Yet this irony appeared lost on the 100 or so people who gathered at the memorial - mask-free - to protest against the Victorian government's measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Around 20 protesters were handcuffed and masked, after violent scuffles broke out.

As police clashed with the COVIDiots, Premier Daniel Andrews revealed 11 more people had died from the virus while another 76 people had been diagnosed.

The numbers of daily new cases are significantly lower than the peaks we saw weeks ago, but Mr Andrews said if the state was to fully reopen now, there would be an explosion of cases and hundreds - if not thousands - of deaths.

The premier is expected to lay out a road map to relax restrictions on Sunday, with officials set to meet well into the evening to finalise the plan.

"(These) will be designed not to keep people locked in for a moment longer than they need to be, but instead to ease out of these restrictions in a steady and safe way," Mr Andrews said on Saturday.

Over in NSW, five new cases of the virus have been recorded, as NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian ratchets up her criticisms of the Queensland government for its border closures.

Ms Berejiklian hit out at Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's rejection of the national agriculture code, saying it was crucial for Australia's agricultural sector which is on track for a bumper harvest after years of drought.

Meanwhile, two people have died in New Zealand after a resurgence of coronavirus in the country. New Zealand had gone 102 days without any cases of the virus in the community, and 99 days without a death.

One of those who died is former Cook Islands prime minister turned Auckland GP Joe Williams.

In non-virus news, Japanese coastguards have rescued a third crewman from a livestock ship which capsized this week off the coast of Japan during a typhoon.

The rescued man, a 30-year-old Philippine national, was found drifting on a life raft during an aerial search on Friday. Two Australians were abroad the ship when it capsized.

Finally, returning back to Australia - and COVIDiots - two AFL players have been fined and sent home to Victoria after breaking Queensland's coronavirus restrictions.

Richmond players Sydney Stack and Callum Coleman-Jones were arrested over a fight in Surfers Paradise, even though the pair were supposed to be at their team's hub.

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