MELBOURNE: Australia's hotspot Victoria state has reported 374 new cases of COVID-19, the second-highest daily tally ever recorded.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews also announced on Tuesday three more deaths in the state, bringing the national toll 126.
Andrews said a lockdown in Australia's second-largest city Melbourne and neighoring semi-rural Mitchell Shire which began two weeks ago was having an impact.
"You'd like to see numbers coming down. At the end of the day though, we're not seeing the doubling and doubling again" of cases, Andrews said.
"So what that says to me ...is that the sorts of measures we've put in place are having a direct impact." Since a record 428 cases were reported on Friday, Victoria has recorded 217, 363 and 275 cases on consecutive days.
Tighter regulations will come into force on the Victoria-New South Wales border on Wednesday that will only allow border communities to cross for essential work, health and education reasons.