New daily Covid-19 cases in Australia's Victoria and New South Wales states, the epicentres of the country's worst virus outbreak, have falled as authorities look to start easing tough restrictions amid a rise in vaccination rates.
A total of 1,420 new locally acquired cases were reported in Victoria, most of them in the state capital Melbourne, down from a record 1,763 yesterday.
Eleven new deaths were registered, the state's highest daily number in the current outbreak. Melbourne has been in lockdown since 5 August as Australia grapples with a third wave of infections fuelled by the Delta variant that has also put millions in Sydney, its largest city, and the capital Canberra, under strict stay-home rules.