Victoria has recorded 288 new coronavirus cases, the biggest daily increase of any state since the pandemic began.
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Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the new cases on Friday, with just 26 linked to known infections, while 262 remain under investigation.
The new cases push the state's active case tally past 1000 for the first time.
Previously, the highest daily state total in Australia was 212 cases recorded in NSW on March 27.
"I know there will be great concern about these numbers. People will feel deeply concerned to see that number as high as it is," Mr Andrews said.
He said the number of new cases proved the need for parts of the state to re-enter lockdown.
"We didn't take that step because we didn't have a problem, we took that step because we knew it would need to get worse before it got better, and that unless we took those steps we simply wouldn't be able to bring a sense of control to this," he said.
He said he was comforted by the high number of tests conducted in the state, including a record 37,588 tests on Thursday.
Victoria's Chief Health Officer has requested people in locked-down metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire wear masks when they are out of their home and can't social distance.
Two million reusable masks and one million single-use masks will be distributed by the government.
Professor Sutton said masks have been shown to reduce community transmission of the virus by up to two thirds.
"That's a really important additional measure and we are trying to do absolutely everything in Victoria to drive transmission down, it's a really important additional tool," he said.
He said Friday's figures were "pretty ugly" but warned case numbers may rise over the next two weeks until the latest lockdown has an impact.
In Melbourne's north, Roxburgh Park and Craigieburn have seen an increase in cases, as has Truganina in the west, where the state's largest cluster at Al-Taqwa College is located.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said 60 fines have been issued to people for breaking stay-at-home rules in the past 24 hours.
They include 16 people at a Dandenong birthday party, who were fined a total of $26,000.
Victoria Police was tipped off about the gathering by a paramedic who spotted two people ordering 20 meals at KFC at 1:30am on Friday.
"It is an expensive night when you think apart from the KFC, we have issued 16 infringements at that amount ($1652), that is $26,000 that birthday party is costing them," he said.
"That is a heck of a birthday party to recall."
Four sex workers were fined in Glen Waverly, while a Docklands couple were caught trying to leave the city to go to a Phillip Island holiday house.
Australian Associated Press
