Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews has announced 471 new COVID-19 cases for Victoria, bringing the state’s cumulative total to 13,469 cases. There have been another eight deaths: two men in their 60s, three men and two women in their 80s and one woman in her 90s. Four of the deaths are linked to aged care.

“I’m saddened to have to report that the total number of fatalities due to this pandemic is now 170 Victorians,” Premier Andrews said.

From the cases reported, there have been 107 additional mystery cases and 107 additional community transmission.

The total number of active cases is 7,449 and the total active cases that have a link to aged care are 1,533, the premier said.

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The state government is currently focused on keeping down the number of people who are out and about in order to limit the strain on the health system.

Train lines are closed at the moment, and government jobs are down to 50 per cent, and the premier said he was working to drop this number to 25 per cent in the hope. Construction and meatwork processing will also note limitations to workers. He said meat workers would not work longer hours. He said that iniitial plans were to reduce the delivery of chickens by two thirds but that he had amended that to 80 per cent of normal of deliveries.

He said that the consequences of reducing the numbers delivered below 80 per cent of normal supplies would have been the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of birds that would then have to be thrown into landfill.

He said the changes were determined by the need to reduce the number of people going to work in order to bring down the number of COVID-19 cases.

He said he had been in talks with the supermarket sector to reduce the number of people handling meat while ensuring supplies throughout the state. Also under consideration was to bring directly from producers to the supermarkets rather than to first store the meat in  large warehouses.

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Mr Andrews said that while prices were determined by the market, he would be keeping an eye on them.

Mr Andrews said that he was striving to find for a balance between reducing workers and maintaining supplies and this he was guided by the need to limit movement and thus reduce the number of COVID-19 cases.

In responding to questions about keeping the public informed, Mr Andrews said that the Department of Jobs and the DHSS had hired up to four times the normal staff required at their call centres to answer questions from the public.

He said that there have been doing 17 round table meetings  with different industries over the last 24 hours.

Everyone was doing their best and the situation wouldsettle, he said, but that there would be confusion and challenges as the situation was unique.

“There is a very big team to provide information. It will settle in the next few days,” he said.

Mr Andrews said that a commission led by Justice Cote would provide answers as to what went wrong with the hotel quarantine system.

“I am prepared to front whatever the results (of the commission findings) are,” he said in response to repeated media questions on the matter.

The premier said Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton had not resigned but had taken three days of leave.

“He’s having three days off. Nothing more, nothing less,” said.