New Zealand has 25 more cases of Covid-19 today. Two of the cases are linked to the port worker who tested positive over the workers, 18 are infected foreign fishermen and five are unrelated imported cases.
Melbourne has endured one of the longest Covid-19 lockdowns in the world and finally an end is in sight.
Debate will rage for decades over what worked, whether it was too long or whether the price in terms of jobs or unemployment was too high.
After 100 days confined totheir homes and ordered not to leave for more than two hours of daily exercise – it started as a one-hour limit – Victorians have lived a grim existence that few Australians outside of the state can understand.
But by enduring it and sticking to the plan, have Melburnians also made history as one of the only cities across the globe to bring a second wave of coronavirus under control and return daily case numbers to zero?
Experts believe Melbourne has achieved this goal, and outside of Singapore, it's hard to think of any other city in the world that has done anything like it.
One of the nation's most respected epidemiologists Dr Catherine Bennett of Deakin University says she believes what has been achieved is of international significance.
No other place in the world has crushed its second wave like Melbourne has. Photo / News Corp Australia
"The best comparison we found was Singapore,'' she said.
"It's the only one that's really had a second wave and then brought it under control. They closed retail and all the rest. Although, they started releasing some of those restrictions earlier."
Bennett has previously criticised the lockdown, arguing Victoria adopted "a sledgehammer approach" to its road map out of lockdown "when a hammer may have been just as effective".
But as new case numbers plummet towards zero, it's notable that the state has achieved something incredible.
"Melburnians should be absolutely proud of what they have achieved. We will know in the future, when we look back, more about what worked better and what we could have done better,'' Bennett said.
But she does now believe Melburnians have borne the burden of the longest Covid-19 lockdown in the world.
"As one continuous lockdown, it would I think compete for that unfortunate title,'' she said.
"It was hard to call before. I think it's been an incredible ask. People have been largely on board and patient."
The debate over the length and intensity of Victoria's lockdown has sparked a bitter split between federal and state political leaders, with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg begging Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews to end the lockdown.
"It's not about me or Daniel Andrews. It's about the Victorian people who are paying the highest price for the failures in hotel quarantine — failures for which nobody in the state government has taken responsibility,'' Frydenberg said.
"The bloody-mindedness is unforgivable. Now that the case numbers are down to single digits it's time the Victorian government allowed millions of Victorians back to work and businesses to reopen in a Covid-safe way. If NSW was able to reopen, Victoria should too.''
But Andrews responded by accusing the Treasurer of playing politics.
"He's not a leader, he's just a Liberal," he said.
"He's just a Liberal and all he does is play politics every day."
Daniel Andrews has called out Josh Frydenberg for playing 'political games' after the Treasurer attacked Victoria's cautious roadmap out of lockdown. pic.twitter.com/xzugYGaeAl
Andrews has praised Victorians for their efforts in helping to control the virus, hinting that Monday's low new case numbers could see more restrictions eased.
"That's very good news I would have thought and hopefully Victorians feel that real sense of pride in themselves because I certainly feel a sense of pride in them for everything that they have done and I'm sure will continue to do to stay safe and to stay open,'' he said.
The idea that Victoria should be cautious about how swiftly it reopens was backed by the ABC's Norman Swan.
"Victoria has done a great job. It's unfortunate that the politics are coming in here to open up faster, but the problem with that is that last night on 7.30, I had David Nabarro from the World Health Organisation on, and the risk of rebound is high and you just want to go easily here. And I think that most Victorians are behind that.''
Swan said the plight of Europe "should help to silence the critics of Victoria's lockdown".
"We've said it many times before, that when it is out of control, lockdown is the only way that you can actually control the virus when it is out of control."
Surging COVID-19 cases in Europe should "silence the critics of Victoria's lockdown", says @normanswan
"Lockdown is the only way that you can actually control the virus when it is out of control." pic.twitter.com/PLTEhBjSeU
Swan said Victoria had "crushed" the virus, and for that Victorians can be grateful. But as Andrews has already noted, it will never be over until there is a vaccine.
"People are just going to have to be vigilant about this,'' Andrews said.
