Canberra, Jul 10 (AP) Australia's Victoria state on Friday reported the new daily record of 288 coronavirus cases, which also reflects a record number of tests exceeding 37,500.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that the number of citizens and permanent residents allowed to return to Australia each week will be reduced by more than 4,000 from next week.

Also Read | World Population Day 2020: List of 5 Most And 5 Least Populated Countries of The World.

Sydney, Australia's largest city, has been carrying a disproportionate burden of hotel quarantine that is currently paid for by the New South Wales state government.

Victoria, to the south, has banned international arrivals after breaches of hotel quarantine in Melbourne were blamed for Australia's only widespread transmission of COVID-19.

Also Read | Air India Pilots Association Demands Long Pending Dues Immediately : Live News Breaking & Coronavirus Updates on July 9, 2020.

Vicotoria's Chief Helath Officer Breet Sutton said “certainly, 288 new cases today is a pretty ugly number.”

“Our numbers are the numbers that the U.S. gets every 10 minutes. We are still in a fortunate position and we have gone to a lockdown at this juncture in order not to have those kind of pressures manifest in our system,” Sutton said.

Melbourne went into lockdown again on Wednesday night for six weeks.

Victoria has become the first state to recommend its residents wear masks if they can't maintain 1.5 meters (5 feet) social distancing such as when they're on public transport or in supermarkets.

Queensland, to the north, charges travellers 2,800 Australian dollars ($1,900) for their two weeks in hotel quarantine, making Sydney are more attractive destination for Queenslanders to land from overseas.

Morrison said other states are moving to charge for hotel quarantine as well given that Australia has been urging citizens for weeks to return as soon as possible. Outside Victoria, most of Australia's COVID-19 cases have been detected in hotel quarantine. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)