Victoria has had mixed coronavirus news, with 15 deaths amid a sharp drop in new cases.
The state toll is now 430 and Monday's deaths take the national figure to 517.
But the number of new cases plummeted to 116 from Sunday's figure of 208.
That is the lowest number of daily cases for the state since 5 July, when there were 74 - that was also the last time the figure was below 100.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews declared that the state's policies were working to defeat the second wave of the virus.
"It is working, it is making a big difference. It is having a real impact. And I'm proud and grateful to every single Victorian who is playing their part in delivering a successful strategy," he told reporters on Monday.
Mr Andrews also announced the parliament would reconvene shortly, perhaps virtually, to look at extending the state of emergency provisions that allowed for the coronavirus restrictions for another 12 months.
The current state of emergency laws are only allowed to run for six months and will expire on 13 September.
Mr Andrews said some form of coronavirus restrictions may well be needed for a further 12 months, but that didn't mean the lockdown was being extended.
"It is about making sure that even after the worst of this, the second wave has passed, there will still be, for a considerable period of time ... there will be some rules needed" he said.
"It could be less than another 12 months, we will certainly hope so, if a vaccine was to appear next year then many of those rules would not be needed, but we have to assume that that vaccine won't be here," he added.
At the halfway point of the lockdown period, Victoria's chief health officer has defiantly declared he won't let the state's hard-fought COVID-19 gains slip.
Brett Sutton had predicted on Sunday that numbers could drop below 150 this week.
He added although the daily case numbers had been "jumping around", he expected they were on a downward trajectory.
He was still upbeat after new cases went back above 200 on Sunday.
"We're not going to see 300 and 400 (cases) again in Victoria under my watch, at least," he told reporters.
"We're applying a strategy that is driving cases down."
With 3,920 so-called mystery cases, Prof Sutton warned restrictions would not be lifted in full until community transmission is eradicated.
Mr Andrews said the weekend's bad weather was an "absolute blessing" and hoped it meant more people stayed at home.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton. Source: AAP
Meanwhile, Channel Nine has confirmed its quiz show Millionaire Hotseat is the second program to go into hiatus because of a coronavirus positive test.
The show, hosted by Eddie McGuire, shares Melbourne studio facilities with Network Ten's The Masked Singer.
A dancer on the Ten program tested positive to the virus and the plug was pulled when more crew members also became infected.
The entire production team, including host Osher Gunsberg and celebrity judges Dannii Minogue and Dave Hughes, are in self-isolation.
Gunsberg revealed the Ten show, in which masked celebrities compete against each other in a singing competition, was two hours away from recording its grand finale.
Melbourne residents still have at least another three weeks of stage four restrictions including overnight curfew, while regional Victorians are living under slightly less onerous level three restrictions.
Hearings for the state's inquiry into the failed hotel quarantine program will resume on Monday with more testimony from hotel security staff.
The inquiry last week heard poorly-performing security guards were moved between the quarantine hotels, while returned travellers feared catching COVID-19 during their stay.
Eyes on Queensland
Meanwhile in Queensland, an outbreak is being monitored closely as authorities expand a public health alert to 67 venues, up from 40, as a coronavirus cluster linked to a Brisbane Youth Detention Centre grows.
The state recorded one new case on Monday, taking the centre's cluster to 10.
The cluster began from a worker who was diagnosed with the virus last week, with the 77-year-old Ipswich woman continuing to work while infectious.
More than 200 of 500 staff at the Wacol centre have tested negative and more than 110 youths returned negative results.
NSW reported three new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. Two were acquired overseas and are in hotel quarantine, one is a close contact of a previous case who has been in isolation during their infectious period.
Western Australia recorded one new case on Sunday, an interstate traveller who had returned from overseas and tested positive while in hotel quarantine.
Metropolitan Melbourne residents are subject to Stage 4 restrictions and must comply with a curfew between the hours of 8pm and 5am. During the curfew, people in Melbourne can only leave their house for work, and essential health, care or safety reasons.
Between 5am and 8pm, people in Melbourne can leave the home for exercise, to shop for necessary goods and services, for work, for health care, or to care for a sick or elderly relative.
All Victorians must wear a face covering when they leave home, no matter where they live.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others.
Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, stay home and arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
