Victoria has confirmed 240 new coronavirus cases and is continuing its downward trend, but there are fears the true total could be much higher because testing rates are falling.
There are 180 testing sites across Victoria, with some only testing as few as 20 people per day. The peak of testing was at 33,826 people on 31 July with numbers halved to 15,905 on Tuesday.
The Victorian Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) also announced 13 deaths. The new number of deaths today brings the state’s total to 376 deaths of which at least 80 were recorded from with the Greek Australian community of Melbourne as of yesterday.
READ MORE: At least 80 COVID-19 related deaths in the Greek community of Melbourne
Wednesday is the fifth consecutive day with new COVID-19 case numbers under 300, however they increased from yesterday’s figure of 216 – the lowest in more than five weeks.
Despite the decline in new case numbers, the people in hospital and number of aged care cases is still high.
#COVID19VicData for 20 August 2020. 240 new cases of #coronavirus (#COVID19) were detected in Victoria yesterday. Sadly we report 13 deaths from the virus. More information later today. pic.twitter.com/fiQChvG3Oh
— Victorian Department of Health (@VicGovDH) August 19, 2020
