The Australian state of Victoria recorded zero new COVID-19 infections and virus-related deaths on Monday, for the first time since June 9.
However, the day before, the decision to ease COVID-19 restrictions was again delayed by Premier Daniel Andrews, amid concerns over a cluster outbreak in the state's capital city Melbourne's northern suburbs.
After close to three months of lockdown, residents were eagerly awaiting a move to the "third stage" of reopening, which will see limits on leaving the home removed, public gatherings of up to 10 people allowed and hospitality venues welcome back patrons.
Premier Daniel Andrews said despite deep frustrations over the speed of the process he could not safely make the decision for Melbourne to move to that step until the link between 39 recent cases in the city's north was established.
"Concerningly, while these cases have locations in common it is not yet clear how they link together. It means we may still have transmission happening where we can't see it," Andrews told reporters on Sunday.
"For now, we need to do again what we've done throughout this pandemic: follow the advice of our public health experts. That means there can be no changes to restrictions in Melbourne."
Andrews said that health officials would spend the coming days reviewing the results of thousands of tests conducted in the region over the weekend, and insisted that the state was still on track to reopen before November 1.
Meanwhile, despite Melbourne lagging behind, Victorians living outside the capital city were able to enjoy more freedoms from October 27, with higher capacities on gyms as well as indoor pools and sport centres.
Food courts were also allowed to reopen and live music resumed for outdoor hospitality venues.
