Coronavirus crisis: Victoria records deadliest day with 10 deaths, 459 new cases

Victoria’s coronavirus outbreak continues to break grim records, with 459 new cases and the number of fatalities slipping into double digits for the first time.

Premier Dan Andrews said the State had now recorded 8181 cases in total as he revealed 10 people — seven men and three women — had died overnight.

The sobering tally brings Victoria’s death toll to 71 in total.

The seven men include a man in his 40s, as well as six men ranging from their 50s to 80s.

The three women were aged in their 70s and 80s.

Mr Andrews said seven of the deaths had been linked to aged care outbreaks.

“We of course send our condolences and best wishes to those families,” he said.

Mr Andrews said there were now 228 patients in hospital, with 42 in intensive care.

In Victoria, there were 42,973 tests performed yesterday alone.

“This is by far and away the biggest testing result we’ve seen on a single day,” he said.

“That is a very impressive effort. (Testing) is critical to containing this outbreak.”

Mr Andrews described flagged the aged care outbreaks and staffing of the health care system as “significant challenges” to overcome.