across the border in small groups. 

On Wednesday, Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said the current outbreak in Victoria is vastly different from any outbreaks we have seen in other parts of the country.

"This outbreak is markedly different to any of those in that it has originated and emerged in households, in young families, large, culturally-diverse families and is now within the community," he said.

There are currently 860 active COVID-19 cases in Victoria and 456 of those are suspected cases of community transmission.

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Australia has recorded a total 8697 cases of COVID-19, with 3251 in New South Wales, 2942 in Victoria, 1068 in Queensland, 443 in South Australia, 624 in Western Australia, 228 in Tasmania, 111 in the Australian Capital Territory and 30 in the Northern Territory.

Australia’s coronavirus death toll is 106. 

Our live blog has ended for the day, here's how it unfolded.