State records zero local new cases of COVID-19, one new case in hotel quarantine

With extra workers using public transport, Mr Andrews reminded commuters masks would need to be worn and said cleaning would be stepped up further.

He said more public transport announcements would be made later this week in anticipation of extra commuters from Monday.

Meanwhile, the Victorian government will move to extend its state of emergency laws until December 15.

The state of emergency declaration was due to end on March 15 but Mr Andrews said the government will introduce a bill to Parliament on Tuesday to extend it for the rest of the year.

“We can’t go to a situation where there are no rules we have to continue to acknowledge and embrace the fact that what we built is precious and has to be defended,” he said.

Mr Andrews said even with the rollout of vaccines, the pandemic was far from over.

“Whilst the vaccine has been a significant development, that will not be administered to sufficient numbers of people in a matter of weeks. It’s going to take a long time, and that’s not a criticism, it’s just an acknowledgment that it’s a massive task.“

Mr Andrews said that even with a majority of the population vaccinated, there was doubt about how effective the rollout would be in stopping the spread of COVID-19, although it may stop the severity of the illness.

“It’s very heartening to think that we’ll be able to protect people from really significant illness, but the notion that people could still have the virus and pass it on will mean that things like hotel quarantine will for quite some time, be a feature of our COVID normal.

“Therefore, we need to extend that state of emergency,” he said.