Ten more Victorians died from coronavirus, and 459 cases were reported, marking Australia ‘s deadliest day since the pandemic began.
Seven men in their 40s and 80s and three women in their 70s and 80s are the latest to die from the virus and raise the death toll on the state to 71.
Mr Andrews said seven of the deaths were linked to outbreaks of aged care and the man in his 40s was not linked to any outbreak.
More than 42,000 tests were conducted on Saturday, the largest amount performed in a single day by the Government.
Mr Andrews said there were about 200 paramedics off-roster and 3rd year students assisting with contact tracing.
“Their skills in dealing with dynamic circumstances means they are perfectly suited to that,” he said.
Beginning Monday 20 personnel from the Australian Defense Force will start operating in joint teams alongside Ambulance Victoria paramedics.
Mr Andrews said hundreds of new healthcare professionals have thrown up their hands to deal tackle the pandemic.
“We’ve got people right across the health system putting their hand up, putting themselves in harm’s way, many of them, running the risk of becoming infected,” he said.
“They are playing their part. That is a particularly impressive thing, and that is again another reminder that we’ve all got to play our part, too.
Mr Andrews reiterated people with symptoms must get tested, “and get tested quickly”.
“Wait for your results at home. Don’t go to work, don’t go shopping, don’t leave your house. That is a really important, powerful contribution that everybody can make.”
“We’ve been clear that it would get worse before it got better, but stability had to be achieved before we would start to see numbers fall,” he said.
“We will get to the end of this faster if we continue to see the amazing effort that is so noticeable across the city — people wearing masks, traffic data that represents people being at home.”