Health authorities hope it reflects a slowing of the surge in cases registered last week. It is down notably from Friday's total when Premier Andrews announced a record number of 428 new cases. It was the second consecutive daily record following Thursday's total of 317.

There was one further death on Monday taking the state's total to 39. The most recent death was a woman in her 80s.

There has now been over two weeks with more than 100 new cases every day.

In the daily media conference this morning, Premier Andrews announced that 28 of those new cases were linked to known outbreaks and 247 were under investigation.

It takes Victoria to 5,942 cases in total, with almost half of those currently being active.

There are now 147 people in hospitals across Victoria, with 31 in intensive care . 

Premier Andrews once again encouraged people to get tested - even if they have only mild symptoms.

The new statistics indicate an accelerating level of community transmission. The past fortnight has seen by far the steepest and fastest rise in the number of COVID-19 cases since the pandemic measures first came into place.

The chief health officer Brett Sutton said at the end of last week that he hoped for numbers to plateau shortly.

The breakdown of cases by local government area will be sent out later today.  

Stage 3 "Stay at Home" restrictions remain in force across metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire. There are only four reasons for people to leave their homes: shopping for food and essential items; care and caregiving; daily exercise; and work and study.

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