Victoria records deadliest day of virus pandemic

Australia's hard-hit Victoria state on Wednesday recorded one of its deadliest days of the pandemic despite new coronavirus infections continuing to trend down. The 24 fatalities due to COVID-19 in the latest 24-hour period is the largest death toll apart from the all-time daily record of 25 set on August 17.

State Premier Daniel Andrews said 149 new cases were reported on Wednesday following 148 infections on Tuesday. Andrews said he was grateful for residents following the rules to help drive the case numbers down. Wednesday's count brought the weekly average to 175 new cases a day, down from 279 in the previous week.