The harsh lockdown was enacted for six weeks on August 2 after coronavirus cases spiked, and was due to end on September 13.

“It’s hard to see that happening,” Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth told Nine on Monday.

“I think the numbers need to be a lot less than they are now.”

Victoria today reported 41 coronavirus deaths, an Australian daily record, although only eight of the fatalities are new.

When the Department of Health and Human Services released the daily figures on Monday, it explained that 22 of the 41 fatalities were people who died before August 27.

They were reported by aged care facilities to the DHHS on Sunday.

Premier Daniel Andrews later said that 33 of those fatalities had happened in previous weeks.

It takes the state’s death toll to 565 and the national figure to 652.

Daily case numbers dropped to 73, the lowest Victorian figure since July 3.

It came as Andrews announced the government will release its roadmap to reopening the state on Sunday.

That is a week out from when stage-four restrictions in metropolitan Melbourne and stage-three provisions for regional Victoria are due to end.

“It is too early today to settle that road map and lock that in,” Andrews said.

“Another week’s data is critically important and for us to have a better sense of how long it’s going to take to drive these numbers down.”

The Andrews Government is negotiating with crossbenchers over what should happen when the state of emergency provisions expire on September 13.

A week ago, Andrews sparked controversy when he announced the government wanted to extend the powers by 12 months to help deal with the coronavirus.

With the opposition immediately saying it would not support the proposal, the government was forced into negotiations with crossbenchers.

There has been talk of a compromise, with the extension reduced to six months, but there is no confirmation ahead of parliament returning on Tuesday.

Now the police association, a powerful lobby group, has released a statement on the issue.

“With 13 days to run on this current state of emergency, it is essential that parliament moves to maintain the framework that provides police and PSOs (public safety officers) with the capacity to help Victoria safely come out of lockdown,” it said.

“There can be no adequate plan for a return to some normality, if the framework designed to ensure it’s done safely and incrementally, is removed.

“This issue is above politics. The safety of our community and our members in this precarious time is too important.”

Meanwhile, new Treasury numbers paint a grim picture of the devastating impact Victoria’s second wave of coronavirus is having on the national economy.

Strict lockdown measures have driven the number of Victorians on unemployment benefits up by eight per cent, while household spending has plunged by 30 per cent compared to just three per cent in the rest of the country.

The hospitality sector has borne the brunt of the restrictions, with spending on dining and takeaway meals down 60 per cent, while accommodation has fallen 80 per cent.

Treasury estimates 60 per cent of the 2.24 million people receiving JobKeeper by the end of the year will be in Victoria.

While the number of people on wage subsidies is expected to fall to 1.75 million early next year, three in five recipients are still expected to be from Victoria.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, Victoria’s most senior Liberal, accused Andrews of mishandling coronavirus outbreaks, likening the situation to a slow-moving car crash.

“Restrictions imposed by the Victorian government have had a devastating impact on the economy,” Frydenberg said on Monday.

“As we have seen in other states, if you can successfully suppress the virus, jobs will return.”

Australian Council of Trade Unions president Michele O’Neil said health advice should be paramount in lifting restrictions.

“This is not a choice between the economy and lives. We actually can and must consider both,” she told ABC radio.

O’Neil said paid pandemic leave, training for workers and providing workplaces with safety equipment would be key to a sensible reopening.

In Melbourne’s Docklands, a new 3,500-square-metre public park and $600 million luxury hotel has opened to the public. Located in North Wharf on the north bank of the Yarra River, the revitalised Seafarers precinct was designed by a collaborative team.

According to a release from the project’s developer, Riverlee, the new Seafarers Rest Park is the sole riverfront park to be constructed in the city in more than 20 years. The developer noted that the new 200-metre-long park, which commenced construction in April 2024 with a design by landscape architecture practice Oculus in collaboration with the City of Melbourne, “delivers vital green infrastructure and habitat for Melbourne’s CBD, and connects pedestrians and cyclists directly to the river.”

Adjacent to the park, the design of the newly opened One Hotel and Homes has been led by architecture practice FK, with hotel interiors by One Design Office and residential interiors by Carr. The building, which comprises 277 guest rooms and 114 residences, centres on the adaptive reuse of the historic Goods Shed No. 5.

Constructed in 1939 to replace the site’s original Gold Rush-era shed, the current, heritage-listed Goods Shed remained the most used wharf on Melbourne’s waterfront until access was restricted by the Charles Grimes Bridge built in 1975.

FK principal Falk Peuser noted that the design of the hotel draws upon the forms of the historic shed alongside the precinct’s broader city context.

“Designing a building on an island site in Melbourne’s CBD presented a rare opportunity to craft an architectural form that stands alone yet feels deeply embedded in place – one that can be experienced and admired from every angle,” FK principal Falk Peuser said.

“The facade features two distinct volumetric forms: the lower hotel levels, which reference the angular side panels of Goods Shed No. 5, and the upper levels, which express the dynamic, ever-changing nature of the river,” he added. “The resulting sculptural form is grounded in its history while remaining forward-looking and responsive to its natural surroundings.”

The design of Seafarers Park likewise draws upon the site’s maritime history, with the refurbished shed designated the “hero feature” of the precinct. The park incorporates timber seating inspired by shipping crates, rope swings, historical signage and local maritime artefacts. In addition, over 2,000 original items from the shed have been preserved and more than 4,500-square metres of reclaimed and recycled timber incorporated throughout the precinct.

A preservation-led approach has also informed the restoration of the site’s ecological heritage within the park, which incorporates water-sensitive urban design, habitat-supportive landscaping and “woody meadow” plantings, such as native grasses and wildflowers, that once flourished along the Birrarung/Yarra River.

Oculus director Claire Martin reflected, “As designers, we understand the profound importance that public spaces can have on public life. Inspired by the site’s rich maritime history and cultural significance, we approached this project with a commitment to honour past stories while creating an inclusive landscape to improve future public health and wellbeing.”