Australia’s daily COVID-19-related death toll hit a new record high on Wednesday with 21 fatalities in the past 24 hours all reported in the state of Victoria.
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The deaths, tweeted by the Victoria Department of Health, early Wednesday, brought the state death total to 267 and the national toll to 352.
Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, which is home to 4.9 million people, is under a six-week strict lockdown with a night curfew and mandatory mask wearing in a bid to limit the spread of the virus.
Melbourne recorded 410 new virus cases overnight, up from the previous day’s increase of 331.
The bulk of the deaths in Victoria have come from aged care homes, but some were people aged in their 40s and 50s.
Victoria is the epicentre of the second wave of Australia’s COVID-19 outbreak, with other states barring anyone from Victoria, from entering unless they go into self-funded hotel quarantine for two weeks.
Clusters of infections have broken out in Sydney in the past week, with several restaurants and schools closed after people tested positive.