Melbourne, Aug 28 (AP) Australia's hard-hit Victoria state on Friday reported 113 new COVID-19 cases for a second consecutive day, with authorities warning that the infection rate will have to fall substantially if a six-week lockdown is to be relaxed on schedule on Sept. 13.

The latest daily tallies are the lowest in more than eight weeks, with a peak of 725 in early August. The latest death toll dropped to 12 from 23 on Thursday.

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Authorities want daily infections to fall at least to low double-digits before they would consider relaxing restrictions.

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said: “We're clearly still trending in the right direction. ... It's not gotten below 100 yet, I do expect that to happen, if not over the weekend, then by next week, if trends continue." (AP)

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(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)