On Aug. 3, 2020, the State of Victoria declared a "state of disaster" in response to rising cases of COVID-19, triggering additional lockdown measures that we expect to severely hit economic activity. There is an increasing possibility that we will lower our long-term rating on Victoria within the next few months if the situation deteriorates, such as the state being unable to control the latest outbreak or if the state's fiscal recovery is likely to be delayed beyond our expectations. We are consequently placing our long-term rating on Victoria on CreditWatch with negative implications. We aim to resolve the CreditWatch within the next few months as more details become available about the fiscal effect of the latest lockdown and greater
