Strict lockdowns to continue 'at least another month' in Victoria

Victoria's tough coronavirus crackdown has been extended for a month, as a plane loaded with infected cruise ship passengers arrived.

Premier Daniel Andrews said on Sunday that the state of emergency will be extended until midnight on May 11.

Under the declaration, the government has the power to keep measures designed to "flatten the curve" of coronavirus.

It was due to expire tomorrow.

With just three new cases of coronavirus recorded today, the premier said restrictions were working.

"We are aggressively tracing our outbreaks, and making sure this virus does not get away from us," he told reporters.

"If it does, our health system will simply be overrun and people will die."

The state's total confirmed COVID-19 cases hit 1268 on Sunday, with 14 deaths.

Twenty-eight patients remain in hospital, 16 in intensive care.

A flight from Uruguay landed at Melbourne Airport just before 7am on Sunday, carrying about 112 Australian and New Zealand passengers from the Greg Mortimer cruise ship.

The ship had been stranded in the South American nation for more than two weeks, after leaving Argentina on March 15 for a 16-day return trip to Antarctica.

About 70 per cent of passengers on board the flight have COVID-19, but only one went to hospital, the state's deputy chief health officer Brett Sutton said.

Mr Andrews said there was "no comparison" between the mercy flight and the Ruby Princess cruise ship debacle.

"These people were tested and known to be positive, and none of these people have been let into the community," he said.

Hundreds of people were confirmed to have the virus after the Ruby Princess docked in Sydney last month,and more than a dozen have since died.

Mr Andrews said a small group of New Zealand passengers from the Greg Mortimer had been put on a charter flight home, while the remaining Australians went to hotels for 14 days of quarantine.

A man died while in quarantine at a Melbourne hotel overnight, but his death is not suspicious and the coroner will investigate.

Mr Andrews said the man did not have coronavirus and was subject to a daily health check.

Mental Health Minister Martin Foley announced a $59.4 million package for mental health organisations and practitioners to help meet demand during the pandemic.

One in four calls to Lifeline relate to the virus, while Beyond Blue had experienced a 30-35 percent increase in calls, he said.

More than 1200 Australian nationals have flown home from overseas to land at Tullamarine this weekend, with flights from India and Peru arriving on Friday and Saturday.

Australia's national death toll from the virus stands at 59.

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