Victoria's Chief Health Officer is calling for urgent and stronger coronavirus shutdown measures, as the state records its first three COVID-19 deaths in the space of 24 hours.

Key points: Victoria's tally of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen to 520

Victoria's tally of confirmed coronavirus cases has risen to 520 The state has seen a slight decrease in the number of new confirmed cases over the past two days

The state has seen a slight decrease in the number of new confirmed cases over the past two days Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton is advocating for the state to adopt stronger shutdown measures soon

Three men diagnosed with COVID-19 have died in Melbourne hospitals over the past day, as the national coronavirus death toll rose to 13.

Two COVID-19 patients have died in Western Australia, seven people with COVID-19 have died in NSW and one in Queensland.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said all three men who died in the state were in their 70s and had pre-existing health conditions.

Victoria has now recorded 520 cases in total, and 54 new people have tested positive to the virus in the past day.

There have been nine confirmed cases of community transmission in the state.

Fourteen people are in hospital, including three in intensive care.

Victoria urged to 'go hard, go fast'

Victoria and New South Wales — the two states with the most cases — have been pushing for the most severe interventions to limit the virus's spread in recent days.

On Wednesday, Professor Sutton took to social media to register his view that the state should move harder and faster than the rest of the nation.

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At a press conference on Thursday afternoon, he said while the daily increase in confirmed cases had slowed slightly as Australia's borders closed, Victorians should not become complacent.

"I think we have to consider where we might be in two weeks and think about the interventions we could make now that mean that we make a difference in two weeks from now," he said.

"I don't want us to be at a point where we're making decisions about additional measures when it's already escaped."

When pressed on whether he was calling for immediate, tougher shutdown restrictions, Professor Sutton said that decision rested with the National Cabinet.

"The positive here is that we can make a difference," he said.

"We can actually avoid going down the pathway that many countries in Europe and the US are heading down, [which is] a catastrophic pathway."

Brendan Crabb, the director and CEO of the Burnet Institute, backed that position, urging Australia to "go very hard" on strong measures to suppress the pandemic.

"I would recommend we pull every suppression lever we have now," Professor Crabb told ABC Radio Melbourne.

He praised what he called the "laser-targeted" approach to the lockdown in Wuhan.

"The aim is to go very hard, as hard as you possibly can early that can be reasonably done while keeping essential services open," he said.

"Keep the numbers at an extremely low level and that means not just flatten the curve but bend the curve down to a very low level, suppression."

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The National Cabinet agreed earlier this week to implement "stage two" shutdown restrictions.

On Wednesday, Premier Daniel Andrews said Victoria may introduce further shutdown measures before the rest of the country.

At Thursday's press conference, Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said Victorians were dealing with a "life and death" matter and needed to "get real".

"Whether you're contemplating going to get a haircut or go and get a latte at the cafe, unless people need to be doing these things you should be at home," she said.

"On a day when we have sadly lost three Victorians to COVID-19, I can't stress enough how important it is that everybody follows the rules and stays at home."

Victoria now has more than 500 confirmed cases of COVID-19. ( ABC News: Damian Mcintyre, file photo )

Police chief cautions against 'dickhead' behaviour

Meanwhile, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton said police were ramping up spot checks, and called on Victorians to exercise common sense.

He called out the behaviour of a worker at the National Australia Bank who falsely claimed he had the virus.

"It's not a crime to be a dickhead, but it's a time for common sense," Commissioner Ashton said.

"There's an obligation on all of us to do the right thing by each other."

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On Wednesday the police union called for the Victorian Government to declare a state of disaster, which would allow more power to be delegated directly to police officers.

Commissioner Ashton said such a move would not be taken lightly.

"There are very significant powers under the state of disaster, but you don't pull that lever until you really have to," he said.

"If it becomes necessary, I'm sure Government will pull that trigger."

He added that some emergency workers, particularly ambulance workers, had been dealing with assaults and abuse.

"It's a really poor sign when that's happening in our community," he said.

"Nothing excuses that sort of behaviour."

Police have made 88 spot checks on people who were supposed to be in self-isolation.

Of that number, 70 were at home as required.

Police are following up on the others.

Gardens close, bottle shops limit purchase of alcohol

Among other coronavirus restrictions coming into force on Thursday, the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria has closed both gardens at Melbourne and Cranbourne.

Chief executive Tim Entwisle said staff would continue to maintain the garden's plant collections and research and conservation activities.

Melbourne's Royal Botanic Gardens, including the Fern Gully, have been closed indefinitely. ( 774 ABC Melbourne: Simon Leo Brown )

Woolworths — which owns BWS and Dan Murphy's bottle shop chains — has also introduced limits on how much alcohol customers can buy at one time.

"These limits are in place to ensure everyone has access to the drinks they love, and we appreciate your understanding during this time," a statement from the company said.

Customers can still buy up to 18 bottles of wine, three casks, six bottles of spirits and three cases of beer, cider or premix.

Victoria COVID-19 snapshot Melbourne's 14-day average: 34.4

Melbourne's 14-day average: 34.4 Regional Victoria's 14-day average: 1.6

Regional Victoria's 14-day average: 1.6 Current active cases: 657

Current active cases: 657 Active cases in regional Victoria: 23

Active cases in regional Victoria: 23 Active cases in healthcare workers: 79

Active cases in healthcare workers: 79 Active cases linked to aged care: 332

Active cases linked to aged care: 332 Deaths: 763

Deaths: 763 Cases in hospital: 92

Cases in hospital: 92 Intensive care patients: 6

Intensive care patients: 6 Tests since pandemic began: More than 2.58 million

Tests since pandemic began: More than 2.58 million Confirmed cases so far: 20,051 Updated Monday September 21 Latest Victorian Government info

Meanwhile, Coles supermarkets on Thursday morning followed through on a promise to give emergency services and healthcare workers exclusive access for the first hour of trading on Thursday morning.

The initiative will run on Tuesdays and Thursdays with workers needing to bring an AHPRA card, a workplace ID or wear their work uniform.

Allan McDonald, who works at the Royal Children's Hospital, said it was "fantastic".

"It makes it so much easier," Mr McDonald said. "I've just come off night shift to get a couple of things on the way home."

Monday, Wednesday and Friday Coles Community Hours will be for customers who hold a government-issued Pensioner Concession Card, Commonwealth Seniors Health Card, Companion Card, Seniors Card, Disability Card and Health Care Card.

Police want more personal protective equipment

Earlier on Thursday, Victoria's police union expressed concerns officers were not getting the protective equipment they needed during the coronavirus outbreak, after Victoria Police confirmed 200 staff were in quarantine.

Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt told the ABC Victoria Police had enough supplies of masks, wipes and hand gel but until now they had not been supplied efficiently to police stations and frontline officers.

Victoria Police released vision of officers conducting spot checks on people in self-isolation. ( Supplied: Victoria Police )

"It's not a question of how much they have," Mr Gatt said. "It's a question of getting it out of warehouses and into police stations and into divisional vans across the state. That's the challenge."

Commissioner Ashton acknowledged it had been a problem, but said he was confident the force would be able to get the specialist equipment out to the individual police stations where it was needed.

Mr Gatt also said that police should be among those to receive priority testing for coronavirus.

"It's important that we maintain their numbers and don't lose lose large numbers of police to illness at any one time," he said.

All up, almost 400 Victoria Police officers are currently taking carers leave or self-isolating at home.

Two members, one from the eastern suburbs and another from the southern suburbs, have tested positive for COVID-19.

A training squad at the Victoria Police Training Academy has been temporarily stood down after one squad member came into contact with a person who tested positive to the virus.