• After 28 days of zero COVID-19 cases, Victoria has met the widely-held definition for having eliminated the coronavirus.
• Australia’s national COVID-19 case numbers are at the lowest point since the start of the pandemic in March.
• It’s expected Victoria will loosen their restrictions further in early December, following this latest milestone.
• Visit Business Insider Australia’s homepage for more stories.

Just over a hundred days since the peak of the state’s COVID-19 cases, the virus has been effectively eliminated in Victoria.

On Friday morning, the Victorian Government’s Department of Health and Human Services reported zero new cases and deaths from COVID-19 for the 28th consecutive day.

Four weeks without new cases is considered by epidemiologists to be the benchmark for having eliminated the virus from the community.

The last active active case in Victoria, a 90-year-old, was discharged from hospital on Monday.

The state had recorded more than 700 daily cases as recently as early August.

Victoria moved to ‘Last Step’ restrictions on Monday this week.

This loosened restrictions on the number of people allowed at home visitations, public outdoor gatherings, hospitality and entertainment venues while keeping masks mandatory in some situations.

The state is expected to move to ‘COVID Normal’ restrictions now that they’ve hit the milestone of 28 days of no cases, which will loosen restrictions even further.

However, the state government has previously indicated that it wants to allow two weeks between each stage, which would push the change in restrictions to early December.

Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett told ABC News Breakfast that Victoria’s turn-around in COVID-19 cases is a remarkable achievement.

She also warned that the state’s residents will need to keep vigilant about virus precautions in the future.

“Reducing the risk of transmission means even as the virus lands again, or is still here somewhere where we can’t see it, then it won’t take off — and that’s the key,” she said.

Meanwhile, South Australia is the only state that’s currently recording locally acquired cases at the moment.

And Australia’s national COVID-19 case numbers are the lowest number since March when the pandemic began.

Follow Business Insider Australia on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.