Victorian Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton. Source: Herald Sun
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  • It’s been a doughnut day for Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales, as each state recorded no new community cases of COVID-19 in the past day
  • The news comes as Victorian lockdown restrictions ease, allowing Melburnians to once more return to pubs, restaurants and bars
  • Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said it was unlikely for the doughnut days to continue over the next week
  • Meanwhile, Queensland and New South Wales have also recorded no new cases after a Victorian couple left lockdown to travel to the sunset coast
  • The couple then tested positive for COVID-19, and Queensland authorities say there are over 300 close contacts related to the travellers

Victoria, Queensland, and New South Wales have all recorded zero new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours as Melbourne emerges from its fourth lockdown.

As cases have continued to dwindle since Victoria’s most recent outbreak, lockdown restrictions in the state were lifted this morning. There is still a 25-kilometre limit on non-essential travel and an indoor mask mandate, but restaurants, pubs and bars are open once more.

It comes as the state records a doughnut day off the back of 17,604 COVID-19 tests. The state administered over 20,000 jabs yesterday, taking its total number of vaccines administered to just shy of 750,000.

Elective surgeries in hospitals will restart on Tuesday next week.

Nevertheless, Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said it was unlikely for the doughnut days to continue over the next week.

“There probably won’t be all zero cases,” Mr Sutton said.

“We have thousands of primary close contracts, some of which will be positive.”

He stressed that this is “not a concern” for the community given these close contacts have already been told to self-quarantine.

Queensland and NSW also record no new cases

Queensland and NSW have also recorded doughnut days after a Victorian couple left lockdown in Greater Melbourne to drive the Sunshine Coast before testing positive to the coronavirus.

The couple visited several sites between the two locations during the three-day journey, sparking fears that the Victorian outbreak could have cross borders and spread to the other states.

In Queensland, there are allegedly over 300 close contacts of the couple. So far, 41 have already been identified and have and returned negative results.

Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said state police were cracking down on people who are trying to enter the state without an appropriate exemption or travel declaration.

“You cannot come into this state if you are from a hotspot,” Ms D’Ath said.

“We will make sure you will face the consequences if you do that.”

Meanwhile, New South Wales conducted over 900 tests yesterday, with zero positive results returned.

Victorian contact tracers are still working to find the source of the couple’s infection.

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