⁍ Australia looks set to record its lowest daily increase in new coronavirus cases in three months.

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⁍ Victoria reported 14 new infections in the 24 hours to Sunday morning.

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⁍ That put Victoria on track to meet a target of keeping average daily increases below 50.

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– Australia’s “hard lockdown” of the country’s second-most populous state, Victoria, appears to be working: The state reported 14 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to yesterday morning, its lowest number since June 19, Reuters reports. That puts Victoria on track to meet a target of keeping average daily increases below 50 by Sept. 28 when the authorities have said they may lift restrictions. Australia’s biggest state New South Wales, which has Sydney as the capital, reported two new cases, while the Queensland state also reported two, bringing the national total to 18, the lowest national tally since June 23. The five other states and territories had not reported daily case numbers by yesterday morning, but have reported no increases most days for weeks. “There will of course always be debates about timing and whether we’re on schedule, ahead of schedule, all of those things, (but) ultimately these numbers are cause for great optimism and positivity,” Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews told a televised news conference. “It’s heartbreaking to see, all that those communities have given, all the sacrifice that they’ve made, and now they’ve got cases running perhaps more wildly than their first wave. You’ve got to see it off.”