Victoria's COVID Cases Climb To 567 As Cautious Road Map Receives Mixed Reviews

COVID-19 cases continue to creep up as Victoria recorded 567 new infections on Monday and sadly one death.

The cases were detected from 50,915 test results on Sunday, while almost 40,000 vaccines were administered.

It comes after Premier Dan Andrews unveiled the reopening roadmap with a 'cautious' and 'staggered' approach.

Lockdown and curfews are expected to remain in place for Melbourne until October 26 when the state is due to hit 70 per cent double dosed targets, with greater freedoms predicted for November 5. 

Despite peak business groups calling it a roadblock and not a road map, the Premier was adamant that his plan was about opening the state up.

“Make no mistake, we are opening up, no doubt about that, and there will be no turning back,” he said.

“We have got to normalise this; we have got to pass through and beyond this pandemic. We cannot permanently suppress this virus.”

- Premier Dan Andrews

Meantime, despite planning for the worst, hospitals remain optimistic.

The nursing union have welcomed the Premier's cautious approach as a sure means of preventing the health system from becoming overrun. 

Modelling from the Burnet institute predicts cases will peak at 2,900 next month and deaths could exceed 2,000 by December.

ICU director of Royal Melbourne Professor Chris MacIsaac told Nine he is confident we can bypass that once the double jab rate increases.

"We're really hopeful and very, I guess pleased to see the vaccination numbers increasing in Victoria, because that's the best way you can protect yourself from ending up as one of those statistics"

- A/Prof Chris MacIsaac

Victorian health authorities have yet to reveal how many cases are linked to known outbreaks or how many people were in isolation.

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