Victoria recorded its lowest outbreak of new COVID-19 cases in more than 10 weeks.

There were 41 new cases and nine further deaths on Monday, the lowest increase since 27 June.

The nine deaths concerned one female and three males in their 80s, one female and three males in their 90s, and one female in her 70s. Eight of the deaths were related to aged care facilities. There are currently 873 active cases in 93 outbreaks in aged care facilities – a number that Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews said is dropping.

“There has been some stability come to residential aged care and we’re very pleased that everyone is working together to drive those numbers down to as low as they can be, given the underlying vulnerability of so many residents in those settings,” he said.

The good news of Monday’s dropping numbers comes a day after Stage 4 restrictions were extended for a further two weeks beyond 13 September, when they were initially due to end. Premier Andrews unveiled the state’s “roadmap to recovery” on Sunday, and he stood by his decision on Monday morning.

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“These are difficult times, but to go from 725 cases to 41 cases in a month, that demonstrates to you that this strategy is working, the sacrifices that we are making, all of us, are worth something,” Premier Andrews said at Monday’s press conference.

“I want that to count and that’s why we simply can’t open up as quickly as everyone would like us to, I would like to open up much more quickly than we can, but none of us have the luxury, none of us, not me, not any Victorian, has the luxury of letting our frustration get the better of us and simply saying, ‘I so desperately want this to be over that I’m going to pretend that it is.’”

Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton left the door open for further restrictions to be eased earlier than expected, including the 26 October stage when the curfew and stay-at-home restrictions are planned to be eased.

“I think we would always go through a process of review that we wouldn’t say different circumstances shouldn’t lead to a relook at how we’re tracking and the risk of moving to a different stage. I think the clarity is important but I think everyone would welcome an earlier opening rather than a later one. I just don’t want to, you know, be giving that promise in advance of knowing how we’re tracking,” he said.

READ MORE: Stage 4 restrictions extended for another 2 weeks in Melbourne

“We’ll have opportunities for people to meet others. We’ll have small outdoor gatherings that allow people to see others, not just for exercise purposes, but for other recreational purposes. I hope people focus on making the most of that, but recognising that going beyond that does increase the risk and it does put everything at risk in terms of what the next step might be and getting on top of these numbers.”

Business owners in Melbourne have been devastated by the lockdown, however Mr Sutton said on Sunday that the alternative was “too awful to contemplate”.