VICTORIAN tenants will be protected from rent increases and evictions until March next year.

Treasurer Tim Pallas on Friday announced the government would extend the moratorium on rent increases and evictions until March 28, 2021.

Eligible renters will able to apply for rent relief of up to $3000. Landlords who provide rent relief for tenants will also be eligible to receive land tax relief under the moratorium.

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"We know that the pandemic has significantly disrupted the rental market and we recognise that there's an ongoing need to support households who are experiencing rental distress," Mr Pallas told reporters.

"So as they're feeling greater uncertainty in terms of their material circumstances, the one thing they shouldn't have to feel is that their home is at risk."

The announcement came as Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed one new case had been recorded in Greater Bendigo.

Mr Andrews said on Friday there were only seven active cases in Greater Bendigo, a drop from nine active cases on Thursday.

The Department of Health and Human Services is yet to release its Friday local government area case breakdown.

Mr Andrews said there were 134 active coronavirus cases in regional Victoria.

It came after the state recorded 81 new coronavirus cases and 59 deaths on Friday.

Mr Andrews said 50 of those deaths were linked to aged care settings and took place in July and August.

Nine people have died in recent days. Mr Andrews said eight of nine deaths were linked to an aged care setting.

There were 329 people in hospital with coronavirus on Friday, with 20 of those people receiving treatment in intensive care. Thirteen people were on ventilators.

Earlier

HEALTH authorities have added 81 new COVID-19 cases overnight and 59 deaths.

Fifty of those deaths took place over recent months, the Department of Health and Human Services has confirmed.

They were aged care residents.

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The extra deaths have been added as governments and the aged care sector reconcile data supplied to state health authorities.

Friday's new infections are lower than those from Thursday, when 113 were recorded.

This week's daily increases have been as low as 71.

Greater Bendigo has noted five new cases in the seven days to Thursday.

There have been three new cases since Tuesday alone.

However, the total number of actively infected people has stayed the same or decreased over the past week.

That suggests that either people are recovering or health authorities are reclassifying cases.

Greater Bendigo has not seen the kinds of daily increases associated with the height of the second wave in August when infections sometimes jumped by more than 10 a day.

Health authorities yesterday noted that the state's daily infection rates were trending downwards and the government still planned to release a reopening roadmap this Sunday.

Few concrete details about that plan have been made public and premier Daniel Andrews yesterday said a document with key dates leaked to Melbourne's Herald Sun newspaper was out of date.

He and fellow state leaders are meeting with prime minister Scott Morrison today to talk out pandemic plans, especially those relating to border closures, agriculture and the upcoming bushfire season.

Victorian health authorities expect to release a further breakdown of today's new cases later today.

More: Border closures to dominate virus meeting

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