This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia, which closed in 2021.

Victoria Reports 148 New Coronavirus Cases, 8 Deaths

Meanwhile the AFL Grand Final will be played outside Melbourne for the first time in its history this year.
A man wearing a mask walks across Sturt Street in Ballarat on August 21, 2020 in Ballarat, Australia. COVID-19 testing in Ballarat has increased as health authorities work to avoid the spread of coronavirus in regional Victoria.
Darrian Traynor via Getty Images
A man wearing a mask walks across Sturt Street in Ballarat on August 21, 2020 in Ballarat, Australia. COVID-19 testing in Ballarat has increased as health authorities work to avoid the spread of coronavirus in regional Victoria.

Victoria said on Tuesday eight people died from coronavirus in the last 24 hours and reported 148 new cases.

The state a day earlier reported 15 deaths from the virus and 116 cases, its lowest daily rise in new infections in seven weeks.

A flare up in infections in Victoria forced authorities in to tighten restrictions on people’s movements and order large parts of the state’s economy to close but the southeast state has seen a slowdown in new cases in recent days.

Meanwhile one of the most iconic fixtures on the Australian sporting calendar, the AFL Grand Final, will be played outside Melbourne for the first time in its history this year, Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed on Monday.

Melbourne remains in a strict lockdown after a second wave of COVID-19 cases and Andrews said an exception would not be made even for an event so important to Victorians that a public holiday is observed the day before it.

“For the sake of one event ― as important, as religious almost, as it is ― the notion that you would take a holiday from the coronavirus for the day so we could have the grand final for a day and a dose of normal, that doesn’t make any sense,” he told a news conference in Melbourne.

“That would only spread the virus. It hurts, but not as much as potentially spreading the virus more. That notion is not on the table.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Tigers head coach Damien Hardwick and Trent Cotchin of the Tigers show the Premiership Trophy to the crowd during the Richmond Tigers Post AFL Grand Final Celebrations at Punt Road Oval on September 29, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. The Richmond Tigers beat the Greater Western Sydney Giants in yesterday's AFL Grand Final. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Quinn Rooney via Getty Images
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA - SEPTEMBER 29: Tigers head coach Damien Hardwick and Trent Cotchin of the Tigers show the Premiership Trophy to the crowd during the Richmond Tigers Post AFL Grand Final Celebrations at Punt Road Oval on September 29, 2019 in Melbourne, Australia. The Richmond Tigers beat the Greater Western Sydney Giants in yesterday's AFL Grand Final. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)

The “Grand Final” is the climax of the season in the Australian Football League (AFL), the top professional flight in the indigenous Australian rules code that is the overwhelmingly dominant winter sport in the state.

It is normally played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in late September or early October and attracts crowds close to or in excess of 100,000 to the cavernous arena.

Starting in the 19th century as the Victorian Football League title-decider, it has been played every year since 1898 barring 1924, including throughout both World Wars.

The second wave of COVID-19 cases in Melbourne in July forced the AFL to ship its 10 Victoria-based teams out of the state so the truncated season could be completed.

Queensland, which has hosted a majority of AFL games this season, is favourite to stage the game at Brisbane’s Gabba ground, but South and Western Australia as well as New South Wales have also expressed interest.

Reporting by Renju Jose and Nick Mulvenney.

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost Australia. Certain site features have been disabled. If you have questions or concerns, please check our FAQ or contact support@huffpost.com.