Australia's Victoria reports nine coronavirus deaths, daily cases dip

Walkers wear protective face masks at St Kilda pier in Melbourne, the first city in Australia to enforce mask-wearing to curb a resurgence of COVID-19

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's second most populous state of Victoria said on Wednesday the total daily coronavirus cases fell below 300 for the first time in more than a week.

The state reported nine deaths from the coronavirus over the last 24 hours with seven casualties linked to aged care facilities, Premier Daniel Andrews said in a media conference in Melbourne.

The southeast state saw a flare-up in infections over the last several weeks and authorities have sent an emergency medical team to aged care homes, which are at the centre of the outbreak.

Victoria reported 295 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, compared with 384 a day earlier.

(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)