CANBERRA, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The number of active COVID-19 cases in Australia has dropped by more than 2,000 to the lowest level in recent weeks.

The decline was largely driven by the number of active cases in Victoria, the hardest-hit state by the COVID-19 pandemic in the country, falling by 2,291 since Wednesday and down to 4,864 on Thursday, after authorities conducted more interviews and medical assessments to clear patients that have recovered.

It is the lowest number of active cases since July 29 in the state.

There has been a total of 24,236 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Australia since the beginning of the pandemic, and the number of new cases in last 24 hours is 246, according to an update from Michael Kidd, Australia's deputy chief medical officer, on Thursday afternoon.

There were 13 new deaths confirmed in Victoria on Thursday, eight of which were linked to aged care facilities, taking the national death toll to 463.

Of the new cases, Victoria confirmed 240, and there were another five cases diagnosed in New South Wales and one in Queensland.

"Within Victoria, 101 of the new cases are linked to outbreaks or complex cases and 139 are under investigation," said a statement from the Department of Health and Human Services in Victoria on Thursday.

The department also said that there are 1,811 active cases relating to aged care facilities and 753 active cases among healthcare workers in the state.