Victoria will deploy an army of healthcare officers to inform and test residents in hotspot areas to help contain coronavirus, with help from the military.
The emergency response to control the spread of the deadly virus, announced on Thursday, was compared to the measures put in place during last summer's bushfires.
Victoria recorded another 33 COVID-19 cases, prompting a suburban testing blitz that aims to test 50 per cent of residents in 10 Melbourne localities.
Keilor Downs, Broadmeadows, Maidstone, Albanvale, Sunshine West, Hallam, Brunswick West, Fawkner, Reservoir and Pakenham all have high rates of community transmission.
"The first three days are solely focused on Keilor Downs and Broadmeadows, but we will move to the balance of those suburbs over the course of a 10-day period," Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday.
Some 10,000 residents a day will be tested in the 10 suburbs by a fleet of 800 crew in mobile testing vans.
Victoria has been processing 18,000 tests a day, but that will ramp up to 25,000 with the help of other states.
More than 1000 troops are coming to Victoria to help the state fight the growing coronavirus problem.
Aside from Australian Defence Force personnel, the state will also have assistance from NSW, South Australia, Tasmania and Queensland to process virus tests.
"This is a public health bushfire, and when it comes to the bushfires, we always work together," Mr Andrews said.
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds said her department had been providing support to Victoria since April and is pleased to increase its assistance.
Up to 850 ADF members will provide support to hotel quarantine monitoring and about 200 personnel will provide logistical and medical support for coronavirus testing.
The agreement will be in place until the end of July.
Opposition leader Michael O'Brien blamed the need for the testing blitz on government failings, claiming the premier had to be "dragged kicking and screaming to get the ADF in".
"Daniel Andrews has been very quick to blame Victorian families for the spread of the coronavirus," Mr O'Brien said.
"I think his government needs to actually look in the mirror and look at the mistakes that they have made."
Of Victoria's 33 new cases, seven are returned travellers, nine are linked to known and contained outbreaks, six emerged after routine testing and the origin of another 11 cases are under investigation.
Thursday's figure is the highest daily number of new cases in Victoria since the surge started last week.
Victoria's active cases jumped from 58 to 143 in the period June 17-24, while the rest of the country combined only had an increase of 20.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said a review of the training received by security guards in hotels hosting returned travellers was underway.
He added testing in hotspot areas had stepped up in the last week.
Community engagement in the local government areas of Brimbank, Casey, Cardinia, Darebin, Hume and Moreland has also ramped up after they were identified as coronavirus hotspots.
Information about the virus has been translated into 55 languages, but the government has conceded it has to work harder to reach people.
These areas have large migrant populations, with many speaking languages other than English at home.
Since the spike in new cases, drive-through testing sites have experienced extremely high demand and panic buying has also returned, with Coles and Woolworths reinstating purchase limits on items like toilet paper.
© AAP 2020
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2020-06-25 03:55:00Z
CBMib2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LjluZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9oZWFsdGgvbWlsaXRhcnktY2FsbGVkLWluLWFzLXZpY3RvcmlhLWNhc2VzLXN1cmdlL2VkODM0ZDlhLWViYjktNDk3ZC04NWJlLThhYzc4MzU2ZGJlMtIBRWh0dHBzOi8vYW1wLjluZXdzLmNvbS5hdS9hcnRpY2xlL2VkODM0ZDlhLWViYjktNDk3ZC04NWJlLThhYzc4MzU2ZGJlMg
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