Australia’s Victoria records country’s highest COVID-19 case count yet

The Australian state of Victoria hit a new record for COVID-19 cases on Thursday reporting 2,297 new cases, the most in a single day for any state or territory in the country since the pandemic began.

Reuters noted that this grim development comes as the state appears poised to reach the threshold at which it will exit the lockdown it has been under since August. Authorities have pledged that the lockdown will be lifted once Victoria’s adult population reaches a full vaccination rate of 70 percent.

Victoria also reported 11 new deaths Thursday.

Most of the new cases were reported in Melbourne, according to Reuters. The city is regarded as the center of the delta variant outbreak in Australia.

The new record comes less than a week after Victoria hit its previous record for cases, reporting 1,965 new cases in one day last weekend.

Other states such as New South Wales have continued to see downward trends in new COVID-19 cases, with 406 cases reported in that state on Thursday. 

As The Sydney Morning Herald reported, Victoria could reach its goal of a 70 percent two-dose vaccination rate as soon as next Thursday. Though new COVID-19 cases have reached a new high, the Herald noted that hospitalization rates have fallen below 5 percent of cases in Victoria.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has said that reopening plans will not be affected by case numbers.