Victoria has eliminated coronavirus, an achievement that was unthinkable only three months ago.
Friday marks four weeks without a new case of coronavirus.
Health authorities say 28 days with no new cases means the virus has been eliminated from the community, given that period represents two 14-day incubation periods.
Victoria reached 7880 active cases on August 11.
The last COVID-19 patient in a Victorian hospital was discharged on Monday, leaving the state without an active case.
Appearing at the Public Accounts and Estimates Committee into the state government's response to the pandemic, Premier Daniel Andrews said on Friday it had been a hard few months.
"It's been a very long journey, a very painful journey. One where we've seen both the very best of Victorian spirit and also the worst of impacts - the damage and the pain is very real," he said.
"None of those choices were easy, none of those choices were anything other than acting on the best of advice."
The premier added that while the risk is not over, the payoff for zero cases will be fewer restrictions over summer.
"It is a great credit to all Victorians that we now arrive at a place where we can lock in a COVID-safe summer and look with a degree of optimism towards a COVID-normal and COVID safe 2021," he said.
Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton tweeted his optimism, but also caution.
"I'm confident there's not active transmission in Victoria, but we have to maintain alertness," he said.
"Not fear, but a precautionary approach and readiness to respond. With 600,000 new cases globally each day, the risk is always there. We must - and will - strengthen quarantine."
Melbourne doctor Stephen Parnis spoke of his emotions at Friday's milestone.
"The fact that in about three months we've gotten to this point, no one would have been able to suggest that would even come close to this," he told ABC radio.
"Rightly, it's a day we should all have a great deal of personal satisfaction."
Dr Parnis spoke of the heavy toll that Victoria's coronavirus crisis had taken on medical and health workers.
Australia's death toll from the virus is 907 and 819 of them are Victorians.
"I don't think any of us are going to come through this without a few scars," he said.
"It was a scary time, it was an exhausting time."
Despite the good news, the Department of Health and Human Services warned more virus fragments have been found as part of its wastewater surveillance testing program.
They were detected in a sample from a treatment plant in the Geelong suburb of Corio, and residents and visitors from Saturday to Tuesday are urged to come forward for testing.
Australian Associated Press
