Australia heads for lowest virus count in three months

The second-most populous state Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, reported 14 new infections in the 24 hours to Sunday morning, down from 21 new cases the day prior and its lowest since June 19.

That put Victoria, which has spent months under lockdown to slow a second wave of infections, on track to meet a target of keeping average daily increases below 50 by Sept. 28 when the authorities have said they may lift restrictions.

Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews, who has faced political pressure domestically for his hard-line approach to enforcing restrictions of movement, invoked recent spikes in infection rates in Europe as a warning about the possible effect of exiting the lockdown too soon.

Australia’s biggest state New South Wales, which has Sydney as the capital, reported two new cases, while the Queensland state also reported two, bringing the national total to 18, the lowest national tally since June 23.

The country has reported just under 26,900 infections.

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