SYDNEY, Aug. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Australian state of Victoria again recorded it's deadliest day of the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday, with a further 19 deaths, as the number of new infections dropped to 322.
Victoria is at the centre of Australia's current fight with COVID-19, recording 228 of the country's total 313 fatalities.
The latest victims were primarily elderly with 14 of the deaths linked to outbreaks at aged care homes.
Meanwhile, Monday's case numbers were the lowest in 12 days following the introduction of stage 4 social distancing restrictions last week.
The lockdowns, which will remain in place until Sept. 13, include a nightly curfew between the hours of 8 p.m.-5 a.m. and the mandatory use of face masks in public places.
"It is still very early for us to be trying to measure the impacts of stage 4, but we're certainly seeing perhaps some greater stability that is a result of the cumulative impact of stage 3," Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said.
As of Monday Victoria had 7,869 active cases, including 1,065 in healthcare and 1,756 in the aged care sector.
Across the state at least 640 people were hospitalised with the disease, with 47 in intensive care and 31 requiring ventilators. Enditem
