Bunnings reveals why it believes the hardware chain should stay open in State of Disaster Victoria despite unprecedented lockdown

Today is the deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic in Victoria with 17 people losing their battle for life and hundreds more infected.

Victoria Beckham’s company will also halve the number of annual fashion collections after being hard-hit by the pandemic. A source said the redundancies were a bid to save the label.

Hospital staff and Australian Defence Force medics are being sent into Victoria’s coronavirus-stricken aged care facilities as deaths mount.

Victoria has detected another 459 coronavirus cases, 10 more people have died, and there are 228 Victorians in hospital with 42 in the ICU as Melbourne’s outbreak shows no signs of easing.

Victorian Premier Dan Andrew says stage four restrictions came into effect across metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire on Thursday with the implementation of mandatory masks.

Victoria is expected to report more than 400 cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.

A man in his 70s has died and another 273 cases of coronavirus have been identified in Victoria overnight as the state is gripped by a second wave of the disease.

Victoria has recorded 165 new cases of coronavirus as Melbourne endures its first day of lockdown. Thirty are linked to known outbreaks and the rest of being investigated.

The Northern Territory (pictured is Kakadu National Park) has declared Victoria a COVID-19 hotspot and has shut its borders to the southern state.